catwoman7

mine was a 6. The PA at my surgeon's office said with that mild a case, he wouldn't bother getting a CPAP because it was likely to clear up after I'd lost 20 lbs or so. My insurance company never said anything. I also had pretty bad arthritis that was almost certainly exacerbated by my weight, so the insurance may have counted that instead - although since my BMI was WAY over 35, I really didn't need to have co-morbidities to qualify.

lots of us are in our 60s - you're not too old. You could live another 20-30 years - esp if you get rid of those co-morbidities. Only you can make that decision, but speaking only for myself, I'm glad I made the decision and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Should have done it YEARS ago.

I had something like this with my plastic surgery. It was not covered by insurance, but I got a bill for $144K about a month after my surgery. I'd actually already paid for the surgery - self-pays generally have to pay BEFORE the surgery, but it was around $20K, not $144K. But still, I shouldn't have been billed AT ALL unless they had to do something unforeseen (which they did not). It took a few months and several phone calls to get this all cleared up. They did stop sending me bills for $144K pretty quickly, but then they started sending me bills for $20K - which is about what I paid, BUT I'D ALREADY PRE-PAID it!!! ARRRGGGGHHHH!!! Luckily, it's over now. I think. (I can't really blame the hospital - their billing is outsourced to some third party. But still...)

yes

I just bought a wedge pillow - and used a few other pillows with it to prop myself up - and it worked fine. It was pretty painful getting in and out of bed, but the pain just lasts a few seconds, and only for the first few days.

176 lbs in a year is A TON of weight loss - well above average. Congratulations! I was eating around 1000-1200 calories a day after the one year mark. I did continue to lose into year 2 (I think I stopped losing at about 20 months out), but it was DEADLY slow. Like maybe 2 or 3 lbs a month. But I totally expected that - weight loss slows down considerably once you get close to goal. I'd just keep up with what you're doing - you may drop a few more lbs. And ignore the sugar and bread cravings!!! I really stuck to my plan until I hit maintenance - and I'm sure that's why I was able to lose all of my excess weight.

yea - I was surprised how thin I looked at 138 lbs. I'm 5'6", so that is in the middle of my normal BMI range. But I got so bony looking that there were a lot of clothes I just couldn't/wouldn't wear - like tops with low necklines. Every rib showed when I was at that weight, and it looked awful to see that. I'm fine with a bony collarbone (and I still have that), but I was self-conscious about all those ribs sticking out (and showing!). It didn't look very good..

LOL - it was an indoor pool - I live in Wisconsin!! I don't know that I feel any different (138 vs 150), but some of the clothes that fit me at 138 are tight on me now, and I don't look as wrinkly and bony. My husband was just telling me over the weekend that he saw a picture of me from 2017, and he thinks a look a lot better now. Who knew???

we were allowed to eat sugar free Jello. I ate it with abandon because it was the only thing I could have that somewhat resembled real food. I mean like I'd make a whole thing of it and eat half of it (or more!) in one sitting!

it's not inevitable, but A LOT of people do. As in most. I was thinking about how to answer your question while I was at the pool. I've heard different possible reasons, but that set point thing that an above poster mentioned actually popped into my mind. I had a DEXA scan when I was at 146 to see how much more weight I needed to lose. My body fat at that point was 22%, which is OK but pretty lean for women. I was told not to lose anymore weight, but I eventually dropped down to 138 without really trying. Around year three, my weight started gradually going up until I hit 150, and it seems to have settled there. I've been there for 1.5 years, and can maintain it without too much effort. I think 138 was just too low for me and I would have had to have fought my body tooth and nail to stay there. My set point seems to be 150. If I eat less for awhile and lose - or eat more for awhile and gain, then I'll eventually get back to 150. My body seems to be at equalibrium - or whatever - there. some other factors people have speculated are the ending of malabsorption (this would only apply to RNY'ers, though), diet fatigue (which can mean going off plan more often and/or not monitoring yourself as closely), introducing more things into your diet that you would have never touched while in weight loss mode (e.g., more carbs. I still don't eat a lot of them, but I definitely eat more carbs than I did when I was in weight loss phase). SOOOO....I don't know if they know exactly why, other than it's very common. We were even told that during the pre-op classes.

yep - a lot of us automatically seem to gain 10-20 lbs during year 3. I'd be careful with trying to put on weight, to be honest....

a lot of PCP's now seem to be of the mindset that those of us "older adults" (and that would include me....) should weigh somewhere in the 23-27 BMI range. According to this train of thought, we need a little cushion for if/when we get sick. So if you go by this, you're fine where you are. if you want to know your percentage of fat vs bone vs muscle, see if there's any place around you that does those sports or commercial DEXA scans. The ones at the doctor's office only measure bone density, but the commercial & sports ones also measure body composition. I had one at 146 lbs because I was planning to lose more weight and wondered how much further I was from my goal. My fat measured 22% on that scan. OK - but on the lean side. So basically, I was already at a good goal without even knowing it! The scan technician - and my PCP - both told me it was time to stop. Who knew? But anyway, that might be a helpful gauge for you...

40 lbs in a month is A LOT for average WLS patients. Some people do it, but they're definitely outliers. You see that more often in people who start at sky high BMI's. So you're lucky!! Congratulations!

the first two or three days can be a real challenge, but just power through it. It gets easier after that. The pre-op diet for me was the hardest part of the whole thing. Just white knuckle it...it'll be over before you know it!

they say marriages that are strong to begin with stay strong or can even improve. Those that have underlying issues can sometimes dissolve - probably because the person losing weight often becomes more self-confident and doesn't want to put up with the crap anymore. my marriage, if anything, got stronger. My husband has never had a weight problem and was very active - at almost 400 lbs, I couldn't keep up with him. Now, I can! I think we've gotten closer since my surgery.

too bad they're limiting your choices of shakes so much. People's tastes are all over the board with this. Luckily, I was given a list of "acceptable" shakes, and I found a couple of brands I liked. you won't feel nauseated for very long. And you'll eventually be able to eat most things - just in more limited quantities than you did pre-op. But for now, just power through your surgeon's plan...

it's just the three-week stall. Do a search on it - you'll find HUNDREDS of posts on it. Almost all of us experience it. It may not be exactly the third week for you - sometimes it's the second and sometimes it's the fourth - but that early stall (within the first 4-6 weeks of surgery) happens to almost everyone. Just stick to your program and it will eventually break (mine lasted two weeks). Stay off the scale if you have to. But it WILL break. And stop cheating - STICK TO YOUR PLAN!

it's also easy enough for most of us to hide that a lot of people decide to just live with it. I DID eventually have mine removed because I couldn't stand looking at it when I was in the shower, etc, but no one else knew it was there. I was somewhat restricted in what I could wear - for example, sleeves had to be at least elbow-length, I had to wear jeans or "tummy-control" pants/leggings (something like Spanx probably would have worked to hold in the gut skin, too - although I didn't try that), and tops had to be slightly oversized and long enough to cover my gut, but given I followed those rules, the excess skin wasn't noticeable AT ALL. P.S. the photo of me I just added - that is me BEFORE I had plastic surgery. I lost over 200 lbs. See all the excess skin? I didn't think so....

sometimes they do it at the same time, sometimes they wait a few months. It probably depends on your particular situation and your surgeon...

I agree with this 100%. Yes plans can vary quite a lot, but your surgeon may have reasons for requiring a certain plan. Plus if you develop some kind of issue, you can honestly tell him/her you've been following the plan. I would be embarrassed to report that I'd been "experimenting" if there was some issue.

pain is kind of all across the board. Although most of us experience very little pain, some unfortunate souls experience a lot. It should get better every day, though...

I'd start changing my eating habits ASAP. I did it gradually - I slowly brought my calories down, increased my protein, and decreased my carbs. I weaned myself gradually off caffeine and carbonated beverages. I did this over the course of a few months so it wouldn't be a radical change. Then once I had surgery, I was kind of used to the new lifestyle.

it's pretty strong - may want to just drink half a bottle first. If that doesn't do the trick, have the rest of it tomorrow. Some people have explosive diarrhea if they get too much of it.

you have to stick to the plan, even on holidays, unfortunately!

yep - stick to your surgeon's plan