Anakin Jay

Been working really hard on my pre-op diet... I was 405.9 at my pre-op consultation, and this morning I was down to 395 !! 11 pounds in 3 weeks hope I can keep this up.

So we all know about ghrelin... but according to my surgeon, once the brain detects ghrelin it starts to prepare for a fast. The body slows down the metabolism thinking we won't get to eat for a few days or something. In addition, there's something called the omentum (I had NEVER heard of that before.) that serves as a fat depository, amongst a few other things. One of the problems with the omentum is that once your BMI starts getting over 30, it starts to act as a blocker between the nutrition you're eating, and your cells. And the more weight you put on, the more nutrition it blocks. So what happens when you're not getting enough nutrition? Your body signals that you need to eat more by producing more ghrelin. Which in turn lowers your metabolism. So, even if you just ate an hour ago, a fatty omentum will block your cells from getting nutrition, you'll make ghrelin, shut down your metabolism, and be hungry again.. Sound familiar? I know it does to me... sometimes I'll eat a whole large pizza, and be hungry again an hour later. My surgeon said it's one of the reasons he truly believes obesity is a disease. Because you have to not eat even when your body is telling you it's hungry. Then all that sugar in your blood that the omentum is blocking from getting to your cells, just stays in your blood, and that is the cause of diabetes. (at least one type of it) So part of what makes the sleeve so awesome, is it cuts out the ghrelin producing part of your stomach, which eliminates the omentum's ability to make you hungry when you shouldn't eat... BUT it also means your brain always thinks your stomach is full.... which means your brain is constantly running your metabolism at full speed. I'm not an expert, just repeating what my surgeon said. But I found this REALLY interesting, and I thought maybe someone else on here would too.

The alcohol is probably your problem. Whenever you drink alcohol your body will burn that for energy first before anything else... it's like pure energy. No matter what diet I've ever been on, alcohol always causes a stall.

OMFG. So, I call into my insurance, trying to be a responsible adult and wanting to make sure my new policy would cover my VSG surgery before I switched. The response I got: bcbs: "I'm sorry sir, we can't tell you any details about that policy because you're not enrolled in it" me: " Then how am I supposed to know if I want to upgrade? " bcbs: " You should have gotten a sheet of benefit highlights " me: " I did... it says 'Surgeries' does that mean all surgeries are covered?" bcbs: " No " me: " Well then how am I supposed to know if my surgery is covered?" *literaly 20-30 seconds of silence* bcbs: " I'm sorry sir, we're not allowed to give out details of a policy you're not enrolled in." me: " Ok, well if I enroll, is there like a 7 day period where I can change back to the old policy if I'm not happy with it or something? " bcbs: "No" me: *sigh* I'm going to do it anyway. I'm on the cheaper plan now and I'm covered, if either of the plans had this excluded I assume it'd be the cheap one... just frustrating...

So, today is the last day of open enrollment for insurance at work. This is the time of the year when I can make changes to my plans. Right now, I pay $50 / month and the insurance covers 80% "surgeries" (doesn't list anything specific). My VSG surgeon's office called my insurance and they said that yes that covers VSG. Today... I can switch to pay $100 / month for insurance that covers 100% of "surgeries"... just worried if I do that something might go horribly wrong. like... What if surgeries on the new plan doesn't cover VSG, or what if the act of switching makes me ineligible for some red tape reason... anyone smarter than I am with insurance have any advice? I'm going to call today at lunch, but I don't even know how to word what I'm trying to ask... lol.

What makes it easier for me is thinking about it like this... I've spent 30 years being overweight and hating life. This time next year I'll be down 100 pounds and out kayaking or something. What's 1 year compared to 30? Visualize the goal Start imaging what you're going to be doing a year from now. That helps me stay strong.

I've had nutritionist, and EGD done.. Psych eval is 2 weeks away... Not looking forward to it, still haven't figured out how to convince him I'm not crazy.

Hi Sarah! my 6 months just started last week. Looks like we're in the same boat Jan 2012 sleevers represent!

The worst part was getting the IV in my hand. After that, they walked me into the OR, I laid down, they strapped all kinds of stuff to me.. oxygen in my nose, some plastic thing in my mouth to prop it open. And thats the last thing I remember before waking up in the hospital room. I don't remember anything at all about the actual EGD. Good drugs They came and gave me some food... basic hospital stuff, milk, apple juice, Water, outmeal, and a little icecream. After I ate it and used the bathroom. (They were insistent I pee before leaving for some reason.) I was clear to go. Whole thing took maybe 2 hours, counting paying for it and filling out paperwork. In case they didn't tell you, you'll need someone to drive you home afterwards. The medicine keeps you loopy for a while.

It's another kind of Upper GI basically... except instead of swallowing barium and taking an x-ray they stick a camera down your throat and look around at your stomach that way.

I just got back from my EGD. The worst part was putting the IV into my hand... ick. Other than than, I went into the OR, they put a bunch of crap in my mouth and my nose, and told me to lay on my side... I remember looking up at the clock, then the next thing I remember is waking up in my room. It was a cake walk.. one more down!

Thanks Wishes!

Yeah that's what's scary to me... what are the "right reasons" ? I just want to be healthier and less limited in life.

I know right? ... plus... I don't know exactly what would disqualify us... I mean, we're obviously unhappy because of our weight.. we obviously have issues with stress eating or emotional eating, or something... Just now "Normal" do we have to be to pass this thing?

Boy do I have mixed feelings about that... The "Growing up on disney movies" side of me wants to believe that people would love me no matter what I look like because I'm a great person. The "Reality" side of me knows that's BS, and wonders how many amazing people I've missed out on getting to know in my life because of my weight. (And conversely, how many people have missed out on getting to know me.)

It's different for everyone's insurance. Typically it's 30-40 BMI with some serious health issues (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc..) or 40+ BMI regardless of the other issues. I just had my initial consult 4 days before yours! We should start some kind of january 2012 sleeve club!

Scheduled my psych eval yesterday. They said it would be 1.5 hours... (holy crap!) What the hell am I going to talk about for 1.5 hours?? ( How am I supposed to pretend I'm not crazy for that long? )

To give you guys a male perspective on this, you shouldn't feel uncomfortable. Yes, the way they're acting is a bit rude and disrespectful, but they're not judging you. It's not that your clothes are particularly slutty, or anything. An attractive woman could be dressed up in a carrot costume, and as long as we could still see enough of her to know we're attracted, our actions would probably be exactly the same. Different guys handle the hormones differently, some get trapped starring like a dear in headlights, others get an adrenaline surge and feel the need to show off... thankfully MOST of us have enough self control to just think "Wow, she's really attractive" and let it go. At any rate, it's a compliment. You're attractive enough to stimulate a subconscious release of hormones in males. That's a good thing, and something to be proud of, not ashamed.

Well, just got back from my first meeting... Turns out my insurance covers the sleeve, and they've had good luck using them in the past. They also think I'm a good candidate for the surgery. Feels like I have a giant pile of things I need to get scheduled and finished in the next 6 months, but it feels great being one step closer!

I kind of disagree... with so many things going wrong in life, this would be an easy time to start turning to food for comfort. What better time to limit the amount of food you can actually eat? *especially* if insurance will cover it. Plus eating less = less money wasted on food. I know right now I can eat a whole large pizza for a meal, post-sleeve I expect to only be able to eat a single slice, making that same pizza last for days.

Oh no! That describes me 100% !!

I realize this thread is old, but I wanted to chime in. My experience is that there is a certain personality that comes with being a fat guy.. It's some kind of combination of self judgement, fear of being hurt, low self esteem, and a general all around negative attitude. I think women naturally avoid fat guys because of those secondary side effects. No one wants to be around some judgmental negative downer. Women are looking for strong confident leader type of guys with a positive outlook.... and I think it's hard for fat guys to act that way when they spend most of their time judging their looks, and focusing on feeling like an outcast.

I thought that was just a side effect of heart burn... is that a warning symptom of a hiatal hernia? cause that happens to me about once a week

I'm from morgantown, wv (go mountaineers!) I have my first consultation next week!

Just turned 31 two weeks ago, and my initial consultation with the surgeon is next week. I feel like I wasted my 20's being overweight, and limited.. looking forward to spending my 30s enjoying life instead