katanne

Yep. Big time. I was going to have my surgery in 2016 and got cold feet. Starting over with medical weight management for my insurance company. Hoping to get sleeved in September.

I am in nursing school, although I am a Nontraditional student at age 42 and I don't live on campus. My school is surrounded by restaurants, though, so I will definitely have eating challenges. My plan is to eat at the hospital cafeteria, which has Greek yogurt and lean protein options available. I of course have to make time to cook for myself at home, too, which is hard when assignments start piling up. My first appointment is on the 9th.

I have my first meeting with my surgeon on Monday for this go-round (I looked into surgery last year but backed because I didn't feel ready). I'm just as nervous as the first time I met him! I know I'm going to have to explain why I changed my mind and then changed it back...I have "good" answers to that - I just started nursing school, which is a huge, added stressor, plus my mother got very ill and I had to take care of her during the time I would have been having my operation last year. Still jittery, though...wish me luck!

I'm choosing the sleeve because I take a lot of medications and don't want to play around with malabsorption and all the dosage adjustments that would entail.

What was my understanding of the procedure and its risks, what was my understanding of the diet/eating plan I would have to follow for the rest of my life, what was my highest weight ever, my current weight, what were my previous attempts to lose weight, including the most I had ever lost in one attempt. I do have bipolar disorder, so we went into how well controlled it is, how much support I have from my psychiatrist and psychologist, and how diligent I am about attending appointments and taking prescribed medications. Also, of course, what were the reasons I wanted to lose weight It was all pretty chill and I don't think there was really a way to "fail" the exam unless you had no understanding of your procedure or had an uncontrolled psych disorder.

I like Unjury and Premier.

Yes yes yes! It's helped me not only with food issues, but with other ways my personality, quirks, strengths, and weakness impact my life in other ways. I couldn't handle life's ups and downs without it, and I think ANYONE who is open to therapy should go at some point, whether it is for food/weight issues or something else.

Being able to find scrubs that fit me in the school bookstore instead of buying contraband ones elsewhere and having them altered. Not worrying that I won't have the physical stamina and inability to squeeze into tight spaces while taking care of patients during clinicals.

I chickened out and didn't have my surgery last year as I'd planned. I ate what I wanted for Thanksgiving this year, including stuffing and pie. And totally regret it. I'm ten pounds heavier than I was this time last year, and I think I'm FINALLY ready to get sleeved sometime next year (probably May or June when I'm done with my second semester of nursing school so I can be healed to do the physical work in clinicals in September). Tomorrow I start over tracking Protein and calories; I will start attending support group meetings ASAP, and as soon as finals are over on Dec. 15, I'm going back to my surgeon with my tail between my legs to start the pre-op process over again.

I use myfitnesspal

Soup and/or the Unjury chicken broth flavored protein powder in warm water.

You look phenomenal!

Hi all - I used to be on these boards a lot in the beginning to middle of last year, then decided to postpone my surgery until summer 2017 after my mom had to go to the hospital (and now a nursing home) this past summer and then I started nursing school (Holy stressful!). I was cowardly when I backed out of the surgery, originally to take place summer 2016 - I just canceled my final meeting with the dietitian and never notified my surgeon. I was embarrassed because I hadn't been losing weight at the clip they wanted me to and having serious second thoughts about what it would be like to be just learning how to live with the sleeve at the same time as nursing school. I thought about Thanksgiving and Christmas and figured it would be awful to not be able to eat the way I wanted on those days. So now it's the day after Thanksgiving, I ate how I wanted, I am ten pounds heavier than this time last year, and really want to get off the Morbid Obesity Express once and for all. I had a turnaround after we studied post-op care for bariatric surgery patients in school and I realized it must be WAY more common and less extreme than I had been thinking it was if they were teaching first-semester nursing students about it. So anyway, has anyone else gone back to their surgeon with their tail between their legs? I didn't seriously think I would lose the weight myself, I just didn't think I was up for the operation yet. Any tips for the phone call I need to make? I know I have to ask them how much, if any, of the pre-surgical testing results from last year are still valid.

I was required to bring someone with me to drive me home. But I actually wasn't that groggy once I woke up.

Even match between really fast eating and night eating. Seriously considering postponing my surgery until next summer (the next time I'll be able to take several weeks off) so I can get it under control. I don't want to stretch out or damage my sleeve with my nightly overeating. I'll definitely be working on this in therapy until then.

You look great!

I have bipolar disorder and I "passed" my psych evaluation - if you have a history of mental illness or substance abuse, they will definitely go into that and make sure you are compliant with treatment (meds and therapy) and have been stable/sober for a while. Barring that, they are checking for eating disorders, how much you understand about your surgery and the lifestyle changes you need to make, and how strong your support system is. If there are issues with those things, they will make referrals for you to get the help and/or info you need prior to surgery. It was not stressful or scary at all for me, and I didn't feel judged in any way, or like there was some kind of gatekeeper trying to impede me.

So far, I've only told my parents, my psychiatrist, and my psychologist. The latter two were supportive from the start, my parents were VERY negative at first. Then just a couple days ago, my mother said, "I'm all in favor of you having this surgery this summer so you'll be able to keep up with your clinicals. I'm *just* about to tell some of my closest friends, and I'm hoping that if they have initial negative reactions, they will come around in time. At this point, after my close friends know, I suspect I will become open about the fact that I'm having/have had surgery. I'll be shrinking rapidly in front of my new classmates' eyes and buying increasingly smaller and smaller uniforms over the course of the next year. Given that it's nursing school, I'm guessing many people will put two and two together anyway and I might as well just say what it is I'm doing to lose weight. They'll be seeing me eat small portions and working out in the college gym, but also getting smaller much faster than someone who typically does those things sans surgery. It helps that I'm already a bluntly honest person and identify as a left-wing feminist, things not everyone approves of, so I'm used to being judged and not giving a damn.

You look phenomenal!

I had mine last week and was completely knocked out under general. It went by like a breeze. One minute I was chatting with the nurses in the OR while they prepped me, the next minute (or so it seemed) I was waking up in recovery and feeling great.

I know they will give me something to relax beforehand, but I just can't see myself not freaking out and gagging to the point where they can't do the procedure. My surgeon wants me to have one because I have a hiatal hernia. Has anyone had an endoscopy? How did it go?

I've read the article about this in the New York Times - the only contestant who has gotten down to below his end-of-show weight was a guy who'd regained it then had gastric sleeve surgery and is now maintaining. WLS is just a tool, but it can be a powerful one.

I've been in long-term psychodynamic therapy since way before I started this whole weight loss surgery journey. It helps, immensely, with all sorts of issues. It's not about "symptom management" per se, but looking at my whole personality and how it affects my life, including my issues with weight and food. We piece things together to keep me making good decisions, and cope with life and mood problems as they arise. I've found it to be helpful and effective, and my psychologist was the one who suggested I get WLS in the first place. If one modality/theoretical orientation to therapy (on the therapist's part) isn't working well, look for a therapist with a different orientation - the general division is between cognitive-behavioral therapy, which I found ineffective, and psychodynamic psychotherapy, which I love.

Thanks for the info and support, guys! They did put me under general anesthesia and it was like nothing. I'm hoping this will prepare me for going into my sleeve surgery - I was really impressed with how well I was treated by all the nurses.

I ask because the sleep medicine NP has recommended I stay in the hospital until I am no longer on systemic narcotics, which I assume means a longer-than-typical hospitalization. I don't want to go crazy with boredom, so I'm hoping I can surf the 'net on my Kindle while I am there.