Hi, I'm 14 days post-op

Hi everyone. I just joined 8/29/05. I had my surgery on 8/17/05 and have been doing pretty well so far but wanted to find a place where I could ask questions and share experiences with others who have had gastric by-pass surgery. Unlike a lot of people who have had this surgery, I have not been overweight my whole life, but have struggled with weight (up and down) for the past 20 years (I am 40 so this is my whole adult life). I am 5' 10" and weighed 357 on 8/17/05. My goal weight is 150 which is what I have weighed when I am not overweight. I was so ashamed of gaining so much weight these past three years that I did not allow any pictures of me to be taken. My driver's license photo shows how I looked 7 years ago at 150, and when people see it, they just look at me and you can see them thinking "how in the world did you let yourself get like this?" So I'm trying hard not to dwell on how much I've hurt my body by putting all this weight on it and to concentrate on healing it as much as possible. Hopefully this time, I will be able to keep the weight off and maintain a healthy weight for life!

HI CHARLOTTE! CONGRATULATIONS! I HAVE NOT HAD THE SURGERY YET (SCHEDULED FOR SEPT 13TH) BUT I AM HERE FOR YA. HOW ARE YOU FEELING? I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT, WELL I THINK WE ALL DO. RIGHT NOW DON'T DWELL ON HOW MUCH YOU'VE HURT YOUR BODY IN THE PAST, CONCENTRATE ON THE POSITIVE CHANGES YOU HAVE MADE. YOU JUST WENT THROUGH SURGERY TO IMPROVE YOURSELF. THIS IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE, YOU WERE GIVEN THIS TOOL, SO PUT IT TO THE TEST. JUST REMEMBER TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD MY FRIEND- THE BEST OF LUCK CHRIS

Charlotte, Congrats! We share the same birthday or Surg day. 8/17/2005. Our story sounds similar. Not a typical candidate, but a candidate. I had my 14 day check up today. Moving on to soft fishes etc... My main problem so far seems to be that nothing fills me up and I'm so affraid of stretching.... Other than that no real complications. You? Ken

Hi Charlotte and welcome to the group. I had my surgery aug 1/05. Already I feel a huge difference. I can actually walk to the bus stop and not be out of breath. It is such a good feeling. Unlike Ken, I have trouble getting the food in because I always feel full. It's funny, I never thought I would say this but I have absolutely no interest in food, I just eat cause I know I have too. Anyway, take care all Joyce

Just wanted to say Welcome and congratulations on your surgery!

Hi. I just joined 8/31/05. My surgery was also done on 8/17/05. I have not had a chance to join a local support group. So this website is FANTASTIC. I'm 5'9" and weighed 265 on 8/17/05. On 8/22/05, I weighed 255. On 8/29/05, I weighed 258. (I had been eating alot of mashed potatoes and gravy and drinking less).. So, needless to say, I've stopped eating the "taters" and started drinking more & more.. I'm not suppose to eat those things until 3 weeks after surgery. I go for the 1st follow-up appt on 9/6/05. I am sooo afraid that I've done something to the "band", because I don't feel full alot of times. I'll find out next week.. I was diagnosed with COPD 7 years ago(or longer). Because of that, I had to take steriods at different times throughout the years. That's where I picked up majority of my weight. I look forward to losing about 155 pounds.. My short term goal is to climb 15 stairs at one time without having shortness of breath. Good Luck to you!