Danny Paul

Doctor said it wasnt the flu I felt better after a few days. Not doing what's popular just doing what's Right.

I kept the circle tight. A few close relatives. I scheduled my vacation during my surgery and when I came back I had lost a few pounds. I told people at work that I was in a pool with others in my building to see who could lose the most weight by the new year. At home I told them I was in a pool with people at work to see who could lose the most weight by New Years. Nobody seemed to question it. By New Years I told everyone that I came in a distant second. Now I tell everyone that I'm in a pool to see who could keep the most weight off by next New Years. I like to keep my health concerns to myself.

For me the worst part of the surgery was not being able to drink anything for the 1st 24 hours. I was dying of thirst. Good thing my nurse gave me these little sticks with sponges on them and I was able to rinse my mouth with them. As for pain, I didn't need any pain meds. I got up and walked as soon as I was instructed to. When I got home the only discomfort was from the incision that my stomach was actually removed through. I took Tylenol for that. As for drinking your liquids, that's a job in itself. Get a few 1oz shot glasses and sip each one at 15 minute intervals. Also get frozen sugar free ice pops, broth, herbal tea and sugar free jello. All count toward your liquid intake. You'll feel tired and want to rest for the first week or two. Everyone is different as your surgeon said but getting the different experiences from others will help you get through.

I bought a Jade wedding band in 1997 a year after I had heart bypass surgery and lost 50 lbs. As I've stated before by 2000 I gained the weight back and then some. Today I'm wearing my Jade wedding band and God willing I'll never have to put it back in a drawer because It won't fit.

It wouldn't hurt to call UHC and find out. Most people my self included had to go to the nutritionist six times during the process.

How are you with your liquid intake? Are you getting to your goals as far as liquids go? Broth is certainly one of the liquids that will make you feel as if you're actually getting real food. If you can, buy the chicken broth or bone broth in the supermarket. They only have broth no there ingredients. As you go further into your WLS journey remember proteins, liquids and vitamins. It seems the protein rich foods keep you fuller and also drinking 1/2 hr before and after a meal keeps you fuller still.

This is a common discussion at my monthly support meetings. It seems that we test our boundaries by choosing the foods we know are wrong such as simple carbs. To offset this we try to portion the foods so as to feel we have accomplished something noteworthy. In essence we eat bad things especially right after surgery and try to rationalize it by saying hey, I used to eat a bag of these things now I only eat 1/4 bag I'm making progress. The real progress we make is as the OP stated : That's the real progress. When we realize that even if we want we can portion the bad foods but instead don't reintroduce them into our food eco system. Prior to having WLS I had to attend one monthly support group meeting and the one bit of info I got and remember is this. If it's a food that got you in trouble before do not introduce back into your diet. There are so many other good alternatives that you will not miss it and your long range success will probably be easier. I know that there are many other theories on this and I say whatever works for you then go for it. One size doesn't fit all for success but I feel that this is a sensible way for me to be successful over the long term.

My surgeons office mixed up my insurances. They ran the surgery through my secondary insurance instead of my primary. When they called and said that I was approved I called my primary insurance to confirm. They had no idea what I was talking about. I called my secondary and they did have my surgery scheduled and paid for. My secondary told me it would be no problem if my primary declined to pay. If the primary paid even 1/2 the bill I would have to fight the secondary to cover the other 1/2. In the end my primary picked up the complete tab. In your scenario it appears the primary did not cover the surgery. In this case the secondary should pick it up. My primary is Emblem and my secondary is UHC. In any case I would call up multiple people at your secondary and ask if they will cover if your primary does not. The reason I call multiple people is because I had the misfortune of asking for information regarding my pension and was given the wrong info by the person I called. It cost me quite a bit of money. If I had made multiple calls I would have gotten accurate info to base my decision on. Not all customer reps are competent as I have found out through the years. That's why like medical decisions I get a second (or third) opinion.

Donated my old clothes to the church. This way I know people who can use them get them.(for free) Some places take the clothes and sell them for a profit and the intended people don't get anything.

Sadie most things in life will always have some cons. When you take a medication the side effects are listed for you. Most times if you read the side effects you'd probably end up not taking the medication. The BENEFITS that you get from taking the medications will usually outweigh any side effects (if you even get them) that you will get from the medications. The same is true for WLS. The benefits of better health will probably outweigh any negative effects that you Might experience with WLS. That said, it's a decision that you will have to make.

I would take four shot glasses (1oz each) and drink (water or herbal tea) one every 15 minutes. This plus sugar free ice pops, sugar free jello and broth helped me with my daily fluid intake. For the first two weeks I was on a strict fluid diet which surprisingly didn't include a need for protein.

That's the problem with forums like these, the people needed the most (the veterans) are long gone. They take all the knowledge that they've aquired through trial/error and experience and leave. This leaves a tremendous void for those of us starting out and for those that need the valuable experience the veteran WLS people have. I don't have the vast knowledge WLS to help you in that aspect but I do have much in life experience. The things that makes us succeed in most things that we do is research,planning and execution. We research the problem to find a viable solution. We then plan out on how we will will reach a satisfactory result and then we execute our plan. It's no difference with weight loss. You researched WLS from the operation to the maintenance phase. You planned for the operation and from your own words you planned out your meals on Sundays. You then executed the plan eating healthy, walking and living life. So, what changed? Your new relationship. No matter how much you researched, planned and executed you deviated from the core tenets that gave you much success. What do you do next? Well, the best part is you've admitted that you have a problem and the problem hasn't grown to the point of failure. While I love my wife dearly I realize that for us to be successful we at times must take different roads. This is the case for you and your S.O. Until you get to where you are happy with yourself you should consider traveling separate roads as far as food is concerned. You stick to your plan and execution. Prep your meals, walk and still live life with your S.O. When you feel comfortable with yourself then walk the same path BUT be cognizant that you might have to jump off once in awhile to maintain YOUR happiness. Your challenge isn't unsurmountable and I'm sure that you will find a way to make it work. Now, my question I ask most veterans: Do you still have a restriction and if so, how much compared to when you first had WLS. Mahalo in advance for your response.

Yes they do and if you have the right mindset you will overcome them all.

I get my vitamins at Costco. Inexpensive and good quality. Advice that I've been given at my monthly meetings, don't go into a vitamin shop and ask for vitamins for post bariatric surgery. They will sell you hundreds of dollars of vitamins you don't need. You will need to take a multi vitamin, calcium citrate not carbonate (the body doesn't absorb it as well) a b12 sublingual pill.

I had mine done at White Plains Hospital Dr. Philip Weber. Great experience. Where is yours being done?

Its a strange dynamic with men when it comes to complimenting the one we love. I tell my wife everyday that I love her (and I really mean it) but I seldom compliment her on her looks( she's a gorgeous woman) . I never considered that to be a problem in our relationship. I'm sure it would make my wife feel good if I complimented her on her her appearance. That being said she knows how much I care for her on a daily basis. Overall think about how your boyfriend and mother treat you.

NYC the Big Apple

Prior to my going to the hospital where I had my surgery, I went to a consult with a surgeon who belongs to a group that advertises heavily in the NY area. They have multiple offices throughout NY. I asked the surgeon where the operation would be conducted his reply was " In this area we use the hospital down the street, nearby." He made it seem that his group rents in the hospital when they need to conduct surgery. Just by saying the hospital down the street and not naming the hospital was a red flag that I couldn't ignore. In the end I made the right choice. All of the question from the above posters are good questions to ask.

Took me a few days. I have a high tolerance for pain and I didn't take pain meds.

Does eating a breakfast cereal with milk go against the rule of no eating with liquids? (Having to wait 1/2 hr before or after eating to drink liquids) I'd like to know your opinion. Once again Mahalo for your advice.

I'm sure this will be me. I had lost a lot of weight once before due to a heart by pass operation. Within four years I gained it all back and then some. 17 years later I underwent gastric by pass surgery and lost the weight. I'm more determined than ever to not repeat my past mistakes regarding maintenance of my weight loss. That said, I probably won't start a post on my feelings on this subject but, it's good to know I have a place to go if I want to.

I'm sure this will be me. I had lost a lot of weight once before due to a heart by pass operation. Within four years I gained it all back and then some. 17 years later I underwent gastric by pass surgery and lost the weight. I'm more determined than ever to not repeat my past mistakes regarding maintenance of my weight loss. That said, I probably won't start a post on my feelings on this subject but, it's good to know I have a place to go if I want to.

My insurance required a minimum BMI of 35 with co morbidities. If I had the co morbidities and a BMI lower than 35 the insurance company would not pay for the surgery. A neighbor recently told me her insurance carrier denied her, and she has a BMI at 33 with diabetes, high BP and heart disease.

Walk it off. That's what I do. Keep moving and it will subside.

I've learned that the harder it is the better it was. Dealing with the death of a loved one is very difficult when the relationship was very good. It makes it that much harder to move forward. Ask yourself this question, would your father want you to lose all of your gains because of him? Most likely not. One way to honor your father is to be successful with your weight loss goal and to be as healthy as you can be. When you are tempted by the sweets ask yourself would your father want you go off track because of him? I'm sure that piece of candy won't matter too much to you if you answer truthfully. Good luck, it's not easy losing a treasured person in your life but as long as you still keep him close to your heart he is never far away.