DadTo2

I have to agree with Gene above. I was so addicted to caffeine it wasn't funny! I'm talking 5 to 8 cups of coffee, plus anywhere from 6 to 8 cans (or more!) of diet soda a day addiction! I kicked the caffeine habit cold turkey and had the headaches and the irritability for almost a week, but it was worth it. Now I am kicking the carbonated beverage addiction (good bye caffeine free diet sodas) and this is going a lot easier than I thought it would. Hang in there! The headaches will go away in the next few days and you'll be over an addiction you may not have realized you had with caffeine!

Oh, we're around here somewhere. Though I'm not sure about the young part!

Good Morning Everyone! If anyone is using MapMyFitness.com to keep track of exercise, please feel free to add me. I am ericdickey on that site. I am using this app on my iPhone instead of tracking my exercise on MyFitnessPal simply due to the ability to use GPS to map my routes and I feel it gives me a better, more accurate use of calories burned. Have a great day! DadTo2

If anyone wishes to add me, please do. I am Dad_to_2 on there. Please note that I am not sleeved yet! I have my surgery June 19th!

I start my pre-op diet on the June 5th and have my surgery on June 19th. I am easing into the pre-op diet and have dropped 10 pounds so far, but I do have a question to the guys who have answered the OP's question with one of my own. Are any of you having any issues with saggy skin and if so, how are you dealing with it? (Jared, I hope I am not hijacking your thread here, but I thought this might be a question that would be on your mind as well.) Eric

That's cool! Dr. Nicholson is doing my sleeve as well at Forrest Park. You're getting the sleeve the save day I start my Pre-Op diet! Eric

Excellent work. Thanks for putting this together!

Congrats and welcome aboard!

Donny, I don't know what insurance you have but I have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and the policy I have covers 70% of it, unless I meet my deductible, If I meet that already, and with two surgeries this year (my wife's that has already happened and mine that will occur on June 19) that deductible will be covered and insurance will cover all of it. If the deductible isn't met yet, then I pay 30% which is about 325.00 for me. I was told that there are some places that will lease the machine to a patient. I thought about that, but figured that leasing would wind up being more expensive than purchasing. Besides, if I don't need it I can always donate it to someone who does need it, or even sell it later. Hope that helps some.

Sunshine25 she is doing well though perhaps at times overdoing it a bit. We planned on having the sleeve surgery as close as possible together so that we could support one another as much as possible. And by watching her I know sort of what to expect and she will know what I will be going through and will need as far as aftercare post-op. The left side is the side that really bothers her the most, but she is walking fine for short distances, moving to longer distances and has been driving for the last three days. She goes off the clear liquid diet portion tomorrow. I'm feeling the same feelings you are. Excitement with nervousness. I'm still learning what I can and cannot do diet-wise post op, and that's a little scary. I'm used to 16 ounce steaks and I'm looking at what 2 to 3 ounces of whatever protein I take in? So it's a very radical change, but one I am looking forward to. Simply put, I'm tired of being 365 pounds and want to do more athletic things with my daughters.

I'm scheduled for June 19th, with Dr. Nicholson in Dallas, TX. My wife had the surgery a week ago today by him!

Lisa that is awesome! Are you going to do a sprint or Olympic for your first Tri? I have to admit that I am curious because from everything I have read and looked at, I thought that a person who was sleeved would only be able to consume up to 3 to 6 ounces of anything at a time and that could be stretching it (no pun intended) some. You're not having any issues at all with the amount of fuel or fluids necessary? Also, what training plan are you following, if I may ask?

Just wanted to do a quick update... My wife's surgery was a week ago today and she is doing very well. My surgery is scheduled now and I'll have mine done June 19th. Yeah, it's feeling real!

BBJ, Thanks for answering. To be honest, I'm not sure the endurance stuff will be my shtick either, but it's a bucket list item I want to do. I do like working out and lifting but my daughters love to run and play sports requiring a lot of movement, so I am really wanting to keep up with them as well. By the way, took a look at your journey...Wow! Very inspirational!

Hi all! I have a date set for my sleeve (June 19th) and one of the things I want to do afterwards, when I am fully healed, is to start triathlon training. I am wanting to do a sprint, then work my way up from there, but I am concerned with training after a sleeve. How difficult is it to train for an athletic event after healing from sleeve surgery? What is the best course for diet and hydration? I am looking to wrap my head around what I will be needing to do before I get to that point so I am prepared. Thanks!

Went to the Psychologist yesterday and did the psych eval. LOTS of questions to answer. Good news is I believe it was all good so that is done. Tonight I have my second sleep study and get fitted for my C-Pap mask. It will be nice to be able to sleep and have a restful sleep! So now my wife should know her surgery date by the end of the week and hopefully I'll know mine in two weeks!!!

The sleep study went fine for me. I will be going back this week to be fitted for the C-Pap machine (and any adjustments I assume). I have obstructive sleep apnea and am also a very shallow breather it turns out. I felt like Frankenstein at times, but I suppose it is all worth it. I will look forward to having restful sleep afterwards, I do know that. The better news is that I have my appointment with the psychologist tomorrow! So with that appointment, and the C-Pap fitting, I'll have all of the requirements complete and it will then be down to the actual setting of the date for the surgery. Even better news is that my wife should (keeping our fingers crossed here) find out her surgery date by the end of this week! So it's feeling a little more than real now!

The decision to go through with this is feeling real now to me. I have my first sleep study tonight and I am actually looking forward to it. I will have a follow up sleep study next week as well for a C-Pap fitting and test as well. Or at least that's how I think it will go. I have sleep apnea. It's never been diagnosed, nor treated, but Dr. Nicholson believes I have it so he had the follow up scheduled for me before I even knew about it. So this means that I should start sleeping better now, or at least after next week! I also have my psychologist's appointment set up for next Tuesday. After that everything should be in place to set a date. I'm still going for two weeks after my wife, who is waiting on her date to be set as she has already finished the preliminaries as well. So yes, it's beginning to feel real to me. Now to work on quitting sodas. And maybe I'll go ahead and start taking a before shot or two. Eric

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and encouragement. I appreciate it. @jwelk: We are both using Dr. Nick Nicholson out of Baylor Plano

Hi everyone, I wanted to throw in my introduction here and say hello. I'm Eric and as my screen name shows, I am dad to two daughters as well as husband to the woman who absolutely inspires me and pushes me to new heights! I am actually starting this journey with my wife as she is set to have a date set for her surgery, which should happen in the next month or two. We figured that if we could have our surgeries about two weeks apart, then I would be able to help and take care of her while she recovers and I would have her there when I am in need as she would almost be completely healed. I have been through the seminar, have an appointment set for the visit with the psychologist and will need to do a sleep study as well. I have been fat most of my life, from puberty on, with some weight loss at times. The most I have ever weighed was well over 400 pounds in high school, and at one time in 1999 I lost over 140 pounds, going down to 245. Of course I gained it back. I made this decision after consideration for a couple of reasons. One, my body is not my own and I have no right to destroy it by my lifestyle. My body belongs to God, my wife and my kids and for all of them I have chosen this path. The second reason is because I am simply tired of being tired and sick of being the fat guy. This is the time I make a choice to live and have a better physical life not just for me but for the family. I am confident in this choice. I am confident in my faith and my faith will see me through. So that's me, albeit the abridged cliff notes version. I look forward to meeting others and sharing the journey together. Eric aka DadTo2