mistysj

I got a FitBit tracker! Does anyone else have one? I am http://www.fitbit.com/user/25PZ6B if anyone wants to add me. Dean, I am a survivor of child physical and sexual abuse. I am very thankful to people like you who work in this (really tough) field. Someone like you saved my life.

Hi all! I'm Misty. I live in Australia but I'm American. I always thought I was fat but I was really 10-15 LB above normal. I was pretty active in track and field and marching band. I'm 4'11". I went to college and gained 50 pounds in a year, from 125 to 175. By the time I graduated I was over 200, in 2000. In college I tried Atkins, Slim Fast, and fasting. It was all pretty scatter-shot because I was really busy, with a full course load, part time work, and lots of musical work and practice. I basically never lost any weight. I got engaged Dec 2001. In April 2002 I had a break-down shopping for a wedding dress and joined Weight Watchers. By October I went from 225 to 175 for my wedding. I was so proud! In another 6 months I was down to 150, where I stalled. I fought tooth and nail but once the course of a couple years I gained most of it back. It felt like sand slipping through my fingers. I gave up on WW and tried South Beach, Sugar Busters, Zone, the PCOS diet, glycemic index, calorie counting, Calorie King, Sparkpeople. If it was there I tried it. Nothing worked. In September 2011 I started the year-long Optifast 800 medically supervised diet. I told myself if it didn't work I would get surgery. I told my husband that it couldn't fail. It was medically supervised. I lost 20 kg (40 LB). I finished the program in November 2012 (I had to take long trips for work which resulted in two months delay) having already gained half of it back. I couldn't stand under eating my stomach so much. So here I am at 98 kg (216 LB) and a 43 BMI. I have diabetes, bad ankles, and PCOS. I couldn't get pregnant because of my weight and then I got uterine cancer in 2011 and had to have a hysterectomy. Obesity has taken so much from me. No dating (married my best friend, so no real complaint there). No biological children. Clumsy. Frumpy appearance. I have felt like my brain was in a jar and tried to ignore my body. Weight loss is the only thing in my life that I have failed at. I am here to turn it around. Oh yeah. How did I decide to get the sleeve? I had never heard of it. Then a friend said she was getting it and I meant to talk her out of it. But I did some research and decided she was right. I went to my GP for a referral and convinced my husband. Just saw the surgeon today and I have a surgery date of May 14! My friend is April 29 so we will only be two weeks apart! Anyway sorry for the novel. I got carried away.

I'm also May 14! Just found out today.

I can't stop eating. Eep. I think my brain is telling me to get it all in before I have to "confess" to the dietitian. Wtf, right? Hopefully now that I talked about it, I will stop.

Deleted after correction. The video is great!

Awesome! It will be here before you know it.

I am getting my SLEEVE on May 14! I have to have a telephone appointment with the dietitian first but may not need to do a pre-op diet at all since I am under 100 kg. The surgeon would have been happy to sleeve me this Friday actually! But I have several commitments including travel to America next week and a concert to play on May 11. I am thrilled. Need to talk to my husband about it to make sure he is ok with the dates and need to talk to the private insurance. Also need to sell the rest of my stock. Looks like the out of pocket will be 6500 plus the anaesthetist and hospital few. Two days in hospital.

On my way to see the surgeon. Ironically squished into the train seat next to another woman about my size. I feel like apologising and saying "Yes I know. I'm doing something about it." LOL

Nessa, I love your signature! Thanks for the inputs, everyone. I do tend to "make up my mind" and then going in telling the doctor what I want, and have even been known to give the "right" answers to get what I want. I am trying not to do that with the sleeve vs RNY. I did with Optifast. I hate to say it but it is so easy to get by those psych screenings etc. But I don't want to make my acid reflux worse and I don't want to be one of the (small group of) people who get the sleeve and don't lose much at all. I have heard of quite a few people having to get the sleeve revised to RNY, but haven't heard of many people going the other way around. So all of that is running through my head. If I may tell you guys a little secret, I went to the RNY version of these boards and I think I prefer the Sleeve section! The quality of the forum posts and information is much higher over here. I think even if I get the RNY I would prefer to still use VST for support. I wonder how well that would go over, though. The forums at ObesityHelp.com seem pretty good too.

Wow Dean you must be looking great! What's your goal? I bet the training feels awesome. It must feel light as air. Do you reckon you could still do the obstacle course you have to do for police training?

If I end up getting RNY I hope you guys will still hang out with me! LOL! Just got back from mass and brunch with the girls. DH is practicing with his band (he plays double bass for a bluegrass band). This afternoon I plan to do lots more reading and research, and finish up the laundry. Enjoying the sunshine after yesterday. What are y'all up to?

I've been thinking and I'm second guessing myself. I have had GERD and I have diabetes. I'm wondering if I should be considering RNY more seriously. I guess I will ask Dr Adib on Wednesday.

Shell, I would love to know more about your experience with Dr Adib. Did he pressure younto get the agb? It seems like all the info on his website is geared toward that. What was his pre and post surgery diet like? What kind of pre op labs or evaluations did you need to have? What was the out of pocket cost? What were his specific do's and dont's? Can I ask what your starting and current BMI were? What kind of goal weights does Dr Adib set? Is it a percentage of your total weight, a specific BMI target, or something else? Did you have to have drains or a swallow test? How long were you in hospital? (Sorry for all the questions) I think I have figured out how to pay my out of pocket. I have some stock that I can sell. I sold $3000 worth already and have another chunk vesting on the 16th that I can sell. There shouldn't be too much excess above that, I think. That's a nice gift my company gave me!

I would love to get together! I work very close to Roma Street.

I really like your new photo, Lissa! Good morning from Brisbane where it has been pouring rain since the middle of the night. A perfect lazy Saturday I've been sitting out on the deck, reading and enjoying my coffee. Still limiting myself to one black coffee a day and no carbonated beverages. I have to say I have had a tougher time with alcohol. I'd like to limit myself to one a week but I think this week I had three glasses of wine and a half shot of cognac (not all at once). Only one drink per day so I guess that is something. LOL I saw my therapist again and we talked more about how I feel about the surgery. I told her that I felt awkward knowing she did not completely approve, and that it made me realize that I consider her an authority figure a bit. We talked about boundaries and how I am in charge of all my choices and nobody else (not her or my husband or anyone) gets to have a say, at least not as much of a say as mine. This is something I have struggled with, with my parents, partners, doctors, friends. I think lots of fat people get used to everyone having an opinion and feeling like the external opinions mean more than your own opinion. It is because society seems to think its ok to comment on fat people's appearance (and really, women's appearances in general). My therapist supports me and my choices and even if she didn't, I need to work toward the place where it doesn't matter to me, except simply as information. I just wanted to share that because I am sure some of you can relate. I am sure some of you have been driven to tears or anger because of other people's opinions. I know that parents, partners, friends, and doctors have wounded me and made me cry because of things they said about my body.

I'm 35 and have been obese for the last 15 years. I remember always being aroused and ready for it in my teens (when I wasn't getting it). But the last 10 years my interest is gone. I don't know if my weight is to blame or my body image or the PCOS. I had a hysterectomy in 2011 due to uterine cancer. But this problem started way before that. I'm on estrogen and not having any symptoms that its too low or high a dose. I just never think about it, never get aroused. I can be convinced, but not as often as he would like. And orgasm is fine (and fun) when we have sex. It is just never what is on my mind. Id rather read or sleep! I think he feels like he has been really patient but I feel so much pressure. I have read books on this. Read and watched porn. Tried exercises. Special lubes. Lingerie (awful at this weight). Different positions. Nothing seems to work. So I hope it's the belly fat and the cortisol and that there is hope.

Also there is another article (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10731248 )that details how to measure your stomach's capacity. Buy a small container of cottage cheese. First thing in the morning, eat as much of it as you can hold, within a 5 minute period. Pour water from a measuring cup into the container until you have filled the crater. The volume of the water it took is the capacity of your stomach. Of course don't do this until your stomach is fully healed. Then you will know the max you can hold which means you won't have surprises. I guess a lot of people worry about their stomach stretching so this could put the fears at rest. Apparently anything less than 9 ounces (260 mL) is conducive to weight loss for the gastric pouch. I bet the sleeve would have similar results. I also read that the capacity starts out about the size of your thumb!

I just came across this article which talks about why the surgery works. It is about the pouch in gastric bypass but seems to apply to the sleeve too. It was referenced in a book I'm reading called Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients, which is a great read so far! Here is the link http://gastricbypass.netfirms.com/understandingsmallgastricpouch.htm