Sajijoma

It was very interesting. I probably failed. We shall see. I don't know why, but I got very nervous in there. It was like a flashback to my interviews with my caseworker as a kid before being tossed somewhere and I was so nervous that the random sh!t filter apparently broke. He handed me the famous questionnaire and I accidentally referred to it as "the crazy test" to which he gave me the stern "we call it a personality profile quiz". ????. I think it was somewhere around feeling like I was being accused of faking my age because I said 38 and he wrote down 28 and then asked me how old I was when our oldest child was born to which I said 24 and he said that didn't add up. Added up perfectly to me from 38 even though he thought 28. Feel like the whole thing just went down in flames. I'll be surprised if it doesn't end in a referral for mental health care before I can proceed.

Well I have been thinking about having the surgery for some time now. So on August 13th I had my first apartment and I am now on my pre-op diet. One thing that I need to get is to have my doctor sign off on some paperwork so that I can wave the 6 month doctor supervised diet. Was got for the sleeve but the doctor told that do to my size that bypass RNY would be best. I have been looking for all the info that I can on the RNY. Any info would be great.

beyond here, I found a lot of information on YouTube, I googled rny so much I type the letter R and it autofills now! Haha and I even read a few books like Weightloss surgery for Dummies and a few others. My best resource though is a friend of mine who has been through it and tells it like it is without sugar coating things. Where in Kentucky are you from? I grew up across the Ohio River in Evansville, but my family all came from Kentucky.

I've tried the Quest bars once-a Cookies and cream, and it was so disgusting I wanted to puke and I am pre-op! I have a very sensitive palate, but wow those are b-a-d! My kids won't even eat them and they eat everything! I'm really enjoying the Pure Protein Bars. There's anywhere from 20-23 grams of Protein per bar and relatively low sugar although the sugar alcohol in the one I had today was 8g! They taste good though. I usually have one for breakfast each morning.

Am I the only one who thinks it's kind of unnatural to have to rely so much on Protein supplements? I am starting to wonder about the long-term effects of this and all the artificial sweeteners in the sugar-free products they want us to use. What's the point of losing 100 pounds if I am going to die of cancer in 10 years from all the aspartame.

Sorry, rant over.

You can find Protein powders and supplements that don't have any artificial sweeteners in them. A lot of "health gurus" have touted the protein isolate for decades to supplement our western diets and they seem to all still be alive and kicking it, so I figure if they can do it, I can too. As far as all the other sugar free junk like puddings and drinks, I don't plan to do those any longer than I have to and even then it won't be aspartame because it gives me Migraines. I think my chances are better than doing nothing.

I wish I had gotten my bypass when I was in my early 20's I looked into it, but I totally didn't want to give up soda and my emotional comfort and like you, I didn't have any co morbidities and the idea of cutting up "perfectly good stomach and intestines" when my only problem was that I needed to lose weight seemed crazy! My family wasn't supportive so I was going to be doing it all on my own anyway so it seemed pointless. I wasn't going to make the permanent changes I needed to be successful because I didn't want to yet. Fast forward to today, I have really bad knees, my back is in constant pain, I'm over 150lbs heavier than I was back then, and I've nearly lost 2 babies from weight related complications during birth. I can't say this enough. Do it now before the other things set in. Diabetes will come. I don't have it yet, but I had gestational diabetes and lemme tell ya, I don't ever want to check my blood sugar that many times a day for the rest of my life! Do it now before you have regrets at my age (38). I can't get back my wasted years. I wish I could, but they are gone forever.

I should be finished with my requirements and submit on Oct 5th, so if all goes well, I should have a surgery date by the end of Oct. my surgeon doesn't give out dates til the insurance has approved since it's a small practice and he only does surgeries on Tues. at my hospital. The rest of the week he works for Kaiser Permanente.

I wonder if you are doing too much and not getting enough Protein. 60 grams seems kinda low to me for walking that much. Post op I've heard we need anywhere from 70-90 depending on sources-I am pre op so I can't say for sure what it takes to be successful in any way shape or form, so keep that in mind. Maybe try adding in more protein? Like maybe a shake or smoothie? If you don't take in enough, your body will perceive it is starving and refuse to lose more weight than it has to, to survive. I would definitely talk to your NUT about this and if they aren't taking your needs seriously, maybe find someone else independent of the office to seek a second opinion on what to do. My insurance doesn't cover my NUT of choice so I have to pay for her out of pocket each visit, but I consider her advice to be extremely reliable so it's worth the $150/hr to have her.

How scary! So glad you caught it in time! I hope you feel better and have a speedy and uneventful recovery from here on out!

Whoo hoo! Way to go!

My "last straw" was a lot of things all piled up. The first being that I nearly lost my 6th child during childbirth, because my body couldn't handle the stress of being so heavy and going through ANOTHER pregnancy. My heart rate dropped suddenly and my OB informed me if she did an emergency Csection we would both die and if she did nothing at the very least the baby would die. After a lot of begging and screaming for help, she came up with forced dilation and manually ripping my baby girl out of me. My weight nearly cost her her life and I was the only one responsible for that. She lived and is perfectly fine, but that guilt really took a toll on me and the antidepressants to make it "ok" enough to get through my days, took it's toll and I gained another 100lbs on top of what I already had within literally 6 months. Then one day quite by random I stepped on the bathroom scale and it went over 400lbs. I cried myself to sleep for weeks. I started investigating wls again because I wasn't ready in my 20's but no food was more important than my kids are to me. Before I got far we ended up accidentally pregnant(essure failed) so I was pregnant again and terrified since I nearly killed my other baby with my weight and here I was over 100+lbs more and with a damaged cervix from the other birth to boot! I ended up with gestational diabetes and informed that within 5 yrs most people develop full on diabetes. Around this time my uncle died from diabetes and heart disease related illness and then my Water broke 2 months early and I was in a similar position of body wasn't up to labor and it took 2 days to get my labor started and no doctor in the hospital wanted to touch me to do a csection because they said at my weight it was blind stabbing in the dark. They didn't know what to do so they kept pumping me with more and more calicium infused pitocin til eventually we were at the "death hour" the moment when they had to do something because the baby was suffering from the infection I developed and my labor wasn't progressing so we were going to get sent to another hospital and their "obesity team" we're going to try to wing it to open me up with my OB to get the baby out. Luckily for me, he decided to come out on his own 15 mins before they were getting ready to load us up for what was sure to be his and my death. When I got home from the hospital, I looked into wls online but I couldn't do anything because I needed to nurse my baby. He was very weak in the first few months and he needed that from me. So I tried dieting on my own and when he turned 1 in June, I decided to get started. The guilt that my weight has nearly cost me 2 children is something that will keep me motivated always.

Wow, somehow I didn't get any notifications of these replies! It's really weird to me how incredibly different everyone's pre op is! I'll be in the office tomorrow getting my psych eval anyway, so might just pop around the desk and ask if there's anything I can/should do early. I want to streamline as much as I can, because I've got 7 kiddos to consider and work around so things like sleep studies could be harder for me to arrange than just getting a date and going, so if it HAS to be done, I'd like to work on scheduling that baby now instead of trying to scramble 9 schedules to accommodate. As far as being ready for submitting, I've got appt #2 at the NUT this Wed and then 45 days later is my last of the 90 days and we can submit to insurance. I still want to try to lose another 20lbs before surgery(my next 45 day goal) so I'll be going in 40lbs lighter than my starting weight. God willing!

Yay for you! It's really starting to get real isn't it? I have my second of 3 appts with my NUT on Wed and my makeup rescheduled date for the psych tomorrow(he called in sick last time I was scheduled) and I am flippin' excited to be heading towards the submit line too!

Can this thread go back to the crazy please? All this talk about food/recipes is making me hungry now. lol

I know! It was better than any TV I've seen in years! ????

My thought is that you should keep going to lunch with her, but just don't say anything unless maybe she asks you outright. I wouldn't want you to lie to her, but you don't owe her an apology or an explanation on why you don't eat your whole lunch. It's not her business. I've decided that beyond my husband, our kids, my best friend in the whole world and a couple of friends who have had rny surgery themselves, I don't plan on telling anyone. I thought about it both ways and I really don't see any good out of giving the gossip hounds any chance to have a reason to smirk and laugh and just be nasty. They can guess all they want, but they don't need to know.

There are so many Premier Protein fans on this site that I think I am going to make the switch. My only concern is that Premier Protein DOES NOT contain a whey protein isolate. Every Protein Drink I've had since surgery 10 months ago has been a whey protein isolate drink. Does it make much of a difference really?

I've been told that whey protein isolate is easier for our bodies to absorb the protein from, which is why I just buy the cans of weight Protein Powder at Whole Foods or Sprouts Market(flavored usually). They also don't have that slimey taste that Pure Protein brand premade shakes have. I haven't tried premier protein, but I might pick some up when I go to costco this week!

I like his name

I would think you'd be getting enough exercise of a *ahem* different sort being in a new relationship

That's what went through my mind too! LOL

@@Katy Walton a trainer is awesome especially in the beginning to help start a routine and hold you accountable, and help to make sure you are working all your areas and not just your fav spots(I'm guilty of doing exercises because I like them and not doing the ones I hate). You can do it, you just have to believe in yourself! I'm not trying to down you, I think you are doing a GREAT thing, but I remember when I was in my early 20's looking into gastric bypass at the advice of my doctor, but I wasn't ready to do everything that is involved for long term success. I didn't want to make those hard changes and I didn't have any support behind me to cheer me on when I needed it. I thought I'd have surgery, exercise for maybe a year and then go back to my "normal" life. When someone told me that if I didn't make the change for life I was going to fail, I bailed. I don't want people to make that same mistake I did. Embrace the changes as they come and be happy later on. I can't get back my list years unfortunately.

A lot of people have already said it, but I'll just parrot that and say Do Your Research! You are the one who has to live with your body and you need to know what wls will and will not do. It is not a miracle cure. It takes a lot of effort and work and if you can't exercise NOW because of your schedule, where are you going to find the time after surgery to do it? Surgery isn't a cure, it's just a tool to help you out, more so in the beginning but somewhat forever. If you don't do it properly, you could possibly have gone through major surgery, changed the way your body functions FOR LIFE, and still end up overweight because you didn't change your life to support a healthier lifestyle. I'm working right now to make me the best me I can and lose as much weight on my own and incorporate as much exercise as I can NOW before wls so that I can maximize my benefits and get myself into a routine that hopefully will stick for life so I can keep the weight off. If that's not your mindset, it's not going to work long term and you'll be back where you are right now in a few years. I don't want to discourage you, but I want you to fully understand what you are doing and make that commitment to yourself to see it through from start to forever because there is not a "finish" there's lower maintenance but never a finish. You can never say ah I reached my goal so now I'm going back to my old lifestyle and my fav foods that got me to this point. It just won't work.

I've noticed that some surgeons require sleep studies and stuff and was wondering what all exactly did your surgeon require before surgery? Does everyone have to get the upper GI thing and stomach biopsies or is that based on medical problems they suspect? I'd love to get as much of this stuff done as I can while I'm still finishing up my 90 days if I can, so I don't have to wait longer than I'd like to between being approved and the actual date picking, but I don't want to go finding problems I don't know about already prior to surgery if I don't have to either. Like as far as I know at this moment I do not have diabetes so if a diabetes test is not required, I don't want to go out of my way to have one and get stuck on a meter and a diabetic diet plan on top of all of this too should it turn up I did have diabetes. Does that make sense? What if anything do you all recommend that I should do now that is like a 99% guarantee that I'll have to get done prior to surgery that I could be knocking out of the way right now?

Have you tried using a body pillow to prop you on your side? I am a total tummy sleeper as well, but when I was pregnant my doctors always kept reminding me not to sleep on my stomachZ the only way I could manage to not fully sleep on my stomach even at the end was to use a body pillow and roll into it for support. It worked though. I actually plan on taking my body pillow with me to the hospital when I have surgery for the extra support and comfort.

Congratulations! I hope when I get to submit that they are that fast with mine!

I have Aetna as well and I don't think just gaining 15lbs will qualify you. They want a minimum of 2 yrs worth of medical records showing a recorded weight and BMI over 40. I'm pretty sure just gaining 15lbs won't help you unless you plan to hang on to it and go to the doctor for the next say 6 months or so before starting the process even. I'd talk to your PCP. They could do a thorough work up and maybe find you some comorbidities. I understand that even something like stress urinary incontinence can count as a comorbidity so, it's worth a try to do that instead of putting on more weight to struggle with.

@ don't be so hard on yourself sweetie! I've done that with my Protein Shakes too! I think I went on for about a YEAR before I actually noticed it said 2 scoops! I had one brand that was just 1 scoop so I just ASSumed that all of them were the same basically. Don't beat yourself up over it. It's a small tiny mistake and you've corrected it and undoubtably feel a lot better now that you have!

My psych eval was rescheduled to this coming week, so I don't know how the process goes exactly, but I do know it's just 1 visit for an hour so it can't be THAT much stuff. My surgeon's office is a center of excellence so there is a psych in the office, along with a NUT. They said we could choose others, but these are his preferred because they know what the process involves and how to get you want you need to be successful and get through the insurance hoops.

I have a book I'd like to recommend to anyone who would like to read it. It's called the Gabriel Method by Jon Gabriel. First off, I can tell you first hand, that it's not a solution to everyone's weight problems otherwise I'd be thin right now, but what I can tell you is that in his book he makes some good points about obesity, nutritional starvation, mental starvation, using food as a protective barrier in the case of abuse victims etc and it's a good resource to add to your arsenal. I don't think we can have too many weapons against our weight. I really don't.

To over simplify things the basic premise is that people are obese because their bodies are starving for the correct nutrition, they have suffered mental/physical abuse, or they are stuck in a miserable life that is making them unhappy or an ugly combo of all 3. To solve the nutritional side he recommends every meal consist of quality easily assimilable Proteins, omega-3's, and live uncooked fruits and veg. And to not deprive oneself of anything they desire in the beginning. There's also recommendations on how to feel safe after suffering abuse including a nighttime hypnosis type thing, and recommendations or inspiration to just go out and change your life to make yourself happy. I couldn't help but notice he was unhappy in his old job so he went into business making money off of people like us to solve his problem, but it really does have some good info in there and some lessons to take away from the whole thing.

I have followed the Gabriel Method for several years in the past, and in the beginning, I did lose a massive amount of weight following everything, but as I got pregnant over and over and my doctors took me off of things like the whole gram of Omega 3 supplements, told me the digestives could be harmful and to stop them, and changed around things etc, and the weight began to stick back on and with a vengeance so it's not something to quit if you start. It's not a diet to conform to, but things you can work into your already going routines.

I'm having a Reread of the book now during pre surgery, as most of what is involved also applies well to life post wls, so I thought I'd share for anyone who cares to pick up a copy. In the back there's actually a testamonial from Kaliah Ali talking about how she started using this method about a month prior to getting her lap band and believes it helped her lose weight in addition to the band alone. When I bought it at Amazon years ago, I paid like $11 and I know a lot of libraries own a copy or two as well. But just wanted to throw that out there. I know a lot of nutritionists and dietitians haven't ever seemed to hear about the Gabriel Method, so it's not likely that they would recommend it to their patients to read. But just wanted to pass it along I case anyone wants to read along with me.