Miss Mac

Not so much for my lips, but my fingernails got very brittle for about three months and then returned to normal.

I agree with Mike4132. Put a shortcut to bariatricpal.com on your computer's desktop. If you can get him to venture to this website, direct him to The Guy's Room. If you go to the top of this page, click on FORUMS. On the page that pops up, scroll halfway down. The Guy's Room will be in there somewhere. Even if he shows no interest, he might just check it out while you are out walking the dog.....you never know. It took a stroke and a collapsing spine to convince me I needed to do something extreme about my weight. Loyola University Medical Center did my surgery. At their bariatric clinic, not everyone gets surgery. One of their options is to continue the medically supervised diet with the nutitionist and extend appointments with the bariatric physician and psychologist. Having a nutritionist in my corner has been a gift to me. She has taught me so many ways to help control my eating and has helped me develop new skills that are saving my life along with the sleeve. A non-surgical approach is clearly an option if he expresses resistance to surgery. You did not say if you had any kind of weight issues yourself. Maybe the best you can do right now is to manipulate food sources in your house. You could make sure that there is plenty of meat and other dense Proteins in the fridge. If he is a Cheerios kind of guy, offer to make him Breakfast quiche (without the crust). (Go ahead and sneak some spinach into it while you are at it). Get one of those Eat This Not That kind of cookbooks and provide some tasty options that won't do too much damage. Do not eat tempting things in front of him. One of the qualities that I love about my boyfriend of 8 years is that even though I was overweight when we met and I gained another 50 pounds after a series of surgeries that affected my mobility, he never asked me to change anything thing about myself. He is a smoker, and I have never asked him to change that habit or anything else. We love each other as we are. When I decided on my own to get my sleeve, he was supportive from the start. That is what your guy needs. Love him as he is and tell him you would feel safer if would escort yor on your walks. Maybe even shorten the walk for the time being and let the dog monkey around the yard. Just love your guy and let this situation work itself out.

My insurance is BCBS for federal employees (retired from V A, Env. Services). One of the requirements for my approval was three months of a medically supervised diet in addition to documentation that I had been under a doctors care for two years during which time my weight issues were addressed. What I did was ask my primary physician for a copy of my medical records for the last two years. When I got it, I highlighted my starting weight, my weight at every appointment, and every mention that the doctor suggested 1200 calories or low salt or low fat or exercise anything concerning my weight. That (with comorbidities) was good enough for approval. Wouldn't it be great if you would only have to provide medical records for a few months prior to the time you started with the nutitionist? It wouldn't cost anything to ask.

It would sure be easier to resolve a dental issue with antibiotics than an issue post-op with a sleeve. Both times that I had a knee replacement, I was told to not have any dental work or invasive procedure without taking an antibiotic first - for two full years. My sleeve surgeon did not say anything, but my dentist knows the drill.

That's half of you. Congratulations!

Well said.

Metabolic syndrome is the reason I had bariatric surgery. It is a constellation of symptoms that make it so difficult to lose weight in spite of our most valient efforts. Pre-op, I could not lose weight on 1,000 calories. Now, minus 80% of my stomach, it is dfficult to lose weight on 800 calories and exercise. The first 65 pounds are gone, but these last forty will apparently go kicking and screaming. My best consolation is that with slower weight loss, we can expect a better recovery of the elasticity of our skin. I wish!

One of my daughters is a traveling home health occupational therapist, who helps people adjust and relearn skills after a severe health issue or dibilitating accident. She was a big help after I had a stroke in 2010, and one of my biggest issues was not that I had health problems to address, but that I had dependance issues to address. In my impatience to recover, I did not want to be a burden to my boyfriend whom I had just moved in with one week prior. I felt that he did not deserve to have to work 12 hour days and then come home and be a nurse to me. I read from your post that in addition to your concern about healing your physical body, you are worried beyond consolation that you are becoming a burden to him. However, I also see that he cares for you deeply and really doesn't mind at all to be your rock through this whole process. It also appears that, were the tables of fate turned to where he needed you more than ever to care for him through a despairing setback, you would support him with all the love you can give. When you have you wedding and come to the part where you vow to love each other "in sickness and in health" you will feel that little tug on your heartstrings because you know from experience what that really means. Your doctors can get you through your medical healing, but you need to let go of your independance long enough to let your fiance provide you the peace of mind that you need so much right now. I wish you good luck, and good health, and a long and happy marriage.

For me, the fatigue was worse than the pain. Here is a "heads up" fo the gas pain: I asked my surgeon what he does for pain management and he said that before he closes up the biggest incision he extracts as much of the gas as possible. Thank goodness, because I did not have any gas pain at all. The biggest incision was sore for about three weeks, but that was it. Another suggestion for pain prevention is to prop youself up in bed or sleep in a recliner for a coupke of nights to make it easier to rise. I have a lift recliner because of spinal issues, and it really came in handy post-op.

That sounds good now, and I am almost nine months out!.

Soups made with bone broth instead of salty canned broth will give you more nutrients. You could make a home made beef vegetable soup with veggies of your liking, strain out and then mash the veggies, and save the mash in small baggies or ice cube trays for when you get to the puree stage. The broth will be so much more rewarding than canned soup. I made some home made chicken broth just last week after I had bought a rotisserie chicken to have as a protein "snack on" for the week. After I pulled the meat off the bone, I cooked the carcass and meaty bits with onion, carrot, and celery and some boxed broth to make it fuller instead of with tap water. I added pepper, but not salt. I strained out the veggie bits and pureed them, then put them back in the broth. On full liquids, you could not add the veggies back, but you will still get the awesome flavor and nutrients.

When I am typing text documents independent of this website, I get the red and green squiggley marks, but not so on bariatricpal.com. In my Word program, I can open REVIEW and click on the checkmark icon for spelling and grammar, but I just do not see that here. What am I missing? When I hit the arrow to exand the task bar for more options, it closes out my response.

Mine required a three month supervised diet, but no weight loss was required.

I will agree to politely disagree. Grammer and punctuation used to bother me, but the older I get, the less I care. But I do think that different ways of speaking and spelling and typing make me have to read some things over a couple of times. My biggest gripe is texting abbreviations, but I will admit that having to look them up expands my horizens a bit. My biggest fail, per the OP (see, I learned something!) is that I never do a spell check - ever. Since you brought up spelling, I will try to remember to spellcheck. Thanks for the nudge. O K, which one of the task bar icons is the spell check?

Hang in there. I have heard (and I hope it is true, because I am a slow loser, too) that a slower weight loss allows the skin to recover elasticity more easily and will help the hangover to not be so bad -especially if you are young. I think I will have to change my signature for a while. The new one will be "Stalls are like lovers. Your first one will probably not be your last."

You look so healthy now. Who knew you were hiding in there? Congratulations.

At four days I wouldn't have done it if I had to travel more than a few miles or was in the wedding party. If it was close to home and I could do a "fly by" apppearance and then leave gracefully, then maybe just maybe. If your surgery details are being withheld from family and friends, then you might (closer to the wedding) let the bride and groom know you are under a doctor's care and would still love to come to the wedding but may have to duck out early. Use your best judgement depending on how close you are to the bride and groom. You really do not want your health issues upstaging the bride. It's her day. Like the others said, if you do go, you should have an exit stategy.

You have only been introduced to "the dreaded third week stall" a few days early. I know we get tired of hearing that our bodies are just adjusting, but that is exactly what is happening.

Uh....I don't know......I saw that guy on the stretcher Are the different segments of the race continuous? I would think that since your surgery was on your stomach and not your legs, you should give it a go and do us proud! Just find a way to hydrate and get your Protein. Good Luck!

When it was discovered that I had some thickness in my heart, I was told hat it came from chrnic high blood pressure. If your doctors are concerned, they should call you, but I would not wait very long without getting assertive and start asking about your results and prognosis. You are your own best advocate for your healthcare. Bug them about it and don't be shy.

OMG, I am so glad you are OK. This is a good reminder to all of us to not disregard symptoms when our body is trying to tell us something. I am thankful that you asked questions and that you called your doctor.

I found out that my insurance co-ordinator at the bariatric clinic was going on a two-week vacation and no one woukd be covering her. So, I called the insurance company myself, and got approved in two days. They sent me a letter (another three days down) and I faxed that to my surgeon's nurse manager. I had a date that same day still a week ahead of the co-ordinator coming back from vacation!

How great it is that you are going into this together! I agree that having support in the household will be your strongest advantage above anything else. You can practice now with high Protein meals and ways to modify old favorites into something more nutritious so that you won't feel so deprived while adjusting to your new healthy lifestyle. You will learn so many new culinary skills on this journey that you will be amazed at yourself. You will become what is called a "nutitarian". Meaning that everything you eat must have some redeeming nutritional value in it. You may sneek a taste of a cheat now and then, but frankly, you will just not have the digestive real estate for much more than what you should be eating anyway. Once you get that first 30 or 40 pounds off, you will start feeling a vitality that you have not felt in a long time. I think that is my greater goal more so than reaching my goal weight on the scale. I want to reach that healthy vitality that I have not felt in over thirty years. I am so glad that you are entering into this process at a young age rather than consuming the best years of your life with yo-yo dieting. Good for you, and congratulations to Mama, too. I had to giggle at your response of "Ty" to the previous poster. As an older person who was not raised as a texter, I sometimes have to think real hard or look these things up in an urban dictionary. I guess it keeps me on my toes! Welcome to the forum.....you will find friends here.

Hello and welcome to the forum. I chose the sleeve because I did not want my system rerouted or live with a port the rest of my life. My favorite aspect of this site is that for the most part, people are kind and non-judgemental. You will find however, that opinions and tact will vary, so take each response for what it's worth. What I wish I had paid more attention to going in is that stalls are usually aggravating and often as our bodies make adjustments.......way more often than I expected. Just keep in mind that stalls are like lovers - your first one probably will not be your last one !

With my insurance, BCBS Federal Employee, you have to have a BMI of 40, or 35 with comorbidities. There is a 90 day medically supervised diet, plus you have to provide two years worth of medical records showing that you have at least tried something during that time. I had monthly nutrition and bariatric physician visits, saw the psych and the surgeon at the first and the last of my program.