Shadowcub

I have been an emotional eater all my life. It's the only friend that has never left me. Heck that pizza from high school is STILL on my hips! I worry about gaining the weight back. I wworry about cross addition. Heck, I worry about both! But I've done OA before, just need to get serious about it again. I'm lining up therapy and an outside nutritionist. I've even enrolled in a Lifestyle Change group focused on healthy living. I'm just hoping that by this fall when I should be due for surgery, I'll actbactually be ready for it!

I am just starting this process and am already completely confused by the variety of Proteins, Vitamins, etc. that people recommend. Standard advertizing gibberish from the manufacturers and the possibility of "fake" reviews on sites like Amazon don't help either. I can very much see relying on a BariatricPal Store to meet my needs later this year when I hope to get surgery done!

It may be an irrational fear, but that doesn't make it stupid. I have been heavy all my life and, as I start this journey myself, I have some concerns about who will come out the other side. You see, I've always been single and that was easy to take BECAUSE I've always fat. So I've been able to tell myself, "Well, if I was -thin- THEN they'd want me. It's only because of my weight that I'm being rejected." But what happens if I get the surgery, lose all this weight, and then get rejected ANYWAY? Then it won't be the weight that's being rejected. It'll be *ME*! And even worse, after the bypass I won't be able to turn to cakes and and candies and all the "wonderful" comforting stuff like that that's always been my "only friend." So, yeah. We're headed towards being someone we've never been, the thin guy. And fear of the unknown is one of mankinds most primal fears. Far from being stupid, I'd wonder if someone who DIDN'T feel some aprehension about this was really in touch with their feelings or not.

Long time without replies, BeachGulr84. But I've been looking for anybody's recent experiences with UPMC as I'm just getting the process started. Watched the information session on-line before filling out and faxing the initial paperwork to UPMC Magee over the weekend. Got an e-mail saying it'll take 5-10 days before I hear about an initial in-person appointment. I've got an appointment with a private nutritionist on February 1st, a note to call Magee to follow up on the consult, and their support group meets the evening of February 14. I'm really hoping to get in for the consult before the support group, and the first of the 6-month classes by the end of the month. (That would have me on track for surgery in August, which is the latest my friend can come and stay with me post-op since I live alone.) Hope everything is/did go well for you!

I am VERY early on in the process, so in some senses this is premature. But I figure if I can collect ideas here now, I will have time to do my own research AND get the products I decide on before I actually need them. (Being on Disability, I have a VERY tight budget so will probably only be able to get one item per month sort of thing.) There are a couple of topics in various other places on Bariatric Pal, and I found a couple of web sites that give general pre-op suggestions for surgery. What I've come up with so far is Aconitum, Arnica, and Ferrum phos for 2-3 days before surgery. Also loading up on Vitamins A and C along with the mineral Zinc. Has anybody heard of any of these? More importantly, does anyone have first hand information from taking any of them before your surgery?

I have two primary addictions. One, I have 10-1/2 years in program and have dealt with fairly well. The other is food. I'm very much an emotional eater. Have been all my life, but it got worse when I started getting a handle on my other issue. Been dabbling with OA for 4 or 5 years now. Had some decent abstinence in 2013 from May to September, but since I've been totally out of control. I worry that I won't be able to get a good enough handle on my eating to get surgery. I worry that if I do get surgery, these same habits will sabotage me and leave me malnourished AND fat! But I can't live in the future. I can't change the past. I just have to do the best I can for today.

Well, I guess this is the place to introduce myself to you all. I first started my journey about 7-1/2 years ago with a BMI in the 50's. I did okay with the nutrition classes for 6 months, lost some weight, etc. The program I was in at UPMC St. Margaret had a couple hundred dollar fee ($400? $600? Something like that.) that needed to be paid between the classes and getting a surgery date scheduled. It covered the classes I'd already had, but also lifetime support post-op. But I just didn't have the money. The next time I started, at the same play, my weight had gone up and my BMI was now in the 60's. As a result, my insurance (UPMC's version of Medicare) only required 3 month's of classes. (I was told that Medicare didn't require any, but the surgeon wanted to make sure that I was serious and got some information about what to expect.) I think I was discouraged that my weight had gone up as I missed 2 of the 3 classes. I didn't have the money anyway, so.... Anyway, a friend had a sleeve done on January 19, so he's just at 1 week post-op today, and from talking to him this past week I've gotten the motivation to try again. I'm not the heaviest I've ever been, but I'm only about 5 pounds away. My knees have deteriorated SO much that if I don't do something soon, I'm going to be completely housebound. (I already am on bad days, but I still have some good and mediocre days as well.) This time I'm looking into the program at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. (Used to be primarily a pre-natal to birthing center, thus the name, but now is a regular "full service" hospital.) I was able to do the information session on-line. Downloaded and filled out the Initial Evaluation Form. And I even submitted a request for the initial consult (Step 3 of the process) and am waiting to hear back, hopefully today. Since my BMI is back above 60 again, I figure I'll be able to do the 3 month bit, but I'm going to ask to do the whole 6 months of classes. That'll give me more time to save up for their fee, if they have one. (Medicare now covers nutrition classes, so I'm not sure.) Initial consult in the next week or so. Nutrition classes Feb - July. Pay fee, final insurance approval, meet with surgeon, get date, do liquid pre-op diet.... Surgery by mid August. Thanksgiving at 3 months. Christmas at 4 months. Those last two should be interesting. I'm not sure, but I don't think I'll be able to have a small slice of turkey yet at Thanksgiving. But if I don't do something soon, this weight is going to kill me!

Only been here a couple of days, so I'm still in the "looking around/exploring" phaze. Not too worried about finding a full support network yet. Bypass in 40's describes me perfectly, is why I hoped to revive this group. And while there isn't a local "in-person" Bariatric Pal chapter, I've started talking to a few people on the general USA group from Pittsburgh, PA. I've applied to the LGBT social group, but that's still pending. (Only been about a day.) Anyway, I appreciate the responses. I'm looking forward to actually seeing this through this time!

Thanks. Both of you,. Somehow I think that a RNY will only be the start of my surgical journey. I have no illusion of getting down to 180# (the high end of "normal") but cutting my weight in half (a loss of 240#) would be nice. Of course, losing that much weight will probably cause the sort of skin problems that would qualify me for a second procedure to remove excess skin. And depending on how much my knees & back improve with weight loss, I may end up with knee replacements/spinal fusion surgeries as well. But I have to start somewhere. And, for once, I need to follow through and see this to the end! The reason I was so disappointed in there not being any recent posts was that I was hoping for somebody "like myself" to talk to. I did Weight Watchers decades ago and got discouraged seeing people who joined after me, losing total what I was losing in a week, and hitting their goal, while I still had so far to go. I was the only guy. I was the only person with over 100# to lose. And I just couldn't relate. Not to mention the resentful looks I got if the leader mentioned I had lost 7-10 pounds that week. So, uhm, yeah.

I'm in Pittsburgh, PA. Just getting the process started through UPMC Magee. Don't even have a surgeon yet. But I'm here.

Hello! I'm in Pittsburgh, PA, myself. I've got UPMC insurance through Medicare. (My weight has caused enough mental and physical damage that I'm on full disability.) I've started the process through UPMC St. Margaret a couple of times, but never followed through. (After the nutrition classes and before scheduling surgery they had a one-time fee of either $400 or $600, I forget which. But I could never afford it.) The nearest bus stop to that hospital was always hard to get back and forth to, and with how bad my knees and back have gotten since, I'd never make it now. A friend in York, PA, just had a sleeve done, and that's inspired me to restart the process one more time, this time through UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. (Kind of a misnomer of late as they have about the best ED program in the area!) It's much closer to the bus stop as well. I was able to do the information session on-line, printed and filled out the Initial Evaluation Form to fax back, and requested the first office consult on-line as well. Magee's "open to the public" information group for pre-op, post-op, and interested others, is the second Wednesday of each month, Feb 11 is the next one. I plan to be there and I hope to have my consult before then, and my first nutrition class later that month. The last time I checked, since my BMI is over 60, I can get away with just three nutrition classes, but I think I'm going to request the full six months anyway so I have more time to save up the nutritionist fee. That would have the six classes being February through July, with surgery some time in August. That should have me on pureed food for Thanksgiving and relatively "normal" food for Christmas/New Years. (Like I'd be having pie's and champaign. *snort*) Anyway, that's my story so far.

I will echo the "2 hours min between Iron and calcium doses". Also, it was mentioned that it is possible to take more calcium at one time than the body can absorb. I've been told not to take more than 600mg at any one time. But consult your doctor/nutritionist to get the best information available for you.

I just heard about this last night and I, for one, am VERY interested! While Medicare covers WLS and more recently Obesity Counseling, it specifically exclude by matter of law weight loss medications. It will be interesting to see whether or not Maestro ends up getting covered. If it does, I think I would prefer this route, at least initially, to lose weight. I have a BMI of over 60 so getting approved for surgery is extremely easy. However, the idea of permanent malabsorption. with the possibility for malnutrition, from a RNY gives me pause. Maestro promises faster weight loss than diet and exercise alone, without the complications of rerouting the GI tract.

I have to admit, the potential for lifelong complications from malabsorption of nutrients post-RNY is a concern to me, But the biggest concern I have is that I will find a way, to put the weight back on post-op leaving me all the complications without any of the benefits.