Jerzygurl

_{My doc didn't order an endoscopy at all. I had just the Chest x-ray and Upper GI. He said that was sufficient because I had no history of GERD or reflux.}

_{He said it was the same for the sleep study..no history of sleep apnea, no need for the study Same for the pulmonary test. Didn't have that either. As long as my BMI was under 50 didn't need the pulmonary study.}

I also eat 5-6 times a day 2 to 3 ounces at a time. You may need to up your calories so your body gets out of starvation mode.

Bingo.

From my years of experience with various diets and physical trainers...I saw a red flag in your post.

You said you were barely eating..and that maybe why you're not losing. If you don't get in enough Protein, your body will go into starvation mode. You have to get your Protein in somehow. As others have noted, spread your meals out during the day, eat very small multiple meals if it helps.

Good luck.

Good for you! I know the excitement you're feeling. I just got my date today.

Congrats on your new journey! Hope you have a safe return trip home and a speedy recovery!

Thank you!! I exercise, use baby oil on my skin, drink a lot of Water. Lifting weights is most important. This is the second time I have lost a massive amount of weight. First time in 2006 I lost 200 lbs in 18 months. Plus I had a baby 14 months ago. So exercise has been key. I had practice with my Lapband. I learned my lesson.

Yes indeed. You look FAB!

I'm trying to get to normal bmi I meant

Goal weights will change as you see your self I'm 5'8 at 171 my goal was 185 I was happy either way but not tryna get to normal bmi if 165 this is how I look

Ppl mostly feel like they look sick because your not use to seeing yourself that small but my advice is get down at least 10 pound under what you really wanna be .. I decide to let my sleeve lead me

O.M.G. You look so much younger! That first pic looks like your mom or your older sister!! Or maybe an older Auntie..lol.. Fantastic Job!

The Last Straw?

Last year was the year from hell for me. The ravages of being overweight all my life had really started to take a toll on my body in which I was in deep denial. Hey I could get around, i'm getting older so aches and pains are expected right?

It started with knee scope in May,(the second scope on this knee in two years) went to a back fusion in June and found Breast Cancer in July. This time last year I was in my third round of chemo and as bald as a cue ball. My cancer was estrogen feed and fat has a lot of estrogen in it.

Makes me so wish that I had done this 6 years ago when I first started looking into gastric bypass, maybe I wouldn't have gotten cancer. But I can't live backwards. I have had the surgery now because I will cut my chance of cancer reoccurrence by almost a third by getting to and maintaining a healthy weight.

Let me tell you chemo sucks. I lost feeling in my hands and feet. luckily the hands came back but I still can't feel my feet. This could be permanent. Yes some days I don't like not being able to eat all I want, but on those days I stop and think how much I would love to feel my feet again, and not just the pain from the neuropathy. I stop and think that if I have to go through chemo again how much worse my feet could get and my hands would not be far behind.

HI Pati..

I can relate to your story. I've had breast cancer & Ovarian cancer with 3 rounds of chemo since 2008. Finished my most recent round May of this year. Like you, I wanted to do the whole WLS thing a couple of years back but doc said wait for at least 1.5 years. While I was in remission in 2010 (much heavier btw), I decided to go forward and my Ov cancer came back, this time in my lymph nodes. Back on chemo until I had a severe reaction and had to stop. This just made me even more depressed & all I did was eat, stay in the house, watch TV, surf the net, go to work, eat, eat and then eat some more. Depression really set in when I lost my BFF to brain cancer, a niece to breast cancer, my uncle to lung cancer and a cousin to stomach cancer all within a year of each other and while I was going through chemo myself. I went to all their funerals with a bald head. I thought I was going to lose my mind, so I just ate some more...I mean we are all going to die anyway right?

That was my mind set..until one day I woke up and said..you know...get it together..I know my BFF and niece would be so disappointed in me if I gave up. Doc put me in a study program of new drgus and although I anticipated it and had been warned, I had no side effects. It was a wonder and I was amazed as were my doctors! My lymph nodes decreased drastically, my enegry was great, my CA-125 declined, not drastically but it dropped significantly (still not in "normal range") and I didn't lose any hair and my lymph nodes are now stable and disease isn't showing up anywhere on CT Scan or Pet Scan.

I understand the pain in the knees, feet and back. I know about the bald head, night sweats and nausea. I haven't experienced neuropathy, but we are all different. I need to get control of my weight too because as I was told by my oncologist the heavier you are the more at risk you are for female reproductive cancers.

Anyway..just know you are not alone..and we can do this... I'm waiting on a date from my surgeon's office. hope to have it soon. Hit a snag this week but I'm really ready to conquer this beast and to bury it deep. I know if I have to fight cancer again, I'd rather do it from a position of health and vitality than obesity and depression.

I want to arm myself while I have the chance. Again we can do this...TOGETHER!

BLESS YOU..hang in there...and forgive my long windedness!

I'm pre op but I'm honestly sick of the yo yo dieting and weightloss

I'm a 31 year old single black female about 5'7" tall, large frame ... Been chubby my entire childhood

My weight history:

Throughout high school I maintained a size 14....overweight but not obese and certainly not physically active but pretty much only ate my mom's home cooked meals -- restaurants only on special occasions no more than 5 or 6 times a year

2001-2002 (college years): got up to 215 or so and couldn't fit any of my clothes so decided to get serious about diet and fitness --- got down to 180 within the following year (size 10-12) and felt great but burned myself out with intense fitness and minimal calories so slowly started gaining

2009 (unhappily married at 27 yrs old): stressed out with work, grad school, home demands and unhappy marriage led to highest adult weight at 292-293 (snug size 22-24)

2010-2011: Decided to separate from the ex and get serious about weightloss so got down to 199-200 within 14 months on my own with Portion Control and fitness ... Essentially losing almost 100 pounds without WLS

2013: Emotional eating and stress have led to my regain of almost 60 pounds in 2 years which put me at 254-257 today (BMI 40)

Enough is enough and I'm ready for more sustained weightloss success ... Here I come #teamVSG

Welcome to the Club!

Yay approved.

That will be great.

Hey Shay,

Just a suggestion. Call them and ask for a new patient package to be mailed to you. You can fill it out ahead of time and just walk in prepared. It's what I do for any of my new patient appointments. Saves a lot of time, and you can take your time filling it out at home. It's especially good for filling out the historical health data and for listing the exact names and dosage of any medication you take without having to haul it to the doctor's office with you or carry a separate list of them.

Even at my current weight. I swear by Spanx. Macy's used to have something similar but they've discontinued it.

They are all different. It all depends upon your employer and the options they choose for your plan.

If you're going self-insured, it would be the same. It all depends upon what options you choose and what you pay for.

Thanks! My insurance company only require that I meet with a psychologist, nutritionist, a letter of necessity and previous weightloss attempt history.

That's great. Then all you need to do is meet those requirements and your surgeon's requirements, as far as tests and appointments.

Again good luck! I'll add you as a friend and we can stay in touch. after all, we are all in this new journey together.

Peace and love.

I will be attending my first doctors visit on November 6th. I'm curious to know what to expect.

Your 1st doctor's visit will simply be going over your health and medical history. He will tell you what test you have to get and will ask you some basic questions about family history too (at least my doc did). He will ask you how long have you had a weight problem and what other programs have you tried (at least my doc did..lol). First session is pretty much a get to know your surgeon session.

Yes, this will be my first visit. Is there anything I can do to help speed up the process?

Just make your appointments as soon as possible. Find out what your insurance company requires for approval and to move forward with surgery. A letter of necessity to is good, but you if you're going through your insurance, you will need to understand exactly what they require. It will save you a lot of headache and heartache later on.

Some insurance companies require 6 months of supervised diet programs. Others require only 3 consecutive doctor visits, others require a number of nutritional visits, etc. It depends.

Good luck on your journey. Btw, if you're self-pay, of course that changes things a bit.

I started on Aug 15th with my 1st doctor's visit..and now I'm just waiting for them to call me with a date. Everyone is different.

Sounds like you really need to talk to someone. Try to find sometime to squeeze it in.

There are some things only a professional can help us with.

You've done great so far, don't sabotage yourself. Stick with it and try to find someone way talk with a professional. If you binge, you know you will only feel worse and then the spiral begins.

Reach out.

Best wishes..

Wow!!! You look terrific!!! I have no idea what shape I am either. I'm a "brickhouse"!! I am proportioned...big all over!

That would be me too. I gain my weight all over...but my waist always stays smaller than breast, hips, thighs and arms... even now at 330+ lbs I don't have rolls in my back or stomach area. If you're the same, that would mean you have an hourglass shape like me. If you gain weight at the top disportionately then you're an apple shape, if you gain it more at the bottom than anywhere else then you're a pear,

5'9 and started at 348lbs, 175lbs is my goal weight.

AWESOME!!!

He looks younger too.. kinda looks like conservative radio host sometimes MSNBC fill ... Mike Smerconish!

Finished all my pre-op appointments in June, met with the surgeon, scheduled surgery for July 31, then found out I had AFib. I spent the rest of July and August dealing with my heart instead of my belly. Now that is taken care of, so I have another couple of bariatric center appointments next week, and then another scheduled appointment with the surgeon. Planning/hoping for mid-December so I'll have 2 weeks off for recovery before I have to go back to work. Wish me luck! ( I need it!)

Amy

Good Luck! I know how you feel, I'm dealing with cardiac clearance right now. Scheduled for a CCTA on the 16th..been jumping through hoops since Sept 4 for this clearance.

Hey hang in there... and good for you...you're almost there!

Btw, we share the same first name!

cool

Best of Luck..

So my dr office called they are going to wait until November 1st to submit to my insurance for approval as my new insurance with BCBS starts and they are easier to get approval through. She said then all I have left is my educational class and then they will get me scheduled. So more waiting but I get it this time why I'm waiting.

It's true. BCBS is the easiet to get approval for WLS.

Finished all my pre-op 1 Oct. Was told that my surgical office just got all the paperwork and they submitted to my insurance company. On a time crunch with this whole surgery because I am suppose to start a new job 4 Nov. I don't know if it will all happen in time.

Bright eyes, I understand the deadline thing. I'm under one too. It's not a new job, but for health reasons. Oncologist only agreed to let me get Gastric sleeve surgery if it was done within a 3 month window. I'm running out of time. I was all done until I ran into a snag with the cardiologist then had to go for a 2nd opinion because I didn't trust the 1st evaluation. Now I'm scheduled for a CT Scan of my heart but it's not until Oct 16th..ugh... At least I was pre-approved by my insurance company..so once that's done and I get the all clear.. I'm hoping to have surgery before the month is out..but who knows because I still have to do a week of boot camp protocols before doc will operate. Grrr..so right now I have until Nov. 15th before the oncologist pulls the plug and put me back in maintenance chemo.

I hope it all goes well for you,

Lol!! Ummm.... I think she is trying to say,

(I) Went out(, now I'm) in trouble(. There was) no cheating (, but) he is still mad ( at me.) ( I think it might be) time to buy sex toys (.)

Amazing skills of reading between the lines...lol