IncredibleShrinkingMan

I only take chewable B12 and D3 and they feel fine. My Multivitamin leaves me standing over the sink or behind bushes for minutes and minutes on end until the nausea goes away. I take Calcium and Iron that are non-chewables that do not cause this problem. I am looking for chewable recommendations, by the way, if you have any.

I am all of the above of your first paragraph. I passed it with flying colors and I could tell he was only interviewing me to check off the insurance requirement as well as the hospital's own formal requirement. It is in their best interest to approve you (more business), so unless you have any very worrisome attribute, I would not lose a second of sleep over this. Or the sleep study. Or anything else. Good luck!

@@JamieLogical
Virginia...it's Cupid's run, held on Valentine's Day in all conditions. So far the winter's been very kind to my outdoor workouts.

@@JamieLogical
Virginia...it's Cupid's run, held on Valentine's Day in all conditions. So far the winter's been very kind to my outdoor workouts.

I am all of the above of your first paragraph. I passed it with flying colors and I could tell he was only interviewing me to check off the insurance requirement as well as the hospital's own formal requirement. It is in their best interest to approve you (more business), so unless you have any very worrisome attribute, I would not lose a second of sleep over this. Or the sleep study. Or anything else. Good luck!

Depending on what your insurance will cover, I am a big fan of giving the sleeve a shot at any starting weight. With any surgery, your final weight potential is dependent upon where you begin, and it's not like bypass circumvents (I really wanted to say "bypass" two words in a row LOL) that rule. This may even be a situation where you use the sleeve for its original purpose, i.e., the first step of a BPD-DS. But ask yourself if you think your problem is carbs and sugar. If you are like me and just have trouble with quantity and constant hunger, the bypass will probably add little to what you can accomplish with the sleeve. However, if you are sugar crazy, the bypass will do a lot more to knock that out, and will probably offer you substantially more than the sleeve. Please discuss with NUT and MD! This is just a start.

Note also that the maximum follow-up was 9 years. Chances are things go awry for traditional interventions much sooner than that, and I've read studies that say 90% of people put every pound back on within 3 years. These are grim statistics, and I would hope it would only cause more insurance to cover bariatric surgery, and above all, I hope that in time the "eat less and lose more" rhetoric becomes as backwards as racism and gender discrimination.

Honestly, I have some just because it tends to be a golden rule, but the morning is when the sleeve is least cooperative and will tolerate the least amount of food or drink. Greek yogurt is about the max. However, an additional post-op benefit to having Breakfast is that it will have your sleeve warmed up to get your proper mid-day nutrition, as opposed to eating a few bites and then just being ravenous in the later PM, when you are supposed to steer clear of calories.

People are confused not because they are not educating themselves but because they are over-educating themselves. They are reading and listening to their own instructions, and then are going online or talking to friends and reading other people's instructions, which, needless to say, are as different as every surgeon is. The more they try to solve the problem, the worse the problem gets. Most people are asking these questions with an answer in mind and are just looking for a majority out of what they have already heard. Unfortunately, what they receive is usually just more confusion.

Depending on what your insurance will cover, I am a big fan of giving the sleeve a shot at any starting weight. With any surgery, your final weight potential is dependent upon where you begin, and it's not like bypass circumvents (I really wanted to say "bypass" two words in a row LOL) that rule. This may even be a situation where you use the sleeve for its original purpose, i.e., the first step of a BPD-DS. But ask yourself if you think your problem is carbs and sugar. If you are like me and just have trouble with quantity and constant hunger, the bypass will probably add little to what you can accomplish with the sleeve. However, if you are sugar crazy, the bypass will do a lot more to knock that out, and will probably offer you substantially more than the sleeve. Please discuss with NUT and MD! This is just a start.

@@lakiaki You actually are just into the obesity range at 30 BMI. However, you don't meet the typical criteria (40 BMI, or 35 BMI with complication) for sleeve or RNY. There is a recent movement to perform lapband on lower weight patients like yourself who have far less to lose than, for example, I do. The question is, since that is a more conservative procedure that has far lower success rates, do you really want to go through the trouble? I don't actually know why they expanded the eligibility to 30-35 for lapband, since these are the patients least likely to see any benefit.
You can probably find a doctor that will do it at 30 BMI, however, you may have to convince him that the DM2 prevalent in your family counts as a comorbidity, as even within this expanded category, a complication is typically required at 30 BMI.
Do not...repeat DO NOT...attempt to gain weight to gain eligibility. The road you are facing right now is far easier than it would be even with a better surgical option.

@@lakiaki You actually are just into the obesity range at 30 BMI. However, you don't meet the typical criteria (40 BMI, or 35 BMI with complication) for sleeve or RNY. There is a recent movement to perform lapband on lower weight patients like yourself who have far less to lose than, for example, I do. The question is, since that is a more conservative procedure that has far lower success rates, do you really want to go through the trouble? I don't actually know why they expanded the eligibility to 30-35 for lapband, since these are the patients least likely to see any benefit.
You can probably find a doctor that will do it at 30 BMI, however, you may have to convince him that the DM2 prevalent in your family counts as a comorbidity, as even within this expanded category, a complication is typically required at 30 BMI.
Do not...repeat DO NOT...attempt to gain weight to gain eligibility. The road you are facing right now is far easier than it would be even with a better surgical option.

Read the menu online before going. See if anything offered as an appetizer would suit you as an entrée. Google images of the food posted on yelp or thrillist or something. See if anything you like is being offered as half portions. Anything that can conceivably be ordered on the side, order it on the side! Plan on having the same thing for dinner (or breakfast/lunch) out of your to-go box. As always, stop when you feel fullness and order the to-go box! Don't order dessert. But if you have to have a bite of something sweet, ask somebody to give you a taste of theirs.

Think positive. You made a wonderful decision, and the positives will in time overtake the negatives with a little help from your own efforts. Your pre-op probably hasn't begun yet, but now would be a great time to kiss some of those old "necessities" goodbye and start clean eating...mainly because this will help you with the much stricter pre-op diet you will follow and then of course with the early stage post-op diet. The surgery will help you beat back the cycle of retaliation your body (and all of our bodies) has programmed to prevent us from attaining health. Meanwhile, the mental changes need to occur on your own, otherwise, you'll be left with a thinner version of your old self. Years down the road, if these outside factors aren't addressed, then coupled with the fact that some eating capacity will have returned (though nowhere close to current levels), you risk falling back into old patterns. Exercise helps clear your head as well, and will eventually be required for you to maintain your weight once you reach your goal. Happy trails, and a warm welcome to the community!

I was told only that I couldn't have any durring the first two weeks.
i've had plenty of soda and I've still lost lots of weight

Hi folks,
They will give you everything you need in the hospital, but as far as what you want to have at home, be sure you have tried a few brands of Protein shakes that you enjoy or at least can handle and have a week or two worth of them stocked up. liquid phase may only be a few weeks, depending on your surgeon, but if you start to have trouble with thicker foods, you may be asked to briefly retreat to shakes to get Protein before trying to advance again. Other things you should have are cushions and pillows, not just to find a comfortable position to sit in, but to press up against your incision sites when you cough or sneeze...it won't completely eliminate the discomfort but otherwise that will be quite painful for about a week. My one other must-have that I can draw from personal experience is to be sure to have lots of blankets and warm clothes...you will feel your temperature set point drop dramatically right away. I was freezing cold in August, and now it's December. See if you can find some warmer socks, sweat pants, and sweat shirts and have them ready...this is what a severe calorie drop will do...you will start burning fat and that will eventually warm your body back up, but that takes time. Other than that, everyone knows his/her own life the best, and unless stated otherwise, it's fine to do right away!

Totally. It makes me feel really empowered to be eating hearty food and asking for to-go boxes every time. I feel like I am one of everybody else now...lamenting that the food is too much instead of clearing the whole plate in five minutes. I am not counting or measuring or restricting anything (except for straight carbs) and I am comfortably in the 1 lb/wk phase now.
Welcome back from your getaway!

Bring a book or two...if you are lucky enough to wake up quickly not be nauseous, you will want something to do. I get that there's a TV, but that got boring and when you're wired up, it is hard to occupy yourself meaningfully. Also, leave all step-tracking devices at home if you use them...the few steps you miss are not worth losing it for!

Totally. It makes me feel really empowered to be eating hearty food and asking for to-go boxes every time. I feel like I am one of everybody else now...lamenting that the food is too much instead of clearing the whole plate in five minutes. I am not counting or measuring or restricting anything (except for straight carbs) and I am comfortably in the 1 lb/wk phase now.
Welcome back from your getaway!

The bed, not the girl! We are just back from a four-day getaway and our beautifully-appointed hotel room had a Queen. Before weight loss? No way! For years it's had to be a King but no more. But now it was just fine. Oh, and I just hopped off the scale and did not gain a thing despite the fact that I ate deliciously-rich restaurant food (mostly French) -- those small portions really work. And I love it that now I can (and do) just stop. Now for some serious exercise (another NSV -- wanting to do it!).

Think positive. You made a wonderful decision, and the positives will in time overtake the negatives with a little help from your own efforts. Your pre-op probably hasn't begun yet, but now would be a great time to kiss some of those old "necessities" goodbye and start clean eating...mainly because this will help you with the much stricter pre-op diet you will follow and then of course with the early stage post-op diet. The surgery will help you beat back the cycle of retaliation your body (and all of our bodies) has programmed to prevent us from attaining health. Meanwhile, the mental changes need to occur on your own, otherwise, you'll be left with a thinner version of your old self. Years down the road, if these outside factors aren't addressed, then coupled with the fact that some eating capacity will have returned (though nowhere close to current levels), you risk falling back into old patterns. Exercise helps clear your head as well, and will eventually be required for you to maintain your weight once you reach your goal. Happy trails, and a warm welcome to the community!

Not only have I not convinced anybody to have the surgery, but I will not even broach the subject with somebody who is of a category to be considering it. I think it is entirely inappropriate to bring up the possibility (I am not a doctor of any kind, but I don't think even surgeons or PCPs should be doing any more than mentioning it as a possibility) other than to make sure somebody is aware of the option (and that is if you are a doc). This is a decision that has to be organically rooted in one's own mind, and undue outside influence is bad even if the person ends up having the surgery and is wildly successful.
I would understand disagreement with this particular stance, but I am adamantly against actively prodding somebody in this direction.

Not only have I not convinced anybody to have the surgery, but I will not even broach the subject with somebody who is of a category to be considering it. I think it is entirely inappropriate to bring up the possibility (I am not a doctor of any kind, but I don't think even surgeons or PCPs should be doing any more than mentioning it as a possibility) other than to make sure somebody is aware of the option (and that is if you are a doc). This is a decision that has to be organically rooted in one's own mind, and undue outside influence is bad even if the person ends up having the surgery and is wildly successful.
I would understand disagreement with this particular stance, but I am adamantly against actively prodding somebody in this direction.

List of people I let know:
Immediate household (not feasible to hide it from them, and didn't care to either)
Boss
Best friend
Best friend's roommate who, as luck would have it, works as a NUT for a local bariatric program (not the one I used)
To me, that's a complete package. However, anybody on this list who wouldn't be supportive should not be told just because they are in one of these categories. It is probably best not to tell people who would try to talk you out of it. Especially if they aren't heavy, they have no reason to know about the grim data facing old-school weight loss hopefuls.

Not only have I not convinced anybody to have the surgery, but I will not even broach the subject with somebody who is of a category to be considering it. I think it is entirely inappropriate to bring up the possibility (I am not a doctor of any kind, but I don't think even surgeons or PCPs should be doing any more than mentioning it as a possibility) other than to make sure somebody is aware of the option (and that is if you are a doc). This is a decision that has to be organically rooted in one's own mind, and undue outside influence is bad even if the person ends up having the surgery and is wildly successful.
I would understand disagreement with this particular stance, but I am adamantly against actively prodding somebody in this direction.