Hey guys, I'm Becky and I'm new here. I have been stalking the forums for a couple days and decided to start a post. I'll be keeping an updated log of my progress with pictures, weight, and measurements so be sure to check back!

Here's my story:

I'm 19 and have been morbidly obese since middle school. I was extremely athletic when I was young, gymnastics and competitive cheer along with riding horses since I was 5. I was always bigger than other kids but mostly it was muscle. My parents got divorced when I was 8 and it ripped my world apart, I had issues with depression and ended up going on Zyprexa which is now I believe off the market due to the insane weight gain. I gained 100 lbs over 4 months, it was CRAZY! I stopped cheering shortly after because I was too heavy to be wearing a skimpy uniform. So, that just made me gain more weight and lose muscle. I was heavy in high school and it just kept getting worse. I have dieted and can get down to 200 lbs but it all comes right back when you stop the diet. My weight really holds me back emotionally and I'm starting to get high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, etc. I'm now in college to get my BSN (nursing school) and am in a sorority. I have been with my boyfriend for over a year and he is my other half, we live together and are really happy. He is also overweight and is trying dieting, he supports me 100% and is right there cheering me on with every step I take. I'm extremely lucky to have him with me and he promises to take good care of me after I get out of surgery. My mom is also a huge part of my life and support system, she is my best friend and my own personal cheerleader. Between her and Matt, I'll be in great hands post-op. So, my life pretty much rocks and losing weight would just be the icing on the cake so I can't wait until I slim back down! Maybe, I could even cheer in college...that would be a dream come true!

So far my journey has been wonderful, I became interested in the sleeve after my most recent weight loss fail and am at my highest weight ever! I started calling around early November looking for a surgeon who could get me in before the end of the year. I found Dr. Ricks in St. Louis and his nurses said it'd be tight but was possible. I went in the next week for my first appointment and good goly gosh is he just the sweetest guy you will ever meet. He's got a bedside manner that rivals any doctor I've ever worked with, I instantly felt comforted. We chatted for about an hour and he answered all of my questions, he set up some tests for the next week and off I went. I went in for testing and to meet with the nutritionist which all went smooth as can be and then I awaited a call letting me know about insurance. After 2 weeks, I got that magical call letting me know that I'm approved for surgery! We set up a date, December 19th which is the week after finals. I go in for my nutrition class and my blood work Monday then surgery the next week. Luckily I'm only on clears and shakes for 3 days prior to surgery...so no dying of hunger for weeks like others have to endure!

Starting weight: 260

Starting measurements:

Arm: 18”

Forearm: 12.5”

Hips: 54.5”

Waist: 44”

Bust: 48.5”

Thigh” 30”

Calf: 17.5”

Shoulders: 52”

Neck: 16”

Here are my before pictures:

I'll be sure to keep you guys updated as the days fly by!

good luck, boo!!! i have a bsn (been in critical care for 18 yrs)......i am 2.5 wks post op and have lost 31 lbs already.....this is the best thing you can do for yourself and your career......you will feel soooo much better......keep us posted!!!!!

good luck, boo!!! i have a bsn (been in critical care for 18 yrs)......i am 2.5 wks post op and have lost 31 lbs already.....this is the best thing you can do for yourself and your career......you will feel soooo much better......keep us posted!!!!!

Thank you so much! I'm excited! I will keep you posted

Started Pre-Op today, started off the day with a Mocha Cappuccino shake blended with skim milk and water...yum! On Thursday the plumber came out because we had a leak and it turned into this huge deal, so him and the landlord are coming back tomorrow to try to figure out the next step in fixing it. They may have to tear down walls, etc. So, I've been cleaning all weekend to try to make sure that everything is nice for him and as an added bonus nice for me after surgery. It's pretty hard to do deep cleaning on a clear liquid diet, I'm resting now waiting on my broth to finish up. Surgery is on Wednesday

Well wishes for tomorrow. I'm sure you will do great!!

Just wanted to comment an say thanks for making a detailed list of everything you bought. It should help immensely when I start to buy everything I need for after surgery. Good luck with yours!

Hope you are doing well since your surgery yesterday. I have the cherry tart calcium by Celebrate. It's really good, but will make you pucker

I think it was very generous of you to make such a detailed list. I do want to mention that hair care isn't something that everyone will need, so for others please don't automatically assume you will have this expense. I have had no additional costs in this area, never took zinc or Biotin (as my doc had not told me it was necessary) and had virtually no hair loss. Maybe I shed a bit more than usual - but not much. And I've lost 110 lbs in about 7.5 months - currently at 145. I would think that would have made me a prime candidate for hair loss, and it didn't happen. Nothing wrong with prevention, but it's expensive and debatable as to whether it will help. If it helps you feel better you are doing something about it, and you have the finances... why not.

Also, I initially spent a huge amount on all sorts of Bariatric Advantage Vitamins, just to find out after surgery I couldn't tolerate them. So, I take gummy vitamins from costco. Cheap, cheap, cheap. My Vitamin levels have all been fine so far - if farther out i have problems I will have to switch to a more "serious" vitamin. Also, my doc had me swallowing pills the night after my surgery - not crushed, regular sized pills. All my worry about needing liquids, needing chewables, crushing - unnecessary. Of course each doc has a different approach to that issue.

In any case, my advice is that whatever you get pre-surgery, buy very limited quantities.

And somehow when I first posted I missed that you just had your surgery! I hope it was a huge success! Congrats on a new you.

Hope to hear you are soon home recuperating and that all went well.

Thanks for the price breakdown and for providing the websites. That's so helpful!

Alright guys, here is my hospital experience:

On Tuesday night, I drank my unjury chicken Soup then took a Xanax prescribed for sleep at around 7. I fell asleep soon after with my bag packed and clothes picked out for the morning. I woke up at 4 am and put on my clothes, got my mom and we got in the car. It was about a 45 minute drive and we got there right at 5 am. I signed in at the front of the hospital with the receptionist and she sent me to sit down in the waiting room. About 5 minutes later the receptionist came in and said she was going to start calling in patients in the order that the OR had requested. She said we had to go to pre-op by ourselves then our family (my mom) would meet us on the way to the holding area to say goodbye and go to the waiting room. I got called back second, they gave me two gowns to put on and socks. I put the gowns on, put the socks on, then sat in the chair they had me assigned to in the pre-op room. I turned the tv on and tried to relax. I gave a urine sample and waited for the nurse to come in. The first nurse came in and tried to get an iv, she couldn't get it so told me that the anesthesiologist would get it. The second nurse came in and went over all of my past health issues, allergies, etc. That took about 30 minutes then the nurse went and got my mom. She came to sit with me in the pre-op room and shortly after a guy from transport came with a wheelchair. He was SPEEDY! My mom could hardly keep up! We parted ways, she gave me a hug, told me I would do great, and told me that she loved me. She went to the waiting room and I was wheeled to the holding area. The nurse came right over, helped me put a hat on, went over the procedure I was getting and put on leg inflator things. The nurse anesthetist came in and talked with me about the procedure then stuck me, he said he got the vein well enough to get me to sleep but I'd most likely wake up with a different IV. That seemed odd to me but I just went along with it. My doctor's residents came in and talked to me, told me everything would be great and that I would be fine. I felt good, my doctor came in and had a quick chat with me then said see ya in there! About ten minutes later the nurse anesthetist came in and gave me a shot of relaxation medicine...honestly it didn't do much but I wasn't overly nervous to start with. They then wheeled me into the OR and had me shimmy over onto the bed losing one of my gowns. I smiled at the doctor, told him not to mess up then I fell asleep.

I woke up in the recovery room in a decent amount of pain, they gave me a shot of Morphine which I didn't even feel then they ordered Dilaudid and then gave me that, I came in and out for a few hours, they ended up having to give me two different blood pressure medications because my blood pressure was too high due to the pain. I vaguely remember something about a hernia but didn't know what in reference to. I woke up in the recovery room and asked my mom about the hernia, she said I had one and the doctor fixed it while in the OR. I was still in some pain so they gave me more Morphine. I didn't have a pump for Morphine or a drain. I wasn't able to eat or drink anything until the swallow test the next morning. I was pretty sore and had a good amount of gas pain but the pain medicine helped a lot. My surgeon came in and checked on me, I was doing pretty good. I had started walking which helped with gas pain. Walking wasn't painful and laying down wasn't painful. Sitting up was very painful and getting from laying down to standing up was very painful. My mom and boyfriend helped me a lot that night getting up and walking around. The Biotene mouth spray was AMAZING! I swear, if you don't have some you need to get it. It saved me that first day! I used it all the time to keep my mouth wet and it worked perfectly. My dad visited me but I was honestly still pretty out of it. I never had much nausea, just really sore. I slept terribly, they came in every two hours for vitals and between that and the pain I didn't get much sleep at all.

I woke up the next day at around 3:30 and walked some more, they came in and gave me more pain medicine. I was SUPER itchy so they ordered Benedryl and that helped a bit with the itchies but didn't put me to sleep. The residents came in around 7ish and told me I would be going for the swallow test soon and assuming it went well I could start Clear liquids. I went for the swallow test and it was SO nasty, I thought I was going to die. They had me drink it twice, there were no leaks but the second time I drank it, it didn't go down into my stomach. I was just so swollen that it was hard to get anything down. They had the doctor take a second look at the swelling and he gave the okay that I could have clear liquids. I started drinking really slowly but it hurt so much to swallow. I didn't eat much of anything they gave me in the hospital, it was all gross. I had my mom get me a Powerade Zero and sipped on that. My doctor came in and talked to me and said if I was still doing well after lunch I could go home. I wanted to go home right then but I was patient and waited. It was COLD! It was snowing and super windy, my mom's car doesn't have heat right now so we had to wait for my boyfriend to get there to take me home. I got liquid Vicodin, anti-nauseant suppository, and pepcid to go home on. They gave me this thing to help my lungs get cleared out that I have to breathe into, it hurts to take deep breaths but I do it 3 times an hour.

Matt brought me home, it was so cold and the car ride was painful but I got home and into my chair. My mom got my prescriptions and came home shortly after we did. I took my pain medicine when I got home along with some Benedryl for the itchies. I took all of my Vitamins except the Iron and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

This morning I'm feeling better, still a bit sore but nothing terrible. I'm sipping on my Protein shake as I write this, they want me to get down 2 oz every 2 hours so I'm not having much trouble with that. It still hurts to swallow but if I take TINY sips it's better. My stomach is still upset a bit but I feel pretty good. I can get up and walk around without too much trouble which is nice, the gas is passing and I get better every hour.

I honestly have no interest in food, it doesn't even sound good. I'm not sure if that's because I'm still sore or if it'll be like this forever but if so, it'll be easy to drop the weight! I'm happy and excited, no regrets! I've dropped 6 pounds so far

I'll keep you guys updated but so far so good for me!

Thank you so much for posting this! I have my first appt next month & am super nervous, it's nice reading your day by day updates!

Congratulations! Sounds like you are on the road to a speedy recovery!

Sounds like you're doing ok. Good for you. Each day should get a little easier as the swelling goes down. Just take it easy, you don't want to tear any internal stitches. I kept a log of everything to make sure I was getting my 70+ grams of Protein and keeping hydrated.Sometimes warmer fluids go down easier, so I would have my chai tea all morning long, with Protein shakes in between, and Soups of course.

Good luck!! Enjoy your holidays.

Thanks guys, I am doing good and it is getting easier. I'm not sure I've figured out what "full" feels like yet which is a bit concerning. Everything is just sore going down so I assume I'll figure it out soon. For now, I'm just strictly following doctors orders of what to put in my mouth. They said 4-6 oz each hour including 2 oz of protein every 2 hours. My incisions are doing fine too, I'll post a picture of them so you guys know what to expect. I've got all of my vitamins down but they left a nasty taste in my mouth that I'm still working on getting out. My dog is as faithful as ever, she follows me around when I walk and guards my chair

You won't have a normal feeling in your tummy for awhile Becky. With the stomach swollen, you feel some sense of nutrition from the liquids, but no fullness the way we were used to. It will be the same with pureed diet, and you start to normalize with soft foods as you move through the stages of eating. On my program, I was released to firm solids at about 6 weeks.

That is when you truly feel the restriction of the sleeve. You will know with certainty what full feels like and it is not comfortable. I am 8 months out and still getting used to it. One or two bites too many does not feel good. You get this little uncomfortable feeling and that is when to stop. Then I get 1 or 2 internal hiccups and 2 regular hiccups and I'm done. Like clockwork. Many people get the hiccups with fullness with the sleeve, or a runny nose. It's weird but true. My family all laugh when I hiccup and say, "That's it she's done!" or "Put a fork in her she's done!"

Have a good weekend