DevilBlueDress

I gained from month 1 to month 2. Then I started tracking intake with My Fitness Pal. I then lost a little (16 lbs) during months 3-6 as I changed habits to reflect more post RNY behavior and diet.

That's a dress size off!

Omygosh! I hope that your doctors can find a suitable drug. I was on Coumadin/Warfarin blood thinners for a year following a pulmonary embolism. Once the correct dosage is figured out, it wasn't a big deal. There are some tricky dietary restrictions, but nothing compared to post RNY.

Do you have access to any respite care funds, so that you can get a break from time to time?

How old is your son? I have 2 sons on the spectrum 23 & 16. The 23yo is Aspergers and the 16 yo is more classically autistic. When the 16yo was young he had intensive in-home therapy for 4 years that was modeled on Greenspan's Floortime method. He progressed really far and is now entering 11th grade and taking advanced classes. He still has his issues and quirks requiring a full time aide at school. He is college-bound and plans to study engineering. It gets better! If you haven't yet, you should look for a local Autism Society chapter and see if they have and support group meetings. Molly

Vicki, I'm pre-op, but my choice was kind of made for me because my severe reflux has started to progress to Barrett's Esophagus, which can lead to esophageal cancer. My surgeon told me that only RNY bypass (and not the sleeve or band) can stop the progression. So, my advice would be to go RNY, but you should discuss this with YOUR surgeon. Good luck! Molly

I read it somewhere, perhaps on this forum, loved it and use it.

My goal for the last 6 months has been to maintain or lose weight. I've lost as I've gradually changed my eating and drinking habits to reflect changes that will need to make . I started by tracking my food using MyFitnessPal. You can input your current height and weight with a goal of maintaining and MFP will give you the appropriate calorie count. Just try to track at first. Then you may start making different choices to shave 100 calories in a day. Now 6 months later I'm "leaving" 500-800 calories a day. Now I'm working on separating food and liquids. I should add that I'm in no danger of going below 40 bmi, but I am now very ready and confident for the surgery.

My favorite reply is my body is not a democracy, so you don't get a vote.

Good golly Miss Molly! You look fantastic! I hope to join you on the loser's bench in a month or two. No more "Jolly Molly!" MadisonMolly

Hi everyone, I've been thinking a lot this weekend about why I want to have WLS and what I'd like to do when I've lost my excess weight. Here's my top 5 as of today. What's your top 5? 1. I would like live for as long as I can and not have my weight up my risk of dying too young. 2. I would like to shop for regularly sized clothes and not pay the "fat tax" for plus sizes. 3. I would like to have a better recovery and outcome from my second ankle surgery. 4. I can't wait to comfortably fit into an airline seat, diner booth and my DH's Mini Convertible. 5. I would like to become SCUBA certified before a planned trip to Hawaii in 2014 and perhaps try zip lining on that trip, too. -Molly

Trader Joes has chewable Melatonin in cherry flavor.

Update from appointment this morning: the official diagnosis is pre-Barrett's and a hiatal hernia. My Dr. said that RNY will stop the progression to full blown Barrett's or worse. So RNY and a hernia repair is definitely in my future, possibly as soon as August.

Our local Police stations are drop-off sites for unused medications.

I'm still pre-op, but like you I have bone spurs ripping apart my Achilles' tendon. I had the ankle surgery on my left ankle last year. For me, it was a long recovery because of complications from pulmonary embolisms. One reason I'm getting WLS is to make the recovery from the right ankle surgery easier (hopefully). I started rehabbing at 6 weeks post ankle surgery with a physical therapist. Then with his ok, I hit the pool - first doing the recommended therapy movements. Then once I felt better doing those, I discovered deep water running. Your wear a belt that keeps you from sinking. Absolutely no impact and quite a workout. My gym has a class 2x per week set to music.

It's funny, but by getting this diagnosis, I feel more settled because the choice has been narrowed for me.

I completely understand! I started my 6 mo nutrition visits in January, so I'm in the 6th month. Now, I'm glad that I used this time to change some long term habits because yesterday I learned that I'm being relatively fast tracked since I don't have a lot of behavior changes left to change. Rather than 4 weekly classes, I was recommended for one long day called a boot camp. Also, at my 4th appointment with my nutritionist, she recommended getting the ball rolling with the bariatric team. Now, it seems like everything is falling into place to have surgery in late August or September. I think I'll find out more at my next surgeon visit.

When we first moved to Wisconsin, I had no idea how to pronounce many of the town and city name. Oconomowoc and Waukesha were two of the first that I learned since we lived in Watertown for the first six months before moving to Madison.

You bet! I quit smoking in 1989. I hope that old bad habit won't come back to haunt me. He took biopsies and I'll hear more about Barrett's , my personal results and where to go from here at my appointment next week.

I'm so glad to hear about your success!

Thanks for the warm welcome! I think it will be in September or so. I met with my surgeon, the NUT and the psychologist all in the last two weeks. Today was an egd and a call that I've been recommended for a 1 day boot camp class on Aug 2nd.

New to this forum today. I'm from, you guessed it, Madison. Planning to have my surgery at UW.