southernsoul

I hate the texture of cottage cheese, but can eat it after I run it through the food processor or blender & add in something to it. I love yogurt, though, so I guess I'm OK with smooth.

Ah, OK...good to know!

What's a manometry test? I am planning for June 19, so welcome to the June-ers!

My first step was to call my insurance company, Aetna. I asked what kind of coverage I have for this & what surgeons I could choose from. There is only one bariatric surgeon in my small town & he only does band & gastric bypass. I knew I didn't want either one of those, so I had to see what other surgeons were available in Atlanta. I didn't want to waste time learning about a surgeon who might not be covered on my insurance, so that's why I called Aetna first. The lady I spoke with told me that I had to choose a surgeon listed as a Center of Excellence & got me to the list of surgeons online. I can't remember the exact 3 letter designation, but they were indicated next to the surgeon's name. (I'm not sure why Aetna has surgeons on the list who DON'T have this designation if they won't cover the procedure with them, but they do). The Aetna lady also directed me to the list of pre-op steps that Aetna requires, which are in addition to the reqs the surgeon has. At my 1st appt with the surgeon, his nurse went over the Aetna stuff, too, but it helped that I had already read through the list. I never went to the free seminars, because it's a 2.5 hour round trip. After researching a couple of the surgeons online, I just made an appt with my 1st choice. I totally agree with Mickey above that support is very important. There are no groups in my town, so I'm struggling with that. This site is filling some of that need, but face to face is probably better.

Maybe your doc won't be as negative as you think. My surgeon required a letter from my PCP stating that I had informed them of my sleeve plan & providing a 3 yr documented weight history. When I went in for my appt, the PA was really encouraging! She said that more and more research is showing how many health risks can be minimized by WLS, and that the sleeve in particular is showing some very good results. If your doc is keeping up with current research, she's probably seen the same stuff.

Rosemary is one of my faves...I have a big bush of it right outside the kitchen door. I use it often, whether a recipe calls for it or not, so I don't necessarily have any specific recipes. It goes really well with beef, pork, chicken, and most types of fish. It also compliments fruit pretty well, including anything with lemon, cherry, orange, apple, & blackberry. I've put a little into plain or honey greek yogurt before, along with some fresh fruit.

Hey, Mama! What's a HIDA scan? Other than some bloodwork, my doc has not talked about any other tests I will need. I thought my last visit with the psych was the LAST visit, but I have one more. I thought it was three total visits, but it's the intake visit plus 3 after that. Are you still thinking your date will be in June?

Sorry things have been so rough! Sometimes one day at a time is WAY too ambitious, & we do better with one hour at a time. Sending you some good vibes!

For what it's worth, your first priority has got to be you. Go to counseling on your own. This surgery is about to dump all kinds of changes on your plate, and when you add that to the marriage issues, it's a whole lot to handle! Having an objective & non-judgmental outlet in which to process all of this stuff can do you a world of good. It doesn't really matter if he goes or not...you go for you, and figure out what you need to do to have the life you want.

It's a big step & I'm still figuring it out myself. All I can say is everyone here has been amazing with advice & patient in answering my questions. Do your research & take advantage of all the info you will find here. Good luck to you!

Awww...honey, I'm sorry. It's probably just the solid food withdrawal. It will get better!

I love both of these channels & don't intend to change that! Both of them focus on making food the best it can be. I know that when I don't have space for much in my stomach, I want what does go in there to be awesome. I think my tolerance for crappy food will take a nosedive!

Let me know what you think!

Girl, you got this!

Amberly, the extension cord is a great idea! My mom was just in the hospital & we had that problem in her room. I'm planning to have both chicken & beef broths made in advance & portioned out with some in the freezer. Aaron, there's a thread pinned at the top of this forum with all kinds of suggestions.

I'm playing around with ideas for post-op & thought I would share what I tried today. I hate the texture of cottage cheese, but have learned that it's much better when run through the food processor until smooth. I eyeballed the amounts, so the amounts I listed are just my best guess of what I used & may need to be adjusted. It has a smooth, rich texture that made me think of cheesecake. 1 chopped medium apple 3/4-1 cup cottage cheese 1 Tbsp apple pie spice 1 tsp vanilla 3 heaping Tbsp unflavored Protein powder 1 Tbsp honey Process until smooth. Makes about 2 cups, so there are several servings. I did a second version with about 4 Tbsp pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup instead of honey. Both were yummy!

Those sound great Richard! I am trying to get ideas for post op & will definitely keep this. What do you think about adding some unflavored protein powder to the mixture? Seems like the mixture would be moist enough to absorb it. Also, how do you think the mixture would freeze? It would be nice to mix up a bunch & freeze in portions to bake later.

Absolutely! Celebrate your NSV's wherever you find them. Hooray for your knuckles!

I was never a heavy kid, although I was never skinny. I was fairly athletic, and also an “early bloomer” girl. By the time I was 12, I looked more like an 18 yr old, which caused my mother a fair amount of concern. My weight gain has been the result of a sort of “perfect storm” of three factors. When I was 17, I seriously injured my left knee in a silly accident. Five months later, I re-injured it playing basketball. I think I could have come back from the first injury, but the second injury pretty much meant that my knee would never be quite the same again. When I was 25, I began taking a medication that had a side effect of increased appetite. Around the same time, my first husband began to get seriously interested in cooking. He developed his skill to almost a professional chef level. He prepared amazing food every day, and we loved hosting dinner parties. Because of my knee issues, exercise was difficult. Sure enough, the weight piled on. The higher my weight got, the more difficulties I had with my knee. I attempted to diet, but my husband was not willing to compromise the quality of his food by adjusting his dishes to be low fat. It became a vicious cycle and I continued to put on weight. Eventually, due to all the years of compensating for my left knee, I began to have problems with my right knee. I’ve had arthroscopic surgeries, but those procedures really just ended up aggravating the damage. In 2006, I went through a divorce and decided to try online dating. I hadn’t had a date with anyone new since 1984, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As it turned out, I met a wonderful man, and we married five years ago. He is very much a caretaker kind of guy, and he always made a point of doing the heavy lifting for me. I was already heavy when we met, probably around 270, but my weight crept up over the 300 mark. Because my husband jumps in so quickly to help me with tasks I find difficult, it took me awhile to notice how quickly my mobility was deteriorating. I love to cook, and I started noticing that I couldn't stand up all the way through preparing a meal. I began to sit down when I was doing all my prep work. At the end of cooking a big meal, my pain would be such that I couldn't even carry the plates to the table. Big trips to the grocery store, or walking through our local farmer’s market, became very difficult and painful. Going up stairs was not too bad, but going down stairs or down a slope would bring tears to my eyes. I am in school full time right now, and I have to carefully plan my walking routes to figure out the way with the fewest stairs and hills. My orthopedic doc has told me I need double knee replacement surgery, but he warned me that the replacements only last about 10-15 years. Carrying excess weight would put me on the shorter end of that range. The older I am and the less I weigh when I have my knees replaced, the better the outcome will be. I am 48 right now, and that’s way too young. About a year ago, my ortho's PA suggested that I get a handicapped hang tag for my car. Believe it or not, I was shocked. Me, disabled? No way! I just limp a lot, and have pain every day, and can’t stand for more than a few minutes at a time, and I can’t….oh, wait. Never mind. It was a very hard thing for me to accept, but that is exactly where I have gotten to. A few months ago, I sat down and made a list of all the things I could do 2 or 3 years ago, but can no longer do. The length of the list shocked me into action, and I began to investigate the different types of WLS. I chose the sleeve for many of the same reasons we all did...no malabsorption issues, no messing with intestines, etc. I know I will probably still need to have my knees replaced someday. However, losing a significant amount of weight will help me in many ways, including allowing me to delay the knee surgery for (hopefully) years. About a year ago, we became friends with a couple who have both had DS surgery. Although I have known people who had some type of WLS, they were never people with the same kind of food passion that I have. However, these new friends are even more hardcore foodies than I am. They showed me that WLS does not have to mean losing the passion for food that is so important to me. They have shared with me the ways in which they adapted their cooking post-op, and how they still enjoy amazing food in much less quantity. So, I’m approaching this surgery as a creative challenge. I already don’t eat a lot of crappy food, but I think I will have much less tolerance for it post-op. I am adapting some of my recipes for post-op life, and researching cookbooks for ideas. I don't really have a firm goal weight. I'd like for my weight to be under 200, but I won't feel like a failure if I don't get there. I want to walk without pain. I want to dance. I want to be able to work in my yard. I want to walk around to the shops and restaurants downtown and stroll through the farmer’s market. I want to go shopping with my girlfriends. I want to go to a concert or a sports event and know that I can walk around the venue. I want to travel, and be able to walk around exploring a new place. I want to burn the handicap sign in my car. I know there will always be limits to what I can do, but the restrictions in my life have become unacceptable to me. I just want to walk.

Hey, Sassy! I don't mind doing the virtual Limbo to get into this group...I sure couldn't Limbo any other way! You reminded me that I hadn't posted my story, yet, so I will do it today. I have seen that you're a writer! My husband is a former print reporter & is currently an editor/transcriber for a large information company. Although I've never written professionally, I love to write. I even won an essay contest a couple of years ago. The hubs & I are both word geeks, too. One of my favorite silly words is thwart. It's just such a ridiculously weird combination of sounds. I have to squeeze in my surgery between summer classes, so they've penciled me in for June 19. I have one last psych visit on April 11th & then my last appt with the surgeon on the 18th before submitting for approval. Are you hoping for a May date?

I'm about 3 months from surgery, but my doc told me pre-op is 2 weeks of no carbs...by which I really hope he means very low carbs, but I will have to confirm that on my next visit. I'm going to try to be almost completely following his pre-op diet by about 4 weeks out, so it's not such a big shock. I'm already starting to gradually cut back.

This looks amazing! It reminds me of a creamy shrimp dip I've made before. I'll have to dig it out & see how (or if) it needs modifying for post-op.

Thanks, y'all! Testing showed my mom has a stomach ulcer, which is easily treated. We are so thankful it was not something worse. Another night in the hospital & she can go home tomorrow. Whew!!

My mother was hospitalized last night for some internal bleeding. We don't know what's causing it & we are trying not to get freaked out. We're hoping for something like an ulcer, or anything that's easily managed. Anyway, I also happened to have my 3rd appt with the psychologist for my eval this morning. After being at the hospital til midnight & not sleeping much, I arrived for my appt late, flustered, and not very focused. I explained what was going on & she asked me several questions about how the evening had gone. I mentioned that I had not had a chance to eat last night, and therefore had taken time to make a good breakfast this morning. She asked me if I had realized that, in the midst of stress, I had not turned to food for comfort or stress relief. I really had to think about that for a minute, but then I realized it was true. Even though I'm still pre-op, I have begun to change my eating habits already. In the middle of everything else, I felt really good about that & it helps to build my confidence as I get closer to surgery.

We haven't submitted yet. I have last psych visit tomorrow & then final surgeon visit in about 2 weeks. Should submit mid to late April. They've already penciled me in for June 19th, as that's really the best day due to my school schedule.