Search the Community

Hi Brew, If you are a state employee then the insurance will not be the federal employee insurance, but it is probably very similar except that the specifics of the policy may have a few different twists and turns. For example, the BC/BS I have did not require the 3-6 month pre diet, but I know that other BC/BS policies do require it. Sometimes if the ins. co. doesn't require it, the medical facility, or surgeon will. It can get really confusing! I think it would be a good idea to request a copy of the insurance policy. You can also call and ask a customer service person about what exactly is covered. Then follow up with the request for a copy of the ins. policy. I imagine they have coordinated with your HMO on what is covered. From what you wrote, it does sound like they do cover the surgery, but it is always a good idea to make really, really sure which procedures they cover. Also, do they cover the pre-surgery testing, appointments with diatitians, psychologists, surgeons fee, and hospital costs? Does your insurance have a list of "preferred"physicians and facilities? It is always a good idea to get a referral from a doctor you trust and who has your best interest in mind. I was lucky in finding my surgeon, as he was recommended by my primary care physician and just happened to be the same surgeon who removed my gall bladder several years ago!:confused: They are both on the "preferred" list of my ins. co. That was a relief! Good luck and please let us know about your progress. There are really great people on this site that are always willing to help.

since u have had ur surgerey and some fills how much can u eat now??? Im @ my 3rd fill so far and Im bareley can eat off of a small saucer. I am scheduled for my 4th fill tomorrow n Im kind of nervous about getting it bc Im really not eating now as it is... Can anyone tell me if they are going through what I am?? I told my doctor that I am happy with the weight loss n I dont want to be skinny and he just says oh u can do it its not going to hurt u... I was 217 or 214 before surgery now Im 158lbs and I love it... any suggestions for me, is this normal for me not to even be able to finish a small meal??? how long will this last will I ever be able to eat again????? thanks again for all the comments n advance:confused::smile2::confused::confused:

Hello! I'm new here, but have been banded since 2009. I have had problems w the band & now it slipped. I'm considering removing it bc I have read lots of info which says if i fix it, a slip could happen again! I want this to be my last surgery! I don't wanna risk slippage again & go through all the acid reflux issues I have. If u have had it removed--how was your recovery? Same as being banded or easier?? What abt Eating schedule right after surgery?? Is that the same?? Thx and ANY info would be much appreciated!

I posted the first time u told us ur story, nd it still saddens me that ur still blaming urself for her decision. As one posted, she wudve left eventually bc love: 1 Corinthians 13: 4-13. Please read this verse now, nd if this is NOT what she offered to you, then PLEASE, find a way to heal. God has told us how to love nd whom to love and if its not balanced, no matter how many years uve been together, u will not last bc its not possible. You can only be who u r, nd expect the same from the one u choose to love nd be loved by. You can NOT force som1 to Love u the way u love them but u can CHOOSE to find the one whose willing to give it their all. You sound like a giver, one who gave most in the relationship, so tell me Long, y not start giving to urself? Giving urself time to heal, time to grieve, time to live a healthy life, time to love who u r nd what u have to offer. Y give her the power over your circumstance, y give her ur tears, y give her the satisfaction of hurting you nd not apologizing for it, why? Please read that verse and forgive urself for not giving to urself. It's ok to be sad but take that feeling and go to the gym, do somthn healthy, take some kickboxing, just use it to re energize urself. You can not change the fact that u had this surgery, you can change HOW U LET THIS CHALLENGE manage you! U had part of ur body removed to make a better you and it wasn't ur HEART, its still there and beating nd waiting for u to let it heal and move on to what God has in this life for you...the best, nd trust me, she's out there. But give God the glory nd pray that He'll help heal you from this, He will, nd I'll pray for you as well. Dee Dee P.s. just curious, were u always overweight in the tens yrs w her? If so, perhaps u spent that ten years thinking how some1 cud b w u at that size nd perhaps she made u feel like she was doing u a favor being w u. That being Said, if that's the case, it stands to reason y u feel so guilty about the surgery nd blaming urself for her meanness. It's like emotional abuse, nd it takes time to heal. A person n an abusive relationship, altho knowing its wrong, has a hard time thinking they are worthy of greater love bc the abuser suppressed them so much. So now u have to learn to rethink that u are worthy, whether big or smaller, you are worthy. Don't b afraid to let the new you shine on the outside too, ull be surprised at how happy ull b. Again, get some prof help to help u peel it bck, and get to the root like another said. you can do this.

Sweety I sympathize w u bc we know that food nd stress, unfortunately go together for those of us w a food addiction. It is no different for an alcoholic whose been wo it for many yrs, nd then life hits them in the butt nd they turn to their old comforts. One thing they both have in common, a support group. Ik u said that its not possible but pat urself on the shoulder bc u r asking for help when u cuda stayed in ur misery. With all of that said, and Idk how u feel about this but I'm going to suggest you gt a private room and speak out ur issues to God, He knows yes, but speak it and ask Him for strength nd mercy, be humble but bold in what you need from Him. I am a true believer nd ik that if u were not going to be successful, He wud not have allowed u to get this far. Next, do as the OP said, start small. Start w the water issue, only. Try it for a week, pray for strength! I'll pray too for you:) next, stop eating one of the trigger snacks nd add a protein drink in its place, pray nd I will too. Then try the next thing to stop, just one thing at a time. But believe in what ur doing nd y. As you r doing these few things, pack ur boxes to distract u, pray that God will give u ur New home, if it be His will, I will pray too. Pm me if u want to pray together:) id be honored. As for ur job, again, instead of totally stressing, give it to God, nd believe He will deliver to u, a job w ur name on it! Again, if u don't believe that u can do it alone, ADD God and know, He wants to help u. Also know that there are many here who want to help but u gotta start by helping urself nd uve started tryn bc u posted here. Proud of u. As UK, u ended up in the hospital alrdy, nd u don't wanna keep doing that bc of the infections u cud get there, the bills to worry over, u get what I'm sayn. I just want u to STOP, look at where u were preop nd now postop. Stop, take a breath, nd just take one day nd problem at a time, don't add to what u feel is the end of the world bc its not. Just be still. Sorry for long post but not for trying to help u. I truly hope that som1 says somthn to help u:)) u r awesome, brave, strong, beautiful nd human...dont keep beating urself up! It won't be worth it AT ALL. MAY GOD cont to Bless u. {{{{Hugs}}}}. Dee

I was a true Dr.Pepper addict. I got gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with Mazie in 2005. Because I was responsible for "her" health, I cut back to only one or less per day!! Amazing!! Then after having her- I got the all clear- breast fed her- and man was I thirsty!!! I was up to eight+ a day in no time!! When I decided to get the band... I though I will follow all the rules, except just this one!! As time got closer- I thought why go to all this effort, expense, and just blow it off for one desire? I can still have lots of indulgences, after, but can I not, for myself, my health, my life, give up soda? I slowly "weened" myself from Dr. Pepper to sweet tea/caff. to less sweet tea/half caff. (to avoid headaches, go slowly). Now, I just got my band, and don't even think about soda, and rarely have tea! I think I lost my first ten pounds just from no soda!! I also don't have to worry about finding a way to get my caff. fix!

What utter BS. Maybe he refuses to debate "scientists" about global warming because any "scientist" who can live in today's world and still be clueless about it is an idiot. Pretty much the entire scientific community not only agrees that global warming is a problem, but that it's a HUGE problem with catastrophic outcomes if we don't get our asses in gear NOW. And you can see that, even in scientific reports that the US and China have put pressure on to have dumbed down. Except for the scientific reports that the hacks in the Bush administration took and completely rewrote, so that it said the complete opposite of what it originally said. But even that was years ago and not something they can get away with anymore. Even leaked Pentagon papers point at dire consequences of global warming. But if we do anything to try and reverse the damage, that would seriously crimp the oil companies and other corporations. Which is why the Bush administration has a lot invested in either denying global warming altogether or down-playing it as much as possible. And anybody who has their head in the sand so deep, they're completely unaware of global warming around them, should just look at photos of different areas. Glaciers are melting exponentially faster than anticipated. Fresh-Water lakes are evaporating, seas are rising, and the climate's becoming harsher.

It started about 3 years ago, My sister, then, a 21 year old young woman was living her life normally when she was overtaken by a horrible pain in her abdomen, followed by throwing up and not even being able to keep water down for days we decided it's time to take her to the emergency room, the doctors wrote it off as a stomach virus and said it would pass. Months go by without a trace of another "attack" when again same scenario, back to the E.R- again told it was a stomach virus, not one doctor did a test, MRI, CAT anything.. this happened more times than I can really count in the years to follow, when finally she had the worse "attack" ever which lasted for weeks, no one had a clue what was going on "could this really be a virus?" It got to the point where, her face had sunken in at her cheek bones, she looked sick, I thought I was going to lose my sister and I was terrified. After the last episode we met with our family doctor yet once again, he sat and brainstormed with us for what seemed like forever, then finally he thought "it's a long shot but let's check your pancreas" – A long shot because not only was she a 22 year old otherwise healthy young woman, but she wasn't an alcoholic. He performed the necessary testing and made the astounding discoveries, not only were her triglycerides at alarming numbers, (normal triglycerides levels should be 130 or under) hers were at 5000, but my sister, my best friend, was suffering from pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) causing the "attacks "of dehydration, excruciatingly painful episodes and constant vomiting. Now you can imagine how angry we were with the hospitals and previous doctors that not one of them thought to check her levels, not one of them cared enough to get to the bottom of why my sister was withering away slowly and in such pain. Once we knew this info we thought "ok, give her some medication and let her get back to her life" They experimented on her as if she was the poster child for narcotic exploration, she tried it all from high doses of Niacin, Omega 3 fats (which spiked her triglycerides even more) to Trilipix, Nothing helped, Now it was starting to become an issue of just when her body was going to give up the fight because she was tired, fed up and sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I had been researching the Lap-Band®®® procedure for myself and brought it to her attention, "Well it's known for helping with diabetes.. maybe it will help with this too". She searched for a surgeon right away, we didn't need any surgeon, what we needed was someone experienced and had a "clue" about this monster inside her. She came across Dr. George Fielding at NYU Langone Medical Center, when reading his bio we thought maybe this is the guy to help, we hoped that finally our prayers would be answered and within the month had an appointment to meet with him. Now let me get into why I wrote this, This isn't one of those writings of mumbo jumbo or blah blah hear my story blah.. No, this is for you, the reader to understand the extent of the situation before any action was taken, and for you all to know that without Dr. Fielding, my best friend would not be here with me today. During the consult he was what some would call brutally honest, but coming from all the flakey sugar coating doctors we came from, this brutality was utterly refreshing. He told her that while the band would help lower her triglycerides, at her severity, it wouldn't have made much of a difference and she was a ticking time bomb. So here we thought "back to square one" When Dr. Fielding mentioned there was another option called the Biliopancreatic Diversion where he would by-pass the pancreas so that she would only be using a small percentage of it, It was a dangerous procedure but considering that by the time she'd be 30 we were looking at heart attacks, strokes or even worse, this was our best bet. I must mention that both my sister and I have medical backgrounds, both went to medical institutes and both have an above "average" knowledge of medical terminology and physiology but this, was foreign to us. We had no idea what it would entail, was it going to work? So the researching data started. This was it! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? Why didn't any of the doctors we saw in the past even mention the option? The answer, we shall never know but one did, and for that, and I speak for my entire family, are eternally grateful. Dr. Fielding performed the procedure within 2 months of her initial consult, The procedure itself took less than 2 hours and here I am writing this over 2 months later and she is doing fantastic. Her triglycerides are down to numbers I am even to scared to mention because they are so good and she is finally able to eat normally, just live. Without him, I don't know what Id be writing about today, but chances are, nothing good. I'd like to express my gratitude, my appreciation to him and his staff for letting me keep my sister, We could never express it accurately or enough but, know, that he saved my sister's life and I can never repay him for the gift of a normal life he gave her. Thank You so much for everything, we are forever grateful from the bottom of our hearts. -Jasmine (scheduled for the band with Dr. Fielding 6/14)

5 days to go till I am banded. Woot! I am down 12 pounds since Nov 1st. I am currently on antibiotics for bronchitis. The cough is going away - slowly... I hope it is gone b4 I have stitches in my tummy. That could hurt!! My surgery is 2pm on the 30th. My parents are coming to watch my 7.5 month old so I get a 4 day break from him. I love him to bits, but who couldn't use a break after 7.5 months?? My husband and I have to fly to Vancouver, BC Canada for the surgery. I live in northern Alberta, Canada. We are staying at a hotel/casino - I figured that would be a good place for walking the gas out after surgery. I am doing really well on my pre-op diet. I am taking halls for my throat. and every other day I have a hard boild egg... I play a lot of sports and the extra protien cant hurt right?!?!! I am really excited about next Wednesday!!!!!

I have yet to figure out why some men are asses. My ex is a sociopath. I wish I were kidding but he is insane. I've talked to my therapist about him and his actions. Before I left I had a cat that came up to me one day pregnant. I fed her and took care of her outside bc that's how I am. Well I noticed she gave birth so I started feeding her with cream in her dish. Well she came up to eat from where ever she had her babies and my ex took his 45 and shot my cat right in front of me and laughed and said "that's a dead p***y" I had just lost my mom and my dog and I literally sat screaming. He would wound deer just so he could slit their throat. I mean this man is crazy. Which is why I fled like I did. Before I left I slept with all three kids in bed with me. I would tell myself if he's going to kill me he's gonna have to do it with me protecting them all. I would sit and shake constantly. His favorite thing to do was to scream as loud as he could while I was cooking or watching tv and he'd laugh to see me throw up bc it scared me that bad. Finally when I left I just left everything we owned behind and to know how much we went through and to see how blessed we are now is amazing. God really got us out and took care of us in so many ways. Anyway that's why I'm terrified of him finding us but my bf like I said got me a ruger and the anxiety has dropped bc I know my dog would alert me and I would have them shot before they knew it. My kids also have a spot incase its the day and we have a saying they know when they hear that to find their spot bc the firearm is coming out so. Its sad I have to live this way and what's sadder is my ex now lives with a single mom and three daughters and I just pray he doesn't kill her but I can't alert her without putting myself in danger. I won't even ask for child support from him. My bf called him and he agreed to allow adoption if we paid and my bf said he would and he'd ship him the papers. The thing about him is he's the opportunistic kind and lazy. He isn't going to track and follow and work to find me. That's how he operates is on opportunity ..so I do have that in my favor. Anyway I'm rambling sorry.

It depends on the day. Haha. In the early days, I ate 4-6 times per day. Now days I do a complicated rotation. It's the way I maintain my weight. This morning I was 129.4lbs--a Christmas Miracle I'm waiting to see if it sticks or not! If it does yay, if it doesn't I won't be devastated). But I'm at the bottom of a maintenance window I would not be sad to reduce by another 5 lbs to my BDG Goal = Barbie Dream Girl Goal. So it's business as usual for a Thursday for me = Meal 1: B1 - 3 protein lattes with 1oz of Premier Protein + 7 drops Vitacost Liquid Stevia + Decaff + ground cinnamon 1 cup tea (green decaff tea + Earl Grey decaff tea + 1 shot of unfiltered ACV + 1 lemon wedge + cayenne + ground cinnamon) Meal 2 (optional): B2 - I will either eat around 10-11 or I will skip if not hungry. Meal 3: L-Big Ass Salad (1 1/2-2c of salad + 2-3oz dense lean protein + 2-3tbsp Zero Cal Dressing + 1 serving healthy fat (I will eat this until full. Sometimes it's the whole thing and sometimes I finish the balance as my afternoon snack) OR Turkey Cheese Rollup with raw greens and veggies OR Green Soup OR Green Smoothie with fiber OR Can of Sardines and Raw Veggies Meal 4 (optional and regulated by hunger): AS-Either leftovers from lunch OR cup of Herb OX no sodium broth + baby greens + mushrooms OR 1 hardboiled egg OR 3-5 oz of raw veggies + 1/4c fat free Greek Yogurt Dip (Tzaziki, Ranch, Onion, Asian) Meal 5: D-3oz protein + 1-2oz veg + 1oz avo/1oz tom + 1 serving healthy fat or extra cheese Meal 6 (optional and regulated by hunger): BS-usually a decaff + 1oz Premier Protein OR 1-2oz underripe GS Apple or pear + 1tbsp nut butter OR 14g walnuts or almonds OR 1 square 90% Lindt Chocolate + 14g walnuts or almonds

Just tell them (in a nice loving way) that there is so much more to it. If people haven't lived like tthis, they have no idea. Instead of people judging, they should be supportive but it's not always like that. I guess some may be jealous bc they don't have the courage to take a step to a healthier life. @ chin up. This will pass and people will forget. You have to do YOU!

Well, folks, when I grew up I lived in North dakota. I lived in Maryland, where for some reason it likes to blizzard around Washington's birthday. I remember being an essential employee, so digging my car out, and being one of the brave souls who drove an hour to work and spending the night there because someone had to. Living in the Washington,D.C. area noting really shuts down, even when the Fed. Govt. isn't at work. So, my hubby and I chose Florida to retire. We love watching the other's who have to be to work. (It was sad news yesterday when the snow plaw killed the 8 month pregnant mother. But the y were able to do a cs on teh mom and bring the baby out alive! ) Best wishes to all my Northern Friends, including carolinagirl who got hit by the storms too! Karen..aka..kll724 PS: I don't feel guilty living in Florida, I paid my dues!

I am literally in the same situation as you Adam. 21 years old with a social life! I’m from the UK though. My surgery weight was 266lbs. And I’m 4 weeks post op. My last weigh in over a week ago was 240lbs. I haven’t weighed myself since as I know from experience regular weigh ins mess with my head! I can see inches coming off though so holding back on buying a new wardrobe just yet. I used to drink loads on nights out. With friends. I’m nervous about now in the future bc even drinking water too fast or too much in 1 go physically hurts. Not to mention the annoying-odour-free burping. And then I would always have to what we’d call a “sober munch” before returning home lol. So as to not end up choking on our own sick in bed. Ie a greasy take out to absorb the vodka and sober us up! I’ve no idea how that is meant to happen now with the new sleeve capacity but I’m also not that bothered either like they’re empty calories. My friends have the skinny gene where they’d eat and drink and never gain weight. I wasn’t as fortunate so I ruined my own life going along with the crowd and eating out just to snap it for Snapchat and the gram! (social media) so even if I can get drunk on 2 packs now of vodka and a low calorie drink mix then I’m happy with that but I wouldn’t start drinking until I’m at my goal weight. Ie 7 months I think. I’m aiming for 175lbs. I sometimes have regretted getting the sleeve done because I didn’t have THAT much weight to lose and I did manage to lose 4 stone dieting in 2 years. No exercise. And just eating calories less than my BMR. But I couldn’t live like that for the rest of my life so I wanted to be able to enjoy food but smaller portions so I see that as a positive. I’ve been waiting to get cleared at 6 weeks before going ahead with my personal trainer because I’ve never stepped foot in a gym in my life! My surgery was done in Erdem Hospital in Turkey btw. It was £7000 cheaper than the UK (£10,000). I don’t have any communication with the surgeon or nutritionist so my diet I’m doing myself based on posts and archives from here but also I’m doing my 2nd year of nurse training so it’s part of my career too. I feel like there will be stalls in weight loss but that’s just because our body has gotten used to a certain routine so things need tweaking and changing. The thing about protein and vitamins is true for hair loss. Very true. I already suffered from hereditary hair loss anyway from about 16! So the fact I got this done now 5 years later and I’m 22 in 2 months, doesn’t help either so I’m still looking online for the perfect multi vitamin and protein supplement. I can drink shakes easily (not in 1 go) but the taste doesn’t bother me unlike some but yeah my Hospital were useless like that so I’ve been left to my own devices and find my own tablets for life. But I’m glad to know there’s someone my age on here now who’s going through the same thing as me!

I enjoy food, harder bc can't eat much but enjoy food.

that's the point of RnR though ... you CAN have drama & bs ...

with proper diet AND EXERCISE i believe you can lose as much as you want no matter what route you take or even if you take weightloss surgery or not. my problem was i never could STICK with anything long enough and even when i did, the weight ALWAYS came back plus some! i'm only 4 days post op and i eat when i'm hungry and stop when i'm full...granted i'm on the "mushies" diet right now...but i was surprised today to learn that i've already lost 6.9 lbs!!! in only 4days!!! the lapband ROCKS! my dr. tried to convince me for the gastric bypass but i simply told him, i'm not looking to get skinny, i'm comfortable being fat bc fat is all i know. i just want to know how much do i need to lose to lose the co-morbidities that i have (sleep apnea, diabetes, hypothyroid) and he said then go for the lapband. now that being said, i have full intention of losing more then just the co-morbidities....for $13,500 plus interest its only worth it to me to get my monies worth and that means doing everything the right way and working hard at it. i haven't been able to do much of the exercise part yet bc i'm still healing, but i've already begun to walk daily. i just walk as much as i can down the street and back and then i drive it in my car to see how far i walked. i also log EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth and ALL the walking i do. buy yourself a journal and keep track of it. mine looks something like this: @ 8am 6oz carnation instant bkfst @ 11am 1.5oz banana @ 2:45pm 1/2 SugarFree Popsicle @ 6pm 2oz green Beans 3.5oz scalloped potatoes @ 9:30pm 2oz SugarFree Jello

pay your deposit, then pay with cashiers check, they ask for a photocopy to verify your appt date bc ppl have been know to back out, which cost them bc that time was scheduled, if there is no photocopy they assume you cancelled and can fill your space, also ppl have gotten cashiers check and stopped payment on them so the photocopy also gives them time to verify the check as good. I suggest you bring your balance with you and only pay the deposit as requested. The doctor you are using is CREDIBLE he just sleeved my brother without any incidents!

I am still preop but I went back and forth for 2 years! At first I was going to get the bypass, but it made me feel extremely scared to have my insides re-arranged per say. I immediately went with the sleeve after looking more into it. Also, I like the sleeve bc I would lose weight a bit slower than the bypass. With slower weight loss you can control the amount of extra skin by working out in different areas. All I can say is do your research. Even look at the bad things that can happen so you are 100% fully prepared. You will be nervous, you will have doubts, I think I have them every other week!! Just keep in mind the end goal, happy, healthy, and able to live a normal life.

I was sleeved on the same day, and I had this issue during week 2. My dr recommended 3 meals a day, but I chose to add a snack and upped my water intake. That seemed to help bc I dropped a few more lbs. I also exercise everyday. And maybe increasing your protein to 60g would be good for you too. And during that time, I literally had to put a sign on the door to the room my scale is in saying "leave the scale alone!" Lol

I am in a similar situation... I also have Anthem BC/BS. My BMI is only 35.9 but I have sleep apnea, GERD and joint pain, so that qualifies me. My doctor requires 3 visits one month apart with him -- I'm not sure if that's Anthem or just his requirement. I also have to see a pulmonologist, cardiologist, psychiatrist and nutritionist. Apparently Anthem does not require the 6 month supervised diet thing. I have a surgery date of June 9th now and at my visit with him yesterday, my surgeon told me to go ahead and start working on changing eating and exercising and that it would be OK to start losing now because I was already pre-approved. At the first visit, he had told me not to change eating habits because if I dropped below 35 I wouldn't qualify for surgery. If you have co-morbidities, you should still qualify for surgery if you're above 35 BMI. Hope this helps -- of course all insurance plans and docs are different, so it's best to be absolutely clear with the doctor.

Just a random thought and I haven't had the chance to ask my surgeon yet but has anyone had the depo shot and has had the surgery?? I know they say depo shot makes you gain weight so I'm just wondering or more so curious if you are on BC has it hindered your weight loss? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had my Lapband surgery this morning:-) I am a huge baby when it comes to pain, so I thought I'd be miserable, but I feel good! Every hour I'm feeling better and better. I have few gas pains, sleep often, and walk every hour or so for a few minutes. The worst was that I had to be pricked 10 times for an IV, because they could not find my veins! I also woke up very sick to my stomach ( I am very sensitive and get nauseous easily) but now feel great and i have had chicken broth and an ice pop, although I was not hungry- just thirsty! My family is eating chicken and although it smells great, I am surprised I have no desire to eat it. I was definitely fearful of this diet bc I love eating and cooking ( as we all do I'm sure) ! Anyway I am new to this and just looking for some support to assist me on this journey! It's an exciting time in my life as I am graduating from grad school next month

so!!!! i just went out to my car and called my surgeons office. told them how i was 293 when i weighed in with them (did i mention i got to this weight from 315 taking phentermine?) i stopped taking them after meeting with the surgeon. and i gained some weight back, got to 309. not im at 303. and im afraid i wont have my surgery bc i didnt lose instead i gained pre-op. she assured me not to worry that i will have my surgery but if i dont lose on the protein shake diet ill be expecting a lecture from the surgeon (oops!). im feeling better now. she also said as long as i stick to the protein shake diet...ill lose weight. =] i feel better now.

@@KaiserKid .... So I think what you're really asking is when did we decide it was right to go ahead with SURGERY, not necessarily the sleeve? I am pre-op, hoping for a late summer surgery. For me it came very very slowly but then very very suddenly. Slowly BC I have been seriously considering it for years, but I was embarrassed to admit it to my husband; he's a triathlete, runs marathons, and thinks the answer to any weight problem is to eat salad until the weight melts away. And I am talking about a girly salad: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, raw mushrooms, and a little bit of light dressing. No Protein, just....grass. So I hid this desire for years, BC I feared he would think I was copping out. But in Nov I moved out of our home BC of marital issues, and I started deeply focusing on me. In the spring I read an article in the New York Times on a study where The Biggest Loser contestants from one season were followed for six years, and how the overwhelming majority gained all their weight back, how they had wrecked their metabolism, and how the one person who had maintained her loss attributed it to 2-3 hour workouts every day AND coming to terms with the fact that she felt truly hungry all day and would for the rest of her life. That sounded like hell. And then I read another NYT article on an NIH study that showed how people who have fought lifetime serious obesity and who managed to lose 100 pounds or more, had a 5% chance of not regaining their weight and returning to morbid obesity. 5% chance. It was like a lightning bolt ripped through my heart. I have beaten so many odds in my life. I am a first generation American, my grandparents were prisoners in Hitler's labor camps, my mother was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after the liberation. The scars of the trauma of WW2 lived on in my family; my mother was abused as a child, and she married a man who had been abused. Both of my parents went on to be extremely abusive to my siblings and me. One of my siblings committed suicide as a direct result of the abuse. BUT.... I got out, I got away, I was the first person in my family to go to college (and to an Ivy League one, though my parents didn't quite understand the significance), and I paid my way through 90% myself. I married a decent kind man who did not abuse me, I broke the cycle of childhood abuse and never hit or emotionally abused my children (who are decent, law abiding, sensitive human beings who contribute to society). But this obesity thing.....I never, ever could beat it. I have tried to beat it since my mother put me on my first diet at age 8. So I finally decided that it was completely ok that I seek help for the one damn thing I could not beat, and that was endangering my health. And what about my husband thinking that I was copping out with WLS?......all of a sudden, my answer was "I don't give a damn what he thinks. I know who I am, and I know I am not copping out by asking for help with this." And that was it. I was in. I wasn't weak, and I was asking for medical help for the one condition my formidable work ethic had not been able to conquer. I am not afraid of hard work. But I am afraid of worrying about what other people think and foolishly turning away the help available to me. So it was slow, and sudden. Literally a switch flipped when I saw the odds, and that was it. Still don't know if it will be sleeve or RNY yet, though....will let the surgeon tell me at my next appt on July 14. Which also turns out to be my 25th wedding anniversary. Oh, someone up there guiding fate has a sense of humor..... Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App