lisabug

One of the doctors assisting in my surgery wrote "Weight Loss Surgeries for Dummies" I ordered my copy and receiveid it yesterday. It's very comprehensive, including hospital stay and what to expect after. I'm taking that with me tomorrow.

I just ordered the book. Didn't know it existed. Thanks for the info.

As for the bypass question. The weight regain is from stretching out the opening from the stomach to the intestine. By doing this, they are able to consume more food because the food does not stay in their stomach. Vsg on the other hand is a normal functioning stomach, just much smaller. It is not the magic bullet though. You still have to control what foods you chose to eat.

I can not tell you what is right for you, but I will tell you why I'm doing it. I don't have problems losing weight. I can't keep it off. I know this is my only option to have a chance of losing and keeping it off. I still have fears because I have failed at so many other things on the past. I loved weight watchers but I was hungry all the time. This will give me the ability to change my lifestyle and not feel miserable from hunger.

Best of luck!!! Don't let fear make your decision for you.

I know that feeling. I had decided to wait until next year so I could put money in my health care spending account for my deductible and 20%. My dad told me to get it done now and he would give me the money. I was beyond excited. I am having surgery Dec 1. Today I feel a little panicky. Yesterday I was excited. The emotions change by the minute. Good luck and it's nice to have family that is supportive.

I had a 2 lb gain during my 3 month diet. I was approved without an issue. I lost first month, maintained second and gained 2 the last month. I was worried also, but 2-3 lbs is still considered maintained through Aetna. Not sure what company you are going through.

How many grams of Protein are you getting? It looks like you are getting a lot of carbs too.

The purpose is to shrink your liver because it lays by the stomach. Some surgeons require some don't. I have to do a 3 day clear liquid.

My nut said the same thing, only track Protein. I think I may try to stick to low carbs for as long as I can. I don't know if I can be as disciplined as Tiffkins. 30 carbs is considered 2 servings by the ADA standards. Half of a small bannana is considered 1 serving. I had to count carbs when I had gestational diabetes, do it won't be very hard for mr to keep track of. Like Tiff said, we are all different and have to figure out what works for us. Trial by error.

Let me guess most of the negative comments are from other women. We can be so petty at times. You look great!!! Don't let the negative nellies of the world discourage your great achievement!

Yes we all have our demons when it comes to food. That is how we got to this place. It is crazy to think that this will change because we had surgery. This is one of my fears going into this. All I can do is try my best everyday to make this tool work. It is going to be a challenge for me and I know that. I love fast food and love soda.

Any advice on chewable vitamins? I know I need multi, calcium citrate, Iron and B12 sublingual. I have been looking at bariatric sites. They seem expensive. How long do we have to stay on chewables?

I am having my surgery Dec 1. I want to start off the new year losing wait. I was originally going wait until Jan for financial reasons, but am glad to have the opportunity to do it this year. Whatever you decide will be fine. You have made the choice to have the sleeve whether this year or next.

It may sound stupid, but it is easy to keep up with. I use Richard Simmons sweating to the oldies. My kids like doing it too.

It is weird how much my view on life has changed already. I am excited to start this journey. I still have a lot of shopping to do before surgery. I need to order my Vitamins and calcium citrate. I need to get my Clear Liquids for my post op. My nut told me not to worry about Protein for the first few days. She said concentrate on hydration and not stress about protein. I can also have skim milk mixed with my protein first week pre op. I was happy about that. I have been stressed about finding a clear Liquid Protein. I know this is different from what other people's post op diet.

I am a planner, so I feel more organized which makes me feel a lot less anxious. This has been one hell of a ride so far and looking forward to the rest of it.

Stretch marks- take Vitamin e also use Vitamin e lotion and cocoa butter. I have found that the cocoa butter stick works pretty well. they never go away, but it helps them fade.

Try to find citrate. My nut said that it is hard to find chewable citrate except at bariatrics sights. You could take calcium citrate pills if you can tolerate. Flintstone Vitamins aren't the best to take, but better than nothing.

Contests on the weight lose!!!

I have never heard that statistic before. Talk to your surgeon. My surgeon has never had a death and has never had a leak. Less than 1% develop leaks from this surgery. The studies I have read about have had no deaths in 750 or more patients in the study. It sounds like you need to stop googling before you drive yourself insane. Call your surgeon and talk to them. All surgeries are scary, but a means to an end.

I had the same issue with my surgeon's office. I finished everything Oct 1 and they did not turn in for approval until 10/19. The insurance company approved it on 10/21. Then they would not let me schedule until they received the approval letter which took less than a week. Once they received the letter, I am scheduled for Dec 1. I know it is frustrating, but it is worth it in the end. Good luck!!

Incredible!!! These are the pictures that make me get excited about surgery 3 weeks from today. You look wonderful!!

I am with you. My surgery is Dec 1st also. I feel a lot less anxiety now since I met with my nut yesterday to go over my post op diet. She gave me a shopping list broke down by the week. Once I actually saw what I'll need to do and when, I have a lot less anxiety. It finely hit me that my stomach is still going to function just will not be able to eat as much. It is scary thinking about the surgery, but it is scarier for me not to see my girls grow up. With my family history if I do not lose the weight I am destined to have diabetes and to have open heart surgery.

Try to concentrate on the positives, not the surgery. Of course there are risks, but being obese is a higher risk.

Could you put money in your health Care spending account or take a loan against your 401k?

3 1/2 weeks left. I can't wait to start this journey. It will be here before I know it.

I remember when a normal towel fit. Now it covers 2/3 of me. I would also love to be able to be able to wear shorts without having to pull them down from creeping. It's amazing how much we avoid that we do not even think about anymore. It has become the norm. I sometimes wonder how this happened, but I guess it just does over time. Your jeans start getting tight so you buy a bigger size and blame it on the dryer shrinking your clothes. Then one day you look at a picture and barely recognize yourself. Hopefully the opposite will happen soon enough for us. I have never felt so overweight as I did at a team building exercise at work on Wednesday. We had a scavenger hunt at the zoo. By the end of the day, I thought I was going to keel over. Next year I will be up for the challenge. I can't wait.

You are protected to keep your job with Fmla for 12 weeks per a rolling 12 month period. This does not mean that disability insurance will pay you for that long. The insurance has designated time off that they will pay depending on the reason for going on leave. For example 6 weeks for vaginal delivery or 8 weeks for c-section. Also a lot of policies do not pay you for the first week and only pay 66%. I am lucky on that part, I get up to 90 days at 100% pay if deemed medically necessary. Every disability insurance is different. I would check to see what they cover. Also how long your surgeon is willing to have you off for.

Congrats and the timing is what you wanted too!!

This scares me too. I called my surgeon's office last week to see how long they usually have people take off. They said 2 weeks max. I work 11 hour days and am walking most of that time. I think I am going to take a third week off using vacation time. I don't know if I will be energetic enough to take that on after 2 weeks.

It's hard because we have failed in the past with other things. This is not going to be the magic bullet but it is definitely a great tool. I am sorry your family is not being supportive. I had that fear, but once I explained why I am doing this and the success that people have had with this, I now have family support. I'm having surgery dec 1, so I will keep you posted on my journey. The more I read, the more things I know to expect. We all have fears along with the excitement. Good luck and let us know if you need anything.