Rootman

What Jackie said, the pad is THE way to go. I was cold underneath with a heated blanket. The pad warms by bottom and of course heat rises. The queen / kings are dual control so hubby doesn't have to even turn it on. One thing I did not like is the wires near my feet, I could not feel them very much elsewhere, just at my feet. So we took a bath towel and put it over that area and the top sheet keeps it in place. No more wires and the thin towel doesn't effect heat output much at all.

Try dropping every other day and see how it goes, if OK then drop 2 out of 3 days and if still fine then drop it for a month. Be sure to keep your RX on hand so you can resume if the acid comes back.

Yeah, a few restaurants around us will no longer give a discount - times are just too tough for them. I've only been to one buffet since WLS and just paid up, ate my fill - which was practically nothing - and was very satisfied, as was all the other fatties in my party I don't object as they are often very fairly priced anyways. A high priced Brazilian place might charge a ridiculous price for even a non WLS patient. You' just have to decide if the price is worth it to be with your company. I also tend to now view going out to eat as a social event rather than an opportunity to gorge. I like the company and experience more than the food. Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it, pay up and eat what you can. I just avoid buffets if I can and hit ala carte places so I can take the leftovers home.

One thing I failed to mention that scared me sh**less about a GB was the fact that the stomach is left largely intact but pulled to the side, the connection is severed just below the esophagus and the first part of the small intestine is severed and re-routed. Not only did the fact that my digestive tract would be severed TWICE scare me but the fact that my (largely) intact stomach would NOT be readily accessible to a scope should I have MORE stomach problems - and I've had ulcers. To inspect the stomach they have to use an extra long scope go through the pouch down into the intestine make an abrupt turn and go back up the stub of intestine (duodenum) into the stomach. My sis who had a GB started bleeding from her stomach and they could not find it right away because they hospital she went to lacked the equipment to scope her. YES an GB does cure GERD as the acid producing stomach is completely detached from the esophagus, so no acid is splashed up into it because little is produced in the pouch. The pouch is made up of the very tip of the stomach and a portion of the small intestine that is cut and folded to make a wider area. Also, look up DUMPING SYNDROME as you WILL have it with a GB. Sleevers - indeed ANYONE with a FULL stomach - can dump but GB patients are practically guaranteed to have it.

Second to last line of my signature below. PM me for details if you want them. Again, I had NO problems, others after me did.

You are in a real hard spot. I did NOT want a GB because I did not want the malnutrition and malabsorbtion issues. Both my sister and brother had GBs and both are reliant on high doses of Vitamins and MUST take Protein supplements. I've had a VSG and do take vitamins but have never had a single bad test showing me to be deficient in anything. I've lost 170+ pounds and have no health issues that made me seek WLS in the first place. I was NOT diabetic to my knowledge but I was having trouble keeping my sugar levels steady, I would actually get HYPOglycemic, too low a sugar. Now I don't. The jury is out as to the FACT that ANY WLS "cures" diabetes or simply causes weight loss that CAUSES diabetes. You are going to have to make a tough decision. Remember that you can always get a GB AFTER a VSG because nothing is rerouted. A GB IS reversible but risky and to do a reverse and THEN a VSG is probably out of the question. The VSG started out as the first part of a procedure and was followed up by a Duodenal Switch gastric bypass, so it still can be done that way. I wish you well friend, you've got a tough decision.

The EXACT figure for taxes in the USA is 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. That is IF you have enough over all deductions to itemize. One common misconception is that this is a tax REBATE, it's not. The amount you pay OUT OF POCKET over and above the 7.5% AIG is tax deductible - which means that you will not have to pay taxes on that extra amount, NOT that you can take that amount off your taxes owed. So as a goofy example, if 7.5% of your AIG is $5000 and it cost you $5001 out of pocket for the surgery then you would get to not have to pay taxes on the grand total of $1. Assuming you pay a tax rate of say, 15% then you would save all of 15 cents off your taxes. Remember that ALL out of pocket medical expenses that are allowed by the IRS count toward the 7.5%. Prescriptions, chiropractic, travel to and from doctors visits /. procedures, etc. Count it all then figure out if it along with any other deductions you may have will put you in better shape than the standard deduction using the non itemized tax form. Then take whatever form gives you the best result and file it.

I have insurance but did not want to take the 6+ months to get approval, and I wanted a SLEEVE, the local places here are all pushing bypasses. While it worked out wonderfully for me I no longer can endorse the place I went. There has been trouble there. But do your homework and make your own decision.

Well the Android app is loaded and I'm using it. The one thing I can't seem to find and would really like is a way to see unread posts from ALL forums. I'mstill looking so there be a way.

Well this is a new one for me. I've hard of the PSYC eval but PT eval? Seems like someone just wants to weed out potential claims before their committed to providing service. Just MHO. Call the insurance and ask them why. We'd all like to know too.

PICS! PICS! PICS I SAY!

I too typically react poorly to anesthesia and felt crappy for a few days. I felt just a tad off for about 2 months, just a general malaise and tired. Combination of healing, low cal intake and starting ketosis - the burning of stored fat. I was off work for 3 days and went back to my desk job, while I truly didn't want to be there I managed OK. I do NOT feel nausea any more and can eat a good healthy portion. I can eat ANYTHING that I want, but not much. I seldom feel deprived and enjoy eating as an experience more so than pre-sleeve just shoveling it in as fast as I could and feeling miserable afterward. I exercise regularly now, whereas before I NEVER did. I am stronger, healthier and more active than at ANY point in my adult life. I also look better. It's your decision, keep looking for answers and make up your own mind. YOU have to want it and also want to get rid of the OLD lifestyle and obesity related problems. It's won't do you much good if YOU don't convince yourself it's the right way to go. I wish you well!

Hmm, as a back pain sufferer all my adult life I can say that as soon as I was sleeved and started to lose weight almost all of my back pain went with the weight. After I started exercising I almost never feel any back pain. I just went to the chiropractor last Thursday and we were both astonished that I had absolutely NO complaints whatsoever - not even the minor niggling neck crick I typically have between our every 2 month visits. That being said, in your case it may be referred pain from an internal organ. If the pain is pronounced then I would say a Dr. visit is in order - better safe than sorry.

We sincerely hope that all turns out for you.

Yes, I am having to diet now that I've lost 175 pounds, and excersize my fool head off too. I know it's best for me but I was hoping to not have to work so hard to keep losing the last 20 or so. It's getting tougher and tougher to lose more. I basically do an Atkins like, low carb higher protein diet.

Freezin' all the time here too. We've had a lot of discussion about this on other threads, do a search and you'll get more info.

Well I'm going to play devil's advocate here. YES, the barfing may very well have been the result of a reaction to your WLS, but there is no way that anyone else can possibly know that. We lose a LOT of man hours here from well intentioned people coming to work sick and infecting other healthy people. For the most part people need to understand that if you're sick - STAY HOME. And there is no way FOR SURE for anyone else to know if you're sick or just having a bad reaction. So better safe than sorry. I suspect the boss was trying to protect everyone. There is also the fact that no one want to see someone else barf, especially into their waste basket. It is unfair to to others to be forced to watch you puke or have to sit near a trash can with puke in it. Sorry, I believe they are well meaning.

I have always been a difficult fit for a mask and after I lost quite a bit of weight, like 100 pounds it fit so badly and leaked so much air I could not sleep with it. I SHOULD of gone in for a sleep study but I just stopped using it and slept fine. The wife says I don't snore any more or snort in my sleep so I must be good now. I hated using the thing so I was glad to be off it.

As Tif said it depends on what the length of the pool is - and in what country. Being that most people on the board are from the USA then if it's a "standard" pool it's like she said 25 yards. There is also an issue about what you consider a LAP - is it ONCE down the length of the pool or TWICE, that is DOWN AND BACK to make a circuit. Logically it ought to be down and back, but MOST people consider a LAP to be ONE LENGTH of a pool. So if you're choosing to interpret it as down and back then cut all the counts in half. It also depends on what you mean by a mile. Statute mile (regular old mile length like what you drive in a car), nautical mile or "swimming mile". A regular statute mile is 1760 yards long and in a 25 yard pool would make it 70.4 lengths. This is what I use. A nautical mile isn't used in swimming much but some do, especially for long distance outdoor events. It is longer at 6076.1 feet or 2025.37 yards making it about 82 laps. A SWIMMING mile is 1650 yards so it is 66 laps. i have no idea why in the heck this "mile" even exists. It is the closest length to a common race length I guess. It represents nothing but swimming. So pick your poison, a lap is 1 length or 2 (down and back). A mile is statute at 70.4 lengths or 35.2 down and back laps, nautical at 82 lengths or 41 down and back laps or a swimming mile at 66 lengths or 33 down and back laps. No wonder the USA is so screwed up

3 days total,, Had surgery Monday and back to work Thursday - too chort, I didn't have any more vacation days.

Sorry your doc was such a b*tch about it. Mine was a real charmer but still brought be back to the same issue, blood pressure, blood sugar, shoulder pain, back pain arm pain, knee pain, adrenal gland issues, low testosterone, shortness of breath, dry patchy skin - all had roots or were the direct result of being obese. Now that I've lost 170+ pounds it's all gone away. It's too bad more docs can't be the way moine was, gentle, caring yet truthful. It's hard to be that without being a doctor, having to see people all day who a majority probably have weight issues just makes it tougher. Take it, as they say, with a grain of salt. If it really, really bugs you or you think it's really inappropriate then see about switching docs. We al wish you the best of luck on your journey.

Gosh, just the opposite here. I started testosterone injections a few years back and started growing hair EVERYWHERE. Since losing a lot of weight I've had to cut way back on the dosage. I have a lot of irritating little hairs that grow right on the edge of my lip, right as the lip membrane starts. Other on my ears, especially the tragus (the pointy cartlidge thing in front of your earhole) that stick out like tree stumps till I yank them. Have you had your T level checked?

I'm with PdxMan, no one can help him but himslef. I was in the same boat, obese and fairly healthy UNTILL I started to edge into my 50's then everything fell apart and all of it was to or made worse by my weight. He's gotta want it. And some of are so stubborn that we don't relly want it.

I too would advise caution - you'll never again (hopefully) have to go through this type of restriction again - so let it heal up good and solid before you start putting things that have potential for harm in it.

I've been Rootman since way back in the old BBS days in the late 80's. Form my old Linux days.