theantichick

feel free to add me... theantichick there as well. But I'm having the worst time getting back in the tracking habit.

And to even further complicate things, there are surgeons out there saying "yes, you can drink alcohol after 6 weeks", or putting people back on solid food mere days after surgery... based on your experience I have to wonder if they aren't just giving in because of the huge numbers of people who don't want to change their lifestyle at all. I recently weighed in on an alcohol thread, because as a nurse I don't want people thinking that because this person drank soon after surgery that it's OK. I haven't had the surgery yet, but I do know from a medical perspective that it's risky behaviour. I guess we can't save people from themselves.

Well you are wrong. Someone here did post 'Is vodka worth dying for' In this thread??

OMG. I wasn't going to reply to this because people around here get their underwear in a bunch if you say "wow, that wasn't the best choice" about anything. No one here said anything about drinking being evil. One person rightly said that y'all are really fresh post-ops, you need to be careful. That's nowhere near saying that drinking is evil or people shouldn't enjoy their lives. As a nurse, there is no way I would advocate anyone drinking "some wine and a few Crown & Cokes" less than 2 months post-op with a GASTRIC surgery. That's a lot of alcohol for someone who HASN'T had their stomach cut on. I'm going on record right now as saying that wasn't a great choice. If that makes me a bitch, so be it.

LOL. I tell my kiddo that as parents we are determined not to screw our kids up the way our parents screwed us up. Instead, we find new and inventive ways to screw our kids up. We should all just start putting money away in both a therapy fund and a college fund when they're born. Though she and I joke about writing a book "Motherly advice from the ER". When I was working ER, I would come home with motherly advice like "if you're going to do drugs, stay away from stuff cooked up in bathtubs by people who failed high school chemstry", and "if you're going to do drugs, don't do them with a-holes that will dump your non-breathing body in the parking lot of the hospital instead of at least bringing you to the ER entrance". LOL.

I don't mean to scare anyone. Vaping is far and away a better choice than cigs, by every medical study I've read (and I keep an eye out for them). I would rather every cigarette smoker in the world switched to vaping based on the science available right now. However, it is *not* risk free, and no one should claim that it is. You are inhaling a foreign substance into your lungs, and it puts you at a higher risk for pulmonary complications. The risk is miniscule compared to cigarettes, and is even smaller than the risk of living in a large city, but there *IS* a risk.

I don't know your situation, whether you are at risk of losing your job, or having retaliation from your boss and/or co-workers, and how your finances would be if you did lose your job. You have to take all of that into consideration, and you're the only one who knows where all of that stands. That being said, if you will be OK financially, career-wise, etc. and your only concern is that your company might be in a bit of a pinch with you out, remember that your company will send you packing at any point in time that it is in their best interests to do so. I give my all to my company to the best of my ability, but if it comes to a choice between my company's best interests and my health, my health wins every single time. Company loyalty is great, but it shouldn't come at too high of a price to you personally.

Ketosis is the goal of a low carb diet, I agree with ocgirl15 that it is often confused with ketoacidosis which is on the way to a coma in a diabetic. I know lots of people who have had great success with a ketogenic diet. I had a horrible experience with it, my blood sugar dropped to danger levels (low 40's) and I felt like I was going to pass out. Stuck with it for a couple of days because everyone said it was just the "carb flu" but it was something more for me. So I've already discussed this with my surgeon and NUT, and we won't be shooting for ketogenesis with me. 50g of carbs a day seems to be the general line for most people between ketosis and not, so my eating program will be aiming for around 100g a day, and focusing on complex carbs instead of refined ones. Works great for a lot of people, so I don't slam it, but it's not for me.

I love her mother. I generally like Whitney, but I agree she has a lot of growing up to do. I'd be furious if I were in her dance class with the lousy way she prepares them, but then acts like they're a pro troupe.

Kudos on weaning off the nicotine. I have several friends who have stopped smoking through vaping, and am a huge vaping supporter. That being said, there is evidence that vaping increases incidence of pneumonia because you're still pulling a foreign wet substance into your lungs. So prior to surgery, if you can, as a nurse I would recommend weaning off the vaping. It's certainly only a fraction of a percentage of the risks to your lungs from analog cigs, so if you can't get off the vape it's still tons and tons better than smoking. If you are still vaping come surgery time, make sure your doc and anesthesiologist know so they can pay closer attention to your lung function. And post-op, if they give you an incentive spirometer (the thingy you breathe through), USE IT RELIGIOUSLY. You absolutely do not want pneumonia post-op. Best of luck!!

Right.. which is why I was so surprised because from the beginning of her show she touted PCOS as the reason why she has gained so much weight. Now I see its a combo platter of reasons including her eating habits. Sent from my SM-G928T using the BariatricPal App It's like I was explaining to my kiddo who wanted to know if her birth control was making her fat... statistically, birth control puts 10-15 lbs on a person, not 50. PCOS makes it easy to gain and hard to lose, but generally is not the only - or even the primary - culprit if you're pushing 400 lbs. Whitney doesn't eat for most of the day, a hold-over from her disordered eating days. She doesn't feel that she deserves to eat since she's so big. So when she does finally eat, she's starving, she eats until she's satisfied, and her choices leave something to be desired. The eating disorder has likely completely wrecked her metabolism, and she's doing it a further disservice by eating only once or twice in a day. That's why I've fought so hard against giving my kiddo (she's 19 now) the idea that she needs to "diet". She's currently about 40 lbs overweight, but is active and fighting several chronic conditions... so anytime she starts talking about how she's "fat" or needs to diet, I try to talk to her about staying active and making healthy food choices instead of "dieting". I don't want her to get to where I'm at, but I also don't want her developing disordered eating habits. I don't hate Whitney, I think she's a very interesting person. I just hope that her mounting health problems give her the motivation to make some real changes in her lifestyle, whether it's surgery or not. She needs to stop smoking, and start eating healthy. Her trainer has been trying to hammer that into her, maybe it'll take this time.

Take care of yourself. And once you get rid of him, get yourself to a good place (I recommend therapy) before you start dating again. I was married to two men - each relationship was a total of about 10 years - who were emotionally abusive, though they were a lot more subtle about it than your guy. It is *so* hard breaking out of that kind of environment. My daughter really paid the price for the 2nd one as his daughter was horrible to her and he backed his daughter up all the time - I'm *still* finding out things that happened and we're a good 5-6 years after the fact. Anyway, I took some time and got right with myself and okay with not being in a relationship before I started back in the dating game again. Met some doozies, and a few that might have been something. Then I met my current hubby, and he's a complete 180 from before. He is completely supportive and loving and I never knew relationships could be this good. His only concern about my weight is my health - he's ready and willing to change his own diet and lifestyle to support me with my changes. There *are* good ones out there, but *we* have to be in a place to love ourselves and not accept poor treatment before we're ready for them. Hugs, hang in there!

Yay!!! That's such an accomplishment! I hope to be following your lead!

Here's one of my first posts, and all of the responses really helped me decide the surgery was the right choice. I had a view of what life would look like after that wasn't accurate, at least for most people apparently. It sounds like you have some of the same concerns I did. Now, I haven't had the surgery yet, am working through insurance requirements right now. But I'm 100% committed to it at this point, thanks in no small part to the excellent information and shared experiences I got here. Best of luck!! http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/365646-questionsconcerns-about-the-lifetime-commitment/

I am working through some eating issues with a therapist, and insurance does not require weight loss, so I'm focusing on thinking about why I'm making the choices I am, but not really trying to stick to a diet plan. Sometimes I find myself taking one of the buns off of a sandwich, or choosing not to have the fries because it's not really what I'm interested in for the food, and I'm trying to be more intuitive about the eating. Of course, that means I'm having the Cookies or ice cream if I want it, and I know I won't be able to do that as freely after (and likely not at all while I'm losing)... I'm holding my weight within a few pounds, and trying to lay the groundwork for making better choices.

Surgeon's office called today because they still haven't gotten the psych eval paperwork. Let her know what's holding up the PCP letter as well. She's going to call the psych guy and get that one, and then go ahead and submit to insurance. She said they'll put the approval in pending status if they still need the PCP letter, but it will also let us know if there's any other issues they have, so we can start addressing that. Fingers crossed!!

Having worked for a hospital in the past, I can also tell you that if you escalate to Administration, they have a lot of leeway in reducing the bill.

I haven't had my surgery yet, so I can't help with the food discussion, but I know trying to break out of emotional eating myself, TV is the worst. I'm trying to get busy with other things, and if I am watching TV I either watch things I've recorded on the DVR and fast forward through commercials, or I binge Netflix so there's no commercials. I wish the best for you!

I've decided to blog my journey at theantichick.com (but haven't put up any posts about it yet) and have considered doing a vlog, but I don't know about that. I think I'll subscribe to a couple of you guys' and see if I want to join in that as well.

I didn't care for premier, and I can't remember the ingredients. But I know that aspartame is a HUGE migraine trigger for me. You may have a similar sensitivity to one of the ingredients. We (my doc and I) used to think that the migraine meds I was using weren't working, when in fact the issue was that I was downing them with a Diet Coke, so I was piling triggers onto the meds. Once I stopped drinking Nutrasweet, the meds started working!

As I haven't had the surgery yet, I can't comment on any of the after stuff. I can share my thought process in getting to the decision, and hope that helps. First, if you recognize you have issues with emotional eating, I strongly recommend seeing a therapist. I'm seeing one because I have some trauma to deal with around food, in addition to being a stress/emotional eater. I knew that whether or not I have the surgery, I need a healthy relationship with food. It's really helping me work through some of those issues. I'm a nurse, and know a lot of people who have had bariatric surgeries - lap band, RNY, sleeve. Many of those people had complications and problems, and a few have been really successful. I have successfully lost 30+ lbs with diet/exercise in the past and kept it off for a few years, so I believe I could be successful without the surgery, so I was seriously on the fence about it. My therapist also had the concern that I'd be trading one set of issues with food for a surgically imposed eating disorder, and that was a serious concern for me. That's really where the fabulous people here on BP helped me. I and my therapist both had the idea that the picture of highly restrictive and controlled eating was the life-long picture after sleeve. Many of the vets here shared what their life and diet looks like 2, 3, 4+ years out, and it's actually pretty normal. Diets range from about 1,000 kcal to about 1,800 kcal (women), some are low carb, some are balanced carb to Protein, and most eat "treats" when they want. Certainly not a picture of disordered eating. What struck me most was that almost to a person, the only regret anyone shared was that they waited so long to do it. I was still on the fence, until a conversation with my rheumatologist. I have auto-immune arthritis, and I was not aware that the surgery itself would make huge improvements in the hormones that drive both hunger and cravings, but also inflammation that worsens my condition. Then, losing weight will reduce the stress on my joints as well as further reduce inflammation. I know historically many of my health concerns have worsened with my weight gain, so things like my asthma and migraines will improve as I lose the weight as well. So while the surgery and weight loss will not cure my auto-immune, it can vastly reduce the severity and help the meds work better. So I went to a seminar with my surgeon, and started doing some research in the medical journals. We're learning so much about weight gain and why it's so hard to lose. It's a serious uphill battle for anyone, fighting setpoint and cravings and metabolic rate slowing. In my situation, the pain and fatigue from the auto-immune and my other chronic conditions make it even harder. So the surgery gives me a tool to help make it a little easier, especially at the beginning when I'm trying to gain momentum with all of these lifestyle changes. The surgery alone isn't enough, but it can be the edge I need to be successful long term this time. My parents will support me, but they are against the surgery. My Dad thinks I just need to buck up and have willpower. Mom is worried because my older sister who had the sleeve has a huge number of health issues, and Mom incorrectly associates them with the sleeve. Some of my closest friends are concerned because we have a friend who died several years after having bariatric surgery and they believe she had nothing but problems after the surgery which eventually caused her death. As a nurse, and now with the research I've done, I do not believe the surgery was a significant factor. I understand and appreciate their concern, and am grateful that they'll all support me whatever choice I make. But I know it's hard to hear so many voices saying "don't do it". I think a lot of people go into this thinking the surgery is a magic bullet, and they won't have to make huge changes in order to get healthy, and that they set themselves up to fail. I know I went back and forth for a long time about it, and know that it's not a magic bullet, just a tool to help the process. Right now I'm just trying to keep my chin up through the insurance nonsense, and am hoping for a quick approval and surgery in August. Keep questioning, investigating, and learning. Start doing the work needed to move to a healthier place, because you'll need it whether you decide to have the surgery or not. And best of luck!!

I was gonna say... my Mom's in her 80's and she has a very healthy appetite. Dad's in his late 70's and he has no trouble either. Now, as a nurse, I can say that a lot of elderly people *do* have appetite issues, but most know to eat enough to maintain health. The ones we see who we can't get to eat anything typically have many other health issues, dementia is a biggie.

d'awwwww. You're going to make me blush. I have always enjoyed online communities as well. It's nice to find people who have things in common with me and chat with them. It's one of the ways I think the 'net has helped improve life in general. Of course, you take the bad with the good, but I think it's more good than bad. BP actually has little drama compared to some other boards I've been on, and is loaded with helpful people.

@@Kindle - sad to see you go. I'm one of the newbs still trying to get through the insurance dance and get my surgery date. I can't express how much you and so many other vets have helped me from my first post here... LipstickLady, VSGAnn, OKCPirate, Dub, and a whole bunch more I can't think of their handles off the top of my head. I had some misconceptions about what life after sleeve would look like, and y'all cleared it up for me and helped me decide to commit. I've started copying pearls of wisdom from all of you into my notebook and I know it will help me make the best of this opportunity to change my life. So I want to thank all of you so very much for sharing here. I've been on the internet since before it was the internet, and this kind of ebb and flow is fairly normal. That's why even though I'm not a vet I'm 100% in support of a vets only space. I haven't even had the surgery yet, and I'm sick and tired of the multitudes of "why can't I eat a steak in week 2" and "when can I drink alcohol" and "can I smoke weed" posts. I don't even read past the intro for most of them anymore. Not worth the indigestion, frankly. I won't be able to join the vets board for a long while, but I really hope all of you vets get it set up and that it's a good place to give y'all the support and camaraderie you need, and that you guys are still poking around when I rack up the experience to get the golden key.