cr354

I go in for my 6 week follow up and I hope they clear me to resume drinking coffee. I have drank decaff a few times but it is just not the same. As I nuderstand the coffee restriction is because of caffine. Caffine is a vasoconstrictulator (sp?). Simply put that means that caffine reduces the blood flow to the area where the caffine is absorbed. In this case your stomache. To provide the best, fastest possible healing you want to increase blood flow to the damaged area. I believe my surgeon will clear me to resume drinking coffee again at six weeks. At least that is what he said pre operative.

I was very nervous. One day I would think it was the right hing to do, other days I thought I must be insane for doing this... But, in the end I really do think I made the right choice. I am not going to lie about it there were times I questioned that while lying in the hospital bed. At least two instances in that 2 day 1 night stay where I was nearly overwhelemed. But, for me getting out of the hospital was a huge thing. I had surgery Tuesay at the crack of dawn and was feeling well enough to mow the lawn by Friday. But, I try to be a realist and remember Tuesday and Wednesday when I thought I might not make it. Was never in any real danger but hospitals are just poor places to recover. They keep waking you up in the night so you can never sleep etc. Plus, the protien shake I had to drink as part of my discharge goal was so thick and syrupy it was terrible. But, now that I am on the mend I am up working a little today, then taking my kids to the zoo. I do look forward to the return to a more normal diet. I miss not sitting at the dinner table with my family. I do some nights and drink my protein shake but, that seems like tempting the lion so I usually just busy myself during those times. At this point I am hungry some but still not to bad. On the plus side I have lost almost 30 lbs in the last three weeks alone.

I agree with what a lot of folks said. Got to stop waying yourself everyday. At most once a week but better is once every two weeks. The body can flutuate by as much as 10lbs per day for men. Probably less for ladies but, I am not sure what that number would be. Also, the time of day etc effects those numbers. If you want to use clinical methods weigh yourself once a week on the same day and then use excel or some other program to begin to chart weight long term. You know when you are doing things correct when the lienar graph shows that over a long period of time you lose weight. As an example, I know wrestlers who would purposly dehydrate themselves the day of weigh in to drop 5 - 10 lbs so they could wrestle in a lower weight class. I say don't let the daily number of your weight define you. If you wake up everyday and weigh yourself so many people end up having a bad day on days their weight is up and good days when their weight is down. I say understand the longevity of life and journey as big picture.

According to my doc the 14 days leading up to the surgery are really more to mentally preapre you for the 14 days after surgery. It was not easy for me. But, I took a super strick Spartan approach where I only ate protein shakes and protein bars. Down side to that is that I am now 7 days post op and I have not had much outside of protien shakes for the better part of a month. You lose weight fast but I could just about kill a man for anything that reselbles normal food. The bonus side is I feel better enought on day 7 to actually want to eat.

I am only about 7 days out. Feeling pretty good. I look foward to being able to have coffee again. My doc says no coffee until the 6 week checkup is finished. The first week of recovery was rougher than I thought it would be but, so far I seem to be progressing well.

I am not sure Ketosis is a bad thing. In fact I think that is actually the goal of low carb diets. If you are refering to ketoacidosis this is usually associated with diabetic patients because of their inability to produce sufficne levels of insulin. If I understand Ketosis correctly it is simply the bodys natural process of converting fat into energy. It is true that fat can not be directly converted into glucose but, the body can convert ingested protien to glucose. So, if you are eating a sufficient amount of protien it should not be an issue unless you are diabetic.

The nutrisionist at my surgeons office recommends that you take a Vitamin suplement containing Biotin. I believe one brand name is Meribin. But, I think you can find it at most vitamin type stores. I believe some people may also refer to it as "Vitamin H". If you really want to learn about it just google Biotin. There are a lot of people at this barriatirc center and many of them swear by biotin. Hope that helps. CR

I got a letter from my insurance company that specifically said my WLS was "medically neccisary". I think most insurance companies require such a thing. You can get your docotor to write that it is considered medically neccisary based on the NIH guidelines and standards of care guides. Depending on what states you live in there are probably a local group that could help out. Find your states chapter of 'American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery' and you can probably get the guidelines they use to define rather it is medically neccisary. Have your docotor send his letter to the insurance company with the guidelines from the NIH and the local chapter of ASMBS and hopefully that will get you on the right track. You can also call your insurance company and ask to speak with a "Nurse caseworker or case reviewer'. Good Luck. If there is anything more I can do feel free to message me. CR

Yeah I think it is pretty normal to feel a mixture of excitement over making positive life changes but yet at the same time feel nervous/apprehensive. My surgery is scheduled for August 13th so I am pretty nervous. But, I am also excited about being healthy. I think the mixture of two also helps people work through the risk versus reward. For me and most people I have talked to and read about the rewards far outway the risks. I say do your home homework, be as educated as possible, but do not let fear motivate your decisions. Good Luck CR

I fell your pain about your spouse. Although for me it was my wife. She pretty much did the same thing. I tried to explain to ther that "being there for me" means letting me do what I think is best and trusting me. I am still not sure she got it but, in the end she supported me. While my doctor did not recommend the bypass I know some docs like it better. It has been around longer. Statistically speaking people lose weight faster and there is a longer history with the bypass. But, just like you I avoided it becuase of the malabsorption issues as well as some of the other unpleasent side effects that go along with it. good luck. CR

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. KSFortWorth, great suggestions. I will have to start doing that. I also have to break my nasty caffiene addiction. My doc says coffee is okay after 2 weeks but, since I drink about 20 oz a day for the last 10 years I should start tapering that down so I can avoid nasty caffiene withdrawls on top of surgery.

I finally got a date for surgery and got all of the insurnace forms, hastles, hoops, and rain dances completed. August 14th is the day. I am both excited and nervous. I know that the journey ahead of me is long, yet I hope that it is good. I am doing this for health and wholeness. I hope that when done I can truely be a healthy individual who can acclimate well into my community. I know surgery will be here before I know it. So much to do before then. The hard part is that most of my to do list is mental. There is very little I need to accomplish phsyically. Just have my protien shakes ready, my perscriptions filled, and complete my two week preop deit. Which is going to be tough. I look forward to being able to post in the post sleve section soon. CR

I say stick it out, get out of living with the in-laws as soon as possible, and seek some professional help from counselors. No offense to the ladies but pregnancy tends to make them..... well for lack of a better word crazy. I love my wife. We have been married for 10 years and have 2 kids. There have been some ups and some downs as with any relationship but, sticking it out is important. Don't ever let anyone put you down for seeking help. We are doing it for our weight managment issues through surgery so why is getting help from a counselor any different? There are plenty of free and low cost counseling services. Remember parenting is hard. And even as fathers the parenting starts when your wife gets pregnant. For my wife it changed her during and for a year after each pregnancy. For one thing sleep becomes much harder and that can be problemlematic. Also, remember your wife is probably gaining wait, a good thing when your pregnant, but that can make them feel insecure especially if it is at a time that their spouse is losing weight and getting a lot of attention. But, think of this, if she married you at 300 she is probably going to stick with you no matter what because she loves you. I give my wife props becuase she married me as the ex football pro who weighed around 225 lbs of pure muscle. Now I have degenerated into a 370lb lazy couch potato. But, she has been through my side. Perhaps it is becuase I am getting older, I am 35, but I want someone who is going to be by my side in the good and in the tough. Just my two cents. Either way good luck and best wishes.

I am still not sure how long the total approval process takes. But, just some updates in case it helps someone else. They require a 6 month medically supervised diet for most plans. But, apparently my plan does not. I am not sure why, hopefully it is because we have a better plan not because the three different people I have talked to did not have the correct information. I use this plan inconjunction with an HSA ( Health Savings Account). Once the annual deductable is meant WLS is covered at 100% if approved. Their approval crieria are basically the same as the NIH which is BMI above 40 or BMI above 35 with comorrid afflictions. My surgeon is going to file the paper work early next week. I hope they move fast and we can set a date. CR

Well inital consult, blood work, and pshsyc eval all passed and now just waiting on the paperwork with the insurance. I hope they can turn this around quickly. But, knowing insurnace companies they will take their sweet time.