Meanderings...

carolanne said:

Peggy, the analogy the psych eval guy made with me is that the surgery changes your hardware, but you must work to change your software.

That's a great analogy.

drummerboy said:

Yeah, I'm not averse to therapy if I see that I'm having problems maintaining the weight loss long term. As far as I know it's not required, though. Most insurance companies do require a psych evaluation pre-surgery though, and I guess I passed mine.

There are few standards for post surgery care, I'm finding out. Some surgeons have an extensive support system, like mine. Some doctors just operate surgery mills, leaving the patient to kind of flounder on their own post-surgery.

You practically have to be psychotic in order to fail a psych evaluation for surgery. Both the patient and the doctor want it, and the evaluator rarely stands in the way.

Jasmo said:

drummerboy said:

Yeah, I'm not averse to therapy if I see that I'm having problems maintaining the weight loss long term. As far as I know it's not required, though. Most insurance companies do require a psych evaluation pre-surgery though, and I guess I passed mine.

There are few standards for post surgery care, I'm finding out. Some surgeons have an extensive support system, like mine. Some doctors just operate surgery mills, leaving the patient to kind of flounder on their own post-surgery.

You practically have to be psychotic in order to fail a psych evaluation for surgery. Both the patient and the doctor want it, and the evaluator rarely stands in the way.

Thank you for that vote of confidence. And here I thought I had accomplished something. ;-)

drummerboy said:

Thank you for that vote of confidence. And here I thought I had accomplished something. ;-)

DB, of course I was being a bit facetious, but you have accomplished something by researching the issue carefully and making an important decision for yourself. Best wishes with it.

I know you were. I was just facetious-ing you back a bit. Thanks for the support.

Though on the forums there are people that have failed the psyche eval, though it's hard to get details as to why. Doesn't happen often. Again, it's another place where there are no standards. Some people report having to fill out an inventory of about 400 questions, and that's it. In my case, it was a more traditional therapy session, though obviously focused about the issue at hand, but it was all talking, no written exam.

I had to do both. Questionnaire and meeting.

This report was just published on Medline Plus. I know, drummerboy, that you're doing all you can and will be wise; I'm just putting the link here in case you missed it, and for others to read.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_148736.html

joanne said:

This report was just published on Medline Plus. I know, drummerboy, that you're doing all you can and will be wise; I'm just putting the link here in case you missed it, and for others to read.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_148736.html

No, thanks for the link. I hadn't heard about that, and the link between inadequate nutrition and complications is interesting (and obvious when you think about it). Plastic surgery after dramatic weight loss is a distinct possibility - I'm hoping that the fact that I've haven't been this overweight my whole life has left some elasticity in my skin so that it's not a big problem, but we shall see.

Thank you for understanding the spirit in which I posted - I was worried it might be misunderstood. It's hard when we don't know each other as neighbours.

The report highlighted to me how important it is to make sure that both nutrition and exercise are as good as possible, at all stages of the process, so that every body system can heal as completely and safely as possible. Plus, how easily it is for an infection to slip in because one thing is overlooked and then it all spirals out-of-control.

Such a voyage of discovery, in so many ways!

Yes, exercise is an important part of the post-op protocol, as is monitoring for proper nutrients and protein amounts. A lot of doctors promote the use of protein shakes to make sure you get enough protein, and a rule of the post-op diet is protein first. Regular blood tests are also part of the protocol for the better doctors.

As for exercise, I don't do much at the moment, except for a couple of hours of racquetball a week. (And that's pretty tough on me. My post-game appearance has kind of scared a few onlookers because my face is so red and I'm so out of breath, I guess it looks like I'm about to collapse or something.) Anything else is simply too painful. The strains that obesity place on the body are many, and have sort of come as a surprise to me, as they've only become apparent in the past few years. But I get out of breath walking around a mall and my joints constantly ache and I usually need to take stairs one at a time, even coming down. Sometimes I feel like I'm 80 years old. A bad 80 years old. No offense to you 80 year-olders who get around just fine.

But I'm looking forward to being more active post-op. I'm looking forward to playing racquetball up to my ability, not hampered by having to carry all of this extra weight. I'm looking forward to getting back on a bicycle. And I'm looking forward to not having to ask my friends to slow down as I walk with them.

DB, mind if I ask? Sounds like your weight has been increasing over time. Other than an aging metabolism, anything in particular you attribute it to?

(Sorry if you mentioned already and I missed it.)

Really not sure. The gain started some years after the birth of my son (he's now 20) and the onset of my taking anti-depressants. While my diet is not great, it's been hard to reconcile it to my gains. It seems to have gotten worse as my diabetes got worse, and worse still when I started taking insulin. My body already produces a ton of insulin. I'm very, very insulin resistant, and I take insulin to overwhelm that resistance, so I have to take a lot.

I'm kind of a mess.

But I don't know if I'm just trying to rationalize my weight gain or not. It could be just that I've been eating too damn much for too damn long. If you put on 10lbs a year for 15 years, that's 150 lbs. My gain hasn't been that steady, but you get the idea.

I hear ya, and 10 lbs a year isn't difficult. My weight can swing 20lbs between summer and winter in any given year.

I should know better than to buy peaches in October. Yuck.

Well, yeah.

Best of luck drummerboy .. I hope everything works out :X

PeggyC said:

Well, yeah.

But why do they try to fool me like that?

HarleyQuinn said:

Best of luck drummerboy .. I hope everything works out :X

Thanks. Starting to get a little nervous as December approaches.

It's natural to feel a bit nervous but I'm confident everything will turn out great ><

DB, you'll do great! Mine was Dec 30th. Celebrating a new year with a new me was great.

I can understand feeling nervous... surgery is never a "little" thing, and embarking on this project is quite momentous. But I am sure the surgery will go beautifully and that you will be thrilled you did it as you start to see results. It's a real life changer, and while that's a terrific thing, it's also unnerving to take a big step like this.

Besides, you'll have all of MOL sending positive vibes your way ... can you feel the woo??

ack! I've discovered infomercials on youtube. I love infomercials. I can watch people using kitchen gadgets all day. Ron Popeil is my hero. (except for that weird hair-in-a-can thing)

DB, I'm really starting to worry about you...

drummerboy said:

ack! I've discovered infomercials on youtube. I love infomercials. I can watch people using kitchen gadgets all day. Ron Popeil is my hero. (except for that weird hair-in-a-can thing)

)

I used to hate infomercials and used to despise Ron Popeil. And then I read a profile of him somewhere and it turns out he invented all of these gadgets and he was a real self-made guy and innovator. I've come to appreciate the infomercial as a unique American art form and Popeil as the inventor of it.

Don't get me wrong - some of them really suck and are stupid as hell. And a lot are so bad they're funny. But the good ones are really entertaining and move along with a quick rhythm. They're much better than most sitcoms that are out there today. Or maybe I'm just weird.

c'mon, don't you want to buy one of these? I know I do.

This gets extra points for being dubbed, and for the various grunts and groans of the female host.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHOVd5ufo4

But can it core a apple?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22oCaiccz3w&sns=em

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGo7W_mbWCE

Could be woo and is definitely preliminary but sources look not bad:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/526739/Sunlight-key-fighting-diabetes-Scots-scientists-reveal

Sunlight is key to fighting childhood obesity and diabetes, Scots scientists reveal

SPENDING more time in the sun could be the key to beating obesity and diabetes.

By: Jo WilleyPublished: Fri, October 24, 2014
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weight gain, metabolism, sunlight, nitroic oxide, released to sunlight, summer sun, cream, type 2 diabetesSoak up the sun rays to slow weight gain and control metabolism[PA]

A natural gas called nitric oxide, which is released by the skin after exposure to sunlight, helps people to control their metabolism and slow weight gain.

Rubbing a cream containing nitric oxide on to the skin can have the same effect, experts from the University of Edinburgh have found.

The discovery could lead to a treatment that halts the progress of Type 2 diabetes, which is fuelled by obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle and costs the NHS £9billion a year.

Scientists from Edinburgh and Southampton, led by colleagues at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia, found applying nitric oxide to the skin of overfed mice had the same effect of curbing weight gain as exposing them to ultra-violet light.

The mice displayed fewer warning signs of diabetes, such as abnormal glucose levels and resistance to insulin.

The findings, published in the journal Diabetes, show the benefits of moderate exposure to the sun’s rays....

Sunlight exposure is definitely an area I need to work on. I tend to have low Vitamin D levels and have to take supplements.

Why is my pistachio muffin bright green? Why is green associated with pistachio nuts? Why is the only nut in my pistachio muffin a walnut?