McButterpants

I'm a 43 year old mother and wife, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. Although I would like to say the unselfish thing and say "I did it for all those people around me that love me." I didn't. I was selfish and did it for myself - I want to be around longer. I want to see my son become a man. I want to see him get married and have kids. I want to grow old with my husband. Those are all for me!!!!! I have not been an active participant in life for about 10 years - I tired easily and wanted to nap on a daily basis. I got sick all the time, so I was expected to just sit on the couch and do nothing. I had no expectations - not even to shower or get dressed every day. That life sucked. I owed it to my family to do better, but more importantly, I owed it to myself. Did I feel guilty that I was taking $11K out of my family's pockets to pay for the surgery? Of course, that's a lot of money. (I still cringe a little when I write that figure.) I can guarantee you, I wasn't going to lose the weight without the surgery and I wasn't going to get any healthier. Only you know if this surgery is right for you. It was absolutely the right thing for me to do, even self-pay.

Great news! Now you can spend all that money on new clothes and shoes! LOL Congrats on getting approved - how exciting.

Tears can be a great motivator! After I stopped crying and talked to the doctor, I knew this was the right journey for me. It's been chalk full of ups and downs - tears, doubts, 2nd thoughts, more tears, anxiety, etc. I have to say, though, I am happy I'm going down the path I am! You will, too!

This thread brought me back to the day I decided to have VSG. At my first appointment with the bariatric surgeon. I got on the scale and it said 259 pounds (I weighed at home that morning and it was 256 - either way, it was the biggest number I had seen). I cried. I literally stood there on the scale and cried. The nurse didn't quite know what to do - really was I the first person to cry on the scale at the bariatric surgery center????? I do not remember a time in my life that I was more sad or disappointed in myself. I thought of a football player - I was heavier than a lot football players and about the same as a heavyweight boxer. I'm only 5'3", so put that into perspective!

I got my sugar free Torani Salted Carmel at World Market - the big bottle. You can also order them on line from Torani. My grocery store, Albertsons, has the small bottles, but they are the small bottles expensive compared to the full sized bottles that are $7.99 or $8.99 each. (My kitchen looks like a Starbucks coffee bar - I have 5 bottles of flavoring on my counter right now!)

Congrats on starting your journey! I love your attitude - you're going into this positive. Keep that going! You will have ups and downs between now and surgery day, it won't be all sunshine and lollipops, but you got this! This will be a great year for you!

There's another thread that's similar to yours posted around the same time. Here's what I posted there. I just asked this on another thread...sorry if it's too personal, but...are you having regular bowel movements? If you're not, that could be the cause. According to my NUT (and I double checked with another NUT to be sure), that pesky itching could be from not having regular bowel movements. Here's an article on candida (yeast infection) and leaky gut syndrome. You can also do a google search for: yeast infection bowel movement and it will provide some good links. http://www.yeastinfe...utsyndrome.html I've had two NUT's tell me it's so important to take a good quality probiotic. I use Ther-Biotic Complete powder - it has 100+ Billion CFU's. Post op, I thought I was going to have to treat a yeast infection with an over the counter treatment. I called the NUT and told her I hadn't had a bowel movement in 5 days and she freaked a little. I had to take some Metamucil and start the probiotic up again. Once things got moving, that irritating itch went a way.

Hang in there, Linda. I was sleeved on 11/14, so I'm a few weeks ahead of you. I stalled for 13 days between weeks 4 and 5. OMG, that was hard. I knew the dreaded stall was going to happen because I read about it. I wasn't prepared for it. I also wasn't prepared for me to be a "slow loser". In the month of December I "only" lost 9 pounds. At first, I looked at that number and thought "was this really worth it?" Luckily, I had my 6 week follow up with my doc & NUT at about the same time. Here's some things I found out that made me feel better - I've reduced my body fat by 5% while not losing my lean muscle mass (this is why pushing the Protein is important - muscles burn calories efficiently, fat doesn't, also muscle is more dense than fat). - My blood pressure is lower than has been in years. Also, I'm seeing changes to my body. I've been working out - about 60-75 minutes per day on the treadmill daily and I started doing the elliptical last week. I can see changes because I'm taking pictures on a regular basis. I took my measurements before surgery, but haven't taken them since because I can see my clothes are falling off me. That's a good indicator that I'm getting small even though the scale isn't going down. We have been programmed to only use the scale as a gauge of how we're doing. With all that said, please, please be patient. Your body just went thru major surgery - it will catch up. Your brain wants it to move faster and that's natural, I think a lot of us do that. Take good care, sweetie.

Both the Force and the Flex come with a wristband - the Force has a display on the wristband, but the Flex does not. FitBit also has other devices like the FitBit One or the Zip. The One and Zip can be put on a a belt, bra or waistband or placed in your pocket. I also had a Body Media (like the Body Bugg you will see on The Biggest Loser) armband a couple of years ago. I liked it, but it's really noticeable on your upper arm. The downside to the devices I have had (the Flex and the Body Media) is they don't track things like a bike ride well. I remove my flex when I take a bike ride because it will pick up some of the bumps as steps, but won't track well with the peddling. I manually enter activity like that, then put my wristband back on.

I just asked this on another thread...sorry if it's too personal, but...are you having regular bowel movements? If you're not, that could be the cause. According to my NUT (and I double checked with another NUT to be sure), that pesky itching could be from not having regular bowel movements. Here's an article on candida (yeast infection) and leaky gut syndrome. You can also do a google search for: yeast infection bowel movement and it will provide some good links. http://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/leakygutsyndrome.html I've had two NUT's tell me it's so important to take a good quality probiotic. I use Ther-Biotic Complete powder - it has 100+ Billion CFU's. Post op, I thought I was going to have to treat a yeast infection with an over the counter treatment. I called the NUT and told her I hadn't had a bowel movement in 5 days and she freaked a little. I had to take some Metamucil and start the probiotic up again. Once things got moving, that irritating itch went a way.

That's probably a good idea. Don't panic - you're going to be OK. I would suggest getting your plan in writing if possible so you can refer back to it over the next couple of weeks.

Can you or do you use a sinus flush?

OK - uncomfortable question time...are you having bowel movements?

Just make sipping a priority - carry that bottle with you where ever you go. I would watch the clock or set my phone to chime every 5 minutes and I'd take a sip. It's easier now that I'm 7 weeks out today - It's a habit now to have my water nearby. Getting dehydrated sucks...bad. It's hard to get back into hydrated mode. Keep chuggin' away!

I have the FitBit Flex - I purchased it about a month before the Force came out. For me having the display on the wristband isn't a big deal - I always have my phone with me and can synch thru Bluetooth any time. It might be nice to have the display, but it's not a deal breaker for me. I love the Flex and all it comes with. I log my food on my phone with the FitBit app - it's easy. I like the fact you can track your sleep - it was nice to show the hubby that when he comes to bed around midnight, that he's not being as quiet as he thinks; I showed him every night when flopped into bed (he's more aware now). The wristband isn't necessary a fashion accessory, but I don't mind. It does look a little like those rubber Livestrong or message bracelets, but when someone looks closely, they will ask what it is. For me it's a great tool - just another one I need in my toolbox along with my trusty sleeve. It should come with a shock collar that shocks you if you don't move!!!!! Hope this info helps.

Your hunger could be coming from acid. Did your doctor prescribe an acid reducer or approve use of one? I find if I feel hunger, it's actually acid and once I take a Prilosec, that feeling goes away. On the Water front...I couldn't stand plain water in any form - hot, room temp or cold. I was a plain water drinker prior to surgery, so this came as a shock. Plain water had almost a gritty texture in my mouth. I got dehydrated. That was no fun. My doc suggested Vitamin Water Zero, Propel Zero or Powerade Zero (all zero calorie drinks). At first the Vitamin Water Zero did the trick, but the past few weeks, the taste just doesn't sit well, so I'm drinking Propel Zero. Best of luck to you!

So glad you were able to find something that works! Keep getting that Fluid in - that's important. Catfish is a guilty pleasure of mine!!!!! Enjoy and take good care of yourself.

I just sent you my e-mail address via PM. Once you get things set up, let me know if you need help adding friends.

Hi there. I'm on fitbit - I actually don't have any friends on fitbit, but would love to add you. I'll PM you my e-mail address so you can add me. I just purchased the FitBit Premium so I could download the data for my 6 week follow up with the doc. While I didn't review the actual reports with her, I could speak to her in an educated manner. "I'm averaging 75 grams of Protein on days that I log 100% of my food." "My protein/carb/fat mix is this." It helped. Is it worth the $50? For me it is, but I'm a datahead - I love data, I love looking at data and analyzing it (I do that for a living - this gives me one more thing to obsess about!).

Thanks for facilitating the Fitness Challenge again this month, Butter! OK - so I'm cleared for all exercise now, so I guess I'm on the hook to start doing some light resistance training starting with my upper body. I'm going to do: 12 days of "push" exercises 12 days of "pull" exercises 85 miles on the elliptical & treadmill (I'm off to a good start on the miles - I did 3.8 miles yesterday!) Happy new year to everyone! Here's to your health! (My edit - I just increased my milage by 5 miles...What am I thinking??????? LOL )

You are correct if you go to your PCP for aftercare - I was talking about going to a bariatric surgeon for aftercare. My PCP didn't feel comfortable providing that and with the bariatric surgeon, I will get the benefit of post-op nutritional advice. My PCP will order the bloodwork which should be covered as long as they don't code the orders as weight loss related. I got a bill last month for over $1000 for pre-op testing and blood work. They entered the insurance codes with Weight Loss being the first one, so the insurance company rejected it. I contacted the hospital and they moved the Weight Loss code to the bottom and one of the other codes to the top and resubmitted. It was then promptly paid. Ahh you gotta love the insurance biz.

Well said, Butter!!!!

This is spot on with what my insurance carrier said to me, too. For those that are self-pay - if you are going to a doctor for follow-up aftercare and you're insurance doesn't cover weight loss, your aftercare probably won't be covered either. My follow up visits with a local bariatric surgeon & nutritionist is $185 per visit - visits are scheduled at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, then yearly; that adds up (a little under $1000 the first year) and something for which I didn't necessarily budget. I believe the aftercare is important and I go to my visits with a local bariatric doctor as I would had I been her patient.

Since the OP states he has decided to turn off the monitoring of this thread, my response is to anyone else that reads this and is contemplating this risky behavior - PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. The OP believes he is being chivalrous in giving advice on how to do this properly. That is akin to showing an novice IV drug user how to inject heroin properly. "Here, give me that syringe and let me show you how it's done." Or perhaps we should have a new forum for bulimics and we can show them proper techniques on binging and purging. Imagine all the fun videos we can post! There is no room on this forum to show people, who are already in a fragile state, a way around dealing with or treating their food issues. Even if one doesn't consider themselves a food addict, they did have or are considering weight loss surgery for a reason. The OP states that a woman in her 90's has done this her whole life like she should wear that as a badge of honor. What a miserable existence mentally, not to mention the physical toll that could have taken on her body!!!!! My grandfather smoked for 70 years and didn't get cancer and only had a minor cough when he died. I guess that means we should all go out and buy some cigarettes and see if we get similar results. Hell yeah! And I see the OP just posted another comment which means he's still monitoring this thread in some fashion. As I stated my words are not meant for the OP, they are meant for the other members of our community who may happen by this thread.

I agree with the heated mattress pad. I have had one for years - before surgery I would turn it on about an hour before bedtime, hop in bed, the turn it off because I got too warm during the night. Since surgery, I turn it on High about an hour before bed and leave it on all night!