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We are open to any BP member for support and feedback. Please join in. And hey, it's ok if you're 54. :P

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Hi - I have been lurking on this forum since May - figured now that I'm sleeved, I might as well jump in! My name is Ellen. I'm 56 and live In beautiful Connecticut. I have named my sleeve Tiny Tina (although I might change it to "she who must be obeyed" .) When I was in my early 20s, I was dragged to a gay bar by my sexually ambivalent boyfriend to see a female impersonator named Tiny Tina. She was probably 400 lbs, but boy could she move! She showed me that you could be fat and fabulous. Well, now some 30 years later, I want to be slender and fabulous!

Tiny Tina was born 10 days ago. The surgery was a breeze. Had it at Yale New Haven Hospital. The nursing staff was really nice. I almost didn't want to leave. I went home to my parent's house for a few days and believe me, the hospital was less stressful! I love my parents and appreciate them so much, but oy vay, are they loud! They're in their early 80s and Dad is so hard of hearing. At least they didn't hear my trudging back and forth to the bathroom all night long! Every time I got up, my 2 miniature poodles would get up with me. Towards morning, my boy dog was starting to give me dirty looks! I actually gained about 8 lbs from the surgery, but I've lost that and the scale is now going down, but of course not as fast as I would like.

For those of you who are waiting for surgery and have read so many posts about gas pain, nausea, trouble drinking, etc., please be comforted to know that not everyone goes through that. I actually called my program because once I was home I was worried that I could drink and get my Protein Shakes in no problem and had to ask them if I could exceed 64 oz of water! I have been lucky, lucky, lucky. Supportive friends and family, understanding boss, no issues with the insurance company. I took the week of the surgery off, and my boss is letting me work from home until Sept 8. It is nice to not have the long commute and the peace and quite (now that I'm back in my own place ^_^.) I'm still on full liquids until Wed, then on to purees. The best thing I have learned on this board is about PB2. Have you all heard of it? It's dehydrated Peanut Butter powder with most of the fat removed. 45 calories for 2 tablespoons and 6 grams of Protein. I add it to the unjury brand classic chocolate Protein Powder and mix with light soymilk and boy is it good! I don't see myself giving up that drink even when I'm back on solid food. I think that will be lunch at work.

Although I am somewhat tired, I have to say that I am getting more and more excited as the days go on. When I set up my ticker earlier today, I knew in my guts (or in Tiny Tina I should say), that I will be successful and I hope that I can make some new friends here who will be equally enthusiastic! Sorry about the looooong post - hope to meet more of you soon.

Ellen

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Ellen, I'm so glad you joined us. I would love to see this particular thread become a real support for us.

I'm in PA, though originally from NJ. We are lucky we have had such excellent experiences. I think one thing that held me back from even considering surgery for a long time was that I just assumed it would take a long time and be very expensive. I was wrong on both counts. It took me three months to satisfy all the requirements, and cost me about $500 total, including meds. For those entire three months I read everything I could find on wls, and I just couldn't wait for surgery day.

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Hi. 56 year old gal from Colorado. Banded in 7/22/14. I am happy with the decision I made to take control of my life and get healthy.

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Hi. I'm 60 years old and I live in the wine country in Northern California. I'm a little rattled right now because we just had a pretty strong earthquake. But the earthquake reminded me of how lucky I am. Not only did my friends, family and job all come through the earthquake just fine, but I had my 3 month follow-up appointment with my surgeon and was told that my A1C level was absolutely normal. I was so happy, I would have hugged him if that would not have been completely inappropriate. But my list of good fortune is actually much longer and deeper than that: I have a great, supportive husband, two adult children who are healthy and happy, and the two cutest grandsons on the planet. I know everyone thinks that, but for me, it's true :-)

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Hi. I'm 60 years old and I live in the wine country in Northern California. I'm a little rattled right now because we just had a pretty strong earthquake. But the earthquake reminded me of how lucky I am. Not only did my friends, family and job all come through the earthquake just fine, but I had my 3 month follow-up appointment with my surgeon and was told that my A1C level was absolutely normal. I was so happy, I would have hugged him if that would not have been completely inappropriate. But my list of good fortune is actually much longer and deeper than that: I have a great, supportive husband, two adult children who are healthy and happy, and the two cutest grandsons on the planet. I know everyone thinks that, but for me, it's true :-)

Hi so glad to see you on this post were you on meds be fore your surgery and are you still on any I sure hope I can get off mine after surgery. So glad you're OK I have never witness an earthquake but I sure it's scary

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Nice to meet all of you. IcanMakeit -- great news about the A1C level. Talk about a non-scale victory!! Not great news about the earthquake :o

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Hi All - I am a 58 year old female... wife, mother of 2 grown boys and grandmother of 2 as well. I am having RNY revision from LapBand on 10/3 at Roger Williams Hospital with Dr. Pohl. I live in Taunton, MA but chose a doctor in RI due to my company's bariatric policy requiring a UHC certified Hospital of Excellence. I have heard AWESOME things about Dr. Pohl so am very happy he is my surgeon.

I had the lapband installed in 2008... lost 58 lbs in 6 months... and over the last few years have gained back every pound of my loss. I get stuck all the time and end up having to vomit to stop the pain. Sometimes it lasts for hours. :(

I am excited to be a part of this fledgling group :) and hope to offer as much support as I am sure to receive from all of you.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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