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Surgery booked for mid July



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Hi all I'm Ben, I am all the way over in New Zealand so I hope it's OK for me to post here.

Anyway I have been looking around this forum for helpful information regarding Weight loss surgery and I have found plenty of down to earth relatable information.

I thought I would write my first post regarding my story so far. I am a 29yr old male (married with 2 boys), I'm 365 pounds and 6ft 2".

I have battled weight my whole life and was always the biggest in my class through my school years.

I have been considering surgery for about the last year or so, I had the first appointment with the surgeon a couple of weeks ago. He said I was a good candidate, he ran bloods and apart from high BP which he gave me medication for I was healthy. I did the sleep study last night checking me for sleep apnea which I am waiting on the results off. I have an appointment with the nutritionist next month.

We booked in the surgery for mid July to work around my downtime at work in July/August. He advised me I would need to go on a liquid diet 4 weeks prior to shrink the size of my stomach.

I haven't fully decided what surgery I'm going to have yet I'm leaning 70/30 toward gastric bypass at the moment. Mostly because of dumping, my greatest fear would be trying to eat what I used to again. My biggest problem is White bread, soda and greasy food.< /p>

Im currently really excited about the possibilities my future holds. I have never known what it's like to be a "normal" person so to speak. I know it's not going to be an easy road and just reading some of the posts on here I have received some great inspiration. Apart from my wife and parents nobody knows about me having the surgery so it'll be good to hear some positive advice from people who have been through what I am going through.

Thanks for reading

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Hi Ben Im a kiwi living in melbourne and I am due fir a gastric sleeve op this coming Tuesday. I only have had to go thru a 2 week liquid diet b4 the op and its challenging but doable. I am 48yo, 5ft 11in and and also around 360lbs. Although I haven't been like this all my life and have only really put it on over the past 5+ years. Happy to share my experiences as I go, you will find i post abit under the melbourne/australia parts in both the gastric sleeve and chat sections if the forum.

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Hi kiwi jet yeah that would be good I will go for a read, I'm starting to look at the sleeve now after seeing how well guys do on here after the op cheers

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Hi kiwi jet yeah that would be good I will go for a read, I'm starting to look at the sleeve now after seeing how well guys do on here after the op cheers

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Hi BigBen :)

I have seen posts from all over this blue planet so I think all will be welcome.

I am working on a surgery date in Sept. I would love to do it earlier but my job can't spare me til then.

I first started this journey with a sleeve in mind. The thought of them dettaching and

re-attaching my organ parts was too scary.

I am now seriously considering the bypass even though it will cost more (I am self-pay). I keep reading about people having to revise to the bypass after a sleeve for various reasons. Being self-pay will put me in debt for quite some time so another surgery is not an option.

I have also been concerned about reflux that seems to be very common with the sleeve. I don't think I would want to risk battling that my whole life.

I realize that there is actually more risk of complications with a bypass but I am hoping my surgeon, who has an excellent track record, will minimize this.

However, if you do decide on a bypass I would not count on dumping to keep you on track. I was hoping for the same help but I have been reading that there is only a small percentage of people that actually experience dumping.

Finally, I am 5'8" 336 lbs with a BMI of 51 and since bypass has a slight advantage in 1st year for weightloss it is looking like an option that better works for me.

Having said all that...I will of course take the advice of my surgeon and do whichever he thinks is the best fit for me.

Good luck in your Journey BigBen. Hopefully see you around here more sharing your success stories.

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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!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • 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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