Vixynne

The Bariatric Centers of Excellence are a great place to start, I agree with ewhitt! At my surgeon's center, they held free surgery seminars to give people basic information about their surgery options, then we filled out some contact info which was used to set up preliminary appointments. I got my referral from my primary care doctor very easily--I think it only took me one phone call. If your friend has a solid history of weight issues, her doctor will probably refer her with no trouble. As far as insurance goes, every policy and company are different. The surgeon's office will help her a lot with getting her request submitted and approved. Wish her good luck from me!

I got my date--I'll be celebrating my new Independence Day on July 1st, too! I'm so excited!! Scared and nervous and twitchy...but definitely excited!! Will you ladies be my sleeve buddies, too?

Found this in my web wanderings; it's a pretty simple visual to show why diets alone often fail so many of us. When I saw it, I thought "aha--something I could email to anyone in my circle of friends or family who don't understand why I'm choosing WLS over 'trying harder on a diet'!"

I'm going to be in the same boat, I can already tell pre-op! Two C-sections at 16 and 13 years ago, as well as a lot of weight in the belly/hips/badonkadonk area, is probably going to mean that I'll be looking into a panniculectomy at some point. (That's doctorspeak for "tummy tuck" )

My surgeon doesn't require any of his patients to do a pre-op diet, no matter what their starting BMI is. (He may ask them to lose a percentage of weight pre-op, but he didn't ask me to--and my BMI is in the low 40's.) That being said, I am already making dietary changes on my own (drinking protein shakes for breakfast, choosing to eat fewer carbs, using about 1200-1500 calories a day, learning not to drink at meals). The way I figure it, the more changes I get used to now, the less of a shock it will be post-op!

Here's some info I found online, LipstickLady. The first section is about ketosis breath (or "keto-breath"), and the second part points out that an abundance of Protein causes ammonia-scented breath. Not much we can do about protein, since we HAVE to have 60-80g a day, but thought it was interesting! The good news is that keto-breath usually doesn't last forever. Most people find it dies down after a few weeks, or at the most a few months. The reason is unclear, but it seems our bodies adapt in some way. Children on a ketogenic diet for epilepsy have been shown to have less acetone in their breath as time goes on, for example. In the meantime, there are things you can do to minimize the impact of "keto-breath": Drink more water: try 8 glasses per day to see if this helps, and then you can experiment from that point. Natural breath fresheners to try include mint, parsley or other greens, cloves, cinnamon, and fennel seeds. Some people swear by breath capsules, which are usually made from parsley oil (e.g. Mint Assure) for keto-breath. Others find they do not help. sugar-free mints or gum can be tried, but watch the carbs in them. When the body metabolizes protein, ammonia is produced. When people eat high-protein meals, there tends to be increased ammonia in their breath and/or urine. In large amounts, this can smell pretty bad. It's important to remember that we don't need lots and lots of protein in our diets. Our bodies use protein to maintain and build muscles, to make enzymes, and for other structural and chemical needs. The body will convert excess protein to energy, which is where you will get the extra ammonia (this also happens during starvation or long exercise when the body begins to rely on breaking down muscles for energy if it runs out of sources of fats and/or carbohydrates).Sometimes people load up on protein because they are afraid to eat more fat. This is one of the reasons why it is rarely a good idea to try to eat a diet that is low in both carbohydrates and fats. The solution to "ammonia breath" for people on a low-carb diet is often to increase fats in the diet, and cut back some on protein foods. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Is-Your-Low-Carb-Diet-Giving-You-Bad-Breath.htm

Girrrrrrrl. You are worth more than this, no matter WHAT size you are. Speaking as someone who's mid-sleeve-process and mid-divorce process, I'm telling you--you deserve a full rebirth. Living under those conditions would make anyone miserable. Rescue yourself and your kiddos. You deserve so much more out of life!

My confirmation letter came in yesterday's mail--now I wait for a phone call from the surgeon to finalize my surgery date!

I'm a big fan of the Syntrax milk-based powders; apart from Caribbean Cooler--which is yummy--I don't care for the fruity ones, but that may be because so far I've only tried mixing them with water. Juice would probably make them taste much nicer. For breakfast, I drink Double-Stuffed Cookie mixed with Vanilla Almond Milk (brand name: So Delicious). The almond milk has extra protein added (5g per 8oz.), so in my morning shake, I get about 30g total. I'm pre-op, so my shake is 12 oz rather than a smaller portion. This almond milk definitely lives up to the brand name!

I'll be watching the mailbox this week--my insurance company should be mailing out my letter of approval (I'm not even going to consider the possibility that they will say no), and it should be arriving by mid-week! Then a phone consult with my surgeon's office to nail down The Date...eeek! So excited!

Congratulations, Molly! You're going to do wonderfully--I hope I can keep a positive attitude when I'm recovering, too!

I always recommend Syntrax nectar, because you can try sample packets (1 serving each) to see if you like the taste. Here's a link where you can choose 11 different flavors: http://www.bjsbariatrics.com/product/synSamplePack.html I like their vanilla, Caribbean Cooler (like a pina colada, yummy) and the Double-Stuffed Cookie is the one I've invested in buying a large tub of, pre-op. I've also heard that GNC stores will sometimes make you a sample of one of their brands to taste in-store, but I haven't tried it. Good luck!

I'm pre-sleeve, but from what I've seen on the forums, it's pretty common to feel tired when you're still healing from your surgery. Just one question about your vitamin routine; does it include sublingual B12 tablets? I've found those really helpful in increasing my energy pre-op--and believe me, I usually am groggy till noon, and exhausted after noon! Three sublinguals a day has helped me immensely; I've even been able to completely give up caffeine. Be gentle with yourself, you're still healing. Good luck!

It sounds like you have a really good grasp of what's ahead, a positive outlook, and a solid plan to make it work for you. You're going to do great!

To me, a diva is someone who struts her stuff because she's confident; she stands tall and takes no s**t from anyone. A b!tch is a female who isn't able to live and let live--she's in everyone's face, looking for confrontation, sometimes even starting it; just to stir up s**t, just because she can (and she gets off on the adrenalin.) A b!tch doesn't care who she steps on, as long as everyone gets the eff out of her way. A diva won't let herself--or those she loves--be stepped on.

I'm at Tobey in Wareham, way down south of you, (or should I say "y'all"? ) and waiting to get my date, too. Good luck!

I'm gonna guess that mushies would be things that are a little firmer than purées, and smushies a little harder than that? I'd like to know which foods fit into the mushy/smushy categories, though!

I hear that! I haven't gotten my official date yet, and I still feel like there won't be enough time to get everything done!

Do you have any major health risks (apart from obesity, of course)--heart problems, history of blood clots, etc.? I don't have any data in front of me, but I'm betting the percentages of complications (up to and including death) will vary quite a bit depending on the group of patients you're most interested in. Older vs. younger, extremely high BMI vs. low BMI, heart issues vs. healthy heart, it could go on and on. Heck, I bet if I looked long enough I could find a study saying blue eyed sleevers do better (or worse) than people with other haircolors; or right-handed die more often than left (never mind that there's just a higher percentage of right-handers in the world to begin with)! Editing to add--another thing that you might want to factor in is how many successful sleeve surgeries your hospital and your doctor in particular have had; that might help you to feel more confident!

Congratulations! Let the countdown begin!

I did give it a try, and you're right, it works! I'm pre-op, and sad to say that I'm a water chugger. Big sips are going to be my downfall post-op, and air in my gulps sure won't help any. So, sitting here at the laptop, I took my usual gulp of water, breathing in as I usually do. The noise of the swallow was pretty gurgly--I'd guess post-sleeve, that would make my stomach pretty annoyed and noisy. Then I tried breathing out as I took water in, and the same amount of water made almost no sound when I swallowed. No noise = much less air in the belly! Thank you for this hint, kchristian, I'll work at retraining myself before I'm sleeved!

The rule for me as a mom is to give my kids information that they can handle in terms they can handle. Sounds to me like you're doing that too--I totally support your choice!

I'm waiting for my date, but it will hopefully be sometime in the first two weeks of July...c'monnnnn, insurance approval!

My psych eval was incredibly positive, with a counselor who wanted to know more about me and my headspace, and my history with weight ups and downs. She works with bariatric patients and completely understands the proceess. Good psychologists are out there; sometimes you have to sort out the ones who are an awful match for you. I agree with the others in this thread who advised you to look for someone else--especially if you're footing a big chunk of the cost!