forgetmenot

dreamingsmall- yes, I'm trying to hide something that I'm uncomfortable admitting to a doctor but totally comfortable admitting to an internet forum full of strangers.
Anyways all sarcasm aside, I intentionally did not go into detail re: my reluctance to do the tests because it was deeply personal and something others may not agree with. But if you are interested, I suppose it's a combination of moral/religious objection and financial thriftiness. It started with visits to the walk in clinic and my primary care physician explaining my plans for PS. They ordered some of Dr Cardenas' required tests with some begging. These were sufficient for the seven other surgeons I consulted with. At most of those PS clinics, the list of required test appeared to come from sort of manual issued by the American Board for Plastic Surgery (i.e., same order, font, footnotes, etc). Both refused to order the HIV, Hep A/C and blood pregnancy test for a PS patient who had never been sexually active and has no history of IV drugs. Then I figured out that the self pay cost was at least $100 in my area so I went to a walk-in clinic with an elaborate story about how I had unprotected sex with someone in a high risk group, etc but decided against doing that in the waiting room.
If it makes you less angry, I'll reach out to some of my friends in the medical profession who can look up the documents covering standard practices in the American medical profession. If it is the case that these tests are recommended to American doctors, I will go ahead and pay out of pocket for the labs.

I'm 5' exactly. One year post-op I went under 115 for the first time and I'm still losing. It looks like I will end up 105-110.

I'm 5' exactly. One year post-op I went under 115 for the first time and I'm still losing. It looks like I will end up 105-110.

I just had this done in conjunction with a Tummy Tuck. If you've gone to a PS consultation already, they they probably already told you that it's one of the procedures with wildly variable results.

Hmm, my experience was different. I was only given general guidelines for the liver shrinking diet, like lots of Protein. Egg drop Soup was definitely ok along with steak, etc. Of course the liquid diet was a different story but I only started that in the day before surgery.
Also OP- I started with similar height/weight as you and even with the (apparently lax) rules I was given, I am pretty sure much of the unhealthy junk I was eating in the few weeks before surgery was not considered liver shrinking. So I definitely knew that there was a risk that my liver could be too fatty to do the surgery safely but according to the surgeon's notes, everything was completely fine so I assume that I wasn't sufficiently obese to have a fatty liver. Of course I am not recommending that you play fast and loose with the rules like I did but I also wouldn't be paranoid about the liver either.

I'm not sure what your SW was but I see we are both vertically challenged (I might have rounded up in my profile ). The downside is that our metabolic rate is tied to our muscle mass which is tied to our height. If you crunch through the numbers using the BMR calculators, by the time you get to the 150's-ish, you're only expending something like 1300 calories a day without exercise, less if you're older. At 9 months out, eating anything less than 900-1000 calories seems to be unsustainable so the effect of diet on weight loss will slow to a drip-drip pace. It's depressing, I know. Obviously you can increase your calories out by doing any calorie-burning exercising but increasing your muscle mass, through a combination of Protein and weight training, will have a persistent effect on your metabolism.
I concur with all the advice offered already but will add it can't be emphasized enough that weight loss is incredibly lumpy. I had a long 1-2 month stall at 9 months and now at 11 months, the pounds are coming off again. Sometimes the weight loss is quicker than what I saw in month 3 or 4. The improved results coincides with the time when I switched my exercise routine from cardio to weight training. Nowdays, I do a mix of both. Weight training has improved my cardio speed/endurance in magnitudes that doing cardio alone never could. So now on the 2 days a week when I am doing cardio, I can run long for a fixed period which of course increases my calorie expenditure as well.

I'm not sure what your SW was but I see we are both vertically challenged (I might have rounded up in my profile ). The downside is that our metabolic rate is tied to our muscle mass which is tied to our height. If you crunch through the numbers using the BMR calculators, by the time you get to the 150's-ish, you're only expending something like 1300 calories a day without exercise, less if you're older. At 9 months out, eating anything less than 900-1000 calories seems to be unsustainable so the effect of diet on weight loss will slow to a drip-drip pace. It's depressing, I know. Obviously you can increase your calories out by doing any calorie-burning exercising but increasing your muscle mass, through a combination of Protein and weight training, will have a persistent effect on your metabolism.
I concur with all the advice offered already but will add it can't be emphasized enough that weight loss is incredibly lumpy. I had a long 1-2 month stall at 9 months and now at 11 months, the pounds are coming off again. Sometimes the weight loss is quicker than what I saw in month 3 or 4. The improved results coincides with the time when I switched my exercise routine from cardio to weight training. Nowdays, I do a mix of both. Weight training has improved my cardio speed/endurance in magnitudes that doing cardio alone never could. So now on the 2 days a week when I am doing cardio, I can run long for a fixed period which of course increases my calorie expenditure as well.

@forgetmenot I have no butt either, fat or not. The surgeon I am interested in when the time comes recommends patients be above goal in order to harvest and render your fat to inject. He also has a hip techique that gives you nice curves.

Mine is tentatively scheduled for 1/17, exactly a year after WLS. I currently have a BMI of 22 and body fat percentage of 25%. I reached a BMI of 25 2 months ago and I had wanted to lose some more if the Tummy Tuck is the only procedure I needed. However, it appeared that the lack of volume in the butt (which also existed when I was overweight, caused by genetic factors) was a bigger problem than the abdominal area. In order to do the fat transfer required for a butt lift, I needed to have some fat remaining in the other regions of my body. Most plastics surgeons recommended that I don't lose anymore and a few even recommended gaining 10-15 pounds (apparently it's standard practice for non-bariatric patients). I refuse to purposely try to gain weight on a matter of principle but even maintaining has been hard. I guess that's a good problem to have lol. In the end, it will be touch and go the day of the surgery whether I'm too skinny to get enough fat for the butt so I guess I failed at timing the PS.

Mine is tentatively scheduled for 1/17, exactly a year after WLS. I currently have a BMI of 22 and body fat percentage of 25%. I reached a BMI of 25 2 months ago and I had wanted to lose some more if the Tummy Tuck is the only procedure I needed. However, it appeared that the lack of volume in the butt (which also existed when I was overweight, caused by genetic factors) was a bigger problem than the abdominal area. In order to do the fat transfer required for a butt lift, I needed to have some fat remaining in the other regions of my body. Most plastics surgeons recommended that I don't lose anymore and a few even recommended gaining 10-15 pounds (apparently it's standard practice for non-bariatric patients). I refuse to purposely try to gain weight on a matter of principle but even maintaining has been hard. I guess that's a good problem to have lol. In the end, it will be touch and go the day of the surgery whether I'm too skinny to get enough fat for the butt so I guess I failed at timing the PS.

Mine is tentatively scheduled for 1/17, exactly a year after WLS. I currently have a BMI of 22 and body fat percentage of 25%. I reached a BMI of 25 2 months ago and I had wanted to lose some more if the Tummy Tuck is the only procedure I needed. However, it appeared that the lack of volume in the butt (which also existed when I was overweight, caused by genetic factors) was a bigger problem than the abdominal area. In order to do the fat transfer required for a butt lift, I needed to have some fat remaining in the other regions of my body. Most plastics surgeons recommended that I don't lose anymore and a few even recommended gaining 10-15 pounds (apparently it's standard practice for non-bariatric patients). I refuse to purposely try to gain weight on a matter of principle but even maintaining has been hard. I guess that's a good problem to have lol. In the end, it will be touch and go the day of the surgery whether I'm too skinny to get enough fat for the butt so I guess I failed at timing the PS.

Mine is tentatively scheduled for 1/17, exactly a year after WLS. I currently have a BMI of 22 and body fat percentage of 25%. I reached a BMI of 25 2 months ago and I had wanted to lose some more if the Tummy Tuck is the only procedure I needed. However, it appeared that the lack of volume in the butt (which also existed when I was overweight, caused by genetic factors) was a bigger problem than the abdominal area. In order to do the fat transfer required for a butt lift, I needed to have some fat remaining in the other regions of my body. Most plastics surgeons recommended that I don't lose anymore and a few even recommended gaining 10-15 pounds (apparently it's standard practice for non-bariatric patients). I refuse to purposely try to gain weight on a matter of principle but even maintaining has been hard. I guess that's a good problem to have lol. In the end, it will be touch and go the day of the surgery whether I'm too skinny to get enough fat for the butt so I guess I failed at timing the PS.

I got a consultation done with Dr. Cardenas. I understand that one of their "selling points" is a dedicated recovery house rather than hotel rooms. However, based on the Facebook pictures it looks like there are rooms with at least 2 to 3 beds. Also, the bathrooms look shared as well. Given that the post-op period is one where you are in pain and require privacy, it's not clear to me why such an arrangement would be superior than a private hotel room.
For those of you who have gotten procedures done with Dr. Cardenas - what was your experience like when it comes to the sleeping/bathroom arrangements?

I'll preface the post by pointing out that the last time I discussed dating on this board, the thread took a turn in the disastrous direction (I believe you can dig it up via a search) so I am putting on my full armor gear this time.
My experience as a new 30-year old has not been so positive either. I get alot of interest from less-than-average guys in the attractiveness department telling me that I'm beautiful but none from the above-average ones. My conclusion is that the less-than-average guys do not actually mean what they are saying; they just pick out the unattractive girls that they actually have a chance with and hope for a foot in the door by appealing to their low self-esteem.
Here is my bottom line about physical attractiveness which might help you think about the issue- I don't have a minimum criteria on attractiveness itself. Having said that, I am seriously committed to making healthy eating and fitness a top priority for the rest of my life. Just as I expect my partner to be compatible along my other priorities (basic values, etc), I put a high premium on the partner being committed to fitness as well. I'd like to think that this is a sensible attitude but unfortunately in practice the guys in my area tend to fall into one two buckets - the body builders who can squat 400 pounds and the serial couch potatoes. So we'll see how it goes.

I have a Yunmai scale that measures body fat %. I've had the opportunity to compare its measurements against measurements from a DEXA body fat scan on 3 separate occasions a couple months apart. Each time, the Yunmai scale was dead on whereas the Tanita medical-grade scale at my doctor's office (with more bells/whistles, costing >$1000) was quite a bit off most of the time.

Thanks for taking time out of your recovery to respond to my question. Hope you get well soon.
Can you confirm that everyone there is female? I think sharing a room with a male would be a deal-breaker for me.

I am at the recovery house now. And it’s far superior than any hotel. You are going to need the help. It’s like a family here. Everyone is very friendly. It’s so very comfy here. It’s reassuring talking with a roomie who’s going through the same things. I’ve not had any problems and after having it this way I’d not prefer it any other way. I say this as a current patient and a nurse.

I got a consultation done with Dr. Cardenas. I understand that one of their "selling points" is a dedicated recovery house rather than hotel rooms. However, based on the Facebook pictures it looks like there are rooms with at least 2 to 3 beds. Also, the bathrooms look shared as well. Given that the post-op period is one where you are in pain and require privacy, it's not clear to me why such an arrangement would be superior than a private hotel room.
For those of you who have gotten procedures done with Dr. Cardenas - what was your experience like when it comes to the sleeping/bathroom arrangements?

I got a consultation done with Dr. Cardenas. I understand that one of their "selling points" is a dedicated recovery house rather than hotel rooms. However, based on the Facebook pictures it looks like there are rooms with at least 2 to 3 beds. Also, the bathrooms look shared as well. Given that the post-op period is one where you are in pain and require privacy, it's not clear to me why such an arrangement would be superior than a private hotel room.
For those of you who have gotten procedures done with Dr. Cardenas - what was your experience like when it comes to the sleeping/bathroom arrangements?

I have a Yunmai scale that measures body fat %. I've had the opportunity to compare its measurements against measurements from a DEXA body fat scan on 3 separate occasions a couple months apart. Each time, the Yunmai scale was dead on whereas the Tanita medical-grade scale at my doctor's office (with more bells/whistles, costing >$1000) was quite a bit off most of the time.

I am still losing, albeit at a snail pace. My doctor (not my WLS surgeon, but Dr. Westman the obesity specialist) told me that at my current intake (~1000 calories, <20g. of carbs), I will continue losing until my body naturally figures out its healthy weight and then I will know I've landed at the right place.

I follow a Keto/LCHF plan too so I keep carbs to under 20g. According to some of the books I've perused (The Obesity Code, Good Calories-Bad Calories, etc), Protein also raises insulin, just not to the same extent as carbs. My protein intake is around 50-60 g, which is on the low end of what WLS dieticians recommend. I realize that most forum members eat much more protein than that with excellent results so I might not be the best example to follow.

I am in my late 20s and obesity has mostly prevented me from seriously dating my whole life. I just hit the 29 BMI milestone, 4 months post-surgery, so I am choosing to venture into online dating for the first time. There is a guy I really like who I am meeting for coffee. Obviously he has seen realistic profile pictures, including full-body shots already. I am really tempted to ask him "are you alright with me being ~25 lbs overweight?" but I really should not do that right? How many dates in should I mention the surgery? Do I need to warn him that surgery is a big tool but there might be a chance of regain down the road?

I was self-pay as well and I am extremely risk-averse. By the time surgery day rolled around I still wasn't completely assured but here are some steps/considerations I took:
There is a program called BLIS specifically targeted to self-pay WLS patients to insure against complications, you can google search the company easily. The wrinkle is that you have to purchase through the surgeon directly (and obviously they only offer the insurance to surgeons with low complication rates). If you are still flexible on who to do the surgery with, then you might want to look for a BLIS-enrolled one. In my case, my surgeon tried really hard to come to an agreement with BLIS but he couldn't cut through the red tape.
My surgeon told me that the only kind of complication that could bankrupt me were blood clots, which could lead to strokes, etc if they went untreated. Anti-clot medications (and compression sleeves) are a standard part of your post-op dosages but I nagged the doctors to give me the maximum dosage possible. After discharge, I fought through the pain and nausea to move around as much as possible to clear any clots. Again, this is a standard recommendation but the possibility of having to pay for complications out of pocket gave me an extra source of motivation.
After my amateur legal sleuthing through my insurance policy documents and other legal documents, I came to the conclusion that your regular insurance has to pay for emergency care even if it's a WLS complication. For example, if you had a leak or blood clot, the cost of stabilizing you in the ER should be picked up by your regular insurance. If the surgeon needed to go back and stitch up a leak or if you had severe GERD that required conversion to bypass, then the costs would be self-pay. However, I figured that, unless the problem was extreme, there should be an usually a less expensive way to address the complication which required more self discipline. The caveat here is that I'm not a lawyer, so please don't interpret this as formal legal advice.
In my case, I did have a very minor post-op complication with swelling and Water retention. I decided to go to the urgent care clinic instead of the surgeon. I made a judgement call between the surgeon's expertise and the potential costs I would incur for something I didn't think was life-threatening. I predicted that the over worked urgent care clinic is not going to spend the time to formally make a determination on whether my complication was a result of WLS and they have very little incentive to specifically contact the insurance company to connect the dots between the two. Again, I have no inside information on how insurance companies flag charges for complications from non-covered procedures (I wish I did), this was purely conjecture. In the end, my urgent care visit and treatment was paid by insurance just like any other urgent care visit/treatment.
Hope this helps and good luck with your surgery.

I had the same experience and had to be discharged with a catheter. There is no need to worry, you will be back to your old self in no time.