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There is so much more about me than just weight-loss surgery... Very Long!



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23 minutes ago, AshAsh1 said:

So glad you shared your story! Good luck tomorrow, I will be thinking about you and your surgeons!

Thank you for saying so! You have been such an inspiration to me since I came here. Your posts are always informative and well written. I appreciate what you bring to this forum. (-:

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25 minutes ago, FLHappyGirl said:

Thanks for sharing your story! You have had a difficult journey. I will be thinking of you tomorrow and wish you much success in this next step. You've got this! :)

Thank you very much! I appreciate it!

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14 minutes ago, iluvbears42@yahoo.com said:

I hope both surgeries work for you. Good luck.

Thank you! I am confident they will and I will be much better off for going through with them.

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2 minutes ago, macadamia said:

Thank you for saying so! You have been such an inspiration to me since I came here. Your posts are always informative and well written. I appreciate what you bring to this forum. (-:

Well, thank you... making a girl blush over here. But seriously, keep us posted on how it goes!

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1 minute ago, Christabelle said:

Thank you for sharing your story! I'll be be praying for you and that your surgeon is able to it laparoscopically tommorow!

Thank you! If the bariatric surgeon can do it laparoscopically, great! However, if he cannot, at least the skin he will be cutting through has never been cut through before. My upper abdomen is virgin when it comes to surgery. This will make for an easier recovery than the lower abdomen, where I have been opened three times prior and have a lot of scar tissue.

And, the bariatric surgeon really does not want to do it open. He says it makes his job much more difficult. They have perfected the surgery to be done laparoscopically and the tools work much better when used that way. They do not work as well when they are not locked within a trocar

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4 minutes ago, AshAsh1 said:

Well, thank you... making a girl blush over here. But seriously, keep us posted on how it goes!

Oh, if only... :P

you know I will...

Edited by macadamia

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Wow! Am I rooting for your success with this all!!!! Prednisone is a cruel cruel (and miraculous) drug! And so is digestive diseases. I'm so sorry you've suffered and felt like you had to do this alone without a life partner. I pray this is the answer for final relief!!!

I know you've probably tried all things, but what happens when you go to a really pure diet of only protein/fat and very select veggies. NO gluten or things that cross-react with gluten (including dairy). Do you see any improvement at this point?

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6 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Wow! Am I rooting for your success with this all!!!! Prednisone is a cruel cruel (and miraculous) drug! And so is digestive diseases. I'm so sorry you've suffered and felt like you had to do this alone without a life partner. I pray this is the answer for final relief!!!

I know you've probably tried all things, but what happens when you go to a really pure diet of only protein/fat and very select veggies. NO gluten or things that cross-react with gluten (including dairy). Do you see any improvement at this point?

Thank you! Prednisone is the worst drug I've ever had the misfortune of taking. If you look at the photos, all of the stretch marks are because of Prednisone. When it was first prescribed, I was on an ultra-high dose. I gained over 75 pounds in about three weeks. My skin never recovered. A couple of years later when the doctor said I needed to take it again, I said no way. That was when I opted for the first surgery back in 1995. It is the only drug that has ever made me rage. I was a mess when I was on it. Aside from the weight gain, I was so short-fused no one could stand to be around me. Once I stopped taking it, that all went away. IMHO, Prednisone is evil, plain and simple...

As for the Keto diet, I've tried it and the high fat made me ill and gave me acne really bad. I'm basically doing a modified keto, modified Atkins, which is high Protein and low carb. It has helped so far.

Edited by macadamia

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Yeah, I was on prednisone for most of my first 11 years of life due to a blood disease that is very similar to leukemia. By 13 I had full-blown PCOS and was already starting to express some Cushing's Syndrome features. When I was in my 30s my asthma went out of control when I moved back to Houston and I was again on large dose of it both oral and inhaled. Instant 130lb gain within 1 year. Oh boy, such stretchies on my tums. But good news is they have mostly gone away with weight loss. So maybe you will experience the same?

((hugs)) and thanks for sharing your story and journey! You are inspirational.

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3 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Yeah, I was on prednisone for most of my first 11 years of life due to a blood disease that is very similar to leukemia. By 13 I had full-blown PCOS and was already starting to express some Cushing's Syndrome features. When I was in my 30s my asthma went out of control when I moved back to Houston and I was again on large dose of it both oral and inhaled. Instant 130lb gain within 1 year. Oh boy, such stretchies on my tums. But good news is they have mostly gone away with weight loss. So maybe you will experience the same?

((hugs)) and thanks for sharing your story and journey! You are inspirational.

Wow, you've had a tough road too! It would be nice if my stretch marks went away, but I doubt they will. I've lost weight in the past and they never did. We'll see about this time, but I think they are here to stay.

Thank you for saying so! {{{hugs}}}

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3 minutes ago, macadamia said:

Wow, you've had a tough road too! It would be nice if my stretch marks went away, but I doubt they will. I've lost weight in the past and they never did. We'll see about this time, but I think they are here to stay.

Thank you for saying so! {{{hugs}}}

After carrying twins full-term, I can tell you that they will shrink and get pale, which is far less noticeable!

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2 minutes ago, Orchids&Dragons said:

After carrying twins full-term, I can tell you that they will shrink and get pale, which is far less noticeable!

Ok, I'll remain optimistic. It will be interesting to see what I look like when I meet my goal. The last time I weighed close to 200 pounds was when I joined the Navy. I entered boot camp at 196 pounds with a size 37" waist and left boot camp 10-weeks later at 196 pounds, but with a 34" waist.

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    • LeighaTR

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      · 0 replies
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    • Doughgurl

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      1. Selina333

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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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