IncredibleShrinkingMan

It sounds like your life has already changed for the better. You are in a new mindset with a new outlook on life, and you think and reason as though you have already had surgery. Best wishes!

This is a very impressive pace. Don't get upset if in a couple pounds (in Onederland), the numbers get a little sticky. It's normal, and it's for the better, and will make your weight loss better quality in the long run. My current stall is about two weeks old and I am learning to love and embrace it for what it means.

A bunch of electrolyte-specific tests on top of the full panels, a sleep study consult (no study ultimately required) and various other things by the pulmonologist, a barium swallow (the most awkward one of all), a chest x-ray, and the psych eval.

Nice...fingers crossed, although I am sure you have nothing to worry about!

Well, means there is progress! We are all losing some former cushioning back there, and unless something is bruising, it will probably just take some time getting acclimated. I have had this problem with bikes my whole life, even before surgery, and now I am having to readjust and find a perfect balance and distribution all over again. I am needing to stretch a lot more during long drives, whereas before I could go as long as the gas tank would.

Nothing. I usually lose weight over Thanksgiving the food sickens me so much. But unfortunately I am usually out foraging in vain for something to eat having starved through the meal because I don't like turkey or any of the accompaniments. I usually wind up with some beef jerky from 7-11. Maybe I'll try to finally enjoy some Thanksgiving food this year so that that doesn't occur.

Not enough info here to adjudicate. [Friend's name] seems oblivious, but that's probably not due to bad character or indifference to you. However, if there are indications that is true, I hope you don't do anything more serious than the occasional meal with [friend's name]. At any point, did you explain more fully? If the table-not-booth problem doesn't resonate, how do you talk about the way you need to manage your eating after surgery?

Pumpkin pudding? You could probably even have pumpkin pie without the crust.

@@goblue9280 I agree, sometimes, sheer volume of response is what speaks most powerfully, even if things are trite by the time the last person speaks. P.S...heart still going nuts from double overtime and Lions win at Lambeau.

Nothing edible, unless I also loved it before. Isopure shakes might be one exception, but that might be the healthy feeling you get from consuming them rather than the actual sensual pleasure derived. I have learned to love airplane seatbelts, gym scales, measuring tapes, and half portion options (I don't think I had previously ever ordered one). I could go on and on and it would get even funnier. Anybody who wants to co-author a book entitled "1,001 NSV's" or a "365 NSV year-in-a-box" calendar PM me!

@@sarahbethemails I am not an ice cream person either and I find that satisfying the craving once takes care of it for months...it is an entirely different season next time I even feel like having any. This sounds like your situation as well. Just knock yourself out, find your favorite flavor, and just let your sleeve tell you when to stop (it is a slider food, but you'll still be able to use common sense and feel some fullness). I also agree that counting calories in the first year is generally counterproductive, unless you feel your restriction is really not what you expected.

I think what you lost is pretty much exactly what you want in this situation for the most part. You don't want to disqualify yourself from surgery, but you also don't want to arouse concern due to weight gain (practically impossible if you've followed the prescribed program...this is the proxy they use to determine whether or not you have done so). So there is a Catch-22, but there is a sweet spot that avoids it, and it is right about where you are. You have more than a shot...I expect this to go through without a hitch.

Right there with you...your body needs to catch its breath and bring the set point down to where you are so that it doesn't go into survival mode on you. The pervasive need for instant gratification with weight loss on this site troubles me, and it's great to read somebody that gets it. I am loving a stall right up against 200 at the present time. I may use the holidays to trick my body into thinking there's a feast and then go all new year's resolution on it in January (like the olden days, minus the yo-yo).

Starting to see some bald spots of my own (3 months, 10 days out)...the consensus is that it should all be done and regrowing no later than the six month mark. I still don't know what to do about haircuts, because it is relevant to the look on top, but since you can't tell what part of the head you will lose from, it is difficult to plan. Also, holding off on a haircut doesn't stop the loss, so I am at a loss as to what to do.

@@Charlotte'sMom These are the bomb! 40g of Protein and nothing else to speak of (except the sensation that your ingesting pure corn syrup!) These went down well the day I left the hospital and I use them for liquid reboots to this very day. I encourage you to give the other flavors their fair chance...certain ones took me a while, but they all sit with me now.

The psych employed by the surgeon (or associated with him) only expresses reservations when they are serious and potentially deleterious to your success with the surgery. Insurance company psychs might be very different. I think you present a medley of legitimate concerns as to what post-surgery life could hold. I completely get that you are mentally ready, but since the premium on success and mental health is so high, it is probably worth a hold-up, even with some extra expense (as you described), to make sure you are not doing this just to see your life end up being made worse because of other issues. I would stay confident and mentally in the zone, but also reflect on these matters as seriously as the psych did. I hope you can find a way to still have the surgery in 2015.

Between my two-week pre-op and the three months (and change) since surgery, I have lost 90 lbs. I am almost even a little thankful for the present stall in which I find myself, because it could only make the progress healthier and more sustainable. That is by far my proudest victory. But the NSVs are countless...the biggest one being making good on the promise I made to myself to one day wear college-era clothes again that have since been boxed up in the attic. Congratulations on your century mark! See you in Onederland soon!

Since you have almost four weeks left, I would start liquids now...it will train you to succeed on the post-op liquid diet. Additionally, it will really help you with any pre-op diet your surgeon requests, whether it is clear liquid or just simply low calorie. It takes some time to settle in to liquids, and it gave me major irritation until the last three days before surgery. As to how to do it during post-op...the best advice is just to sip as directed...don't go long periods without having your Protein drink and try to keep it steady throughout the day. Best of luck!

You are probably referring to the drain site, if indeed you had a drain. The location that you are describing is exactly where mine was, and it is exacerbated by coughing or sitting up, and potentially even sitting down. He is right, it will improve steadily, however, it will be markedly slower than the other incision sites. The other thing I heard that helps is to hold a pillow or cushion up against your abdomen when you are about to cough or sneeze, but I seem to not have had a very good technique, because that didn't do much to mitigate the acute pain that you are describing.

I really need to invent a scale that doesn't respond to you after you've stepped on more than twice in a seven day period. I think the amount we are going to lose is predetermined by our genes in combination with the characteristics of the surgery...you just have to love it like a locked door. Pace and timing of stalls, however, are not programmed, and are even harder to predict. I do not believe they impact how much you will ultimately lose, so, you are only human if you are frustrated by a stall, but do not take it to mean your ultimate result will be less satisfying than it would be had the stall not occurred.

I think everybody with a pulse can probably relate. That is a wonderful moment and a wonderful memory. She is blessed to already have a huge inspiration in her life for any struggle she faces later on.

How has your fluid intake been? Are you sipping? If so, are you going to fast (more than 1 oz every 15 minutes)? I was very nauseous in the hospital as well and I quickly learned that it was because I wasn't really heeding the pace guidelines. I also made the mistake of taking the morphine when my pain was very manageable without it.

I second the above posts...this is about whether you are ready and have thought it through...to be certain, that is a pretty quick turnaround. However, if you have been wanting this for months or even years, you can't let anything get in your head that isn't a legitimate hesitation of your own. I tend to think it is always "too soon" for SOs, and, supportive or not, they will never be quite ready. He can help you, and you can, in turn, help him through it.

@@Alex Brecher is there any particular place on the head from which hair is generally lost first, or more severely, than others? Any advice about haircuts during this general phase? I just entered the 3 to 6 month category, and have a cut scheduled for early December. Scrap it?

Most NSV's involve something ego-petting, but this is priceless. Congratulations!