anneeo

@@Kindle, What! Where!!!? You look incredible!!!

My age group is obsessed with pubic hair removal...its quite disturbing when women come into the clinic for their annual exams and they say things like "Oh, I havent shaved yet"....lol...I am constantly telling ladies that they dont have to...at least not for me.

Or another good Queen song: "Don't Stop Me Now"

"I Got A New Attitude"

It gets better. As of today I'm 3 weeks out and for the most part fully recovered. At 1st, I was thinking I had made a terrible mistake. Now, It the best decision I've ever made.... well, next to asking my wife to marry me...... Have to throw that one in for saftey sake.

I know what you mean. lol in two weeks I'lol be able to introduce one real food per day. Woot woot lol

@@Elode
i don't understand why they would add you as a friend??
i think the main reason is they can push their friends area and your name and correspond easier, as in a PM (personal message??)
don't worry about people adding YOU as a friend
kidding bud
just for that
bing...........i just added you as "my friend"
gonna make something of it??
kathy

I absolutely can see the great work you have done so far! Keep up the great work! I think it is some kind of mental block where we can't see it in ourselves no matter how much we lose. Keep tracking your progress and taking pictures!

If you haven't, join the December Sleever's 2014 page on FB! https://www.facebook.com/groups/540749679387302/?fref=nf

have you discussed what's happening with your doctor? I wonder if you may be a candidate for an additional surgery. I'm sorry that you are feeling afraid, but I can relate. I'm still fairly new to this, about 4 months post op and I've lost 47-49 lbs depending on which day I'm measuring with the scale. I seem to be stuck in this zone now for a couple months (not as frustrating as 2 years i bet) and I am constantly asking myself if maybe my verticla sleeve has stretched out or something else is going wrong.
I can't remember if I did my introduction to this thread yet so here goes.
Highest known weight 367
starting weight (at sleeve) 357
current weight 308.9-310
goal weight 160
I've been enjoying reading this thread and just want to shout out to everyone, more power to you! If they say a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, I say dudes and dudettes, you are so courageous and I admire you for taking the first step!

Very, Very, excited here after a long-haul getting the pre approval from the pesky insurance companies. The checklist of sleep studies, CPAPs, meeting with dieticians, and phycologist is finally complete and I can focus on on my upcoming surgery on Dec 10th. I haven't been put on a liquid diet at all, just a low calorie diet. I think that will change on my Dec 1st appointment. Good luck to all the December sleevers.
couldn't find the spell checker...
Peace my friends!

So happy to have a group! I quit smoking with an online support group and the help was just awesome. I am still friends with many 6 years later. Not sure how to navigate this site very well but I have tried adding a bunch of you as friends---please add me if you are so inclined. Maybe that makes it easier to find each other's posts.
I like Muscle Milk Protein drinks a little. Seems like a lot of people like Premier Protein but I didn't. Today I am going to pick up some of the clear no carb ones from GNC because I guess you can have those on while on Clear liquids and 2 of them a day would meet most of the Protein goals.
I have two weeks left of "real" food. Is anyone else finding things not tasting quite so good anymore? Then one week of liquids and just a day of Clear Liquids I think preop. Can't wait to get it done and over.
Hubby is very supportive. He always has been. Still tells me I am beautiful. Not a big guy at all. His method of losing weight is to just stop overeating--if only it was so easy.
Have a great Sunday everyone and keep posting!

Same here :/. I have BCBSTX through a local school district. My employer elected not to cover WLS, but I do have general benefits that would cover the hernia repair…HOWEVER, it would have to be at one of the in-network facilities and all of the places that offer the surgical discount w/ hernia repair are out of network. Bummer!
I've decided not to let the insurance thing hold me back. Headed to Mexico w/ Dr. Alvarez in March.

Count me in. At my heaviest at my last pre-op appt at 414lbs, day of surgery 412. Surgery was a breeze, no pain, no nausea, no gas. Last weight check on 10/3 I was down 32lbs and doing well.

@@anneeo
I can relate to your 'Holy cow, what must they think of me'... but then I realize they aren't really thinking of me at all. Because *when* I only needed to lose 10 or 20 or 50 lbs, obviously I didn't do it or I wasn't able to do it.. because now I need to lose an extra 100, in addition to that 50... and at no point in my life have I noticed someone else's weight, unless they were my patient and I was talking to them about it as part of my job.
I too thought I was gigantic at a size 10 in high school; that's my goal weight now.
I think almost all of us are screwed up about food and weight in some way or other; the very skinny, the sort of skinny, the medium, the large, the extra large, and the - wait for my doctor's words - "morbidly obese". We're just varied in how we show our issue. But we all *almost* all criticize ourselves 10 times harder than we criticize others, and we all feel our own pain and issues much more than we think anyone else feels theirs... and certainly more than *we* notice their issues.

I started at 363 before pre-op diet, day of surgery was about 342, 12 days post op 318. Chugging towards the 200s

I was 460 when I started my 2 week preop diet on Nov 5th. Surgery date Nov 17th I weighed 428 and 5 days postop I weigh 419. I was really scared I would have complications because I am so big. Surgery actually went great and I even got to leave the hospital a day early because I was doing so good. I feel truly blessed to have had such a wonderful surgeon and anesthesiologist. I have had very little gas pain and almost no nausea. I spent so much time preop worrying about all the things that could go wrong. If I could talk to my old self I would tell myself not to worry until there is actually something to worry about.

There's really nothing you can do to pre surgery to prevent, other than the pre surgery drugs your surgical team will give you. What ever you do, don't massage your legs post op while in the hospital, especially if you suspect a clot, it can dislodge it, which means bad news if you do. Your surgical team will have all of it under control, just follow my advice on moving as soon as possible, wearing your SCD's, and pumping your feet while in bed. Movement=bloodflow. Your gonna do great, don't worry.
I'm really excited too, I just looked at my husband tonight and said, "can you believe a year from now, I may be about 80-100lbs lighter.... seems unreal, but so happy for the opportunity to live the life I want again. Unfortunatley for me, my weight came in my mid 30's after a bad car accident, spinal injections, and loads of steroids. I can't wait to get back to my fighting weight, so to speak :-)

Wow Naomi, what a courageous chapter of your life you've been living and will be embarking upon with your surgery! Your story is incredibly inspirational- I have no doubt others will be comforted and motivated by your determination to make a better life for yourself. These forums are a great source for advice, opinions, support and venting about anything & everything related to bariatric surgery- type on! We're all in your corner as you work your way toward surgery

I have started the process of getting bariatric surgery. I am in month 2 of going to the nutrition meetings required by my insurance. I never really thought this would happen for me. I have been thinking of having the surgery in an abstract way for years. I always said that if I won the lottery I would do it in a heartbeat. I found out a month ago that my insurance covers the surgery if they find it medically necessary. I am type 2 diabetic, high blood pressure, higher than my doctor would like cholesterol, and I have extremely bad sciatica issues from a car accident when I was 14. It seems like every time I go to the doctor I get some new medication to add to the 13 pills I already take a day. I also have anxiety issues that I take medication for and I am currently trying to quit smoking. I know that is a lot to take one but I am a goal setter and a goal keeper.
5 years ago in 2009, I was depressed, I mean extremely depressed. My friend that I have known since I was 13 told me she worried that I was dead on the floor and my cats were eating my body. She was joking of course but, I didn't really talk to anyone for 6 months. I stopped wanting to leave my house, I had no motivation to take a bath, no motivation to do anything but lay on my couch and wish I was dead. I finally pin pointed the reason for my depression as I was stuck in a job I hated with no real way to get out because I had no high school diploma. I made a plan and a 5 year goal and a 10 year goal, I decided to get my GED at 35 and go to college. I bought books and started studying for the GED test. I came to a point where I knew I needed help because math is not my friend. I went to my local GED prep classes to get help. The process took a week to see where I was with my English and math skills. I kept taking test after test until I took the practice test and I was told that I could take the real test the following week. I passed my first try. I entered college in the fall of 2010. I will graduate next May with 2 degrees, I will graduate from the Honors Program at my school, I am a member of the Honors Society, and I have carried a 3.5 GPA the entire time I have been in school.
That was my 5 year goal. To get my GED, go to college and get a degree, find a job with good insurance so I could try to get the surgery. I think I did well so far. LOL Anyway, the second phase of my ten year plan was to get into shape and get my health where it should be. I was diagnosed with diabetes at 33. Only because I had shingles for the second time in my life and I went in for a physical.
Sorry this first post is so long but, I feel like if I get support now the next 7 months will fly by. I hope to have the surgery next summer. The point is that I make and keep goals. That is something I have been bad at most of my life but, I know that I must keep this goal in order to live a long and healthier life. It will also help with my favorite passtime of throwing pottery on the wheel. Its one of the talents I found while in school. I never knew I was talented or creative in anyway before I went to college and now I make beautiful art pieces with just my hands, some clay, and a kiln. It is my zen place, the one place where I am completely in the moment and not worrying about everything. It gives me peace.
Now I found out that my insurance provided by my state through Medicaid expansion, because I am a poor college student that moved back in with my dad at 35 so I could concentrate on school. I do work, but I work for my school and it is part time so I get the Medicaid because I am poor. I always said if I had health insurance that covered it I would jump at the chance to get it. Well here is my chance and I am going full steam ahead with it. I will be attending my local support group that is part of the program I am working; I have been having a hard time with the exercise portion of the program though. I have long standing back issues and I really have to be careful what I do because I get this horrible burning pain that shoots down my leg sometimes just from normal walking. Plus I can't afford a gym membership right now. I did look into my local rec center and it seems they have pool exercise 3 times a week which I am going to try next week.
I am not sure which surgery my surgeon will recommend for me but I am pretty sure I will ask for the bypass because of the remission of diabetes. I have been reading all about it in medical journals and I even tried to join the Cleveland Clinic study on the subject but I didn't have insurance before and they would not take me. I really am only worried about my health. I have seen what this obesity can do to a body from my mother who was 518 pounds at 53 and we had to put her into a nursing facility because she could no longer take care of herself anymore. Her story is sad, but it has a sort of happy ending in that, for her the surgery was a success and she is now living in an apartment on her own and able to take care of her own needs.
Anyway, I am Naomi and I will be posting here.
(If your read that whole thing I am really sorry, I tend to be long winded.)

I replied to this thread and mentioned the pumpkin spice Syrup in a shake as something "Thanksgiving-ish" Little did I know when I posted that, that will be my Thanksgiving flavor! I got a call from the clinic a little while a go telling me that my surgery will be on December 10th and got an "Oh, by the way, your pre-op diet starts NOW" !

I'm not pre op anymore, finally post op and will still be on liquids on thanksgiving! Thankfully my family is very supportive of it and are helping me along with it. My cousin is making me a pumpkin spice Protein Shake which tastes amazing and a turkey broth Soup. Of course I won't be able to drink a lot of either but the company of family and friends will be worth it ????

she had hers in Syracuse back in March and she's lost 110#. She has a renewed sense of self confidence and it's very sexy!

Doing the grocery shopping is about all the exercise I can handle right now. My left knee is bone on bone and I'm off of my arthritis med's for 4 weeks prior to surgery and 4 weeks post surgery. I do try and get in the pool from time to time, weather permitting, and swim a few laps. I hope to start getting some regular exercise in probably after I get my anti inflammatory arthritis meds back and have dropped 25-30 pounds. I'll just have to see how it goes. Hubby belongs to a gym so hopefully it won't be too long before I'm brave enough to go with him.

My surgery is scheduled for Dec 17 so I'm hoping I'll at least get some strained cream Soup in addition to my Clear liquids for Christmas.
Thanksgiving will be our first big holiday without both parents. Mom passed Nov 29, 2013, Black Friday and Dad passed in late April. We have reservations at an upscale restaurant for all three of us "kids" and our families. I'll try to eat only until I'm full and watch the carbs and fats. But, honestly, I'm not gonna worry too much about it. I'm gonna focus on enjoying family time and sweet memories of Mom and Dad.
Since this is just the beginning of my journey, I'm just worried about following drs orders and being healthy - whatever weight comes off will be great.