I will what I want

To say that it is like grabbing a higher prescription is disingenuous to my entire argument and I respectfully disagree. Best - Shellie

How are you doing RJ?

After months of tormenting myself over making a decision I finally decided to move ahead with VSG. Everyone is supportive. I just started telling the friends I trust and while they are supportive and encouraging, they also respond with "but you're not that big!" I'm tall so it's easy to hide my 240 pounds but really, I wear a size 3x and I'm sick of it. My BMI is just over 35 but I have severe sleep apnea so my insurance will cover it and I qualify. My OSA is so bad that my machine is at such a high pressure I have to tape my mouth shut with medical tape. I am moving forward and my friends are supportive, especially after I tell them how much I weigh and the sleep apnea part, but it's weird because I've always heard how big I am, now I'm too small? I am trying to be rational about this....the benefits outweigh risks etc etc. I guess I was surprised at how shocked they were that I'd go the WLS route. I would love some reassurance from people who have similar stats to me - or know people who do - that at the end of the day they are happy with WLS. I also have to admit to that part of my thinking that says maybe if I just try one more time.......(like that will ever work). Again, my friends and family are supportive. It's just their shocked reaction that's got me...

It's either laugh or cry :-)

I am waiting for my surgery date and was looking back through my posts/threads in anticipation. I didn't reply to everyone on this thread AND I want to make sure each and everyone knows how much I appreciate your responses. I went window shopping for size 12 a couple of days ago for inspiration and it was really fun. Thanks again!

I'm curious - is this a new phenomenon - vets leaving? Or has this always been the case?

Here is the board where I have gotten a lot of great info: http://www.apneaboard.com

These are fabulous points...so fabulous, I fact, I used them today during a discussion with a good friend about my upcoming surgery. She told me not to lose to much because "people often get to thin aft WLS). After I mentioned these points she totally got it - especially the part about how we are so used to seeing certain people large that it informs our identity of them. Anyway - thanks for your insight!

Thank you so much for making a request! Thank you for hanging around to help out us newbies! Have a great week everyone, celebrate your new found freedom from obesity and in my case, preparing for it! Much affection, Shellie

I'm happy to help - I am not an expert by any definition but I do have a lot of experience optimizing my machine. Here is a great big dose of good luck to everyone - May we all eventually get off the machine...and until then I'm personally grateful everyday that I do have an effective treatment for my sleep apnea.

I haven't heard about that happening. Did it change your number of hours used? Or just the stats on results? Mine changes everyday since it does a new daily result and keeps a rolling average for the weekly, monthly and yearly stats. It also zeros out the daily result at noon everyday, so if I want to check my numbers I have to remember by noon. Hope it didn't mess anything up for you. I've never heard of anything negative coming from changing the settings on a machine. Best - Shellie

I just realized....I gave up on jeans a couple of years ago. I have exactly one pair of pants that have pockets. Everything else is stretchy....I'm am so looking forward to hitting the thrift store for actual jeans :-)

Sorry it's taken a few days to get back to you. I usually step up or down by half intervals or less...however i have gone as much as 2 or 3 when my weight changes a lot. Watch your AHI number. You want it less than 5. I feel best when it is less than 2. If you get too much air in your stomach you will know to turn it down. Also watch your leak. It should be less than 40. If it is over 40 you will not get enough air and have events but the machine will not count them correctly in the AHI because it gets thrown off. In order to get my leak below 40 I have to tape my mouth shut with medical tape. It's miserable and one of the main reasons I am having WLS. Please feel free to PM me if you need more help. Good luck!

I get your concern. The insurance companies want to make sure your are compliant with use and are looking at the number of hours used. When you change your settings it does not affect the hours used in any way and it is not possible to change them either purposefully or inadvertently. The way to tell if you need to go up in pressure is to look at the number of AHIs. It must be less than 5. I actually feel best when it's less than 2. The machine needs to be turned down if you are getting air in your stomach which you will feel with pain, belching and/or extra farting. I lost about 50 pounds a few years ago and had to turn the machine down a lot. My surgery is about a month away and after I plan on systematically turning it down - always watching the AHI so I don't go too low too fast. Also, don't make huge adjustments. Change the pressure in small increments each night. The other important number to look at is your leak. Each machine measures leak a little differently and in general the leak should be below 40 (not sure of the units). If it is higher you will have events but they will not be recorded properly in the AHI number. In order not to leak I have to tape my mouth shut and keep all the parts like new, makes a huge difference. My pressures are high - IPAP is high as 21 and EPAP runs about 5 below that. (Hence the need for tape) There is very detailed info on the web about each model of machine and more info than you could ever want on optimizing your settings. Good luck to everyone. I'm so hoping to get rid of my machine.

I'm having a huge craving for Fresca. Does anyone know of an appropriate substitution? I was thinking a lemon-lime drink...but I think Fresca is more of a Grapefruit flavor. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your awesome ideas. I have a sodaStream so what I've done so far is barely carbonate the water and add both sf grapefruit and lemon/lime flavors. I will also try the syntrex plus lemonade version.

Just realized this thread is in the guys forum. I can't delete my post from the iPad app, best I can do is edit it to say nothing at all. :-)

I feel the same way. I'm not excited to have WLS - it feels like a necessary evil. I look forward to the results, of course, but I'm not doing handstands at the thought of major surgery and a post-op liquid diet. Perhaps if I were younger, I could get excited because I would be a hottie...but at 47, well....not so much. This also feels a bit like a spiritual journey and those always come with reflection and emotion for me.

Hilarious!

If you got into the clinical menu then it wouldn't have a block. What machine do you have?

You can unlock and adjust your Cpap yourself. I do it all the time to keep my events low. Google unblock Cpap with the name of your machine and you will find instructions. There are also message boards like this one for sleep apnea where you can get the info. It's not a big deal at all. Once you know how to get to the clinical side of your machine you can see all your results nightly and know how to adjust. For example, I checked my results and I was having 3.2 events an hour. Clinically this okay but I've been having those dreaded morning headaches. I upped my IPAP and EPAP by .5 and this am my AHI was back down to around 1.0. Don't know why I am having more events since my weight is stable. It's great to adjust your machine yourself and once I read up on it I was able to fine tune my Cpap (actually a VPAP) and I get much better results. I hate having sleep apnea and I hope it goes away after my vsg, in the meantime, it's a literal life saver. My AHI without it is severe...75 events an hour! Good luck. If you get stuck PM me and I'll see if I can help.

This is a very interesting thread! It sounds like what you want has totally changed. That is actually supported by research that shows food selection changes after vsg and Rny independent of post surgery healing restrictions. So, Hooray! I'm about a month away from my surgery date and feeling nervous so I love success stories like yours. Thanks so much for sharing AND for your transparency about how it was for you prior to surgery! Rock on!

I do this and feel so much better...I didn't know it had a name! On the other hand, just doubling your meds is very dangerous!

Arg... Remember when that was what diets were all about....high carb/low fat. Felt awful and hungry all the time..... Thank goodness that's passé now!

I have just started a low carb diet which is required by my WLS practice prior to surgery (before the 2 weeks of protein shakes) and also seems to be standard practice for WLS success. I was shocked to discover how low the carbs are in my plan. 40 to 80 grams. Is this standard? I've tried these plans before and I never adjusts to them. My body always felt weird and after a few months I would get depressed (which the Social Worker who cleared my surgery said is a real Phenomena because your body uses carbs to make serotonin. ) I know it will be different after surgery since I'll have a tiny stomach and a reset metabolism to help me along. Just curious how everyone's adjustment went to a low carb lifestyle after surgery? I suspect that most of us really liked carbs prior to surgery - did any of that change afterward? Do you plan on staying at ultra low carbs for maintenance as well? Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!