gina171

The girl in the right hand pictures looks like the fun, bubbly little sister of the lovely, serious woman in the left hand photos. But I am sure you are now lovely, serious AND fun and bubbly! Cute clothes....was it hard to learn how to dress differently? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am August 18th, can't believe it is really happening. :-)

Had my sleep study last night and it was pretty terrible. Could not sleep well at all, was up 6 times that I counted, the straps they used to hold wires rubbed welts under one of my arms (which also kept waking me up), but worst of all when I woke up my mouth was so incredibly dry that my uvula (that thing that hangs down at the back of your throat, like in cartoons) had swollen to 3-4 times its normal size. It was so swollen I had trouble speaking. Breathing and swallowing were extremely difficult too. Felt like I was halfway choking, if that makes any sense. I explained to the woman at the sleep study, showed her how swollen my throat was but she pretty much shrugged it all off. How can they get an accurate reading from that study??? I did take photos to help my surgeon understand that the whole test was likely compromised. I just hope he doesn't want to postpone my surgery over this....I am supposed to have surgery on Aug 19th. Anyone else have a rough sleep study? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

You look amazing! Can I ask why/how you chose sleeve instead of bypass? That's my last piece to decide, before surgery August 19th, would love your perspective? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

And if you don't want the artificial sweeteners, there are a few brands that use Stevia instead. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

That sounds awesome.....probably also does not cost $750!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Going to be completely open here. I have done my psych eval, and go for my half-day plus surgeon appt (plus tests) on July 14. That's my 25th wedding anniversary. Husband and I have been living apart since Nov 2015; we moved to anew state 4 years ago and haven't really put roots down deeply here yet, probably BC of our marital issues plus years of caring for a terminally ill family member. So, not a big group of close friends here yet. Husband and I are somewhat friendly, and he wanted to go to my surgeon appt as my support person on July 14, wanted to be with me in hospital during operation and overnight, and wanted me to come back to our house to recuperate post surgery. At first I said sure. But now I realize, being around him too much is not good for me. He sends constant mixed signals, which get my hopes up, and basically is very much invested in being the "good guy" who saves the day. It's who he's always been. But now, it is just too hard to be around him, the constant stress I feel when around him is awful, and I really fear that if he were there as my support through all this, it would just confuse things for me and would break my heart again. So.....do you think it is reasonable for me to do this all alone? I can get rides to and from the hospital. I can stock up on Protein shakes and Jello, have all this at my rented condo, have Water bottles ready, lots of pillows. Is it reasonable I could climb up and down a flight of stairs without assistance, a day post op? Can I shower alone? If need be I could also hire a home health aide to check in once a day? Thoughts based on your experiences immediately post op and in the first 4 weeks? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yea! After a 6 week scheduling wait, my surgeon appointment is finally tomorrow! I have a bunch of questions, and am so excited to sit down with a surgeon after all this reading, the support groups, and my psych eval. Since many of you have already done this, are there any questions you wish you had asked your surgeon? Anything you think I absolutely need to consider and ask? Thanks! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

@Daniellewi: costco will take ANYTHING food wise back if you don't like it, even if you used up half. Just bring it back and say they were unpalatable, and you want Costco store credit to buy the ones you like. They won't give you any trouble, I promise. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I am supposed to have surgery August 19th.....and I am still debating sleeve or RNY..... Ugh. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Forgive my ignorance....isolate is good or bad? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Do mind sharing what your starting BMI was? My surgery date is August 18, and I need to finalize which surgery I will have.....leaning to sleeve! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

You have such a beautiful face shape! What cheekbones!!! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Does anyone know why our photos double post? Just wondering. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Thinking of you!! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Pulled this screenshot from their website. But when you click on the images, it lists the prices, but it also says "coming soon". Has anyone found these in a store yet? If so, where? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@MadisonsMommy .... How are things going? Have you resubmitted? Or appealed? Sending good thoughts your way!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@bini120 .... I was probably being oversensitive.... Please don't worry, I remember the days when I had what you have now, and it WAS wonderful. Don't feel bad, like I said, I'm just a little sensitive and bruised right now. All the best to you. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@ACJordan .... You came here and asked people's opinions, you're all nice when people tell you bad idea, why it's a bad idea, you even AGREE that the suture situation was something you never considered, lots of people jump in to ask you to please listen to common sense ..... And THEN YOU COME BACK AND SAY " oh well, I had some anyway, I had to gave it, I really like Coke Zero." Like that's cute or funny? You wasted people's time, but what's worse is you tossed it back in their faces like a joke, so yeah, that feels lousy to the people who took time to help you. If you didn't follow their advice, that's your choice, but don't throw that back in their faces. THAT is immature. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

@@bini120 ... Yes it would be nice, but my husband has decided he doesn't want to be that guy, after 28 years together. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

So someone earlier here said their NUT considers Premier to be lower grade Protein (on a scale of A to F, they said it was a D). So is there a place where we can see which Protein drinks are rated the highest in terms of quality? I want to be sure I am consuming the best protein possible post-op, as I am often not a great healer. Anyone know what's considered the highest quality Protein shake? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@MadisonsMommy ... United Healthcare has so many different versions of its plans, even plans with the same names can be different in requirements from employer to employee..... Don't worry yet, your plan could face different specifics. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

YAY @@anniebanana !!! Where did you have your surgery done? So thrilled for you! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

@@KaiserKid .... So I think what you're really asking is when did we decide it was right to go ahead with SURGERY, not necessarily the sleeve? I am pre-op, hoping for a late summer surgery. For me it came very very slowly but then very very suddenly. Slowly BC I have been seriously considering it for years, but I was embarrassed to admit it to my husband; he's a triathlete, runs marathons, and thinks the answer to any weight problem is to eat salad until the weight melts away. And I am talking about a girly salad: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, raw mushrooms, and a little bit of light dressing. No Protein, just....grass. So I hid this desire for years, BC I feared he would think I was copping out. But in Nov I moved out of our home BC of marital issues, and I started deeply focusing on me. In the spring I read an article in the New York Times on a study where The Biggest Loser contestants from one season were followed for six years, and how the overwhelming majority gained all their weight back, how they had wrecked their metabolism, and how the one person who had maintained her loss attributed it to 2-3 hour workouts every day AND coming to terms with the fact that she felt truly hungry all day and would for the rest of her life. That sounded like hell. And then I read another NYT article on an NIH study that showed how people who have fought lifetime serious obesity and who managed to lose 100 pounds or more, had a 5% chance of not regaining their weight and returning to morbid obesity. 5% chance. It was like a lightning bolt ripped through my heart. I have beaten so many odds in my life. I am a first generation American, my grandparents were prisoners in Hitler's labor camps, my mother was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after the liberation. The scars of the trauma of WW2 lived on in my family; my mother was abused as a child, and she married a man who had been abused. Both of my parents went on to be extremely abusive to my siblings and me. One of my siblings committed suicide as a direct result of the abuse. BUT.... I got out, I got away, I was the first person in my family to go to college (and to an Ivy League one, though my parents didn't quite understand the significance), and I paid my way through 90% myself. I married a decent kind man who did not abuse me, I broke the cycle of childhood abuse and never hit or emotionally abused my children (who are decent, law abiding, sensitive human beings who contribute to society). But this obesity thing.....I never, ever could beat it. I have tried to beat it since my mother put me on my first diet at age 8. So I finally decided that it was completely ok that I seek help for the one damn thing I could not beat, and that was endangering my health. And what about my husband thinking that I was copping out with WLS?......all of a sudden, my answer was "I don't give a damn what he thinks. I know who I am, and I know I am not copping out by asking for help with this." And that was it. I was in. I wasn't weak, and I was asking for medical help for the one condition my formidable work ethic had not been able to conquer. I am not afraid of hard work. But I am afraid of worrying about what other people think and foolishly turning away the help available to me. So it was slow, and sudden. Literally a switch flipped when I saw the odds, and that was it. Still don't know if it will be sleeve or RNY yet, though....will let the surgeon tell me at my next appt on July 14. Which also turns out to be my 25th wedding anniversary. Oh, someone up there guiding fate has a sense of humor..... Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Good luck to all of you, looking forward to your updates here! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App