Trillium

The science is moving so fast in this area that I actually scouted around for a skinny bugs fecal transplant, but my biologist relatives, internist and bariatric surgeon all assured me it would many years before such a thing is more effective than dangerous. My husband is thin as a rail while eating like a horse, and after 20 years you would think I've been exposed to all his bacteria.

I suspect the fix will turn out to be very individual, with some transplants effective and some not.
Meanwhile, surgery is the treatment with the best outcomes. So here I go, on December 29th. I'll be really mad if a tried and true EverSlimEnema comes out in 2015!

In my experience, the materials given to bariatric patients and "support" from paraprofessionals and insurance company nursing consultants have not caught up to the science. (The welcome brochure from the hospital has a scale indicating "calories in / calories out." Bogus!)
They are still talking about emotional eating and obesity as a failure of self-control. This is not only dated but cruel, and counterproductive. My surgeon is the only one among her staff that is apparently willing/able to discuss the complex mix of genetics, gut microbes, hormones, and obesogenic factors that may underly my BMI. Imagine a breast cancer patient being forced to walk a gauntlet of people who assumed her morally culpable for her DNA, toxic mattress, drinking Water, medications, stress levels, etc, and asked her on every form, in every conversation, "what have you done?" and "what are you doing?" to prevent these cells from invading your body.
This is not trivial, as our ideas about our own obesity appear to be critical to success after surgery:

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/10/23/how.people.view.their.own.weight.influences.bariatric.surgery.success
I view my excess weight like it's a cancer, a growth I do not want, did not ask for, and YES, may have encouraged through any number of life choices. (For starters, I should have refused all those antibiotics. I should have been eating anti-inflammatory foods, not low fat, in my crazy youth. I should have married someone who cooked, and moved to a bike-friendly city. So many wrong choices!)

If some day, in spite of our efforts to protect them from cancer and obesity, my children end up seeking treatment, I hope they get it from professionals whose prejudices do not infect their care. Who give them facts, not unsupported ideas, about the best route to health.

Oh, and about all those inflammatory processed bariatric "foods" my clinic is pushing? Don't get me started.
/endrant

While I understand the point you are trying to make, this argument does not make any sense to me. First of all, neither WLS or other weight loss programs are illegal anywhere in CO. The same is not true of marijuana, cities still can and do prohibit it within their limits.
Second, though WLS is not covered by the ACA in Colorado, neither is marijuana whether for medical or recreational use. In fact, it is not covered in any state, as it is still illegal on a federal level.
Third, the "wise elected officials" did not pass the marijuana measures in Colorado, the voters did that. Have the voters been given the same opportunity to decide what should be covered by the ACA? Maybe if they were, you would discover how "open minded" they really can be.
Last, if marijuana is more of a "medical necessity" than WLS, why is it so heavily taxed? WLS is considered a medical procedure, meaning that not only is it not taxed, it is federally tax deductible as a medical expense. I challenge anyone to legitimately use weed as a tax deduction.
Please don't take this as meaning that I am against WLS being covered, I agree 100% that it should be. I'm simply pointing out that you can't fairly compare apples to oranges. If this is something you feel strongly about, perhaps you should look into what it would take to get it on the ballot. The marijuana movement started because somebody recognized something that they did not feel was right, and started the process to change it.
Just my two cents.

In my experience, the materials given to bariatric patients and "support" from paraprofessionals and insurance company nursing consultants have not caught up to the science. (The welcome brochure from the hospital has a scale indicating "calories in / calories out." Bogus!)
They are still talking about emotional eating and obesity as a failure of self-control. This is not only dated but cruel, and counterproductive. My surgeon is the only one among her staff that is apparently willing/able to discuss the complex mix of genetics, gut microbes, hormones, and obesogenic factors that may underly my BMI. Imagine a breast cancer patient being forced to walk a gauntlet of people who assumed her morally culpable for her DNA, toxic mattress, drinking Water, medications, stress levels, etc, and asked her on every form, in every conversation, "what have you done?" and "what are you doing?" to prevent these cells from invading your body.
This is not trivial, as our ideas about our own obesity appear to be critical to success after surgery:

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/10/23/how.people.view.their.own.weight.influences.bariatric.surgery.success
I view my excess weight like it's a cancer, a growth I do not want, did not ask for, and YES, may have encouraged through any number of life choices. (For starters, I should have refused all those antibiotics. I should have been eating anti-inflammatory foods, not low fat, in my crazy youth. I should have married someone who cooked, and moved to a bike-friendly city. So many wrong choices!)

If some day, in spite of our efforts to protect them from cancer and obesity, my children end up seeking treatment, I hope they get it from professionals whose prejudices do not infect their care. Who give them facts, not unsupported ideas, about the best route to health.

Oh, and about all those inflammatory processed bariatric "foods" my clinic is pushing? Don't get me started.
/endrant

In my experience, the materials given to bariatric patients and "support" from paraprofessionals and insurance company nursing consultants have not caught up to the science. (The welcome brochure from the hospital has a scale indicating "calories in / calories out." Bogus!)
They are still talking about emotional eating and obesity as a failure of self-control. This is not only dated but cruel, and counterproductive. My surgeon is the only one among her staff that is apparently willing/able to discuss the complex mix of genetics, gut microbes, hormones, and obesogenic factors that may underly my BMI. Imagine a breast cancer patient being forced to walk a gauntlet of people who assumed her morally culpable for her DNA, toxic mattress, drinking Water, medications, stress levels, etc, and asked her on every form, in every conversation, "what have you done?" and "what are you doing?" to prevent these cells from invading your body.
This is not trivial, as our ideas about our own obesity appear to be critical to success after surgery:

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/10/23/how.people.view.their.own.weight.influences.bariatric.surgery.success
I view my excess weight like it's a cancer, a growth I do not want, did not ask for, and YES, may have encouraged through any number of life choices. (For starters, I should have refused all those antibiotics. I should have been eating anti-inflammatory foods, not low fat, in my crazy youth. I should have married someone who cooked, and moved to a bike-friendly city. So many wrong choices!)

If some day, in spite of our efforts to protect them from cancer and obesity, my children end up seeking treatment, I hope they get it from professionals whose prejudices do not infect their care. Who give them facts, not unsupported ideas, about the best route to health.

Oh, and about all those inflammatory processed bariatric "foods" my clinic is pushing? Don't get me started.
/endrant

Wow...that's so sad...guess I'm lucky...I go to a bariatric center of excellence, so they are focused on good eating and understand the genetics of the problem.
My therapist teaches Success Habits and is an addiction counselor AND she had WLS about 10 years ago and is still maintaining... she is PERFECT...love her to pieces!!!
I guess, as always, everyone is different...for once, I am one of the lucky ones

Well, this is one of the things I like about my bariatric center. For the first time in my life I began to understand obesity as a "disease process" and all the REAL reasons I could not maintain a weight loss without WLS.
I agree with you though, and alot of nutritionalists are freaking clueless. Pre WLs, I went to a nutritionalist who apparently thought I was illiterate and clueless because we played with plastic fake food. Like, if only I really understood the difference between a potato and brocoli. If only I could grasp that 1/2 cup is half of a cup.... then i would clearly have control over my obesity. It was all I could do to refrain from saying "I am fat, not necessarily stupid"

In my experience, the materials given to bariatric patients and "support" from paraprofessionals and insurance company nursing consultants have not caught up to the science. (The welcome brochure from the hospital has a scale indicating "calories in / calories out." Bogus!)
They are still talking about emotional eating and obesity as a failure of self-control. This is not only dated but cruel, and counterproductive. My surgeon is the only one among her staff that is apparently willing/able to discuss the complex mix of genetics, gut microbes, hormones, and obesogenic factors that may underly my BMI. Imagine a breast cancer patient being forced to walk a gauntlet of people who assumed her morally culpable for her DNA, toxic mattress, drinking Water, medications, stress levels, etc, and asked her on every form, in every conversation, "what have you done?" and "what are you doing?" to prevent these cells from invading your body.
This is not trivial, as our ideas about our own obesity appear to be critical to success after surgery:

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/10/23/how.people.view.their.own.weight.influences.bariatric.surgery.success
I view my excess weight like it's a cancer, a growth I do not want, did not ask for, and YES, may have encouraged through any number of life choices. (For starters, I should have refused all those antibiotics. I should have been eating anti-inflammatory foods, not low fat, in my crazy youth. I should have married someone who cooked, and moved to a bike-friendly city. So many wrong choices!)

If some day, in spite of our efforts to protect them from cancer and obesity, my children end up seeking treatment, I hope they get it from professionals whose prejudices do not infect their care. Who give them facts, not unsupported ideas, about the best route to health.

Oh, and about all those inflammatory processed bariatric "foods" my clinic is pushing? Don't get me started.
/endrant

I am getting my sleeve done in early December by Dr. Judy Chen at Swedish. Currently trying to lose weight with phentermine and Protein Shakes (which I hate). How much did you lose before surgery?

How crazy-making is that? Can you get your doc to prescribe an appetite suppressant?

I have been eating 1200 calories a day with the help of phentermine, prescribed by the surgeon who is going to do my sleeve. I am still waiting for insurance approval, and was cautioned by my doctor that if I lose too much, I risk dropping below the threshold (40 BMI unless comorbitidy, then 35 BMI).

Damned if you do, damned if you don't! I am tempted to show up at my next appointment with rocks in my pockets.

I like your sense of humor. The pot industry IS well organized. Travel guru Rick Steves helped get the votes here in Seattle, and I was persuaded to vote yes to legalize to reduce crime, bring in public revenue, save billions on enforcement, etc. etc. Also, my sister really needs it for pain management, and now she can stop freaking out when the doorbell rings.
I noticed that our local Jack in the Box has been advertising a "munchies menu." Maybe junk food sales will go up?
Washington State doesn't cover bariatrics in its insurance exchange, either. We fatties SHOULD organize and persuade states that surgery saves lives, reduces lifetime insurance costs, and (this is the tougher sell) brings in revenue.
What do skinny people spend more on?

I like your sense of humor. The pot industry IS well organized. Travel guru Rick Steves helped get the votes here in Seattle, and I was persuaded to vote yes to legalize to reduce crime, bring in public revenue, save billions on enforcement, etc. etc. Also, my sister really needs it for pain management, and now she can stop freaking out when the doorbell rings.
I noticed that our local Jack in the Box has been advertising a "munchies menu." Maybe junk food sales will go up?
Washington State doesn't cover bariatrics in its insurance exchange, either. We fatties SHOULD organize and persuade states that surgery saves lives, reduces lifetime insurance costs, and (this is the tougher sell) brings in revenue.
What do skinny people spend more on?

I like your sense of humor. The pot industry IS well organized. Travel guru Rick Steves helped get the votes here in Seattle, and I was persuaded to vote yes to legalize to reduce crime, bring in public revenue, save billions on enforcement, etc. etc. Also, my sister really needs it for pain management, and now she can stop freaking out when the doorbell rings.
I noticed that our local Jack in the Box has been advertising a "munchies menu." Maybe junk food sales will go up?
Washington State doesn't cover bariatrics in its insurance exchange, either. We fatties SHOULD organize and persuade states that surgery saves lives, reduces lifetime insurance costs, and (this is the tougher sell) brings in revenue.
What do skinny people spend more on?

How crazy-making is that? Can you get your doc to prescribe an appetite suppressant?

I have been eating 1200 calories a day with the help of phentermine, prescribed by the surgeon who is going to do my sleeve. I am still waiting for insurance approval, and was cautioned by my doctor that if I lose too much, I risk dropping below the threshold (40 BMI unless comorbitidy, then 35 BMI).

Damned if you do, damned if you don't! I am tempted to show up at my next appointment with rocks in my pockets.

Hi Pamela,
I am going in next week for my last appointment before setting a date for surgery, and I'm excited and nervous. Not sure yet if my surgery will be in October or November (I have a family reunion to schedule around), but would love to support you through yours.
How is it going?
Julie