larkspur

If it's nerve pain, go visit your doctor and try Neurontin.

I just did a search, and Moda Health appears to cover Gastric Bypass (not the sleeve and not the band). They require 6 months supervised weight management with a 5% loss, and they also require that you have a comorbidity. For BMIs > 40, degenerative joint disease with abnormal x-rays is considered a qualifying comorbidity, in addition to the standard ones like diabetes, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea. You might try calling them and asking!

Thank you, LipstickLady. I wasn't expecting to read a comment saying that if you don't find Jesus before surgery, you aren't worthy of having it. Faith is personal, and it's hardly something to put someone on blast for on an internet message board. Judge not, lest ye be judged. I am going to assume the best in people--perhaps those who've commented critically here have never dealt with mental illness on a personal basis. People who are mentally ill have an internal struggle, but it doesn't always mean that we take it out on other people. The OP mentioned that she was having thoughts that were shocking to her because of how judgmental they were. She didn't say anything to the women at the gym, and none of you are the thought police, so I think the efforts to slap OP on the wrist for thinking something negative are a bit misguided. I think LipstickLady had a very valid point earlier in this thread when she mentioned that it might be a part of internalized self-hatred for when you once WERE those women at the gym who weren't taking it seriously. I also want to say that mental illness is not an excuse for behavior, but rather an explanation that contextualizes our behavior. If you do not know what it's like to have your meds off balance, or to be clinically depressed for years at a time, or to be manic and lose your better judgment, then the least you can do is not shame others who do struggle with those problems. Treating mental health issues requires a great deal of compassion and trying to understand that internal conflict. I think some commenters here could benefit from taking a step back and keeping in perspective that the OP has a legitimate medical illness which impacts her thought patterns and that she was seeking support. The title of the post indicates that yes, she understands that her thoughts were inappropriate. And, on a final note, I just want to affirm that within the medical community, it is widely acknowledged that a relationship with a deity is not an appropriate treatment for a mood disorder.

All of the proselytizing on this thread is a huge turn-off to me. I don't want to be part of a community that forces religious views on others. To the OP - I have bipolar disorder too, and I am pre-op. I've been on around 40 different psychiatric medications and in the hospital a couple of times. People who don't have a mental illness often lack tact in dealing with these sorts of issues, but I wanted to let you know that I can understand what you're going through--losing weight a few years ago did give me a little bit of an attitude problem. It's a big change. I am a member of a mental health support forum/chat room and several of us are on the WLS path while also working on our mental health. If you would like a less judgmental place to speak about these issues please PM me and I'll link you. I wish you the best of luck with taking charge of your health, both mental and physical.

I just wanted to add, I have really not liked the Unjury flavors I've tried. I've done the Strawberry Sorbet and Vanilla, and they both have this OVERPOWERING smell and a weird aftertaste. Syntrax Nectar is so much tastier and it doesn't stink. I don't know about Unjury's unflavored, but Syntrax Nectar unflavored is great.

Hi everyone, I have my long appointment (psych, testing, meeting with surgeon, etc.) tomorrow at UC Davis and I'm hoping to be sleeved in October, but I started 8 days ago doing a pre-op program to get a jump start on living the sleeved lifestyle. Here's what I've been doing for food: - 1 Protein shake in the morning, sometimes a bar. I'm trying out different types of protein to find ones that I like, but obviously my tastes may change after surgery. I'm using reduced sugar Almond Breeze as the base for my powders, and I also have Premier Protein RTD shakes from Sam's Club. - Around lunchtime I'll eat a fat-free greek yogurt and a low-fat string cheese. - For dinner I'll do eggs with turkey bacon, or 4oz of salmon or tilapia with some veggies if I'm extra hungry. I haven't been doing any sauces or starches, but I use salsa when I need a flavor boost. I also have some blended Soups that I'm going to try to mix with unflavored Protein powder, and sometimes I'll do grilled chicken (but I very much prefer eating fish). - I'm pushing fluids, both plain Water and Crystal Light. - I'm avoiding white flour, white sugar, and potatoes, and tracking everything in My Fitness Pal. I am comfortably full all day. - I have a food scale and I use measuring cups to make sure I'm not grossly over- or under-estimating my food. I also walk my dogs at least once per day around the neighborhood, and I've signed up with a pilates studio. I figure if I increase my core strength pre-op, it will make it easier for me to recover from surgery. Also, I just really, really love pilates...it's fat-girl friendly! So far I've lost about 7 lbs just from the dietary changes, and I feel like I am doing really well. I plan to continue following these general principles until I'm sleeved. My surgeon's office has a policy that you should lose 10% of your total body weight before surgery, so I'm looking to lose 31 lbs pre-op. Am I doing the right things? Is there anything I should really change? I'm going to ask the surgeon and nutritionist tomorrow for feedback, but I'd like to hear from the patient's perspective too. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Found this interesting study about the effects of the sleeve on bile acids, and bile acid signalling's role in weight loss: AbstractBariatric surgical procedures, such as vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), are at present the most effective therapy for the treatment of obesity, and are associated with considerable improvements in co-morbidities, including type-2 diabetes mellitus. The underlying molecular mechanisms contributing to these benefits remain largely undetermined, despite offering the potential to reveal new targets for therapeutic intervention. Substantial changes in circulating total bile acids are known to occur after VSG. Moreover, bile acids are known to regulate metabolism by binding to the nuclear receptor FXR (farsenoid-X receptor, also known as NR1H4). We therefore examined the results of VSG surgery applied to mice with diet-induced obesity and targeted genetic disruption of FXR. Here we demonstrate that the therapeutic value of VSG does not result from mechanical restriction imposed by a smaller stomach. Rather, VSG is associated with increased circulating bile acids, and associated changes to gut microbial communities. Moreover, in the absence of FXR, the ability of VSG to reduce body weight and improve glucose tolerance is substantially reduced. These results point to bile acids and FXR signalling as an important molecular underpinning for the beneficial effects of this weight-loss surgery. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24670636

I don't live in Sac, but I am having my surgery at UC Davis Medical Center with Dr. Ali.

Have you had your gallbladder out? Pain that radiates back to the shoulder blade is classic gallbladder.