katanne

A house where someone died of old age? Sure. Scene of a grisly murder? No.

I was so nervous/excited at mine that my blood pressure shot up to 174/80!

Call your surgeon.

I think it's not at all unusual to want a "Last Supper"/food funeral...that said, I think they should be resisted if at all possible. The pre-op period (3-6 months of medically supervised diet most of us have) is the time to learn new eating habits, not an opportunity to gorge on whatever made us obese in the first place. That said, I'd be lying if I said chocolate donuts didn't call my name very often. I resist by telling myself getting off the carbs and sweets NOW can only help later when I'm sleeved.

I'm going through Penn as well, in my case Pennsylvania Hospital at 8th and Spruce. All my appointments, including the psych screening, have been right there. I'm pretty impressed with the program so far. I'd contact them/go to an info session (they have many at many locations in the Philly area) - someone from my insurance co. told me I couldn't have the sleeve, and the Penn coordinator said that was incorrect and they'd sleeved many people with my insurance. A lot of people who work for insurance companies are unknowlegeable about their own policies.

As a student going into nursing, that description just gave me the creeps! I'd never graduate if I acted like those "nurses." I can totally see why someone self-pay would go abroad, but definitely a lot of research is needed beforehand.

If RNY is not in your budget, it's not in your budget. That's your reality, period. Our circumstances are what they are going into this. As others have said, the sleeve is also a good surgery. I see your surgeon's point re: a greater chance of reducing diabetes, but MANY here have seen good resolution of diabetes with the sleeve also. If you use your tool correctly, you'll see results regardless of which type of surgery you get. He probably will not refuse to operate if you stick with the sleeve. If for some reason he does, you can switch to a different surgeon.

My surgeon was at the info session/orientation and gave his stats as part of his presentation. You can always ask at the orientation and/or the individual consult. They are very used to this question.

I've found the unjury chocolate Splendor flavor to taste JUST like chocolate milk when mixed with milk, so if you like chocolate milk, it might be worth a try. As for school, I'm getting sleeved over the summer because I'm going into nursing school - the clinicals involve a full day of standing/walking/lifting, so my surgeon and I agreed I'd need more than the proverbial two weeks off. So it depends on what your schooling is like. Plus, if you're used to carrying around a backpack full of heavy textbooks, that will have to wait. Carrying a light notebook or tablet is fine. So talk to your doctor about this.

My insurance doesn't require a supervised diet, but my surgeon does. I don't have to lose a specific amount of weight, but I have to practice the skills I will be needing later (hitting a protein target, eating slowly, etc).

I don't have my surgery date yet, but yes, I do feel sad that I've gotten to the point of wanting/needing WLS. There's no getting around the fact that I ate too much of the wrong foods for the wrong reasons, over and over again. If I could take back all those bad decisions or unlearn all the bad habits without surgery, I for sure would do it. But I can't. That's the reality I find myself in right now. I'm viewing WLS as a second chance, one that comes with a lot of gratitude but some measure of regret.

If you're still waiting to file the divorce papers, then it's way too early to worry about dating someone new. I agree with the others about getting to know yourself as you are outside of a relationship first, and therapy if you feel you need it. Believe me, we'll all be here with our own crazy online dating stories to swap when the time is right.

It wasn't the insertion that hurt so much (although it did a bit) as it was the "sounding," where they put a rod into your uterus to measure the length beforehand. That was the most intense cramping I've ever felt or could imagine. Way worse than my endometrial biopsy by far. The good thing is that it is brief. You yell/curse/whatever, and then it's over. I did have cramping afterwards and had to go home and stay on the couch with a heating pad. Next day all was well.

Yes, I'm just getting started. It actually looks good (and appropriate) to have had failures at dieting attempts in the past - it's usually a requirement by the insurance companies before they approve you for surgery.

I said I've tried Weight Watchers more times than I can count and that I've been paying a monthly fee for their online program since 2003 - at one point losing 72 pounds and then gaining it all back, plus more; I also gave the names of some of the diet books I've tried over the years and said I'd done lowfat/high carb multiple times back in the 90s when that was the prevailing wisdom and then lower carb more recently now that that is what most people do. I said each time I've tried any/all of these things, I'd lose anywhere from 8 to 70+ pounds and inevitably be unable to keep it off.

This is what mine will be like, except I have a 1,000 calorie limit.

Bariatric Pal told me to try Unjury and Nectar, and Bariatric Pal did not steer me wrong. I like them both in addition to Premier. Between the two brands, there are a lot of flavors to try - you can get sample pack of all the Nectar flavors from the Bariatric Pal store and a sampler pack from Unjury's website to test them out without having to buy a whole can.

My first thought is that the dude is married and chickened out...luckily for both of you. Understandably frustrating, but you dodged a bullet.

My surgeon requires three (or six if that's someone's insurance requirement) visits one month apart. The day of my initial consultation, which included a weigh-in and meeting with the dietitian, counted as the first visit.

The program coordinator at my surgeon's office was more knowledgeable about what my insurance covered than the insurance rep I spoke to on the phone! Have you been in contact with a surgeon yet? They may be able to be of great assistance to you in this matter.

It so much less intimidating than I thought it would be! I'd imagined jumping through hoops trying to convince someone incredulous I needed the surgery...instead it felt more exploratory and meant to uncover how much I knew about the process and what were some strengths and weaknesses I'd have while facing everything. Also, my dad, who had had a very hostile and negative reaction when I first told him I was getting this surgery, actually said, "You know, I think it's a really good thing you're doing this," this morning. Woot!

I'm going with the sleeve - I didn't want anything malabsorptive because I take a lot of medications and it was hell trying to find the right types and doses. I don't want to have to go through that again if I don't have to.

Yeah, I was TERRIFIED about the possibility of death with my ovarian surgery. I cried and cried a few days beforehand. Thank goodness they give you something to relax before the surgery. The nurses were phenomenally reassuring as well. I had a brief moment of panic when they put the mask on my face, but I was knocked out almost instantly and just as instantly (or so it seemed) woke up in recovery. One thing that reassures me about the sleeve is that my surgeon has done over 800 bariatric procedures and has had no deaths. I keep reminding myself of that. The chance is always there, but it's slim.

Yeah, the grim postures and grimaces of resignation I get when I get on a crowded elevator or subway car. No one says anything aloud, but they don't have to. Can't wait to no longer experience this.

You're looking great!