Navigating the Wilderness

I was thinking it over yesterday and was trying to find that one moment in time where I truly decided I needed to change. Over the years there have been quite a few embarrassing moments (I don't think you can truly weigh in at over 400 pounds and not have at least a few). Over the past 15 years my kill list includes: 4 beds 3 living room chairs 1 couch 5 or 6 office chairs 1 chair at a friends house A seat in a car I owned for 13 years My mother's favorite living room chair 2 toilet seats An office chair in my boss's office Needless to say rooms to go was bookmarked and frequented for many years. That said, the moment it all hit was two years ago when I went for an ultrasound. They put me on a steel table and the tech kept asking me to move, then she asked me to sit up...and I couldn't. I physically could not sit up. I had to wiggle like an infant back and forth until my legs dropped off the table, then push myself up. The look on the face of the tech while I was doing that was worse than if she had just come right out and called me a disgusting fat bastard. It was that point that I realized I simply could not go through it again, and thus my navigation through the wilderness of WLS began. It has been a fun trip, one that while I have made excellent progress has really just begun.

No getting around the suck that is the liquid diet. In my opinion, what you did was perfectly normal behavior.

Awesome news that you are already hitting victories pre-op! Best of luck on your journey!!

It IS scary to be without those comfort foods when you rely on them everyday. It is just plain tough. I had some crying moments after surgery when I couldn't self medicate with fat and sugar. What I can tell you is it gets easier the longer you go without, but it is by no means easy. At least not for me.

I see no problem with the caloric intake you listed at 3 months. To clarify, I see no problem with 900 calories/day.

Yes it has. I'm sure you know the differences between the two and their pros and cons. From my perspective I chose a sleeve over rny because it had less complications, and was far less time on the table. Those were the only two reasons. RNY is a fine procedure and can be more beneficial in certain cases like those who suffer from GERD. On a side note, I have/had GERD and have had precisely one incident in the past almost 6 months, so it is not a definite that having GERD disqualifies you from the sleeve as many say. In my case it was what I was eating that was causing all the issues.

You should call UHC and ask them. I found snippet about co-morbidities in general: Less frequent comorbidities that are occasionally accepted by insurance include: Congestive Heart Failure Fatty Liver Syndrome Gall Bladder Disease Depression Stroke or Stroke Risk Inability to Carry Out Daily Activities Psychosocial Stress Resulting From Obesity GERD (Acid Reflux Disease)

I get it. It is pretty standard though, they ran me through the same ringers.

I had this happen when I had my lap band in 2012. I went through the first 6 months on one plan, could not get approval by time that plan ended, and had to do it on my new insurance. The new insurance covered it for me and used the 6 months I had already done to satisfy its requirements. I am not sure how your insurance will handle it as they are all so very different, but if it is covered, they should use your previous history to exempt you from having to do it again. As for the BMI, it will always be before the surgery, not when you started. If you lose enough weight to get below their requirements, they will not cover you.

I was in the no energy group at times. The first two weeks I has a ton of energy the 3rd week I had none, then at about 5 weeks I had a ton of energy again, and for the past month I have been completely exhausted. It seems to come in waves for me.

This is very common. I couldn't even remember the last time I cried before I did so about two weeks post-op. Your hormones are all messed up, and you are burning fat which is releasing estrogen on top of that. It lasted a short period of time for me, maybe a couple days. I was 'bitchy' for a couple months after when I was loosing a lot of weight. No need to worry, you are completely normal at this stage. FWIW, I had a lapband done 5 years ago and didn't have this issue either.

Let me "weigh" in on this. First, I don't think there is anyone on the planet that goes around saying "Hi my name is x and I have had WLS!" I mean I am pretty open about my WLS, but for me to divulge that info to someone I have just met, there has to be a question directly about it, and I have to actually care enough about that person to tell them. I told all the significant people in my life I was having it. It was honestly a no-brainer. Now for some reason some people have issues with this. But to that I say three things, first, the ones around you will notice (especially your spouse or soon to be spouse). Second, you want to get them all on board ahead of the surgery, or drop them from your life ahead of time. That may sound harsh, and it is, but you absolutely need to sort that out BEFORE surgery instead of after surgery. That may include your spouse as well, some people like their significant other fat for various reasons. If your spouse is one of those, get it out now before you tie the not and find out the hard way. My guess is that will not be the case, but you know, just in case. Third, why on earth would you want to keep a 'secret' from someone who genuinely cares about you. This includes making up lies and then lies upon lies and trying to remember what is what and who knows what about your surgery. Life is tough enough, don't make it tougher on yourself by trying to remember who knows and who doesn't and worrying that someone might tell someone else. I think that is a particularly shitty way to live life. When you talk about thin vs fat brained people I am guessing you mean the difference between people who live to eat and those who eat to live. I don't really see an issue here. If you are currently considering weight loss, then you probably fall into the former category, once you have WLS, you need to be in the latter category or you will end up failing. So my advice is to not look at it as trying to get them to understand you as much as you should try to get yourself to understand them, because in this particular case they have it right. Start learning their habits, mimic those habits, go conquer the world! Resentment over having kept your secret. No, never. You eliminate this problem by being open and honest with those you care about. Those you don't care about can punt if there are hard feelings. So, long story short, don't sabotage yourself with secrets and lies about WLS. It is a life altering journey, and one that those you care about should be included in. This is not to say you should tell everyone you meet about the surgery, I just want to point out how important it is for your mental health and success to be open and honest with those you love. If not, chances are you will have a much harder time than you need to during this journey. I hope you understand this post is not bashing your feelings, I am just trying to help you rationalize it out. In my case, I am unapologetically me. I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of needing WLS to achieve my goals. Those that support me know I support them (my wife went to every single doctor's appointment with me, was at the hospital with me, and has dieted every single day with me since my surgery). Those who do not support me have been shuffled out of my life.

Isn't it great when positive choices yields positive changes which reinforces those positive choices? Congrats on the new you!!

Way to go!!

Plateau's happen to all of us, and we all get depressed along this journey. Many say screw it an go back to eating like crap. You said screw it and decided to go back to basics to continue your journey in a positive manner. I think that speaks volumes as to your character and determination, and with decisions like that I can't help but think you will be successful.

It appears that it does provided you meet certain criteria. I found the following info: http://www.obesitycoverage.com/insurance-and-costs/am-i-covered/check-my-insurance/item/medicaid-s-criteria-for-weight-loss-surgery-coverage

I chose it because I did not like the idea of having malabsorption and the related bowel issues that I felt came with it. I also did not want to be on the surgery table for an hour and a half. This is not to say bypass is a bad choice, because it isn't. I just felt it was not right for me.

I shoot for 80/day, and like @Joann454 said, if I'm lacking I drink a shake.

Yup, dehydration as @Ldyvenus said. My lips were really bad for my entire second month post-op. Once I started getting in at least 64oz of liquid per day it cleared up quickly.

Because I was no longer losing weight with the band.

Best of luck with your journey to become a new you!!

Hi @Jerseygirl21, I found Unjury products to be good, and now they have a non-whey product. You can find it at https://www.unjury.com/planted-protein-chocolate-container.html. I've never tried it because I didn't have any issues with whey, but they are a known and trusted brand.

I had horrible reflux with the band and have not had a single incident since I was sleeved. Just my $.02.

Awesome! Very happy to hear about your victories!!

Sure, it is a very good question. I would double-check with your surgeon just in case, but I think it will be fine.