Hello ladies, my name is Dee and I live in the St. Louis area. I had my RNY on 04/04/2006 and it is a decision I have never regretted.

I started gaining weight early in life when I was sexually molested by my uncle. When my mom saw that I was gaining weight she decided I needed to diet and thus began the restrictions and my opposition to them. I began hiding food, sneaking food and secretly eating. All of which eventually became a food addiction. I have been on every "diet" imaginable to man. By the time I married in 1991, I weighed in at about 275 pounds. It was an abusive marriage which as you can imagine didn't help my eating disorder. Food was my best friend after all. When the marriage ended in 2003, I weighed in at 525 pounds. When my son, Cody, was 8 years old I was told that if I didn't do something drastic I wouldn't see his 10th birthday. Since there was no way in h&## I was going to let my ex get custody, I needed to stay in my son's life. My pcp referred me to a bariatric center and thus the progress begun. Day of surgery I weighed in at 500 pounds. Within about a year and a half I was down to 250 and feeling fantastic. Wanting to have a "real" relationship with a man, I began going out and trying to meet men. Problem was that since I hadn't dealt with the sexual abuse when men began flirting with me, all of my triggers came rushing back. I needed to protect myself. And how did I do that.......food. Within a fairly short amount of time I managed to go all the way back up to 370 pounds. To this day, I'm still not sure what made me finally put an end to the gain but I'm glad I did. I began listening to my pouch again and following all the rules. The weight is much harder to get off this time around but I am slowly but surely doing it. I now have the support of a very wonderful man, Michael, and feel that I can do anything I set my mind to. I'm currently down to 294 and at a plateau but I'll wait it out and keep doing what I know I should. I know in my heart that if I do that, the scale will eventually move downward again.

I did notice that at the time of my joining, I was the only post-WLS member. I also noticed that most, if not all of you, are opting for the sleeve. While I had the RNY instead of the sleeve I will try to help you in any way I can. I'm only a message or a post away. I look forward to being able to give support and encouragement as well as motivation and encouragement from all of you.

Dee ( in HOT St. Louis, MO)

I avoided the negativity altogether by just not telling anyone. haha My husband and my son are the only people who know and they are both incredibly supportive. I don't live near the rest of my family so they don't need to be (and are not) involved in my day to day. Oh, and a couple of friends at work know, too, but they don't really say much.

Thank you Michelle. I put that as my profile picture because sometimes I get so focused on how far I still have to go that I forget just how far I've come. It's a wonderful reminder. And I have to agree with Kristen, I'd be worried if you weren't nervous, lol.

Edit: By the way, if anyone would like to send me a friend request I'd gladly accept.

Hi. I only joined to learn things about the dc inference surgeries. ...what is the cheapest?

Hi! My name is Misty and I have had a lifetime of health issues. I have been on many prescription drugs over my life and have had MANY undesirable side effects. I just recently told my cardio to take these drugs and shove them! I have always been able to keep my labs in check with exercise and diet but when things go crazy I slack off on eating right and exercising and then my labs go crazy again. So anyway, I started back to the gym in Jan 2014 (after 8 year hiatus) and my labs got better. However, life caught up with me again in May and in July my labs were crazy again. So I am back hitting the gym and doing low carb but the weight just won't come off!!! I recently started working with a trainer and going 5 to 6 days a week. I am seriously considering by pass surgery. I understand there is a lot involved. I am scared some health issues may be may worse, like IBS. However, I think my blood pressure and diabetes will resolve.

Hi, my doctor has recommended I see a WLS but I'm scared. Not sure what to do. I've lost and gained weight over the years. Not at my heaviest but not at my smallest either. Hoping to see information for you guys and make a decision really soon.

Hi, I'm Tina and I had VSG on 8/18/14. I was 285 on the day of surgery and have lost 17 lbs so far,. I am currently on stage 2 liquids and am looking forward to having solid food again next week. For those getting ready for the surgery, I am happy to share whatever information with you I can. Each doctor has a different pre-op and post-op diet, but they will all be worth it in the end.

Feel free to add me as a friend.

Hi Lawana! Good luck to you. The liquid part super sucks, but you'll forget all about it when it's over. Like childbirth. I was pretty lucky considering becauae I only had to do 3 days of pre-op clear liquids. Still, I joked to my husband that by the end of the second day I had acheived total conciousness. LOL And I've never heard of Aqua Zumba but it sounds seriously fun!

Three weeks?!? I wish, lol. I'm so lucky I got to do the liquid diet for 6 weeks. Lucky me. I was right at the end of the three weeks when I got a call from the hospital saying that my surgery had been cancelled! The lady who called me had no idea why (she was just the messenger so I REALLY tried hard not to kill her). I immediately called the surgeon to find out what the heck was going on and he had no idea. Said he would get back to me. By the time he did, it was the next day and I was close to insane. Come to find out, since my BMI was higher than they normally operate on one of the nurses took it upon herself to cancel my surgery! And to make matters worse, she had already given my slot away to someone else!!!! Dr. Richardson was pissed. He informed her that he wouldn't have approved the surgery if HE had a problem with my BMI (I carried a majority of my weight in my legs, and still do, which made my abdomen safer for surgery). Unfortunately, by this time the next surgery date they could get me was 3 weeks down the line. I never did see that nurse again and I for one can't say that I ever missed her, lol.