Brighteyes

Yeah a fellow shortie!!! Thanks for sharing! Do you mind me asking how long it's taken you to drop the weight? The last time I was in a size 8 and medium tops was when I was 130 pounds. I am very fortunate that I put on weight very evenly and have great curves.

Did HgC because my mom was convinced it would for me. At the end of one round of it I was hospitalized because my body couldn't fight off a simple sinus infection.

How hateful. Good thing you took yourself out of the group.

Ditto on the "it comes back" comment. I had to have emergency surgery last year. Post op I lost about a third of my hair volume. Total panic. But I have a ton of new growth. I am totally anticipating it happening again. I will do all the precautions I can and just take really good care of the hair I do have.

I am on Pinterest and am constantly pinning outfits. But my splurge will be a pencil skirt suit from Theory with some 5 inch heels....yeah, I can't wait to get back into all my heels.

I know different docs have recommended different things. I just hadn't seen where they recommended regular fiber pills. I was curious if it was a no-no after surgery.

My doc recommended thighs, hips, stomach, chest and arms.

Thanks so much for sharing! I have been wondering what several years post op looks like and now I know! It's inspiring!

I also use BodyCompare. It allows you to use your phone to take pictures on a delayed setting so you can take pictures of your self. And then it lets you set up the pictures so you can do side-by-side pics and see the difference.

Thanks for the update! Glad to see the scale moving again!

First off...buy a wig for the fun of it and for no other reason. On a serious note, I have already decided if the hair loss gets bad enough I will get hair extensions to replace some of my thickness.

So I have been reading a few threads about going poop...constipation or other issues going to the bathroom. I have different digestive issues. My PCP put me on fiber pills which work great to address my issues. Here is my question. Are we able to take fiber pills or fibers powder after surgery? It works so well for me now that I would hate to change things up post op.

At what point did you finally get fed up enough to make a change in your life and do WLS? My breaking point was when I had an opportunity to go rappelling down a tower used to train the Army how to fast rope out of helicopters. I am scared to death of heights. But with the encouragement of some great instructors at the Air Assault school I rappelled down the rope that was several stories off the ground. Talk about having a 'I feel like a bad ass' moment. I didn't realize that anyone was taking pictures of this event. So months later I showed up to a work function that I was being recognized at. My parents even came for the luncheon. When I walked in there were a bunch of pictures blown up, poster size, of different individuals who were being recognized doing various activities at work. Well one of them was a picture of my fat ass coming down the rope at the rappelling tower. Talk about embarrassed. Th lady who put the event together came running up to me excited about the picture because she 'wanted to capture the moment that I was really empowered.' (She doesn't have a mean bone in her body so I know her intentions were good). I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I couldn't even keep my parents away from the picture cause you had to walk by it to get to the event. It was in the moment that I decided I never wanted to have my moments of success overshadowed by my weight. So what was your moment?

Prayers sent your way for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery!

So today I have my final appointment with my NUT and the psychological eval. Next Tuesday I have my final PCP appointment and support group meeting requirement. At that point I will have met all my pre-surgical requirements and my paperwork will be submitted to my insurance company for approval. I keep having these moments of panic. The "oh crap what am in doing" which is just has bad as "oh crap look at what I did to myself." Going to see my therapist later this week. Just feeling overwhelmed.

Ditto on the therapy or support group. I did 9 months of intensive therapy, at different times having to go in multiple times a week, prior to even discovering I wanted WLS. This is hard work, not just in changing your diet, but also our perspectives. You have made one big positive step. Now it's time to do what might even be the harder part...mental. You can do this!

ISO recommendations on protein shakes. My doctor gave me a list. Just wondering what everyone finds to be the most filling and tasteful. Gluten free recommendations are greatly appreciated too!

I have a quick question. Were you at a bariatric surgical center where the doctor works at that hospital?

The scale is just one measurement of our progress. As long as you are loosing weight or inches then Celebrate it as success!

Congrats! BCBS is pretty quick in the approval process once you've met all your pre-surgical requirements. This process has taken me almost three months. The surgical center said they will submit the paperwork once I have completed my last PCP appt on 3 Sept. I have met all my other pre-surgical requirements so it will just be a matter of paperwork. I am getting all jittery with excitement!