Irisdupree

To all the newly post op, please see Super Bowl Sunday for what it is...one afternoon. One afternoon that you tell yourself, no to booze and junk food. Your sleeve is for the Rest of Your Life (assuming you don't eff it up). Stop acting as though one afternoon is unbearable. Pre op, you most likely had a two week liquid diet; that was 14 days and you did it! Now you are 3, 4, or 5 weeks out and you can't handle one afternoon? The wants you are listing- alcohol, tortilla chips, and fried chicken- are what put us on the operating table to begin with. Why let one afternoon get you twisted? Stay the course now so you can be a success story later.

Just FYI some insurance will cover some skin removal in the cases of rashes and extreme issues. . .mine will cover an abdominal skin removal, but not a "tummy tuck". There is a proper name for it, but I can't spell it right now. Basically on my insurance it is JUST going to remove some of the extra skin from my abdomen, that hangs down, and could cause back pain, rashes, yeast infections,etc. They will not tighten the muscles like in a Tummy Tuck. I am actually still pre op for the sleeve but that is one of the things I checked into before deciding because my lower half already hangs halfway to my thighs so losing is just going to make that worse. I probably won't get my arms covered because there won't be a "medical" need to remove wings. I might be able to get my breasts reduced for the same reasons as the abdomen. Probably nothing w/my thighs unless they fold over and start causing issues. so if I want to do anything about arms/back/thighs that will be out of pocket, but some skin removal is often necessary for morbidly obese to stay healthy because of the problems the skin to skin can cause. I really hope all that makes sense. AND NOT ALL insurances do, but many that cover the surgery will cover some of these issues for a medical cause.

I haven't had surgery yet. I'm 5'2" and 265. Scheduled for 2/18 in Tijuana.
I've always made light of having the opposite of anorexia... I do NOT see a fat person in the mirror! I see an average sized woman and no double chin, and I love myself! It's not until I see pictures of me that I'm like "whoaaaaaa who IS that?!" I do NOT recognize myself, it's depressing as all hell! I'm hoping the weight loss brings me back to "normal"!
Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

This brings back my only truly awkward/shocked/speechless moment. I had just been cleared for soft foods and I went to the market's salad bar to get my teeny tiny lunch. At that time, I was especially fond of their chicken salad and their seafood salad. I got MAYBE two tablespoons of each in the salad bar container (knowing I would take half home) and went to the register.
The cashier, a big girl herself, looked at me (remember, I was just about 6 weeks post op and still quite the fatty) and said, "Girl! You know you eat more than that! Who you trying to fool??" in the loudest voice. And yes, everyone in line turned to look at me and my pathetic salad. I was hormonal, stressed at the idea that any food I ate still came back up because of my stricture, and absolutely floored that anyone would say something like that. I barely held my **** together, told her I had stomach cancer and moved on through.
She's not looked at me in the eye since.

No, competition is not the key. Whether we live or die should NOT be a capitalistic venture. When that happens, people die because they can't afford to go to the doctor or can't afford insurance at all. Over 1 million people have died since 1993 because they were not insured or under insured.
It's time we as a nation took profit out of the equation of people's health and well being and offered universal healthcare, so every single person, rich, poor, or in between has a chance to live a happy, healthy life.

@@BigJohn58,
I agree – a second (and possibly third and fourth and fifth) opinion is a good idea. Even if you agreed with the first surgeon, more opinions are always good.
I would also agree that you should ask the surgeon why he suggested the DS. Then go over each of his points and decide if you agree or disagree. He should be willing to discuss each one with you. Then, go over each of your reasons for wanting the sleeve and get his opinion on each.
At the end of the day, there probably is no “right” answer. Just like every other WLS patient, you will need to make the final call based on the benefits and risks of each choice, and on your gut feelings. Good luck!

I've known some VERY knowledgeable pre ops and newbies, and I would be lying if I said I never have learned anything from them. That's what's awesome about sites like these, everyone can contribute something to our shared experiences.
@@KristenLe comes to mind. In my opinion, one of the most knowledgeable pre ops I've seen, and I'm sure others would agree. She had surgery this week, and admitted as knowledgeable and prepared as she was, it wasn't quite what she expected.
It's kind of like before having kids. We ALL know what's best for other people's kids.....until we have our own. The experience is much different than the expectation, and we soon find out what was best for their kids may not be what's best for ours. Experience tells us that.
Your opinions are welcome, but don't tsk tsk and wag your finger at others who obviously have more experience than you and pretend to know what's best for THEM. Not only is it kind of ironic, it's actually pretty rude and presumptuous.

As requested by my mom the first 3 songs played after her funeral were Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John, The bitch is back and Grandma got run over by a reindeer. This may give some insight as to my background.

I never left.

I'm not a big sweets eater so the protein' drinks', pudding', Popsicles', etc. about killed me.
I mixed Ranch dressing packs, mashed avocado, French onion soup' mix, Italian dressing mix, basically any dried soup' flavor I could find, into plain Greek yogurt and ate it with a spoon. My family would use it for veggies or chips'. Everyone got more protein' and I got something other than faux chocolate'.

I don't want to sound harse, I am a gay man 51, I have been there done that. I won't ask you a lot of personal questions, but I have a feeling you have probably never meet this person, in person. even if you have, you have spent most well over 95% of the relationship apart, texting or calling, you need to realise you are in love with a feeling,but you are projecting feelings on to someone that is a fantum of your mind. Yes she is a real person, but you are double reading everything she says or does in a perfect light, and no one lives in that, perfect light, what she tells you is one side of a story, and then you are interpreting it, which is another side.
You need to focus on you right now, and as so much is changing, physically, and emotionally, this kind of relationship is not healthy, or a healthy choice for you. I suggest you concentrate on friends right now, that you can count on. Do you really want to be in a relationship with someone who makes decisions and plays around like this person? I doubt it. I also believe your mother already knows about you, or knows but doesn't accept it. Moms know everything, and people gossip, even if they have no facts, someone has mentioned it. You need to accept you, then decide okay, I am "left handed" I am going to tell my mom, because that is just who I am. If she can't accept it, I know what demon I have to deal with then, and if she does we will be closer.
What other people think about me is none of my business needs to be your motto, you can't change their minds, you are you. Yourself confidence is going to really take off, and you need to make decisions with you in mind. Tell this person that, wish her luck, and cut ties, block her number and delete it! A year from now if you feel the need, you can find her easily, but you need to stop the string pulling she is doing, because, she herself probably doesn't even know how much she is doing of it. You had this surgery for you, now do this for you mentally. Best of luck

I think there may have been that one shop-keepers wife.... Lol
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have been having huge cravings for sliders, and I haven't had surgery yet, I haven't even done anything beyond checking my insurance, and joining here and a FB group, but I'm trying to eat as low carb as possible, and not eat junk. But the W.C are calling to me.

I hadn't seen my therapist (food issues) since a week or so before the surgery, so we caught up in our session last night. She is not a proponent of WLS, but doesn't push her own agenda and is supportive to me. Here's my spare change on the matter (and pretty much what I shared with her):
We are learning so much about weight gain and loss, and I hope that for my daughter's generation they have non-surgical options that work. Surgery is certainly a drastic treatment, especially when it involves removing a large part of a working organ.
BUT.
Right now, we know surgery does some very specific things that provide a better place for getting to and staying at a healthy weight, and it's not duplicatable by other means.
Especially with my comorbidities and auto-immune arthritis, I have less than the statistical 5% chance of losing the weight through non-surgical means and keeping it off long term. I have been dieting for over 30 years, and I'm heavier now than I ever was, and with the auto-immune disorder, I no longer have the stamina to diet, period (which was probably the best thing I ever did, but I'd already topped 300 lbs before I stopped dieting).
My life and relationship with food is SO much different now than it was 3 weeks ago. While I'm still struggling to get enough food in because of the restriction (but I'm only 3 weeks out, and I see it getting better every day, so it's fine), it's so much more than the restriction.
I used to binge eat comfort foods: honey Buns and chocolate fudge poptarts were my nemisis, but anything with loads of sugar, salt, and fat were game. I didn't think it was that unhealthy because they weren't HUGE binges, and I've never purged. Just overeating to a way unhealthy point. Looking back, it absolutely was bingeing behavior. And if I went shopping, it was pulling teeth to make myself NOT put those things in the cart.
Went shopping the day I got cleared for soft foods with hubby. Walked past the Little Debbie display. Part of my brain went "ooooh, Little Debbies counts as 'soft' I want honey buns". Then the part of my brain that imagined eating a honey bun went "eh. doesn't sound that good, actually. I want Peanut Butter." Walked away, easy peasy. Repeat experience in the Breakfast aisle with poptarts. Though the fruit poptarts had a bit of appeal, I easily recognized that my body might want some fruit, and I have many ways to get that without all the sugar and fat that goes with poptarts, and that actually sounded better.
It's like a switch went off in my brain and while I'm still having the disordered eating thoughts, it's incredibly clear to me that those thoughts don't fit. And with those thoughts calming down and shutting up, it's like I can hear what my body really wants for the first time.
Combine that with the fact I'm forced to slow down my eating and chew food thoroughly (I used to wolf it down), and eat several small meals a day.... this feels like the way I should have been eating my whole life. In fact, when I was the healthiest I was pregnant and had to eat small Protein meals every 3-3.5 hours to avoid nausea.
I was sharing this with my therapist, and said "I know it was a really drastic way to get to this point, but I really feel like this is the right place for me to be in with food" and she had to admit that where I'm at right now is the goal of therapy around food issues, though she also agreed with the "very drastic" comment as well. LOL.
I don't know if this will last forever. But if it can last long enough for me to establish healthy eating patterns and learn to really listen to my body, it's SO worth it.
So for my case... drastic? Yep. And I think I'd have gotten here eventually through therapy - but it could easily have taken YEARS. This way? 3 weeks. I'm already seeing improvements in my medical conditions as well. Small, but definitely there.
I'm a nurse, and one of the things that is hammered home to us about medical treatments - every treatment has benefits and risks/side effects. If the benefits don't outweigh the risks/side effects, then the treatment is not the best choice. Here, besides some of the complications that may or may not happen, the risk/side effect is losing part of a functioning organ. But the benefits for many of us far, far outweigh the risks/side effects. Ultimately, you have to make that evaluation for yourself and your situation.
For me, there's just no question. It's premature to say "best thing I ever did for my health" at only 3 weeks out, but that's seriously how I feel.

Isn't medical science amazing?
When we have a blocked artery, we can have the artery opened up with a stent or balloon with heart surgery.
When a woman laboring is having problems delivering, putting her and her baby's life in danger, she can have a c-cection.
When we get cancer, we can have helpful but toxic drugs pumped through our bodies to fight it and hopefully put it in remission.
When we've tried every diet under the sun and completely screwed our metabolisms up, or we have physical issues that make it almost impossible to lose or keep weight off, we can have bariatric surgery.
No, medical intervention isn't always the way it's "meant" to be, but sometimes it's necessary.

What did I do in the first seven days post-op? I followed my bariatric team's orders to the letter - liquids only, high Protein and low carb -- and that was for four full weeks, not just the first seven days btw. Why would I think I know better than they do? My track record proves that I'm not good at making smart choices with respect to food and my health. Why would I override the health and medical judgment of the people who I trusted with my life?
I really hope the person above who is talking about eating ice cream, pizza, prime rib and coke 10 days out of surgery is a troll, and based on that hope I'm not responding any further to them.
When did I start losing the lbs? Not really sure, I stayed off the scale until my post-op 4 week weigh-in. Why would I stress myself out by getting on the scale so soon after major surgery? That's a trauma to the body that is going to cause weird metabolic responses, and I wanted no part of freaking out over it and getting tempted to toss my team's plan for me out the window.
I'm glad I stayed on plan and resisted temptation to just do what I felt like doing. Minus 200 lbs, went from a size 6X to a 6 (okay really more like an 8 or 10 but in some brands I can wear a 6 so I like to claim it!). My team knew what was best for me, I trusted them, and it worked out great.

Did you try having Protein smoothies/drinks when you were trying to go liquid for a bit? I am trying to make so slow changes, as it will cost over $5000 I don't have yet for my surgery so I know it will be next year. I haven't even gotten to the presentation for people considering it yet. BUT, I'm trying to eliminate some of the things I know I won't be able to have again now. And trying to take Vitamins (just regular daily vitamins) and start each morning with Protein liquid after my shower. I figure these habits will help me better in the long run. This month is super tight for us financially with back to school and all it entails, but once we get past that my next step is start eliminating pastas and breads. Doing more lunchmeat roll ups and such. Eventually I want to have my carb count w/in about 50 per day above what I will be allowed after surgery. The other big thing I'm trying to get in the habit of, is having food ready to take everyday. I depend way too much on being able to grab something. I think right now that is going to be my hardest hurdle. I'm not much of a planner in general.

I try to keep my carbs as close to 20g a day but not over 40g ever. I lost 6lbs the first week. I also made myself eat 6 smaller meals rather than 3 larger ones. I'll let you know how week two end. If you need something like bread look up cloud bread it's really good and only has a few carbs in it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using the BariatricPal App

My best results pre-op were when I limited carbs to 40-40 grams per day and overall calorie intake down to 1,800 calories.
You can lose a pile of weight prior to surgery and you'll feel so much better for it, too.
No need to wait until surgery to begin losing.......doing so now is outstanding. Great job.

I do MFP. I do need to get a scale, so I can weigh foods.

I do MFP. I do need to get a scale, so I can weigh foods.

I haven't gotten past reading and researching. I know my insurance covers but I don't know anything else. I'm hoping my hubs and I can attend a seminar, in the next couple of weeks. He has just gotten on board. I don't have any comorbidities that I know of, but I suspect I might have sleep apnea. I've not been tested. I am trying to start a high Protein low carb lifestyle this week. Just to start mentally preparing myself for the low carbs after surgery. My BMI is 66 so I'm sure I will qualify, I'm just not sure of what hoops I will have to go through. I was seeing a health coach at work, and I lost 30 lbs, and have maintained that for about a year, but I stalled a year ago, and have just really had trouble fighting through it. I know the sleeve won't be a one shot fix all, but I just no longer have the willpower to try and fight this on my own anymore. I know having that tool will help me be so much more successful.

I haven't gotten past reading and researching. I know my insurance covers but I don't know anything else. I'm hoping my hubs and I can attend a seminar, in the next couple of weeks. He has just gotten on board. I don't have any comorbidities that I know of, but I suspect I might have sleep apnea. I've not been tested. I am trying to start a high Protein low carb lifestyle this week. Just to start mentally preparing myself for the low carbs after surgery. My BMI is 66 so I'm sure I will qualify, I'm just not sure of what hoops I will have to go through. I was seeing a health coach at work, and I lost 30 lbs, and have maintained that for about a year, but I stalled a year ago, and have just really had trouble fighting through it. I know the sleeve won't be a one shot fix all, but I just no longer have the willpower to try and fight this on my own anymore. I know having that tool will help me be so much more successful.