Brighteyes

Do you have access to a therapist and nutritionist through your current insurance? I would start there. Nothing is a total failure unless you do absolutely nothing. You are reaching out for help so you have already taken a step in the right direction.

I have the same issues with vitamins and haven't had WLS. I have found that vitamins that are in a powder form work best for me. I also take them with food before I got to bed. Maybe talk to your NUR?

Yup, that answers my question. Had an issue with my PCP. He told me to find another physician cause he didn't want to do the paperwork. It took me almost a month to get in with a different one. I will have to talk to my insurance rep with the surgical office to see if we can get my first visit counted. I hate the idea of being a month behind on the process.

I had huge issues before when I lost weight that stemmed from a previous trauma. Any comments about my weight, well intentioned as they might be, would send me into a tailspin and I would completely sabotage my efforts. The best thing I ever did for myself was to start seeing a therapist who does EMDR therapy. It worked wonders to help me with my anxiety and cope better itch these kinds of situations. Maybe consider therapy just to help you through this patch and find a way to communicate with your family a little better. Don't be so hard on yourself either and maybe set some boundaries between you and your family. Hope things get better for you!

My hair stylist recommends not washing your hair daily and using a dry shampoo on days you skip washing if your hair is really greasy. Also do a vinegar rinse once a week. Don't prevent it. But does keep the hair you have healthy and your scalp with a good ph to encourage new growth.

You look great! Thanks posting!

Congrats! Can't wait to be able to post the same!

Thanks for sharing this! I am 4'10" and 245. I am still three months from WLS but am trying to start making changes now. Working as much as I do, along with other stressors, is making it difficult. But I am determined to make some changes now so it won't be so hard after surgery. But your current weight loss numbers are encouraging. You'll find the right balance. Have you taken before and after pics? I have a friend who has done WLS and she did. She said it was the best thing to keep her motivated. Best of luck to you!

So I had a friend who did her WLS while in stationed in Germany. If you are an Army family (I am assuming cause you are at Ft Bragg) then have your Soldier enroll you in the EFMP (exceptional family medical program). This will prevent your Soldier from PCSing to a location that you won't have access to proper medical care after surgery. Hope that helps.

Dr Spaw is my surgeon as well, but my insurance is covering it. Lisa is the lady who handles working with the insurance company or self pay. You will love Dr Spaw when you meet him. Very accessible and compassionate. He truly loves his job and takes a lot of pride in his work. Lisa is great too. Helped me out when I was crying cause I couldn't get my PCP to do my insurance paperwork. Overall great staff. Best of luck to you!

My hair stylist also recommended not washing your hair everyday. Normally when I wake up in the AM on day 2 my hair is super greasy so a dry shampoo does wonders. I also do a vinegar rinse once a week, which is suppose to help balance your scalps ph and encourage regrowth.

Congrats! Sounds like the break in routine helped!

Oh no...something to look forward to...lol. :-/. I have issues with this off and on since my gallbladder came out. I take fiber tablets to get it under control. I am adding this to my list of questions to ask my surgeon for when I see him again.

It was letting go a past trauma that finally did it for me. It has been getting really hard to do things I love, but it wasn't until my nephew pointed out my weight (in the most innocent way a 6 year old can) that I finally did something. That 'something' was going to a therapist. Six months later of intense therapy and a lot of hard work I finally said 'I am worth it.' I scheduled to attend a WLS seminar at a hospital I trusted. I have just started my journey, but finally feel mentally prepared to start this and not sabotage myself later because of fear.

If I was self pay I imagine it would take maybe two months to be scheduled. I have had to do an upper GI test, two visits with a nutritionist and a psychological visit. I also will meet with my surgeon twice prior to surgery. My first consult visit answered a lot of questions. I have insurance paying for my WLS. So after my first consult I met with my insurance rep who walked me through all my pre-surgery requirements and set up all my doctors appointments. The hospital I am having surgery through has made things really easy.

It doesn't help increase hair growth but it helps keep the hair you do have strong and healthy.

Protein! That is what my surgeon has recommended to maintain my hair. I had surgery last year, not WLS. My hair fell out for a couple months in handfuls. I bawled my eyes out every morning when I took a shower and saw all the hair coming out. I even had to call a plumber out cause my pipes backed up. Lol. All craziness aside, it stopped. My surgeon at the time said it was just my body responding to the trauma of surgery. Good news, I have a ton of new growth and besides having to put an extra twist in my ponytail band, you would never know I lost so much hair. Now preparing for surgery, I already know it will happen again. So I am dedicated to getting my protein up as quickly as possible to minimize the hair loss. My hair stylist also recommends washing your hair every other day. You can get a dry shampoo if your hair get that oily look if you don't wash everyday like I do. Biotin supplements and a vinegar rinse will also help the hair you do have and maintain a good scalp to help encourage new hair growth. Best o luck!

Keep up the good work! Just think that you are preparing your body to get through surgery better and you are detoxing. Keep up your water intake to flush everything your liver has been holding on to out. And when you get really frustrated do something to make you sweat for ten minutes. My therapist taught me that trick and its helped a lot when I need an attitude adjustment :-). Best of luck on your journey!

A couple weeks back I posted about my frustration and hurt over my primary physician declining to work with me through my pre-surgery insurance requirements. To add insult to injury, after asking to switch to another physician in the same practice (at my primary physician's suggestion), I was declined as a new patient. A few tears later I called my surgeons office and they suggested a different physicians group. I was able to schedule an appointment with a new physician the same day I was going to be in Nashville for two other appointments. New physician was kind and understanding. Went over all the insurance requirements and took the whole thing seriously. Talked about changing some eating habits and incorporating exercise into my lifestyle now. Challenged me to loose some weight before my next appointment in a month. Had my upper GI test done and my first of two nutrition appointment complete. Had a couple 'oh crap what am I doing' moments during that day at the hospital. But finally feeling like I am on my way. When things first started to get difficult a friend said 'if you want this bad enough you will find a way to make it happen.' She was right. It helped me keep perspective in this journey. Three months to go!

I already did a 500+ questionnaire and meet with the psychologist later this month. I have issues with depression and anxiety mostly stemming from a previous incident which happened 15 years ago. I have been in therapy for 6 months prior to even considering WLS. It was the hard work I did in therapy that got me to the point I felt confident enough to want the protection all this extra weight gives me off. So here is my advice. Be honest and forthcoming. We all put in this weight for a reason. Better to understand that reason now than to try and deal with it after WLS when the stakes are so much harder. Best of luck on your journey!

Congrats!

So my insurance provider requires that I see my physician three months consecutively to do doctor supervised diet. The hospital that I am having the weight loss surgery through provided me with all the paperwork. While my doctor thinks I need to loose weight and doesn't see a reason why I wouldn't be a good candidate for surgery he flat out refused to do the paperwork 'cause it is stupid' and 'isn't what the appointments are about.' It's been hard enough, taking the steps to gather my courage to get my weight under control. But to have my own doctor say 'if I had the answers then we would both be skinny' just hit a nerve. It took everything I had not to burst into tears in his office. I already know that I will find a physician that will do my paperwork. But has anyone else experienced anything like this? My doctor also tried to tell me that it wasn't an insurance requirement, but I read it in my insurance's paperwork prior to even consulting a hospital to do the surgery.

I haven't had surgery yet, but I use to drink diet soda all the time. It was all I drank. So a friend taught me this trick. Anytime I think of diet soda I imagine drinking the most horrible thing I can think of (something like baby's spit-up as an example). I did this for a week straight and totally grossed myself out each time I thought of drinking a soda. But I don't want to drink soda at all. It's all a mind trick. I have also picked an imagine of me accomplishing a fitness goal and think of that anytime I want to drink soda. I work around a bunch of Army guys, and they have this saying. "It's mind over matter. If you don't mind, it's doesn't matter." Granted a bunch of battle hardened Army guys are an extreme, but their mental toughness is something I strive for.