James Marusek

Congratulations.

I'm afraid it will slip through my hands because of something stupid and I just don't know how I will deal with that. How do you guys stay positive? I think from an early age I realized that I have to become an unmovable force. You have to plant your feet firmly on the ground and resolve to go forward no matter what. During the approval process, there were many challenges. So I just put blinders on and continued forwards. When I went through the 6 months of medically supervised weight loss and exercise program required by my insurance company, they refused to pay for my doctor visits. Maybe a more accurate statement was that they paid for the first but not the second. They paid for the third but not the fourth. They paid for the 5th but not the 6th. When I challenged the insurance company, they claimed they made a mistake but would not try and take the payments they made to the doctors back. It made no common sense. They mandated this medical requirement. Also when I choose a doctor for one of the specialized tests required during the second round of pre-op tests, I choose this doctor based on the fact that he was within network. But the insurance made payment as if he was out of network. When I challenged the insurance company and told them their own online list of medical personnel listed this doctor as within network, they still objected. They said it must be some clerical error and they were not responsible for the payment. So don't give up but be prepared to dig your heals in and then move forward. Set your fears to one side and focus solely on your movement forward.

Goal weight is an artificial number. I think during the initial consultation, my surgeon mentioned a goal weight of 190 pounds. But in the end my body determined my end weight and I dropped to almost 140 pounds. After studying research, I decided that I wanted to be on the high side of Normal BMI, so I set my goal weight to 150 pounds. I wanted to have a little extra fat on my body because it is important when you sustain an accident or sickness according to morbidity data.

Good luck and hope you reach onederland and beyond.

It took me 9 months from initial consultation until surgery. This is fairly typical. The entire pre-op time was full of quite a bit of activity, most in a positive direction. Dealing with insurance companies was the most stressful.

I had severe acid reflux (GERD) prior to surgery and that is the reason why I had RNY gastric bypass surgery. The sleeve will only make this condition worse. Also RNY has been around the longest. It is almost the gold standard.

I had my surgery in Indiana. Many states have Centers of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery. Since the process can get quite involved and require many experts along the way, especially in dealing with the insurance companies, it might be advantageous to go through one of these in Illinois. They are the full meal deal - no pun intended.

Good luck on your surgery. I will pray that all goes successful. Check back with us when you are on the other side.

As I recall, this is one area that I had problems with. I had asthma and was using inhalers prior to surgery for several years. But I still failed this tests. They recommended I transition to Advair Diskus, which I did and that seemed to take care of the problem. I also had some x-rays taken of my lungs and they uncovered a tumor the size of my fist. It was benign, but because it was so large I cannot help but feel this may have been the root cause of my restricted lung function.

Wow. Almost 100 pounds in 8 weeks. I am guessing some of that is pre-op. Anyways hats off to you. Eventually you will transition from the "weight loss" phase into the "maintenance" phase. But I think you might lose a little more weight before then. I transitioned around my 6th or 7th month. The following article describes my experience with the "maintenance" phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

Its a natural reaction. Good luck on your upcoming surgery and check back with us if you need any help.

Swizzle you gave a very good description of "head hunger". I am 35 months post-op RNY and things will get better. Two points to make. First, we have a natural need to chew, it is part of our digestive process. So part of what you may be missing is chewing. Second, I found out that mixing food groups together seems to restore taste. Therefore once you transition to solids, I would recommend consuming high Protein chili and Soups. They go down a lot easier and actual have tastes.

If you want to maximize the weight that you lose during the weight loss phase, then stay with the program. The weight loss phase is relatively short and then you will slide into the maintenance phase. The most important requirements after surgery are to meet your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. Exercise is also important. Weight loss is achieved by meal volume control.

Congratulations.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. Shouldn't be long now. Two recommendations. Make sure you walk 30 minutes each day. It will help dramatically with the recovery process. If you haven't given up caffeine, do so now. I went cold turkey with my 6 diet coke a day habit at the start of the process and suffered through a week of severe headaches and body aches. You don't want to do this just prior to surgery, otherwise you will compound the withdrawal effects with the effects of surgery.

Hill walking (or in your case stair walking) uses two different types of muscles, one going up and the other down. It is a great form of exercise. Far greater than walking on a flat plane. As I recall, my doctor did not release me for this form of exercise until a few weeks after surgery because it is a little more strenuous than just walking. So don't push yourself too fast using this mode of exercise right after surgery. Work into it slowly.

I wish you well on your surgery. One of the problems you may face is exercise. Normally walking is a cornerstone of WLS. But several individuals in past posts have had similar limitations and described exercise routines available for those with this type of limitation.

Congratulations.

Just follow the daily requirements for Protein, fluids and Vitamins. food is secondary because your body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Be a little patient and then let the magic happen.

Congratulations and let us know if we can be of any help.

After surgery I was taking two types of high blood pressure medicine. Since I tracked my blood pressure daily, as I lost the weight and my blood pressure began to drop significantly, I started to reduce my intake of this type of meds and by the end of the second week I was completely off them and this condition remained in remission ever since. I am 35 months pre-op RNY. I made the decision to reduce the meds on my own and told my general practitioner several months later when I went in for a routine physical. He agreed with the decision to discontinue the meds.

My guidelines after RNY surgery were: First 8 weeks post-op was 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal. Weeks 9-15 was 3 ounces. Months 4-6 was 4 ounces. Months 7-9 was 5 ounces. Months 10-12 was 6 ounces. Months 12-18 was 7 ounces. 18 months and beyond was 8 ounces. The most important elements after surgery is meeting your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery.

Congratulations.

For me a crunchy taco at Taco Bell or a chili at Wendy's seemed to work well. Or go to Texas Roadhouse and order a large steak, take most of it home and have leftovers for a week.