drmeow

Just wondering how the pain from this compares with having a C-section, for anyone who's had both. I've had 2 of those, and had difficulty getting up from bed for about a week, but I had to, to take care of my babies! Horizontal incisions with both, but hip to hip. I had a laparascopic gallbladder removal a few years before that and it was nowhere near as uncomfortable - had it out on Thurs and went back to work (full time, physical job) on Mon. Maybe this is somewhere between those 2?

All of those in the "good guys" section still have some type of sweetener. I've been eating unsweetened natural Peanut Butter for years - my local grocery store has a brand called Crazy Richard's - ingredients peanuts, salt. Or Smuckers Natural. or get peanuts and grind them fresh at a health food store or even in something like a Vitamix.

should read "aren't getting a lot of carbs"

I'm not post-op yet, but I have done a ton of research on nutrition over the last few years (and I have a science background). It IS true that if you eat too little, your body thinks it's starving and slows down your metabolism. When I did strict low carb eating, I could eat 1800, sometimes even 2000 cal per day as long as my carbs were 25 gm or less and still lose weight easily. It's not a simple "calories in, calories out" equation like we've been told for years and years. Carb calories trigger insulin, which triggers storage of those calories. Certainly, eating too much is just as bad, but don't discount the idea that you might be eating too little. You mentioned yogurt - depending on the brand it can have a lot of sugars - both added and natural fruit sugar - you might want to look at labels and make sure you are getting a lot of carbs that way. If you use milk for your protein shakes, milk has pretty high carbs, esp skim milk (remove the fat, it automatically has more milk sugar per cup). I've switched to almond milk for the last 2 yrs - the unsweetened only has a few carbs and it has more calcium than dairy. Otherwise, though, try not to obsess too much over the scale. Measure yourself weekly or every other week and celebrate those losses. One thing I am doing to prepare for WLS is that I've made a big list of the things I hope to achieve with it. Not one of them has to do with a weight or clothing size. Most of them are activities that I've been too heavy to do for a long time. Some will be after a lot of loss, like snow skiing again. Others are much simpler - climb our basement stairs without getting out of breath. Try making a list like that and check them off as you obtain them!

I'm not a smoker, (both parents died from smoking related causes) but my oldest son is, and is trying to quit. He has been very pleased with the vapor cigarette things. He's been able to gradually decrease the nicotine concentration over several weeks, but still use the physical crutch of the actual cig in hand thing. I don't know if that is any help but just a thought. Also the Patches, they gradually decrease in strength as well. I think most insurances would cover things like the patches. I know our health dept advertises them free a lot.

Thanks, I had not found the Veterans Forum before you posted that, and now I've looked through it - found a few helpful posts but despite the label of being only for 1+ years out from surgery, it's still filled with lots of posts from people a few days or weeks after surgery, so it's taking me a long time to weed through and find anything really helpful. I did, however, find a link to bariatric girl's website through one of the WLS magazine articles, and she has quite a few people posting in her comments, etc. who have had long term results.

It sounds like a caffeine withdrawal headache - tylenol may help but likely not eliminate it. If you had a big coffee, tea or soda habit before you started, and quit suddenly you will definitely feel it. You might want to ask your doctor if you can take some low doses of OTC caffeine pills (cut them in halves, quarters, etc) to gradually reduce your amount and lessen the withdrawal agony.

I would love to hear from some people who are 5+ years out from surgery and how they have done, good or bad. I realize that there are probably fewer longterm people on this forum just by the nature of it - ie support in the early days. Does anyone know what the statistics are for bypass patients after 5 yrs? I have my first appt in a few weeks, and once I start to tell family and friends I know I'm going to hear all the negatives (I do not plan on telling many early on, even among my closest family/friends) and I'd like to be able to give some positive info back. I am doing this for my health and to be active again, not for vanity (although I sure won't mind looking better) and am 52 yrs old. Thanks!

I think for those of us (probably many of us) who have used food as our comfort to avoid dealing with anger or other emotions for a long time, suddenly not having that food is psychologically as well as physically tough. Studies have shown that eating, esp of sweets, affects receptors for serotonin, and these are very close to the receptors for drug and alcohol addiction. The more we've eaten that stuff, the more receptors our brains have made to process it all. Take the "drug" of sugar away, and it's just as bad as an addict going through withdrawal. Add that to the physical drain that major surgery takes on you, and I think being depressed after surgery is more "normal" than to not be. My 2 cents.

Thanks, MarylandCrab, that's what i have too - Carefirst. I have not seen a nutritionist; just my regular PCP that I see every 3 months for my high blood pressure, and we always discuss my weight and diet. SugarFreeMe, I have an appt with the surgeon Jan 19 to find out more. I knew that prediabetes would not be enough. I'm just at a point where I'm afraid to lose any weight on my own right now b/c it will drop my BMI and if they don't count the high blood pressure as enough of a reason, I need to have BMI of 40. Ironic, b/c I really have not been eating much lately over the holidays, and have been working for awhile on addressing the emotional eating - finally seem to have a handle on it but I know that I will not be able to be consistent enough to lose the 100 lbs I need to, without surgery. But, my PCP did have to double my blood pressure medication at my last visit in Oct so having that on record is probably helpful.

Another idea - would they let you work from home for part of the time? You may be too tired the first week but by the 2nd week if no complications, you might be up to at least some part time work at home.

I've inquired into WLS with my insurance BCBS federal plan. I was directed to the page in the benefits booklet, which says either BMI 40 or above OR BMI 35 with comorbidity but doesn't list which comorbidities are accepted. I think diabetes is pretty universal but I am only pre-diabetic. But, I have high blood pressure which is currently controlled with medication. My BMI is 39.7 so I'm pretty close anyway, but I'm wondering if I'll get denied since the hypertension is under control. I was diagnosed with GERD years ago but my last upper GI 2 yrs ago saw no evidence of it and I was not on meds at the time (but was doing Atkins so was not eating most of the usual triggers). I do have asthma and mild increases in cholesterol and triglycerides. I do have family history of diabetes and stroke. I do not want to wait until I'm a full blown diabetic before getting surgery! Also wondering what BCBS's requirements are for demonstrating attempts at weight loss before surgery? My PCP has plenty of evidence of my weight for the last 4 yrs, along with a 30 lb loss on Atkins and subsequent regain + 15 more I'd love to hear from anyone with the same insurance. thanks

I'm not post-op but I have done a lot of reading lately and I think I read that you have huge hormonal changes after surgery, similar to after having a baby, so it's not unreasonable to think that may be a cause of depression and esp of mood swings. Keep trying to get your Protein and Water in, and get as much rest as you can - you're healing from surgery but depression itself is exhausting. At the same time, some short walks outside in the sun (if there's any out there now) may help as well.

This is so inspiring and what I am hoping for. I have done a TON of emotional work with a therapist over the last 2 yrs for emotional eating, but the sweets still taste so darn good I'm still drawn to them even if I no longer binge like I used to. If surgery can help me lose my taste for sugar it will be a miracle. I have my first meeting with surgeon Jan 19.

It is so nice to hear of such supportive and loving spouses, esp. in second marriages. It gives me hope for the future!

One thing I am especially interested in in an activity tracker is sleep monitoring. It seems the garmin just records movement while sleeping but doesn't break it down into light/deep sleep etc. That was one of the pluses on the Misfit; also that you don't have to actively set it to sleep mode, it picks it up automatically, if I understand right.

Should have looked it up before i posted - doesn't look like my old band would be compatible.

I have a polar heart rate monitor - chest band and watch, about 3 yrs old. I wonder if that could be paired with the Polar Loop or I'd have to get a new HRM band?

Has anyone tried the http://www.amazon.com/Misfit-Shine-Activity-Sleep-Monitor/dp/B00G9N3I7O/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1418916323&sr=1-1&keywords=misfit+shine Misfit? I just read about it yesterday on another blog and it looks great. Waterproof and also works well for cycling. Syncs to phone; unfortunately not compatible with my older phone but I may be upgrading next year.

Before I began seriously researching WLS I believed the media stories about how unsafe it is and how people just regain the weight, etc. Even my PCP gave me the "weight regain" comment in trying to discourage me. But those stories are just the ones which make the news, b/c successes are not as interesting to read about somehow. Most non-obese people really think it's just a matter of willpower, and have no idea of the hormonal and genetic causes of obesity, so they think WLS is "the easy way out" as other threads have talked about, and why should we get to do it "the easy way" when they have to diet and exercise to lose their 10 extra holiday pounds? Out of all the diets I've tried, low carb worked the best for me and I stuck with it the longest and lost the most amount of weight, as well as physically felt the best on it, but I still fell off and regained it all plus 20 more. I think I will be able to use that in my post-op maintenance phase to prevent regain, but I need the feedback from the pouch and possible dumping to keep me from straying very far. I don't plan on telling very many people about the surgery. I'm separated from husband so that won't be a problem (he'd be entirely unsupportive, just as he was when I dieted) and I plan to tell my kids I'm having some stomach problems that need surgery (truth!) and they will not bother to inquire any further. At some point after losing a lot I'm sure I will let them know and others as well, but I can't deal with the comments early on and beforehand.

Just FYI, the doctors at Meritus do have offices here in Hagerstown - I have an appt there in January, right downtown. I'm not sure if they divide their time between Hagerstown and Harrisburg PA or if they've all moved here from there, but they definitely do see patients here. Even though you don't see the doctor that much, having surgery out of the area may prove problematic for me b/c I will have to rely either on my oldest son (if he can get leave) or a friend to drive me there and pick me up. Plus, I assume there will be quite a few post-op visits, at least with a nurse or nutritionist, and I would think those would be associated with the area the surgeon is in. I will see how the appt in Jan goes and then look farther afield if I'm not comfortable. Thanks for the info.

I hope it's OK that I jump in here, even though I have not yet had WLS or plastic surgery. I was never really overweight until I married, although I'd always struggled a little to maintain reasonable weight. I apparently married someone just like the father who'd ignored me all my life, and when he continued that pattern in our marriage, I began eating to stuff down anger. Our marriage lasted about 22 years - we are still married but have been separate for a year now, at my request. It took me over a year of therapy (which I entered to deal with emotional eating) to get the courage to end my marriage and ask him to leave. I had planned to file for divorce this month (since my state required a year apart before filing) but now I've decided to have WLS, so I'm holding off on filing until I get it done, b/c I'll have to change insurance once the divorce is final. So, I think in many cases (obviously not all) people who overeat in the first place may have problems in their marriage but use food to cover their emotions. Once you start dealing with those emotions fully, without food, it may lead to divorce if the other person is not willing to work on it (mine had no interest in looking at himself or our relationship).

I think I read somewhere that some surgeons avoid higher-risk patients like you b/c they want to keep their statistics good, and if they think you may have difficulty sticking to it, it makes them look bad. I have no idea whether that's true in your case but it does seem like there must be some reason since it's pretty clear that surgery is your best chance at improving everything. If you get a similar reaction from other surgeons, ask them what you can do to make them see things differently. Maybe if you do a strict diet plan like a liquid diet for a certain amount of time and lose a certain amount, they will see you are committed to it. Please don't give up hope. You are doing the right thing in trying to take charge of your health and I hope things go better at the next clinic for you.

I've just begun the process of looking into WLS focusing mainly on the RnY bypass. I live in Hagerstown, and our local hospital, Meritus, has a program. When I looked at the website, the 4 doctors listed are all DO's. I know DOs go to med school just like MDs and have had personal experience with an excellent DO for my mom's oncologist; however, I didn't realize they did WLS. Anyone have experience with Meritus for this? I could also go to Frederick or Baltimore I suppose but having things closer to home would really help with post-op b/c I am not going to have any real support here at home and will have to rely on friends if I'm unable to drive, or have complications. I have an appt scheduled for a consult late Jan with them.