laurenantics

I find these at costco. They are so creamy and so much cheaper than the Starbucks egg bites. The Flavcity guy recommended them too. They also have a ham and cheese one too.

Hey July surgery buddies! Just got my insurance approval this morning and am scheduled for July 9th. Excited!

OOTD scrubs edition. My hospital provides our scrubs. The tops have a colored band at the neck, and the bottoms have a colored draw string. The colors indicate size. Dark green = 3xl, dark blue =2xl and so on. At my highest weight I wore dark green band tops and had to buy my own pants because the 3xl’s were too tight. Now I’m a yellow which is small and may even fit in pale green which is XS!

Boy did it suck to have to advertise my size on my work clothes, now I’m happy to be in the yellow crew :)

I just got my surgery date for July 12th at 10AM. I'm so freaking excited!

Im getting my revision on July 8th at 9:00 AM.

Hi everyone!
My surgery is scheduled for July 22nd. 🎉
Is there anyone else that has their surgery booked in for July already?

@novaluna My Consultation was kind of amazing. Mainly because my biggest fear was that I'd have to wait many months - but no, he wants to do late June. He wants me to lose 25 pounds before the surgery in about 5-6 weeks. Immediately my brain went "PROTEIN SHAKES"!! I ran to costco and bought four cases of Protein Shakes. Do you think that I can lose 25 pounds trying to do just a liquid diet of these shakes? I know you're not my doctor, but I was just hoping for your insight.

@NovaLuna You're so amazing, thank you for replying to me! I'm all alone this morning and I'm so nervous about my consult. You've really really helped. THANK YOU.

Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch is the original. SIPS/SADI-S/Loop DS is the new version. The new version was created to mitigate some of the issues with the original i.e the diarrhea issue as well as lessen the malnutrition issue (still higher risk compared to Gastric Bypass, Gastric Sleeve, etc, but better statistics than original DS). However, the downside is you have slightly less calorie and fat malabsorption, statistically slightly less weight loss, and there isn't enough long term data to tell how patients are doing 10-20 years post-op, but that data is available for the original DS. However, statistically SIPS still has a higher weight loss percentage then Gastric Bypass even if it doesn't beat out the original DS. In the end it comes down to 1. if your surgeon even performs the SIPS version of the surgery (which is actually easier for them to perform then the original) 2. if your insurance even covers the SIPS surgery because some insurances consider it 'experimental' due to the lack of long term data and 3. which surgery you actually want. I chose the SIPS/SADI-S/Loop Duodenal Switch for myself because I didn't fancy having to deal with diarrhea all the time. Didn't expect that I'd have to deal with Constipation issues at times and my system trying to empty itself at others (at least twice a week my stomach is like "ohhh you're going to be in the bathroom for a WHILE" and I literally empty everything out. Diarrhea still happens on those days. TMI, sorry, but I thought you'd want to know all the nitty gritty stuff to help make your choice). Also, there is something like a 3% you will develop either Celiac Disease or a Wheat allergy. That's for any malabsorbative surgery (DS, SIPS, or Gastric Bypass) and they don't TELL you that. I developed a wheat allergy. I was tested for it after I had classic symptoms of dumping syndrome after I was TOLD that wasn't possible. I tested positive for a wheat allergy. Anyway, it's unlikely it'll happen to you, but I tell people because a 3% chance means 3 out of every 100 people so it's worth mentioning and I'm irritated that they DIDN'T mention it! I still would have had the surgery, but I would have like to KNOW! Also, they didn't tell me that it's possible to vomit old blood after the surgery. Again, doesn't happen to everyone, but it happened to me and scared the SH*T out of me! I was still in the hospital and panicked and the nurse came in took one look at the blood in the bag and was like "It's old blood. You're fine." and then walked out. Like WTF?!
Anyway, I'm almost 16 months post-op with the SIPS so if you do decide to go that route feel free to ask me any questions about my own experience and I'll do my best to answer. Hope things go well for you at your appointment!

Working in project management for a global company, I create and manage project schedules with major and minor milestones. While going thru this process, I wanted to create a milestone schedule for my "project", Me! I am coming up on my first major milestone, that I set for the first 30 days since surgery. BMI under 30. As of today, my BMI is 30.3 and I am 3 days from 1 month post op. I may not meet the 30 day milestone date, but only two more pounds and I will reach my 1st BMI milestone. This is a big deal for me, as I have not been under 30 BMI in over 15 years.
What is/was your 1st major milestone? 😊

I am the Manager of a Serviceman's Club in New Zealand & I have told everyone that I'm getting a gastric sleeve next month. People are used to seeing me at the Club after hours with a beer in my hand. Since I have given up drinking alcohol and am drinking Water instead everyone asks what's wrong with me. So I tell them that I need to get rid of my Diabetes and sleep Apnea + the excess weight so hopefully I can extend my lifespan. Everyone has been 100% supportive and if someone ever wasn't supportive then they aren't worth talking too.
I am proud that I have finally done something to improve my health.

I am 8 weeks out... so right now a LOT of walking and just restarted Pilates and go back to work next Wed. But I am planning to do my first thru-hike/pilgrimage I. Late May on the Camino de Santiago. Will gradually increase my training over the next 7 1/2 months. And hopefully this will also help me reach my goal weight.

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

truthfully now that I have gone 14 months on my Post- SURGERY career, I really had a medium- sized bone structure under my Fluffiness, who' d have thunk that?
So although to many it may seem I am bigger than the AVERAGE AMERICAN WOMAN at 5ft 8inches and 182 pounds, cause I just weighed ME. a few minutes ago with clothes on, it is a BIG change from the 55 BMI I showed up at Dr Needleman, my surgeon who could perform this magic , install a tool that facilitated with my commitment to succeed,this Wondrous Weight Loss. I now have a 29 BMI, still,"legally Overweight" but my tshirt says
ALWAYS AWESOME; NEVER NORMAL- and today. it is My Aspie Battlecry for I NEVER will be Neurotypical but I AM one wonder-Full lovely person and that makes me HAPPY😛 HAPPY😛 HAPPY😛 and I can accept ME for ME- and how are You doing TODAY?

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

How frustrating! I'm so sorry, hang in there!

Hello everyone,
I’m scheduled for surgery on June 15th. I’m very excited but scared too. Any advice?

I'm scheduled for June 7 and wow its getting real! Grateful to have found this site. Good luck to all my June buddies and everyone else too!!

Hi Everyone,

I finally got my surgery date for June 8!!!
It’s really strange to me how excited I am about this!
I would love to share this journey with others scheduled in June!
I think it would be so helpful if we can help each other through this experience!

there's some malabsorption involved with bypass (not so with sleeve), so you have to take Vitamins for life to avoid deficiencies (you will also have to take vitamins for life with sleeve, but the consequences aren't as severe if you're not diligent with them). But the malabsorption is also part of the reason people tend to lose more weight with bypass, because you malabsorb calories along with nutrients. However, malabsorption of calories with bypass only lasts about two years. Malabsorption of nutrients is permanent, so you really have to be diligent about keeping on top of your supplements.
Dehydration isn't an issue with bypass. You have to drink at least 64 oz of fluids a day with either surgery, but I've never read about any dehydration issues with bypass (I've been on this and other bariatric forms for about six or seven years - that issue has never come up that I'm aware of)
as far as why I chose bypass:
1) my surgeon recommended it because I had GERD pre-surgery (sleeve can make GERD worse in about 30% of people. Bypass tends to improve if not outright cure it)
2) I went along with his recommendation because I didn't want to risk my GERD getting worse
3). I weighed over 300 lbs, so I wanted the most powerful surgery I could get (if my insurance covered the DS (duodenal switch), I might have gone for that instead. But it only covered sleeve and bypass)
4) At the time I had my RNY, the sleeve was still relatively new. It was in the process of replacing the lap band as the major non-RNY weight loss surgery option. The lap band turned out to be a not-so-great surgery (to the point where most surgeons refuse to do it now), and I didn't want to risk the sleeve becoming "Lap Band 2". However, that was a few years ago. The sleeve has been around long enough at this point that it's proven itself, so I would no longer have this particular concern if I had to make the decision today.
HOWEVER, due to my GERD issues, I would still choose the bypass if I was facing that decision now. If not for that, I'm not sure which one I would go with. They're both good surgeries, and you'll find a lot of success stories with both.

This has been... just a whole crazy crazy adventure.
Highest weight 402, currently around 200-210. Had my surgery at 325lbs 2018-01-22, will have my TT on 2021-06-04

over 3 long years. I am happy I am stable (weight shifting a bit up and down but never too major) and i was approved for a panni. But with my weight loss and how my skin hangs, the surgeon suggested a fleur de lys since my upper stomach have what I call my second set of boobs. I am excited and scared of this new adventure but I will say my self confidence took a big hit with how my body now is
first two is the current me, and the last one probably at my highest. I hate showing my stomach now, even to my partner. When i bought my bikini, they had a hard time to find a bottom that I was asking for to cover the whole stomach. While the skin on my arms bothers me, it will most likely never be done. My legs will be as they are covered but should be in a year from now I assume.

I had surgery 5/10, I’m glad I’m past the 3 days post op. There was no way I could get the recommended amount of Water or Protein down. Pain was steady but manageable, I slept a lot. Evening of day 2 the gas was releasing but was never painful. On day 3 I was able to drink a lot more but the protein water doesn’t taste good. Start of day four and I’m back to Protein Shakes and yogurt which is the first real subsidence I’ve had in 5 days. Incisions are healing well also. I’m looking forward to my post op checkup on 5/18 then get to the puréed diet. Good luck all. JMK.

Thanks for the visual! My DS is scheduled for June 1st...it’s almost here!

Strong first post.
Live and let live I say, though I am one of the people who chose to 'lie' because it's my business and no one elses.
Tell me why you think not being honest hurts others who need surgery?

@TXDS I had the traditional DS.
At 3 mos, I’d lost about 45 lbs. Looks like we’re just about the same. 😁

Thank you so much for this! I have my first consult in one week and this was something I was curious about. $50 a month seems very do-able.
I want to share one thing that I think will make others contemplating or having had DS... my first thought was "OMG, what happens and I end up on a deserted island and cannot take my Vitamins? !?" As if I was Tom Hanks or something. HAHAHAHAHAHA. The mind is a curious thing.