Noor1969

It looks like I will be having my surgery on the 18th if my insurance authorization comes through in time. Obviously, I won't be eating solids for a while, but I've been thinking ahead of time about food that I can take with me when I'm away from home. I hear a lot of talk about Jerky, which I really enjoy eating, but IMHO isn't it tough on the sleeve since it's so chewy and tough? Wouldn't it be hard for the sleeve to digest? For those of you who eat jerky, how soon after your surgery were you able to eat it? Thanks.

I am so glad you posted these concerns and I'm really loving the responses. I'm supposed to get sleeved on the 18th and I'm worried about the same issues you are. I am really going to miss having food to turn to when I'm feeling bad. I'm going to miss being able to guzzle a bottle of Water. I warned my husband today to be patient with me as I'll be going through a lot of tough changes. I'm glad to read that all of these feelings are going to be temporary, and, God willing, I'll have no remorse at all about having the surgery. My surgeon does offer a monthly support group and of course there are the great people here. I will keep coming back.

Thank you for providing us with such useful advice. You have lost over TWO HUNDRED pounds--that is quite an accomplishment! Congratulations!

I'm sorry that life is so overwhelming right now. My dad died when he was 33 of a massive heart attack so I can certainly relate to how you're feeling. I know you are stressed but try to be as kind and patient with yourself as you can. My prayers are with you--I hope you have brighter days soon!

I am so sorry to hear about this sad news. I can't afford to contribute to your fund, but I can offer my prayers. Remember that God will never give you more than you're able to bear. My heart goes out to you and your family.

Yes, I would like to see that as well.

You are not alone. I am having some major insurance issues and my surgery date of 1/22 had to be postponed indefinitely due to authorization problems. I am now nearing the end of 4 weeks on the preop diet. My surgeon wants me to stay on it until my surgery date and yes the weight is coming off, but it's really getting tedious. After much begging she allowed me to have green veggies, egg whites and greek yogurt as well as the shakes and sugar free stuff. But this is really wearing on me. The funny part is that we had a major snowstorm here the day before I was supposed to have the surgery and we wouldn't have been able to dig out of our driveway in time. So maybe that was for the best. In my religion we are taught that if something doesn't work out at the time you wanted God may indeed have some betterment in causing a delay. Right now I am really angry with my insurance company and I just keep telling myself that God must have a reason for holding things up, LOL. It's something that I can't see or understand right now but there must be a reason. Please don't let this delay ruin your resolve to have this lifesaving surgery. God brought you this far, He's not going to let you down. I wish you all the best.

Please don't beat yourself up. I had so many food funerals that I gained 10 pounds from when I initially saw my surgeon in November to when I saw her again in December. Thankfully I'm doing the preop diet and have lost everything that I gained. But looking back I'm really angry at myself because the weight gain just made my goal farther away.

Wow! What a cool side effect of having the surgery! I am TERRIBLY nearsighted (my glass lenses are like Coke bottles, LOL) and would love to have my prescription go down. Hoping to be off the BP meds as well.

The hunger will go away. I am actually on the preop diet for an unspecified amount of time because my insurance company is taking forever to authorize my surgery and my surgeon wants me to stay on the diet. Originally I was to have 5 Protein shakes a day with green veggies (also allowed sugar free jello/popsicles plus calorie free beverages) but since I'm going to be on the diet for a while longer she has allowed me to have nonfat Greek yogurt and egg whites. The first 4 days were hard. I was fatigued and had terrible headaches from the carb detox. On the 5th day I felt a lot better and now I barely get hungry. I'm actually eating fewer calories than what my surgeon has allowed me to have. Believe me, things will get better if you just stick with it.

Wow, this is so inspirational, not just for the older folks, but for all of us! Congratulations!

Please don't be ashamed of yourself. I initially saw my surgeon in November and gained 10 pounds by the time I saw her again in December. Thankfully I am on the preop diet now and have lost all the weight I gained. I'm currently 257. You're among friends here. It doesn't matter how much you weigh, what does matter is your commitment to learning as much about the procedure as you can, and getting healthy! We're here to help you.

Hello everyone. I was wondering how soon you guys drove after surgery. My husband commutes to NYC by train and I drop him off and pick him up at the train station. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to drive once I have the surgery because if not, my husband will have to take the bus back and forth to the train station which will make his workday a lot longer. Any feedback would be appreciated.

This is WONDERFUL news! You sound so happy, and you deserve to be. I hope I do as well as you are post-surgery.

Oh by the way are you working out and if so what are you doing? Your skin looks nice and tight for someone who's lost over 100 pounds.

Wow! Look at that tummy! I hope I look half as good as you do when I reach my goal. Thanks for sharing!

This is so awesome. I hope I do as well as you ae doing post-surgery!

I'm not going to lie, the first 4 days of my 2 week preop diet were hard. I was detoxing from carbs and had really bad brain fog and headaches. After the 4th day they went away and I wasn't hungry anymore. I actually have to stay on the diet for a while longer as my surgery date was delayed. But so far I'm doing OK. You will be too.

Yeah, I didn't think of that...d'oh! The only issue is that the station's parking garage costs an arm and a leg. But if I'm not feeling up to driving it's an option.

I am only preop but I have a suggestion about the creamed soups. Have you considered adding unflavored Protein powder? You can add it to soups, oatmeal, hot Cereal, broth, sugar free pudding, etc. I ordered some from unjury because I heard you can barely notice the taste of it. Just be sure not to heat up your soups TOO hot because the powder will clump in the liquid.

Are any of these shows going to be replayed? I don't have a DVR and don't watch much TV, but I'd really like to see this series. A year or two ago they had another "600 Pound LIfe" series where they followed 4 WLS patients for seven years. The story of Melissa Morris was especially inspirational--I think she lost around 500 pounds after surgery! The episodes used to be on YouTube but they took them down. TLC also had a show called "600 Pound Mom" that featured Dominique Lanoise, who was 600 pounds and needed to lose 100 pounds before they would do surgery on her (this wasn't at the TX hospital, she was in FL). She was another one who made excuses for her condition when all she wanted to do was eat and get her daughters to wait on her hand and foot. She was also on a doctor-monitored weight loss program where everything was done for her--including having the food delivered to her home. She lied to her doctor that she was being compliant with the diet when she actually wasn't and the surgery had to be postponed, but she died before she could get the operation. I think you can find that show on YouTube.

Let's see, where do I start? 3 cheeseburger Mc Doubles, a dozen donuts, Cookies, Chinese food, Taco Bell, a few gallons of ice cream, a huge plate of Pasta, and one pizza. Not all at once , but over the course of a week. Yes, I am a food addict and binge eater. I'm on the preop diet now and am barely hungry. What a change!

I didn't see the show (don't watch much TV) but I did go to her Facebook page and I'm glad to see that people are calling her out on why she hasn't succeeded with the surgery.

I'm also preop. I've had insomnia for months and I don't know why. I have bipolar disorder and my mind races which may be part of the problem. I've tried melatonin, Ambien, Benadryl, and various tranquilizers--nothing seems to work. My PM medication does make me drowsy but I can't stay asleep. Last night I went to bed at 9PM, awoke at 1:30AM, and have been awake ever since. This stinks!

I was 75 pounds in kindergarten. I hit 200 pounds in the seventh grade and never went back. My goal is 160. I have no clue about what I will look like, or feel like for that matter, at a healthy weight. This is going to be quite a transition for me, but I'm looking forward to the results!