ILKrista

I quit using Chantix. It really helped. I don't think I could have quit without it. However, it has side-effects like mood swings, vivid dreams, depression, etc. Even with it, I was a total b*tch. I made 2 coworkers cry within a week. However, to get the surgery, I managed. I'm now over a year smokefree. You can do it. Just warn the coworkers you are quitting and might be a little sharper than normal. Krista

My last supper/binge eating went on for several months. A coworker went on maternity leave, which meant my delaying my surgery by 3 months. I gained almost 15 pound due to a combo of binge eating & quitting smoking. When I next saw the doctor, he told me if I didn't lose the weight I gained, I wouldn't be having surgery. I did manage to lose it & have surgery. Since the surgery, I really haven't missed the binge eating. I was really concerned that there were all these foods I loved that I wouldn't ever be able to eat again. Not true- so far, there has been nothing that I can't eat. That being said, I really don't have the urge to eat those foods that I used to binge eat (carbs & fast food). I decided that once I broke the carb addiction, there was no way I was going back, so I really try to limit the carbs I eat. food no longer has such a hold over my life. Krista

I will get a beer when I go out with friends. It takes me a really long time to drink a beer now... maybe 2 hours. But I can still enjoy a beer with friends. Krista

I think you'll find that a lot of us were emotional eaters. I was the person who would eat to Celebrate, eat when sad, eat when bored, eat when angry. I'm almost 7 months out from the sleeve & the truth is that after the surgery, the desire to eat more or less disappeared. Every now and then I will suddenly crave something, but usually not. For me it was always carbs & fast food that I craved. The surgery allowed me to break the addiction. Now yesterday was a hugely stressful day for me. I wanted to eat ice cream & have a cigarette. Instead of doing either, I drug my butt to the gym & worked the stress off. For me, the surgery allowed me to stop using food as a reward/punishment for every emotion I felt. I'm sure there are many other emotional eaters who can tell you what their experience has been. Krista

I was told not to drive until I was off all pain meds & I could move fairly comfortably. I started driving at a week out. I felt a little light headed the first couple of times I drove & I did have some pain from having to sit so upright at that point. I probably would have been better had I given it another couple of days. However, it wasn't horrible to drive at one week out. Krista

Could it be your gallbladder? Lots of people end up with gallbladder issues after surgery. Not sure if by left side you mean if facing you or the left of your body. Krista

The people who want to criticize and judge you for having WLS are the same ones who will criticize & judge you for being too thin when you hit goal, too loud with a joke, too flirty, too quiet, etc. Some people will find fault no matter what... just ignore them. I personally have a hard time not smacking them, but I'm learning that as long as I am happy with my life, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says. Focus on what is right for you and ignore the haters! Krista

Well, I feel like my face looks older now that I am thinner, but I feel 1000 times healthier, so it really doesn't matter so much. Most people tell me I look younger, but the lines are definitely more pronounced than before. Some people tend to have a pallor when loosing weight. I think it is if you are loosing super fast. I've been glowing with good health. I suppose it just depends on the person. Krista

Congrats, MaryMoon! I started the Couch potato to 5K program around June. I thought I was going to die when I first had to jog & it was a slow jog at that. I don't follow the program exactly. I just try to increase what I'm doing whenever I feel like that last run really wasn't very hard. I now jog 20 minutes a day straight without the walking & feel like that's a miracle in itself. I'm now slowly increasing speed. Once I'm at a 5/mile/hour pace, I'll go back to working on distance. As for the jiggle...when I first started I seriously felt like my butt needed it's own zip code. It was so embarrassing, especially since it seemed to bounce opposite to the rest of me. At this point, I don't feel like I really have any noticeable extra jiggle... a combo of losing weight & firming up from the exercise. Good luck to you! Krista

Good luck Monty! You will do great. It is normal to be nervous before the surgery. I was terrified I was going to die & if I didn't, that the surgery wouldn't work for me. Neither of which happened, happily. Good luck & welcome to a much brighter future! Krista

I dont' know if there is any sort of calculation. I went to a seminar at my WLS surgeon's office about plastic surgery after massive weightloss. I did ask the surgeon what the average weight is of the skin removed when he does a lower body lift. He said it is about 10 pounds, though he has removed ask much as 60 pounds. When they take off the loose skin, they take off the extra fat sitting there too. Krista

How often can I take that? I've been trying to add fiber to everything I drink, but there's a limit to how much I can get in that way. Would love for this to no longer be an issue.

MY SELF-CONFIDENCE! For the first time in almost 10 years, I'm not afraid to make eye-contact with strangers or people who I don't already know really well. I'm actually going out and being social & flirting! Before this surgery, I can remember looking in the mirror and crying because I felt like the person I know myself to be was being swallowed alive by the fat & I could barely see myself there anymore. I now feel like I look more like the person I saw myself as & that others are starting to see me that way, too. Krista

I had the hard lump by the big incision (and a weird dent next to it). This was from internal stitches & I think it disappeared around 3 months out. Krista

I think you've already had your surgery, so, this may not be helpful to you, but maybe to someone else. One side-effect I've experienced is extreme constipation *embarrassing*. And in conjunction to that, some hemorrhoids. I think that this is a problem for many people after surgery because you don't always have room for fibrous foods once you've gotten in the Protein. I'm really hoping once I hit the maintenance phase I will be able to up my Fiber considerably & not have to deal with this anymore. This may be TMI, but it is a side-effect I've experienced and maybe should be added to your list. Krista

So, I belong to a Meetup group for single people. I just changed my Meetup avatar to the same one I have for this site. I went to a pool party on Saturday night & this guy there starts asking when I changed the picture. He then spend the whole night referring to me as the "Hot Librarian". LOL. I think he must have called me that 20 times. He even made someone pull the picture up on their phone so he could show everyone. It was honestly the first time anyone has ever referred to me as 'Hot' in my entire life. Super flattering, even if he is 15 years older. It made my entire weekend. Krista

Miters36- I feel like I could have written your post myself. We started at about the same weight, have lost about the same weight & have about the same amount to go. Like you I am just past 6 months & have been losing & regaining the same 3 pounds for the last 2 weeks. It is so frustrating. And the days when I feel like I've done a good job seem to be the days when the weight actually goes up! I'm sure I am eating more carbs than I did at 2 months out, but I really don't think it has been much. I'm thinking I'm hitting my first real stall & after having the weight fall off so easily at the beginning, it is just FRUSTRATING! Good luck & let me know if you figure out something to break the stall. I need help, too! Krista

I think it is valid to be worried. This is a lifetime- life-changing- decision. Let me just say that once I got past the post-op liquid phase, I have not had a protein shake. I did nothing but protein shake for 3 weeks prior to surgery & now the smell of them makes me dry-heave. I eat 6 small meals a day. For me it is better if I am eating protein instead of drinking it. I feel full. Drinking protein doesn't give me that same sensation. I really don't have any foods that I can't eat. However, certain things don't sit as well. Breads tend to leave me feeling nauseous, which is a good thing since I'm trying to stay with the lower carbs. Fruit juices are like pure syrup to me & most sugary things will make my stomach feel uncomfortable. I eat healthy (high protein & low carb) about 90% of the time. I splurge (ie. on holidays or out with friends) about 10% of the time. If I was committed to 100% of the time eating right, I would have probably lost more, but I would rather have the slower loss & still be able to live more like a regular person. I am just past 6 month post op. The first 5 months the weight fell off. I'm now having to work out more & eat healthier to get the scale to move. I originally went in planning to have the lap-band. However, I spoke to a friend who I knew had it a year or so go & she highly discouraged me from the bad due to the complications & lack of weighloss she had. I would recommend you join forums for all the surgeries & read, read, read. In the end you need to feel comfortable with your decision because if you do select the sleeve, it is for life. There is no getting that part of your stomach back. Good luck!

Thank you, Pasquini! *blushing* Krista

Hey Papa Jack, I agree about telling people about the sleeve, most people have no idea what it is. I hope that by telling, I'm helping someone else find a path to happiness. Afterall, I would have never looked into WLS if a coworker's husband hadn't been honest about his. At the same time, not everyone is comfortable talking about it and letting others into their private life. I say that means those of us willing to talk just have to talk a lot louder about it. lol. Good luck on your journey! Krista

The same thing happened to me. When I first asked my doctor about surgery, he told me the only reason anyone is fat is because they are lazy and eat like a pig (yes, that was what he really said!). It put me off surgery for about 2 years before I finally went to a new doctor and got the referral. Tell your coworker to keep trying. There are doctors out there who will help. Krista

My doctor told me I shouldn't weigh myself until a month after surgery. I didn't listen of course & when I got home from the hospital, I was up almost 10 pounds! That took a week to go away (it was Water weight from surgery) & then during the 3rd week, I didn't lose a pound (very common. If you search 3 week stall, you'll find a ton of posts about this.) Let me just encourage you to not focus overly much on how much you lose this first month. It is not an indicator of how things are going to go for you. Plus, even if you only lose 10 pounds a month, in a year you will have lost 100 pounds! Just focus on eating how you are supposed to & letting your body heal. The weightloss will come! Krista

I had been wishing myself invisible for years. I was so big & I just wished no one would notice me. I hadn't been on a date in 7 years & only had a few trusted girlfriends. I was miserable. The tipping point for me was when I started working as a children's librarian & I would get asked at least once a month by a 3-5 year old "Why are you so fat?" "Why is your belly so big?" They didn't mean it in a mean way, but it was HUMILIATING for me, especially since they would ask in front of my coworkers or while I was in front of their entire class to doing a storytime for a school visit. I didn't want to be the person who was so huge the kids felt they had to ask about it. Krista

My surgeon wanted me to get my gallbladder screened before the WLS so he could take it out if there were issues. As you said earlier, far better to do it all at once. After the WLS, many people end up with gallbladder issues, so if you already have stones, odds are that you'll have to have it removed within a year or two anyway. I ended up having the WLS, gall bladder removal, & a hernia repair. I didn't experience any pain on the side where they removed the gall bladder, so I really couldn't tell they had taken it out. I pretty much haven't noticed a difference with not having it. Good luck! Krista