River Moon

coffee was a big deal for me after surgery too. Once you're allowed to have coffee in your plan again, then you should be ok with whatever you prefer to drink, but just take it slowly. Your post-op tummy might be more sensitive to caffeine. That was the case with me, but of course everyone is different. My plan didn't allow me to have caffeine until 4 months post-op per my surgeon's instructions. I think that's what I missed the most after surgery. Forget food, I wanted caffeine lol. Thankfully, I was able to have Decaf during that time. That allowed me to at least have that comfort of a nice warm cup of coffee. But, once I could have regular coffee again, I started slowly with the ones I used to drink to see how my new tummy could handle it. For example, Starbucks coffee is rough on my tummy now, so I can't drink that as often as I used to, but homemade Folgers brand seems to go down smoothly. So I just recommend taking it slowly, and trying out different ones you like. I stick to just black coffee that I add my own almond milk Creamer to. I measure out the creamer too so I don't accidentally overload it with excess calories. From one coffee lover to another, enjoy that next cup! 😊

So awesome!! Wishing you well for tomorrow. 💙

It is horrid when the scales seems to rule our lives. Health is the reason why I started on this journey. Here's to health for the both of us River Moon. :)

So awesome!! Wishing you well for tomorrow. 💙

I weigh myself every 3 months at my follow-up with my surgeon. But, that is due to my therapist and nutritionist highly recommending it for me. I have a long history of becoming way too obsessed with the scale, which would lead me to restrict, then binge/restrict, then binge/purge, then finally binge-eating all together. It's just been my downhill spiral for forever. Now I have finally been learning to pay attention to my health and how I feel with energy, health, and just overall mental health. It's been a relief to not weight myself so much. However, that is not a rule for all. For me it was highly recommended by my team. But, for others they need to weigh more often.

I weigh myself every 3 months at my follow-up with my surgeon. But, that is due to my therapist and nutritionist highly recommending it for me. I have a long history of becoming way too obsessed with the scale, which would lead me to restrict, then binge/restrict, then binge/purge, then finally binge-eating all together. It's just been my downhill spiral for forever. Now I have finally been learning to pay attention to my health and how I feel with energy, health, and just overall mental health. It's been a relief to not weight myself so much. However, that is not a rule for all. For me it was highly recommended by my team. But, for others they need to weigh more often.

Hi there, Katy. Congratulations on your surgery! 🙂 I have experienced this as well. I used to love hard-boiled eggs and now they not only cause me a lot of stomach pain, but they do not taste like they used to. The same with Cheez-its. I haven't eaten them, but I was with family on a long drive once and they were passing around a box of cheez-its. I have always loved those, but my gosh the smell now! I don't understand why this has happened, but my nutritionist said it is normal. She said our taste buds do change after surgery and usually will return to normal, but sometimes some things will remain not as pleasant as they were before. I'm hoping I can eat hard-boiled eggs again someday 'cause they're such great Protein and an easy meal.

I haven't had experience with the sleeping issue, but I can definitely relate to the binge-eating. I will forever consider myself in recovery for binge-eating disorder, 'cause I know I'm not cured. I will always have to be mindful. I agree with Arabesque that a therapist can help you a great deal. I was already seeing a therapist due to other reasons, so she was able to help me address my eating habits and reasons for binging. I also got a referral to a Nutritional therapist who I started seeing about 2 months prior to my surgery. It's part of the requirements for approval for most plans (all plans are different though), but I am so thankful I started seeing her prior to the surgery. I still see her after the surgery (almost 1 year out now). She helped to prepare me for the changes that were going to come with the surgery. It is a huge mental change that takes place, but being prepared for what to expect made such a difference for me. She taught me to be mindful of my eating, when I eat, what I feel when I eat, and recognize the differences between head-hunger and true hunger. After my surgery it was still a struggle, but I know it would have been so much more difficult without that preparation. So, if you are able to see a therapist and/or a nutritional therapist, I highly recommend it.
As for the clothing issue, I can relate to that for sure. Prior to surgery I just always wore stretchy stuff so it would allow me some give. But I also held out on buying many new clothes. Since my surgery, I've found I've had to change clothes sizes much more often and so I found this cool site called swap dot com (not sure if I'm allowed to link it). They have very nice options for very low and affordable prices. They're essentially an online thrift shop. They have been such a great help for me 'cause it's expensive constantly buying new clothing. So when I have absolutely needed a new piece of clothing that is expensive (like jeans, winter coat) I went there and save a great deal of money. I got some new jeans for $11 even. Then, when I'm done with them, I just donate them to a local donation center for someone else to be able to use.
Hang in there, Thinblueline. It will be so worth it in the end! You got this!

As someone who cancelled/postponed their surgery TWICE, i get where you are coming from.
And like many of those who came before AND after me, my sole regret of the whole thing was not doing it sooner (or even not doing it right away the first time i was approved).
What caused me to finally go through with my THIRD scheduled date seems a little inconsequential: i was sitting on a patio stair step trying to put sunscreen on my feet at a pool party, but my bulk prevented me from just bending over to do it comfortably, so i had to bend my leg behind me so i could reach. I looked up and noticed people watching me (with what i took as pity, though it may not even have been, it was just what i took it as), and that was it. I was sleeved the next month.
Best decision ever. And while i could have had it done 2 years earlier, better late than never i guess.
You are ready when you’re ready.
Good Luck! ❤️
P.S. We sort of have similar starting stats: I am 5’2”, and was 235 lbs at the beginning of my 2 wk pre-op diet (but im much older…was 46 when i had surgery)
And here are my progress pics:

I haven't had experience with the sleeping issue, but I can definitely relate to the binge-eating. I will forever consider myself in recovery for binge-eating disorder, 'cause I know I'm not cured. I will always have to be mindful. I agree with Arabesque that a therapist can help you a great deal. I was already seeing a therapist due to other reasons, so she was able to help me address my eating habits and reasons for binging. I also got a referral to a Nutritional therapist who I started seeing about 2 months prior to my surgery. It's part of the requirements for approval for most plans (all plans are different though), but I am so thankful I started seeing her prior to the surgery. I still see her after the surgery (almost 1 year out now). She helped to prepare me for the changes that were going to come with the surgery. It is a huge mental change that takes place, but being prepared for what to expect made such a difference for me. She taught me to be mindful of my eating, when I eat, what I feel when I eat, and recognize the differences between head-hunger and true hunger. After my surgery it was still a struggle, but I know it would have been so much more difficult without that preparation. So, if you are able to see a therapist and/or a nutritional therapist, I highly recommend it.
As for the clothing issue, I can relate to that for sure. Prior to surgery I just always wore stretchy stuff so it would allow me some give. But I also held out on buying many new clothes. Since my surgery, I've found I've had to change clothes sizes much more often and so I found this cool site called swap dot com (not sure if I'm allowed to link it). They have very nice options for very low and affordable prices. They're essentially an online thrift shop. They have been such a great help for me 'cause it's expensive constantly buying new clothing. So when I have absolutely needed a new piece of clothing that is expensive (like jeans, winter coat) I went there and save a great deal of money. I got some new jeans for $11 even. Then, when I'm done with them, I just donate them to a local donation center for someone else to be able to use.
Hang in there, Thinblueline. It will be so worth it in the end! You got this!

Hi there, Jamaro. I understand the back and forth issue. I struggled with getting surgery for several years before I finally got it. I was actually ready to pursue it a couple of years prior to getting it, but my primary said I wasn't psychologically ready. She wanted me to continue working with my therapist on my eating issues. I'm still doing that after the surgery as well. My doctor put me on Victoza for blood sugar (now normal and no longer on Victoza) and said it could also help me lose. But, what finally told me "this is it" was one day when I went to a casino with my family. I was walking around and couldn't keep up with them. I was also the youngest in the group. I felt like I had a small child hanging around my torso and got so out of breath. At the time, I was taking prerequisites for nursing school, and knew that there was absolutely no way I could ever be the nurse I wanted to be with that physical condition.
That was my moment. I made an appointment with my primary and told her I just didn't know what to do anymore. However, she surprised me when she said that she had seen my improvement with my eating disorder (binge-eating/purging), that she was recommending me surgery. I was ecstatic!! I immediately went home and started calling surgeons she recommended. Fast forward to now, I am currently in nursing school now (was floored when I got accepted), and I am feeling great on the hospital floor during clinicals. I'm also off most of my medication that I was taking due to my weight-related health issues. It was worth it for me, but I also knew I was ready for it. It's a big change, but so worth it when you're ready.
I wish you luck as you examine this journey for your own life. 😊

Hi there, Katy. Congratulations on your surgery! 🙂 I have experienced this as well. I used to love hard-boiled eggs and now they not only cause me a lot of stomach pain, but they do not taste like they used to. The same with Cheez-its. I haven't eaten them, but I was with family on a long drive once and they were passing around a box of cheez-its. I have always loved those, but my gosh the smell now! I don't understand why this has happened, but my nutritionist said it is normal. She said our taste buds do change after surgery and usually will return to normal, but sometimes some things will remain not as pleasant as they were before. I'm hoping I can eat hard-boiled eggs again someday 'cause they're such great Protein and an easy meal.

Hello!
I recently had rny surgery in February! I'm struggling alot with the way things that I once loved to eat or smell, are absolutely repulsive to me now. I hate meat alot now, to the point I have to leave a room when cooked.
Has anyone experienced this? Will it get better?
I cannot live off Protein Shakes :(

Hi there, Jamaro. I understand the back and forth issue. I struggled with getting surgery for several years before I finally got it. I was actually ready to pursue it a couple of years prior to getting it, but my primary said I wasn't psychologically ready. She wanted me to continue working with my therapist on my eating issues. I'm still doing that after the surgery as well. My doctor put me on Victoza for blood sugar (now normal and no longer on Victoza) and said it could also help me lose. But, what finally told me "this is it" was one day when I went to a casino with my family. I was walking around and couldn't keep up with them. I was also the youngest in the group. I felt like I had a small child hanging around my torso and got so out of breath. At the time, I was taking prerequisites for nursing school, and knew that there was absolutely no way I could ever be the nurse I wanted to be with that physical condition.
That was my moment. I made an appointment with my primary and told her I just didn't know what to do anymore. However, she surprised me when she said that she had seen my improvement with my eating disorder (binge-eating/purging), that she was recommending me surgery. I was ecstatic!! I immediately went home and started calling surgeons she recommended. Fast forward to now, I am currently in nursing school now (was floored when I got accepted), and I am feeling great on the hospital floor during clinicals. I'm also off most of my medication that I was taking due to my weight-related health issues. It was worth it for me, but I also knew I was ready for it. It's a big change, but so worth it when you're ready.
I wish you luck as you examine this journey for your own life. 😊

Great that you have been able to use games to help will stress and comfort eating.
I haven't tried solitaire mahjong, I will give it a go thanks.

I play games too. I play PC and Nintendo Switch games a lot, as well as puzzle games like Wordle and Sudoku and others. Games have actually become my new way of coping with stress and keeping me away from those comfort food cravings that used to have way too much control over me. Having the surgery right before getting into nursing school has been rough with the stress stuff. But, the mind is changing for sure!
Have you ever played Solitaire Mahjong? That's another game that is so fun and just relaxing.

thanks! I'm totally addicted to wordle - and quordle. Some of the other ones you have on here look really fun, too!

I play games too. Usually word games but sometimes sudoku, solitaire, or those mindless moving object games. I have Wordle but didn’t enjoy it. Maybe I need to persevere to get to higher stages or something.

I watch streamers on twitch play wordle sometimes. Never played it myself. I just play my nintendo switch or my PC games lol. My mom is addicted to games on her phone.

You know you are not physically hungry - you haven't long since had a meal or a snack; or maybe looking to emotionally eat. Nothing like a distraction that occupies the hands and mind.
You probably heard of wordle and perhaps already play it, there are some other word and number games that may help distract, some allowing more than one game a day. Some I like and some not so much (numbers/music game), thought I would share here for anyone else looking for a distraction.
My two favourite words to start of the word games are heart and pious, sometimes I use clean, cheat instead of heart, adieu is a good one as it covers most of the vowels.
Hope you enjoy the word games as much as I do. I have also added the number and music game plus the country game to the list. If I have missed anything you've been enjoying please add to the thread
https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html
https://www.quordle.com/#/
https://octordle.com/
https://www.sedecordle.com/
https://www.wordhurdle.in/
https://nerdlegame.com/
https://www.heardle.app/
https://globle-game.com/

Hi there, Jamaro. I understand the back and forth issue. I struggled with getting surgery for several years before I finally got it. I was actually ready to pursue it a couple of years prior to getting it, but my primary said I wasn't psychologically ready. She wanted me to continue working with my therapist on my eating issues. I'm still doing that after the surgery as well. My doctor put me on Victoza for blood sugar (now normal and no longer on Victoza) and said it could also help me lose. But, what finally told me "this is it" was one day when I went to a casino with my family. I was walking around and couldn't keep up with them. I was also the youngest in the group. I felt like I had a small child hanging around my torso and got so out of breath. At the time, I was taking prerequisites for nursing school, and knew that there was absolutely no way I could ever be the nurse I wanted to be with that physical condition.
That was my moment. I made an appointment with my primary and told her I just didn't know what to do anymore. However, she surprised me when she said that she had seen my improvement with my eating disorder (binge-eating/purging), that she was recommending me surgery. I was ecstatic!! I immediately went home and started calling surgeons she recommended. Fast forward to now, I am currently in nursing school now (was floored when I got accepted), and I am feeling great on the hospital floor during clinicals. I'm also off most of my medication that I was taking due to my weight-related health issues. It was worth it for me, but I also knew I was ready for it. It's a big change, but so worth it when you're ready.
I wish you luck as you examine this journey for your own life. 😊

Hi there, Jamaro. I understand the back and forth issue. I struggled with getting surgery for several years before I finally got it. I was actually ready to pursue it a couple of years prior to getting it, but my primary said I wasn't psychologically ready. She wanted me to continue working with my therapist on my eating issues. I'm still doing that after the surgery as well. My doctor put me on Victoza for blood sugar (now normal and no longer on Victoza) and said it could also help me lose. But, what finally told me "this is it" was one day when I went to a casino with my family. I was walking around and couldn't keep up with them. I was also the youngest in the group. I felt like I had a small child hanging around my torso and got so out of breath. At the time, I was taking prerequisites for nursing school, and knew that there was absolutely no way I could ever be the nurse I wanted to be with that physical condition.
That was my moment. I made an appointment with my primary and told her I just didn't know what to do anymore. However, she surprised me when she said that she had seen my improvement with my eating disorder (binge-eating/purging), that she was recommending me surgery. I was ecstatic!! I immediately went home and started calling surgeons she recommended. Fast forward to now, I am currently in nursing school now (was floored when I got accepted), and I am feeling great on the hospital floor during clinicals. I'm also off most of my medication that I was taking due to my weight-related health issues. It was worth it for me, but I also knew I was ready for it. It's a big change, but so worth it when you're ready.
I wish you luck as you examine this journey for your own life. 😊

Hi there, Jamaro. I understand the back and forth issue. I struggled with getting surgery for several years before I finally got it. I was actually ready to pursue it a couple of years prior to getting it, but my primary said I wasn't psychologically ready. She wanted me to continue working with my therapist on my eating issues. I'm still doing that after the surgery as well. My doctor put me on Victoza for blood sugar (now normal and no longer on Victoza) and said it could also help me lose. But, what finally told me "this is it" was one day when I went to a casino with my family. I was walking around and couldn't keep up with them. I was also the youngest in the group. I felt like I had a small child hanging around my torso and got so out of breath. At the time, I was taking prerequisites for nursing school, and knew that there was absolutely no way I could ever be the nurse I wanted to be with that physical condition.
That was my moment. I made an appointment with my primary and told her I just didn't know what to do anymore. However, she surprised me when she said that she had seen my improvement with my eating disorder (binge-eating/purging), that she was recommending me surgery. I was ecstatic!! I immediately went home and started calling surgeons she recommended. Fast forward to now, I am currently in nursing school now (was floored when I got accepted), and I am feeling great on the hospital floor during clinicals. I'm also off most of my medication that I was taking due to my weight-related health issues. It was worth it for me, but I also knew I was ready for it. It's a big change, but so worth it when you're ready.
I wish you luck as you examine this journey for your own life. 😊

Hi there, Jamaro. I understand the back and forth issue. I struggled with getting surgery for several years before I finally got it. I was actually ready to pursue it a couple of years prior to getting it, but my primary said I wasn't psychologically ready. She wanted me to continue working with my therapist on my eating issues. I'm still doing that after the surgery as well. My doctor put me on Victoza for blood sugar (now normal and no longer on Victoza) and said it could also help me lose. But, what finally told me "this is it" was one day when I went to a casino with my family. I was walking around and couldn't keep up with them. I was also the youngest in the group. I felt like I had a small child hanging around my torso and got so out of breath. At the time, I was taking prerequisites for nursing school, and knew that there was absolutely no way I could ever be the nurse I wanted to be with that physical condition.
That was my moment. I made an appointment with my primary and told her I just didn't know what to do anymore. However, she surprised me when she said that she had seen my improvement with my eating disorder (binge-eating/purging), that she was recommending me surgery. I was ecstatic!! I immediately went home and started calling surgeons she recommended. Fast forward to now, I am currently in nursing school now (was floored when I got accepted), and I am feeling great on the hospital floor during clinicals. I'm also off most of my medication that I was taking due to my weight-related health issues. It was worth it for me, but I also knew I was ready for it. It's a big change, but so worth it when you're ready.
I wish you luck as you examine this journey for your own life. 😊

Hi there, Jamaro. I understand the back and forth issue. I struggled with getting surgery for several years before I finally got it. I was actually ready to pursue it a couple of years prior to getting it, but my primary said I wasn't psychologically ready. She wanted me to continue working with my therapist on my eating issues. I'm still doing that after the surgery as well. My doctor put me on Victoza for blood sugar (now normal and no longer on Victoza) and said it could also help me lose. But, what finally told me "this is it" was one day when I went to a casino with my family. I was walking around and couldn't keep up with them. I was also the youngest in the group. I felt like I had a small child hanging around my torso and got so out of breath. At the time, I was taking prerequisites for nursing school, and knew that there was absolutely no way I could ever be the nurse I wanted to be with that physical condition.
That was my moment. I made an appointment with my primary and told her I just didn't know what to do anymore. However, she surprised me when she said that she had seen my improvement with my eating disorder (binge-eating/purging), that she was recommending me surgery. I was ecstatic!! I immediately went home and started calling surgeons she recommended. Fast forward to now, I am currently in nursing school now (was floored when I got accepted), and I am feeling great on the hospital floor during clinicals. I'm also off most of my medication that I was taking due to my weight-related health issues. It was worth it for me, but I also knew I was ready for it. It's a big change, but so worth it when you're ready.
I wish you luck as you examine this journey for your own life. 😊