MidwestGirl

Hey, did all you fellow Wowheads know that Cataclysm is being released December 7?!?! Can't wait! Though I haven't been playing much lately...we switched factions (to Alliance) and realms (to Dragonblight). The hubby & I have been doing refer-a-friend leveling too, so hopefully I'll have another 80 soon.

You are one awesome lady. Congratulations!!!!

Well, it's not Monday, but I haven't weighed in here in awhile, and have some fabbbbbbbbbulous news! Highest weight: 282 (July 2009) Surgery weight: 264 (January 4th, 2010) Current weight: 187.4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm in onederland! I never thought I would actually be able to say that. I've gone from 2X t-shirts to M t-shirts, and mostly L dress shirts/sweaters. From 24 jeans to 16s and a size 14 skirt & dress! I couldn't be happier.

I started having popcorn after about 6 weeks out, per my nutritionist's okay, with no problems. I eat it quite often. I pop it over the stove and add seasonings rather than butter. It is a carb but it's also a whole grain and I need the fiber. It also has a decent amount of protein so I see it as a good choice.

Woot! That's great!!! :scared0:

I really like Unjury. I mix the strawberry sorbet flavor with water & crystal light. I put the unflavored in smoothies. I haven't tried the chocolate, vanilla, or chicken broth yet even though I have the samples! Their samples are pretty cheap and you can order them online. They deliver pretty quick too.

Woot! Congrats on your surgerversary, Tiffy! And congrats on your awesome journey! :001_tt2: Love the new outfit, by the way.

This was my dietitian's take on carbs as well. I'm losing a bit slower than others at this point (also partially because I haven't been working out lately), but I'm okay with that. I know that personally if I limit my healthy carbs (fruits, veggies, whole grains) completely, I am more likely to eat not so good things.

My surgeon was Dr. Christophersen (I always spell that wrong) at Genesis Bariatric in Davenport, Iowa. My clinic is of the mindset "once you have surgery, you are with us for life!" so probably not your best bet if you're in TN. :001_cool: My surgeon was excellent though. I don't recall how many sleeves he has done, but he has had 1 leak, which was caused several weeks post-op due to the patient advancing his diet too quickly. My price was (I think) around $22,000. That included surgery itself + anesthesia, 1 night hospital stay, all my pre-op appointments & evaluations (psych, dietitian, physical therapist, recreational therapist, pharmacist, nurses appt.'s), all of the vitamins they gave me for pre-op and aftercare (though I didn't use all of them) and all my aftercare for the first 9 months post-op. Aftercare has been great. I had a 2-week postop, 3 month, and I will go back at 6 month, 9 month, 1 year, and then annually. Both the surgeon and the dietitian are very open to questions and everyone in the office is extremely friendly. I look forward to my appointments because they are always excited to see me! LOL. It's kind of cool because they don't see me often, so for example when I went in for my 3 month post-op appt, they hadn't seen me in 2 1/2 months and I had lost over 35 lbs in that time, so even the receptionist was like "WOW, Randi! I didn't even recognize you! You look amazing!" :thumbup: Couldn't ask for a better experience!

I shouldn't have read this post. I never thought of crystal light with it! LOL...I have two bottles of vodka in the freezer (they've both been in there almost a year already, and one was a 21st birthday gift!)....vodka was my first love. :thumbup:

I had difficulty swallowing pills post-op too. I ended up getting everything chewable (all vitamins). Are they crushable pills? I crushed all of my pills (which was basically birth control and a beta blocker) for the first month. You may want to talk to your pharmacist about crushing them or, if they are capsules, sometimes they will tell you it's okay to open them and pour the medication out and do it that way.

My dietitian said 6 months post-op I could try to drink. And they also recommend wine as a "first drink," actually. I think she said my "first" time to try 4 oz. or less of a white wine (fine with me!). And actually...I was naughty. At about 2 1/2 months post-op I tasted a wine (in the store kinda thing), and had my first actual glass of wine at about 4 months. I also had a daquiri at about 4 1/2 months. None of it really bothered me, though the first time I drank I noticed it hit me a lot harder, though that could've been because I hadn't drunk at all in so long. I also find that I don't really enjoy it as much anymore. It's kind of strange. Anyway, as a piece of advice, I would say if you're going to drink maybe try to stay away from the margaritas, daquiris, etc. just because those mixes can add a lot of calories and sugar. But otherwise, I say go for it. :001_cool:

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to have a Philly ever again. Maybe make it at home so you can make it healthier, but I think you're overlooking the point of the sleeve. Eventually (with some exceptions), we should be able to eat whatever we want...in small amounts (and moderation, of course). That's why I chose the sleeve. Hopefully this is cheering you up a bit! :thumbup: And by the way, if you're looking for a way to enjoy the flavor of a philly cheesesteak right now??.... theworldaccordingtoeggface: Super Bowl Snacks I've made those "bites" and they are YUM! I would think these would qualify as mushies or soft-solids. And they are protein-packed! When I first made them, eating very slowly, 2 of the bites would fill me up. Now I can probably do 3, maybe 3 1/2. Seriously, try them, I promise you won't miss the bread. :thumbup: Although...I hear ya on the beer. I love cider (the British kind, like Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers, etc.)...but it's carbonated. :sad0:

Hmm, I'm not sure what you mean by pre-cert. I had no appeal, and I'm pretty sure once I applied it only took a couple weeks. I never saw anyone in person from BCBS, if that's what you mean. The bariatric center I go to is one of the "blue distinguished" preferred centers (Genesis Bariatric in Davenport). Before applying I had: orientation, letter from my PCP, a couple EKGs, a stress test & echocardiogram (both extra because of some obesity-nonrelated issues with my heart), psych evaluation (at the center), dietitian meeting, surgeon meeting. Let me know if you have more questions. I'd love to fill you in on what my experience with insurance was, just not sure if I'm answering the right question! :scared0:

What is your BMI? I was approved by Federal BCBS with a 45 BMI. I also did not have any co-morbidities (other than heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure all run in my family).

Woot! That's great news!

Congratulations, Gary! That is an awesome achievement! It's encouraging to me to see such great success from my fellow sleevers. Keep up the great work!

I love that! Thanks for sharing.

Woot! Good to hear your dad's coming home early! :puke4: Glad things are going much more smoothly for you now.

I completely understand. My dad was the same way. At first, I listened to his concerns to try to appease him. After several months (I had about 6 months between my orientation & surgery date as I was in school), it started to just get annoying. So I told him straight - it is MY decision, it is MY life, and I don't want to end up with diabetes & high blood pressure (both of which run in my family and both of which he HIMSELF has). I appreciate his concern, but he could keep it to himself. I needed support to go through with it, not his negativity. And if he couldn't be supportive, I didn't want to hear another word come out of his mouth about it. Might sound a little harsh, but he, my brother, and my sister-in-law were all very opposed to the idea to the point of being outright buttholes about it. There's a difference between being genuinely concerned and just being plain rude. Best of luck, just know that a lot of us have gone through similar situations so we know what you are going through! And if you really want to have this surgery, don't let that negativity get in your way! :thumbup1:

I'm a WoW junkie. I just graduated from college (where I didn't allow myself to play WoW because I'd never accomplish anything!), so I'm back at home now, waiting to start my job, so playing lots of wow! My fiancee got me hooked and so we often play together, along with some of his friends that live across the country. I PvE (I'm terrible at PvP), and have an 80 tauren druid (tree) on Thrall, 56 human pally on Thrall, (plus lots of other under-40 alts), and the toon I started this week is a 13 nelf priest on Kael'Thas. Now I'm waiting for the fiancee to catch up so we can run around together. I love raiding, but being at college and only coming home on occasional weekends helped me get really far behind, so I have a hard time getting the chance to run raids & get the gear I need. I also love questing (even more than raiding), so it's not too bad. I'm an altoholic. I have 10 toons on Thrall, a couple on a PvP realm that never got very far, and my little baby alt on Kael'Thas. I cannot WAIT for Cataclysm to come out, though! I can't wait to start a worgen warlock (I think) and a goblin something. We used to play mainly horde but got sick of rolling alts in the same starting areas all the time, so made some ally alts. Can't wait for a new troll starting area! Sorry this is so long...I really am an addict. :confused1:

Good luck to you both! I'll be thinking of ya & best wishes for a speedy & uneventful surgery & recovery. :confused1:

It's hazelnut chocolate spread goodness. :001_tongue: I used to have it with vanilla wafers or spread on toast. It's about the consistency of Peanut Butter and is found in the PB aisle of most stores, but is sometimes hard to spot. Nutella USA: The Original Hazelnut Spread

Thanks so much for sharing this! I've been experimenting with my shakes, but I run out of ideas quickly...and her pictures make me WANT a protein shake! Woot! I love her sense of humor, too. :thumbup1:

I took neither beforehand. I would occasionally eat a Tums, but pretty rarely. Only when I ate those heartburn foods. :thumbup: