What Would You Do If....

[bigcraig]

My wife had the gastric sleeve surgery and was free of pain in a few weeks. She has lost over 80 pounds and several inches but has gained lots of energy. Do the cruise and have fun!

Awesome, how long did it take her to drop 80 lbs?

[In2why]

You had a cruise booked for June 15 2012 and just found out your bariatric weight loss surgery has been approved and surgery is set for mid March?

 

I have jumped through all the hoops the insurance company required and have all finances in order after a little over a year, we promised DD this for graduation.

 

I usually cruise for food and now worry about what I will be able to find to stick to my goal plus not sure if I will still be recovering/in pain?? We have until March 31 to cancel but family would not be happy.

 

 

I wouldn't cancel, but you need to be aware that this will be a different type of cruise then you are used to. You will have less energy, and will need to take it a bit easier. If you overeat, you will vomit, and perhaps even need medical care, so that isn't even an option. Once you lose the weight you are going to have a lot of skin that you are still carrying around, so you won't know what clothes to buy until right before hand. You will need to buy clothes in stages, so don't buy too many and make sure they are versatile. Congrats on your surgery and I wish you the best of luck. My SIL had it done and the first year was tough, but now 4 years later it has changed her life, and was the best thing she could have ever done for her health and her state of mind.

[In2why]

Also I don't know if this is always the case, but she is now the cheapest drunk I have ever seen. Half a glass of wine and she is loopy. Perhaps it is just her, but I think it has something to do with the bypass?

[LovesCruising]

Thanks for all the kind words, I should also mention that the intial weight loss is fast, will probably be down 100 lbs by cruise time, just wondering how baggy my clothes will be? I am starting at an embarrasing high weight(over 500:()so I hate to buy a bunch of new clothes right off the bat.

 

Unfortunetly I cannot delay the surgery, you would not believe what it took to get to this point.

The insurance required 6 months of nutritional counseling, excercise class, physchological exams, etc etc, than they found out my plan only covers stomach stapling(no one does this anymore)it took 6 more months to get an exception than they put a $15K limit on it while the total cost is $50-65K. The hospital and doctor agreed to do mine gratis over the $15K, something to do with government funding requires a few freebies per year and I was chosen as this is a life threatening condition.

 

Oh My Gosh - do this for YOU! You will be so happy you did.

Go on the cruise with a new outlook. You can still enjoy food - just don't over do and watch your portion control - I know easier said than done - but you will be on a new road to LIFE! I have a son who's weight keeps escalating and I wish he was making the move you are!

As far as clothes - buy some basic mix and match items. You will feel so much better about your self if you look nice as well. Doesn't have to be expensive items. Go and enjoy - best wishes!

[BeccaBecca1713]

You will have been post surgery for a few months and your new eating lifestyle should be at least somewhat routine by then. I'd personally use the cruise as a test to see if you really do change your lifestyle. Many folks have these surgeries and think it's the magic trick and will no longer have issues. So not the case. You're gonna encounter temptations for the rest of your life and you gotta start somewhere. And just think how much more comfortable you'll feel on the cruise with an already large amount of weight lost!

 

Good Luck!!

[smurfm69]

Awesome, how long did it take her to drop 80 lbs?

 

It took her about 5 months to lose the 80 pounds. She was not as big as you are so I am guessing that you will perhaps lose even more in that same time frame. Don't give up, listen to all the doctor's and psychiatrist's advice, and you will be fine. She ended up having the surgery almost a year later than she wanted to because of all the bs in dealing with the insurance. You will not regret your decision though. You will look and feel like a whole new person!

[bigcraig]

Also I don't know if this is always the case, but she is now the cheapest drunk I have ever seen. Half a glass of wine and she is loopy. Perhaps it is just her, but I think it has something to do with the bypass?

Luckily I do not drink often or much, but when I do it will be cool to be a cheap drunk;)

[bigcraig]

It took her about 5 months to lose the 80 pounds. She was not as big as you are so I am guessing that you will perhaps lose even more in that same time frame. Don't give up, listen to all the doctor's and psychiatrist's advice, and you will be fine. She ended up having the surgery almost a year later than she wanted to because of all the bs in dealing with the insurance. You will not regret your decision though. You will look and feel like a whole new person!

Thank s for replying so fast, my surgery date is March 21 2012 @ 1pm, I am going to do a youtube diary and will post the link asap.

 

Oh and tell me about the insurance companies ughhhh, after a year of dealing with all the hoops they put me through than half way through it changed to stomach stapling only(no one does this anymore-not even in Mexico or Costa Rica)my companies HR & CEO got involved and allowed me an exception with the plan allowing only 15K for EVERYTHING...Thankfully my Dr & Hospital are donating all there services beyond the 15k and up to 90 days of post op at no charge to me. THANK YOU WHC

[Valmcp]

You can do it! Just be very careful what you eat. you'll find that some things be more difficult to eat than others. By June, you will know what you can handle and what you can't. My husband had a January surgery and we cruised I think 3 months after. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy because it was not.It was a challenge but we made it work. He could tolerate eggs very well. That was his "go to" meal. He tried little bits of mostly everything.For some reason ,chicken was very difficult and so were creamy soups and he still has problems with those. Also make sure you let the maitre d know because the waiter always thought there was an issue with the food,this way there will be no embarrassing comments or explanations necessary. We also limited our main meals to the dining room.Less chance of overeating than if you go to the buffet. We still cruise every year, It's been 5yrs since his surgery and he has kept the weight off. He still has to be careful what he eats, he still attends a support group and he makes sure he carries little snacks( fat free string cheese) just in case we are somewhere and he has to eat. The thing he missed the most was beer. He could only drink flat beer and YUCK! that was NOT happening!He occasionally has a flavored vodka in an unsweetened iced tea but he has to be careful because the alcohol is absorbed VERY quickly!

It's a lifestyle change but it works as long as you follow the rules. I wish you the best in the coming months and hope you enjoy your cruise!

[lady_cruiser]

Thanks for all the kind words, I should also mention that the intial weight loss is fast, will probably be down 100 lbs by cruise time, just wondering how baggy my clothes will be? I am starting at an embarrasing high weight(over 500:()so I hate to buy a bunch of new clothes right off the bat.

 

You see - you already have something to look forward to; a new wardrobe to go with your new weight loss and daughter's graduation cruise :p

[LRY229]

How has your weight loss been since you are fairly recent? Did you have to do a strict pre-op diet? I am trying to find a protein shake that I can tolerate

 

Craig - I'm down almost 70 pounds. Its been almost 4 months since I started by preop diet and 3 1/2 since surgery. I didn't feel like my Drs plan was to difficult to follow. We weren't restricted to just liquids. We were able to have a dinner of 4oz protein, 1/2 cup veggies and 1/2 cup whole grain starch. Shakes for Breakfast & Lunch and yogurt for a morning snack and fruit and protein in the afternoon. I am actually now a huge greek yogurt fan (I missed that on my cruise but did eat the low fat on the ship).

 

I am still only able to eat 2-2.5 oz of protein and maybe 1-2 bites of veggies. One thing I will tell you is don't stock up on shakes - I had read this and it is so true. the ones I loved preop I couldn't stand post op. Your tastes really do change. Now I buy the Premier Protein premade shakes at Costco or Sams.

 

And as someone else posted, you may be more tired than on past cruises but you will have so much more energy to do things. I know I did. I just took a nap every afternoon.

 

Good Luck with this life changing journey. I am so happy I had my surgery. I feel so much better and am off my blood pressure meds.

[smurfm69]

My wife's has Blue Cross for insurance and they do not cover it. Fortunately, I have a different healthcare insurance that does cover it. I am proud of her and everyone else that does this surgery because it truly is a life changing and life saving procedure. The compliments from friends and relatives on how good you look will never get old.