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My Gastric Sleeve Story 9-26-2013



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Jerzeygurl, you are certainly much further along thanks me. I will be following you and wishing you well. I have gone to 2 weight loss classes, with one to go. I have to go to 3 support group meeting, I have one down and two in the next two weeks. I have 4 trips to the nutritionist, my second one is in a couple of weeks. I am not looking to be sleeved until around March of 2014. Trying to learn as much as I can. I thank you for reaching out to me. We are close in age, me being older. thanks

Hey Powder... I would love to stay in touch...let me know how things are going for you. But it appears, you are well on your way too!

I have to see the cardiologist on Monday morning to get my written approval (fingers crossed). I've had two Ekgs, an echo and a nuclear stress test in the last two weeks, and if there was something wrong, I'd know about it by now. I have been very patient and will continue to be, so that I can receive my letter of approval. But I really want to scream at the doc for making me jump through hoops in order to bill the insurance company more. I know, I should be thankful that I have a platinum health plan, but sometimes the docs see it as a money grab! Okay, my little rant is over..just frustrated and I can't show it...for now.

On a side note: I just spoke to the nurse and she informed everything else is all done, and they are ready to go, as long as the cardiologist approves me. So, you see I have to be nice and patient..ha ha..

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HI Powderkeg42,

I just went to a seminar last night. My husband and I are considering the sleeve. Congratulations on your choice. My husband is trying to wrap his hear around the idea of the surgery, while I am all for it. I hope everything works out well for you. I will keep following your story. Good Luck !

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Hi powder keg, I understand about your daughter. I am older, 68, and my daughter is trying to accept that I am going to do third. My son and grandson are fine. I haven't told my best friend because she is adamantly against the surgery. I have other issues and want to enjoy these later years of my life. You will be great .

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powder keg...just an fyi. I had back surgery in October 2012. I had been diagnosed with DDD at the age of 37. So I had a partial discetomy, with right vs bilateral laminectomy. Bottom line, I had a HUGE pain pill addiction. When my first back surgery failed I was set to have an l4-l5 fusion. BUT decided to have WLS instead. I was sleeved in May 3013. And in July 2013 I detoxed off of the pain meds. Now 4 months after surgery I am off benzos, opiates, antidepressants and my BP meds are cut in half. I have backpain after I ride the bike but I rest a day and im ok. There is a light at the end. My feet dont hurt either in flip flops anymore. I was supposed to be on meds for the rest of my life, but turns out I was a sore back that turned addict . Taking weight off will do wonders!! Good luck I remember how hard waiting is.

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Hi PowderKeg42! I will also be having my surgery through Kaiser (West Los Angeles) hopefully in November. Good luck in your journey and welcome! :)

That is great! I will be praying for you. Additionally, I heard that Kaiser CA's process is only 12 weeks. Ours is 6 months in the DMV (DC/MD/VA). I will go through the process and get my mind and body ready.

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powder keg...just an fyi. I had back surgery in October 2012. I had been diagnosed with DDD at the age of 37. So I had a partial discetomy, with right vs bilateral laminectomy. Bottom line, I had a HUGE pain pill addiction. When my first back surgery failed I was set to have an l4-l5 fusion. BUT decided to have WLS instead. I was sleeved in May 3013. And in July 2013 I detoxed off of the pain meds. Now 4 months after surgery I am off benzos, opiates, antidepressants and my BP meds are cut in half. I have backpain after I ride the bike but I rest a day and im ok. There is a light at the end. My feet dont hurt either in flip flops anymore. I was supposed to be on meds for the rest of my life, but turns out I was a sore back that turned addict . Taking weight off will do wonders!! Good luck I remember how hard waiting is.

thanks, I am looking forward to the weight loss and the positive impacts on my body and life.

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Hi Blondiee,

I just had my surgery at Kaiser WLA the nurses were very helpful and I am very comfortable with my surgeon Dr. Um.

Hi Peachie86,

Glad that your experience was nice @ Kaiser. I'm putting positive energy out into the universe that my experience will be the same. ;) How long did it take for Kaiser to call and schedule your consult after the Options classes? It's been a week since I've completed them and I'm NOT a patient person. lol

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Hi Powderkeg42,

Welcome to the site! I find the forum has given me a lot of information and support. I have only spoken to my family and a few friends about my choice to have WLS, so I was glad to have somewhere else to vent.

I feel the same way Peachie. I have only told my direct supervisor (she had RNY) and my HR rep. I've always been a very private person and everyone doesn't need to know about MY medical history.

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I feel the same way Peachie. I have only told my direct supervisor (she had RNY) and my HR rep. I've always been a very private person and everyone doesn't need to know about MY medical history.

I am a very open person but have been private about this. Some people don't understand and I believe are worried about us. So I am keeping it close to the vest. Nice to have people who understand the struggle supporting you.

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Hi Blondiee,

I had my consult the following month after my classes ended. Although, I had surgery at WLA I took my Option classes at Kaiser Palmdale.

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HI Powderkeg42,

I just went to a seminar last night. My husband and I are considering the sleeve. Congratulations on your choice. My husband is trying to wrap his hear around the idea of the surgery, while I am all for it. I hope everything works out well for you. I will keep following your story. Good Luck !

Congrats to you and your husband. I believe once he has a chance to have it marinade, he will get on board. My hubby is thin but has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and is pre-diabetic. I have none of those but I have a high BMI. I just passed my Psych exam. Woohoo!

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Congrats to you and your husband. I believe once he has a chance to have it marinade' date=' he will get on board. My hubby is thin but has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and is pre-diabetic. I have none of those but I have a high BMI. I just passed my Psych exam. Woohoo![/quote']

Yay! You're one step closer!

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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