mb20mom

Welcome to the site. Glad you found us because there's so much good information here. It's great that you're in a 12week program. That helps tremendously to make you prepared for life after surgery. I hate to see people who self-pay, rush in to get surgery without much preparation and then struggle with life afterwards. Being prepared is so important. At Kaiser it was a 6 month program (now changed to 12 weeks) and I remember going through it thinking how stupid it was but now I'm so thankful. Good luck!!

I think the Hair loss cannot be prevented, even with all the Protein, Biotin, and Vitamins we may take. The good news is, it will stop in a few months and immediately start to grow back. Mine fell out for about 4 months. It is scary, I know. But it's pretty inevitable so don't think you've done anything wrong. And remember that it will stop. Small price to pay for our health in the long run. Soon you will be over the trauma of it all and dealing with short stragly sections of hair that won't lay down when it grows back! And your new problem will be that your size 12's are getting too big. It only gets better and better!

I don't know if it was CTS but my hands used to go numb very often, especially while on the computer. I can say after losing 85lbs that ALL my aches and pains have gone away, including the hand numbness. My sleep apnea went away after losing 35lbs and nothing hurts anywhere anymore. I haven't even had a cold or flu since losing weight. I never would have thought that carrying so much extra weight around was doing so much damage to my body. I feel so much better now. I had a shoulder impingement problem (quite painful, couldn't reach behind my back) that got better and better with each 10 lbs I lost. The fat in our bodies can cause so much discomfort it's amazing.

I love this stuff. It's exactly what I've been looking for since I only like very little flavor in my Water. The strawberry watermelon is great too. Another great drink I found is FUZE slenderize. OMG it's soooo fruity and maybe 10 calories. Great flavors too.

Sophia,

Would you mind posting our last group photo in this thread? We can keep using this post for future meetings and have a record of our group! Just an idea.

Thanks and I'll see you there.

Peggy

I remember that first day and I had a scrambled egg. I thought it was the best thing I had ever eaten in my life. I ate about 3/4 of it and still enjoy eggs almost every day now. I remember eating refried Beans with melted cheese, ricotta, mashed potatoes, egg salad, tuna salad and applesauce. Enjoy your mushies!

I still struggle with getting enough Fluid each day..not because I can't, just that I forget. Since we don't drink with meals it's hard to remember to drink later and for some reason I don't get thirsty. I can definitely gulp quite a bit now though, if that is your question.

It's hard to tell yet whether what you're feeling now will be the same in 2, 6 or 8 months from now. I still experience hunger but it sounds like you don't, so maybe that makes it different. I do tend to sometimes get real moody about what to eat. Nothing sounds good and you just want to fill the void and then you'll try something you thought sounded okay but you take a bite and want to spit it out!

I hope that the more you heal, the more that food sounds better. It is a joy that most of us had before, and weird when that joy is gone.

You are my inspiration. You look so great! It must feel awesome to reach goal. Great job, woman!

Awesome! You are truly just melting away so fast! I may not recognize you at our next meeting! Keep it up, woman.

At over a year out, still not a single regret. Most days I barely remember that I had surgery because it's so normal now. I do want to warn you however that it's perfectly normal to have extreme regret the first day or two, but that will go away, so don't feel like you're alone when you feel it. I think we all went through that.

Good luck!

Yes I drink this every morning as my breakfast and sip on it for about 2 hours (I add a lot of ice) I also add a scoop of Protein Powder. I'm finding it harder to find in some stores, so I will check Walmart now that I've read these posts. It's nice and filling, but I think it might be what's making me a little gassy in the morning! Anyone else experience this? I guess the Protein could be the cuprit also.

I was at one of my follow up visits yesterday (8 mos post op) and I asked about this very procedure. I was told they absolutely will recommend a panniculectomy procedure if it's been at least one year post op and the belly must hang at least 1/2 way past the pubic area. I'm excited to hear this, but nervous that it's not a very attractive end result, like a Tummy Tuck. Did you happen to see many "after" patients that had this done? I guess I shouldn't be picky, I would just be so glad to have it removed!

Congratulations on your success! You're way ahead of me since we had surgery at the same time. Great job losing 100lbs - whoooooo hoooooo!

I think it's normal also. I remember at this stage feeling like, now that I'm not really eating, what do I do with my time? It was an empty feeling of needing to replace the pleasure of food with something else, almost like a mourning period that I didn't expect. I guess being addicted to food took a lot more time than we thought, and now we don't know what to do with ourselves!

It passes though, and pretty soon you'll find you don't even think about food anymore, and eating is just a means to rid hunger and give you energy...you're just fine, woman.

P.S.....going to see Dr. Zane today for follow up!

I'm finally able to wear XL in tops and size 14 in pants! (previously 3x and size 22) I can't believe how much cuter the clothes are when you're not limited to the big girls section! For the first time, my criteria for deciding whether to buy something is not just that it fits, but that it's cute and looks good on me. I remember in the past when I'd be so thrilled just that it fit that it didn't matter if I liked it or not, I had to get it because that's all there was to choose from. I can finally be selective about clothes...gee what concept.

So long, Lane Giant!! Nice knowing you....helloooooo Macy's!!:001_tt2:

Wow, there are a lot of Kaiser patients on this board who will be jealous to hear of your good luck! Usually it's at least a 6 month process. Maybe they aren't as backed up in Northern Cal as they are down here. Congratulations!

This has never happened to me! From what I hear from the "band revision-ers", they are happy after getting the sleeve that this doesn't happen anymore. If you over eat it can become a little uncomfortable, and it's possible to slime and bring it up, but not likely.

I use mine every day for mixing my Protein Shake. But if you already have an appliance that will mix for you, don't bother...except that it's easy to use, easy to clean, and is perfect for a single serving size. I also used it for chopping nuts and the kids use it for milkshakes and smoothies.< /p>

Yes, Debbie was my case manager. Remember, my Options classes were 24 weeks long, so I'm sure things have changed, but we had about 3 visits with a bariatric dr. there during those 6 mos. I don't even remember the name of mine, but he was very thin, tall, dark hair and soft spoken.(I remember I could barely hear what he was saying) Anyway just before the end of the classes was the appt. with the doctor where he said ok, you're ready to go forward after Options and he was ready to put my referral through to West La and that they were taking patients immediately with no wait, (but Harbor City had a 2 month wait). He said I didn't even need any pre-op tests. Well I wasn't prepared to hear that and thought I had another few weeks to make up my mind because at that point I was actually having second thoughts. We decided I would see him again in 2wks with my decision. When I went back I said ok I'm ready and Debbie put my referral through for West LA by mistake (I wanted Dr.Zane at Harbor City). West LA actually called me right away with a surgeon appt. but I had to start over with my referral to Harbor City! That was kind of a bummer, but I ended up seeing Dr. Zane about 2 months later and we scheduled the surgery. There were a few pre-op tests like EKG and blood work, but nothing much. I do remember that the girls that taught Options were a little out of touch with not only how the surgery was done, but they always told us everything would take longer than it really did. I remember the instructor, (Kristen, maybe) was a whole 130 lbs her whole life and seemed to have these stories of struggling with her weight which I could never understand. The nutritionist was a bit condescending to us, and not in the greatest shape, so I was not very impressed with Options at all. I learned more from this site honestly, but still glad they make you go through it, because you do come out more prepared than a lot of people who are self pay and jump right into surgery. Hope that helps. I know you're anxious to move forward, but use this time to really prepare yourself and get used to eating light. You'll get in faster than you think.

Ahh, sorry I can't make it! I work in Riverside and Rancho is just too far to go for a lunch hour. Let me know if you plan anything again, especially if it's on a weekend and I'll be there.

Oooh, bad time to try to quit smoking. I quit 2 years ago and NOT SMOKING was my main focus in life for a year, so I couldn't imagine dealing with anything else like surgery at the same time. Good luck to you! I hope you can find the strength to not smoke after surgery too, since it will help you heal better if you don't. I used Chantix, maybe you could have your doctor prescribe it?

Thin2be, are you attending Options at the VanBuren facility in Riverside? That's where I went. You could always just make an appt. with your assigned bariatric doctor there. He's the one who orders your labs and tells you the next step. You need him on your side to get the approval sent to the surgery center, so I say go right to the source. Those case managers are overwhelmed. Good luck! And don't worry, there's not much you can do to speed the process much. Just try to remember how lucky we are that Kaiser pays for this surgery, and the waiting is just the price we have to pay to get it.

Good to hear! And it's great that you posted that because it just reinforces to the newbies that it DOES get better. I think it's so important that everyone hears that message. It's amazing that so many of us felt the exact same way early out. You are going to be looking great in no time!

I just got a call from Dr. Zane's office for a follow up appt. next month. I'm still so surprised at how organized they are with seeing so many patients...somehow I didn't expect to hear from them again with all that I've heard about the volume of cases they've had. I feel like bringing him a gift of appreciation for changing people's lives! This experience has been a dream come true for me. I still have a feeling of expecting the weight to come back but it never does. It's odd getting used to "normal".

Keep us posted on your success! Congrats!

Poor thing. I remember feeling the same way...the "what have I done?" thing is just something natural that will go away. I remember pretending that it wasn't an optional surgery, it was medically necessary like getting your gall bladder out or something. But it won't be long before you're excited to get up in the morning so you can get on the scale! Just remember that it's not the end of the world, it's just Portion Control. Keep us posted and keep coming back for support. We're all here for each other.