Apple203

B-Pals, I need your advise. I am eligible to retire -- either permanently or maybe just for a "gap year" (hey, if college kids can do it, so can I!). I can't decide whether to retire BEFORE surgery in mid-March, or when things settle down afterwards? Is retiring AND surgery too much to tackle all at once? Its a good quandary to have, not gonna lie, but the decision is twisting me up in knots, and I really need to make a decision.

35# down -- great job! Are you able to eat everything now?

Wow, your results are remarkable! I really appreciate you posting your journey -- can't wait to see where you are in 6 months! :-) ps -- my son's a nurse -- graduating on Friday UMSON >> proud mama

haha -- love esp the last one!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5406732/: "The number of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomies (LSGs) performed worldwide as a primary bariatric procedure has grown exponentially in recent years, given the simplicity of the technique, the low complication rate and the good short- and mid-term results regarding weight loss and the resolution of co-morbidities. However, there are a limited data from long-term studies. In this study, a standardized LSG proved to be safe (no mortality and a leakage rate of 1.2%) and highly effective in terms of weight loss after 5-year of follow-up, particularly in patients with a low preoperative body mass index. This manuscript provides additional evidence supporting the role of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy as a stand-alone procedure for selected morbidly obese patients". https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4879937/ "Perceptions of the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial metabolic effects of metabolic/bariatric operations have shifted from being mostly restrictive and malabsorption over the last 10 to 15 years to being more neuro-hormonal in origin".

straw man ˌstrô ˈman/ noun 1. an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument. ad hominem followed by straw man ˌstrô ˈman/ noun 1. an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument. straw man ˌstrô ˈman/ noun 1. an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument.

@Alex Brecher ...and MORE personal insults...

@Alex Brecher another personal attack for expressing a different opinion

This is ad hominem attack directed toward ME instead of the topic @Alex Brecher

Bet you DO feel great!!

Man, that is tough to hear. My surgeon was very specific about having a BMI of 35 when he submits to insurance at the end of the process. At the initial seminar, our first homework assignment was to get our insurance's bariatric policy in writing. Good for you for finding a backup plan, but the out-of-pocket costs must be irritating.

LOL, maybe I am like that "terrible" wife that has been taking care of him and their children for the past couple of years. God knows I've tried to be a good wife and mother. I'm just a fellow poster with an opinion that apparently doesnt match yours. Sometimes life is about taking the sourest lemons life has to offer and making something resembling lemonade ... credit to This Is Us

I envy my January surgery pals...

DS, get real -- most people would be angry if a spouse became disabled. If I was the disable spouse, I'd be angry. If I was the healthy spouse, I'd be angry. All of their long-term plans are to the wind. They have financial crisis. Spouse #2 works all day, comes home and has to tend to children and now spouse #1 who chose elective surgery. What sort of saint-like humans are they supposed to be? There are no unicorns pooping rainbows in that household right now. @Thom I, too, have a disability -- a slowly progressive muscular dystrophy. I, too, am choosing bariatric surgery to lessen my long-term deterioration. I have a brother with the same condition as me who worked successfully for a 30-year career and now he's retired in his early 50s. I Can retired at any time, too -- I'm thinking about before my surgery. I have a cousin with the same inherited condition who didn't make good decisions, and has been on govt disability for a decade. When he moves to SS, his income will be in tatters. Its not an education thing -- I'm a PE, but both my brother and cousin never graduated college. One chose to work, the other looked for a way not to work . I would urge you to find a suitable job and contribute meaningfully to your family. You may think you are too nauseous to cook for your kids, but billions of women time immemorial have done this while nauseous and pregnant.

So, you're moving toward lifetime disability with young kids? I think its very reasonable for your wife to be angry and/or disappointed -- not abusive, but angry. I say get counseling and hope for the best. The marriages that work best seem to be where spouses contribute equally, or there's a stay-home understanding/agreement.

I'm up 5 pounds since August -- gotta buckle up...

On the Hashimotos front, I was diagnosed as a freshman in college weighing a grand 120-130 #s -- which I maintained until marriage. Hashimotos *wreaked* me -- hair loss, exhaustion, constipation. But I never lost weight when I started Synthroid. Now, 30 years, 2 kids, menopause -- there's little hope of fixing this nonsurgically.

Since August, my group classes have been packed -- standing room only. Like 50-60 people in every class, and 6 topical classes a month. The surgeon's office has added 2 new fax machines -- seriously, this is what they told me -- to handle the paperwork flying around. (Outside of health care, who uses Fax machines, LOL???). Is it possible that the availability of insurance and procedures has reached some sort of tipping point in acceptability, or is it just my surgeon's practice? Is it possible that insurance companies will start pulling back? As a disclaimer, I live in Maryland and we have weird insurance payment plans -- All-payer rate setting is a price setting mechanism in which all third parties pay the same price for services at a given hospital.

This! And you've lost 50 pounds -- bet that feels good! There's a set of 25# dumbells in my media room and I move them one at a time when I'm vacuuming -- all the while lugging that and then some extra pounds along with me everywhere i go. @Lotte22 , with your genetic profile, I would have the surgery. I know someone who had her stomach removed because she has genes for a particularly deadly form of stomach cancer -- as did her sister and daughter.

I would recommend asking your surgeon about Flintstones -- my surgeon says "no". There are liquid options available.

You are probably done by now, let us know how it went!

I am in your shoes, but older, and I am having surgery in March. You really don't want to carry this extra weight for decades more -- it impacts your joints, heart, and breathing. The statistics for losing and maintaining without surgery are pretty pitiful. I'm going with a sleeve, but I keep wondering if the sleeve will become the band of the future -- as in, requiring retrofits.

I'm 5'5", too, and I wouldn't be happy to stop in the 180's with surgery -- still in overweight territory -- especially knowing that people can gain 10-20 pounds down the road in the maintenance phase. Without surgery, 180s is the best I've ever done with diets.

Go online to find a local bariatric program. They all seem to hold regular seminars for people considering surgery, and they'll be able to advise you if your insurance will cover the procedure. You can also call the insurance company and ask for the weight loss surgery policy in writing.

@MommaScoggs Hang in there -- the timing may not be ideal, but you'll address a medical problem and lose weight -- you did have band at some point, so I assume weight loss would not be unwelcome. How old are your kids? Any opportunity to have some grandparent time?