2bslimkim

I've been on my liquid pre-op diet since Monday and I seriously just asked my husband if maybe "wine" could be considered one of my liquids. It's our 15 yr anniversary Monday (yes my surgery date) and I just feel like we should at least have a glass (or two) of wine together. I have to give my hubby a shout-out... 15 yrs ago I weighed 119 lbs (i'm 5'5") and over the years and 2 kids later I've ballooned up to 215 (age 47) and I truly feel he loves me every bit as much (if not more) than he did the day we said "I Do".

My surgery is also on Monday... I started my liquid diet on Monday but have only lost 5 lbs. I'm jealous Good luck. This weekend will be the hardest for me on the Liquid diet. Monday is my anniversary and I feel like I should party one last time.....

awwww.. What did you eat first? My surgery date is Monday and i'm getting really really bored of the liquid diet. I'm afraid I will be so sick of broth and jello by next week I won't want anything liquid after the surgery. Cottage cheese actually sounds good today and I hate cottage cheese.

I'm on pre-op day 3 and like you I had my period last week. I'm glad it will not come during the weeks right after surgery. I had my gall bladder out last year and the day I got home from the hospital I started my period. At least I had good meds. the worst part is i'm an Advil person for cramps and switching to Tylenol was not as effective. I think I mentioned that I made my own vegetable broth and that has been a god-send. I used onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery, carrots, some fresh herbs and seasoning, cooked it down for about an hour then strained it. Lots of flavor. I cheated and added a small touch of soy sauce today to give it a flavor more like wonton Soup. play with it a bit to get it to your liking but its slow to eat and fills a void of salty style foods. I'm not a sweet eater so while the shakes work I get tired of the sweet. I do think it is getting easier. I just had to order a cheese thin crust pizza for my 12 yr old and didn't even sniff it. Usually i would have had a piece. hang in there.... Hey. Bonus I've lost 5 lbs in the first 2 days. I'm hoping for 7 lbs total before surgery. Only 2 more to go in 5 days. Fingers crossed

I'm right behind on Monday. Best wishes

Best of luck.... keep us posted on your recovery

Day two came with a headache but I just popped a couple Tylenal and I feel much better. I weighed 3.5 lbs less this morning than yesterday so that is good. The weekend will be the hardest. I'm a wino (especially the weekends). I'm also still cooking for the family. My husband is meet and potatoes and my son is a vegetarian (go figure). They would starve to dealth before they would cook themselfs a meal. The 12 yr old would live on poptarts and popcorn and my husband would be at KFC buying the bucket if I didn't cook for them. I did make myself some wonderful vegetable brooth using onions, garlic, thyme, bay leave, oregano, mushrooms, carrots, & celery. I let it cook down and strained it and it was so much better than the store bought and really pretty easy. I brought some to work and all the other ladies agreed it was a wonderful Soup base. More fun to come..... Sunday will be Laxative Sunday... WooHoo!

I made my own broth that tastes much better that the store bought. All i did was use one onion, garlic cloves, 3 carats, 3 stalks of celery, fresh thyme, two bay leaves and a hand full of mushrooms. I did saute the onions in about a teaspoon of olive oil browning them with the mushrooms and garlic cloves. I didn't use a recipe so change anything to taste. I use a little salt and pepper for seasoning. full pot with Water and let simmer for about an hour. It was great. So much better than store bought and it really didn't take much time at all.

Well, I said goodbye to all my favorite food friends this past week and i'm now mentally ready for the challanges ahead. I started my liquid diet today (so far so good). I'm sure I will be so tired of protien drinks by the end of the week. Does wine count as part of my liquid diet (JUST KIDDING ) I do know better than that. My starting weight today was 215, i'm 5'5" tall and my age is 48 (in a month). My goal will be to get back to 125 (where I was till I had my 2nd child at age 35). I know it will be a challange. I know I will have to use willpower I have never tapped into before. I know I will need to embrace exercise. I'm ready, set, go! Thank you to all who post. I've have been reading everything I can when I can to help prepair myself for this adventure. Your wisdoms and experiences are priceless.

Well, I said goodbye to all my favorite food friends this past week and i'm now mentally ready for the challanges ahead. I started my liquid diet today (so far so good). I'm sure I will be so tired of protien drinks by the end of the week. Does wine count as part of my liquid diet (JUST KIDDING ) I do know better than that. My starting weight today was 215, i'm 5'5" tall and my age is 48 (in a month). My goal will be to get back to 125 (where I was till I had my 2nd child at age 35). I know it will be a challange. I know I will have to use willpower I have never tapped into before. I know I will need to embrace exercise. I'm ready, set, go! Thank you to all who post. I've have been reading everything I can when I can to help prepair myself for this adventure. Your wisdoms and experiences are priceless.

P.S. The pre diet is to help shrink the liver which is positioned in front of the stomach before surgery.

Hi I'm self pay and scheduled for surgery Feb. 28. Here is what i've had to do. I attended a seminar Jan 28. Met with surgeon Feb. 7th. He scheduled Surgery for Feb. 28 Did Upper GI and labs on Feb. 10 Did Pre-op check in at the surgical center which included EKG, Labs (again) and Chest X-Ray On Feb. 18 Had sonogram on legs and met with Nutritionist also on Feb. 18. at the Dr.'s office Paid Surgeon's fees of $5500. during the visit at the Dr. office I was asked to start a 7 day pre-surgery liquid diet consisting of Protein Meal Replacement drinks @800 cals per day Starting on Feb. 21st. (i'm now saying good bye to all my favorite foods) My surgeon felt I was to high functioning to need a psych evaluation. If all test are OK, I should expect a call from the Surgical center on the 27th telling me what time to be at the hospital the morning of my surgery. I will need to bring a cashiers check for the balance of my surgery (the hospitals fees) in the amount of $7000.00 Since i'm self pay... the amount of money i'm paying at the surgical center includes 2 nights stay so I plan on taking advantage of that. I was given a lot of reading material so i'm in the process of making sure I have everything I need at my house for my return from the hospital and I will pre-pack my hospital bag several days before my surgery. I hope this helps. If I missed something please ask.. Good luck. Kim

My surgery date is also Feb. 28 in Dallas TX

i'm not a dude nor have I been sleeved yet but I have had emergency Gall Bladder and appendix surgery and If they ever cath'ed me they removed it before I woke up. Just request that. I've had lots of surgery's between C-sections, Knee surgery x2, emergency Tubal Ligation, ovarian cyst removed, appendix, and gallbladder and I never remember having a catheter. Also, one other note. My husband has passed several kidney stones and says to tell you that the Cath is nothing. He had to have a stint surgically inserted into his "junk" (to pass the kidney stones) and decided to get a vacectomy (spelling?) at the same time and he said it was all good under the right drugs...

I went to my seminar two weeks ago tomorrow. I was supposed to meet with my Dr. last Thursday but due to weather it was postponed. I went to my Dr. yesterday and met with him and his nurse (total visit about an hour and 1/2 ). I paid $3000. down as a deposit. Total Sleeve cost in a really nice Dallas surgical location is $12,500. Based on my previous medical history (no sleep problems, no high blood pressure, no acid reflux etc. ) he said he would only need blood work and a UGI and that he would go ahead and schedule my surgery for Feb. 28th. He said he felt I was to high functioning to need a Psychological consult, no pre-diet was mentioned and that he would arrange a Dietitian to go over all my new diet requirements. I was told to try to have my insurance cover my labs so to call my normal family Dr. and ask for the lab work to be ran thru them and he also allowed me to shop the best cost on the UGI. As long as there are no problems with either the surgery will be Feb. 28th (my anniversary). I will now wait for a call from the Hospital to arrange a pre-surgical check in and to make my final payment. I'm to expect a one night stay at http://www.forestparkmc.com/ . Wish me luck!

Mine got rescheduled for next Tuesday the 8th.

So Sorry to hear that. I'm probably going to have to reschedule mine as well. Mine is for 9am tomorrow and i bet the roads will still be a mess and it wouldn't surprise me if schools are not open till at least 10am. We are experiencing rolling blackouts in Fort Worth. Our office has been without elec since early this morning and our home has already gone thru 2 black outs so far. I'm like you, i have been looking forward to my appt all week and now it might be another week. My Dr. is only in his Fort Worth office 2 days per week. He is with Baylor Health care. i'm so bored and i tend the mindless munch when i'm bored. Keep me updated. Kim

There are four international ports of entry connecting Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas, including the Bridge of the Americas, Ysleta International Bridge, Paso Del Norte Bridge, and Stanton Street Bridge, which combined were responsible for 22,958,472 crossings in 2008,[5] making Ciudad Juarez a major point of entry and transportation for all of central northern Mexico. The city has a growing industrial center which is made up in large part by more than 300 maquiladoras (assembly plants) located in and around the city. According to a 2007 New York Times article, Ciudad Juárez "is now absorbing more new industrial real estate space than any other North American city."[2] In 2008, FDi Magazine designated Ciudad Juárez "The City of the Future".[6] However, the city is also the site of widespread poverty and violence, including an infamous series of unsolved murders of female factory workers.[7] The violence generated by the drug war translated into more than 2,600 killings in 2008. More than 1,600 of them occurred in Juárez, three times more than the most murderous city in the United States.[8] And that number of killings increased to 2,600 in 2009.[9]In 2010, 3,075 homicides took place in Juárez. This has led to a homicide rate of 229 killings per 100,000 inhabitants[10]. In response, business groups in Juárez have called for UN intervention.[11]

It is very dangerous in Juarez. Thousand have been kidnapped and murdered. We live with the news daily in Texas. Boarder towns and ranches deal with it on a daily basis as well. Travel to Mexico for Texans usually is very inexpensive and fun but most will not even travel to the resorts now. My son is in the Military (overseas duty) and when he came home for a view weeks he was told "NOT" to travel into Mexico. I'm just curious as to how much cheaper the surgery is in Mexico. I'm only paying $12,500. for my Dallas surgeon and Hospital. It must be a huge saving for someone to risk their life traveling into and out of Mexico. I can't say i'd do it. I was hoping to hear some responses with safety and security promises from the Dr's and Hospital.

Did they ever mention Safety with you when you made your Surgical plans?

I'm in the Frozen tundra of Fort Worth.... Dr. Gregory Barnes is my Dr. and most like I will have my surgery at Forrest Park Medical across from Medical Plaza Hosp. in Dallas

I live in TEXAS and live daily with the news of the horrible murders and criminal stuff that is going on across our border due to the drug cartel. Can anyone tell me what kind of assurance the Mexico Dr.'s are offering as far as security crossing the border. I have not seen anyone bring this up but it has to be of some major concern. It is crazy unsafe across the Texas borders (or so the media has us believing). Thanks

Thank you..... i'm in Texas. I'm a little nervous about going across the border so I think i'll stick with the Dr's in the states. Sounds like you got it all taken care of in about a month.

Will do.... I'm ready to get this moving. I love to swim and i've read that you much be out of the Water for 4 weeks (however with my Gall Bladder is was only 2 weeks). But it would be nice to spend the summer wearing smaller clothes. Nothing like a swim suit to get one motivated to lose weight. My appt is at 9am. I will try to update when i get back to my office. Good Luck!

Since my insurance company will not cover my surgery, I'm a self pay patient. I have only gone to the seminar but have my first Dr.'s appt. this Thursday morning. At the seminar, the Dr. hinted that self-pay patience went thru the process from seminar to surgery much quicker. Does anyone have experience with the time frame for self-pay patients. How long did it take from seminar to surgery, what pre-op tests were required, did you still do a pre-op diet (how long). How was you overall self-pay experience? Thanks you so much