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@@Reneekam YAY!!!! Congratulations to both you and your husband. I sometimes wish that every morbidly obese person would just have a few days in the healthy zone to see what they are truly missing. I wish I had not been so scared, I should have done it 10 years sooner. But I am beyond grateful now! Take care and keep us posted!

@@nmf0318 Just out of curiosity what is it that freaks you out about RNY? I know I had a similar reaction when my surgeon recommended RNY instead and I had to do some research to get myself very comfortable. There are many people on this site that had a VSG and ended up having to then have bypass anyway. I would definately talk to your surgeon about this and your concerns about what might be the better option for you.\ There are many of us on this site that would be happy to answer questions if you have them.

@Ninni

Keep in mind that every surgeon has a different post op plan and hers might include soft foods like cottage cheese and scrambled eggs. And who knows.....toast might be on there too! Or bacon and oreos......like I have seen others post about. And cottage cheese...I still eat it nearly daily.

I expected to have alot of back fat. As I got to goal, that is no longer the case surprisingly enough. I would agree that the best thing is to get to a healthy weight by losing fat, if you focus on that it should get better.

@@Babbs You had to say dark chocolate! That is my guilty pleasure.....

As of this week I finally hit a normal BMI and i promised myself when that time came I would finally share some pictures. By the way, I still do not like having my picture taken but before I hid behind everyone and because I was tall it was easy to hide the rest of me. Now I definitely am willing to get in the shot and I no longer cringe when I see the pictures. The only pics I could find before surgery were taken on a cruise with my hubby, Son and Granddaughter. These were taken 1 month before my bypass. My after was taken earlier today, down 137lbs and finally at a BMI of 24.9

Gerd is definetely a commorbitity and you may find that the VSG may not be the right surgery if you already have it. The sleeve can make that condition much worse resulting in a revision to bypass down the road. I ended up having RNY gastric bypass instead of the sleeve due to Gerd. Bypass cured this disease for me along with sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It also put my kidney disease into remission. I wish you the best of luck, just follow up with the surgeon on the commorbity and they can help you through it. You would also need to understand the required supervised diet. Many times it is 3 to 6 months and that would mean it would be next year. Once you are through the diet, then it takes some time for the insurance company to approve and then they need to find an open slot on the surgery schedule. So, that being said, it just might take you a little longer to get through it. For me, I had a 6 month supervised diet that began on 12/26 and I had surgery on 9/29....nearly 9 months.

When I get off track....I dust off my post op plan and get back at it. It really is the best way to start....fresh. Congratulations on the new man and the new job. You got this!!! You already know what to do because you have done it before. It is always much harder getting started than it is following the plan!

Welcome! I hope you get your call and everything works out for your surgery! Hopefully it wont be much longer. As you have determined, there are alot of hoops to jump through but in the end they are all worth it! Keep us posted when you get your approval!

Honestly your goal is a personal choice and so many surgeons wont even consider setting your goal. For me, I used the BMI chart because it is what ever doctor looks at. (Right or Wrong) I chose the high end of that BMI chart knowing I did not want to be too skinny. Believe it or not, I was once underweight for my height as a teenager. So I chose 165 as my goal and I have been between 158 and 162 for the last 6 months. I am comfortable with where I am and have invested in a whole new wardrobe so I am hoping and working hard to remain there.

Many insurance companies DO NOT cover bariatric surgery. Thankfully when I had my surgery I had United Health Care and never even saw the bill. Now, I moved states and the annual blood work associated with follow up care is not covered under my insurance because it is considered bariatric follow up. I paid the bill because I did not want it to go to collections. The bill was almost 2300.00. Just beware, insurance really does matter not only for the surgery itself but for follow up care down the road.

Grateful!

@@proudgrammy I hope all goes well for you, you have been through enough! Keep us posted! And take care of yourself. Deb

I live near Occonomowoc in Pewaukee. Had my plastics at the hospital in Occonomowoc. Oh, and I was just in Chicago today.....it was my layover coming from Austin Texas. LOL Small world hey!

Thanks everyone for the compliments. Things are still going great for me. I had my arm lift done in July and the results are phenomenal. After the arm lift, I ended up gaining a few pounds but have since lost it again so all is going well. These are my post op before and after pics: *Pics were taken by my doctors office and are now on real self. She too was thrilled with the outcome. I would also call out that these pics were taken 3 weeks post op so I am still swollen! They are even more awesome now.....and yes, I am still swelling. Brachioplasty was so worth it for me! I went shopping for a clothes for my business and I had so much fun trying on literally anything and everything fit my arms which was not the case before. Before: After:

Oh, and I have also used won ton wrappers to make lasagna muffins. I use just two wrappers and load it up with delicious ground beef meat sauce and a ricotta mixture: Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, an egg and some fresh or dried parsley. These are great to make a small batch and pull one out for lunch or dinner with a few bites of green Beans or a tiny salad with balsamic dressing.

- Apple slices with either Peanut Butter or almond butter - Cottage cheese with 2 slices of deli meat like chicken or ham - Steamed peel and eat shrimp with spicy cocktail sauce (I like it hot now) - baked buffalo chicken wings (I tend to tear the skin off unless it is really crispy - Cold BBQ chicken breast (YUM)! - Fresh Mozerrella cheese with sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, fresh basil, good balsamic vinegar and a very light sprinkle of good olive oil - Baked Meatballs with mozerrella cheese and yes......red gravy (I am Italian too and make a killer marinara) - pizza crack! - Bake off an egg roll or won ton wrappers brushed with olive oil until golden brown. Once brown and crispy top with your favorite pizza topping: Sauce, fresh mozerrella cheese, pepperoni and a sprinkle of basil. Bake until bubbly and golden brown. I make extra and put in fridge for a quick meal. I can usually eat 2 pieces made from won tons or one piece made from an egg roll wrapper. You can put whatever toppings you like on it. The wrappers give it a nutty flavor. I made this once every couple of weeks.

Interesting article. The real question then is, what happens when you change your digestive system? For example, gastric bypass has a built in malabsorption factor that plays into this. I have often wondered how much Protein of what I eat does my body actually absorb? I am only allowed, 1 gram for every inch I am tall. That makes 70 grams in a whole day. I guess the good news is, my protein levels have been in the normal range ever since surgery which will be 2 years ago on the 29th. I am also 53 and I know my age and the fact that I only get minimal exercise given my back and severe psoriatic and osteo arthritis. I do the best I can and so far it has worked for me. I will say that I know I lost some muscle mass but not to horribly.

Hey, was just catching up on this.....yes, while eating a banana for my snack! LOL!

I simply switched to taking my multi Vitamin at bedtime instead of in the am. Same thing with my D3. I do take my Calcium citrate chew first thing in the am and that doesn't bother me. If that doesn't work, try a different brand. You must find one that works for you. I am sure you know this but they are critical for long term health post WLS.

@@Hiraeth Honestly it is nearly impossible to be in a long term committed relationship in which you are supposedly in love with the guy. The reality is, she was lonely and this guy likely became her best friend. Which is fine but at some point he is going to want to be intimate with her. She may be ok with that relationship but long term, he likely won't. The sad part is, there is really nothing you can do about it but I would suggest limiting your interaction with her. It is confusing you and I am sure it is confusing her as well. Part of the issue may be that she doesn't like the baggage that comes along with admitting you are gay. (Her sister is my point). I am not gay but I have to say if my family shunned me because of it, it would be devasting and although I would likely deal with that, it would not make me feel complete. I think it takes a lot of time to work through things like this with your family and if she really is getting married out of love, it might not be the right kind of love. Down the road, both of them may end up straying looking for something more intimate. If you feel strong enough, you might suggest she look at her situation a little more closely before she breaks this guys heart and ruins her friendship with you in the process. All that said, personally I would back off though and see what happens. You don't want to be the cause of her breaking it off with him because if she really does love him she will resent you for it later. Take your time....and let it play out.

I am so sorry for your loss! I know that it is a scary step and honestly having gastric bypass has less risk than having a hip replacement. You have to remember that chances of dying of obesity is a much more realistic risk. Have you heard what happened with your friend that caused her death? It would be important for me personally to understand the bigger picture there. And it your point you really have to find a doctor that you are comfortable with. Most Bariatric centers of excellence really do such extensive pre op testing before they will even consider doing this surgery. I have a problem with low heart rate and boy did they put me through the ringer before they would even consider touching me. Because they did such a thorough examination I wasn't scared at all. In the end, you have to be comfortable. I would just caution you to look at the facts around your friends surgery and the data that is available on the surgery and on the surgeon you choose. Ask them their mortality rate if anyone has passed away, ask what happened. It will make you feel better. Best of luck to you!

I ended up choosing bypass. #1 reason was severe GERD and I had type 2 diabetes along with a slew of other issues. Initially I was going to go with the sleeve but I got a recommendation from both my surgeon and my gastroenterologist who both said there was no doubt for me, bypass was the way to go. I am very thankful I did it and would do it again in a heartbeat. NO complications, I lost 152lbs and got rid of all those illnesses completely. Do you research and talk with your doctors. Your current health has a lot to do with your choices. Best of luck to you!

@@LisaMergs I am right there with you and let me tell you, when that weight comes off and you realize that all that loose skin is pulling on your body, plastics is a must. At least for me it is. I started with a 5950.00 Brachioplasty and I just took a 19 week project to cover the cost of my Abdominalplasty and breast lift with augmentation. That surgery is going to cost around 18K total..... I started my new project yesterday and I swear as every hour goes by I have a secret smile on my face knowing that I just paid for part of my surgery. I think it stinks that insurance does not cover any of it. For Peres sake, obesity is a metabolic disease. And guess what, it is a disease that can and will end your life early. Why then is reconstruction not covered? I just simply don't agree with that. As I sit here all trussed up in my spanx that hold my tummy in....... It is BS and it needs to change. Just my two cents......