Luvnumbers

I have about 100 lbs to lose. I started at 232, i am215 now. Being sleeved 10/22. I am 5 ' 1 1/2" tall so I am pretty round....cant wait to feel and look ...well not like a Weeble ( kids toy)

Guess I fit into this category, too. Never thought of myself as a lightweight LOL. I think the weight loss could be different for those starting with lower BMI's. I started at 36. I am always in awe of the huge losses I see from people with higher starting BMI's. I've done all the math with my base metabolism, etc. and I can't see how I personally could lose more than 2-3 pounds of fat a week, maybe 10 lbs a month. I'm happy with that, though, the important thing is keeping it off. I'm so hoping this is the LAST time I have go on a diet and the sleeve + good eating habits + exercise will "cure" me for good.

GOOD LUCK!! I just did my last preop appointment and now gotta make my first appointment with surgeon and wait and see what he and the insurance have to say...I need luck too! lol

Luvnumbers,
Your efforts on the diet give the insurance company more proof that the surgery is necessary for you. It can be a long process, but it also prepares you better for your life after the sleeve. You have already started making changes in your diet and exercise which will help you post-surgery. If you hadn't started making any lifestyle changes, imagine how much more difficult it would be to have to do them all at one time.
Good luck. I also am waiting on an insurance company decision. My doctor has submitted my claim early due to complications. However, if they deny the request, I will have to finish the six month supervised diet. I know I will be approved after the 6 month diet for sure since I met my ins. co.'s initial criteria. Hang in there, it will be over before you know it and you will be on to the next step of slimming down and becoming more healthy.

Ive been at this since Feb also. I am 5'6 and 250lbs. Im right on the border and cant lose any weight since I have no comorbidities, that will dis qualify me from surgery so im trying NOT to lose and if possible gain at least 5lbs to be safe. I have one more appointment, psych eval and Im done...it is stressful, especially since I have to drive an hour to each appointment!!! I am sooooo glad that after Wednesday I am done with them. just met with surgeon and send everything to insurance and wait. It will go by quick, stressful but quick. But I know exactly what you mean!!

I am so overwhelmed that I just want to throw the towel in and say forget it. I have the worst insurance on the planet. Has droped under 35 and with the being said I dont think now I will get approved. My primary care doctor messed up on my medical nec. paper and said my highest weight was 193....HECK NO! I wish that was my highest weight my highest was 212! I stay right around 190-212. im 203 now and instead of not counting my .5 on my height they are counting me as 5'4" I have always went by 5'3" oh well.....i think Im just over the waiting game and im getting discouraged....idk.. If insurance doesnt cover me I really want o go to Dr. Ortiz.....what a handsome man and I love his stats. I dont know him but in my gut I really feel comfortable about him. Good luck to you Kieshart

BMI is 30.6 today and I am set to be sleeved at OCC with Dr. Ariel Ortiz. He just left my room. He said he wished more patients would look into this before hand as I am.
Let's get this show on the road!

I'm 5-3 and was 195 day of my surgery which makes me a lower BMI but i felt more like a staypuff marshmallow girl. Tomorrow is 5 weeks and I'm down 27 pounds. I just zipped up what i considered my skinniest jeans- size 8 and cried like a baby. They are a little tight but my rear was in them and thrilled!! 11 years ago, I was a size 6 at 140 pounds on the day I found out I was preggo and I haven't been under 175 pounds since that baby was born. Today I was 168! I have fought tooth and nail to stay under 200 so this is amazing to me! Still in the fat is fat club- I am seeing some angel wings on the arms and my stretchmarks are looking crazy different to me! I don't recognize myself and that's a good thing!

I noticed the same thing (on other boards). It's the reason I decided to create this topic as a separate little place for us all to come to and know we aren't alone in this! I became pretty sick of hearing that "lightweights don't deserve/need surgery" bull. Fat is fat is fat! So screw anyone who thinks that way. And onwards and upwards for us all!

Surgery is Tuesday. Been on my pre-op diet (min 70 grams Protein and no more than 30 grams of carbs, low fat) for 4 weeks. Didn't really have food funerals or a "last meal". Tomorrow is only Clear Liquids so I thought well I guess this will be my last solid meal for a few weeks what would I like to have but stay within my pre-op diet. So, I decided that I wanted a steak. I know it will probably be a good long while bfore I'll be able to tolorate it. So, we go to one of the local steak houses and I get a filet minon the leanest steak I could think of and grilled vegis and a side salad. The first bite of my steak was heavenly but every bite after that was flavorless and I did not care for the zuccini or tomatoes on the grilled vegi scewer. Kind of wished I would have just gotten the stuff and grilled it at home. It would have had more flavor I think.

I haven't read every response so I'm sorry if I'm duplicating. And I thought I read you were going for a cosolidated list, so I'm putting it all in here. If that's not the case, ignore as appropriate. My sleeve next month will be my 4th abdominal lap procedure and 2nd bariatric procedure, and based on my lessons learned here's what I suggest:
For hospital:
Wear somethong with no waistband, preferred. Like a house dress. Inevitably I've had an incision EXACTLY where my waistbands fall. And I'ev also had a few incisions that were intentionally left unclosed. Those hurt the worst, even though they're the smallest, and also tend to be right where my pants hit. If you must have a waistband, try to find one without elastic (e.g. drawstring) so you can fully adjust the tightness. When I had my band out I wore one of those velvety track suit things, mine has a drawstring waist. Perfect.
Wear slip-on shoes if you have them. Socks are hard to get on when you can't bend comfortably, and I don't like other people putting socks on me. Flip flops, or those fugly plastic clog shoes (forgetting the name), or a ballet flat or something like that. If youdon't have or can't get, then when you take off your sneakers pre-op, leave the laces all loose so you can just slip them on later.
Nook or Kindle or book or whatever. My sleeve will be the first procedure that requires me to stay overnight, and post-op I've een either asleep or prepping to go home, but pre-op? I played Boggle on my iphone for almost 2 hours pre-op. Was glad to have it. DH was there but is always more nervous than I am and wasn't a great talker.
I always bring a small hair clip. You can't do anything but wash/rinse your hair the day of, and you're probably (technically) not allowed to shower the night of. I have curly hair that gets bushy if I can't put some kind of product on it while it's still wet. So I always bring a clip to at least pull the hair back from my eyes.
I prefer to bring my own slippers (they have memory foam soles).
I bring my own robe. I haven't been able to wear it (IV lines, etc.) but hospital blankets are cold. Even the warm ones get cold too quickly. My robe is warm. And it can double as an extra pillow, because those flat jokes in the hospital aren't cutting it.
Chapstick, deodorant, my own toothbrush, skin lotion and hand sanitzier. (I put all of the above in my purse). If my face or hands are dry, I will not be able to focus on much else.
Pillow, for supporting your stomach. Especially if you have a large pannus, this will help. When I had my lapband put in, it took me about 3 days of walking completely hunched over like an ancient lady until I realized that the majority of the pain was coming from my pannus "pulling" down on my incisions. As soon as I started to support my pannus with my arm, it was like night and day. LIttle nicer doing it with a pillow than your forearm, but hey, I was desperate. I will also help to apply steadying pressure when you go over potholes on the ride home. (About 4 days post-op DH drove me to visit my parents. He took a route that goes over a train crossing. He had a "theory" that the faster he went, the less I would feel the bumps so he gunned his truck and his them going about 45. Our marriage almost didn't make it to the next block.)
When I had my lapband out, I had the most horrible sore throat from all the gear using my mouth as enter/exit. Truly it was far worse than strep, and easily the single worst pain I had after surgery. I didn't have any eating/drinking restrictions so I used Chloraseptic. If you can have some type of analgesic lozenge or something, go for it.
Electric razor. Let's just say I'm 1/4 Greek and would be a good candidate for laser facial hair removal if everyone hadn't told me it feels like exacto knives slicing your face repeatedly. This isn't required, but I need it for comfort level.
For drive home:
I haven't yet had anesthetic make me nauseous, but it can make a lot of people sick for a while. I drove my mother home from a bariatric surgery she had and we kept having to stop on the interstae so she could chuck on the side of the road. So the REAL suggestion here is get a driver who doesn't get queasy when she hears others chuck. Second suggestion is to bring some type of a barf bag (those blue emi-sleeves the hospitals have are great) if you know or suspect the anesthesia will affect you. There's something about car rides that seems to make it worse, even if you've been "fine" for a while.
Keep said pillow with you. Either to support your abdomen, or to nap, or both. (If your procedure is outpatient, you'll probably still be nap ready by the time you're released)
Keep a blanket in your car. I'm always freezing cold after surgery, for a day or two. And DH is not, so it's nice to able to limit the use of the heater - for his sake. (BTW, when people lose weight, especially quickly, they tend to discover they're perpetually cold - you might want to just keep a blanket in your car long term).
At home:
I have DH bring one of the recliners up from his theater room and station it in the living room. From there I have same-floor access to the door, kitchen, a half bathroom, etc. This recliner becomes my docking station for at least 3 days until I can comfortably lay in bed. And on that note, I'd suggest getting some extra pillows. When I CAN lay in bed, I do best if I'm VERY propped up. I suspect this will be true with sleeve surgery, especially until my acid production drops off.
Don't wait until you're out of surgery to try and find supplements you like. Have them selected before hand, and have a few options. Things will probably start tasting different. Have cold & room temp Water ready. Not all bariatric stomachs tolerate all temperatures. When I had by AGB surgery DH bought a little apartment fridge to keep in the LR so I didn't have to walk into the kitchen. That was overkill. But if somehow being able to stay on the same floor as the fridge weren't possible, it would've been awful handy.
I'm queuing up movies & shows to watch on Netflix. Daytime tv sucks monkey butts. Also holding off on getting a few books I really want to read, so that I can have something to do until I can comforably move around.
If you have someone who can help you around the house for a few days, do it. Think about kids if you have 'em, pets... and how may up/downs it is just for an hour or two.
I don't like to take my hydrocodone any longer than I have to, so I use liquid Tylenol and try to have a few bottles on hand. Gas-X never did a thing for me other than taste bad. The gas that Gas-X works on (I say "works"lightly) is not surgical gas, i.e. the piercing ache you might feel around your collarbone/shoulder area... so don't buy it thinking it will bring relief. Surgical gas, and intenstinal gas, are two wholly different things. As an addendum to what I just said - I just remembered that an RNY friend dumped on liquid tylenol. For VSG it might be better to wait and see if you can tolerate it, unless your surgeon gives you the OK ahead of time.
If your shower hyas a stationery head, I suggest getting one of the kind of tubing that you can move around. Especially for ladies out there. Bending and twisting is gonna smart, and let's face it. Some things in life require us to bend and twist, or be able to hit it with some Water. I'm just sayin'...
When I had my AGB and the graduated diet, I made sure to buy everything a few days prior to my surgery so that I didn't have to go to the store if I didn't want to. Ends up I wanted to, the next day, just to walk around a bit. But having the option is nice.
Since my AGB both of my parents have had bariatric procedures. I've made each of them a large gift basket and brought it to the hospital. Here's what I try to include:
small plates (cocktail size)
toddler utensils
refillable water bottle that will fit into a car drink holder, and has ounces hashed so they could track water intake
liquid Tylenol
Wet wipes/hand sanitizer
Snap-up robe (belt can be uncomfortable)
SF Jello
Mio or Crystal Light (was allowed with their surgeon)
liquid breath freshener
Sudafed dissolvable strips
corn bags (cloth bags filled with field corn, I think they're far superior to heating pads, and caln also be frozen)
Book, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, etc.

Stuff I used in the Hospital
There are many things people recommend you take to the hospital for your stay. However, since everyone is different, your needs might not match the recommendations. Here is a quick list of things I actually USED while staying for 2 nights:
1. Chapstick (I LOVE Burt's Bees Replenishing with Pomegranate Oil)
2. Slippers
3. Robe (to cover up your backside, since your gown is rarely tied closed due to constant examinations)
4. Cell phone. I texted friends to update them.
5. Flip video camera (if you want to document what's happening like I did)
6. Trashy magazines because who doesn't like trashy magazines to pass time quickly. Plus, I had a lot of fashion magazines since I was enjoying entertaining the idea that I would soon be able to wear whatever I wanted. Makes looking at fashion MUCH more fun when there are possibilities that you will wear them one day.
7. A empire waist dress and slip on shoes to go home in. Trust me, you won't want a waistband touching your incisions.
Everything else was provided by the hospital - toothbrush, toothpaste, mouth rinse, pillows, blankets, socks, that sexy gown, etc.

What a great list, thank you very much.
I would like to add from past experience that if you take your own pillow(s) from home, use a brightly colored (or at a minimum, non-white) pillow case so that they don't take your pillow accidentally.
When my husband had surgery (not WLS), the hospital tried to give him at huge cost every medicine, Vitamin, and supplement that he listed on his admitting paperwork. The list of everything that you've taken recently and assume is for them to avoid complications, NOT so that they can give it to you and charge you!
I had to send them away with the overpriced Vitamin C tabs, etc. every single day. Plus, we took his meds from home, and they still tried to bill our insurance hundreds of dollars for meds we did not receive, or meds we brought from home.