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So, at church, we have this part of the Sunday Service called "Candles of Community" where people share their joys and concerns in life. I announced that on Tuesday, I'm going to be going under the (laprascopic) knife but I didn't specify why, which is why everyone was swarming me to ask why I'm having surgery. But at least something good happened with that: the members of the church in my town are going to organize to help me with the chores I can't do immediately after surgery.

My advice is to figure out why/how you became overweight. You need to know the root cause before you can conjure up a permanent solution. Here's a hint...food is never really the root cause of our weight problems. Some people are emotional overeaters who use food to cope in times of stress, boredom, joy, pain and uncertainty. Others are garden variety eaters whose social lives revolve around overeating. Some people became obese due to hardcore food addictions and others have psychological diagnoses such as binge eating disorder. Finally, some people overeat to soothe past trauma they experienced or witnessed such as sexual abuse or violence. Some people will swear up and down they never eat too much, exercise regularly, and still became obese. Nonetheless, obesity due to medical issues only occurs in less than 5% of cases. In my personal experience, the people in profound denial who lack insight and are unwilling to practice introspection (e.g., "I got up to 300 pounds eating 1200 calories a day!") are often the same ones who seek their third or fourth revision surgery due to each previous procedure "not working." In other words, be honest with yourself. I ate too much for physical reasons because insulin resistance kept me chronically hungry. Also, I experienced childhood traumas such as domestic violence and drug addiction, and food soothed me when those ugly memories resurfaced. So I attended a few counseling sessions as I reached my goal weight. Good luck to you.

Greeting & Salutations I'm really just starting out, My weigh in is the 31st of August & that starts my 3 month pre-op program. I'm in a pretty good state of mind but am very concerned about my Anti-Depressants. I take 525 mg of Effexor-XR a day for Borderline Personality Disorder, Yes I am a man & it's not like in Girl Interrupted that took place in the 60's, I get that all the time. What it means is that in general I absolutely loathe myself so my appearance usually changes a lot, hairstyle, clothing style, I've been a greaser, a punker, a goth & a cowboy & that was in my 30's. I'm soon to be 45 & after years of therapy & counseling I've reached a good place. If anyone else out there has been on Effexor you'll know that the withdrawal is brutal. I've heard that you need to come off of extended release medications, has anyone else gone through this? Going through the pre-op program seems tough enough without having to go through an anti-depressant change. Is it something you should do sooner rather than later? I have an appointment with my Psychiatrist but it isn't for a couple weeks so I'm stressing a little about it. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks!

How wonderful that you're going to have the surgery! I, too, am just starting out so I'm excited for you! Here's wishing you the best of success!

I've only had luck getting vitamins "covered" by my HSA. I had to get my doctor to write an Rx for them, but I can get reimbursed for them now. No dice for insurance coverage!

My surgery was Aug 25, so I'm right there with you. I find transitioning from sitting to standing is tough. Once I'm up I have to wait a few minutes before I can totally straighten up. I think it's normal. I do have a lot of swelling so I'm going to try an ice pack.

I'm keeping everyone in Southeast Texas in my thoughts..... Although I'm in North Texas, the residual storm effects (torrential rain, winds, lighter flooding) have been happening here. We're all going to need to pull together to address the devastation. Again, I'll be thinking of the affected residents of the Texas Gulf Coast.

I was Aug 24. Just got out of the Hospital today. I am doing 30mls of clear fluids every 15 mins. I can do sugar free jello in a 30ml cup instead or a SF popsicle instead. I can't add protein until Monday. I haven't had gas pain or passed gas! My pain is from the large incision where they took out the stomach. Hope all goes well.

I also had a revision from Band to DS. I'm 8 week PostOp & I went to my followup appt & only lost 30#. I'm all excited cause I don't know when I've ever lost 30# in a year- let alone 8 weeks! My Dr said that it was good cause it's giving my body to react to the weight loss. I am loosing inches. Just keep up the water & protein!! Let your body heal & do it's thing! [emoji7]

Prayers @@applejenn Keep us posted.