Momonanomo

Sorry you're having frustration with your co-worker, that sucks. I can tell you are trying so hard, and you don't need his temptations! But....I just wanted to throw this out there, from a third person perspective: I could be way off base but it sounds to me like this person just plain likes you. Could be romantic, but maybe not, maybe even just as a friend. Either way, the way he always was able to connect with you was through food. And now that's gone and he misses you..... but that's the only way he knows. Like I said, I could be totally wrong, or I just always want to see the good in people. But perhaps his motives aren't to try to sabotage you (although it seems that way). And just remember, it's challenges like these that make us stronger!

Hi L ~ I agree it sounds like you had a GREAT day. Good for you on the gym! It's encouraging to me to hear that you've got the energy to do an hour of cardio -- I really do worry how my energy level will be after surgery on so few calories. You sound like you've got this conquered! I got the call from Mary yesterday that all the records I had sent from various other dr's do add up to 6 months (the required 6 for my insurance). So it's time for Val to schedule me for quickstart! So I'm well on my way and now it's either mid to end of April or beginning of May. Yay! aloha, B

So...my insurance requires 6 months medically supervised blah blah blah. And I've been gathering all my medical records from the various doctors I've seen over the past couple of years and getting them sent to the coordinator at my surgeon's office. She just called to say she's found enough info to count for 4 of those 6 months! And I have one other doctor I saw who, when I get that chart, will push that up to 5 of the 6 ....and I have an appt with my NUT in March so that will make 6! Yay! Once I get rolling in that part of the program I'll find out what all I have to do as far as preop, like chest xray, ekg, etc., those kine things. Oh and I'll need to do the psych thing. So all that jazz takes approximately 2 months and that brings me to May, ta DA! That's exactly when I was hoping for, and it seems to be working out! woo HOO I love the team at my surgeons office theyaresoincrediblyCOOL! :tongue2:

woo HOOOOOOO that is ah-mazing!!!! Good for you girl!! I am so freekin happy for you! go get em tiger!

I agree with Jo -- give the new doc a chance (he might surprise you). If he isn't on board with the plans you've already set in motion, get your surgeon to refer you to a better PCP. Don't assume yet though that this new doc won't be on board. Go in there with conviction knowing you're on the path you've chosen -- doesn't matter what his agenda is. Either he's on board with your decision or you'll find a new doctor, simple as that. best of luck!

Hey! I can't believe it's been 4 weeks already! Sounds like you're doing really well. Do you think the extreme tiredness is from still recovering from surgery, or from the low cal diet? One of the things that has made me move forward with getting the surgery is that my excess weight has zapped my energy and I'm tired all the time....scary to think it could get worse immediately post op before it gets better. Oh well I guess the important thing is that it will get better, ya? What kinds of protein are you enjoying besides the morning shake & nectar? Are you doing any veggies at this point? How's your hydration ? You're working out like a champ so it must be good! Thanks for being the trailblazer for me! And congrats on your successes! Onward!

thanks everyone! I know the majority of my questions are of the just-have-to-wait-n-see variety. I hope to come back in a few months and be able to answer each one with my personal experience. LifetimeLoser! girl! I read today that you've actually achieved your goal of 30lbs! Awesome! You're doing so well and it sounds like physically you're doing really well as far as recovery from the surgery. I'm so glad! I will ask Dr F for a pic. I'm sure it will be lovely. lol. OOh you should post yours on the board though! People would love to see! Juny-- I think you're on to something there! I really think, now that you mention it, that 6 mos psych counseling would be infinitely more beneficial than nutritional counseling for most of us. I know me for sure. I've never been afraid to ask for help, so there's no stigma as far as I'm concerned. I ~know~ all the proper diet guidelines. I was a leader for WW years ago for goodness sake! My problem is that I cannot control myself to follow it. And in a way, it messes with my head even more knowing what to do but not being able to do it! I had a dream the other night where I was going into surgery and this disembodied voice said "you need to deal with your food addiction". Ha ! Not very symbolic for a dream is it? My subconscious was being pretty darn straightforward! Lyra My mom was a military kid, and her philosophy has always been to "walk it off". I've teased that even if I broke my leg she would tell me to "walk it off". BUT...she had a double knee replacement and the reason she has full range of motion now & better than ever is because she was so good about getting up and walking during her recovery!

Lyra you're a sweetheart for having read my whole long-winded post and given me some answers from your personal experience. Thank you! I also REALLY like your attitude about no remorse. I don't think I'd ever regret it, because I want this change so badly, and I WANT food to not be the focus of my life anymore. So I won't regret it if I don't love food anymore. I think perhaps any remorse I might have will be if I'm hurting a great deal in recovery. I'll just have to enjoy pain meds and know it will get better. If being in a lot of pain even happens. ......Ah, I see that I am worrying about something that may not even happen...that's not very productive is it? Oooh kickboxing! I hadn't even thought of that! That sounds awesome and I'm adding it to my list!! I loved reading about your experiences. You've definitely helped. Thank you!

I agree! My sneaking suspicion (and I'm not alone) about the obesity epidemic is that it has its roots in the processed foods that most Americans have come to live on. We live our lives on them and our health spirals down while our weight goes up. Unprocessed, regular food "like peas, chicken, tofu, salad, fish" is no doubt the best way to eat. So while protein shakes n bars n bastard cheetos have their place, they too are really just more of this processed food . We need to get away from the "because it's convenient" mentality as much as possible and have a "because it's good for me" mentality!

what a COOL career you have!! I always thought highly of the people behind Sesame Street, but it's nice to hear that my gut-feeling was right. How wonderful for you! And, now you've got that positive momentum in your life, you can just keep getting better n better! Congrats on your surgery and your success and all the wonderful things that have happened. I know you have a happy life ahead of you and continued success! I'm so excited for you

Hi – this ridiculously long entry really is for me to organize all the questions I’ve been having as I progress on this journey. I don’t expect answers, because in many cases it’s different for different people. I’ve been on VST for many months now, reading every experience I can. I think this has been instrumental in educating me enough that I feel comfortable proceeding with the pursuit of the sleeve. I feel I’ve learned a lot about what to possibly expect. But I’ve also learned enough to know that people’s experiences can vary greatly or be very similar. So in that spirit, I’m committing to the blogosphere my personal ponderings. I intend to revisit all these sometime post surgery and have some answers. - Will I have to fight much with insurance to get approved? I’m working with my surgeon’s office to do the 6 month thing, and have requested all my files be sent to surgeon’s office to see how many of the 6 months have already been met. I feel like a show pony doing a tap dance – I will do whatever they want! Just approve me already! - Once approved by insurance, when can the surgeon schedule me? Will they bump me up if I say pretty please? - When I have my date, will my sweet husband decide he’s too scared of the risk of me doing this? I have been patiently educating this wonderful, naturally fit & athletic man about what it’s like to have a weight problem, and I believe he does understand, after many long talks , why I can’t “just try harder”…. - When I have my date will *I* get scared of the risk and freak out? I’ve read on VST that it’s common. I am reading VST every day and doing some hard core soul searching. I want to be as mentally and emotionally prepared as possible. Even so, some fear is to be expected…just hope it’s not the high BP kine, or the kine where you jump off the OR table in the gown where your butt’s hanging out and run away lol - When I check in the hospital for surgery, will I be able to let go and not worry about how my family is doing while I’m in surgery? Will I focus on worrying what my husband will have for lunch, or will I be thinking about my stomach being cut out….on second thought, probably better to wonder what hubby is having for lunch. - What will it be like to go under anesthetic? What will it be like to wake up? Will I say anything embarrassing? Will I sing? Will I tell jokes? - Will the surgeon be able to do the single incision at my belly button as planned? How big will the incision be? Will my belly button ever look the same? Or will he need to do additional incisions? Can’t imagine my gi-normous stomach coming out a little bitty puka. Does he cut it up to get it out? Or fold it? Or roll it up like a yoga mat? Do I really wanna know? Glad I won’t be awake to see :] - Will I be in much pain when I wake up? Will I be nauseous? Lord I’d rather be in pain than throw up. VST shows a wide variety of how people feel waking up. I know there are a lot of factors including how I react to the anesthesia and pain meds. - Will I be able to walk and sip water easily? I read and read here that I should “walk walk walk, sip sip sip”. That will be my job, hope I’m good at it. - Will each day get better and better? What will be my worst day? - When I come home, will I be able to sleep in my bed ? Will I be exhausted? I’m exhausted all the time anyway now so maybe it won’t be much different - Will I have difficulty with swallowing water? This has been something I’ve tried really hard to imagine and honestly it is pretty much beyond my realm of imagination. To have a hard time with a teeny sip of water….what about my own spit? Is it hard to swallow that? Will I drool? OK I’m being silly. But seriously…. Will I even have spit if I can’t drink a decent amount of water?! - Will my incision heal nicely or will my weird-@ss skin react to the bandage or whatever doc uses. Will I get itchy? Hivey? Will I be able to take my allergy medicine? - How long will I need pain medicine? Will it help? Will I need an acid blocker right away? Will it help? - Will I be a slow lose or a fast loser? Honestly, doesn’t matter much to me, so long as I’m a BIG loser! - Will my tastes change? OMG I want to lose my sweet tooth! And my Mexican food tooth! - What will I learn about my relationship with food? I know I am already exploring this, and I want to find a counselor sooner than later. I truly believe that I am not an emotional eater. I do believe that I am a hard core food addict though. Explaining that will be another entry some time. - How soon will I feel human again after this major surgery? How soon will I feel like going back to work? So MANY different experiences with other VST folks. This question is truly unpredictable as far as I can tell. He he he …. Oh I’d say I never want to go back to work…..cuz it’s work. But how soon will I be able to go back. Unless of course I suddenly become independently wealthy during my recovery. Even then, I’d want to go back and organize my files…. - Will I experience the “buyer’s remorse” phase like so many do? How long will it last for me? - Will I experience the moodiness and depression some feel? I wonder…but knowing it’s a common occurrence will help me battle it if it does show up. Depression is a sneaky monster, but knowing it’s hormones is a great way to arm myself in that battle. - Will I experience the other thing the ladies on VST sometimes talk about in regards to the hormones after surgery? Will I finally tire out my hubby insteada the other way around? - What will it be like to finally have success in a weight loss endeavor and know I can make it long term. I know it will be work, and I know I will be embarking on a major life change. But how will it feel to know I actually have a great chance of achieving my goals? How exciting! Happy dance! - Will I lose hair? I know many people do….understandably there’s lots of discussion about it. Take biotin, but be prepared for hair growth to increase everywhere on the body Also, Biotin helps with regrowth, not preventing loss. Eat lots of protein. Well hell, this is a motivator for sure! I know with the fresh sleeve it will be difficult to eat. But I will make damn sure what I do eat will be protein! Meh, if it falls out , it will grow back. I would embrace the added body all the little short hair would give to my maine. Snick – I hope to remember to be so flippant if/when my hair is laying in clumps in the shower drain - Will I have loose skin? Hmmm…probably. I aim to strength train to help with this, and I hope I’m being realistic to think it won’t be major for me, but no doubt there will be some. And I hope I’m cool with it. I tell myself that right now I don’t look good dressed OR naked, so at least losing 120# I would look good dressed. But the truth is I just want to FEEL good and I need to lose significant weight to feel good. So I will take the saggy skin in whatever degree it comes. I don’t aspire to work for Victoria Secret. And who knows….maybe, just maybe, if I am able to become super athletic, over the years the saggy skin will tighten itself up a bit. Because of my raging muscles lol - I can’t wait to be an Active Person and lead an Active Lifestyle! So I know all the things I want to do: weight training, spinning and/or cycling, long distance hiking, surfing, stand up paddle boarding, zumba, other dancing, pilates, yoga, maybe jogging??, rock climbing, horseback riding, tennis, racquet ball….I just wonder which one will be my favorite? I sooooo look forward to finding out! - And the elephant in the room of course is – will I have complications? I don’t want to get too much into this particular topic. Suffice to say I have read the stories on VST of the folks who have had complications while healing. This is part of the soul searching I talked about at the beginning of this post. I understand there are serious risks to this very drastic surgery. It makes me a little sad to think that I have gotten to the point where I know that my quality of life and my hopes for the future are worth the risks of this surgery. But I truly believe this is the case. I will be a model patient, and I have faith in my surgeon & his team,........and the rest is in God’s hands. If I have complications, I pray He sees fit to bring me through it so I can stick around and do good things for the world.

ironic isn't it?!

Just wanna say that I love your posts! You crack me up & always have great pics to go along with. Thanks for being entertaining AND inspiring!

I'm trying hard to get this ball rolling already! Met with my surgeon -- he is awesome. Met with the nutritionist and the coordinator. This involved traveling by plane and renting a car since they are all on a different island (Oahu).So I'm getting financially invested along with the emotional investment I've already made. Trying to figure out how to get my surgery date set for hopefully May. Any later will conflict with things at work and family traveling. If it's not May, it could end up being in the fall. And I am so ready to go NOW! The party line of my insurance co is that I must do 6 months of medically supervised diets, but my coordinator says those 6 months can be piece-mealed from previous attempts at weight loss from previous doctors. So we've carved off 2 months already just from me getting my referral from my endocrinologist and now getting signed on with their office. Now I'm trying to remember when it was that I tried Meridia, and medifast. That should be good for several months! Went to my old dr's office this afternoon to try to get all those records. It will take 5-7 days. argh. but onward! Also called my insurance to talk to the pre-auth nurse (I think that is her title) and it *sounds* like the 6 months is not a hard and fast rule. She said that they want to make sure I am fit for surgery and that I will be successful. I'm hopeful, but the cynic in me says they want me to get frustrated and give up. HOWEVER, no one want this for me more than me, and I will show them how once i set my mind to something I will get it done, be it getting approved for surgery or being successful after! Because I KNOW I will be successful with the sleeve. I can *feel* it! So....bring on the hoops! I will jump through all of 'em! hahahahahaha Happy Valentines Day! xoxoxoxoxoxo

Any idea when you will be cleared to do more than just walk?

awesome L, just AWESOME! I'm so happy for you. Can't believe it will be a week tomorrow -- you are a trooper! Looking forward to hearing what Doc says at the 1 week check up!

Aloha! Sounds like you are doing beautifully! I'm so glad! Thank you SO much for the blow-by-blow Sounds like the drugs are pretty good! Interesting about the smell :/ Of all the things that I have thought will be weird with this journey...I wouldn't have guessed body odor! At least not right away... And hooray for the fart! hahahaahaha So does the liquid in the protein you drink count toward your overall fluid quota ? Keep on rockin girl! Congrats to you!

"not even one lil poof, notta piff, notta fuff" LOL!

thanks! My mom's coming with me this time -- my husband met him at the seminar back in Dec. We both really liked him. Yes ocd is great in a dr! He seems down to earth as well. Didn't talk to the doc one on one, so I look forward to that. I wonder how many of these he does per week? Per month? Mary is absolutely awesome -- had a phone consult with her last week. I will have to make at least one more trip, maybe two, before I come for the surgery, so my husband will come next time. I think he's actually still hoping that I will change my mind :/ I would love if you'll give a blow-by-blow of your hospital stay, if/when you're up to it. Do you know what time you're scheduled for the OR? I'll be sending positive vibes your way!!

you rock! 2 more days -- you're gonna do great! I'm scheduled to come visit Dr F in 2 weeks You're an inspiration already! lol about the weed dream

I really appreciate that you posted this. WLS is a drastic step and not one to be taken lightly. And even though I've been addicted to this website for months, your post made me stop and really think. I appreciate your perspective. I sometimes think it's pretty sad that the only way I have a chance to take control of my weight problem is to have part of my stomach removed. If I had only recently developed a weight problem, I would be less inclined to be moving forward with this. But I have tried for 25 years to lose the weight and keep it off. Now my knees are threatening mutiny, and I feel it's time to do something serious, i.e. surgery. As far as not enjoying food like I used to -- I'm ready for that. I want that. My husband, who is very athletic and healthy, is just not that "into" food, and I've admired that. I want to not be obsessed with food and hungry all the time. I want to be a person like my husband who eats to live and doesn't live to eat (yes it's a cliche but a good one!). If I hadn't tried so many times for so many years only to end up bigger than ever, I wouldn't do this. But I don't want to waste any more time.

The one week count down...... Yaaaay! I'm so excited for you! Good luck on the liquid diet -- you'll do great, I just know it! Excellent strategy to keep yourself busy Just think, you're on your way! The journey is beginning! I went hiking with my husband this past weekend, and as I huffed and puffed (and cheated a little having my big energetic dog kinda pull me up the inclines lol) . I thought of you and of how you said you're looking forward to going hiking when you've lost some weight. OMG I totally agree! I really look forward to really enjoying a good hike! You'll be doing that before you know it onward!

Ahh I'm in the same boat -- after attending the seminar I called the surgeon's office and the lady who answered my call kinda indicated that my file had been set aside because my BMI is 'only' a 38. Yeah well the holidays happened since then and I've gained like 10 lbs! No doubt I'm a 40 now. . . I've got a call in to the dr's office to s specific person who I hope will give me some guidance. I know my patterns, and I know that I'm on my way back up the scale if I don't make a change soon. Do I have to get so much worse before they will accept me in the program? Why wait until I get sick? Why not catch it before I get sick? My knees and ankles and back hurt -- but apparently that's not on the list of what's a comorbidity. I saw my poor mom have to have both her knees replaced, and my grandma before that was wheelchair bound because of her knees. I'm afraid I'm headed in the same direction if I don't get the help I need. But my file has been set aside? Don't they realize that when I went to the seminar I saw this as a ray of hope? If I was being "set aside" I wish I had been told that! I want to talk to someone who will say a definitive 'yes' or 'no'. Hopefully a 'yes'! So -- I can relate very much to what you're going through! Being considered "borderline BMI with no comorbidities" is very frustrating! i hope you and I BOTH get quick response from the dr offices today and that they give us news we want to hear!

Sorry to hear you're feeling not-so-great. A lot of the symptoms sound like Celiac Disease. Including the anemia. Maybe try cutting ALL gluten out for a few weeks and see what happens? I have a friend who is gluten-free and she swears it was almost miraculous how much better she feels now. best of luck to you!

Hi ! Thanks for the list and cost run-down. I'll be curious to hear what kind of preop diet you're put on and how far in advance! Question: Does Dr Fowler plan on doing a single incision for your surgery or the traditional multiple little ones? I was very excited when he mentioned single incision at his seminar -- seems like only one puka means easier healing.