james2021

wrapping day 3 of the pre-op diet. mine is 3 Protein Shakes, a small fruit, 1 cup of veggies and 2 tbsp low fat dressing, and 1 frozen entree under 300 cals. about 1000 cals.

having much easier of a time with the hunger than i thought i would... but i'm just sad. i'm doing my best with other coping mechanisms for the comfort that food brings, but nothing is a replacement. nothing can totally offset the big feeling of loss.

Congratulations.

today is day one of the liver shrink for me... The constant thought I keep having is “I’ve done so well today, what is my food reward going to be?” no more food rewards for a while 😩

1 hour ago, Retired said:

Got my call yesterday that my gastric sleeve surgery is set for May 20th. After months of being excited about finally doing this and at peace with my decision...getting that call has shaken me.
There’s no way I’m backing out just need to calm down. I’m glad I found this forum back in March, it’s helped in making the decision to go forward and it will help me to settle down and begin this journey. Thanks to all

Same day as me and @Greendragonfly! 3 weeks away; we've got this. I just started the liver-shrink today and I'm trying not to freak out about how long and daunting it is. 1 Protein Shake down; 59 to go.

I've loved watching John Pilcher's videos! Very straightforward and he has a soothing manner lol.

Hi, I am female but I wear my hair cut very short, above the ears and buzzed down to a 2/3 on the sides and in the back, longer on top. I'm wondering how noticeable Hair loss usually is for hair that is very short to begin with. I did a quick search on the men's forum to see talk about hair loss in general and there wasn't a ton there, leading me to believe it's really just people with long hair who have noticeable issues. Can anyone with very short hair speak from experience? I'm just wondering, like, will I have bald Patches or anything? Thank you. ❤️

Congratulations to you. I can't give perspective as a parent, just as a child. I know that my mother has made plenty of changes in her life that were not bariatric surgery but affected me a lot. At the time (when I was a teenager/in college) I was upset about some of them. But I got older and some time passed and I realized that she had to do those things for her. It might take a little while for them to get on board but they love you and they will get there. You just have to stay the course and do what is right for you.

That's awesome go you!

Oh no, that sounds so rough -- I'm sorry. Hang tight I hear it just gets better from here!

Congratulations very exciting. My surgery is just before yours on May 20th.

Congratulations! Very happy for you and glad you are here.

On 4/25/2021 at 12:58 PM, Greendragonfly said:

My surgery is scheduled for May 20th and Im slightly overwhelmed. Trying to sort out everything I need to remember. Good luck to everyone 🤞🏻

Surgery date twins! I just got scheduled for the 20th. Starting the liver-shrink this Thursday. Also feeling pretty overwhelmed.

I agree with the above. If you want the sleeve they need to make sure you don't have any esophagus damage and if you do, sometimes they will have you switch to the bypass. I didn't have any damage so they were able to recommend me for the sleeve.

Hi, I'm making a shopping list of non-food things I should get for the kitchen. Since I have always eaten a lot of takeout/frozen meals, I'm light on even very basic supplies. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I am definitely getting a food processor. I am thinking about those little plastic 1 oz cups. What do y'all think?

Don't have a surgery date quite yet but have approval and fingers are crossed for mid to late May.

On 4/19/2021 at 3:51 PM, ChunkyCali said:

So glad that they were nice and quick! Yay! When is your surgery date? Will you be in may?

My approval was also quick - once my surgeons office sent through my documents my insurance CA Anthem BCBS approved in 24 hours. I spent months feeling stressed about the insurance process and it went through no problem and quickly!

That's great I'm so glad it was so fast! Do you have your date yet?

I should be in May. My pre-op appointment is this coming Monday 4/26, and they schedule me at that point. Receptionist told me it's usually 2-4 weeks between the appointment and surgery depending on how long they want me on the liver shrinking diet. Very exciting!

Circling back in case anyone has CareFirst in the future (isn't a lot of discussion about them on here). Care First approved my surgery in under 36 hours. So excited!

10 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

To calculate a goal weight we are supposed to use 60% of ideal body weight but WHICH ideal body weight should we use. I am 5’8” and I’ve used various calculators giving ideal weight of 141 up to 160’s. Which calculator did everyone use and did you use a 60% loss of excess as your goal or some other weight? Why??

My program calculates body weight for females as 100 lbs = 5 feet and then + 5 pounds for every inch above 5 feet. I'm 5'6 1/2 so my ideal weight is 132.5. However, they said realistically I should expect to end up 195-235. If you split the difference, it's about 60% of my ideal weight loss that they are projecting. So maybe go based off the above calculation!

That's such a bummer, I'm sorry. I'm worried about this happening to me, too -- my coordinator warned sometimes they won't approve for "non-compliance." Dumb. Hopefully the letter will do the trick, don't lose hope!

On 12/27/2020 at 3:12 PM, Maryuumah said:

Is there not an LGBTQ community here? Seems like there should be one....

I'm so glad you made this post! I agree, it'd be great to have some community here. I'm thankful to know who that community is so that I can follow y'all on here.

thanks y'all! @ChunkyCali that's so frustrating. so glad you followed up with them. hope it gets resolved soon!

Super nervous. My coordinator said I should hear no later than May 3!!! I AM VERY STRESSED OUT. I met all the requirements, I'm just worried they'll find some dumb little thing....

You'll do great!!!

I'm opting for the sleeve for the same reason + less issues with Vitamin absorption, apparently. I think people sometimes opt for bypass if they have GERD and also because you usually lose slightly more weight.

i'd go to the er if you can -- better safe than sorry, and they can do something for the pain!

I am telling select friends and coworkers. Anyone who I trust to accept the information as presented and not say something harmful.

My parents and my living grandmother are the only people I absolutely, unequivocally want to keep this from. Too much trauma from childhood regarding dieting and comments about my body when I was never clinically overweight until my late teenage years. I avoid discussing any subject with them that could even potentially veer in the direction of giving them an opening to talk to me about my body. I am desperately dreading having noticeable weight loss and them praising me for it. I don't want my family's, or anyone's, praise about something that doesn't change my worth as a person. I'm also hoping to get this done before things return to normal so that I can more easily fly under the radar.