jjinWA

I love jay Robb piña colada protein powder. Mix it in smoothie with frozen tropical fruits and pineapple juice. So good!

No problem with losing the weight. Just thought we had to order the protein powder and supplements "suggested" by the OCC NUT. It sounds like, based on the feedback, that it is exactly that, only a suggestion. So question answered. We want the surgery to go as smoothly as possible and weight loss pre-op to prepare the liver, etc is very well understood.

Nope wouldn't hide my appendix surgery, nor my gall bladder surgery, etc etc. but then there are no stigmas behind those surgeries. You are not considered lazy if you need a hip replacement or need insulin shots for diabetes. But I could have paid cash for my WLS if I received a dollar for every time I heard someone say fat people can lose weight if they just commit to eating less and exercising more and WLS is just an easy way out. There ARE private issues that not everyone chooses to share. I am not sure I hear many men discuss their little purple pill (Viagra) to their coworkers and people they meet on the street. How come? It would be so helpful if they would just talk about the fact that they cannot get it up without help. It would make it so much easier for other men if they could relate to the truth told by their buddy. It would be so helpful if a couple who were trying desperately to conceive discussed with anyone who asked why they could not have a baby because the husband or wife was found to be steril. Just think how it would be helpful to others to know that this couple, who they hardly know, cannot have a child without help of fertility science. It is such an informative conversation for a women to share with anyone that she suffers from incontinentence and I wears Poise pads to avoid bladder leakage. There are many women who suffer from this ailment and so each of us who live this life should be willing to share this fact so that we can make it a more acceptable awareness. A woman who chooses to have an abortion should have no problem sharing this information with other women so that it can eventually become more acceptable in our society. What I am getting at here is the fact that there are many private things in peoples' lives that just do not need to be shared. Those private things will be very different from one person to another person. Stigmas do exist. Discrimination does exist. Being treated as an outcast among others does exist. Each person has their own life situation that determines how they handle the publication of their surgery. Family, coworkers, client relationships, community, personal inhibitions, etc all play into whether a person is comfortable with discussing WLS. I am happy to let the market, via media advertisements, bring awareness to private issues such as ED, bladder control, fertility and WLS programs, etc. For example, I see multiple advertisements from Bariatric Centers here in my state on a daily basis. Those market blitzes bring plenty of awareness to this topic. Personally, I am not ready to sign up to be the town cryer on the subject of WLS. I AM willing to share my journey with someone who I believe would benefit from this information. In fact, I have done that. The difference of whether I tell someone about my surgery will be my choice and on my terms. I have no shame in how I am handling my own personal and private life.

I think belonging to both groups is certainly an option. The more friends the merrier is my motto! But I agree some do not have the time available to drive long distances. Thus the need for a group up north and another in the southern area.

I was thinking of carpooling to head up to Bothell, if you are interested. I would love to meet everyone up there. Also I know there are many of us who are located in the Tacoma area and east/west/south of that area. I mentioned, during my support group meeting at St. Claire's last night, the possibility of starting a coffee group in the Lakewood/Tacoma area. I got 20+ email addresses from those that would like to meet down here! Everyone was very excited and loved the idea. If anyone reading this post is interested in meeting down here also, send me your email and I will add you to the group email notices. All are welcome! My email address is jjvailrr32@yahoo.com. Let me know times and days that work best for you. I hope to migrate the coffee group into many other activities such as hikes, museum tours etc. Anything outside of restaurant and bar gatherings. Ha. I want to focus on our NEW lifestyles. And look forward to meeting and making new lasting friendships.

I have no issue with the losing weight part. Both girls are up for that challenge and know that this with help towards a successful surgery. I just am worried about the protein powder stuff they recommend. Some of that stuff can be nasty tasting. We prefer the premier shakes.

Very good to know. Thank you for that info.

Sorry Evie that you cannot make it in Nov. I was hoping we could carpool. ????. We can look into that option in Dec if you want.

I live in Gig Harbor. If you want we could car pool.

Can't wait!

Do you need to start a sign up sheet so you can estimate the number of people that will be joining?

I like the lunchables. Cheese and ham slices with the crackers are great quick easy snack. One lunchables package = 3 snacks!!!!

Jamie did you order the suggested protein and vitamins? Any grief for those that did not?

We just got the protein shakes recommended by OCC today. Have not tried them yet. Both my daughters are very concerned that they will not lose the required pre-op weight. Funny but that was kinda why we did not do the surgery in the US. We did not want to go through the hoops and play the ins games. Kind of feel like we are jumping hoops and playing the NUT game. Hope they both lose the required amount pre-op and they are not disqualified when they get to Mexico. I am wondering g if anyone has been turned away if they do not lose the required amount suggested by the NUT. Also wonder if it is an issue if we don't purchase their recommended protein products.

Be very careful with laxatives. They can cause dehydration, which is another really big problem for Bariatric patients. My dr. said to use a stool softener and NOT laxatives. Benefiber is my stool softener of choice and has worked well for me. One dose each morning in my Chrystal Lite keeps me on top of things! I suffered right out of the gate with constipation and did not take heed quick enough. Serious constipation issues lead me to taking laxatives and having an ennema, which resulted in severe dehydration, and a fearful trip to the ER. I was dangerously dehydrated. Laxatives cause elimination of water in our body faster then we can replenish it.

My NUT suggested I only eat toasted bread. Not sure why the difference. I have had pasta, rice, and bread since my surgery but honestly rarely, and in very very small portions. I am of the belief that simple carbs are an addiction for me and lead to me over eating. I know at 4 months out I really can't overeat as my tummy forbids it, but later on down the road that won't be the case and I just as well get used to a life with limited carbs now while my "tool" is helping me to make those choices. Habits, both good and bad form over time, and I personally think low carb diet is a habit I want to get used to. Carbs of choice for me will me more likely the complex versions. Those are much better for you and have better nutritional value.

I am one that chose not to sing the Sleeve surgery success song to anyone that came into my flight path! I have very carefully shared my journey with my immediate family members (mother, spouse, daughters). Since my surgery I have told only one other person, my very close girlfriend. She is overweight also and was so pleased with my weight loss and wanted to know how I was able to drop the weight. I felt it unfair to not be honest with her. She was super excited to learn about the procedure and has decided to have bypass herself! She is scheduled for surgery in Dec! I feel good that I was able to provide her with info that led her to make her own decision on this life changing gift. So I understand Kindle's point of view. My sharing did have a positive influence on another and allowed me the opportunity to be a mentor for another person who is ready to go forward in this journey. But with that said, I am not going to change my decision on sharing this personal part of my life with just anyone. I will make the decision to discuss this topic as the need arises. Many times I will likely decide to not share. If I think it would be helpful to share, I will. This goes along the lines of other personal things in my life. It has nothing to do with being honest with others. It has to do with being private in my own life and what fits in with my own comfort zone.

I worry every day that my daughters will be safe and in good hands with Dr. A. Ortiz. At some point you just have to close the research and make the final leap of faith and book it! We did that. But I cannot thank everyone enough for all their feedback regarding the Mexico surgeons and Bariatric centers. All the info on this site is invaluable. It certainly played into our final decision. Dec 8th cannot get here fast enough!

All I can say is thank goodness for Goodwill! I have been able to go through my shrinking dress sizes one by one with very little cost for me. I am retired so jeans and casual clothes are plentiful there and very cheap. I have bought a few things as a treat once I get into a new size but honestly with the change is sizes happening so quickly I am thankful for the thrift shops.

I was told I should take stool softeners but NOT laxatives. You can get quickly dehydrated using laxatives. Be careful.

They say you must focus on getting in all your required water and protein. That is very hard to do early on after surgery, but I did meet those requirements. What I failed to focus on was making sure I had my daily doses of Benifiber so that I stayed regular. I missed that somewhere in my instructions ????. So after stronger doses of laxatives I ended up severely dehydrated and had to go to the ER for IV. Now I make sure I get in my water.... My protein..... And YES... My Benifiber!

I think at this point the risk is pretty low, but will certainly monitor the situation as time goes on. We fly to Mexico for surgeries on Dec 8th. Flying home after the surgery, even with this Ebola scare, is safer then driving back by car, which is a 24 hr trip. That is way too long sitting and can cause blood clots, etc.

Good for you. I wish you the best. You will blink and April will be here!

The thing that is nice about Mexico is that it is fairly close to US and Canada. Flight home after surgery is only a few hours. Thailand, well that is a long way from home. Distance should be considered. I know how I felt after surgery. Would not have want to face an overseas flight.

You don't get around the 2 year history. Period. It is their easy way of disqualifying most. But honestly just about every ins company requires the history of weight issues. So can't fault Aetna for that. Just part of the games we play and hoops we jump. If you are healthy ( no co morbidities) and your under 40 BMI you will likely have a harder time getting approval from insurance company, and most assuredly from Aetna. But as has been said in other posts, each employer plan can be very different even if all are under the Aetna name.