MinaT

Pookey congrats, I bet that is a wonderful feeling and I can't wait for moments like that myself. I love industrial myself. I like industrial music myself and Rammstein is fun, it's kind of like industrial meets metal Thanks for sharing a successful moment with us!

Hahaha, I am still getting used to the terminology too, I was going to ask so I'm glad you did but now as I look at it - I'm thinking it has to do with Nice or New Sleeve Victory?

Littlebits, the list compiled so far has Sunshine25 in the DFW area, DadTo2, surgery with Dr. Nicholson, Dallas, TX and yourself on June 19th. If anyone else is getting sleeved in June, let me know and I'll add to the list in the June 2012 section located at http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/39508-june-sleevers-compilation-good-luck-well-wishes/

Way to go and congrats. There are a lot of June sleevers and actually a lot of us having it on June 4th, including me. I added you to the June 2012 sleevers list which lists all that I have found having surgery in June. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/39508-june-sleevers-compilation-good-luck-well-wishes/

My cousin was about my age and she died died in her sleep, due to sleep apnea. She was looking into wls and couldn't commit and then decided to have her hip fixed instead. She should have had the wls surgery. I took my diagnosis of sleep apnea seriously, I had an one episode of central sleep apnea, but 400 episodes of obstructive in 4 hours. I have a brain tumor and it's located on my trigeminal nerve root entry, the pain caused by the trigeminal neuralgia makes it that I cannot tolerate the c-pap machine at all. The medication they use to treat the condition for trigeminal neuralgia causes memory loss and issues and actually can help contribute to the sleep apnea, so I am on oxygen at night when I sleep. I had to quit the Trileptal because it was causing me issues. he first doctor to recommend wls was the pulmonologist who did the sleep study. The second was the neurologist. Trigeminal neuralgia is a very painful condition where all the nerves in the face misfire and cause sharp, sometimes stabbing, sometimes lightening, sometimes severe pain. I tried for 6 months sleeping with the cpap and could not comply. Not because I didn't want to, it caused me pain and I couldn't sleep. Because of the neuralgia, and degenerative disk disease and disk issues throat surgery wasn't an option, so I sleep with oxygen. I am a stomach sleeper so needless to say I fuss and fight with cords all night and I wake up and I look like the joker with deep imprinted lines in my face every day and some days the imprints can last up to 9 hours on my face. This alone is a reason for me to lose weight. I really truly truly hate the cpap and I hate the oxygen. My husband said I haven't snored in quite a while, so I am assuming the weight loss is the reason. Hopefully some day I can get off the oxygen. Will have a sleep study probably in September or October. Good luck to you, and hopefully cpap will be an option for a short while.

Is your surgeon suggesting you have a sleep study done? If so, does the hospital do it? Do you have a surgery date yet?

Your Post-Op sounds a lot like mine. I was told to expect 6 weeks of liquids after surgery before anything solid. They said it seems to work better for the sleevers. We were told we will be on liquids longer than gastric bypass patients, but there is a reasoning behind the madness, less intolerance and you introduce new foods one at a time, less chances for leaks, less chances for issues and better overall experience. Since I'm on the two week pre-op it's a bit rough and to think about another 9 weeks of liquids, but I committed to this process 7 months ago, so I suppose I'm ready. Good luck to you and congrats on almost 16 pounds loss!

There is also a central sleep apnea which has nothing to do with your weight, but is when you repeatedly stop breathing during sleepbecause the brain temporarily stops sending signals to the muscles that control breathing. Overweight people are more likely to have sleep apnea because of the weight on their chest and neck. Sleep apnea is when the back of the throat closes for a second and you don't breath. People who snore are more likely to have sleep apnea, than people that don't snore, but not all people that snore have sleep apnea. People who sleep on their back and are heavy are more likely to have sleep apnea. Some of the signs are waking up because you heard yourself snoring, being told you snore, going to bed and thinking you haven't slept all night, and the feeling like you were conscience all night long. Going to bed and waking up with a very dry throat, or a sore throat often is a sign, as is waking up to the restroom several times a night. Basically when you have an episode you may wake yourself up. Some people can have 400-1000 episodes a night, so that's 400 - 1000 times a night you quit breathing. I believe there is a real issue with Sleep Apnea, but then again, sometimes I think it's a way to sell the machine. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia are linked to Sleep Apnea also. One of the co-morbidities for bariatric surgery is sleep apnea and it's one of the things that can most often be cured by surgery It doesn't hurt to have the study but make sure it's a reputable place, there are some Pulmo's that are in cahoots to up machine sales.

Congrats lil lee - added you to the list.

You have a great attitude. I have sleep apnea, diabetes, lupus and I used oxygen too. I had a stress test prior, a reveal heart monitor removed during the six months, and my meds were almost 2000 a month for a while there, so that's a big load that some of the tests I didn't have to have, because I had them recently. Since your doctor is in a centers of excellence bariatric program, they will have a curriculum set up for their patients which should be easy to follow. I seen he has like 30 years experience, so I am thinking he's not a slicer and dicer. You don't really have to like him as a person though, just be confident in his surgical ability. Personally most surgeons are a bit cold or aloof, their job doesn't deal with the patients in the same way their nursing staff or the bariatric specialist intake person does, so don't let that be a deciding factor. If you have to do a month or six months, I'll be happy to give you tips or pointers that I used to deal with things and I'm sure there are many here that are willing to help support you. Your attitude is going to go a long way to making this a success.

I am not 100% but it seems they are expecting you to go through a bariatric type program and that the documentation of willingness to comply is usually a predicate of a program that consists of the six month pre-op appointments. PLEASE DON'T DESPAIR. I did I swear I cried but I made it and it was the quickest six months of my life. Less torturous than the two week pre-op shake diet I have to be on. If that's the case, please don't reconsider. You looked into this route for a reason, and so many people back out because of the six month program. It's worth it in the long run I think and there will be so many people to help you along the way. If you do there's a lot of help along the way. Usually these bariatric centers expect a food journal to be turned in once a month and you meet with a Dr. (normally their internist or bariatric weight loss specialist) for weigh ins and eventually they set you up with a nutritionist, then you have a psych evaluation, do not miss an appointment, it will show unwillingness to comply. For ease in keeping your journal use something like http://myfitnesspal.com which makes keeping a record of your foods so easy, even if you are a busy mom like me. You will probably have to sit in on a seminar like Weight Loss Surgery is it right for me, and then you will meet the surgeon. After your six month evaluation, and you jump through some hoops and tests which may include a sleep study, ekg, upper gi, stress test, upper gi, they will send it off to the insurance company. The insurance company takes between 2 days and 4 weeks to come back with an approval and then you get set up with your surgeon once again. They will probably give you a class on pre-op diet, post op diet etc. Keep us informed when you find a program what they expect and good luck.

I am sorry you are having such a hard time and your depression is really quite great it seems. You've been through a lot of issues. I hope you have some close friends or family that can support you during this hard period of time. I suppose without insurance it has to be hard, but there's no way to put a positive spin on any of this at the moment but to say I'll say a prayer and hope that you start seeing some positives in your decision, as it can't be undone. I hope you can find some protein that doesn't upset your tummy so much since you are now eating solid foods. My prayers are with you.

I've lost weight over the last six months prior to approval by staying at 800-1000 calories. It amounted to 8-10 pounds a month. I think 1000-1200 would be fine for maintenance weight if you are exercising.

Pebbles it may seem like the sleeve is new, but it's actually not. There's a category of overweight called the Extreme Morbidly Obese. For those the option that was chosen over gastric bypass was a surgery called the Duodenal Switch. Patients would go through all the hoops and have the sleeve surgery. They would lose a certain amount of weight and then about 10 months to a year later they would go back in for a second surgery, the duodenal switch. Doctors started to note that goal weight was being achieved with just the Gastric Sleeve and the second part of the surgery was canceled. Since the sleeve was considered part of a two-part (two surgeries) it does not have it's own Medicare Code. Many insurance companies sort of follow what the Government considers the norm. Also, since it was not considered a stand-alone surgery it took a little while to get the data back on where the sleeve stands in comparison to Lap Band and Gastric Bypass. There have been so many issues in the past with lap band, and now so many revisions, or people having to get it taken out and problems with adhesions many surgeons are backing away from doing lap band lately because of it. The sleeve has been around for a while now, but the statistics are showing that in the long run it is comparable with Gastric Bypass with less complications from dumping, malnutrition, etc. Of course, it's a surgery so it's not full-proof, some people have issues with it. I only wanted the sleeve, I had no interest in Gastric Bypass, however, with Gastric Bypass there is less issue with GERD or acid reflux, that has given me some pause because I suffer from acid reflux, but then I realized, wow that's because i was eating late at night and eating too much. Since I started the 6 month pre-supervised diet I haven't had any issues with acid reflux in months and I haven't been sleeved yet. Good luck on your decision making and what you are doing is awesome, research research research and start working on adjusting the way you eat now, eat your meats first, vegetables second, lower your carbs, and try practice not drinking with your dinner, try to lower your caffeine in advance because you will have to give up caffeine. Try to monitor what you are eating in advance by joining something like myfitnesspal.com and keep track of your Water, Protein & carb intakes.

Congrats and you look wonderful, I can't wait until I am 7 weeks out, @ SleeveInSD, you may feel like you are losing slower, but I assume that's because the less you weigh, the slower you will lose at first. It doesn't quit seem fair, but if you go by % of body weight lost, you are doing FANTASTIC!

Congrats Kfitch, I added you to the list on June 6th! We are all getting closer!

Some people lose one addiction and pick up another, alcohol is an easy one to pick up, as well as gambling. Also certain alcohol, champagne, beer has carbonation and is not good for the sleeve and can cause bloating, gas and I've been told it could stretch the sleeve. Other drinks, with juices, margarita's etc. are high in sugar and not good for you either. Some people have stated that have tried things like wine with no ill effects but that's like several months out. I am not fond of wine myself and I love champagne and beer, but for a special occasion, I may try my hand at wine for big gatherings.

Good luck to you!

I gained 5 pounds in a day when I had 800 calories and I pooped and I don't have my gallbladder, and I had a complete hysterectomy. Water weight and weird things happen. However, I would definitely rethink the 1800 calories a day if you are trying to still lose or even maintain your weight. 1800 calories would be good if you are spending hours doing manual labor or working out extensively.

June 4th and day 5 of the preop 3 shakes a day and today was much better than the last two day, thank goodness. @Madison, I added you to the June 2012 Sleeve thread and Good Luck - Well Wishes thread located at this link: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/39508-june-sleevers-compilation-good-luck-well-wishes/

Bella, you are entitled to how you feel and nobody can take that away from you. I know where you are coming from with your post. I expected a whole lot of things to be different. Some things people don't realize, I lost 66 pounds pre-surgery so far but on the inside I feel exactly as I did when I was 128 and exactly as I did when I was over 300. It's even stranger that when I was 300 I didn't realize how really big I was and when I was 128 I felt like I weighed 300 still. It's difficult to the right emotional/mental balance with the weight.

Emlefe take it from someone who went through what you are feeling now, it's not worth the anger and resentment. Just be happy with who you are now. I remember meeting my best friend out one night. This guy kept staring at me and I growled at him. This guy that was staring said, I was staring at you because I think you have a nice neck, but boy you act like such a b****. I laughed for a long time over that and he's my best friend now. Yeah, I was that kind of girl, I literally could get away with doing odd ball things like putting eye liner on my two front teeth and being out on the dance floor and a cute guy would come up to me and I would grin and talk funny and we would laugh at it. I felt like Stockard Channing in the movie "The Girl Most Likely to" I didn't physically hurt anyone but I admit I wounded a few egos in my angry phase. I think learning how to deal emotionally and mentally with being thin is a bit harder for women. I learned that some women that are heavy were molested or raped when they were young and as they get older they realize the fat was a barrier to hide, being unattractive would keep them safe. This is part of my emotional baggage, which could account for my anger at that time too. Luckily I worked through that baggage and was able to nip things like that in the bag, that's one thing some women that have been heavy all their lives will have to deal with too, a new sexual identity. This isn't a con against surgery, but there's a lot of emotional things you have to deal with when losing weight.

Congrats to you, it really feels awesome to get a date!

Added a few more to the list today!

People treat heavier people different, that's the plain truth. Actually, there are people that were heavy and lost weight that look down on heavy people as though hey I did it, why can't you. Heavier people get offered less for a position than a fit person, they get treated with less respect and it can cause a person to have a mistrust of people and once losing the weight it can cause emotional stress learning how to be a skinny person if you are heavy all your life. I am a nice person, heavy or thin, but I believe I became a much colder person when I was thin because I got to see the ugly truth on how much nicer I was treated when I was thin. That is sad that people treat heavy people with less respect. There is also truth to heavier people acting more jovial on the outside while dying on the inside, let's make fun of yourself before others can make fun of you, it's one of those things being on both side of the fitness scale that I have learned and can attest to. I am grateful I can emotionally and mentally handle things now and this transition won't be so dramatic for me. What people think of me fat or skinny doesn't matter so much anymore, I'm losing for my health not for any other reason.