ILKrista

I had a binder that was provided by my surgeon. I woke up from surgery with it on. I wore it for about a week after. It was especially helpful in the car coming home from the hospital because every bump we his was pretty painful. I would check with your doctor if they will be providing you with one or not. Krista

For mine, I met with a psychologist & she asked me a bunch of questions about my eating habits & life in general. Her opinion was that I was depressed & should be medicated... my opinion was that I was depressed because of my weight & how it was effecting my life. I don't like to take medication unless absolutely necessary. The diagnosis of depression wasn't something that would put off my having surgery, which was my fear. I then had to come back in for a 2 hour written psych exam. They ask a question & give you options & you have to fill it in. The questions were all over from religion to general opinions on things. Apparently the purpose of this exam is to make sure that you are not mentally ill & are capable of making this major decision. Most people have no problem passing these exams. I have heard of a couple people who had doctors who failed people because they had eating addictions, etc, which seems pretty foolish to me, since most of us have eating addictions or we wouldn't be in this position. Good luck!

I also looked at the BMI chart to pick my goal weight. Now, I haven't weighed what my goal weight is since I was in 3rd grade, so I don't know if it is realistic for me as an adult or not... my Dr's goal weight for me is 15-20 pound higher than my goal weight. I about 35 pounds from my goal. I am pretty flexible about getting to the goal or not. I realize that muscle mass effects how much you weigh. I weigh about 10 pounds more than I did in high school, but i am wearing smaller pants & shirts than I did then. Even if I don't lose another pound, I feel like I could be happy with my body (if I can get some of this loose skin removed ). Right now, I feel thick, not fat. I think another 20 off will have me looking pretty dang good. And I'll reassess whether I really need to lose that last 15. Your doctor's office can also help you come up with a good goal weight. They don't want you to start losing muscle in an effort to hit an unrealistic goal for your body type. You might ask them what their opinion is. But most important, is how you feel about yourself. As long as you can look in the mirror & be happy, then the scale shouldn't matter. Good luck!

I told friends, family, & coworkers that I was having weightloss surgery when I first started the process. It just seemed easier to tell them rather than to know that they would be talking about my eating habits & weightloss behind my back & speculating about the cause. For the most part, they have been supportive... there have been a few exceptions, but I figure I'm living my life for me, not them, so I'm not too worried about what they think. I am a children's librarian at a public library. At this point in my journey, I get asked about my weightloss nearly every day. People will compliment me on the weightloss & then ask what I'm doing. I've decided to just be upfront & tell them about the surgery. Really, it is none of their business, but my hope is that being open will help someone else who has struggled with morbid obesity realize that it is okay to have the surgery... that surgery is not a failure, but a victory over a life-threatening condition. One person being honest is what lead me here, so I hope I can help someone else. But everyone has to make their own decision on who to tell. Krista

Lol- I had to laugh because I just noticed that mine had pretty much disappeared a few days ago. Of course, at this point, I'm thinking an arm life might be needed along with a breast lift, so I'm thinking that area would get fixed even if the fat there hadn't disappeared. Now I'm waiting on the stubborn fat on my legs which I think will never go away... had fat legs even at my skinniest Krista

My doctor also wants me to stay in the overweight category. I asked him about this because I really want to hit the normal range. He said they don't encourage weightloss patients to have a 'normal' bmi because many people go to extremes to hit that & they start losing muscle & not fat... the loss of muscle slows the metabolism & causes them to start regaining. He also said that many people who have had issues with food in the past become extreme in the other direction and can become anorexic. So he tries to give us a 'realistic' weight to reach. I am about 10 pounds from his goal weight for me. Like you, I have the weight that I would ideally like to get to... if it can be done healthily. I told him the last time I saw him that even if I don't lose another pound, I can be content at the weight I'm at right now... though I might still need plastic surgery to get rid of all the lose skin, which makes me feel a lot bigger than I really am. Good luck! Krista

My doctor required an ultrasound before the WLS. Mine showed stones & bile duct scarring from passing stones. The endo doctor said that if the WLS surgeon didn't remove it, then I was going to have to have a 2nd surgery to take it out within the year. His recommendation, which was sent to the WLS surgeon, was that they take out the gallbladder at the same time as the weightloss surgery, which is what they did. I actually really didn't want to have the gallbladder removed, but now I'm glad I had it all done at once. If insurance would cover it, you might want to get a gallbladder ultrasound so you can find out if you have stones or not. Krista

I actually bought Protein potato chips from My Bariatric Pantry. They taste a lot like regular potato chips, but you get your protein in at the same time. Not the sort of thing I would recommend all the time, but when I'm craving something salty, they do the trick. Krista

I have the same issue with stretchmarks. And I've found that as I've slimmed down, they look worse than ever because all the skin is loose and wrinkly. I wear short sleeves & figure if people want to look, they can look. I try to not wear anything too fitted over the stomach so that the wrinkly skin won't look so gross. I think the only real solution will be to have it removed surgically when I've gotten to goal & maintained for a year. I used to say I would never have plastic surgery. But I don't really want to be in my 30s with the loose skin of an 80 year old. Still better to be thin & healthy with stretched, saggy skin; than fat & unhealthy. Krista

Well, I'm not sure what you are supposed to do, but I am able to drink pretty much like I did before surgery. I had to sip for the first weeks after surgery & I still have to keep Water by me at all times so that I remember to drink frequently to get in enough water, but when I'm at the gym & need water, I am able to take pretty big gulps. Drinking water doesn't feel much different to me than it did before I had surgery. Krista

Don't let them discourage you. Doctors talk in terms of statistics, not in terms of individuals. I had comparable starting stats. My doctor also said I should expect to get to about 170-180 & 150 would be the lowest he wanted me to go... that would still leave me overweight. At seven months out, I am about 10 pounds from the doctors lowest weight for me. I will confess that I hope to hit 125. Like others have said, you don't have this surgery hoping you will still be fat at the end. Set the goal that you want for yourself. Realize that you may have to adjust it... certain weights look different on people depending on muscle mass, etc. Keep eating right & EXERCISE! My weightloss has slowed, but it is still moving downward, mainly due to a lot of dedicated time at the gym. Good luck & know that you can do it! Krista

When I had my psych eval, they also decided that I was depressed. However, this is not something that should prohibit you from getting the sleeve. My understanding is that they are supposed to be making sure that you are not unstable or have some mental unbalance that would prohibit you from being able to make this sort of decision rationally. Good luck! Krista

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

Hmmm... so I am just getting to the point where I feel comfortable dating. In fact, a couple weeks ago, I joined a dating site (I didn't date for nearly 10 years while morbidly obese because of self-esteem issues, so this is a big step for me). Now my questions is, can I date a really attractive, hot guy? I seem to find myself wanting to date guys that I would say are less physically attractive than me & who I'm not particularly attracted to. I was contacted by the HOTTEST man in the universe & I told him outright that I thought he was way too good looking for me. I think I must be crazy! Has anyone else had this experience of automatically rejecting what you really want? I know this is related to self-esteem issues, but how the h*ll do you get beyond that? I'm going to be single forever at this rate 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.