Laurie C.

The mental part is the hardest. You know what they say about your inner child... But I'm the opposite. I always had low self esteem and I feel like I look the same as before surgery and have to force myself to look in the mirror and I take selfies so I can see the new me (which I hated people taking selfies before and I never did! But I don't post them to social media. In fact, I haven't posted an actual picture of myself in years!). Now I'm afraid to update my avatar picture that I have up because they'll all think I want/need compliments and I hate being center of attention. Lol Congratulations!!!

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The mental part is the hardest. You know what they say about your inner child... But I'm the opposite. I always had low self esteem and I feel like I look the same as before surgery and have to force myself to look in the mirror and I take selfies so I can see the new me (which I hated people taking selfies before and I never did! But I don't post them to social media. In fact, I haven't posted an actual picture of myself in years!). Now I'm afraid to update my avatar picture that I have up because they'll all think I want/need compliments and I hate being center of attention. Lol Congratulations!!!

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i dunno why your brother would say that. And thats not right, my brother told my mom (not to my face) thats WLS is a waste that will regain the weight. Hes told her twice and his wife once! That made me mad because what does he care and cant wonder if its envy? My date is Sep 20 tentatively, if hospital allows it, due to delta.

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Tell your brother, "True, I've eaten too much in the past -- but at least I haven't put my foot in my mouth today."

Just look at how many people on this forum think they should of come out of surgery skinny! You see posts all the time...I only lost xxx number of pounds since surgery, I thought it would come off faster! I didn't tell anyone until after I had surgery because I didn't want to hear their opinions and frankly, I think I had that fear of once again being a weightless "failure."

I have stopped telling people what I'm doing. I had a nurse friend—a nurse, for crying out loud!—who thought it was cheating because she literally thought I was going in for some kind of large-scale liposuction and was going to come out the hospital with abs. Other people have told me horror stories.
So I'm not going to tell anyone else. I've started telling people I'll be out for hernia repair surgery, which may or may not be true. I'll find a different way to explain the tiny portions of food.
In the meantime—remember this: your surgeon is giving you a tool to help you with THE most restrictive diet you or anyone you know has ever followed. The gift of not feeling that awful gnawing hunger, the gift of literally not being able to fall off the wagon while you figure your stuff out.
And anyone who decides to poop on that deserves any tongue lashing you want to dish out.

Hi Laurie I turned 53 five days before my surgery. I am doing well so far. Surgery was 16th down around 25 lbs since the one wk liquid diet. Just trying follow my Dr advice. Unfortunately I do still have my cycle n had some anemia preop. I am concerned about my Iron levels in upcoming wks since my cycles r so horrible. Felt like I couldn't lose 10lbs on my own pre surgery but seems my tool is working. I don't think our age will negatively impact us.

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I’ve lost almost 160, I’m coming up on my 10 months soon. Starting weight 339, current weight 180. I’m a 5’10 woman, 40 years old.

One of my girls lost 150+ so its definitely possible!

I’m so sorry your having to deal with that. Mine was RNY was scheduled for the 11th, got pushed to the 12th because of covid but I got in and out and have been home resting. Hopefully they get you in soon.

115 2 yrs in. Been at goal weight for one year and fluctuate 1 pound +/- every other day.

119 and in maintenance. Could've lost more if I wanted to.

Yes 311 starting weight to 180 first year VSG.

Yep, exactly 120 lbs.
lost 110-ish lbs in 7 months then another 10-ish lbs in maintenance.
Started with BMi 43 (235 lbs) today I’m BMI 21 (115 lbs) I’ll be three yrs post op in October.

Yes. I started at 286, now 140. I’ll be two years post op on 8/12 and am now in maintenance. 

I crave carbs now mostly, instead of sugar. food in general taste "off" to me so I am struggling with what to eat. I find my cravings in general are less frequent as well. I can say no a lot easier than I could before this surgery.

Yes, I was lucky enough to experience this. My cravings are less frequent and less intense. I can say no to them now. Or to be more precise, I say "Not today". Because nothing is off-limits forever, some things are just rare treats.

I was 63 when I had bypass surgery. 3 years down 120 pounds and stalled.

WOW, 45lbs in 2 months is awesome! Congratulations. food is very challenging for sure. Some foods I used to eat I can no longer tolerate, and some foods I never ate before I am now eating. I still crave carbs more than sweet things, but I guess it will be a life long battle and all part of the journey.
What a crazy journey it has been. Best of luck to you as well.

Well I just found out about this forum so I saw this post and wanted to reply as I am older than a lot of people who have this surgery. Let me tell you that age is just a number. You can be young, have this surgery and be less successful then someone older. I think it depends on the individual. I was not overweight as a kid, and I weighed about 100lbs in high school. I started putting on the weight with each pregnancy and it got harder and harder to loose it as the years went by. Bad eating habits of course played a role, as well as genetics. My body killed my thyroid when I was pregnant with my son, and it just got harder after that to get the weight off. When menopause hit, I really started to gain.
I had RNY surgery in Oct/2020 at age 61. I had high blood pressure, severe sleep apnea, sore hips, knees ankles, and feeling short of breath from just vacuuming so you get the picture. Could not walk 5 feet without having to sit down. Crazy awful.
(I have asthma too) I have hypothyroidism, IBS, and was also border line diabetic. Yep...time to smarten up and take control of my health.
I am 62 years old now and at 10 months post op. Best decision I have ever made and I wish I had done it years ago. I talked myself out of it every time, telling myself I can loose this on my own. Who was I kidding. LOL
It was hard at first and I was not prepared for the mental side of it. I sat and cried the second day home from hospital as my brain was screaming at me, scolding me for what I had done. It wanted food, and I felt a lot of depression and remorse. I was not expecting that. It got better as time went on and as the weight started to drop, I felt much more in control, and very happy to see it go. Time to take care of me.
I have hit a stall and have not lost any weight in 2 months, but I know this is normal and I am trying not to panic. I expected it would be more challenging to loose this weight because of my age. I do not exercise, but plan to start in the fall, I still have about 60lbs or more to go to reach my goal weight. No going back to my old habits, and If I do, I have this tool in place to help me. Any questions? just ask me. I am happy to share my experiences and happy to hear everyone's stories as well.
BTW, You should check out Dr. Weiner's YouTube videos. He is a bariatric surgeon and has good sold advice on this whole process.

I’m 55+, RNY 10/2020. Down 130 lbs and celebrating all the things that I can do again… walk for 30 minutes, go up 70 stairs, sit in a seat at the baseball stadium, pick up things I’ve dropped… Celebrate every day!

Hi. My name is Laurie. I had the rny bipass surgery 11 months ago. My one year date is 9/14/20. I am 57. I have lost 132# to date. I have 38# to go to hit my goal weight. Everyone says how great that is, but having low stuff esteem, I think of it as a bad thing because I had that much to lose in the first place! That is more than some people weigh all together! I can't believe I let this happen, but I was in a bad marriage. I don't really have an appetite any more, but the hardest problem for me is the not being able to eat and drink at the same time. I get so dehydrated! It's so hard to wait 30 minutes after eating to drink. Sometimes I have a couple sips anyway because I am so thirsty and can't wait. I end up throwing up. Not good for your health, but on the good side, it's only a tiny amount, so it's worth it to me. I used to drink a huge tumbler glass with all my meals, at least. I am tired of Water. I am lactose intolerant, but suffer through it because I'm tired of water and end up not losing as much as I should because I'm drinking my calories. I am starting the process of a double knee replacement surgery and the skin removal surgery. It's not as bad as I thought, but I want the skin gone. With my living arrangements and health, I have not exercised at all. But I would do the surgery all over again in a heart beat. I can't believe I'm not craving food! I thought that would have been the hardest part. In fact, there's probably under 15-20 things I can eat that agree with me. I had only one problem five days out. I had to go back in for another surgery for aspiration pneumonia. Was throwing up blood big time. Other than that, I'm working on me and finally getting a life because I've been a hermit for probably 20 years because of my weight! If your doctor recommended the rny, do it. I'm so glad I did! Sorry so long a post. My first one. Just joined. Really need a support group.

Good luck tomorrow!

Definitely not just you!!! It does get frustrating and demotivating but I guess you just have to deal with the reality of it. I think it is an insurance company scam to charge more in health insurance for "overweight" and "obese" people. Just my cynicism but whatever. I will just get to where I am comfortable and happy with my health/appearance and move on.

I was also told by my surgeon that people typically lose more weight after bypass surgery than with the sleeve. It seems that the difference must be in adherence to the program post surgery. Maybe people with the bypass are more likely to follow the program strictly because so many of them suffer when they stray and that discomfort doesn’t diminish much over time. Whereas those with the sleeve have to form good habits with less of a threat of immediate consequences. I know that was the case for me. I lost more than 120 pounds post VSG and then gained back 60 over the next few years. That’s when I realized that I had to go back to strict adherence to the program. The reduction in the volume of daily food from pre-surgery days was not enough to keep me from regaining. Healthy food choices mattered just as much. I am now below my target weight by quite a bit and need to put on some muscle to look and feel better.