chiquitatummy

Triplets...I too am 2/23. I have lost 24 lbs since surgery 40 lbs since 1/25/21 when I got the call for surgery date.

Congrats and you look amazing! You should steal that polka dot number from your daughter, it looks great on you!

This happened to me too. I had my psych visit a few months into covid lockdown and I kind of melted down when the psych asked me about stress and how I cope. Like you, I also got super honest and talked about a fairly new realization of how much I have used food to resolve anxiousness. I don't have a clinical eating disorder but absolutely have had unhealthy eating patterns that include use of food as a coping mechanism for stress and anxiousness. The psych ended up scheduling one more visit with me and referring me out to a therapist who I still seeing once a month. I was cleared once I started therapy and completed a 2nd psych visit.
Honestly, it's been really nice for me to be back in therapy again during this time. I was worried that being off work and recovering from surgery at home might be rough enough that I would have a depressive slump (I didn't, yay!) so it was really nice to be able to schedule an appointment for one week after surgery as a lifeline just in case that happened.

Feb 24th here. Was having a hard time mentally and physically in the beginning but it's been getting better along the way. 20lbs down since surgery day. Moved into soft foods this week and I cant believe how many things I cant eat for another 3 or 4 months. It's hard having the family sitting down to burgers and or pizza and I'm like no thanks I cant eat that yet. Then I get the you should just try a couple of bites. Yeah nope. If I take too big of bites I still have this rock in my stomach feeling. I'm thankful that I can keep things down now and the heartburn has subsided. Still tired more than I'd like to be but I do notice once I do get moving I have more energy longer and can walk further with less joint pain. Everyone keep up the good work!

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

The 23rd of March was my 1 month sleev-a-versary so I thought I'd post an update. I'd love to hear how others who are about a month out are doing, so feel free to share the good, bad, or gross (and I do mean poo talk).
My recovery has thankfully been uneventful. I had the normal struggles in the first week (nausea, water/protein intake, gas pain, uncomfortable sleeping) but nothing terrible. I have had some poo struggle days, that has been the worst! Right now the pipes are working (cross fingers) but a week ago - hoo boy, not great. I've discovered that I need to take a stool softener at least every other day or things stop moving. My energy has been better, but there are still days when I can't believe how tired I feel just walking up the stairs. I graduated to the pureed stage this week (my program does full liquids for 4 weeks) which was exciting but also a little scary to try "new" foods on my tiny tummy and see how she did. So far, she has handled everything like a champ and I am really enjoying eating more than Protein Shakes, Protein Soup, and yogurt.
I've lost 19 pounds since my surgery day and can feel a difference in how my body moves, how much less pain I have in my joints, and how my clothes fit. I can bend at the waist more comfortably, balance on one foot better, and crossing my arms or my legs is comfortable again. I tried on a dress that I wore to a family wedding in January of last year and was shocked to see how baggy it was on me.
One of my biggest WLS fears was my emotional state taking a downturn during recovery and from not being able to eat normally. I'm happy to say that hasn't happened, in fact it's been the opposite. I feel like I have a stronger perspective and more balanced moods overall. I think seeing some immediate positive results in how my body feels is part of the reason, along with having finally done the thing I spent so long thinking and worrying about. Now that I am on the other side I am experiencing what the reality of WLS is for me rather than worrying about what it might be.

Hey fellow Feb peeps!!
Glad to see you are doing well! Same over here! I’m down 20 post op lbs so @Chiquitatummy and @Tim Cwe are about the same. I was instructed to move onto solid food this week and so far no problems. Seafood is now my favorite Protein. Odd because it was chicken before 🤔 Biggest plus for me is my hip pain is gone and my energy is through the roof! I’ve been hiking, biking and doing all the things I used to love doing with my family but haven’t been able to do in a couple years.
My biggest challenge so far is trusting that this will continue to work and my body won’t betray me. That’s a work in progress for sure.

Hey Chiquita...I had surgery the same day. I have lost 22 pounds so about the same. I had two 5 day stalls in the first month. I m confident this will be successful as long as we stick to plan.

Thanks everyone. I’m going to look into Protein hot cocoa. I already have GENEPRO on hand, so I’ll start using some more of that. I’ve been sipping on my protein Water as well. I might just stick to my Fairlife milk until Tuesday because the Protein Drink I had today actually made me vomit ☹️

what Jaelzion said. Follow your program and give it some time. You will see results.

I feel this, especially with people where there has been a history of harmful focus on your body and fat shaming. I am proud of myself for having the courage to take the steps to get WLS, the resilience to do the hard work involved, and the self-love to prioritize my own well-being. Unfortunately, many people in my life would miss all of these aspects that I find worthy of pride and focus on praising me for getting skinny. I don't want to be the recipient of this kind of praise and while I will enjoy many aspects of being smaller I don't want to hear praise for my smaller body at the expense of my bigger body. I want both to be shown love.

thank you everyone for playing along with my poll and sharing your experiences and takes on sharing about your WLS. I've really enjoyed seeing the different perspectives and reading all the different experiences. This little community has become a real support to me since I discovered it. I appreciate having a place to come to where I can talk about my WLS experience and learn from others.

Happy for you!

what Jaelzion said. Follow your program and give it some time. You will see results.

The 23rd of March was my 1 month sleev-a-versary so I thought I'd post an update. I'd love to hear how others who are about a month out are doing, so feel free to share the good, bad, or gross (and I do mean poo talk).
My recovery has thankfully been uneventful. I had the normal struggles in the first week (nausea, water/protein intake, gas pain, uncomfortable sleeping) but nothing terrible. I have had some poo struggle days, that has been the worst! Right now the pipes are working (cross fingers) but a week ago - hoo boy, not great. I've discovered that I need to take a stool softener at least every other day or things stop moving. My energy has been better, but there are still days when I can't believe how tired I feel just walking up the stairs. I graduated to the pureed stage this week (my program does full liquids for 4 weeks) which was exciting but also a little scary to try "new" foods on my tiny tummy and see how she did. So far, she has handled everything like a champ and I am really enjoying eating more than Protein Shakes, Protein Soup, and yogurt.
I've lost 19 pounds since my surgery day and can feel a difference in how my body moves, how much less pain I have in my joints, and how my clothes fit. I can bend at the waist more comfortably, balance on one foot better, and crossing my arms or my legs is comfortable again. I tried on a dress that I wore to a family wedding in January of last year and was shocked to see how baggy it was on me.
One of my biggest WLS fears was my emotional state taking a downturn during recovery and from not being able to eat normally. I'm happy to say that hasn't happened, in fact it's been the opposite. I feel like I have a stronger perspective and more balanced moods overall. I think seeing some immediate positive results in how my body feels is part of the reason, along with having finally done the thing I spent so long thinking and worrying about. Now that I am on the other side I am experiencing what the reality of WLS is for me rather than worrying about what it might be.

I hit 50# weight loss ( pre-op and post-op). I am getting closer to Wonderland! Gastric Sleeve is making the difference and making this seem doable and I feel in control for once.
HW 264 ( 10/30/20)
SW 235 ( 2/24/21)
CW 214 ( 3/27/21)
GW 130 ( TBD)

It's not real weight gain. It reflects swelling, IV fluids they gave you in the hospital and Water retention. The number on the scale doesn't mean much this early. You're good, this is normal healing!

@chiquitatummy like you, I had WLS and told very very few people (husband, my sisters - my mother the next day only because she’s a complete worrywart and that’s pretty much it). And yes I agree that COVID and social distancing has enabled me to pull this off “on the down low”. My surgery was in August. I’m still working from home and I haven’t seen any of my coworkers except via zoom. About a month after surgery I got on an exercise kick (for the first time in my life) and would occasionally post photos on my Instagram story of my workouts (not necessarily images of me but images of the machines I was using). Anyway I have posted a few random photos on Facebook and Instagram that do show that I have lost weight but honestly most people think it’s because I started working out! They’ve even commented things like wow your exercise is paying off! I think posting those photos of the gym equipment that I was using has got most people thinking that I did this all by working out and honestly that’s fine with me because in large part my weight loss is none of their damn business.

I have been very open about my surgery. All of my immediate family and a few co-workers knew before I had surgery. Since surgery and the huge weight loss I have told many friends and co-workers. I work in a large, integrated medical clinic (around 200 employees). Everyone there has been incredibly supportive and excited. I think my results have inspired some of my obese co-workers to look into surgery. My family has been very supportive. My normal weight husband and mother have been my biggest cheer leaders. I was very concerned about telling my step-dad as he is very judgmental, but he has actually been great and super excited for me through this process.

Because of COVID, I have been working from home 10 of the last 12 months. My co-workers literally do not recognize me when I go into the clinic...even when I tell them who I am. It is a little awkward for a minute until it clicks that I am me. I will tell my extended family when I see them again, but COVID has kept us apart thus far. I think they will all be supportive and excited, but sometimes people shock us. At this point, if anyone is negative towards my decision to have WLS, I have plenty of ammunition to educate them. The positive health changes since my surgery are more than enough for me to not give a damn about any negative reactions or gossip!

Well I have been on both sides of this fence. In 2009 when I had the lapband placed at 232lbs (5'2") I told my (now) x husband (we were married 26 years), my two sons, daughter in law and a couple of co workers that i thought i could trust. Well my x went and told a few friends after they made comments that "chris's looking good". He said and i quote.... Well she's only losing weight because she had SX.....then, of course, others started to ask and I would say from diet and exercise... Which was true. But when i found out what he said and turns out the co works were saying the same things..... I had a person say.... Well i heard you had WLS.... So after that i was open about it. I found some support and a lot of judgment. Grant you it was back with WLS wasn't as well accepted as it is now. Awful comments from my x, x-friends, x-co workers.... and people in general...... Too skinny, i looked sick, i was lazy for having WLS, i thought i was better than them cuz i was skinny now, how people died from WLS, that i would lose all my hair....i could go on and on. So in 2017 my band slipped and was removed. I went on FB and told everyone. Six months later I moved out of state to where no one knew me except my husband and four of his co workers. When i moved here i was 143lbs.... over the next 2.5 years i put on 30lbs. So i decided to do a revision.......It was not covered by insurance. I was going to crossfit 4 days a week and trying to lose for pending wedding in Sept, 2019. So i laid the groundwork....... Told my co workers i had a hernia (true, Hiatal) and it needed to be fixed (still truth). The weight loss started and they just thought it was from dieting for the wedding (still true). I went in on Wednesday and was back at work on Monday. Still, the only person that knows is my husband. Didn't tell sons, family, friends (not even best), or co workers....... THIS IS 100% BETTER. No comments, no snarky looks, no having to explain anything. Now i'm 120lbs and you know NOT ONE PERSON has said.... You look sick, you are too thin, you are lazy, .... etc. Not one person said i would die from hernia sx.....

I'm 100% team.... keep your mouth shut....... Even if you tell just one "friend".... it will get out, especially if its a girl. Us bi*ches like to gossip.

I feel this, especially with people where there has been a history of harmful focus on your body and fat shaming. I am proud of myself for having the courage to take the steps to get WLS, the resilience to do the hard work involved, and the self-love to prioritize my own well-being. Unfortunately, many people in my life would miss all of these aspects that I find worthy of pride and focus on praising me for getting skinny. I don't want to be the recipient of this kind of praise and while I will enjoy many aspects of being smaller I don't want to hear praise for my smaller body at the expense of my bigger body. I want both to be shown love.

I'm not good at keeping quiet about my life so I've posted it on Facebook and told most people, including my line manager. I didn't tell everyone at work, although I will most likely have to take a month off from work because I won't be able to lift my suitcase to travel for work, so I said I will be likely have to take a month off "for surgery" this summer. Many of my co-workers have never met me because we all work in different parts of the country remotely (even before COVID) so they likely don't even know I'm overweight.
Everyone has been supportive, except for one person on facebook who had a bad experience with her own WLS and insists that weight has nothing to do with health and that we're all tools of the media, etc, etc. She gained her weight back and now doesn't even try to eat healthy, based on her food pix. She got into it on my page with people who were trying to be supportive, but everyone knew that was her bs and I don't care.
My family is supportive and I have friends who have told me about their own surgeries and offered to talk to me any time. I've been very lucky.

I only told my boyfriend we live together. I just told my job I had to have surgery and submitted the required documentation to the outside department that handles leaves of absences. I didn’t tell my family because this is my journey and I want it to be free of everyone’s ones opinions.

I told my family and friends. I did not tell my co-workers. As one member said, "some people can be very opinionated". I did this for myself, for my health, and for my quality of life. I am beginning to feel better emotionally already just 6 days post-op. I feel like the constant struggle is over. The loss of weight, the gain of weight, the stagnant non-loss of weight. The light at the end of the tunnel is bright.

Me too! I have 2 more weeks on full liquids before I progress to pureed diet, and I cannot believe how many times during the day I find myself thinking about egg salads, and pureed Beans

My family and 3 coworkers know. I don’t plan on telling everyone my business, but if asked, I will say I was doing Keto LOL since they knew I did that before. My 6 & 9 year old don’t know, I just told them mommy was sick from her tummy but that’s it. They haven’t even noticed anything different since I still cook for them. My hubby is my #1 supporter , he has been so helpful in this process.