southernsoul

Could you mix unflavored powder into some chicken or beef broth?

Typically, you will have to see a licensed psychologist, not just a therapist. In addition, it will have to be a psychologist trained in certain specific assessment tools. If at all possible, use the one the surgeon recommends. It's a b***h to find one on your own. My surgeon is over an hour away, so I found one in my small town. She's awesome & I love her, but it was a pain in the ass to find her even though I know about this stuff!

Wooohoooooo!!!!!!!!

The surgery I think tigerbelle is talking about is called the duodenal switch. The 2 procedures are sometimes done separately, but also sometimes together. I have some good friends (a married couple) who both had DS, both done in one procedure. The wife says she would have rather had just the sleeve, but her insurance didn't cover it back then (about 6 years ago). I'm still preop, but I chose the sleeve because of the malabsorption issues & because I think the less stuff that gets altered, the better. I may not lose as much or as fast as with bypass or DS, but I'm OK with that.

that's awesome!!

I don't want to have to rely on shakes post op, so I've already started playing around with adding protein powder to regular foods, like newat52 did with pudding. The other night I added about 3 Tbsp of unflavored powder to a baked sweet potato with a little brown sugar & butter. It was yummy!

Gah...sometimes I feel like it won't ever end! But it will...and then we will all feel better than we do right now.

You're kidding, right?? The difference is very obvious! Your stomach area is much more defined because there's way less to pooch it out! Your thighs are not nearly as close together, and even your forearm holding the camera is much more defined. Girl, please..give yourself a pat on the back! Way to go!!

So, today was my last appt with my surgeon before submitting for insurance approval. Woohoo, right?? The psych has not sent her clearance in, but I emailed the assistant so I'm sure that will happen in the next couple of days. However, here's my "issue"...the nurse tells me today that they still need clearances for cardio, sleep, and upper GI. Seriously, woman...you're telling me this NOW??? All this time, I've been assuming (yes, I'm the ass in that equation) that I won't need those because I have no history of issues. They told me they always wait for the insurance company to issue the approval before they have the patient do those things, but I'm a planner!! I could have been getting ON this crap already! Arrrggghhh...it just makes me feel like I'm suddenly playing catch up or something. I know it's stupid, but it's just how I am. OK, the rant is over...we will now return to your regularly scheduled programming...

I've been reading a lot about food addiction, and I'm trying to honestly assess myself. I have a huge passion for good food, but I don't eat a lot of junk or processed food. I haven't eaten fast food in probably 2 years. My husband has a candy habit, but I don't eat much of it. I love to cook, but my cooking style tends to be more Mediterranean than homestyle. I'm not much of a baker, so I don't make cakes or Cookies very often. When I get stressed or upset, I tend to cook and eat less than when I'm feeling good. I can get a little obsessive over food, but it tends to be more about individual ingredients. For instance, I'm always looking for new olive oils to try, and over the last few months I've probably bought a dozen types of sea salt. I have 2 lbs of French green lentils in the pantry that I'm excited to try. I'm looking forward to figuring out ways to up the Protein in everything I make post-op. Of course, I didn't get to this weight without over-enjoying a whole lot of great food. In my case, bad knee issues made it very hard to exercise, which just exacerbated the weight gain. But, I know I think about food a lot. I read cookbooks, watch a lot of cooking shows, and search out food blogs. I know that I will face head hunger and the challenges of all the life changes post-op. But how do you tell the difference between food passion and food addiction?

I hadn't thought about an assessment tool, but I will check that out. I think one of my biggest issues is portion control, and the sleeve will certainly help with that, but it's important to check myself for denial, too. Congrats to you on your progress so far!

Thanks for sharing the start of your journey & I wish you all the luck in the world!

MrsG, I'm trying to hold off on double knee replacements, too. My knee issues actually began before I got heavy, but over the years the weight gain has made them so much worse. I've had 4 surgeries, and every kind of injection you can name. For the last few years, my ortho has been trying everything to delay knee replacements until I am at least over 50 (I turn 49 next week). About 6 months ago, he finally told me he had done all he could & said I needed to think about scheduling the surgery. I came home from his office & made a list of all the things I could do just 2 years ago that are impossible for me now. The list was MUCH longer than I had realized. I know that knee replacement surgery would definitely help my knees, but I also know it won't help as much as it could if I am carrying all this extra weight. WLS will help my knees, plus other things, as well. I will most likely still have to have my knees replaced at some point, but I'm hoping I might get another decade out of my OEM ones, once a bunch of this weight is gone.

Like luckysmomma said, my ortho surgeon told me that for every 10 lbs of weight I can lose, I'll take 40 lbs of pressure off my knees. My weight didn't cause my mobility issues, but it sure did exacerbate them. That damage won't disappear completely, but I definitely expect to be able to walk & move much better. If obesity has contributed to heart disease or diabetes or something like that, the same thing may be true...the damage may not be totally wiped out, but hopefully improved significantly.

Hey, everybody! I am planning on surgery on June 19th. My pre-op requirement is a 3 month plan, but I've seen others with a 6 month plan. I started in Jan, so I'm almost done. I had 3rd (last) visit with NUT today & last psych visit is soon. Because of summer classes, I didn't have a lot of date options in May, June, or July, so June 19 has GOT to be the day. I'm excited & a little nervous! Where's everybody else in the process?

Like you, I have felt strong & ready for the changes that will come after I have surgery in June, but I'm also trying to be realistic about the difficulties. My hubby keeps swearing he's going to use this opportunity to try & eat better. I think that's great, but I'm trying to take it with a grain of salt. I'm sure his intentions are good, but he won't have the physical alteration I will have, and so it may not happen like he thinks. I've already told him he's going to be on his own foodwise for the first few weeks after surgery...I don't want to feel like I have to cook for him until I feel ready.

This is great information...thanks so much for sharing!

I haven't done it yet, but one thing I'm going to do is get down any old, smaller size clothes that are in boxes in the attic. I want to pull out as many useable things as I can & get them washed & ready. I know I won't be in them for awhile & would have plenty of time to do that after surgery, but there's just something about doing it beforehand that I think will help to calm any last minute jitters.

I've just read this entire thread & added as friends those of you who seem to still be active. I'm using Dr. Macik & am just finishing the pre-op reqs. I'm planning for June 19. I live in Athens now, but grew up in Decatur. Hotlanta babes gotta stick together!

That's wonderful...you go, girl!!

BAHAHAHA!!!! I love it! My husband is the same way. He fully supports the surgery & wants me to have better mobility, but he also loves the curves & specifically a whole lotta junk in the trunk. I keep teasing him that I'll probably end up with a flat butt.

Hey, Searching! I'm Faye, and Kate (Sassy), Cheryl (caspinelli), and I ended up doing a group chat on Facebook. We got to know each other a bit, and I think we all enjoyed it very much. In terms of the chat function on this website, we discovered that it's a bit different for each of us, and we're not exactly sure why. I have a pale blue bar across the bottom of my screen with the chat buttons or icons off to the right on that bar. I didn't set this up, it's just how it is when I come to the site. I have a little blue person icon that opens up the chat rooms & have another button to use for a private chat. The other ladies access the main chat room through the Community tab at the top of the page, which apparently does not include the option to access the less-used chat rooms or start a private chat. I don't know which way will be the way you do it, so I thought I should include both ways. Because of these differences, we ended up switching over to Facebook. We'll be sure to do it again, so you'll definitely get another chance to party.

I've been dying to try kale chips! How do you make them? PixieDust, it's super easy! Set the oven low, around 275 or 300. Rip the kale off the rib/stem & tear the leaves into chip-sized pieces. Put the pieces in a bowl & drizzle in a little olive oil. I take a minute to kind of rub the oil on each of the pieces, since kale is really curly with lots of crevices. Toss with a little sea salt & spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for about 20 min until crispy. They're more fragile than potato chips, but they sure are yummy!

This is not really a food NSV, but it's kinda connected. I had to quit smoking (of course!) as part of the pre-op. It's been a little over 5 weeks & other than one slip 4 days in, I've done really well. One of my biggest smoking triggers is being in the car, and I commute almost an hour & a half one way to school. For the past few weeks, my solution for taking my mind off smoking in the car is either to talk out loud to myself (like an idiot) or sing old 80's rock anthems out loud & play air guitar (like a bigger idiot). Yesterday & today, I realized that I was pretty much fine with the drive & didn't even really think about smoking...so I could go back to driving like a normal person.

Welcome, Jessica! I'm pre-op, too, but I can tell you there's TONS of information here. Look around, there are threads specifically addressing what to take to the hospital, the first few post-op stages, protein-boosting ideas, etc. You name the sleeve question, you can probably between 1 and 437 answers here.