RuthW

Hi, I just discovered this forum. I'm unable (due to disabilities) to get out and go to the pre-op support group, so I guess this is kind of my new support group. :w00t: My surgery is scheduled for May 7th. Because of insurance requirements, I have to do six months of visits to make sure I really need the surgery. I do. I lost 90 pounds through diet last year, but I've reached a plateau where I cannot lose anymore. Instead, my weight just keeps bouncing up and down regardless of what I do, so my physician suggested this. I've been through surgeries before (3 C-sections and a gall bladder removal), so I'm used to things going wrong with me afterward. I'm not scared of that. No, I'm scared about everything prior to surgery and after surgery! I am only being asked to lose 10 pounds which worries me. Like I said, my weight bounces constantly between 220 and 240. I have until May to do it, yeah, but I'm afraid I'll only lose so much, and they'll cancel my surgery. I also have to do several psych evaluations (not too worried about those; just aggravated), and Dr. Leslie wants me to do a PH probe because I have a hiatal hernia and difficulty swallowing sometimes. THAT also worries me. I've done an endoscopy in the past, but I've never had a tube inserted without sedation. I'm worried I'll gag and never be able to do the procedure or I'll hurt myself somehow. As far as after surgery fears, I'm more afraid that I won't lose anything, not the dieting. I have a friend who did the LAP-BAND®, and she didn't lose much of anything at all (for whatever reason, which is why she's looking into the bypass now). I also have a couple of reasonable (heh) worries about lifting. I know you can't lift over 10 pounds for a few weeks after surgery. Well, my husband's bypass hasn't been scheduled yet, but it may be scheduled around the same time as my surgery, and we have a very disabled son who requires picking up, so I worry about opening my stitches or pulling something since I know my husband won't be able to do the lifting. Ugh, there you have it. Thanks for letting me vent. I am happy though to be getting a solution to getting the weight off. The last time I weighed under 200 was before I shattered my left ankle (and thus, you see where I put on a lot of weight), but I've always been "chubby". I'd love to at least make it back down to a size 16. Clothes I LIKE are so much easier to find then. Cheaper, too. :rolleyes2:

Well, my husband's bypass hasn't been scheduled yet (they keep saying April, but he hasn't even seen his surgeon yet; only the care coordinator and dietitian!), so I keep hoping they can either schedule him a month past mine or way before mine so he'd already be healed up. My son's been approved for PCA care, but we don't use it because my son's very stingy about letting anyone else other than Mommy care for him. If I didn't have to lift him to and from his medical chair (and take care of groceries and laundry), the lifting wouldn't be an issue. He weighs 40 pounds, so he's definitely over the limit! And well, we don't have any support from a church or another group because we don't get out much (it's hard to take him anywhere because he acts up and screams). Another reason why family doesn't like to help us, heh. I'll make it all happen somehow! I'm ready for this weight to be off so I can play with my kids!

I don't know what's going on with my friend. I'm guessing that she isn't losing as quickly as she'd like (her band was done about 15 weeks ago), so that's why she's asking around about the bypass. :thumbup: As for myself, my doctor said it should help me get over the hump of 200. He knows I have trouble exercising. I have a few hernias that make sit-ups too painful, and I can't go jogging (and I can't walk for long periods of time) because of arthritis. That's why he recommended bariatric surgery. My only choice is the LAP-BAND® because Dr. Leslie said that the bypass would be too dangerous for me (I have issues with anemia). That PH probe is the biggest thorn in my side. I have to gag a spaghetti-sized tube down, and then they pull that out and reinsert a smaller tube that I have to wear until the next day. I'm worried my son will yank on it or give me a really good kick in the belly. :mad2: And heh, no, I don't have anyone to help me with my son afterward if they schedule my husband's around the same time (because he's my help and vice versa). We have no family or friends in this state. They're quite a distance away (and not much for helping either). This will be quite challenging, to say the least!

Thanks. :thumbup: Yes, I was surprised to hear the nurse tell me that, but she's aware of the insurance I have, and they are sticklers about paying for the procedure and visits if you lose more than your initial goal weight because, according to the nurse, it just shows to them that you can lose weight without surgery. I suppose I should have nothing to worry about as my doctor said that I should have no problems getting approved after all the initial testing is done considering my health problems and history. I'm really worried about my husband though if he really does need to lose 30 pounds before surgery. I keep reminding him that he has 5 months to do it in, but he's still depressed about gaining a little back after Thanksgiving.

My husband and I were told we'd have to lose weight before the surgery. My goal is 10 pounds, and his is 30. We're both a little nervous for different reasons. My weight has been ballooning back and forth between 220 to 240 for a while now. I'm afraid I'll lose the 10 or a little more than 10, and they'll cancel my surgery because "I can do it on my own" when I can't. The nurse already told me to watch how much I lose. My husband is afraid that he won't lose any of the 30, and that he won't get his surgery. He's worse off than me, talking about giving up because he'll never lose what they want him to. I'm trying to keep him going, but I'm not sure what happens if he doesn't lose the amount the surgeon wants him to. Do they really cancel you or does it give them even more of a reason to want to grant you the surgery if you can't lose the little amount of weight that they ask for? Thanks in advance. Reading through these forums has been a big help so far.

Yes, that's definitely going to happen to me. It already happened to me after I lost some weight on my own. I was so used to grabbing a 26/28 that my friends had to hand me a 22. I'm just so used to covering my fat with big clothes that I didn't even know what size I really was.

I'm in the same boat. My husband is having the bypass while I'm doing the band (doctor said the bypass would be too dangerous for me), and we have three kids -- one is disabled and has a high calorie, high fat diet. Not sure how to change from all these carbs to something healthy.

Same here. The last time I was "tiny," I was in the second grade. I've always been chubby because of big hips, thighs, and breasts, so I expect the closest I'll get to "normal" for me is about a size 14 or 16. I'm more scared that I won't lose any weight at all.