bobbyswife

THAT is FUNNY! Love it.

@BitterSweet* while I agree with you, it seems that most VSG patients have little control over that, especially in the very beginning.

Jess I think you're right. Genes are in the forefront. I suppose when it comes right down to it I want the weight loss more than I care about the skin. But true, who knows what it would be like if you didn't do anything. I suppose if I come out of this looking like a flying squirrel it will be what it will be.

I hope that the doctors and surgeon on your team will use your experience to educate themselves and others about possible risks and complications. You say you had really bad reflux before the sleeve?

Thanks WL WARRIOR! I'd love to hear what you come up with from your studies

Compression! That's a great one!

How are you doing now, Tammy?

So, I was at a support group meeting last night - my first one - and one of the things they were talking about was not being able to chew gum for the first 3-6 months because it causes you to get air bubbles in your saliva and it can cause gas pain and bloating. I am a huge gum lover and one of those people that's horrified of bad breath. In the past when I've done high protein diets and gone into ketosis, bad breath was a major factor, so it was gum-gum-gum- and more gum! What do you post sleevers do to control the dreaded halitosis? Would sugar free mints be acceptable?

@@JamieLogical can you post some info on the beef gelatin?

Well, there is that :/

Ingles in Auburn filled mine when I had my tonsils out back in 2007 and I had back to back bottles.

I'm in NOLA this week for work but when I get back Friday I'll look at some dates and toss out some suggestions. Sound good?

Whew! The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind! I went from considering Mexico if things were going to take forever with my Dr. to getting a call from my Dr. with some GREAT NEWS! My insurance has no preliminary requirements! They have put me on the "fast track" for VSG and I will be having surgery on Dec. 18th!!! I'm so excited. I got a date! I got a date! I got a date! I'm doing the happy dance! So many emotions going on right now. I jump from ecstatic to scared, and then from worried to anxious. Mostly just delighted though. I know the next few months are going to fly by, but I also hate the waiting. I've had an upset tummy for 24 hours now because my nerves are all over the place. This IS the right decision though. Even my other Dr's all agree this is going to be the best thing for me in my situation. December 18th will be here before I know it! Now I just have to wrap my head around it and decide how many people I'm willing to talk to about it. It feels very private, but I'm also not ashamed of it. Oh well, time will tell what I decide to do and I'll cross that bridge when I get there!

I have Anthem BCBS

Sharon, are you comparing yourself to others? Because I've found in every walk of life, that's never healthy. What are your stats after 5 weeks?

Keep us posted!

Unfortunately I'm not able to walk at all because of chronic arthritis. Hopefully when the weight comes off I'll be able to be active again

This is great. Does anyone have any suggestions where? I was thinking the library but that might be hard to stay quiet haha. I am also willing to offer my home unless that makes someone uncomfortable.

I'm in Bethlehem. My dr. is Robert Richard at his Duluth office

I live in Bethlehem (next door to Winder)! I work in Buford. Would anyone want to start a meetup group? My dr. is Robert Richard in Duluth.

Just out of curiosity, if we paid for the Kindle version (I ordered mine a few days ago), can we get a deal on the printed version if we want both? I know some publishers offer that, and I wanted to check - I'd love to have both.

@@angierue you couldn't have said it better! To everyone else - This is a HOT topic and it's sad that this one sensitive issue has gotten people so heated up that a few are almost verbally bashing some that choose to share. It's a personal choice for everyone. I'm new here but I've spent an enormous amount of time on other support forums and the OP asked for opinions and that's what she got. But I think we need to all remember to love and support each other no matter what anyone chooses to share or not share. Love and light people. Love and light!

I'm liking the renegade idea lol

Hey Crystal, I am in the same boat, although I did tell my boss and a close coworker. The reason being that if heaven forbid, anything did go wrong and I needed more time off, someone would at least know what was going on. That being said, I still think it's a very personal choice and it's ultimately up to you to decide who and what you tell people. I have told my family (because my surgery is 7 days before Christmas and I'll be drinking turkey broth instead of eating turkey and dressing) and a few very close friends. Surely there is someone in the office at the school that you can confide in? I wouldn't tell a fib about it though. It's too hard to cover your tracks and it starts a string of lies that you won't have the energy to keep up with, when you need to be focused on healing and your new life. xoxo

I went for my first support group meeting last night and Bobby wanted to go with me. We had a great time! It wasn't what I expected at all. I think I had in my mind that it would be a whole slew of people in a big room talking to each other for a while and then maybe a speaker or something. But it wasn't that at all, in fact it was just a large conference room table with about 10 people there. Only 4 of us were patients, everyone else was support. It was great to see everyone supporting their loved ones. The place I went wasn't my normal support group that I'll go to with the staff of my surgeon that meets once a month, but rather this one was lead by a friend of mine that is a nurse at another surgeons office. He was sleeved a year and a half ago and has lost 280 lbs. He's now 202 lbs and 5'10". His wife and I grew up together. She's only 4'11" and has lost 76 lbs. She's now 163. It was great to actually talk face to face with him (I haven't seen him in person since his surgery), and be able to get answers to a lot of questions. This support group meets every Friday night and is closer to my house than my surgeons group, so I'm looking forward to going to that one more often.