elfnow

I'd also like to be able to fly on an airplane again, or sit comfortably on a train, or just in a movie theater... I'd like to go rappelling again and have a harness that fits me....

For me it was my phone and a LONG charging cable!! I had my iPad but I didn't use it that much, but my phone was crucial to answer all the "how was surgery?!" questions from friends!

Roller coasters!! I want to ride roller coasters! I love them and miss them. And kayaking!! I am too heavy for even a two-person kayak. I want to go kayaking, I want to buy one and own it and love it as my very own. I want a trailer to carry my kayak and I want to trick it out with camping gear... Which reminds me oh yeah I'm too big for a sleeping bag, and nevermind one of those mummy bags.... SIGH!! So I want all that.

That's when you whip out the "I brought you into this world and I can take you back out" threat...

Oh my trainer likes to think I'm gonna do step-ups!! Clearly he hasn't received the memo that step-ups will make me spontaneously combust! Wasn't that on my health form?!? LOL! On the plus side I wear a heart monitor that is easy to read even from a short distance... So we can agree when I need a break. Is there a pool at your gym? Can you have training sessions in the pool?

That sounds scary!! Are they running blood tests etc? I also agree it's probably not directly related (as in, WLS didn't cause this) but whatever is going on, WLS and limited caloric intake may be contributing in some fashion. I hope they find a diagnosis soon!! At least then you'd know what you're up against.

Actually I was on Feb 10 2014... So you're 4 months ahead of me! But I love seeing success stories, especially success stories that line up with my own goals. Tomorrow is my first postop appointment and I will have to 'fess up to having eaten actual food today...

Size-16 is my real goal, my "dream size"... I am so happy for you!!! And that epiphany moment, it's happened to me with other things already... "Hey wait my arches don't hurt..." "Wait, I just... I just tied my shoes!!" I started at a tight 28-30 (mostly "I can't buy any bigger at even Lane Bryant, crapcrapcrap) and now... I'm definitely feeling like these clothes "run big". Not enough to buy smaller yet, but soon... And when I'm done, I wanna be a 16, like you right now!!! <3

On days 3 and 4 I was soooo hungry!! I ended up eating extra "appropriate" food and really didn't go that far over in calories, but I called the dietician to be sure... Who knew I would ever feel so panicky about eating extra helpings of boiled mashy Brussels sprouts?!? Write it down, be honest, and have an honest accounting of your calories... And call the nut/dietician or nurse and just ask them to ease your fears!

My understanding is that you'll follow the guidelines for the pregnancy (possibly including gaining weight) and for breast feeding afterwards you'll need a few extra calories as well... But after that you can go right back to losing! Losing weight, and especially ketosis, is bad for a pregnancy - it makes your body think it's a famine and that's no time to be having a baby. The key is to find an OB who has experience with WLS patients! So use this next year or so to shop around and find an OB you like.

Who you pay the money to may depend on whose claim gets processed first. You might owe it all to the surgeon, or you might owe a big chunk to the radiologist, the Anesthesiologist, and THEN the surgeon! Or the hospital might eat up the whole thing. Talk with your surgeon's office and ask how THEY want to proceed - They may want you to give them a payment up front, but hopefully they won't require the entire $2500 - because it's the insurance company who assigns that out-of-pocket amount based on which claims go through first.... and it can be a real pain to get the money BACK from the overpaid office in order to give it TO the office that needs the money. Just talk with the folks there about how they want to handle it, or call your insurance company and ask whether the copay might apply to the hospital or the ancillary providers (radiology/anesthesia) or how that will work.

Yeaahhhhh it's not actually against the law to fire someone for being sick / taking sick time. If you qualified for FMLA that's different but you said you don't... and if you are in a "right-to-work" state (which basically means "right-to-fire-you-for-anything" state) then it's even worse. Take a deep breath and get your fluids sorted out and get past this bout of vomiting - the extra stress isn't going to do you any good and there's nothing that CAN be done right now (late-night on a weekend!) so just get sorted out and tackle it on Monday. If you are terminated and feel that they terminated you wrongly, you can usually get a free consult (typically a quick phone conversation) with an attorney who can tell you whether you can pursue it or not. You've got options. Just get to feeling better, ok?

Have you talked with your doctor's office or dietician? Another question, have you been exercising a lot? How many calories are you getting per day? are you writing down your food intake? Definitely call your NUT/Dietician and see if they can sit down with you to sort out what's going on!

I'd lean on that letter, show her it's "medically necessary". She's misusing the word "elective". And yes, I get she's got a business to run also, but if there's a "district manager" then there are a lot of stores. She could have someone fill in for you, uptrain someone to groom them for management. It's hard to say what does and doesn't qualify for unemployment, but you can always apply if you get term'd. But call your HR department about the time off - your district manager isn't the person who makes legal decisions like that, and HR may be able to assist. Definitely make it clear that this was MEDICALLY NECESSARY and she should have spoken up if you needed to schedule your surgery on a different day for HER personal convenience. (OK maybe don't snark that hard, but you get my drift.)

Second opinion. Sounds like the doc is pushing for HIS comfort level, not YOURS. Find another doc that is more willing to do sleeves, or at least willing to sit down with you and HONESTLY explain your options and WHY a bypass would be better (without pinning it on YOU like saying "you'll just be back in 2 years.")

HIGH-FIVE!! Onderland!! *HUGS* I cant wait to be there someday too.

ooh, that's an ugly situation. What kind of work do you do? Can you appeal to HR, or did this come straight from them? It's a crappy economy to lose a job. Did your work insurance cover you? If you were covered by insurance, then it was MEDICALLY NECESSARY. The word "elective" is really misused... "elective" just means "we could have put it off for a couple days", (versus "emergency"). For instance, when I was induced for my baby's birth, that was "elective". It's not like I was all OMG GIVE ME DRUGS, I was starting to get pre-eclampsia! Sure, it could have waited a day, but not much longer. "elective" is NOT the same as "cosmetic", and if you were covered by your insurance, it wasn't COSMETIC!!

GOOD!!! Hang in there, Katt!!

I think maybe it's comparatively rare everywhere but where your first doctor is! It sounds like you're in kind of a "bubble" of people who have had this type of revision.... I know you said you don't need a support group but "looking for others' experiences" is pretty much what a support group would be about... And it sounds like there's plenty of individuals in your area!

They've tested for Cushings? because dang that poor girl sounds like me on prednisone... Did she have to do a 24-hour urine test? Your poor little girl. Whatever you guys decide WILL be the right decision but will also be hard. Other kids are so cruel!! If it were surgery or suicide I'd be on a plane to Mexico, too. My only worry is that she's not fully grown yet, but that's for a doctor to sort out, not some random on the internet. you are doing the right thing by researching all these options. Hang in there!!

One thing my pre-surgery class instructor said is that vomiting begets dehydration which makes nausea worse.... And if you're just in your first week your poor stomach needs a break! Def check in with your doc!

The stomach still exists - they could go back in and re-route the tubes and re-connect the stomach and just cut part of it off... But TBH this is the first time I have heard of such a feat actually being done. OP I wish I had more help for you, but with the VERY extensive work your surgeon(s) have done, you are in a very small subset of WLS patients!! Does your hospital have a support group?

When was your surgery? Do you have any anti-nausea meds left? Are you drinking fluids at room-temp or body-temp (vs cold or hot)?

One thing that is pretty universal is a huge reduction in carbs, especially sugars. Things like Pasta, rice, and bread puff up in your stomach and cause you to suddenly feel over-full, so start limiting and eliminating those. While I have seen many people say they can eat a bite of pasta or a small piece of thin-crust pizza later in their journeys, IMHO it's better to say goodbye to those foods and be pleasantly surprised IF you're able to enjoy them later. Also soda / carbonated beverages. Ditch 'em now!! Any sugar-sweetened drink, swap for diet or unsweetened (such as iced tea and koolaid). Lose the whole milk and cream in favor of low-fat, but DONT use "non-dairy creamer" in your coffee, that stuff is pure sugar. I spent a month saying goodbye to every dessert and inappropriate food ever - basically I ate "the last ___ of my life", and honestly a lot of them weren't that good when I thought about it! You will also want to really carefully and mindfully identify any trigger foods - foods that MIGHT be ok later but you have a hard time controlling when you eat them. For me, that's Cereal and milk. I could seriously sit and eat a whole box of cereal and a half-gallon of milk in one long binge ... Sure I'd feel like crap but I just have trouble stopping myself!! So even if I am ever "allowed" to have cereal again, I am constantly reminding myself NO, DON'T. Get very familiar with "head hunger" and be mindful while you make choices. Read labels, make informed choices, and start angling for your maximum calories to come from Protein and a minimum to come from carbs and fat. You can do this!!!!

#7 is a big one for me, or rather, avoiding #7. My daughter is 16 months old and I want to have fun with her!! Go do things and have her not be embarrassed that she has the "fat mommy". Aside from the "I am doing this for ME and MY health..." There is another big thing that hit me re:my daughter... As she grows up she's going to be subjected to ALL THE SHIT that little girls get tortured with ... Airbrushed models, teen magazines with weight loss tips, anorexic friends, constant judgment from other girls, watching other kids get picked on for their weight, teasing from boys, all that crap we wish we could save our babies from. And during that time, I want to be able to sit down with her and both of us have "just right" size portions... So I can at least give her a view of what "just right" is. I am so afraid of modeling the wrong behavior, ESPECIALLY with food .... My sleeve is forcing me to model the right portions and nutritional content!! I feel like maybe that will help her not have trouble later on.