billho

One of my greatest fears was this: Other than being overweight most of my life, I have been relatively healthy. I had never had surgery, never broken a bone, and never experienced a major medical event. However, being overweight has led to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and difficulty with physical activity. The decision to have WLS came with a bit of shame that my obesity was all my fault and completely in my control to fix and that I have failed miserably. So, I was afraid that I was going to permanently disfigure or mutilate my body, just to fix something that I caused. And, if I had a complication, that would be that much worse. I realize that that was wrong thinking... but it had a lot to do with why it took me so long to decide to do this. Now I'm headed in the right direction and have a lot of pressure to not let this opportunity go to waste.

I broke the three-week stall. I tried to stay positive, but I'll admit, I was concerned. I weighed in a few weeks ago at 230, then 228 (yes, I weigh every day), and it went back up. I was back to 232ish and it stuck there for about a week. That was frustrating. I'll admit that this coincided with me pushing my limits as I tried to introduce more normal foods into my diet. I am happy to report the past three days, the scale has started moving again and I hit 224.8 (HW 284) this morning. I'm happy with where I am so far and feel like I'm heading in the right direction. I am also thankful for the advice on this forum, so when I hit the stall, I was more patient than I otherwise would be, since I knew what to expect.

I told my wife and kids and one friend. I also told my two brothers and mom and dad. And I asked them all to not tell others until I decide I want that information out there. That's all. I didn't feel the need to hide it but also don't feel the need to broadcast what I'm doing to others. The good thing about the lockdown we are in is that I don't have to see people on a regular basis, so nobody is asking. I may choose to tell people later on, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

All of these. Well said.

I still need to learn how to get out the right portions. Even now, I scoop out the smallest amount I think is reasonable (a fraction of what I used to), and I still can only eat a few bites. My dog has learned to stay by my side when I am eating because it is a good chance she's going to get a nice snack.

I'm doing fine (surgery on 9/21). Down 19 since surgery and 56 total, so feeling good about my progress. I have been pushing a bit too fast with eating foods I probably shouldn't, but my body lets me know right away. If I stick to the plan, I feel OK, other than being tired a lot. I'm over halfway to my goal, so I'm anxious to get there.

Good question. All that I have been told I can take is Tylenol, which isn't really good enough. I am particularly interested in finding something better since I fell about 8 ft. through a shed roof over the weekend (long story...) and I am pretty sore.

I think the main reasons have been nailed by the posts above. 1. Many view being overweight as solely the fault of the person from eating too much or not exercising enough, so the solution is also solely the responsibility of the person. WLS is the "easy way out". Of course, we all know this is not entirely correct and it is a lot of work. But the stigma is hard to get away from. 2. Lots of insurances don't cover it and surgery is expensive. 3. For me, food was a big part of my life (still is). It is a source of comfort and pleasure and wrapped in the fabric of everything we do. So taking that away from our lives, at least in the way that it always was, is hard to comprehend. I miss being able to be able to sit and eat a big meal. WLS is a big decision that involves a lot of dedication and commitment and giving up our old habits is difficult. I'm glad I did it and I can't wait to get to my goal weight (over half way!), but I have had to change how I go about my daily life.

Now that I'm down 52 lbs (halfway to my goal), I'm not going back to my former fat self. I cleaned out my closet last night and got rid of about 15 suits and a bunch of other things. Because I have been on a roller coaster ride most of my adult life, I still have plenty of clothes to wear and have probably another 20-30 lbs to go before I need to go shopping. But it was very therapeutic to be able to say goodbye to the fat clothes. I'm kind of in a stall (only lost 1.2 lbs. this week) at the moment, though I am slowly going down the scale. I think it is time to kick up the exercise a bit.

I thought I'd log in with a few updates today. I started this process back on July 31st with a high weight of 284. I lost 34 lbs before surgery on Sept. 21st and weighed in at 233.2 this morning. The two big milestones are that I passed 50 lbs lost and I am now a BMI of 34, which means I'm only "obese" instead of "morbidly obese". I have a long way to go to my 180 target, but I am happy about the progress so far.

the insurance specialist at your bariatric center should be able to help you figure out what is covered and what is not. If yours is like mine, I had coverage at a BMI of 40 and above 35 if I had comorbidities (like high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc.). If you don't have any of the qualifying conditions, they might even recommend gaining a few pounds, since you're right on the edge. I was right at that line with a BMI of 40.5 and my doctor recommended that I not lose any weight before my surgery. But the battery of specialists included psych and she wouldn't clear me without me demonstrating that I could follow the diet. So, I lost weight pre-op and then had to jump through a lot more hoops to show sleep apnea (borderline) and high blood pressure (also borderline). Insurance did pay, so it all worked out in the end.

I just had mine this Monday- I'm glad I had a pair of shorts to put on so I didn't flash the nurses every time they needed to check on me. Also, if your hospital room is like mine, the plug is too far away from the phone for your cord to reach, so you might want to bring a battery pack. I brought my laptop but didn't really use it at all. I also had my CPAP, but they kept me on O2 and I never used it. If you use a CPAP, you might want to ask them about that. For the next day, it was good that I had my running shoes, which helped me do laps faster and more steady on my feet.

I too wrestled with this decision. I was on board at 280 lbs, but after I dropped 36 lbs with diet and exercise, I considered stopping and just keep going with my 1200 cal diet. The reason I chose to move forward was that I have always been good at losing weight when I try hard, but every time I lose a bit and hit a wall, I get lazy and start falling back into old habits. Something like: diet + exercise> lose 30 or 40 lbs >get sloppy and slip back into old habits > gain it back plus 10 lbs. I'm tired of that cycle repeating over and over and I felt the sleeve was the best way to get to a place where I am happy with my weight permanently. Yes, I will have to do the work and make good decisions. Good luck with your decision and only you can make it.

For mine. I switched from Aetna (my plan did not have weight loss coverage) to United Healthcare midSteam and they took my previous visits. And my BMI dropped below 40, but I had sleep apnea and high blood pressure too. If you have eligible comorbities, you should be OK. Ask the insurance person at the doc’s office to verify.

This is mine from surgery yesterday

The surgery went fine and I am walking as much as I can. I was in a bit of pain yesterday afternoon, but by later in the evening, I started to feel a lot better. Looking forward to getting a good night's sleep and heading home tomorrow

Tomorrow's the day. I guess this is happening...

maybe. It all depends on whether or not it is an excluded service.

I was told that in order to get insurance approval, you needed a date first. So it sounds like your process is consistent.

Have you looked at your policy? if WLS is not covered, it should be mentioned in the excluded services section. I have delayed my surgery a few years because I had Aetna- Aetna usually covers it, but my specific policy had an exclusion for any weight loss stuff. No amount of appealing or letters from my doctors would change that. Earlier this year, Aetna raised their rates to an insane amount, so I switched to my wife's insurance and I finally have coverage for surgery. Hang in there. Sometimes insurance companies don't think this through, as it has been shown that their costs will go down in the long run if you lose the weight and a lot of the other conditions you have improve.

My VSG is on Monday and I did the COVID test today. Fortunately, I didn't have to do the liquid diet, since I was able to drop 33 lbs since Aug 1st with a 1,200 cal diet and haven't cheated once. But I was out of the house today and seriously considered a "last meal" at a fast-food place since it might be my last chance for a long, long time. But, I stuck to my Gatorade Zero that I brought and a protein bar and got small grilled nuggets.... so still on track for 1,200 today.

one thing that has improved as I have lost 30 lbs is that I can sleep on my side without my arm going numb.

This is cool. I put in my numbers when I started a 1200 cal diet back at the end of July and it nailed it down to the week where I am now.

One week from today. Almost there. I'm down 30 lbs since August 1st and started to have the "maybe I could do this without altering my body permanently..." thoughts, but I realize that I need to lose 100 lbs, not just 30, and it needs to be forever.

I have also been trying to walk more and have struggled with foot and knee pain when I push too hard. I started with Saucony stability shoes, but they weren't all stable and didn't last long, as I too wear the outsides of my shoes. Then I moved to Brooks Ravenna and Adrenaline GTS shoes and they seemed to work fine for a while, but the wore out to fast and have been causing a lot of pain lately. So I broke down and went to "Fleet Feet", which is a fancy runner's chain store and they measured my feet. Turns out, I've been wearing normal D width shoes and I needed EE Wide shoes. I bought a pair of Hoka One One Arahi and I really like them. For the first time in a long while, I can walk for an hour without pain. I'm hoping as the weight comes off, I'll be able to transition to jogging eventually. They were a little more expensive than I wanted, but I think it was worth it. Maybe I can find a deal online when I need to replace them in 6 months. This is what I got: https://www.hokaoneone.com/mens-road/arahi-4/1106473.html?dwvar_1106473_width=reg&dwvar_1106473_color=LLRC