LosingItForMe2011

Nice news! congrats!

Don't know how long ago your surgery was but, if it's recent you may not want to take benedryl because your tummy would still be healing. An external ointment would probably be better Best bet you can ask your doc to see what they suggest. Good luck with it...nothing like having an itch that you can't scratch. yuck!

Congrats! You're doing terrific!

Glad you're doing well. Congrats

Any news? I hope you're doing ok!

Hello David and welcome to the boards. Good luck with your surgery!

congratulations!

Hello Crimzon....seems every bariatric center has a different diet to follow pre-op. Some don't have one at all. I was given the direction to replace one meal with a Protein shake a day in order to lose weight before surgery. But I wasn't given anything additional to do the week or two before surgery I was only told NOT to gain weight. If you started with your bariatric center ask your nutritionist what she/he recommends. That would be your best bet Good luck and welcome to the boards!

Well....I couldn't get in to my PCP's office today. I was told by the secretary that I couldn't see a NP and the covering doctor couldn't give me the medical release that it HAD to come from my PCP. She's on vacation until 6/12 and even then I couldn't get an appointment until June 22. So....I called my Bariatric center again, they said they were going to look into a few things and get back to me. Never got a call but, then received one from my surgeon's office. In the end I was given a date of 7/11 and no one else got back to me so I have to assume now that that is my new date. I'm upset but, nothing I can do about it. I"m at the freaking mercy of "one line" that was missing on my PCP's letter to my insurance. The medical release line. I guess saying I was a long standing patient of the practice who suffers with morbid obesity and hypertension. I feel she would benefit from Gastric Bypass surgery at Tufts Medical with Dr. Abeles..wasn't enough. Unreal! I can really say I HATE Cigna Carelink! I thought I had Tufts Medical insurance but, nooooo I have the plan that is Tufts but, goes through Cigna Carelink. (sigh) Sorry for complaining.....Its just that I had all my ducks in a row with work, home and help with care and now I have to figure it all out again. Talk about having to practice the DON'T EAT YOUR EMOTIONS stuff! Thank God I've been able to keep that at bay......many months of working that out...at least that's something positive

Was it good Vamp?

Ok so I'm really upset tonight. Surgeon called....for the 2nd time my insurance denied my surgery. First time they needed more information and it was provided. This time it was denied because they said I need a supervised diet for 3 months...my surgeon argued with them saying they already gave me the clearance on that by counting her first consult with me as the start time. They changed their mind and agreed to accept it but, she has to write a new letter of some sort explaining that first visit and the care I guess afterwards to equal up to 3 months. The second thing they denied was my surgeons request and explanation of the surgery because they said it didn't include a CPT/Procedure code. So she's re-writing that and including the CPT/Procedure code. The 3rd thing they are denying is the letter of med release from my PCP because she stated I've been a long time patient and would benefit from gastric bypass BUT she didn't put that I was medically released for the surgery. So my surgeon called her office to get a new letter, she's on vacation and the doctor covering for her said I haven't been seen since January so they won't give me the release until I'm seen. I called today to be seen, was given an appt with a NP and thought I was all set. Got a call 3 hours later, 8pm from that office saying someone made a mistake. I can't be seen by a NP because NP's can't give medical releases. That they cancelled my appointment and would leave a message with the office manager to call me. I know that office well enough, I won't get a call until it's too late. I'll have to try calling at 8:15am tomorrow to see if I can get in there, get someone to see me and have them write the letter for med release. Then that letter needs to be faxed to the surgeon's office and then to the insurance in hopes that I get the approval. My surgery is set for next wednesday but, if this stupid appt and letter don't get done tomorrow, I'll probably have to have it postponed. I already have everything in place so my mom can come down to help me out, the hotel across from the hospital is booked so I don't have to travel during rush hour to get there and my friend is staying with me Sunday so my husband can travel to pick up my mom to bring her to our house. UGH! I pray this all falls into place.

it sure does. I've been trying to practice that. My Nutritionist also says each bite should be pea size and put your utensils down between bites.

Hello Pug and odie, It's my understanding that stalls do happen and it seems that around 5-6 months folks seem to have it happen. My provider and nutritionist say if it lasts more than 3 weeks to get an appointment to see the nutritionist. They can help with ideas to break through that plateau.

Sounds like we can get a buddy system going here. The countdown is on RNY friends. We have 8 days left. I'm having issues giving up my responsibilities at work. (sigh) Hubby says it's time for me to take care of me and not worry about what's going on at work. That folks at work will take care of it until I get back. I know he's right and it is time for me to start taking care of myself for myself but, old habits are hard to break. I guess it goes back to when I was living on my own at 18. I've always had to be responsible and make sure I'm always working so I could keep a roof over my head and food on my table. It's just difficult. I was told by my surgeon I'd probably be out of work 3 weeks. I've never even taken 2 weeks together off never mind 3. Zoiks! But, I'm going to follow my surgeon's recommendations and just do it. This is something I need to do for me and it's going to take time to heal. How are you folks doing?

Cool. Is there a way to save it as an excel file so we can add more to it if we'd like to?

I like sparkpeople.

I've heard that some surgeons do remove the gallbladder while doing the Gastric bypass as well.

Great NSV there Congrats

My Bariatric center moves us along in stages and lets us know what foods we can eat at each one. We literally get a list of foods. Did you bariatric center/surgeon give you a listing of each stage? We were also told we shouldn't move to the next stage of eating until they gave us the go. They want to make sure we're doing well with the stage we are on before we move to the next one. My friend is 3 months out from her surgery and still cannot eat salad. Proteins always need to be first.

The point of losing weight before surgery is to shrink your liver. If your surgery isn't until 6/27 you still have time to continue to lose by cutting back on your calories via cutting back carbs, sugars and fats. Start eating more proteins, veggies and fruits and supplement your daily intake by substituting one meal a day with a protein shake. That's what my nutritionist has me doing. You've already kicked yourself in the pants so now it's time to turn it around and do what you need to do to make the surgery as safe as possible for yourself. So from now on when you want something that isn't a good choice...ask yourself...is this worth the chance of my liver not being in the best shape for surgery? Helps me every time.

What about the Wellness liquid vitamins? Have you tried those?

Dani G - You know it's never a bad thing to continue with therapy. Losing weight is such a mind game 99% of the time. I had the lapband as well and stress does play games with it. I bet once you get the stress level down, you will lose more weight or have less trouble with the band but, I also know first hand it's not easy to do. I started to see a therapist outside of my bariatric group that works with eating disorders and eating issues and she's been a big help in teaching me how to reduce my stress. I also practice reiki and meditation which has helped alot. Good luck with your journey of getting the stress under control...you're worth your effort

Vamp....look at how well you've done! Girl...you've done amazing! Please don't be so hard on yourself because truly just think.....68 pounds is a lot of weight! I know it's discouraging to not be heading where you want to be but, you will. It's not uncommon for RNY folks to go through stalls. Our bodies rebel! Think about it, our bodies have been trained to hold onto the weight especially women. It will move....that scale will start going in the right direction again for you. Journal your food choices and exercise, and really look at it. Are you getting in enough Water, are you eating enough? Are your eating times spread out to keep your metabolism going. How about weighing and measuring your food....break out the measuring cups and food scale. Go back to basics with your eating and se how it goes. I'm here for you and besides.....in a few months I maybe be going through the same thing and you'll have to kick my butt Deal? You go girl! You can do this and you will break this plateau. I have no doubt in my mind. ((hugs))

Hi Miami, These are all questions you can bring to your bariatric center/surgeon and they'd be able to help you with them. I haven't had the surgery but, I know a lot of the answers from my bariatric center already. Of course some of the questions are an individuals opinion too Is it 100% true your stomach becomes the size of 1 egg? Surgeon says about the size of one egg, holds 1 ounce. You need to eat 6 times a day?Based on Protein intake mainly. Although eating 6 small meals a day will keep your metabolism going. Do your stomach stay the size of 1 egg forever? Nope it won't if you eat too much at one sitting. You can stretch the pouch and therefore take in more food and actually gain weight after a while. That's why they stress eating slowly, stopping as soon as you feel you've had enough but, not FULL. Going beyond full and you face getting throwing it up and stretching it out. Are you able to eat a little normal after 6/12 months like 3 spoons rice with Beans or small chicken salad even if your eating 3 spoons of it? I'm told eating gets more "normal" at around 1-1.5 years meaning you can eat most foods with no trouble but, in smaller portions if you've followed the eating rules all along and haven't stretched your pouch. If you follow your diet according to your surgeon how much can you lose in 1 year all of it? Get to your goal weight. That is definitely an individual thing...everyone is different, everyone loses at a different pace and many factors can apply. You do lose the bulk of the weight the first year, each person has a different goal so can't really say we'd all hit it. How about sex does it get better? Well, another opinion but, I certainly would think feeling better in your own skin would make the whole experience better Do you think about surgery like why did I do this? Haven't had the surgery yet but, I did have the lapband and I thought that after surgery. Mainly after the first 3 days as the anesthisia (sp?) wore off. And of course on days where food just doesn't sit right but, in the end I always thought it was worth it. I'm sure I'll feel the same about the RNY. Does liquor bother your stomach? My bariatric center and the previous one always said to stay away from liquor. With RNY you diegest things different and the alcohol doesn't break down enough so you could get pretty sick and drunk from small amounts of alcohol. Story one person told us during an information session was she had RNY, she went partying with her friends and ended up losing 3 days of memory and her life. She passed out and didn't wake up for 3 days. Doesn't sound worth it to me. Do you feel moody & angry cooking for your family & not eating what others eat? Oh I think most would feel moody and angry sometimes but, it's up to you how to work through it. YOu may not be able to eat it but, for me cooking for my family is my love for my family. I can't eat it, but they shouldn't be punished because I can't. So yea...i may not be able to eat a lot of the things they do but, I sure in heck can join in on the family fun once I lose the weight and feel better about myself and can move more. That's worth not eating some of those meals to me. Any regrets? Can't answer this one yet...but, I don't forsee regrets. I had the lapband and loved it, I miss having that restriction that helped me feel in more control of my eating so I'm looking forward to the restriction. Would you do it again? Have to skip this one as I haven't had it yet. What's the hardest part after surgery & already heal normal life? Again, can only base on my lapband restriction experience but, the hardest parts were social outings that were based around food. I always brought something I knew I could eat and enjoy without guilt. Then I'd hold my Water and get away from the food table. After a while, family and friends just knew I wasn't going to eat more and wouldn't bug me. Hardest part is fending off the food pushers. How do your spouse see you? My spouse has been supportive and willing to help me anyway I need it. He's always encouraging even if I only lose half a pound or if I gained a pound. He knew with my lapband and I know he will when I have this done, just what to say to help me out. I"m lucky for sure. Are you sexier to spouse? Spouse often reminds me he loves me for who I am no matter what. So I know he'll think the same after and I sure hope he thinks I'm sexier as I start losing weight with this because he is the apple of my eye and I'd love for him to have a sexier woman in me hanging on his arm. Now your thinner you feel sexier having sex with light on? Hmmm another personal opinion question....I have a feeling I'll certainly enjoy our time together even more so once I'm thinner

DL...maybe you should start a thread on High Protein options? Sounds like we'd all like a peek at your list