Miss Mac

Dearest elpasovet........Some night, when you are up thinking when you ought to be sleeping, go to http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/219831-what-was-your-final-straw-that-broke-the-camels-back/ and start reading the comments there. It is a long thread with over 660 responses so far, It will give you a good overview of why so many of us finally took the plunge and had weight loss surgery, and may put your concerns into perspective. Also, I am one of the fortunate few who did not have overwhelming hair loss. I had very similar doctor instructions like everyone else, but the only thing I can think of that was radically different is that I found a 10,000 mg Biotin capsule at Walgreens, and I took two of them every day. That's 20,000 mg a day. Either it helped or was expensive pee. But I must say that I am now eight months out and only had minimal thinning - just a few strays around the house, no fistfuls or clumps in the drain. I am so glad that you are holding off until you are convinced that surgery is what you really want. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do that will make a difference in your overall health and give you a head start on weight loss. These are the basic steps that most of us had to take in our clinically supervised diets: Drink Water (or non-caloric) beverages until your eyeballs float - 80-100 ounces per day Get your 8 hours of sleep Eat dense Protein and plenty of it (60-80 grams a day) At any meal, eat your protein first, then non-starchy veggies, with one serving of fresh fruit per day. Like switch out cherry pie for fresh cherries changes like that. Bread, rice, noodles, potatoes, crackers, etc...are not your friends. The fewer carbohydrates the better. 50 grams of carbs is good, 30 is better. Take a good multi-Vitamin. If exercise is difficult or painful, then just do what you can, but do it every day. I hope all of this has helped. Please continue to come here for outeach and support.

About twenty years ago, I got fired from a job for being "too nice" to my employees, even though HR was always spitting out paperwork about how important it is to be nice to the employees. Many of my staff were shocked and sorry to see me go, They took a collection and signed a card with words of encouragement. The one comment I remember more than any other was "It will all work out in the long run." So, apply for unemployment, see if you have grounds for a lawsuit, and enjoy the unexpected time off to heal. I wish you good luck (well at least better luck) and good health.

If I get a response that feels mean-spirited, then I don't answer back and just move on. I learned from having such stress that it maxed out my blood pressure and hit me with a stroke in 2010. Now if I think someone is bullying me on-line here, I just walk away and leave them unresponded. I am not going to give them a chance to hit me twice. I have been on here since September 2013 and have received awesome advice that carried me though many dark days. The 80/20 rule of life works here, too. Let's say that 80% of the comments here are intended to uplift you and sail you over the rough spots. Don't let that 20% of roadkill slow you down. There is a lot of valuable support on this forum. Please feel free to ask us questions. As you procede through your own weight loss journey, you will be able to look back and help other newbies following behind you.

Ineresting about the Bariatric Advantage AE Vitamins making you sick, Chasingpolaris321. I am eight months out and was recently switched from chewable to the Bariatric Advantage AE's because of the extra Iron. They are stinky horse pills. I could not swallow them whole, I couldn't even swallow them cut in forths, so I started to mash them up with a mortar annd pestle and put them in blueberry applesauce to mask the taste. I have had a couple of episodes of extreme nausea and diarrhea, and one day last week, I got so sick that I passed out twice before I could get back to bed. Both times I hit my head on the bathroom floor, and both times I was out for over an hour. When I came to, I just climbed in bed and slept for hours. The next day, my daughter convinced me to call my primary physician, and he put me in the hospital overnight to replenish fluids and take a CT scan of my noggin. I got scolded from my daughter, my doctor, and the E R doctor that I should have called an ambulance right away. Lesson learned. Anyway, now I am wondering about those particular vitamins. I wil ask my bariatric physician.

62 5'4" 235 lbs 40.1 BMI Both Knees replaced Spine collapsing (14 herniated discs) High Blood Pressure Post stroke etc, etc, etc, BC/BS Federal with three month clinically supervised diet, once packet was sent in, I was approved in two days. Surgery 12/23/2013 Have lost 65 pounds Currently in one of those hateful stalls where I am battling gram by gram to keep losing.

Were you losing 1/2 pound a day before your surgery???????

Passed out twice one night last week. Crashed to the bathroom floor both times and hit my head and was out for at least an hour each time. Ended up in the ER with an over night stay and fluids / electrolites overnight. Now I am wearing an event monitor for a month. I had experienced fierce nausea and diarrhea for a couple of hours prior. Given renewed prescriptions for Carafate and Ondansetron. If I start to feel "whooshey" again, I am supposed to press a button the monitor, and the four leads attached to my chest will start recording data to help determine what is going on with my heart rate and blood pressure at the time. I asked the nurse, well if I am passing out, how am I going to be alert enough to press a button, and read a drop down menu to specify what kind of event I am having? Also my meds are being looked at to see if I need to change dosage on anything. I had balance issues prior due to being post-stroke (2010).

I had suffered with diverticulitis for three years prior to my sleeve in December 2013. On October 29, 2013, I was hospitalized with ischemic colitis for eight days. My primary doctor told me after my recovery that he thought he was going to lose me. Wow. I was so glad my sleeve was coming up soon after that. So, after being used to a restricted diet, the changeover to the high Protein diet was not as hard as it would have been. My gastro doctor already had me off caffein, carbonated beverages, and those foods that won't dissolve easily. I love, love, love the difference Miss Tummy makes in my life. The restrictions aren't so bad, because the trade-off is more years to enjoy my grandkids and my awesome and supportive boy friend. I want to go into our golden years together in good health, not dragging myself around or staying shut in because of my disabilities, most of which are brought on by my previous obesity. At 65 pounds down, I am now at a 29.9 BMI - overweight, not obese, and I have had no gastro problems since my sleeve surgery. If you look at your sleeve as a blessing that will give you your life back, instead of an anvil around your neck, you will do alright. Losing a large amount of weight can be emotionally liberating as you become more bold and courageous about being in control of your own life. Losing weight will expose who your real friends are, and how you relate and function with your significant other. I think the hardest part about getting my sleeve was those couple of hours that I was under anesthetic and not in control of my body. If you can release yourself from the fear of all the "what ifs" you will have enough peace of mind to get through it. Just think of surgery as a nice nap, and when you wake up you will have a new birthday. Every year you will have a surgiversary to Celebrate taking back you life. I wish you good luck and good health.

At eight months post-op, I can eat what I want in portions so small that I think my six year old granddaughter eats more than I do. But here is the difference from my pre-op appetite: I do not want the same things. I used to eat six pieces of toast with a big Breakfast. Now the smell of bread make be sick to my stomach. If I came around a pizza I would eat some, but now I would scrape the goodies off the crust and just eat the sauce, cheese, and toppings. Not that I wouldn't want the crust, but I just do not have the tummy real estate to hold it. If I give Miss Tummy more than she can hold, she WILL give it back. So, that is one reason the sleeve is so effective for me. It limits me in quantity, and the fear of going back to where I was bigger around than I was tall, is incentive enough to make better choices. I am not 100% perfect wth this, but Miss Tummy keeps me in line.

Divorce can be so liberating and empowering. Don't let it bring you down.

I took a nap, woke up, and they were done. I do not remember a thing.

Uh Oh, well that will give you some Fiber to push things through tonight. Note to self.....nuts are a slider food.

Steak on the grill with green beans and tomatoes fresh from the garden.

I agree with Waitingtoexhale that you definitley should get a second opinion. For all of the people I have encounted on this forum, I have never seen one with a post-op plan like yours. My surgeon developed the bariatric clinic for both The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland Ohio, and the Loyola University Medical Center where he teaches both bariatric and robotic surgery. Both of these facilities are top ranked teaching schools here, with outstanding national reputations. His post-op diet is one of the most agressive I have seen. I went home from the hospital permitted to start full liquids. At week two, I went on to purees, week three soft foods, week four he allowed me to start expeimenting with tolerance for moist whole foods well chewed. I had no problem with this progression. I was also advised to start substituting the Protein shakes for real food as soon as possible to avoid other problems that would present difficulties with healing. My paln is not your plan, and my bariatric team is not your bariatric team. You deserve the best in follow-up care. I wish you good luck and good health.

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can....begin it. For boldness has genius , power, and magic in it!" Wolfgang Von Goethe

My bariatric doctor put me on Bariatric Advantage AE. It is a huge horse pill about as big around as a penny and as thick as a pencil. Not only could I not swallow it whole, I could not swallow it cut into four pieces. So.......I mash it up like a fine powder, and then put it in a blueberry applesauce snack cup. No problem, but I do count the applesauce calories in my plan.

Looks like we are both up thinking when we ought to be sleeping. My insurance (BCBS Federal Employee) required two years of documentation of a medically supervised diet. So, I had my doctor's receptionist to print out my medical records for two years, and then I highlighted every mention of recommendations for diet or exercise, and my weight. Then I also had to do three months of supervised diet with my bariatric program's nutritionist. That wasn't so bad. I followed her directions and lost 22 pounds before my surgery. I think that the psychologist sessions helped to document that I was receiving counsel about managing habits and eliminating barriers to weight loss. I had my surgery at Loyola'sbariatric program in Melrose Park, and then had my surgery at the Loyola University Medical Center. I am sure that U of C has done this enough times that they can anticipate what the different insurance companies require, and consider those guidelines when developing their own bariatric programs. So, my Chicago sleeve sister, I wish you good luck and good health, If you have concerns that you do not feel comfortable with broadcasting, you can send me a private message by clicking on my picture, and then following the prompts to send a message. I am in Alsip on the Southwest side of the city.

I love men, but they are soooooo hard to train!

I pulled my bariatric manual out of storage. All it says is that it is best to wait until your weight stabilizes. Nothing else.....no recommendations.

Mine is Miss Tummy and she is the boss of me.

My experience was similar to AlwaysVegas, There was an interview with the psychologist in which she asked me nearly those same questions, and she typed my responses into the computer.I think that it helps fill in the gaps so that they are not doing such a life-changing surgery on a complete stranger. The interview helps them to get to know you so that they can help you be successful.

Prepare fo the worst and hope for the best. I cannot identify what I did any differently from the rest, but I did not lose a lot a hair. There were a few strays around the house, but that was it. Was it the 80 grams of Protein, or the red meat, or 20,000 mg of Biotin????? Who can say? Just know that hair grows back. I bought several of those turban head covers like cancer patients do, and decided that if it got too bad, I would wear a wig for a while. I worried myself sick about it for nothing. If your hair starts falling out in clumps, you can confidently assume that the people who truly love you will still love you. I wish you good luck and good health.

You could try SMOOTH MOVE teas. They come in a variety of flavors and could resolve both problems for you. I found some online at http://traditionalmedicinals.com/products/ Smooth Move Teas are herbal and decaffinated and works like a diuretic. If you are having a log jam with your bowel movements, you can drink this at bedtime and should have a breakthrough by morning. There are 60 (sixty) flavors of this stuff.

I am past childbearing age, but just wanted to mention that there was nothing about it in my bariatric materials.

I applaud your bravery in getting your plastics done. Please keep us informed of how the healing is going. There are so many of us on the fence about this, especially if insurance won't cover the surgery. I had to look up what a fleur de lis incision looked like. Oh wow, that's a lot of staples. Look ahead to a year from now when the pain is gone and the scars are no longer red and angry. I wish you good luck and good health.