Ginger Snaps

I agree I can see the loss in your face but your neck looks MUCH leaner than before and your forearms (I know -- like that was your main concern) also look much leaner. Hard to see your waistline and such in that top, but I'm sure if you had something very fitted you'd see it there, too. Great job so far! Ginger

OK -- so this thread inspired me so I signed up on Plenty of Fish... If nothing else, I'm enjoying reading through profiles and looking at pics. I got 1-2 hits by email and actually ended up meeting a guy Saturday night at a local micro-brewery (probably not the best choice for me because I don't like beer). It was intimidating as all heck but I did it -- put myself out there and had a pretty nice time. Not a love match but pleasant enough to spend an evening with. Probably will be more fun when I'm down to goal weight and the self confidence is through the roof! lol Ginger

Incredible! Great job! Ginger

Had my cardiologist appointment this morning. I've never had any kinds of cardiac problems... she did an ECG, asked a ton of questions and in general, acted surprised I was even there for clearance. She made a comment about me not being "that" overweight and I felt like I needed to defend myself... "My BMI qualifies me with these other conditions... I want to do this now to prevent having problems in the future because of the track I'm on,... yadda yadda yadda." Was kind of surprised a cardiologist would have not felt like my weight was serious enough to take this step. Even though everything was normal, she wants to do a treadmill test -- basically as a "baseline" since I've never had one before. UGH... just one more thing to have to do before I can have the surgery. Fortunately they were able to squeeze me in as they are booked until mid-June and my surgery's scheduled for June 9th. They found an appointment at the end of May, so I'm booked. Ginger

My guess is this could be from several things -- lying in the hospital bed could have caused some nerve pain; possible blood clot cutting off circulation ... Call your doctor just to be safe! Ginger

I'm sorry your sister won't support you but she's most likely doing it out of a position of love. My brother called me once to bail him out of jail for a DUI but I just couldn't do it. I love him and care for him so much but I wouldn't be showing love to him if I helped him get out a situation that he deserved to be in because of bad choices. Kind of a tough love situation. Your sister probably feels like this is a huge risk and dangerous and that she is showing you love by not "enabling" you to hurt yourself. I'm not agreeing with her, I'm just guessing this might be some of her logic. Best wishes on however it works out. Ginger

@maizeashley What a great reason to tell -- so that your friends start planning things other than food events. My church had an ice cream social after church yesterday in honor of Mother's Day. Given the rate of obesity in our country, we need to figure out some other ways to Celebrate.

It's interesting how anything negative that happens after surgery tends to be blamed on the surgery. I had a bowel obstruction a few years ago and spent a week in the hospital. Certain it wasn't related to the surgery because I'm preop! lol My GI doc at the time told me that it was probably related to having c-sections -- scar tissue -- but that sometimes it just occurs and they can't ever figure out why. Once you've done your research and made the best decision you and your doctor can agree on, just go for it.

I put the "Eat Slower" app on my phone to start practicing preop. I KNOW I rush through meals and this app lets you set a timer between bites to slow you down.

No personal experience but someone in a support group recommended the "The Thin Woman's Brain".

You probably should ask your doctor but if it were me, I'd buy the children's liquid of whatever is recommended for the symptoms I'm having. Runny nose? Benadryl. Stuffy nose -- some child decongestant. I try to avoid the mixed products (ones with a variety of drugs for a variety of symptoms). The pharmacist can probably tell you about how much to take for an adult dosage. Or you could get some liquid Niquil cold. Best wishes -- hope you feel better soon. Ginger

Oh -- I hope you enjoy the day as much as you can and next time... watch out!

Mine's June 9th -- so ready for this! Best wishes!

I'd be celebrating! lol

Ask your doctor -- mine said he won't be sending me home with them. YMMV

OK -- I don't feel much like I have the right to start a rant since I'm still pre-op but... WHY OH WHY would you be asking on these boards for opinions about taking some weight loss supplement you found at GNC or the Vitamin Shoppe after taking the extreme measure of having weight loss surgery??? You can believe me when I say that if after my surgery I feel like I'm not losing as I should or I stop losing all together or even start gaining weight back, my surgeon and NUT will be seeing my p*ssed off face at their doors and we will be working on a plan. To go back to all the snake oil and supplements that never worked before surgery??? Aye-yi-yi... Rant over.

I hear ya' Cowgirl... it's harder when it seems like everyone you know is married and all their friends are married... very different scene from 20's or early 30's when there are still a lot of single people around. And I think some of the guys in the 50's area want younger trophy types anyway. I think it's funny how many guys on the online sites post pictures of their cars or fish they caught or motorcycles... things that other guys would be interested in. Just who are they trying to attract anyway??? lol

OMG -- how impressive!!! Congrats on the hard work paying off!

Incredible!!!! Looks like the hard work has paid off! Ginger

I don't have any personal knowledge/experience but just looking online would make me stay away from these pills. Even on the websites that sell it, it gets bad reviews and some of the ingredients could be considered dangerous (leading to dehydration and heart palpitations). It has high levels of caffeine and B Vitamins (that make you feel flush and hot). The top two ingredients are stimulants, there is a risk of side effects that are linked to stimulants such as insomnia, nausea, jitters, anxiety, and headaches. Mentha haplocalyx is used because it is a diuretic and can flush excess Water out of the body, making it appear as though fat has been lost, when it is only temporary water weight loss. Pausinystalia yohimbe is a stimulant and aphrodisiac. WebMD.com says, “Yohimbe, taken by mouth, is possibly unsafe.” It has been linked to rapid heartbeat, kidney failure, nausea, and seizure. http://dietpillreviewsite.com/dexyfen/ http://www.weightlosspills.net/dexyfen/ I'm wondering why you would be considering something like a diet pill instead of talking to you doctor to get good solid medical advice. I doubt any doctor is going to tell you this is safe to take after your sleeve. Ginger

I don't have any personal experience to share but I did see something recently in the news about robotic surgery and they said it costs more and insurance won't always cover the difference -- so that's something to check into.

The Dummies Guide to Weight Loss Surgery was recommended to me. I normally don't like those "dummy" books but this one was very clear and helpful.

Call your doctor and find out the status. If it was approved back in March, you may still be under the old requirements. Get all the information you can before you get too blue!

So sorry you hit a bump in the road but it's better to make sure you are as safe as possible. Best wishes.

I hope I have a similar experience soon. We had a special choir event at church and somewhere I missed the part about wearing a white blouse. I showed up in bright blue. But one of the choir members expects things like this and always brings extra tops in case somebody forgets. Well it was a fitted large and I'm a tight XL. I wore the blouse but felt like I was holding my breath the entire time and my back and shoulders ached from trying to hold my stomach in. And I still looked like a stuff sausage. So ready to get into losing mode!