Miss Mac

Hey KitKat, welcome to the forum. I am Miss Mac from Chicago, and have been here since August 2013 and had sleeve surgery on December 23, 2013. My one year surgi-versary (and my original birthday) are just around the corner. It's been an interesting ride. Welcome aboard!

With me, it's Richard Simmons....yes, I am that old! Although, I will confess that Shaun T is that easy to look at when I do the Hip Hop Abs. Yes, I am that young at heart! Boop Boop De Doop.

To the original poster: you know why you have to do this. Here is why some others of us followed through on the surgey. It's a long thread, and will keep you out of trouble for hours. So if you have having a "last straw" marathon on a rainy day, get up every once in a while and shake that thang! http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/219831-what-was-your-final-straw-that-broke-the-camels-back/page-72?hl=%2Blast+%2Bstraw#entry3620547

I am nine months out and eating what I want. However, what I want has changed from the pre-op me. I do not want junk and sweets. I do not miss dessert. If I have to have something, I go for an apple instead of apple pie. I might have a small potato twice a month, but not mashed potatoes nearly every day. I eat an ounce of colby jack instead of a double grilled cheese. If I have chili, I may sprinkle 1/4 ounce of shredded cheddar, but I will pass on the crackers or macaroni (my people call that "chili-mac soup") I may have a banana instead of a banana split. So, there you have it. I still weigh and measure everything. My tummy capacity has gone from 1/4 cup and two tablespoons to 3/4 cup. I still eat slow and take small bites. If I do not track I lose track.

His moniker should be "Mean ol' rotten Hateful Fat Bastardo". Maybe then, more people wouldn't take his advice. Yeah, what a creep! Please, run in the opposite direction as fast as you can.

Bummer on the cold damp rainy weather, but like you, I incorporate a variety of upbeat music to keep me moving. When I am doing housework, I crank up the music channels on my Direct TV. My favorites are the Classic Rock Workout, and the Modern Workout channels. Since I don't generally like the fake-a** music on my workout and strength training videos, I put them in the CD player, put it on mute, and play a some Pandora Music as background. I would much rather lift free weights to "Oops, I did it again" than elevator music!

You could (should?) set smaller goals for yourself. For example: Starting weight 360 325 get a book you have been wanting to read 299 (Yay! below 300!) Get a fashion magazine to imagine how your healthy self may look in up to date teen clothes 275 Get some music you want 260 (Yay! 100 pounds lost - and this is a more do-able goal for your birthday than reaching 120 pounds), since folks starting at a higher range tend tend have a greater initial loss. 225 At 5'6" you will start looking fierce and curvey at this weight. Check out available cool stuff for young women 199 (Yay! below 200) We call this One-der-land. You made it! Go somewhere to Celebrate with friends. Maybe an amusement park. You will no doubt fit in a roller coaster seat at this weight. 175 You may start having enough energy to go the distance on a hiking trail, or with some spanx to keep jiggly parts in control, you could do a 5K or one of those races for charity. Plus practicing will help you get in shape even more. 150 OMG You look and feel awesome. You may be investigating plastic surgery to reign things in. This alone will help you lose several more pounds, just from eliminating jiggly leftover skin. However, because you have the advantage of youth hormones and more elastic skin, a regular work-out with strength training could have you in good enough shape to not need plastics. A good reward would be a kick-a** pair of jeans. (I may be an old lady at 62) but in one more size down, I will fit into a pair of white jeans that I bought months ago as a reward for working hard.) I dare to suggest that at 150, you may be delighted with your new curvey body and wonder "What was I thinking?" when setting a goal of 120. Remember, meat is for the man and bone is for the dog. At 5'6", 150 pounds will be freakin' awesome!!!!! I wouldn't even worry about 120 until I get to this point. You may find that if 150-ish feels healthy, and a healthy body is better than a an artificial airbrushed movie star body. Good luck dear. You have a lot to look forward to. And when you get to a stall, remember that stalls are like lovers. You first will probably not be your last. Hugs from Miss Mac in Chicago.

It's not even about how you look. This is about your health and quality of life. You will find that bariatric surgery will draw a line in the sand over who are your real friends and who are just nosy judgemental acquaintances.

I had my right knee replaced, with a meniscus repair, ACL repair, and synovial cyst removed in 2007. It was the single most painful surgery of my life (and my sleeve was #11). I would do it again, but with a better doctor and at a university teaching hospital. I had my left knee replaced in 2011, which was still painful, but I had a better doctor, at a university affiliated teaching hospital, and a much better physical therapy program. When I have an achy day and my bits and parts are stiff and slow, I do my exercise to David Stamps videos. He has several videos that can be followed when sitting in a chair. My absolute favorite is Chair Boxing, although I have his Chair Salsa and his Chair Tai Chi. I would recommend them to anyone with physical challenges that prevent normal upright exercise. I even have his video for people who are bedfast. Plus, he is easy to look at.

How about some kind of egg nog with milk, egg, a little yogurt or ricotta, unflavored Protein powder and a dash of nutmeg????? Sweeten to taste.

Welcome to the forum. Now that you have considered the worst case scenario, please spend a little time, (on this beautiful crisp autumn Sunday) and imagine the best case scenario......losing weight (with the "not fair" male factor) and being healthier and happier for the rest of your extended life. What you did with getting things in order, is indeed and good pro-active measure because you never know when your time in your earthly container is up. Writing a will, sorting out finances, and composing good-bye letters to my family was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do - ever. The emotions I experienced were unexpected and painful. So much so that it took me weeks to finish. I would bawl every time I sat down to continue the process. Recently (and coincidentally ahead of my own bariatric surgery) I updated everything since I had not changed anything in nine years). Once again, it was a difficult and challenging process. I appreciate what you are feeling, and commend you for getting things in order. So many people are unprepared in that department, even in just a practical way. If anything happens to me now, my boyfriend and daughters know exactly where my papers are and how I feel about final matters. I am afraid that if anything happens to my boyfriend, I will be homeless in 30 days. We have had "the talk", but I think he resists because he knows, too, how hard it is to face the harsh reality that I life as we know it is temporary. Also, I agree with the others here that you should tuck your letters away for now. If you feel so strongly that your family should know that you care, I am sure that they do know already. Best thing you can do is hug them and tell them every day. They know. Good luck with your surgery. By the time you lose that first 30-50 pounds, you will feel better already. Your confidence will soar, and your body's internal systems will thank you for the improvements in your nutrition. And your kids and family will be delighted to have you more involved in their lives. Let the hospital staff put that IV in, take a nap for about an hour, and wake up with a new birthday. You have made a geat choice to have this surgery. Now go think about the best case scenario and get off this computer and enjoy the day with your lovely family.

Guessing that you feel better, too. Transformation and inspiration.

That was just one day, so don't beat yourself up. Now, what you did is called "grazing". Unfortunately, even if you caused no damage to your sleeve, grazing can cause calories to add up, just like eating a whole giant family bag of chips when you meant to have just a handful. My NUT told me to only eat what I can comfortably get down in 1/2 hour. After that.....walk a.w.a.y. from the pot roast. Post-op, I had to retrain my tastebuds, because thay still wanted volumes of food that my new boss Miss Tummy can't handle. Oh, man......now I want pot roast!

If you go to the search box at the top of this page and type in CONSTIPATION and the click on the box that says This Topic, you will get a drop down menu. Click on Forums and then the search magnifying glass symbol. You will get a page that accesses at least 40 threads on the topic of constipation. As for myself, I take a stool softener capsul twice a day, and as needed will drink a couple of ounces of prune juice, or put Miralax in my beverages. I also have on hand Smooth Move Tea which I bought in the chocolate flavor so that I could add it to my sugar-free hot choclate at bedtime. They have other flavors. I bought it online.

Pre-op, I had suffered several years of diverticulitis, and six weeks before my sleeve, I was in the hospital for eight days with ischemic colitis. I am now nine months out from my sleeve and have neither of those issues. I credit this to being more aware of what I am putting into my body. I have become what is called a NUTRITARIAN, where everything I eat must have the best bang for my buck nutritionally. My new tummy has such reduced real estate that I do not have room for crackers in chile. noodles in Soup, bread for sandwiches, etc. As a matter of fact, I believe without a doubt that eliminating wheat in general has made a significant difference in my digestion as well overall health.

The hardest part of this process for me has not been the surgery or even the recovery. It was the not knowing - that time between when conditions were met and the packet was submitted. I was so nervous that I called my insurance (BCBS Federal Employee) case manager two days later, and was told I was approved already. The bariatric office had not even heard yet. Be pro-active. You are your own best advocate. Once we got the go-ahead from the insurance company, time passed so quickly. Here I am nine months out and 65 pounds down. By the end of my year, I expect to be close to, if not at my goal. Folks, hang in there, and start keeping a journal. I wish I had from the start. I wish you good luck and good health.

You may as well give your new stomach a name, because it will be talking to you frequently. Mine is "Miss Tummy", and she does not hesitate to let me know if she doesn't like something, even if it was something that my old stomach and taste buds used to like. A few times I have eaten something too soon (like steamed cauliflower with cheese) and she gave it back. Oh, yeah, another thing was Peanut Butter, and another was fish. And if you take too big of a bite and something gets hung up in your throat or is too dry, it is difficult to drink enough Fluid to wash it down. Foods that you used to tolerate may taste or digest differently than it used too. Dairy (like your yogurt) and eggs are a good example. You are going to have to be your own lab rat as you re-introduce old foods to your new digestive system. If you are like me, then you were so used to just eating and drinking when you felt like it, but now your new stomach will let you know that you have a new boss in the kitchen. When Miss Tummy gets disagreeable, she will let me suffer for at least four hours to teach me a lesson. You will become a good student very quickly because the alternative is generally unpleasant. Of course, you should not diminish the importance of any symptom, especially signs of dehydration which can land you back in the E R very quickly. I hope this helps in some way. I wish you good luck and good health.

Oh, by the way.......welcome to the forum, where opinions and tact may vary. Take it for what it's worth, and never hesitate to contact your bariatric team. You and your insurance are paying them for a service. I wish you good luck and good health.

Since it was recommended, implemented, and followed up by a professionals, I would take every effort to make it count, especially if you have a six month requirement.

At nine months out, I still fade at about three hours. If I am out of the house, then I make sure I have some cheese, a tuna salad pack, a Protein bar or something just in case we are delayed.

I couldn't open that site, but found this by re-routing through their home page: https://asmbs.org/patients/bariatric-surgery-misconceptions Misconception: The chance of dying from metabolic and bariatric surgery is more than the chance of dying from obesity. Truth: As your body size increases, longevity decreases. Individuals with severe obesity have a number of life-threatening conditions that greatly increase their risk of dying, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and more. Data involving nearly 60,000 bariatric patients from ASMBS Bariatric Centers of Excellence database show that the risk of death within the 30 days following bariatric surgery averages 0.13 percent, or approximately one out of 1,000 patients. This rate is considerably less than most other operations, including gallbladder and hip replacement surgery. Therefore, in spite of the poor health status of bariatric patients prior to surgery, the chance of dying from the operation is exceptionally low. Large studies find that the risk of death from any cause is considerably less for bariatric patients throughout time than for individuals affected by severe obesity who have never had the surgery. In fact, the data show up to an 89 percent reduction in mortality, as well as highly significant decreases in mortality rates due to specific diseases. Cancer mortality, for instance, is reduced by 60 percent for bariatric patients. Death in association with diabetes is reduced by more than 90 percent and that from heart disease by more than 50 percent. Also, there are numerous studies that have found improvement or resolution of life-threatening obesity-related diseases following bariatric surgery. The benefits of bariatric surgery, with regard to mortality, far outweigh the risks. It is important to note that as with any serious surgical operation, the decision to have bariatric surgery should be discussed with your surgeon, family members and loved ones.

I have a digital one bought at Menards

I would keep going with the protein only because near bedtime, I would rather have a boiled egg and a bit of cheese instead of 1/ 2 bagel.

This is not so much about your weight as it is your health and quality of life. Information should be given out on a "need to know" basis, and other than the people who will be supportive in your recovery, no one really needs to know.

After thirty five years, I finally retired for Healthcare Envirornmental Management. I have supervised staff in both nursing homes and hospitals and therefore have thirty five years of experience working with / for medical professionals. In more than one place, I managed my own department's Human Resources as a contractor. The one thing that amazed me most in all of those years is that in spite of HIPAA laws that establish the privacy rights of the patients, those same professionals across the board do not grasp that this same right to privacy should extend to their co-workers. I had to wrestle constantly with my own staff to remind them that if one of their own co-workers is in a hospital bed, or even confides a medical issue wth them, that information is their personal information and is the "employee patient's" story to tell. Your nurse manager needs some re-training herself to understand that 1) Human Resources is the only place you should have been required to divulge the reason for your surgery - even you even had to tell them that much. Really, all that should be required is a letter from your surgeon stating that you are under his care and will not expected be able to return to work until a specific time. 2) It's nobody's business why you will be absent, and if your nurse manager has forced your hand to get information, she is clearly over-stepping the bounds of her authority. 3)The HIPAA laws are there for you, too. I wish you good luck and good health.