CCWriter

Thanks folks. Certainly careful of transfer addictions. Have had the occasional glass of wine, but am not getting carried away. I appreciate everybody's input!!' CC

Height: 5'6 Weight at start: 273 Surgery weight: 256 Current weight: 238 Surgery date: Dec. 27

I think I would adore the very-famous Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill in Chicago, but it would be frustrating not being able to eat a regular meal. Good luck, Chicago is a great city.

I was sleeved Dec. 27, and I have sleep apnea. But I've been waking up even using my CPAP and have been lying awake several nights. I confess I took a melantonin one night and it knocked me right out. I wouldn't hesitate to take another if I needed to. CC

I'm thinking something like Rum Tum Tum, sorta like Rin Tin Tin and both even growl the same. And call it Rummy for short.

You might check out the insurance forums on here and see if there is one regarding your insurance company. Because you have co-morbidities of diabetes and high blood pressure, your BMI requirement might be lower than if you didn't have those. Hope that helps ... CC

I'm hesitant to jump into this thread, but I'm going to anyway. Please, please, PLEASE don't jump on other folks in the forum, no matter what your experience has been. reallyrosy, no matter where you've been, this should be your safe place to explore what's going on emotionally and physically, not be attacked by anyone in any state of healing. Hope things get better for you ... CC

Hey there Brene ... I faced all those things you faced and I'm so darn glad I gutted it up and came out on the other side (Dec. 27 surgery). I had so many of your doubts and had friends and family working to derail me, including my husband. But I also realized that many of those people also sabotaged my previous weight loss efforts. At some point, you have to take charge of your own health and give everyone else the heave ho, so to speak. See you on the other side!!! I started a blog to chronicle my journey and you're welcome to visit: Takin' a Load Off.

I'm 11 days out or so and doing great, although I'm still on the liquid diet until Monday and I'm so darn jealous of anyone who has already made that jump. That said, I'd advise you to guzzle Water like crazy and do the two-week deal. They give you the liquid diet for a reason. Looking forward to your next update ... !!! CC

I think it's so interesting the question of losing 100+ pounds naturally or -- I presume -- "unnaturally" like all the folks who get sleeves like me. I tried and tried and tried as many of us have to lose weight. And I succeeded and failed and succeeded and failed, etc. etc. Heck, it's just a darn large mountain. I'm a little offended about people who postulate that sleevers lost weight "unnaturally," like we've bought our way to losing weight. It's not like it's not hard work for that period of time and forever after. I don't care if it's 100 pounds to lose or 200 or 300. Once you get past a certain amount, it looks like a darn mountain from any perspective. I'm not going to apologize for only having to still lose 104 pounds, for goodness sake. Onderland or whatever, we should all persevere ... We're going to come out on the other side and it's going to be darn wonderful. Cheers and looking onward !!! CC

Mambomama ... What an interesting life you've had ... and an interesting life to come!! Congratulations to you for taking charge of your life and weight. I'm so looking forward to hearing how things go for you. This community of "losers" is wonderful and I hope you take full advantage of them as a resource. I've traveled around about every continent except South America and Australia, so I'm aware of many different cultures. I'm fascinated with your's. My husband works in West Africa, so I spent a lot of time going back and forth and we're still using that as a jumping off place for exploration. Please come visit and post often. There are many international members here and I think you'll be a great asset to the community. CC

Debi: I don't have as far to go as you do, but my own pile of mistakes looks like a mountain to me. I'd love to be buddies though. This is going to be a transforming year for both of us. Take care and hang in there ... CC

I found that making homemade broth helps a lot -- makes you feel like you almost have homemade Soup. I got a bunch of fresh herbs and tied them up with twine and cooked that in. One of the things I did was take the leftover rib roast bones from Christmas and made beef broth. It was so much better than the canned, high-sodium stuff you buy in the stores. Most of us didn't get this way by being bad cooks. We might as well use our skills to help ourselves now. I feel like I can make darn near anything palatable if I'm creative about it. Congrats on the surgery date -- you're going to do great!! CC

I'd be interested in knowing the science behind why not to have alcohol after surgery. I just think it would be lovely to be able to have an adult beverage with hubby in the evening occasionally. I know you can get inebriated more easily, and it also is reputed not to stay with you as long. My physician recommends not drinking any alcoholic beverages for six months after surgery. A few questions: Does it interfere with your wound healing? Does it impact your liver adversely? Does it slow down your weight loss? Looking forward to hearing from everybody!! C2

Congrats Candyman ... My husband was extremely nervous and even talked about kidnapping me from the parking lot of the hospital on the morning (Dec. 27) I had surgery. He didn't, however, and I'm so glad he didn't. Can you imagine what kind of issues we would have had if he'd done that? He seems to be coming around really fantastically ... I blogged about it at Takin' A Load Off, and it's been great. You have a great adventure in front of you. Enjoy it!! CC

Fox ... congrats on your facelift. I'm 58 and had my sleeve Dec. 27, and one of my big concerns is going to be extra skin everywhere. Best wishes for your recovery and keep us posted on how you're doing. CC

I'm still pondering a name but nothing has come up and hit me in the head (or tummy). It's darn hard to hold your own with Sleevie Wonder, which I adore. And I had thought of Sleeve McQueen, which probably only about 10 of you have even heard of the reference. Steve McQueen was a hunky actor who died too young. I wouldn't mind having him mess with my tummy however, if I wasn't very happily married. This thread is HILARIOUS. Loving it. I'm not naming my little Sleevie anything else until I'm hit with a bolt of lightning. Maybe in the middle of the night. Look forward to a post at 3 a.m. or so.

Pammie ... so excited to hear your news! Seventeen pounds is fabulous! Congrats! We were sleeved almost on the same day -- I got my sleeve on Dec. 27 -- and I'm also in the Dallas area (Shady Shores, just N of Denton.) I have my two week check-up Monday and get my soft foods Tuesday and I can't wait. Take care and look forward to hearing your progress! CC

I was approved through Aetna, and they did require a 5 percent weight loss. I have co-morbidities of sleep apnea and high blood pressure too, and I'm not sure how all that factored in. They gave me a case manager (Paula), who has been checking up on how I'm doing. She was very encouraging before the surgery about how many of the people she works with get off their meds and CPAPs. My co-pay turned out to be about $2,000 total for the hospital, surgeon, etc. Best Christmas present I've ever given myself. CC

I'm coming up on the mushy stage and I can hardly wait ... I think I'm doing a little happy dance just thinking about it. I'm planning on lots of scrambled eggs and cottage cheese unless someone scares me off on it. I love tuna salad, but I'll be watching out for that. Thanks for the warning! CC

Hooray for you, Crawford!!! Off to the races for all of us! Thanks for sharing your story -- loved it. CC

Congratulations Paul!!!! You've accomplished great things and I'm so happy for you. What a great story -- it gives hope to a newbie like me. Thanks so much for posting it.

Fern ... you have so much good company -- my heart goes out to you. I know what it's like to have a goal either snatched away or moved. OK now. Deep breath. Rewind and reset. The goal was fantastic, but it's doable at a future date. Doesn't mean you won't get to do it. Just maybe not when originally planned. Maybe it's time to reset lifestyles also and make some decisions to further pull back on anything you can. Sounds like family business meeting time to make a new budget. So glad you're doing great on your other health goals. I see you're nine pounds past your weight goal and I'm just starting on my journey. Hang in there! CC

Kimmr ... my heart goes out to you, but I totally agree with Dorrie. You wouldn't hesitate if this were any other kind of malady. Just because it's elective, doesn't mean it's not extremely important. I had to put off my Nov. 29 surgery date (to Dec. 27) when my 86YO mother broke her leg in two places and then we had horrible trouble getting her to surgery because she kept stepping on it and dislocating the broken bones before surgery. But we got it done and she's on the mend. I was staying with her almost 24/7 until she got a hard cast on about a week after surgery. She's in skilled nursing now getting rehab and we're hopeful she can move back to her assisted living apt. soon. I was thinking of putting off Dec. 27 too, because I was concerned about the lifting, but you know, I just decided I would let other people do the lifting and this too would all work out. I just had to let it go, but it was hard. You need to take care of Kimmr FIRST, or you can't take care of anyone else!!! CC

Y'all are HILARIOUS ... and gave me the best laugh since my surgery. I'm going to have to work on a name and I'll get back to ya. Hmmmmm. Scratching head. Rubbing tummy. It'll come to me. It'll come to me. It'll come to me. CC