Machalo

That is great, Mikeyy! I can imagine your excitement at being only 2 weeks out. I'll be watching for your updates as you get closer. This is such an awesome time for you - are you planning what you're going to do as you lose the weight? You are going to rock this.

Welcome to the boards, SissyJ. I'm on all my pre-op stuff right now and don't have a surgery date yet, but I'm easily looking at next February. Ugh! That means I'll have to pay out all those deductibles, sigh. Anyway, take a look around, you'll meet lots of folks (men and women) of all ages and in all stages of the journey. I look forward to following you in your journey.

Best of luck today! Can't wait to hear about your journey.

I'm a bit late to the party, but welcome to the site! Catching a cold or the flu before surgery has been one of my concerns too. Have you talked with your nurse? I have my bariatric nurse already assigned and she is walking me through all the stages I need to get through. She'd be the first one I'd ask about a cold, or allergies, or anything like that. Best of luck and congrats on getting your surgery date!!!!!

Thank you, everyone for your comments. I brought home some articles for my husband to read about age and WLS and he seemed at least open enough to read them, though he hasn't yet. I think ... well I don't actually know what he thinks ... my supposition is that he wanted to do it too, and now that I'm on the path, he may be feeling a bit jealous? Gosh. That felt good to say. I'm on the path to WLS! Hooray me! Also, what one of our best friends told my hubby when we went to visit with them in August really rang true to me, so I had to do something about it. He told my husband that he was committing suicide by food and that he needed to make some changes or that is what was going to happen. This 80-something friend of ours tells it like it is, and we love him for it. He also mentioned my weight and asked if I was trying to catch up to my husband's weight. Only he could get away with saying that and not completely devastate me. But I took that comment to heart as well, and realized that only I could make the change for me and not for anyone else. Anyway, preaching to the choir here. I hope you all have a great day today.

Thanks Jess. I hope my husband will come around too. I'm sure he will with time, and he kind of has to since I'm having the surgery, right? Well, he's got at least through the end of January to adjust. Thanks for commenting!

OOh! I hope you have great nutritionists on your team. Mine are fabulous and have already shared some hints and a great recipe for crock pot cooking of proteins so I can freeze them in "to go" packets. I hope you also have great success in your small step changes. We can do this. That's why we're here. Right?

Oh I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm only (wow, I feel young!) 55 and my hubby thinks I'm too old to have the surgery. I'm going to have him read all of this thread to ease his mind a bit. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and stories.

I'm thinking that is going to be one of my biggest bugaboo's too. Giving up the soda. I decided to do it during my 4 months of nutrition consults, while I gear up for my surgical consult in January. Like this month (my starting month) I'm not limiting how much diet soda I drink. Next month, I'll limit to 2 per day. In December, 1 per day, so that by January I'm completely off. I still don't think it's going to be easy, but I'm happy with my plan. You may be post-op by now; how did you finally get off soda?

Hello, I had my initial consult on Monday and now have 4 months of nutrition before I even get to meet the surgical team. Between now and then I cannot gain so much as an ounce or insurance will kick it back. So, I'm doing the next best thing and starting to modify my behaviors by cutting out most of the sugar I eat, and chips this month, adding in cutting down on soda next month, until I get to my surgical team appointment and can say I'm off soda and sugar. Has anyone else done any behavior modification while on their pre-op path?

Hello, I say I'm looking for buddies in Virginia, but I'll take buddies from wherever you happen to be. I am in the pre-surgery phase and having a hard time getting used to everything. I have my good days where I get all my Proteins and waters in and then I have bad days where I have a hollow leg and stuff everything I see down my throat. Not conducive to a successful post-surgery. What I'm looking for is someone I can be accountable to who can encourage me when I want to reach for that whatever it happens to be at the time. I need the surgery; I'm carrying around an extra "me" and it is affecting every part of my life. In return, I offer my support, friendship, and prayers whenever and whatever manner you need them. Cheers, Machalo

You could go through your office and let them know what you are doing and then thank them for being supportive and understanding why you won't be participating in their "goodies." The ladies in my office all know what I'm up to in preplanning and they have stopped asking me about extra chocolates and come by to offer a walk or a water or something healthy instead. Hope that helps!

Today's View is being brought to you by the letter "A". There will be a temporary interruption of your normally scheduled programming for the following, unpaid testimonial. ~~~ Hello. I am in the process of getting approval for Gastric Bypass, the surgery that my surgeon has recommended due to Acid Reflux. My goal for surgery is August 2015, as that is the only month of the year when I could possibly be out from my work without it being a major catastrophe. I am still working out coverage and all of the insurance hurdles. One step at a time. The view today from my room is one of angst. a. What am I doing? b. Do I believe that I can get to the mental state that I will need to be successful by August? c. How will I still be able to attend to my husband's physical needs while I am recuperating from surgery? d. Am I being unforgivably selfish? e. Is it a mutilation of the "temple" (body) that my Heavenly Father has gifted me with? e.1. Of course, my temple has been unfit for the past 30 some years as I've gained and gained and gained. f. No diet or miracle pill has worked well since my teens when I turned bulimic, why should this? g. What if the surgery brings back my eating disorder? g.1. But it can't, can it? g.2. I mean, you HAVE to eat each meal; you can't skip one because of the need the body has for nutrition. h. I won't even be able to participate in the monthly Fast Sundays for Church anymore. Now, that is a bummer! i. What if it doesn't work? j. What if I can't maintain the diet needed to succeed? k. What if all my hair falls out? l. I won't be able to cook & bake anymore! m. No more chocolate?!? AAAAAARRRGH! On the plus side ... I need to change this thinking around, so let me look at what I will gain by having a successful surgery. 1. I do look forward to being able to tie my shoes, and even see my toes when I stand up. 2. I look forward to being able to shop in normal clothing stores again, and of looking "pretty" when I feel like dressing up. 3. I really look forward to being able to kneel for more than 2 minutes and being able to stand back up without it being a major hassle. 4. I will be able to do the chores around the house that I haven't been able to - those floors will not know what hit them, LOL! 5. I will be able to garden, woot! 6. Hiking and walking for more than a couple of minutes without being a wheezy thing will be most enjoyable. 7. I will be able to take my camera into the mountains for photography that I enjoy. 8. I will even be able to take my art supplies up to the mountain to draw or paint, if I have that whim. 9. I will be able to dance without my breasts giving me black eyes. 10. People won't automatically know I am coming down the hall by the shuddering of the floorboards. 11. My mattress will last longer than 2 years. 12. I won't overflow theater, airplane, amusement park, or stadium seats! 13. I can play with my grandchildren. 14. I can travel with the $$ saved on groceries and healthcare. 15. More energy! 16. Clothes will take up less room and therefore I will have less clutter! 17. No more contortionist pretzel imitations in the bathroom. 18. I may be able to hit the Mammogram folks without them having to do "sections" of material at a time. Excellent! Phew! Now that I have that off my chest, so to speak ... well. At least I have more positives than negatives! Like I said before, angst. I would love to say something now that was poignant or profound, but I can't think of anything that doesn't sound peculiar. Until next time, good neighbors, I bid you adieu. ~~~ This station would like to thank the letter "A" for its sponsorship of this testimonial. We will now return you to your regular scheduled programming. This concludes this broadcast of the Emergently Broadcasting Probability System.

The view from my room today is a bit cloudy. Not black stormclouds like it is going to rain, hail, or snow at any time, just some puffy cirrus clouds passing by my room in the expanse of bright blue sky. I hear birds whistling and mimicking all kinds of things. One mockingbird has an Ambulance siren down almost exactly! Others make the sounds of brakes or car horns, but the majority mimic other bird calls. I guess they think they are slick or something, being able to make all those nifty sounds. Checking off where I am this week: Behavioral Medicine Visit - check food diary for BMed doc (2 weeks) - in process Nutritionist Visit 1 - check Food diary for Nutritionist (4 weeks) - in process sleep Study - check Nutritionist Visit 2 Nutritionist Visit 3 Food diary to BMed Follow up with Pulmonologist on sleep study Progress, though still a fairly long way to go. I am at least on the path now, and just as anxious as ever to get going. I need to keep my eyes on the future and the promise of thinner times by keeping control of my food appetites. I hope you are all doing well, gentle neighbors. Wishing you all the best, I bid you adieu for today.

Love your attitude, Lala! You are right, ultimately we are the ones making the food choices. My first nutrition appointment was this week and it was really good. The weigh in didn't come until the end and showed I had dropped 2 whole pounds since my April 23rd information session and beginning appointments. Small steps. My goals for the month are to read labels before purchasing; eating on a salad plate at least one meal three times a week; getting in all of my water; and moving by walking around the block three times a week. The weight didn't get here in a day; I can't expect it to miraculously just drop off. Though, I wouldn't mind some Adipose coming off and walking out my door. (FYI - Dr. Who reference, you'll probably see a lot of those, cause I'm geeky like that). Don't try to run a marathon when you still don't know how to stand upright. I figure it is going to take a lot of faceplants before I get good enough at the whole good choices part to be able to walk my way over to the other side of the room. But, isn't that why we are all here? To support and encourage each other? I will wish you all the success in the world, but I KNOW you got this! I did well in making food choices for a couple of days and then had one of my "hollow leg" days where I couldn't seem to get enough to eat. Still, only one of those this week instead of having them every day, so that is progress in and of itself. I'm sure you had them too, FaeMystique; look at you! You did log and watch your choics for two months! That is quite the accomplishment! *high five*

This epistle of The View from My Room is being brought to you by the letter "B". ~~ Good afternoon, gentle neighbors! I hope this episode finds you all doing well and getting that Water in! I amazingly was able to get not only all of my water in, but extra besides yesterday and am almost done on today's water. Woot! Go me! Thanks for the welcomes and a special "shout out" to Stevehud. You make some good points. To clarify my stance on your joke about leaving my husband - never going to happen; this is the "in sickness and in health" part of my vows that I made before my Heavenly Father. Those vows I hold sacred. I do try to stay on the positive side, Kemper. Just sometimes I don't win that battle. The tapes still play in my head, as they do for most folks. I'm usually better at ignoring them. Sorry for the questioning yesterday, I figured it would be better to put them in here where others were going through, or had already passed the same place. My apologies if I offended. The view from my room today is Bountiful! 1. It is FRIDAY! *happy dance* 2. It is PAY DAY! *cheer* 3. It is beautiful outside! 4. I am blessed mightily! 5. I have the best family on earth! 6. My grandson is cuter than the Gerber baby! 7. I have a great job! 8. New art supplies!! 9. Trying new freezer recipes for the month to see how that works out for us. 10. I love my 9 daughters and 5 sons! 11. I am alive which is always a good thing! 12. I choose JOY today! 13. I have a bright future ahead! 14. It is going to be a great weekend! Full of friends, and family, and Church. Joy and laughter will abound! 15. I am blessed to live where it is so beautiful! 16. Another step in the right direction, I see the psych docs on Tuesday for clearance. Woot! 17. Yay for replacing mindless eating (hand-mouth disease) with cleaning and/or art and knitting! 18. Blessed to be here on such a supportive forum! 19. Mother's Day Weekend! 20. Did I already mention ... IT IS FRIDAY!!!! Happy HaPpY HAPPY Joy JoY JOY *wandering off now, humming "Aruba, Jamaica, oooh I wanna take ya, to Bermuda, Bahama, ..."* Happy Mother's Day weekend everyone! Until next time, good neighbors, I bid you adieu. ~~~ This station would like to thank the letter "B" for its sponsorship of this testimonial. We will now return you to your regular scheduled programming. This concludes this broadcast of the Emergently Broadcasting Probability System.

Glad to hear your surgery went well! Will be sending prayers for a speedy recovery time for you as well! Have a great weekend!

Take your time, everyone here seems to be patient and nice. Welcome, I am a newbie myself to the forum. Good luck on your journey; I am still in the insurance approval process.

I am wondering about having hunger pangs emanating from my (then) detached stomach. It isn't ever going to be filled again normally, so how does that work? I mean, a 1/2 cup pouch will fill up pretty darn quickly and there will be poor, sad, big tummy wondering where her food is. How does she not start screaming her head off? Will it "growl" endlessly? Will I still get hiccups? How do I take all of my daily medications without totally filling my pouch several times over? I don't want to stretch it out, since I'm going to that kind of trouble to make it this way. What do you do with medications that have to be taken with food?

That is great TN_Gal! All the best to you!