emily_0192010

Good luck with the wait! I used Aetna too... I think I called them every night lol! Finally though they had my approval and I actually called my surgeon's office and told them. They then called the insurance for the code and I had my date the same day I was sooo excited! It won't be long now!

Good luck! This is the first major step towards being sleeved I remember the date of mine just as I remember my actual surgery date! Let us know how it went!

I know I didn't have any major memory loss per say, but I would forget little things that I wouldn't before... like things I had to pick up from the store. I used to be able to remember a phone number but now I have to write them down, etc. Not entirely sure why... but I know it definitely started after surgery! Nothing major though.

Absolutely the opposite with me!! I can't handle spicy foods AT ALL... it kinda sucks lol. I was never a big spicy-hot food fan, but I could tolerate medium-hot wings... now I have to go mild and it has to be very light I'm glad you can still enjoy your favorite food!

That's awesome!!!! I always feel so great when someone says something... especially when they are someone I don't talk to a lot because it feels more genuine to me... I dunno why lol. Congrats and keep up the great work!!! I see you've lost just about 30 lbs already!!!!!!

First off, congrats!!!!!!!! No matter what that is amazing that your doctor considers you to be at goal! You said you wanted to be 140, and you are currently at 154 right? A large portion of that could be extra skin, if you have it. I remember reading during my research phase pre-sleeve that many people who had tummy tucks or skin removal surgery would have 10+ pounds of skin removed. I think ultimately if you are truly happy with where you are and the size that you are, and your doctor said that you are healthy... then awesome! You are at goal. Maybe you'll be one of those people who ends up below goal There is a chance then when you up your Water and cals you might drop some more weight just from the change. I know some people boost their calories for a little while to break stalls, etc. The extra water won't hurt either! Congrats again and let us know what you decide

For some people, YES!! However it is very rarely permanent. Our stomachs produce a hormone called ghrelin, that is the "hunger" hormone. That part of the stomach is removed so many people don't get hungry or crave food anymore. However, ghrelin is also produced, in smaller quantities, in the pancreas I believe so over time our body compensates and you get that back. I am 6 months out. At the beginning I had to force myself to eat, but now I do get hungry. Though not nearly to the extreme that I used to feel. Its more like I read my body more and know when I need to eat. Like if I start to get a headache i'll eat and feel better. I also have my appetite back, but its nice that I feel satiated after a few bites. This was one of the reasons I chose this surgery. Even if it was only a chance of it happening, I really hoped that it would. I was on phentermine for a couple months and for the first month I had that same "oh shoot, I need to eat" feeling and I loved it. It finally felt like I wasn't tied to food, and the surgery gave me that as well. It helped me break the need to eat. So now I really am only eating when I need to. Yes, I still enjoy an occasional treat, but for the most part food is just energy now. Once I got past the head hunger and using food as an emotional crutch, but honestly that didn't take long for me

At three weeks I still got twinges after sitting or standing for too long, or if I reached above my head (I had to do that for work, to get things off shelves). I found it helped to switch it up. So I would sit/stand/walk etc. Just break it up. You mentioned before that you can't eat much. At three weeks I was just coming off of full liquids, so I was still doing mushy foods at that point! Now as for the "feel like i've been kicked" not sure about that. Again though, call your surgeon's office! I was very reluctant to but at one point I had too, it really is no big deal. You probably won't even talk to your surgeon, just the nurse. I would ask about your rash and the pain. Feel better!

I agree with Ivy... try it! GNC's 30 day policy is great! I have not found one that does not have an aftertaste, but the GNC brand one I mix in my yogurt with sugar free syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg and I can't taste it. I have added it to milk and Water, and you can definitely taste it. I have not tried it myself, but beneprotein was recommended to me. I want to try it I just haven't had a chance to yet. Apparently it is tasteless and odorless. The amount of Protein is lower however.

Last weekend I visited some friends... we pigged out on homemade hot chocolate-chocolate chip cookies (omgsh, delicious!) and wine... two days later I broke my stall and dropped four pounds! It was awesome

I didn't drop sizes until I hit close to 40 lbs, and then when again when I hit the 60ish mark (I waited a really long time though and I ended up skipping a size, that was awesome lol). The way I lose is I drop numbers, then I drop sizes while the numbers stall... then I start dropping again. At this point my weight loss has slowed down dramatically, which kinda sucks but I'm staying positive and just going on with my days. As for the craving everything in sight, I believe that is head hunger. It is hard because you can't really eat anything but your head hasn't caught up with that yet. It does get easier I promise! I was sleeved 9/19/2011 Six months ago!

Hey Dee I'm not in Long Island, but I'm close. I'm in Brooklyn, so only a train ride away! I'm sorry to hear that you are in a stall HOWEVER, you are what, 3 weeks out??? Guess what? That is the dreaded 3 week stall that pretty much EVERYONE goes through! It is just your body going on pause to sort through everything that is going on. You are doing great so far! As for the rash, I am definitely not a doctor, but is it around your incisions and the tape? I had a reaction to the tape. That wouldn't explain your back though. Just call your surgeon's office and ask. I had to do that for a few things and they are always very nice and understanding about everything. If you want to meet up one day, just pm me and maybe I can help some more in person ((hugs)) You are doing great, keep up the amazing work and don't worry about the stall!

Hi Lau! I am right there with you... I am now 21 but I had my surgery when I was 20. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me. How to know you are emotionally ready? Honestly, you are the only one who can answer that. I have always been very emotionally mature for my age since I had to deal with both my mother and my grandfather being sick from a very young age. I knew that I could handle this emotionally. Emotions are pretty crazy during this process. You have your base problems, like why do we overeat in the first place. You have to deal with giving up food as a crutch. Find other ways to deal with those emotions. Some people turn to exercise, some people turn to alcohol. You have to make sure you have a strong support group (these boards, your parents, a therapist if you want, your friends, an in person support group) to make sure that you don't turn to the wrong things. After the surgery you have to deal with the extreme changes in your body. They might be good changes, but change can still be difficult. You will never eat the same way again, in public as well. You won't be able to drink the same way (you are a cheap date now lol, one drink has a lot of potency in your tiny tummy). You also have the pre-surgery emotions... the anxiety, the excitement, etc. It is a lot, but it is definitely do-able. You CAN handle it. BUT, the question is whether it is worth it or not. If you are seriously concerned, talk to a therapist a few times. They don't bite and they would be able to answer your question a lot more professionally then any of us

Awesome!! I bet next time you go in you'll be in one-derland!! You are doing amazing

I agree that IF you can go monthly, DO IT! The first couple months weighing in weekly might be nice as you typically see drops, but when you hit stalls or your weight loss slows down to 1, 2 lbs per week, its tough mentally. I think weighing in monthly would allow you to focus on the overall and you might not even realize you had a stall, if you did. That being said, I am a once-a-week weigh-er lol. For a long time I weighed every day, but not on purpose. Before I moved I exercised or played with my sister on our wii fit, and that weighs you automatically (until I finally figured out how to skip it) and it drove me nuts! I actually would make my sister (she was 5...) push all the buttons etc until it was past that point, but that didn't work for long because she started to read so she'd just tell me what the number was lol. Anyways, weighing in every day drove me nuts. I wish I could go longer than once a week, but I'm hooked! I would have to throw the scale out and go somewhere to weigh in to break the habit now.

I was drinking room temp Water (cold anything HURT for me), and warm broths, and... yeah, that was it for me lol! I couldn't do Protein shakes for a couple weeks (NOT so good, but I could barely manage water) even though I tried every day. So I was getting in a few sips of Protein shake a day I guess, but no where near enough. I was lucky that my mom made me homemade broths (yeah, she rocked... I had three different ones to choose from ), but in the hospital I drank the bouillon mixed with water fake broth stuff... it actually wasn't bad

Honestly I don't remember much from the recovery room except that I was extremely dizzy. I also remember the anesthesiologist asking me to cough for him... and I didn't want to lol. I also remember that they brought my mom in for me (apparently I was asking for her :wub: ). Pain itself was not horrible for me. I had a pump that I could press whenever the light came on, and the light was always on when I wanted more. I found out afterwards that my dizziness was actually the pain meds (not the after effects of the anesthesia)... apparently I'm a "lightweight" (hehehe, yeah, me, a lightweight, teehee) when it comes to pain meds and I was bit stoned. When I asked my surgeon he was like "yeah, you were getting a bit too much even though I had you on the lowest dose" LOL. The whole experience was beyond worth it for me. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had to... which I won't Good luck! And if you have anymore specific questions feel free to PM me

Isn't it awesome??? Even for slow losers it eventually gets to that point where you're like "wow, this is actually working!". At 6 months out I have seen people for the first time in years and they don't recognize me... THAT is an awesome feeling! I loved your comment about your weight loss compared to your child. I always compared mine to my little sister (she is 6)... and I remember when I lost my first 42 thinking that I just lost a whole person.. now I've lost 2 people and a bit lol! I love my sleeve as well! Congrats on how well you are doing

I am six months out and I still find it difficult. Sometimes I just really want to drink something different though... I get sick of water and the occasional glass of milk. So I take my diet-whatever... and I shake it. Like crazy. I make sure I get the bottle so that I can let the air out. I also make sure it isn't super cold. After I get the majority of the carbonation out (i know I'm good when the straw won't float anymore) I can normally drink it fine without any problems. My surgeon said that he didn't have any restrictions but that many of his patients simply don't like it afterwards.

Water is definitely very important! Your body needs it to function properly. I believe it is also important to us because your body needs water to flush the fat out of your body. As for stalls, water really helped me. I know it doesn't work for everyone but I was in a three-week stall and the only thing I changed was the amount of water I was drinking and I dropped four pounds. I had a hard time getting water down (well, its really liquids, so anything decaf and low cals/carbs should work). At first I had to literally carry around the bottle with me and sip all day. I just hit my six month mark and I can now drink a bit more at a time... but if I'm home I still keep my bottle close to me, just makes it easier. Good luck!

Congrats You are doing a great job and I bet you'll be there soon! Thanks for the reminder that sometimes going back to basics is best Let us know how your one year goes!

YAY!!! I don't remember exactly when I first realized that chairs were more comfortable.. and I know exactly what you mean about the starbucks chairs! I worked across the street from one and I would take my breaks there, and it was nice to choose to the chair instead of the bench You're doing great!

That's awesome!! For me its actually the opposite- people think I look older.. but since I am only 21 and used to be "baby faced" I consider this a good thing! Something you said really stuck out for me... the whole "i'll never forget the date" thing... I am the same way... without trying all the dates that have to do with the surgery have stuck with me... the seminar I attended, my first appointment and of course my surgery date itself 9/19/2011... I really feel like I turned my life around and they are so important to me. I hope I never forget, and I am actually considering getting a small tattoo of either a simple swan or a phoenix with the date intertwined. I am not normally one for tattoos, but it is so important to me. I came across a photo of someone with a tattoo done in all white ink, against white skin it is very subtle... I fell in love with it and that's what I'm going to get, if I get one. Congrats on how well you are doing! Don't be upset that you are a slow loser, over time you will see the large numbers too and it will be worth it

Hmm, sounds interesting!! I wish my doctor was more hands on like that! LOL. Our talks go like this "everything good? - yup - okay" Seriously, neither one of us are very talkative. I suppose if I brought up stuff he wouldn't be rude or opposed to talking about it, but I dunno. I will say my first appointment with him he asked if I had any questions and I literally handed him a printed page with ALL of my questions, he went through them one by one... so maybe I should give him more credit. Good luck! I wish I had a treadmill so I could try this as well