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I didn't tell most of my family because I didn't need opinions from the peanut gallery--I knew most would not be helpful and would be against it. And they have reason to be: people do gain the weight back. I know several people (friends, colleagues, family members) who have gained back considerable amounts of weight after WLS, far more than I know people that have been long term successful. And yes, and there are the possible side effects. I am living with one of them right now. I won't BS you, it is a gamble. I knew that going in. At the end of the day, you take your shot, for good or for ill. Maybe you got what it takes to be one of the lucky success stories, maybe not. Sometimes discipline and following the program to the letter does not get you the results you want--sometimes your body is just an a**hole and doesn't care how hard you are trying. However as Wayne Gretzky said, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." This is your body, your future, and only your decision. As long as you go into this with eyes wide open, you'll do fine.

I was definately grumpy about not being able to eat post-op, but that was head hunger and grieving for food. My program allowed scrambled eggs and yogurt/cottage cheese on the liquid diet. After I tried scrambled eggs I felt immediately full and it was tough to digest them. This helped me to see that I really needed just liquids for a while and that it was head hunger bc my body wasn't ready for anything else. It was probably better for my family that I wasn't a grumpy, hangry b***h for 2 weeks before surgery. Just for a little bit after. 😉 I did a low-carb diet once a few years ago (Way pre-op). One day when I got home from work my husband had made mac and cheese and poured a glass of wine. He told me to eat it bc he would rather me be round than bitchy.

My pre-op diet was just a healthy eating plan. It was meant to mimic long term eating post-op. Protien first, then veggies and fruit, carbs last if you have room. Nutritionist visits to educate on healthy eating and post-op phases. No weight loss mandates for me, just couldn't gain. Some loss is preferred. No liquid diet pre-op except for 1 day of clear liquids the day before. My program is very critical of programs that require 2 weeks liquid diet bc it does not teach healthy eating, just starvation dieting. And I totally agree. If I could starve myself thin, I would have done it already.

I hoped to have dumping bc of bypass. Honestly I’ve had dumping symptoms due to fast food too. If dumping is a result of eating things you shouldn’t, it prevents you from doing it again. Which for me was a huge positive. Let’s be honest, there’s absolutely no reason to eat sweets or junk food. I’ve cut out so much significantly. I’ve never heard of someone being hospitalized due to dumping. I guess you could go but not much they can do for you. I’ve never thrown up due to dumping but learned my lesson pretty quickly. It keeps me from trying others so that’s good for me. Dumping sucks but it keeps me on track. I still have to hold my self accountable as it doesn’t do it for everything. Hw-378 Sw- 363 (2/27/18) CW-299

Yea, I thought it was weird too, my cycle came a week early and I'm on BC pills. But didnt have the bad stomach cramps from ice chips that you are experiencing. I hope the pain gets better quickly! Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I opted for bypass bc I knew sweets were my biggest problem, I was really hoping for bad dumping even if I touched a sweet. I wasn’t lucky to get that but still at this point it’s better than craving sweets. I literally might only mentally crave a sweet maybe once a week. I take one maybe two bites and I’m finished. I needing help detoxing from sugar. It’s extremely addictive. But I’m hoping even if I’m the future I’m able to eat it more that I’m so used to not eating it now that I will find it satisfying after a couple of bites or perhaps a serving rather than a whole box!!! Haha. Don’t let yourself get back into the habit though. I’m sure you could push through and then get hooked back on it. No regrets at all only wish I would have done it sooner! Good luck. Surgery 2/27 I was 363 Today 297.6!!!!!!! Hw-378 Sw- 363 (2/27/18) CW-299

For everybody, I’m i day 3 and on ice chips.... my stomach cramps after every ice chip.... how long did the cramping last for you if you had any? Also did any other women get there menstrual cycle right after surgery? I’m on a BC patch and still got my cycle thought that was weird.

I’m a big believer in the Enmend too! I’ve always hated the nausea after surgery and with pain killers more than the pain and It was amazing! Had it for my plastics as well. For pain Tylenol IV is pretty great too. Oral Tylenol has never done a thing for me but IV is a whole different story! They don’t like to use it bc for some reason it’s way more expensive than narcotics! I did have norco to take home but didn’t like it. I also had something else IV when I wanted it but I never did.

Submitted on 4th. Got decision on 8th. I have BCBS Fed. Surgery date 3 days later. Good Luck. Congrats. They are usually pretty good about approval. Sent from my LG-M153 using BariatricPal mobile app

@Diva302The reason I asked is bc I've never known a full DSER to have success with the patches. Keep a very watchful eye on your bloods as time goes on.

Had final nutrition appt yesterday & met with doctor. Submitting to insurance; anyone know approx time length for BCBS Fed to approve? Doc says I should be able to have surgery in July!!🤗

So sorry to hear you’re going through this. Hang in there. I’m glad you know what it is bc you can’t fix/ cope with what you don’t know. I’m glad you got answers, but I hope that come up with solutions.

I agree!! People just out of surgery shouldn’t have to suffer because some people abuse narcotics!! So sick of this BS!!

And I grow more and more interested . Where in BC my mostest province with memories.? I spent the Bicentennial of Confederation visiting Vancouver,Campbell River and Quadra Island . My little ears perked up when I heard you were or are there. Where will you have your surgery ? Are you,private pay or going through National/ Provincial Health Schemes? We once had LesleyBari who lived in the Rockies close to Alberta nut was flying to Vancouver for her surgery. Many have wished to visit the Yukon for its wild country,Me, my dream is to someday see the Peace River country for,myself.That was my romantic dream as a teenager and it still lurks in the back of my mind.

@Frustrated8 love your new motto, I might just adopt it! I’m July 5 th in BC Canada! Still trying fo figure out how to answer a post?

Wait, you're already at 264? Are you freakin kidding me? What are you doing, Seahawks? O M G I am so proud of you. And didn't you have your surgery on.. Man, I can't remember. My doctor me with me AFTER , literally day after this post and said at this point he'd have liked to see me @ 30 lbs less. I've grieved this for two days and let it fuel me to kick some ass. I was upset bc I have done everything I know to do. He did acknowledge some of my weight training may be the reason for the slower weight loss. I am pissed lol Hugs. So proud of you.

Well I have not gone through surgery yet, but my pre op diet my general BS number is 130’ish. What was your avg reading during your pre op diet phase? that should of been like a general base line to what your post op will look like for awhile

I’m not sure bc I haven’t had my pre op appointment. But I wanted to say that I’m sorry you went thru that. Wishing you well. Praying for you!

I am brand new to this also - and have not even brought it up with my husband. I have a friend who had gastric sleeve a year ago and is doing great with it - and just the total scorn with which he talks about her and WLS in general, I know he will not be on board. She should just work out more, she's risking her life, easy way out, just lazy - all that regular ignorant BS. He is a little overweight himself - not much, though. He yo-yos up and down by binge-eating and drinking, and gaining weight - then exercising 2 hrs a day and eating 2 lean cuisines a day to lose it. He is an alcoholic, and definitely has addictive beahaviours and an all-or-nothing approach to other things in life too. He eats everything in the house, or he starves himself, he plays video games all day long, or he swears off them entirely. He's on the wagon for 3 or 4 montghs, and then he goes on a 2 week vodka binge. It's OK - I don't go to him for support in most things - we are in a marriage of convenience more than anything else. I'm from the UK and I moved to the US to be with him. If we were to divorce I would want to go home with our 2 daughters - but he would never allow that. So the way I see it, why divorce and go and live in some shitty apartment nearby and have to split time with my kids. I've put my time in (17 years) - why let some other woman get what I'm entitled to (it wouldn't be hard for him around here, there is a shortage of employed single men). I feel like I may as well be comfortable if I'm stuck here. He's also 25 years older than me, which plays into it as well. I can wait. And when he passes, I'll be free and with a good-sized pension to boot. ANYWAY - I have to do 6 months of weigh ins with our insurance, as well as the nutional appts, psych eval, etc. I had my initial consult last week, but can't start the monthy appts until September because my daughters and I go home to the UK for 6 weeks in the summer (see what I mean - couldn't afford that if we divorced). My biggest fear is that he will try to stop the surgery by cancelling it. There is history there - he tried to do this 5 years ago when I had my breast reduction surgery. He got drunk the week before and I actually caught him red-handed trying to get me thrown off his insurance, and also calling the hospital and trying to cancel the surgery date. Now, it didn't happen. I intercepted the calls. And he sobered up by the time surgery rolled around - but I had a friend lined up to take me to the hospital if he wasn't "available", and my mum had already flown in and stayed for 6 weeks to look after me. I really don't look to him for support. So I have NO PLANS at all to tell him until right before the surgery. Is there a way he would find out? This is a much longer process than the breast reduction approval, and I worry they'll call him with questions? Is he able to have me thrown off the insurance any time he wants? I am so terrified of him finding out. I can do all my appts while he is at work because I have free time during the day (again, I prefer my comfortable life), but I really want to keep it a secret as long as I can.

My papers being sent today. I have BS but I hope being an employee will help 😬

I am 48 years old. I have been morbidly obese for about 7 years and obese for 20 years. My mother died in 2015 of diabetes and obesity related illnesses which culminated in her dying while I prayed for her in the ER at only 65 years old. My grandmother died in the same hospital of diabetic complications and an amputated foot at only 53 years old. I am a type II diabetic and was in total denial. Was not controlling my glucose levels, was not eating right, not exercising and was developing the SAME issues that my mother experienced. Both of my feet were swollen, discoloured, pressure blisters and red dots all over them from poor circulation and diabetic neuropathy. I had constant pain in my body from sore joints and uncontrolled sugar levels. High blood pressure. No energy and could not stand up more than 5 to 10 minutes max without needing to sit. I was going on job interview after job interview for the last 2 years, qualified and experienced in the positions I was applying for, but not getting the jobs. I started to sense it was my weight - employers whether they will say it or not are concerned that your weight will impede your ability to do work efficiently and if your weight will be a health concern that will result in numerous sick days. I did not want to end up like my mother and grandmother but I was heading there FAST. I am at the age where my weight was so high, and my hormones so whacky in pre-menopause, that the idea of being able to loose 100 lbs on my own was completely overwhelming to me. I live in a small Caribbean Island and our dollar is lesser than other countries and really did not know how I could afford help. I have not been insured in 12 years because of the diabetes. I foster dogs for a local animal shelter and I also have 7 recuse dogs. One day the shelter represented came to visit a couple puppies that I had adopted and she took a few photos of me and the dogs. When she sent me the attached photo I cried and cried and cried that night. I always knew I was big but it was like I lived in a strange kind of denial of HOW big I really was. Seeing that photo opened my eyes and I had an 'ah ha' moment and knew that I HAD to do something to change the trajectory of my life, otherwise I would end up in an early death just like the women in my family. So from the next day I started to change my diet drastically. I began to cut out useless carbs, stop buying my snacks, cutting down my portion sizes, stop allowing myself to eat the sugar treats whenever I wanted them. I started to see a change in my glucose levels from the next week and until the end of March I was more in control of my sugar levels but weight was not really coming off. In April I started to FEEL better because I had changed my eating habits but knew I needed an intervention to help me get off the kind of lbs I need to loose. So I found great reviews for a bariatric hospital in Mexicali and the cost was SO CHEAP compared to other countries. I started researching and corresponding and booked gastric sleeve surgery the end of May 2018. It was a long journey to get to Mexico from Barbados but I never looked back. I would not recommend the kind of flying I had to do after surgery because its hard on your system (and blood pressure) but I did what I had to do. I think everyone comes to that 'ah ha' moment when you honestly are just sick and tired of being sick and tired and fed up of not being able to live a full life and being bound to medication. I view the VSG as an intervention and an opportunity to 'reset'. The year or so it will take to loose over 100 lbs will give me the time to learn new habits, get off of insulin, be mobile again to do exercise and LIVE LIFE again. The time for my body to heal from the inflammation, get my heart healthy again and to learn to eat to fuel living and not eat for the sake of comfort. We have the choice to take control of our future with the KNOWN obstacles that morbid obesity brings. Sure a car could crash into me but that is a different thing to dying from diabetic complications, heart attack and amputations because of weight! I was in a RUT!!! How my rut looks may be different to yours but the point is that WLS helps with the leverage you need to begin getting out of the rut. I'm looking forward to my healthier future

I'm not having surgery until July 3rd. I'm on two different injections myself. My PCP advised me to not take my Lantus (slow acting) , check my BS often especially if i feel different (high or low coming on) and take Humalog (fast acting) as needed. I would contact your PCP and see what he/she thinks. Wishing you the best and hopefully you can leave diabetes behind you

I am a type II diabetic and 12 days post op gastric sleeve. For the last 7 days I was able to take just a few units (10 to 15 units) of rapid acting insulin to bring my sugar levels to acceptable (9-13). But now that I am able to eat more substantive foods my sugar levels are of course going up but I feel very scared to take the long acting insulin. Are there any other diabetic sleevers who can share some of your experience on controlling blood sugar after surgery and did you use long acting insulin or only short acting? I am scared of long acting and going to sleep...…...I live alone so there is no one to check on me. Of course I need to keep BS down to help my incisions heal as well as the internal staples. Incisions are healing very well, Thank God! How long did it take before you stopped needing to use insulin?

My surgeon had us using benefiber from day one. He preferred that to fruits bc of the sugars and grains bc of the carbs. He also preferred it to things expressly for constipation (mirilax, milk of magnesia, etc) bc he said you could get dependent on them.

I’m kind of in the same boat as you. I’ve tried keto and i do love that you get to eat bacon all day long but it’s not for me. My body doesn’t need all that extra fat and it also loves healthy variety so good carbs like beans and squash and lots of fruits are fine with me. i guess you could say i do the meditternean diet to an extent but i don’t like to view it as a diet. I eat what i want but i cook everything anf watch my portions, carbs and added sugars. I eat plenty of lean protein, fruits, seafood, veggies, almonds, beans, and lower fat dairy like fair life milk and lots of cheeses. I use things like grass fed butter, olive or coconut oil, but in moderation. I even do some meatless days. I love it because it’s not restrictive so i never feel deprived. My body physically feels the best when i do this, i have more energy, no extreme cravings, and it’s something i can stick too. Plus i feel lighter all the way around. I do add supplements like fish oil pills, and mct oil pills but that’s about it other than a multi. Best of luck to you.