brwneyedwoman

Okay deep cleansing breath, I'm including my FACE in the pic this time! Look at my husband's pics! Can you believe it? Dang man is at 70% of his excess weight lost, I'm at about 54% of mine.
pics are day of sx, 8/2/2013 and today, 11/11/2013
We are all so hard on ourselves btw. I saw mine and went, "eww! tummy rolls!" My husband saw mine and said "You're looking skinny babe".
He saw his and said "My stomach shows." I saw his and said "...."well, I can't tell you what I said on this site but I'm sure you can guess :-p

Congratulations

I called Anthem this morning and got the news!! Surgeon's office submitted on 10/23 and told me to give it up to 2 weeks. I'm excited, yet nervous. Pre-op appointment on 11/21.

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My request was submitted on 10/18 and I was approved on 10/29!!! Finally. I am ready!!!! Surgery date is 12/17

Looks like you've been successful following your doctor's orders. That's great.
I view this site as a place to network to discuss concerns, share successes, and support one another on a journey. We share our ideas and our doctor's orders. A lot of posts end with: make sure you check with your doctor or NUT.
I say if you want to drink thru a straw, drink thru a straw. If you want a hershey kiss, have one, or take two, they are small.
We all use this site for different purposes. Get what you need from it, leave what you don't want or don't believe. It's all up to the individual.

by the way, let me say that is true of EVERYTHING in life.
Stay together for the sake of the children, don't stay together for the sake of the children. Have more than one child, only children get more attention. Let your teenager dress the way she wants, don't let her dress like a sl#t. Pay your kids for chores, expect them to do that as being part of the family. Reward grades with money, grades ARE the reward. We can all go on about these.
Surgery is no different. We each read, inform, learn, share, ponder, and decide.

So it's Monday and I'd rather be napping than working and may have missed something but if I read you correctly he says:
1. can eat and drink together, no problem
2. Constipation is likely due to shakes (and I'm guessing no veggies)
3. Track everything you eat and keep Protein and Water at suggested levels
4. Use a straw if you want to
Well, 2-3 every doctor would agree with, 4 many doctors agree with. The only one that many doctors seem to disagree with is point (1) above, right? That doesn't seem that different?
On a separate note, sorry the forum isn't being that helpful for you. It's my lifeline. As I have told several people lately, before I got on this forum, I used to have a life! I used to read books! Now, I read and learn here daily, and for that I am grateful.
But I can understand that it doesn't work for anyone, so I can accept that. I don't think I will riot about that

K

Hi everyone, this is my first post and I'm a little nervous but here goes!! I had my surgery on January 1 2013 and at my biggest i was 295. I had a really easy time with the surgery, no troubles at all! now almost 9 months out I weigh 190! I still want to loose 40 more.

Thank you guys! I havent had any problems with my skin it went back to normal on my stomach I might have a little on my arms when i loose the rest but hopefully working out will help tighten them up.

I do not think they removed mine through the vagina.

Great thread. I'd like to add a few.
1. Know that the first few days suck. The way ou feel the first few days is not how you will feel for the rest of the pre-op. After five tired days, I felt GREAT and had even more energy than I did before. I also felt successful and that boosted my confidence.
2. Don't tell yourself it's okay to cheat, just because some people here did and didn't have complications. Maybe they got lucky and you won't. Tell yourself you cannot chest and you're less likely to.
3. Do not chew and spit out food. It's very bad for you and confuses your stomach which has been secreting acid, waiting to receive that food you've been chewing.
4. Understand that the purpose of the pre-op is to shrink your liver. It is not to lose weight. If you do, great. But don't tell yourself you can eat just because you lost weight. See (2) above.
5. If you do cheat tell your doc immediately. Do not post here and listen to people telling you it's okay. We are not doctors. We don't know what's okay. Don't let anybody tell you not to follow your doctors orders. You can choose to get a different doctor if you want. But you should not get one and ignore what she tells you.
6. It doesn't matter if you understand why your doctor's diet is different to everyone else's. Don't use that as a reason to justify cheating. If you trust your doctor to take out 85% of your stomach! trust her to know what pre-op she thinks you should be on. My husband and I got sleeved by the same doctor on the same day. We had the same BMI. We had very different pre-op directions. Don't second guess your medical professional.
7. Know that whatever lies our fat brains want to tell us, going against doctors orders either pre or post op vastly increases your likelihood of complications.
8. Believe that you can do this. Really. Believe it.

Expectation divided by Reality = Disappointment

Started at 299 now 173 down 126 in 8 most lost the first 100 at 5 months goal is 185 12 pounds under that and 9 pounds to be to normal bmi

I am so very proud of him. He's done an amazing job with no whining, complaining or bitching. I've always thought he was pretty darn special, but the more stuff we go through, the more I realize what a gem I found.

Yes two months. The man has lost 51 lb in two months. Look at the difference! I will mention he is 60 years old and still had these fast results. If you're a young male and are wondering whether to get the surgery, I hope this helps in your decision making.
HW 298
SW 278
CW 227

CPA here...you can write off all your medical expenses if you itemize your deductions on schedule A...however this is limited to 10% of AGI. Aka not many people will qualify for this deduction
But on a positive note I was just approved for surgery tonight woohoo!!

Congratulations to all who have been approved and good luck to those still waiting. I had my 2nd consult with my surgeon on Thursday and I asked for a date in December, hopefully the second week. Now, I'm waiting for my pre-op orders from his office and the submittal to insurance.

I had my first really awesome NSV today. I had ordered some new school clothes for fall (I'm a teacher) when the catalog was having a great sale, and ordered all my tops in a 3X (my usual size). They arrived today and were huge...not just a little too roomy, but HUGE. I don't think I've ever been so happy to pay return shipping costs in my life. Can't wait until I can shop in cheaper regular stores and not be stuck with ordering online.

Remember that scene in Pretty Woman when she goes back to the store after those women were mean to her? Love it!
Wondering if anyone had paid back anyone that treated you like crap, made fun of you, dismissed you when you were overweight. I mean the best revenge is living well but wondering if anyone has any interesting stories.

Im south Louisiana native,too! This is crazy but isnt gumbo a Soup?!,!...lol! I dont like Protein shakes and Im lactose intolerant so im on the hunt to prepare for the right, tasty things to be successful. Thank God seafood does well with sleeves...from what Ive heard.

Me too and tailgating. I'm in south Louisiana.