theantichick

I have Cigna, didn't lose anything during the 3 months. Didn't gain, but didn't lose. No issues getting it approved, went through on the first try.

The pre-op diet was by far the worst part of the process for me. I count myself lucky that my pre-op diet instructions were more flexible than others (2-3 shakes a day, with a low-fat meal and a fruit or veggie snack as needed) but it was still really hard with cravings and headaches and fatigue.

Good luck! You can and will get through it!

Mine just started in earnest the last couple of weeks, and I'm coming up on 3 months this week. So far, it's just a lot in the drain/sink. I know a lot about hair loss because my daughter has alopecia, and I don't think supplements help all that much. One of the body's responses to trauma (which the surgery counts as) is to recycle hair and skin cells rapidly, which causes the hair to fall out. Keeping Protein up and taking Vitamins as needed should let it resolve fairly quickly, but I think it either happens to us or doesn't.

I packed a suitcase, and the only things I used were:

change of undies

toothbrush/toothpaste

phone & charger

lip balm

Everything else was wasted effort. They wanted me wearing their non-slip socks, I used another gown backwards as a robe, and I wasn't focused enough to read anything, I just watched TV and played on my phone. I slept more than anything else. I didn't need my own Protein mixes, they had Premier Protein there.

I do wish I'd taken a heating pad.

For the most part, the hospital will have everything you need except your clothes, phone and charger. They even have toiletries if needed.

Don't stress too much.

I am about to have to throw out all of my regular bras, as I've lost enough that they're gapping and not fitting well. I'm moving to Genie-style bras for most of the time, and will probably get one new underwire bra each time I have to re-size. I have been very impressed with the new Jockey fit system. I got it for my teenage daughter, and she said it's the most comfortable bra she's ever worn. The sizing pack ships with a tape measure to determine the band size, and then a set of silicone cups to see what cup size fits best. It doesn't follow the normal sizing because it takes into account how the volume is distributed. You have to buy the sizing pack, but they send a coupon for that amount off of your first bra order.

My sleeve seems to go in cycles. eggs didn't go well at first, now they're fine. Some days the Protein shakes sit like a rock, other days meats tend to.

I was raised vegetarian, and ate a lot of the Loma Linda (http://lomalindabrand.com/) and Worthington (which I just found out got bought out by Loma Linda) products. On a whim I ordered a couple of cans of stuff I liked as a kid from Amazon and am finding that they are sitting MUCH better in my sleeve. Might be worth a try.

Fair warning: vegetarian meat replacements don't taste like meat. They don't have the texture of meat. Don't expect them to. If you treat them like their own food product and don't expect them to taste like the meat they replace, they can be quite good, though some people never get used to the smell/taste/texture.

I was 2.5 months out when I tried to drink a hard cider for my birthday. I had maybe 1/4 C. before I passed out on the couch. Tried again this last weekend, got maybe 1/2 C. down and got super sleepy again. I'm wary of trying hard alcohol, I think it may be a little hard on my sleeve.

I had almost zero issues with recovery as well. I had the same thoughts at times... waiting for the other shoe to drop. My pain wasn't bad (which was fortunate since we discovered Dilaudid has almost zero effect on me), I was tolerating liquids just fine, diet progression to solid foods went without any major hitches. I had 2 episodes of violent hiccuping early on from drinking too fast, and have had a few bouts of nausea when I ate too much or too fast. I've also had several "mini dumping" episodes when I tried to eat something my sleeve doesn't like. But I haven't thrown up yet (knock on wood) or had any of the "don't trust a fart" situations, and I'm coming up on 3 months out.

Count yourself lucky, and don't borrow trouble.

Ladies feel free to comment as well!

I need some help with my underwear. BAD! I've been in briefs since I was just a little guy and I've tried boxers in my adult life for about a year and I liked the support that briefs gave me. I'm due for new smaller underwear but I have a major problem. As the fat has gone away from my junk I've needed better support to keep the twig and berries from branching out. I've especially had problems with getting into vehicles. The underroos shift over and one of my boys suddenly gets a crash course in bondage and torture. That definitely isn't my thing so a change is in order. I usually wear Hanes or fruit of the Groom. Looking at Wally World revealed that smaller loincloth equals a smaller hammock for the banana and that will only make the problem worse. Please help release me from my bonds and suggest a better fig leaf!

My hubby makes all of his underoos decisions, so I don't have anything to add to the discussion, but wanted to thank you for a huge laugh this morning.

I would definitely talk to your doctor about it. Diatomaceous earth has a lot of tiny particles with very sharp edges. I have never heard of anyone eating it, we use it for pest control in our garden and home. During the healing phase after the surgery, I would think it could be very dangerous. As far out as you are, it probably isn't as much of an issue. But food goes through the sleeve faster than it would with a whole stomach, and potentially has less exposure to digestive juices. So I wouldn't take a chance on it without discussing it with my surgeon.

I personally think a lot of it is how you approach it. My sis had VSG a few years ago, and she lectures everyone constantly at family gatherings about how she has to eat now, and how to lose weight. It's so bad that our Mom's biggest concern with me getting the surgery is that I won't be any fun to have get-togethers with or go out to eat with anymore. But I've gone out to eat since then, and I just order what sounds good, get a takeaway box early on to separate out what I won't be eating, and when I'm full I just push stuff around on my plate. Have never had anyone really even notice.

I made the choice to be open about my surgery to pretty much everyone. I don't talk about it at work much because I don't talk a lot about my personal life at work in general. But people who notice the loss and ask, I tell them I had the surgery and am doing great. Sometimes they want more information, and my nurse educator hat goes on. I take it as an opportunity to get good information out there about weight loss and why diet and exercise aren't the right answer for everyone. But that's me. I blog and am generally "out there" about most things in my life. LOL.

(RN here) While you're in the OR is not an issue. If you're under general anesthesia (which I'm pretty sure everyone is for this surgery) they put a breathing tube down your throat and breathe for you while you're in the OR. They don't take the tube out until you are coming out of it and start breathing on your own. Make sure the anesthesia/surgery team knows about your apnea, because they'll need to have a BiPAP machine and respiratory therapist on hand in recovery. Once the anesthesia is out of your system, you should be fine. They will tell you whether or not to bring your personal machine to the hospital. My apnea is mild enough and I was sleeping with my head elevated so we didn't need my machine. Worst case, respiratory always has BiPAPs they can pull in and set you up on.

I think everyone uses a different definition of "meals" and "snacks", so it's important to talk to your team about what exactly they mean when they say those words.

I know if I eat even one bite too many, I am desperately miserable for the better part of a half hour. So pushing the sleeve to hold more is NOT a good option IMHO.

My instructions are to eat 4-6 small meals/snacks a day (every 3-4 hours), with a total calorie intake around 1,000-1,200 calories and a minimum of 80g Protein. A Protein shake can replace a meal. I cannot do super low carb, but I focus on complex carbs and have been keeping total carbs under 100g. My weight loss has slowed down but it's still chugging along. There is no way I could meet my Protein goals if I didn't eat multiple times a day.

I also think that there's a difference between having planned Snacks and grazing. Some people hear "snacking" and think "grazing". For me, a "snack" is just a smaller meal than normal, and is planned out, not just grabbing something from the pantry and laying into it.

@@Babbs @@sunnydeeliteful @@LipstickLady, I'll be brief.

You refuse to rally behind, in front of, alongside, above and below a racist, lying, ignorant, self-serving, egomaniacal, uncivilized, low quality humiliation of a sewer? Tsk-tsk.

There may be a first step. I'm waiting for a friend to research it and send the info along. It seems that the Electoral College can reverse itself and a large, organized, letter-writing effort may play a part. What I was told this morning was sketchy enough that I don't even know how accurate it was. Another move which is mentioned every four years is to take steps to end the electoral system. This is new to me, but it seems there is evidence that it was created to preserve slavery. I'm awaiting more on that, too. (It's nice to have someone else doing the research.) If and when I get the info, I'll post. In the meantime, maybe someone here can fill in some blanks.

The electors in the electoral college are not bound by the constitution to vote for the "winner". Some states have laws that require the electors to vote as directed by the general election, but the rest don't. However, I think it's a pipe dream, as it has never happened in the history of the U.S. They occasionally get one or two "faithless electors" who refuse to vote for the winning candidate, but it's never been a large movement. Certainly not enough to pin hopes on.

Shingles occurs only on one side of the torso, on nerve tracks. You won't see it across both sides of stomach. It can be one side of stomach and around to your back .

Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

This is typically true, but not an absolute rule.

The shingles virus infects nerve bundles and outbreaks happen along the nerve, and nerves typically only serve one side of the body.

However, it's entirely possible to infect the same nerve bundle on BOTH sides, and then you will see a wrap-around rash.

Not the most likely scenario here, I'd suspect the injections or the clorhexidine wipes (or something else) first.

Best to consult the doc.

Hypoglycemia is one of the reasons I cannot do super low carb, it is not unusual for me to read in the 40's or 50's. However, carbs do not have to include sugar and other "fast" carbs. Once you get super low, you need something fast to bring it back up (OJ is a very commonly used one), but keeping it level is the real goal.

For meal planning, complex carbs are better for both weight loss and balancing out blood sugars, and balance the blood sugars better when eaten with Protein. It should not be necessary to eat a huge amount of carbs in order to keep it balanced. http://www.livestrong.com/article/27398-list-complex-carbohydrates-foods/

However, low blood sugar isn't a terribly common complication. You'll want to talk to your doc about it, there may be other things they need to test for.

Appeal.

And appeal again.

Seriously, make them send you in writing the criteria they are using to refuse. Get documentation together from all of your doctors saying this will improve your health.

I needed a knee surgery to fix the cartilage, and there were 2 options. The one I needed has an 18 month rehabilitation, but has been shown to last 15+ years (most patients in Sweden or wherever it was pioneered still had good results 20+ years out). Insurance considered it experimental and investigational despite the reams of peer reviewed research and articles showing it wasn't. The option they would pay for had an 18 month rehabilitation, but was guaranteed to fail within 10 years, most people didn't even see 7 years of success before it failed.

It took me 5 appeals (insurance company lied to me about the appeals process) over 10 months and over 3 reams of paper overnighted to them. My final appeal outlined the federal regulations they had violated in the appeals process and demanded that an orthopedic specialist review the file. In the end, they paid for my surgery. 8 years later, the knee is still doing well.

Well, I'm a Libertarian so my hope is that more and more people will realize that the result we had this election was the direct result of the duopoly that forces people into a "one or the other" mindset. We need more choices and in this day and age, with information at our fingertips and sites like isidewith.com to help us narrow the field, there is no reason we should be stuck in this two-party mindset. Except that Americans just seem to love rooting for teams.

The system is designed for two parties, and the only persons that can change that setup are those two parties. They have absolutely no incentive to change the status quo.

Too true. I wish we had a parliamentary system, I believe it would encourage more cooperation between the parties. But that would require a constitutional overhaul, so I know it's not happening. :/

My rationale for the surgery is laid out in this post:

http://www.theantichick.com/2016/08/05/the-easy-way-out/

Try to de-stress a little. I'm someone who over-thinks everything, so I can empathize. A *lot* of the same thoughts were running through my head the days leading up to my surgery.

Don't second-guess your decision. You more than likely have thought about this a lot, and talked to doctors and specialists about it in making your decision.

I can't lie, the first days after surgery were rough. But it wasn't nearly as hard as I'd thought it would be. And everything has gotten better almost daily since.

You got this.

I think that any major change with one person in a marriage just highlights and exacerbates the cracks that were already there.

One of my BFF's had WLS (bypass) before I met her. Her husband was controlling and incredibly tempermental before, but things seemed to be OK before the surgery. After she lost so much weight and had a boob job, other men started paying a LOT of attention to her and her career improved dramatically. Even though she didn't do anything to encourage those other guys or compromise her marriage, her husband started getting irrationally angry at her, and things escalated to the point police had to be involved, and the divorce was super ugly. The WLS didn't cause any of it, but the underlying problems that were there got a lot worse.

I know if I'd had this when married to my Ex#2, it would have been an unmitigated disaster, if he'd even allowed me to do it. Every time I tried to get healthier in that marriage, he sabotaged it. So I know he'd have somehow kept me from doing it or continued to sabotage me.

My current hubby is awesome, and we have a great relationship. So far, it hasn't caused any tensions. We're still figuring out the whole cooking and healthier foods in the house, but we're working together to do it. He has never had any kind of real weight problem, but has put on a few pounds since we got married and his shirts aren't fitting well anymore, so he's wanting to join me with the exercise and eating healthier. We approach everything as a team, so I don't forsee any problems with the WLS. And it only took me three tries to find him!!

Nurse here, I unfortunately had to get out of bedside care due to my chronic illness. The major problem is that hospitals are chronically understaffed. So when someone calls out, it puts the unit further down and stresses everyone out. The hospitals I worked for had worse insurance than when I worked in IT for corporations, and were the worst about asking us to work sick or injured. I worked ER and had what I thought before shift was just eye redness from allergies. About an hour into my shift it became obvious it was pinkeye. I notified my supervisor immediately, and was told we were too short for me to leave. I worked an entire shift contagious with pinkeye, and it looked horrific. My patients were really freaked out. I took every precaution I could, didn't touch my face, washed/sanitized my hands so much that shift they were chapped. What should have happened is that I should have been sent home.

I wasn't able to take FMLA because I hadn't been at my new job a year. But it's my understanding that HR approves FMLA, and your boss has zero say in the matter.

My situation is a little more complicated than just an injury. I had a knee re-built in 2008 and I have a couple of restrictions for it, he's working with that, no problem. My situation is that the activity that seems OK at the time starts a system-wide inflammation flare that causes extreme fatigue and all over joint and body aches for several days. We haven't had enough sessions to work out the right level of resistance, and figure out what I need to be doing in between visits.

I don't think they can do that.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/1421.htm

FMLA makes it unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided by this law. It is also unlawful for an employer to discharge or discriminate against any individual for opposing any practice, or because of involvement in any proceeding, related to FMLA.

Under limited circumstances where restoration to employment will cause "substantial and grievous economic injury" to its operations, an employer may refuse to reinstate certain highly-paid, salaried "key" employees. In order to do so, the employer must notify the employee in writing of his/her status as a "key" employee (as defined by FMLA), the reasons for denying job restoration, and provide the employee a reasonable opportunity to return to work after so notifying the employee.

Eligible employees seeking to use FMLA leave may be required to provide:

• 30-day advance notice of the need to take FMLA leave when the need is foreseeable;
• notice "as soon as practicable" when the need to take FMLA leave is not foreseeable ("as soon as practicable" generally means at least verbal notice to the employer within one or two business days of learning of the need to take FMLA leave);
• sufficient information for the employer to understand that the employee needs leave for FMLA-qualifying reasons (the employee need not mention FMLA when requesting leave to meet this requirement, but may only explain why the leave is needed); and,
• where the employer was not made aware that an employee was absent for FMLA reasons and the employee wants the leave counted as FMLA leave, timely notice (generally within two business days of returning to work) that leave was taken for an FMLA-qualifying reason.

I liken this to an alcoholic saying "I just HAD to have a taste, so I swished it around in my mouth and spat it out."

o.O

Yes, most of us are here because we have food issues. No, we're not all perfect. But as a support group, we need to do more than say "that's ok, we're all human." We have to support each other in moving toward a healthier interaction with food.< /p>

It's easy to think "oh, it's just for this short period of time when I can't have [insert food here], and what's the big deal??"

Heck, I admit to licking a Dorito hubby was eating at about day 5 post-op when I was looking at another 9 days of liquids only, and thought I was going to die if I didn't get something other than my Protein shakes, Jello, and popsicles. All of us who have had the surgery have been there. No one is saying we don't sympathize with the thoughts/feelings that we just HAVE TO chew something. What others are saying is please don't start down a road that may injure your health.

The problem is that chewing and spitting is a bona fide eating disorder, right up there with bulemia. It has health repercussions that don't have anything to do with calories. Others have covered the issues with the saliva starting the digestive process, etc. so I'm not going to belabor it.

If we all had perfect control, it probably wouldn't be an issue to one time or maybe two times chew something up and spit it out. But if we had perfect control, we wouldn't be here.

Alcoholics can't touch a drop of alcohol or they risk losing control. People with food issues have to be very careful to stay away from maladaptive behaviors, even if we justify it saying "it's just this once" or "it's just until I can have solid food again". Justification is what got a LOT of us in the place we were to need the surgery.

So please back off the vitriol for the vets who are trying to save you some pain when they share their experience and advice.