pumpkin07

I hope everyone is okay. No more coconut and celery....I hope we don't forget.

I asked my term LIFE INSURANCE agent with Met Life whether or not I would be rated higher since I had the Sleeve and lost most of my weight? She never told me the answer.\ BC I was rated as standard bc of my weight before, she thought that now I lost it I might qualify for a better rating. Does anyone know the answer? I heard private health insurance companies won't accept you if you had any WLS. But she says life insurance is different than health in the way that they look at things Curious if anyone knows the answer to this. I might need to change my insurance at some point. A doctor (not mine) said to lie! But I think that is sorta risky, and plus I already told my PCP so it is in my health history.

Don't know much about hernias, but especially since you don't have insurance I'd find out right away what it is. I hope you find a job soon...with great benefits.

All I know is I have a thyroid that does not work at all and my hair loss was maybe 25-30% but it immediately grew back in. I have stayed on my Armour faithfully and not been a god Vitamin taker (doing better though). When I lose the hair you are talking about bc of thyroid, ewwww I hate that too. That happened in my 20's. Never again, that is an awful hair loss - hard to get back. I did not take thyroid meds for 2 years and also I took deprovera about this same time which totally screwed up my hormones for 2 years (one shot did this). I would never do that again - stopped ovulating, etc. Hair very thin on top. Had to go on BCP to get my cycle to ever start again. Had 2 babies after that so it all worked out and once I was pregnant all my hair came back, but still, seems like if you keep things stable with Thyroid that it wouldn't effect hair loss based on my experience.

Well, the timing is an issue for me. Second or third week of May...ewwww that is tough. I live in Texas and would recommend South Padre Island, but it honestly sounds cheaper to go to Florida bc we have a travel planner there. But the May thing...hmmmm that is tough. When does scout camp end for the year? Bc I could do August. I could maybe do May but probably a 3 day Fri Sat Sun weekend. Husband or no husbands....that is the question HAHAHAHAHA I would love to have a girls weekend. Like leave early Friday and come back Sunday evening. We'd get closer if we were just the girls, right? I have a 3 yo and a 12 yo and I don't know if I could afford to bring them anyway. My husband would want to come, but I dunno...girls weekends are super cool. Just got back from Vegas and I'll tell you....it was DAMN expensive. And the slots are NOT paying anywhere anymore. But we dropped a huge amount of money there, it is always the most expensive vacations we take. Bought a pair of jeans there for 128, found them here REGULAR price for $90.00. I just won't do Vegas, honestly. I'm in Texas, but I don't know if any great deals. Galveston is gross, so if you want the ocean South Padre is somewhere I always go. But it is not cheap and the airport in Harlingon is super small. But I'm game for whatever in Texas. San Antonio can be fun, but it isn't the same as going to a coast where you can relax and talk and stuff. I vote girl's weekend, Florida Keys, girls weekend (did I say that already), and if in May just a 2 nighter for me. I can't leave me kids for more than two nights without really stressing everyone out.

DId you just sign up for it? In Texas you can cancel anything in writing within 3 days. Maybe better to pay as you go. Fight it. I do stuff like that and I get so mad afterwards.

Wow. You were very pretty heavy, but you look much more comfy at your little weight. You are teeny tiny girly. Have fun!

I'm thinking what is VBG? Is that gastric bypass? I wouldn't do anything the doctor didn't think was best, but I would find the best doctor to help me decide. I hope it works out. I tried to find celebrities that went from gastric bypass to VSG and I couldn't find any. I haven't ever seen anyone here either.

Ya - I guess our husbands could have a good chat, huh? But I see how he looks at me now, and I see how protective he is of me now. It was nice to say he misses me fat, but honestly, he is lying. Truth is he just loves me any whicha way. And I feel the same. I had a funny NSV at work. We have this young guy at work, maybe 20 years old. Kinda mental, cross-eyed. I'm serious, no joking. But he told my friend's husband that if he has a wife my age some day he hopes she looks as good as I do. Kinda a funny sorta-compliment from a very cross-eyed guy. But still, it was nice, right?

I know this is a very scarey and serious conversation, but it has made me laugh so hard I had to go pee. Maybe if you eat some of my cats Iams indoor hairball reducer food it would work. Don't laugh, it might work.

My husband just told me something. He said he misses me being fat. He misses my bigger legs, bc my legs are pretty small now. He misses a couple other things that were entirely too big haha. He likes that I'm more energetic and feel better about the way I look, but somehow he misses his bigger girl. I told him I don't miss my legs or my boobs AT ALL, but at least I'll always know he loved me fat. You know how you always wonder...bc you gain weight after you met him...that was me. I lost weight before I met him and gained weight after I met him. Even his 'ex' told me one time she couldn't believe he was with a fat girl, bc she thought he prefered skinny women. He does give that impression, so even I am confused. I thought so too, now I'm wondering..."Heh, now that I lost the weight are you going to leave me for a fat girl?". hahaha I know sometimes he was feeling like I was never going to lose any of the weight I gained. And I wasn't, honestly. I'm grateful. We're both glad I don't snore anymore. It was a funny conversation, and I could take it like he doesn't like me now. But I'm like heh, if you liked me then you must like me now... But it was nice he said that. Truth is, I prefer me better smaller. I was smaller when I was younger and I missed it so much. I loved being normal weight and I HATED being fat. Nothing nice about it except sometimes it was nice to be ignored without men making asses out of themselves when you walk by. Anyway, just a funny conversation I had today.

This is my opinion, because you did ask. I think this surgery is still new, and you are very young. If you were my lil sis I'd tell you, heh, you have a LOT of life to live yet. This surgery may be safe but it is also a very radical procedure. This surgery removes 85% of your stomach!! You can never go back and get that stomach if you need it anytime in the next 75 years or so. So if there is a problem with your tiny stomach, what will you do? I would look at the sleeve plication before making a final decision. Because it is reversible and you get most of the same advantages (volume of food/drink restriction), and long-term if they discover any better procedures you should still be a candidate for most everything. Plication does not remove the stomach, it rolls it up and stitches it so you still have all the restriction you need. Once you eat less, some people say the hunger pains are minimal. I still have hunger with the sleeve, it varies. I'm 47, so it feels a long way from 25. And my BMI was 40. When I was 25 they were doing stomach stapling I think, and you never hear of that now. A lot happens in 20 years in medicine, or even in 5 years. In fact, when I had the sleeve a year ago I hadn't heard of the sleeve plication. Not all doctors do the sleeve plication because it is brand new. But maybe visit a doctor that does do this procedure and compare. It is a safer procedure than the sleeve bc they are not cutting the stomach. It is cheaper. And it is reversible, which I think is super important at your age. If it is not available in your area, why not wait a while for it or another procedure? Also, don't be a guinea pig, there are just a few doctors that do the plication regularly, I'd find one of them. If I have offended you, I apologize. I'm 5'1" so I understand how 150 lbs can seem like a lot. That is about what I weight now, after the sleeve though. Most people do not get the procedure to lose 45 lbs, especially not at 25 years or age. There was a time they would not do WLS if you did not need to lose 100 lbs. Perhaps we need to go back to that era when we are taking out virtually all of someone's tummy. I would think your doctor should have second thoughts about recommending it, you know? You are very young and not all that big.

Better on Vitamins now, except for calcium still need to order. But I decided to change my goal to 136 intead of 128 (I'm at 148). I want to lose it before buying spring clothes, since nothing from last year fits (do NOT tell my husband this haha). So I started exercising yesterday for the first time since surgery almost a year ago. I am such a hard head. Really wanting to run now for some reason. But instead I walked 2 miles. Today I'm doing weights, tomorrow walking, etc. I am bummed I am no longer stalling, just stuck. So I decided it is time to do something about it. So that is why my ticker is changing, not because I lost. Just changing my goal. Maye at 5'1" 128 is too small for me. We'll see.

I was very honest about my surgery. But if I had it to do over again...not sure I would tell many people. Because for one thing it would be funny as hell for everyone to think I totally figured it out after 20 years of fat. That would be hilarious. I know they just would not understand it and that would be so funny. It is just a personal decision, but it was easier for me to be honest. But my real reason for being honest is bc I thought it might help people that were considering the surgery. It didn't. No one has been interested, some have been critical. It is the most non-interesting subject to people for whatever reason. I'm sure if I failed thought they would be all over that, right? Everyone is always quicker to talk about who failed than who succeeded. Not always, but the news travels very fast. If you tell it will be hot gossip, but you will not get any credit for your weight loss - your doctor will. If you regain, you will be to blame, right? A personal choice, I think both options are great. Just choose. Just a warning, if you decide to hide it keep your story VERY consistent about how you are losing weight. Multiple lies are very confusing. The truth is easier to remember.

How can I say this? When we know better, we do better...this is especially true in medicine.. My aunt was heavy, too heavy. Really high BMI. I don't know what she weighed, but very short and very heavy. Eventually couldn't hardly walk at all. The surgery they offered then was state of the art for that time. It was some kind of lap band that she got that got all wrapped around her insides to the point that it had be removed b/c she couldn't get food down at all. But that time has passed, it was the first lap band or stomach stapling and that was gosh, 30 years ago. She died 13 years ago or so, from being overweight. She was in her late 50's, and otherwise she had been healthy - just heart problems from being overweight for so long, loss of muscle tissue, etc. She prayed for that magic pill to lose weight. In time the magic weight loss pill came along and it damaged people's heart valves, not hers I guess bc she was already gone, but it did damage my dad's valve. Then there was the more modern lap band, then the bypass/RNY/DS, etc. and now the sleeve. And actually now the sleeve plication. You gotta realize your doctor is working with the most up to date information. We get used to hearing about things like lap band and it was great for some, or gastric bypass, which some people did well. But now the sleeve is better than those. Maybe you really do need to look at data. Kinda sounds like you really wanted gastric bypass, but what if this is better? I weighed 220 and I was paying cash bc my insurance did not cover ANY WLS or complications from WLS. I asked my doctor which surgery would be best for me long term, most effective, safest, etc. I didn't ask which was cheapest, because I didn't care. He immediately said sleeve. I went to a nutrition meeting with like 6 other people getting WLS. Some lap band and some gastric bypass. All of them were on insurance. They were all getting the lap band or gastric bypass, but all wished they were getting the sleeve. Their insurance did not cover it bc it was too new, That was a year ago so since then a lot are covering it. At a certain point you gotta pick a doctor and trust him. I do have one question though. The sleeve plication is even less risky than the sleeve, from the little I've read here, so if you were not able to lose weight to have the surgery (the 100 lbs) then could you get the plication at least temporarily to keep you from being able to overeat? I just wondered if you had spoken with your doctor about that. The plication is where the stomach is not cut but it is rolled up and stiched so that only a small portion of the stomach is available to put food into. I was wondering though. 100 lbs seems like a lot to lose before surgery, but I know he is trying to help you. I wish you the best.

Such a big difference in your life 100 lbs makes. You are looking great!

The reason I said it may be overkill on the stomach sizes is not because I cannot eat a balanced meal. Because a year out things are relaxing. Some days are better than others, and it depends honestly. I am much pickier about food and need to be very relaxed when I eat in order to fully enjoy a meal. It feels like it is because you are left with the hard part of the stomch so if it tightens bc I'm nervous or upset it is harder to get the food in it comfortably. It isn't a huge deal, just something I've noticed that I eat better at home now or sitting calmly at my desk than I do at a restaurant. Especially if arguments ensue at the dinner table, my lil tummy will tighten. But I don't feel I eat so little that it is embarrassing at a party anymore. I don't even think about that. But I might get overly full on hors d'oerves if I am hungry when I arrive, and that can make eating dinner qutie difficult. But just because the long term data is not in, that is why I'm not sure if the boughie size is good. I haven't had any trouble getting too thin with this boughie size, that is for sure. In fact, I'm having trouble getting to my goal so maybe I don't need a bigger tummy after all. I m just always aware that we don't really know for sure what the long term health implications might be for removing so much of our stomach. But I knew that when I got this surgery, that it is a risk. Being overweight was huge risk too for me. Already I know there could be Vitamin deficiencies with sleeve if I don't take my Vitamins, and that is something I was not aware of before surgery. I look forward to knowing more long term. You might also consider the sleeve plication. I would have considered that but it wasn't really being done yet, or at least I didn't hear of it. You don't lose the ghrelin as much, but if you eat less some people believe the produciton of it goes down naturally. I wouldn't let the ghrelin deter me from getting plication, because if it doesn't work out you could still get sleeve or something else later. The fact that it is reversible is a plus long-term. Honestly, I probably would have done that surgery if I knew about it in time. I love food as much as ever, although what I eat has changed and I'm pickier about my food. But I personally haven't felt a great different as far as hunger, just that I get full with less food than I used to. At least I can get full, I just kept eating before, so that is different. The control is what I gained from the surgery. Control b/c it reduces the volume I can eat. To me I don't see that I am not hungry. I still get hungry. I just feel like a person with a smaller stomach that still really likes food. But I'm not suffering, full is still full, thank goodness. The most calories I know of that I've eaten in a day is 1300, but usually around 1000. The truth is if I'm at home all day and feel like cooking I can graze basically on and off all day. So I have to be careful of that. My doctor knew my medical history and chose a 34 boughie for me. I'm 5'1". It has worked out fine for me. If I had a choice I would have chosen a 40 bc of concerns about reflux. But for me I've been able to control reflux by controlling what I eat and not eating right before I go to sleep. But some say a slightly larger boughie has less issues with reflux. My doctor said to trust him, so I did. Its done, but the longer you wait the more data will be available. But as far as thyroid, I think this has been great in helping me reduce the weight. I would NEVER have lost the weight without some type of surgery. Someone said that the low thyroid didn't make them regain weight, but I disagree with that. I think it lowers your metabolism in such a way that you tend to crave carbs and sugar for energy and that leads to weight gain. Then the extra weight makes you more sluggish so it is a domino effect b/c you don't feel like exercising. Also though I think Vitamin D is an issue with that too...I think the sluggishness I felt sometimes was also bc of Vitamin D deficiency. People with a normal thyroid that then go hypothyroid can tell you that it is a drastic difference in energy levels and vitality. I don't notice it bc I've been this way for so long. But eating less has made a positive difference in my overall health. But my thyroid still didn't kick in and work better.

I agree with Humpty D.....I would get the surgery to remove the fibroid and heal from that now, and get tummy tuck after a couple years.

No suggestions, but will be praying for you. If you don't believe your doctor at a certain point get a second opinion. Don't wait too long. Overly confident doctors are sometimes wrong. They need to be cautious.

It does sound like you are doing all the right things, seeing specialists and so on. I always think the best way to replace a habit is to create a new better one. So maybe when you get these thoughts you could focus on positive visualization of you living at the weight you want, the life you want. Keep focusing on your vision instead of on the past and it might help.

SOmeone here recommended benefiber on a regular basis. I don't do it regularly though but when I start getting backed up. It is chewable pills that taste like orange sweethearts. If you don't like to drink stuff that works. I drank a little epsom salt with warm Water when I got backed up. It is so AWFUL and you want to puke. But it works like a charm. You gotta get unbacked up and then find a way to increase your Fiber. I'm almost a year out and things are slow but regular. Maybe 2 or 3 times a week. Kinda happens all in one day it seems. Sort of an issue of volume, you need volume in there to keep things moving. Fiber fiber fiber I can't wait for summer. I love watermelon.

Congrats! This surgery brings excitement to your wardrobe, but it can get pricey to fix. It can also bring confusion bc you no longer know how to shop for anything. For instance, I hadn't bought panties anywhere except Lane Bryant for years. And now nothing there fits me. I was so shocked when the smallest panty there was falling off of me. Wow. I went down at least a size in shoes, kind of a size and a half. Nothing I had pre surgery will work on my feet. My former favorite boots just slide all around now, and are no longer my favorites. After a while my feet are so tired in them. So I replaced them with some sexy taller heel boots. My lower body seems to have lost more than my upper body. Especially my feet though. This is the fun part, welcome.

MOST important, I mean MOST MOST MOST important I think is to check out your specific doctor on line here or on obesityhelp.com. Because there are doctors with great reputations and not great reputations. Going to a doctor with an EXCELLENT track record is more important than you know. There are great doctors with horrible office staff and horrible doctors with GREAT salespeople if you know what I mean. You can't tell over the phone and what is important is the doctor and the hospital you are going to and what their record is like. Also EXPERIENCE with THIS surgery is important, don't be someone's guinea pig or you risk your life, literally. But that said there is a very experienced surgeon around that has butchered many people and sent them home very sick.I do know someone that had a leak and I believe he ultimately died from this surgery and complications from this surgery. It was not just a leak, but it sounded a bit mishandled both during and after-the-fact and a bad subsequent surgery as well. He also said maybe he overdid it too soon after surgery. Too much, too soon. This can really domino into a disaster, so please don't take it lightly. This is apparently a great surgery for people that are truly overweight, and I have had a good experience since the surgery. But you are removing a great portion of your stomach, like 85%. There is no going backwards once you have lost the majority of this body part!!! It is very important to have the best medical care and to follow doctor's orders. The downside of going to Mexico, at least in my friend's case, was that once he was sent home here to Houston there were not many bariatric surgeons willing to handle his case. He didn't know what to do, and being so sick it is not a good time to be learning what to do. Sounded like he wound up with non-bariatric surgeons for his subsequent surgeries which caused further damage and ultimately may have contributed to his problem. Believe me, hind sight was 20/20 for him and his family. But that didn't help him, but it could help you by knowing. I liked having surgery where I live because I knew if something went wrong I would have a doctor HERE at home. And I live in Houston, so there are good doctors here. If I lived somewhere else without an excellent doctor I would travel to the closest excellent doctor. I am not saying it is bad to go to Mexico, but if it were me I'd check out Dr. Aceves because everyone always says he is wonderful. Sounds like he is super careful and skilled. But honestly, I would definitely stay in Houston and have surgery, bc so many good doctors here. Mexico is quite unsafe right now, and I know bc I traveled there a lot bc my husband is from Mexico. Neither of us go there anymore. Not everyone has a problem, but there again to me why take unnecessary risks? Some people do it to save the money, and I understand that concern. It is a big decision who to have surgery with. This is the kind of experience I understood more after the fact than before. So I thought I'd share because it might help just to know an opinion. Some people do not feel like I feel. A lot of people travel to Mexico for surgeries. But there are good doctors AND bad doctors in most places, including Mexico. But if you have a Mexican doctor and get butchered, what recourse do you really have? The laws there are different. In my friend's case the doctor appeared to just wash his hands of him and yet his medical practice just carries on like nothing happened.

I guess my thought is why do you work 65 hours a week? That is a lot. How could you get the time off for this surgery, because you will need time to rest. I wonder if it is your stress level that is throwing all of this off, bc you sound very dedicated to the process. Life is not work. But we all do this at times of our lives, just don't work yourself this hard your whole life, right? I hope you get your surgery! I don't quite understand the point of having to lose weight during the 6 mos though. How weird. I mean, if you could lose weight without the surgery and keep it off you would. They know the odds on that, so wow, kinda weird to me. I didn't have insurance for this, and my center of excellence wisked me through. How strange.

I wonder, I thought the dizziness was a drop in blood pressure, but guess it could be either. It definitely happened to me more when I did not snack. Now that my caloric intake is up, I don't usually feel dizzy. I had that for the first few months after surgery, and you still haven't been out of surgery all that long even though you lost a huge amount of weight. I was told if it is blood pressure that you might increase your salt to pump up the pressure a bit. You can probably test either to see which it is for you - or up your calories and see if it goes away.