Theia103121

I'd really like to switch to being vegetarian for spiritual reasons, but I'm at the beginning of the whole process for the gastric sleeve. I have to lose 30 lbs to have the surgery. So far I've gained one. I swear, being told I have to lose weight makes me gain. I really have not liked meat substitutes I've tried, and I'm wondering if it's possible to get your protein without them. I'm looking at going vegetarian, not vegan, so I would still have access to dairy and eggs, but I don't want to overdo it on those. I'm not a fruits and vegetables fan and this is going to be a very hard switch for me, but I do really want to do it. Thanks for any info you can give!

Hi! I'm at the beginning of the process for the gastric sleeve. At the beginning because I have yet to lose any of the weight I have to for the surgery. When I decided to have the surgery, I started tracking my food and I lost about 6 lbs...then as soon as the process started and it became a "have-to" thing, I started having a super hard time sticking to the diet. That, and I hit a bout of depression which makes it really, really hard to control sugar cravings. I'm in therapy for other reasons, but I don't have an appointment with their therapist until January. I'm having enough trouble sticking with the diet that I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to be able to do this. I feel so resentful that I have to diet. I know, I know, it's "not a diet, it's a lifestyle change". It's a diet. I have to give up most of my favorite foods for most of the time, and when I do have them I can barely have anything. I call that a diet. I know it's my fault and I got myself here, but that doesn't help, it just makes the whole thing feel more like a punishment. Did anyone else struggle with any of this? How did you overcome this thinking?

So I had my first meeting with my surgeon. She said that a bypass would be contraindicated for me for several reasons, the main one being because of my history of lower abdominal surgery (I've had nine stomach surgeries (counting my c-sections), and all but one of them were lower abdominal). But she also said it could turn out that the doctor would get in there, and there would just be too many adhesions from scar tissue, and they wouldn't be able to do it. A CT scan was done of my stomach recently, and they're going to evaluate that, but it has me worried now that I won't be able to get it. Has anyone else been told anything similar?

It seems like a lot of surgeons require you to be nicotine-free at the start of the program and commit to remaining so for life. I know mine does. If I were to be found with nicotine in my system at any part, the process would stop, and I would have to start over from the beginning after I quit. I know the risk of ulcers in your stomach, particularly with gastric bypass, is really high if you smoke, and there is something like a 20 times higher risk of having complications from the anesthesia, which is why they're so strict on it.

Good to know- I'm in Oregon and I'm on Medicaid. The big thing I have been told that has to be done is six months of a medically supervised diet where I either lose or don't gain (the surgeon requires weight loss).

I was just wondering what people's experiences were with weight loss surgery while being on an atypical antipsychotic. I have bipolar 1, and I'm on Seroquel and Abilify. I know the Seroquel contributes to my weight, but whenever we've tried to get me off of it, things have always worsened. Did you lose weight more slowly? Did you have to go off the medication? I'm especially curious if you've had gastric bypass surgery.

I got the clearance from the surgeon after he looked at my CT scan! We're good to go for the sleeve!

The title pretty much explains it. Two fasting glucose levels that weren't astronomically high by any means, but high enough to qualify me for a diagnosis. I'm not very thrilled about it. In a way, it's good because my doctor has wanted to try Ozempic (sp?) with me and now my insurance will cover it, especially since I had an adverse reaction to metformin. It might help me lose the 30 lbs. I have to lose to qualify for the surgery. On the other hand, I'm totally depressed. I was hoping to make more gradual changes to my eating habits, but now that's not going to get to happen. I've had gestational diabetes, too, so I know all that goes along with a diabetes diagnosis in terms of diet and medication and such. But I know there's a whole bunch of other stuff I'm now more likely to get that they'll probably test for as well. I hope it doesn't delay things. Did anyone else have the experience of finding out they had diabetes during the process?

I'm trying to get a referral to cardiac rehab. In the meantime, the hospital offers supervised exercise in their gym, and I'm going to give that a try and see if that's enough help. Between pain issues and de-conditioning and conditions that cause post-exertional malaise, just striking out on my own right now isn't really an option.

This part here is where I struggle and where I have always struggled with diets. I can't stand sugar substitutes. And now, if I want to enjoy many of my favorite foods, I have to deal with them. And while I don't eat a lot of bread or potatoes, I do enjoy pasta- and veggie curls are not the same. I'm sensitive to texture and smell, and a lot of the substitute-oriented foods, whether it's protein drinks with artificial sweeteners or cauliflower pizza crust, are just texturally different than the real deal. How is your blood sugar now that you've had the surgery? Are you still considered diabetic? I usually go through 4 18 oz bottles of water a day as well as 2-4 12 oz glasses, so at least my water intake is good. I've eliminated coffee except for an occasional treat because I have tachycardia, and coffee just makes it worse. As a general rule, I'd rather eat my calories than drink them. I've started keeping a food log, and I'm trying to keep to under a certain amount of calories a day- about 300 less than I was eating when I first started keeping the log. I know I've got a long way to go; I just was hoping that what I was doing would be enough to allow things to go more slowly. I'm at the very beginning of this process; I have to do six months of a medically supervised diet and lose 30 lbs to qualify for the surgery.

I have my first consultation next Tuesday, and if my surgeon's office holds to the same rules as when I went in five years ago, they require you to lose 10% of your body weight prior to surgery. I'm really frustrated by this because I feel like I'm doing the surgery because I CAN'T lose weight by diet and exercise. If I could, why would I do it? How did you pull it off for those of you who had this requirement? I have to admit, it feels fairly impossible right now.

Thanks, everyone! My doctor has said that the only surgery they could do is the sleeve, due to my prior abdominal surgeries (9 of them) and their location. My surgeon says it doesn't happen very often, but I'm certainly going in prepared with my history.

I meet with my surgeon today, and I'm going to ask about this question, but you guys have been so great with my other questions that I figured I'd ask here, too. I hate being nauseated. I know everyone does, but I truly can't function when I'm sick to my stomach. I end up in the ER every time I get the stomach flu because I'll throw up until I'm seriously dehydrated. I had seven pregnancies with hyperemesis and finally decided I would never put my body through that again... but I'm afraid with that history, I'm going to be prone to long-term nausea and vomiting. Even browsing around here, I've seen it mentioned. Is it worse with one procedure over another? Does anyone have ideas of percentages? Thanks in advance!

I was wondering (not to hijack the original thread) what is the difference between MFP and Baritastic. Is one more appropriate for bariatric surgery patients? I'm using the free version of MFP right now and it seems to be doing what I need it to, but is there important features I'm missing?

Hi and welcome! I don't know about Disneyland, but I do know you can take FMLA leave. Because you have to stay overnight for a bariatric surgery, it counts as inpatient care. https://jjkellercompliancenetwork.com/news/does-time-off-for-weight-loss-surgery-fall-under-the-fmla,https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/28f-fmla-qualifying-reasons. I also think a very strong argument could be made that bariatric surgery is not elective surgery, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions. I'm at the beginning of my journey too!

I saw my son's wedding pictures, and it looks like my head is too small given the size of my body. I've also developed hip problems, after already having problems with my knees, shoulders, and back. One night after a broken sleep between my hip and my knee I decided I was done.

Hi! I'm new here. I went through about six months of the process for WLS about four or five years ago, but I didn't lose weight during the six-month pre-op phase, so things stopped. I had also been running across many horror stories (mostly on social media), which made me think that maybe it was for the best, anyway. Well, five years later, I weigh no less than I did back then. I have a huge list of co-morbidities, some of which are related to weight, some I had prior to my weight gain, and a couple that cause weight gain. I'm on over ten meds a day, and I'm only 42 (well, 43 in a few days). I feel like I'm falling apart. I think the last straw was that my oldest son got married in June. I saw myself in the wedding photos. I ruminated on that for a few weeks, and then woke up one morning and decided I was sick of obesity and everything that goes along with it. So, I asked my PCP for the referral, and I have my first appointment in September. Because I did six months of their program and because I read their patient handbook, I have a better idea of what is expected of me than I might otherwise. But I'm angry. I'm angry that I'm going to have to give up my favorite foods or accept sugar-free versions (and I can't stand artificial sweeteners; I'm actually really worried about it because most protein drinks/powders seem to rely on them). I'm angry that I won't be able to eat like everyone else. I'm angry that I'll have to go through so much physically. I'm angry that I have to lose weight to have surgery to help me lose weight that I need because I can't lose weight on my own. And I'm angry that it's such a long process. If I have to do it, tell me what to do, let me sulk over it for a few days, and then let's just do it. I know that's not how it works, and I don't know why I'm so angry. I have no one to blame but myself for being in this mess. I made a list of positives that could come from the surgery, and I got a full two pages. So I shouldn't be angry. And I realize my reaction shows that I have inappropriate attitudes toward food. I've discussed it with my therapist, and we're going to work on it, but I guess I was wondering if anyone else dealt with this and what helped them get past it. TIA!

I think that's some of my anger- anger at myself for needing the help, for having so many issues with food. It seems like such a weakness. It's funny, too, because i would never tell someone else it's a weakness or believe it was. Only for myself. I've been in therapy for a long time now and we've talked about my weight, of course, but never as honestly as I've been forced to since I made the decision to do this. I also am big on feeling in control, and I feel like the surgery is going to take control away from me. I know that's not how it works; I know it's the opposite- I'm not in control now and the surgery will help me regain control. But something about having rules around food just is a huge trigger for some reason.

I'm glad to hear that. I've had a few people tell me that the risk of death is pretty high. One article I read said the risk of long-term complications was 15%. Another one I heard was chronic nausea and vomiting, and that seemed pretty frequent. Some people in the Facebook group I was in said they had to carry around those emesis bags because they threw up so often. As someone who would rather feel just about anything else than nausea, that terrifies me.