elforman

I wish swimming was an option. Unfortunately lifting my arms over my shoulders is rather painful, as is trying to walk against the water with a bad back. The last time I used the pool over the summer I was in pain for two days afterward.

I just get very congested very quickly and past two drinks my throat starts to constrict. I'd likely die of suffocation before I got drunk. Although I did experience a hangover once not from too much alcohol, but stupidly mixing wine and scotch in a short period of time. I'll never understand how anyone who goes through that even once ever drinks to excess again.

I'm actually allergic to alcohol, so it's like having a built in two drink limit and I rarely exceed one. It has made me prioritize quality over quantity, and I can make a shot of good scotch last two hours. (Bartenders hate me.) I'm sure I'll be able to do without for as long as necessary after surgery since I only drink for flavor, not effect. I appreciate that it's very hard to kick for those who do drink for effect, as I have a sister who gave the local CVS a brand new drive thru window, but I thought alcoholic tendencies were something they screen for during the required psychiatric evaluation. Sent from my SM-G930T using BariatricPal mobile app

Wow, Torriluv, you do have it bad. My wife has three herniated discs from an accident back in December and she's finally having surgery for it in two weeks then will have lumbar surgery once she's recovered from that. Plus my son has fibro which manifested right around his twelfth birthday so I know how bad that can be. He's a college freshman now and has it mostly under control. Then there's my daughter, a college senior, who's never had a single health problem in her life and is afraid to come home lest the curse strike her too... I think what I'm most afraid of during the pre-surgical dieting and post-surgical restrictions is a lack of energy. I can get winded climbing a flight of stairs now, so I wonder what it will be like with little caloric intake and essentially living off of my body's stored fat. As for water, I'm ashamed to admit there are times when I've avoided drinking water because I know I'd have to get up to go to the bathroom and I didn't want to have to get up to walk anywhere.

Hi all, First post time. For background, I have an initial consult on Jan. 3 because the coverage for weight loss services doesn't kick in until the new year, so that will be considered my official kickoff. I had an unofficial consult with the same doctor a month ago as a favor to my PCP, knowing I had no bariatric coverage at the time, so I've already had the recommendation for the gastric sleeve. Given the three month supervised diet requirement, that would put me into at April at best, and considering I want to be available for my daughter's college graduation at the end of April, I figure I won't be having any surgery until mid-May at best. But here's my real issue: I can't exercise. Physically, I'm a wreck, head to toe, and I mean that literally. I've got a bad neck, arthritis (frozen shoulder) in both shoulders, bad lower back, one bad knee plus every problem imaginable with my feet short of athlete's foot, including bone spurs, previously broken bones and plantar fasciitis. So I'm not kidding when I say any attempt at extended physical exertion usually ends in severe pain or injury. I can walk for maybe 15 minutes at a time, far less than the recommended 30-45 I've seen discussed. Sit-ups and weights are off-limits. I used to be able to use an elliptical to some success but that just getting harder and harder. So, the question is, just how much will my lack of ability to exercise affect my weight loss? I'd like to hope that exercise will become easier when I don't have to lug as much weight around, but right now, and until I drop a good chunk of weight, it's pretty much out of the question. (And since I'm new here, if this is not the appropriate forum for questions at this stage, please direct me to the proper one.) Thanks!