M2G

I'm a wimp when it come to spicy. (Sorry can't help it...I was BORN in Minnesota, where ketchup IS spicy ) That being said, I don't have a problem post-op wise with spice but I'm 2.5 years out. My NUT says if anything bothers you (probably in the first 6-9 months) give it a rest and try it again in a few months and you will likely have a different experience. Strongnsexy---you are welcome at Dr. Snyder's support group. I will PM you the details!

I'm sorry she was denied. However, she probably knew that she would be (or had she read/asked about the insurance coverage policy) and was just hoping for the best. Here is the thing. You cannot control what other people do, only your reaction to it. While your first instinct is one that I bet most of can identify with, take the high road. I would ask her nicely to not blab your personal business to anyone, but if she persists, then this is not really someone you want as a friend. I realize she is a co-worker, but you can put some distance there and not associate with her anymore. if she is this angry and bitter about being denied, heaven help her when you start shedding the pounds and looking fabulous.

My Fitness Pal It's an online community where you can log your food and exercise. It is free. Some other free ones that I know of are Calorie Count.about.com Spark People Hope that helps.

No you are right, your belly looks good (from what I can see in the pics) and your chest is eerily similar to what I have now. I think my dr. was pushing the implants because the "finished" product looks better than just the lift. I'm considering having another consult with a different PS just because I wasn't overly impressed with the first guy. He was recommended by my VSG dr. and they practice at the same hospital, etc. So they are buddies. I just didn't feel the love or feel like all of my ?'s were answered. And some of it is me, I *thought* of more ?'s after I left.

Thank you! I was also very large-chested before I gained weight, so the thought of being a B is a little scary. I think I would be perfectly OK with a C. I gotta tell you though when I do intense cardio exercise THAT is when I WISH I was B. Because there is just not a bra in the world that can keep them still. The only time I don't have trouble is when I do spin...they stay put mostly because I'm working my legs more than anything. One thing that I would NOT consider is a lift/reduction without also at some point a TT, because I had a friend who went from DD to prob. B or maybe a C and she was NOT fat (just tall, larger woman, like I would say probably 180-190lbs and 5'10") but she had a reduction (paid for by insurance) because she was having horrid back/neck/shoulder pain and I have to tell you her stomach looks a LOT bigger now after she had the girls reduced.

Well, I'm 2.5 years post-op (surg. date 10-22-10) and I'm 41, so I thought (my face) would be really bad but so far it's not bad at all. However my husband is 2 years post-op and said if he were ever to have plastics, it would be to remove the loose skin on his neck. I personally don't think it's too bad but it bothers him. Probably not enough for him to have it removed (but maybe someday? He's 43 BTW) I say if you are young and it bothers you that much, can you look into plastic surgery? Or maybe something simple like botox would do the trick for you. I don't know how far post-op your are, but give yourself time, things may improve.

I just got a quote from a plastic surgeon that my VSG surgeon recommended. Basically the quote was $10K for the breast lift and about $12K for the tummy tuck.

Thank you SO SO SO much for posting this. I just had my first consult with a plastic surgeon about a lift and a TT, and he left me a bit confused on the lift part. Is a LIFT and a REDUCTION the same surgery? I'm a D or DD right now, but he said I could end up a C or B when all is said and done. So I'm taking that to mean that a lift is the SAME surgery as a reduction. Can anyone clear that up for me? Also he was pushing implants (which I DO NOT want) even though I'm done having kids and breastfed both of my girls, I don't want the worry/maintenance of implants. In fact if my choice was LEAVE THEM ALONE or DO IMPLANTS I would choose to leave them alone. That is how much I don't want implants.

My gosh that sounds like a LOT to do in ONE surgery. I think there are probably people out there who have DONE multiple plastic surgeries in one day (there is some reality TV celebrity who did and I can't think of her name Heidi, Holly something or other, but she said she would never do it again...and I think they were along the lines of implants, nose, butt lift, etc.) If it was me, I would just reverse the order. I would consider doing the TT and the lift in ONE surgery. And then wait until your Dr. can come back to do the thighs and arms. Thighs and arms can be more easily "covered" in your wedding dress. I just can't imagine trying to recover from all of that at once, help or no help, that is A LOT!

Okay, THANK YOU JOATSAINT for posting this. You won't believe this...I went to Panera yesterday (my daughters turn to pick a place to eat) and I thought "okay, I'll just ASK for the 'hidden menu'"...OMG THEY WON'T GIVE YOU A MENU, you have to KNOW what you are ordering off the secret hidden menu. They had a bar-code scanner that you could scan with your smart phone but my app for that wasn't working. I was soooooooo ticked off. But YOUR post saved the day because you provided a LINK that in turn had another LINK so that I could SEE their menu and order. Just all around f'ing ridiculous that I had to waste 10 minutes looking up their menu. Sheesh. Just put IT on the menu or don't but don't waste my time with all the secret hidden crap. I'm going to email them and tell them that exact thing. Phew. Okay, rant over. I'm posting their menu here in case anyone else runs into what I did yesterday. All that being said the power chicken hummus salad was VERY good. My husband ordered the last item, steak lettuce wrap, but be warned it is basically a steak salad (they already have a steak salad on their menu...he envisioned some steak with lettuce wrapped around it like a burrito). They serve these WITHOUT a a side of bread (which is good) but they are the same price as their other menu options that include bread. The only difference that I could tell is that they actually GIVE you more meat. Power Breakfast Egg White Bowl with Roasted Turkey: Roasted all-natural, antibiotic-free turkey, egg whites, warm baby spinach, roasted peppers, and basil pesto. (The Skinny: 180 calories, 7g carbs, 25g protein) Power Breakfast Egg Bowl with Steak: Two all-natural eggs, seared top sirloin, sliced avocado and tomatoes. (The Skinny: 230 calories, 5g carbs, 20g protein) Power Mediterranean Chicken Salad: All-natural, antibiotic-free chicken, baby spinach, romaine, tomatoes, apple-wood smoked bacon, diced eggs, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil. (The Skinny: 360 calories, 12g carbs, 35g protein) Power Mediterranean Roasted Turkey Salad: All-natural, antibiotic-free roasted turkey, baby spinach, romaine, tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, fresh squeezed lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. (The Skinny: 320 calories, 12g carbs, 22g protein) Power Chicken Hummus Bowl: All-natural, antibiotic-free chicken, with cilantro jalapeno hummus, baby spinach, cucumbers, diced tomatoes & red onions finished with fresh squeezed lemon & fresh chopped cilantro. (The Skinny: 330 calories, 23g carbs, 33g protein) Power Steak Lettuce Wrap: Seared top-sirloin, leaf lettuce, cucumbers, diced tomatoes, red onions, basil pesto and finished with fresh lemon juice. (The Skinny: 210 calories, 7g carbs, 28g protein)

Oooooh, does anyone watch Drop Dead Diva? (Short vers. of the TV show on Lifetime...a skinny lady dies and is reincarnated into the plus-size (16) of a super-smart lawyer) ANYWAY there was a whole episode where she (the plus-size lawyer) busts a lady who did the EXACT same thing. She was pushing a "diet program" that was bars and shakes etc. but really she had lost the weight with the RNY surgery. Okay, here is the thing. She is committing fraud. Plain and simple. UNLESS she is specifically open about having her RNY (sounds like a few people know but that she isn't saying it to everyone who buys her product), then the statements she is making about a product that she claims helped her lose weight are false. Not only is money involved but also health. Double whammy. I don't know what you can do about it though unless you were to contact someone who has the legal authority to investigate and/or prosecute her.

Well that all looks really good Lynda! I am trying to think if they pulled all these same labs BEFORE I was sleeved, and I'm thinking that they *must* have but maybe didn't offer me a copy? I've had to ask for copies each time because I wanted to (sort-of) keep track (I'm not a medical professional) but I just wanted to kind of keep tabs on things, ya know? Maybe I will ask at my 3 year visit if they have the BEFORE the sleeve numbers just for my own curiosity. I know my cholesterol, HDL LDL, blood pressure, tryglycerides and just about everything you can test for was all NORMAL before surgery (I did not have any obesity-related health risks at the time of surgery) but I just am wondering now how much my numbers are different than they were 3+ years ago. Def. will ask for the BEFORE numbers, !!!

Wow! I guess I had not seen any "before" pics of you and just assumed that you didn't have a lot of weight to lose (my hubby 2 years sleeved only lost about 65-70lbs and looks great where he is even though he "says" he wants to lose another -15) so I just kind of assumed that maybe you were in the same boat. TOTALLY wrong assumption. Holy cow you are bonafide sleeve Rock Star! Congrats. (also super-jealous of the skin just bouncin' back into place....but glad for YOU!)

I was NOT a fan of the bypass because I didn't like the idea of re-routing my insides. I liked the idea of the same NORMAL stomach, only smaller. food enters and exits the stomach the exact same way in a regular stomach as it does in a sleeved stomach. Another reason I didn't want the bypass, is that I didn't want to deal with dumping (do you realize how much sugar is in regular FOOD??) Enjoying food is a fun part of life, and I didn't want the forced restrictions on sugar, etc. (Even though a LOT of bypass patients WANT dumping a large percentage of them do not have this issue....so imagine how much THAT would suck if you hope to be a dumper and don't end up that way.) I like to have a few french fries, or a small ice cream cone when I'm out eating with my family. The sleeve was the perfect middle ground for me. No physical restrictions on sugar, most medications, etc. When I eat a 3oz chicken breast and am completely full for 3 hours, I love my sleeve. I'm not as opposed to RNY as I was when it was me making my decision about my body (I'm 2.5 YEARS post-op). I can see that it works for a lot of people and that is great for them. I think everyone has to make a decision about what is best for them. If you feel strongly that you want the RNY I would push for that. But do all the research you can, don't just take your surgeon's word on things.

Well if she is one of the 2% of people who can lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off without surgery then more power to her. She might find her self eating her words one day. (pun intented...) How many of us know of people who said "When I become a parent (or fill in the blank here______) I will NEVER allow my child to have a tantrum (or ______) in the grocery store." Yeah, until you BECOME a parent and realize what an idiot you were for saying "NEVER" haha! Time will be the ultimate test for her.

Well I (((sadly))) was a yo-yo dieter and I think it is terribly hard on our metabolism to be the yo-yo type. My husband (who is 2 years post-op with the sleeve, I'm 2.5 years) was not a yo-yo dieter before the sleeve and he seems to be able to not only EAT more than I can (and not gain weight) but he seems to have an easier time maintaining his loss. Could just be that he is a man tho...

My surgeon's rules were NO DRINKING FOR ONE YEAR FOLLOWING SURGERY. But he also admitted it was the rule most commonly broken. However, I did it. I went 1 year and 1 week without ANY alcohol. Yep there were social events where normally I would have had a drink or two, but during that first year post-op I did NOT have any. I'm not saying you should follow in my footsteps, just telling you my experience. When I did have a drink (glass of wine) at 1 year 1 week post-op it hit pretty hard and pretty quick. So if you plan to drink early out be ready for it to affect you differently than it did pre-op.

This is copied and pasted from my blog: 1 year labs (like you I'm sure there was "more" information on the 4+ pages of paper but this is all I was personally concerned with ) 1 Year Post-op 18 Months Post-op Glucose 91 81 (normal is 65-99) Creatinine .64 .62 (normal is .57-1.00) Sodium 134 135 (normal is 135-145) Calcium 8.8 9.0 (normal is 8.7-10.2) Protein 6.5 6.3 (normal is 6.0-8.5) Cholesterol 126 129 (Total number, normal is 100-199) HDL (good) 50 54 (normal is >39) LDL (bad) 64 64 (normal is 0-99) Tryigycer. 62 54 (normal is 0-149) Iron (TIBC) 277 315 (normal is 250-450) Iron Serum 53 141 (normal is 35-155) B12 1929 1629 (normal is 211-946) this was considered high but he said that it to be expected with supplementation Originally I was quite worried about iron but it seems to be ok so I have not done any type of iron supplementation. I'm very interested to see what my labs are at 3 years post-op!!

I'm 2.5 years post-op so there are no restrictions anymore. I was told no salad for at least 6 weeks, but I'm sure I waited much longer. Give your new small tummy time to heal, you can resume salad intake later.

Great photo! Congrats on your new lease on life!

Give yourself more time. It takes a while for the head to catch up to the body. You look amazing!!!

WHAT ??? Well that irritates me because why do we have to ASK for a healthy menu, why can't they just POST it on their regular menu? I will definitely ask about this from now on. I used to order a half salad with chicken on top and mostly just eat the chicken and a few bites of the salad. Thanks for sharing that!

Oh my goodness DO NOT copy and paste everything. LOL! I didn't think about that part of it. I was mostly just curious. I have a blog so at my 1 year and my 18 month I wrote a list of the most important ones and posted them. I was concerned when said don't pull labs at the 2 year but then I figured if HE wasn't worried then why should I be? Thanks Lynda!

Here's a blog from someone who had one and hated it. I http://tryingtostayskinnyintexas.blogspot.com/ I think you probably can't talk her out of it if she has her mind made up, but if she is still in the research phase, you might be able to make a difference. One thing that I would STRESS to her is that she SHOULD have a backup plan in case of band failure.Either extra money for a second surgery (sleeve or RNY) or a plan to be able to lose her band and still maintain her weight. I really think the band should be marketed as TEMPORARY.

Wow, congratulations on taking charge of your health and making a decision to commit to a healthier lifestyle. You look great...only 9 months out...WOW!