jessiquoi

i hope your infection disappears quickly, and the back pain along with it! sciatica is what landed me in this situation in the first place... i had an episode from hell that kept me out of work for almost 3 months, and since then, i haven't been able to get back to the gym, barely able to walk from the car to the office, need to have someone do my housework, yada yada, and put on almost 50 lbs on top of my already obese body in 2 years. can't wait for my surgery! just know that it has to get better as you continue to lose weight. right? i mean, i hope that's the truth! try to be positive, try to visualize yourself healing and have a positive attitude, knowing that you WILL heal. i really really believe that this helps. i wear an insulin pump, and back when i first started to, about 20 yrs ago, there wasn't a cool tool to help insert the needle into your belly, i had to stick this huge thing into me, and it always hurt, until i started visualizing my cells moving apart and opening up a space for the needle and welcoming this tool that was helping me stay healthy. i know, i know, it sounds like i'm a crackpot, but i swear the needle just slid in after that. i believe when we're tense our body fights everything we're trying to do. if nothing else, a few minutes of visualizing good health and healing will have a calming effect on you.

lucky me only has to do 4 days of liquid pre-op. my doc always does surgery on tuesday, so i will start it on friday, go through the weekend, and then probably take off monday... cause i plan on sleeping through as much of this liquid diet as i can! good luck, you will do great! keep remembering the reward to come.....

i totally get your last post! i'm the same way, extremely comfortable dealing with the guys in the office, and totally choking on a personal level. everyone above had the right idea. be yourself. make sure you make eye contact, and drop the contact every now and then and then look back into his eyes... don't be afraid to touch him on the arm or, if you're sitting, on the knee, just casually, not aggressively groping lol. i think one text prior to your date telling him how much you're looking forward to seeing him will definitely go over well. most guys really do like women who like them and make the first move, so don't be afraid to show whatever it is you're feeling by telling him you're enjoying his company, or going in for that first kiss of the date. but... all that said? you're going on your third date! he obviously likes you too, or he wouldn't still be there. have a blast!!!

This was such a great thread to read! I hope some of you are still active on this site and will be around to answer questions as they come up. I am a T1 for over 20 yrs, on a pump for almost that long, and will be sleeved some time in October. Thank you all for sharing!

@@Teachamy, have you considered using a Continuous Glucose Monitor? I have been using one for years, and I love it. It beeps me awake if I go out of range, either high or low, and I really sleep better knowing I'm being monitored. Just a thought... I know I will count on mine to help me know when to adjust my insulin dosages post op.

I have nothing valuable to add to this thread, but I am SO GLAD to be reading ANYTHING here by people with T1. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I am also a t1 on a pump and cgm, and i am expecting to be sleeved some time in october. i am concerned about lows, but not so much since reading all your comments. mostly i am concerned about healing, because i'm definitely a slow healer. did any of you have any conversations with your surgeon about this? do you feel you were on a slower track healing than the other non-pwd on this site?

I hope to be sleeved in October also. So far, I have had all the tests except the endoscopy and colonoscopy. I haven't gotten all the results yet, but I'm expecting to be cleared (always the optimist!). I have 2 more visits with the team, one 8/19 and one 9/23, where they will weigh me (I needed 3 months of supervised weight loss). I'm hoping that they will send my paperwork in for approval after that last appointment. I can't wait to get this done! Looking forward to sharing the journey with you all.

I'm very happy to say that my guy and I have worked it out and he is back home with me again after one night away. Thank you for your good wishes.

if you want a game on your phone that makes you think, and self-limits itself (unless you want to pay), try 7 Words. I'm hooked, but you only get one free game a day.

try adding a little vinegar to your Beans when you cook them. it helps reduce or eliminate the problem.

Friday I went to the hospital for the bulk of my remaining preop testing. I came out 4 hrs later a blubbering mess. First I had a gallbladder ultrasound. No problem there. Then I needed to have a blood gas done, and they take the blood out of your artery. It took them four tries in two different places to find one on me, and the very first one they did, in my wrist, went so close to a nerve that I literally screamed and almost passed out from the pain. Understand that I am a type 1 diabetic for over 20 years, and am very used to being pricked, and very very good at not moving, and I never scream. The woman finally asked another technician to try, and he got it after two more tries (but he didn't hurt). Then I had to have (I don't remember the exact term) an ultrasound of the veins in my legs to check for clots. I have had this test twice before, and it is uncomfortable for me, but this time? There was a rookie doing the exam on me, and he couldn't handle holding the thingee in the right place on my leg plus looking at the screen to see the picture plus typing with his other hand all at the same time, and therefore he pressed REALLY REALLY HARD into my leg to kind of stick it there so it wouldn't move while he took his time doing everything else. OMG. I was crying by the time he finished my first leg, and almost passed out again (this is SO NOT LIKE ME) in the middle of the second leg, so he finally called someone else in to finish. No problem with her, no pain. OMG I could barely walk out of there. Luckily my sweetheart had dropped me off and picked me up, because I was in no shape to drive, plus all the stress caused my blood sugar to skyrocket and stay there. So I spent the rest of Friday in bed sleeping off the horror of the morning. Saturday I was kind of hung over from blood sugars over 300 all day Friday, and had little energy, but I was feeling better. Until I said something that hit my sweetheart the wrong way. Sunday he moved out. I'm devastated, we've been together for over a year and I thought this was my future. I'm finding it hard to find the courage to go through the surgery alone. I know I WILL... I will do this for me, and get healthy, and instead of frolicking forever with him, I will find someone new to frolic with eventually... but I'm so so very sad and trying not to think about recovering alone. I don't even know who will drive me home from the hospital now. And that's the least of my thoughts, the surgery... this literally knocked the wind right out of me. I made it to work today, but watching him pack up and leave yesterday was the hardest thing I've ever done. Thanks for letting me vent. Onward ho.

I want to add my voice to help reassure you, you WILL definitely detox from the less healthy foods you are currently loving so much. I promise that you will find them one day to be sickening in any quantity more than a couple of bites to taste. You will grow to love the foods that support your body's health as you continue to detox. It's inevitable, it's happened to me several times on some diets, and I see it beginning to happen again now slowly on my 3 month pre-op diet. Trust in the process, and remember that something can be different but also still be great! You will enjoy your food after you go through the process. Think of it as part of your healing. I encourage you to experiment with recipes because they are the best way to learn which spices give you the greatest pleasure. I have recently fallen in love with cumin, something I had never tried before... to quote a funny commercial, I put that sh!t on everything!

good for you for stopping at 6!!!!

i have told my daughter and a few close friends that do not interact with many other people in my life due to geography. i haven't told my mother yet, but i will sometime before the surgery, as she will KILL me if i don't tell her i'm having surgery lol, and will do nothing but worry from the day i tell her until the day i come home from the hospital, so she only gets a small window to know before it happens. i am telling the people at work that i am having surgery (not specific at all), and they are not questioning too much because my health has been deteriorating the last two years, with myriad of problems. what will i do after the surgery when the weight (hopefully) falls off? i'm not sure. i'm used to being an advocate of anything i believe in, and have always tried to educate people about my personal choices (breastfeeding, diabetes care, etc). this is different, somehow. i'm just not sure yet. whatever you decide, you will handle it the right way for you.

the only thing i can say is, does it really matter to you how FAST you lose, as long as you lose? i would rather lose a little slower and have the surgery i'm most comfortable with, and you sound like you feel most comfortable with the sleeve. i felt the same way, and that's the way i'm going.

good luck!

good luck!

tomorrow i go to the hospital to have most of my pre-op testing done, i was able to schedule a lot of it for the same day. in fact, after tomorrow, the only things left are my endoscopy and colonoscopy, which will be later this month. i can't wait for tomorrow to be over. the time before surgery is going by quickly because i am always looking towards the next little milestone, the next appointment.

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing. Good attitude "hanging in there"!

i also backed out last year, and am back again this year. no turning back this time for me either! i can relate totally. instead of berating myself for not going forward previously, i'm looking at the last year as additional prep time required before i had the surgery, namely mental prep time. i had a similar situation when i first started using an insulin pump over 20 yrs ago. i KNEW the minute i heard about it that it was the right tool for me, but it took me a year to get mentally adjusted to the idea of having a machine attached to myself 24/7. congrats on being ready!!

i smoke just about every evening, just a little toke or two on my pipe, my equivalent of an after work martini. i don't get the munchies, and i love not having the calories from alcohol. i'm so curious about how i will feel after surgery when i smoke. and for the record, i'm an incredibly productive member of society.

the things they put us through! just keep your sense of humor (love the title of your post) and the time will pass. (that said, i'm SO GLAD my doc only does 4 day liquid preop!!!)

Awesome job! That's amazing, 146 lbs in 7 months! Congratulations, you look wonderful.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I can relate, as my partner smokes too, and when he gets into bed just after smoking, I have to tell/ask him to please wash his hands and brush his teeth. I feel guilty about asking him, but more than that I feel entitled to not want to snuggle with someone who smells bad to me. Do you want a divorce if he continues to smoke? I know you're worried about what he might do, but I'm wondering what you really want. Is this a dealbreaker for you, or does your relationship have enough good things to outweigh this? None of us are perfect, we all have our flaws. The kicker is whether we can accept the other's flaws or not. If you don't want a divorce... if it was me, I would apologize for letting things getting so out of hand, and try to work together towards a solution. Counseling? More defined guidelines about where and when you can tolerate his smoking? Wouldn't it be great if there WERE a surgery for helping them to stop smoking? I have decided that my relationship is worth accepting his smoking. You have to make that decision for yourself, and then reopen the lines of communication with him. The longer you don't speak to each other, the worse it gets, in my opinion. You will feel better clearing this stressor off your chest as you prepare for your own life-changing event. Congratulations on doing what you need to do to take care of you! And good luck working things out.