devichan

Need to get this off my, er, chest? Dear Navel: My dear, sweet Innie friend. You have literally always been a part of my life. We have the most primal connection, and when I was a toddler I loved to play with you. As a kid I showed you off. As a teen I painted you. As an expectant mother I was secretly relieved when you never "popped" in either pregnancy. Things came full circle as my babies played with you too, and loved hearing me laugh. But, honey, we have to talk. This skin infection thing has got to GO. You don't do it often, but when you do it's so uncomfortable. I always feel itchy and unhappy, and getting rid of it is no fun at all. When my skin's not so full and roundy, you'd better not do this more. I will be RIGHT PUT OUT. Love, Me.

Hate skin infections. Hate Hate Hate. Did I mention I despise them?

........ your co-workers sound like people who need reality checks. Really, that behavior is uncalled-for. Even my 7-year-old would call them bullies. My response to anyone who attacked me that way would be "Well, that's certainly one way to look at it," and then contact HR. But that's me.

In my attempt to get ducks in a row before my surgery, I was wondering what peoples' experiences were with biking in that first post-op few weeks. My knees like biking more than walking, and I just got a bike, so if I can I'd like to use it. Please share experiences and recommendations (including "That's not a smart idea" if it's not).

I walked two miles to the Mall with my daughter this weekend.

Can you have NSVs before surgery?

I wept and gnashed my teeth every time I logged on and there were no posts from you! In all seriousness, yes, I noticed you weren't around and I'm glad it was for something like school, and that you're doing well!

I go for my third NUT appointment and my teaching session with the bariatric nurse on Friday. They want me at 271 the day of surgery (which has not yet been set, but is at least two or three weeks out at best), and this morning I came in at roughly 274. (This is down 36 lbs since December, 20 since February when I started this. The December-Feb weight was after I got my new job and my stress level dropped by several orders of magnitude, so my body relaxed too.) So I'm not worried about dropping the weight required for surgery. But then what? I have never weighed less than 220 since my sophomore year of college in 1990. I literally can't imagine what I'll look like. I can't imagine what clothes I'll be able to wear. I've set a goal of 180 because that is the smallest I can imagine myself ever becoming. That still has me at a BMI of 34... there are people on here getting the surgery at smaller than that! Am I having a failure of imagination? What's reasonable to expect in the next year and a half? I really don't know! Can I actually expect to wear a size 18 ever again?

That's a good idea... I think I'll get my hair dyed again!

Awesome! May I ask how tall you are?

When I had this for my gall bladder, it went away. The only place I scarred at all was where I scratched it open in my sleep two weeks out after all the redness was pretty much gone. If you're worried about that, you can cover it, but the glue itself won't cause issues. Bruised-looking is normal and you'd have that with stitches too.

My husband's CPAP is barely audible. He's completely adjusted to it and it's made a huge difference in his life. You won't be such a light sleeper anymore if you need one... you'll rest much better!

5'1" and 280... pre-op, down from 295 in Feb. No surgery date yet.

I'm so sorry you are going through all this. I haven't been sleeved yet myself, but I do see where it's not all roses for everyone and I want to thank you for sharing your story! Over and over, I see people saying "the first month is a major trial." I hope that by the time I'm approved, you are on the up-bounce and can reassure others in turn! Take care of yourself, please...

Oh man, I'm already addicted to knitting... thank goodness I have a deal with my husband that I don't buy any yarn unless I have a project for it!

Thank you for posting this and giving me hope. (Started at 295, am 280-ish now, no surgery date yet.)

Hang in there!

I'm a fan of Sparkpeople. It's free, like I think the others mentioned above are.

Just wanted to thank you guys... I'm thinking ahead and trying to find resources I think I can like, and this thread is awesome!

I had the same concern... I'm good at dropping, awful at keeping off. When I mentioned it to my nurse, she said "We'd appeal. You wouldn't be here if you could keep it off without surgery." Ask your BN what their policy is.

If I have surgery before my birthday, I'm going to suspend aging for six months and have my half-birthday in March. Maybe you could do something similar? Wait six months and have a party then?

Two appointments back-to-back, two positive results. Yesterday was my second nutritionist appointment. I am down 9 pounds in a month. She is thrilled, and when I gave her my food journals (yay, Sparkpeople!) she says she wants me to keep doing what I'm doing. The results of my psych tests came back. Unsurprisingly, I came back as a nonconformist. But they are also seeing my motivation and like the fact I'm taking what I'm learning here and devising strategies to make this work. I already have begun to be more mindful of my food intake, I'm practicing chewing to applesauce consistency, and I've already dropped soft drinks, caffeine, and drinking with my meals and for half an hour after. They didn't see signs of psychopathology or of disordered eating. All of these things plus my success so far reassured him and he is going to recommend the surgery for me. Other successes: I have had the pre-existing clause removed from my insurance with the proof I was insured at my last job. I joined the gym on the first floor of my office and start tomorrow (today I didn't have time to go before work after my appointment). Work pays for a personal trainer visit every four weeks, so I'm going to set that up soon. Until then, I'm going to walk. I put together my exercise playlist today, and I also have some podcasts I can enjoy while working out. My sleep study showed no apneas, but plenty of hypnopneas. I think that is something that might go away with shrinking size. I told my sixteen-year-old last weekend. True to her awesomeness, her reaction was "Grandmother likes to be bossy and nosy, so I won't tell her. It's your body. I hope it works out for you. Should I be worried about anything?" I love this girl, I really do. (She just got into art school. <3 SO PROUD. <3) Now I'm flickering back and forth between calm and nerves. My next dietician appointment is 9-MAY. My daughter (who normally lives with her biodad and stepmom) will be arriving in early June. I would like to have the surgery before she visits. If I don't have it by the end of May, I might not be able to do all my summer plans and would have to wait until September because travel is important. I really don't want to wait until September. On the other hand, my insurance requires six months of supervised dieting. If they decide my visit to my PCP back in December counts, I'm in. If they don't, it's September. I don't want to be stuck in my pre-operation supervised diet phase for six more months....but I have to admit on a money level, I wouldn't mind. I guess that now that I'm on the road, I want to get to the destination and get it done. Still certain. Still uncertain.

Nekobasu! I love Miyazaki. Ahem. Topic. After my C-section, I was numb from my bellybutton down for about five years. After a while, I got feeling back to about halfway between my navel and my hipline, but I still feel mostly pressure in that space. That was 16 years ago. I don't think I'll get much more back. I'm just really careful in that space, because I'm also prone to skin yeast infections there under my pannus already.

I haven't had the surgery yet, don't have any advice, but I wanted to offer you a hug if you want one. As a woman who got pregnant using two forms of control at once (!), I know that sometimes these things happen. Please hang in there. You'll be better positioned once the baby's born to go for long walks in the summer twilight and get good exercise!

I'm getting mine done at Unity too, probably with Dr. July. I liked her attitude and sense of humor when I went to the info session, and the staff there are kind and love to laugh. Not sure on dates yet.