JerzyTomato74

I know exactly what you mean. I wasn't always obese but I was always bigger than other girls my age in school so I never felt thin. I was 189 on my wedding day in 2001 and I blame DH for all the weight I've gained (jokingly, of course). I got comfortable and let myself go and now I'm half way to 400 lbs. I'm mortified that I let myself get that far and I don't know if I'm going to know how to act when I get back down there. BTW, I will also be an October sleever! Would love to stay in touch!

I was just talking to DH about this. I was telling him that after a support group meeting, nutrition consult or appt with my surgeon, I am really pumped up about doing this. Then over the next couple days after, the worry sets back in again. I know that I'm going to go through with it but it's a vicious cycle! Now that all my insurance requirements are done it's even scarier to think about because now I'm going to be getting all the things I need post-surgery. Even though I've elected to do it in October, that's only two months away. When I started this process it was March and it seemed like forever ago. The months have flown by!

My surgeon's assistant was telling me yesterday that there's a coffee flavored Protein powder and she said it tastes really, really good. The brand is Isofusion. I know it's not coffee but it might help to get the flavor of it while drinking a Protein shake.

I had my third appt with my surgeon today. Turns out Aetna changed their requirements for WLS so instead of 4 Nutrition consults, I only need 3 which I've already done. So, because of that change, I have officially completed all of my insurance requirements! Now the nerves are really kicking in! I also asked about the 2 week pre-surgery diet. I've been reading from a lot of people on these forums that they were put on a liquid only diet for that time period. Mine will consist of 2 Protein shakes per day and a 300 calorie meal. Anyone else have a pre-surgery diet like that? Protein powders.....is anyone else trying to stay away from artificial sweeteners? Seems like no company makes a flavored powder that doesn't have some type of sweetener in it. The issue is not only can I not stand the after taste but I get several of the side effects associated with them; headaches being the worst one! So far, it looks like I'm going to be stuck with unflavored powder. Anyone else going through this?

Whey Factors is another brand that sells unflavored. I found this brand at a local health food store but I also found it on Amazon much cheaper.

I can tolerate Stevia if I have control over how much is added. It leaves a very strong after taste. The powders I've tried with Stevia have been too sweet to me. Looks like I'm resigned to unflavored. At least I can add that to anything! LOL

Way to go!!! The dress looks great and so do you!

I can't handle artificial sweeteners either. Stevia is a little better for me and that's what's in the powder I currently use but I want to find one with no sweeteners. Make sure you look out for "acesulfame potassium" in the ingredients list. Many people don't know this but this is a sweetener that is related to aspartame! The choices are way too limited in trying to keep that artificial junk out of our post-op diet! Your best bet is to stick to unflavored powders and the huge benefit of that is you can add it to any food or drink to get your Protein in! Good luck!

My husband was a little iffy about it but fully supports my decision to do it. He is overweight also and he jokes that he wants me to guinea pig it first. Needless to say he has attended all the support groups with me and has decided to have the surgery a few months after me. We have two little ones at home so we both can't be out of commission at the same time. I agree with another poster who said to turn the tables on your husband a little bit. Tell him you have made the decision to do this to better your health so that you can be around a lot longer and you'd like him to get on board. Tell him if he objects to it so strongly, you want him to research it on his own and come to you with his informed opinion and then you two can have a conversation about it. I personally didn't start to feel better about it until I really dove into researching VSG and it didn't hurt that I have two friends who went through it already.

I'm towards the end of my insurance requirements. I did three months of support group meetings and I have two more nutritional consults left which will take me into September. I've seen my surgeon twice in the past 3 months and will be seeing him for the third time next week. One thing I've learned is to write down any questions you want to ask your surgeon or NUT. I find that in the weeks between visits I come up with questions or things I need clarified but by the time the appointment rolls around I forget what I wanted to ask so now I write down anything that comes up in between.

Yes, I feel all of those feelings as well. I turned 40 this year and my husband and I have been trying to adopt a baby for the past three years. I know our weight has probably turned some birth mothers away from us but I've been so scared about surgery. Last year, two friends of mine had the sleeve done so that has helped to build my confidence up about doing it. I just finally said I don't want to be the fat mom or have our weight be an issue for any potential baby adoption. I've completed the support group meeting requirements so now I just have two more nutritional consults left before everything gets submitted to my insurance. I have a size 16 skirt that I probably wore 20 years ago still hanging in my closet. I am determined to wear it again! What I found was the support group meetings really pumped me up for the surgery but within a couple days after, I get back to the worry part of it. Tons of mixed emotions here so you're definitely not alone in that!

You want a quality Vitamin but you don't need top of the line either. Read labels on different brands and compare. When it's on sale, stock up on a few bottles and use coupons if you can. The multivitamin I bought is Centrum chewables which was one of the recommended brands by my NUT. It's carried at drug and grocery stores and Centrum goes on sale a lot at my store. I use coupons a lot to keep my cost down and you can even go on their website to print coupons. It was on sale at my grocery store last week and I had coupons so the cost was minimal. Also, the calcium with Vitamin D I plan on buying is Viactiv. Not too expensive and it has the mg's recommended. It's all about shopping around!

My guidelines are for three Vitamins. A chewable multivitamin with 100% daily value which I will double for a 200% DV. In addition, I will also add calcium citrate w/ Vitamin D and B12. Iron will be added if needed.

I have chosen to do the sleeve because it's the least invasive and I prefer to not have my intestines messed with. At my last support group meeting, one of our surgeons came to speak and he said gastric bypass is too much surgery. I think GB is better for 400+ lb people with a greater amount to lose.

South Jersey here! I don't have a surgery date yet. I have two more appointments with the nutritionist to get through first. I'll be having my surgery at Inspira in Vineland, NJ with Dr. Iqbal. I'm thinking it will be Sept or Oct.

I just wanted to introduce myself. I decided back in April that I wanted to have VS after two friends of mine had it done last year. I actually heard about this site at my last support group meeting. I don't have a surgery date yet, I'm in the middle of getting the insurance requirements done. I have one more support group meeting and two more nutrition consults to go. I bought my post-op Vitamins (Centrum chewables) and I'm in the process of looking for my Protein powder. Any suggestions for a tasty one? I'm scared to death but I know I can't continue the way I am now. My two friends are just over a year out and are both having problems. One had to have hernia surgery and the other just found out she has stage 4 stomach cancer. The latter has really been messing with my head. I know this isn't common and everything I've read says there is no known connection between WLS and cancer. Any thoughts on this?

I'm so sorry your family isn't being very supportive and I don't think it's wrong for you to ask your mom to make some adjustments. Maybe not stop buying the foods she and the other members of your house eat but maybe keep them a little more hidden or not so out in the open so as not to rub it in your face. The one thing you do have in your corner is this forum. I'm new here but I can already see how supportive this forum is. You are not in this alone because we are all either currently going through it or have been through it. Don't get discouraged and keep your head held high! You are doing a good thing for you, stay focused on that!

Thank you! My nutritionist actually gave me a couple samples of unjury, one of them being the chicken soup. I will definitely try them to see how they are.

I'm kind of annoyed with my mom right now about this subject. When I first told her that I decided to do it she was happy and she asked me if I was going to tell people. I told her that I wasn't but if someone asks me I may tell them. So what does she do? She tells me last week that she told some of her girlfriends. I'm so upset but I haven't said anything to her yet. I know I need to before she tells anyone else. I've only told my parents and two close friends. I just feel this is personal and private and it's only for me to tell people if I want to.