HatheryOnHerWay

I'm pretty sure this would make anyone tired, WLS or not!

I think that truthfully, many of us have "body issues" well beyond obesity. In my case, I wasn't happy with my body when I was thin and managed to diet myself into major food problems. I don't think that really ever goes away.

Garlic is also good for killing yeast and fungus. You could take garlic capsules as a natural supplement to the meds you were prescribed.

I only began to struggle with weight when I reached adulthood. I was never an overweight child. Clearly it was the transition from having meals made for me by a diligent mother, to having to choose meals for myself that did me in. My husband is a thin guy with a high metabolism, and since I generally cook for both of us I began to eat the same things he wanted to eat. To put it simply: carbs, carbs and more carbs!

Aww, what a sweet fiance you have to remind you of your success!

Love the new hairstyle, too!

Yeah, the digging around is the worst! I can't watch when they do that

My insurance company says it has to be a medical issue, and depression is not a sufficient medical issue (according to their policy). So I guess it really depends on each individual policy.

My veins are so deep, sometimes nurses can't even find a pulse on me.

I have never understood the W either!!

I've read promising research about alpha-hydroxy acids (like Am-Lactin lotion) for stretch marks/scars.

Some people just have genetically deep veins. Mine are deep and tiny. Whenever I have to see the phlebotomist, I tell him/her that she gets a prize if she draws blood on the first try! haha. I think my worst draw was the time it took 7 tries between 2 different phlebs. They had to try both arms and both hands.

I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time your surgeon saw it

I had that with my gallbladder surgery. I think it was the incision healing and the new tissue pulling the wound back together. But might be worth a call to your doc to double-check!

Dr. Pleatman comes highly recommended by many people. His self-pay is $11,200. You can find his info on my self-pay blog in my signature, if you're interested.

There's a good reason many people call it "Isopuke"...haha

Probably the same reason I'm scared...we're volunteering to have 85% of a vital organ removed.

Ok, I got my surgery countdown ticker made!! Can't wait to turn it into a weight loss ticker I've also been working on a blog compiling a list of self-pay surgeon prices. I see so many people asking around for prices and I thought it might be worthwhile to compile my research into a list. I linked it in my signature in case anyone is interested.

As you can probably tell by how long I’ve been a member here, I’ve been considering VSG for a long time. My husband has never exactly been on-board with it; he’s naturally very thin, and can eat whatever he wants without gaining any substantial weight. Since he’s never really been willing to hear me out on VSG, I’ve tried everything else under the sun to try and get my weight under control. In 2011 I did Medifast. Over the year, I managed to lose 100 pounds. Over the next year and a half, I managed to gain back every last pound. I talked to my husband last night again about VSG, and he was not terribly supportive of the idea (as usual). He doesn’t like the idea of me having surgery, and he is also of the opinion this is somehow taking the easy way out and I should be able to just do this on my own. He feels like I “quit” on Medifast, and that we wasted money because I gained it all back. I tried to explain to him that it’s not losing weight that’s the problem…it’s keeping it off. I’ve tried and tried, and I *can’t* stay a normal weight. I am just not able. I’m not a snacker, and I don’t eat a bunch of junk food. I’m a vegetarian (15 years), don’t have high cholesterol, etc. My problem is the speed and quantity at which I eat. If my husband and I are having pizza, I will be on my 4th slice by the time he’s finishing his first. I literally inhale my food. I don’t chew, I don’t wait for it to cool, and I eat so quickly and so voluminously that I feel ill. I’ve tried to consciously slow down, but even my “slow” is fast to most people. And I don’t know the meaning of the word “full.” Through all my research, it seems like VSG would be the best option for me because it would force me to slow down (lest I get sick!), and I physically won’t be able to hold as much food. I know you can “eat around” the sleeve, but like I said I’m not a big snacker or junk food eater so I don’t worry about that so much. I feel like the sleeve would be a good tool to help me control my portions and give me that sense of when to stop that I’m *supposed* to have. Since my husband feels like I “quit” at Medifast, he thinks I’m going to “quit” on the sleeve. He thinks I’ll just gain it all back, and we’ll have “wasted” all that money. I know he wants to be supportive and he wants me to have something that works, but he just doesn’t know what it’s like to have a problem with food. It’s impossible to understand if you haven’t been there. But he raises a good point, and one I feel is fair to ask—how IS this different from Medifast or anything else I’ve tried? Will it just end up being another “waste of money”? How will this help me succeed where other plans haven’t? Please, any insight you can provide would be so appreciated. I just want to be healthy again.

What a positive first post!

The pathetic thing is, I remember lying on my driver's license when I was 16. I said I weighed 130, when I'm sure I weighed around 145 at the time. Proof that the weight issues have always been there.

Holy moly, you truly look like an entirely different person! Your "before" pic looks a lot like me now, so I'm definitely inspired

I'm to the point now where a week from today, I'll be flying to meet my surgeon for the first time. I'm excited, but definitely nervous. Eating makes me a little nauseous thanks to the butterflies in my tummy (guess I better get used to uncomfortable eating for a while, eh? hehe) I'm just so excited to get started on my new normal.

Hey, May 22 is my day, too!

I'm hoping for 120!