anninva

Hi guys! Trying to get this convo started again! I think the Lebanese Taverna is a great idea and hope we'll still be able to get together (at least some of us) even though summer is upon us. chime in with dates. i like the idea of a saturday and will be out of town june 24 - july 2. would REALLY love to get together with other sleevers in the area!!!! Ann

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: let's see what we can plan! my surgery was 1/10 at Sibley, love Dr. Long and the rest of the staff, had a rough second night but feel great now. not sure how we can get together (i'm not a great planner!). does anyone have an idea????? wooo-hooo!

help! all Protein drinks and powders make me sick to my stomach and i've tried 'em all. i have tons of the stuff and can't use any of it!! any ideas for protein supplementation????? thanks!!!

no doubt -- the first few weeks absolutely suck. i also can't take the Protein, any kind. taste okay going in and then just make me wanna die. do try to keep drinking anything that's palatable to you -- my doc says the main reason WLS people go back into the hospital is dehydration. good luck and ((((((((((hugs))))))))))

the beginning is really hard. the whole first 2 weeks when i couldn't eat anything i just kept seeing Subway and Pizza Hut ads on TV and it was killing me!!!! this too shall pass. soon it will be trying to limit yourself to how much you eat -- before you know it! ((((((((hugs))))))))

woman, you have lost a tremendous amount of weight and are to be congratulated. and it doesn't surprise me that at 8 mos out this is particularly hard to resist -- the honeymoon period, or so i'm told is over and the hard stuff starts. i'm still only almost 3 mos out and i can feel the cravings coming back already. sigh. but every time i really screw up, my friend the nurse practitioner who runs my surgery program says "hey, i'm not telling you to never go to McDonald's again. Skinny people do it. it's about portion control." so, that makes me feel better about the 300 cal jr cheeseburger i had from wendy's last weekend. don't know if any of this helps. obviously i haven't gotten as far as you have, so no comparison, but . . . i think you're doing great against a foe we all battle or else we wouldn't be here!!!

it does get better. i'm close to 3 mos out and can eat almost anything -- just not much. if you're just "spitting up" your food it may be too much too fast, but if you're really vomiting then it's good that you called your doc. you might want to sip chicken broth -- not sweet and it's also warm. good luck!

hey! it might work as wallpaper paste! i like it with some sugar free smuckers raspberry jam in it and my NUT said it was actually okay to eat the flavored ones. there are different kinds that you might like though -- or not. i agree about root beer by the way! good luck! think i'll eat some now (or put up some wallpaper!)

Hi all! had my sleeve done 1/10 with dr. long at sibley. couldn't be more pleased with him, the job he did, and the folks at the weight loss center!! i've lost 39 lbs and very pleased with that, though not as fast as some people. can't stomach Protein shakes (literally make me sick) so i've got tons of those and nothing to do with them. anyone need samples? seems like we could figure out a way to get together. now, arlington seems like the best place in the middle of f-burg and md, but that's just me. what do you guys think?!?!? so glad to see another sibley pt on here!!! love the program and would recommend to anyone in dc area!!! c'mon, let's figure out a time to get together!!!! ann

good posts as we hang together!! my surgery is monday (it's tuesday as i write this) and i'm mildly freaking out. mostly i'm having a really hard time with the protein shakes. sick, sick, sick yesterday. going really slow today and hoping it will be better. anyone else having this problem?!?!? called the surgeon's office in tears this morning, talked to my fave nurse (i love him!) and felt much better afterwords. come on 1/10!!!!!! hugs to all,

I'm sorry your husband seems like he's not with it on this. i hope he'll be supportive!!!! of course, only you know how things work around your house! being at the clinic for a week actually sounds like a good idea -- i'm in and out in 2 days if all goes well. 11 days 'til my surgery -- yikes!!!!!!!!! good, good luck and keep posting 'til you're off on your great adventure. this is NOT an easy way out of weight loss and you deserve to get all good things from it!!!!!

hi all! sorry i haven't been around much! my date is fast approaching (1/10) and i'm really starting to get nervous, like last meal this and last meal that. wasn't as good at christmas as i wanted to be (doughnuts, chocolate cake) but i guess it still wasn't as bad as it could have been. sigh. anyone else out there getting the willies????? gotta keep remembering that this is the beginning of a new life and that it's exciting, not just scary!!!!! let's rock those sleeves!!!!

Nikki -- welcome!!! i haven't been around much, but this is such a cool list. pre-op testing may be blood tests, talking to surgeon about what he or she is going to do, recovery, etc. do you go on the liquid diet immediately? i'm getting sleeved the 10th and i'm on liquids starting monday! 2011 is going to rock for us!!!

I'm so excited to see other 1/10-ers!!!! actually cool to see all the january babies. i can't believe it's 26 days 'til my surgery and so much of that is taken up with holidays that it will be here sooner than i can imagine!!!!!!! i can't remember if we can pm on this site, but any 1/10 folks pm me and we can all keep in touch!!!!!!! we're going to rock those sleeves in 2011!!!!!

I'm all set for January 10. Have my pre-op 12/23 and start liquids 1/2. very excited to finally have a date. crazy time working it out with work!! woooo-hooo!!!!

shannon -- you have my love and i know how hard it is to focus one's love on oneself. i'm right there with you. the talking-to-different-parts-of-yourself therapy can be really powerful. i recently used it to combat some old traumatic stuff and it actually worked! for me, too, it was a question of figuring out why i was holding on to whatever bad things part of me felt like "she" had to hold on to. i'm not going to give any advice other than to think of kind things and advice you'd give a friend if she were having the same problems you are and then really try doing it. ((((((((((hugs))))))))))

that's absolutely fabulous!!!!!!!!!!! you're such an inspiration. i can just see myself getting out of the 20's and into the teens!!!!! i'm waiting for okay from insurance co. sigh. i hope you're super proud of yourself!!!!!

Congrats!!!!! Very exciting!!! i'm hoping that my proposed surgery date goes thru and i'll be starting pre-op in exactly a month! fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly with my ins and i get my 12/13 date!!!! so glad things are finally moving for you!!!!

hi all! so excited that i have a surgery date -- 12/13!!!!!!!! i talked to surgery coordinator yesterday (i called her just as she was about to call me -- spooky) and she was about to submit my file for pre-authorization and wanted to set surgery date. also set pre-op, post-op appointments as well. trying not to get excited b/c it still hasn't gone thru insurance, but still!!!!!!! i can't believe i've gotten this far. i really, really want it to go thru ins now and to be able to move forward!!!! what do you think? possible to go thru the first time?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? wooooo-hooooo!!!!!!! :)

Hi everyone! I've posted before but wanted to start a new thread, telling my story. I've been through the mill so far. finally chose a surgeon about a few weeks ago and went in for my consults last week. had the usual worries: my bmi has to be over 50 for my ins to cover vsg and i was worried it would be 50 or less. i wasn't worried about the other consults, but maybe i should have been. went thru them all, nutritionist, trainer, psych. i've got a kind of funky psych history, though i've been great the last two years. well, that blew up in my face, so i spent the last two days in a total adrenaline fueled state of high anxiety. really bad. psych had to talk to my therapist, the whole nine yards, and then THEY had to make a recommendation about whether i was fit for surgery. awful, awful couple of days -- sick, couldn't sleep, etc. However!! Got word on Weds afternoon from psych that he had decided to clear me, FNP who runs program called me Weds evening told me he would recommend vsg or rny NOT band, which seemed to be what psych was going to recommend (though not what he does, after all) and that i needed to pick one. so, i said VSG!!!!!! FNP called me yesterday to go over my chart, my bmi is 50.77 which he says is "over" enough that ins will cover and he told me i only need one more piece of info before submission to ins co -- letter from pcp saying i was a good candidate. i know he'll write it b/c i went to see him before i even started going to seminars. so, i seem to be on the road . . . hard to believe!!!!!!! finally starting to sink in today and i'm finally off the roller coaster and feeling hopeful and relaxed!!!! sorry this is so long!! thank you for reading!!!! hope to have more news soon! Ann

thanks so much for your post. i'm just in the pre-op stage and it's vital for me (and others who are just starting out) to be reminded that this is serious surgery and that we will be living altered lives for the rest of our lives. it's easy to read about success stories, but so important to hear the other side of the coin as well. i'm so sorry that things suck so much right now. it just sounds awful. lots of good ideas from others, so i won't go into advice that i'm not even qualified to give, but it does seem like your surgeon sucks at aftercare and i wonder if another doc would help?? take good care. you are in my thoughts.

hi all, just wanted to let you know that i've chosen a program here in the dc metro area and have my first set of tests and consultations next tuesday!! i'm so excited to have the ball rolling!!! next worry is insurance and hoping my humungous bmi qualifies me and that the insurance folks can get me int!!! after that, who knows? i'll really be pre-op and have tons of questions. i'm very excited to be having the vsg (i hope!!!) and joining the vsg world!!! and away we goooooooooooo!!!!! :scared0: :001_smile:

hi all, i'm in arlington and still gong to endless seminars. i'd love to know which programs people have used. hated arlington/va hospital ctr seminar, and they've only done 12 anyway, loved sibley in dc, but they've only done 7, didn't want rny from gw, though great program, and now going to seminar at fairfax next week. i'm exhausted!!!!!!! would love to get in touch with some local folks! :thumbup1:

thanks for the info! i just signed up for a seminar on the 25th. i'm hoping that i'll just be able to go with fairfax hospital since . . . well i just want to get moving -- i'm very antsy. good luck on the 15th!!!

sorry for the cross post (didn't see this part of the forum at first! :-) ) i'm desperately looking for an experienced surgeon in the dc metro area. i think there is a program at fairfax hospital, but i'm afraid they only do vbg which i don't want to have!! so, any info about that hospital and vsg OR programs in nearby maryland (like balto) would be much appreciated! i'm excited to be here! thanks for your help!!! ann :thumbup1::confused1::thumbup: