1Day1Life4Now

Hi Rebecca, I'm 6 weeks too (come this Monday) My clothes are falling off of me, I am down from a size 22 to an 18 but the weight has stalled. I work out twice a day so the doc says I'm building muscle. It is so strange how this is working. Congratulations on your progress. You are looking great.

I'm not sure where you found your stats but the sleeve has the least problems of the 3 surgeries. My surgeon is getting out of the business of doing the bands now because of the complications associated with them but you have to do what you feel most comfortable with. Yes, the sleeve is not reversible but we chose to alter our life style, not just go on a diet because life style changes are permanent.

Lyn, I just wanted to say how proud I am of you and your accomplishments. Becoming a NP is awesome. Good job. Stopping this family history of diabetes, obesity, and other things for your children is like being a Super Hero. You have already lost a tremendous amount of weight and I know you will continue. You will be healthy and most importantly you will be around for your babies to grow up and then for their babies. Keep up the good work, fight the ignorance but keep your private info to yourself. Thanks for your what you do. The nurses I had in the hospital during my sleeve surgery were so good to me and it made the process so much more bearable. Take care and good luck.

The process takes about 90 days anyway with all of the preliminary tests you have to do and then the pre op diet. If your insurance will pay at 100% (which is phenomenal) you might want to wait on that but start the process right away. During this 90 days, do your homework, do research and read everything you can get your hands on. Go to some support meetings and talk to some other patients. I had the VSG "sleeve" so I am partial to that surgery but you should know that if you have the lap band, you will have fees associated with maintenance and fills. I think they run about $250. If you lose this job with that insurance, will your next insurance pay for that? Its something to think about. Once you have had the sleeve, other than diet and exercise, there is no maintenance. Money is always an issue so don't necessarily make your decision on that but it is something you need to consider. Congratulations for thinking about WLS and good luck with what ever you choose.

I have taken xanex before surgery before but it was for skin cancer and they weren't putting me completely out. You should have asked your surgeon earlier if it was okay. Don't be nervous, it will be okay. They will do everything they can to make you comfortable and relaxed prior to surgery. They'll put you to sleep for the surgery so what is there to worry about? You will be fine. Just take a hot relaxing bath and drink a cup of hot tea. Read a book and go to bed. It will all be okay.

mine had Durabond too. They itched like crazy but I put Neosporin on them and it helped a lot. Of course I had to keep applying it abut every 6 or 8 hours but it helped stop the itching and the redness seemed to go away.

mayonnaise / fat free = oxymoron.

Throw that darn scale out the window!!! How dare it malfunction in that manner. I know you lost weight....it's the scale.

I had been researching WLS for the last ten years and attended many seminars but just wasn't ready to pull the trigger. About 10 years ago my boss' wife had WLS and she put together a packet of information and sent it to work for my boss to give to me. I was embarrassed and humiliated. I threw the packet in the garbage. Now, I had already been thinking about WLS but to have it flung in my face just didn't seem right, it was very uncomfortable. I think that is how it would be for most people. If there were some brochures or something we could anonymously (sorry can't remember how to spell that) leave around for people they might then be more comfortable receiving the information but when it's face to face it just feels more threatening. Now that I've had the surgery, I think its the best thing since sliced bread. Do I share it with others? NO, I'm still very private about it but if I had brochures to leave behind... I'd do it.

Weight loss journeys are as unique as the individuals going through the journey. What is right for you will happen for you. You will get out of the program what you put into it. Good luck.

Yep I had my upper endoscopy (EGD) and the colonoscopy all at the same time. The only thing that hurt was paying for it. It's all to ensure that everything is okay before you are on the surgery table. I'd be afraid of a doctor that didn't require it. Good luck.

Welcome Amanda. Glad you're here, we've been waiting on you! As proudgrammy said, this is the best place to be pre or post surgery. YOu will learn so much and everyone here has lots in common. Many nice folks here and you now have a lot more friends. Hope you are healing well.

You are the writer of your own story so you determine what is right or wrong. I personally think the journey starts the moment you make that decision to change your life, since nothing else could happen without that first life defining moment. Good luck.

I can't believe you were able to do all this on your first day at the gym. That is really awesome. I'm 5 1/2 weeks post op and I just started working out 2 1/2 weeks ago. I can only do 15 minutes on the treadmill, 5 minutes on the elliptical and 10 mins on the stationary bike. I do it twice per day but still....

Only my husband and my daughter know. I haven't even told my son or daughter-in-law. I haven told anyone else in my family or my husband's. I wanted to keep this private so I wouldn't have to discuss it with them and suffer from their judgment. Yeah they could possibly be supportive but I don't need it, so why take the chance. I am the only over weight person in my family so nobody understands what it is like to be overweight or how difficult the struggles have been. If I had some other medical procedure I wouldn't share that either. I'm a private person when it comes to certain things so if it ever comes out...they will have to understand. Sharing or not sharing is such a personal decision, I would never try to influence anyone either way but my choice has worked very well for me.

wow, you look great. congratulations on the good job you have done. Very impressive.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you Lynn.

I saw this online in another site and thought I would share with everyone. It got me to thinking about ways to insure my success: 1. Not taking Vitamins and supplements. 2. Assuming you have been cured of "obesity". We have to live a healthy WLS life-style for the rest of our lives or the weight WILL come back. 3. Drinking with meals. The tool of not drinking with meals is a critical key to long term success. 4. Not eating right. In today's society it is a challenge to eat right. Make it easy on yourself. Don't skip meals, don't keep unhealthy Snacks around, feed yourself at regular intervals so you won't make poor choices about meals. Consider having some personal absolutes such as: avoid all fried foods, avoid all sugary foods, always use low-fat options, or only eat in a restaurant once per week. 5. Not Drinking enough Water. Most WLS patients are at risk for dehydration. Drinking a minimum of 64oz per day will help you to avoid this risk. Drinking water flushes out your system, helps you lose weight and avoid kidney stones. 6. Grazing. Nibbling small amounts here and there throughout the day can make your weight creep up. Make a plan for what you will do when you crave food so you will do something constructive that will not involve eating. 7. Not exercising regularly. Exercise is one of the best weapons a WLS patient has to fight regain. It boosts your spirits and keeps our metabolism running strong. When you exercise you build muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn even at rest. 8. Eating the wrong carbs (or too many). Face it, refined carbs are addictive. If you eat them you will only crave more of them. Eat complex carbs. 9. Drinking Sodas. Some people claim that drinking sodas stretched their pouches. What we know for sure is that sodas keep you from getting hydration you need after WLS. Diet soda has been connected to weight gain in the general population. Find other drinks to fall in love with. 10. Drinking Alcohol. If you drank alcohol before WLS you will probably want to drink it post surgery. Most surgeons recommend waiting one year after surgery before drinking. Be very cautious, you may get drunker quicker which can cause health problems and put you in dangerous situations. Alcohol is connected to weight gain because it has 7 calories per gram where Protein and vegetables only have 4 calories per gram. It is noted that some people develop ad addiction to alcohol after WLS so be very cautious. If you notice a problem, contact your doctor.

jmcp, when you get cold feet....put on socks and jump in. You can either continue to live life as you are or you can choose to take the tool and the diet of a life time. The decision is always yours but I for one think there is only one right decision when you have already failed at weight loss in the past. Good luck to you.

By using that rationale one might say; Being a cancer patient, How can I rationalize taking this chemo and radiation when there are people dying of cancer all over the world; or why should I take this insulin for my diabetes when there are people all over the world dying of diabetes because they can't afford the medicine. One has to do what they can to make their own world better. This world is not equal nor fair... we all just play the cards we are dealt and make the best decisions we can with what we have.

Great question. I have the same problem. I threw out my old scales and bought new digital scales by Weight Watchers. These were not cheap scales by any means, but they are not accurate at all. I can step on the scales and see a difference of 6 pounds in the same day. I is depressing. I know weight is just a number on the scale but I would like to be able to track my progress through this journey. I am seeing progress through my wardrobe as my pants are falling off of me. If anyone can suggest an affordable and accurate scale I would be interested.

Missdeleon, I have no regrets. I'll be honest with you, those first two weeks were difficult for me but I knew it would get easier and it did. I have my 6 week check up on Thursday and I'm doing great. I eat what ever I want but... just a tiny bit. I only drink flavored water. I used kool aid drops and its the only way I can get my water down. Since surgery I can't stand the taste of plain water. weird, huh? I love having the sleeve because by myself I had no discipline or self will. My sleeve is small but it's definitely in charge. My only regret would be that I didn't have the surgery sooner. I'm 58 and wish I'd had it years ago. Better late than never I suppose.

100 pounds in 3 months? Holy Cow... you are my HERO. Sounds to me like you got it together. I can't offer any advice to a pro like you but just keep up the good work.

sorry it wouldn't let me finish my post. I look forward to my dose twice a day. They are quite yummy.

The Calcium Citrate that I have are Bariatric Advantage and they come in various flavors. I got the caramel. It tastes just like a caramel candy and I look forward to my "do