Kari1985

I'm so sorry you are having such a hard time with the office and staff. This is such an emotional journey, you shouldn't have to dread talking to them or going to them for help! I had my sleeve about 2 months before Dr. Cronk stopped doing surgeries. I loved Dr. Cronk and had the upmost faith in his abilities and fully trusted him and his guidance. I've had great success. The only issue I had with his office was the nutritionists. They were both somewhat rude, always disorganized and not all that helpful. Typically the office only makes you do the supervised diet that is outlined by your insurance company. So it's likely your insurance is requiring more. I had to do 6 months and 3 nutrition visits prior to approval. If you are that unhappy I would suggest moving to a different practice. Do you do monthly weigh ins and progress with your primary care doc? If so that is all documented and your new surgeon will have access to it just the same. You shouldn't have to start back from day 1. I beleive Dr. Anthone is still performing bariatric surgery here in Omaha, just at a private practice.

8 months post op today and only 4oz away from 100 pounds lost! Its so crazy to think I have lost 100 pounds (close enough :-) ) in 8 months! 8 more pounds to go until my "goal", at which time I will re-evaluate. Question to those of you who saw Dr. Cronk. Will you be moving to a different surgeon for your follow ups, or are you going to see NP Ali?

I always order a vodka with Water and a lime. Then I add crystal lite drops that I keep in my purse!

Not really no. My lower tummy right on the underwear line could be a bit more firm, but I wouldn't consider it loose skin. I carried my weight evenly and didn't have one specific area that was disproportionate to the rest of me. Thankfully the weight has come off of me the same way. When I started I was an 18/20, now I'm a 12, sometimes 10.

I haven’t been good about documenting this journey. People make comments and I brush them off, mostly because the attention makes me feel awkward. I know I’ve lost weight, a lot of weight…. But I see myself daily so I TRULY don’t comprehend the magnitude of changes that my body has been through. I focus on the fact that I feel incredible, I’m happy, I’m not ashamed to run into one of my husband’s coworkers and everyone just think of me as the “fat wife”. When my 7 year old hugs me now he can clasp his hands together behind my back and squeeze me tight… that right there makes all of this worth it. We have a formal ball coming up and this weekend I went and tried on some gowns, having no clue what size of dress I would even wear. Trying on a size 12 formal gown, and having it be LOOSE was something I wasn’t expecting. I looked in the mirror and a tidal wave of emotions went through me. The girl staring back at me isn’t the same girl in my head. I was trying on dresses that I never in a million years could have pulled off just 6 short months ago. It is mind boggling to think of how different life is now than it was before surgery in July 2016. So, I’ve decided I need to start posting more and taking more pictures (thick thighs and all J )!!!! Surgery: 7/27/16 SW: 283 CW: 194

I had my 6 month follow up with Dr Cronk last week. Everything went well, he and I are both very happy with my progress. He did warn me that now that I'm below 200 and getting closer to goal that the weight loss will slow down. Dr Anthone has already left Methodist and is in a private practice here in town. Dr Cronk said he will be gone by the end of March. He's moving to TN to join the practice of a surgeon he worked along side while in the military. Said I can do my future follow ups with Ali the NP, or move and go to Dr Anthone.

Woooohooooo! Congratulations!!!

I'm doing pretty well. I set a personal goal to lose 75 pounds by Christmas (surgery July 27th) and I'm only 2.5 pounds away from that now, so I should definitely make the goal! That will also only put me 8 pounds away from ONEDERLAND, which is crazy since I haven't been part of that club in almost a decade! I have a TRX system in my basement, so I do body weight exercises with that and I also purchased a hip hop step dvd (http://www.xtremefitnesswithphil.com/videos.html) . I feel like an idiot doing it and the first time I barely lasted 15 minutes, but its actually a lot of fun! I struggle with food. There have been 2 days in the past 10 days or so where I realized its almost 1pm and I haven't eaten a single thing. Because of this I have gone back to drinking Protein shakes for Breakfast. Impossible to get all my protein in if I don't eat for the first half of the day. chicken is still tough for me, I can get in maybe 1.5 oz, I tend to do better with beef. Any go to meals or recipes you care to share? I have my 6 month appt with NP Ali on January 3rd. I'm thinking of calling and seeing if I can change my appt to meet with Dr. Cronk as it will likely be the last time I see him before he leaves. I have to have my Vitamin D checked again as it was on the lower end of normal at my 3 month check. My PCP said it was fine, but Dr. Cronk said if it doesn't go up he will put me on a prescription Vitamin D I have to take 1 time a week. We had our Christmas pictures done in the beginning of November and its the first time in forever that I didn't cringe and want to cry at every photo. Still lots of work to be done, but PROGRESS! (one of the photos is added to my gallery if you want to see )

if you're on Facebook you need to join the "Instant Pot Community". People post tips and recipes all day long. I'm making a Mongolian beef recipe from them tonight!

I walk every morning. When I started out I was walking 30 minutes, about a mile and a half. Over the last six months I've been gradually increasing my time, distance, and speed. Now I'm walking 7 miles in 90 minutes. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App You are doing amazing, you should be so proud!!

165 pounds is INCREDIBLE! What type of exercising are you doing?

Hi Guys! I had my 3 month appt yesterday with Dr. Cronk. While there I asked him what was going on with him and Dr. Anthone. -Dr. Cronk is leaving.. He hopes to have made a final decision as to where in the next month and will send out a letter to all of his patients letting them know. He said its very likely that his family will be moving and that he will NOT be staying in Omaha. -Dr. Anthone is leaving Methodist but staying in Omaha. He will be starting his own practice. -Dr. Cronk told me he will see me at my 6 month appt in January as he doesn't plan on leaving until Spring 2017. My 3 month appt went well. I'm down about 53 pounds since surgery, 63 since my 1 week pre op diet. Released to all foods. All my Vitamin levels and blood work came back great, except for my Vitamin D which is a little low but nothing drastic.

I really like This is Us. Pitch - (That hunk of a man is ZACH MORRIS from Saved by the Bell!! ) The Mindy Project (on Hulu)

I'm currently sitting at my desk with my winter coat on! I was never ever cold before and would be so hot and agitated if it was over 70. I tend to stick with meat, cheese, eggs and veggies. I'm learning my way around my sprializer and purchased an egg cooker for the microwave at work. For lunch at work I will have 2 slices of deli ham with a little mustard and piece of cheese wrapped up. Sometimes I'll throw a pickle in there too. I don't eat the frozen meals as a lot of them have rice or Pasta in them and I'm still avoiding those for the most part!

I tend to get the hiccups and that is my sign that I've eaten enough. If I stop there I'm satisfied, but its a thin line... one or two more bites and I'm miserable.

Just called the office. Dr. Cronk is there for the time being, but not taking new patients or doing surgery. She said for no he will continue to do his follow ups with patients but that they arent sure how long he will remain in the office. what in the world is going on!? Wonder where he is going??

when did this happen?!?! I was just there like 10 days ago!!!

I asked about: -Catheters, some surgeons require them, some don't. -Blood thinners -Sex -How to take my medications ( some people have to crush them or cut the pills, I was able to take as normal)

That's good to know. Unfortunate about the family emergency, that's usually never something good, but I'm glad to hear all the staff is still there. How's your journey going so far? What stage of the diet do they have you on? Lost a significant amount of weight? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I'm at 7 weeks post op now. There has been a significant spike in my happiness since getting on the "soft" food diet. I feel completely normal now. The weight loss has definitely slowed down, last week I only lost 1 pound.... but I have to be realistic that not every week is going to be an amazing week. I've made mistakes and need to work on eating slower, but I'm learning. Overall I have lost 44 pounds since July 22nd (5 days before surgery). My goal is 75 pounds by Christmas.

I met with Ali the nurse practitioner yesterday for my 6 week appt. It appears that there was a family emergency or something of that nature which caused the cancellation and rescheduling of appointments. I confirmed (more than once) that Dr. Cronk and everyone else are still there, so there isn't some crazy office shake up going on.

weird. I'm set to have my 6 week follow up next week with Ali, and just got a voicemail from them that they needed to cancel due to "an unexpected schedule change". So I called back to try and schedule another appointment and they informed me that they are not rescheduling at this time, and they will give me a call back within the next few WEEKS with an update.... Sounds like there is a shakeup in the office or something...

I slept on my back or right side. If I was on my side I would have a pillow pushed right up against my stomach to support it. I'm just now, at 4 weeks post op, able to sleep on my left side. The muscle around the biggest incision would hurt way too bad.

I had surgery on Wednesday and took the next week off. So 1.5 weeks total and was perfectly ready to be back.

I make a point of only getting on the scale on Sundays! I get on the scale and then my husband takes all my measurements and I track it in an excel spreadsheet! Don't want to replace my bad food habit with a new habit of being obsessed with the scale!