Hi everyone...My name is Denise and I’m from NJ ,I had my surgery 4/20/09. The day of my surgery I weighed 310 pounds and as of this morning I am 141 pounds. I still struggle with my food addiction and some days are harder then others.I also have bipolar . I was just wandering if there’s anyone that has had the surgery as long as me.

Hi! I'm only 9 months out, but I just wanted to say thanks for joining this forum. It's great to hear from WLS veterans, and I'd love to hear any lessons you'd care to pass along from someone who has lost the weight and successfully kept it off long-term!

Hi ....

a few lessons I did learn is don’t go back to eating what made you heavy, after a few years I started my bad eating again and gained 30 pounds back. I wasn’t happy with myself at all. So I started back from the beginning after I got out of the hospital. It worked for me and since then I have kept my weight down. You have done an amazing job with your weight loss. Keep up the great work .

I'm really happy to hear from someone with bipolar disorder who has stayed at a healthy weight so long after surgery! I'm still jumping through hoops with insurance, but I've had bipolar disorder since I was 14 (I'm 41 now) and I am really worried the meds will make it impossible to keep the weight off. Also, I'm worried I won't be able to keep my mental health stable after surgery. Has that been an issue for you?

Thanks for joining and sharing!

Hi , I was diagnosed with bipolar at age 18 and I’m 52 now, in my 30’s is when I started really taking care of my mental health, I had my surgery when I was 40 and being on my medication and making sure I had a great support system at home helped me a lot. To this day I still have my mood swings but not as bad. Losing the weight helped my bipolar sooo much, I didn’t like myself at all being heavy and not being able to lose the weight on my own, my surgery saved my life and my mental health. I love myself and the person I see in the mirror, I use to dream of being thinner and now I can wear jeans and certain clothes , I didn’t wear jeans for 25 years when I put my first size 4 on ,I was a new woman. Please know the surgery doesn’t make our bipolar go away but it helps it so much because we , me , loves who I am now . Good luck with your new journey and keep me posted, I’d love to know how your doing with your surgery and your mental health ?

I am pretty happy with most aspects of my life, and my mental health is good most of the time, I just can't seem to lose weight and keep it off, which is definitely something that upsets me if I'm already depressed - like for about 10 years I only ever considered WLS when I was really depressed, because I was convinced it would kill me. It wasn't until during COVID, I had become sedentary and was in even worse shape that I realized the weight was making it impossible for me to do what I love, which was enjoy travel. Now I'm still a little scared of the surgery, but mostly I'm excited.

I know it’s a little scary, but it will change your life for the better. If I didn’t do the surgery I know I’d have diabetes and high blood pressure right now. Some of my family members have both. When I got scared ,because it’s normal too, it’s a surgery , but I would think of all things I would be able to do in my new body. Your life will change for the good. So will your health.

I'm 18 years post-op.

We each have our challenges and you seem to working yours. Keep working.

Most of the core issues I had pre-op I still have. The issues with being super morbidly obese are no longer among them, which makes a lot of other things smoother.

Good luck

Tek

Thank You for sharing.. your stories are very inspiring!

I am also 12 years out. Lost a lot of weight SW was 310 day of surgery I was about 265. I gained quite a bit back.... and 3 years ago started Keto and now I am about 145 (pre covid I was 135....gotta lose the covid pounds now)

I was going through a divorce when I had my surgery and I never had good habits after. Basically I replaced food with alcohol (was not a drinker prior to WLS). Now I don't drink and take tons of vitamins. My labs have never been better but I still struggle with healthy eating habits. Every day though gets better and Keto was a lifesaver.

Hi there,

February 09 surgery and maintaining. My binge eating exploded a few years post op. Our need for short and long term mental health support following weight loss surgery is under valued. We need available support for our head issues even if we've not needed mental health support in the past.

Almost every day is a battle but I'm managing. Hopefully I'll find answers to my dysfunctional eating patterns. I look forward to the day when my relationship to food becomes "normal".

This is my elusive goal. Achieving a normal and rational perspective on food and body image. High five to both of us for losing weight. High hopes that each of us will find what's needed to move from a daily struggle to normal maintenance.

MSW