emily_0192010

I am very curious about this as well. My surgeon didn't say anything to me about it.... I don't usually use tylenol (in fact I don't even have any in the house) so I am definitely curious about this.

I hope everything went well for you Be safe on your way home!

WOW! That was ONLY 3 months after surgery??? You look amazing!!

I have this concern as well, but at the end of this process if I have lose skin that is something I am willing to deal with. Either I will learn to live with it and use it as a reminder of what I was and all that I overcame. But maybe i'll be able to have it fixed. Sometimes skin removal surgery is covered by insurance if it is serious enough. At our age though our skin is more elastic than it will be in our thirties or forties. The other thing to think about is that you want to have kids. Saggy skin is something you will have after that. My point is that having saggy skin now, before you have kids in order to be able to have them in the first place should be a willing trade. I am really glad to hear how happy you are with yourself. Don't lose that confidence. Deal with problems as they happen and keep that amazing spirit strong!

Awesome Be happy! It is good to be nervous, but try not to let it consume you. ((hugs))

May I suggest doing the low-carb high protein diet? I never lost much weight before but I had to do the low carb (under 30 per day, and those were only for incidentals) diet for my PSWL. I've lost 32 lbs so far and it has been just about four months. I think if I had pushed the exercise and the water it could have been more. Good luck!

Hello! My name is Emily and I am 20, so we are in the same boat! I am a bit further along in the process than you are, I am having my surgery on Monday. You have definitely come to the right place! I love this forum. I learned so much and have so many supportive people. I am having the surgery for many of the same reasons you are. If you have any specific questions or just want to chat send me a p.m

Thank you And I will for sure!

Wow...losers bench next week. I can't wait! Thanks

Thanks for updating the list

While I can't say what I would do in your position, since my position in life is very different, but recently I have been through a lot (especially financially) that made me question whether I should postpone or cancel my surgery. I am having surgery on Monday and I am glad that I didn't cancel it. Everything ended up working out in the end. It wasn't easy and it is going to be tough for a couple month, but it is so worth it. If I don't do it now I don't know when I will. Continuing with the surgery won't hurt you. I think you and your husband will ultimately make the decision either way and it will be the right one for you.

Sounds yummy Do you think if you added some espresso powder or coffee to it and blended it with ice it would taste anywhere close to the pumpkin spice frapp at starbucks? that is one of my favorite drinks and I would love to be able to re-create it.

This is awesome to read Gives me hope that I won't have that feeling of being deprived or missing out. Thanks for sharing

That is amazing Congratulations on your little boy!

I read this and my jaw dropped... I swear you stole the conversation I had with my grandmother word for word. I did not willingly tell my grandmother. When she moved and changed her address all of her mail was forwarded to her. Since we have the same initials.. a LOT of my stuff went with them. Including my information packet from the WLS seminar I attended. Of course she opened it "accidentally" and questioned me about it. The whole turning it around to make her situation always seem more dire and the "god made you the way you are" speech is exactly the same as well. It has gotten to the point where I won't listen to her anymore. I hate that our relationship is strained, but I couldn't deal with the guilt trips and the "poor me" any more (there was a lot more than just my WLS too). I know this post doesn't really help you figure out how to deal with it or make it easier having someone like that around, but I just wanted to let you know that you aren't the only one

I did curves for a year about 4 years ago... it was okay. At first it was good exercise but to be honest I got really bored with it and the way it was set up I felt like I was always on display (everything is set up in a circle so you can always see everyone else and they can see you). That being said you may enjoy it. Many people did. I am one of those people if I could have a total gym in my basement I'd be set... I would never set foot in a public gym lol. Unfortunately I can't do that. I have found a local community center that has a full gym and I love it there. It isn't as intimidating as a "normal" gym because of the variety of people who use it. good luck!

Why does everyone use shapeware? Is it just for looks or is there a medical plus to wearing them? I have a couple that I wear when I have to wear a dress and I was starting to wonder if they might help later down the road with the saggy skin. Would it act as a compression garment?

I've had this problem on and off for years. At first I used neosporin and it took forever to go away. Then I tried using athlete's foot cream (it was all I had and I didn't want to go to the doctors lol... I was 15...). It worked, a bit, well better then the neosporin. Finally I talked to my mom and we grabbed a tube of miconazole cream and it cleared it up right away I keep a tube around and whenever I notice it starting to get irritated I use a tiny amount and it clears it right up. I would definitely try it!

That quote is very similar to one that I've loved since high school and is actually in my profile pic! "suceess is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts" seems like we think alike in a lot of ways!

Wake up call indeed! At least you recognized what you were doing and are making changes to correct it thanks for sharing, it will be a reminder for me later on not to just let the sleeve do the work for me.

I am right there with you!! I even received different information from two people at my surgeon's office!! For full liquids my surgeon said it was anything that would fit through a straw. Well, that was pretty vague so I asked my dietitian for some examples and she stressed that it was Protein Drinks ONLY for two weeks. So with everything that I have read, all of the research that I have done I have decided that I will stick to the two weeks of protein drinks. And I will stick with their rule of low carbs (under 30carbs/day) until I am trying to maintain. At that point I will probably add in more carbs to my diet and stop "dieting" and just watch my portions and eat healthy overall. It is super confusing. I am being sleeved on Monday and for a while I tried to plan out each stage afterwards... and I can't do it. So i've decided to do it one at a time. For me step one is full liquids for two weeks. Then once I get the all clear I'll figure out the next one I really do believe it is about finding what is right for us as individuals. The surgical community is heavily divided and you will get opinions one way or the other. Some swear you have to do it the one way and the next swear it is the opposite. I find it frazzling and confusing but it just tells me that I need to pay attention to my body more and rely on myself the most.

I have Aetna as well. The three month visit with the nutritionist will be reviewed by your surgeon (most likely) at the end and it should count as the PSWL (physician supervised weight loss). I had mine with a weight loss counselor twice a month for three months and then the surgeon signed off on it. I was required to provide a 5 year history, but I do that Aetna recently changed their guidelines to needing less. I didn't actually have 5 and I was approved. The pulmonary clearance and the cardiology clearance and the two support group meetings were not required for me. Those may be things that your surgeon requires and not necessarily Aetna. My surgeon requested a bunch of bloodwork that went beyond the "standard" pre-op. That was something that he required but wasn't required for my insurance. I also had a pre-op class (though it wasn't called that exactly) and then a pre-op meeting with my surgeon. So to me it sounds right. I am not yet sleeved but I will be on Monday It took two weeks (10 business days) for me to get my approval and I called and asked the status they day they approved it. So it probably would've been another couple days if I had waited for the notification to get my surgeon's office. Technically the insurance has a maximum of 30 days to approve or disprove. So you might not make 2012. However I have never heard of Aetna taking that long before. It also depends on your surgeon's office. I would talk to them now and see if it looks like it will be a possibility. They should know or at least be able to give you a good guess. I know my surgeon's office schedules about a month out after you get approved. Every office is different though. They may even be willing to put you on the schedule now, conditionally waiting for your approval. I know if it ends up being 2013 that will not be great because the insurance year starts over and you will probably be required to pay your deductible again right? I was very happy when I was able to get mine done this year for that reason. Good luck with everything! Oh, and I just want to stress communicating and talking and asking tons of questions to your surgeon's office because I assumed something and it ended up biting me in the butt and nearly cost me my surgery. So please, don't hesitate to double check anything.

I agree with what Foxbins said. The reason most people don't drink 64 oz of water and don't get dehydrated is because they are getting the majority of their liquids from their food. Since you (and me soon!) are eating a LOT less you aren't getting very much liquid from what you are eating and you have to make it up by drinking it. Also, when we are losing weight our body needs about 4lbs of water to "flush out" 1lb of fat. So that is why when people are in stalls they suggest drinking more water, because it is believed that the body is collecting the water it needs to dispose of the fat. The last thing is that I have heard that we often cannot detect signs of dehydration until it is severe. You may be a bit dehydrated and not realize it. I would say drink it anyways!

LOL! I was thinking of that too...I was lucky enough to be able to lose 32lb before surgery but I can't really see a difference on myself, so being able to suddenly wrap my fingers around my wrist was the first "sign" other than the scale that I was losing. I just had to share! I am finally getting excited about monday I am going to do my best to put a post up afterwards and if I can't my mom said she would if I want her too.

Hey everyone! I see that we have a few new people in here I am going to be sleeved on Monday (sep 19th) and I can't wait. So far pre-op I have lost 32 lbs and have lost 21% of my excess weight. I have been losing consistently so far and I hope that at a minimum my sleeve will help me keep it up and at best boost my weekly weight loss! I am also hoping that being young will help my skin bounce back, but I can already see some saggy-baggy-elephant skin so I'm not terribly hopeful. I, along with everyone else it seems, have really bad stretch marks as well. I'm not opposed to having this "fixed" later, but I am really hoping that I won't have to.