Macy6

I live in Grand Junction, Colorado. How much longer do you have in school? I graduate in December! I am SOOO ready. I am in a 27 month program, and it took me over four years to get my pre requisites, so I have basically been in school forever! My poor kid is 13, and was 6-7 when I went into school, so it is literally all he can remember of me ha ha. I plan to go on for my Masters, but I want to get my son thru high school first. School has definitely been one of my big stressors, and has assisted in a lot of my weight gain. I am ready to have a real job, not having to worry about homework and class times, clinical times, and tuition etc... Feel like putting the exercise effort in etc... Summer should be great for that. Hopefully by the time I hit the point where I am released for more than walking and light exercise, will be around the time I am finishing up school and I will have the time to put into the gym and getting myself back.

I am hopefully going to be late July, early August. It will depend on speed of (hopeful) approval and when they can fit me in I suppose. My best friend works for the surgeon and said that surgeries are usually scheduled two weeks out after approval.... Besides approval, my next big thing to work with is my school schedule. I am in nursing school and we go year round. I have a class with clinicals that ends July 23rd and I don't have another class that requires that kind of physical exertion until mid September. So I have about a 7 week window. We shall see....

I had the long questionnaire, it was boring but I survived. You know I was worried, but my surgeon had told me when I went that I would have to go back again, because I needed one within 3mo of surgery, but they always did one early just in case there were things that needed to be worked on. I have a history of major depression and anxiety and I am currently on anti depressants, so I was a little nervous. He was amazing, I met with him for an hour, we talked about my history, talked about my concerns (when I had a 9 month bout of major depression, it was after loosing 55lbs) and he asked me a handful of questions. I was completely honest, I felt like I needed to be, I needed to know that I was ready, and he agreed, he gave me the green light. We have a monthly support group, we are required to attend one pre op (I go to as many as I can) our psychiatrist ran this last one, and I found him to be comical and really just an amazing guy and he had some great information. Good Luck! You will do great!

Have you tried different filtered waters? I love water... LOVE LOVE LOVE water... I drink 80-90-100 ounces everyday without blinking an eye, but I am picky when it comes to my water. I don't even like all bottled water.... Dasani, good, Aquafina, fine, Smart Water, my favorite. I fill my bottles at a purified water fill station, and sometimes that isn't good enough. My point is, nothing is worse than being hooked up to an IV lol... maybe maybe maybe there is a water out there with your name on it. What about adding fresh fruit to it? The only one I don't like is grape. Watermelon, Lemons, Berries, they are amazing! Good Luck!

I can understand! Even 15lbs ago, last year, I could get around so much better than now. I love swim classes, I just did one tonight. I really love step class, but I need to work back up to it.

I hate autocorrect. I really need to read posts before I post them.

My surgeon said he would rather see me about something now than a year from now, feeling like I failed and having gained 50#. You aren't the first you won't be the last. We didn't get to the points we started at by consuming only carrots and celery. Food addiction, call it what you need too. It's really and it's a battle. I'm only pre op and I am in my 4th month of 6 for my insurance requirements and haven't lost the FIVE required pounds. I am frustrated, irritated and embarrassed and the week before my doctors appointment my am out gets worse and I get stressed out. I haven't gained but its hard. Surgery is only a tool, it didn't rewire your brain. You made this decision for a reason. Write down those reasons and decide that it isn't worth it.

I have not had the surgery, but I have a friend who has lost 120# and she said that for the most part her skin is fine, that her arms are a little flabby and she stays away from tank tops for that reason, and her stomach, but she said nothing that isn't tolerable. You know I personally have no plans of flashing my stomach, regardless of my size, I have never been a tummy show-er. I am a big tank top person, but I don't have "bad" arms right now at my size, so I am hoping that as I loose they won't be too bad. Only time will tell!

Your post made me smile, but it is good information, I have always been curious what would happen to the black hole lol. I remember when I did my OR rotation for school the nurse telling me that everyone neglects their belly button (as she pulled a pound of fuzz out of the patients belly button) It made me very self conscious, and I keep my belly button very clean, and I plan on giving it a good 5m washing pre op lol.

Oh good to know! I love my straws!

If it is 8 weeks, maybe you set one day during the week when you have a meal or two that are "bad" you have done so great in the past and I am sure you will do awesome as you go, but how good will it feel to take off another 10-20 lbs before surgery... It will put you that much closer to your goal. Just don't go crazy, you would hate to have another 10-20lbs to loose after your surgery.

Right, The Gatorade 03 Recovery Drink. http://www.gatorade.com/#gseries?s=recover A full bottle has 220 Calories, 16g of Protein, and 40g of Sugar. If you like it that is great, I am just suggesting you not use it as your full form of Protein drinks. It is a lot of sugar, and from what I have seen on these forums sometimes a lot of sugar can cause stomach issues and it is just a lot of sugar to take in during the day. My Nutritionist recommends any drink to have less than 5g of sugar.

I am a cup and water bottle addict, it is ridiculous! I too have the big bottled water, on the cooler (hot and cold water dispenser) I love it. I have found I drink way more water than I ever did before. I bought my 13 yo son the Mio flavorings of his choice (figured it was better then the sugar filled kool aid and sodas. We go thru around 10 gallons a week between the 3 of us, I definitely drink the most. I think I take in around 80-90oz a day (I am pre op FYI) Here are my two favorite cups right now.... I need to wean myself off straws

It looks like you can buy them in case form on amazon.com. I would be leery of using it as a regular supplement, it is loaded with sugars. It looks like the berry flavors have 20g of sugar in 8oz while the chocolate flavor has 31g of sugar. I am not sure about the recommendation of other nutritionist, but mine says to stay at 5g of sugar or less per serving.

I went in seeking bypass and my surgeon recommended this. His big points were; my age (I'm 32), lack of co morbidities (I do have sleep apnea but he was talking about diabetes) and my difficulties with taking long term anything (vitamins in this case) He said if I were to get the sleeve now, and of course be successful that let's say 20-30-40 years down the road I hit a bump in life that revision to bypass is pretty easy, but if I get bypass and then hit a bump then I would have a revision to a band? He thought the sleeve would be good because it still gives me the power to control my weight better, without the worry of nutritional issues for now. I hope to not have to revise, but its nice to know that there is another option. I do realize you do take Vitamins with the sleeve but not like a bypass patient.

A few years (and forty pounds ago) we went to an amusement park in Texas. My friend convinced me to go on a ride that I would never normally go on (I love roller coasters and didn't walk in expecting to have any issues but this particular ride was not my cup of tea) It was two long rows, maybe 15 people a row and they came up and made me move all the way to the other end of the row (because the seats were a little bit bigger) I was mortified but sucked it up because I was more mortified to get off the ride. I refused to go on any other rides, until later in the day my friend made me try the seats they have outside the ride. I found that I did fit in the extended sized seats and did go on more during the day. It has stuck with me and I have not tried to get on a ride since. I graduate from college in December and walk in my commencement next May. My graduation is 4 hours away and I want to take my family and friends who come up to an amusement park while we are there. With an anticipated surgery date being mid summer, I will have a good 9-10 months of loss before graduation! I am thrilled to see the changes!

Part of this journey was me having a sleep study. I was quite surprised to find out that not only did I have sleep apnea, but I have moderate sleep apnea. It was scary to me that this was going on and I really had no clue. Last night I had my titration for a CPAP machine, when I found out about the sleep apnea there was a part of me that thought maybe I should just wait it out because, I am hopefully getting the surgery and then I will loose the weight anyway. Over the past few weeks, since my initial sleep study, I have really realized how exhausted I am all the time and decided I should go for it. So last night I had my titration, I was not at home, in an unfamiliar bed, without my pillows, forced to sleep on my back, and forced to go to bed hours before I usually do. Let me tell you, I have felt amazing today, I can not believe how great I feel. This gives me a glimpse of what it will be like to be healthier, and have more energy, this is just the start and I am looking forward to all the little things along the way.

Bless you! Beautiful and Comical!!! Congrats on all your hard work!

A couple things from my Nutritionist.... Add 2 TBSP of Non Fat DRY Milk to any soup and it adds 6g of Protein right off the bat. It won't effect the taste that much, it will just make it appear creamier. Here are a couple recipes she gives us.... Serving Size is 1/2C: Everything strained the first two weeks I Can of low fat or fat free cream of chicken soup 1 C skim-1% Milk A dash of Chipotle sauce from a can of chipotle peppers 1 TBSP Protein powder Makes 4 servings that have 9g/Fat, 8g/Protein, 19g/ Carbs, 140/Calories Cream of Chicken Soup: Same as above minus the Chipotle and she makes note that with the protein powder it will increase the protein content Italian broth 4ounces chicken broth (or veggie or beef) 1/2 tsp grated Romano cheese Dash of Black pepper 1 TBSP protein Powder 1g/fat, 9g/protein, 1g/Carb, 25/Cal High Protein Soup 1/3 C non fat dry milk powder 1 tsp Chicken or beef bouillon 2 TBSP protein powder 1 C hot Water Just some ideas....

I was reading on one of the FB groups where the 6 month PCP supervised weight loss program was counted from their first visit. So if the first appointment was January 15th then the 6th one was In June instead of counting to the end of the 6 months and it ending in July. They (as I) always thought it started technically on the second visit after one month. So now I'm curious what others have dealt with when working with the supervised diet. I'm going to send a note to my patient coordinator and ask what my surgeon does.

Ahhhh you are doing awesome! Don't be discouraged! Maybe he read something wrong, maybe he was having a bad day, or maybe he is a turd! Keep your chin up!!!

Just heard from my patient navigator and she said the same that it counted towards my 6 months. She did say to continue with them until we had approval in case insurance took a bit and wanted more information. She also said my second appt was lacking good documentation, which surprised me because I saw my dr write everything down, she said my third appointment was done really well and I shouldn't be concerned, but to be diligent in their documenting from here on out.

I can relate. I have slowed down on here, because I started reading the same things over and over. I really have enjoyed "searching" for topics of interest through the forums, and I still get on here one time per day and sometimes I skip a day but I have found it to be a great source of information. I think as things move closer to potential surgery date I will probably be on here more, and once I have more tests etc... done I would guess I will probably come on more frequently. In the beginning I think I was on here like 5-6 times a day lol

I am 32 and I have never been in a mutually loving relationship. I have dreamed of my wedding day, but never been close. I have never been on a surf board, and too scared to even try. I currently live in CO and live within miles of ski slopes, that people from all over the world travel too, and the thought of a snowboard or skiing terrifies me. I have never ran a mile.

I have seen others post similar problems. First thing you will want to call your surgeon, or their nurse first thing in the am. Second, from what others have posted this is not unusual. At this point you want to make sure that the area stays clean, that there isn't pus, drainage, or an odor coming from the area. You could lightly cover it if it is making you nervous, but more than likely if you aren't showing signs of infection your Surgeon will probably not be too concerned. I have seen others say their surgeons say they can just leave it, they can apply butterfly bandages, or cover it. The thing is, your surgeon closed up the most internal part of that spot, you don't have an open wound to the world, and it isn't open to your abdominal cavity. So no worries (unless you are showing signs of infection) and call your surgeon in the am.