Stacy160

I completely skipped the month of surgery, then had two normal ones, followed by two months of nothing, followed by two more, two weeks apart. The two months of nothing occurred while I was in a big stall, and the last two which were two weeks apart happened when I started running and kick-started the weight loss again, so I do think it's definitely hormonal!

Emma! I think it's so great that you're taking control and getting this done at an early age, instead of wasting years and years with all the "someday" stuff most of us have gone back and forth with. That's awesome. As far as being scared goes... well, that's perfectly normal, almost everybody questions their decision and gets a little scared if they think too much about the remote possibilites. But the possibilites are just that -- REMOTE! The sleeve is the safest WLS out there. There's suuuuuuch a super-small chance of anything going wrong during surgery... but on the other hand, if you don't do something about the weight, then the chances of something going wrong with your body change to almost 100%. That's how you have to look at it. There's a tiny chance of anything bad happening, without it, bad things WILL happen. Know what I mean? Oh... and welcome!

45 +a month +a day! And LOVING my 40s. I was dreading turning 40 more than I can say... I'd been single for 11 1/2 years, was struggling with money and single motherhood, was fat and miserable and lonely, and the only goal I'd reached that I'd hoped to by then was buying my own house. But, that's the year I met my hubby (in person, we'd known each other online for 3-4 years before that), and suddenly 40 was fabulous, and it turned out to be a great year, and has been ever since then! I have a 21-year old son who's still at home trying to figure out what to do with his life but is a great kid, and two awesome stepkids who are 10 and 13 (and who we only have part-time, which makes it even greater LOL). I'm 22 lbs. away from my initial long-time weight loss goal, although I think I'll probably go for another 12 or so after that. I'm doing the Couch-to-5K program and last Saturday, ran 20 minutes straight for the first time EVER in my ENTIRE life, and plan to do 25 tomorrow. Biggest thing about the 40s, especially now that I'm happy with where I am in life, is that finally we get to forget about looking at ourselves as we think others see us (in how we look, work, act, etc.) and just enjoy WHO we are, for what we are, and be happy with that and damn what anyone else thinks. There's a freedom that comes in this decade that's so liberating! There are lots of things I'd do differently if I got a do-over, but nothing that would change where I am today. The 40's rock.

I originally was hoping to have an RNY when I first started researching bariatric surgery 4 years ago, but my insurance didn't cover it and after spending months, daily, on an RNY board and seeing just how many people had major complications afterward, I couldn't justify taking the chance on going self-pay, and then not having insurance coverage for any complications afterward. The sleeve was new then, and I just didn't look much into it at the time. Fast forward to this past December, when I started looking into WLS again, hoping that our new insurance that kicked in January 1st might cover it. Well, of course it didn't, because the creature who owns our company continues to specifically exclude it from our policy to save a few dollars (he's a multi-millionaire and a horrible excuse for a human being, truly, and I don't say that lightly). But I digress.... so now, suddenly there's all this new info and data about the sleeve, and so many more people sharing their experiences and successes, and much more in the way of complication stats--well, compared to the RNY, they were practically zilch. BINGO! For those reasons, in addition to all the facts and comparisons made by the posters above me, I knew immediately that the sleeve was for me. I saw my family doctor for blood work, EKG, and clearance, saw the surgeon a week after that, and had my Sleeve 12 days later and it's been WONDERFUL!!! I don't remember if anyone noted this above, but so far studies show weight-loss stats from VSG as equal to the RNY, with less chance of rebound weight-gain since our sleeves really don't stretch, but the RNY pouch does. My surgeon expects the VSG to become the go-to, preferred WLS sometime soon, and I've seen other people say that their surgeons say the same thing. In the end it was really a no-brainer for me, and I couldn't be more thrilled with it.

Wow, that's a lot of time.... I bet if you do arrange for that much time off, you'll be calling work wanting to go back a lot sooner! I made arrangements for two weeks off, just in case, but went back for two half-days at 10 and 11 days out, and my job is fairly physical (physical therapy), felt great and had no problems. I'd just make sure that it won't be a problem for you to go back early, cause seriously, you'll probably be bored, feeling great, and want to!

I was about to ask how in the world you got WC to pay for bariatric surgery to begin with, but then re-read what you wrote and now I get it. That's an interesting scenario, and I can definitely see why they'd fight having to pay for a sleeve, but I can also tell you that, having worked at the WC center for General Motors at one time, probably 95% of all lawsuits brought against the company by the employee are won, and that includes completely ridiculous ones like "I can't work because I'm an alcoholic because my job made me that way," or "I can't work because of the mental problems caused by my job..." yeah, totally serious. I'd say if the job caused removal of the band, and now you can't have another band, you'd stand an excellent chance of having your WC pay for a sleeve, maybe even without much threat from a lawyer (although you may still have to initiate that process). Hmmmm, interesting. Keep us updated!

My insurance didn't deny me, I just never bothered with it since ANYTHING weight-loss related, including surgery, is a specific exclusion on our policy. That's the the insurance's fault, it's my cheap-ass greedy s.o.b. employer (who really is a horrible person in many ways, I'm not just an angry employee LOL) who chose to go as cheap as he could get with our policy.

There's nothing I like now that I didn't before, and vice-versa, but 95% of the time I'd rather have a home-cooked hamburger patty on a plate with the fixings than a fast-food burger, or some lovely chicken salad with grapes mixed in over Taco Bell... I still like that stuff, but it's definitely not my first choice. Unfortunately, I still have a major sweet tooth, and a bite of something bad still only makes me want more of it. Thankfully, it starts making me feel icky after a few bites so even when I do splurge, it's not by much! The only food I've actually had a problem with is broccoli. I LOVE it, but both times I've had it since surgery, it all came back up on me 20 minutes later. That makes me think that it wasn't an over-eating thing, but a food intolerance thing, but why broccoli and literally nothing else? I keep meaning to try some on it's own with nothing else, and see what happens, but don't think to.

I am finally weighing in again on this thread because FINALLY, after more than two months, my stall has broken!! I'd been bouncing between 188-192 all that time, but I've been doing C25K and really paying attention to grazing and snacking, and this morning the scale showed 183.2. YAY!! HW - 258 SW - 246.4 LW - eh... we'll say 188 Today - 183.2! :wink0:

What an ass. :wink0:

WOO-HOOO!! Isn't that the BEST?? Congratulations!

A long, long time ago, an old friend told me, in explaining why he no longer had a relationship with his brother, that "Sometimes we need to rid ourselves of the toxic people in our lives." That saying has stuck with me since then, and has helped me on several occasions to evaluate whether an old friendship was worth saving, or if that person had become a poison leaching into my world. I figure if we're taking this huge step to rid ourselves of toxic food, toxic thinking, toxic fat, etc., then as the toxic people start to become more obvious, why let them continue to taint our lives? We ALL -- WLS or not -- need to surround ourselves with family and friends who make us happy, bring us laughter and love, and lift us up (and who we do the same for).... not blood-sucking leeches who bring us down! :wink0:

I would start by telling her exactly what you just told us, how she never was a friend to you in the first place, and cut your losses. You don't need people like that dragging you down.

Holy cow, what a huge difference in only 3 months (or less)!! Way to go, both of you!!

And at the end of this thread, and after 6 1/2 months living with the sleeve, I STILL have no idea whether we're supposed to be measuring by weight or volume. I know that half a cup of chicken isn't gonna do it for me, but 4 oz. sure as heck is.

Nope, having a sleeve doesn't affect how we take pills at all. Yay! There are a couple of vitamins though that do depend on the intrinsic factor our stomachs produce for absorption -- B12 is one and I don't know which other(s), but that's why we have to take them sublingually -- but as far as I know that's all that we have to account for.

My surgeon didn't really go into his requirements for self-pays, but he did say that "Well between your BMI and a couple of co-morbidities, you'd definitely qualify through most insurance requirements," which I already knew, but I don't know if that's something he generally takes into consideration with self-pays or not. It would seem like he would. As for the pre-op stuff, I only needed clearance from my PCP, and the routine pre-op testing at the hospital. Oh, and no pre-op diet.

Absolutely, I'd have done it in a heartbeat!

Sounds like your nutritionist -- like the majority of them -- is an idiot! Sorry to be so blunt but I get SO tired of reading where they're giving antiquated, uninformed, or just plain wrong info and advice. It amazes me. [edited to clarify] And I mean not just with WLS, but in general... seems every article I read where some so-called "nutritionist" is quoted, I just roll my eyes and want to slap some sense into them.

That sounds great, I'll have to try this one!!

Oooh!! We get the instant videos from Netflix through the Roku, and I never thought to look on there for exercise stuff... thanks for the tip!!

Exercise will not affect the skin itself at ALL, although toning the muscle underneath can help fill out the space and support the skin better. After it's shrunk all it's going to, surgery's the only option for tightening or getting rid of the skin.

I hear ya... I've been bouncing up and down within the same 4-lb. range for two months myself, and I'm freakin' sick of it!! I have been eating more carbs than I should though, and I know that. Are you exercising? I'm doing the Couch to 5K running program right now and I really think that's gonna get things moving again. I've been between 188 - 192, and for the last couple of weeks it's been 188-189, so I have hope. If you're like me, carbs are the dang devil!

Good to stay away from breads, sugars, and other simple carbs, but you want to have the good carbs (whole grains, fruits and veggies) so you don't go into ketosis, which can harm a developing fetus. Congratulations! :thumbup:

Yeah, I get that too sometimes... usually it's when I'm out to eat and eating more than I should. That whole "just one more bite" thing, a holdover from the old fat days! Thankfully it passes after a few minutes, but I do associate it with eating too much.