Mattymatt

19 hours ago, JeezLouise91 said:

So a letter came in the post a couple of days from the hospital.

They offered me the 16th of November and as I read the date I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.

I said that I wouldn't be able to do that date and would February be possible the lady said no February is too late, we're going to offer you one more appointment in January at the latest and if you decide not to take it you will be kicked off the program and will have to be re refferd by your doctor again.

That was me told lol.

Looks like I'm really going to have to make a decision soon. This is so hard. One day I wake up with such confidence like what's the big deal? Loads of people can do it so can I! The next day I'm full of anxiety and thoughts of complications.

In regards to complication worries:

Are you at more risk the older/bigger/unhealthier you are?

Or can leaks etc just happen to anyone?

I'm 26, not the biggest but obviously big enough, have no medical problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Only pcos which is to do with hormones.

If any of you read my last post you're probably thinking "not her again, stop being a chicken and just go for it" lol. I do apologize. There will probably be another post next week from me crying

Sent from my F5121 using BariatricPal mobile app

I would go through with it were I you. Weight problems tend to worsen with age or so I am told. You do not want to be in my position. I am 40, have to lose 176 pounds, have high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and diabetes. So, in essence, yes, the older, bigger, and more unhealthy that you are, the greater the risks. I have already been told that I will need 3 days in the hospital before the surgeon would consider me for discharge. If you think you're scared, walk a day in my shoes. I am fearful that I could have a heart attack or stroke even prior to surgery. Hell, it's entirely possible that the strain of the surgery could cause problems. But, as Yoda from Star Wars would say, "Committed, I am. For better health, to have."

I won't call you chicken and won't pass judgement but I think by dropping out, you will regret this in the long run. Also, we are now in Republican-dominated times so you can fully expect for it to get harder to qualify for surgery and coverage uncertain. Your insurance company might even use the fact that you dropped out as a strike against you and might require more scrutiny in a future attempt at qualifying. That letter you got is worth its weight in gold. Show up, complete your mission, live better. Don't put yourself in a situation similar to mine.

On 10/24/2017 at 3:04 PM, toby585 said:

So far I've adjusted my diet over the last few months, a lot more food prep and a lot less eating out/ordering in.

I've been working on my activity level, trying to get walks in when I can. Still struggling with a regular exercise routine but I'm getting there...

That's okay man. Remember, progress not perfection.

18 hours ago, Kikidi said:

I know its "normal" to be nervous about surgery. But im starting to freak out about my surgery coming up in one week.

I "only" need to lose about 80 pounds. But I do have severe GERD, sleep apnea, and I feel exhausted and joint pain all the time.

How do I know im not making a huge mistake ? Im 30 years old, will I be regretting this for the rest of my life ? Is it normal to be this worried/panicking ?

Id say im leaning 75-80% towards backing out of the surgery, and dont just know what to do...

You've come this far in the process so don't back out now. You do not want to be 40 years old and potentially even heavier. Trust me, I am 40 and I need to lose 176 pounds which is more than double what you need. I have sleep Apnea, Type 2 Diabetes, and High Blood Pressure - I could have a serious cardiac event at any given time. Do this now and your 30s will be happier and healthier. I believe that if you do not go through this now, you may have future regrets. The statistics say that only 10-15% of people that lose weight through diet and exercise alone can keep the weight off whereas 65% of those that use surgery as a tool keep the weight off.

Will this be a huge change? Yes, of course it will. Will this be easy? No, it won't be but if you're getting your surgery done at a Center for Excellence, then your prognosis is incredibly good. The statistics show less than 1% of people developing complications. That is almost statistically insignificant. I am certain it is normal to be nervous about any kind of surgery but think of this as life saving.

On 7/3/2017 at 7:15 PM, russdroppings said:

I attended a WLS support group meeting with other bypass patients and a story was relayed to me by a man who had a long time gf which ended after the WLS because she couldn't handle the saggy skin. Not just this once but 4 other times since his surgery more than 2 years ago has he had women stop seeing him because of his appearance without clothing. One woman went so far as to tell him that when they met he looked great but it was like "false advertising" after getting to the intimacy phase (I know, I would have knocked the outta her too) So yes we all know this is beyond shallow but hearing this man tell it, I would imagine there may be others out there who have experienced negative experiences from intimate partners who felt the sight of all that loose skin was a turn off.

I felt bad for him as he seemed broken up about it, but he still maintained his positive composure since so many other health issues were reversed like his diabetes and blood pressure. He did admit that he is no longer seeking any companionship because of the impact the skin has had on his social life. Plastic surgery was not an option, insurance did not see the medical necessity since there were no adverse side effects from the loose skin he had (no rashes, no infections etc). Seems to me his mental health is being seriously affected and plastic surgery should be a consideration but we all know how insurance companies love to scrimp and save money where they can.

I now have a concern. As I continue my journey and weight continues to drop, will I have to endure this kind of treatment? I don't react well to shallow princesses and have a bad habit of finding ways to knock them off their high horses....comes from the days of being bullied as the fat kid in school so my acerbic wit and double edged sharp tongue have ways of finding anyone's Achilles heel. I have not considered doing any dating yet and after hearing this poor chap confess before the group about his body image issues and intimacy experiences, I am wondering if I will consider dating after reaching my goal weight. I think this abhorrent treatment is inexcusable and I am curious to know who else may have experienced something like this and how did you or how are you dealing with it?

I'm concerned about having loose skin but I'm so heavy now that I'm relatively unattractive. My goals have nothing to do with appearance. I miss my two loves: the mountains and bicycling. I want them back! Hahaha!

But seriously, I'm right there with you. I tend to brash and acerbic as a result of being bullied. I don't handle bullies very well at all and tend to stick up for others being bullied. Nothing feels better than to emasculate a bully.

They call it the dating game for a reason. It is going to take many attempts before you find the right one. Before I let myself get to the intimacy stage, I want to know her flaws and I want her to know mine. No surprises.

How do you feel now? If you feel good and energetic, maybe you're okay. You certainly look fantastic and a whole lot healthier.

3 minutes ago, sundog said:

It does go fast! I thought it was a really good idea to have that amount of time to prepare, both medically, mentally, and also just logicstially. I bought books and read about nutrition, and recipe books during the pre-op phase. I read through the forums and got an idea of what some of the post-op problems might be. I bought some new kitchen equipment and stuff I thought would be helpful. I was so psyched that when I finally had the final appointment, and then insurance approval (10 days later!) that I was actually looking forward to the pre-op diet (that was the hardest part so far, but that wasn't even that bad).

I have sailed through surgery with minimum pain and was walking 10,000 steps a day after two weeks. No nausea, no regrets, no problems. I wish you the same pleasant journey! Good luck.

I am going to struggle to get to 10K steps per day because I am so heavy. It hurts to walk for more than about 10 minutes or so at a time. Instead, 10K steps will be a post-op goal. What I am doing is walking EVERY day. I do what I am able to do. My main goal for the time period between now and the big day is to NOT gain any more weight and simply work towards and A1C goal of >8%.

For me, the only easy day was yesterday. I fully expect nothing will be easy about this process. The post-op diet will be exceedingly difficult, especially the pureed food part. I will have to find foods that do not make me gag. I cannot even stand the smell of cottage cheese, let alone even look at it. Of course, it may turn out to be far easier than I expect but I do not want false hope right now.

I was bemoaning how long the pre-op phase is going to be but it is actually going by very fast so far - I guess 3 months is a really short period of time after all. I barely have time to get my blood sugar under control. I also lucked out in getting to see my endocrinologist this week and she said that even if my A1C isn't perfectly under 8%, she told me that she would be willing to let my doc know that I would be safe for surgery. My surgeon called me yesterday to let me know that he was able to count my first visit with him as one nutritional appointment, thereby shortening the time some. Yesterday, I got the Upper GI contrast and Abdominal ultrasound done plus I was able to get an appointment to see the psychologist on Nov. 15th with many thanks to the person who cancelled. I have the next medical weight management appointment on Nov. 22nd and the final one on Dec. 27th. If the Abdominal and GI studies come back okay, I can get a surgery date set. YESSSSS!!!!

3 hours ago, lilmissmouse said:

Anxious. Not nervous, anxious. What if I chose the wrong surgery? What if something goes wrong? What if I'm the one who is nauseous 24/7 and can no longer work? YIKES!!

I really surprised myself with the two week liquid diet. I have done great and really not hungry at all. Today, on just Clear Liquids, is a bit different. I'm really hungry.

You've got this! Don't worry as you will be under good care,

I am from West Chester ... close enough. Getting my surgery done at Penn Presbyterian. Dr. Korus will be my surgeon.

On 9/27/2017 at 9:42 AM, MiamiHusker said:

I had my gastric sleeve surgery exactly 2 months ago today. As of this morning I'm down 60 lbs. It took less than a week after surgery for me to get back to exercising. Prior to surgery I would walk 7-8 miles 3-4 times a week. I would also spend 30-45 minutes on the elliptical a couple times a week. This made the post-surgery transition much, much easier since I had been exercising from the very beginning.

I am really glad that you shared about your pre-surgery exercise habit. That kind of resonated with me because I will be getting the sleeve. I've decided to start exercising. I can really only do about 5 minutes of walking at a time but I will do it everyday and slowly build up to it. Reading your story motivated me. Thank you!

Keep up the good work! It's good to read your success story. I am still in the pre-op phase and my surgery date feels like a long way off. Please keep us posted.

Ask your doctor if Seroquel is available in a salt tab form. Basically a salt tab is something you put on your tongue and it dissolve in your mouth. I have to take my antidepressant that way because otherwise I puke.

I'm a relatively new diabetic. I was just diagnosed on January 15th of this year. Well here's to better health and taking money away from Big Pharma! 😀

I wish I could afford this ....

8 hours ago, ohgeeasleeve said:

Thanks everyone. I’m self paying.

If your self-paying, then the process should be much faster but I would stay on top of it with weekly or bi-weekly phone calls. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. :-)

I don't smoke but I can appreciate how difficult quitting the habit is. It's made even more difficult by the fact that Big Tobacco adds extra nicotine just so you'll smoke more and buy more. It's really a seedy and unethical way of driving up profits. R.J. Reynolds and Phillip Morris are sleezy corporations.

I am a walking profit model for Big Pharma. They see me and think, "Weez gonna get paid today!" On a more sober note, I really do want to get off of all of these meds. For diabetes, I take Metformin, Glipizide, and Lantus insulin. For the High Blood Pressure, I take a baby aspirin and Losartin. For the Depression and Anxiety, I take Seroquel and Remeron. Finally, I have my trusty sidekick, the CPAP for sleep Apnea. Sadly, I am noticing my average number of apneas per hour starting to uptick again. It used to be with the machine that I would average less than 1 apnea an hour and now I am up to about 3-4. Time to make an appointment with the sleep doc and maybe get my machine checked out.

Swallowing pills and stabbing myself with the insulin flexpen is really no way to live in the long term for someone only 40. I think if I did not see the humor in it, I would be in utter despair. If I could just reverse the Type 2 Diabetes and High Blood Pressure, that would be a victory.

1 minute ago, kittymommy said:

I have 4 rescued kitties ️ A tuxedo female, DSH all black male, and sibling MC mixes who are brother and sister. How many do you have? I am obsessed with black cats, but love them all the same

None right now because I can barely take care of myself at the moment, let alone having a fur baby. One day soon though. I'd like a mini panther of my own.

4 minutes ago, kittymommy said:

I made my first appointment today! Going to see The gastroenterologist on Monday to schedule an endoscopy. I’m so excited and nervous.
Does anyone else constantly think about the day of the surgery, how it will feel, how you will be able to cope post-op with the liquid diet, how much your new stomach will hold, etc? Sorry, I’m such a newbie at this and this forum was the best thing I found!

You're among good company. I think about it at least several times a day. Mostly I'm concerned about eating pureed food. I've got my Upper GI and Abdominal studies next week.

Curious ... since I'm a fellow feline enthusiast. How many kitties do you have?

Just now, MN_Meg770 said:

Oh cool!! My brother went to Penn State. Are philly cheese steaks are off the plan?! Lol...

cheese steaks pretty much have to be unless I can do them without bread and fries. Might be kind of impossible right now. My weakness is fried chicken too. :-/

Just now, MN_Meg770 said:

Great idea!! My surgery should be in April if all goes well. My first appts. with the surgeon, dietician and nurse are on Nov. 28th. I’m in MN- you?

I'm in Philly so we'll have to do this virtually. LOL!

4 minutes ago, MN_Meg770 said:

That’s what mine is - 10. I’m a carb fiend and need to avoid chips, breads, etc. Bringing lunch to work will help as well as stopping the fast food. Time to look for good things to replace the bad carbs.

Maybe the two of us can encourage each other - you know, team up so to speak. When is your surgery date? Mine is sometime in Feb. Let's do this! 2% is totally doable.

I just got up and managed to walk for 5 minutes. One step at a time.

1 minute ago, MN_Meg770 said:

I too have to get my A1c down - ugh...going to be a challenge for sure. All the Halloween candy around at work isn’t helping.

I did get some good news. My A1C is only 10%. I thought it was 14%. Still, the remaining 2% or so won't be easy. For me, sweets aren't the thing. Carbs like breads and fries are.

I am actually dreading this stage of foods because I have a really sensitive gag reflex. Please someone tell me that puree'd food is not that bad.

1 hour ago, AnnieGrannie said:

I've had pretty steady loss since my 10/5 sleeve, although getting enough Water & Protein in a day is still very hard some days.

The= I'll have a day where I'm up 1/2 - 1 lbs. Is this the body trying to find its equilibrium from losing steadily? Is there something I should be doing that I'm missing? I could understand "flat", but gaining seems kind of weird.

Any great things that have worked for you?

I would recommend following up with your bariatric team.