I am scheduled for February 18th. I will be first in. Wow, this process takes forever.

Stress IS awful - and I'm always so surprised when I read that people get turned down for surgery for being a "stress eater". There must be more to their stories as well... But anyway, I'm back on track now and so happy to be able to connect with a supportive group of people like yourselves to share this journey with!

Oh hey SLD - I see you are from AZ? We moved to FL from Mesa/Tempe.

My weight loss is SLOOOWWWW. Maybe 1-2 pounds a week (but I'm not really tracking it). It is coming off though. I walk every day (short walks, slow pace), but I have been going EVERY DAY

I will be 8 weeks on Friday and I am very close to your numbers. The math is on our side though. Less calories vs. activity and eventually our brain will receive the info and the numbers will move.
I have had food get stuck too. I tried a hard boiled egg the other morning. I chewed it as much as I could but it still got stuck. I swear it felt like what I imagine a heart attack feels like. Needless to say, It will be a while before I try a dry egg again. ?

I don't know if my walks qualify as "exercise" - I mean I'm not weight training, doing major cardio, etc. I'm just trying to move. It helps with my stress, back pain and hopefully I'm burning a few cals as well!

I eat protein in the morning (usually an egg but today I had turkey sausage). I'm not tracking calories, and I feel pretty "normal".

I have found that when I'm eating with people who don't know I had surgery that I tend to eat MORE and eat FAST. I'm trying to hide that I'm not eating much. The other day a waitress said "honey you didn't eat at all!" when she picked up my plate. I had only ordered a side order and could barely make a dent. Those situations are embarassing and I don't want to have to explain myself every time I eat!

Yes! I’ve really just started walking regularly and I’ve bought a rowing machine that will be delivered today. I’m hoping to see better results. I just need to be careful with nighttime eating. I keep calories between 600-800, carbs under 30, surly to God this weight is going to come off! I hate to say it, but I actually lost better on my own prior to surgery eating much more. I’m can’t reconcile that in my mind, but I’m trying to convince myself it’s just because my body is healing and adjusting.

27 minutes ago, taylormomto6 said:

Froufrou- what kind of Protein are you having a hard time with? Just meats or is it meats, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese etc?

I'm vegetarian, so it's the veggie proteins - yesterday it was a quorn pattie with some cheese on top. I chewed it to a pulp but still threw up. Cheese is ok, but eggs or veggie protein is hard.

So Frou Frou I didn't realize your surgery was Feb 5th - I'm really surprised you are still getting sick. You must still be healing. Do you think your portion was too big yesterday??

It is so hit or miss when I get sick and I can't throw up, so I have to sit there hella nauseated for hours. Not a fan of that!

It's possible that I ate too much. I'm just wondering why I'm having such a hard time with it! haha. I ate 3/4 of the pattie and then threw up.

Everythinganna- I cant throw up either. I really don’t get nauseated though. Even when food is stuck it’s mostly just uncomfortable and a bit painful.

I have to say that I do feel much better when I throw up... not fun to do, but at least it relieves the pain. I also did it with my cauliflower cheese later on in the evening.

Well let's hope it all straightens out, give yourself a brief pause and then try again.

7 hours ago, Everythinganna said:

I gained 30+ pounds in 2018; 1. because I stopped taking diet pills after 20 years of taking them off and on, 2. I was in an accident and sustained a pretty bad back injury and mild head injury - couldn't walk at first so exercise was limited; 3. My mom got critically ill with ovarian cancer, I was her caretaker - she died in December; and if you want to add more stress - 4. My husband and I were both unemployed for about 5 months last year, after moving to Florida for his new job (which didn't work out because the project he was relocated for got put on hold and they no longer could afford to keep him).

So - by the time all of that was said and done, I was already 25 pounds heavier. I decided for my back pain, depression and general health I wanted to explore this surgery. So I did gain about 5 pounds just to hit the BMI mark because I knew once I stopped those diet pills my weight gain was really just starting. I did have to be self-pay, but overall I'm sooooooo much better now than I was a year ago in pretty much every aspect. I start a new job this month (well, my old company is hiring me back - very generous), which I'm so happy about having quit my job last year to care for my Mom. There is so much more to this whole background/story, but anyway, sometimes you have to do what you have to do! I know now I made the right decision. We are also buying a new house so I'm out house shopping pretty much all day these days after being renters for almost a decade. Things are good in my life, no complaints.

Sounds like you made the right decision too... So happy your sleep apnea has improved!

On another note - I love salads and have no problems with lettuce. Spicy food seems to be a problem for me.

How interesting, we had surgery the same day, and we are treated by the same office. Dr. Domkowski was my surgeon though. He’s pretty incredible.

10 minutes ago, Rocketman said:

How interesting, we had surgery the same day, and we are treated by the same office. Dr. Domkowski was my surgeon though. He’s pretty incredible.

Wow! So you probably saw me shuffling the halls of Riverside Surgical Feb 20-22. That’s crazy! Very very very small world!! I haven’t been back for a follow up and they are not happy with me but I live in Jax and it’s so hard with 4 kids and the constant drama I’m dealing with....

I didn't see much of anyone. I was ready to leave, and exhausted while there. I have a second follow up Monday. I like the staff, and the Surgeon a lot so didn’t mind the 30 min drive to get there. I’m happy with my choice for sure.

3 minutes ago, Rocketman said:

I didn't see much of anyone. I was ready to leave, and exhausted while there. I have a second follow up Monday. I like the staff, and the Surgeon a lot so didn’t mind the 30 min drive to get there. I’m happy with my choice for sure.

I could handle 30 min - 6 hours round trip is a struggle. But I do need to go back. They really care about their patients.

Weird how different places work.
Mine saw me at 2 weeks, and didn’t want to see me again til week of memorial day.
And my surgery was at the beginning of February