Creekimp13

I know what you mean, Annedavi...about wanting to do it while the kids are busy. My daughter comes home from college for two weeks at Christmas, and i'm so happy that I'll be done, and not have her visit ruined by surgery or being fresh into recovery. By the time she's home, I'll probably be on soft foods and making some good progress. Hope so, anyway:)

I'm making Thanksgiving dinner for people on Thursday and can't eat any of it. LOL. Today is the first day of my liquid diet. So far, so good....but I can't say it isn't kinda challenging. Lots of tea. Lots of broth. Lots of Jello. At least I'm really busy....that helps.

I'm right there with ya...wishing you survival of your holiday and an excellent outcome for your surgery! Feel free to stay in touch about how things are going...I'll be on your same timeline and wouldn't mind having someone else to compare notes with:)

It's not ME I'm concerned about. I don't feel picked on. I've got a pretty good self image, and I'm kinda bomb proof about physical comments. Who doesn't want to be called "too small"? That's a novelty I sort of enjoy!

No, what I'm getting at....is that I have a lot of fat friends and family. Love these folks. Everyone addresses weight issues when they're ready. Some people choose not to at all. I'm 100% ok with everyone's individual right to choose, and everyone's own process and time frame.

I'm just trying to figure out how to finesse my news in a way that's gonna express that.

I feel a little like that one person in a group of friends who likes to drink together a lot....who admits they're an alcoholic and seeks treatment. It makes people uncomfortable and sort of forces the issue. And while I realize it's not my problem, I'm trying to come up with a strategy to minimize discomfort.

That's not what I've heard, Mark. Most people report losing a ton of hair regardless of their Protein intake. Many say it does grow back.

I hope you have good luck and minimal shedding. And I hope I do, too:)

This is a tricky one that keeps coming up for me.....friends, family and acquaintances who are heavier people insist that I'm not big enough for weight loss surgery, and almost get mad and take it personally. Like....Hmmm, if she thinks she's so big she needs to do that, she must think I'm outrageously big, too. And they get angry and seem really insulted. Why would you do that? You're not that big!

This is a weird question, but is it better to address it and say.....I'm not judging your choice to be heavy, I love you just the way you are........or is it better to just say....well, my doctor thinks I'm heavy enough and has been asking me to consider this for years. Both kinda fall flat of the diplomacy i'm looking for.

How do I defend my choice without making other heavier people feel criticized? I really don't WANT others to feel hurt by my choice, or feel I'm viewing them critically. Any ideas?

I get that your hair will fall out quite a bit and there's really nothing you can do....but has anyone ever tried treating with Rogaine before surgery to encourage new Hair growth so that your hair looks a little thicker even while it's thinning out? I know a lot of people swear by Biotin, and I'll probably use that, too. But what about Rogaine? Any thoughts or experiences?

They tell you to walk...to prevent blood clots, to increase circulation and aid in healing....everyone's always saying...walk. Keep walking.

But here's my question, how much is too much walking?

Like...from Day one of surgery......can anyone give an estimate of how many steps they're doing per day?

I want to push myself to keep walking, but not insanely, you know?

Talk to your doctor's office. Be honest and see what they say.

My report said I suffer from anxiety and depression.....but that that I manage them well, employ a lot of good strategies for coping with them, and that I have a good support system in place.

In my case I thought this was a pretty accurate representation of my mental health.

I was not required to do any other follow up unless I felt it would be helpful.

Essentially it said....looks like you're doing pretty good, and are aware of a few challenges you are predisposed to. If we can help, we're here for ya.

After six months of appointments and jumping through hoops...I had exactly one thing left to do... My upper GI, the Xray with the barium swallow. Since I don't have any symptoms of GERD, etc...I figured it would be pretty easy.

The test is pretty nasty. You drink plaster of Paris, essentially, and roll around back and forth like a trained circus dog while they take x-rays...but it's tolerable.

What was less tolerable was being ready to leave on a mini vacation...and having the office call and tell me my results were abnormal.

"You need to see a gastroenterologist for an upper endoscopy to see what's going on."

Great.

So, I'm thinking all sort of bizarre stuff... Do I have cancer? Cause ya know they're not going to tell you anything about what's going on. Then, it occurred to me that I signed up for the service at my hospital where I can access my health history including being able to view test results....so I was able to pull up the X-ray report. It said there were abnormalities consistent with benign polyps. Whew! Ok, i'm not dying...but where does this leave my surgery?

I was so discouraged....the upper GI was the last hoop I had to jump through. I was done! LOL. Guess not...

By absolute luck, the gastroenterologist had a cancellation and was able to get me in within a week.

The sedation was interesting....sort of that twilight stuff...not exactly anesthetic, but you don't remember much. I do have a vague memory of gagging on the endoscope and the nurses patting me and telling me I was doing great.

Afterward, I learned that my polyps were not big enough to remove, but I had chronic gastritis, and they took a biopsy of the inflamed tissue.

I'm thinking...great, cancer again? LOL (yep, my mind always goes there at the word biopsy)

Nope...they were mostly looking for the bacteria that causes ulcers and infections.

Anyway....I got put on Famotadine for the gastritis...and felt pretty crestfallen, wondering how long this would complicate things and if I'd ever get my surgery..and how long I'd have to treat it, etc. I felt kinda robbed...like all my hard work was going to be undone by this complication and I'd be in limbo forever. So discouraging.

Turns out I was free of the bad bacteria, and gastritis is very common, and would not be a complication to the surgery. Whew!

What felt like a major disappointment and major obstacle....turned out to be much ado about nothing.

Wanted to leave this story in case someone had a similar test result and felt as freaked out as I did.

I remember from one of the overview seminars I attended, a lot of people were really upset about the idea of having to see a psychologist as a prerequisite. (My surgical group requires it)

I thought it might be helpful to talk about the appointment and let others know that it's really no big deal.

I went in and did a big long questionnaire. The themes seemed to be centered around trying to discern how much of a role depression, anxiety and addiction play in your life.

When I talked to the actual counselor, she was awesome. Very nice lady who wanted to ask me about my history with weight and weight loss, wanted to know what my motivators were for losing weight, and wanted to know what my support at home was like.

I was a little resistant at first, but now I think the psych evaluation is a really good idea, and that everyone who can swing it should seriously consider doing it.

food addiction is tough...when you take away the food, it leaves a hole that could be filled by another more dangerous addiction. You need support, and you need someone who can help if you run into trouble half way through this major lifestyle change.

While I don't really foresee having to continue counseling, myself....Having a relationship established with someone who knows my history a little just seems like a purdent preventative measure.

It really wasn't that bad, folks. Piece of cake. And a really good idea.

My liquid diet isn't so forgiving. Just clear liquids, protien shakes, and one 100 calorie serving of a list of three things...also liquid in texture. LOL. Fun!

I start tomorrow, and am cooking a full dinner for family Thursday. Will be hell on Earth. LOL...but I'm getting creative. I'm simmering some sage and thyme and onion and celery in my chicken broth (which I will strain off), having cream of potato Soup for my one 100 calorie thing, and some diet cranberry juice (the 5 calorie kind) Voila! Liquid diet Thanksgiving!

Went in for my 6th appointment on November 11 (my insurance requires 6 months of medically supervised weight loss and dietitian appointments). I figured....ok, I finally have everything done.....now I'll have to get into the next liquid diet class and they'll have to push paperwork for insurance....so we're talking, what? January or February, right? Wrong.... The office called me that afternoon and scheduled my surgery for December 5th! Feel like I've been running a marathon since...getting labs, x-rays, EKG, liquid diet class, buying all the stuff I need.

Tomorrow I start a two week liquid diet. Surgery December 5th.

Had my first medical weight loss appointment June 6th. Time flies. Might seem like it takes a long time...and there certainly can be a lot of hoops to jump through....but I'm sort of in shock that I'm already here and ready to go.

Got my letter in the mail from my insurance last week that I'm approved. Final hurdle crossed...it's showtime. Wish me luck.

Good luck to everyone having surgery this month, wishing you the very best.