Tiffany Talbert Corbet

You ROCK! keep up the good work!

First thing you need to do is get the negative talk out of your head. Stop talking to yourself so negatively. You've made a HUGE decision to make your life better, start being nice to yourself. I had the same problem pre-surgery. I ate pretty much everything I thought I would miss post-surgery. Now that I'm almost 6 mos post-surgery, I don't even THINK of any of those things any longer. When I sit down to eat, I often don't get past the protein on my plate. I LOVE vegetables and bread....and don't get me started on desserts, but I'm SO full with the protein I don't even get to move to another option on my plate.

Take it slow, take it easy on yourself, and make it as positive of an experience as you can. Remember, garbage in, garbage out....what you think, you become, so be nice to yourself and encourage yourself! You'll do great!

Good luck! My hubby wasn't all that on-board at the time I made the decision either, but once he went to the information seminar and got to talk to the surgeon a couple times at my appointments, he came around and is SO glad I did it. I'm 4 mos out and doing very well. I've lost quite a bit and fee great. You will do fine. If you have any questions....just ask! There are LOTS of us here who will be glad to help out as much as wel can.

Being a former McD's mgr, I can tell you that this is NOT permitted. It was more than likely the first time it happened and they had no idea it was going on. He could have easily parked his car in the parking lot handicap parking spot, got out and zipped over to the drive-thru lane instead of going inside. If the line was long when he got to the door, instead of the hassle of getting back in his vehicle and then going through the drive-thru, he may have decided this was a better alternative.

I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be the manager to have to tell him/her that this is not permitted, because that would only potentially open another can of worms, and the first one out would possibly discrimination. But I would have to side with the potential for bodily harm and general safety. If we don't let people walk through or walk up to the window for safety reasons, people in wheel chairs (either motorized or not) should not be allowed to either.

Don't give up now! You're too close to back out now. You will be fine. Don't over-think it.

Simplejaxgirl and wndrfullife....

I'm 11 days post-op. Based on my post-op life so far...here are my thoughts.

Am I making the right decisions? Yes, you are doing what's right for you and your future health, which in the long-run is the best decision(s) you can make.

Am I loosing enough weight pre-op? Yes....The dr. only wants you to reduce the size of your liver. Losing weight is the best way to do this. It will make the surgery less likely to have issues from possibly knicking your liver. Plus, I was told, that your liver can get so enlarged that it can take 2 people with retractors to hold it back for the surgeon to work. Losing weight makes the liver light and fluffy and easy for one person to simply push out of the way.

Will the surgeon say no if I do not loose enough weight? (No # was given) If you are losing ANY weight and following the pre-op diet as prescribed, he will not cance/reschedule on you.

What if there are complications? He/She is a trained surgeon. I had NO compications....you will do fine and your hospital staff is specially trained to take good care of you no matter what happens.

Will I be able to take care of my son and house after surgery? (I will only have support for maybe a day or two) Yes, you will not have a problem here. The only thing you will not be able to do is lift him up. So have him climb up in the chair/sofa with you to cuddle instead of picking him up. He may have to help out by picking his toys up instead of you, but everything else you will be able to do just fine. Be sure to rest as much as possible and keep sipping your beverages.

What will life after surgery be like? It will be WONDERFUL! In 3 - 4 months you be able to play with your son longer and do more things with him that you would be able to if you had not had the surgery. You will be celbrating your future with him and able to participate so much more in his growing up.

YOU WILL DO GREAT!! Start telling yourself that. You cannot control the unknown. All you can do is control how you approach it. Be as positive as you can and everything will be fine.

I'm sure you think I'm being Pollyanna, and perhaps I am, but all I can do is answer from my vantage point, and so far, I've had an amazing recovery. I had never had surgery before and thought it would be FAR worse than this, and have been SO blessed....I'm sure you will be too.

Good luck!!

mocanitanj....I was sleeved last Friday. I was barely using the morphine in recovery and only took 4 of the 40 Vicatin they sent home with me on Saturday. The hospital will do everything they can to keep you comfortable, just make sure you are honest with your nurses. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, and a large hate for using medications if I can manage not to. No matter your tolerance, it is managable, just try not to "tough" it out. If you need it, push that button or take that pill as needed. You will get through it just fine.

Good luck!!!

Sorry Trish! Good luck with your decision. I'm sure you'll give it the proper attention and thought to come up with the right solution for you.

Oh, Terri. I do hope you're able to get an appointment at U of Penn and get someone who knows what they're doing to find a treatment or surgical procedure to help you aleviate this pain. Your cartoon says it all. How does a MD degree (or an RN degree for that matter) automatically make a person think they understand the severeness of someone elses pain? Yes, there are those who will milk it, or are hypocondriacs, but for goodness sakes, you've been seeing this doctor for well over a year and he STILL hasn't caught on to the level of your pain? SOMEONE is NOT paying attention. Maybe it's time to find a new dr? Or is he the closest in your network?

So sorry for these back issues you're having. The good thing is, thanks to the sleeve, you're helping to alleviate some of the severity of the pain. With the amount of weight you've lost, the pain this go around wasn't nearly what it could have been.

Good luck!!

Jugee44,

Good to hear! I'm in the same boat you are....haven't had a BM either, but as you said, we are still on clear liquids, so I don't expect it quite yet. My follow up appt comes Wed, and if I keep progressing at this pace, I'm hoping the dr. will let me move on to Stage 2 and start eating poached eggs (scrambled, etc.), cottage cheese, peanut butter, blended soups, etc. I've never looked so forward to having any of them before in my life, and right now I can't wait! But, as you said, I'm really not that hungry, so I doubt it will be for much more than the fact that I "can" have it over that I'm hungry for it.

Congrats! Keep in touch so we can keep track of each others progress....and Good Luck!!

You will do great! The biggest thing (and I may have mentioned this in the original post) was to not stress. I've never had surgery prior to this, so everything was new an a little scary....but the surgical team was AWESOME, the nurses were VERY attentive and helped me with even the littlest things.

Today (Day 2 post-op) I'm doing ok. My incision at the top of my bellybutton is still the most sensitive and painful when standing up or sitting down, but once I'm u por down, it doesn't hurt, so I'm thinking sitting as long as I can to let it heal may be best. I'm also having a little bit of a struggle getting my sips down. Seems once they get to the entrace of my stomach, they back up just a little and there's a "sqeeze" like sensation where the fluid is trying to get through a very narrow tube. I'm hoping this is just still swelling that is causing it and in a day or 2 I'll be able to drink a bit more without discomfort.

Good luck you all! While I'm having a bit of a challenge days 1 and 2, I'm sure once I'm a week out or so, everything will start getting easier. Good news is, I weighed this morning and I'm already back to pre-op weight! whoot whoot!

Does she know you had the surgery and where you are in what you are able to eat at this stage post-surgery? I know my mother-in-law is chomping at the bit to know what she can make for me post-surgery (surgery is tomorrow). I'm really looking forward to having her deviled eggs again (she loves making those things). Everytime I see her she's asking "what can I make that you can have"? If your mom-in-law is as involved, maybe you can call her and find out what the planned menu is and see if she is wondering what to make so you can enjoy as well? I know not everyone is as lucky as I am with my mom-in-law, but you never know. Good luck!

Good luck! I'm right behind you on 11/16!!

OMG! I'm going to have to warn my hubby. We have 2 cats and the girl loves to use the scratch box. She also loves to jump up into bed and cuddle between the 2 of us. Now I'm going to sleep with one eye open!

Great story, and you're so lucky to have had the chance to have bear. Like I said, we have 2 cats (I was not a cat person when I got married, but the hubby was) and I want to get a dog. We're just afraid our girl cat (Lucy....yep, she's a redhead....flamepoint hymilaian) might try to eat them. She wasn't all that accepting of our little boy (Tigger) when we brought him home, so he had to sleep in a carrier until he was big enough to fight back.

Hope your hubby heals quickly.

YEAH you!!! Congrats.

I LOVE the elliptical. I used to do it for an hour at a time and would burn 700 - 800 calories. I stopped after a few months, because there were NO results that were positive. I essentially held ground right were I was. I must have been taking in enough calories to offset the calories I burned, so I was pretty much a hamster on that stupid thing.

Now I'm hoping, once I'm sleeved and ready to start rigorous exercising again, that when I get on the elliptical and work my way back up to that level I will be able to kick butt and see results that I expect!

If you can....push yourself to go longer on the elliptical. You will burn calories about 2-1 vs. the treadmill everytime....and the endorphens are WONDERFUL!!!

Good luck.

Any chance there's another bariatric center of excellence near you that you can go to for a second opinion? Maybe they would be able to to the revision (removal + sleeve) in the time before your COBRA runs out so you can still have it while covered? I know it's getting close to the end of the year, but it never hurts to try if the possibilities are available to you.

Good luck. I hope you're able to find a surgeon who will be able to perform the procedure(s) you are wanting so you can get back on the road to slim. Going through all of that just to end up right back where you were at the beginning is heart breaking. We're all doing this because we've all traveled that road too many times, and the idea is to find a path that will not lead back to where we are!

Hugs and prayers.

90 lbs in 6 mos!? 110 total!? That's AWESOME!!! You should be so proud of yourself! I can tell you this, WHEN I get down 90 lbs.....I will be doing the Snoopy Happy Dance.....even if my wings are flapping. Congrats, keep up the good work! You're well on your way to accomplishing that goal you set when you started.

Find out what the Dr's schedule is and see if you can get on the surgery calendar prior to the end of the year so you will still be covered by your current insurance and won't have to worry about BCBS after Jan 1. I would think that if you are already in the process, and the insurance company has your claim issued for approval and the coverage is available, then you could potentially be "grand fathered" and still covered since the approval for coverage was prior to the end of the policy coverage. Ask lots of questions, and you might even go talk to your benefits provider rep/HR in your office to see if they can help you with the process to get you covered while you're still eligible under this policy.

I just heard that our company is changing the policy (not the company). After Jan 1, instead of it being covered 100% (only $10 co-pays are out of pocket during the appointments) there will be a $1,000 deductible required for the procedure in the future.

Good luck! I hope you can get things figured out so you can get it covered while you're still under your current policy!!

God didn't make us with 85% less stomach, but he also didn't make us to give into temptation and get ourselves to where we are today. The idea is to use those he has put in our path with the talent and ability to perform a procedure that will get us back to where God wants us. Healthy and able to avoid the temptation the devil puts in front of us so we don't abuse the beautiful body and life God was loving enough to give us in the first place. Don't give in to doubt! God put you here at this time for a reason. I feel that I'm here right now because this is where God needed me to be so I could benefit from the procedure the has helped the medical profession perfect. Years ago they would have taken my stomach, or I would have been wearing a mu-mu waiting to die from a coronary or a stroke. Now with this procedure, I get to keep my stomach, lose weight, be healthy and live a long, happy life.

Good luck!!!

You look M-A-R-V-E-L-O-U-S, darling! Congrats! Keep enjoying that slide down the scale.

Yeah for you! I say go for it and ask that guy out! If he's flirting, and you know he's single, then he's interested! So happy for you....have fun on those rides at the fair!

all good suggestions. My only note would be to watch out for the "fat free" items. For a food to be tasty and fat-free, many manufacturers will load it with sugar to make up for the loss of taste from the missing fat. Suger is the DEVIL. What your body doesn't need to use for insulin, it will store in your fat cells to use later, which in turn defeats the whole purpose of us going through this. A little fat is better for you than the sugar to avoid the fat.

Oh, sweet girl, please take care of yourself. I'm not trying to pile on, but please consider reaching out to a counselor or a therapist to help you with all of your many challenges. While I'm sure your daughter is quite mature for her age, she still needs a mom who is strong and centered. Therapy isn't a failure, it's a way to have another grown up to help you work through the stresses and help find ways to cope with each and how to exercise the bad ones (namely the memory of your father and husband) and find a way to be more self-confident. Once you are self-confident inside, it will show outside which will draw people closer to you. This will be when the "right" guy shows up because what you project will be what you bring back to you. Remember, what you put out will come back to you 10-fold. I believe in prayer, and I think you're very smart to put your problems in God's hands, but please remember, the Lord helps those who help themselves, and he's put angels in our paths. Some of those angels look like doctors, others therapists. Please take advantage of all that is available to take the best care of you.

Wow! Sounds like things are moving along well for you. Congrats!

About your dry skin...I'm not trying to sell to you, just giving you an option. Mary Kay makes an extra emolient night cream that is a very thick gel that you massage into your skin. It's $13. You can order online, or search for a consultant near you based on your zip code. They also have a satin hands set that has the extra emolient cream, an exfoliant scrub and lotion. My brother-in-law uses the unscented, as he's a frozen foods manager and has a very bad case of dry hands from the cold of the freezer and his hands getting sweaty in his gloves. This stuff really works well for him.

Just an idea.

I hope your successes continue to increase! Good luck!!