Creekimp13

Hubby and I are also puppy raisers for Leader Dogs for the Blind. They give us a puppy...we keep it for a year doing basic obedience, giving it lots of new experiences....and after a year bring it back to the school to start formal training to guide a blind person. It's hard to give them back! But they do keep the name you choose, and if they are ever dropped from the program, the puppy raiser gets first option to adopt:) Dog training is something hubby and I have enjoyed doing together since we dated. All of our dogs do basic and advanced obedience, good citizenship tests, and have therapy certification. We like running agility, too. I've done humane education in schools and visited nursing homes with my fur kids. We have husky friends who mush sleds, too:)

Well, you do have to enjoy having everything you own being coated in a fine layer of fur. LOL. Or enjoy vacuuming daily...or both. Between my dog and three cats I have enough dust bunnies to knit a sweater:) Greyhounds are lovely. I've never met one who wasn't kind and mild. Enthusiastic...yes. LOL. Gentle tall dogs. They remind me of ballet dancers. Lean, athletic and graceful.

This is the gist of it...to me, anywho. Head hunger....wanting food you like, but don't need...or wanting to eat to sooth emotional stress, when you've already met your body's nutritional needs. Real hunger....wanting healthy foods because you are out of fuel. One of these conditions is fixed by a piece of apple or chicken breast or a cheese stick....and one isn't. I'm concerned when I see folks stuggling with obesity calling real hunger "head hunger"....because it's another extreme that leads to a bad place, you know? There really is a middle ground between "OMG I can only eat 600 calories or the sky will fall"...and "lets pick up some donuts and soda to go with the pizza." I've actually been on both these boats a time or two...and they both go over the falls and crash. I want a sane, moderate, healthy diet, now. No more extremes. No more drama in either direction. I just want a normal diet.

Thank you for posting these!

We're husky people:) Have had one since I was a kid. They're a crazy breed...not for everyone...but are some of the finest dogs I've known.

How are you feeling? How did the surgery go for you?

That is rough, Luckeevee. I lean on my bestie and my family so much...I know flying solo must be a huge challenge. I admire your strength in doing this for yourself. Can't be easy without much help.

Do you have a local support group for folks going through WLS? Might be a good place to make a friend or two to share the experience with?

You start with your regular doctor. You go in and get weighed. You ask the doctor to tell you what your BMI is. If it's over 40 (or 35 with other weight related health issues), ask the doctor if you would qualify for weight loss surgery, and state that you're interested in investigating it as an option. It's really that simple. If your doctor doesn't like the idea of you having weight loss surgery, ask him why. Do you qualify? What would prevent you from being approved? If his objection amounts to purely feeling negative toward the surgery, ask if he knows of another primary care physician who is willing to work with people wanting to pursue WLS. You don't have to justify or qualify your desire for the surgery. You either medically qualify, or you don't. And if you don't like the answers you get because they seem prejudiced by opinion rather than fact....a second opinion never hurts. That said, you must also accept the answer No if you don't medically qualify. The occasional stinker doctor out there...will not refer even qualified patients. If you have one of these? Pick a new primary care doc. Good luck:)

You lean on friends. You replace one pleasant physical sensation with another one (I crutch on hot baths...I love them) You screw up a little....and get right back on board. You keep trying. You learn to journal. Maybe you go to therapy a little. You find other things that fulfill you and give you pleasure and release from anxiety. You try new things and challenge yourself to be open to new experiences. You learn to be kind to yourself, even when being kind is being accountable. You keep trying:) And you celebrate every little victory. Best wishes on a safe effective procedure and a fast recovery:) You can do this. Every epic journey starts with a leap of faith. Thanks for the honest, heartfelt post.

It is very possible to meet a 1000 calorie goal on purees and soft foods:) Have to work at it, but you can do it. Gets easier as you go. Everyone's tolerance will be different. And again, different groups will encourage you to meet different goals.

Looks like it's been gone a while...lol:) Note the date of this post.

Can I gently ask why you don't work?

When they weigh you, ask the doctor what your BMI is. After s/he tells you, ask if weight loss surgery is a possibility for someone with your BMI and health history. It's that simple:)

My pre-op diet was a mix of Mayo Clinic diet and Mediterranean diet. Yes, Bethesda Naval...Walter Reed:)

What are your comorbidities? Diabetes+hypertension usually will work. You need TWO if your BMI is under 40. Some conditions are not as convincing to insurance companies as others. Your BMI being 35 could disqualify you, particularly if it hasn't been 35 or above consistently for the last two years of your medical history. If you've had periods of dipping into a BMI of 34...or your comorbidities are less serious....you might be out of luck until you've been overweight longer. But definitely give it a shot...can't hurt.

And my "binder plan" says 1000-1200 calories per day as soon as possible. LOL:) Ya can't win. They're different. Why are they different? Because bariatric endocrinology is an emerging science. My doc is part of a group that is studying the effects of longterm low calorie eating on metabolism after WLS. They've found that people who are on the traditional lower calorie diet the first year....lose weight faster, but lose comparable total amounts to people who eat 1200 calories over the first 18 months. Further....people who eat more in the early stages have less regain at 5 and 10 years post-op than people whose calories were very restricted early on. The theory is that you should avoid starvation levels of calories when resetting your metabolism. Those who are told to eat lower amounts of calories the first year....have doctors who are following the traditional tried and true bariatric program that has existed for years. Those who are eating more in the first year and are encouraged to reach 1200 as soon as they can....tend to have doctors who have been following the new research on better long term outcomes. Neither are wrong. It just depends on the beliefs of who you are working with. My group's protocol was developed by a research hospital and is being adopted by Cedars Sinai and Bethesda this year.

Smores, needing the blood transfusion, do you know if your spleen was injured in the surgery?

Smores, who was your surgeon?

I started walking with my Fitbit when I started in June. Was a struggle to get my 8000 steps a day. Today, I can easily do 16,000 steps a day (over seven miles). Wonderful thing about walking, is that you can do it anywhere. Cleaning house counts. Running errands counts. Walking in circles around my stairwell while playing Candy Crush on my cell phone counts (I can usually get 2-3000 steps in my 5 free lives!) Sometimes, when I'm behind, I'll put in an episode of Dr. Nowzaridin and walk around my house picking up, sweeping and stuff....just getting the steps in. Works great. And my house is lookin spiffy. LOL

Nope...but my nose runs when I eat too much, and some people sneeze...so there must be some weird nose-switch that gets flipped. LOL:)

You are doing fine. Listen to your doctor's/nutritionist's instructions. I hit 1000 calories on week 3...but everyone is different and some doctors encourage patients to eat less. My group wants 1000-1200 as soon as possible....but they don't start pushing you to make this goal until you're 6 weeks out or so. They just encourage you to do your best. Take your time, listen to your body. Do your best to make your fluid and protein goals first, then worry about calories. Best wishes!

Best case scenario...you will have no side effects, or very minimal side effects. My personal experience? I've had dental procedures that were more difficult. My recovery has been textbook and easy. I'm losing weight and feeling excellent. These surgeries are extremely safe now. Their mortality rate is better than gall bladder surgery. That said...it's still a major surgery. Worst case scenario....you can throw a bad clot, get a pulmonary embolism and die. Doesn't happen very often, and they take measures to prevent this.....but it still happens once in a while in spite of everyone's best efforts. Sleeve surgery takes place very near the spleen. The spleen is an extremely dangerous bleeder. If your surgeon has the misfortune of accidentally injuring your spleen, it could have to be removed...which can be very dangerous. This is a great reason to lose weight before surgery and follow your presurgical diet to shrink your liver. Give your surgeon some room to work.

Smores, were there any theories about what caused the leak? Were you a smoker? Did you take any maintenance pain meds? Did you have H. Pylori bacteria? Can you give us any other information about the cause?

Wow! Lookin good, Beautiful:) Nice work!