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hello everyone!! I thought since this is brand new to me, and I just joined today that I would introduce myself to everyone since I've seen other people do that. My name is Ross and I am 34 years old. I was born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, and last June moved to Tuscaloosa Alabama. I moved to Tuscaloosa with my little brother who is a student at UA and a member of the coed cheer team. I also cheered for many years of my life, so it must run in the family. haha! I am an unapologetic Disney nerd who truly loves anything and all things Disney. Also, in my part time when I need a little decompressing I like to crystalize water bottles and phone cases for myself and friends. I would say I've been a food addict or someone who relied on food for emotional support majority of my life, unfortunately, due to outside influences that encouraged the eating. A big reason why I am having the surgery is simply I want to live. I really can't say it more straight and narrow than that. Another reason is I had Covid in 2020 like I'm sure many of y'all did but unfortunately, my case was a little different and I ended up on ECMO for four days and a ventilator for a month. I coded twice while intubated at which point the hospital staff told my family i would have about a 15% chance to live and if i did i may have severe brain issues. Thankfully when I woke up I was myself for the most part, but I had severe paralysis on my left side which required me to spend an additional three months in the hospital learning how to stand and walk again. I still have a pretty significant neuropathy on my left side. My left arm has some weakness with things and my left leg is completely numb to the touch. So I have low hopes for any kind of change, but still keeping hopeful that maybe with the surgery and weight loss some of the mobility and feeling will come back. I have been "creeping" on the forum for a few weeks and I can't tell y'all how much your stories, encouragement, and transparency has helped with my own journey without even meaning to. I am paying out-of-pocket for my surgery due to not having health insurance with the job I currently have. I've done all the required testing and I am hoping that tomorrow 8/21/23 will be the day that I get my surgery scheduled. We are aiming for the last week of the month for my date, so fingers crossed! I am going to be flying back to Texas for my surgery and staying there for a couple weeks to recover with my family. Which leads to the question I had for those who had to travel for the surgery. When you flew back post surgery with the weight lifting restrictions, how did you go about getting your bags and things like that? Did you notice any real pain post surgery when you were taking off for landing? Any other tips or experiences are always welcome to be shared as well! Thank yall again for taking the time to read this little bit about myself and my journey. I look forward to being on here more and more and sharing my own journey with yall as yall have bravely done already!

could be water retention from your period or it could also be the infamous "three-week stall" that most of us experience (it's not always the third week - it could be week 2 or 4 or 5 - but most of us have our first stall pretty early after surgery. It usually lasts 1-3 weeks. Best thing to do is stick to your program and stay off the scale for awhile...it'll break and you'll be on your way again...)

Yes its a thing for me too. I take the English brand of a PPI twice a day and the yucky thick stomach meds after every meal. I did not suffer this before surgery I suffer if I eat too late or eat the wrong foods late in the day. I have found that my favourite spicy and acid fruits are not foods I can eat after 6pm. I sleep with a big wedge under my pillow. I still wake up in the night, about once a week with acid trying to get in my lungs and making me cough. Its the only downside to my life saving surgery. If I knew beforehand that this would be a consequence, would I still have had this surgery ? Yep, I would

Apparently you have had some issues with medical pros in your lifetime as well. Unfortunately, in many communities drug use is such a problem that drs & nurses look at everyone as a junkie if you are in chronic pain. The sad reality is that so many people have major injuries that cause them to be in long term pain that necessitate pain medication that the numbers seem really high. I've personally been in 5 car wrecks, 3 times I was rear ended while sitting at a red light! For a dr or nurse to tell me I don't need my pain meds or to withhold them until they think I deserve them like a dog who is sitting up for a treat is demeaning and unethical. Like I said, I'm not saying everyone should ignore their dr orders but if you have issues, you might not want to be caught unprepared because while there are some truly AMAZING and WONDERFUL med pros out there, there are quite a few of them who have no business being in the caring profession. Take care

Mine was about 4 weeks after I am self pay.

Same to you. Still haven't received a date yet. Hopefully next week.

Glad to hear you are going strong at 6 days @Sandygal. Week two should get better for you. Not sure about muscle relaxers for pain. Never used them. But back and shoulder pain is usually caused from trapped gas after surgery. You might be better to walk it off. When telling my doctor about the pain from that right incision, he said it was a deeper stitch and is normal to feel it more than the other 5. I told him I was afraid of ripping it out. He assured me it was stronger than I thought and not to worry. I have a pretty good pain threshold so knowing I wasn't damaging anything while moving around was a relief. Also hold a pillow up against your stomach when transitioning from lying to sitting and sitting to standing. Takes the pressure off the tummy muscles and really helped till I got past the first couple weeks of discomfort. Good luck!!!

i made Funnel Cakes yesterday! these are my absolute fave carnival treats! pic on the left are my 3 first attempts to get the batter right. (1) too thick, (2) cap fell off the squeeze bottle, and (3) too watery, lol pic on the right turned out juuuust right (4th try). topped with powdered sugar, vanilla bean ice cream and my own homemade strawberry sauce. pretty, no? anyway, i had exactly one bite of this with just the strawberry sauce and powdered sugar, and it was delish. i didn't log it cuz i was too lazy, but im guessing probably 100-150 calories including the 3 taste tests of the earlier fails?

My diet was high protein (at least 80g), low carb (60-100g), and low fat with no more than 1000 calories/day the 2 weeks before surgery. The day before was the same, except nothing but water after midnight the night before. I think it has a lot to do with your surgeon and surgery. My surgery was successful and my meals before my surgery were anything but boring. Good luck with your surgery!

Hey Congrats to you all for your losses. @CarolineLittle thank you for thoughts. Makes me feel hopeful that some day I can post : hey I lost 20# !! This past week I was pretty good, I was able to eat a lil bit of food. Doc cut my TPN intake to half, and added 2 rounds a week of just saline. its still a crazy about of calories, fat, carbs ect in these bags.. So my weight loss is at a standstill , then 2 days ago everything went down hill, I'm not sure what happen internally ,but my stomach decided it had enough, I started to violently throwing up, I had empty stomach so it was just bright yellow bile, after 10 mins of that , i noticed small blood clots ( insert panic here) , I called doc, explained to them my currant condition.. They are going to do another Endo to get a look at what's going on.. so now it just a wait, for appointment.. I sure it will end up to be nothing, and I will just get.. " give your stomach some time" or "the hormonal changes of the stomach should regulate soon" ugg!! anyway I just take it day by day, I still try and eat and drink a little.. the max intake i can get is around 2 ounces at a time. Then I have to wait about 6 hrs before I can think about trying again.. So here to another week.. and good luck to you all on another successful week.

Thanks it’s saying 60-80 so if you’re not absorbing 30-40 percent makes sense. But you had me at reducing the sagging skin! That’s been one of my biggest fears is that I will look much older after I lose weight. I remember a lady I knew who lost weight and her face looked so different and just dropped 😢. Unless I have issues I don’t think I’ll have a problem with getting that much, 3 servings of Greek yogurt is good 👍

Hi I had my surgery on Monday I’m on liquid diet for three weeks more good luck to all of you. Take it easy you girls can do it!!

LOL@ Tek !!!!! I'm 3 months out and have been eating nuts for the last month or so. ( extra crunchy peanut butter ) No problem at all

This is exACtly what happened to me. I have perfect pitch, and yesterday I had knee surgery with general anesthesia, and today and yesterday everything sounds about 1/3 of a step lower. like A440 seems like a432. weird. hopefully it'll wear off.

Hi Jeanne I'm 3 months out from surgery and everything is going great. I'm one of the lucky ones - not a single problem . I just had my first bloodwork done since surgery and my numbers were perfect. I'm building up stamina for walking ,am less out of breath and hardly sweating at all. My joints are getting less painful and stronger every day. Like so many people before me have said... "I wish I would have done this sooner" (I was 68 when I had the sleeve done ) I did my first closet clean out - got rid of my big clothes and all my new clothes are 2 sizes smaller ! I'm just loving every day of this new lifestyle !!! Eating healthy and drinking feels so natural - no problems at all.It's my 2nd and only chance to get this right ! I see you're pre-op .... you'll do great ! How far along are you in the program ?

Thank you @Jeanne. I will. Today I’m better emotionally. I was just completely overwhelmed yesterday that the scale didn’t move again. It’s been a few weeks with no change. I’m trying to focus on NSV as someone told me yesterday. It’s been hard but I’m determined to stay positive and see it through.

Thank you @Jeanne. I will. Today I’m better emotionally. I was just completely overwhelmed yesterday that the scale didn’t move again. It’s been a few weeks with no change. I’m trying to focus on NSV as someone told me yesterday. It’s been hard but I’m determined to stay positive and see it through.

So, I had a screening phone call from the nurse and surgeon weeks ago and got the go-ahead for sleeve surgery on sept 12th. I had my in-person pre-op appointments yesterday. I am self-paid, mind you (18 000$), and already gave my 3000$ deposit. So, I meet with this nice dietician that starts asking questions about my past, about how I got to the weight I am now, etc. So, being an honest and open person (and also being already very nervous about the surgery, so, yes, I'm crying profusely during this appointment, which makes me look even worst), I explain that I have been suffering from Binge Eating disorder for the past 25 years and that, yes, it's still an active issue. But I also mention that I have started therapy with a therapist specialized in eating disorders. That I understand that this is a tool, that it involves a lot of work, etc. She gives the ok, they take my 15 000$ check, give me the powders for the liquid diet and send me on my way. 2 hours after, the clinic calls me to say that the dietician spoke with the surgeon and that BED being a new info for him, he is requesting a clearance from my psychologist to go ahead. I've seen this psy only 3 times so far.... So, basically, he is waiting for a note from a therapist that has seen me 3 times to decide if he's doing the surgery or cancelling, or postponing. I'm very upset. I am very anxious about the surgery (being put under, the breathing tube) and have been trying to get mentally ready for the surgery for the past 2 months and now it's all up in the air. After taking my deposit. After having phone calls with me and giving the go-ahead (and never asking about any disordered eating history!). So I will know next week what is decided. I am not mad at the dietician, she's doing her job. I am not mad at the surgeon, he's being careful . But I am mad at myself for opening up, being honest when I'm sure a lot of bariatric patients would have said nothing for the same exact reason (fear of being refused). I should have known better............ I should have just shut my mouth!

Your first stall is quite scary, most off us have the moment when we think we must have done something wrong. You will have many stalls and many times when you will gain a little. You will get used to it. Keep off the scales as much as possible, that road leads to sorrow. You are not dieting anymore. You are learning a new way to live.

So I had this revision in June, and I can tell you that the weight loss will not be like it was with the sleeve. I had it because I developed GERD, esophagitis, gastritis, and a TON of pre-cancerous polyps all through my stomach. So I also didn't have a choice. I was on 80mg daily of Nexium, Pepcid for breakthrough, Tums, and still had break through GERD anyway. With the sleeve, I lost 30 pounds in the first 2 weeks. With the revision, I lost 14. I also wasn't interested in doing it for weight loss, since I was chugging along and doing well until it all went stupid. My goal was to get back to living my life, get back to my beast mode work outs, get back to feeling good and not having pain. And that's what the surgery is doing for me. I was finally having hair regrowth when I had to have the revision, so I'm fully expecting to see more hair loss. It's started shedding more again, so I'm mentally preparing for it. I can also say, the recovery from the bypass has been SO SO much better than with the sleeve. I honestly wish I had just done the bypass to begin with. So much less pain, I was up and around faster, able to do things better, could handle my pills and supplements (had to crush or completely eliminate them with the sleeve for the first 4-5 weeks), able to handle cold liquids (couldn't with the sleeve), able to get my fluids in so much easier (I drank a 20oz of Water in the hospital the day I had my surgery and could barely handle 3-4oz with the sleeve). So all in all, I'm exceptionally happy I did the revision. No more GERD, no more PPI, no more pain, much easier recovery, and while the weight is still coming off, it's doing so at a slower and more manageable pace. I wish you all the luck, and I promise you'll feel so much better after the revision.

Congratulations and welcome to the losers bench. This is quite normal as I had surgery on August 3 and couldn’t get much of any fluids in me including protein. It’s get better each day just remember to take small sips. Best of luck to you

Congratulations and welcome to the losers bench. This is quite normal as I had surgery on August 3 and couldn’t get much of any fluids in me including protein. It’s get better each day just remember to take small sips. Best of luck to you

I did full liquids for 10 days (was supposed to be 2 weeks but I couldn't take it anymore). Then I went to mushy foods like hummus, avocado, etc... I did that for a week. Then I just went to soft foods for about 2 weeks and then went to regular foods. For both surgeries. My nutritionist said as long as I went really slow and listened to my body, it was fine. No 2 plans are the same, and no 2 bodies respond the same.

You might be hitting a stall. I always gain a few pounds when that happens, but when it breaks, I lose everything I gained plus an extra 2-3 pounds.