Machalo

Glad to see you Mikeyy! I'm so glad you are home and recuperating there. How are you doing with the walking? Do you have any stairs to climb? How is that going? Great hearing from you.

I have Aetna and just had my NUT appointment last Thursday. My insurance did not change, woohoo! I was worried that it might have after looking at this thread, but it's rules for bariatric surgery are still the same within my company. @3sonsitkMaybe your company stopped carrying the insurance rider for the procedures or something? @ChubRub have you checked with your version of Aetna yet?

That's really good stuff you are doing there. With WLS you'll have to track all of your food, vitamins, and water intake, every day, for just about ever. At least that's what I've been told. Whether you continue to do so after you are in maintenance mode, I don't know. But for me, that's 196 pounds away, so I'm not going to worry about it now. This place is great for investigating the different surgeries, the attitudes and concerns people have concerning the different surgeries, and the sharing of encouragement and understanding that goes on here is unparalleled. If you're researching and like podcasts there's WeightLossSurgeryPodcast.com. I dunno how often she creates new material, but she has a boatload of previous topics to listen to that I've found helpful. All the best in your researching. Continue to ask questions, that's the best advice I can give you.

Yay! You're home! I'm so pleased for you Mikeyy. As everyone else on the thread has said, and I agree, you've got this! Keep us posted on how you're recovering, it is inspirational to those of us who are still in the pre-op waiting stages.

Hey Mikeyy! What kind of shakes are you drinking? Are you making them yourself?

Thanks for your reply, Chris. It is good to hear from you and thanks for stopping by my thread. I'm glad life has turned out so great for you, you deserve every blessing. My NUT appointment yesterday went well. They were pleased at my weight lost and the changes I'm making in my diet, and we made new goals. They told me my likely surgery date won't be til APRIL next year! I was hugely disappointed at first, but then remembered all the advice I've seen on this site that it will all work out in the end and that eventually I'll be happy that i had this extra time. So I'm focusing on one day at a time doing the best I can to be healthy and drop a few more pounds. Reminding myself that this is a marathon, not a sprint is helping as well. Knowing that I'm being good to myself is a great feeling too. I was able to talk with my husband about my appointment yesterday and he said "good for you" which to me says he is thawing a little bit at least. I didn't tell him surgery wasn't until April yet, baby steps since he is also suffering from colitis at the moment and isn't feeling the greatest. Progress is still progress so I'm happy with that.

Happy Halloween Peoples!

Yay Mikeyy! So good to hear you are doing all right. I'm sorry for your soreness, hopefully that will go away soon. Are you up walking lots? I've heard they like you to do that as soon as possible. I guess so you get the extra air out? I dunno. Just conjecture on my part. Keep strong and remember this will pass soon and you are good to go.

Thanks for sharing, that is good to know. I love sushi but if the little bit of rice fills your pouch, it's hard to get the protein in from the sushi. So, boo. I'll have to remember that.

One day til my next appointment and I had a salty breakfast and have drunk 60 oz of water in 5 hours. Of course, I forgot my pills this morning, so no pee pills to help get rid of the water I've just ingested. Grr. Well, whatever the scales say tomorrow morning is what we'll have to go with, regardless of whether it shows all the weight I've dropped. Disappointing. Well, I get out of work early today since I came in at the ungodly hour of 5am so I can take at least one of my pee pills when I get home.

So glad to hear you are doing well. Hope you have a blessed day!

Start small and work up from there. For example, I gave up several items that I've just been known to hand-mouth without realizing how much I'm eating. Like this first month I gave up cookies, candies, chips, and fast food. I'm getting through it by telling my brain that I don't need it right now; I can have it later. I might never get to later, just like I never got to later when I quit smoking. Next month I add in limiting soft drinks and portion sizes. You'll do great, just try not to over stress about it.

I hope it clears itself up soon @SorryNameTaken.That sounds scary. Sending you prayers and blessings.

Two days until my next NUT appointment. I'm looking forward to it because it is one step closer to surgery. I need to remember to call the Cardiology people today to see if I can get on a waitlist for an earlier appointment. Right now it is scheduled for February 28th. That would push my surgery into March I think as I need the cardiac consult for insurance purposes. I'll have to ask my team on Thursday. Everything else happens in January.

Reiterating some of the others on this thread, I'm not meaning to be a jerk, but please do yourself the favor of talking to your nutritionist or your therapist about what drew you to deviate from your program and strategising what you can do in the future to not fall for that temptation. Continual or regular "cheating" will derail all your hard work up to this point. The forums here are great for advice and strategies that can help. We're all on this WLS journey together and each member makes us stronger. Remember you are one of those members now. We've got your back, lean on us when you feel the urge to cheat. Blessings.

Best wishes to you both! Welcome to the forum! This is a great place for support, inspiration, venting, and pretty much every other kind of support you need. Everyone here is on the same kind of journey you two are making and we're all here to support each other. Delve into the pre- and post-op threads, or branch out into the general discussion threads. I've personally started to journal in here which is allowing me to vent frustrations and the roller coaster of emotions that seem to go along with WLS. I look forward to getting to know you out on the threads. Take good care!

Lots of people struggle with support. Only my husband knows I'm getting prepared for WLS and even he's been poo-pooing it. I don't need anyone else's opinions trying to derail my only shot at healthy living. Though, like has been said previously, being morbidly obese with no end in sight to the weight gain is definitely committing suicide by food. When it was put to me that way, it really got my attention. This forum is full of wonderful people who have all kinds of experiences. Immerse yourself as much as you need; we're all here to help and support each other. I found this great podcast from one of the threads called www.weightlosssurgerypodcast.com. Take a look at episodes 57 and 60 that talk specifically about the surgery and how to prepare for it physically and emotionally. I'm trying to get hubby to listen to them. Blessings

Try to be relaxed is my advice. Remember you are the consumer since you are self pay. Then ask all the questions you can think of. How long is your hospital stay? How many surgeries has your surgeon done? What is the most common adverse outcome (complication)? How often does your surgeon see that outcome? Who else is on your "team"? What does post-surgery care look like? If you're going out of country, who will see you post-op in the US? Who can you call with questions or concerns throughout your process? Scour the threads here to see what people are most concerned about and have questions with, this forum is a great resource for you. Wishing you the best!

You look fabulous! Keep up the great work! Way to go!

Congratulations! You look fabulous! Keep up the great work.

If you can dance your way to greater fitness, then by all means DANCE! I intend to do some of that as well, through Beachbody On Demand. There's so many good workouts, with different kinds of dance - hip hop, rock, country. Then they have the workouts that target specific areas, For example, I plan to work on my glutes as well as my legs and arms so they are hopefully not quite as saggy as I've heard they can get. If I do get saggy bottom, I guess Spanx will become my best friend. LOL! Enjoy your workouts. I'm proud of you for identifying what inspires you and brings you joy to do. Way to go!

Wow! What a great result! I also agree with you that movement will help. Not only with your weight loss but it will also help your skin to bounce back as much as it's going to. That's at least my theory. But like everyone has said, this is your journey and your body will behave in the way it was meant to. Keep up the great work. Keep positive and get active.

All the best you two! Prayers and good thoughts coming your way for a speedy recovery now, since your surgeries are probably over and you're getting ready to do your first walk. Hugs and loves ?

That is awesome news @Quinnmedicinewoman52! I hope your insurance turns the approval around fast so you can get the earlier date. Keep us posted.

Great advice here. Especially since the holidays are now upon us with one food event after the next. I'm still working on my own plans - December in particular is a food fest here in the office with people bringing in food every single day. We don't have a full-on Thanksgiving meal this year with the family so that is one benefit. However, that means I have to cook at least a turkey breast for my hubby, along with stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. Maybe I can negotiate some of those high calorie sides for some low calorie veggies. Wondering what everyone else is planning?