I've been away from the Bariatric Pal site for a few months. Just wanted to shout out to all the friends I've made here on the site and say, I'm back!

I lost my sister in early September 2015, after a long battle with asbestos-related illness, obesity, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. Despite it being a blessing that she is no longer suffering, I miss her terribly and still fight some depression from the loss of my last sister (my other sister, who was also obese, died unexpectedly at age 59). Her conditions were a main driving force in my decision to get the Gastric Sleeve to bring my weight down.

While I haven't made progress in months on my weight in pounds, I have lost more inches than anything, but am happy to say I haven't gained any back either. I've gone from a size 22W-24W pants down to a 12-14 Petite in women's slacks and jeans, and I have to wear a belt to keep the 14-Petites jeans up!. I can't believe how good it feels to be able to wear jeans again! My shirt sizes have shrunk from a MEN'S 2X-3X (depending on the cut of the shirt), to a MISSES Large.

My health has improved tremendously and spent part of Fall 2015 shooting basketball hoops with my oldest son, without running out of breath. During the winter, I've cut and split wood logs for our fireplace with no physical difficulties. While I still have a lot of pain in my leg and ankle (from massive injury in 2013, which required plates and screws to hold things together), it has eased up with the loss of excessive weight. I think once the cold weather turns warmer, my weight loss will pick back up as I'm able to get out and walk my dog. Oh yes, I adopted a new four-legged friend, and she will be accompanying me on my long walks this Spring and Summer.

I hope all of you are doing well on your weight loss goals. Best wishes to all!

Terry

Welcome Back! So sorry for your losses. I'm a newbie (surgery on Feb. 23rd). But, I wanted to thank you for sharing about your journey. Congratulations on the new bod! ????

Health has improved tremendously

@@4LgrLife_53

nice to see you

you've gone through a rough time recently

condolences about your sister

glad your health is improving

that what surgery is about

wonderful you didn't gain any weight

loosing inches is great

nice to have a new friend at home

you can take care of each other

welcome back

i"ll keep an eye on you

better do well

I know where you live!!!

i have confidence in you

that things will improve sooner than later

good luck

kathy

Welcome back.

I am so sorry for your loss.

It is great to hear how well you are doing in spite of your grief.