July 2019

[Krimsonbutterflies 661]

Just now, tal said:

I have kaiser also. But good luck to you on your surgery and thank you for the information about sams!😊

No problem...So, you fully understand the classes and etc., which I for one appreciate to help equip me. This is a major decision that is going alter our lives forever, no rush here. I need to know how to care for my new organ and the mental preparation is key for me.

[tal 129]

19 minutes ago, ARMoma45 said:

I started this process in April 2018 and finally got my surgery date last month.

omgggg thats crazy lol well atleast you didnt give up!

[ARMoma45 353]

2 minutes ago, tal said:

omgggg thats crazy lol well atleast you didnt give up!

It was very frustrating and I was denied the first time...and I admit that I was thinking about giving up but then I finally got the approval.

It was a series of frustrating events that caused the lengthy delay. First my surgeon suddenly left the practice and went to a different hospital...so I had to switch to the only other surgeon in the original practice. He was already booked and then had to fit in numerous patients that were in my situation. Then came the denial...it took until March to get approved. Then I had to pay my up front cost to the surgeon which took a couple weeks. Then I had to be compliant on my CPAP for 3 weeks(my fault...i'd had the stupid thing since January but didn't use it). THEN I got my surgery date which was about 2 months out since my surgeon only does 2 of these a week and he was out for 2 weeks in June getting married.

But now i'm 4 weeks out from surgery

[tal 129]

40 minutes ago, Krimsonbutterflies said:

No problem...So, you fully understand the classes and etc., which I for one appreciate to help equip me. This is a major decision that is going alter our lives forever, no rush here. I need to know how to care for my new organ and the mental preparation is key for me.

I never had to take classes for kaiser if that's what ya mean. I had to take 2 different classes at the hospital where i am having the surgery. I thought i was going to have to take classes but nope. The only thing i have to attend a week before my actually surgery is a pre op class.

[tal 129]

13 minutes ago, ARMoma45 said:

It was very frustrating and I was denied the first time...and I admit that I was thinking about giving up but then I finally got the approval.

It was a series of frustrating events that caused the lengthy delay. First my surgeon suddenly left the practice and went to a different hospital...so I had to switch to the only other surgeon in the original practice. He was already booked and then had to fit in numerous patients that were in my situation. Then came the denial...it took until March to get approved. Then I had to pay my up front cost to the surgeon which took a couple weeks. Then I had to be compliant on my CPAP for 3 weeks(my fault...i'd had the stupid thing since January but didn't use it). THEN I got my surgery date which was about 2 months out since my surgeon only does 2 of these a week and he was out for 2 weeks in June getting married.

But now i'm 4 weeks out from surgery

Oh my gosh haha i wouldve been dyingggg. Yeah it took alot of people i knew like a few months to get a surgery date so i was feeling extremely impatient because they were all having theirs and losing all this weight and im like omg im trying here lol But yeah alot of the reasons it took a long time is because my nutritionist wanted me to lose a little weight and i messed around and didnt lose it for like 3 months so i couldve already had this but everything happens for a reason i feel like. 😀

[ARMoma45 353]

1 minute ago, tal said:

Oh my gosh haha i wouldve been dyingggg. Yeah it took alot of people i knew like a few months to get a surgery date so i was feeling extremely impatient because they were all having theirs and losing all this weight and im like omg im trying here lol But yeah alot of the reasons it took a long time is because my nutritionist wanted me to lose a little weight and i messed around and didnt lose it for like 3 months so i couldve already had this but everything happens for a reason i feel like. 😀

I totally agree that everything happens for a reason. I checked into WLS several years ago when I was in my mid 20's and I'm so thankful that I wasn't able to get it then(I found out that I was pregnant) because I wasn't even close to being ready mentally to have the surgery. I feel that now, in my 40's, i'm much more prepared for the changes to come.

[tal 129]

1 minute ago, ARMoma45 said:

I totally agree that everything happens for a reason. I checked into WLS several years ago when I was in my mid 20's and I'm so thankful that I wasn't able to get it then(I found out that I was pregnant) because I wasn't even close to being ready mentally to have the surgery. I feel that now, in my 40's, i'm much more prepared for the changes to come.

Yessss. & i just turned 22 in January and i decided to get this because i have been overweight and obese my entire life and id lose weight than gain then lose weight than gain. My cousin who is the same age as me got this surgery last year and thats why i decided to get it because she looks amazing and shes soooo happy. And extremely confident and thats what i want in my life. Plus i have alot of heart disease and diabetes in my family so i do not want that at all.

Edited June 24, 2019 by tal

[ARMoma45 353]

Just now, tal said:

Yessss. & i just turned 22 in January and i decided to get this because i have been overweight and obese my entire life and id lose weight than gain then lose weight than gain. My cousin who is the same age as me got this surgery last year and thats why i decided to get it because she looks amazing and shes soooo happy. And extremely confident and thats what i want in my life. Plus i have alot of heart disease and diabetes in my family so i do not want that at all.

Just please be very careful if you drink alcohol. My sister had gastric bypass when she was 19 and she went totally wild after losing the weight and was partying all the time and became an alcoholic. We buried her at the age of 39.

I only say that because you are so young.

[tal 129]

Just now, ARMoma45 said:

Just please be very careful if you drink alcohol. My sister had gastric bypass when she was 19 and she went totally wild after losing the weight and was partying all the time and became an alcoholic. We buried her at the age of 39.

I only say that because you are so young.

Omg thank you for telling me that because i had to calm down on the partying knowing that im getting this surgery. Im going to drink a few more times before July then i have to stop because i start my pre op diet 10 days before surgery (July 8th) and i dont wanna ruin anything.

[ARMoma45 353]

44 minutes ago, tal said:

Omg thank you for telling me that because i had to calm down on the partying knowing that im getting this surgery. Im going to drink a few more times before July then i have to stop because i start my pre op diet 10 days before surgery (July 8th) and i dont wanna ruin anything.

You just have to remember that our stomach will be tiny and although we can't absorb nutrients normally, the affects of alcohol are greater than before. I'm sure my sister wouldn't have died so young if she had not had the surgery...even with the same amount of drinking, it would have taken years longer to have the same affect. I'm also certain that if she hadn't had the surgery, she wouldn't have been an alcoholic at all. She wasn't mentally ready for the change and after being big her whole life(this was in the 80s when being a stick was the norm) she just didn't know how to handle the attention.

Just make sure that you are mentally in the right place for this surgery and be mindful of the affects of alcohol.

[Krimsonbutterflies 661]

2 hours ago, tal said:

I never had to take classes for kaiser if that's what ya mean. I had to take 2 different classes at the hospital where i am having the surgery. I thought i was going to have to take classes but nope. The only thing i have to attend a week before my actually surgery is a pre op class.

Oh wow...are you in Northern California? I'm in Southern California and we each have our own process, I'm okay with it. Still getting mentally prepared and making changes beforehand so I can succeed for myself. Best of luck to you and your journey.

[tal 129]

1 hour ago, ARMoma45 said:

You just have to remember that our stomach will be tiny and although we can't absorb nutrients normally, the affects of alcohol are greater than before. I'm sure my sister wouldn't have died so young if she had not had the surgery...even with the same amount of drinking, it would have taken years longer to have the same affect. I'm also certain that if she hadn't had the surgery, she wouldn't have been an alcoholic at all. She wasn't mentally ready for the change and after being big her whole life(this was in the 80s when being a stick was the norm) she just didn't know how to handle the attention.

Just make sure that you are mentally in the right place for this surgery and be mindful of the affects of alcohol.

Yeah and i was a little worried in the beginning because i love to go out and have fun but i had to tell myself that id rather be healthy. THank you so much for letting me know this its really good information. So sorry for the loss of your sister at such a young age i couldnt imagine.

[tal 129]

12 minutes ago, Krimsonbutterflies said:

Oh wow...are you in Northern California? I'm in Southern California and we each have our own process, I'm okay with it. Still getting mentally prepared and making changes beforehand so I can succeed for myself. Best of luck to you and your journey.

Nope im in Colorado

[KarenLR75 496]

Oh my gosh...my fellow 'July-ers'......are you in your pre-op 'diet' yet. I figure if you are in the first 10 to12 days of July or actually I've seen some folks post that they have a MONTH long pre-op - how are you hanging in there?

I've been doing Keto prior to getting approved so Protein Shakes like Premier were already part of my super busy work life as Meal Replacements as otherwise I'd have skipped meals which is not good.

Gotta say...yeah, I'm hungry! REALLY hungry..the actual stomach true hunger, not head hunger/emotional hunger. I can endure stomach growling, etc. throughout day but I've always found it almost impossible to get to sleep if extremely hungry. Crossing fingers that when I pick up my sugar free popsicles today, I have something to 'chew'. Wonder how many of those I'd need to eat to make hunger go away, but isn't liver shrink based on being REALLY LOW CALORIES - like 600 or less? Are y'all tracking your calories too to make sure extra ones aren't sneaking in..although how many extra can sneak in from sugar free Jello, I don't know..but I can see Protein shakes adding up!

Today is my first day of 'all liquids'! Well, it is odd that my doc gave me 1 set of guidelines; however the nutritionist group we all had to see - he referred us, have a slightly different set of guidelines (making my eyes cross).

Going to call his office to clarify but I'm SO worried about my liver not being 'shrunken' enough to operate on me, I'm thinking of sticking with what I got from the nutritionist office anyways. With confusion from my own dr about when to start the pre-op diet - I actually started on day..um..8.5 (not 10 and he had told me '7' verbally..so confused). I figure my liver must be ginormous as my BMI is 56 so.....I decided may be best with 7 days left before surgery (CANNOT believe I'm SAYING THAT!!), that I'm going to do full liquid starting today (so 1 day early) and will follow dr's notes on doing clear liquid only Days 1-3 prior to surgery.

Doc Office says:

Days 7-10 soft food diet (although dr told me on way out when I teasingly fussed about 10 days, he said '7'??

Days 4, 5, and 6 - Puree Food Diet

Days 1, 2, and 3 prior to surgery -Clear liquid diet

Nutritionist Documentation says:

Day 6 - 10 prior to surgery - Soft Diet

Days 3, 4, and 5 - Full Liquid Diet

Days 1 & 2 - Clear Liquid

[New_Me2019 128]

Sam's club is the place for Premier Protein drinks right now, until July 14th. I think I will have 2 shakes a day and a sensible 500 - 600 calorie meal, but I will run this by my Dr on Thursday. Eating 1500 calories a day is a daunting task for me right now do to my body drama. I'm also on hormone therapy as a result and don't want to start gaining weight as a result during the pre-op phase. I want to be surgery ready, once the body drama is settled and treated. I've been on this journey since last September and decided in April to get the vsg...in the Kaiser process now and looking to have surgery in the beginning of 2020...this body drama wasn't in the plans and neither were my crazy labs...

I had crazy labs also. I am scheduled for sleeve on July 23 but I was originally scheduled for beginning if June and had a setback with high white blood cell counts from April - June. Labs look better now so I am cleared for surgery but all the antibiotics they had me on have left a sun sentativity and I have itchy hives up and down my arms just from checking my mail. I know what a challenge it is to eat healthy when you are stressed and waiting but keep up the good work and you can get through it.

New_Me 2019