thingirlinsideme

I had my appointment at the cardiologist today to get clearance for the surgery, and ended up getting a lot more than just cardiac clearance. The nurse who was doing my EKG asked me why I was there and I told her that I needed clearance for bariatric surgery and which procedure I was planning to do (sleeve).
After she finished the EKG she sat down next to me and said that she had gotten the same surgery five years ago. She told me that she lost 100 pounds in a year, kept it off for about a year and then gained every ounce of it back.
She said that over time you go from eating three bites to being able to eat five bites then a normal small meal and as time goes on if you keep eating and keep letting yourself get comfortable eating more, you will eventually eat exactly like you used to.
She said she knew she was addicted to food but that she was fully under the assumption that the sleeve was going to prevent her from eating more for pretty much the rest of her life.
She said that when she got down to a size 6 she was loving life and celebrating being thin and it made her want to go out more so instead of celebrating with hobbies and adventures and healthier things she kept celebrating with food. And that it was easy to feel like she was "done" what she set out to accomplish and didn't have to work at it anymore. So all her old habits came back.
I wanted to share that story because I felt like I was lucky to have been able to hear it before going through the procedure. She said that she did all the research, joined all the message boards, and everything she thought she needed to do to be prepared. But she never had a plan for how to eventually address emotional eating issues once it became time to enter the maintenance phase.
She gave me some advice like to not wait to start exercising so that it becomes part of your day before you hit maintenance. Also to continue going to support group meetings even long after losing the weight. Also that if legit food addiction is a problem for you then you'll need to possibly seek therapy and learn new coping skills because the surgery doesn't fix those things.
Some of those things I had heard before talking to her, but others were new lessons. And I'm so sorry for her that she wasn't prepared to handle her old emotional eating issues. But I was very glad to meet someone face to face who could tell me these things before I truly started the journey. I'm going to do whatever I can to not end up in that situation. It really seemed like she thought this was going to be the solution to all of her problems. So I'm hoping that since I have a grasp of the fact that I'll need to do a lot of work myself I am slightly ahead. But I know it's going to be hard.

Was wondering if anyone would like to start a Facebook page with me so it's easier to keep up with everyone. My sleeve is August 10th.

August 10th for me too! Can't wait!

August 10th for me too! Can't wait!

Hey Sugarbabe
We are going in the same day! VSG twins????. LOL! ????

August 10th for me! I find myself thinking about my new self contanstly. Each time i can't do something easily or take my medicine or use my cpap at night I just feel an overwhelming hope of being able to be rid of them. July 16th is preop boot camp. July 27th full liquid diet starts. I will do what I gotta do!!!

I'm August 18th. So excited. My husband had the surgery 7 months ago and has lost 135 so far. Makes me even more excited to have the surgery.

I got the call and surgery date is August 10th. I am excited. They still need to submit for approval. My only concern is the 2 year weight management history - in 2013 my BMI was 38 and this could be my only hold up. But I have faith and know this is going to happen for me.

Scheduled for August 21st & I wish it was today

I chickened out in 2014. My brother went through with it and feels great, looks great and no more sleep apnea. This is my year. He and I both have same insurance and similar history so I think I should get approved. I started my journey up again in January and finished everything last week. Just waiting for the "call" now. Can't wait!!

Congrats to all of you!!!
I am still going thru all the requirements my insurance wants...ughhhh. I started looking into getting a sleeve last summer. Went to seminar & chickened out. Then my sister tells me she looking into the gastric sleeve & how did I feel about it. I was super supportive & mentioned I had looked into it. Now she is 6 months post op & is doing great! So in January, I chose to start this process. I am scheduled for surgery August 10th if I get approved. My last required visit to my nutritionist is July 15th & by then all my required paperwork should be submitted for approval. Now that it's getting closer. I am getting anxious & worried that I won't get approved. I am trying to stay positive. Please pray for me.

Best of luck to you as well.

Scheduled for August 3. Excited & nervous. Will be on vacation July 10-19 then 2 week pre-op diet. Haven't told my work yet.
Best of luck to all of you!!

Scheduled for August 4th. Doctor one on one scheduled July 15th and till waiting to be contacted for any testing. Excited and nervous.

I'm August 12! I'm nervous and excited, wish it was here already. I go for my EGD tomorrow and I'm nervous about that too lol

I'm sooooo happy! I got a call from the Surgeon's office today and they scheduled me for surgery! We decided on August 10th. I wish it was sooner but I have a vacation planned for the end of July and don't want to be out of the country post-op. Suddenly my stomach is in knots and butterflies. I guess it's a mixture of joy and holy crap! lol Any other August sleevers??

I started my journey on April 29th. On July 6th my doctor will submit to my insurance for approval. This seems to take forever and a day but finally I am getting close. I am wishing for early August also. Once I get the good news like yourself I will be excited for the day to come. I also will get my vacation in just before I hope. Great to hear you are ready to go!

Hopefully my surgery will be in August (still waiting to confirm) but I have already reached out to my HR Director. They sent me all the paperwork and asked me to return it in 15 business days but that may just be our company policy. I also had a form that had to be sent to my doctors office to complete and they have to fill it out and send it directly back to my HR.
I only plan on taking 5 - 7 days off unless something happens and there are complications. I personally know quite a few people that have had lapband, sleeve and bypass and no one took more than two weeks. Even my sister who had the bypass said she was fine within a week (and she is a nurse...no desk job). But everyone is different!

Here are my most recent before/after pics taken at 22 months post op.

I'm also a NICU nurse. I originally took 3 weeks off. I tried to return to work, but after 1 shift I ended up back in the hospital with dehydration. We cannot have even WATER anywhere near patient care areas, and you know a NICU nurse spends her entire shift in the patient care area! My doc gave me an additional 3 weeks disability so I was off for a total of 6 weeks. I still didn't have my energy back so it was hard, my body still adjusting to consuming only about 500 calories a day, but it got better.
A year later, now that the weight is gone i have more energy than I've had in decades! No more BP meds, lipid panel normal, no more snoring/sleep apnea, my life is very different, but in a great way!
Feel free to private message me if you have more questions or just want to chat.

Yay! So excited for you!!

@@rln, I was able to start driving once I was off the pain meds. Pre-op j was using GNC's Total Lean 25 powder shakes. I found the powder more filling and creamier than the pre-made Total Lean 25 shakes. Post-op, I do the pre-made since they are a bit thinner and go down easier. I do the powder Total Lean every so often but I use Water instead of milk.
Also, I was using Unjury's unflavored Protein powder to get an added Protein boost to my Soups and other foods. However, I've switched to Musclegen GENEPRO unflavored Protein Powder. I can only find it on Amazon or on Genepro's website, though. It's about $10-$15 more than Injury, but you get much more out of it because you only need 1 tablespoon to get 30g of protein. powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury is 21g for a larger scoop that is = to about 2-2.5 tablespoons. Additionally, the GENEPRO dissolves much better in food and drinks.
In regards to diet, technically, I'm supposed to be on soft foods till 6/22, but I'm actually eating whatever. For the most part they are soft but this weekend at a birthday party I had about 4 chips but I just chewed them very, very well. Most foods are soft as long as you chew well, ya know? I try to limit my carbs because my nutritionist promotes the low carb diet, but I don't freak out. In my opinion I'm eating so little that a teaspoon of rice or 4 chips once or twice a week isn't the end of the world especially if everything else that enters my mouth had a high nutritional value.
I do need to start upping my veggies because a high protein diet is killer on your lower digestive system. Fiber gumnie and stool softeners are a must.
Lastly, I'm also taking 1 Probiotics pill daily. It has 4 billion active cultures or whatever the term is that they use. Supposedly, and you may be able to find more about this searching the boards, there was a scientific study that was done on bypass patients testing the affect of Probiotics on weightloss and the group that had the probiotics lost a much higher percentage of weight. I know that was for bypass patients, but probiotics can help everyone even if they don't help me lose weight, IMHO they help digestion in general.I'll look for the link to the article and I'll post it.

@thingirlibsideme, I have 1 cup of coffee per day 5-7 days per week. I sometimes put a bit of instant coffee in my chocolate Protein Shakes for my daily cup of Joe. I'm not wigging out over 1 cup and neither is my Dr. Maybe you can try half caff? Chat with your doctor about acceptable options.

My surgeons office called me today and moved my surgery from the 9th to the 1st!!! I of course said yes to the offer. Then freaked out when I hung up. Lol. My pre op diet starts Wednesday!!!! Yay!!!!

I have BCBS. After 3 months of documentation and a therapist visit, I was approved in 48hours. So it went super fast for me. Good luck with everything!