VIN_IN_AL

Yep, I received the bad news today, Saturday 4/4/2020. My April 23rd surgery date has been canceled and will be reschedule some time later this year. It was expected given the growing numbers of cases in the US. However, I was hoping that in Alabama where the state wide cases are still under 2,000 that a late April date would be safe, guess not. When I asked about a future date I was told that none of the area hospitals are taking and surgery rescheduling and that any updates are at least 30 to 45 days away. And to make things worse, the "unemployment" subject is now beginning to enter discussions at work. I am self-pay and have decided - IF - my income flow is interrupted, I WILL NOT request a refund, I am committed to get this surgery no matter what happens on the financial front.

Here is a tip for April Sleevers worried about cancellations. My surgical coordinator recommended to monitor the number of COVID-19 cases in my immediate area. for Alabama, they have a nice online dashboard that has the states "confirmed" cases broken down by county: https://alpublichealth.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7 Basically if there is a rise in the # of cases in the county you live in, expect non essential surgical procedures to be postponed and rescheduled, common sense statement for sure. At least with this dashboard I can visually see the impact of new cases on my current surgery date of April 23. I live in Baldwin County and as of 3/21 there are only TWO confirmed cases. I was told this numbers of confirmed cases would need to be in the "hundreds" for changes to non-essential surgery dates so at first glance it looks promising until you see how many people have actually been tested. I am confident the health departments of all the other states have something similar to this for tracking COVID-19 cases.

To many people who travel down the weight loss path, via surgery or conventional methods fall victim to their weight scale. DO NOT let your weight scale or any scale be the sole factor in determining your progress with weight loss. You know your weight when you started, you don’t need daily or weekly validation of your efforts so don’t get stressed out about having no immediate access to a scale. The weight you have gained or lost will be there when you do finally get to step on a scale, relax and focus on the journey…

Your absolutely correct, there are other items in very short supply but the ONE item that seems to be the choice of early shoppers to go crazy over was toilet paper. When there was product last week, I saw people at my local Sam’s taking 3 to 5 of those large “24-Roll” packs at a time, I just laughed at them, I am not laughing anymore. I did FINALLY found some toilet paper late last night, I used to own a Travel Trailer and remembered places like Camping World sold a special type of toilet paper made specifically for use in the BLACK water tanks of Recreational Vehicles. To my amazement they had one display remaining with 20 “10-Roll packs” left, limiting TWO per purchase and you had to be a member of either Camping World or Good Sam RV owners club’s and I still had valid membership cards for both so SCORE on 20 rolls of the thinnest, least absorbent, smallest size toilet paper on earth. Just enough supply to cover until an Amazon back order is delivered.

That is TOO FUNNY!!! Thanks for sharing! However for some [hand raised] reality is kicking in. We put off buying supplies now there are none.... Went to Costco, Sam's, 4 local grocery stores.. nothing, no toilet paper, or any other paper product that can be "flushed".

So far my April 23rd date is holding, however for how long I think the inevitable is coming. I am beginning to loose hope that I will get a call next week about a reschedule. I am self-pay and opted to pre-pay everything now and not wait till a week before. Doing so I was told may provide some scheduling "favor" and put me near the top when the schedule is re-created.I'm thinking that's not going to happen either.

Protein Powders are AWFUL no matter what you mix them with... I would give this a try: https://www.premierprotein.com/products/cafe-latte-protein-shake

This past Monday, I was given a surgery date of April 23rd. I was told several times that most of the procedures scheduled in mid to late March by my surgeon will have to be moved. I am "self-pay" so I decided to pre-pay for everything now so that my April 23 slot is locked and does not get bumped by someone who was scheduled in March. However, the "lock" is not a 100% sure thing, if the CORVID-19 situation in my area starts to get out of control, my surgery date will get reschedule also. As of today there are only a couple of cases confirmed so I am hoping for the best that the numbers stay low for the next 4 weeks.

Nope, you can't sleep, you have some work to do... I watched a documentary earlier this week on Netflix about virus outbreaks and what can be done for prevention. There was a segment on what is being done with migrants as they enter the US. Don’t want to open a can of worms on this topic either for or against. The fact is if there are services for migrants, there are “services” available for US citizens who are in need. The problem is one must do a lot of research and fill out what seems to be a mountain of paperwork versus what gets simply handed out to those who are not even legal citizens. Yes, life has thrown you a bad set of cards now, but all IS NOT lost. From your profile you’re in PA, get on a computer, do a Google search on “Support services and programs in Pennsylvania” and start researching your options. There are plenty, apply for anything and everything, state and federal level! Got turned down, apply again! Assuming you have a roof over your head but can’t pay your mortgage or rent due to the job loss, that’s the least thing to worry about. Rent/Mortgage is the last thing you would be paying in a situation of extreme limited financial resources, the necessities come first. It takes months for a formal eviction to be legal and with the court systems in turmoil from CORVID-19 closings and most likely the Federal Government will be stepping in since many will be in the same predicament, you will have some extra time to get some assistance before worrying about finding a new place to live.

Going to place a similar sign on my frig in a coupe of weeks...

I am still a couple of weeks from starting my post operation diet, when I come across messages like this I cringe and a part of me is whispering , "don't do it...run in the other direction!" I made that mistake last year and canceled my surgery 2 days before I was scheduled to be admired to the hospital, don't want to do it again. I love wings also, plan to have a few more dozen in the next week or so before saying goodbye. I was hoping that within time, say a year post-op I would still be able to enjoy wings but at a much smaller serving size. If you don;t mind me asking, what do you mean that since sleeve you can't handle them anymore? IS this something I may have to deal with later or is this a personal choice due to a reaction you have now?

Unfortunately the media is whipping everyone up into a "The Sky is falling..!" scenario. Yes, this is a critical event and everyone needs to pay attention but the CDC is the "subject matter experts" on this one, we don't need the talking heads from our news media to provide us with their opinions, seems everyone in the news is now a viral infection expert. I wish they would simply REPORT the news, don't try to create it. People are getting the idea that they will be locked in their homes for weeks and need to stock up on basic supplies. I saw a guy last week at SAMS Club with 10 large 24-roll packs, either this guy has a LARGE family or he has other "issues" that we will not discuss on this forum Stay informed, stay safe...

It amazes me how many people I know say the same thing when I mention WLS. All these people that express the WLS is a scam "opinion" also have NEVER had to deal with a weight issue, I take their opinions with a grain of salt of course. Loosing weight is so easy I am told by the misinformed and obnoxious, just eat less and move more! WOW if loosing weight is so easy, so simple I ask in return, then why is obesity considered a growing health issue? I usually get no coherent response...

Stressing about the "what if" scenarios concerning CORVID-19 in itself may cause weight gain, certain people such as myself stress-eat so situations that increase stress levels should be avoided at all costs For me, keeping myself busy helps reduce my stress. However some busy items also induce eating. For example, if I am watching TV for an extended amount of time I tend to desire food, something to munch on while I binge watch a Netflix show so I avoid any long periods of time in front of the TV screen. Since this CORVID-19 stuff is forcing us to stay home and avoid contact with others, I am gong to use the extra "at home" time to complete some on-line technical courses that are reverent to my profession. I also received a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone as a gift this past Christmas so maybe I will also start to lean a 2nd language just for fun. Figure if your keeping your brain active perhaps it will be too occupied to think about food or other items we have no control over that induce unneeded stress. Edited just now by VIN_IN_AL

Several good ideas already listed, binge watching Netflix shows is not one I would suggest. For me if I am watching TV for an extended amount of time I tend to desire food, something to munch on so I avoid long periods of TV time. For me I am gong to use the extra "at home" time after work to complete some on-line technical courses that are reverent to my profession. I also received a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone as a gift this past Christmas so maybe I will also start to lean a 2nd language just for fun. Figure if your keeping your brain active perhaps it will be too occupied to think about food.