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Congrats @@Papiluv33! I'm having my RNY of March 21st (this Monday).

You're in the home stretch @Roalmc77. Just 5 more days for you!

@@teabear Edited my original list to add you to it! There are several of us going in on Monday. Big day.

Have you talked to your doctors about an alternative like Celebrex? When I spoke to my doctor about this he mentioned that if needed I could consider Celebrex as an alternative. From my understanding Ibuprofren is a COX-1 inhibitor and Celebrex is a COX-2 inhibitor. The main advantage of a COX--2 inhibitor is a much lower incidence of ulcer. But, I'm no doctor. Just a thought.

Hopefully you are almost through this stall. Keep fighting, I enjoy reading your story. The inability to take NSAIDS is a major concern for me. I've stopped taking them the last 5 weeks in preparation, and am able to manage the day to day with Tylenol, but I am concerned for the joint replacement surgeries I'm headed for, not to mention the daily issues like what has happened to you. Ugh.

I can't speak to the colonoscopy as I've never had one. My wife has had several and says the prep for it is by far the work part. As for the psych exam, mine was good. I just chatted with the psychologist about my motivations for the surgery and how I got to that place. The therapist herself had RNY so she was clearly sympathetic and exited for me. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am extremely fortunate as my liquid pre-op diet was waved given I have lost 42 pounds in the last five weeks. He felt I was in a good place, so he let me skip the liquid diet portion of the plan and just has me keep doing what I was doing. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I will have seen my surgeon a total of 4 times prior to surgery: 1st time - Initial consultation 2nd time - prior to my endoscopy 3rd time - 2 week pre-op visit 4th time - prior to RNY surgery I am very comfortable with my surgeon. I received referrals for 3 different Bariatric surgeons from my PCP. The surgeon I selected had a series of videos posted on his website and YouTube that go into great detail about different aspects of the surgery and the necessary nutrition. He has also published a book on his preferred diet. I selected him based on these videos. I thought he was informative, realistic and down to earth. My in person experiences have just confirmed this. He also spent over 45 minutes with me at my pre-op appointment going over every concern I had in great detail. I left his office feeling much more calm and confident about my upcoming surgery.

Hi @@thebynum79, My doctor asked me to lose 25 pounds prior to surgery. He said he wasn't too concerned about it because I would lose at least 15 pounds (in his estimation) during the 2 week pre-op liquid diet. Given that I want to have the very best chance possible, I started following the diet he prescribes for everyone - WLS or not. It's called the "Pound of Cure" diet - the book is available on Amazon (I believe it's around $10). I'm sure there are tons of diets you can do that would be successful, but I can tell you that I have lost 40 pounds in the 5 weeks I've been on this diet. In fact, it's been so successful that the doctor waived the requirement for a 2 week pre-op liquid diet (which was kind of awesome). If you are interested, you can google Dr. Matthew Weiner and either go to his website or his YouTube channel where he has a ton of videos posted about WLS and the Pound of Cure diet. They're interesting videos with a ton of good information. Essentially, the diet requires a lot of "real" food. Starting with a pound of vegetables (or more) per day. Also you can have all the fruit you want, and several servings of Protein a day (he asks that at least one be a non-animal variety like Beans or lentils). He also promotes raw, unsalted nuts. He is extremely anti-processed food, so the hardest part of the diet is being prepared. The good news is that I have NEVER been hungry and lost a ton of weight. When it comes to post-surgery, you definitely want to follow your own surgeons plans. Dr. Weiner takes a fairly different approach than many when it comes to post op. Most of the differences come in regards to protein. His requirements are lower than many (I believe it's like 60g a day for men as opposed to up to 100 that I see others are asked to do). He also wants his patients off of processed Protein shakes ASAP. Sorry if this reads as a commercial, I really didn't intend it to. But after losing 40 pounds in 5 weeks I am a bit evangelical about it if people ask a good way to lose weight. Oh yeah, and he himself lives this diet (I even confirmed this with the Psychologist during my eval as she has known him a long time).

Yes, it's totally dependent on your insurance and what they require. I would call your insurance company and ask them for requirements. If they have a 6-month mandatory supervised weight loss program, you know you are looking at 7-8 months before you have the procedure. If you are self-paying, or your insurance has very few requirements, it can happen very quickly. Here is how my (very fast) process went. 2/9 - First visit with Bariatric Doc 2/12 - Psychological Evaluation 2/19 - PCP appointment for letter of medical necessity and pre-op clearance 2/17 - Pre-op seminar at the hospital to discuss their WLS program 2/24 - Endoscopy 3/8 - Pre-op appointment with Bariatric Doc 3/21 - Scheduled surgery date One day shy of 6 weeks start to finish (assuming everything nothing comes up between now and Monday). Probably could have done it one week earlier, but I was out of town for work for a week and had to push out my pre-op with the bariatric doctor a week.

@@Donegirl4life Congrats! And I'm glad you're doing well. When you are feeling up to it, any details you care to share, I'm anxious to know given you're at the same hospital with the same doctor where I will be this Monday. Check-in, pre-surgery, recovery, getting to your room, liquids, how you're feeling, etc, etc. Anything you care to share would be much appreciated! Thank you.

Wow, looks like next week (or two) will be a big one for a number of us! Here's what I think I have from this thread: @@kelmelnel - Monday, 3/21 @@prettymee - Monday, 3/21 @@teabear - Monday, 3/21 @@sunshine1531 - Tuesday, 3/22 @@Roalmc77 - Wednesday, 3/23 @@kjwrn - Monday, 4/4 Please check-in to let me know how you're doing as we will all be going through this at about the same time! **Edited to update list

Ok, here goes. I am generally an extremely private individual, who normally doesn't like to share my personal business broadly, but when it comes to WLS, I just need to be able to talk to other people who are going through the same thing. I am most definitely NOT a group therapy/support kind of guy (the thought mortifies me). Thankfully, this site allows me to hear from other people, in an environment that is safe and comfortable for me. I have been lurking here on almost a daily basis for the last four weeks, and finally created an account. I have a feeling this may end up being a long post, so I appreciate you hearing me out. First, my story. Like many, I have been overweight for most of my life. I have yo-yo dieted almost continually. I consider myself a semi-professional at losing weight, but am a complete failure at keeping it off (again, I know that is typical). I have high blood pressure and I need 3 of my joints replaced (two knees and my left hip), which causes me a significant amount of constant pain. However, given my age (42) and my weight, no surgeon wants to operate on me given the risk of complications and needed revisions. I have finally come to the realization that I need help. I will never beat this on my own. I went to see Dr. Weiner on 2/9, and things have progressed VERY quickly since then. I weighed in at 333, and was asked to try and lose 25 pounds prior to surgery, beginning with his Pound of Cure diet, followed by a Protein shake and green veggie only diet for the 2-weeks pre-op. Then came the Psych eval, Surgical Clearance/Letter of Medical Necessity from my PCP, and an endoscopy. All went well. Given my BMI was over 50, BCBS of MI automatically covers with no formal approvals needed (lucky, I know). I have done very well on my diet, losing 30 pounds in ~4 weeks. I started my liquid diet today (this is going to be a heck of a ride), and am scheduled for surgery on March 21st (2 weeks from today). I'm really nervous. I know I need this, and I know it will provide me the help I need to finally (FINALLY!) get to a healthy weight that will allow me to correct my joint issues, but also enhance my overall health, and allow me to do the activities with my kids that I have often not been able to do. Not to mention, hopefully be around for them for a much longer time. But I'm nervous about the surgery itself, the pain post-surgery (I am a completely wimp with an incredibly low pain tolerance), possible complications, and dumping (really, really worried about dumping). And finally, I am worried about regain. I know I can be committed to a plan, as I always am. Until I'm not anymore. I am hoping more than anything that this tool gives me the help I need to not fall off the wagon, but having a 0% success rate for 30 years makes me severely doubt myself in the long run. Anyway, thanks for reading. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, but I just needed to get this off my chest. My family is very supportive, but I try not to talk too much about my diet/surgery, because I don't want to be "that guy", I don't want them to get sick of hearing about it before I've even had the surgery. And, of course, they can't truly relate. My children are at very healthy weights, and while my wife is also obese, not nearly to the extent that I am. She has also never seriously dieted in her life, let alone considered surgery. Thank again for reading, and thanks for all of the incredible information I've gained from this site over the last month.

Yes, I have definitely considered the sleeve and spoken with my doctor about it. Unfortunately, there is no perfect surgery and there are pros and cons of each. I also have fairly severe GERD, which I'm hopeful the RNY can reduce or eliminate. I also have a BMI over 50 (or did before the pre-op diet) and the RNY has a statistically greater weight loss overall as compared to the sleeve which is desirable for me. I know there are lots of people here that have done very well with the sleeve, and I'm glad to hear you've had great success.

Mine was a piece of cake. Gave me a drug in the OR that made me feel fabulous for about 15 seconds. Then I woke up in the recovery room feeling fine. I also had no sore throat. I was back in the car in my way home by 9am. I was a little sleepy later in the day and took a nice long nap. All in all a pretty relaxing day! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@linda71730 I agree with what @@Donegirl4life said, it has a lot to do with how much you have to lose. Someone who has 200 pounds to lose will drop those first pounds a lot quicker than someone who has 75 pounds to lose. Also, if you have been on a diet for any number of weeks/months prior to this, you will also not lose as fast as if you haven't dieted at all prior. You aren't doing anything wrong. In fact you are losing 3/4 of a pounds per day! That would work out to over 22 pounds in a month. That sounds fantastic to me. I'm absolutely sure that 8.2 pounds will help tremendously for your surgery.

My doctor is sort of in the middle on this issue. He does not want me taking NSAIDs "regularly", but said that if needed up to 1-2 times a week would be ok. I had been taking them daily for the last year or so. My PCP was perfectly ok with it as long as I took them with food (truth be told, I did not follow that advice very well). I have been trying to wean myself off of them and have done pretty well. In the last month I believe I have only taken them twice. I can live without them for my knees, it's my hip that is so excruciating. I have decided that I will just tough it out over this next year, and keep my NSAID in take to as close to zero as I can tolerate. Once I am stable (12-18 months out I am anticipating), I will look to schedule the hip replacement surgery that I need. Then I will deal with getting the knees replaced. There is a lot of pain in my next 3-5 years, but I'm hoping all of it will be worth it in the end and I get a new lease on life.

@_Laura_ I'm pre-op (March 21st), so I can't say as I relate exactly to what you are going through, but there are a couple of things I wanted to share. First off, you can do this. I totally can relate to the fear of regain as it's something a lot of us worry about (even pre-op!). But you have only 30 pounds to your lowest weight. That's a heck of a lot better than 80-100 pounds! And break it down it it helps, shoot to take off just 15. You would have to feel pretty good if you were only 10-15 pounds over your lowest weight 5 years out, and that's just 15 pounds away! I second what others said about getting your blood work. Get blood work done by someone with experience with RNY. If you don't know one, call a local bariatric doctor and explain your situation and ask for a referral. From there they should be able to advise you on Vitamins you need no problem. Lastly, I completely hear you on conflicting information on the web. In fact, every doctor approaches nutrition differently it seems. Being a professional dieter, I have read every "theory" of dieting over the years, and it is always so conflicting. That being said, I can tell you that my doctor has authored a book called "Pound of Cure" (you can find it on amazon, it's very inexpensive). This is the diet he wants me to follow for life. I started it just about 4 weeks ago, and have taken off 35 pounds in that time. It is based on primarily eating fruits, veggies and Protein (with emphasis on non-animal protein, although he absolutely allows animal protein everyday if you desire). There is no calorie counting, and you never need to be hungry. If you're hungry, eat veggies or fruit. In fact, he suggests at least one pound of veggies a day, and prefers two. That's a lot of food! Is this the best diet? I have no idea, but I imagine that eating a lot of fruits, vegetables and legumes really can't be bad for me. I'm never hungry, and it works. The hardest part about this diet is being prepared. It's not easy to just grab something on the go aside from a salad (with no dressing). If you are interested, you can go to his website, he has a lot of videos on this particular diet where he explains he views. The videos are well done and very interesting IMHO. Just google Dr. Matthew Weiner in West Bloomfield, MI. Best of luck, and keep checking in so we know how you're doing.

@@NoOneIsStoppingMeButMe Do you know if the facebook froup will show in my profile? I am March 21st, and would love to be able to connect with people going through the process at the same time as I am; however, I am keeping this information very private. Aside from my family, only my boss, the head of HR and one friend have been told. I would prefer to not have it posted on Facebook. Please let me know, and I will friend you on FB. Thanks.

I have mine scheduled at Huron Valley Sinai on March 21st with Dr. Weiner, please report back on how yours goes! Really interested to hear given it's the same hospital and doctor. Thanks.

@@OKCPirate Thanks for the links. I spent a long time reading through that post last night. I think I'm up to about mid-2015! Great stuff in there. Some are obvious, and I'm definitely looking forward to, others I can relate to, but never even really thought about them being related to my weight! I have my pre-op visit with my surgeon today and I'm feeling REALLY good about it. He spent about 45 minutes with me just addressing each of my concerns in a very thoughtful and detailed way. It's nice to hear things like the last leak he had was in 2013, and he went into a lot of detail as to why that one happened, etc. And while he didn't give me a specific goal weight, he projected that I will be under 200 pounds. Under 200 pounds. I haven't been under 200 pounds since I was 15 years old. I know that my personal goal was to get under 200, but to hear the doctor say it, just put this huge s***-eating grin on my face. Oh, and the BEST part??? He waived my need to do the 2-week pre-op liquid diet! He said I had done so well with the 4-weeks prior (officially losing 33 pounds) that he saw no need for me to do the starvation diet, and would rather have me continue the Pound of Cure diet he wants me to follow for life (this is what I have been doing for 4 weeks).. He said my abdomen is soft, I'm not terribly large (a 300-pound man could only hear that from a bariatric surgeon) and this is going to be a very easy surgery for him. So, while I will never have the liquid diet experience to share with so many, I can live with it in exchange for actual food :-) I'm probably as excited and positive as I've been since I started this whole process. I can do this.

Yeah, you're definitely crazy! Ha. Actually, I totally understand, it's like I was saying about a right of passage. I have such strong feelings about March 21st. On one hand, I want it to be here so I can start the next phase of my life. On the other hand, I'm a bit terrified. I'm also just fascinated to see how much weight is lost after 14 days of Protein shakes and green veggies.

Definitely. It will be great to follow along with someone who is on the same timeline as I am. Especially this liquid diet. I can tell already at 1:43pm on the first day, this is going to be a LONG two weeks! On the other hand, I kind of look at it as a right of passage for undergoing WLS. And will be one heck of an accomplishment looking back.

@lisacaron Thanks, it was actually my orthopedic for my hip that gave me the final push I needed to go see a bariatric surgeon. Like many obese patients, every doctor I see tells me to lose weight (none seem to offer a lot of support, options, or advice other than to inform me that I'm fat and need to lose weight). This doctor however, sat down and had a very kind, but honest discussion with me. He told me that the reality was that I would most likely never lose this weight by myself, and that it had little to do with my desire or will-power, it was just how the body worked. However, I had to take the weight off. If I didn't, I was headed towards full disability, and he didn't think it was very far off. He suggested I contact my PCP and get a referral and just go talk to someone about my options. That did it. I think the compassion he showed me allowed me to drop my defenses and listen. I received several options for surgeons from my PCP, and I started watching Dr. Weiner's videos. I immediately liked him, and what he was saying resonated with me. I've been very pleased with my experiences with everyone involved so far (my PCP has been great, the psychologist I met with was great, and the hospital coordination program has been really good as well). While I have told very, very few people outside of my immediate family (in fact, 2). Everyone has been super supportive, much more so than I anticipated in fact. I think my family is actually relieved to see me taking this step.