BKMama

That's such an important part of the journey...loving the person you see in the mirror. You're so pretty!

OMG wow! Congrats!! Any tips?

Interesting article, thanks for posting! I've been worried that the rush of hormones post-op would make my already moderate acne worse, but hadn't considered that increased hormones may be causing it to begin with. I'd be happy with no period though, this baby factory is closed for business! LOL

Easy recovery vibes to you! You're officially on the "other side" now. :-)

Good luck!!!

That's awesome! Congrats!

Congrats!!! You must feel so awesome.

I like watching the biggest loser because I love seeing the transformations from the start of the season until the end...but your right it isn't very realistic at all. They exercise for hours every day and can only eat the food provided for them on the ranch. I'd love to have that large sum of money as incentive though! LOL The celebrity weight loss ads that annoy me the most right now are the Janet Jackson ones. You really want me to believe that someone who has millions at her disposal is eating nasty freeze dried food in a box?! Not to mention we've seen Janet lose that same weight before using a chef and trainer. Gimme a break.

Nice job! Keep up the good work!! And yes, that dress is very cute, work it!

I'm pre-op but have the Mirena. I'm one of the "lucky" ones that still gets a period every month like clockwork. So annoying. From what I've read here, many get a period after surgery and your cycle may be weird for a while. As far as tampons, I use them but VERY carefully because you can dislodge your IUD. So for me, I only use tampons if I absolutely need to, anything light I suck it up and use a thin pad or liner. I moved my iud on accident a while back removing a tampon that wasn't full too quickly and that pain is not something I want to feel again. Not to mention having to go and get it checked to make sure it was ok.

I started the process in November. My surgeon does a 6 month program whether your insurance requires it or not. I've done monthly visits with weight management since November, a psychiatric evaluation, a dietician consultation, two sleep studies (needed a CPAP), the surgical consult, and one of three nutritional classes. I have a class next week and another in June (they are only offered monthly), a cardiologist appt next week as well (for a random issue that popped up during my 2nd sleep study), and I think there may be an additional pre-op class. Everything SHOULD be at insurance for approval at this point, but for some reason it hasn't been sent yet (which is driving me crazy!). I have BCBS which is typically pretty quick, so given the timing of the classes I have left, I should be scheduling surgery for July or August. Being at the end of the 6 months is making me pretty antsy.... I just want to get the insurance approval so that stress is off of my shoulders.

I am so glad this isn't just me. I can do the bike or treadmill for 20-30 minutes and only the last 10 minutes are rough. 30 seconds into the elliptical and I'm DYING. I feel like a complete idiot with the other people bouncing along beside me. LOL I always feel like I'm going to step off and my legs are going to just totally give out. That said, I am determined to conquer it so despite my pride, I'll do a few minutes then just keep adding time as suggested above.

Final countdown! how exciting! Good luck.

Yay! Congrats!

Nice job! You look great!

Congrats!!!

That is awesome! Keep up the good work!!

You look fabulous!!! *high five*

Hmmm...my surgeon mentioned to me that the sleeve is unique in that it can be 'easily' converted to a bypass, but he definitely didn't call it a backup plan. He was talking about it in reference to losing enough weight.

There seems to be a lag with insurance coordinators knowing that BCBS no longer requires the 6 month wait on a good number of plans. Mine still thinks it even though I went through my insurance documents line by line and it says I no longer need it. Anyway, good luck to you! :-)

I was going to suggest circuit training too. You'll get strength training plus the cardio you like. Once you have your sleeve you won't be able to do strength for 4-6 weeks depending on your surgeon so you'll be doing all walking then.

You know, that's a great point and I didn't think about that. Thanks! Someone mentioned a drain, they do a drain, but it is removed before you go home from the hospital rather than at the first post-op appointment as I've seen a few times here.

My surgeon said he doesn't do a leak test because 1) they've never had a leak and 2) he believes that normal vital monitoring will let the staff know if a leak is present. Any other surgeons not do leak tests before leaving the hospital? Seems a little unconventional to me so I'm trying not to be worried about it. Other than this thing nagging at me, I am extremely confident in the hospital, program, and surgical team.

Good luck! Good thoughts are with you. :-)

Ugh, I get asking once but to press you for it? How rude! It's just rude. Period.