CanyonBaby

You are so right! I, too, had medical issues that for me, were irreversible. WHY DID I WAIT?! Because I didn't know it could be for me. I wasn't as high on the BMI as some, so I didn't think I could qualify. I also didn't even know it existed for many years before I heard about it. Then one night, about 2 months before my surgery, I saw a commercial for it. Then I said "WHY NOT?" and began the journey that saved my life. No regrets. None.

Maybe start practicing! Read up on pre-op, post-op diets, start tasting protein shakes (don't buy in large quantities, taste buds change after WLS, so just sample for now!), clean out your pantry of all the no-no's, practice eating as if you already had the surgery (chew chew chew!!!), try eating protein first, in the amounts typical of sleevers' (2 ounces to start, 1 cup or so for the most), start planning for cute clothes/styles you would like (this is the fun part!), read lots of books on the subject, make a list of things to purchase for the surgery (ninja-type blender, small containers for food, baby foods...), research where to get your protein shakes/unflavored protein powders, find a gym or exercise program that will work for you-something you will REALLY like ....there's all kinds of things to do to prep for this. Good luck to you on your journey!!!

What has your diet been like? Are you doing the protein first? How about exercise? Have you calculated fat, sugars...? You may have to jump-start by adding more exercise or more challenging exercise. You may need to add carbs if you're not getting enough. Have you talked with your dietician? Might be a good place to start. Call or e-mail them. Good luck to you....

I guess I'm confused. If your out-of-pocket expense is up to over $13,000, what is the total for your surgery going to be? What I mean is, if you are paying that much WITH insurance, this is mighty expensive, it seems to me. I was self-pay, for the main reason I didn't want to wait for the year-long process (I have diabetes, and the complications of it were getting severe) to have the surgery via insurance. My total was about $16,000, and I have a fantastic follow-up care package included with that. I know they jack up the prices for insurance, but if you're going to pay that kind of money out of pocket, why not look into self-pay, and potentially pay less? My surgical team has about a 40 percent reduction for self-pay patients. Just an idea....

@@Kacherry Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Have you since visited with your doctor for after-care? Has he/she given you a post-op diet at all to follow? If not, may I suggest visiting hospitals in your area that may have support groups for WLS? You might be able to start one if there aren't any. You could also go to a dietician on your own, and if you have insurance, your PCP might be able to prescribe this for you. There are also lots of books available on the subject, with ideas for post-op diets. This is a long journey we are on, I wish you the best on yours!

I'm with Babbs on this....why do all this just to endanger your life with smoking? I am a little sensitive on this issue as the smoking is what killed my mother at age 64, from emphysema. The nurses said it was the worst way to die, as there is no way to comfort, no way to ease the suffering, especially at the end. And OH! The end was the absolute WORST. Especially for my father, who could only watch and cry. I was blessed by having an allergy to cigarette smoke, so I have never "smoked", other than suffering through 18 years of my mother's smoke. But remember WHY your doing WLS. I assume it is for your health, among other things. So maybe for MY mom, if not for yourself, please reconsider continuing smoking. You are a very valuable person!

Good luck to you on your journey, at minimum you should see good results for your diabetes. Let us know how you do!

I just gotta ask....what did your surgical team tell you about WLS? Do you have a dietician or nutritionist on board? Did they explain ANYTHING to you? I, too, was self-pay, and paid more than you, from what you said you paid. I can't understand where they went "wrong" in letting you believe there would be no work on your part. Maybe you should go back to them and demand they give you the information they obviously have not given you regarding the WHOLE program. You, at least, deserve nutritional counseling.

I gotta say I'm happy as a clam! I am at almost 6 months out, have lost just about 60lbs, and am close to the 65 percent of the excess weight loss. Pretty good for under a year, without working too hard at it (I just have so much on my plate right now, I'll get to it, I promise!). The surgery met my expectations, and I have to say I am CONTENT. If I lose more, great. If I don't, I am still SO MUCH BETTER OFF than I was, and healthier than I could have ever thought I would be again. So contented, I am competing with my cats (4) for LOUDEST PURR AWARD!!!!

@@JustWatchMe LOVING your ideas!!!!! The God-box...awesome. I have always had a "mental" God-box, and the most important part is not taking the item put in it, back....hard to do sometimes. Can't look back, or take it back. Kinda like saying "Hey, God, you can't handle this as well as I, so I'll take it back and deal with it myself". Also, the coloring book idea is AWESOME!!!!! I just had a friend in Minnesota the other day ask if she and I could do this together!!! Too funny!!!

Sounds like you're doing fine, and I'm so proud of you and your efforts!!!!! It IS hard work, always will be. But we love ourselves enough to do it, and keep doing it! How can we go wrong here?!!!!!

I've never hesitated telling anyone about my surgery, so I tell them upfront NOT to be upset with me if I can't eat their delicious offerings, or much of it. All have totally understood and respected me for this. Restaurants are another story, though; it seems wait-staff have more difficulty understanding why you don't eat more, so I just tell them I've had surgery...they don't need to know more, and usually don't ask.

Same here, no restriction. The only way I know I'm full is when I am extremely uncomfortable, then I am too full. I try to stop before that. Measuring is a good idea, try it and see if it helps. My problem with measuring is the density of the food, so it doesn't always work for me. And it is so odd, sometimes I KNOW I'm hungry, but after 2-3 bites, that's IT. Or it might be a cup. I can never tell until I am eating, then I just have to sense it, if that makes sense. I try to eat on my plan (2-3-2: eat within 2 hours of waking, eat every 3 hours, eat within 2 hours of going to bed), to keep on track. I am almost 6 months out, and I think this is just the way it is always going to be for me. Still happy with my choice, though!!!!

FYI: My husband has to take this before his colon cancer surgery on Friday, but throat lozenges and anything else is off limits...ask your surgeon if they are ok....Good luck with your surgeries!

I discovered today, while sitting for HOURS waiting for my husband (who was undergoing hospital tests), that I EAT when I am nervous. I never thought about it before. I have never been an emotional eater (like when sad, angry, emotional), but apparently I AM a nervous-eater! I ate almost everything in my lunch bag! However, I have to admit, I was there for 7 hours, so I may just have been hungry, but I didn't DO anything physical to warrant eating so much. I couldn't leave to walk or anything, since hubs' situation is so tenuous. But MAN. I can't do that anymore! So I need to know, outside of crocheting myself crazy, WHAT TO DO WITH MY TIME? What do YOU do when you nerves are shot? I can't read because I can't concentrate. I am a terrible worrywart. Always have been. So I am asking for folks to give me some ideas as to what to do with myself while I wait for EONS, waiting for the doctor? HELP!!!!

Thanks you guys, I hope I never have to go through this again! I found this solitary chess set at a game store in the mall, where only one player can play, so it is ideal. All the pieces are contained in a drawer below the board, which is quite small, but it has all levels from beginner to advanced. This should keep me going for awhile! I also found a portable Tango's game, where the puzzle pieces are put together to form the image on the cards, of which there are probably 30 or more images. Very compact at about 6"x 3". Very challenging! They figure the surgery will take 2 hours, and I have a neighbor coming to sit with me. She actually works in the surgeon's office, but has that day off! Her husband also has cancer, of a different type, so we are discovering we have a lot in common. We just moved to this neighborhood a year ago, so we still don't know too many people here. I am just so grateful to have all of you on BP, and my new friend-neighbor, who is taking her day off to sit with me! I am BLESSED, indeed!!!!

@VSGAnn2014@gowalking Thank you so much, it all helps to have such support. We just got back from the visit with the surgeon. He has told us the cyst on the pancreas IS BENIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY! Now we need to get through the surgery, scheduled for 2pm our time on Friday. Walking with the Lord..... Have you seen this new shake for pre-surgery? It is called "Impact Advanced Recovery" by Nestle Health Science. The patient drinks 3 shakes a day, for improved recovery. It is a prescription-only shake, vanilla flavored. The surgeon's assistant gave us a box of 15 (drinking 3 per day for 5 days prior to surgery).Apparently the difference between it and other shakes are that it has Arginine, Omega-3 fatty acids, and dietary nucleotides, which are proven to help the body recover from major surgery. It is supposed to help the immune system. And diabetics can have it as well, you would have to alter the diabetic diet a little, though. Just some news for those undergoing surgery...ask about it! More news to come....again thank you everyone, it means so much....Grace sufficient for the day.....

May I suggest going to a local support group meeting, as well? Check your local hospital for the meetings. If they don't have one, call the surgeons offices for suggestions. They also may have reading material for you. Good luck on your journey!

@@Inner Surfer Girl Thank you so much, it means soooo much, I cannot even tell you. We go in to the surgeon's office this morning, Dave is extremely anxious, as is expected. I just can't seem to calm him. Let us all keep praying....

@@CowgirlJane Thank you for your inquiry of Dave. He is doing well right now, and we see the surgeon tomorrow morning. He will be having surgery on Friday. This is what's going on: He has a cancer either in or on the descending colon. This has been confirmed by many tests. He also has a cyst, which they believe is benign, on his pancreas, and they also believe it is unrelated to the colon cancer. They did biopsies on it while he underwent a procedure putting a stent in the colon to open up the blockage. We must wait for the result on the biopsies to be sure the cyst is benign. He was in the hospital for 3 days immediately following the first surgeon visit. That was how bad his blockage was. They must shrink the swollen part of the colon (above the blockage) in order to be able to connect the two sections once the cancer is removed. That is why they put the stent in. The stent opens up the blockage, allowing the colon above the blockage to get back down to a normal size. They had to do this first before they could proceed with the cancer removal, which is scheduled for Friday. At this time they believe the cancer is either stage 2 or 3. We won't know until they go in. If the lymph nodes and blood vessels surrounding the colon are NOT invaded by the cancer, he will not need chemo. That would be stage 2. Stage 3 would mean the cancer has spread to other systems, and he would need the chemo to kill it. So we are praying for the stage 2, and a clean removal of the cancer. This is what is so interesting: he has had NO symptoms at all, including bleeding, pain, nothing. And there is NO family history whatsoever. The surgeons (all 4) say it is "just bad luck". Go figure. This man has NEVER had anything more than a cold. No surgeries at all, he never drank, smoked, did illicit drugs, ate poorly.....works out all the time...super healthy. The only reason he had a colonoscopy at all was me. I nagged him about it for the last few years, and especially as I noticed he was using the restroom more often. The surgeons say to get a colonoscopy at age 50. They said most cancers of this type are about 10 years old by the time they are discovered. And there are little if any symptoms. So the lesson here is get colonoscopy by age 50, before it is too late. It CAN happen to anyone. I will fill you in as we progress, we are cautiously optimistic for this surgery. The surgeons (all 4) believe this is stage 2, and will be dealt with then and there. They anticipate the surgery will be done lapriscopically, which would mean a quicker recovery. As of yesterday, he is off duty for the next 8 weeks, which is extremely difficult for a guy like Dave. But he is getting noticeably weaker with all the laxative-type meds he takes, and he needs to stay near the restroom. The pre-surgery stuff starts Thursday. Tomorrow's appointment will consist of an educational video, prep materials, and visit with the surgeon (such an awesome fellow). I imagine recovery details will be mentioned, and all the what-ifs. We have prepared as best we can on our end. It is hard to get all the paperwork regarding wills, powers of attorney, living wills....without getting emotional. We hopefully have all the heavy work that I cannot do completed. I THINK we're as ready as we can be. And, of course, our prayer chain is enormous!!!!! Everything is ready to go, and we are indeed blessed. Thank you all for your kind words, and especially your prayers. STAGE 2, OR BETTER YET....CANCER FREE!!!!!!

Same here...LOVE CeraVe. My go-to for face and body. They have a lotion to remove bumps from skin, as well.

@@jas84047 I use TG's and GENEPRO. Genepro has 30g per scoop, which is half the amount of most unflavored powders, but there have been questions about whether or not it can truly offer such Protein value per 15g serving. So I alternate it with TG's, which has a hefty scoop, and not as high protein value (I believe it is 25g per scoop). Yes, there is a taste to unflavored protein, I liken it to coffee creamer flavor, but not as sweet. With the Water Enhancer drops, you hardly notice the protein flavor. Remember, unflavored does NOT mean there is no flavor, it is just that they don't ADD flavor. You can also add the powder to just about anything wet: Soups, V8, other juices (watch the carbs!), scrambled eggs, coffee/tea (try iced - I like chai-spice iced tea!!!) chili, stews..... You may have to mix it with a little cool water before adding it to hot foods (or it might clump). Be creative and when you find new ways to use it, please SHARE!!!!! I meant to say TWICE the protein of most powders, for GenePro. Not half. SORRY! It is half the scoop size.

This is what I have been doing for the last several months, and I like it better than anything on the market for pre-mades. Take a glass of cold (or tepid, if you have just had your surgery and can't get down liquid well) Water, and unflavored Protein powder, add water-enhancer drops to taste. There are many varieties and brands available. You find them in the grocery store. I get my unflavored Protein Powder off the internet, Amazon.com, specifically, but I am sure there are other sources. I also add my powdered Calcium citrate and benefiber (only once a day) to my "cocktail". You can mix the flavors to find what you like. Good luck to you.

Ok. Here's one for you, per my hubs. He likes to do this whenever the "mood" strikes: start walking "casually" around your "victim", deploy said ammo, walk casually away. Leave "silent but deadly" in your wake. No one, other than said victim, is the wiser. Yes. I was the victim.

Have you changed your laundry detergent recently? Or tried a new perfume, lotion, dish soap...anything new? Have you been exposed to poison ivy/oak? And of course, this time of year presents lots of pollen, so that may be an issue, as well. Have you had a chance to ask your PCP? How are you with cortisone creams or calamine lotion? Those might help the itching (if it does itch), as will Benadryl. Allergies can develop at any time in a person's life, just as they can disappear, and no one seems to know why. I hope you find the culprit, AND a solution. Good luck!