laceemouse

I know several young writers (and a few published ones) who do NaNoWriMo every year. My oldest daughter has done it a couple of times. @@Cervidae I have never heard of Inktober, my son would love that. Is there a website or something where I can get more info??

@@Djmohr my husband and I Celebrate our 29th anniversary on December 12th! Oh, and my youngest daughter would LOVE the getting married on Halloween/pictures in a graveyard thing. So cool! Her birthday is 11/4 but she always wishes she had been born on Halloween

I guess it's good to keep in mind that if you have always been bigger (a BBW) that he may be attracted to that. Seeing you smaller may be weird to him. Of course true love is unconditional, and if he really LOVES you he should want you to be healthier. But drastic weight loss does often take a toll on relationships, and not just because of loose skin. Communication is key, make sure you discuss all of this beforehand. What type of body he is attracted to may make a difference. Also, his weight and attitudes towards food matter as well.

It depends on your insurance, I think most do want to see an overall loss but since you did well for the first 3 weeks it will probably be okay. All you can do is ask right?? Best of luck to you!

It's sad that we aren't shown what realistically to expect after having a baby, it takes quite a while (and usually a lot of work) for our bodies to go back to anything close to pre-baby shape. Remember those early pictures of Kate Middleton after she had baby George? People applauded her for being so real, she let pictures of her be taken with the post baby pooch, she didn't even try to hide it! And she is a skinny gorgeous woman, proof that it happens to the best of us!

The psych eval is easy. They just want to be sure you understand what the surgery entails, have a support system, etc. Mine asked questions about my weight history, what I have tried before to lose, etc. Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App

I should add, I feel bad that your doctor isn't helping you more. Do you have a nutritionist you can see? Have you tried Weight Watchers? It actually has the best track record around for people losing weight and keeping it off. And you can go low carb even on their plan. However, the average person who loses 50 pounds only has about a 2% chance of keeping it off for 5 years. And most of us have much more to lose than that. I wish you could see a bariatric specialist. My surgeon actually does offer medication to help with weight loss. He says there is pretty much zero chance anyone will keep it off with meds, the will regain as soon as they stop the meds, he only advises it to people who have 20 or 30 pounds to lose (those people would be be candidates for surgery) But, in your case, if you really DO need to lose weight prior to any surgical intervention, weight loss meds would maybe help you lose a little to get ready for surgery?? Most people do several months of nutritionist visits and a supervised diet before surgery (my insurance doesn't require it) and most do lost weight during that time, at least some anyway. Search for bariatric specialists in your area. Good luck!!

What kind of physical therapy would you need? I have had it for knee and hip pain, it is mostly just supervised exercises. Are you at goal weight? I ask because most people lose most of their breasts when they lose weight. If you are going to lose more you may as well wait and see what you have left afterwards. I haven't had WLS yet but I know I will lose most of my boobs when I lose weight. I am fine with that.

Agree with @@trekker954 my surgeon (US) will not take your gallbladder out unless you have stones, mainly because while some people do develop stones after losing weight it certainly isn't a guarantee. Thankfully I had to have mine removed 15 years ago after losing a mere 40 pounds on Weight Watchers.

I guess a lot of it depends on your age, your relationship status, and what your expectations are. If I was very young, single and dating, and comparing myself to a super model I would probably be really worried about loose skin after losing weight. I am older, happily married, and accepted a long time ago that I would never be walking the cat walk. My guess is that most of us would be shocked to see what everyone else looks like under their clothes. We imagine them all to be perfect, firm, and wonderful. Clothes hide a lot of flaws and shape wear is a billion dollar industry. Even my 25 year old size 2 (never overweight) daughter wears control top undies when the outfit calls for it. I had four huge babies, even now, pre-surgery, my tummy is a slightly sagging pooch. But guess what? My husband has never once been turned off by my body. I jokingly tell me kids he only looks at the parts he is interested in anyway. Go to YouTube and you can see lots of videos of people showing their skin after weight loss. Most of them are teeny and beautiful, you would never guess when you see them clothed. Of course some do opt for plastic surgery after weight loss, you can save your $$$$ for that if you like. If someone wants that I am all for it. I just know I probably won't care to have it.

Best of luck to you!

My surgeon goes to pureed food pretty quickly after surgery but here's the deal. IF they say you can try and and you FEEL like trying it then try it. Like one teeny, tiny bite. If you follow their advice, try it, and it makes you feel bad or comes back up call them. I am thinking if I am having trouble getting Water down I am not going to be in any hurry to try to get food down ya know? I don't know what to say about no Protein goal except if it were me I would research how much people are usually recommended to have at each stage and try to get it.

It may sound flippant, but skipping the extra piece of bread is a good strategy. One thing that helps me is to minimize starches (bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes, etc), added sugars (especially high fructose corn syrup), and fried foods. Even cutting back on bread by trying an open-faced sandwich instead of a full sandwich is a good start. Yes! The low carb thing has worked in the past for losing some weight but it's been like 20 lbs tops and then I plateau out. I guess I will just try that first and see if that is enough weight for him to fix the hiatal hernia. But at 280lbs, he said I needed to lose 150lbs in order to be considered "normal weight". I just haven't had that type of success with the low carb diet in the past. That's why I wondered if there was medication or something to help kickstart or maximize the weight loss. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App No way at your height would you need to get that low. Search healthy weight charts, I am shorter than you and 150 is high end normal for me. Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App

Ask your surgeon and let us know. I am worried this will be me as well, I have bad veins in my legs. But we gotta do what we gotta do. Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App

What @@KristenLe said. I am pre WLS but had my gallbladder out like 15 years ago after losing a measly 40 pounds on Weight Watchers. It is common after any weight loss. Hope you are feeling better, now I am SO happy I got rid of that sucker already

@@Babbs you look awesome!

What??? You and I are the same size! I am still waiting for insurance approval so I am jealous of you. Right now I just want to get this over with! As others have said, get the house clean and make sure you have everything you are going to need for just after the surgery. Good luck to you

Go to YouTube and search for saggy skin post weight loss. People call them "skin flicks". They strip down to their undies and show it all. I think it is safe to say yes, you will have saggy skin. It depends on where you carry your weight but let's face it, most obese people have big tummies. So we will end up with saggy skin there. Arms and legs are a little easier because you can work out and build muscle to fill in the saggy skin a little. I have had 4 huge babies. The chances of me ever wearing a bikini again, or even short shorts, is zero anyway. This isn't just about the way we look, obesity is unhealthy.

I can't wait to feel like that. Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App

It depends on how soon the surgeon can get you in. Also some people want to pick a date that works well for their job, etc Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App

I was told no for sleeve surgery, the nurse told me the surgery is not long enough to need one. But every surgeon is different. Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App

I was normal weight when I got married at 25 and normal weight when I got pregnant the first time at 28. Then I had 4 kids in 6 years and the pounds piled on. My "baby" is now 18 and I have tried every diet in the book. I am praying for surgery approval.I should add, I have a friend who was never thin but was super morbidly obese after having 8 kids. Yes, 8 kids! She has lost over 200 pounds, slowly, with Weight Watchers and exercise. Extreme exercise. She works out several hours a day, runs marathons, does weight training and participates in those extreme obstacle course competitions, mud runs, cross fit challenges, etc. She is obsessed with keeping it off. Not only do I not have the desire to do that (most people don't have the time) but I also wonder what would happen if she injured herself and couldn't keep that up?? Anyway, as others have said, if you can do it without surgery more power to you! I know I can't, but I am old and have been trying, and failing, for too long. Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App

I don't know about cravings but many people have food funerals before they start the pre-op diet.

I think it's lovely that you are trying to help your friend. I'm envious - I don't have any friends who are close enough to me or my children to take the time to help with anything. This may or may not be relevant, but I grew up with parents who had extremely healthy strict eating habits & a very active family (we were at sports every day of the week). To this day, my mom has never even been through a drive thru or never had a sip of soda. Around the time I was maybe 12, I started to resent the strict food routine and I would overeat any junk food I could get my hands on at school through my friends and I started to gain weight quickly because I had never really eaten that sort of food my body just went "wtf?" And I gained weight FAST. My parents had no idea what was going on & I'm close to both of them so this is not resentful. They were just so strictly healthy they didn't consider for a moment that I would get my hands on rubbish! I went on to develop an eating disorder for the remainder of high school (starving myself) so things kind of swung back the other way. I'm not in any way offering criticism, I just know that as a tween and then teen who had eating disorders (overeating and then the opposite) we can hide the behavior extremely well from our parents & loved ones. This might be worth considering alongside all the physical and hormonal investigations? I hope you can all get to the bottom of things. This young lady sounds like she has wonderful support so I am sure you will all figure it out. Goodluck Sent from my iPod touch using the BariatricPal App THIS! I have a good friend (raised in Australia but has been in Texas a long time) who was raised by very strict parents, as far as eating goes. They NEVER allowed treats at all. Not even birthday cake. No Christmas Cookies. Nothing. She tells a hilarious story, that when she was 18 she "bought a box of Lucky Charms and never looked back!" Now this friend has never had a weight problem at all, she is tall, skinny, and gorgeous. BUT you better believe she did not raise her kids that way. She has 3 boys. She taught them healthy eating but also let them cut loose a little bit. Kids eat at school, eat at friends' homes, go out for fast food with friends, etc. This girl could very well just be going through a normal pre-puberty growth spurt, or it could be something else????

BCBS is a different company in each state but I can tell you in Texas you would not be approved. Anything under BMI 40 requires co-morbidities. Why would they even let you start the supervised diet without looking into requirements for approval? My very first visit with my bariatric team I was given a check sheet listing exactly what BCBSTX needs for approval for WLS.