Miss Mac

I am not in a position to comment on the taping idea, because my starting point was quite different from yours, but after I lost the first fifty pounds, I was really deflated. So, I went to a foundation shop and got my first ever "professionally measured" bra. I had been wearing a 48 D and came down to a 40B at that point. I still have floppage under my arms.

Two of my sisters have had it.

At about six weeks I tried medium salsa and have not had a problem with it. I have had spicy chili with no problem. But a jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese did me in for a couple of days. It really got its revenge all the way through my system, to a painful exit.

I am probably going to wear out my Leslie Sansone walking DVD. It is my favorite of the variety of fitness DVDs that I have. Someone came to my door today while I was diddly bopping along with a Richard Simmons Sweating to the Oldies!

I take one Flintstones chewable with Iron, but not at the same time I take my Calcium supplement. My one year labs were beyond excellent. I also take D3 and B12.

Stephanie, you sure do have a lot of hampsters running around in your brain! I was going to say exactly what AvaFern just said. What if you go up to the search box and type in NSV? You will find posts on all of the amazing changes that others have experienced only because they went through with their surgeries. You will start noticing pleasant differences about the time you lose the first 30 pounds.

I like it. This would be an interesting thread for newbies who could use a boost in the application process. So, on that note, here is a copy of mine with identifiers taken out. I was approve in two days from submission of my packet. October 24, 2013 This letter is a heartfelt request for BCBS to approve bariatric surgery to help me lose a significant amount of excess weight that has caused me many chronic health issues and has seriously affected my quality of life. My adult life started at 108 pounds at graduation, at a time when I was both anorexic and anemic. The reason for that was deliberate. I did not want to be morbidly obese like the rest of my family, many of whom weighed over 300 pounds. My oldest brother died of a heart attack at the age of 47 – at a weight of 420 pounds. My mother died at the age of 67 because of an abdominal aortic aneurism. She was 5’2” and weighed 320 pounds. My father survived two heart attacks and eventually died from a stroke. Two of my sisters have been large from childhood and currently weigh over 300 pounds as do many of my cousins. Since my late 20’s I began having problems controlling my weight and I consequently yo-yo dieted for three decades. Boy-oh-boy, I feel like I tried everything that came along, from South Beach, Sugar Busters, food Combining, Weight Watchers, Richard Simmons, even the Dolly Parton Diet, among many others. Remarkably, I did have 50 pounds of success with the Atkins Diet twice, and gained it all back much quicker than I lost it. For about 15 years I have been taking medication for chronic high blood pressure while working physically demanding jobs. On 9/11/2010, I suffered a Cardio Vascular Accident. Due to outstanding care at XXXXXXX Hospital, damage was minimized. The most significant lasting effect was loss of balance and altered proprioception. This has rendered me to be a moderate fall risk and forced me into an early retirement from federal service. I am unable to leave my home unassisted and can no longer drive because even though I can see, people and curbs and cars are not where I think they are. In 2007 my right knee had to be replaced. At that time, my weight was around 180 pounds. I gained even more weight during recovery and eventually had to have a partial replacement of my left knee on 11/7/2012. Osteoarthritis is another issue that has hijacked my health. My vertebrae have degenerative disc disease with seventeen herniation, and my body is failing to support my current weight which fluctuates from 220-235. On 2/14/2013 I had a three level ACDF. I also am being treated by the XXXXXXXXXX Pain Clinic for thoracic radiculopathy, sciatica in my left leg, and femoral nerve impingement in my right leg (which is exaserbated by my overhanging 53” belly). In order to get around, I must use a cane, my walker, or someone to assist me because I cannot stand for more than a couple of minutes without high levels of pain in my back, sides, hips and legs. Also, this belly has affected my posture so much that standing up straight, although it can be done, is painful in its self. Turning over in bed is painful because my weight is difficult to maneuver with this pendulous belly. The skin under the overlap gets red and irritated, so I am using medicated powder per doctor’s orders. At the time of the CVA I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, another condition than not surprisingly runs in the family. I am still taking meds for this condition to prevent transfer to full-on diabetes. My cholesterol is chronically high, so I am taking Lipitor for that. Due to chronic digestive troubles and reflux, my primary care physician, XXXXXX XXXXXXX, ordered an EGD on 2/22/2012. The findings then were: Irregular GE junction, Hiatal hernia, Acute gastritis, and Reflux esophagitis. The attending physician, XXXXX XXXXX, prescribed Omeprazole to relieve the reflux. Since the stroke, Dr. XXXXXXX has had me on a 1200 calorie USDA Pyramid diet (allowing for a Mediterranean chef in the house). Dr. XXXXX asked me to follow a 1000 calorie diet with adjustments for preventing reflux (i.e. no soda, citrus juices, caffeine, fried foods, etc. In spite of my best efforts at diet and exercise, my weight continues to rise. I am in pain every day, and my home has become my prison. I am taking Bupropion to battle depression and anxiety as I tend to have much worry about becoming a wheelchair-bound invalid. My weight issues have not been resolved even under my doctors’ care and concern, and I fear that I am becoming my mother and facing a premature death like hers. Surgical intervention will certainly produce positive outcomes for me. I am not big-boned, but a naturally petite person who is carrying another person around her waist. I will follow my doctors’ orders and be the best patient ever. Your consideration is appreciated and I look forward to being a much healthier me in the future. Thank you so much - you are saving my life. Comorbidities that indicate I would benefit from weight loss surgery: 1. BMI of 40.06 when my PCP referred me to Loyola’s Bariatric Clinic 2. Metabolic syndrome 3. Pre-diabetes 4. Osteoarthritis 5. Degenerative disc disease 6. Neuropathies 7. Joint replacements 8. Mixed hyperlipidemia 9. Hypertension 10. 53” waist 11. Family history of heart disease 12. CVA on 9/11/2010 13. Family history of stroke 14. Family history of diabetes 15. Family history of heart attacks 16. Family history of coronary artery disease 17. Gastro esophageal reflux 18. Hiatal hernia 19. Depression and anxiety 20. Family history of obesity related premature death

I agree with all of these lovely supportive posts. The fact that I can come here to the forum and find all this help in one place is exactly why I keep coming back. Plus, I can give a lift to others coming along for the ride. The failure for me was every other diet known to mankind. I have been on a diet since 1978 and gained fifty-five pounds beyond what I was trying to lose. I have had two knee replacements and my spine was collapsing under the hundred extra pounds that it was not engineered to carry. A stroke convinced me that the failure was in not recognizing that the standard American diet and conventional wisdom were not benefitting me. LIsten, Miss Butterfly12, you will forget all about what other people think about your healthcare choices around the time you lose that first thirty pounds. You will start to feel better inside - your internal systems and organs will start to respond to all of that nutritious Protein, improved food intake, and extra fluids. Your human container that the essence of you lives in, becomes happier and lets you know it. Don't be so hard on yourself. You have decided to take control of your health and not give your power to naysayers or the hampsters running around in your head. I wish you good luck and good health.

At fifteen months post-op, I can admit that the ride has been crazy for me, too. I am still tweaking my everyday balance between fluids, Proteins, carbs, fats, trying to get all the requirements into one day. Do I miss soda pop? Not anymore. It is a distant memory of reflux and bloat. Do I miss Pasta? Oh yeah, but I enjoy feeling light and healthy more. Once in a while ( a couple of times a month) I might have as much as my four-year-old granddaughter might eat, but focus on the meat sauce and green veggies served with it. Do I miss bread? Yep. I am allowed 1 slice of wheat bread per day, but I find that the starchy carbs slow my roll, so I had to give up bread like a bad rash. Am I ashamed of my new body that now looks like a pencil with a life-saver candy around the middle? Not any more. It is a badge of courage and a rite of passage on the way to the new me. In December, when I hit my two year mark, My insurance will pay for floppity skin removal - so I am going for it. Changing relationships is not a bad thing. Bariatric success will expose the true nature of your relationships, and you want the truth, don't you? It happens because we become stronger emotionally. You want to be stronger emotionally, don't you? You have no doubt heard the quote from the movie NETWORK when the anchorman is finally just sick and tired of being devalued. Ratings are down and he is the scapegoat for the blame. On air, he yells out "I am mad as hell and I am not going to take this anymore." Then the ratings spike. But, here is the point: As people respond to the news of your surgery and your very visible success, they become more bold and outspoken. Their real feelings and opinions come out. It is painful, but it is how you find out who has your back and who is using you or controlling you. The information is so liberating and lets down the veil that has being hiding the true nature of each relationship. This is information you need and should be welcomed instead of feared. Finally, you will know how the peopla around you REALLY feel about you. Then you deal with it. Not all of the exposure is bad. In spite of the fact that my companion of nine years was vocally supportive, inwardly I was afraid that he was a chubby chaser and would not love me anymore if I were at a more healthy weight. We have enjoyed a healthy and uncommonly amazing intimacy for folks in their sixties, which the cobwebs in my mind were telling me was because coming from a huge family of huge people, I had been taught that "meat is for the man and bone is for the dog". And he has difinitely been enthusiatic for my wiggly jiggly parts. I should mention that he is very tall and very thin. Pre-op we looked like a pencil and an apple standing together. Anyway, what the outcome of my surgery has revealed is that he loves me NO MATTER WHAT and wants me to be healthy. Besides, losing weight has given me more energy and more Betty Boopness. I had no idea at age twenty that I would be and feel my sexiest in my sixties! Don't you worry so much. You will gain far more than you lose. When you shower off the dirt at night, do you miss the dirt? No. You enjoy the freshness of being cleansed from the dirt, and new skin cells can grow to replace the dead dirty ones that sloughed off. The surgery itself for me was like a nice little nap, and when I woke up it was the birthday of the new me. I got to re-invent myself from the inside out. The discomfort you will experience from the physical insult of surgey will be long forgotten by the time you approach your first year. I wish you all the best. Now, you go out there and get healthy!

I am one of thoe people who lose from the top down, the feet up, and belly last. With about twenty pounds to go, I feel like a pencil that has a life saver around the middle. Oh well, when I get two my two year surgiversary, my insurance will pay for a panniculectomy.

The hard part for me is "clean your plate", "there are starving children in China", "willful waste makes willful want", "take what you want, but eat what you take". Non of these mom-isms (is that even a word?) are wrong in themselves, but OMG the guilt I suffer in throwing out that last bite on my plate, or funky week-old leftovers that I never got to. But I have to come to understand that I can either respect the capacity of my sleeve or just tape the extra food directly to my hips. I think one reason that I used to eat so fast was that I came from a large (six kids, 63 first cousins) family, and if there was any thought of a second helping, you had to out-eat the others. One of the tragedies of growing up poor or struggling is that crap food is cheap and nutritious food is costly. When I was gowing up in the 1950's and 1960's it cost nearly nothing to bake a cake from scratch, but fresh fruit enough to satisfy six growing kids was harder to justify. Kraft macaroni and cheese was 4 boxes for $1, fresh meat was harder to come by. The vegetable that we had daily was potatoes. I never met a potato that I did not like. Often a snack was "sugar bread", brown sugar sprinkled on a piece of bread. Most of my diet was bread, potatoes, rice, home-made noodles, pancakes, dumplings, biscuits, spaghetti - you get the picture. It is so hard to un-learn bad eating habits while economizing with healthy ingredients. I did not like the discomfort of the three month pre-op diet, the two week liquid diet, and the post-op stages of introducing food to my new tummy, but I am so thankful for it. I had to learn to eat all over again. What I thought was a will power problem was actually the death-grip of salt, sugar, and grease. We do not give ourselves enough credit for making the decision to move forward with bariatric surgery. People call us weak, but they have no idea of the strength it took to get us here.

Those brain cobwebs are sneaky little ninjas. You knock one out of the way, and here come six more from a dark corner. Your post made me think of something. Two years ago, I adopted the role of family genealogist for my generation. As I reseach for documention and interesting stories that bring ancestors to life, I came across a letter written by my paternal grandmother's cousin. The family lived in North Dakota, and Grandma's mother taught school to the children in and around Fort Ransom. In 1885, some of the family came to southern Indiana (my kin) and some joined a two-mile long wagon train to Kalispell, Montana, a beautiful valley area west of Glacier National Park. During and after the trip she kept a journal of their encounter with Crow Indians, muddy plains, cholera, and the difficulties of the time. Grandma's cousin Ellen even told of the family's interactions with Calamity Jane and Liver Eatin' Johnson. That letter is my most treasured document of all my work, even though one of my cousin's possess's the original. But what I am saying, is that while your challenging journey is fresh in your mind - and you do write so well, why not start a journal of your own for your daughters to have when the circle of life comes around to taking you home to your ancestors? They will treasure it forever and can pass down to their children the stories of your strength and fortitude. We can all do so much more than we think we can. Thank you for your inspiring post......will you adopt me?

At five weeks, I was just a few days into eating cooked regular foods as tolerated. But, since your doctor has you on a slower transition, you should just roll with it. I am surprised that you seem to be eating mostly carbs. Even at the mushy stage, you can eat regular food, just cook it to softness and then run it through the blender a bit to break it down. On soft mushy foods, I was eating yogurt (protein), scrambled eggs (protein), refried Beans with cheese and a little sour cream (protein), beef stew run through the blender (protein), moist chicken meat (protein), moist ground beef or turkey (protein) and steamed fish (protein). Let the blender be your friend. For every 1/2 cup of Protein, I was to eat two tablespoons of veggies. One of my biggest issues with food was changing my habits developed around food. I loved sweet rolls, muffins, pancakes, etc. for Breakfast as soon as I opened my eyes - sweets with a cup of sweet tea. Now I have eggs for breakfast, but one day it's a fried egg, one day it is boiled, maybe another day it is a small cheese omelet with sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms and ham, and today I am eating deviled eggs. lunch was frequently an hour after breakfast. Now I make a point to drink at least two bottles of Water before I eat anything else, and then it is a snack. Today I had a gherkin and an ounce of cheese. Some days the snack is 1/2 an apple with a tablespoon of Peanut Butter. A couple of days a week, my snack is 1/3 cup yogurt with some berries. See, it is not the same every day. lunch is now early afternoon, and I am starting to eat more tuna salad and other cold salads and vary the ingredients. My late afternoon snack might be a little dark chocolate with a handful of almonds. In my soft phase, yogurt was my go-to. I could put a little sugar-free jam in it to give it a little flavor. Supper was any soft meat I wanted plus a couple of spoonfuls of mashed veggies. My favorite was/is green beans because they are not starchy. My bedtime snack, if I have to have one, is usually oatmeal with stewed apples, or 1/2 banana and peanut butter....there are so many things you can do. Meals cannot be the highlight of my day anymore. I have to be creative and find interesting things to do that don't involve mindless munching on popcorn or chips. Bariatric surgery changes your life. You need to think differently to feel differently and get healthy. This gets better as you graduate through the various phases because your options open up. No, I do not eat Pasta anymore. Last night for dinner, I had two meatballs with spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese, and a few green beans. I have had pizza a couple of times and just use a fork to pull the goodies off the crust. There is no flavor in regular crust anyway. It's just a plate you can eat. Dessert will be a peach, not peach pie. Put on your thinking cap and get creative. Drink water, sip, sip, sip until your eyeballs float. You can do this!

Thank Goodness that you are a grown woman with your own mind and that mom does not have legal power of attorney over your healthcare decisions. You can proceed as planned and set a good example for her. I have strived to be a pleasant and supportive mom for my daughters who are now grown (37 and 39), but there were times that they called me out on a judgemental attitude and straightened me out. I have learned so much more from my daughters than I think I ever taught them. There seems to come a time when the circle of life reverses and the parent becomes the child; the teacher becomes the student. Be patient with your mom, but maintain a little distance until your are post-op. She might still be snarky, but she will know that you stand up for yourself and won't give your power to anyone....not even her. I am 63 and had my surgery December 23, 2013. I am 5'4" and weighed 235 at the time of surgery. I had already had both knees replaced (I do not wish joint replacement on anybody) and many gastric issues. I was pre-diabetic and on a cocktail of meds for high blood pressure. My mother died before her time of an abdominal anyeurism at the age of 67. Her mother lived to be 98. Mother weighed 320 pounds and was bigger around than she was tall (5'2"). What convinced me to have the surgery was a stroke - a freakin' stroke. That's when I knew I was done with dieting, the food pyramid, and common wisdom about metabolism. I was clearly becoming my mother. Please stand your ground and don't become your mother. Your children need a mother who is present in their lives and not on the sidelines feeling 80 at the age of 40. Hang in there. I wish you good luck and good health.

When I bought a new mattress two years ago, I started using a waterproof mattress pad. I have not actually soiled my bed in the way you have mentioned, but post-op for the first three months I had several close calls in racing to the bathroom. I had constipation as soon as I started soft foods, and I think I overcompensated with the laxatives. I just was afraid of having to push a watermelon through a straw again. At 15 months, I am still trying to find the balance. This I do know, that Miss Tummy is the boss of me, and if the queen of my gastric universe is displeased, she will make me miserable for at least four hours. She keeps me on the straight and narrow.

Just think of the anesthesia as a nice little nap, and when you wake up, you will be on you way to a new you. Doctor's and hospitals don't make any money on messing up and killing patients, so chances are good that you will do just fine. Just think of the anesthesia as a nice little nap, and when you wake up, you will be on you way to a new you. Doctor's and hospitals don't make any money on messing up and killing patients, so chances are good that you will do just fine.

I just had to grin when I read "large salad". That used to be at least four cups. Now that I am 15 months post-sleeve, a large salad is 3/4 cup!

My body definitely responds differently to carbs than any other kind of food. If I dare to eat any kind of bread, Pasta, potato.......my weight is up the next day, even if I have had a little as 600 calories.

At 15 months, 3/4 to a cup of food fills me up, too. When I had a one-year barium swallow follow up, you could see on the images how my Miss Tummy is shaped like a small banana. I agree that images would give you the answer on how big/small your sleeve is.

Juicing robs you of the natural fibers in fruits and veggies, but I do like glittereyes' suggestion about using the pulp in other foods. Sounds like you have done your research. Let Mom juice all she wants. I am guessing she does not have a BMI of 61,4, which means (like I was) you are probably as round as you are tall. It took a stroke to convince me that I did not have time for any more fad diets. I had been on one diet or another since 1978 and gained another fifty pounds. Read the threads on THE LAST STRAW. It will open your eyes as to all of the reasons why the rest of us just could not take the consequences of obesity anymore. Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck and good health.

One of my favorite foods in the soft phase was refried Beans with a little cheese and sour cream. I did not do salsa at that point. I was eating tuna, but put it in the blender with some mayo and boiled egg to make it more moist and smooth. Yogurt with mashed banana was another thing I ate. I did have mashed potatoes at the point, but added unflavored chicken Soup flavored Protein powder to make up for the lack of protein.

I was allowed full liquids as soon as I came home from the hospital on day three. At one week I went to purees, at two weeks I started soft foods and at one month (4 1/2 weeks) I started whole cooked foods as tolerated. My surgeon developed the bariatric program for the Cleveland Clinic and is now at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago where he developed the bariatric pogram here, too. He teaches gastric and robotic surgery at the university, as well. Follow your own teams' plan as much as you can, and do stay away from things will small bits, like popcorn, nuts, raw foods even if you chew well. Go to Youtube and watch a couple of videos with your kind of surgery, to remind yourself what just happened to your stomach and why you can't just impose upon it to digest any old thing. Based on your plan as you described it, a cheat for you would be yogurt, applesauce, thin pureed soups with no chunks, pudding, etc. I was taking pills and Vitamins right away, but could only take one at a time because I could not swallow much Water to get them down.

How in the world does this ap do crazy stuff like center your work when you did not center it yourself???????

I agree with Bufflehead and the others. I started college at the age of 18, but only got in eighteen credit hours before my mother became critically ill. I had to drop out to care for younger siblings, one who was a toddler (geeze, he is 49 now!) After that, I got married, moved away, had kids of my own and two divorces. At the age of 54, I went back to school to fiinish my degree. Fifteen of my eighteen hours from 1971-72 transferred (just not the P. E . (swimming) class. I even got a $1,000 scholarship for winning an essay contest with the school, and was published in their tutorial on the correct way to write a college-level thesis. Because of the availability of life-long learning credits, I got three more credit hours comped for passing a Human Health course as part of my science credits. At the age of 56, I aced, that is ACED Statistics I and II. My overall GPA was 3.75. At the age of 58, I finally completed my Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. Just think - how old will you be in two - four years if you don't go back to school? My only gripe about the experience was that many of the younger students were just drinking their way through four years of college on Daddy's money, and took every shortcut they could. Group projects drove me crazy, because to get my A, I had to hold up three or four kidlets who could not have cared less if they even got a C grade. All content contributed to group papers had to be carefully edited for plagerism and Wikipedia cut and paste. So, I learned quickly to exert myself into being the team editor for every class I was in. It was extra work for me, but I am the one that walked away a 3.75 instead of a 1.75 GPA. Here is a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, that gets me through tough times, and got me through those classes with my focus on the prize: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do.......begin it. For boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

My first disaster was steamed cauliflower.