MyGastricSleeveLife

Welittle - I'm self-pay too! I have sleep apnea also & was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 18 months or so ago, but my doctor recently changed the official diagnosis to fasting glucose impaired because my numbers in the lab were okay and the insurance was saying I didn't fit the diabetes diagnosis! So stupid. Anyway, I'm looking forward to my new life & am really hoping I'll get off my CPAP & metformin! I have lots of lower back & hip pain that I'm sure will go away with the more I lose too!

Awesome!! What an inspiration!!

I've posted on a few of the main boards, but hadn't checked out this one yet. I'm in my pre-op diet stage now. My surgery is set for the afternoon of 5/14...... 9 more days!! I'm getting excited for my new life even though I know it'll be a long road ahead! I have about 130 lbs to lose for my ultimate personal goal. I'm 5'9" and currently 268 lbs (was 279 at my consult w/ the doctor). I'm almost 37, married, and have 2 daughters (12 & almost 8) & we have 2 dogs also. I'm a full-time student currently, but I'm getting my Associates next week and I'm not taking classes this summer. I recently got accepted to The University of Texas - Austin for the Fall semester. I also work part-time from home as a medical transcriptionist. I started a blog to chronicle this journey, which I listed in my signature. I'm also on MyFitnessPal as mygastricsleevelife if anyone wants to add me there.

welcome aboard! I'm doing my pre-op diet now & have surgery on 5/14. Congrats on your weight loss so far! That's awesome!!

I don't know why doctors can be so heartless sometimes! He should know better! Stick to your guidelines & do what you can do. Everyone loses at different rates! He really has no right to say that to you if you're following your post-op plan! There are so many factors that come into play with weight loss, especially with surgery added onto it all. Just do your best & don't stress (since stress helps our bodies hang onto weight)!!

I'm a little nervous since it's major surgery - mine is set for 5/14 - but I'm also really excited about it! I need to change my life and this is my tool to do so! Even the last 4 days on the pre-op diet have shown me how much I need this! I lost 5 lbs in the first 2 days, but the last 2 days my body has hung on to everything. When I was talking to the psychologist on Monday, I said something like "this will be my portion controller" and I thoroughly believe that. In a way, I hate that I have to have this surgery done in order to control my portions. However, I know I can't do it by myself. I've tried too many times & failed. I am actually looking forward to not being able to chug down a Protein drink or a 32-oz Water bottle in 10 minutes (or less) after surgery! I'm a self-pay patient, which for me makes this even more important. The psychologist was self-pay also (she had surgery 4 years ago with the same doctor - I forget which surgery though) and she said she tells the doctor all the time that to her each pound she loses means the surgery really cost less (or was more worth it). You can do this & make your life better! Just stick to all your guidelines & you'll be a new person before you know it!!

The other thing I learned, besides what others have said, is that whey isolate protein absorbs more fully than whey concentrate. My doctor's office gave me a list of what they recommend & then put on the sheet that if I wanted to look for others, I should look for ones that had at least 15 grams of protein & less than 20 grams of carbs per 8 oz serving. I am pre-op now & have gotten a bunch of samples. So far I like the Chike the best, but I still have a bunch to try. Everyone is different so it's hard to say what you'll like! :-)

Have you done pictures & measurements? My husband is going to help me do pictures & measurements every week. Some people do it once a month. It really makes a difference! Have you noticed clothes fitting differently? That's also a big thing for me.

The hospital I'm going to has a support group & has a clothing exchange so people can bring in their clothes that are too big to donate to others who may need them. One of my friends who had the sleeve done over a year ago says that Goodwill is her new best friend because she can find things cheaply!!

Congrats!!! That's awesome! I'm on my pre-op diet now & have surgery on 5/14.

My ID is mygastricsleevelife

Congrats!! You look great!! I'm on my pre-op diet now & have surgery on the 14th!

Mine is the 14th. I'm on my pre-op diet now & have lost 5.2 lbs in 2 days on it so far!! Looking forward to surgery!

I'm on my pre-op diet now & ordered some different samples & a big container of Chike Strawberry from my surgeon's office. I love the Chike. I just got some samples in the mail today of Nectar ones, but the one I tried didn't mix well & tasted horrible, so I'll have to try some other way to mix the rest of the samples. I haven't tried my Unjury samples yet. From what I've read here, your taste buds change after surgery sometimes, so even if you like something now, you might not like it later. Be aware of that & don't stock up too much!

Yeah - everywhere is different & it could even be different from patient to patient depending on medical history. I had to see a cardiologist & have a stress test because I had an abnormal EKG in my primary doctor's office. I have a friend who needed a sleep study, but I didn't need one because I've already been diagnosed with sleep apnea. It really depends in your history & what they need to know to do the surgery well.

I think everyone is different & everyone's situations are different. I've told everyone at church, some people in college, and have posted about it on Facebook, started a new blog for it & posted about that blog on my other blog. However, there are a few relatives I don't want to tell yet because I know they would think I'm nuts! They aren't on Facebook so they won't see it there. They do occasionally look at my one blog, so they might see it there before I tell them, but that's okay with me if they find out that way. So far they haven't said anything & they live far away, so I don't think they know yet, but they might. For some people I've decided to wait until they see me after I've lost some weight & if they ask what I did to lose, I'll tell them about the surgery. I don't really know why there are a few I don't want to be super open with about it, I just do. However, I've basically made it known to 95% of people in my life.

Mina - every doc is different & some doctors have different rules for different patients. My doc has 2 plans - one for people w/ fatty liver & one for people w/o a fatty liver. Both have to stick to the same amount of calories - 650 cal, 70 g protein, 60 g carbs, 10 g fat - for a full 14 days before surgery.

My surgery is May 14th. I'm going to the nutritionist this afternoon & start my pre-op diet tomorrow. The surgeon had told me that it's protein shakes during the day & a high protein low fat dinner, but I'm getting the actual specifics today. We bought some of my liquid things for after surgery this weekend when we went grocery shopping. That made things more real for me!!

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We use bread & water for the Sacrament. We have quite a few members in our congregation that have gluten intolerance (including me) & they bring their own bread & have it blessed with the rest on a special tray that is passed just to them (we pass trays around the congregation). I hadn't really thought about it after my surgery (it's scheduled for 5/14), but I agree with others - I don't think it'd hurt as long as you make sure it's really liquidy before swallowing it. I also agree with "red_delicious" that it's really the spirit of the act of Sacrament & Heavenly Father knows your situation. If you can only take the water (or whatever your church uses to represent the blood) or even if you can't handle taking any of it, He knows your heart and what you can handle & He will understand even if those around you don't get it! I know some of the people with gluten intolerance that don't want to bring their own bread, so they just take the water.

I agree - for me the peace of mind is worth wearing it even if it's not "necessary."

Mine is the 14th. I go to the nutritionist & psychologist tomorrow & start my pre-op diet on Tuesday.

I just added you. It's kind of tricky to figure out how to search by someone's name. You go to Community & then to "Find Members" and there is a field that lets you put in a username to find people.

I've thought about it some. I haven't had surgery yet, but I'm thinking about getting a bracelet. I thought about it again the other day when I saw the intake nurse at the hospital to prepare for my surgery. She said they're thinking about asking people if they've had gastric surgery, especially because of the food in the hospital. She said they had a patient recently come in for something completely different & they didn't ask b/c it's not currently on the questionnaire, but then they found out later when the patient asked for something special as far as food. My doctor has said no NSAIDs & no caffeine for lifetime after surgery. Therefore, I really think a bracelet is important so no one gives me NSAIDs if I can't speak for myself in an accident or something. I'm going to ask about it at my appointment tomorrow just to see what the doctor thinks about it too - but it's something I think I'll get anyway even if he doesn't think it's necessary just b/c of the NSAID thing.

I've used it in the past, but had deleted my account a few weeks ago. I just re-joined with a new user name just to start over & fresh, especially since I start my pre-op diet tomorrow. I'm now "mygastricsleevelife" (which matches my blog name). Feel free to add me!

I was told "no caffeine" for life after surgery - ever - in any form. However, I know someone else who had the same surgeon I had who doesn't follow that "rule" & is fine. Therefore, I don't know how much it matters. I plan on asking at my next appointment on Monday, although I don't drink coffee. I'm curious as to why they say "no caffeine."