lovealways

Are you exercising? That seems to help!

WOW that's a great amount of weight loss in that short amount of time. Congrats!!!!

Verbal abuse not only affects yourself, but your kids as well and their overall development. It may not be obvious now or they may not speak up about it, but each fight and each mean word said will stay with them for awhile, if not for life at that young of age. I'm sure they see their mother being treated badly by their father and eventually they internalize that and may start blaming themselves. If you can't leave the relationship now because you're hoping he'll change, then at least try to help your children out in some way. I think if you allow your kids to stay in this destructive and dangerous environment, then at least have them see a therapist. Everything a child goes through now, builds them into what they'll become in the future. Negative or positive. Help them if you can't find it in yourself to leave just yet. Like another person added, sometimes heading into the unknown can be terrifying when all you've ever known is the life you've had for the past few years. It's hard knowing you have to leave behind that sort of comfort, but if you take that leap, I promise you won't regret it and I promise you you're much stronger than you think. It may be rocky at first, but just trust that you've made the right decision for yourself and your kids to leave. You ARE strong and you must realize YOU matter! You just had a major surgery for yourself making YOU a priority! This is the first step. Make yourself and your kids your priority. When your husband accuses you of cheating and looking too sexy because you've lost weight, it's just his attempt to manipulate and control you. Any time you feel good about yourself, he fears you will leave, and he plants things in your mind like "you're not good enough. You can't make it without me. No one else will love you" and things like that. Eventually tou start to believe it. That's why it's so hard to leave right now! See what he's done? He played this mind game with you, your self esteem has faltered, and that's just what he wants! He's a coward, that's all. He's insecure himself, and needs to beat on you emotionally so he can control you enough so you'll say to yourself "He's right. I'm not good enough. I need him. I can't make it on my own" so you just keep staying. It's a cycle only you can break. Hang in there Mami. It's hard to find the courage to leave, but you have it in you, you just need to look deeper

Good luck guys!!! Keep us posted

Thank you all!

Oh yes, oops, mine is 900 too lol. I forgot that my undergrad internship was 420 hours. Oh well =\ Good luck on surgery!

Somewhat scared only for the fact that I'll be missing two weeks of internship when I have the surgery and will have to make up those hours in addition to any other I miss. I'm not worried about missing classes (I'll be having surgery during winter break) as much as I am about missing interning. We need to have 400 hours starting September 10th through May 3rd, and I graduate May 20th...so yea, I kinda am scared. I'm putting it in the hands of a higher power though, and hoping that I'm on this journey for a reason and that it will work out. Good luck with your surgery and everything else! I hope you have a speedy recovery and do well this semester! How many hours of interning do you need?

Nish, when do you start school??

Good luck!!!!

I just quit recently on July 7th in preparation for my surgery some time around December. It was incredibly hard the first few weeks, but I've found that all physical cravings are now gone, so it does get better! Any time I feel like I want a cigarette, I think about how badly I want the surgery, and that helps to stop the craving. At times I know I want a cigarette, but I want the surgery so, so, SO much more...so it's just not worth it. Think about how much you would regret it if you did have one! Think about how far you've come! Be proud of yourself in your accomlishments and anytime a craving comes, just say to yourself "this too shall pass"...and it certainly will

Like everyone else says, double check to make sure your insurance covers gastric bypass. You are on the right track by attending the seminar and scheduling an initial consult with your surgeon! My surgeon required a lot of pre-op testing, but I don't mind, because the more testing you have, the better your chances are of showcasing how much you need this surgery for your health. Pre-op testing included a psych evaluation, cardiology consult and stress test with EKG, extensive blood work, consult with a gastroenterologist and upper endoscopy, sonogram of the abdomen to rule out gallstones, two sleep studies, pulmonary consult, informational seminar, 2 support groups, and I think that's it. My insurance has required a 6 month supervised weigh-in/diet and I also have on my file a 6 year hisory of weight from my doctor...they don't ask for it, but I thought I'd get it anyway to up my chances of being approved. The testing is extensive, but worth it. If you get stuck doing a 6 month supervised diet, don't be discouraged. A lot of insurance companies require either a 3 month or 6 month supervised diet to weed out anyone who doesn't have the patience and time to committ to it. Remember, insurance is looking for anyway NOT to pay, so don't give them a reason to! It's quite a journey, but many have said that patients who have the most success long term are those that have a journey...those that don't get approved in 2 months and then have the surgery. Time really does help to gather information, ready your mind, and your body. Good luck!

Oh, good to know! I can't afford to miss first night of classes. I'll just have to get a ride there and back. Thanks

I'll have to agree with Odiemom. NY has a ton of services for women being verbally abused. Just google and tou should find some answers. Good luck mami!

I have my upper endoscopy on September 5th at 11:30am. It's also my first night of college classes, which start at 5:45pm. Does it take a ling time to recover from the groggy feeling of anesthesia? I've never been put to sleep before lol!

I pretty much got the chance to contemplate and pursue all 3. I looked into lapband in 2006. I met with the surgeon and opted out because I didn't like having to go back and forth to the Dr. to get the fills, and at 20 years old, I just wasn't ready at that point. I then looked into the vertical sleeve gastrectomy, because my sister was in the process of getting it done, and I had a lot of time to research it with her. I was so head strong and determined to get this surgery and did not want the RNY for fear of malabsorption issues and how invasive the surgery sounds. After finding out that my insurance only covers RNY, I then decided to choose RNY. I'm now so happy and at peace with my decision. I've researched and I feel comfortable knowing that the procedure I'm getting is known as the "gold standard" in terms of weight loss surgery. RNY has been around since around the 1950's, so there's been plenty of years to perfect the procedure and plenty of long term data has been obtained to prove that it is successful long term and safe. While the VSG surgery is emerging in popularity because there isn't much risk of malabsorption, there really isn't enough long term data right now to prove how successful the surgery is, since it's about 15 years new at this point. I also like the fact that RNY provides patients with more weight loss, quicker, and more patients in the long run tend to keep the weight off. Go with what feels right for you. Do the research and you'll be able to come up with a decision. Weigh the pros and cons of each one

Would there be any dumping involved, since bacon is so high in fat??

I have to do the 6 month weigh-ins, so I will probably have surgery at the end of December

I am also hoping for surgery (hopefully if all goes right) by December around Christmas as well! Good luck to you!

My sister and I are bestfriends. We get asked all the time if we're twins, and we always tell the person asking that we are. They also reply with "wow, you're identical"! It's always been fun because we'd share eachother's clothes, make jokes about our weight, fight over leftovers, cry over clothes shopping and embarresment of more weight gain, binge together, and confide in each other about how much it hurts to always be "the big girl" and never the pretty girl. Misery loves company, right? We did everything together, and understood each other in terms of the low self-esteem that comes with being a young adult...a fat young adult, at that. But this all changed 3 weeks ago and 38 pounds later. My sister just had vertical sleeve surgery. I watched her struggle with her approval. I even bothered her about it when I was jealous when I had no insurance and mentioned often to her it was the "easy way out". I was excited for her, but her journey seemed exhausting with all the hoops insurance threw at her, that I honestly never thought we'd see the day come. She (was) before the surgery 38 pounds heavier than me. I found a sort of consolation in that, as hard as that is for me to admit. Why? I'm not sure. I think I felt and do feel so lousy about myself that I tried to believe that it was okay, and that I'd always be smaller than her, and that I wouldn't be the biggest one on the family. Selfish and mean of me considering how much she means to me. And now the weight is flying off of her, and now we're the same exact weight, and I suddenly feel...alone. I'm ecstatic for her. Thrilled that she is happy. So excited to see her daily progress, and so excited to see her confidence already begin to blossom. She's showered in compliments and oohs and ahhs. I'm scared. I admit to myself that I'm alone in this right now. The comfort of having a "binging partner" the comfort of knowing we'd always be big and miserable TOGETHER and never alone, and now it's changed. Now she gets full off of two bites, and I stare at her in disbelief, in both happiness, and bitterness. Jealousy is such a horrible trait to carry around...especially when it comes to jealousy over loved ones. It's such a evil, sinnister, disgusting little tyrant that continues to drain. I hate that. I just know that I've now become the biggest one. She, as well as food, was our security blanket...and I'm sure I was hers as well. Food provides consolation and comfort and solace. Our relationship consisted of a shared common interest in junk food and a shared understanding of what it felt like to be fat and miserable. My sister is the happiest she's ever been. So where does that leave me? Well, I decided in late May early June once I got insurance, that I would join in on her journey and take "the easy way out". This journey has been anything but easy. I want to rekindle a relationship with her not based on food, but based on making health a priority and positive changes for us both. I want us both to feel good. I want to transition to a new life with her. Most of all, I'd like to bond over real interests...not just what type of fast food joint we hope to eat at next. I want the rest of this year to focus on transitioning and good, healthy, positive changes. For everyone.

70lbs in 2 months?! Damn!

Psych eval, nutrition eval, pulmonary consult with sleep studies, upper endoscopy, stress test, sonogram of abdomen to rule out gallstones, extensive blood work, and I think that's it.

Wow! Beautiful!