Miss Mac

Madam, it looks like we are the ones who missed out. You look so healthy and happy in your picture. The Mediterranean sunshine has done you some good. Please, when you can, tell us more about your trip. As for your sense of humor, you crack me up all the time. Also a word to newbies reading Madam Reverie's posts........she is spot on consistently with helpful advice. I am glad to see her back on the forum. Madam, we did miss you. I was wondering where you disappeared to. Oops....I was wondering to where you disappeared.

Peace of mind, not piece of mind. Sorry. I can spell, but I just can't type!

So long as you are buying new tires, you may as well buy security cameras. It may not stop vandalism in your neighborhood, but it will give you some piece of mind knowing you would have a good chance of identifying the fool who does that kind of nonsense.

TMI for public broadcast. I will send you a private message.

I was lurking around on this site when I was pre-op, and was really more concerned about everyone's shoulder gas comments more than incisions and procedures. When I had my final pre-op surgeon's appointment, I asked him about what pain management he offers for the shoulder gas (which is caused by the CO2 they pump in you to create an air space for manpulating tools.) He told me that they would extact as much gas as possible before closing me up. Post-op, I had no shoulder gas at all. Surgical pain was more limited to my biggest incision. I had a morphine drip in the hospital, and hydrocodone at home. No other issues with pain, just being careful to not lift anything over five pounds or over-exert my abs. If you can sleep in a recliner or prop yourself up for a few nights, that will help reduce any pain you might have with getting in and out of bed.

I am 5'4" and started out at 235 with a 53" waist. I was in 20/22s Now 5'4"..............................176...........42"...squeezing into a 14 pant and 12 top. In my early 30s, my healthiest weight was 135, and I was a size 10 then. Looks like the sizing is much more generous now. Perception of obesity was different, too. A Gitano size 7 was a LARGE! No wonder we are dismorphic if we are told that 120 pounds, size 7 is large.

Hiccups or a Tupperware burp.

Retired from Federal service; My primary referred me to the Bariatric Program at the hospital. They established my program based on my coverage requirements and started me on a three month supervised diet. I had to provide two years worth of documentation that I had tried to lose weight on my own. My primary printed out a complete copy of his doctor's notes for the last two years. I went through with a highlighter and marked every place where my weight was measured or mentioned. I also composed a letter detailing all of the different failed attempts with various well-known diets. In the letter, I also explained how my weight has affected my quality of life, my family history of morbid obesity, and how I expected the surgery to improve my health. Claim as many co-morbidities as you can. here is a list of conditions that the insurance companies consider Obesity Comorbidities To follow is a list of comorbidities (additional conditions or diseases) related to obesity which may help you in qualifying for weight loss surgery. Family history of heart disease Family history of stroke Family history of diabetes Family history of heart attacks Hyperinsulinemia Diabetes High blood pressure Coronary-artery disease Hypertension Migraines or headaches directly related to obesity or cranial hypertension Congestive heart failure Neoplasia Dyslipidemia Anemia Gallbladder disease Osteoarthritis Degenerative arthritis Degenerative disc Degenerative joint disease Recommended joint replacement from specialist Accelerated degenerative joint disease Asthma Repeated pneumonia Repeated pleurisy Repeated bronchitis Lung restriction Gastroesophageal reflex (GERD) Excess facial & body hair (Hirsutism) Rashes Chronic skin infections Excess sweating Frequent yeast infections Urinary stress incontinence Menstrual irregularity Hormonal abnormalities Polycystic ovaries Infertility Carcinoma (breast, colon, uterine cancer) sleep apnea Pseudotumor cerebri Depression Psychological/sexual dysfunction Social discrimination Premature death in the immediate family

I can eat 1/2 a grapefruit with no problem, but an orange....not so much. Go figure.

Hopefully I dodged the bullit on this one. I am six months out now, and have only seen extra flyaways, but no clumps of hair in my brush or drain, even though the surgeon warned me about the possibility. I do not know that I have done anything so differently from anyone else. I have been on 80 grams of Protein, and 10,000 mcg of Biotin 2X a day. Other than that, I take my D3, B12, multi Vitamin and Calcium. On my own I added magnesium, chromium, and Vitamin C. I dont take fish oil because Miss Tummy gives it back. But I do eat fish twice a week. My hair is more limp, but otherwise healthy and soft. I did have quite a problem with dry brittle nails and really dry skin from months two to four, but that is gone. My nails and skin are healthy now. I don't know how to explain it, but I was resigned to accept it. My heart goes out to my bariatric siblings, and I hope that your recovery gets better.

I took the sleeve because I did not want to have a lap band port or have my intestines recongigulated. The sleeve has work well for me, and I am happy with that decision. Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck and good health

I love to hear this kind of stuff. NSVs are such an encouragement for us. Congratulations.

Here is a cute bedtime story that I found on-line. When my two grown daughters were little tykes, I used to read this to them.. This story was is in a collection. It was in a book "Believe and Make Believe, by the Sherman Reading Series. Anyway, the moral of the story is about how picky eaters should try new things. Goodfor the kids and a good reminder for us to expand our culinary horizons. Story is atached.cheese AND PEAS AND chocolate pudding story only.docx

Well, at least now you have some kind of idea why so long. If you have not had liver ultrasound imaging yet, you have it close to surgery. Mine showed an enlarged fatty liver, so it was imperative to reduce it before surgery. When the surgeon is able to move your liver out of the way, it is easier for him to manupulate the surgical tools around your stomach. But even with that, my pre-op liquids were for ten days. Good luck with your surgery. We all have very different weight loss journeys, but we are walkng toward a common goal, and that is good health. Take care.

My longest stall so far (over a month) was at 185. 185 is the number I have hit every time I had a little success with that old diet and exercise routine. Also, that is the weight that I have carried most of my overweight life. From there it bounced bak up over 200 many times. 185 is the weight I was packing when I had a stroke in 2010. I finally broke past it and am now flucuating around 175. So....it looks like this is going to be stairstep on the way down to my goal weight. This fat is going out kicking and screaming

A robe...bring a robe because the nursing staff will have you up and walking all over the place. I took CD player and lots of music, but I never used it. I just watched tv and slept. Chapstick.....your lips are going to dry

Before I retired, my experience with lunch and/or breaks was that if I am in my office for any reason, then I am available. The phone still rings and people knock on my door. So, I had to get up and walk about or eat in the cafeteria....even then, if someone knows you are in the building, they will not let up. I do have a home office now for my genealogy project, and under my desk is a hand/foot bike so I can cycle while working at my desk. The coolest set-up I ever saw was at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. They have an acre or so on hospital grounds that remains wooded and undeveloped. A fitness trail was built in there where you could walk and then stop at different stations to do a specific exercis,e and then move on. I have been in the Toyota Fork Lift Plant in Columbus, Indiana and they have a nice gym for employees to use. If someone logs in X amount of time, they get certain additional benefits from the company. I think that's great when an employer facilitates good health for the employees rather than make it as difficult as possible. I hope you can find a clever way to fix yourself up with what you need to accomplish your fitness goals.

I probably won't use that product, but didn't the commercial say "with milk" (which would be 1/2 of the Protein gram total without even touching the Cereal. Besides, grain is what my grandfather - a farmer - fed to the chickens, hogs, and cattle to "fatten them up". So........no grains for me right now - just Proteins, low carb veggies, and 1/2 serving a fruit per day. I am trying really hard to keep the carbs below 20. This is so much work, but 800 calories and 20 carbs is the barrier that I can't go past right now or I start gaining weight back. Yeah, no.......cereal (high protein or not) has to stay in the background for me.

Ask your surgeon if he would please extract as much of the CO2 as possible before he closes up your incisions. Many people suffer from excruciating "shoulder gas" for a few days after their sleeve. It is part of the surgical process to expand the abdominal cavity with CO2 so that the tools have more room to navigate around and about in there while the doctor is working. One of my pre-op questions was about how he manages post-op pain and residual gas. He said and I quote, "I will extract as much of the gas as possible before I close you up." I am happy to report that even though I was over-anxious about it, I had no gas pains at all post-op. It is worth asking about, anyway. They put it in there, so why shouldn't they try to get it back out?

The only person who made any snide remarks about my decision to have weight loss surgery was the woman at the hospital who performed some of my pre-admission testing. She was clearly overweight herself, and told me that she did not think iIwas heavy enough for the surgery. So, in spite of the fact that my spine was collapsing from carrying over 100 pounds too much, and many serious health issues related to the weight, she let it be known that I should try harder at diet and exercise. (Yeah, how was THAT working out for me? I had been on one diet after another since 1978.) When I got my Press-Gainey survey in the mail, I mentioned the incident in detail and how unprofessional it was of her to offer her own diagnosis of my condition, when her only responsibility was to do an unltrasound of my liver, and an EKG. I know a lot of people don't bother with the survey forms they get, but coming from a retired hospital housekeeping manager,I am here to tell you that the surveys do make a difference. The feedback is extremely valuable. It is one of your tools in being an outspoken advocate for your own healthcare. A good experience needs to be mentioned as well as the bad. Sometimes it is the only patient follow-up that the hospital's administration gets.

Early on post-op, I was drinking any anything and everything that could be put in a blender and thinned out. In the pureed phase I even had some Wendy's chili from the blender, The unflavored Protein is handy to add to stuff like that.

I am one of those who lose from the top down. My face was first, then my boobs and arms, then my waist and belly started to go down slowly. Right now I have lost 10" around my belly, but it did take 40 pounds before I could even think about a smaller jean. Don't get discouraged....at some point the fat has to GO!

Unfortunately, yes.

RJ, you are amazing. Thank you for sharing the unvarnished truth with us, too.

My heart goes out to everyone who knew this man personally, and to those in the bariatric community whose lives he impacted in many positive ways.