marko

Hello everyone, it's nice to make your acquaintance. I'm in Little Falls and seriously considering this procedure. Could someone point me to a surgeon in my neck of the woods that they have a good experience with? Lets say within a 15 mile radius around where Route 3 meets 46. I would prefer not to go into the City if it can be helped. Extra points for taking United Health Care. All advice is gratefully appreciated:smile:!

My goal is much simpler: I just want to be able to go into the Gap or Levi's and buy shirts and pants off the shelf, without having to special order XXL's (or worse, go to Casual Male). Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.

Funny, I had no pre-op diet whatsoever, except to fast the day before the surgery. I was 5' 9" and 276 lbs. He never said anything, and I never asked. I have no idea what the criteria is. One day, I guess I'll have to ask.

This isn't what you want to hear, but: the first thing you MUST MUST MUST do, tomorrow morning, is to stop the loan process on the house. DO NOT enter into such an involved financial transaction with someone that you are not on 100% perfect terms with, and are not absolutely sure that you will have a future with. Trust me on this and thank me later. THEN, ask yourself, why do we keep breaking up and getting back together? Sounds to me like something is fundamentally wrong with your relationship. Do you date others while you are apart? Do you keep coming back together because you can't find (or don't make the effort to find) anyone else? You have broken up three times. Are you SURE that this guy is Mister Right? And if you are not sure, why in God's name are you buying a house with him? You are not unattractive. My advice: stop the house, take a break from him until you have the surgery and drop the weight. After your self confidence returns and other guys start looking, you may not be so interested in making it work with this one after all.

Hello there, male passing thru . . . First of all, any guy of any quality at all . . . any guy that you should be bothering with in the first place . . . isn't going to care about your scars or your port. People have health issues, they have surgeries, they leave scars. Happens all the time. My girlfriend has multiple scars on her breasts from repeated lumpectomies (all negative, thank God). They, and she, are still as beautiful to me as ever. But the other thing is, if you are serious about this guy, you owe the honesty that two people in a relationship need to have with each other. If you stay together you're going to have to come clean at some point. Why not do it now and see what happens? You did what you had to do to improve your life, and it left some scars. If he can't deal with it, well, men are like the bus . . . one comes along every five minutes. Dump him and move on. His loss!

I havn't logged in in a while, so: things are going pretty well, slow and steady. Down 1 1/2 pant sizes (tight 46 to a pretty loose 44) and many belt notches. I hung onto a lot of clothes from my thinner days, it's been a kick trying them back on again and seeing them fit or at least getting looser. Back in my beloved Hawaiian shirts for the summer, I hope! Had a fill, too, 2.75 ml. Not very much, but I can feel the difference. Had my first PB today, too! My fault, I was in a hurry at work and bolted down a small piece of BBQ chicken, took too big a bite and didn't chew nearly enough, started hicupping, and just made it to the john in time to blow it out. Lemee tell ya, BBQ going down is tasty, coming back up it is nasty, nasty stuff. I don't ever want to do that again, so I've gotta get over my shovel-it-in eating habits. So far so good, no regrets! Keep it up guys!

I have to say, my approval from UHC was laughably easy to get. I needed: ultrasound pulmonary assessment, a little blood work, nutrition consultation, psych evaluation, a note from my PCP. That’s pretty much it, in fact I did the first three things all in one day. They asked for a supervised weight loss history, I gave them an old Jenny Craig evaluation form from about five years ago (from a center that’s now closed, no less), and they accepted it. All in all, about three weeks from start of process to approval. Another person I work with had a full bypass; he tells me they went for it with almost no questions asked. It all depends on how much of a plan your employer has worked out with UHC. My company has a pretty comprehensive plan, so they tend to go for these kinds of things with little strum und drang. Your company may have a lesser plan, and you might get some hassle. All you can do is try!

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

BigBossMan, sorry to hear of your trouble. Hang in there! Second week went pretty well, down another five pounds or so, for a total of almost 20 lost since the surgery date (3/19, my surgeon did not require a pre-op diet, only 24 hrs. of liquids before the procedure). Also pulled the belt in a notch, and am contemplating dropping a pant size, from 44 to 42. Mushy week went well, added sugar-free low fat pudding, Chiobani yogurt, Protein shakes. I also managed to eat a few Chick-fil-a nuggets, about four small ones, they went down pretty well and made me happy, since I only love Chick-fil-a. No more buns or fries, though! I get a little hungry at times, so I try some Jell-o, or half a Protein shake, and that usually gets me through. Fill date: 4/13. I'll report back! Best of luck everyone!

Checking in after the first week: Down 13.5 lbs. since surgery day (19th). Generally feeling pretty good, but the acid is a little annoying, I'm taking Nexium for it and expect it to pass soon. sleeping fine. food wise, the first week was pretty boring; mostly water/Crystal Lite/Ice pops/Jell-O/thin Soup. Thanks God it's mushy time! Only real discomfort is from the incisions. My belt line is just under one of them, and it tends to pinch a little while sitting, so I'm doing the low-rider thing and reclining my seat a little while driving (which for a white dude in a Ford Escape looks mighty strange). Protein was a little tough. They wanted me to take Isopure exclusively the first week, and I gotta tell you, it's gotta be REAL cold to taste any good. The Icy Orange flavor isn't awful, but that's about all I can say for it :crying:. Had my first shake today, EAS Cookies 'n Cream (42 gram), and it went down real good compared to that stuff!

Well, it's done! Arrived at Morristown Memorial 9:00 am, finished second stage recovery and left about 5:00 pm with a Realize band. Had a little trouble waking up in 1st stage recovery after the surgery, but all in all, not a bad experience. Taking 10ml Roxicet for pain (not much) every four hours, and Prevocet for gas, of which there is a LOT, and sipping Water. Slept fairly well, mostly on my back and left side, sleeping right side a little uncomfortable for now. I'll have to admit to a few jitters/second thoughts the night before, and laying in pre-op I kept wondering to myself "What the hell am I doing here, I could lose it all on my own." Only natural, I guess, but the thing is, I've been trying to lose it for 30 years, and haven't. Gotta be honest with yourself, more than anything. Now I'm happy I went through with it.

Yep, that's me. My date is 3/19 at Morristown N.J. Memorial with Dr. Nusbaum. I was going to do it end of February, but I contracted pneumonia AND shingles (ever have shingles? Sucks!) at the same time. I'm a little apprehensive, but I keep visualizing how much happier my life would be if I were 100 pounds lighter. Now I can't wait. I'd do it tomorrow if I could. Good luck to us both!

So I'm contemplating the band, but yesterday the nutritionist mentioned hair loss as a possible side effect. To be honest, I was hoping to hang onto the little I have left. Has anybody experienced this? Is this really a problem, and how much do you lose? Does it grow back? Thanks!

Belated thanks to all for your responses. I got derailed from this after I first posted, but now I am back on track with Dr. Nusbaum, aiming for an early February date. Again, thanks for all your help!