ForMyfamily

I am still on the count down to getting sleeved and you guys are great inspiration. BigJoe I am close to the same lines as you were and hope to get some of the same results.

Congratulation on your victory! And hope the best for you, way to go.

Glad everything with the surgery went fine. I hope your wife comes around for the support as this is a very important part. Just being on this forum will help for support and information. Seems you are tolerating the surgery very well which is great. This is a start of a new lifestyle and I am sure she will warm up to your changes soon.

Had to do a upper GI test yesterday. Not to bad but the barium drink is wanting in texture (uuggghhh). Drank one bottle as told and all was fine. Then you have to wait for your stomach to release so they can see the mix go into the intestine. But of course since they said no eating or drinking after midnight I was very dehydrated. So we wait and check, wait and check, wait and check. Nothing just sat there and would not move, told ya I needed a drink of water. So the say just a minute and they mix up another bottle of plaster of Paris ( that was the consistency). Wonderful! Yuck! Yuck! Finally, about 5 more minutes the stomach releases an I can now go. Thanks alot. My stomach feel like a brick, only good part was for the rest of the day no hunger and did not even eat. Yall might want to patent that drink. If you can get it down you would be sure to lose weight. Of course one would have to like drinking Spackle.

I have had a heart condition most of my life and after a heavy meal sometimes the body works harder than norm for digestion process.At least for me so sometimes do not feel well after meals. But like you stated could be too fast standing might have affected you.

Might be from a heavy sauce but since you said from sitting to standing be careful of your blood pressure. It may of had a spike low or high, if possible monitor it.

I have had to fight Atena every step of the way. Remember the people that approve or deny are not doctors but a hourly employee manning the phones. When ever they say no do not believe it just keep on going and fighting up the personnel chain till you get the right person to approve.

Ditto! I have been telling my son we will wait for the dvd just because it is so painful to sit in the theaters narrow seats. All he wants is to see a movie at the theater with his Dad. I just can not break it to him it is because Dad is to big to fit in the seats, it sucks. But, I am in the program and soon will have the help I need. Then the day will come.

Congrats to both of you! It is just in our nature as men we are more apt to lean to privacy than wanting praise. But secretly we know we all want the ataboy.

I am a very heavy Water drinker daily, no joke. Almost my whole life even when at a correct weight I would drink a minimum of a gallon a day. Most times even more per day. I asked my Doc about fluids after surgery and said no problem. So my question is after reading about others sipping small amounts at a time. Will I cut way back on this habit or would issues arise? It sounds funny but all my life my daily water intake has been much more than most.

Do not sweat it, I am starting with 62. Yes I am a bigin.

To throw a baseball or football with my son and play all day. To see my daughters and son graduate from school. The seat thing I really get and numerous times have had to stand because they were to narrow.

The band really is not suited for us who may be super heavy. I personally opted for the sleeve because I really needed the benefits of a bypass but felt the risk of a more invasive surgery was one reason it was ruled out. The sleeve still is still surgery nonetheless but less invasive with faster healing. This is just what suited my condition best.

It is only a matter of time and many here are in the program getting pre-op stuff done while waiting approval. Hopefully by June to August a decision will be made.

Well I have been jumping threw hoops left and right but am almost there. Had to get recorded weigh ins for at least 2 years - done. Then had to backtrack and get a letter for recommendation for surgery - Done. And since my o2 stats were low the first day had to go and get a clearance letter for the anesthesiologist after seeing a pulmonologist - Done. Which that part is due a heart condition that I have had for years. So now we come to another clearance letter from the cardiologist after a heart cathe - Done! So finally, see the nut in two days and may have to do a GI test and that's it. About the only part I lucked out with was only a 3 month wait instead of 6 but really to get all tests accomplished the time went fast. Now for insurance that was another feat that was to be accomplished. They refused to pay full amount unless I used their doctor which had very bad marks from others. Not wanting to fail went with my current one and insurance said they would only pay 50%. But my current Doctor arranged with the hospital to pay the remainder. Now you see why I wanted to use this one as they care more about the patient then their pockets.

I am starting this blog not only to help myself, but to help others not feel bad about it and maybe look into it. I had to overcome shame, frustration, depression and such but anyone who is there thinking about it just do it to save yourself. So I am slowly killing myself with this weight and I am to the point to start a new life. Quick list of goals to accomplish before I die. 1. Lose the weight to extend my life for me and my family. 2. Be able to play something with my son as where I do not hurt or I am capable to. ( football, throw a baseball, fishing, camping) 3. Enjoy once again the travel or simply being able to get out and do simple things. 4. Set a example for my Son and Daughters that would make them proud. 5. Somehow be able to thank my wife for always being there in sickness and health. These are only a few items but are the most important to me right now. When someone reaches a weight like this it really does cause even the simplest tasks to be hard. Anyways, just how did I get here? At one time I could run 3 miles in 17min and get a runners high from it. I know those days are gone but always wished to be able to get that high again from just exercise. I was in the Marine Corps for many years and wanted to continue but during my last re-enlistment physical they found problems with my heart. Which at the time I was running 5 to 10 miles a day and getting slower run times. Didn't make sense and they could not figure it out either so I was denied re-enlistment and shuffled off to the VA system. Needless to say I was still about 190lbs 6'2 and was getting worse and worse. Just walking from one side of the house to the other would get me huffing and puffing. After more tests found that I had HOCOM or hypertrophic obstructive cardio myopathy very severe and became a candidate for a new surgical procedure at the age of only 31. It is where a section of the heart is cut out to reduce the strong squeezing effect of the heart. Basically the heart is twice the size of a normal mans and has to be weakened because it is to strong a muscle. So becuase of the heart size they could get completely in to remove enough to make a channel. So, basically a couple notches were taken out of my endurance and more weight started to accumulate from a slower lifestyle. Some years went by and during a severe ice storm I slipped and tore 4 of the 5 ligaments in my right knee. Again, my lifestyle was reduced to almost a sedentary one thus once again putting on more weight. To this day the ACL is still severed and I have to be careful when walking. Now I am not saying this is the complete reason for the gain but they added to it. Yes, I have lost weight and gained it right back. Most of us know how that goes. I was always capable of losing a good amount say 30 lbs but then would gain back 40. So I kept yo yo ing for years till I came to a point that I knew I was slowly killing myself. I had looked into lap bad surgery about a year ago but kept putting it off. I guess when you first go and see the hoops and time you must wait most give up. For anyone reading this DO Not Give Up! I finally went back this February and received more information then realized that the band would not be a good tool to use for my case so opted for the sleeve. Yes, weight has always been a issue with my parents so I had to always work extremely hard in the service to keep it down. So out of the service now and body broke down so all that and metabolism really slowed at 40 I am to overweight now. I finally admitted that I needed help and am on my way.