weightnomore

My surgery date is December 7th. Anyone scheduled on or near that date? I figure I'll be able to decorate the house and do my shopping beforehand, then be in pretty good shape by the time Christmas rolls around.

I had a super long stall after the first few weeks--I only lost a lb. or two in eight weeks! It was horrible, but eventually my body adjusted to the shock and started to cooperate. That said, since you are self-sabotaging, maybe talking to a counselor will help--I believe these things come from self-hatred and low self esteem. You need to learn to believe the truth about yourself--that you are valuable and loveable and worthy of good health and a trim body.

That is too funny about the blind lady! I guess she can see what is really important!

You made a great choice. I hope all turns out as you wish. It is worth the struggle.

Yesterday, December 7th was my one year surgiversary. It has been a great year and a rough year. A healthier year and a sicker year. An anxious year and a peaceful year. Contrasts, to say the least. I started at 207 lbs and a 36 BMI. From the beginning I had trouble following the Protein rules because everything made me gag--things like almond butter which I loved before and Protein shakes which I thought were pretty good before. So I did the best I could in finding protein sources, but fell way under the allotted amount. I also struggled with eating too fast--a lifelong habit. I had many occasions, especially in restaurants, when I was involved in conversation and would forget to slow down. food would get stuck, and I made more than my fair share of trips to the bathroom to "let it out". One time I was in a clothing store after eating and then drinking Water on top of it. The liquid started to come up on it's own and I ran to the bathroom, thanking God it was not in use by anyone else. At about six months out, it seemed to dawn on me that "Hey, I can only eat a small amount and it's okay. Just take your time with it and enjoy it." I had some unrelated female, back and thyroid health issues which often kept me from exercising. Because of these things and because I was so fed up with dieting rules and didn't try very hard, I lost slowly. Slowly compared to many on this forum, but according to my doctor, I'm on track or a little ahead of the game. My cholesterol is down from 275 to 216 and my sleep apnea is completely gone. I have had some problems with acid reflux. I had a very large hiatal hernia repair at the time of the surgery, and don't have good tone in the upper sphincter. I am still dealing with this to see if anything besides taking PPI's can help. My doctor suggests converting to the bypass, but I'd have to be in pretty bad shape to do that. I waited a long time for my insurance to cover the sleeve for a reason! I encourage anyone who is on the fence to take the plunge and do it while you are young. At age 55, the loose skin especially in the face is an issue. I don't care too much about what is covered by clothing. My brother says he knows some people who had the surgery and their faces looked drawn at first, but eventually filled out. I hope that is the case with me. The lack of hunger is a good thing and a bad thing. I'm getting used to it, and do have to often force myself to eat. Going out to restaurants is not as satisfying because if you're not hungry you don't get that great satisfied feeling from eating. Now I eat pretty much what I want, trying to choose healthy, natural foods and keeping mindful of my protein intake. I still have chips and chocolate on a regular basis, though. I have a rough time giving those up. The absolute BEST part is not always being unhappy with myself about my weight. All the diet books are gone (and I had a huge stack). I don't immediately go to the "how to lose weight" articles when I open a magazine. I eat what I like and enjoy it in small amounts. I take my time with it, eat slowly and when I'm done, I enjoy the conversation, rather that craving what I'm going to have for dessert. When I go out, I don't feel self-conscious and try to cover everything up. It's very freeing! I'm not sure where I am going to end up, but I have 12 lbs to go to reach my goal weight. I have already reached my goal size. Everything is different than when I was young. I used weigh 10 lbs less than I do now, but I was a size 14. I celebrated my anniversary by buying a pair of size 10 stretch black corduroy jeans! Down from an 18-20. Yeah!

Putting a smile on my husband's face when he sees me. And he was not real supportive of me having the surgery at first.

Wowzers! Don't you just love when that happens!!!

Thank you all for your wonderful comments and encouragement. It really is worth the struggle for all of you who are beginning, or are in the midst of your journey. There are good things at the other end. Yes, Coops, those are size 12 jeans in the picture. And I just bought the darn things a month and a half ago.

Surgery 12/7/2010 and I have lost 58 lbs, 13 lbs to goal.

I did not do the two week pre-op because my MBI was 36 and the doctor didn't think I needed it. He said that he was a little surprised because my liver was somewhat enlarged. I did do a liquid diet for two days prior to the surgery.

Well I am 55 and post menopausal and I have been having some issues with wrinkles, especially in the neck area. I had a conversation with my brother the other day and he said he knows a number of people who had the surgery and when they first lost the weight, they looked somewhat drawn, but that after a while things seem to redistribute and their faces fill in again. That was encouraging!

Was it at a bar or a restaurant? I'm just curious about what they charged you for this. Juice can be expensive and usually no free refills.

Remember that the liquids are taking the place of the foods you used to eat. Even solid foods have lots of liquid in them. If you are not retaining the water in your tissues, then you should be fine. I would still call my doctor though and check with them if it is normal.

When I was in IHOP with a friend, we were talking to the waitress about my surgery and she said I can always order a 1/2 portion of anything. I had never heard of that before. I don't know if it is true at all restaurants (I'm sure not the fast food places). I usually just get a doggie bag or order an appetizer and then have a little off my husbands plate. But I may ask for this option sometime in the future and see what happens. Anyone who has worked in a restaurant ever heard of this?

I have to agree with you, Longer-life. As a mom I would probably say the same thing to my kids--just encourage them to be sure it is right. She didn't say, "Boy, are you a jerk. What the heck are you doing?" As far as telling people or not, I came to the conclusion a long time ago that everyone is going to have their opinion based on their own perspective. I understand that people have not researched the surgery like I have, because it is not something they are planning on doing. If someone is open, we can have a reasonable conversation and I can explain why I have made the choice I have. If not, they are entitled to their opinion, even it it is out of lack of knowledge. But it is my body, my life and my choice. The only opinions that matter to me are my family's as they are the ones who will be affected if something goes wrong.

Hi, I have been struggling with the same issues. At first so many things that I loved before (almond butter for one) made me want to gag. I had no taste for shakes, etc. It was as though all my senses were heightened but in a negative way, like when you have a fever and things just don't seem appealing. Now at 8 months out, we go to a restaurant and I am the last one to order because nothing looks appealing. I don't want to gag like I did before, but I sit there and think, 'Okay what will go down easiest, and what will be a smaller quantity so I don't waste it." I think I am going to start ordering soup or small salad, then just share whatever my husband orders. So it kind of stinks, but I feel so much better in my body. I have not lost all my weight yet, but I go out of the house in a well-fitting pair of jeans and no longer feel self conscious of my big butt. I am able to exercise more easily and I went clothing shopping, put on some size 12s and looked darn good in them. I read somewhere that people's appetites do sometimes come back. Ghrelin is produced in other parts of the body than the stomach, so maybe over time, production of the hormore will increase. One can only hope!

I'm not sure if I'm off-base here, but I had to go to my gastroenterologist to get an upper GI and they had not even heard of the sleeve. A gastroenterologist? Neither my doctor, nor the head of the practice who did the procedure had heard of it. I don't live in some tiny backwater somewhere. What gives?

You can look directly at their clinical policy bulletin online. Go the the bcbsmn website and go to the bottom left of the home page and click on the "providers" link. Go down to "tools and resources" and click on "medical policy". Click "I accept" at the bottom of the first page, then "view all active policies" at the top of the next page. Scroll down to "bariatric surgery". The policy will open as a PDF file. It's all there--everything about what they allow and expect. When I first started this journey, my insurance did not cover the sleeve. I went on vacation and when I came back after the first of July, I looked at the policy again and lo and behold, it was now covered. Mid year may be when they update the policies, so check after July 1st on yours.

I got liquid calcium citrate at Rite Aid.

I am getting really, really discouraged. The first three weeks after surgery I lost about 6 lbs. a week. In the last 9 weeks I have lost only 4 lbs.total. Twelve weeks after surgery my total loss is 22 lbs. What the heck am I doing wrong? I monitored my eating for four days to be sure of what I suspected--that I am eating no more than 800 calories a day. How can I not lose on that many calories a day? My nutritionist tested my resting metabolic rate and said I burn 1800 calories a day at rest. What the hey is going on here? I will say I do not eat especially low carb, but do I really need to with that few calories? Help, somebody. Did I go through all this in vain?

Here is an article my husband found that deals with essential oils that help sagging skin. It also discusses hydration and it's effects on your skin. Thought there may be some out there who would be interested in this natural approach. http://www.naturalnews.com/032131_aromatherapy_skin_health.html

Women's plus sizes do run in numbers like you say, but we also have the equivalent of small, medium and large and they are marked 1x, 2x, 3x, etc. It just depends on how the mfg'r. marks them, I guess. Chaseyro, sorry, but I have a friend who has been getting my clothing. I hope you find some. It sure is annoying wearing things that are way too big.

I have had problems with lots of acid myself. I had a hiatial hernia repair at the same time as my sleeve. I had an upper GI this morning and the technologist said I have severe reflux. My doctor said that one fix for this is to convert the surgery to a bypass. I couldn't believe it and said "No Way". I guess if you have no pylorus te acid leaves the stomach more readily. But another surgery? and a bypass????

This is awesome! I have been eating low carb for two days and the weight is dropping!! Yes! I have gone down a whole 5 lbs. in two days!!! Holey Moley! Thanks for all of your advice!!!

Thanks all of you for your advice and support. I did try upping my calories for a few days but it was hard to do. I will definately increase the Water and really work on upping the protien. My problem is that the shakes just turn me off. But I will try again. Things that I couldn't stomach right after the surgery are now more doable, so maybe now I can find a Protein shake I can tolerate. And I have been bad with the carbs, just hoping the calorie limit would do the trick. But my primary care doctor believes I have metabolic syndrome, so really the low carb is the way to go. I will post again in a few weeks after trying this approach.