M2G

We have UHC and of course everyone's policy is different, but we were specifically told that we need 6 CONSECUTIVE months of "dieting" (weight monitoring) and that if we skipped a month or missed an appt. we would have to start over. I say 'we' because my DH is getting sleeved too, he is just behind me in the approval process. Anyway, we have two different Nurse Managers and two different Case Managers, but they all seem nice, etc. Although his stuff got bounced around a bit this month and he is currently waiting for approval...but it won't matter because the surgeon's last day to perform surgery is today and he has not yet been approved. I would definitely ask for someone new, follow up with that psych eval...can you get a copy and forward it personally? Just keep fighting, and good luck to you!

Congrats and welcome to the losers bench! I wouldn't worry too much about the Protein (Isopure) right now, but you do need to focus on the Water intake. Keep drinking that water to fight dehydration. I was a burper too, for every single sip of water I took, it equaled 2 burps. Annoying but my family did get used to it. It subsided after about 3 weeks. Hang in there, and keep healing and yay for hubby dealing with the kiddos! Rest, sip, rest, sip, rest....

I'm the opposite of Dawn, I had my gall bladder out about 11 years ago and had horrid gas pains (it was explained to me like this...they do try to take out as much gas as they can but whatever is left over will eventually put pressure on your muscles {for me it was my back and shoulders} much like a scuba diver who comes up too fast and the O2 in their bodies creates the 'bends') but with my VSG 2 months ago I didn't have any. So it probably does come down somewhat to the surgeon, but everyone's experience is different, hopefully yours will be no gas pains at all.

I was originally going in for the band too, but my insurance required a 6 month wait time (weight monitoring, etc.) and that is when I started researching the sleeve. I'm SO thankful I got the sleeve vs. the band. But way back in May 2010, I told my NUT right off the bat "I can't imagine being 90 years old and having this band inside of me" and she sort of shrugged and said "well hopefully you will have mastered some different eating habits/patterns"...which is true, but I didn't want multiple surgeries, I just wanted one and I wanted to be DONE after I was healed. No fills/unfills, vomiting (that is a huge thing for me, I cannot stand to have things that are supossed to go DOWN come back UP), or any number of possible complications. So once I decided VSG, I was SO relieved with my choice, it felt like a million weights were lifted off my shoulders once I decided VSG. Thank GOODNESS my insurance made me wait. lol.

I lost initially right after surgery and then on day 10 I stalled for 10 days. Now that I'm 2 months out, I notice that I don't lose anything the week of my "time" of the month. It is frustrating, but realistically you are just not going to see the scale drop every single day, no matter how much you want it too. :Cry: I think we all go through this frustration. I emailed my NUT with my daily intake and she said "relax you are doing everything perfectly, just hang tight and you will lose again" but when you are doing everything perfectly and not getting results it can be hard. But I will give you the same advice, keep doing what you know it right and the scale will eventally go in the right direction.

Congrats! You look wonderful...and cute shoes BTW!

I am so glad you are home and are continuing to recover. I hope the pain and nausea lessens each day and hopefully each day you will start to feel better (especially now since you are home...hospitals are NOT relaxing places to be!) Thanks for your update, I'm glad to see you are on your way to be 100% better.

WOW, D, you have done amazing!!! Your start weight and mine are almost identical, but you are just rocking that sleeve girl. Those jeans look great on you! Thanks for sharing your inspiring pics with us!:photo:

I love love love cereal and milk. BUT it is totally a trigger food for me. I used to fill my bowl full of cereal, douse it with milk, and then keep adding cereal from the box until the milk was gone....such a bad habit. It is also the kind of food that I used to eat from the box by the handful, and there is NO WAY to keep track of how much you are eating when you do that. So I'm sure that someday I will try it, but since I have a bad personal history with cereal I'm 8 weeks out and have not yet had it. I still do my egg beaters almost every morning. The only variation I have done is a Protein bar or shake, or I did make some of that "cloud bread" (google it for recipes or check our own recipe board) and used some of that in the toaster oven with cheese for a cheesy toaster sandwhich.

Love your post and congrats on not only "getting through" the first 3 months but getting through it with an amazing attitude and grace and peacefulness! I think attitude is everything!!! I love what you said about celebrating each and every pound ....that is SO true and sometimes we forget to do that. Also I totally 100% with you about this being a journey, I have often said, one foot in front of the other, every day, every pound, we are marching towards a healthier life. Are we going to sometimes stumble on the way? Yep! Are we going to need our sleeve sisters and brothers help us when we sometimes forget the journey and get wrapped up in the little things? Yep! That is what I love about this place, it reminds me that we are not alone on this journey and we are here to help each other through the rough Patches and Celebrate the good times. Today, Irene, I am celebrating with you and happy that you are rocking that sleeve! Thanks for your wonderful post and congrats on where you are right now! ~Sheila

Good luck with everything, keep us all posted on how things go!

Congrats on your date! And you are right, I'm sure it will fly by quickly...those first graders should keep you BUSY!

Congrats!!! And being off BP...that is wonderful!

Congrats on losing -66lbs!!! You are looking wonderful and definitely shrinking away!

This is what I tell people who ask why I didn't choose the band. Everyone says it's REVERSIBLE, but why would I want to gain 125 lbs back :noidea:after I have to take it (the band) out? Woo hoo, it's reversible I can be FAT again!!!

Congrats!!! We also have UHC and I had my sleeve in Oct. and hubby is waiting and waiting and waiting for his approval. Unfortunately the surgeon won't perform surgery after Dec. 20th (he has a family and is entitled to time off for the holidays) but the surgeon's office has been in contact with UHC all week trying to see if they could do the approval so it can happen on the 20th (UHC has had all paperwork since Dec.7th) but if they don't approve by tomorrow we would have to do Jan/Feb next year and hit our $5K ded. again. Ugh. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your post. What I wanted to say is YAY! I'm excited for you!

OOooh, writing a note is a great idea. Sometimes emotions get in the way, and once you start crying, or feeling emotional, it might be harder to tell her exactly what she needs to know. I think writing it all down and having her read it is such a good idea. We are all human, and we all make mistakes, but you definitely do not want to keep repeating those mistakes, and you know you need help, and I think she will know exactly what direction to send you for that help. I know admitting that you lied is hard to do, but just keep imaginging how much better you will feel once you have this off your chest. I have SO much more respect for someone that can admit they lied and own up to their issues/problems. That is called putting one foot in front of the other and going forward in the right direction. You can do this. Hugs.

Congrats on having a date for your sleeve! You are wise to start to make changes now. I really did not do much in the way of dieting before getting sleeved and I so somewhat regret that (especially when I see someone's ticker who has a surgery date near mine and they have 2x the amount of weight because they dieted BEFORE the sleeve!) I could not let my BMI drop below 40 to be covered under my insurance, so mentally that just gave me a reason "not" to diet. BUT, the changes that I did make before getting sleeved were these: I dropped the diet soda habit. I didn't have a problem doing this (I used to drink 1-2 diet sodas per day) and back in July I quit buying soda to have in the house. So it then became an occassional treat when I would be eating out. Then sometime in early Sept. I just quit. (AND YOU CAN DO THE SAME WITH THE SWEET TEA! I would start by decreasing the amount of sugar you put in your tea, or switch to Splenda.) I also quit the coffee/caffeine habit. (beware because even regular non-sweet tea has caffeine...and I love non-sweet tea but not the caffeine.) I switched my coffee to decaf before surgery and didn't have coffee for 4 weeks post-surgery. I also decreased my carb intake. Just little changes. Instead of eggs and toast, I would drop the toast. I got in the habit of not drinking with my meals. I started taking my Vitamins BEFORE surgery to get me in the habit of taking them daily. I already was a regular exerciser, so I didn't have to do much there, but if you do not exercise I would recommend starting something you can stick with. Just even starting to walk will help you recover post-surgery, and walking is not only good, but necessary post-surgery to help prevent blood clots. THIS WILL BE AN AWESOME YEAR FOR YOU!!! I think attitude and gratitude makes a huge difference in this whole process. Going into this with the right attitude and having gratitude that you are being given a opportunity to change your life will carry you far! Good luck with everything!

Hey I'm not living in NJ/NY/PA but I will definitely be here for support! I'm so glad you got all of your issues worked out and you have a date...exciting! Have you met and do you like the new surgeon? You know you can PM or email me anytime, this has been the best support group ever...and I've been to my surgeon's support group and this online community far outweighs that! :grouphug:

My goal weight was set by my surgeon and I'm sure it based on a healthy BMI, rather than my own history, bone structure, etc. He put it at 150. I weighed 175 when I graduated from HS, so 150 would certainly be a shock (I was probably 15 last time I weighed 150). But then every single statistic you read says something about how even WITH the aid of WLS, most people lost about 65% (not sure on the exact number so I'm paraphrasing what I've seen in literature, websites, etc.) of their excess weight. I see people here get to their goal and even go below their goal. I would love to be below my goal just so I can have some "wiggle" room, but honestly I'm not sure I will even make it to goal. I'm like Julia, I just want to see how things feel before making hard and fast rules about how much I should weigh.

I am not as far out as you guys, so I'm wondering if what is happening to you all will eventually hit me too. But right now I'm having the opposite problem. I started taking all my Vitamins in Aug (in preparation for being aware and consistent, but wasn't sleeved until Oct.) and my hair is super-long and my nails are growing like crazy. I'm taking Biotin (just one pill a day) and not having any issues with it (yet). If you want to see a photo of my hair growth and nails check out my blog and scroll down a bit for photos. I just *know* I'm going to lose my hair which is part of the reason I let it grow longer than usual. I'm figuring in Jan/Feb I will starting having hair trouble (and maybe nail problems too!) ugh. Back in the day, during one of my many failed diets, I took Meridia (the weight loss drug) and I did it for about 3-4 months and my nails were horrid. Peeling and just awful. I'm sure it was a side-effect of the drug but I couldn't find anything in the warning label about, maybe since it is considered a minor nuisance. But I wonder about the change in our diet, I'm sure it can affect things like nails and growth, etc. BBJ - Maybe you could look into a silk wrap or something for your nails that would help them grow and prevent breakage? Just a thought...

Thanks for sharing your story, congrats on your loss so far and your continued success!

Congrats on the weight lost, it's amazing how quickly you are losing! I'm only a few weeks behind you in having vsg and I'm hoping to lose about 60-70 lbs at 6 months out. You are doing great, keep those voices quiet, and work on a plan that works for you.

WONDERFUL NEWS!!!! I hope to someday be there celebrating with you (no cake needed!)

WOW! You look amazing, hard to believe your only 1/2 way there...you are going to be SO tiny at goal! You look great!