Anna Nim

Texas is such a large state I think the "Local Area Chapters" needs it's own category!

I have not been Sleeved yet, but in general, I notice that I am a starving lunatic on low-calories (and then crash and burn), but on lower carb (like 40 grams a day) and no calorie counting I am not starving and lose some weight. Sounds like you are not "Obsessed" but hungry!

Neither Link worked. One could not be found, the other (on Firefox) took me to the Doctor's website, but not the PP. Regarding the "Average", the Statistics have nothing to do with you. You may lose more, you may lose less.. I had knee surgery with a 85% success rate, here I am now needing it again-so clearly my stats were not average. Like rain, 100% or 0% chance or rain on your house no matter the percent chance of rain your city..

@AussieGirl81 You should have told him he is lucky you don't hurt him after such a dumb ass comment! Really, Those. Exact. Words.

I cancelled surgery 5 years ago. I had lost weight in the pre-3 month phase and more at a strenuous job. I was afraid of surgery for various reasons. I did keep that weight off for about a year and a half. Then I gained it back, plus more, then lost it, then plateaued, then had a devastating break-up where I lost 40 pounds in four months. Got bone spurs from anger/crying hiking..another year and a half passed and this school year, I gained even a bit more and have 'life styled and dieted' myself up a good 25 lbs larger than before (285), plus my knee, which has a old ACL surgery, has now worn-out to near bone-on-bone, plus another planned ACL surgery. The weight has certainly made my knee far worse, far faster, so for the knee issues alone, I wish I'd done it 5 years ago. Sound familiar? My old insurance covered most of it, my current insurance has such poor coverage that I am essentially self-pay. I wanted to have surgery this summer, but my Dad (who is 50% loan/50% gifting me the money) is requiring a 3 month diet/exercise/supplement program for the money. So, I am looking at Thanksgiving.. Yes, I go round and round with the whole, if I can lose weight on my own, why surgery or if I can't keep it off, why bother with surgery. But, I was here 5 years ago and did not succeed. My two cents.

....your stomach is not a starfish ROTF!!!!!

Learn to only snort one line of cocaine... Learn to eat only ONE Lays chip (..remember nobody can eat just one ) How about Learn to keep your flap shut when I wasn't asking for diet advice!!!!

They have those plastic wands that you can put T-paper or wipes on the end of. I have seen them in "older people's" catalogs. Maybe get one of those or rig one up (to throw away of course!)

IMHO, scars are the least concern. They fade and I would take scars with tighter skin over loose skin any day of the week!

@@CelesteMarie "Not physically demanding job" ...a GM of a restaurant!!!! Returned only Four Days after surgery! As a F&B person I can say that your job is loots of walking & demanding. WOW, Respect. You must work like a dang BOSS!!

@@CelesteMarie "Not physically demanding job" ...a GM of a restaurant!!!! Returned only Four Days after surgery! As a F&B person I can say that your job is loots of walking & demanding. WOW, Respect. You must work like a dang BOSS!!

you had me at "Centipede in my pants" !!

I'd think you would be grandfather'd to what the bennies where when you started. Two years is crazy!

I am sorry. So very, very sorry. I hate to say this, but it there is likely far, far more going on than the 'past few weeks' and has NOTHING to do with weight gain nor loss and I hate to say it, but he will be back and/or keep you on a rotten carrot string as a back-up. I used to be afraid that my ex would leave me, then when I talked to the "other one", I was told.."No, you should be afraid that they do NOT leave". My son would have the rest of his childhood sucked away by this person.. IDK your situation at all, but as I just got out of a relationship with a narcissistic or some kinda Cluster B personality disordered person, your story is a red flag to me, so I will encourage you (or anyone in a relationship that makes no sense) to go to the Facebook page or Webpage called; "Let Me Reach" by Kim Saeed. Her site has magical articles that explain what I suspect was going on for a while, mainly her focus is narcissism in relationships. Note: Not all narc people have "all" the traits, but it is a great place for support and information. Good luck.

I have TRS Active Care with Aetna. They require a 5K co-pay, 20% of the surgery, the 'usual' doctor visits are paid at the regular rate (I think $50 a visit) AFTER the $2,500 deductible is paid and require a 3 month diet plan. That means about $10K out of pocket (mainly because my insurance re-sets on Sept 1st and it is not enough time for the 3 month diet and I have to meet my insurance deductible again). To self pay with Southwest Baratrics is...about 10K... To go with Dr. Ganta (whom I really like) is about 13K.. Sigh.

Your doctor is an ass, if you can, consider to switch to another one-of course, it is surgical expertise that you need. Don't let him mess with your head! Water sounds great to me! It is super kind to your joints-which need some babying. Like @@ssflbelle said. Ever try to swim a lap? Swimming is hard work! When you are ready or WANT to you can try other things. Frankly, I feel I agree with the concept that weight loss is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise. To me, that means high Protein and low carbs.

@@Shrinkingmom 5 years ago I had a surgery date and cancelled two weeks ahead of time-Insurance Paid For! (small co-pay & diet plan). I may have changed my mind back again, but I was losing my insurance. Now, 5 years later my knee is jacked and my I totally get the dieting UP to 400 Lbs thing. I have lost-regained-lost for years up to my current lifetime high point on 285. You are totally correct in that looking at losing 125 is far more discouraging than needing to lose 5. I am only a little bit taller than you..so I see your struggle. Now I am self-pay (or insurance which is as high as self-pay). Reality is I know the risks of the path I am on and the likely outcome. I don't know what is going to happen with surgery, but I think the statistics are on my side. I am REALLY hoping that my hunger will be far less. I am convinced that I have a twice as large stomach as others, hence why there is a monster in my belly But, YES, you do have to do into this with the right mind set. Showing up for surgery isn't the end of the path!

Wow, I wonder what the percentage of dumping is after recovery is.

Trying to get 'a family loan' to pay for WLS as my insurance coverage is as bad as my credit! As a result; my dad is educating himself and has noted how many people on average only lose 60-75% on the excess weight, still report hunger, issues with slider foods, the need for exercise and the re-gaining of some of even that weight. His thought is that the majority of the loss from the Sleeve is the shock/recovery of the surgery (hence why most of the weight loss is in the first year) and then after that it is business as usual-but now with a missing stomach. He says if you have to take supplements, exercise, diet restrictions why have the surgery, just "do" that and if I can't do that now, how can I then. Slider foods and excessive carbs are a risk, but do they do down after the Sleeve? Like most of you, I have lost and gained weight MANY times before. I hear the "all you have to" do it eat right, but clearly I can not..what will change with surgery? I know WLS is a tool, and I would expect not to ever regain it all, but what about years out there. Not a year or two..but years. Thoughts? Mainly from the Old Timers and Thank you.

UPDATE: After researching a lot on the internet, my Dad has agreed to loan me 50% (repay at $250 a month) and give me the other 50% towards LGS surgery. The caveat is that I have to spend at least three months in a post-WLS diet. Basically eating good, low carb, organic high Protein, no sodas, booze, Cookies or crap and take the supplements from Life Extension that are reported to help with appetite and general nutrition, that he has already sent to me. The carrot is that if after three months, if I decide not to have WLS surgery, I can use the 5K gift towards a Physical Trainer, Gym Membership, supplements, etc and if I lose 100 lbs all on my own, he will gift me an additional 5K towards a tummy tuck (which as low as I carried my son all those years ago, I will need). Basically a 5k carrot to not have surgery. His hope is that I may decide not to have the surgery, that I will find the key to keep off the weight. He is making it as supportive as possible to either do or not do surgery. He has come to the realization, like I have, that at age 46 (as of yesterday) and 285 with a bum knee and overweight since forever that the "all you have to" 's are not working now. Of course he is concerned about such a very serious surgery. While it is really good news, I was hoping that I could have surgery in the summer. As a teacher, it is the best time. I would have to have the surgery no earlier than Thanksgiving (which is about 6 months from now). I could have off two, maybe three days of leave, plus the week/weekends of Thanksgiving-giving me at total of 11-12 days off work. Then, I would be back for three weeks to trudge thru before the Holiday Break of 16 days. On the plus size, at least getting into a healthy, lower carb mindset for the next 6 months (as if we haven't all done this in the past), will at least get some of the weight off pre-surgery and make me feel like I tried "one more time" before going under the knife. My Dad didn't say "until surgery' but "3 months", but clearly with Thanksgiving being my planned date, I might as well keep up the good work. Maybe I will lose 50 pounds! I do admit I really wanted to have surgery this summer. I just took a double walk around the school with some AU kiddos and realized how incredibly out of shape I am.

UPDATE: After researching a lot on the internet, my Dad has agreed to loan me 50% (repay at $250 a month) and give me the other 50% towards LGS surgery. The caveat is that I have to spend at least three months in a post-WLS diet. Basically eating good, low carb, organic high Protein, no sodas, booze, Cookies or crap and take the supplements from Life Extension that are reported to help with appetite and general nutrition, that he has already sent to me. The carrot is that if after three months, if I decide not to have WLS surgery, I can use the 5K gift towards a Physical Trainer, Gym Membership, supplements, etc and if I lose 100 lbs all on my own, he will gift me an additional 5K towards a tummy tuck (which as low as I carried my son all those years ago, I will need). Basically a 5k carrot to not have surgery. His hope is that I may decide not to have the surgery, that I will find the key to keep off the weight. He is making it as supportive as possible to either do or not do surgery. He has come to the realization, like I have, that at age 46 (as of yesterday) and 285 with a bum knee and overweight since forever that the "all you have to" 's are not working now. Of course he is concerned about such a very serious surgery. While it is really good news, I was hoping that I could have surgery in the summer. As a teacher, it is the best time. I would have to have the surgery no earlier than Thanksgiving (which is about 6 months from now). I could have off two, maybe three days of leave, plus the week/weekends of Thanksgiving-giving me at total of 11-12 days off work. Then, I would be back for three weeks to trudge thru before the Holiday Break of 16 days. On the plus size, at least getting into a healthy, lower carb mindset for the next 6 months (as if we haven't all done this in the past), will at least get some of the weight off pre-surgery and make me feel like I tried "one more time" before going under the knife. My Dad didn't say "until surgery' but "3 months", but clearly with Thanksgiving being my planned date, I might as well keep up the good work. Maybe I will lose 50 pounds! I do admit I really wanted to have surgery this summer. I just took a double walk around the school with some AU kiddos and realized how incredibly out of shape I am.

@@Kindle I really like your response. It is what I have been kinda hoping to hear. A get out of jail free card indeed. I know that some people have regained massive amounts of weight after loosing it, but not ness with the sleeve. I think the damn smaller stomach coupled with the choice (cause by Golly, you did something real serious) to eat less carbs & crap might be the ticket to success!

They are scary right? I think to look at the percentages and the risk-esp for a move from a band to a sleeve. The Band is a very dramatic procedure, so of course complications are as well. I would think you already did your time with complications and math is in your favor ...and yes, this IS the Hunger Games!

@@James Marusek Curious why the bypass over the sleeve?