Summermoose

So there have been talks about pregnancy and babies with my boyfriend. With history of PCOS, my cycles have become regular and I have been ovulating for the last year or so. We may try for pregnancy may be sometime next year.
My question is, anyone here who got pregnant after WLS? If yes, did you end up losing your post pregnancy weight? Or was it difficult to bring it back to pre-pregnancy baseline? Currently I am happy with where I am with my weight. But also, looking forward to starting a family if destiny permits. But, the weight gain cycle of pregnancy concerns me. Putting on the weight will naturally happen but I was wondering if the bypass tool will help me lose the weight post pregnancy. Any thoughts, experience shall be great!

My hands are getting smaller!! Specifically, my fingers. I've had chubby little hands since I was 14 and my autoimmune disease showed up. When I was 200 lbs last time I was still an 8 1/2 on my ring finger in US sizing. Yesterday I finally took off my wedding rings when I noticed that even with the ring snuggies they are spinning around on my finger and threatening to come off. So I decided to measure them. I had gotten up to a US size 9. Now my ring finger measures as a US size 7!!! Never in my life have I ever wore a 7 in rings except maybe when I was 12?? 😂 I cannot get over how differently our bodies lose weight with these surgeries. I have to find a substitute ring to wear now because at this rate I'll be a US size 5 when I'm at goal! LOL I never thought I might have to sell my wedding rings because they can't be resized due to the difference being too much! This is so fascinating...

Went on a cruise, wore shorts and dresses all week no chaffing, I went snorkeling and remembered how to swim, and walk everywhere with no issues.

Update: no more nice squeezing sensation. They're so loose that I don't even have to unzip them to get them on or off.

Just like it takes time for our heads to catch up with how we look so too does it take others. They have a picture of you in their heads so they also have to come to terms with as you are now & really see you. I had several people ‘helpfully’ tell me I had lost enough weight. I had people tell me they didn’t recognise me during the time I had lost down to around my usual weight range (mid 60s kg +/-). This was the weight range I had been most of my adult life (30 odd years). I was only my largest obese size for about 4 or so years. They should have easily recognised me. Now 2+ years later no one says a thing.
Apparently the taller you are the larger the circumference of your bones. That’s the true meaning of being big boned. For e.g. woman 5’2” - 5’5” with a wrist measurement of 6.25” - 6.5” have a medium frame (mine is just under 6”). When overweight I used to be told I had a larger frame. It was just people trying to be nice & not say I was fat. Only about 5% of the population have large frames & the same have small frames. Everyone else has an medium or average frame.
Initially my surgeon & his colleague were a little concerned I was still losing past my goal. Then one appointment, I remember his colleague really looking at me & then saying you really are quite small aren’t you. They never said a word about my weight after that.
Doesn’t matter what others think you should weigh. I believe, you’re the only one who matters. You’re the only one who really needs to be happy. As long as your weight & maintaining it doesn’t restrict or limit you in any way (socially, lifestyle, etc.) & you’re healthy ignore everyone else’s ‘well intentioned’ comments & advice.

We all carry our weight in different places: upper body, lower body, abdomen, etc. And we all lose our weight in different places as we progress. Add to that the differences in our skeletal frames. Like I’ve a smallish frame yet my collar bones don’t protrude as much as others at a similar weight to me. I have dips around my collar bones not hollows.
You will find that once your weight stabilises that your remaining weight seems to resettle. So while you may feel you look too thin or gaunt at first this will change. Initially I was all straight up & down & had lost my hourglass shape. But a few months later I realised I had a waist & hips again. (Still don’t have a butt though lol!)
Give your head a chance to catch up with your new body. How you look now & as you lose more weight. It takes time & you’ll feel like you don’t recognise yourself or know your body at times. And it can work both ways - thinking you look too thin or thinking you’re still too big. I remember seeing a woman’s reflection in a shop window & thought oh we’re wearing the same clothes & she’s much slimmer than me. It was a shock to realise the woman was me.

Not weird but awesome NSV here.
I've always delayed getting a driving license until I lose weight. For some reason I convinced myself that I was too big (149 Kg before WLS) to be driving a car and that I won't be able to fit in the tiny cars used at the driving schools here in Malaysia. I saw a lot of people who were bigger than me driving around but I just couldn't get my head around it. My wife was the designated driver for quite sometime.
After losing a considerable amount of weight, I finally got the confidence to do it. I started my driving lessons in July and finally got my driving license last month. I even bought a new car that I've always liked for my 41st birthday. Life keeps getting better and better after WLS.

I am 6 days post-op and was able to tighten my Fitbit watch by 1 notch. It's the lil changes that make all the difference 🙂

I am not sure that this is a victory, but it's something.
Half way through my day Sunday, I realized my wedding ring wasn't on my hand... Started panicking because I couldn't find it anywhere. I knew it was getting loose, but it had never just fell off.
Turns out it fell off in bed. So my fingers are officially smaller than they have been in like 8 years.

Eating a hand-picked Tomato. Why is that a NS victory? Because of WLS required pre-op testing, I was told that I never had COPD. I was told to quit digging in the dirt years ago. I quit gardening. Both veggies and flowers. It made me sad but I'm so happy to know now, that I can do it again.
So, post -op I decided to start small and grow a couple containers of Early Girl tomato plants on my deck. They are so sweet and warm from the sun when I bite into them. So much more satisfying than store bought. Just lovely.
Also, I'm usually a side sleeper but recently realized I can comfortably lie on my back without feeling like I'm suffocating. I carried most of my excess weight around my abdomen. (the most dangerous kind of fat) It probably didn't help that I also had a hiatal hernia. It was repaired during my gastric bypass.
With each improvement I notice, I am more thankful for deciding on WLS. If I hadn't gotten it, I never would have known about the hernia or the COPD misdiagnosis. And would probably still be sedentarily sitting on my couch gaining weight and wasting my life away.

The HR ladies have been chasing me to change my company profile photo for some time now. I finally managed to take some shots at home over the weekend with the help from my wife (semi professional / hobbyist photographer here) and I was quite happy to see the difference. Featuring my first suit after WLS (Size S, slim fit 😃) and the same tie. Left is the old photo taken in 2020.
The session was way shorter than before since I was not worried about finding the angle that doesn't make me look huge. The time it took me to edit these was also considerably shorter since I didn't have to photoshop certain parts "read a lot" of me that I didn't like. I can finally say I'm at peace with the way I look in photos!

I take a door-to-door shared transportation service here in the Lehigh Valley called Lantavan. They pick me up at home, take me where I need to go, then come back and get me later. The seat belts would never fit me. The driver would always have to rig-up an extension to a hardpoint on the floor. About a month after surgery, the belt started fitting without needing the extension. Such a little thing made me feel fantastic, that I was accomplishing what I have been unable to do for years.

I find this more funny than weird. My iPhone thinks I'm a different person before and after the surgery it seems. Photos of me before and after the surgery were grouped separately 🤣 . I told my wife my iPhone is broken and I need to get the new iPhone 15 when it comes out lol.

Then again a lot of people that I've not seen for a while don't recognize me these days. The next time I see one of those negative people around, I will continue to pretend I'm a different person.

5 mile hike today! Would have been inconceivable pre-op. I was so terrified to do anything physical because I never knew if my body would cooperate. Feels great to know that my body is now my friend, not my nemesis.

my stomach not covering the seatbelt in the car.

Today, I was able to do a hike at 14, 265 ft. on the top of Mt. Evans in Colorado and not be completely out of breath or have muscle fatigue. Here's a couple of pictures from the summit.  

I finally found my bones......my hip bones, my ribs, my collar bone, and my ankles!!!

Before I lost the weight, I cringed any time I saw a camera and lived in fear of photos being posted online. Now, I'm like, take all the pictures you want. I'm constantly posting selfies and pictures of myself with others online. It's so much fun. One of my favorite NSV.

Today, I was able to do a hike at 14, 265 ft. on the top of Mt. Evans in Colorado and not be completely out of breath or have muscle fatigue. Here's a couple of pictures from the summit.  

I finally understand the "it hurts to sit". The butt padding is gone, which if fantastic, but OUCHY. 😆

I bought my first pair of jeans, or any sort of pants that button and zip, since college a month or so ago. I still hate how they look, because all the weight I have left to lose seems to have just melted generally down but it's something.
And I'll get to do the jeans shopping again soon, because they're saggy baggy now.
Back when I wore jeans last, the style was ultra-low rise with a flared leg. I'm really digging the high-waisted skinny style. It's like a hug from your ankles to your ribs, like those squeezing thundershirts that they put on dogs afraid of thunderstorms.

A few NSV, I can finally close the towel around me, my hubby folded my tank top and put in his drawer thinking it was his, and my digital scale kept giving me a warning to have the app open when weighing in because people were within same range, I thought it was me because I was trying to see how much my weight fluctuated and how that affected my body fat % but turns out I'm 8 lbs lighter than my husband.

I have a new NSV... I can comfortably cross my legs when I sit. AND they stay on their own without having to hold them. It really is the little things that feel good

mark me down as another who doesn't mind getting a picture taken after the weight loss....BUT i still have a no social media post ban on posting my pic online without prior permission!
(its the same courtesy i give others)
always get consent, people! its just good manners 😉

The term nurse infers care. The nurse is not a nurse she is a bully.
This is beyond disgusting behaviour. I googled the new surgeon and they do check out. But his current support team should also be sacked. Support being the operative word. There is no support and they are gaslighting you for their own sad performance. Even if they are able to find you another date I would hate to think what follow up care you would be provided with. Please Please put this down to experience now and find a better provider/team. You deserve so much better. Saying that you would not comply to do the necessary things post op is a sickening joke.
Run do not walk to another team that can support you. You need to be looked after not treated with disdain and blame for this very serious and life changing surgery. Maybe your general doctor can suggest another provider? This team need to be reported for their lack of professionalism.
Dry those tears hunny bun. You are loved. 🤗💖