Two Years Later

I started at 291 lbs I currently and am holding at 129 ish.  130 freaks me out.  My lowest was 121 but I did have the flu.  My lowest weight for several weeks was 124.  SO 5 lbs up and down does not bother me at all. But I refuse to get over 130.  My body wants to eat about 5 small meals a day.  I get the shakes if I dont eat every 2-3 hours. I have not picked sodas back up...Tea and water for me. Beer on the weekends at the River. I do crave sweets and i'll go to Publix and get a sugar free cake. I've gone from a tight 24/26 to a 6/8.  I have no breast tissue at all.  I need a lower body lift, mild TT, arms done, and implants.  This is no major concern i can cover most of this up. I would do it again, and again, and again.  I did get severly anemic this time last year and had 8 iron infusions.  But I'd still have the surgery again.  I hope each and everyone of you are as blessed as I have been.   Thanks to my daughters, parents, and great friends who stand by me incourage me, and help me when I do get sick.   And yes, I am a dumper!  I still vomit 2 years out. Kudos to each of you.

Wow i cant believe ur down to 129!! that makes me a little depressed...although very HAPPY for u!!  :) I want to be at 125ish....although at 150 everyone seemed to think i was becoming too thin and looked sickly...so they say that everybodies body has its certain look that works for them and u cant go by the #...i suppose i can be a believer of that! lol Although i can say i became addicted to the gym for a SHORT period of time...im sure i could get these last 20lbs off if i truely wanted to be at that 125ish.....Although i just had the baby last month...i only need to lose the 14lbs to get back to 150....and i feel so fat now...so im thinkin that NOW may be that time to get to that 125 just to see what it looks like!! lol
I cant believe its been 2 yrs...thats crazy....well CONGRATS to u and all ur success.....hope u continue to do what ur doing! and dont worry im still an occassional dumper as well :) haha although im not gonna lie...being pregnant i ate whatever i wantd and it was GREAT!! haha.

Congrats back at you. And a baby! Wow! that is awesome.  I'm sure you can get all the weight off you need to. i"m just been truley blessed.  But I have a horrific body!  I do not wear shorts evenat 130. My thighs hang so bad...I wear like knee board shorts even on the river.  Now I can do a bikini top and wear it well..  But my lower body is horrendious.  So sad...

 

This surgery has its ups and downs that is for sure.

I had my two year anniversary on August 14th 2009. I started around 250 and ended at about 165. I lost all of my weight in 11 weeks, then had a stricture fixed and did not loose another pound. In the last month I have gained about 10 lbs to weigh in at 175. I have complete prolapse on my uterus, bladder and  rectum (sorry TMI??!!) This makes my walking routine impossible. I have also been eating much larger portions - because I can.  I do still dump on dairy products, but nothing else and mostly just in the morning. I do need plastics badly, but cannot afford to pay the 20 grand to have it done. ( Contrary to what I was told BEFORE surgery, my insurance does not pay for it unless you meet VERY specific critera - which I do not)
Am I happy I had the surgery? I guess I am, yes, I am.  Grateful for sure.  But I am very fearful of gaining it all back. I feel very let down by my sugery site , as they have not ever contacted me since requesting my yearly bloodwork results. And thats all they did was request them. There was no follow up, no after care EVER -  AT ALL. 
I met some wonderful people on this site, but it seems they have all flown the coop. Which is normal actually for people moving on with their lives.
I pray for them and for me that I don't gain everything and loose myself in fat again. PLease anyone reading this considering the surgery - remember it doesn't change who you are, just how much you can eat for a short time. If you don't do the hard homework of changing your own  mental state,  the reasons why you over ate in the first place - you'll go back to being fat.

I am 2 years out RNY.  I have been a avid reader, not a poster.  I am 43 and 5' 2".  My internal goal was 135 (which i got to for a day)...with my internal max of 140.  i am semi-struggling to keep my weight at 140.  I have been at 139-141 since 9 months out.  I figure if i can hold this, i am doing good.  I don't track every bite like I used to, but do watch what i eat.  I do spurlge sometimes at family events.  I graze a little bit in the afternoons...but try my best to stop after dinner.  I love to walk...walking about 15 miles a week.  I hope to report the same stats at 5 years out.  I am so scared of gaining years down the road.  All my health issues have gone away...I couldn't ask for anything more (except some plastics).  Thanks for listening.

thanks to everyone who shared and read these posts. I wish the best for eveyone *****ads  this. Good luck.

Hi Everyone,  I'm really glad to see that some of us still use this site to keep in touch.  I had stopped checking in for a while because I thought no one was reading or writing from our Aug 07 group.  I am maintaining a weight of 145-148.  I eat a lot more than I did and that makes me really nervous.  My mark on the scale is 150. I won't let myself go above that.  I do dump but very rarely.  I feel terrible after eating anything that is too high in sugar but for some reason that doesn't stop me.  I am very glad I had the surgery.  I feel much healthier and happier than I did 2 years ago.  I too need plastics but can't afford it.  I would be happy with a tummy tuck and maybe a breast lift.  Most of the time I can sort of hide my imperfections with the right cloths.   Best of luck to everyone from our August losers.  Fran

I'm from the August group too! I'm holding between 104-106 at 5' 2-1/2. It sure does get harder though in terms of hunger. I just try not to think about it.

Hi all! Loooooong time no see/talk/post! I've been reallllllly lax about getting online since I took a job sitting in front of a computer for 10+ hours a day. I get home and the LAST thing I want to do is sit in front of my puter LOL.

I'm so sorry I've not been around to be of more support to those of you struggling!  Tara, you are an INCREDIBLE woman and don't you EVER forget it! Each one of us is in our own beautiful, unique way. I understand the struggle of hitting a brick wall with weight loss.  Been there, done that many many many times in life.  This time is only different because my body reacted so totally differently to the surgery than it did to any other form of weight loss I'd ever tried.  I also had hit a place that seemed I couldn't lose anymore. I did two things....I told my doctor and my nurse educator and they got right on it--gave me information and options that allowed me to lose another 20+ lbs. One of those options was appetite suppressants.  I know many people that have had surgery feel that if they "have to use appetite suppressants" then they failed somewhere along the line.  Let me ask you to do this.....DEFINE "FAILED."  If you had the surgery, lost at least some of your weight, have kept a good portion of it off (especially at the 2 yr curse mark!) and are as normal with your "head hunger" as the rest of us...we all feel it........then where and when have you failed?  Using an appetite suppressant is NOT a failure, but a means to keep our head hunger at bay.  That's it! That's all! My doctor (not my surgeon, but my aftercare doctor) told me that if I've gotten head hunger then I'm normal, if I've fought head hunger, then I'm normal, if I've found a way to help me THROUGH head hunger, then I'm exceptional! It isn't a crutch I use constantly, but it is something that I have available if I ever need it.

I believe you all are exceptional, beautiful women (and men too...we KNOW you're out there!) that have made a positive change in your lives that nobody can EVER take away from you.  We will ALWAYS struggle with our weight--whether we gain our weight back or remain slim--forever...because it became a main focal point of our lives for most of our lives. We fear failure in that ONE area more than anywhere else in our lives. We can always be concerned and careful about it......but remember ONE thing......it ISN'T a temporary fix ...it's permanent!!  Our body will never be the same, that pouch will NEVER hold as much as it did before, and there are helps and tools to help "tighten" that pouch again.  Try this....   www.5daypouchtest.com  it works for me and it's a reminder of where we started at in this journey....a "back to basics" if you will.

I've held steady now at 137-140 for the better part of a year. I'm wearing size 3/4. If I gain a couple or three pounds I MAKE myself not panic. Our bodies still go through hormonal phases and usually adjust back in a few days.  As far as feeling hunger...I don't. I haven't felt hunger pangs or sensations PHYSICALLY since my surgery. I often have to remind myself to eat because I get busy and forget because I don't feel hunger. This can be just as bad. But I will ALWAYS battle head hunger. I really paid attention to my body after surgery and allowed myself to really feel sensations.  Hunger, actual hunger was not a sensation I felt.  Head hunger, however, that's a battle of the mind, not the stomach/pouch. If I REALLY thought about it when I was "craving" something, I'd usually realize it wasn't actually hunger I was FEELING, it was hunger I was DESIRING. Grabbed myself a protein shake, a piece of fruit, or a walk.  I trained myself to know and notice the difference between physical hunger and head hunger.  I can honestly say, I don't --can't--remember what the sensation of hunger felt like it's been so long.

I hope I've helped...and please forgive me if I've gone on and on.  I'm still VERY passionate about my new health and life.  Sometimes I can seem overly aggressive or pushy.  I'm sorry if I've come off that way.

God bless each of you and may your journey be ever so successful!!  I love you all!

Brenda

Brenda,

I don't feel you were "pushy" at all. This is what this site is for; expressing our feelings and experiences. And that is what you did. I appreicate it!
I did have a hysterestomy and prolapse repair and lost some weight too. Back down to 165, same as I've been since 11 weeks out. I am not exactly "happy" here, but I am content. I do not think I will ever get fat again, I have been up, and been down and know I can loose some fast if I need to and how to do it.
My hysterectomy was on Sept 29th so I'm only two weeks out from that, and it was not fun AT ALL. But it's over and I am looking so forward to walking again, and other stuff that I couln't do.
I hope all of you are well, and post when you can. I will not forget you.
Tara