mykdzmom

I told my sister. I wasn't going to, but she was trying to convince me to buy a new bread machine (that makes homemade noodles! OH BOY! I really need more bread and noodles!) I told her, don't need it, doubt I'll be making any bread or noodles for a long time, if ever again. She said..."WHAT?! ANOTHER DIET?!!" "HOW long will this one last???". I told her about my decision to have gastric sleeve surgery. THEN out of her mouth came........."EWWWWW!! Have you thought that through??" um, yeah, I didn't just wake up this morning and say...hmmm I think I'll have major surgery to remove 85% of my stomach sometime after the first of the year. Note to self. Don't tell anyone else.

@@AhnaLucille isn't this site great! I am always amazed at how helpful everyone is. Good luck on your journey!

@@Recycled this is music to my ears! I am in the 6 month pre op now and going to my first meeting tonight. Perfect timing on your post!

I decided I definately wanted surgery then went to seminar. Now I'm just starting the six month diet/exercise program. I've done so much homework on this and I'm a bit obscessed with peoples success stories. I hope I can lose some weight the mandatory diet and know I will be a success story with a little bit of time. I'm sick of the real me hiding inside of this fat suit. I want out! But I guess good things come to those who wait. Thanks recycled for the perspective. I hope zoom too;)

Time really does fly. It seemed like it dragged on forever those first several weeks, when I was in pain and uncomfortable and worried I'd never feel "normal" again. But now I'm coming up on 5 months post-op! How did that happen? My weight loss has been slow... only 38 pounds post-op, but I really don't care. It's coming off. And all that urgency I felt leading up to my surgery and in the weeks that followed has completely disappeared. Now I'm just living my life and the weight just continues to drop off at it's own pace. It's nothing like in the past when I dieted and all I did was obsess about my weight and every bite of food I ingested and ever calorie I burned. I don't even wear my HRM when I exercise anymore! Who cares about exactly how many calories I burn on the treadmill? I do the exercise I need to keep me healthy and fit and happy. The numbers are completely meaningless to me now! Weight loss is no longer a constant math equation for me. It's so freeing!

I'm disgusted with how I look and feel...so I finally thought I'd look into Weight loss surgery. Just to see what is available and if If it would work for me. Looked up some local Surgeons and Hospitals on the net and some of the surgeons had free information seminars. So, I'm going to my first seminar tonight.....err.....
.I mean support group. (not really for support..I just like showing off the new bod and encouraging others) Confused....don't be
The point I'm trying to make is...... it surely seems like I just started the process....... When I thought about getting surgery, I figured I probably wouldn't qualify and the cost was probably more than I could afford....but what the heck, I'm fat and not losing my way, so what could it hurt. Probably won't do it and nutin's gonna change anyway.
So I went.... I kinda thought my interests was in the Lap Band. Ya know, the one I've already heard about. I get there and find out there is now three or even four different types of procedures and a whole lot of statistics. Great.....choices.....I didn't expect choices. I wanted sure fire easy. I had my notepad with a bunch of questions and after the surgeon spoke about each procedure, I fired away with several questions about the Band. He was very informative and heightened my interests. There was a few of his patients there that spoke about their processes and experiences and that, I felt was the most convincing. I gave the coordinator my insurance info and thought.....now we'll see what happens.
Guess what.....my insurance actually covered WLS. So I made an appointment with the surgeon for a consult. Just a consult...,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
.(I thought....I'm not sold yet) So I go to the consult and brief him on my history and goals and my interest in the Band....blah blah blah....and almost straight away he says......the band is not a good fit for you.....you'd be better off gettin the sleeve. Hmmmmm, that took the air outa my sails.....I really wanted the band. ---- OK, I'll think about it.
I did think about it....ALOT.....researched everything including the Surgeon, the Hospital, everything I could find about the Sleeve and you'll never guess.......he was right. It made better sense. It sounded radical....but after reading about so many successful outcomes, not really so bad. -( I found Bariatric Pal during this time as well which really helped me get informed the most)
I called and started the application for approval. ----- What.!!! six months, are you kidding me....talk about deflated....Oh well, I'll go along....( I probably will change my mind anyway and not get it) Zooooom.....fast forward six,,,seven...eight,,...nine months.
Even with a few insurance and tests gliches along the way....I can't believe it went that fast and I'm approved......

Ok,.....here's the big one.........I just got off the phone with the Doc's office and the surgery is scheduled..... in two weeks. Wait, wait, wait......I need MORE time. I'm gonna really do this.
Surgery day and I'm in my room recovering.....Damn....I'm still fat and now uncomfortable and haven't lost an ounce. This is gonna take forever.....Bariatric Pal is no help....all they keep sayin is "hang in there" or give it time....blah blah blah......Cmon, I had the surgery..... I should be losing tons already......I wanna see results........This is gonna take forever..... I don't want to think about a year from now.....I got on the scale today four times and it didn't change an ounce. Oh well....might as well sit back and just go with the flow.....and see what happens...... Zoooooooom (yeah, believe it.....I said zooooom. A whole year, just that quick)
A HUNDRED &TWENTY POUNDS gone forever and I look and feel fantastic. And I'm headed to the Seminar.....I mean the support group....see, I still get those confused cause I can't believe it went by that fast. Yes, I said FAST. I actually have a hard time remembering the phases along the way.....they kinda blur together. Who cares, I'm here, I'm skinny and you will be too. And you'll think the whole thing happened in a flash.
Long story.....short point.......Don't fret the wait.....Like most things in life, time flys.

Congrats and welcome to the losing side!!
I had my surgery Monday morning. Felt great in hospital for most part and walked in just a cple hrs from recovery.
Since being home, I've had a low grade fever and diarrhea TMI I'm sorry...sporadic sleep and trouble getting in the fluids. Still feeling burby and not used to those feelings.
Talked to my surgeons secretary today who has gone thru this and she reassured me all is normal and the first four days are the toughest. So I'm hopeful for tomorrow!!!
I gained weight during surgery but quickly dropped it according to my home scale the last day. Keep hydrated and keep peeing!! Supposedly by 1 wk post op we will be a brand new person!!!
Good luck!

I really feeling pretty good. A bit tired, my sleep was sporadic, and my stomach is sore, but thats it.
I'm actually amazed how well I feel. I was all ready to be miserable, but I'm not. Now I'm more sure than ever, this was the right decision for me.

Back from the hospital, at my parents house for a few days to take it easy.
Wow, thanks for the support everyone, this place and all you folks helped me through this process so far. I really encourage any lurkers to start posting, it does help.
The surgery went great! Basically a few hours of pain and misery, and I was in and out of consciousness for most of that portion. Then, the pain was slight and I was doing great. I walked the equivalent of 4 blocks to check out of the hospital and get to the car. No problems, I could have walked 20 blocks.
Now I'm home, drinking Protein drinks and stuff like that. Really tough to get enough liquid and Protein, but it's getting easier by the hour.
One bummer is that when I weighed myself after surgery, after not eating for 72 hours at that point, I had gained 8 pounds. I know it's just Water weight from all the iv's, but still I was hoping to see a few pounds drop. In the end, I know they will.
If anyone has any questions about the process, while its still fresh in my mind, ask me anything.
Good luck and great health to all of us!

I finally got a copy of my blood work. My vit d is at 5... my pcp nor surgeon has told me to do anything... im going to start taking my multi & other vits tomorrow.

I'm required daily VIT d. I take two chocolate chews from CVS EACH IS 1000 iu. In addition to my MULTI which has 800 iu and my Calcium which has 1000 iu. So it's important to have a stand alone VIT d supplement.

I also have low Vitamin D levels that my neurologist discovered a year and a half ago. My level showed me at a 10! Normal I believe is over 35. This is very common in most Americans to not have the proper vitamin d level. I take 5,000 IUs everyday over the counter. I just have my levels check last week and it's finally up to 55 after a year and half of taking that much. Vitamin d also helps neurological health. Everyone should take a supplement because a one a day doesn't have enough. If you are pre-op I would check with your surgeon about continuing to take a Multivitamin vitamin E slows down healing time and should be discontinued at least 10 days prior to surgery. But double check with what your doctor recommends!
Good luck everyone!

I read your initial post and my heart sunk for you. Going thru the 6 month myself now, I could only imagine how you felt. I am relieved to see you are still on track. Don't give up!!

Thank you for reading! I try to be as honest as possible! :-)

Verdict is, UHC says I meet all requirements, and all I have to do now is meet the Bariatric center requirements and set a ,date! So I need to do the psych eval, EGD, dietitian appt and nutrition class. Then it all gets submitted for approval. I was told by UHC that she expects I'll be approved in the next month or so. YAY!!!

I did it! Everything went well. I'm in some pain, but it's being well managed and I'm relatively comfortable. Water goes down slowly and I had to have a catheter for my first pee( ouch! ). But overall doing well. The future is bright.
Not only am I going to be healthy, but while here got good news regarding acceptance into a school to learn winemaking and viticulture. I've been working hard to improve many parts of my life, and I'm starting to see it pay off.
Anyway, for those that are worried, it's not anything we can't hanfle.

Yep. I was Vitamin d deficient so I take a weekly vit. d supplement.

I had my first visit with my surgeon today. I have decided to get sleeved! I have my medical clearance on the 27th. Looks like I will be having surgery in April. I also found out I have no deductible or copay for the surgery.
This is getting real and I'm getting excited. After years of taking care of everyone else, I am making 2015 all about me!

I think that my doctor officially considered it a "success" when you lose something like 65% of your excess weight. So for me that would have been around 90 pounds. However, I set my own personal goal that I would feel comfortable with, which was 50% of my original weight because that is what my plastic surgeon requires for skin removal. It's really kind of a subjective thing. You can base it on your lowest weight that you remember feeling comfortable with if you were thin in your past, you can base it on your surgeon's standards, or the bmi charts. There are lots of options.

I chose mine right off the doctors chart in their patient handbook

I live in southern VA, love to be in the sun, and I'm still extremely D deficient. My doctor put me on some regiment rigmarole that helps your body absorb the vitD pills more efficiently.
I had surgery despite my pretty major issue and small doing great 20 months out. Still deficient, but much much better than before.

you're going to be using shakes for a long time, so try your best to get used to them. Here's just my opinion, every ready made shake so far I've tried was intolerable by me. Just my opinion. although premier vanilla, was ok'ish it tasted like cake frosting to me, but thats tolerable. if you like, I do video taste tests of many different flavors and products on my blog, at
http://cuttingthefatwithaknife.blogspot.com
I also recommend trying the small individual packs to see what you like. But you will need Protein shakes of some kind if you want to meet your Protein goals. food isn't easy after surgery and some, more so than others. I personally, have come to depend on them for those times when I'm working and just can't take time to cook something. (not that I can cook at work mind you LOL)

@@Luvin_Life125 & Sleeve_Sistah85 glad to know I am not the only one and life goes on. @@Stevehud thanks for the info and I think I will try the chewable version too.

My pcp told me that most people's vit-d levels are low and even lower in the winter month due to lack of sun...my last my check it was like 15 so I just take a supplement but it didn't stop my surgery

I'm pre-op, but I always have low vit. D levels. I supplement with 2,000 IU daily, per doc's orders, and I've found that it makes a huge difference in my mood.