Noor1969

Please keep us informed when you're feeling up to it...see you on the loser's bench!

Hooray for you! For some reason, getting a bath towel around me is going to be a HUGE NSV. I can't wait!

I just wanted to say that IMHO this is the best post I have ever read on this forum so far. Every person who is on the fence or anxious about WLS should read it. Kudos to you!

You're going to be just fine. Thanks in advance for keeping us posted. See you on the loser's bench!

Unfortunately, Probiotics haven't helped me at all. My PCP recommended Colace as she says it's very gentle and I can take it "forever." I take 4 a day and that seems to help, although I still have problems every now and then. My gastroenterologist also told me that Colace was OK, and also gave me a prescription for Lactulose (a very mild laxative.) It was given to me in the hospital when I had gallbladder surgery and it did the trick. I'm very concerned about constipation post-surgery and plan to stay on the Colace and use the Lactulose as necessary. I also take Benefiber but I'm not sure if it's helping or not. Constipation is truly awful.

Bipolar person chiming in here...I can't think of how hellacious my life would be without meds. I'm really sorry you're in this situation. I agree that you should ask your doctor for samples. I was able to save over $200 thanks to my doctor who had samples of the very expensive (but necessary) psych med that I take. Hubby & I just finished up 3 months of COBRA which cost us over $1K/month, so I can see how that might not be feasible for you right now. I agree that you should think about just paying for the meds out of pocket if you can. Hopefully they have a generic version which will of course be cheaper. My final suggestion is to see if you have a sliding-scale mental health clinic in your area. There's often a waiting list, but you will be able to get the care that you need at little or no cost to you. I have used the services of two clinics in the past and for the most part got good care. They probably won't spend as much "quality time" with you as a private doc would but if all you need is medication management that probably won't be an issue anyway. I wish you all the best, and BTW, you are NOT a loser!

I heard about this company from my surgeon. If you go to www.bariatricchoice.com/samples they will send you some freebies!

Hang in there...I wish I was "suffering" along with you, but I don't get sleeved until February. I will have to endure the pre-op diet also. You're not alone!

This is an awesome thread! I'm getting sleeved in (hopefully) February and it's so great to read about all of your experiences! I can't wait to get healthy. Thanks everyone!

WOW! Look how your tummy has shrunk! That's my worst area so this is very motivational for me. Keep up the fantastic work!

I'm a newbie so I really haven't been through this yet, but is it possible that you're retaining Water from all of the IV Fluid they pumped into you on the day of your surgery? I've even heard of some people experiencing a gain right after surgery. Please keep us posted.

Down into the two hundreds...yes, you do deserve a pat on the back! I can't wait for my surgery!

You sound determined to succeed! I'm still doing all of my preop testing so I haven't done the diet yet...but my surgeon requires it. I'm not looking forward to it, although my body really needs the detox. I know all about head hunger. Right now I'm eating everything I can shove into my mouth b/c I think I'll never be able to eat it again. I wish this surgery fixed your head as well as your stomach, but it doesn't. It is up to us to deal with our head hunger and it is SO hard. Last night my husband and I discussed whether therapy would be a good choice for me to deal with these compulsions. I haven't decided yet, but I'm certainly considering it. Stay strong and keep your eyes on the prize...a healthier, happier you that won't have to shop in the "fat girl" stores anymore! You can do it!

Wow! You look great! I like how you mentioned "Victory Secret" instead of "Victoria's Secret" because that truly is a victory for you! Congratulations on your weight loss.

Wow, I'm really glad that I read this thread. I'm hoping to get sleeved in February and I've been DREADING the pre-op diet my surgeon requires. Right now my eating is so out of control with last meals and food funerals, that I've been having serious doubts about ever being able to succeed. Your comments have been so motivational. I can choose to see this as a punishment, or I can instead see this as the gateway for a happier, healthier life. It's all up to me. To be brutally honest, I've been making myself so sick lately by binging on carbs and sugar that the liquid diet should bring me some sort of relief. I think my body is finally telling me that it can't take anymore. This "last meal" thing is so self destructive. I mean, there's no way I can eat every last thing that I want to taste before the surgery. But I'm doing a great job of trying. It's only going to put more weight on me and make things harder for my surgeon in the long run. I can succeed at this. I must.

Hello Everyone, I'm someone who's ALWAYS hungry. Hopefully when I get sleeved next February I can get things under control. I was wondering how long you post-op guys feel full...liquids/purees vs. soft foods/regular food? Thanks in advance!

I LOVE palak paneer! I make a "healthy" version with tofu instead of paneer--lower in fat. My husband is from Pakistan so we cook South Asian food a lot. I've been worried about being able to eat Indian/Pakistani food after being sleeved. I suppose if I stay away from the rice and the naan bread I should be OK. Thanks for posting!

I have the Blendtec which I also got from costco, it's on the same level as the Vitamix, meaning that it costs about $300+. Yeah, I know that sounds like a lot of money for a blender, but it has been SO worth it. I'm only pre-op but I'm experimenting with Protein powders...yesterday I made a protein "ice cream" with 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, 8 oz. of 1% milk, a dash of vanilla, and a HUGE handful of frozen strawberries. My blender ground them right up and made the most delicious, smoothest frozen dessert I have ever tasted. A cheaper blender would have left chunks behind, IMHO. I like my Protein drinks "slushy" so I needed a blender that was good at breaking up ice. I plan to make more of these "protein ice creams" once I'm sleeved. The Blendtec is also good at making "green smoothies" which is whole juice veggies and fruits. Hope this helps!

I don't have a surgery date yet, but I'm shooting for February. Preop tests have all gone well, I just need a 2nd NUT visit and a visit with the pulmonologist. My PCP is going to get a report from all of the doctors I've seen so she can give me the green light for surgery. Then at that point I suppose my surgeon's office submits all of my documentation to my insurance company--hope that process doesn't take too long. I'm excited and hopefully these last few ekes will fly by!

I'm still in the prep stages of my surgery (looking to get sleeved in February) but my surgeon does the 2 week pre op liquid diet and I am dreading it. I'm having all kinds of "last meals" and "food funerals" to prepare for all of the stuff that I can't eat again. I know this is wrong, because it's just going to make me gain even more weight and make my surgeon's job harder. I'm trying to psych myself up for the 2 weeks of liquids by drinking a Protein shake every day and doing my research about what Protein powder samples I'd like to try. Nashua Nutrition lets you buy a sample of just about all of their Protein flavors for just a couple bucks a sample. Not much advice I can give you except hang in there. I've been on liquid diets before and I know how difficult they can be. Try not to stress yourself out over your mistakes--just learn from them and move on. You are not alone, I'm going to be going through the same thing in just a few weeks. Keep your eye on the prize and remember the more you adhere to the prep diet, the easier it will be for your surgeon. You can do this!

I have hidradenitis (ugh, I HATE it.) For those who don't know what it is, it's a (usually) chronic skin infection of sorts that show up in big boils in the crotch area, under the breasts, in the armpits, and can be anywhere else on the body as well, but usually wherever the sweat glands are. From what I understand, there's no cure. Outbreaks generally don't go away on their own and you need to take antibiotics. I haven't had an outbreak for a while so my skin is in pretty good shape, but I can see where a surgeon may not want to operate. I guess it really depends on how severe the outbreak is and where it's located on the body. I would also talk to your dermatologist to see what they have to say. There's some good news, though. Obesity seems to trigger hidradenitis outbreaks, so as the weight comes off you may notice them becoming less severe. In my case, I had them really bad when I was 324 pounds and now that I'm down to 260 I get them a lot less often. I'm hoping that they will go away altogether when I get sleeved and come down to a healthy weight. Hope this helps!

Hello everyone--glad to be here! Well, I had my first appointment with my surgeon today and I am ready and rarin' to go to get sleeved. I'm now starting to schedule the laundry list of pre-op testing that needs to be done. I'm hoping to get a surgery date in February. I'm feeling overwhelmingly positive that things will go well and that the operation will be a success. However, there are a couple things that I'm really worried about: I'm going to have to take a cardiac stress test. While I can walk on a treadmill, I obviously can't walk too fast or too far. I can go about 3 miles/hour or so, but can't sustain that pace for very long. i'm really scared that I'm going to fail this test. From what I understand, they run the treadmill until you're pretty much exhausted. i don't know how long I'm going to be able to last. My surgeon has reassured me that she's had plenty of patients who were much heavier than me who passed the test and that I shouldn't be worried. But I am. I have an anxiety disorder and the idea of getting my heart pounding really frightens me. What happens if you ask them to stop the test? Does that automatically means you fail? Is there a certain heart rate (BPM) you have to reach? So...what was the stress test like for you? Do I have a reason to be scared? Also, my surgeon is going to install a drain. From what I've heard, removing the drain hurts like crazy. That's stressing me out too. What has your experience been like? Funny, I'm really not afraid of the surgery itself, just these two things. Any feedback you could give me would be SO appreciated! :wub: