gpmed

If you're being ridiculous then I'm being ridiculous. My surgery is less than two weeks away and I'm nervous too! I actually posted about two weeks ago that I was so afraid I'd forget something important. Best advice I got was that it's kind of like having a baby. It's okay not to know every single thing ahead of time because you'll learn as you go. Right now, I'm concentrating on the next two months, getting everything ready before surgery that I can and having/knowing everything I need to get through the recovery period, liquid phases and onto soft foods after I get home. Once I get through those I'll focus on the next few chunks of time. Everything else is too far out into the future. This really helps me focus on what I need to focus on right now. This weekend I did a deep clean of my house so I'll be comfortable while I'm home. I cleaned out my food pantry and fridge and got my Proteins, supplements, meds, etc. organized and easily accessible. This kind of "nesting" gives me something productive to do and helps me feel ready. Also, your questions are not stupid. We're here to help!

Make sure you talk with your surgeon about possible complications, healing time, lifestyle before and after, and which surgery will give you personally the best chance of success. Do your own research too! If you're just beginning the journey, you have some time to decide while complete all of your insurance company and surgeon's requirements for surgery. Personally, I didn't decide on the bypass until my very last appointment with my surgeon. I told him everything I'd learned through research and he confirmed it would give me the best chance of success. Now I'm scheduled for 9/21. I promise you'll figure it out! Best of luck!!

@@Knitchic I hear you! My surgery is actually the day before yours. This weekend I've been channeling my nervousness into nesting. I did my phase 1 pantry and fridge clean out; chucked everything I didn't think I'd eat in the next two weeks or sometime after surgery. I also did a serious deep clean of my house, moved furniture to sweep and mop behind, ended up rearranging my living room furniture. I figure these are things I'll be glad I did when I'm home for six weeks. The last few nights I've had a little trouble sleeping and I keep thinking about all the things I want to eat while I still can. When I wake up the next morning I'm fine. It's just those few minutes. Weird.

Are you saying you've lost 17 pounds in your first three weeks since surgery? That sounds pretty normal and like it's working. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

@@nnv I feel bad saying this while everyone else is suffering, but my surgeon isn't making me do a pre-op diet. I'm just supposed to do clear liquids all day the day before and take a nice bottle of magnesium citrate.

@@mlmanney Mine's Sept. 21 also. We can be surgery twins!

Welcome! We're surgery buddies, btw. Mine's Sept. 21 also! I can't believe we only have a little over two weeks!

@@JamieLogical Thank you so much for sharing! You look amazing! It's really cool how sometimes I'll click on a post here and it will answer the worry I'm having that moment. I'm pre-op and while my primary reason for losing weight is to be healthy, I've also been worrying a bit about loose skin. I've been thinking it might be disappointing if I go through all this work, but what I've done to my body by being obese isn't reversible. It's nice to see someone who had such a great outcome! Maybe that can be me one day.

Totally agree! If you feel comfortable, drawing a very clear boundary would absolutely be appropriate here. Personally, I've made it clear I won't tolerate any inappropriate comments from anyone. The only person I've had a problem with so far is my sister and I made sure I shut that down really fast.

Thank you for posting this! I totally agree! I think the term "elective" should only be used to describe surgeries that are purely for aesthetics. WLS is certainly not one of those. My surgeon is actually pretty cool in that he's an advocate for reducing the stigma associated with WLS. He's lobbying for all insurance companies cover it and to stop making us jump through so many hoops. He said that when you have breast cancer, you can be treated at any hospital and your insurance will cover it, no questions asked. WLS should be like that. Even if some of the prep required by insurance companies is helpful, it should be the surgeons and medical professionals making those decisions, not insurance companies.

Same here and I'm not in a union environment. My boss isn't allowed to ask questions.

At my work, our paid time off comes out of one bucket, whether it's sick time, personal time or vacation. For the first two weeks, I'm using PTO. After that, short-term disability kicks in and pays 60 percent of my normal pay. I'll use PTO to make up the remaining 40 percent and get my normal paycheck. I'm taking off a total of five weeks and working from home one week. I'm also filling out FMLA paperwork. This protects my job. It means they can't just replace me while I'm out. I don't actually get any money from that. I suggest talking with your boss and/or contacting your HR rep to find out what's available to you. If you're comfortable with it, you can just tell them you're having surgery and need to be out, no elaboration. Your HR rep might find out if they handle your FMLA paperwork, but should be professional and keep it to themselves.

@@_Kate_ That was painful! I skip over posts with no punctuation too because they're too difficult to read. I sometimes skip big blocks of text too. They're too difficult to scan.

Dear iPhone Autocowrecks, I never mean "ducking." Love, Letitbeatles9

As an added feature, how about an explanation of the difference between "lose" and "loose?"

Piggybacking on what others have said, I'd advise you to compare the success rates of the band and sleeve. Like people have mentioned, the success rates following the sleeve mimic those of the bypass (though longer term studies of sleeve patients aren't available because it hasn't been around a long time like the bypass) and the band is statistically less successful. Also, research shows both the sleeve and bypass change the levels of several hormones related to hunger in your body, helping you lose weight and possibly feel less hungry. The band does not induce these changes. The hormone changes are not yet fully understood, so it's a bit of an unknown how long these changes last after bypass and sleeve.

Are you asking a question?

Absolutely! I'm very OCD about cleaning, but it's just me to clean up after, so that runs out.............. Can you bottle some of that energy for me? I could sure use it for my house.

Good luck to you both!

PS Things went pretty smoothly with them. It probably helped I had this nut who knew what she was doing as well as the insurance coordinator for my surgeon who is awesome. Aetna approved my surgery two days after my paperwork was submitted.

Just posted this in another thread: Hi there! I have Aetna. I was required to do three months (90 days) of nutritional counseling with a nutritionist or go on a six-month physician-supervised diet. I went with the three months with a nut. Btw, I was required to do 90 days, from the first appointment to the last. I had to add an extra appointment to meet that requirement. I did not have to do any kind of supervised exercise. My other requirements were 1. records of my weight a year ago and two years ago 2. psych eval. Hope this helps! To clarify, I went to a nut who was well-versed in my insurance requirements. She took care of everything. She was recommended to me by my surgeon. He sends many patients her way, so that's why she's in the know.

Hi there! I have Aetna. I was required to do three months (90 days) of nutritional counseling with a nutritionist or go on a six-month physician-supervised diet. I went with the three months with a nut. Btw, I was required to do 90 days, from the first appointment to the last. I had to add an extra appointment to meet that requirement. I did not have to do any kind of supervised exercise. My other requirements were 1. records of my weight a year ago and two years ago 2. psych eval. Hope this helps!

@@luvhermitcrabs I definitely understand your thinking. I didn't make my final decision to have the bypass instead of the sleeve until a week ago when I met with my surgeon to set the date (Sept. 21). I have Aetna insurance and my clinic's nurse told me the insurance would only authorize one surgery a time, but that if I changed my mind, it would only take a phone call to get authorization for the other procedure. Maybe you could ask your insurance company or your clinic what happens if you change your mind about which procedure to get. I'd be surprised if you had to start all over. That's assuming your surgeon is comfortable performing both procedures. If it helps at all, I was leaning toward the bypass all along because there are long-term studies demonstrating the success of the bypass, but not the sleeve because it's a relatively new procedure. I also think dumping might help as "aversion therapy" as you put it. Also, while the hormonal changes that take place after surgery are not fully understood, my surgeon said the current research shows they are longer-lasting for the bypass. Of course, that's the best understanding he can have today. Things could change in 10 or 20 years (too bad we can't hop in a time machine and find out!). I'm going with bypass because it seems, based on what we know today, that the bypass will give me the best chance of long-term success. This is just one doctor's opinion, btw. I just personally trust him.

@ Good luck tomorrow!!!

@@CHLOE12 I am definitely getting nervous. I have about three weeks left, so I've been channeling that into preparing — getting my leave paperwork in order at work, ordering protein, getting my apartment super clean, etc. I'm planning pretty soon to clean out my fridge and food cabinets of things that aren't on my plan. And putting my proteins, blender, supplements, etc all in order and easily accessible. I might make some kind of chart so I can check off all my meds and vitamins since they have to be taken at different times. I find this all calming because I'm doing what I can to make things easier for myself instead of focusing on all the worries I can't control!