abefroman329

I don’t know that I was ever forbidden from chewing gum. I certainly don’t swallow it like I used to pre-surgery.

Ugh, I dread seeing what's under this beard if I ever shave it off.

I’m fortunate that, so far, the only loose skin has been in my belly area and on my thighs. My plan is to give it two years after my surgery and, if it hasn’t sprung back into place by then, look into plastic surgery.

Yes, there are a few of us here, I live in Rogers Park and had my surgery at Evanston Hospital. A friend of mine teaches a Zumba class at the Y in Lakeview.

Thank you so much!

Thanks! He is due July 1.

Yes, it looks like your insurance company is no longer requiring six months of nutritionist visits. No, that does not mean your doctor's office won't require you to go to the nutritionist for six months regardless. The only requirements I ever saw were the surgeon's. The surgeon's office told me that BCBS' requirements were "about the same" as theirs. If there was anything the surgeon required that BCBS didn't, I was never made aware of that.

I am looking forward to doing this, hopefully when our six-year-old niece comes to visit this summer. My wife, who is far too pregnant to ride roller coasters, is not as enthused as me.

It might also depend on the results.

Mine was waived because I had one in 2015 and that was recent enough for the surgeon.

My gut has definitely shrunk, although it has to be bigger than it was the last time I was at this weight, since I’m wearing bigger pants than I did back then. Walter, one thing that helps you gauge the shrinking of your gut is to ask your surgeon where your incision scars used to be and where they are now. If they’re closer together, that means your gut has gotten smaller. Mine has pointed that out to me at the last couple of visits and it’s interesting to see and hear. Side note: I was keenly aware that my thighs have gotten much smaller, but I made the mistake of looking at them in the mirror. Holy sagging, crepe-y skin! All I can say is that it’s a good time to be a man, since 1) the hair hides things a little and 2) it’s fashionable to wear knee-length shorts.

Within a week. Try sleeping on your side with a pillow under your gut, that helped me a lot.

I had my 3-month follow up on Friday. The surgeon told me that, if I tried to have the surgery now (at my current height/weight and with my current medical conditions), I wouldn’t qualify.

I get sick sucking in air whe I’m chewing bubble gum, I can’t imagine how sick smoking would make me.

I can already see loose skin and I’m not happy with it. I’ve always felt like clothing needs to give you shape, even when I was at my heaviest, and I don’t like the “shape” I’ll be showing the world when there’s obvious excess skin. Plus I’d like to not have to wear a wetsuit to my son’s swimming lessons! I will definitely look into plastic surgery if the skin hasn’t snapped back into place in a year or two.

The longest English word you can type on a QWERTY keyboard with just your right hand is “stewardesses”

It’s been a regular conversation topic at my talk therapy as well. For me I haven't noticed the people I know treating me any differently since losing weight (with one exception, and she can go to hell), and with people I meet for the first time after losing weight, I don’t know how they would have treated me prior to weight loss.

Yes, it's normal. It will go away over time.

About two months out.

5 psyllium husk capsules in the morning, 5 at night. Miralax every few weeks.

I did tell family, despite the fact that my parents and brother had unbelievably bitchy things to say about a family friend who had WLS about a decade ago. They’ve been largely supportive. For the most part, I don’t tell others unless they ask how I lost weight, or I have to tell them (i.e. explaining why I can’t drink carbonated beverages).

I need the one that says “I Finally Got Down To The Weight I Said I’d Never Be Over”

That pizza casserole looks delicious! We are going to try it next week with ground turkey instead of beef. Ive also noticed that I’m able to eat a homemade personal pizza with a low-carb crust just fine and, when dining out, a cracker crust will do me nicely.

I tried alcohol for the first time since surgery last week. One normal-sized vodka and lemonade, mostly vodka, and it got me FUCKED. UP. Saturday night I had some wine with dinner and that went much better. I am tolerating most things. Yesterday I had sausage, egg, and cheese on a garlic bagel and that came right up. I though that would be better than cream cheese on a bagel; guess not!

I ate a normal meal the night before the surgery, went off the diet for a full 36 hours starting 5 days before the surgery, and cheated here and there. I lost a total of 10 pounds on the pre-op diet, but had gained 10 between my last surgery-related appointment, so in their eyes, I didn’t lose a pound. They performed the surgery and it went off without a hitch, but I was fully prepared for them to not do it, and if they hadn’t, it would have been 100% my fault. My surgeon told me patients have told him that the pre-surgery diet is the hardest part of the process, and he’s absolutely right. You’ll have much stronger deterrents to eating poorly down the road.