jmangino

I would totally plan to go on a swimsuit shopping trip once you get there- work it into your trip, then you have a hot new suit that you can say you bought on vacay! It'll be a nice memento and probably be the only practical souvenir you get anyways!

My approval was pretty instant, but I have pretty awesome insurance. I think we got the approval back within the week when my team submitted it. It literally took like two or three days I think.

Thanks guys! My doctors cleared me to move to pureed/soft foods as tolerated, so it's getting a bit better. Had some white fish last night and some yogurt this morning and all is good in GI land, plus it really does help to have something in my mouth that's not a clear liquid!! Even with the yogurt, I'm not really chewing, but it's still way better than the liquids! I'm running to the store today to pick up the last of the supplements I need, I got most of it pre-op but I forgot the iron/vit C that I needed, go figure I'd forget at least one thing!

Hey all! So, I had my surgery (RNY) at 7 am on the 5th. Surgery went perfectly and, after a very easy hospital stay, I went home the next day! My recovery has been pretty great (a few pics below). I've had *very* minimal pain, I think I only had to take the pain meds 4 times, and even then I only took the minimal dose to sleep. I don't think I really have any pain at all, at this point. My fatigue level is also getting better day by day. A few days ago I was worn out just walking around the mall, now I'm itching to get back to work! The biggest thing is that I had my post-op appointment today- total weight loss so far is 20.5lbs (woo!). I haven't used any insulin since two days pre-op, either! Amazeballs. They cleared me for pureed/soft foods (advancing as I tolerate things) which I am SO freaking happy about. I was beyond tired of broth and water and Gatorade! With all of that good news, I do have something I'm starting to wonder about- if my weight loss is going to suddenly stop now that I'm no longer on clear liquids. I mean losing 20lbs bc you've only had clear liquids for 2.5 weeks makes sense, but now that I'm adding in food, I wonder. I mean, in my head, I'm sure it won't stop- but it's still something I can't help but think about. Also, speaking of eating- does anyone have any tips/tricks to silence the head-hunger? And please none of that "just think about why you're doing this" crap. I realize that works for some people- and that's great, but sorry, that's not really an effective strategy for me. I'm looking for something I can *do* in those moments, not 'happy thoughts'.

Thanks! The smart part of my head knows that, but the ridiculous part won't shut up!

Hey all, new here. My doctors have been pestering me for about 10 years to have wls and, because of multiple reasons, I finally gave in this year and started doing the prep for it. We were approved last week and I have a surgery date set for 2/5/18. The main thing that pushed me over the edge towards the surgery was that my husband and I really want to start a family. I have PCOS and a combination of type 1 and 2 diabetes, so my weight is a huge problem that (when combined with those other two) creates a whole host of fertility issues. Since we have to wait about a year and a half after surgery to get pregnant, and I'm 32 now, it was kind of now or never if I wanted to get the surgery done. Does anyone have any experience w/ PCOS and wls? Did it help? My surgeon and I have chosen the bypass because it seems to have more history/research behind it and seems to 'help' women with PCOS, but I'd love to hear some personal opinions from women with PCOS. My surgeon has also said that the surgery seems to immediately help diabetics, even before any weight loss (they literally told me my sugars should start altering themselves days after surgery). Any experience with this?

Does anyone have any experience with the vitamin patches? Trying to hopefully curb the number of pills (and tbh, I forget them constantly), hoping the patches might be a good alternative. Thoughts? This is what I'm looking at, btw: https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/multivitamin-plus-patch-3-month-supply-by-patchmd

Haven't had labs drawn yet (next week), but I've been using the patches for about a week. The last few days I've been having issues with the patches staying on all day. I'll go to take my shirt off at night or something and it just peels half the patch off, and then you can't restick it. I'm going to try to put them in a different location and see if that helps.

My insurance wanted the 6 month diet, but they accepted a recommendation from my surgeon to skip it (he said the same thing mattymatt said about the dieting). It still took about 3 months for me to get all the appointments and tests done just because of scheduling issues though, and then I had to push the surgery date back a few weeks into february bc of work. That's still not much time though, from the other experiences I've seen/heard of, so I think I'm pretty lucky

You're 3 days after me- Feb 5th! Fingers crossed that it'll be a great month for all of us!!

Nice! Good to know! My base levels are good to begin with, so hopefully, I won't need crazy levels of supplements. I feel much better knowing that if my labs come back crazy I can get the refund, though! Fingers crossed that they work for me, it seems like an awesome alternative!

I agree. I mean, if I can slap a few patches on my ass and call it a day- I'm game! Just want to make sure they actually work before I drop $60-$70/month on them

Wow, this is all great news. Very encouraging! Like many people here, I'm sure, I've struggled with a lot of these issues all my life and nothing really seems to work, it's really amazing to think that this, despite how difficult it's going to be, might actually be a cure-all for many of these issues!

That sounds great! I've only just started on insulin about 3 months ago because my husband and I were planning on starting to try to get pregnant (before I'd decided on the surgery) and the medication I was on was not compatible w/ pregnancy. I can't take metformin- so insulin was my only option. Currently I'm taking 37 units at night and about 30ish units a day (sliding scale for meals). Hopefully that will go away after the surgery then!

Thank goodness! I've finally scheduled my surgery for 5 weeks from now so I've been doing some more detailed research on what to expect post-op and all I keep finding are "omg I'm dying/I've had 87 complications/kill me please' horror stories!! THANK YOU!