Mattymatt

Hello! Welcome to the first step of a big journey. Some insurance companies require a referral so it would be a good idea to get one from your PCP. From there, you usually attend an information session, and if you're still interested, you begin the process with your first visit with the surgeon. Your surgeon will most likely order blood work, an abdominal ultrasound, and an upper G.I study. You will also have somewhere between 3-6 months of medically supervised weight management which is often an insurance requirement. In between this time, you'll meet with a psychologist and get tested for sleep apnea. You may also get a stress test and a lung function test. If you are diabetic, generally-speaking, you must have your A1C below 8% to be considered safe for surgery. Hope this helps you somewhat. The process is long but it is ultimately worth it. I think it taught me a lot of patience. I start my two week pre-op diet on Monday, February 26th and surgery arrives on Monday, March 12.

Since you have a case of GERD, I would encourage you to rethink your choice of the sleeve. I am no expert but my doctors said GERD will most likely not get better and may get worse with the sleeve. I have both GERD and diabetes so the bypass is the clear winner for me.

Wahoo! You look fantastic!

As others have pointed out, you've lost a tremendous amount of weight. You did not put the weight on overnight to begin with, so expecting it to come off even faster isn't realistic. You need to stop binge eating! Just stop right this minute, right now as you'll only be creating more problems for yourself. Go back to the basics of following your plan and seek some help. Go make an appointment with your dietitian and get back on track.

These are pretty natural feelings. I am fighting them myself, especially because food is like an anti-depressant to me. I've heard though that things drastically change with surgery and I am a cold turkey guy. I make the changes when I have to. I have 6 days until I begin my pre-op diet. Both dreading and welcoming it.

Some years ago, I did the online dating thing and had some success. Since becoming obese and dealing with depression, I sidelined the dating effort. eHarmony and Match.com are always worth a try. My last long term relationship began with an eHarmony date. If you feel adventurous, you could try craigslist. I once met someone and had a 2 month relationship which was fun while it lasted.

I don't like to be told what I want to hear because that is often lies so I completely get you on this one.

Wow! You look like an entirely new person!

I am doing sugar-free, zero calorie popsicles. They seem to be doing the trick.

@DonRobbie I know that I don't walk in your shoes and that I don't understand the dynamic of your relationship, but your health must come before your wife's desires. If there is one thing that holds universally true it's that your body is the most important possession you'll ever own. It's taken me quite a bit of time to understand that one myself - which is what's bringing me to surgery to finally lose (and hopefully) keep the weight off.

Yeah, that does sound about right according to the literature I received from my program. How long did it take you to get the soup down? What brand did you get? I am going with HealthWise as I tried a few samples and they were quite good.

If you think that the gastric sleeve has more risk, you've been misinformed. Research actually shows that there is less chance of complications with bypass. This information comes to me courtesy of both Penn Medicine and Christiana Care. Although the difference is really statistically insignificant, like a fraction of a percent to one percent. The prevailing advice that I've heard has been to go with gastric bypass if you have T2 diabetes or a history of GERD. People report having problems with severe acid reflux with the sleeve. Again, your mileage will vary. If you're diabetic, you may want to consider bypass.

Best I can say is that it might be a good sign but only your doctor's office will know.

Right, because if they really were concerned about our health they would provide us with accessible solutions to the problem.

Same here. You've set up a good expectation of the process. Better to expect it to be hell and pleasantly surprised if it is not.

March 12th at 0 Dark 30.

No, right now I hurt so badly from being overweight that exercising isn't really an option. I've changed my eating habits enough to get my blood glucose (A1C) to safe levels for surgery. In a week, I begin my pre-op diet which I know will be difficult because I will have to contend daily with low blood sugar while my diabetic meds get tweaked. There really isn't much that I can do to make things easier at the moment. I will just grin and bear it.

Taking the first step and making an appointment does not commit you to the process. If later on down the line you feel that surgery isn't a good option, you can always back out. I am still pre-op for another three weeks and I'm convinced that this is one of the best decisions that I have ever made. The important thing is that you don't go into this thinking it is the magical fix and a good program will emphasize that this procedure is not a magic bullet. I could go into a laundry list of things that I wished I had done prior to considering surgery and going down this road. But, I am not going to because there is no sense dwelling in the past. At some point I had to take a long hard look and say what I did in the past hadn't worked so why the hell am I going to go through that again? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is madness. I am 40 years old and my genetic healthy life expectancy is about 85 years so if I want to live a better life, I'd best not keep trying what hasn't worked.

Those words are vile and they really show the bias that the medical community has against people that are overweight. It seems like people who are overweight still face the largest stigma out of every disease in the books. Not even people whom are HIV+ or mentally ill experience as much stigma. One would think that the medical community is becoming more learned but there is still a prevalent attitude that if people are overweight, it is their own fault. Even people that practice in the very area of weight management itself, still look on their patience with some disgust - this was the reason why I changed hospital programs, potentially costing me more time. That much said, I won't let a silly label be a reason, albeit even a small one, for me to lose weight. I don't want to give the powers that be the satisfaction. The reason I am going down this surgery path is so that I don't die early and painfully. Sleep Apnea, Diabetes, and High Blood Pressure are seriously no laughing matter. I don't want a toe or foot amputated because my blood sugars are in the danger zone. The psychologists all advised that I find another reason, other than health to lose weight but I just don't care right now because I feel like the floor of a taxi cab. I know that once a significant amount of weight comes off, I will feel better.

@Talkdoc55 Thank you for sharing your experience. Were you able to regain any of the lost muscle mass?

I am puzzled by the question because why would anyone really like being fat? It is abject misery - every day is a social, physical, and mental challenge. I can't wait for this problem to be over and done with.

I was in exactly this situation that you were talking about. Each program is slightly different with varying requirements. I got some credit for the past accomplishments with the hospital system that I transferred into but the new program had even more requirements than the old one. I was a bit disheartened at first but I realized that the additional tests and screening were to really give me the best hope for a safe surgery. I chose to cut ties with my first program because the staff just had horrible bedside manner and wanted to get in there and out quickly. I was concerned that if I had complications after surgery, would they behave dismissively to me? I am not a whiner or complainer per se, but if they're treating me terribly insensitively now, what happens when I truly need their guidance? Why do you want to cut ties? If the reason is finding a faster route, it isn't worth it. If the reason is that you have reservations about the quality of care, then it is worth consideration.

Yes, the process does feel like an eternity. I remember when I got my surgical clearance and a surgery date I finally felt like the end is in sight. But remember that the challenge comes when you do the *very* restrictive two week, pre-op diet. I start mine on February 26th for a surgery date of March 12th. Those two weeks will be the challenge.

I've been on a liquid diet once before. It takes 4 to 5 days before you feel less crappy. But, one day you will wake up with hunger gone and actually feeling energetic. To keep staying on task, tell yourself that this is ultimately to make you safer for surgery. This is the reason that you're doing it. Tell yourself that if you cheat, you risk surgery complications or even having your surgery cancelled altogether. You worked way too hard to get this far. Just look at things hour to hour. Don't look beyond the next hour. This is a time tested technique and it's what allows Navy SEALs and Army Rangers to get through some of the most physically and mentally brutal training imaginable. It's about wanting it and keeping your mind in the present.

I am sorry to hear that you're being treated so poorly at work but you're not alone. Since childhood, I have always wanted to work for a freight railroad as a conductor and eventually a locomotive engineer but was pretty much always overweight. Of course, in my present state I cannot do this but once the leaner and meaner me shines through, the door will be wide open. I hate my present job as a security guard. I look like the stupid, obese guard out of a movie with an ill-fitting uniform and no one takes me seriously. People snicker and I grow weary of it. It's time for me to do something that I want to do. I overheard one person say, "It's the dumbass, fat guard." I said, "Excuse me? I heard exactly what you said and if you don't apologize immediately I am going to report it as workplace harrassment." I got madder than a wet hornet.