So - tell me all about yourselves ........again!

Theresa  

Best of Luck in your journey.    I am in No Va.   I was originally considering the band.  After attending several conferences I decided the VSG was more suited to me.   I have no regrets.  

Feel free to PM me with any questions or we can talk.  

Hey y'all, My name is Penny, I live in Herndon Va. I will be attending a seminar on October 24th at Fair Oaks. I have Aetna Insurance, I am 5'6" 255lbs BMI is over 40. I also have high blood pressure, knee problems, (knee surgery this past March) and will be getting a total blood/urine test done this week to see if I have any other issues.
I was hoping to get some insite on what to expect. I know my insurance requires either 6 consecutive months physician supervised diet or 3 consecutive months in a multidisciplinary. I was wondering if anyone has done the 3 month and what to expect there.
I have so many questions, I can't wait for the seminar.
Penny

Hi Penny,

You have come to the right place for answers!  I did not have to do any of the diets but I know many others did - the best way to get an answer it to start a thread on just this question as this may get lost or mixed in with all of this thread and it deserves a question on its own.....

I do know some people have been able to do the three months diet but it does require documented proof. You could call your insurance and ask them exactly what their requirements are..... additionally some surgeon's offices have rules of their own too - so you need to make sure of that too.

Good luck with your journey and don't be afraid to open threads, especially when you won't be the only person who is interested in the answer...

Jackie

My name is Tammy and I am a 35 year old mother of a 14 year old daughter and a 6 month old daughter.  I am recently seperated and like you Jakcie...I am almost positive my RNY had nothing to do with it.  I had open RNY in April 2005 and lost 260 pounds.  I did get pregnant again in 2008 and gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl in March 2009.  I am breastfeeding and the docs say all is good and she is getting great nutrition.  I regained 60 lbs with my pregnancy and have since lost all of that and then some.  My eating has taken a turn for the worse...I am just not eating lately and am trying to get back on track.  I am just 2 pounds away from my all time low...

Hey Tammy! It is so good to see and hear from you!!

You are unbelievable to have gained that weight, had a baby and then lost more weight  - what a superwoman!!

After all you have gone through you can get back on track -  how about putting some pictures of your gorgeous baby girl up or at least sending me some?! I havent see her since she was a few weeks old!

Hope you are doing well - you seem to be! I have missed you!

Jackie

I am working hard on getting back on track and trying my best.  I have faith that He will lead me where I need to go. I have recent pics on facebook.  I will try and get some on here...I have not posted any on here.  Someone used to post them for me.  Breastfeeding helped tons in losing the weight!

That must be where I have been going wrong - I need to start breastfeeding lolol 

Jackie

Hi, I'm Deb from Northern Va. I had open RNY on September 16, 2009. I had been a member for 2 years before surgery. I was a reader and lurker.
I'm 50 years old and have 2 grown sons and 5 grandchildren.
I decided in January of this year to find a surgeon to discuss WLS. I had 2 choices with my insurance and based on location, personal friends and success, I chose Dr. Anez. He has a great staff. (Tiffany and Ashley ROCK!) They have been so helpful. I had a 3 month wait that insurance required. In that time I saw my PCP and did Weigh****chers. I was approved for surgery July 1 but waited until September so I didn't cause a problem at work with vacations.

So far I'm totally happy with everything and have had few problems eating and keeping it down. My big hurdles have been getting enough liquids, finding a protein powder I really like, all the pills at certain times of each day and getting in my walking each day. I haven't much strength or stamina. (I'm wondering if anyone has some suggestions for my problems???) I haven't gone back to work yet(10-19-09)
I did venture out for a quick meeting yesterday and I swear it kicked my butt! I'm wondering how I'm going to cope on Monday???

I'm down 33 lbs and I really do feel much better.
Tiff says I'm really doing well and just take things slowly, it will all come together in time.

I look forward to gaining knowledge from all your experience and thanks for being here.

Deb

Hi Deb,

Welcome and good for you for coming out of lurkdom!!  Feel free to use us to answer any questions you have - no matter how small they may seem to you.... someone here will be able to answer you.... or at least give you an opinion...

You seem to suffer from all the problems many of us suffered from. It is hard in the beginning to get all your liquids in and all you can do it try your best and keep sipping every chance you get.... it does get easier but you do have to make an effort to begin with....

Getting all your vitamin in is hard to do but very essential - remember at this stage you are not taking in much food so you need to take your vitamins to keep your energy levels up. Remember , if you are taking iron, not to take your iron with your calcium or the iron will be negated.

Finding protein I really liked has always been a big problem for me - I couldn't stand the protein smell or taste and still can't - I have found that Unjury Chocolate is one of my favorites and the unflavored Unjury Protein Powder is good in chili and stews - very little after taste.... but there are also places where you can buy samples to try and see if you like them (www.vitalady.com) and the Vitamin Shoppe will take back any proteins you buy and don't like. However, I would caution against buying large quantities as your tastes will change and you may end up disliking intensely something you used to love and visa versa.

As for the tiredness - remember you have just had major surgery and your body needs to recover, so let it take it's time. Maybe work part time for a week or so, in order to get some rest each day. You can take short walks every day going out a little further - but don't over do it just yet. This is perfectly normal....

Tiff is right - it WILL all come together in time - the important thing is to try and get as much of everything in as you can and use your nutritionists for advice on foods. Also we are all here for you too - so feel free to ask anything you want to know....

Good luck and thanks for joining in! Don't be a stranger!

Jackie

Hi!  My name is Melissa and I am 30,  happily married with three wonderful children. I started out at my heighest weight of 415lbs when I started my 6 month pre op diet.  At date of my surgery I was 375lbs and lost 40 months in time prior to my surgery.  It has been almost 16 months and I am down 222lbs from my highest weight.  I am jsut amazed at how far I have come and how well I have done.  I am no longer dealing with diabetis or high cholesterol and boy can I get around and live life. 

This journey has taught me so much about myself and my life.  Every challenge I face I have learned from it.  I have had a complication. I am dealing with an ulcer at the moment.  I was doing well with recovery but it is flaring up and causing pain. I think it is from stress.