Shadowcub

I was half-tempted to wait until March 28 to post this as the last two replies were from January 28 and February 28. But then I decided that would just be silly! I can't help but wonder while this particular forum seems to get so little love. Do people over 40 just not get WLS as often as younger folks do? Have we (this age bracket) given up on losing weight and are just biding our time with pizza and bonbons until our co-morbidities take us to the next world? Or maybe the 40+ crowd still gets WLS, just not Bypasses? Do we go for Sleeves or even Lap Bands instead, fearful of the malabsorption leading to malnutrition and it's own medical problems and treatments replacing those we already know from being obese? Possibly we're just "too old" for all this on-line and social media stuff? After all, we were born into a world of room-sized computers using punch cards with less processing power that is now in our cell phones. We remember nodding sagely at Bill Gates as he made his "never need more than 640k of RAM" comment. A world first, before AOL and then one where we all had dozens of their CDs to use as coaster. We remember the 1984 commercial introducing the world to the Macintosh from whence all iStuff was born. Many of us remember DARPAnet and the horror we felt when we first found somebody trying to make money on the Internet, after all, it was for sharing knowledge and advancing research freely, not crass commercialism! And so, we turn to in-person supports as we face the challenges of WLS, unlike those follow us knowing nothing BUT on-line everything. But this sub-board is NOT dead. This thread is NOT dead. Our joint Quest to live healthier, happier, thinner lives is NOT dead! (With sincere apologies to William Shakespeare and Henry V of England) We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that loses his weight with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks Of the weight we lost upon Saint Crispin's day.

Did anyone else see this? http://well.blogs.nytimes.com//2014/12/17/how-exercise-changes-our-dna/ Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks for the tip!

Zinc, C, Probiotics and garlic. Sounds like my go-to techniques for avoiding getting sick NOW. Good to know I'll be able to use them after surgery too! One question, though. Anybody gotten any advice on flu shots and/or pneumonia vaccine post-op? I should be about 2 months post-op when I would normally get my flu shot.....

Well, I got my appointments lined up yesterday, but didn't post here. These are the formal parts of the bariatric program I am entering. Initial Surgical Consult with Dr. Carol A. McCloskey is Tuesday, February 24 @ UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, 1st of 5/6 Bariatric Classes/Supervised Weight Loss is Monday February 23, also at Magee Hospital. Bariatric Support Group is 2nd Wed (February 11) @ Magee Hospital. I am also pursuing various other Weight Loss/Fitness/Healthy Living options at the same time. I am joined the UPMC BodyChangers program and will be attending Shape Training on Saturday, February 7. Also from UPMC BodyChangers is Finding Your Fit "Why Move?" on Friday, February 20. I meet with an independent Nutritionist, Jenny Nguyen, on Thursday, February 19. I have enrolled in a 12-week Healthy Lifestyle "Weight Loss" program starting Tuesday, February 24. Finally, I have issues with emotional eating. I am trying to find a therapist to help me with this pre- AND post-op. In them mean time/in addition to, I am going to try and hit a couple of OA meetings each week. Busy month! Anybody use Dr. McCloskey before? Or planning to attend any of the above classes/groups? I could use some local friends who understand what I'm going through....

As to regaining weight after being on BL and losing a bunch, I've heard 95% put at LEAST all their weight back on.

Pre-op? Probably only those who will be directly effected (not much of anyone that I can think of currently) or who I will be calling on to help me immediately post-op (a VERY few people!). Once I have the surgery done and I have found my rhythm? Probably most anyone that specifically asks, to be honest. I've never been any good at keeping things to myself.

Due to the expected worst weather so far this season in Pittsburgh, PA, forecast for February 1, my independant nutritionist appointment has been rescheduled for the 19th. Also, I have my initial bariatric appointments finally. My first class/supervised weight loss is February 23, and my initial consult with Dr. Carol A. McCloskey is February 24. For the UPMC BodyChangers program, I will be going to Shape Training on the 7th and Finding Your Fit "Why Move?" on the 20th. And finally, I got on the local OA site and found about a dozen meetings I should be able to get to over the course of the month to hopefully help me find new ways to deal with my emotional eating. (Maybe even actually deal with the emotions themselves? Probably not, but we'll see!)

@BLERDgirl I'm the opposite end of the state, Pittsburgh and planning on having the surgery done at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. Odd choice for a guy, but the other local UPMC facility is really hard to get to by bus, especially so post-op. The supplements I listed were the ones that kept showing up on different homeopathy sites for post-op healing. @InItToWinIt2015 thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll just supplement those two amino acids and get onto a Vitamin regimen as soon as possible post-op. I've seen liquid Vitamins which I'm thinking I should be able to do immediately post-op until I can handle chewables. All in all, I want to heal as quickly as possible so I don't have pain as an excuse not to walk, and end up with all the problems caused by not walking,. And I'd rather the scars from the laproscopic procedure not be visible at 50 yards should I ever go to the beach again. *shrugs* Never been vain before,. Then again, I've never NOT been fat before either.

February 1st, I see a nutritionist not associated with the Bariatric Program at UPMC Magee Hospital. February 11, I go to a Bariatric Support Group meeting (not required) February 23, I go to the first of five or six Bariatric Classes to meet insurance requirements. February 24, I attend the first of 12 weeks of Healthy Lifestyle classes (not required) February 24, (later that same day) I have my initial Consultation with Dr. Carol A McCloskey who will likely be my surgeon Also, I am signed up for the UPMC Body Changers program (not required) but the February schedule won't be available until tomorrow.

I have been an emotional eater all my life. It's the only friend that has never left me. Heck that pizza from high school is STILL on my hips! I worry about gaining the weight back. I wworry about cross addition. Heck, I worry about both! But I've done OA before, just need to get serious about it again. I'm lining up therapy and an outside nutritionist. I've even enrolled in a Lifestyle Change group focused on healthy living. I'm just hoping that by this fall when I should be due for surgery, I'll actbactually be ready for it!

I am just starting this process and am already completely confused by the variety of Proteins, Vitamins, etc. that people recommend. Standard advertizing gibberish from the manufacturers and the possibility of "fake" reviews on sites like Amazon don't help either. I can very much see relying on a BariatricPal Store to meet my needs later this year when I hope to get surgery done!

It may be an irrational fear, but that doesn't make it stupid. I have been heavy all my life and, as I start this journey myself, I have some concerns about who will come out the other side. You see, I've always been single and that was easy to take BECAUSE I've always fat. So I've been able to tell myself, "Well, if I was -thin- THEN they'd want me. It's only because of my weight that I'm being rejected." But what happens if I get the surgery, lose all this weight, and then get rejected ANYWAY? Then it won't be the weight that's being rejected. It'll be *ME*! And even worse, after the bypass I won't be able to turn to cakes and and candies and all the "wonderful" comforting stuff like that that's always been my "only friend." So, yeah. We're headed towards being someone we've never been, the thin guy. And fear of the unknown is one of mankinds most primal fears. Far from being stupid, I'd wonder if someone who DIDN'T feel some aprehension about this was really in touch with their feelings or not.