Welcome, Shara.You'll find quite a diverse group of people here with fascinating experiences, as well as newbies who are so excited with their initial results. There are several old pros who've been very helpful, as well, and a core group of old faithfuls who've been here for a decade or two, like you. This isn't cookie-cutter surgery though, so I'm sure there will be many who will be anxious to hear your experiences. And given 21 years, you probably know how many medical changes the surgery itself has evolved through. There are a goodly number of people who've been here for decades but in some cases, there's been not a word from them. That's because every post is archived and never goes away.
What procedure did you have? Do you know how it compares to other types?
It would be great to hear your personal story as a starting point. Wanna share?
I am happy to share my story. It's why I joined the group. Back in 2001, after my son was born, I started researching the surgery and saw Carnie Wilson's surgery and he success at that time. In the fall of 2001, I decided to contact a doctor Albany, NY and that's where the journey started. I had my first appointment with him and he gave me two goals to achieve before he would approve the surgery. Lose 20 pounds and quit smoking. I did quit smoking and when I went back for my follow up, I told him that it was one of the two and I think I chose the better one. He agreed and I was scheduled for surgery.
On May 7, 2002, I had gastric bypass surgery. What the exact procedure was, I have no clue. What I do know is that I no longer use my small intestine and that I was told that I had to take vitamins (B12, Iron, D3, Calcium, Folic acid...) for the rest of my life in order to get the vitamins that my body no longer would be able to absorb anymore. My stomach was cut 5 inches down the middle, as were my abs and whatever else was in the way. The day I came out of surgery, I heard my son who was with my mom, say mommy. When my mom brought him into see me, he wouldn't touch me and was obviously scared. Recovery hurt!!! I hated the morphine drip that constant was going. I had it turned off. After my baby boy react like he did, my goal was to get out of there and go home to him. Five days later, it was Mother's Day and I was going home. Not that this matters but I was a single mother and lived with my mom, grandma and little brother. (Thank the lord for them!)
My mom brought me home and went to celebrate Mother's Day with my son and the rest of my family. Lord knows that I was not in any shape to care of 15-month-old. I was on a liquid diet and thought that it wouldn't be that big of a deal.... My mom brought home Wendy's as I'm sitting there eating chicken broth and trying to "enjoy" it. That was my first "challenge." Two go by and I was over the liquid diet and moving on to soft foods. YES, I stuck with the instructions that my doctor had given me. My thought was that I didn't go through all of this for nothing! Out and about with my little brother, I picked up my niece from her job at Dunkin. They all wanted McDonalds, so we went. That was the first time that I truly realized how small my stomach was... I asked for a bit of my little brother's chicken nugget, while driving, not thinking that there would be an issue. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!! I didn't chew it like later on I learned how to do, and it stuck in my stomach and esophagus. I immediately started sweating and wanted to vomit but now on the highway, that wasn't really an option. I suffered through the pain, yes pain, and from that moment is when I had to start changing how I ate food.
Changing how you eat and figuring out what agrees with you was the best thing, I think. On top of that, I ended up having a complication, where the hole that was made during surgery closed up to 1mm. The weirdest thing was that certain foods didn't bother but most did. I ended up having three endoscopies where balloons were used to stretch the opening up. When the endoscopies occurred was in July and August. So for many months, I couldn't keep most things down. Maybe this helped me in my success. I have no clue. After I was able to "eat" food, I still struggled with certain things. Broccoli and rice to this day. When I eat, I do not have a beverage still. It takes me 20 minutes to a small microwave meal, to the point that it gets cold.
I will never forget trying cake and ice cream for the first time after surgery. It was HORRIBLE! Within minutes, even though it was a very small portion, I was in the bathroom vomiting. To this day, I stay away from those, except for the rare occasion, and what I eat is a half scoop of vanilla ice cream and an inch and a half piece of cake. This way I know that I will not get sick. When I tried to eat a snickers bar for the first time taught me yet another lesson. Nope not good for the stomach. Chocolate has too much sugar and my body hates it.... I can do a snack size (1"x1") but that's it. And only one!
In May of 2003, I had cosmetic surgery for my thighs and arms, couldn't afford the tummy tuck. I was down to 155# in July of 2003 and I looked skeletal. From then I decided to stay between 165 and 170... If only... LOL! In August of 2006, I fell downstairs and broke my back. That took me out of work and basically everything. I did gain weight and got up to 205 pounds. Once I was able to go back to work (2008), I lost the weight that I had gained again. I know that they say that you are supposed to work out but I never did. I lived my "normal" everyday busy crazy life.
In 2010, I became extremely anemic, that my doctor called me at work that I was going to need to blood transfusion if I didn't do something immediately. I then got an IV of Iron. I've been vitamin D deficient. But since taking the vitamins serious, I've had good blood tests. All of the jeans that I own are from American Eagle (size 12) from 2015-2017. The shirt I wore today was a vacation that I took my son on in 2017.
I have no clue what the current surgery and recovery is like. But I do know that if you truly believe that the surgery is a tool and not the solution, you will succeed!
Please feel free to ask me questions and reach out to me for support!
