fit4life123

After years of dieting and constantly worrying about my weight and getting depressed, and having weeks when I would lose consistently but then stall out and get frustrated and go back to old habits until I gained back all I lost plus more only to repeat the cycle. I am 22 now and I finally have had enough. I want to be fit and do things I thought I couldn't because of my weight(worrying if I was too heavy for a roller coaster, bungee jumping, surfing, etc.) I wanted to be active and healthy and I needed help. I was afraid of course, and lost almost 50lbs before getting serious about surgery. Then I gained about 15 back and was 270. I was afraid of getting back up to 307 again or more and decided enough was enough. I want to have a better quality of life and the pros outweighed the cons for me. I'm young, relatively healthy (other than the whole obesity thing) and my family history is deeply rooted in diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney failure, etc. Plain and simple this surgery saved my life. I would never be able to exercise as much self control without this tool. I chose the sleeve because there was no rerouting of anything. My advice is to do research. Lots of it. I got really anal about it and impressed my surgeon, NUT, and psych because some of the people they saw assume this surgery is a magic bullet cure all which requires no work.

I chose the sleeve because it was a one and done thing. I wouldn't have to come and get fills/unfills. (Which seem to cost money every time) Plus I could still have a little sugar.(spoonful of white chocolate wonderful peanut butter!) I don't go overboard but the amount of problems I've read involve erosion, slippage, port flip, etc. I also didn't like the idea of my intestines being rerouted.

I bought the gefu slicer on eBay for $5.

Things are going great! I can finally eat real foods and I am getting used to being able to tell when I am full. Still trying to learn to stop eating when I get pressure in my chest. I am trying to stop just before I get that overstuffed feeling.

Hoping everything goes well!

I had that pain and it seemed to be worse when it came time to sleep or bend up and down. I just couldn't get comfortable. Now at 4 weeks post op it stopped but my surgeon was very clear that if I had new or worse pain to immediately call the office.

Okay so I was freaking a bit from restriction. I was thinking that maybe I didn't have surgery(silly I know) but today I know I have! Lol I was driving to the gym and getting in a snack and started to get that pressure on my chest. Well I figured I could get in one more bite and I instantly regretted it. I had to pull over to vomit and after a few minutes I felt way better. Lesson learned.

It depends on where you live in my state as long as you had a 6 month supervised diet with the NUT then Medicaid paid for it. My sister didn't want to do the 6 months so she gave up on the idea of surgery through Medicaid. She later confessed that she wouldn't be a great candidate for surgery right now because she didn't want to make a lifestyle change. When I went to my NUT class almost everyone there were teens/young adults covered through the state. It's possible, just hard. The other half in the class were Medicare(elderly folk), self pay, and regular insured folk like me. (At the time) If it's something you really want I say go for it the worst they can say is no, which can be appealed. My bariatric team also specializes in adolescent wls.

Well, my mother lost her job which means I lost my health coverage...it really sucks but a part of me is happy this happened after I had surgery. I would have never been able to afford it self pay. Unfortunately, I still have a gallbladder and the medicine I have to take to avoid gallstones was over $300! I was able to find an online coupon that got it down to $193 but seriously...that is expensive. I've found out my visits to my follow ups are only about $80 which I know I can afford and basically because I'm a college student and make less than a certain amount a year I don't even qualify for any healthcare plans. My only option is to go to a low income center for primary care. Which is cool, I guess...I just hope they can help with this prescription...the site has a base fee of $30 for anything which really isn't bad. Its just*sigh*..it was nice while it lasted...(Sorry, just venting).

Just a side note: Does anyone else take Calcium citrate!?!?! I just picked up some yesterday and those things are horse pills!!! lol. I am lucky I'm one of the few in my bariatric program to only take 4/day rather than 6 but still, swallowing these bad boys are sounding pretty scary.

Its more of a walk in clinic on campus but you still have to make an appointment (Which makes no sense). They have free examinations but the lab fees are what kills you. They bill you $50 - $100 or more depending on what they are testing for. One of the low cost doctors are literally 5 minutes away from my college. I've also found that most students go to this same doctor's office and pay around $20 to $40 for anything.

Congrats and good luck!

Thanks everyone! I am definitely going to try the chews! I already bought a month supply of the horse pills and will just have to suffer through them for a month but I will be doing some heavy research on the alternatives you suggested! I've already put a couple in my Amazon wishlist.

You just saved me! I must find this chewable! lol. Thanks!

I actually called healthcare.gov and that's how I found out I didn't qualify. I am not elligible to purchase healthcare because my income isn't high enough and the woman was so sweet about it. She helped me find some low cost primary doctors offices and tried to make me feel better by saying I wouldn't have to worry about being penalized. But at the time of the call I was just thinking about paying an arm and a leg for a month prescription, but many of the offices give discounts for students and whatnot.

I'm not sure what you mean? Is that the continuation of coverage thing? If it is then no, my family would have to pay more than $1200 to keep the benefits and with my mother out of work there is just no way I could afford it and stay in school full time.

It was ursodiol to prevent gallstones. It was prescribed by my surgeon. I'm not sure who makes them but I will check out the sites. Thanks! I'll be alright, I just stress and worry over every little thing even if its not in my control. The good part is I've learned not to reach for food during these times! Progress!

I just had to have a psych eval, one nutrition class, I also had to go to a blue distinction center but luckily I live like 10 mins away from one.

So, I made some fish and zucchini noodles for lunch today and I was able to get the whole 4oz or so fish in and a little bit of the veggies. It feels so weird to me because I was satisfied but wondered if I was eating too much? What really throws me off is that I ate half a boiled egg this morning and couldn't finish it because I got too full...I am really trying to understand this logic...maybe the egg is more dense? For a snack I had a single serving cheese stick and a banana. I barely made it through the banana(took me a while) and was able to get in a little of the cheese stick. Is this normal...?

I had BCBS IL and was approved! my BMI was 42 and I also had no co-morbidities. I wasn't one of the lucky ones who got their approval in 24-48 hours and had to wait like 2 weeks though.

I love crocheting! I wish I had more time during the year to do it but I definitely make up for it in the summer. I can't wait to sew and knit again! Buying fabric will be so much cheaper since I won't need 3-4 yards!

Awww, Happy Birthday! It will get better. I was super bitter about having my favorite thing in the world taking from me: (food). After awhile I realized it was really head hunger. You'll be feeling 100% in no time.

Don't tell unless you want to. My coworkers noticed but I was honestly working on my weight even before considering surgery and lost 20lbs post so far. When they ask me if I lost weight I simply reply, "Yes." and surprisingly they don't ask anything further. They just say, "You look good." I'm a very private person. I didn't even realize how private until people started getting shocked about learning about me on the job. (I've been at my job for almost 10 years) I have just never really opened up. My thought behind it is once I tell, I can't even untell.

My surgeon finally cleared me today to transition to solid foods!!! I've never been so excited in my life to be able to chew again! He wants me down to 170ish by 6 months! I am so nervous and anxious from the pressure. What if I'm not? I really don't want to let my bariatric team down! Well, nothing to it but to do it right?

He asked me what my goal weight was and I never really came up with one but he says I would probably be around there in 6 months or so.