Poll: Everybody's Welcome!

Hi everyone, I wanted to start some communication on this board. 1) How old were you (or will you be) during your WLS? I was 25. 2) What has been the most difficult thing(s) about surg or things prior to surg if you are pre-op? Head Hunger, lack of sex drive, old feelings of depression that I did not adequately address in the past were dragged out, (changing my thinking to)thinking that I only need a small amount of food to fill me (eyes bigger than stomach) 3) If you are in a relationship, have things gotten better/worse/same? Things have gotten worse... my fiance, Billy, is ready to kill me cause I don't want to have sex, I am standing up for myself now because I am more confident (not that I shouldn't have before but now I do) and I will say no to other things now unlike before 4) What has been your greatest accomplishment(s) so far? fitting into size med tops and size 12 pants that are quickly getting too loose. Also, I am a physician assistant and some of my patients who I haven't seen in months come in for an appointment and they say, "Have I met you before?" 5) Do you eat snacks that maybe you shouldn't? Yes.... I love potato chips, baked doritos, tortillas with salsa but I eat them in moderation. I also eat pasta and (unfortunately) have no problem tolerating it. 6) Consultation weight/day of surg weight/current weight/goal weight? 243/249 (i know bad girl)/168/130 7) Have friends or family treated you differently? No thank god!

Hi Everyone, Bridget here.... this looked like fun... I added a question to the bottom... (o: 1) How old were you (or will you be) during your WLS? I was 23, 2 months shy of being 24 2) What has been the most difficult thing(s) about surg or things prior to surg if you are pre-op? I would have to say head hunger... its the worse... Also getting used to becomming satisfied with just a taste of something not a plate full. Giving up sugar hasn't been a big deal, but sometimes, I just can't help it... though, I have yet to dump due to sugar/carbs. 3) If you are in a relationship, have things gotten better/worse/same? I am not in a relationship, but I have found that I do get a lot more attention than I used to when I go out... Which, sometimes angers me... I didn't do this to look better (though it is a bonus)... I am the same person I was before, why was I not good enough then??? Now that I am down 70 pounds, what would happen if I gained some back (not that I plan to but you never know...) 4) What has been your greatest accomplishment(s) so far? I have made every goal that I set for myself thus far... I am about 3.5 months out and down 70 pounds! Being able to buy size 14/16 clothes is so much fun but hard on the pocket book! 5) Do you eat snacks that maybe you shouldn't? Not really... occasionally I will eat some sushi which has rice, but it is all in moderation and I usually pick about 1/2 of the rice off! I also love thai food... but I think that when I add a bit more fat in my diet I tend to lose faster. 6) Consultation weight/day of surg weight/current weight/goal weight? 286/280/209-212 depending on when I weigh/140ish 7) Have friends or family treated you differently? No... some of my friends are dissapointed that I don't go out as much as I used to, but going out to bars/clubs just isn't as much fun when you can't drink you know? My friend Meghan doesn't really like to talk to me about it... she wasn't overly supportive about my surgery but she wasn't against it either... Coworkers, most do not know about my surgery, they just think I have dropped weight, but since I am only in the office once every couple of weeks, my weightloss seems more dramatic. Most of my family hasn't seen me since I have been post-op... my mom was here for a couple of weeks after my surgery but thats about it... my Aunt saw me about 4 or 6 weeks out.... I was down about 25-30 pounds at that point, I am currently down 70... Hurray! 8) What do you look foreward to most when you reach your goal weight? I can't wait for my knees to stop bothering me... I had a snowboarding accident in 1998, my knee has yet to be the same, but since losing 70 pounds it already feels so much better! I can't wait to get back to boarding/skiing. When I was at my highest weight, I was always intimidated to do really active things, I just didn't want to get out of breath first or get flushed because I wasn't in good enough shape... I can't wait to get back on a horse again, rafting, skiing, backpacking, surfing and many others...

1) How old were you (or will you be) during your WLS? I was 23 (July 11, 2005) 2) What has been the most difficult thing(s) about surg or things prior to surg if you are pre-op? Besides the pain and the long recovery... I can tolerate chips.. and crunchy bad for you things.. I try not to eat that a lot.. TAKING MY VITAMINS.. they make me want to puke and I know I have to take them..but sometimes i go a week without and that NEEDS TO CHANGE! 3) If you are in a relationship, have things gotten better/worse/same? Depends on the day.. sometimes i think better ebcause my BF (who is not Obese) will support me.. and is amazed by all my changes.. and encourages me to succeed..for me and no1 else.. but somedays it ges bad because I get pissed off more and say no more.. I have been very emotional lol 4) What has been your greatest accomplishment(s) so far? Considering I started at 320 lbs.. now I am 245 and that is "the other 1/2 of the 200's"..corny I know..but I am real proud. 5) Do you eat snacks that maybe you shouldn't? Yes. I eat Pizza sometimes 6) Consultation weight/day of surg weight/current weight/goal weight? 320/311/245/130 7) Have friends or family treated you differently? No

Stefanie~ Sounds interesting!!!! 1. How old were you (or will you be) during your WLS? 22 years old 2. What has been the most difficult thing(s) about surg or things prior to surg if you are pre-op? The 10 day liquid diet before surgery!!! 3. If you are in a relationship, have things gotten better/worse/same? Better.... i feel so much better about "ME".... which makes the relationship with my husband alot more sexual! 4. What has been your greatest accomplishment(s) so far? Bought a size 10 dress for "The Gala"!!!! 5. Do you eat snacks that maybe you shouldn't? I am snacking, and my nurse said i am too early yet to.... but sometimes you just need something...lol! But i don't think it's all that bad of stuff, apples, peanuts, sunflower seeds, beef jerky. 6. Consultation weight/day of surg weight/current weight/goal weight? 221/217/154/130 7. Have friends or family treated you differently? A little bit..... it's kinda hard to describe... almost like i am not human or something.

1) How old were you (or will you be) during your WLS? I was 24. 2) What has been the most difficult thing(s) about surg or things prior to surg if you are pre-op? I would say dealing with how people treat me now, my head hunger, and finding a protein shake that doesn't make me gag. 3) If you are in a relationship, have things gotten better/worse/same? I'm not in a relationship. 4) What has been your greatest accomplishment(s) so far? I would have to say just getting through the surgery and back home since I am a recent post-op. 5) Do you eat snacks that maybe you shouldn't? I did have a cracker once, but now I am focusing more on my protein. 6) Consultation weight/day of surg weight/current weight/goal weight? 303/304/280/135ish 7) Have friends or family treated you differently? Mainly, I have only been around my best friend which she is adapting. My family has been a range of supportiveness to none at all or even jealousy. They are still learning about my eating habits and forgeting sometimes what I am capable of. My dad has been a total a$$hole about it. He is mainly insecure about the weight thing because he has a weight problem. I have only one other friend that knows about this and she is being cool. 8) What do you look foreward to most when you reach your goal weight? I can't wait to feel better about my appearances. I can't wait to be able to work out and not feel like everyone is thinking what the hell is she doing here at the gym. I can't wait to not have joint problems. Definately excited to go into any clothing stores in the mall and know they have something I can fit into.

This is an old post but I was just lurking around some messageboards that I don't normally read and thought this was a good idea. So here goes... 1. Age at surgery = 24 2.Most difficult thing about surgery = Well, at first it was the general yuckiness of surgery. I felt bad for a few weeks. Then I developed a stricture that I dealt with for one month before they figured it out. I ended up in the hospital for a couple of weeks. After that I had a hard time dealing with not being able to eat. It took me awhile to let go of eating. Family dinners and celebrations were hard. 3. Relationship better/worse? = Better, if that is possible. I am super lucky to be married to a wonderful man. I know that everyone should marry someone who loves you for who you are but that is not always the case. When I met my husband I was about 175 pounds lighter than when I had surgery. To me it would have been hard for feelings to to change. Lucky for me my husband never blinked at my weight gain. It was like he couldn't see it. He even argued against the surgery for awhile. He thought something was going to happen to me. Now that the surgery is over and I'm MUCH better and lost 155lbs he's happy. 4. Greatest accomplishment? = Buying womens clothes that people my age wear! I still am like a kid in a candy shop going to Old Navy. Also, it fun for me to get dressed up and go out again. I missed that so much, or atleast I missed feeling like I looked good when I got ready. 5.Snacks? Yup. Mainly when I'm at work. I work 3rd so my meals are on a funny schedule. 5. Consulation weight/Day of surgery weight/Current weight/goal weight?? 364/360/230/180 What these numbers dont tell is that between my consultation my surgery day I gained up to 385...but lost down to 360 on my two weeks of liquids. 6. Friends/Family treated differently? Only one so far and I cannot be completely sure it is because of weight. For the most part everyone that I know is super happy for me and tell me constantly how great I look. I did run into my sister-in-law a few days ago and she commented on how different I looked. It was the way she put it really, like she was trying to pretend she was happy for me but really I think she's kinda of jealous. I'm smaller than her now....I would be jealous of me too!

1) How old were you (or will you be) during your WLS? 25. 2) What has been the most difficult thing(s) about surg or things prior to surg if you are pre-op? Head Hunger, eyes bigger than my stomach, refusal to leave a plate, cup whatever that still has food in it, taking my damned vitamins, getting all the liquids in I need, falling asleep before I get all my protein in. 3) If you are in a relationship, have things gotten better/worse/same? not in one 4) What has been your greatest accomplishment(s) so far? having a pair of pants sink on my body because they were too big. 5) Do you eat snacks that maybe you shouldn't? Sometimes... I picked up a small bag of potato chips (I know I know bad bad me) one day. And I couldn't stand the taste of water for the first weeks (or crystal light it was wayyy too sweet) so I had kool-aid but they didn't have the sugarless version... 6) Consultation weight/day of surg weight/current weight/goal weight? 325/318/291/140 7) Have friends or family treated you differently? A little bit... it's like I'm a china doll that might break easily. I get tons of questions on whether I'm ok or not.