Thoughts from my 4-year follow-up appt today

Lora,
I wish we had the option of a "Like" button for moments like these! Congratulations for all of your accomplishments and for the support to you lend to many of us everyday.
God bless you,
Cor

I'm glad that your doc reinforced what we all started this journey for .. better health!  Sure we'd all like to be that one size smaller but, hey, we can move easily, cross our legs, fit in airplane seats .. and run up and down stairs!  

You're in inspiration to a lot of folks on this site .. thanks for sharing, thanks for continuing to be here for everyone, and thanks just for being you!  

Congrats on your success over the past 4 years (now if they could just fix your pain!) ...

 

 

It sounds to me like the appointment went well today.  It is important for our surgeons to reinforce our successes.  We are all different body shapes and sizes - some of us have small bones and other have large bones, so comparing sizes is very unrealistic.  This past fall I was very happy in my size 12's, on rare occasion I got into a 10 but only once or twice, basically always a 12 on bottom and a large on top (tee's)  Then I got sick and lost alot more weight and am now basically an 8 or 10.  It is weird because my face is way too thin, my hip bones, collar bones and ribs (depending on how stand or lie down) stick out but I still have a big roll in stomach is more obvious with the large scar going through it and little scar from the illiostomy on the side going right through it.  The right side looks like I have  a bagel on my stomach with a line down the middle and donut on the other side.  Not pretty.  So, it is hard to think that I am overweight with the bones sticking out but when I look at my stomach, I see all the fat still there.

So, for me an 8 is the absolutely lowest I will ever get to but am in the process of gaining weight.  The pancreatic enzymes I am taking are working - I have gained 8 pounds (haven't updatd my ticker yet)  I think I will be happy at 145, giving me a little room in case of any additional gains down the road.  But I think when I get there, I will probably be back to my 10;s which I am perfectly fine with.

I can't understand the postops that get to a size 2 (unless they are 5 feet tall), that is just way too skinny.  Can you imagine what we would look like at a size 2 or even a 0.  There is one person I was reading about the other day - 5'9 wearing a size 2 and says she is way too fat and wants a revision to DS to lose the remaining 10 -15 pounds she has to lose (weighs 125)  Her ideal size is a 00.  WHY? at 5'9? Sound anorexic to you?  does to me.

Be happy at your healthy weight and size.

I go for my 3 year in October - had labs done yestarday = 16 vials of blood. We shall see how things are going.

What is happening with the pain stuff?  Did you find another surgeon or are you going to the pain clinic?

I can relate to the scar stuff... the scarring from the necrosis after my tummy tuck resulted in an indentation along a section of the midline incision (so it makes the areas over my ribs on either side look fat when it really isn't) and what looks like nasty burn scars about an inch and a half wide all the way across under my breasts and then wider in a triangle at the top of the "T" (it was a "reverse" tummy tuck because I had already had the panni done).  I also have a couple of weird pooches of residual fat on the left side of my body both at my waist and at the top of my thigh. Not sure why, or why it is on one side of my body only, but liposuction freaks me out so I'm stuck with it.

Although I completely understand it (and have gotten caught up in it myself), the obsession with "the numbers" among those who have had WLS has always bothered me.  It seems worse here than in the live support groups, but that may just be a difference in exposure (I spend way more time here, obviously) and focus between the two venues.  I do worry about the general obsession with being skinny, though, and having had someone take her own life partially because she couldn't be as small as she wanted to be just reinforces the dysfunctional aspect of it.

I see the top bariatric surgeon here on the 6th and currently still have the series of appointments at the Cleveland Clinic scheduled for the week of Sept 12th.  (I may postpone or cancel those, though, depending on what the surgeon here says.)

Lora

Lora,

I'm SO glad to hear your appointment went well!!!  I'm also very happy that your doctor gave you some very well-deserved encouragment about how far you've come.  I also feel for you about being at your self-imposed upper limit of weight.  I'm at my upper limit too and really dread the idea of having to cut back.  I LIKE my maintenance eating, and I become very crabby and grumpy when I have to cut down.

In the two-plus years that I have been active on this board, you have been an encouragement and inspiration to me!  I appreciate your healthy, sensible way of looking at our weight loss and weight maintenance process. 

I'm sorry to hear you're still dealing with  the abdominal pain.  I hope you get answers soon!  

Lora,

I know it can de hard at times but you really should be proud of the person you have become and all that you have accomplished in your post op life.

You are an inspiration to others and show tremendous strength in freaking with your other health issues.

Lora, thanks for your honesty and sharing so honestly the reality that it ain't all ribbons and roses post-op. I'm more of a lurker than a poster, but I've been following the boards, and for me you have been such a help.

Good luck with the belly pain- hope it is solved and fixed soon.

Lora:
I echo what others have said and thank you for your inspiration.  I am 7 mos post op and down a total of 113 pounds since I began my journey in Oct 2010.  I now wear a comfortable size and feel so much better.  I would like to lose another 25 - it's just a number goal, but the feedback I get from coworkers is that I will be too thin. I'm trying not to get caught up in the head games that afflict so many of us formerly obese people - but you know what, it's hard work and I am worth it. My daily vow is to record what I eat, make active decisions about what I eat, and enjoy the journey - it's for the rest of my life.
Good luck with the rest of your evaluation!
Jackie