February 2024 Surgery Buddies?

[BlueParis 117]

Thanks all for your support, it's seems silly to write to you all as relative strangers, but apart from my partner I haven't disclosed my surgery to anyone so you folks are "my people" right now!.

I'm slightly less cold this evening and had a blood test at lunch time ... (I'm not a doctor but I do work in the healthcare field and I'm actually at an EU medical conference here so got a collègue to write me a script for one). the results are through and, I am as I thought very anemic, so much so that I have an Iron infusion booked for tomorrow ( Amen to the pan european health insurance system!!) . And @LisaCaryl you also hit the spot - I have low blood pressure too - but thats not that unusual for me - doctor I spoke to said I should try and rest up a bit and take things easy.

(Sort of made me laugh because after full days of conf here I have zooms late evening with my US teams because of the time difference and also found out yesterday that I get back to Paris and then after one night have to go straight to the UK for a week for more meetings ... in my 3 months (90 days) since surgery I've had a total of 23 nights at home .... C'est la vie )

I have tomorrow and Friday to get through and then my partner is flying out for the weekend and we'll go to the islands where I hope I'll have more sun!

I'll layer up the best I can and will deffo see if when I'm in the US I can get some more thermal wear just in case I'm still feeling chilly , @RonHall908 @Noelle74 I'm sure I'll find a Parisian way to rock a hunting style! Or I could just go for a classic Elisabeth II look

The issue I have at the moment is work attire - I have to sort of dress "smart" and because I've lost weight so quickly in the last three months ( My three month "surgerversary" is tomorrow) I've gone from a european size 44 (US size 14 / UK 16 / Aus 18) to a european size 38 ( US size 8/UK 10/ Aus 12) I'm relying on wrap dresses and cardigans with tights that just aren't cutting it warmth wize. I have to upgrade my sheer tights to woollen ones and get some thermal t-shirts to wear under my dresses as per @Briss72 suggestion ( congrats at getting under 100kg @Briss72 and I'll for sure stock up on some handwarmers for my pockets).

I have a free morning tomorrow after my infusion and will see what I can buy without spending too much money as I'm still loosing weight pretty in a pretty linear way and hope it will continue for another few months so don't want to spend much on temporary clothes!

Here is my weight chart (in Kg) since surgery which I'm very happy with so far... and even with all the being cold and a bit miserable, I know this was the best choice for me and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat and regret not booking surgery earlier! The first drop from 95-91 was my presurgery diet and just after surgery my weight went up ... but it's being going down steady since - I'm just on the brink of having a normal BMI - green zone!

Now that was a very long post! Once again, thanks for everyones support, and sorry for being a bit of a negative nancy from time to time!

Edited May 15 by BlueParis
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[Noelle74 53]

17 minutes ago, BlueParis said:

Thanks all for your support, it's seems silly to write to you all as relative strangers, but apart from my partner I haven't disclosed my surgery to anyone so you folks are "my people" right now!.

I'm slightly less cold this evening and had a blood test at lunch time ... (I'm not a doctor but I do work in the healthcare field and I'm actually at an EU medical conference here so got a collègue to write me a script for one). the results are through and, I am as I thought very anemic, so much so that I have an Iron infusion booked for tomorrow ( Amen to the pan european health insurance system!!) . And @LisaCaryl you also hit the spot - I have low blood pressure too - but thats not that unusual for me - doctor I spoke to said I should try and rest up a bit and take things easy.

(Sort of made me laugh because after full days of conf here I have zooms late evening with my US teams because of the time difference and also found out yesterday that I get back to Paris and then after one night have to go straight to the UK for a week for more meetings ... in my 3 months (90 days) since surgery I've had a total of 23 nights at home .... C'est la vie )

I have tomorrow and Friday to get through and then my partner is flying out for the weekend and we'll go to the islands where I hope I'll have more sun!

I'll layer up the best I can and will deffo see if when I'm in the US I can get some more thermal wear just in case I'm still feeling chilly , @RonHall908 @Noelle74 I'm sure I'll find a Parisian way to rock a hunting style! Or I could just go for a classic Elisabeth II look

The issue I have at the moment is work attire - I have to sort of dress "smart" and because I've lost weight so quickly in the last three months ( My three month "surgerversary" is tomorrow) I've gone from a european size 44 (US size 14 / UK 16 / Aus 18) to a european size 38 ( US size 8/UK 10/ Aus 12) I'm relying on wrap dresses and cardigans with tights that just aren't cutting it warmth wize. I have to upgrade my sheer tights to woollen ones and get some thermal t-shirts to wear under my dresses as per @Briss72 suggestion ( congrats at getting under 100kg @Briss72 and I'll for sure stock up on some handwarmers for my pockets).

I have a free morning tomorrow after my infusion and will see what I can buy without spending too much money as I'm still loosing weight pretty in a pretty linear way and hope it will continue for another few months so don't want to spend much on temporary clothes!

Here is my weight chart (in Kg) since surgery which I'm very happy with so far... and even with all the being cold and a bit miserable, I know this was the best choice for me and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat and regret not booking surgery earlier! The first drop from 95-91 was my presurgery diet and just after surgery my weight went up ... but it's being going down steady since - I'm just on the brink of having a normal BMI - green zone!

Now that was a very long post! Once again, thanks for everyones support, and sorry for being a bit of a negative nancy from time to time!

I’m with you on not wanting to spend much on clothes right now. I’m going over to raid my daughter’s closet because I had just given her a bunch of my jeans a few months back. I am down to a US waist size 29 in jeans right now and I had held on to a few of my favorites but given her most of them. I can’t sew at all so I have resorted to posting my bigger clothes online to try and get bit of money out of them that I can turn around and put into some new clothes. I do still have quite a few smaller clothes I never let go of though. I get my post op blood work done next week and I’m pretty sure it will show I’m anemic also. I’m covered in huge bruises. I started to have a small amount of Hair loss the past week so I’m bummed out and I have started watching what I eat much better. I was slacking so now I chart everything and get my exercise in everyday. I’m getting my 100gms of Protein, 64 oz of Water, cut out any soda and sweet tea again and went back to zero sugar. I was on my second stall but I have started slowly moving again. I’m currently at 170lbs so 37lbs total lost so far and 25lbs to go. I don’t have much support. My best friend and my mother were totally against this surgery when I said I was going to do it. My mother passed away before I made it through all the hoops. It took me a year to meet all their requirements. My best friend still can not show any support but I am already 100% happier with myself and I feel so much better already even with the challenges I know we have all faced. This group has been a lifesaver even though I don’t always post I do follow. Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and all the support. ❤️

[NickelChip 1,218]

@BlueParis I think you should try rocking the Queen Elizabeth look!

I'm glad you've gotten to the bottom of the anemia and blood pressure concerns, and hopefully addressing that will help with your temperature regulation.

I'm still losing so slowly, which is frustrating. But at least it's going the right direction again. I weighed in at 201 lbs this morning, which I also had hit a week ago but then bounced up for several days. I think the scale is just teasing me because I'm so close to being under 200. I'm trying not to let it bother me but it's hard. I'm only down 4 lbs in the past month, and only 22 since surgery, despite hitting Protein, Water, and exercise goals daily. I look forward to talking to my surgeon's office about it next week.

[BlueParis 117]

Pff, I just want to be all negative and complain again! Conference is off for the weekend - it’s rainy and grey and cold. I so thought I’d have some warm weather here. I’m so disappointed. I haven’t been hitting my step goals (10k) because it’s just pissing it down the whole time. I’m about to get a ferry to the islands for the weekend and even that isn’t lifting my mood. All I want is a little bit of blue sky.

Edited May 17 by BlueParis

[NickelChip 1,218]

@BlueParis I don't blame you for wanting some sun! We've finally had some nice weather here and it makes such a difference. We're in that little sliver of time where it's nice and not too hot. I know that in another few weeks I'm likely to be desperate for air-conditioning, but today I have the windows open and a light blanket on my lap and it's perfect. I hope you get better weather soon.

I had a great opportunity on Wednesday night to join in on a Q&A session with Dr. Matthew Weiner. It was a small group, like four of us, and we just got to ask questions. I filled him in on my weight loss so far, including highest weight, how much I lost with diet changes, how much with the pre-op diet, and then the much slower weight loss since surgery. He told me that even though it seems slower, he thought I was pretty much on track. Apparently when you're calculating weight loss expectations for surgery, it's better to use your highest weight (especially if it's relatively recent, I think) because it's more realistic.

So, for example, if I use 251lbs as my start, it suggests a final weight of 166. If I use 238 lbs (the weight I was on day one of the pre-op diet), it suggests 157 lbs, and if I use 223 (the day before surgery weight), it suggests 147 lbs. Dr. Weiner said 147 lbs is most likely not a realistic goal because I wasn't really, metabolically, a 223 lb person when I had surgery. I was a 251 lb person who had lost 28 lbs, and that distinction is important. Honestly, seeing this range of outcomes makes me feel better about where I'm at. I don't have a particular weight I "must" hit as a goal. I'm happy losing weight in a sustainable way and being healthier, whatever that ends up being. I just wanted to have a goal in my mind, and I was starting to worry I was not going to succeed because it's been so slow. But, even though I've barely lost anything since mid-April, I've still lost 50 lbs since last summer, and that should be something to celebrate!

[LisaCaryl 96]

35 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

@BlueParis I don't blame you for wanting some sun! We've finally had some nice weather here and it makes such a difference. We're in that little sliver of time where it's nice and not too hot. I know that in another few weeks I'm likely to be desperate for air-conditioning, but today I have the windows open and a light blanket on my lap and it's perfect. I hope you get better weather soon.

I had a great opportunity on Wednesday night to join in on a Q&A session with Dr. Matthew Weiner. It was a small group, like four of us, and we just got to ask questions. I filled him in on my weight loss so far, including highest weight, how much I lost with diet changes, how much with the pre-op diet, and then the much slower weight loss since surgery. He told me that even though it seems slower, he thought I was pretty much on track. Apparently when you're calculating weight loss expectations for surgery, it's better to use your highest weight (especially if it's relatively recent, I think) because it's more realistic.

So, for example, if I use 251lbs as my start, it suggests a final weight of 166. If I use 238 lbs (the weight I was on day one of the pre-op diet), it suggests 157 lbs, and if I use 223 (the day before surgery weight), it suggests 147 lbs. Dr. Weiner said 147 lbs is most likely not a realistic goal because I wasn't really, metabolically, a 223 lb person when I had surgery. I was a 251 lb person who had lost 28 lbs, and that distinction is important. Honestly, seeing this range of outcomes makes me feel better about where I'm at. I don't have a particular weight I "must" hit as a goal. I'm happy losing weight in a sustainable way and being healthier, whatever that ends up being. I just wanted to have a goal in my mind, and I was starting to worry I was not going to succeed because it's been so slow. But, even though I've barely lost anything since mid-April, I've still lost 50 lbs since last summer, and that should be something to celebrate!

I use my starting weight from before the pre-op diet. I was my highest when I started that, and my diet was only for 10 days, so I figured that was my beginning weight. I think my dietician uses that one, too. That puts me at 41 pounds lost as of today, and I'm thrilled. I'm with you on not having a particular weight I must reach. I don't even have a number in my head. (I did put a weight on my ticker here, but that was just for progress purposes) I think my goal is to see how much comes off and how I feel at that point. At my age, I'm looking to feel healthy, and that's my goal. I won't be a supermodel or wear a bikini! Lol.

I think we are all doing wonderful, and I'm excited for each and every one of us!! ♥

Edited May 17 by LisaCaryl

[BlueParis 117]

Really interesting to read about the “starting weight”. I booked my surgery on January 30th and was 96kg (my highest ever weight - stepping on the scales and seeing I was closer to 100 that to 90 was a real shock - I dug out some insurance papers from February 2020 - I was 58kg then and allready heavier than I like to be). My surgery was 3 weeks later because I had to stop smoking first. The day of surgery I was 91.1kg so I lost 5.9kg in the three weeks prior ( I basically did a broth fast and didn’t eat anything solid, only clear broth and tea and coffee).

Im now 70kg so since January 30th I’ve lost 26kg (57lbs) in 16 weeks (average of 1.6kg or 3.6lbs a week) so I’m very very happy with the weight loss even if I’m over the weather!

I do have a goal weight which is my pre pandemic weight of 52-55kg (114-122 lbs) because I know that that is the weight at which I function best and that feels the best for my legs ( I mentioned earlier in the thread that I have very minor cerebral palsy - I have the impression that the extra pain I have for every gram I weigh over 55kg just isn’t worth it and really impacts my standard of living and my mobility. Because of the CP I have very minimal flexibility so being even slightly over weight just makes moving so so much harder for me as I can barely bend my knees as it is and have no upwards ankle flexibility what so ever. I’m easily out of balance and I fall over often ( the best way to picture it is to imagine the mobility of someone who has had about 3 beers too many), I’m used to it and my physiotherapist always says I’m a very good « faller », a part from bruises and a bruised ego I’ve only ever seriously broken things ( shoulder, wrist and double arm fracture all in one go!) once since being an adult. But being heavier has meant having more issues getting back up after falling over and more and bigger bruises. So my goal isn’t an esthetic one ( even though it will be nice to not be the fattest person in the room anymore - and because I live in Paris where the average female BMI is 21.3 the bar is low!) but a functional one.

So I have 15kg (33lbs) left to loose, I know the rate of loss will slow, but I’m hoping to be at least nearly there in September when I take a new position, I really want to do my transition speech feeling ( and looking) like my old self ( just with some extra wrinkles and grey hair).

My handover is September 16th - that leaves 17 weeks so I’m not sure I’ll be at 55kg by then because it would mean continuing to loose an average of 0.9kg ( 1.95lbs) a week which is a lot given my current weight.

However if I manage to loose an average of 0.5kg (1.1lbs) per week ( which seems a more attainable bar) I should be 61/62kg by then, and I can live with that!

( I’m an unapologetic numbers girl - I don’t track what I eat because that’s not sustainable for me long term - I try to eat Protein but other than that - YOLO - but I do track my weight every day if I have a scale and my steps and my activity)

A very long post once again. Thanks all for being here. And here is a picture of a Greek island morning! That’s the 9.30AM light!

[gracesmommy2 35]

@BlueParis beautiful pics. I don’t read the forum everyday so I’m late to the party but I’m so glad you discovered that your anemic (that was going to be my guess) and hope your Iron treatment mitigates your symptoms some. Like @Noelle74 and @RonHall908, I personally am a hotbox; however, IF I get cold, for me, I warm up super fast if I put my Uggs on and get my feet warm. That probably wouldn’t work great for you with business attire but 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Congrats on ev1’s weight-loss, I think we’re all doing great! @NickelChip What percentage do you use of your original weight to get your goal out of curiosity? I can’t remember what my MD uses and like several of y’all my goal on my ticker is just something I stuck in there.

Sorry for the longer post again but I just wanted to vent/complain/cry to y’all. I won’t go into great detail cause then I’d have to write a novel, but as of right now my insurance is denying my surgery claim and it’s giving me the worst anxiety! Our health ins. Changed less than 1 month before my surgery and now it’s causing issues apparently. I’m just hoping it gets worked out soon, so I can stop worrying about it. I am definitely a stress eater and I’m a lifelong smoker (I quit smoking in January due to having this surgery, but it’s one of my unhealthy stress relievers that I no longer have), so needless to say at this point I’d love to eat a container of ice cream and buy some cigarettes! Oh and this is also making me have to cancel my nutrition appts cause they aren’t wanting to pay for those either ( although I’ve at least pretty much have that aspect under control for now, it’s just a bummer!) 😩

Edited May 18 by gracesmommy2

[LisaCaryl 96]

2 hours ago, gracesmommy2 said:

Sorry for the longer post again but I just wanted to vent/complain/cry to y’all. I won’t go into great detail cause then I’d have to write a novel, but as of right now my insurance is denying my surgery claim and it’s giving me the worst anxiety! Our health ins. Changed less than 1 month before my surgery and now it’s causing issues apparently. I’m just hoping it gets worked out soon, so I can stop worrying about it. I am definitely a stress eater and I’m a lifelong smoker (I quit smoking in January due to having this surgery, but it’s one of my unhealthy stress relievers that I no longer have), so needless to say at this point I’d love to eat a container of ice cream and buy some cigarettes! Oh and this is also making me have to cancel my nutrition appts cause they aren’t wanting to pay for those either ( although I’ve at least pretty much have that aspect under control for now, it’s just a bummer!) 😩

Please don't ever be sorry for a post's length. I don't think there is a person here who minds posts of any length!

That's crazy about your insurance. I, too, hope it is resolved quickly for you. I can't imagine the new insurance company won't honor something you already had approved and were moving forward with. If they do, can you go back to the old company and appeal to them about the situation? I didn't even know that some insurance companies won't cover weight loss surgery. That's absurd! Please keep us posted, and PLEASE don't let this get to you so much that you overeat or smoke. This too shall pass, and you will be fine on the other end.

[RonHall908 130]

4 hours ago, gracesmommy2 said:

Sorry or the longer post again but I just wanted to vent/complain/cry to y’all. I won’t go into great detail cause then I’d have to write a novel, but as of right now my insurance is denying my surgery claim and it’s giving me the worst anxiety! Our health ins. Changed less than 1 month before my surgery and now it’s causing issues apparently. I’m just hoping it gets worked out soon, so I can stop worrying about it. I am definitely a stress eater and I’m a lifelong smoker (I quit smoking in January due to having this surgery, but it’s one of my unhealthy stress relievers that I no longer have), so needless to say at this point I’d love to eat a container of ice cream and buy some cigarettes! Oh and this is also making me have to cancel my nutrition appts cause they aren’t wanting to pay for those either ( although I’ve at least pretty much have that aspect under control for now, it’s just a bummer!) 😩

Hope your insurance gets resolved soon. My Insurance wouldn't cover the original surgery the surgeon and I agreed on. Which was the SADI-DS or Duodenal switch. They would cover Gastric Bypass and Gastric sleeve but not SADI. Which seems dumb, they claimed it's still experimental. Again, hope it's resolved soon.

[BlueParis 117]

5 hours ago, gracesmommy2 said:

Sorry for the longer post again but I just wanted to vent/complain/cry to y’all. I won’t go into great detail cause then I’d have to write a novel, but as of right now my insurance is denying my surgery claim and it’s giving me the worst anxiety! Our health ins. Changed less than 1 month before my surgery and now it’s causing issues apparently. I’m just hoping it gets worked out soon, so I can stop worrying about it. I am definitely a stress eater and I’m a lifelong smoker (I quit smoking in January due to having this surgery, but it’s one of my unhealthy stress relievers that I no longer have), so needless to say at this point I’d love to eat a container of ice cream and buy some cigarettes! Oh and this is also making me have to cancel my nutrition appts cause they aren’t wanting to pay for those either ( although I’ve at least pretty much have that aspect under control for now, it’s just a bummer!) 😩

Please don’t apologize! I’m so sorry to hear your insurance are being dicks. I hope it gets sorted soon. As a European I can’t imagine the stress that must cause. I personally find that the US health insurance system is evil incarnated and will pray that whoever is responsible for temporarily refusing your claim has ingrown toenails forever more. As a smoker I feel you. I haven’t given up because I don’t feel strong enough yet, I just avoided smoking 3 weeks prior to surgery. But hold strong, it’s worth it. Take care and be kind to yourself and keep on posting here! I’d read a novel!

[NickelChip 1,218]

@gracesmommy2 I'm so sorry about the insurance issues. What a nightmare! Praying it is resolved soon.

As for the goal weight, I used the weight loss calculator on the Pound of Cure website and took the lowest weight in the range, which also happened to get me to a "normal" BMI. So, it's pretty arbitrary but it sounded good. I based it on the weight I had reached before starting my pre-op diet, which was after dropping about 12 lbs from my highest point.

My own doctor didn't discuss goals or percentages with me, although I don't know if that's standard practice for him or not. My experience has been odd. First, I was with a different weight management center for years, first managing through diet and meds and then switching to the surgical route, but it closed very suddenly. I had my December surgery canceled 3 weeks prior to my date and had to rebook for February with a surgeon at a sister hospital. So I came in very last minute and only met the surgeon and nutritionist at the new place twice so they could sign off on me as quickly as possible. And right after I had my surgery, my surgeon had a nasty ski injury and was out for several weeks, so I did one follow up with his colleague and one with him via video. I'm glad I was able to get the surgery in a timely fashion and they did a good job, but I sometimes wonder how my experience differs from if I had started off in their program.

A nice NSV today. I had a dress I wore on my birthday back in March that fit me but with no room to spare. This was a victory in March because I had purchased it for a trip out of town the year before for my birthday but the dress didn't come close to fitting me back then. Well, today I needed something nice to wear to my daughter's dance competition only it was cold and rainy so my summery stuff wasn't going to work. I remembered the birthday dress, which is long sleeved and has a sweater. I put it on and it was so roomy! I'm actually glad I got a second wearing out of it because I'm hopeful it will be much too big when the fall rolls around and I need cool weather clothing again. In fact, my summery dresses that were skin tight two summers ago are already very loose, too. It's the little things that keep you going when the scale decides to stall, right?

[gracesmommy2 35]

18 hours ago, BlueParis said:

I personally find that the US health insurance system is evil incarnated and will pray that whoever is responsible for temporarily refusing your claim has ingrown toenails forever more.

Thanks for all the encouragement guys! This mad me laugh out loud! I may be wishing this at people a lot 😂

My hubby’s company is self insured so they just changed administrators (the surgery should be covered). I think it’s just a bunch of red tape between the MD office and ins co. at this point (we asked for this, they didn’t send that back and forth nonsense). I just hate it when I don’t really have a lot of control over it and like things taken care of quickly so this is sending me into outer space and shooting my anxiety through the roof.
@NickelChip great on the NSV! I’ve been loving grabbing things in my closet that were too small before, that I can wear now. We can just stick our tongues out at the scale when it decides to be rude! 😜

[RonHall908 130]

After 3 weeks of weight stall the scale finally moved some. I think the exercise specialist pointed out a flaw. I would eat something 2 hours before working out, she told me to eat something with a good Protein and carb mix 20-30 minutes before my workout. also told me to drink a Protein Shake after the workout. I've done that the past two weeks. After a 3 week stall I'm not certain if it was that little change or the fact that it was going to have to move anyway. But, at least it moved. Hope everyone else has some scale or non-scale victories.

[Noelle74 53]

4 hours ago, RonHall908 said:

After 3 weeks of weight stall the scale finally moved some. I think the exercise specialist pointed out a flaw. I would eat something 2 hours before working out, she told me to eat something with a good Protein and carb mix 20-30 minutes before my workout. also told me to drink a Protein Shake after the workout. I've done that the past two weeks. After a 3 week stall I'm not certain if it was that little change or the fact that it was going to have to move anyway. But, at least it moved. Hope everyone else has some scale or non-scale victories.

I’ve managed to move the scale about 3lbs this week. Not much but since it wasn’t moving at all I’ll take it. I am down several Jean sizes though and the other day I put a shirt on that looked ridiculous it was so big. My hair has started shedding pretty bad so I’m really watching my Protein intake and not missing any Vitamins. Hoping it slows down soon before it becomes noticeable. It’s usually pretty thick so I have a little to spare. I think maybe I’ve managed to get rid of a chin or two also lol. Here’s a current picture I don’t have many from right before surgery but the one where I look like I might pop is at my granddaughters birthday present last July courtesy of my daughter 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️