Luckygrl

Hello....any Iowans out there? :-) From Des Moines here. Still on the fence about the surgery. Give a shout out if you're in the area.

Hello....any Iowans out there? :-) From Des Moines here. Still on the fence about the surgery. Give a shout out if you're in the area.

I just had my initial consultation with my surgeon yesterday. I felt absolutely deflated when she told me I'd realistically reach about 185. My head was thinking 150. She said surgery will reset my body and I'll lose significant weight, but I'll probably not get to 150. Now, as I said I felt deflated because in my head I was visualizing 185 as still being really fat. Well, one of the insurance girls came in and I was visiting with her about my disappointment. She stood up and said, "I'm the same height as you, how much do you think I weigh? Guess, and I'll tell you." I looked at her and thought, man this girl looks wonderful. I guessed she was about 140 lbs. She smiles and says "oh honey, I wish. I'm 190. I'm considered overweight." My mouth dropped. Could not believe that that's what 'my ideal weight' looks like (in general). It shows just how distorted my mind has gotten when it comes to weight. If I look even close to that good, I'll be thrilled!!! It was very encouraging and inspiring. I don't care if I'll still be considered overweight. I'll be healthy!!! And over the moon happy!!! I rarely post, but felt like adding my experience. Bless you all.

You need this. http://www.mybodygallery.com

Wow!! That's really a neat website! After looking at that, I really want to push for 150ish. I don't want to be skinny. Just healthy and energetic. Oh, and shop for cute clothes. That'll be bonus fun.

I just had my initial consultation with my surgeon yesterday. I felt absolutely deflated when she told me I'd realistically reach about 185. My head was thinking 150. She said surgery will reset my body and I'll lose significant weight, but I'll probably not get to 150. Now, as I said I felt deflated because in my head I was visualizing 185 as still being really fat. Well, one of the insurance girls came in and I was visiting with her about my disappointment. She stood up and said, "I'm the same height as you, how much do you think I weigh? Guess, and I'll tell you." I looked at her and thought, man this girl looks wonderful. I guessed she was about 140 lbs. She smiles and says "oh honey, I wish. I'm 190. I'm considered overweight." My mouth dropped. Could not believe that that's what 'my ideal weight' looks like (in general). It shows just how distorted my mind has gotten when it comes to weight. If I look even close to that good, I'll be thrilled!!! It was very encouraging and inspiring. I don't care if I'll still be considered overweight. I'll be healthy!!! And over the moon happy!!! I rarely post, but felt like adding my experience. Bless you all.

Iowa!!

So, basically have a little step stool in the bathroom to put under your feet so it changes your posture and position of the colon so your bowels work better. I'll put this on my "remember" list.

Iowa!!

I'm not sure we are supposed to share links, but if you google "downforwardthru blogger" it will come up.

There's only one post right now

I read your blog and find it very inspiring! I bookmarked it so hopefully I'll catch new posts as you write more. Way to go!! I'm happy for you. It has me thinking of ways to record/share/monitor my own journey.

I'm having some of the same thoughts about the surgery. My therapist has me really thinking of different angles also. I'm going to follow this discussion to see if I can benefit from some advice from our fellow sleevers.

I'm still pre-op but my husband and I use a cream called Traumeel, for sore muscles, arthritis pain, bruises, etc. It works very well and is all natural.

Cool! When first started going to UP, LaMasters was the only one there. Her previous partner had just left and they were looking for another. I think we met Dr. Cahalan at one of the monthly support meetings (you have to attend 1). I like Dr. LaMasters, but she reminds me a lot of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. She knows her stuff and is pretty serious all the time. Our insurance did require the 6 month diet, which I think not having to have that would have made things harder. We had a 1200 calorie diet 2 weeks before surgery then liquid diet for 2 days before surgery. I told everyone about, posted it on Facebook and everything. I figured get it out there so I don't have to explain to everyone as I was losing. I figured if people had negative things to say about, screw them and "unfriendly". I know a few people that have had it done so it was well received and I was lucky not to have any negative feedback about it. My wife didn't tell everyone, she made a Facebook post to only a few people. Not sure why but that's what she did. I'm pretty much an open book and have had no problems answering questions. Now it's mostly people asking about having it done themselves. I had no complications but my wife did do I always share those too. About a month after, she wasn't feeling well and had a hard time getting anything down do she went in and they suspected a leak. They couldn't see it, but treated it like one. She ended up with a TPN bag which consisted of a catheter in her arm for 2-3 weeks where she always had a bag of saline or TPN (liquid nutrition) and antibiotics hooked up with a pump (like they use in the hospital). This was her food so her stomach could heal. She could have Water and that was it. Luckily she sits at a desk answering phones all day so she was able to go back to work and take it all with. The hardest part was getting everything ready and remembering to flush the line before and after and what order it all went in. They took it out and she ended up with a blood clot in her arm, which happens a lot with having to use TPN. So she had to go through the process of using a couple different meds to thin her blood to just the right thickness (involved finger sticks daily for a week or so then every couple days, then weekly) and was on the blood thinners for a few months. Even after all of this, she says she'd do it again in a heartbeat. As far as hairless goes, you will loss hair. Mine thinned out some but was thinning before so br really sure how much is surgery related. My wife's was already thin and thinned out more. She said it was like Hair loss after having a baby. Getting your Protein in is the biggest way to keep the hairloss at a minimum and I know some use other Vitamins like hair, Skin, & Nails to help too. I have been lucky with the loose skin. I have a little but nothing major. I think for me to have problems with it, mentally or physically, I would need to lose another 100 pounds and that isn't going to happen. My wife has some on her arms that she would like to get taken care of eventually as well as a breast reduction. No problem on all the questions. Like I said I'm pretty much an open book.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I think my biggest fears are clots, hair loss (mine's already thin), horrible loose skin and the horrible surgery that that would require and the fallout from certain family members. BUT, I keep telling myself the clots are probably rare, hair loss can be dealt with by taking supplements and regrowth, loose skin isn't the end of the world and can be removed if I find the courage lol, and as for fallout from family....this is my health, my body, my decision. I want my life back. I'm not happy being overweight and certainly not healthy. Losing the weight would change my life in so many ways. I was thin as a kid/teen. My weight spiraled after some major life occurrences. I need to rid myself of the protective wall. I'm certain I'll hit mental roadblocks throughout the weight loss too. I've been told that weight loss can cause old wounds to surface. Not excited about that, but I'll deal with it.

Sent from my HTCONE using the BariatricPal App

Good morning!! Congrats to both of you on your success!! Way to go!! You'll get back on track. You've come this far, you can do it. I'm considering either LaMasters or Cahalan. Leaning more towards LaMasters. Did you do a liquid diet before surgery? I've read that some people did have to and some didn't. Did you do the 6 months of classes before making your decision? Is that a requirement for insurance to cover it? Did you tell anyone you were doing the surgery? I've only talked to my dr, husband, daughter and therapist. There's reasons I can't share it with my extended family. That's a chapter of it's own lol. How did people respond to your weight loss? How did you handle the questions? Did you or your wife lose a lot of hair? How can you prevent it? Is there a way to prevent a ton of loose skin? Sorry for all the questions lol.

Hello...I'm from DM. I'm seriously considering the sleeve surgery. I'm going to an informational meeting in a couple weeks. I guess that's the first step. I'm hoping to gather info, suggestions, etc from these forums. For those of you that have had the surgery, how are you doing with it? Any regrets?