DevilBlueDress

The first few October guys and gals will be joining the losers' bench today! Please let us know how you are doing as soon as you feel up to it. I'm joining you tomorrow. :-) Molly (10/2/13)

Unless your vision is so bad that you need new glasses, I'd wait. I ended up with less wide frames because my face shrank post-op.

Congratulations! You look amazing!

Just have confidence and follow your clinic's plan! Everyone I've met who had WLS has thought they might be the one who it doesn't work for (including me).

Today, I'm celebrating my first surgiversary! 105 lbs gone from my HW. Time to share my story: I was morbidly obese for the majority of the last 20 years. I'd diet and lose 30 only to regain 40. Sound familiar? My ankles and left shoulder were in constant pain from old injuries, bone spurs and edema. I could barely get up from a chair without assistance. Exercise was very difficult. I thought that having surgery to repair my ankles would be the answer to getting moving again. In January 2012, I had surgery to remove bone spurs and repair my left Achilles' tendon. A week later I had bilateral pulmonary embolisms. Luckily (obviously), I survived, but even with the surgery, my left ankle isn't any better. It was during 2012 that the start-up my husband worked for was acquired. Starting in 2013, we'd have insurance that would cover WLS. I made a plan to get a lapband with my family doctor and he was very supportive. With the new insurance, I had to have 6 months of documented visits with a nutritionist. For those visits, the nutritionist recommended changing one or two habits per month. I'm a gadget girl, so the first one I tried was to log my food into MyFitnessPal. I'm proud to say that since March 2013, I have only missed 1 day logging my food. Other habits changed during that time included cutting out soda/carbonated drinks, no straws, eating more frequently, measuring/weighing my food, chewing 30 times, separating liquids from meals, etc. At month 4 pre-op, it was time to finally meet the WLS clinic team to start their process which included a psych eval, meeting the WLS nutritionist and my surgeon. My surgeon told me that a sleeve or RNY would be a better option for me than the lapband. I had an upper endoscopy which uncovered an issue (Barrett's Esophagus) which ruled out the sleeve. RNY is was! I was fast tracked to have my surgery in August, but the week before the boot camp WLS class, my husband was laid off. In the severance package, the company was going to continue coverage for us, but there would be a month where it would appear that we didn't have insurance. Ugh. Then the morning of the boot camp class, I got a call from my family doctor's office that I had appendicitis and needed to go to the hospital at 1 pm to possibly have it removed. The strangest part was that I wasn't in any pain! It turned out to be a false alarm (duh) from a CT scan I had done. Once insurance was straightened out and the RNY was approved, my date was set:10/2/13 For all the worries I had about the RNY surgery and recovery, that was the easiest part for me. Nothing dramatic or even remarkable happened. I was back to work at my desk job 10 days later. I've followed the clinic's plan and have lost pretty steadily with only the typical 2 week stall and a month stall in July. I could exercise a bit more. I found that I will stick to an exercise plan for a month or so, but then I get bored, busy or both. I just signed up to learn to be a Strong Women leader (it's an evidence-based exercise program for middle-aged women to build strength as we age. ) Two of my co-workers and I are planning to lead free lunch time classes for our colleagues probably starting in December. I think if I'm teaching, I'll be more likely to keep up with it. Plus it will be fun! I was a fashion merchandising major as an undergrad, but it was expensive and difficult to be fashionable when I was obese. I'm having so much fun now shopping for clothes in the local thrift stores. Recently, I've had to buy all new shoes because I'm now a size smaller. Another unexpected bonus is that I've made some new amazing friends through the local WLS support group. We eat dinner at great local restaurants once a month. It's pretty funny when there are leftovers from 5 people sharing one pizza. :-) One fear pre-op I had was that I would lose interest in my favorite hobby: cooking. I'm happy to report that cooking is still my main hobby, but what I cook and how I cook has changed dramatically. Now that I get full so quickly, I want everything I eat to be tasty and nutritious. I'm no saint, but most of the time I'm satisfied and my family is as well. We just don't have the junk around. Everyone is reading labels before deciding to buy or eat. I was the only obese member of my nuclear family, but we've all gotten healthier as I've lost post-op. Health wise, my ankles are still problems but less so because the edema is gone now. I now don't have to have help getting up from a chair. Pre-op, I took Celebrex for swelling and pain. Since a week post-op, I've only taken 6 Tylenols. I think 100+ lbs gone has lessened the strain on them. If you've stuck through this long, rambling- thank you for listening. I hope that a pre-op or two will see similarities in their story and that this gives them some hope! Molly

Thank you!

I just posted this in the success stories forum, but you OMG Octobers are my friends and supporters, so I hope you don't mind this long recap of my journey: Today, I'm celebrating my first surgiversary! 105 lbs gone from my HW. Time to share my story: I was morbidly obese for the majority of the last 20 years. I'd diet and lose 30 only to regain 40. Sound familiar? My ankles and left shoulder were in constant pain from old injuries, bone spurs and edema. I could barely get up from a chair without assistance. Exercise was very difficult. I thought that having surgery to repair my ankles would be the answer to getting moving again. In January 2012, I had surgery to remove bone spurs and repair my left Achilles' tendon. A week later I had bilateral pulmonary embolisms. Luckily (obviously), I survived, but even with the surgery, my left ankle isn't any better. It was during 2012 that the start-up my husband worked for was acquired. Starting in 2013, we'd have insurance that would cover WLS. I made a plan to get a lapband with my family doctor and he was very supportive. With the new insurance, I had to have 6 months of documented visits with a nutritionist. For those visits, the nutritionist recommended changing one or two habits per month. I'm a gadget girl, so the first one I tried was to log my food into MyFitnessPal. I'm proud to say that since March 2013, I have only missed 1 day logging my food. Other habits changed during that time included cutting out soda/carbonated drinks, no straws, eating more frequently, measuring/weighing my food, chewing 30 times, separating liquids from meals, etc. At month 4 pre-op, it was time to finally meet the WLS clinic team to start their process which included a psych eval, meeting the WLS nutritionist and my surgeon. My surgeon told me that a sleeve or RNY would be a better option for me than the lapband. I had an upper endoscopy which uncovered an issue (Barrett's Esophagus) which ruled out the sleeve. RNY is was! I was fast tracked to have my surgery in August, but the week before the boot camp WLS class, my husband was laid off. In the severance package, the company was going to continue coverage for us, but there would be a month where it would appear that we didn't have insurance. Ugh. Then the morning of the boot camp class, I got a call from my family doctor's office that I had appendicitis and needed to go to the hospital at 1 pm to possibly have it removed. The strangest part was that I wasn't in any pain! It turned out to be a false alarm (duh) from a CT scan I had done. Once insurance was straightened out and the RNY was approved, my date was set:10/2/13 For all the worries I had about the RNY surgery and recovery, that was the easiest part for me. Nothing dramatic or even remarkable happened. I was back to work at my desk job 10 days later. I've followed the clinic's plan and have lost pretty steadily with only the typical 2 week stall and a month stall in July. I could exercise a bit more. I found that I will stick to an exercise plan for a month or so, but then I get bored, busy or both. I just signed up to learn to be a Strong Women leader (it's an evidence-based exercise program for middle-aged women to build strength as we age. ) Two of my co-workers and I are planning to lead free lunch time classes for our colleagues probably starting in December. I think if I'm teaching, I'll be more likely to keep up with it. Plus it will be fun! I was a fashion merchandising major as an undergrad, but it was expensive and difficult to be fashionable when I was obese. I'm having so much fun now shopping for clothes in the local thrift stores. Recently, I've had to buy all new shoes because I'm now a size smaller. Another unexpected bonus is that I've made some new amazing friends through the local WLS support group. We eat dinner at great local restaurants once a month. It's pretty funny when there are leftovers from 5 people sharing one pizza. :-) One fear pre-op I had was that I would lose interest in my favorite hobby: cooking. I'm happy to report that cooking is still my main hobby, but what I cook and how I cook has changed dramatically. Now that I get full so quickly, I want everything I eat to be tasty and nutritious. I'm no saint, but most of the time I'm satisfied and my family is as well. We just don't have the junk around. Everyone is reading labels before deciding to buy or eat. I was the only obese member of my nuclear family, but we've all gotten healthier as I've lost post-op. Health wise, my ankles are still problems but less so because the edema is gone now. I now don't have to have help getting up from a chair. Pre-op, I took Celebrex for swelling and pain. Since a week post-op, I've only taken 6 Tylenols. I think 100+ lbs gone has lessened the strain on them. If you've stuck through this long, rambling- thank you for listening! Now, it's your turn! Molly

Thanks so much! I do feel much better than a year ago. The weight has come off slowly but steadily. This is a new hairstyle. Shortest since I was 17 years old. I can't wait to Celebrate everyone's surgiversaries this month!!!

Hi OMG October peeps, I can't believe it, but today is my first "surgiversary." It ranks as one of the best decisions of my life so far. 105 lbs gone! How is everyone doing?! Molly

Woo-hoo, Shari! Look in' great!

Wow! Congrats! You look fabulous!

When I had the meeting with my boss, I said that I was going to have a procedure done and that the surgeon told me that it should take 2-4 weeks to recover. He said thanks for letting him know and that he did not want to know the details. LOL, I think he thought I was having a "female issue." As it turned out, I was back to work part time about 1 week post-op. Molly

More pre-op photos! I was always the photographer, so not many photos of me. Sometimes, I need to look at those photos to see the changes. Even at 95+ lbs lost, I sometimes see the pre- op me in the mirror.

Two months post-op might be too soon for protein bars and nuts, but every clinic has a different plan, so as others have said, it would be best to talk with your team. I think the protein powders to mix with water might be your best bet.

I fit into the backseat of my husband's Mini convertible!

Yes, this happened to me last year when my husband (the insurance primary) was laid off the month before my surgery. We used COBRA to keep the coverage through 2013, but it took about a month for the paperwork to catch up. So it appeared like I didn't have insurance for about a month. I ended up postponing the surgery for 2 months. Ultimately, it all worked out and all medical bills from that month lag were paid, too. Molly

Earlier this week the local TV nutritionist shared her recipe for a breakfast that tastes like cookie dough, but made from Greek yogurt. I made it this morning with a couple of changes ( I used plain fat free yogurt mixed with Torani SF vanilla syrup instead of vanilla yogurt. )http://m.channel3000.com/donnas-cookie-dough-from-greek-yogurt/26540886

The syrup has Splenda in it so it adds sweetness to the plain yogurt. I've only tried it with toll house chips.

Herb-crusted chicken with strawberry relish (Eating Well) and radish salad with sesame-honey vinaigrette (cooking light) Molly

(((Rach))), I hope your surgeon has good advice for you! Is there a psychologist or therapist with your clinic that you can see, too? Will you see the nutritionist soon? Is there a support group run by your clinic? I was told that I'll lose for up to 18 months - we are still in month 8, so not even 1/2 way there. I haven't had a long stall, but I only lose 1-2 lbs per week, so my total loss since surgery is almost the same as yours 256-194. I'm hoping for the 18 month window of loss , too. Molly

You look fantastic!

My BE and hiatal hernia were discovered during an upper endoscopy, too. Even though only a small percentage of BE turns into cancer, I'm glad that a RNY stops the progression. It made my decision of which surgery much more cut and dry. 8.5 months post-op and I couldn't be happier! Molly

It's been about a month since hitting Onederland and I finally feel like I won't be back in the 200s again. 193 this morning - no turning back now! Molly

Just wondering how you deal with conference/meeting food? Since post-op, I've tried bringing my own food and under "special diet requests" requested gluten free. GF doesn't quite fit, though. What do you request? -Molly

Just back from another out of town meeting. I'm glad I brought some Protein bars along because the gluten free was interpreted as vegan for the plated meals. I'm going to be more specific in any special requests in the future rather than trying to use a more conventional special request. Next time I'll request high protein, low carb, low fat and no sugar. Molly