Miss Mac

Well, the few at the top of the list allow for other members of your direct family. For example, I did not die from an abdominal aortic anuerysm, but my mother did - not much older than I am now. Many of my family members are obese, some (like my oldest brother) top out at 420. He died at the age of 47 of a heart attack. One of my sisters has a gastric bypass, and another has a lap band. It is odd that premature death (of a family member I presume) is at the bottom of the list. I prepared a heartfelt letter to be included in my packet for submission to the insurance company. In that letter I mentioned my co-morbities and how each one was compromising my quality of life. I closed the letter by thanking them for their consideration, and letting them know that by approving my surgery, they were saving my life. Good luck with dealing with the paperwork process of all this.

This is a list of possible co-morbities. I got it from a duodenal switch website . This info is what insurance companies go by as establishes by the National Instiutes of Health To follow is a list of comorbidities (additional conditions or diseases) related to obesity which may help you in qualifying for weight loss surgery. Of the 44, you will likely have one or two you van reach for. I wish you good luck and good health 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

I spent the first week post-op losing the weight I had gained from IV fluids in the hospital Spent the second week losing some pounds Third week, lost a few more pounds, then hit a stall through week four. Week 5 lost a few more pounds. Weeks six through nine, lost a few more pounds. Weeks ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen,I totally plateaud (the entire month of March, in spite of low cal, low carbs, 800 calories, and everyday fitness routine including weights twice a week) So.....on March 30th, I took my max carbs down from 50 grams to 20 grams per day, put my fitness program on standby, and took my fluids level up from 64 oz to 80+ oz per day On Wednesday this week, I started losing again! It's about time. I was falling into despair over that darn plateau). I have heard it a hundred times that with compliance, the pounds will start falling again. So, hang in there. I am only ten pounds away from my third closet flush Just sayin' stick with your program. But I am suprised, pancake 1271, that at three months you are allowed 1400-1500 calories. My program has me at 800-1200. Every doctor and patient are different, I guess. At 900 calories I would start gaining weight. sbaily1, chin up dear. Don't let this process get you down.

I had to lose forty pounds before changing pant sizes. Meanwhile I noticeably lost in my face, chest, arms, and feet.

I'm in the Paleo camp here. I did not realize that so many of my inflammation issues were due to gluten until my three-month pre-op low carb regimen, and now three months post-op. The carbs I get (20-30 grams per day) are from veggies and minimal fruit. I don't even try to use alternative flours. I feel so much better without gluten - I am glad to be rid of it.

I agree with Cheryl2586. Other peoples' grammer and punctuation faults will not matter in ten years and will not matter in ten minutes. If we were grading English tests or sending out office communications for a boss, then it would matter. Since this is a more casual forum, there will be many "just folks" participating. Not everyone has the advantage of a college degree or a career as a journalist. So long as I can decipher what was meant, I am cool with it. This forum in particular welcomes everyone no matter what level of English compentency they have. Sure, I notice the glitches, but I do not let them bother me. With that said, I guess we should agree to disagree. This is an "opinions welcome" place to come.

Get medical attention as soon as you can. A couple of summers ago, I thought I had an exercise injury because my shoulder was so sore. The more I put BenGay on it, the worse it hurt. I called my doctor for some pain meds. He said he does not diagnose over the phone and that I shouldn't diagnose by "Google-itis" So, they got me in the next day. He took one look and said "you have shingles". IBecause I did not know , I was putting BenGay on shingles! He prescibed an anti-viral med and some pain meds, and increased my Lyrica dose that I was taking for neuropathies. I have tell you that the nerve pain from the shingles put me in a dark place for a couple of weeks, at the thought that sometimes it doesn't go away if you waited too long for treatment. The despair almost put me over the edge. Thank goodness the rash finally went away after two months. Don't be tough and wait this out. As soon as the roads are clear, get going to the doctor or E. R . If it's not shingles, the it's just as good to know what something isn't. I hope you can find a sure diagnosis. I wish you good luck and good health.

It is cold, wet, and windy here in Chicago. What lovely place are you from where the weather is so pleasant and warm???? I am jealous.

You will find that all of those aggravatingly slow days will collectively go by very quickly. Before you know it, you will have your sleeve. Then it will be time to think about who (besides you) is going to pass out the Halloween candy, and who (besides you) is going to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Then boom! Time for Christmas shopping (or whatever holidays or special occasions you do at your house). This year will go by quickly. Last August I was dissappointed that I would have to do a four month program with a three month supervised diet, and then my packet would be sent for approval. And now....here it is three months post op and I am halfway past my goal! The time flew by. So....chin up....follow your program and think of where you will be a year from now. I wish you good luck and good health.

It works kind of like this When you get a new aquarium - new glass tank, new gravel, new tank decorations, and new fish, you will have a very hard time getting a proper PH going for the fish to survive in new Water. UNLESS, you get a cup of gravel from the bottom of someone else's functioning aquarium. The bacterial cultures introduced into the new tank will multiply and bring up the bacterial balance needed for the fish to thrive. I have heard of fecal transplant, but you are the first person I have heard of that is having the procedure. I wish you good luck and good health.

I had the surgery to keep from dying of the complications from being 100 pounds overweight, which already caused one stroke. For all the issues you read about on the forum, you will hear stories like mine. I had NO post-op gas pain, and have had a textbook recovery. I started full liquids as soon as I came home, started soft foods 1 1/2 weeks after that, and started regular food at 3 1/2 weeks. Yeah, there may be a little pain where the incisions are healing, but there are so many benefits from having this done. I just passed my halfway mark this week. I feel so much better. I get around easier, my range of motion in my knees is better, I can roll over in bed easier, and can get on the floor now to do pilates and therapy exercises. Eating high Protein and low carb has made my body sytems run better, too. This surgery SAVED MY LIFE!.

Wow.......what a beautiful, healthy difference! Tell us about the stalls and challenges you met along the way. We all need nuggets of encouragement.

Per my previous post - don't know what is going on with either my brain, my fingers, or my keyboard - a lot of typos there. Oops!

Hopefully you can still find the sofa so that you can sit down and get some rest. You need to take the time to get well. Tere is a lot of healing that needs to happen, and you can't let a good day distract you from your doctor's orders. So what if the hose isn't perfect. You don't want to bust a gussett trying to catch up now. If anyone complains, they can just pitch in a help!

Add new foods one at a time. On the way home from my appointment where I was given to go-ahead for solid foods, I stopped at Wendys and had 1/3 cup of chili and four french fries. One thing I did not tolerate was steamed cauliflower - thought I was going to die. Even now at three months, I can still handle meats better than steamed veggies. Lettuce gave me the whistling **its, so I am not trying that again until about six months. I go easy on fruits because of the carbs, but I put berries in my shakes.

I agree with Laughing Cat. I took music to listen to - did not use it.......books to read - did not read them.......puzzle books - did not do them. I mostly slept.

When I was in the hospital for my sleeve, my boyfriend and I (we're in our 60's) made a list of every state each one of us has been in, and then made a new list of the states we had not seen. So, from that smaller list, we will choose a place to go after I recover from the sleeve and an upcoming spinal fusion. One thing we will do is take the scenic route to avoid major highways and chain restaurants. So, most likely for us it will be Rhode Island, Delaware, Virginia, the Carolinas, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Hawaii, or Alaska. I really would love to fly to Philadelphia, then rent a car or camper to travel back to Illinois by way of the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road to Rowan County North Carolina, then over the Daniel Boone Trail, Cumberland Pass, and Wilderness Road through Kentucky and back home through Indiana to Chicago. A couple of years ago, I took up the mantle as family genealogist. My McCullough ancestors came over in 1734, and were country neighbors to the Boones and Morgans in Rowan County, North Carolina. Subsequent generations fought in the Revolution there, then came with Daniel Boone to open up Kentucky to settlement. Our family history of pushing the frontier makes me appreciate their effort and fortitude. I would be honored to follow their path, but not on horseback. A car will have to do. I am counting on reaching my goal before then so that I can walk better and be able to tolerate getting around. It would be nice to get out of the house for something besides a visit to the doctor's office. This cabin fever is making me crazy.

Don't forget your teddy bear. If you don't need it for hugs and tears, you can use it to prop up your IV arm, hold your phone on the bed, or as a brace for your belly when you cough or sneeze. Some hospitals even provide a Bari-Buddy bear with stiff back. My hospital does not, so I bought one to take anyway.......so glad I did. If you don't have a teddy bear, a solid small pillow will serve the same purpose. Chapstick was my best non-human friend in the hospital.

I went in the other direction and bought barefoot shoes called Vibram Five Finger Shoes. They are designed like the foot of toe-socks, and have a rubber sole for protection against rocks. Some extreme atheletes even climb mountains or run marathons in these things. They are a little pricey, so instead of getting mine from the Vibram site, I got them on clearance from http://www.travelcountry.com.

I overbought, thinking I wanted variety. Even though I have many brands and flavors, my defaults are unjury chocolate Splendor and Unjury strawberry Sorbet. Sometimes I make the chocolate with milk or the strawberry with Crystal Lite Lemonade. I can make both with just Water, or coconut milk, coconut water, or almond milk.

Back in the old days (1973) when they cut you half in two to do gallbladder surgery, I was taken to the E R with pains exactly like yours. I was misdiagnosed with ulcer pain for some reason, and they gave me some creamy stuff for doing some images. That threw my gallbladder in to spasms, and it ruptured, spewing stones all over my abdominal cavity. That hospital (St. Anthony's in Effingham, Illinois) nearly killed me. The surgeon said he had to "go fishing" to get them all. I was in the hospital for 11 days, and lucky to go home alive. That is just a caveat for you to immediately stop eating anything rich or creamy or cheesy or spicy. Your gallbladder is having a hard time processing fats right now, and needs to be babied. If you need to have surgery get it done sooner than later. If done in time, they can do it laparospically and the consequences are a lot less to deal with. We are talking two days stay or maybe even outpatient depending on how you recover. Just don't try to be brave and soldier through it. All I could do when the pain hit was to lay bareback on the cold bathroom floor so that the tiles were like an ice pack. Yeah, I thought I was giving birth to a watermelon through my shoulderblades.

Three months out I still use my smal utensils almost daily for something. This helps to keep my bites small even if it is just to remind me that I need to be mindful that Miss Tummy likes a little pampering.

Still in size 9, but had to switch from wide to narrow.

Miss Tummy has taught me to eat slowly and wait for the tupperware burp. That's my clue to put my plate away. Typically, if I measure out the 1/3 cup and two tablespoons that I was told is my capacity, the burp leaves me one last bite to throw away. If I take a chance and eat anything after the burp, I am freakin miserable for four to five hours afterwards.

That is the way we do eggs at our house. The abrupt change from hot to cold actualy shocks that filmy membrane under the shell so that it releases from the whites, and you can peel it easy and pretty. Now, what if you got busy and forgot to come back to your eggs? Just put them back into the some hot Water for a couple of minutes, and the same thing happens by reverse process, and the shells will release.