jdc121975

Omg Karen. Ty so much for that response, it was probably one of the most detailed and honest rundowns I've heard to date. I did have my final "before surgery" meet with the surgeon yesterday. He relaxed my mind a bit as he told me with my pre op weight loss of 40 pounds and a week to go he won't be using a urinary cath, also that the drainage thing he removes prior to leaving hospital unless it's a rare situation. First time ever I got a report of my lean muscle, BMI, and fat percentages and was shown with my lean muscle being 161 pounds of my current body that my weight possibility is about 190 - 200 as long as I don't allow that muscle to drop - keep moving and Protein coming in. I realized after leaving the surgeons office that there were questions that may not have been so important to me because I forgot to ask them when I had his ear. When will I be able to ride a Rollercoaster was just never on my mind when I was there, because in the end as this date gets closer that's just so far at the bottom of the list of need to know that I will think to ask after surgery maybe. They took me off insulin as of yesterday as well, only on lisinopril for kidneys and metformin for diabetes currently and internist told me there's a solid chance I can expect both those gone post op as well!!!!!! I'll take that in exchange for some pain and Vitamins. I'm still scared, I'm dying one way or the other on that table on the 28th at 12:30 PM. THIS man will cease to be here when I wake up in recovery, a NEW life will have been awarded to me. It feels strange to think about it this way, even scarier to some that I've told this to, but how else can one describe 39 years of food being the primary focus and eating bing the thing I was the best at doing and going thru this surgery to have food become the least important thing and eating becoming the thing I'll be the worst at. My kids are 8 and 5 and although they've gained some bad eating choices from their dad, they haven't gained weight like some kids - blessed as i feel to have thinner children I feel more blessed to have the opportunity to make an example going forward on what are the better choices food and exercise wise for them. And when I drop to 200 pounds I'm gonna grab them each up at one time and walk down the block, just to remember what it felt like to walk around with an extra 80-100 pounds (I'll have to borrow the neighbors kid to remember what an extra 150 pounds felt like) Focus and drive and just stubborn enough to make sure this happens the right way.

Medicare B covers 80% surgery, if you have Medicaid that covers the rest. As far as skin afterwards rest easy because if u get rashes, boils, etc. Medicare DOES cover the skin issue with a doctor documenting the sanitation and health problems caused by it. Keep with it and also may want to check other places, I know the place I'm getting mine done doesn't have a waiting list just a set amount of things one needs to do before they schedule. Others have less some have more but first I've heard of 5 years.

I saw potatoes and cereal and I was kinda shocked. I'm still pre op and surgery in 8 days but the biggest thing I keep hearing is PROTEIN first. And ZERO potatoes. Now I'm from the Midwest so meat and potatoes has been my basic "diet" for years and years - it's how I got to 350 plus pounds to be quite honest. There is no way any of us can lose substantial weight eating a diet to starchy carbs and low protein. As harsh is this may be to hear, why did you get the surgery if you didn't like meat? I'm not being sarcastic but if I wasn't going to give up candy I certainly wouldn't let anyone surgically cut me up when the deal was give it up. Toss the cereal and potatoes, replace them with almonds and sunflower seeds, cottage cheese, Swiss cheese, tuna salad, tilapia, shrimp, crab (real not fake), turkey, chicken, beef, yogurt (Greek), etc but ZERO potatoes and cereal. We are all given a "tool" with this surgery and although this tool can tip the scale into our favor and give us better odds of being smaller and healthier - we ultimately need to take responsibility and stop the insanity "always do what you've always done and you will always get what you've always gotten" Best of luck, I know you can get on track - that's why we are here. I feel fortunate that the facility I will be having my surgery seems to have an awesome approach to pre op and post op support, not to mention I was just told both surgeons are in every surgery they do. I felt safer somehow when I was told that. No potatoes.

I just got a nice invite to a private fb group that literally divided up by the month you have surgery! Awesome if anyone is interested and has FB let me know and I'll forward your email address to get you invited (only way to gain access). But great to talk to people on there too that are specifically undergoing this surgery at the same time.

@RNY yup it sure is, at 12:30 I'm scheduled to be asleep while the surgeons work, looks like we will both be waking up on the other side in less than 9 days.

The pre op diet has lowered my need for high doses of insulin so I'm hoping to see un medicated diabeties post op, I'll let you know in 9 days though.

Oh my god I think I worry more about that drainage tube than I do the surgery, the Water consumption, the loss of jelly Beans, or even saying goodbye to the salesperson at the big and tall store for ever.... That tube, and the little grenade thing on the end freak me out more than anything. But I'm officially 9 days away from waking up after surgery with it on my waist like a temporary pager, yup I'm that old. Well luckily I barely recall corded phones and never used a rotary dial... Okay off topic for a brief second there but heck at least that was a second I wasn't thinking about this drain. I'm normally really good at focusing on one thing, but I see so many things fly through my head as this surgery closes in on itself. Wondering if the 64oz of water is a pain to drink after a year or two or does it get easier? I have no issue drinking that much now, but heck I can do that in 10 minutes now, it's the carrying around a bottle all day that I fret doing. I mean there are some circumstances in my day where it would just require a 3rd hand. I imagine myself following the wife through the mall holding all her bags, the kids hand, my empty wallet, and wearing a beer hat with two bottles of water hooked up to it and a straw (oops straws not allowed lol) to keep sipping on that water......please please Goddess Sheba I need a hand. Seriously though, does the "always be sipping" rule extend for life or is it easier to get in the water around quicker down the road? That's my question for today. Well unless someone knows if insurance will sometimes cover a home care nurse after surgery if I need to go home with drainage tube. Congrats to all that have come out on the other side and best wishes to us waiting for our day.

How are you doing recovery wise? And congrats on making it to the other side.

I'm about 9 days away from surgery and I keep craving food like mad the closer it gets. I've fought off the cravings now for a few weeks, have felt like I've been starving myself for weeks, feel like I've done a great job barely ever sneaking a bad carb. BUT..... I feel like if it's this bad now, how bad is it going to be after surgery when it's all done? Is this normal at the stage I'm at? Is it normal to feel like I'm starving? I don't want to feel so hungry anymore. Please someone tell me it's going to feel different post op then it does now.

I'm glad to hear that. Trust me, i know first hand it's not the easiest decision to make, but it won't be the hardest one either of us makes over the next few weeks. 9 days away for me, 2 days for you - always do your best and I'll share this since someone told me it today "your going to fail at some point, the key is to realize you don't reverse all your hard work with a single failure but rather the acceptance that a single failure defines future choices."

I ran into this same question the other day and I asked the nurse on duty, her response was "your on a pre op diet. Is beer part of that pre op diet?" Was pretty clear the answer was something I already knew. Seriously, alcohol is a no no for life for many reasons. They say a little wine or liquor on the rocks or its Water after a year but beer is carbonated. So if you can do without it - do it. Btw I sat with 20 professional firefighters in a bar who were all off duty drinking beer and eating wings, I managed on water and had a couple wings. No one minded, I still had a great time. You can pass the beer, I'm sure your surgery and new life beyond matters more.

Glad your safe and it went well.

I realize that there are local organized meetings thru the area bariatrics program but I'd like to connect to some other people that are pre op and in final stretch. I want to know I'm not the only one sitting in this town waiting and wondering and sitting in my own head with all my thoughts good and bad. My wife is wonderful but there's so much she doesn't understand not being in my shoes. So many things she's worried about that I can't even begin to comfort her on because I just don't know how to comfort the woman I love, the mother of my children when she's asks the "what if...." Question. I just don't cannot handle more on my plate (wow weird to say those last few words considering my plate is exactly what caused all this). So anyone in my area, let's talk. Anyone not in my area, let's talk too.

Some nice questions, hope so,ex answers come in for you so I can avoid asking them myself. I'm nearing 10 days away now when the clock strikes midnight here - I'm finding myself sitting with my thoughts more and more as the date approaches. I haven't stocked anything, do have a couple containers of Syntrax nectar Protein mix but I've been enjoying that for weeks now. My big concern is keeping the Jello and Popsicles stocked post op because my 5 and 8 year old will be loving that those items are there too. Also careful with those bars - lots of sugar in them normally (but if ya found a carb free brand let me know - big reason I love Syntrax is ZERO carbs and sugars) Talk anytime, I'm running on anxiety fear and nerves so trying to keep busy.

Give the dietician a call or the surgeon, something may actually be wrong. I've been explained it could be head hunger but you know you and if your confident it's stomach hunger then it's possible it's something more serious. Make a call to the surgeons office. Best of luck.

Wow! I just decided to see what a 4oz portion would be like to eat (so i have an idea of my forever portion of protein) and WOW! It took some serious patience to keep chewing and chewing and chewing something that I could have swallowed immediately as it melts on entry. But I made it 27 minutes. Sadly I'm craving fluids both while eating and after as has been an issue I have t figured out a way around just yet. Any advice on that? I always drink while I eat so above all else the no drinking 1 hour prior/after is going to be rough on me.

The first time I tried to go thru the process the psychological booted me from surgery based on a serious of questions on a multiple choice test. I was shown to be too truthful and question authority too much to be successful with a bariatric surgery. Waited 3 years or so and restarted whole process, this time passed the psychological and the rest and was denied by my initial insurance instead - I fought and changed insurance which took an additional 6 month and now have surgery scheduled for the 28th of this month. My advice, be honest but also no matter what their decision don't give up and feel defeated because your the only one who REALLY knows you. And the psychological testing is repeatable.

I waited for this surgery now for nearly 2 years and this was after dedicating a year plus to getting qualified 5 years earlier only to be denied due to the immense amount of "hoops". Now I've gotten to the finish line so to say and I've got more emotions creeping up as the day nears and the classes and appointments add in details. Well I've never seen so many different methods to one procedure in my life. Can eat this, can't eat that. This portion that portion. Protein supplements, no protein supplements. Sex after 6 weeks, sex after a week or two, sex when you can tolerate it. Straws vs. no straws. I mean you look online and there's a different approach to the "post operative" eating for as many places that conduct the surgery. How is this helpful? Protein first? Love this idea since I love meat, fish, and chicken. But 60-70 grams of protein isn't coming from 12 - 16 ounces of meats, eggs, fish, yogurt, etc in a day but I'm told by my facility that protein supplements are a no go (but their dietician says 4oz is ok as a meal replacement) - so not sure why I read other facilities encourage 8oz of protein drinks 30 minutes after meals and mine is conflicted between nurse and dietician on use of it at all. A month ago I was 350 pounds, I'm down to 323 by increasing activities, lowering portions, and eliminating most carbs during the pre operative diet. It's not been easy but I feel it's best to listen and do as I'm told by the facility that's doing the surgery. I'm just so tossed on when to "not listen". I enjoy protein shakes and during Syntrax Nectar zero carb ones that give me 56 grams of protein to 16oz of water. I'd say that's a massive PLUS as I've already got to consume 64oz of clear fluids so wouldn't this be a positive for any one of these surgeries? And when it comes to straws vs. cups for drinking due to "air" give me a break. I have tested this theory for months now and unless your gulping the air (like some kids do to force burping) then neither approach adds more or less air to the belly. Now true I'm no scientist or surgeon but it's the same feeling either way i drink. So why the straw requirement? What proof do they have that more air comes into the stomach with a straw vs. without? Yes I'm a "proof" guy. I need to see it to believe it or at the very least be shown an example or two that makes sense. Sex. Well I'm a guy, so I honestly can't see how ANYTHING besides incision pain could affect sex. I mean I'm not talking rough, throw around, animalistic, multiple partner, drunk, 50 shades of grey, sex.....I'm talking married with children, we have finally got the kids to bed, I had a long day sex. So why the blanket 6 weeks answer I was given? Why the range of when your feeling up to it all the way to 8 weeks post operative? And the drainage tube. Well I'm NO GOOD with blood. And in the teaching class I went to it was explained that some people go home with this and need to empty it. Screw that, doesn't insurance cover home care nurses to come empty that stuff and check for issues? When does buying a new car require me to physically change the oil and transmission fluid? Man when I'm nervous or anxious I ramble and when I'm scared I tend to analyze, so about now I'm going into a a combination of asking, talking, and answering all in the same sentences when I'm around people. I'm used to laughing off pain and hiding behind joking and kidding around when I am uncomfortable. I've never really been me. I never felt like "me" was what people would like to be around. I feel trapped in my own body. I always have. I have always rather stay away from people then to work so hard to hide how uncomfortable I was around them. I was always great at that though, no one has ever realized how fake I was. But the real me, the true me, the big guy who still remembers being an 8 year old in Sears with his mom being told i needed the "husky" pants well that person has been hidden pretty well. Gosh can't believe I wrote that. Can't believe I'm scared to have this surgery, but scared to fall asleep and forget to have a CpAp mask on too. Scared I'll forget I took my insulin and take too much. Scared now that I'll eat too much and give myself a heart attack,my it scared after surgery I'll eat too much and vomit or have dumping. I've weighed the risks out, I really have and I KNOW this surgery is my last hope and my best option. Being analytical intend to really look at every choice and resulting tree from those choices. I've heard some people in my lifetime state how racism is the worst thing in the world because it demoralizes and is easily passed on thru generations from a racist parent to their child. Well while I agree that racism is horrible, i believe obesity is even easier to pass down to our children. I am a fat, over eating dad who watches TV and plays video games most of the time because it's easy to do and my weight has made me so uncomfortable in social settings. Because it's easier to eat more while at home close to the food. Therefore my young kids play video games and watch TV, and eat junk too. I push them to eat healthy but they see dad. They see mom too. They do as we do. I'm going to risk it all to have these doctors tip the odds in my favor so my kids start seeing daddy going for walks, volunteering at their school, swimming when we go to a hotel, eating smaller and healthier portions, and sure I'll still watch TV and game (but less time and not while eating - drinking water surely lol). I'm hoping when I go to bed at night that I can put my arm around my wife without a hose attached to my face. I hope that the pills I take are limited to vitamins and I can eliminate the diabetic medication. I even hope that no matter how much exercise I add into my life that I can eliminate the workout I go thru to shower, all the lifting of the belly and reaching for areas that have become harder and harder to reach as my arms must have shrunk (lol) over the years. Yes humor as tears start to swell in my eyes. Humor to try and hide the pain I feel daily when I realize my stomach has reached a point where my arm length is barely long enough to wipe my own @ss. When I reach a new level of humiliation because my male parts are buried in a mound of fat and only usable when I'm aroused. Peeing has become a drop and hold then wipe so it stays clean. I feel like my bathroom routine has become more like a woman's than a mans. All this hidden inside me, feelings that fat has overtaken me. Yes I'm anxious for the next 11 days, I'm certainly nervous of what's to come during the surgery and after, and I'm scared. I'm scared something will go wrong, something will prevent the, from doing it, I'm scared I will screw it up afterwards, I'm scared I'm too weak, I'm scared I'll get thinner and I'm scared that I won't. But I want to live healthier, thinner, and pass on better eating and excessive habits to my children. They more than anyone deserve their dad to be there for them in the best way possible. 11 days and counting. My daughter of 8 years old wants to go on a Rollercoaster with daddy, she wants her daddy to be able to fit on one so bad, she wants to show her daddy how brave she is...... Her daddy looks forward to it.