butterfyeffect

So, post-op day one for me could be summed up with one word: Nausea. Starting around 10pm the night of surgery, I began feeling like I was going to vomit, and unfortunately it never really went away... despite receiving the anti-nausea medication (Zofran) every four hours. That whole night, and into the morning was sort of a nightmare for multiple reasons. First and foremost was the nausea, it would hit me in waves, and I would sit straight up in bed, holding my "puke bucket" under my chin, even though I knew there was nothing in my stomach to throw up. And then I would spit, burp, spit, burp, for about 10 minutes before the wave passed. Then I would put my bed back into the recline position, and fall back asleep until the next wave hit me... Secondary to giving that whole long night a nightmarish quality was the fact that when I was between waves of nausea, and able to sleep, I would inevitably be woken up for something. Literally every hour, for the entire night, I was woken up for something or other. Now, if you've read my other entries, you may be aware that I am a nurse, and I work nights. And let me tell you, I make it my mission when working a night shift to let my patients get as much sleep as possible. Not the case here. In her defense, my night nurse was brand new. If I'd been feeling better, I may have tried to teach her a little bit about grouping activities together. For instance, if I had medications scheduled at 12am, and 1am, it's perfectly acceptable to give both at 12:30! Vital signs due at 4am? Why not come in and do them when phlebotomy comes in to draw blood at 3am? That was just a little irritating for me. I was woken at midnight for vital signs and IV fluids, at that time, I asked if I was getting my heparin shot, and she said "No, that's due at 1am." So at 1:30am, she was back for that. At 3am, phlebotomy. At 4am, vital signs. At 5am more nausea meds. At 6am, she came and took my foley catheter out. And then at 7am, day shift comes in, so they all came in to say good morning! Aaargh! So post-op day 2 has already started off on a sort of bad leg. My surgeon did come in and talked to me at about 7:30, and at that time, I begged him for something stronger for nausea. He agreed, and went out to order me some Phenergan. Now in this instance, it was probably good that I'm a nurse, so I know how things work. Otherwise I probably would have sat there and expected the medication to be given to me in the next 10 or 15 minutes. But no. When the doctor says he's going to order a medication, there is a process that it has to go through. He types the order into a computer. The order goes to pharmacy. The pharmacist looks at the order, and verifies that the medication, dose, frequency, and route of administration are appropriate, and also that it won't interact negatively with any of the other medications the patient is receiving. If they have a question regarding any of those things, they don't call the doctor. They call the nurse. Then the nurse calls the doctor, clarifies the order, and calls the pharmacy back. Then, and only then does the medication get verified by the pharmacy so that the nurse is allowed to administer it. Needless to say, it was nearly two hours before I received the Phenergan. In the meantime, I had stopped using my pain button at 3am, aware that the dilaudid my very well be contributing to my nausea. So my pain was back in full force too. Regardless of that, I knew I had to walk, so I got myself out of bed, walked to the bathroom, and peed on my own for the first time. I also emptied my drain, which was alarmingly full, compared to yesterday. Then I brushed my teeth, and sat in the chair. That was how my husband found me when he came in to visit. Shortly after he arrived, they gave me my Phenergan, which does have the side effect of making you sleepy. So when they came to get me for my leak test, I was literally falling asleep while sitting up in the chair. But I wanted that leak test done, so I could get some oral pain medication, since I was refusing to use the Dilaudid anymore. So we went down to Radiology for that. Let me tell you, that test was by far the worst part of the entire experience for me. Everyone in radiology was super-nice, but the stuff they have you drink tastes like lemon dish soap (if your parents ever washed your mouth out with soap, you know the taste). They have you take small sips of it while standing in front of an x-ray machine, and a radiologist watches it flow through your esophagus, into your stomach, and into your small intestine. But you have to drink enough that they can see all that, and be sure none is leaking out, and also that there is no obstruction in your small intestine. I never would have been able to do it if I hadn't gotten the Phenergan prior to going. Even with it, I had to hold a puke basin in front of me, and dry heave into it every few sips. But, finally the radiologist said I had drank enough, and she hadn't seen any leaks, so I was allowed to drink water when I got back upstairs! The rest of the day was a blur, because I was so tired from the phenergan, and then the subsequent oral pain medication (Lortab). I did walk in the hallway with my hubby after I got back from radiology, then I was told to start sipping water, approximately 2 ounces per hour. I managed to do that when I was awake, but the problem was I kept falling asleep. But I probably managed to drink a good 20 ounces of water that day. And later in the night, I noticed that my left hand where I had my IV was getting really puffy. So I when I saw that my IV bag was empty, I stopped it, and didn't tell my nurse. When she came in, I showed her my hand, and told her I didn't want anymore fluids by IV, and promised I would drink enough. Since it was scheduled to come out in the morning anyway, she said that was okay. The nausea went away almost completely after the phenergan, although I did get a small wave of it each time I took the Lortab, it was nothing compared to prior, so I never took any more nausea medication after that. And that pretty much sums up post-op day 1 for me. I really, really slept that night, fortunately had a different night nurse who definitely is of the same philosophy as me, and lets her patient sleep, which I greatly appreciated. Woke up at 7am feeling like a brand new person! Post-op Day 2 was also discharge day, so with that in mind, I got right up at 7, brushed my teeth and my hair (which I hadn't done since I'd been there). I got a morning "breakfast" tray consisting of orange SF jello, broth of some sort, plain decaf tea, and a Crystal Light lemonade. I ate the Jello, but have had bad experiences in the past with plain tea causing nausea, so didn't go there. And lukewarm broth just wasn't appealing. I saved the Crystal light for later. I got lots of visits from all kinds of new people that day. The bariatric coordinator, Sandy came in and told me she was going to be there later to answer all of my questions, so I started trying to think some up. But I didn't have a pen to write anything down. Then another nurse navigator named Robert came in, and told me he was going to make my follow up appointment for me, which I thought was sort of overkill, since I am perfectly capable of dialing a phone. But I know it's his job and everything, so I told hime when my husband got there and we could look at his schedule, I'd call him. At this point, I realized everything was kind of stuck on my hubby coming to get me, and he'd spent the night with a friend in Miami the night before, which was at least an hour away. Knowing that this friend has a tendency to keep late hours, and party, I decided to call and find out an ETA. When I got ahold of him at 10am, he was just eating breakfast. I told him to hurry it up, since I thought they were preparing to kick me out. But in reality, I still had my drain in, and was still wearing a hospital gown. So I may have been lying a little to get him in gear. But shortly after, my nurse did come in, and said it was time to pull the drain. Now this drain is something I've mentioned in passing, but haven't really described yet. If you're easily grossed out, skip the next paragraph. It's called a JP drain, and it's like the little bulb shaped suction thingies that they use to clear out baby's nostrils, except attached to a long hose that goes inside of you (gross, I know). It's attached to your skin with a couple of sutures, and fluid collects in it. When I was first out of surgery, there wasn't much fluid, but it was all bloody. Now on day 2, it was full of more serous fluid, kind of yellow tinged. It had drained about 400-500ml of fluid out of my abdomen since I'd left surgery, so it's probably a useful thing to have, but I was sure psyched to get rid of it. So the nurse snipped off the sutures using sterile scissors, which hurt a little. Then she just pulled on the thing, and it was absolutely the most bizarre feeling I've ever experienced. It didn't hurt at all, but it was an extremely strange sensation of something moving inside of my abdomen. Maybe if you've ever been pregnant and felt the baby move, it might compare to that, but I haven't, so I had nothing to compare it to. It was just weird. But anyway, with the drain out, I thought maybe I could take a shower. Nope... that would require a doctor's order. Okay, I played along, and just washed up as best I could in the sink, and changed into my loosest shorts and t-shirt that I had brought with me. Around that time, my surgeon came back in with the Bariatric coordinator, Sandy, and told me he was ready to discharge me. I guess this is when I was supposed to ask the questions that I had come up with, but I didn't know that, and I hadn't written them down anyway, so I kind of blanked. So he just told me what meds he was going to send me home on (Vicodin and pepcid) and then said he would go write it up, and see me in his office in a few weeks. In retrospect, I would have liked to ask when I can start exercising, and when I can go swimming. But I am a smart girl, I can figure stuff out on my own. Finally, around noontime, my husband showed up, and probably not a moment too soon either, because they were definitely ready to be rid of me. Almost as soon as he walked into the room the discharge nurse came in behind him, and handed me my paperwork. She definitely wasn't answering any questions. So I signed, hopped in the provided wheelchair, and was wheeled out to my hubby's car in record time. Hospital stay over! I am completely without medical supervision until my follow up appointment on the 21st! I guess I'll end this entry here, and talk about being at home, and starting purees in a later post. Goodnight!

Hi everyone! I'm not new to posting, but this is the first topic I've started, so please be nice! I am planning on getting sleeved in May, and other than the usual worries about the surgery itself, how much will I lose, etc. my #1 concern is the extra skin. I am scared enough to have surgery once, I don't want to have to go back under for a second time to have all the skin removed as well. My mom had gastric bypass a few years ago, so she's really the only person I know who's lost this kind of weight, and she does have a "flap". But she was also in her 60's when she had the surgery/lost the weight, and she lost well over 100 pounds. Here are my stats: I am 34, currently weigh about 230, and have a conservative goal weight of 160, with a dream goal of 135 (I haven't weighed less than 150 since the fifth grade, so that would be an extremely dreamy dream goal for me). Oh, and I'm 5'3" and a pretty good exerciser. So my question is specifically for ladies under 40, who have lost 100 pounds or less, and are at or near their goal. How well is your skin bouncing back? Did you do anything to help it, like weight lifting, or using special moisturizers? Where is it the worst, and have any of you had, or are considering having the "flap" removed? Thanks in advance for any help/reassurance you can give me. I know I am going to go through with this surgery, but I want to know if I need to psych myself up for another one in the near future.

Thanks for reading! Good luck on your surgery tomorrow Cupcake!

Well, here I am. Back from the hospital after a 2 night stay, with 85% of my stomach missing. I'll try and describe what it was like day by day... Day 1 (Surgery Day): Let me preface this by saying that I did not sleep a wink the night before surgery. Not. A. Wink. So, upon arriving to the hospital for my 7am appointment, I had already been awake for 24+ hours. So that probably added to the dream-like quality that everything had to it that day. But still, that's the only way I could possibly describe everything that happened that day. It was surreal. Since I couldn't sleep, I decided that my husband shouldn't either, so I got him up at 4:30, and we set out from our hotel for the hospital at 5:30, even though it was only a 30 minute drive, and we didn't have to be there until 7am. At this point, I was convinced that I was probably going to die on the operating table, so I was giving my husband instructions, such as "My wedding ring is in the change pocket of my purse. I'll want to be buried with it on." Stuff like that. I'm sure he was amused by it all, but looking back, I can't believe I did that to my husband! (who already has some anxiety issues BTW) So we arrived at the hospital super-early, and I tried, yet again to catch a 15 minute nap in the car. When it became apparent that even that wasn't going to happen, we went into the hospital to register at 6:30. They brought me back pretty quickly, but left my hubby in the waiting room. They weighed me (219.4) and brought me into a room with a stretcher in it, and told me to change into the gown and socks that were on the stretcher. Now, I don't know if they just see that someone is having bariatric surgery, and automatically put the XXL gown on the stretcher, or what, but that gown was huge. You could have put three of me in it. The socks were also ridiculous, they could have fit on my feet over a pair of winter boots! But I did as I was told, and proceeded to spend the next hour and a half trying not to flash everyone in the pre-op area... Then a nurse came in, took my vital signs, and did an admission questionnaire and had me sign paperwork. Then three separate anesthesiologists came in and talked to me, looked in my mouth, and asked me several of the same questions the nurse had just asked. Then another nurse put an IV in my left hand. Then, finally they allowed my husband to come back in. We sat there and talked for awhile, and then my surgeon came in... now I know many of us bariatric surgery patients have had multiple appointments with their surgeon prior to the actual surgery day, but for me that was not the case. I'd only met Dr. Shillingford once for about 5 minutes, in January. But meeting him for the second time on surgery day, I was again reassured by his confident demeanor, and his relaxed bedside manner. Plus it helped that every other medical staff person I'd met so far that day had referred to him as an excellent surgeon. Once he arrived, that really seemed to get the ball rolling. Just about 10 minutes later, they were giving my pre-op "cocktail" (I asked, it was Versed). Then we rolled into the OR. I remember them asking me to scootch from the stretcher I was on, to the operating table, which I was able to do, and then....nothing. Next thing I knew, I was lying on a different stretcher, in a different room, with a different gown on and someone was taking an oxygen mask off of me, and putting me on a nasal cannula (the little prong things that go in your nose). I was in a lot of pain, which I guess they anticipated, because someone handed me a little button, and said I could push it as much as I wanted for pain medication. Now, being a nurse, I know there is a lockout period, so you can't overdose yourself, so I must have asked that. They said it was set to dispense medication every 8 minutes. There was a blood pressure cuff on my right arm that kept squeezing every few minutes, so I decided to push the button every-other time the BP cuff went off. After three or four pushes, the pain had faded into the background, but by then I was becoming nauseated. Like clockwork, they asked me if I wanted medication for nausea. Yes, please! Once I had those nausea medications in, I was feeling pretty good. Good enough in fact, that when they got me up to my room, I was able to stand up and waddle over to my new bed almost all by myself... At this point, I was hooked up to two IV's, I had a foley catheter in, and I didn't know it yet, but there was a drain hanging off of the right side of my abdomen. But the only thing that was sore (and still is) was the incision on the left side of my abdomen. I later found out that's where my stomach was taken out. The rest of that day went by in a little bit of a blur. I wasn't allowed any water, or anything else by mouth, but they did give me some swabs, and some ice chips, which were a godsend. I remember going for a walk, up and down the hallway with my hubby later in the evening, but other than that, I pretty much slept in between being asked, like 10 times, by 10 different people if I was diabetic, and/or did I need to have a CPAP machine (no, and no). And that was pretty much Day 1. And since I'm pretty wiped out, I think I'll save Days 2 and 3 for another post...

I eat Fage 0% plain yogurt, and add my Protein powder to it. 1/2 cup with a scoop of unjury vanilla, plus a pinch of cinnamon tastes like cheesecake to me, plus it has over 30g of protein! That has been my go-to food since I got home from the hospital... the only thing I can definitely eat, and keep down!

I've been on purees since I got home, but I just looked over my paperwork last night and realized that I was actually supposed to have started introducing soft foods since day 3! Whoops! I did eat a bite of banana today, and introduced refried Beans into my diet... so far so good. Better than the ricotta casserole recipe I tried last night (that was vomited back out very shortly after being eaten) Tomorrow I am going to try some turkey chili that I froze pre-op. I think the key is to go very slowly. I ate literally, like a tablespoon of refried beans, waited 20 minutes, and went back for another tablespoon, which I couldn't finish. That's exactly what I didn't do with the ricotta last night... it smelled so good, I probably ate 1/4 cup of it before I paused... live and learn!

Yeah, my surgeon says to eat whatever you can tolerate after you get out of the hospital. Says it leads to less food intolerances later on. So far the yogurt goes down best, but I've also eaten pureed Soup, and mashed potatoes with protein powder mixed in.

I'm a May 6th sleever as well! Doing pretty well... I've been home two days, and like everyone else, getting all liquids and Protein in is a bit of a challenge. Just not hungry, but I try and eat every time my hubby does, and to only eat protein fortified things, i.e.: greek yogurt with a scoop of vanilla Protein powder in it (yummy!). Yesterday I think I got 70grams of protein, but that was with drinking a shake, which I think detracted from my Water, I may have only gotten 48oz of water yesterday... woke up with a dry mouth. On the pain side of things, just the incision on my left (where they took my stomach out) is sore, I still have to splint it when getting up or down from a chair, etc. And both nights before I went to bed, I had episodes of getting my night time pills "stuck" then stood there trying to get them to either come back up, or go down for about 20 minutes. Last night I had the brilliant idea of taking a gas x strip when this happened, since really it feels like you need to let out a big burp. That seemed to help, I was able to go to bed a few minutes later with no more issues. Tonight I'm going to try and take my bedtime pills a little earlier. So all in all, healing up pretty good, and I took a chance, and stepped on the scale today: down 3 pounds from surgery day!

No issues for me either, although I'm only a few days out. Was very pleased with the hospital and staff at NWMC as well for the most part, didn't know what to expect, and am kind of a stickler for some things since I work in a hospital myself.

I actually had surgery with him 2 days ago... what do you want to know?

Have to be at hospital at 7am and can't sleep. Also have a horrific headache and afraid to take anything. Good luck to all my fellow May 6th sleepers!

According to the paperwork my doc gave me, his patients are allowed pureed foods on Day 2-3, so that's basically once we leave the hospital. I made a batch of turkey chili, and over-cooked it a little so the veggies are really soft, it's in the freezer ready to go. I'm planning on pureeing that, and also bought some instant mashed potatoes that I am hoping to eat with the unjury protein'd cheese sauce in them. If we do well with purees, we can move right on to "soft solid" foods, which I think goes as "mushies" around here. My list includes baked fish, eggs, canned fruit, well cooked vegetables, and moist chicken. Foods to avoid for the first three months include: red meat (I don't eat that anyway for the most part), untoasted breads, Pasta, rice, citrus fruits with membrane, and dried fruits, nuts, and popcorn. Except for the nut and rice I don't eat anything on that list regularly anyway, so shouldn't be a problem...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who did that! Mine was someone at work offering me a piece of pizza, when I said no, he practically shoved it in my face, so I caved, and at it! That was last week, I've been going strong this week, but did eat a salad with chicken on it last night... the way I see it, it was still low carb, high Protein, and who knows when I'll be able to tolerate salad again? As far as a bowel prep, my doctor doesn't require it, but I'm doing it anyway... maybe it will help make up for my cheats.

May 6th for me too! Can't believe it's literally three days and a few hours away! I'm starting to get really nervous about my decision.... anyone else?

Well, it's been about a week since I voluntarily started my pre-op diet a little early. I was supposed to have started it on Tuesday, but since I have been through carb withdrawal before, and know how miserable I can be, I chose to go start it on Friday, and do the "carb flu" on days when I was working, rather than on my days off. Strange logic, I know but in my mind I'd be busier at work and have less time to think about food. My initial plan was to just start drinking only protein shakes on Friday night when I got to work. (I'm an ER nurse. I work nights. Get used to me referring to things that happened in the late afternoon as "morning" and for things that happened in the early morning to be referred to as "last night") Anyway, that worked well until one of my co-workers decided to make a Chipotle run... then I altered my plan to just start low carbing for the weekend. Still drinking one or two protein shakes a day, and having one lean and green meal. Did that through Monday night at work, got home Tuesday morning with the best of intentions to have just liquid protein shakes from then on. So far, I'm ashamed to say that hasn't been happening. I am not cheating in large amounts, or with bad foods. I'd have to say all in all my calories have not been over 700 any day since Tuesday. And my carbs have easily stayed below 40. But I just have absolutely no appetite for the shakes. I can drink one Premier Protein (160 calories, 30g protein, 2g net carbs) in my 12 hours at work, and then I'm just not be able to face another one. But a few soy nuts? Sure, I'll eat those. I can chew them. So, a brief snapshot of my diet so far this week: Tuesday: -1 Isopure Chocolate Splendor Shake made with Almond Milk (160 calories, 21g protein, 11g carbs) -1 Premier Protein Chocolate Shake -1 bag of roasted peanuts (240 calories, 9g protein, 4g net carbs) -1 serving Isopure Chicken Soup (100 calories, 21g protein, 2g carbs) Wednesday -1 Isopure Chocolate Shake -2 hardboiled eggs (180 calories, 0 carbs, 18g protein) -1 serving Isopure Chicken Soup -2oz of cheddar cheese cubes (220 calories, 16g protein, 2g carbs) Thursday -1 Isopure Chocolate Shake -1 serving Isopure Protein'd Cheese Sauce over 1/2 cup steamed broccoli and cauliflower (190 calories, 21g protein, 11g carbs) 1 serving Isopure Vanilla mixed into 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (165 calories, 32g protein, 8g carbs) Friday -1 serving Isopure Chicken soup -1 slice of cheese pizza (250 calories, 10g protein, 25g carbs) -1 Premier Protein Shake -1/8 cup of soy nuts (65 calories, 6g protein, 1g carbs) So, as you can see, not stellar. But on the plus side, I've lost over nine pounds in seven days, and I am literally never hungry, at least not for protein shakes. But if you put a slice of pizza in front of me, I'll eat it (as evidenced by Friday's log). But here's the strange thing that I've noticed. The pizza didn't taste that good. The sauce tasted weirdly acidic, and the crust tasted like cardboard. This was from a pizza place that we've ordered from at work multiple times, so I know what it used to taste like, and it just tasted... different. And then this morning, I went with my husband through the McDonald's drive thru. Now honestly, I don't like McDonald's. I think the last time I ate there was in December, and that was only because it was Sunday, and the Chik-fil-a was closed. But his fries smelled good, so remembering the pizza last night, I tried one. It tasted like salt and grease. Not at all appealing. Unfortunately, both the pizza and the fries still smelled good... so the cravings are still there. But if I keep telling myself that the taste isn't the same, I think I can talk myself out of some trigger foods. One of the negatives of the pre-op diet (aside from the obvious, that it's a diet): I have literally no stamina for exercise. I've attempted to go for a run just once since this all started, and I got about halfway through what I usually do, and started feeling like my legs were made of lead. I took the stairs up to the 5th floor of the parking garage when I got out of work last night. Same thing; lead legs. So my cardio has decreased to basically walking the dog, although for some reason, I can tolerate my usual strength-training workouts with no problem. So I don't know what I'm going to do for exercise after my surgery. I guess walking is all that's advised for the first few weeks anyway. But that's been sort of bothering me anyway, because my surgeon said that his patients who have the most success are the ones who exercise the most... but how can I exercise if I have no stamina? I guess as I get lighter, I'll need less stamina to move my body. Other negatives? A slight headache that doesn't go away (this may be from giving up my one diet coke a day). A sticky feeling in my mouth that only goes away with constantly drinking water. That's about it. It's only two weeks of my life, as I keep reminding myself. I will keep plugging away at it, and hopefully get a little better at it by next week. Only 9 more days to go! My "Before Pre-op diet" photos

I had the blood work done previously when I was thinking about having the lap-band (didn't go through with it). I know they did chemistries (like a chem 12, or a Complete Metabolic Panel), a Thyroid stimulating Hormone, a T3 (another thyroid hormone), Vitamin D, and a complete blood count. That's all I remember, though.

I'm on officially day two of my pre-op diet, which for my surgeon is all liquids. I am not proud to admit, I cheated both days... had a small portion of peanuts yesterday, and then just ate a hardboiled egg... I'm just really craving something to chew on. Maybe gum, or sugar free lifesavers, as someone else said, would help?

Basically to make sure you are healthy enough for surgery, no infectious processes, or other surprises when you get to the operating room. For instance, my sister has a chronically low platelet count, I don't know if it's genetic or not, but I sure don't want to wait until I'm bleeding out on the operating table to find out!

I am having the surgery on May 6th as well! I'm having all of the same feelings as you, especially those about missing food... I am definitely trying to come up with alternatives to do when I'm bored and/or lonely. Walking, reading a book, and coming on here to vent all come to mind. I'm on day 2 of my pre-op diet, although I started going low carb on Saturday, just to make it a little easier. My surgeon wants his patients on all liquids for 2 weeks! I have to admit, I ate some peanuts yesterday, and a hard boiled egg today... it's so hard to not have anything to chew! I'm going to get some sugar-free popsicles and Jello tomorrow, maybe that will help with the feeling of having something to eat!

Hi there! My name is Kourtney, I am 34 years old, and I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. I think the first time I recall knowing how much I weighed, I was in the fourth grade, and I weighed 90 pounds. I remember even then, seeing that all of the other girls in my class weighed just 60 or 70 pounds, and wondering why I was so different... I won't go into all of the reasons why I was overweight at such a young age, let's just chalk it up to genetics, poor eating habits, and little-to-no parental encouragement to pursue athletic activities. I went on my first diet when I was 10 years old, and have continued to diet sporadically for the past 24 years. When I was 14, I took up running, and managed to keep my weight pretty steady in the 150's throughout high school... still heavier than many of my classmates, and I considered myself "fat" then, but looking back... What I wouldn't give to weigh 150! In college, I continued to exercise and managed to stay fairly stable with my weight in the 160's. But I started to notice that if I slacked off on the exercise for even a couple of weeks, I would definitely gain a few pounds, and quickly. But I could always rely on losing them pretty easily by hitting the gym. But then, starting in my mid-twenties, exercise no longer worked. I still continued to be fairly active, but started not seeing any results on the scale, and then started actually seeing it move in the opposite direction of what I wanted! Incredibly discouraging. So I turned back to dieting, trying everything from Weight Watchers, to Atkins, to Medifast, to Paleo. Everything worked at the beginning, I would feel great, losing 10, or even 15 pounds in the first month or two. And then inevitably, the weight loss would slow, I would become discouraged, and slowly lose interest. "What is the point?" I would ask. Little by little, I would start cheating, stop counting points, stop measuring portion sizes. And before I knew it, I would weigh more than I had started out at... sound familiar? Then in 2010 my Mother, who had also been obese for as long as I could remember, had Gastric Bypass surgery. For her, it seemed like a "no-brainer". Only in her 60's, she was an insulin-dependent diabetic, wore a CPAP to sleep at night, and could barely walk a hundred yards without experiencing chest pains. I remember encouraging her to look into the surgery at the time, because I knew that if she didn't do something I would likely be losing her in the next 10 years. Never, though did I imagine that I would be contemplating a similar surgery in the next few years! I just needed to keep exercising, and find the right diet! But then, wow! What a change I saw in my mother. She went from being the sedentary, obese woman I had known all of my life, to being an active, energetic size-10 woman who does water aerobics, rides a bike, and walks for fun! My mom at her heaviest, and a more recent photo (She made me blur her face) I started to look at weight loss surgery differently. Instead seeing it as some sort of of the last ditch measure to help manage diabetes, sleep apnea, and heart disease in my aging mother, I began to see that it could be a tool for someone younger. Someone who had struggled with their weight all of their life. Someone like me. Why wait until I am older, and sicker to consider it as an option? Why not do it now, and not struggle for the next thirty years like my mom did? So I made one last effort at diet and exercise, this past December. I lasted less than a week, and then fell ill with the flu. For me, that was a sign... So I did my research, found a surgeon three hours away that does the Vertical Sleeve for a very reasonable cash price, made an appointment with him on January 29th, and am scheduled for my sleeve in just over two weeks. I plan on journaling my experience here for anyone else who may be struggling with the decision, to give a real, first hand account my day-by-day struggles and successes. Looking forward to writing my next entry, by then I'll be almost a week into my two-week liquid diet. Now I'm headed out for a run!! Me at a "happier weight" and at my heaviest

Wow that's a long time on clear liquids! My doc says to eat whatever you can tolerate once you are out of the hospital. It's up to me to experiment and see what my tummy can handle... But I'll bet you'll lose a ton of weight this first month

@Erin414: by tomorrow or the next day you'll be fine. Your body is basically in withdrawal from carbs. After about 72 hours of this, your body starts burning fat for fuel. Once that happens, you will lose the feeling of physical hunger, the headaches, and the crankiness. Low carb dieters refer to those first few days as the "keto-flu" this is because once your body has fully switched over to fat burning, you will be producing ketones. You might notice a faint fruity odor to your breath, (and/or urine). Once you get there, you'll feel fine. It's just the first few days that are awful.

That's awful! I think they just look for any excuse to deny you. You're doing the right thing by appealing the decision, if they have nothing to base it on other than a comment you made they'll have to overturn it!