Paul11011

Wednesday was my first day of "mushies" (2 weeks post-op). I chose to have mashed potatoes. I had no idea how much to expect to be able to eat. I got out a regular Cereal bowl and filled it about half full. My wife just shook her head and said, "No way, that's to much". I sat down with my taters and a dining spoon. My bites were about 1/2 of a spoon at a time. After about 8 or so bites I was stuffed, thought I had just finished Thanksgiving dinner. I looked down into my bowl and just started laughing. I had only eaten about 1/4 of what I had taken. Giggling I said, "Well looks like I have left overs for the rest of the week." The reality of how little volume it takes to get full is going to be a huge adjustment.

Today I had my 2 week post op visit. Part of the appointment was to meet with a dietitian and another patient. It was such a good experience speaking with someone who had also went though this procedure that I wanted to check out this forum.

My journey began when I visited my family doctor on Oct 14, 2010. I wanted to consult with her about weight loss options as I was nearly at the end of my rope with the yo-yo weight life style. 3 times in my 39 years I had lost 100+ lbs only to eventually gain it all back. I realized that if I had been fortunate to have not developed some of the horrible weight related illnesses like diabetes, but that I was realistically pushing my luck. It was time to take a more serious look at getting healthy for the rest of my life. She recommended that I contact Grand Health Partners (GHP) and specifically Dr. Randy Baker. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend an orientation the following day. Now others will have differing opinions by my belief was that this timing was put forth by God. Had I not been able to attend an orientation so quickly I'm sure that doubt and stubbornness would have crept in and I likely would have reconsidered. The orientation was terrific. It was very obvious that GHP was concerned with taking complete care of the patient. The list of on staff team members was most impressive. Not only did they have the expected surgeons and medical staff but they also had dietitians, exercise physiologist, and behaviorists in house. My initial meeting with Dr. Baker confirmed my beliefs about GHP that I had established from the orientation. Dr. Baker answered all of my questions and addressed all of my concerns. We discussed all of the available procedures and determined that the sleeve offered the best option for me. The time from that initial consultation to my 2 week post op visit today has been a whirlwind. For the sake of shortening this story, if that can be done at all at this point, I weight 66 lbs less today than I did on that fateful Oct day. I lost 28 lbs on the 2 week pre-op diet and now an additional 26 lbs since my procedure on Jan 10, 2011. I have a long road ahead but I know I can make it. Thank you for taking the time to read my introduction. I look forward to sharing with all of you and hope we can learn something from one another. Take care.