Izuri

Wow - what a difference! You can really tell =) Congratulations on making it into onederland, I can't wait to see that 1 as a first number!

I am almost three weeks out and I still have pain/discomfort on and off but it's not bad. I am able to walk twice a day and I feel pretty good. I can actually walk longer and quicker than I could before I had surgery. I gave myself extra time off work just to make sure I'd be up to school in the fall, but if I had been pressed to go back, I probably could have. It's really been a fairly fast recovery.

My family has owned the regular power 90 series for maybe 5 years? I used it for about six months and my brother and father have used it for a few years now. It's not as hard as the P90X but does have 2 difficulties, and even when I was lighter it gave me a pretty good workout even just at the low level. I would definitely try something like this before starting the P90X, but that's just me. The dvd has gotten tons of use, and I would definitely recommend it. I'm a pretty big fan in general of the beach body videos (Except brazilian booty lift - I didn't enjoy that one as much, but my dvd player only wanted to play it in Spanish..)

I agree completely! Shaving has become some crazy contorted gymnastics act. I'd also like to see my toes when I stand up and look straight down - on that matter, i'd like to be able to easily reach them to paint my toenails.

To be able to feel like I've finally dried off everywhere after a shower - I swear I can dry like six times and I still feel like I've missed places Not worrying that new people are meeting my fat before me To feel more confident in getting out around people my age Being able to button my lab coat at work Not dreading having to squeeze out in front of people who are sitting between me and the end of the row at auditoriums/movie theaters/school classes

I'm 18 days out now and yes, I would absolutely positively do this again. It is a complete 180 on your life though, so being in the right mindset is definitely necessary. I have rough days where I mourn food. I get frustrated sometimes at how little I can eat. But it's still worth it to me. Not even 3 weeks out and I can already walk longer, farther, and faster than I could pre-surgery. I'm down about 25 pounds now. My blood pressure was creeping up and now it's not. I was having tachycardia in the evenings and now it's gone. It is by no means easy after surgery, but I wouldn't trade it. All of the board members who have had complications though, I just want to say that every time I read you guys posts I'm really impressed at how brave you are. It must take a lot to open up about something that was such a physical and emotional roller coaster. I really respect that you are willing to talk about to help others with their decision. I know reading posts on it before my surgery really gave me some perspective. We have some very strong people here, and i'm glad that things ended up ok in the end.

Do you really think you should have that? It's not that hard to lose weight. You could just try taking the stairs and parking farther away. You should try this diet, that diet, etc I know some of those they're trying to be nice, but...I dunno. Just because I'm fat doesn't mean I wanna hear your every diet tip without asking for it =\ I think I'm most looking forward to not getting the looks and judgments. Those things really stick with you. I have been lucky not to get a ton in the past couple years, but about six months ago a car full of teenage boys drove past me and they yelled "Hey!" and then all started laughing/pointing at me. Or when i actually was losing weight a couple years ago and had worked out one morning I took the elevator up a floor at school cause I was beat and the people walking behind me made a remark about how I should be taking the stairs. I will not miss those comments a bit.

I had a much different experience with my psych eval than a lot of people. I have had problems with depression in the past and am currently treated and doing well. I picked a psychologist that I hadn't seen before because of scheduling availability and I wish I'd picked someone else. My insurance did not require me to take the long standardized test, which I was thankful for because those kind of things make me nervous. As soon as she heard about my depression history and when I hit a deep depression (About 6 years ago) she narrowed in on it and forced me to take the test. I answered honestly, but she told me it came back invalid (Which she had assured me was impossible if you answered honestly). Turns out she didn't have the right scoring tool and took a long time to get it fixed/get back to me. There were comments made throughout the session that indicated the only reason she wanted me to take the personality test was because she wanted to cover her butt - My insurance just wanted to make sure I was sane enough to make informed consent. Not making it up, when I told her about my severe depression years ago when I was young she jumped in and cut me off and switched to the test and even after telling her I'd rather talk because I was nervous she told me it was to "Cover um...our butts if anything was to happen" Even nervous I would have been happier taking the test if she hadn't been so forceful/short with me about it. I understand what she was getting at not wanting me to be depressed post surgery, but my psychiatrist that I've been seeing for over a year had already approved a letter saying that she thought I was fit for surgery, she just doesn't do full bariatric evaluations. I already was looking into post-op therapy and the psychologist knew this. Her whole attitude was rather offensive. So, I guess my advice is if your bariatric clinic recommends a specific therapist or psychologist, go to them. The whole nonsense with her ended up taking longer than it would have to get into the other clinic about a week later.

Oh boy! I am so glad that they caught it soon! Keep on sipping. I was just about to message you and ask if everything was alright, I'm relieved that you posted this thread. Feel better soon!! =)

Thank you everyone for the wonderful suggestions. =) OTR, I really liked that video, it made a lot of sense. I think that Shayyt may have hit it on the head, I need to make sure I don't have drinks around to remove some of the temptation.

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Tomorrow I begin purreed foods and thought I have been practicing the 5min before and 30 min after no drinking rule, it is something I constantly struggle with. I understand that it's an important rule and I want to become more successful at it. So far it has not been as difficult for me, as full liquids feels kind of like drinking to me anyway (and is for some). I am one of those people who takes a few bites, washes it down with Water rinse and repeat. It has been pretty difficult working on this not eating and drinking rule. Do you guys have any tips on what helped you get through this? Anyone else have trouble breaking this habit? I am determined to get it down and put it into habit, but I am hoping that maybe some of you have tips. For the moment I am spending 30 minutes staring at the clock =p I try and distract myself but my mouth just feels so dryyyyy! Thanks!

I used to snore on and off. I'm only a week out and have been told that so far, no snoring.

I would contact CIGNA and get a list of what they require for an appeal. I would record that, with the name of the rep and the date. Then I would gather that all in and send it. Try as hard as you can to find the dates/times you and the bariatric clinic called so that you can reference specific conversations (if you have rep names, all the better) where you asked about requirements and that was never brought up. Hopefully that will help you!

Take it out on a pillow! That's what I do if I really can't get out some frustration. Or on the flip side, draw yourself a bath up, relax and close your eyes and just let all of it sink out of you. Hang in there! Not too much longer!!

You're gonna be okay. You made the right decision calling the doctor's office to get it checked out. ((((HUG)))) Hopefully it is just the crystal light.

I think Nikki's got the right idea. Get jump started on the 6 month diet. Can you get covered under your husband's plan? Maybe his covers WLS. If not, in October you'll already be most of the way through your 6 month supervised diet and then if you need it, awesome, if you don't, at least you will have lost some weight and therefore lowered your surgical risk. I guess the only thing would be you wanna stay above 40 or something (I can't remember the exact number, you might wanna check a few insurance guidelines) unless you have comorbidities, otherwise they could deny you for a low BMI.

Congrats on the endoscopy =) Doesn't sound like much fun. 18 vials of blood is a ton! I think they filled 5 or 6 to do my blood work. Well, at least they will know EVERYTHING is ok =p

Woohoo! September is coming up quickly =p

I never thought about it, but I'm pretty sure the insurances probably have already figured that one out and blocked it somehow =p

Yayyyy! Congratulations, you look great and I bet you feel awesome! =)

That's 8 pounds you will never have to see again =) You're doing well, yes. Congrats on the loss!

I eat maybe 4 ounces of food in a sitting. It takes me 30 min - 1 hour usually. I try and eat 3 times a day high protein (protein shakes, greek yogurt) and then two snacks (like half of a sugar free jello, broth, or popsicle), one between breakfast and lunch, and one between lunch and dinner.

Welcome! Congratulations on your start to a new you =) Enjoy the journey!

Yay! That's just about two weeks - coming up quickly!