Jonah

I’m 44 and in Portland, Oregon. I’m in the pre-surgery stage. I’ve lost 50lb since May just in changing my habits in prep for surgery. I have a bit over 150 to lose still. My insurance only does Gastric Bypass. I have my first meeting with the bariatric department on October 11th. No surgery date yet.

What have you tried to address your food addiction? I think it is smart to address your issues before the surgery. As lots of people say, wls is only a tool. If you don’t have your addiction under control it surgery won’t fix it. I have been struggling with emotional eating and binge eating disorder all my life. I haven’t had a classic binge in about 9 years now. I’ve been good about not eating my emotions for about 5 months. I go to therapy weekly and I used to go to overeaters anonymous. I did a couple programs offered by my health insurance too. It takes a lot of work to keep up. I’m still struggling with the decision to do wls. I’m doing the pre-requirements now. I have several months to decide. If I don’t think my emotional eating is controlled I’m not going to do the surgery. I wish you well on your path.

Hello, I’m in the pre surgery stage and I have some very big concerns. First some background. I have treatment resistant depression, which means the psychiatric medication works less or not at all for me. I have to take high doses to get any results at all. I’m disabled by my depression permanently as it can not be well controlled consistently. The only thing that has helped consistently was electroconvulsive therapy, which they no longer will do because of my weight causing breathing problems during the procedure. My concern is that getting the surgery will make my depression even harder to treat because of malabsorption. I have kaiser so they don’t cover the sleeve or anything other than gastric bypass. I have a new psychiatrist that I’m meeting in a couple weeks but I have no idea if she will know anything about treating gastric bypass patients. Has anyone here with mental health disorders had a gastric bypass? How did it effect your treatment? Did you have to change your medication? Thank you for your time.

I’m pre-op but my partner is diabetic so I bake a lot of sugar-free, low carb stuff. For thanksgiving I make a sugar-free, low carb pumpkin cheesecake that is amazing. It isn’t super low-fat though. If anyone wants the recipe just poke me!

I did about nine months of ECT for treatment resistant depression. I don’t think it is hyperbole to say it saved my life. I started feeling the effects after the first couple weeks. I started going 2 times a week and moved further and further apart as I got better. I was supposed to move into monthly treatment but I had to stop because the anesthesiologists had a hard time keeping my oxygen up during the procedure due to being at my highest weight ever. Now they won’t let me do ECT until I lose about 100lb. This is part of my motivation for wls. I was okay for two years after I stopped treatment. My depression came back and nothing else seems to help. I may try trans-cranial magnetic stimulation since it can be done awake. As for the downsides of ECT. You can’t drive for 24hrs and they recommend taking it easy for a day. I got pretty bad headaches right after for a day or so. I also had some memory loss, some temporary and some permanent. It was worth it for me and I’d do it again. I’m open to more questions if anyone has any. Just message me!

I’m in the pre-surgery stage as well. Here is all the things my program encouraged me to start before surgery. The last 3 months I worked my way up to working out 5 days a week for at least 30 min. It was a slow progression but I really think it will help me after surgery. I also drastically decreased my sugar and carb intake. I measure, weigh, and track my food and water. I’m trying to learn to eat slower. That is so hard for me! I also quit all carbonated beverages. I am half way through a required 12 week class on healthy weight and my bariatric class is in October. Only then do I get to make an appointment to see the surgeon. It is a long road to surgery but I think that is a good thing. It gives me plenty of time to prepare and be really sure I can do this. Also, I’ve lost 35 pounds so far. That is a nice bonus! Good luck on your journey!

Here are a cute mix of my pets

I’m just at the beginning of my path and I do some sort of research every day. I’m in a 12 week “Healthy Weight” class required by my insurance before I even talk to the bariatric department. I can call the bariatric department once I’m half way through the 12 weeks. I’m still not 100% sure I’ll have wls. That is why I keep reading the boards, books, and watching videos. I want to be as sure as I can before I make my final decision. I want to do so with my eyes open to the risks and -realistic- benefits. In the meantime, I’ve cut out almost all sugar, went low carb, measure my portions and work out 5 times a week. I’ve lost 31 lb in the last 2 months! I have a lot more weight to lose but this helps me imagine what life might be like after surgery. It helps thinking that these changes are life now, not the exception. It makes me feel more positive I could handle life after wls.

Hi! I have Kaiser too. I’m 3 weeks into the 12 week Weigh Loss class. I’m admittedly not learning much of anything new currently but it helps to keep me doing weekly goals. What I’m really looking forward to is the gastric bypass specific class. I get to schedule that in a few weeks. I have so many questions! In the meantime, I’ve been changing my eating habits and exercises four or five days a week. It’s helping get my habits set. Welcome to the forums! I’ve found great information and support here. I hope you do too.

The moment I really started to consider it was a couple years back on a trip to DisneyWorld. I was at my heaviest, 402 lb, (I’m only 5’4”. ) Walking was a misery. My feet swelled up so much! The flight was absolutely miserable and I couldn’t fit in some of the rides. It took me three years from that trip to actually start the process. I was constantly thinking about it but it took the addition of my sleep apnea getting worse, pre-diabetes, and a creeping up of my blood pressure to make the first appointment. That was 2 months ago. I’m currently 44 years old. My insurance says it takes about 9 months of preparation. I’ve changed everything in the last 2 months. I’m off sugar, eating low carb, working out 5 times a week, and have dropped to 366 lb. This is all in preparation for getting a gastric bypass in the next year. I’m determined to have my habits in place and my head game strong before the surgery.

Wow, man, your transformation is amazing! It gives me (pre-op) hope that this is the right direction. Also, as a short guy it never occurred to me my fat would make me shorter (duh, it makes sense). I thought I was losing it since I was an inch shorter at last measure than I was in high school. I really hope I gain some height too! Congrats on all that hard work paying off.

I’m in the pre-surgery stage too. I’m a binge eater in remission and emotional eater. It’s been several years since I binged. Emotional eating, well, I keep working on it. A book that really helped me with my disordered eating was The Beck Diet Solution By Judith S. Beck. The title is horrible at describing the book. It isn’t a diet. It is a cognitive behavioral therapy (cbt) program to identify why and when you have emotional eating or binge eating and give you tools to change those behaviors. I wish you the best of luck!

@deemar007 Thank you for the info about the Sunnyside program! I’m looking forward to getting to know the team.

I have a 32 oz Nalgene wide mouth bottle with a splash guard insert. I love how durable it is, the marking of ml and oz on the side, and it is easy to clean (like the poster above mentioned). What I don’t like is how it doesn’t fit in any kind of cup holder.

@mousecat88 I’m dying to know what a Bari-Bear is. Is it a giant stuffed pillow bear? That is what I’m imagining.

Hi All, I just got my “welcome to the bariatric dept” letter and a denial letter on the same day. The denial said I don’t have a history of failed diets. My GP noted my failures specifically in my chart though. I’ve done so many diets, and Weight Watchers more times than I can count. I remember being on WW in my teens. My first prescription diet was early elementary school for G-d sake! Now I have to jump through appeal hoops. I have Kaiser (Oregon) via Medicare (I’m disabled). Any tips and encouragement is welcome!

Yay! I just got approval from the bariatric department! Apparently they immediately reissued the request after it was denied. Apparently, they just needed more from my doctor. So I’m back on track.

I have a BMI over 60, pre diabetes, sleep apnea, borderline high blood pressure and a bad back. I thought it would be no problem to get approved. I’m hoping my doctor putting in more information will do the trick. ::crossing fingers::

Hi PNW people. I’m in Portland, Oregon. I’ve only just had my primary care physician put in the referral. I’m a complete newbie. I’m with Kaiser. If anyone has some tips for me as I start this journey I’d welcome them.

Hi everyone! I’m new to the forum and new to all of this. I’m in the consideration phase. I think I want surgery (specifically sleeve) but I want to be sure. I know this will change everything in my life. I don’t care about looking slimmer, this is all about my health. I’m 44, pre-diabetic, struggle with borderline high blood pressure, and have sleep apnea caused by my size. I’ve been trying for a year to deal with my health problems the old fashioned way but it isn’t helping. I did manage to drop about 25lb but now I’m not progressing and it isn’t enough to effect my health conditions. So, what helped you decide? Thanks for reading!

Thanks to everyone who posted! I really appreciate hearing the perspectives. I’m putting in my request with my primary physician. Then I’ll be able to take the class they have on wls. I’m scared but I want a better quality of life in the future, for me and my loved ones.

I’m a queer-identifying transman. I’m considering getting surgery, specifically sleeve.