McButterpants

Thanks for sharing your story! Congrats on starting your journey and wishing good luck in the future!

Hello fellow telecommuters. I will have surgery on Thursday and plan on working 1/2 days (from home) each day the following week. My thought is, while I may work more, I'm not under pressure to do so and I want to make sure I take care of me.

Woo hooo! Congrats and welcome to the November club. When I looked at my monthly calendar this morning, I was like, "One more page to turn and November is here!!!"

You inspire me! You have a great spirit and positive outlook. Congrats on your success and best of luck in meeting your future goals!

Hi, all. I'm just over 6 weeks from my surgery date (11/14/13). I'm wondering what you pre-sleevers are doing to prepare yourself for the pre-op liquid diet, post-op diet, and general preparations. Any post-operss with the helpful hints would be appreciated as well! I'm starting to exercise (walking and planning on starting back at the gym), I'm trying different shake varieties and flavors, I'm eating smaller meals and I'm working on getting my home office cleaned up (for some reason that's important to me). Thanks!

Good luck!

Pre-sleever here...I am 6 weeks from my surgery date. The doctor told me to start cutting caffeine about 4 weeks from date of surgery, but I'm prepping in so many ways I thought "I'll start now." Let me tell you...No caffeine = SUCKS I didn't go cold turkey, I only had one cup of coffee this morning. Around the time I would normally have my 2nd cup, I start getting this low grade headache. About an hour later, my head was pounding! I took some ibuprofen and a 45 minute nap. I'm a little better now, but wholly cow! I would have NEVER thought it would have hit me like that. Apparently I had a bigger caffeine dependency than I realized! I may have to go for a half caff / half decaff in a little bit.

Welcome, Wes. Best of luck to you on your journey. As a mom to a 14 year-old, I can certainly understand your worries about "what if". I've had them, too. I have faith, as it appears you have, that things will be OK and I feel like I'm working towards something rather than fighting against something. My mind is getting more clear the closer I am getting to my surgery date. I wish you great success!

Awesomeness! Congrats on your success. Wishing you continued happiness. Thanks for sharing.

Welcome back! Good luck to you!

Thanks - I thought about that once the icepick in my left eye was removed! :-) I'm enjoying a half caff/half decaff now. Good plan to titrate down and then back up again! Thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated. And congrats on your 63 pounds lost! Inspiring!!!!!

I currently have the FitBit Flex (the bracelet). I used to have the One (that attaches on the waistband). I like the Flex much better - it has more functions and I don't worry about it falling off. It is a fitness tracker - it tracks your steps, how many minutes you're active, etc. It also tracks your sleep (how many times were you woken up and how many minutes - it gives your sleep efficiency as a %). You can set goals and it will vibrate when you've achieved them - my vibrates when I've hit 10,000 steps in a day. It also allows you to track your food and Water intake on your smartphone or computer. It will summarize your Protein intake in grams (important for post-op). I like the food tracker, although if you want the summary of your daily intake, I think you have to get that on your computer. I can't find how you get to the detail on the smartphone app. The Flex has the capability to connect to your smartphone w/ Bluetooth - that's a nice option so you get real time feedback on your progress. You can also connect to a computer wirelessly with the dongle that comes with the Flex. (the One connects USB only) You can compare the Flex to the Jawbone.

OMG - I am laughing. Thanks for sharing. (I'm wearing Old Navy yoga pants right now - I own about 10 pair! I hope my next order is a smaller size!!!!)

Nice! Beautiful rings that you should be proud to wear. That's an awesome NSV!

Sending positive vibes and ((hugs)) your way! Congratulations!

What a transformation! Amazing. Thanks for sharing - it is inspiring.

Backstory - going to Las Vegas from the northwest for surgery due to self-pay. I was feeling increasingly uneasy about the local team (doctor, nutritionist, & social worker) that I was working with for the past few weeks. Last week, I felt like the doctor was "mad" at me for choosing Dr. Umbach down in Las Vegas as opposed to going thru the insurance appeals process which is what he wanted me to do. I was very upfront with this team by telling them I was considering going to Dr. Umbach from the beginning. Quite frankly, I wasn't prepared for the roller coaster of appeals, rejections, appeals, rejection. I felt like I was ready to move on with surgery prep and my efforts we better spent doing that then spinning my wheels with insurance. I also have a very specific exclusion in my policy - basically anything weight related is not covered (behavior modification, pills, etc. - it's not covered). I felt really comfortable with my decision on going to Dr. Umbach. So, I told them last week that I was going with another doctor and since then, he has been really difficult. In retrospect, I think he was trying to make it hard on me to go elsewhere for the surgery - things like requiring Dr. Umbach to do the 2 week and 1 month post op visit, requiring me to make two trips back down to Las Vegas for follow ups. So, I contacted the other local hospital here which has a Weight Management department and was contacted immediately by their patient coordinator. She was friendly, upbeat and sounded more than willing to help me. I told her my dilemma and said the local after care is my biggest concern. I need a good group of people here locally to help ensure my success. She said she would talk to the doctor and would call me back. I was like, "yeah, she'll call me back at the end of the week" About 20 minutes later she called back and said, "The doctor would love to work with you. Can you come in this afternoon to meet her?" I arrived at their office and was welcomed - literally welcomed with open arms. I met with the doctor for about 30 minutes - she's very nice, asked me a lot of questions, explained the surgery and said she would do the 2 week and 30 day follow up as long as I don't have a drain. Then I met with the patient coordinator and she was equally as fantastic. I am so relieved. My husband saw a difference in me when I got home - he said, "You feel really good about them don't you?" It was really like a weight was lifted. It's one less thing I have to worry about.

Pre-opper here...I've been trying really hard to eat well most meals, but realize there are foods that are going to be off limits after surgery. For the most part, I haven't been doing a lot of fatty foods. So... We went out to dinner last night. At this restaurant, they make a really good sandwich called the Chicken Ranch Club (chicken breast, slice of cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomotao and ranch dressing on a bun). I thought "I should get that" because it's something I won't be able to have post-op, probably ever. So, I threw on some tator tots as well. OMG - I was so uncomfortable on the way home. It was like there was a balloon in my stomach. I felt horrible all night and into this morning. Needless to say, I can bid farewell to the Chicken Ranch Club and probably never think about it again. I threw up in my mouth a little just thinking about last night's experience.

I go thru different emotions - seems like daily. I think, "OMG, it's so far away!" then I think, "OMG, it's coming too soon!" I also have had thoughts of "Why am I doing this?" "Should I go thru with this?" I'm confident in my decision and I am resolved to do it, sometimes that little voice in your head gets a little chippy though!

Welcome to the November club!!!!!!

Just turned 44 in late-September, getting sleeved in November - I'm calling that my REbirthday. I hope my only regret is that I didn't do this sooner - like in my 30's when I started thinking about it!

Terri - I'm thinking about all the things "next year I'm gonna"! I should start a list! It's terrifying, but exciting at the same time. Congrats on your daughter's wedding! Best wishes for much success and weight loss between now and then.

Sending prayers your way. ((hugs)), too!

OMG - I am so glad I found this thread. My PCOS was finally diagnosed last year by my 8th doctor. I'm on Meformin now, but would love to not take it any more. Glad I found this thread and know I'm not alone.

Here's my plan for Thanksgiving...Stay home and not go to my parents' house where everyone will be (they live 3 doors down from me). I will still be on liquids at that point (11/14 surgery date) or maybe on pureed foods. I think it will be better for me to to stay home and read and reflect - like a mental health day.