Dibley Dawn

It's annoying that doctors have such drastically different rules from place to place. my doctor says no drinking 5 minutes before/ 20 minutes after eating. this has been easier to do than i initially thought it would be. i couldn't hold out for an hour before or after though...that's not drinking anything for 2 whole hours and i have to stay hydrated. i don't know how you do it either.

my seminar was basically a sales talk where they tell you what a great thing WLS is and how all fat people should have it or face death. they did show some negative things, but all in all, they were very pushy towards anyone who was morbidly obese getting the surgery. it was very propaganda-ish, and I knew it would be. i just listened to the info i was interested in and disregarded the rest of it.

Thanks. yeah, I have a support group at the hospital and everybody was like "OMG, i had surgery 3 weeks ago, I can't wait for my fill" and I'm thinking "gosh, I am losing weight the way I'm supposed to be, right on track and I'm not munching or eating or feeling the need to eat all the time, I don't think I need a fill quite yet" and they are all telling me "well, that'll change" but even at 4 months out, it still hasn't. I know that chances are it will and I will need a fill, but right now, I'm in a good place for me. If they need a fill, then hooray for them, i'm glad they can go and get one, but I just don't need it right now. it took me 3 follow up visits with the nurse practitioner before she said "look, don't let me sway you. if you want a fill, just ask and i will give you one, but if you don't think you need one, then you know your body best and you don't need one." anyway, like i said, i feel great and i can eat any type of food i want. being a foodie, this makes me happy. however, instead of having a whole slab of ribs, i'm happy with just 1 or 2. that was my main goal, just stop binging and stuffing my face. so far, the band has kept me from eating everything in sight and it's working the way it's supposed to for me, so i'm gonna see how far i can go with it before i get a fill. good luck to you in your journey and do what is best for you. you will be alright.

You are the only person who can decide when you need or want a fill. don't let the staff bully you into doing something you don't want to do. My surgery was in May and I have never had a fill. As long as I am losing the weight that they tell me I should be losing, and as long as I feel that my appetite is under control (i.e. i don't want to eat everything in sight) i feel for myself that a fill is unnecessary. My doctor agrees with me at this time. If that changes, I will reassess, but for now, I am fill free and enjoying it.

Hi all, I had my surgery on May 4th and I'm down 65 pounds so far. I have not yet had a fill, so I haven't been stuck or had PBing or any of that. I can eat whatever type of food I want to eat (since I've had no fill) but I can't eat in the quantity that I once ate in (nor do i want to). The weight loss has slowed down a bit this month, but as long as I'm not gaining, I'm happy. I feel great and I have tons of energy. I am hoping to lose another 20 pounds by the end of the year, but eh, if it doesn't happen, no big deal. I have the rest of my life to lose what took me a lifetime to gain. Glad to see you all are doing well on your journeys.

I have to have my coffee. You wouldn't want to be around me without me having some coffee in my system.

Hi Lisa, I just dropped by the thread because I see you are in NYC, and I am too! I had my surgery back in May, and so far, it has been a good decision. I still haven't had a fill, and I really don't want to have one if I don't have to. So far, I do have an appetite, and I can eat whatever I want to eat, but I can't eat the quantities that I used to be able to eat. That was my goal. I didn't really care if I lost weight or not, I just didn't want to continue to grow. I didn't have any co-morbidities at all, so I didn't do it for any other reason than to just not gain more weight. At the moment, I suppose my goal is to try to lose about 100 pounds, but I'm not pressuring myself with that, it's just something to kinda aim for. I doubt I will ever see the famous Onederland, but I am currently in Twoderville, ( something I never thought would be possible) so if I never lose another pound, I am perfectly happy where I am. anyway, sorry for the ramble. welcome to the boards!

Just checking in to see if there are any updates from the May sugeries.... so far, I have lost about 65.5 pounds since i began my liquid diet on April 20th.

Hi Jim, you are going to do just fine. I have lost about 65 pounds so far and I feel amazing. It hasn't been as daunting of a journey (so far) as I thought it would be. The most difficult part was the 2 week pre-op liquid phase....then of course the 1st week after surgery. But so far, I am doing great. I still haven't had a fill and I hope that I don't ever have to have one. Since you are at 480, you will be amazed at how fast the weight will drop for you. The larger you are, the more you lose quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if you drop 20 pounds in the first 2 weeks on the liquid diet. You will be in the 300s before you know it. good luck and please keep us posted.

You should check with your doctor. I was told to wait one month before swimming.

It's 4:20am here. I am leaving for the hospital in about 30 minutes. Yippeeeee and ACK !!!! allatthesametime!!!!!!!!!:DB)

Hi Amy, thanks for the encouraging words! i will keep my fingers crossed for you that your insurance comes through and that everything works out ok for you. I will update everyone when I am able to form cohesive thoughts

Thanks so much Jennifer. I will definitely keep you guys updated with how I'm doing.

I kinda hope they make me stay. that way, if there is any problem, they can hopefully find it right away and I won't have to make a special trip back to the hospital whilst in pain. I have to be at the hospital in just over 12 hours from now....KRIKEY!!!!

The hospital just called to give me a time to show up. I have to be there at 6:30am. My heart is pounding. I guess it is really real now.

Aw, thanks MzNelly, very kind of you.

A closet bander, i love it! that's what I'm going to be. I live in NYC, but i'm not in my 20's, i'm in my 30's. I'm about 25 in my head though My surgery is at NYU and hopefully, it will be happening tomorrow.

Good luck to you too London! The day did get here pretty fast. I hope the first month of liquids and mushies flies by just as quickly .

yes, choosing this surgery was a big decision. I had thought about it last May, but didn't go to a seminar until January. I cried on my way home from the seminar even...i was sooooo torn about what to do. Now, I am confident that this is the right decision for me and everyone in this forum has been a huge help in swaying me in the right direction, answering my questions and calming my fears. i can't say that I would have gone through with it if not for reading the wealth of information available to me here. that's just the honest truth. My surgeon didn't fill out any paperwork to verify the necessity, my PCP had to do that. At the time i went to the seminar, I didn't even have a PCP, so i called the surgeon's office to get a reccomendation. They referred me to a PCP and she was more than happy to tell me how fat and near death I am , so she wrote the letter telling the surgeon that he had her blessing. If your PCP is giving you a hard time, just tell them that you feel that you need this and you will find another MD who agrees, so please authorize it or you're going to move on. That's what I would do anyway.....I'm sure if you express yourself to your MD, they will eventually come around to your way of thinking. anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

How did it go yesterday? Please let us know.

some insurance carriers require different stays. my insurance requires that i am in the hospital for 23 hours, so it looks like i might be overnight as well. we'll see.

ooooooohhhh...happy dancing bananas!!!! I LOVE it! thanks so much for the good luck wishes y'all!

Hi Lizzie, You are going to be just fine on the liquid diet. just be glad it's only for 1 week. mine was for 2 weeks. today is my last day of it as the surgery is tomorrow morning, then i'm on Clear liquids for another 10 days. The pre-op diet was a scary bear when I first realized I had to do it, but it's now a tame little stuffed animal as it comes to an end. i am hoping the next liquid stage and the mushies are as easy for me as the pre-op diet. it really hasn't been that bad. good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks so much. I guess I'm mostly afraid of the pain. Hopefully I'll have drugs and I can walk around to relieve the gas.

well, i meant to say 40 or over. 40 is apparently the point at which a BMI means death is not far behind. I don't personally believe that, but your doctor may be convinced of it. I would just give them a call and see what they say. I know my insurance requires 40 and above BMI, so I assume it's the same with most insurance carriers.