2goldengirl

I agree with @@Inner Surfer Girl. You are way too soon after surgery to be worrying about ANYTHING but getting in your fluids and your Protein. Have somebody hide the scale or give it to a neighbor. If you want to obsess about numbers (lets face it, we all have a tendency to do this), then obsess about tracking all your fluids and your protein. Your body has one job right now: healing. Not anything else. Healing. It will get on with the job of weight loss, but healing comes first. Good luck, now have some Water.

Welcome aboard! I hear you on the shame thing for regaining, big time. I'm also logging all my food and activity (I use Sparkpeople), because I figure the longer I have the habit, the easier it will be to keep doing it. I'm also doing the work of tackling some of the mental aspects of this journey. One thing I've definitely learned from these boards is that the folks who get to, and stay at, goal are the ones who commit to long-term, permanent behavioral change. The third thing I'm practicing is recognizing the point where I'm satisfied. One of my bad habits is to eat beyond that point just because something tastes good. It's pretty amazing how little food it takes to reach that point, even preop! Good luck to you, there are lots of really helpful (and funny!) folks here.

Maple bourbon cranberries sound fab. Haha, Dremel whipped cream! Because I am certifiable, I am making another turkey dinner today, this time at our house. DSD and her husband are coming. We'll send them home with leftovers, and Huz will take leftovers down to his stepmom tomorrow.

If it isn't a benefit of your plan, it doesn't matter what kind of documentation your PCP or surgeon provides. A benefit exclusion means it isn't covered for anyone, in any case. I have seen folks here who were found to have a hiatal hernia - insurance covered the hernia repair, they had to pay privately for the sleeve, but at least it's some coverage.

From scratch is the way to go for best flavor anyhow. I even make my stock for gravy and stuffing from scratch ahead of time (I pressure can it). None of us in our crowd are fond of over-fussed food, so our sweet potatoes were just cut into thick slices and slow roasted til they caramelized. Nobody likes green bean casserole, green Beans get sauteed in a big skillet with a dollop of bacon jam at the end. My stepmother was a terrific hostess, but a truly terrible cook. She did teach me two very valuable lessons about entertaining. The first was "the dishes will still be there in the morning. Your guests won't", and to serve gravy from a pyrex coffeepot. A turkey gets lukewarm when carving it, and if you've got smoking hot gravy, it keeps everything else from seeming that way, too. We had 18 to feed, so the coffeepot stayed on a warmer. Easier to serve one-handed, too.

No, and no. First, a blood clot in the leg is not the same thing as a pulmonary embolism. A pulmonary embolism is a clot in the lung, not in the leg (though they can travel to the lung from the leg). And a clot in the leg doesn't look, or feel, anything like a cyst. An intermittent numbness in the tongue is not the same thing as the kind of numbness that may be a sign of stroke. To the OP, it does sound as though you're anxious. Please check with your surgeon for any symptoms that worry you.

Thank you so much for your insights and for taking the time for such a thoughtful post. Happy surgiversary!

So glad to hear from you! I simply can't imagine what the force-feeding must have been like post-GBP. It's very true that your issues are quite different, if only because your anatomy is different now. I applaud your insight into your issues, and your commitment to getting, and staying, healthy.

Why, oh why, is everything a "hack"?

I'm preop, so it will be the same as previous years. We co-host with another couple at their home. This year there will be 18 of us. I've been prepping for a couple weeks, starting with making and pressure canning four quarts of turkey stock and ending with our annual pie-a-palooza. Two of my best pals and I made five pies and a lemon tart. We always make enough food to feed several armies so that folks can take leftovers home, especially pie. The best part of last night is that I told them both that I'm having surgery and they were great about it. I was afraid they'd worry and I asked them not to. Next year will be a whole different ballgame. I will be almost a year out. I've never been a huge eater on holidays. I'm always so busy working with the food that I am very distracted from actually eating it!

The hospital doesn't control how long you stay, that's up to your surgeon. And it depends on what your surgeon's criteria for discharge. If you are concerned, speak to her/him about it

Impossible to say unless it's been actually presented to the Plan for approval, BUT, weight gain from lymphedema is hardly the same thing as weight gain from overeating. Lymphedema is not a contributor to obesity, though obesity may exacerbate lymphedema. Your NUT is not the expert in insurance approvals, your surgeon's insurance coordinator is. That is the person to speak to with your question. You don't say who your new insurance will be.

There is a difference between what a HP requires, and what a surgeon considers safe practice. A surgeon may always elect not to take on a particular procedure or patient, even if that procedure would be approved for that patient. I hope this helps!

Congratulations! Drink your water and take a nap

Ow. Ow. Ow. I hope you feel better SOON!

Congratulations! What a fantastic achievement! Enjoy your celebration!

Our Thanksgiving (we co-host with another couple at their home)always includes an after-dinner walk. I'm currently wearing out my Fitbit kneading dough for rolls (two kinds), grooming and bathing our Golden Retriever, polishing silver, starching and ironing 18 napkins, prepping the guest room, cooking for the first half of the week, and painting closet doors. Oof!

39 lbs in 37 days is a huge achievement. I don't know what your surgeon or NUT say, but 700 calories seems awfully low for a guy. It's quite possible you need to eat a bit more. It's also entirely normal for weight loss to slow or stop before picking up again.

I don't know about books, but is there a bariatric surgery support group in your area? You definitely aren't alone. It's a common theme, we think that something: finding the right mate, getting thin, getting that dream job - will make us happy, and that everything will be a cartoon "happily ever after" once we get it. But real life doesn't work that way, happiness is a choice. It's an inside job. You say you're blessed, which is a perfect place to start. I'm sure achieving your weight loss has increased your blessings, too - you can do things you couldn't do before, for example. One thing you can do right now. Get out paper and start making a list. What makes you happy? Rainy days? walking in the park or woods? Reading a good book? Spending time with loved ones? Making something with your hands? What do you love about your life? Everyone has their blue days. But the truth is, all the wonderful things that you love about your life are still real and true, even on your blue days.

Your local hospital will have Registered Dieticians on staff who also see outpatients. My hospital has one who sees all their bariatric patients.

If the surgery is excluded from all new plans, then it appears self-pay is your only option. I'm sorry, but don't give up. the other thing is - if you're self-pay, there's nothing keeping you from having your surgery earlier.

Why do you think you're not doing it right? If you're following your surgeon's instructions, you're doing it right!

BIG difference. How do you feel?

I'd go ahead and blur your face. I love looking at befores and afters, but I wouldn't put my face out there - once it's on a page you don't control, no telling where it ends up, you know? I'd reconsider the idea that youd be less than owning your accomplishments by blurring your face. Protecting your privacy in that way doesn't detract from your significant accomplishment one bit from my perspective.

I confess I spend a fair bit of time on FB as well (there is a group there for the support group I attend). Part of the reason I stalk the site is because there are legitimately things I can help with; especially insurance-related questions. But the other is because I don't want to bore everyone around me in real life with my process. The folks here get it, we're all somewhere on the same path. I have never wanted my weighloss story, whether I'm going up, down, or what have you, to be the focus of attention that it will inevitably become should I go out there and start talking about having WLS. I've told a very few people, and I appreciate that you all are here so I can bore you instead