Rosie88

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I'll try to keep hope alive but I just don't want to be crushed if this somehow doesn't come through. I'll keep you posted!

When I had my very first appointment with the surgeon, I told him I was interested in the LAP Band. At that appointment, he told me a little bit about the Vertical Sleeve but it was the first time I ever heard about it. After going home and doing lots of research, I decided the sleeve would be way better for me. I told this to an office staff member at the surgeon's office. Then I got a call from the office saying insurance had approved me for the LAP Band. I told them AGAIN that I didn't want the band, I wanted the sleeve. The office girl said, "Oh that's not a big deal to switch from the band to the sleeve." But a couple weeks later, it turns out the insurance DENIED the sleeve. The doctor's office is appealing it but I am NOT happy. There's no way I afford this surgery without insurance. I feel so terrible - it's like I had hope for the first time in my life that I could actually lose weight and it was snatched away from me. I don't know what the heck I'm going to do if this appeal is denied.

Because your calorie intake has decreased so dramatically, your metabolism slows to a crawl in an effort to hold onto every possible energy store! Sometimes increasing your intake a bit will kickstart your metabolism into speeding up again.

I take "Quasense" which is the generic of Seasonale, and it doesn't cause me any side effects. In the past I had been on Loestrin and Yasmin, both of which had caused some weight gain.

I don't really like artificial sweeteners either but I find that they start tasting better if you lay off sugar for a while. Once you get used to having Splenda instead of sugar it starts tasting pretty good. Just don't go back to sugar or it'll ruin the effect. That being said, I agree that using a wee bit of real sugar in your daily cup of coffee isn't going to hurt you.

Are you able to drink milk? At least it has a bit of protein. Also, maybe yogurt drinks?

Also don't forget that your new fitness routine is building muscle, which weighs more than fat. Don't let the numbers on the scale mean too much - there are lots of other ways to measure your progress and success!

If your surgeon refuses to take your problems seriously then you need to to go get a second opinion. What's happening to you sounds really serious and you can not just ignore it and hope it "gets better" if it has not improved at all in 3 weeks. Please, seek help from someone who will listen to you!

It's possible that the pain meds you were on are what allowed you to eat so much. Maybe you couldn't feel the discomfort of eating in the hospital because of the meds. But if you're worried, call your doctor's office. Better safe than sorry!

I also live in NorCal but I'm not with Kaiser. The psychologist I saw was named Lorraine Hutchinson. She specializes in bariatric surgery patients. You can see her website at http://www.hutchinsoncounseling.com. She did the vast majority of the talking at my appointment. She talked a lot about the types of changes and emotional issues I'd be likely to go through with this surgery and weight loss. She only asked me two questions. She asked what I was most concerned or worried about, and she asked what I was most looking forward to. That was it! Nothing to be nervous about.

While it's true that self confidence is often attractive to others, I agree that many many people simply dismiss the idea of dating a fat person. I can relate to the frustration of another person assuming that they know your experience. We are all the best witnesses to our own experience. We should never assume that we know another person's life or problems better than they do. (P.S.: For what it's worth, Jlewis, I think you're attractive!)

Hi, good to meet you! Best of luck with the diet and the surgery, Keep us updated, okay?

I remember in the past when I lost 100lbs (I've since gained it back) I had quite a lot of extra skin in my breasts and stomach. I also thought about plastic surgery at that time, but I knew I couldn't afford it. It's really kind of a shame, if you ask me, that we feel so much pressure to have our bodies look a certain way. I mean, you've made such incredible progress! I wish you could just feel proud and not focused on the so-called "flaws." But I know I am the exact same way. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do.

After surgery, I know there are lots of foods I won't be able to eat for a while (breads, pastas, etc.) Are there any foods that I will NEVER be able to eat again after the surgery? Are we never supposed to drink carbonated beverages again? Thanks in advance for the info!

Thank you all for the input! It sounds like I would be okay after all. But for multiple reasons, I decided not to schedule the surgery til August 14th. So it's a non-issue. Yay! Thanks again so much.

I'm possibly scheduling my surgery for July 10th but I have family coming in from out of town on August 6th who want to go hiking and do other strenuous physical activities. My surgeon's front desk staff is telling me I'll be fine, but I don't know. How were you all at 4 weeks post-op? Could you have gone for a multi-mile hike in a national park?

Don't worry, going a week or two without exercise does not mean you've lost all the progress you've made. But remember you need to eat and drink enough to fuel your workouts. It's not only about weight loss, it's about health, and it's very possible to lose weight in an unhealthy way. Take care of yourself; listen to your body. Good luck getting back in the swing of things!

What caused you to faint, do you know?

Yes, this is true! I hope my comment wasn't misleading - it's absolutely important that we eat right and exercise post-op or we will not meet our weight loss goals!

Welcome! Not only do diet and exercise not work for everyone, they actually don't work (in the long term) for the vast majority of people. Study after study after study shows that 90-95% of people who lose weight on a diet gain it back within 5 years. Bariatric surgery is the ONLY thing that has been proven to maintain long term weight loss in obese individuals.

My nutritionist said to look for protein drinks that contain less than 200 calories, less than 10g carbohydrates, and more than 15g protein.

Honestly, this approach makes sense to me. I mean, I understand the doctors want us to get used to our new diets before we are forced into them by the surgery. But going from high-calorie diet right to a liquid diet with our full size stomachs is totally unrealistic and crazy-making.

Congratulations, that is very exciting! Keep up the good work!

Thank you for the encouragement! I look forward to getting to know you.