1Cor2:9

I am currently using DVDs by Leslie Sancone. She has a Walk At Home series. It does include alot of walking, but it also incorporates other elements as well. I starting using this about a week and a half after surgery.

I think I will continue to do as I am doing and weigh myself next week to see if I have gotten over my stall. I thank you for the post. With the exception of the tape measure all other steps I am taking. I think it is just the phase I am in. I am not freaking out, not happy about it, but I know it will not last. I will try the tape measure. Problem is that I never really measured myself so I do not know if there is a difference. But it will be a good point of reference moving forward.

Four days ago I made three weeks post op and I think I am having the dreaded three week stall! I am the same 266. PTL that I did not gain which I think at this point would be hard to do, but staying the same is sad. I am eating as my dietitian and I work out five days a week for fifty minutes I just have to press through. I know, I know embrace the stall. Words of encouragement are welcomed.

I am very happy that you continued to press on!

The first time that I can remember wanting to have WLS was when I was a teenager. I believe that was when I first saw a commercial for WLS. During my twenties I did not have the financial means to have the surgery. In the spring of 2013 I made the decision to have WLS. 2013 was the first year that certain factors came together that would allow me to have the surgery. At the time I wanted lap band because it was the only bariatric surgery I knew about. With that in mind I went to my new PCP and told her that I wanted to have lap band surgery and asked for a referral. Since I was fairly ignorant of how insurance worked at the time I just found a surgeon online and asked for a referral for him. Well this individual was not part of the medical group, so the referral was denied. One would have thought my PCP would have known that, but no matter. After that she gave me a referral for a surgeon. With my new referral in hand I set up my initial appointment with Dr. Lufti. During my first appointment with Dr. Lufti he explained why he thought VSG would be a better option for me. At the time I was nervous about the permanent removal of part of my stomach. However, after some research and reflection I decided that perhaps he was right and decided to have VGS instead of lap band. While I was completing the requirements for surgery my PCP moved her office to the suburbs and as a carless human being I realized it would be hard for me to travel to her new location, so I selected another PCP. What I did not know is that I had to select a PCP that was in the same medical group as Dr. Lufti. Anyways, December 2013 rolls around and I am preparing for surgery. I wanted to have surgery the week leading up to winter break to conserve sick days. The day before I am scheduled to have surgery I am told that the surgery was denied because Dr. Lufti was not in the same medical group I was a part of. I cannot fully describe the disappointment I felt. I did everything I was told to do, but still I could not have the surgery. In January of 2014 I decided to continue the good fight. I switch my PCP again. Not just because she was not in the same medical group as my surgeon, but I did not like the care I received from her. Made an appointment with my new PCP. She was really in support of me having surgery. However, she was also not in the same medical group with my surgeon. The reason I wanted to stay with Dr. Lufti was that I really liked the team in his office and I firmly believed I would receive the care I needed. Now I will say, if I remember correctly I thought I look online to see if PCP number 3 was in the same medical group as my surgeon, but for some reason BCBS said differently than what I found online. At this point, I'm mad as a big dog about things. I called everybody and they mama to get to the bottom of things. I after many attempts I was finally in the right medical group, but BCBSIL at the time had a requirement that anyone wanting WLS had to wait twelve months... I continued to press on because I sincerely thought that the Lord wanted me to have this surgery and all I need to do was persevere. Twelve months pass. During that time I switch from BCBS HMO to BCBS PPO because I thought it would make things easier for me to have surgery. So I made an appointment with PCP number 4 and got a referral. I went to my appointment at my surgeon's office and learned that my school district, I am a teacher, did not want to cover any bariatric surgery with PPO policies. I left his office thinking, "That is okay you are going to have this surgery." I did make an attempt to change my insurance back, but that was taking a really long time. While waiting for this amendment to be made I seriously contemplated buy my own insurance as a means to have the surgery. I left my previous school district during the summer of 2015. When I got hired for my new position with a different school district I knew that I selected my new insurance I was going to have BCBSIL HMO and select the same PCP so that I could be in the medical group as my surgeon. Less than a week after my insurance became active I scheduled an appointment with my PCP and Lufti. Shortly there after I started completing the requirements for surgery. On Dec. 16th I two year fight, if not lifelong, had come to an end. I got sleeved. Because what I went through it took sometime for me to believe it was going to happen. Even when I was told I was approved I still had some doubt. Even after I woke up from anesthesia I did not fully believe. In fact, one of the first questions I asked when I woke up was, "Did I have surgery?" When I came home from the hospital the next day it was still hard to believe. It actually took me see my incisions for me to accept that I had surgery. I am sharing this story with you because I want you to know that if the Lord wants you to have surgery it will come to past. The fight to a better you is going to be a hard and long one, but it is worth fight. This fight is one only you can contend with. No one else can fight it for you. I am three weeks out roughly 40 lbs down and I am fight too. Someone even told me that maybe God did not want me to have the surgery because of the obstacles, but I knew otherwise. To all that read this no matter if you are an expect, recently got sleeved, or thinking about it keep fighting.

Thank you.

I applaud you for taking the first step. I think most of us would agree that there comes a point that a change must come and that change must be fought for. Regarding the insurance, my surgery was delayed for two years because of insurance issues, I would suggest that you follow all requirements and make as many phone calls as you need get the information you need. Insurance companies are known for jerking people around. What should make you nervous is a future in which the necessary changes are not made-- not the surgery.

I know that a nut can either be a seed that we eat, a crazy person, and hardware item, but what is a NUT in the bariatric world?

Hunger is natural. What I would suggest, this is also what I am doing, eat your three small meals and if you feel hunger in between if you feel hungry drink Water and that should have the feeling go away. Another suggestion is eat a small spoonful of natural smooth Peanut Butter. I think VSG affects people differently and feeling hunger early on is natural. To be honest it is not normal to not feel hunger. I think the fear of hunger is that we think it will tempt us to eat. I cannot speak for you, but I know I have eaten food when I was not physically hungry. So, do not freak out about it. Hunger is normal. Drinking water may help the feeling go away between meals. Let me know if that works for you.

First I want to thank you for your honesty. As the same time some of what you are going through is very real and very common. The thing that stands out the most to me from your post is that you mentioned you were sexually abused. Did you know that children that sexually abused have a higher chance of being obese. So guess what? There are going to many women BP that have had that experience. Most bariatric patients had or currently emotionally eat. Or as you phrased it have cravings. Again many of the things you are going through are more common than you think. The feeling you are having of loneliness could you share more about that? Is just that you have no support from family? Do you live in an area in which it is hard to connect with others? You have more agency over your life than you realize. I would like to imagine that you made the decision to have the surgery, so that you can be a better you. Some are not going to understand that or even attempt to care, but you did not make the decision for them-- you made it for you.

I am a singer and a music teacher. I have done any real singing since I had surgery. However, that will change when I go back to work and what not. When I breath in deeply now I do not experience any pain. Perhaps in another week or so the feeling will go away.

Oh, I get it I think. The challenge is to see if we can make goal. My starting weight is 266 and my goal is 246. Thanks for starting this. I am cheering everyone on! Go us! We can do it.

I have a few questions. 1. Is there a certain amount we are suppose to lose? 2. Or are we trying to see who will lose the most? 3. Is this a challenge in which there is a prize won based on some criteria?

Perhaps I am late to the party, but I had surgery on Dec. 16th.

I will be three weeks post op on Wednesday and I am pretty sure I am having hunger pains. I wake up in the morning with this really painful sensation in my stomach which I think is just the new way of me feeling hunger. Based on what I have learned so far about VSG it affects everyone differently. At first I was not sure if it was hunger, but since it has been happening every morning I think that is what it is. Just my thoughts.

Hello, I got my sleeve on the 16th. If you are still looking for someone to connect with let me know. Have a wonderful New Year!

Hello, I had my VSG on Dec. 16, 2015. So far I have had no complications and I have been able to follow the guidelines from my doctor's office. With all that said I think I will be in a better position to be successful if I can find the right support. Not only this, although I have not had my sleeve long I may know something that could be helpful to someone else. So if you have been sleeved for sometime and would like to pass along the knowledge you please consider partnering with me. I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.