CrazyJaney

Amazing! Amazing! I'm so inspired!

I'm not approved yet but it's looking like I will meet all requirement to be approved through Aetna. I'm feeling lucky to work somewhere that is relatively easy to get approved. I hope you can go out there and find a different employer who covers it. The math is there , why can't they see the benefits they could reap. How very frustrating. Sending you well wishes!

Everyone (regardless of having surgery) needs a Living Will that spells out what they want if something happened to them. And everyone needs to name a responsible adult as a Medical POA. ALL patients would be ventilated and or resuscitated during surgery and (usually) up to 24 hours post op. Married or not, your husbands health issues and cognitive issue might make him a poor advocate for you. Most people choose an adult child in that situation. Complications could happen but the data is overwhelmingly supportive that it is a safe surgery. If you have heart, lung or vascular problems, your chances might be higher. Talk to the surgeon and or the anesthesia nurse. Your medical team would take all factors into account and you need to feel like your physician knows and understands your feelings. Not sure how to help your husband - anxiety is a fearsome foe.

I just watched it too. That is some powerful stuff right there. Major lightbulb moment.

I totally agree. I'm a nurse manager in a hospital. I deal with employee relations more than I want to. What your coworker is doing is illegal and you need to report to your manager that this is happening. If it continues, you go immediately to HR. You do not have to tell a single person you've had surgery. You simply say I want the harassment to stop immediately. Just like it would be unacceptable for her to comment on race, religion or gender, it is inappropriate to comment on others physical features. This is creating a toxic work environment and you DO NOT DESERVE THIS and your employer should not tolerate it either. I would not tell your boss you had surgery. All you have to say is "comments on my appearance are unsolicited and unwanted and are causing a work distraction ". Good luck. And go take this person down. She is being paid (on the clock) when these conversations are happening- to WORK - not talk about what a coworkers weight is. Grrrrr

Again, I'm so glad to be here with you all. Good, powerful thread. I need to see and hear this.

This so resonates with me. I'm so tired if always being the most responsible person in the room. If I focus in me, time is taken away from something. There are days at work when I have the urge to pee HOURS before I take the time to go. How the hell am i gonna get enough fluids in if I can't even take time to pee? I work in a hospital. It's ALL about everyone else. Nurses are the worst self care habits. It's really warped. Sigh....

You are absolutely radiant! I'm pre sleeve - and this is so inspiring!!!! Congratulations!

Congrats! You are gorgeous!

Just spent the last hour watching her. She is awesome! I had forgotten the part about stomach cancer. My gram died of pancreatic 10 years after a RNY, done for severe ulcers- not weight loss (in 1991). Her dad had colon and I lost a cousin at 42 to stomach on my dad as side. Given that history, and seeing how successful sleevers can be, I think I feel good about the decision to stay with the sleeve. Thank you for sharing less of Sarah. Quite inspiring!

Subscribing to this thread. I went to my first required support group today. Only 3 out of 10 were choosing the sleeve. There was a lot of conversation about which is better. I was 99% sleeve before, now I'm wondering if I should do RNY. My BMI is 50. I'd hate for this to not work as well as RNY. But I'm still leaning towards sleeve. I am not a diabetic, and most in the room were. There was a lot of talk about how you can cheat and gain with the sleeve and that you couldn't as easily with RNY. Decisions, decisions.....

Good to know and I am glad others saw a decrease in "the shelf". I think curves are beautiful, and to a large degree, degree, hope to keep mine but I'm just so hopeful to see results in my legs. Not for any aesthetic reasons but more so because of the severe pain with the varicose veins, arthritis and lymph edema. I've never, even as a child, had well proportioned legs. I remember trying to find ski boots that fit, nearly impossible. In 4th grade, I fantasizes about being able to replace my lower half of my body to match the top, like there might be some futuristic science project. My legs are what people stare at. Total strangers have walked up to me to ask what's wrong with them. So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is.... As accepting and at peace as I've had to become about my legs, it sure would be nice to know that I would see results in that area too. Exercise would definitely help. And I'm going to look into compression garments to use after surgery.

Thanks for moving it - I wondered where to put it. I was just curious and I'd love to be reassured that weight comes off of every body part. Over the years I've gained all over. I'm 45, BMI of 50 - HW 325, CW 314 goal 155. At age 24, when I weighed 190 (after a 40 # loss) I looked and felt pretty good but was still 2 sizes bigger on bottom than top. After kids, I gained weight all over. My hips/knees/ankles are just dying. I gave up the dream that I'd ever have normal legs many years ago, now, I'm focused on health and pain, but it'd sure be nice to wear shorts or a skirt again.

Oh, Coffee!!!! I so completely "get" you! I'm ready too. No more sidelines! This has been such a good thread. Just what I needed.

That's a good question. My BMI is 50 so I think I'll be safe but I wondered the same thing. My ins requires 3 months. I've lost about 10 but I gotta say the holidays are making this hard. I am looking at no sooner than End of Feb. I'm ready to just do it. The wait makes me anxious. I'll be interested to hear what others say. This has been a really good source of info....

I just finished with my study and started using my machine 2 weeks ago. I'm also a nurse. Preop - hoping for February/mar date. Here's the deal..... Obesity causes increased work on the chest wall muscles and blocks the airway during sleep. Snorring is only one sign of apnea. You can never reach REM sleep (deep, restorative sleep) and or, the constant awakening (even if you don't remember it) causes stress. The stress the body goes through with sleep deprivation, especially chronic poor sleep, causes cortisol levels to rise. Constantly stimulating cortisol levels make it hard to loose weight- your body thinks it needs to hold onto fat. Also, the weight carried in the chest and abdomen make it hard to fully expand the chest meaning your air in vs air out causes an imbalance in O2 and co2. Increased Co2 causes higher cortisol levels. So see, it's a vicious cycle. The CPAP is also a tool for weight loss. Severe sleep apnea, untreated, has a 35% higher risk of cardiac sudden death and heart arrhythmias. This can complicate a surgical recovery, especially in people with really high bmi's. It was a requirement of my surgeon. My study showed mild to moderate apnea, but my bmi's is 49-50 so, if I want him to do surgery, I guess I'll comply. If I reduce my bmi's, the CPAP can go away. Uncontrolled sleep apne also increases bp (cortisol again). It's all the stuff happening in your body that you can't see. Wearing The CPAP is ok. Not a huge fan. But I'll stick with it if it helps me in my weight loss. And I hope it will be temporary.

I'm pre-op (hoping for Feb or March). Each day I'm on this site I realize I was NEVER really alone in what it was like to be me. I'm 45 and so tired of living this life. I'm scared to do this. I'm even more scared not too. And what I realize now, after visiting this site daily for the last couple weeks, is that I'm still going to struggle, still occasionally going to fail, and still wrestle with the demons that helped me to my CW of 325#. I don't have the words to say how helpful this thread has been. Im responsible for my outcomes. But I definitely got this way for a multitude of reasons. I don't want to live this way any longer but I think the pain of tackling the "why's" has been my biggest deterrent, until now. I'm so glad to be here amongst you. Someone mentioned Pandora's Box. That's exactly how I feel. And it's not gonna be pretty at first. But it's a box that needs to open if I'm ever going to be the me I want to be. And I'm immediately going to speak French: "I have anger", "I have hunger". Brilliant! Thank you all so much. Especially RJ. You are a living, breathing, beautiful miracle.

Congrats to you all! It means so much to us pre-sleeves who need to stay focused on the results. I just finished reading how hard the preop diet is. It can trick my mind into thinking I can't do this. But so many of you have been so successful. I just hope I can do it too!

What's the name of your Blog, Gamegirl? I'm preop (hopefully Feb or March). You always give the best advice.

Im sooooo mad at myself for forgetting to schedule my appointments in the allotted time. Aetna requires 3 NUT appointments in 3 consecutive months. I went in early Oct but forgot to schedule my second when I left that day. I was busy with my sleep study apt, pcp (getting bp down). Thinking I could get a November appointment at the end of the month - nope! Now I have to start the whole 3 months over. I'm so aggravated. My head was so in the game. I've calorie counted everything. I'm down 11 pounds. Now I'm discouraged realizing it'll be March instead of January before I get approved. So frustrating. I could have just cried.

Pre-op and trying to be faithful to my suppliments. I'm finding I have a very annoying metallic taste in my mouth after I take Calcium Citrate. Anyone have any advice? I've switched brands and it does help a little but they aren't the "citrate" kind so I'm not sure it is strong enough. If you have one (citrate) you've tried, let me know.

I have really appreciated this thread, probably more than any other. THIS is the stuff that I worry about. Not drinking liquids for weeks or extra skin but how to navigate through the negative people out there. I work in a hospital. I'm a manager. I probably have a decent to good relationship with the majority but as a boss, I'm a natural target. And nurses LOVE to judge and comment. I've told only 3 people outside of my family that I'm doing this (I'm pre-sleeve) but I'm not naive that some will figure it out. When I've lost weight before, I felt sabotaged by others comments, the good and the bad. I'm not a shallow person and I just can't wrap my head around people who only see peoples physical features. I told my doc and np that I was worried about how to respond. They suggested having come backs planned. I appreciate all the clever ideas here. The good thing (one of the many) is that this time I'm doing it for good, and old enough to not care what people say (at least not like I did at 25). I tell people being in your 40's is liberating. I need no ones approval. It feels good when you share in my success but unsolicited comments won't be received well. Best compliment when telling my close friend I was gonna do it: "I'm so happy for you, you're so bubbly and full of life but you will be even more so and feel so much better". She's a keeper!

I'm preop and feel exactly the same way. I always say it's from 23 years of working in a hospital where we ate in 5 minutes to get back to patient care. It's a bad habit and it's ingrained in me. I'm so hoping I'll be scared to death and it will slow me down. So many fears but it sounds like there is so much benefit.

Okay, firstly, I love the name McButterpants! Secondly, how could you know exactly how I'm feeling? Just knowing these feelings are normal (anxiety, thinking about food all the time) is really helping me move through the stages of preop-ness. I was so hesitant to get on these message boards, but I'm so glad I did! Thank you to everyone, this is really a great community.

I'm pre-op but I've had several surgeries. I'm most worried about post op nausea. I've had a catheter (in fact, came home with one a few years ago) and it's not that big of a deal. You won't know it goes in. My doc says it will be similar to my gallbladder as far as the pain. That was not bad at all. The fatigue and diet issues will be much harder but otherwise, I'm hoping I do well. The more you get up, the easier it gets -at least from prior surgeries.