Search the Community

I have not made a list- on paper or on the computer... My wife has- and in 6 months has done a few... in my head... more cycling-longer-FASTER- MORE. walking- Jogging... day hiking. taking my shirt off in public. hit the stats that give me an extra 10% discount at work... clothes that I like to wear- not just clothes that fit...

Ahhh...smoking....boy do I miss it!!!. My doc says no smoking for 2 months before surgery (I fibbed). I cut way down and stopped about 1 week before - my surgery went fine and I have healed wonderfully but I was only a 1/2 pack a day smoker. I started right back up after surgery and have been smoking ever since with no ill effects. But the reality is that (and I forget where I saw this but I believe it) in the US Obesity is the second largest factor in premature preventable deaths - can anyone guess what number one is??? Bingo - smoking. I have been thinking about this since surgery and it has taken me a while but I have to quit. I tried on New Years Day and almost killed my husband - I had to lock myself in the bathroom so that I wouldn't yell at anyone - and then I started smoking that night after quitting for a whole 10 hours. For me it is not the physical craving that gets me but the emotional stuff. I went to my PCP and she put me on Wellbutrin - take for 2 weeks while smoking and then quit. I spent the two weeks going "OK I feel no different - this isn't going to work" but I gave it a go. Here are my stats so far: <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="358"> <tbody> <tr valign="center"><td colspan="4" align="left" valign="bottom">My Stats: Your Quit Date is: 1/30/2006 1:00:00 AM <table summary="*" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><!-- START: spacer --> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4" height="1"></td></tr><!-- END: spacer --></tbody></table></td></tr> <tr valign="center"><!-- Dynamic: time smoke free --> <td colspan="4" align="left">Time Smoke-Free: 6 days, 9 hours, 59 minutes and 3 seconds </td> <td align="left"> </td></tr> <tr valign="center"> <td colspan="3" align="left"></td> <td rowspan="9" align="right" valign="bottom"> <table style="background-repeat: no-repeat;" summary="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="50" width="179"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="reg" align="middle" background="http://images.quitnet.com/images/q2001/trans_big.gif" height="35" valign="center" width="19%"> </td><!-- LINKS: is this still your med plan --- keep the non-breaking spaces in there --> <td class="statsDataBlack" background="http://images.quitnet.com/images/q2001/trans_big.gif" width="117"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr> <tr valign="center"><!-- Dynamic: cigarettes not smoked --> <td colspan="4" align="left">Cigarettes NOT smoked: 96 </td></tr> <tr valign="center"> <td colspan="4" align="left"></td></tr> <tr valign="center"><!-- Dynamic: lifetime saved --> <td colspan="4" align="left">Lifetime Saved: 17 hours </td></tr> <tr valign="center"> <td colspan="4" align="left"></td></tr> <tr valign="center"><!-- Dynamic: money saved --> <td colspan="4" align="left">Money Saved: $22.50 <!-- LINK: Open Gadget --></td></tr></tbody> </table> You can get this cute gadget at quitnet.com Good luck - if we need to start a smokers support thread - I'm in!!

im smoking and i quited only 2 days before the surgery, im not proud of this, the only problem i had after surgery was that i was coughing for 10 days. Thanks God i had a very good anaesthiologist.. I think two weeks before surgery would be better!

Hi there & welcome! I had RNY bypass nearly 16 months ago. I chose to do it because I was diagnosed with stage 3 chronic kidney disease. I was already dealing with type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, very severe Gerd, psoriatic arthritis and severe osteoarthritis of the spine. My decision was initially about getting healthy. I chose bypass because it was the best solution for someone who has Gerd. The sleeve can make that worse and in many cases create it. Lap and was not even in my decision tree for the very same reason. I have lost 136lbs. I am about 8lbs from goal and am no longer overweight. For the first time since I was 19 I have a normal BMI. My diabetes, Gerd, high blood pressure, high cholesterol all gone with a month or two of surgery. My only regret is not doing this sooner, before I did so much damage to my spine and joints. I am 52 years young and have had 6 back surgeries and looking right in the face of 1 more. Don't wait, run as fast as you can to the nearest Bariatric center of excellence. Call your insurance company, they can tell which clinics are centers of excellence that are covered. They will also share with you the requirements. Be prepared for a period of supervised diets, most insurance companies require them. These surgeries cost a lot and you really only get one shot at it. They want to make sure you really are prepared to make changes in your life. Use whatever time your insurance company requires to start making changes now. It will help you be more successful down the road. Having this surgery is the best thing I ever did for myself. Don't wait!

I'm having a hard time too I'm 10 days post opp and finally went a little yesterday. I read on another thread to put Fiber powder in your shakes and that should help I'm going to try that. Good luck. I have a hard time getting all mt Water in too but I put some crystal light in and 1 finally got a full 16 oz bottle of water in with in and 1hour and a half. I hope you feel better soon! HW 375 SW 337 CW 322 SURGERY DATE 7/31/13

@grace4liberty...I'm not sure who I'm going to tell yet if I get it done, I am thinking and thinking that this will be a good decision cause I have been overweight for 17 years now. Before I met my husband I was 180lbs, 10 months after I met and fell in love with him we adopted our first son at 6months old and I gained 50lbs and my body acted like I gave birth to him. When we adopted our second son at 8 months old a year later I only gained about 10lbs, then my husband and I decided to get married I was at about 240 by then and I managed to lose 30lbs in 3 months to fit my wedding dress, when we adopted our third son at birth, 2 years after getting married, I gain another 50lbs and my body acted like I gave birth to him as well, 5 years later I got pregnant and gave birth to our daughter and had gained a whooping 70lbs with her. After giving birth to her I managed to drop 50lbs and fluctuate between 270 & 290 now and have tried multiple diets(Herbalife and thrive plus others) and even went to the gym and nothing seems to have helped any so far. I have a few friends that have gotten wls done in 2014 and they don't regret it one bit either and if anything those friends would be the only ones I would tell I think cause they said they would help me if I needed anything since they have gone thru everything already

I don't think anything like the SLEEVE was around50-70years ago! I do know they have data that is 10+ yrs post op. maybe longer.

I love my fitbit alta. I like how it keeps me motivated without being in the way, as i am not really a watch person. The one issue i had was that its kinda ugly. My husband is fixing that by getting me a fancy bracelet for it for christmas. Tamalynparedes@gmail.com HW 385 SW 359 CW 331 (54lbs down!) Sleeved 10/5/16

Well, when I figured out that i was off the gooood pain med and was only gonna get the roxicet every 4 hours like at home, I was ready to bust outta there. I Swallowed whatever they wanted me to, walked wherever i needed and peed into whatever the wanted me to so i go home....Got home 10 hours and 40 minutes after the surgeon was finished...had a ROUGH couple of nights, last night was better since I'm able to sleep on my side with my snuggle pillow...doing liq Tylenol during the day and saving the roxicet for night...trippy dreams.:biggrin:...WHOA!!! Just took a short ride and debating returning to work tomorrow...don't wanna waste my time off on being ill...wanna use it for actual fun stuff to come... still hurts to get up and down from the chair but hope that will get better tonight so i can get back to work soon...Gotta shuffle those papers!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck every one!!!

One word for you... ENEMAS. Go get you a double pack of Fleet and use both of them. You'll get some relief IMMEDIATELY! TRUST ME! ~Leticia **HW: 259**PreOp: 216**SURG: 3/21/13 **Discharged @: 221** 3 mons post op. CW: 160.0 lbs. --- Only 10 lbs to my goal ---

Had mind out 20 plus years ago after loosing a hundred pounds (I was 19 at the time). Regular incision. That scar is much worse/noticeable than my port scar. Don't mess with a gall baldder. The pains can be HORRIFIC. Lie on the bed in a fetal position and feel like you can't breath horrific! And I have a VERY HIGH pain threshold. I was a young and come hell or high Water I was going back to college after spring break. Someone I worked with (super thin) had it removed had complications and was out of work for 3 months. Another reason to not mess with the gall bladder.

How hard is walking for you? Is it like super pain, a little pain, or no problem at all? For me, when I started, I could only stand on my feet for like 10 mins before the pain got too bad so I did laps around the kitchen island pushing my desk chair in case it hurt too much and then sat down and rested and got up and pushed it more. When it got easier I started going outside and walking a couple houses down and then back and then the next day aim for another house or a stop sign or whatever to get to til I could do it around the block. My first time around the block I said to myself ok, it's the same distance to walk back as it is to keep going and if I keep going the way home is downhill...keep going it is. I'm up to 2.5 miles now although that last 1/2 is a beast lately! Maybe because I added in a 30 minute floor stretch/resistance band workout to the day 5x a wk. Though I really don't have any great insights for reaching those 10000 steps, I struggle with it myself, I just wanted to say congratulations @@Sajijoma! What an awesome job you are doing. Such a great example of how far you can go once you take that first 'baby step'. I am inspired and very proud of you

I found this. Not promoting it, just fyi http://www.walmart.com/ip/Slim-Fast-3-2-1-Low-Carb-Diet-Creamy-Chocolate-4-pk-10-fl-oz/19399640

The place between plus and regular size was the worst for me. After my surgery I went from size 22 to size 14 plus. It was easy. I just kept buying the next smallest size of pants - the same kind. I was buying style&eco jeans at Macy's. then I got to the 14s, and I just did not know what to do! I went to Macy's regular women's dept to buy jeans and it was like they totally re-invented buying jeans in the years I was in the plus sizes. I almost had a nervous breakdown right in the store. Rather than embarrass myself, I left. I called a friend, and she told me to go to Costco and buy some Gloria Vanderbuilts in a few sizes. they are very cheap And very easy to return. I bought 14 and 12s. the 12s fit - I returned the 14s and bought a second pair of the 12s. since then, I've shrunk into size 10s. since then, somebody gave me a few pairs of size 10 Gap jeans which were perfect. Now I'm ready for the size eights. I think that will be my size. Shopping was really hard for me. it is getting better. I did not want to spend a fortune on clothes while I was shrinking. the Costco idea was really helpful. I bought leggings there. And when I was thin enough, I bought shorts. my surgery last October 28,2014. So it was about 11 months ago. I've lost 107 pounds and think I can lose maybe 10 more. what an amazing journey. I'm so grateful.

hello! wow you live in huntersville? I work there! So im in the process of getting a lap band (I hope). I had my initial consult, had my labs, got the 5-year weight history, and have my psych consult and nutritionist consult on Monday. From my undertanding it will take 10 days to get the psych report back and then it will all be submitted to BCBSNC for approval. two questions:: ON my 5 year history, it shows that I have had weight problems (40+) for 3 years, but not 5. Will that hurt me? Also, how long after the info was submitted did it take you be approved?? Thanks for any info!!

I am almost 2 years out now, but I can tell you that I have changed my life. I did get an unfill after hitting goal. I look at food very differently now, and it is about eating for life, not eating to live. I know the calorie count of just about everything I eat. I like it that way. I holpe it continues 10 years from now... I am still here for the friends and support. I know really at any point I could fall off the wagon.

Hi Bansters, I am seriously considering getting banded. One area of concern/question is what happens 3,5 10 years out? Once you reach your goal weight do you loosen up the band? Do you eat different? Does life change (from a food intake perspective) once you have reached the goal weight? If so how? I don't see these questions being discussed too much here. It seems like this forum is a place to come when your in the process, but once your "done" you stop talking about it. I hope to hear from some long time vets! Thanks Archer

My doctor requires the following: 7-10 days before Surgery: Follow a low sugar (less than 16gm/sugar/serving) and sugar gree liquid diet which may include fruit juices, Jello, popsicles, low fat milk, yogurt, and Protein shakes (e/g/ carb solutions, atkins, muscle milk, whey protein). He doesn't require you to buy from him, which I appreciate. I would rather buy what I like from who I like. I will have a combination of Isopure clear zero carb, unjury (which I heard people like and I just ordered), pre-made muscle milk in chocolate from costco (convenient to take with me, doesn't taste too bad), and anything else I find appealing. 5-10 days isn't too bad, but then there is the weeks after too. Oh well, I can do it...

I got lucky - I belong to Kaiser, Richmond Ca. Their bariatrics department is number 4 in the nation! We all were given a 1200 calorie diet to follow - most of the girls have lost 20 to 30 pounds on it pre op! some of us have a hard time with it due to the high carb count. Once we lose the 10% required body fat, they schedule the surgery. If you are interested in a copy of it, let me know and i'll get it to you. Good luck!

I am up to 4.5cc in a 10 cc band. Last Thursday I had a fill that brought me to 5cc, which was a tad too tight, so I went back Friday and had 1/2cc removed. I do believe I am at my sweet spot :w00t: This morning I was 171 which means I have lost 4 lbs since last Thursday after weeks, and weeks of very slow progress!

It's a little early for me to chirp too much about my experience. I was sleeved on December 26th. I had no problems with the surgery nor recovery. I lost about 10 pounds in the first 08 days. Since then I have been on a stall. Which from all I can tell on this forum is normal. My PCP recommended WLS. Initially, I started on the lap band track. Ultimately I ended up getting the sleeve. So far I am pleased with the whole process. I have dropped about 32 pounds since meeting my surgeon. I agree with Mrs.RRn - you need to study up on the surgery, the diets, the doctors, aftercare, and aspect you can... Only you can decide whether or not this is the route for you! Good Luck with whatever you decide.

I used heat Patches, no issues Sent from my HTC 10 using the BariatricPal App

I am in Calgary too... Scheduled for surgery on November 10 through OCC in Tijuana. Nervous and would love to meet other sleevers!

that sucks. I am glad I got it done in the US. I went into the surgeon and two weeks for fear of a leak. It was great being able to drive 10 minutes and be at his office. He reassured me I was fine and now 12 weeks out have lost 75 pounds. Hope everything works out and you have a full recovery. http://www.discountdesignsolutions.com/i-sad-apple-t-shirt.html