Obesity Surgery WP Blog

ON FRIDAY A FEW OF US FROM WORK ARE GOING OUT FOR LUNCH. I WAS WONDERING IF
AFTER 6 WEEKS FROM MY SURGERY I COULD TOLERATE GREEK SALAD OR BOILED SHRIMP.

Hello Everyone,
May I ask how old all of you are on this list?
Michelle

I read it and will continue to be concerned. This women are older than you
and believe me I KNOW it’s not easy. I can’t manage to lose 20 lbs so I’m
not trying to make light of this issue. However, I think that if you are
considering surgery than you should try to eat healthy, not be on a diet, but
make educated choices about the food you eat. Do you want the cookie or
piece of bread more than you want to be thin? If you aren’t eating right or
exercising now how do you make those changes after the surgery. I keep
thinking you are only 27 and you are considering major surgery that will
change your life forever. I’m still for small steps over a long period of
time. That’s how Aunt Karen did it. It will come off a lot faster for you
than it did for her because she is in her 40’s and you are in your 20’s. I
only half listened when people told me the older you get the more diffficult
it is to lose weight. I now know that is the truth, however, there are
plenty of people who manage to do it with diet and exercise. Surgery is such
a drastic and life altering step. I know you want to lose weight and I
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Hi,
Could you tell me which is the best protien bar? Which is better for
you or better tasting or both?
Thanks in advance,
Susan in NY

Michael Genadry was written up in our local paper today.
For those of you who don’t know who he is he is on “Ed” — a tv show which airs
at 8pm Wednesdays (TONIGHT) on NBC. He had gastric bypass surgery in September
— September 18th. He is 24 years old. Rather than write him off or something
else, the producers incorporated it into the series. They are going to show pro
and con and walk people through the entire surgery process. According to
executive producer Jon Beckerman, :We didn’t want to ignore it or tell viewers
he did this from Weight Watchers or cutting out the chips. It felt dishonest.
The guy really did this thing , so why tell any other story than the one we
had.” Genadry’s father and actor who plays his dad on “Ed” have both undergone
the surgery since Michael did it.
The story started being told in December — December 11th. His character is a
“smart-aleck high school student” who was confronted by friends about his
weight. According to the article, “In one brave scene, he pulled off his shirt
for an unflinching look in the mirror.”
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I stopped drinking diet coke some years ago but I went through he** doing
it. I drank on average 3 3-liter bottles daily. I stopped abruptly and had
the shakes real bad and a killer headache. It finally dawned on me that I was
going through withdrawal.
For anyone who is thinking of stopping I would reccommend tapering off
gradually. I got down to one juice size glass in the evening and then finally
gave it up entirely. Hope this helps….Tracy in Houston

Hi All,
I know that a lot of us experience dry skin and itchiness. My skin
is dry but that is not really a big issue. The problem is when I
excercise. Whenever I do I become unbearably itchy. I have even
broke out in teeny tiny blisters. Has anyone else experienced this?
Why is this happening and what can I do?
Kelly
Lap RNY 9/30/02
367 consult
319 surgery
254 (as of yesterday)

Every doctor has different post-op eating rules. My doctor says to avoid all
carbs and sugars. I didn’t have any for the first 5 months. I’ve just started
to add some carbs (crackers, wholewheat bread) and fruit (melon and berries) on
an occasional basis. I’ve also noticed that my weight loss has slowed down, so
I’m going to cut them out again. It seems to me that since we absorb sugar 100%
and store carbs and sugars as fat, that it would make sense to avoid them.
Also, eating whole fruit is better than drinking fruit juice. I’m sure other
people will have other opinions.
Judy
Lap RNY 7/23/02
53/5′3″/257/186/1??
-44 inches
[Moderator’s note: Members are cautioned to consult with their physicians before
undertaking any radical diet plans–such as entirely eliminating any class of
nutrients. Yes, your body needs even carbs and fats…]

Hi All !
I was just curious about something I experienced last night. I had
eaten some pasta and two small meatballs for dinner. Immediately
afterwards, my heart began racing and I could feel the adrenaline
rushing thru my body. This lasted for about 15 mins and then I began to
get the shakes and then I fell asleep. I felt like I was gonna die!
Could this have been a re-action to the carbs in the pasta? I dont want
to experience that again!!
Thanks for any advice that you can pass along.
~Janice ~
Lap RNY 11-15-02
-60+ lbs

I am in the process of getting all my info together for an initial
consult. I do have been told by a CSR at BCBS that I do have a
benefit for WLS. It must be preauthorized and she did not know what
the “criteria” was but gave me a # to call. I thought the surgeons
office would take care of it but after reading the Weight Loss
Surgery book by Michelle Boasten, I am rethinking that I have a lot
of work to do. I understand from the book that bcbs will be far from
amenable even though I stand to lose 200#’s and had a recent
arthroscopy for a torn meniscus in my left knee, am waiting to have
surgery on the right knee until I lose some weight. Anybody have any
experience with BCBS PPO to share? Thanks Joanne