Creekimp13

Did your PCP give you a reason? Do you meet bmi requirement, etc?

Continuing bariatric support is important. If you can't see a bariatric group, at the very least be vigilant about your PCP visits, make sure there is no other underlying cause to explain your weight loss.

I liked it when I was a kid and you got to spend a whole day making valentine mailboxes, with glitter and construction paper and sticking them on your desk. Then, everyone had to give everyone else little miniature valentines, and the really cool ones had holograms and stickers. And boys had cooties, and girls had cooties, and the teacher had adult cooties...and we all played heart bingo and made our moms cards out of paper doilies. Your best friend would bring her favorite stuffed animal in, and you brought yours, and you would spend the night at each other's houses making costumes and decorations and having a stuffed animal wedding. Until you decided it would be more fun to use her real cats. Then you got them dressed and had a cat wedding. I miss cat weddings, and stickers, and cooties.

The Rants and Raves board, the Lounge, the guys and girls rooms....could maybe have a more discrete backroom feel that omits them from Trending Topics and updates? They're generally off-topic and might be taken with a grain more effectively if they're not stumbled into accidentally through other menus. If you have to actually seek them out, and pull down the menu to find them.....it's more likely you'll understand what content to expect. Might spare the newbies, and keep the pertinent information front and center....while also allowing an edgier sub rosa retreat. $.02

My hubby keeps ice cream, soda, candy, chips and fast food....at work now. My kiddo sends healthy recipes and we have cook offs and exchange pix of the new dishes we're trying. My bestie takes me walking.

For Valentines....I get my husband a weird couples grab bag from the local sex store. We laugh our butts off at the weird crap inside....attempt to use some of it, and hurt ourselves. Laugh a lot....and enjoy the absurdity. My kiddo...I'll send a care package to. This year, it's unicorn pajamas with red hearts. She'll love them. Also got her some bath oils and fancy soap. Getting my mom flowers. I like to arrange them myself. She gets some fancy bath oils and soap, too.

If you're insurance accepts weight watchers...you're in luck. Does weight watchers employ physicians now, or is your PCP signing off on your Weight Watchers documentation?

My surgeon required us to lose 10% of our body weight....for me, that was 27 pounds. I remember being upset about this, but now I understand it. You really need those months to learn self discipline for optimal success.

Because many insurance companies require six months of medically supervised weight loss. Also because there are a million other things that need to get done... Nutrition counseling, psychological clearance, seeing a fitness trainer, attending a support group, going for a ton of medical tests...Upper GI, Endoscopy, EKG, Chest films, Blood work, etc. etc... Everything takes time. And that's really good...because it's not a decision you should rush into. Six months of research....was about right for me. I wouldn't change anything.

If this is the case, I think God should worry less about fat people and more about starving kids in Africa. Lousy priorities.

For freakin ever. Nah, mine went really smoothly. About six months. Time flew.

I'm glad, Tealeal...cause that was the hope:)

Ya'll will note...I did NOT post this to the general forum. I posted it to the Rants and Raves board....cause it's a Rant. It's not meant to be helpful...unless humor helps....which it sometimes does. (and sometimes doesn't)

I know...I know....we've all been there. And it's important to be patient with newer folks and to be empathetic to their frustration. I'm so wrong for this....but I just want to smack the **** out of them. Which would not be helpful. I'm sort of re-evaluating the value of habitually reading this board. It's all starting to loop around and around in this anxious cycle of angsty mental health issue driven repetitive slurry. I'm starting to identify these stereotypes of posters that repeat over and over.... The Bird....I will not eat over 500 calories because calories are bad. The Protein Addict....Must never eat carbs again or the world will explode. The Why Me Whiner....Where's my yellow brick road, Dr. Nowzaradin? The Documentarian.... Ate one and three quarters blueberries this morning for a total of 4.37687calories. The Rebel without a Clue.....I ate a whole pizza yesterday just to see if I could cram one in there. I could! I want my money back! The Pain in the Ass angsty Know It All.....who writes offensive insensitive rants like this one. The Research Junkie.....sort of like the pain in the ass angsty know it all...but with more links. The Fat Shamer.....let me endlessly describe how much I hated my fat, and by extension how offputting I find other fat people The Size Queen.....Can I slip my new pants size into casual conversation? The Oblivious Question Asker.....Um, I'm two weeks out, can I have chicken McNuggets and a large coke and fries yet? The Lonely Soul.....Hi, We should be besties. I'm going to write 9/10 posts about how cool I think you are. The Stuck Veteran....I lost weight ages ago and kept it off, but I still obsess about weight loss daily. The Message Board Christian.....Lets slip Christ in there, just for the hell of it. Pray for me! Maybe I just have a shitty attitude today. I'm bored. I'm tired of thinking about weight. I'm glad I had surgery. A few bumps in the road, but I'm doing really well all things considered. I'm committed to following through. But I'm so freaking tired of thinking about this.....and having it consume so much of my life. And equally scared of not being vigilant. Just kinda....ornery. Sorry.

I never had body hatred. At 270, I never really minded how I looked. I've always felt like I looked pretty good. I was fat...so what? I liked me. But the health issues are HUGE. Mobility issues, risk for diabetes and cancer... And here's the big one....energy. I LOVE the energy I have now. I can carry all the groceries in without panting. I can zip up a few flights of stairs. I can trot down to the mailbox, or haul some trash down without even thinking about it (which is saying something, cause my driveway is nearly a quarter of a mile long) Do I miss being fat? Not even a little.

If you're eating steak, you should be cutting it into teenie tiny little pieces at first. Slow the hell down and cut it into tiny little pea sized pieces. Eat a few at a time if you want a bigger mouth full, but consider your safety. Putting something large in your mouth to chew up with the idea of spitting it out is not only gross...it's dangerous. Yes, doctors DO have to surgically remove hunks of meat that get stuck. And NO, drinking flat or dilute soda is NOT the norm. There is no one on the planet who loves soda as much as I do....but I understood when I had surgery that it was something I had to give up. Empty calories and insulin spikes are not compatible with bariatric surgery....fizz or no fizz. And who the hell could gag down FLAT soda? Bleh! Creating "loopholes" to continue extreme habits is bonkers in my opinion.....it's self sabotaging and is a few steps away from a crossover eating disorder. You wanted blatant honesty...I think what you are describing sounds pathological and should be discussed with a therapist.

How about instead of teaching women to "follow safety rules", we teach men to not be predatory rapists? The focus is dated and needs to change.

Have decided to remove myself from this one.

I think the point LalaDee is making....is that sexually predatory behavior....isn't funny or entertaining to women who have been raped. Treating it like a joke, or like "it's no big deal...get over it"....is victim shaming. So what if Lurkin Larry is a 14 year old boy? HE is the person who needs to be corrected if you're passing out corrections. Why "correct" another woman for voicing her concern about sexual predation? You are essentially saying...you have the choice to be raped or not. Which is absolute bullshit:) Rape has nothing to do with having a choice. Why defend and accept rapists? Fluff....I'm picking on you here a little because you took someone's comments and made them a platform for your political rant.... instead of just accepting that LalaDee has a different perspective than you do and is entitled to express her concern. I'm doing the same thing to you now. Do you enjoy it? Live and let live...that's all I'm saying. And send the "corrections" to the people who commit the crimes, not the people who are upset about them.

The nose is a common site for edema. If you're in better shape, and eating healthier, it will be less likely to be puffy. (even if it wasn't that perceptibly puffy in the past)

1. Yes. Omeprazole was actually prescribed to me for 4 months after surgery to help protect my new sleeve. At first you just open the capsules and swallow the contents....later you can swallow the whole capsule. 2. Sleeve is associated with higher instances of GERD. 3. Carbonated beverages are generally frowned upon for life. 4. Alcohol is discouraged before 6 months post op and is generally cautioned against.....because it has empty calories, because it is metabolized differently after surgery, and because there is a risk of cross over addiction with WLS.

What mechanism does your doctor suggest could be causing this alleged damage to your mitochondria? Kinda sounds like the problem you had before the surgery is still giving you issues? May I ask your age?

I'm not thin yet, but the improvement has inspired different reactions. Getting more smiles from men my age, more casual conversation, more attention. On the one hand.....it's awfully nice to not be invisible anymore. On the other hand.....it's kinda hard to take. Part of me is really irritated these same guys wouldn't have even made eye contact 60 pounds ago. And of course...no one suspects a fat middle aged women. We could commit the perfect crimes because no one notices us or sees us. A part of me is sad to give up being able to commit the perfect crime:)

I don't think everyone becomes athletic after surgery. Though, it's true that some people start to use exercise as a coping mechanism to replace food. If you want to exercise more, do things you enjoy. The idea is a lifestyle change. Working out like a beast for a year and then quitting....will result in regain. Your metabolism will notice your decreased activity. Make small changes you can live with that will last a lifetime. When they get comfortable, challenge yourself to try a little more. Best place to start...is walking. You can do it anywhere, and the fitness trackers can make it a lot of fun. But above all...do things you really like doing. Don't make exercise painful. It should be something you enjoy. I have a buddy who gets miles in walking around the casino. Lets himself spin one game three times....for each lap around the casino he walks. He gets miles in and rarely spends $10.....which is what I spend on a day pass to the YMCA. I like to swim and do water aerobics. I also like to ride horses and walk my dog in the forest, and when the weather is nice, I like to kick-bike behind my dog at a the state park. Do something you like. Will be easier to stick to. Getting a friend to join you helps, too.

Shannon, can you give us an update? Anything show up on the upper GI?