Lori E

I'm 54 and had gastric bypass on June 18, 2021. I'm down 45 pounds so far, not too bad for just over 2 months! My biggest challenge so far has been developing aversions to things I used to like (scrambled eggs, tuna, chicken) but I seem to be getting over that now. Good luck on your journey!

I'm 54 and had gastric bypass on June 18, 2021. I'm down 45 pounds so far, not too bad for just over 2 months! My biggest challenge so far has been developing aversions to things I used to like (scrambled eggs, tuna, chicken) but I seem to be getting over that now. Good luck on your journey!

I'm 54 and had gastric bypass on June 18, 2021. I'm down 45 pounds so far, not too bad for just over 2 months! My biggest challenge so far has been developing aversions to things I used to like (scrambled eggs, tuna, chicken) but I seem to be getting over that now. Good luck on your journey!

I'm 54 and had gastric bypass on June 18, 2021. I'm down 45 pounds so far, not too bad for just over 2 months! My biggest challenge so far has been developing aversions to things I used to like (scrambled eggs, tuna, chicken) but I seem to be getting over that now. Good luck on your journey!

I'm 54 and had gastric bypass on June 18, 2021. I'm down 45 pounds so far, not too bad for just over 2 months! My biggest challenge so far has been developing aversions to things I used to like (scrambled eggs, tuna, chicken) but I seem to be getting over that now. Good luck on your journey!

Mine was June 18th as well! Hope you’re doing well!

Hello June surgery buddies! My gastric bypass is scheduled for June 18. I have my pre-op appointment for labs and to meet with the dietitian and psychologist on June 2 and I start the liquid diet on June 11. My surgeon has patients do a full liquid diet - just Clear Liquids and four Protein Shakes a day, so I’m a little worried about that but I figure I can do anything for one week. I’m so excited (and more than a little nervous!) now that I have dates for everything - it just makes it seem so real. Looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you!

I began my journey in August and I finally have a surgery date for June 17. I am excited and start my 2 week pre-op diet tomorrow.

I'm so freaking excited for all of us!!!! Made it halfway through my 2 week liquid diet. Days 3/4 were brutal but its getting easier!

Also, my GERD was pretty severe before I was on meds (prior to surgery). It was well controlled with meds though..

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I was also self pay, and with a BMI of 69.9, severely obese. I had originally wanted sleeve and the first surgeon I saw suggested bypass because I had GERD and was so overweight. He got let go because of COVID when the hospital cut staff so I went to a different surgeon at another Healthcare system. That doctor recommended either bypass or Loop Duodenal switch, which is basically a sleeved stomach along with and intestinal bypass. Like the sleeve, it can cause GERD, but I chose it because he said it was the most powerful operation and the one I'd likely lose the most weight with.. Since I was paying out of pocket and could only do it once, I chose Loop DS. It has been 10 months and I have had no GERD symptoms so far. I'm currently weaning off my Protonix, so we will see how it goes, but so far so good. [emoji1696]

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Thanks for your response, Catwoman7. I'm leaning towards bypass now just because I'm not sure I'm willing to risk it. I don't experience reflux too often but when I do it's pretty unpleasant and I don't think I want to risk experiencing it more, or worse, than it is now. I'm sure when I have my consultation next week the surgeon will provide more information, but I was just curious about other people's experiences. Thanks so much!

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums and so excited to be starting on this journey. I have my consultation scheduled for May 5. I was leaning toward the sleeve for several reasons - less complicated, less expensive (I'm doing self-pay) - but as I've been learning more about different procedures it looks like gastric bypass is the surgery of choice if you have reflux. I experience reflux infrequently, maybe once a week. It's usually pretty mild but occasionally it can be pretty bad and I experience food regurgitation. Just wondering if anyone here had reflux prior to surgery but went ahead with the sleeve and what your post-op experience has been. Thanks so much!

Hello June surgery buddies! My gastric bypass is scheduled for June 18. I have my pre-op appointment for labs and to meet with the dietitian and psychologist on June 2 and I start the liquid diet on June 11. My surgeon has patients do a full liquid diet - just Clear Liquids and four Protein Shakes a day, so I’m a little worried about that but I figure I can do anything for one week. I’m so excited (and more than a little nervous!) now that I have dates for everything - it just makes it seem so real. Looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you!

I had my consultation yesterday. I'm officially scheduled for June 15th! Yay!!

I have my consultation this Wednesday, May 5. Hoping to schedule surgery for the week of June 13th or 20th!

@lizzlosingit...so true! Pick your hard! I will never forget my sister (who is also overweight) saying "Are you sure you want to do this? It will change your relationship to food FOREVER!" And I just looked at her and said "That's kind of the point!" Every weight loss plan needs to change your relationship with food, or it won't work long term!

When I was in 8th grade I had to start thinking about what high school classes I wanted to take. I was in band in middle school and the next logical step was marching band for high school. I was so nervous: could I actually memorize 18 minutes of music AND march around a field?? As a plus sized teen??? All while keeping up with my Advanced Placement classes? A thought came to me and it’s changed my life ever since: If 200+ other students (we had a large band) could do it, then why the hell couldn’t I too do it?? I’m smart, I’m capable, I can at least try. By senior year I was the band’s captain. That thinking has gotten me through my Masters degree and a great salaried job, because I realized “hell, I could do it too!”

listen, your fears are 100% valid. Most, if not all of us, have experienced the yo-yo dieting, the inability to stick to diets, the failing and trying and failing again. It’s not specific to you! and others’ success is not specific to THEM. I just got my surgery approved this morning and I’m nervous too, because it’s going to be HARD.

But I had to pick my hard. The diet is hard, surgery feels drastic and hard. Exercising SUCKS and is hard. The mourning period is super hard (going through it now, see my previous posts lol).

But you know what else is hard? Navigating life as a fat woman in America. Dating with confidence. Fitting into a booth. Dealing with medical anti-fat bias. Being compared to thinner friends colleagues or relatives. SHOPPING ugh. I have to pick what type of “hard” makes it all worth it. I could stay fat and that hard life won’t get easier. Or I could do this life-changing surgery and feel that “hard” get easier and easier as time goes on.

My stomach is quite large and my face looks fine and wrinkle free now but I’m also terrified of wrinkles and loose skin (I’m 34 and though I’m young to many, I’m not immune to aging especially now.) But it’s either deal with the skin or the fat for me. I choose skin.

best of luck to you!! Have courage. Don’t doom-scroll, looking for negative experiences (trust me, I’m a doom scroller and it delayed me for a few years, 50 lbs ago.) Instead read through all the great success stories on this forum. It’s what’s gotten me through! My surgery is July 9th.

Hello June surgery buddies! My gastric bypass is scheduled for June 18. I have my pre-op appointment for labs and to meet with the dietitian and psychologist on June 2 and I start the liquid diet on June 11. My surgeon has patients do a full liquid diet - just Clear Liquids and four Protein Shakes a day, so I’m a little worried about that but I figure I can do anything for one week. I’m so excited (and more than a little nervous!) now that I have dates for everything - it just makes it seem so real. Looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you!

I had my consultation yesterday. I'm officially scheduled for June 15th! Yay!!

Well...here goes...
My husband knows....and a coworker (inadvertently) because they saw me in the hospital. I do not plan on telling anyone else currently. Perhaps in the future I will be more open about it. So the question becomes why....
A small preamble: Diet, obesity, food, exercise etc has been a really big interest of mine for years. I have spent so much time researching so many things when it comes to this topic. I feel I am reasonably well versed in this topic. The problem is...most people are not.
Many people are still knee deep in the billion dollar diet industry that will argue about Keto, CICO, Southbeach, Atkins etc etc. Many people also believe that you can control your own weight...and if you are over the amount you should weigh, it is your fault. Many people don't think about the factories that make "food". Many people don't think about so many things that so many people deal with. Lots of people think having surgery is cheating.
My obesity is still very much tangled up in emotionally abusive things from childhood. The very last thing that I want to do is have a conversation about that with people I don't know, or only know professionally. This has been a long hard road to get here, but I don't need to explain myself to anyone.
Did it occur to you that maybe people shouldn't be commenting on people's bodies? Why would it be my place to ask someone about their weight? There are going to be many people that don't agree with surgery for whatever reason....frankly, it's not my job to enlighten people on what they should do with their lives. If someone wants to know the 'secret', then they can do the research and figure out what is best for them and their health issues.
I hate to tell you this....but the surgery stigma is alive because of the rhetoric of the billion dollar diet industry is alive and well in most people. The stigma isn't alive because a few people 'lied' about having surgery.
I also really hate the explanation: If you needed surgery because you broke your leg, you wouldn't be hiding that from anyone! But really...medical ailments and treatments can be embarrassing and private or shameful. If I needed a colostomy bag, I wouldn't put out a newsletter about it. Jesus.

My hangup with telling people about surgery proactively is that I worry it would cause harm to others. If someone with obesity approached me and asked me "how I did it," I would be 100% honest. But I don't want me being open about it proactively to be taken as a message that I think this is what an obese person "should do." I want to be respectful of my friends who are working really hard to feel good in their large bodies.
I've told about 9 people, all friends, no family. One of the people I disclosed it to, who is thin, had a very strained reaction, and essentially told me she couldn't engage in the conversation because of her background with eating disorders, which I wasn't aware of. She was maybe the 3rd or 4th person I told, and moving forward with the next few, I was very very tentative with how I told people, and made clear that I would answer questions, but that we didn't need to discuss it further since it's a sensitive topic.
food and weight are very complicated things for people and I want to be very careful with suddenly opening intimate conversations about them with unsuspecting friends.

Less than a month to go - How exciting!

I had my consultation yesterday. I'm officially scheduled for June 15th! Yay!!

I have my consultation this Wednesday, May 5. Hoping to schedule surgery for the week of June 13th or 20th!