Hi.

I'm Deb from N. Carolina. I started this whole process back in August after a visit to my regular doctor. After way too many years of yo-yo dieting and never getting the job done, it's all caught up to me. Now I'm heavier than I've ever been, my BP is on the rise and so is my cholesterol. My arthritis is terrible in my knees and ankles. I retired a couple years ago and I hate it because I can't do any of the things my husband and I talked about doing at this time in our lives. It's time to move forward.....

My surgery is scheduled for Nov.11th. I'm excited and scared at the same time. I'm hoping that others that are getting ready to have their surgery in November might be interested in connecting to create a support group. Let's make this journey together and be there to support one another no matter where we live or what our ages may be.

I've been looking at many of the other discussions and some are great, but I have a hard time keeping up with all of them in different places. I'm wondering if a group like this would make it easier to keep tract of whatever we want to talk about.

What do you think????

I look forward to hearing from folks.

Deb

I had my second large family event for the month yesterday. My aunt and uncles 25th wedding anniversary. My cousins ordered fifteen pizzas and breadsticks from pizza Hut. I brought chili and saltines and ate before everyone else, standing mostly by myself in the kitchen. My family is Italian so large meals are very normal. I'm feeling very isolated right now at family gatherings, they've always revolved around food...and lots of it. I sat with my family while they ate, joked and laughed with them but I miss pizza and chips and pop. I know this is saving my life but it's hard to remember that in the moment. People keep asking me what I can eat, "Can't you have a little bite?" "Why can't you have salad?" It's so hard to explain. My family is used to feeding people when emotion comes into play and they're not sure how not to do that.

I just got out of the hospital earlier this week. I went to the ER thinking I was dehydrated. I wasn't. What I thought was going to be an overnight stay turned into 5 1/2 days of test after test. The good news is my nausea is finally subsiding and I've gotten in more food in the last two days than I probably did the entire two weeks before (which sounds bad but is actually good because I could barely get anything down). This is the hardest thing I have ever done and I definitely wasn't prepared mentally. I'm down 46 lbs from my heaviest weight. I can't see it yet. My family claims they can. I can feel it in some of my clothes which is awesome.

It was one month as of yesterday. I'm hoping month two goes a bit more smoothly!

Edited December 8, 201411 yr by NicoleSW

Hi all. I got sleeved 11/24. My story is slightly different. 2 years ago I got the lapband. I lost 60 pounds and then started having problems. Couldn't hold even Water down so had to have band opened up and basically start over. So much wasted money. Eventual decided to transition. Here are my stats 5'7-46 today, starting pre band weight 252. Heaviest 273. Pre sleeve weight 199.8. 13 days post op 186.4. Goal weight 152. I dud get a huge hematoma at the lapband removal site. It burst and turned into infection. Still bleeding at site. But getting better. I'm so excited to be on this site. I probably would not of gone to dr fir hematoma issue if it wouldn't have been for talking to people here. And that would have been bad.

What I really want to say was the comments and compliments from others has always been hard for me. I feel like saying 'was I hideous before or what ? Guess what I'm still the same person. Just smaller. ' but I know they mean well. And I Am sure I've done the same thing to people.

The worse is people who didn't know me before making fat jokes or comments. That is wrong and stl hurts to the vote.

Hi all. I got sleeved 11/24. My story is slightly different. 2 years ago I got the lapband. I lost 60 pounds and then started having problems. Couldn't hold even Water down so had to have band opened up and basically start over. So much wasted money. Eventual decided to transition. Here are my stats 5'7-46 today, starting pre band weight 252. Heaviest 273. Pre sleeve weight 199.8. 13 days post op 186.4. Goal weight 152. I dud get a huge hematoma at the lapband removal site. It burst and turned into infection. Still bleeding at site. But getting better. I'm so excited to be on this site. I probably would not of gone to dr fir hematoma issue if it wouldn't have been for talking to people here. And that would have been bad.

What I really want to say was the comments and compliments from others has always been hard for me. I feel like saying 'was I hideous before or what ? Guess what I'm still the same person. Just smaller. ' but I know they mean well. And I Am sure I've done the same thing to people.

The worse is people who didn't know me before making fat jokes or comments. That is wrong and still hurts to the core

Hello everyone. I am new to this, but thought I would give it a try since having support is a must. I had RYN bypass on 11/28/14.

I had my second large family event for the month yesterday. My aunt and uncles 25th wedding anniversary. My cousins ordered fifteen pizzas and breadsticks from pizza Hut. I brought chili and saltines and ate before everyone else, standing mostly by myself in the kitchen. My family is Italian so large meals are very normal. I'm feeling very isolated right now at family gatherings, they've always revolved around food...and lots of it. I sat with my family while they ate, joked and laughed with them but I miss pizza and chips and pop. I know this is saving my life but it's hard to remember that in the moment. People keep asking me what I can eat, "Can't you have a little bite?" "Why can't you have salad?" It's so hard to explain. My family is used to feeding people when emotion comes into play and they're not sure how not to do that.

I just got out of the hospital earlier this week. I went to the ER thinking I was dehydrated. I wasn't. What I thought was going to be an overnight stay turned into 5 1/2 days of test after test. The good news is my nausea is finally subsiding and I've gotten in more food in the last two days than I probably did the entire two weeks before (which sounds bad but is actually good because I could barely get anything down). This is the hardest thing I have ever done and I definitely wasn't prepared mentally. I'm down 46 lbs from my heaviest weight. I can't see it yet. My family claims they can. I can feel it in some of my clothes which is awesome.

It was one month as of yesterday. I'm hoping month two goes a bit more smoothly!

I'm sorry you've had such a rough Time. I sure do hope it gets easier. 46 pounds is a lot. But look at how your clothes fit and not the scale. I'm sure it is noticeable. The mind plays tricks on us. You mentioned not being emotionally ready. Maybe some counseling support would be helpful. I hope things get better. I have a large Italian family too. I know exactly what you described. No matter how much I say food isn't love, it is in our families.

Why haven't I lost anymore weight? I did get on the scale art home today and out reads the same thing out did back on Nov.24 the day I went for my post op appt. Granted I've been sick with a serious head cold and not eating or really drinking as much as I should but shouldn't the scale be moving down? My energy it's finally coming back so I can start exercising. But why?

carriekos... I can totally relate. The scale hasn't moved for me in 2 weeks. It is so frustrating and very discouraging. I can't believe I am eating so little and haven't lost weight. I am holding out hope for this week.

@@NewJeffrey - I was talking to a member here about this today - she is 9 months out and she reassured me that the honeymoon is far from over! This phase is a very temporary blip and will be over soon. Apparently LOTS of people have early stalls but continue on to great success. Very common.

I know what you mean about ti being hard to handle compliments. I lost almost 100 lbs 10 years ago and got to my goal weight. That entire year and a half it took to get there (Weight Watchers) I had to deal daily with that. It was the hardest part for me. I hated all the attention! I wouldn't have minded a few quiet, sincere compliments every now and then, but it got to be ridiculous. I'd walk into a room and everyone would stop talking and start staring, then someone would squeal "OMG!! LOOK AT YOU!!" I wanted to hide! I hated every conversation being about me, my appearance, my weight - all topics I had carefully avoided for years! At first, I tried explaining respectfully to people what I was doing and thought that would satisfy them. Nope - they just asked more and more questions - super personal ones! It was like by losing weight, I had also lost all rights to any privacy or respect. it wasn't long before I gained all the weight back and more - I think partly because that was so uncomfortable for me. Then for years, I didn't even want to think about losing weight again and having to go through all that over again.

So - this time, I really had to do some deep soul-searching before I came to the decision to have surgery and get healthy. The main thing that I have to remind myself over and over a thousand times a week is that I am doing this for ME. I want to be healthy. I want to live. I want my life to be fuller and more satisfying and I can't do that if I hide behind all this extra weight. I cannot allow what others say and do get in the way of that again. I have to learn to graciously accept the sincere compliments as well as set personal boundaries and respectfully let people know when they are crossing the line. I will not use self-depreciating humor to deflect when things get uncomfortable, but I will look people in the eye and speak honestly. I think underneath it all, people don't want to make you feel bad nor do they want to sabotage your success! They are just awkward and don't know how to think before they speak sometimes. It is shocking to them when someone loses 100lbs or more! But this part is also temporary. Our huge changes will be very evident for the first year, but after that, people will get used it the NewJeffery and eventually forget what OldJeffery looked like. The new you will become the normal, EverydayJeffery that they see and things will settle down and you will be able to wake up every day and enjoy this wonderful gift of life you've been given!

carriekos... I can totally relate. The scale hasn't moved for me in 2 weeks. It is so frustrating and very discouraging. I can't believe I am eating so little and haven't lost weight. I am holding out hope for this week.

Time4ChangeNY - glad to hear I'm not the only one. Keeping my fingers crossed that the scale moves for both of us next time we get on it.

@Ready2b. Thanks!! Your comments were awesome. Its funny because today at the mission this one Chaplain is asking me all of these personal questions, after complimenting me, and I had to tell him that we are not close enough for you to ask me.

I also love the moniker, "Everyday Jeffrey". Thank you for the encouragement :-) :-)

@@NicoleSW I'm so sorry to hear that you had to go through such a rough patch. Hopefully you're going to stay on the mend and get to the point where you're moving forward.

Hang in there....we're all here for you.

Sounds like there's a bunch of us that all had surgery around the same time that have reached that stall point. I officially haven't lost anything for at least 10 days now. You bet it's frustrating and discouraging........ I keep thinking that I'm going to get on the scale and see a big drop. Problem is that I started out NOT getting on the scale except once a week, but since I hadn't lost ANYTHING after the next week I've been obsessed with stepping on it everyday which has really upset me. I know I shouldn't do it, but I keep thinking that if I get on one more time it's going to say something different.

I see Dr. McMeany (my name for him) this afternoon. I can't wait for him to give me his speech about how I need to do a minimum of 60 minutes of good exercise everyday. I'm just getting to the point where I can walk a little further each couple days. It certainly isn't 60 minutes...... but it's the best I can do right now. I know my ability to do more will improve, but he'll still bust my hump about it. If he gives me a hard time about now having lost as much as he thinks I should have to this point, I know I'll cry. I'm feeling very fragile right now....... My father-in-law's death, the holidays, my mom's declining because of Alzheimers....etc.

Hi November Surgery Buddies! I just got home from my 1 month checkup. I've lost 20 lbs on their scales since my preop appt 1 week before surgery. I was really hoping for more, but they reassured me I was doing great and right on schedule. I told them about my week long stall and they said it is VERY typical for the first month - your body is still adjusting to a huge change. I finally started losing again the past couple of days and I can't tell you how happy and relieved I was to see that number finally move again. @@Dabliss111114 - hang in there! It will move!

One thing the nutritionist told me is that not getting enough protein or water will cause a stall almost every time. I had a rough week where I couldn't eat much, so I know I wasn't getting enough. That's picked back up the last few days - and the scale moved! So - go figure. I was also released to eat a regular diet with no restrictions as long as I can get in my 60 gm of protein (and of course not eat more than I should). So the first thing I asked her if I could have was PIZZA! She laughed and said of course! I am still having problems with meats of any kind so, for me it would be a thin crust cheese pizza or something like that. So I stopped on the way home and got a Lean Cuisine artichoke cheese snack size pizza that totally made my day! Funny how that would have never done it for me before surgery, but today I was so thrilled to get it!

The deal with meat is she said that after RNY, some people don't produce enough stomach acids to break down meats for a while so your small intestines have to handle it and they aren't ready for it yet either. Some handle it fine - I am just not one of them. That's okay with me for now - there are plenty of other ways I can get in protein. I love cheese! And I just discovered edamame this week, so that's another great source of protein. I will keep trying meat every now and then to see when I can finally tolerate it, but right now it feels like I've swallowed a rock and then sends me into nasty retching and other ugly stuff.

I pray every morning that when I step on that scale it will be a little less then the day before. Ounce by ounce.

Saw the doc this afternoon. He said I probably wasn't getting enough liquids in everyday, and that would cause a stall, but he also said I needed to "move" more. I knew he'd give me his exercise speech. I'll try to increase my liquids, but it's hard. I get almost nauseous if I take more than a couple small swallows at any given time. He said to sip almost constantly, like once every minute or two. He said that clear liquids move very quickly out of the pouch into the small intestine where it's absorbed, so constant sipping should do the trick. How do we get anything else done, if our entire day is consumed with sipping????? I'm just saying....... I'll give it a try though.

He gave me the ok to start eating a little more solid food. Still no raw fruits or veggies, but I can add more normal things. He told me to eat a lot of fish. Any kind....salmon, flounder, tilapia, etc. as long as it's broiled, baked or poached. He also said that the natural oils in the fish would help with the constipation. I certainly hope so because I'm still having a problem with that. Now I have to take Colace everyday,then every third day, and so on for awhile. He said that some patients have to take something all the time........ Wonderful......

For those of you that also said you had that nasty morning mouth that felt pasty and tasted so bad.....

I asked about it. He said it's usually due to the way the proteins we drink are digested. We don't produce much stomach acid right now, and everything tends to get way more alkaline in pH in our bodies. He said that as we move away from as much pure liquid protein and more towards food it'll get better. His "intelligent" answer was to brush our teeth more often...... I guess. Like I said way early on.....this guy may be one of the best surgeons in the southeast, but he's a jerk when it comes to personality and bed side manor. I'm glad I don't have to see him again for another 2 months. Only have to see the nutritionist every 4 weeks.

TOMORROW I WILL START DRINKING MORE LIQUIDS and I WILL "MOVE" MORE!!!!! the scale better start to move again!!!