Hello everyone, I wanted to see how many May 2013 sleevers there are! What are you doing at this point to prepare for surgery? What are your stats?

I am scheduled for May 15th. So excited, but nervous!! I am currently 260 and my highest was 268 in February. I plan to get down to at least 250 before the two week Protein diet prior to my surgery. My goal weight is 150 which I haven't been at in about 7 years! I started my journey in January of this year. I was fortunate enough that my insurance approved me without requiring a 6 month monitored diet. I have a good amount of support, didn't start off that way though. First responses were "you're taking the easy way out", so I took them to information seminars which completely changed their views (whew!). I am extremely excited for the surgery because it's a new me. I can completely change my life habits around and start feeling better about myself physically and mentally. When I think back, I've realized my weight has kept me from making friends, going in public, and just plain living life!

I would love to hear all of your stories thus far and how your journey to getting sleeved has been!

Thanks!!

- Brooke

I am 2 weeks post op and physically I am fine..but mentally...this sucks! I was not prepared for dealing with social meal situations..I am absolutely miserable..I have lost 23lbs but can't tell it in my clothes yet..I am sick of protein shakes and my energy level is not where it used to be..I know its only 2 weeks out but this is the reality of it and I rarely see anyone who actually writes this..so I am doing it..I don't regret the surgery but this isn't happy rainbows and teddy bears for sure!

I am going to a seminar on May 28.. Insurance says it is 100% covered.. I do not recall her saying you have to do a 6 month monitored diet before surgery.. I sure hope not, because, I suffer from hashimoto thyroid disease, and i go to the gym everyday and eat healthy.. no weight comes off!!! I tend to eat larger portions and sometimes cravings and appetite get out of control, but hardly eat any breads, or heavy starches, no fried foods, no ice cream, no dairy... so I should be pretty healthy.. but bmi is 44 and i am sick of being the "fat girl". Why does the dr. require you to lose weight before surgery?? Just curious.. I know nothing right now.. and just was wondering

the 6 month thing is dependent on your insurance..some make you do it for one month, some two, some three, some 4 or 5 or 6...just depends..and they don't want you to really lose weight..they just want to verify that you tried to do it on your own before dishing out the money for the surgery..my insurance Aenta required 4 months...plus 5 years of documented weight history...and a few more things..I said F**** it and paid for it out of pocket in Mexico..didn't feel like dealing with all the hoops the insurance company was going to make me jump through

@smsgrl....love it, the honesty is amazing, thank u....i have did research like à sponge, and still it will not be until i go thought it for me that i will réally know.. i believed it will be hard and very emotional and im also concernéd about the emotional part but i have support systèm outside of my family to help me just incase...and taking my meds correctly up to surgery..and following instruction after for sûre...thanks again for posting...

@smsgrl....love it, the honesty is amazing, thank u....i have did research like à sponge, and still it will not be until i go thought it for me that i will réally know.. i believed it will be hard and very emotional and im also concernéd about

the emotional part but i have support systèm outside of my family to help me just incase...and taking my meds correctly up to surgery..and following instruction after for sûre...thanks again for posting...

You are welcome! I know we are supposed to eat to live and not live to eat..and this surgery is the tool to force this behavior change...but knowing it and living it are 2 different ballgames..most posts I read are bliss and happiness..and i am sure when I am finally at a stable healthy weight that I will understand but for now..this is hell..forcing myself to drink nasty liquid vitamins, nasty protein shakes, no sugar this...no fat that..take anything that might taste good and blend it till its tasteless...sit and watch your family eat your favorite food on mother's day while you eat a container of baby food applesause...this is not cool! Maybe I will feel better when I poop..because oh yeah..thats another happy side effect..no poop in 2 weeks...advice is to drink more nasty stuff...not being a downer..but people need to be prepared for all the down sides to the surgery as well.

My name is Rachel and my surg is may 22.

You are welcome! I know we are supposed to eat to live and not live to eat..and this surgery is the tool to force this behavior change...but knowing it and living it are 2 different ballgames..most posts I read are bliss and happiness..and i am sure when I am finally at a stable healthy weight that I will understand but for now..this is hell..forcing myself to drink nasty liquid vitamins' date=' nasty protein shakes, no sugar this...no fat that..take anything that might taste good and blend it till its tasteless...sit and watch your family eat your favorite food on mother's day while you eat a container of baby food applesause...this is not cool! Maybe I will feel better when I poop..because oh yeah..thats another happy side effect..no poop in 2 weeks...advice is to drink more nasty stuff...not being a downer..but people need to be prepared for all the down sides to the surgery as well.[/quote']

Thanks for honesty!

I was sleeved on Tuesday and doing great! I'm not ready to run a marathon by any means' date=' but the pain is tolerable. I slept 8 straight hours last night, so this morning was very painful, trying to get out of bed. So....tonight, I'm going to set my alarm half way through the night, so I can walk around the house and sip, sip, sip. 8 hours of not drinking or walking was way too long! My bed just felt so good after two nights in a uncomfortable hospital bed.

The recovery is not as bad as my hysterectomy, but more painful than my Lapband. So....really not bad at all![/quote']

I was sleeved in Tuesay and feel the same way you do for the most part.

I am 2 weeks post op and physically I am fine..but mentally...this sucks! I was not prepared for dealing with social meal situations..I am absolutely miserable..I have lost 23lbs but can't tell it in my clothes yet..I am sick of protein shakes and my energy level is not where it used to be..I know its only 2 weeks out but this is the reality of it and I rarely see anyone who actually writes this..so I am doing it..I don't regret the surgery but this isn't happy rainbows and teddy bears for sure!

I am 12 days post-op, and I will join in with you...in fact I just started a topic about it...I just want to have some solid food--have been on liquid diet since surgery (how about you?)...today we had a small family party after my nephew's graduation; it was difficult to watch everyone eat the party foods while I sipped on my bottled water...I knew it would be hard, but most people had said that post-surgery at least they didn't feel hunger...I must be in the small minority, because I am truly feeling hunger--physical hunger and not just head hunger

I feel the same way sometimes, but I have realize that I can actually enjoy looking a my family eating. Likr for example I went out with my husband and daughter to dine out and my husband want it to eat some mexican food so we went. I did not eat anything but I order for him something healthy and he actually enjoy it. I told him that if I see him eating something no so healthy I will feel hunger and with desire to eat. So I order him a salad steak. He actually enjoy and I felt so good. While my daughter enjoy her chicken. After that he invited me a tea. Before surgery my husband used to say now we are not going to be able to go dine out, now I just proove that yes we can. I want him to be healthy too.

Checking in. My surgery date was May 7th 2013. I'm still on clears and I'm down 21 lbs since my pre-surgery diet.

Only one more day till I leave for surgery in Mexico. Spending next day and a half with my daughter before I leave!!!

Only one more day till I leave for surgery in Mexico. Spending next day and a half with my daughter before I leave!!!

Best wishes and congratulations I hope you have a good revovery and remember no matter how much pain you feel walk walk walk that is the best remedy. The more you walk the faster the recovery. Congratulations

smsgrl2009, no, its definitely not all rainbows and unicorns. Like everything important in life, this takes work. There were plenty of times during my 6 month program that I hated the wait my insurance was requiring, but I don't regret jumping through those hoops one iota. It gave me the time to "break up with food" as my Therapist likes to call it.

Food just doesn't hold the same meaning to me as it used to. I was all about comfort food. And how. I used to joke that I never met a bread I didn't like, and I'm utterly powerless against the siren song of pasta. The protein shakes? I honestly like them. Its a quick and easy way to get 1/3rd of my daily requirement. The vitamins? I'd rather take a vitamin than insulin shots or pills for high blood pressure!

Years ago, back when I was trying every diet under the sun, I read in Dr. Sears book that you have to look at food like medication. Your body needs a specific amount to function; no more, no less. Back then when I read that, it made perfect sense to me, but it wasn't something I could really fully grok. But I do now. I don't view food as comfort/love like I used to. Its like gas for my car - something I need to keep the machine running.

Post-op I've had a few social situation already, and honestly it does not bother me to see other people eating and enjoying their food. I went out for Chinese with a friend a few days ago, and I wasn't bothered by the fact that she had a huge plate of stuff that I'd normally gobble up while I had my tiny cup of egg drop soup. I barely finished half of that soup and I was more focused on the fact that I was out of my house and spending time with a good friend.

For me, its all about perspective: how you view things. If you focus on all the things you DONT have, of course you're going to unhappy. But if you look at the positive things you have going on, those petty little things that you no longer have are meaningless.

I am 2 weeks post op and physically I am fine..but mentally...this sucks! I was not prepared for dealing with social meal situations..I am absolutely miserable..I have lost 23lbs but can't tell it in my clothes yet..I am sick of protein shakes and my energy level is not where it used to be..I know its only 2 weeks out but this is the reality of it and I rarely see anyone who actually writes this..so I am doing it..I don't regret the surgery but this isn't happy rainbows and teddy bears for sure!

This is where, as a revision patient, I think I had a small advantage. I remember some of the emotional stuff from 7 years ago. Some is easier now, some not so much. We use food for so much! Celebration, comfort, social times, you name it, food is usually involved. But that's part of WHY this surgery is good and necessary. It's going to "force" you to start treating food as just food instead of an emotional "event".

It's not going to be easy. You might even want to get professional help at some point. I think any WLS sort of MAKES people recognize their emotional dependency on food. Those who accept that and work to fix it are successful with their weight loss. Those who don't are the ones who regain OR substitute some other addiction for food.

It WILL get better when you can start eating small amounts of normal food. Just tell yourself you're recovering from surgery...it's temporary!