Hey guys,

My name is Ranjith Emmanuel. I am from India. I am 18 years old and I weigh at 365 pounds. I am going ahead with my gastric sleeve surgery in two months time (june) . I am frustrated with this life. I see this as alast resort to give myself a new beginning. I wanna start living my life and stop hiding away from the world. I want to know how it has been for others who has already embarked on this journey. I want to know what to expect out of it. I want to know more about the ups and downs after surgery....PLEASE HELP!!! I have attached a picture of myself when i was 13 (320 pounds at the time)... I do not have any recent body shots as I don't take any anymore...

I'm only 7 weeks out but it has been a great experience so far!! I've had no problems at all. Spend some time reading on this site. You will learn so much.

Ranjith

I appauld your honesty and determination. You are young and wise to take control of your life. You are have a full life ahead.

I was consistently overweight but never put myself ahead of others. At age 49 I decided to take care of ME!!

I was sleeved 2 days ago. So far all went smoothly. No complaints!! I'm able to drink my Protein shakes. Make sure you follow your surgeons directions. It will produce success & you will love the new you

Keep me informed if your progress.

The world awaits the NEW Ranjith!!!

You are going to do great. get your mind right before you go. i am 19 days out now and feel wonderful. i did the Clear liquids for a week before my surgery. i was only required three days, but i did a whole week and i truly believe it makes a difference in your recovery. remember to walk. i had a girl from this site that was texting me while i was in Mexico telling me to get up and walk. she really helped me a lot. i feel the need to return that favor. if anyone has questions, i'll be glad to answer or help. this site helped me make up my mind and gave me the strength i need to make that move. i am so happy i did have the surgery. i would not change any of it. i went to hospital jerusalem, and surgery was done by Dr. Ponce. he made me feel very comfortable. the hospital staff was above and beyond anything you could ask for in the states. i had a call button on the wall by my bed and if i pushed it, a nurse was in the room within seconds. i had a private room and truly enjoyed my stay. i had surgery on 4/10/ and flew back home on the 13th. in saying all of this, i do know you need to do your homework and research. there are people over there that are not qualified to be doing this surgery. i've heard some places put four people to a hotel room with no call button. so be careful. make sure you get some references before you make the leap. can't wait to see you on the losing bench!

good luck!

mississippi girl

Hey Ranjith, nice to meet you! I am having a different surgery (Lap Band) and won't have it until April. I cannot tell you what my experience has been because I am just now starting my liquid diet for pre-op. I can, however, respond to you on some of your experiences.

I know what it is like to be obese at a young age. I hate looking at pictures from when I was "thinner" or hear people see a picture of what I "used" to look like. They pay compliments to the pictures, which only makes me feel horrible. I used to want to one day lose weight so that I could prove to the world that I was still that person in the pictures.

Life has changed and time has moved on. This is no longer a journey to prove to others what I am/am not, but this is a battle to gain my life back (just like you said). This is a battle to be the person that I want to be, and to enjoy life to the fullest! The "ah! ha!" moment hit me when I was trying to go hiking with my dogs. I felt so much pain, so much uncomfort, that I couldn't stop and take in the earth's beauty, nor enjoy the moment with my pups. I realized that I wasn't living life to the fullest. This was not life.

I hate taking pictures, and hate when people tell me to get in the picture. I hate looking in the mirror. Now, I can look in the mirror with pride because I know that I am taking my life back into my hands.

Hope you find what you're looking for around here. Today is my first day posting.

You are going to do great. get your mind right before you go. i am 19 days out now and feel wonderful. i did the clear liquids for a week before my surgery. i was only required three days, but i did a whole week and i truly believe it makes a difference in your recovery. remember to walk. i had a girl from this site that was texting me while i was in Mexico telling me to get up and walk. she really helped me a lot. i feel the need to return that favor. if anyone has questions, i'll be glad to answer or help. this site helped me make up my mind and gave me the strength i need to make that move. i am so happy i did have the surgery. i would not change any of it. i went to hospital jerusalem, and surgery was done by Dr. Ponce. he made me feel very comfortable. the hospital staff was above and beyond anything you could ask for in the states. i had a call button on the wall by my bed and if i pushed it, a nurse was in the room within seconds. i had a private room and truly enjoyed my stay. i had surgery on 4/10/ and flew back home on the 13th. in saying all of this, i do know you need to do your homework and research. there are people over there that are not qualified to be doing this surgery. i've heard some places put four people to a hotel room with no call button. so be careful. make sure you get some references before you make the leap. can't wait to see you on the losing bench!

good luck!

mississippi girl

Thank you so much. I am looking forward to my surgery. Don't worry. I have done all the research i could do during the past year . I am doing my surgery under one of the top doctors in this country, I will keep you updated.

Hey Ranjith, nice to meet you! I am having a different surgery (Lap Band) and won't have it until April. I cannot tell you what my experience has been because I am just now starting my liquid diet for pre-op. I can, however, respond to you on some of your experiences.

I know what it is like to be obese at a young age. I hate looking at pictures from when I was "thinner" or hear people see a picture of what I "used" to look like. They pay compliments to the pictures, which only makes me feel horrible. I used to want to one day lose weight so that I could prove to the world that I was still that person in the pictures.

Life has changed and time has moved on. This is no longer a journey to prove to others what I am/am not, but this is a battle to gain my life back (just like you said). This is a battle to be the person that I want to be, and to enjoy life to the fullest! The "ah! ha!" moment hit me when I was trying to go hiking with my dogs. I felt so much pain, so much uncomfort, that I couldn't stop and take in the earth's beauty, nor enjoy the moment with my pups. I realized that I wasn't living life to the fullest. This was not life.

I hate taking pictures, and hate when people tell me to get in the picture. I hate looking in the mirror. Now, I can look in the mirror with pride because I know that I am taking my life back into my hands.

Hope you find what you're looking for around here. Today is my first day posting.

Finally somebody i can totally relate with....I feel like we have been on a journey soo similar to eachother. Lets keep eachother updated <3 regards, Ranjith

Ranjith

I appauld your honesty and determination. You are young and wise to take control of your life. You are have a full life ahead.

I was consistently overweight but never put myself ahead of others. At age 49 I decided to take care of ME!!

I was sleeved 2 days ago. So far all went smoothly. No complaints!! I'm able to drink my Protein shakes. Make sure you follow your surgeons directions. It will produce success & you will love the new you

Keep me informed if your progress.

The world awaits the NEW Ranjith!!!

Thankyou so much for your kind words. I will defenitely keep you informed ..

You remind me of myself. My weight stopped me from a lot never wanted to take pictures. I'm so happy for you! You will look and feel amazing and I think the earlier you do it the better I'm now 27 and just got it done wish I had the opportunity and a younger age. Congrats! Can't wait to see you weight lose.

You remind me of myself. My weight stopped me from a lot never wanted to take pictures. I'm so happy for you! You will look and feel amazing and I think the earlier you do it the better I'm now 27 and just got it done wish I had the opportunity and a younger age. Congrats! Can't wait to see you weight lose.

Thank you so much...will keep you updated

Hi this is my first day posting on this site. I am 9 days post op and I feel wonderful. When they tell you to walk you do it as it helps with the gas. When they give you ice suck on it because it helps with the spasms which was very painful. Once I knew this my recovery was very quick. Good luck you will be fine. These doctors are very skilled and they know what they are doing. Listen to them