Bandme1

Awesome! You look great!

Oooooo, girl!!! Congrats!!!

You can either waste it in the trash or waste it on your waist. =) lol. That's what I try to tell myself. If I'm full, either way the food is going to be wasted. Wasted on excess calories or wasted in the trashbin. I'll give my trashcan those extra calories.

Okay the actual "comment" was really not that awful or harming, but it was just a reminder for me.

A man who has children at the same school my girls go to was walking by a few weeks ago and I hadn't seen him for a while. Just out of the blue he says "wow, looks like you have lost a lot of weight" and I mumbled a thank you and ended the conversation.

Most people would just consider this a compliment and move on. But the part that was a reminder to me, the slap in the face, that I took away from the comment was just the general fact that we cannot hide our obesity. I happen to know that this man is struggling with alcoholism right now, to the point that his wife asked him to move out and get treatment. I heard this from a 3rd party as I am not super close friends with this family. So his comment to ME, was akin to me walking by him and saying "looks like you been laying off the bottle!"

Of course I would NEVER say that to anyone, even if I did know that they were struggling with a problem. So why do people feel the need to comment on our weight loss, our body shape, etc. It's all visible, no hiding, you can't mask obesity like you can with other addictions, behaviors, or problems. Most of the issues that people have in their lives can be behind closed doors, where obesity is just screaming from your body everywhere you go, everything you do, etc.

I hope this makes sense.

That is SO true. Other people can hide their issues. We wear ours around our waist.

No, they totally discourage the Protein shakes. They don't want you to worry about Protein in the liquid stages. Just to stay hydrated. You are only on liquids after surgery for 2 weeks and then you can eat protein. They want you to eat it and not drink it.

I did do Isopure Water, but just a few days, that stuff is nasty. The Atkins drinks give me the runs and protein mixes are just nasty in general! I was glad they didn't want us to drink them, I couldn't!!

That pre-op diet that is in your binder REALLY WORKS!! Do it!! I lost 55lbs in 5 months doing it. They will require you to lose some weight anyway, so start now. They weighed you today and will go off that weight, so anything you lose from now until your surgeon visit will be counted.

Best of luck to you!!

Kelly

That is good to know! I plan on sticking to that diet to the T! My plan is to lose 15 pounds before my surgeon appointment. Ideally he will tell me he only wants me to lose 20 and will go ahead and book my psych consult but we'll see how that goes

I will definitely be drinking the Isopure like crazy post-op. (I actually love it. I know, I'm strange! lol. I think the alpine punch is quite tasty) I am so scared of not getting enough protein and losing my hair

Thanks for your tips! =) I would have never imagined they don't encourage Protein Shakes pre AND post-op!

Congrats on your orientation. I too, used Kaiser Richmond.

I am surprised that Robin (the nutritonist) did not throw that lady out!! They are all a no-nonsense type of group!!

Kaiser is super good about teaching you everything that you need to know. You will be well informed by the time you have your surgery. I had my surgery 15 days ago with Dr. Fisher, he is THA BOMB!!

Good luck to you in your journey!!

Kelly

I WISH she would have thrown her out. She was very disruptive and quite rude.

So far, I am thrilled with the staff in that department. Dr. Im came and spoke to our group and I am so glad he is my surgeon. Although I haven't met the others so I am sure I would be happy with whomever I got. I feel like I have all the information I need to succeed. They are definitely all about making sure you are educated. I have to admit, I did not learn anything new until the very end when they were reviewing the pre-op diet. I have done so much research on this forum and I love that the class was just a review for me. It made me appreciate this site even more and let me know that the information I've been gathering is correct and I am on the right track.

The only thing I thought was a little strange was the whole no Protein shake thing. That seemed a bit odd to me. The examples she gave were Slim Fast and Carnation Instant Breakfast which I wouldn't consider Protein shakes... Are you drinking any Protein Shakes?

Congrats on your new sleeve!! How exciting! You must be thrilled to be over the worst! =)

I had my 4-hour orientation at Kaiser Richmond today. The classroom was full and I was unfortunately sitting next to a HIGHLY obnoxious woman in the class. About an hour into the class she raises her hand and says "Ma'am? I am falling asleep over here." The nutritionist said "Okay, well we are about to take a break so you can take a short walk and maybe get a drink of water." The lady gets all angry and says "HOW SOME Water SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME STAY AWAKE? HMM???" What I really wanted to do was turn around and say "Well, why don't you just go home then and come back when you are prepared to stay awake!!" So we took a break and the woman leaves and comes back with a doughnut in a very loud paper wrapper and a frappuccino. SERIOUSLY!?

She kept asking irrelevant questions, too. At one point the nutritionist says "Before surgery, you will need to be sure you are up to date on all your routine screenings such as your PAP Smear, mammograms, that sort of thing." The lady raises her hand (I saw quite a few eyes roll) and says "Ma'am? How we supposed to get a pap smear if we don't have anything for them to be checking?"

Okay, first off... that's too much information. Second off, this is for general information and GENERAL questions. Just shut your mouth, write down your question and ask your doctor later.

Throughout the entire orientation, she was talking very loudly with the woman next to her about how it's ridiculous that you can't eat bread or rice and how she doesn't think it's right that she should have to go without sugar.

It is just terribly frustrating to want something so bad and see people around me who have the opportunity but do not seem to grasp the concept that this is a gift. A TOOL to be utilized. Not some magic fat-be-gone surgery. This obnoxious lady said to the nutritionist (after reviewing the pre and post-op diet) "If I was able to just eat teensy tiny portions like this, I would do it on my own. 1/4 cup is just plain ridiculous. I can't survive off that. I'd be so hungry I'd eat my own arm."

So I guess it just goes to show that there really ARE people out there that stupid. This lady obviously missed the whole point of the surgery and I am MORE than happy to assist her out of the line and take her surgeon appointment.

Today was very informative and made me realize why we have to jump through all the hoops. Otherwise people like that crazy lady would be getting the surgery and giving the rest of us a bad name. I'm still convinced that quite a few crazies slip through the cracks and they are the reason the rest of us have to hear about "taking the easy way out" and "You'll gain it all right back". Because people like that lady who are looking for a magic solution have the surgery and *DO* gain it right back.

I have an appointment with Dr. Im in Richmond on June 30 and I could not be more excited! =) I am excited to get healthy and get on the right track!

LoL!! That's so cute!! Congrats!

I'm sorry We all have those days where we just need a break from being positive and just cry it out, be angry, scream into a pillow. Do whatever is going to help you get through this. Be as MAD as you want to be. Let it all out. Be pissed. You've earned it. Just don't stay that way.

We can't do anything to help your problem, but we can make it less lonely. *hugs*

Yeah I have decided to tell only a few close friends and of course my husband. My mom had gastric bypass about 6 years ago, lost over 130 pounds and has kept it all off for the entire 6 years. She has been a great resource for me.

I have been so selective in who I tell. I need to surround myself with positive, supportive people. I decided to tell a family friend that is over at our house a lot. I knew it would be hard to keep it from him as he practically lives at our house. Let me also mention, that he is also very overweight. After I told him about the surgery, he was quiet for a minute, then rolled his eyes and said "PLEASE don't try to use this as an excuse to not exercise. That's what everyone tries to do and it's so stupid." I was dumbfounded. I was convinced that he would be supportive and not be just another negative opinion.

So I said "You know what? I do not need or want judgements or advice. I told you because you are here a lot and it will be hard to keep it from you. If you want to be negative about it, that's fine, but you are not going to come here and be negative about it in my house." He said "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound judgmental, but I've had 2 aunts have bypass surgery and they didn't keep up with it and they never exercised and they gained all their weight back. You have to eat a lot of Protein and stuff. You need to do your research." Again..... dumbfounded. Do people really think that we just run out and get this surgery like it's nothing? *He* is lecturing me on what my post-op diet is going to be yet he doesn't even know the difference between gastric bypass and the sleeve. Awesome...

Congrats! How exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time! =) :thumbs_up:

I am going to be sleeved on May 23 and I am on the liquid pre-op diet. I can have 3 or 4 sf instant breakfast shakes, sf Jello, sf popsicles, broth and non carbonated caffeine free sugar free drinks. Do you think a little FF coffeemate in my Decaf would be OK? Skim milk just tastes horrible in coffee. There is so much great info in these forums! Thanks to all of you!

I wonder if the SF Coffeemate Creamer might be better? I am still a little confused on which is better: a few grams of sugar or a few grams of fat.

Woo hoo! Congrats on getting the call! It's exciting to see how quickly it's going others! How many days was it between the referral & getting the call? I'm going to be sad if it takes longer for me, lol!

lol! I wasn't thinking it would go quickly for me. I had myself prepared to wait the full 3 weeks. I got the referral last Thursday and got the call yesterday, so only 6 days! Hopefully the rest of the process will go this quickly, too! =)

Best of luck to you!! Let me know when you get the call!

I am in Vacaville and just attended the overview class last week and my PCP sent my referral through and I too am anxiously waiting for the surgery center to call and schedule me for the orientation.

I know that at the 5-hour class they give us a binder that is supposed to be like our bible and we bring it to every appointment. I actually found it online in a pdf form. Here is the link: www.permanente.net/kaiser/pdf/39806.pdf (For some reason, the link isn't working on my computer right now. I'm not sure if it's just my internet or the computer. But if it doesn't work, just do a google search for "kaiser richmond bariatric patient information binder". I have already read through it so I have a good idea about what will be covered at the class. Maybe we'll be in the same class! =)

I swear I keep my phone attached at my hip. I set it by the shower, I take it in the bathroom. I do not want to miss their call. lol! I called and listened to their recording and it says they will call within 3 weeks of receiving the referral from your PCP.

Hope that helps. Keep me posted on when they call, maybe we will have the same time frame!

Speak of the devil!! Literally half an hour after I posted this, I got a call!! I go in for the 5 hour class on Tuesday!! Yayyyy!!!!

Your "original top weight" is the weight from your PCP. so as long as you go into the surgeon with pounds down, you are more likely to get put through right away. Kaiser is happy to send anyone and everyone through the process, it is just up to each individual to follow through on thier part.

Oh wow, I didn't know that! I thought the "original top weight" was from the weigh-in at the 5-hour class. I've been dinking around thinking I couldn't start the diet until I weigh in!

Hi Lisa, my name is Shelly and I too am a Kaiser patient who has recently been referred for the sleeve surgery. I have attended the overview class and I am now sitting anxiously waiting for the surgery center to call and schedule me for the five hour orientation. I'm so excited and the waiting is driving me crazy. I'm so happy that your Doctor was so supportive, my PCP was against the surgery and it took me three years to convince him (I should have just found a new Doc). Anyway, I just wanted to sya hi and say that I share your excitement. Congratulations!

Where are you located? I am in Northern California

I am in Vacaville and just attended the overview class last week and my PCP sent my referral through and I too am anxiously waiting for the surgery center to call and schedule me for the orientation.

I know that at the 5-hour class they give us a binder that is supposed to be like our bible and we bring it to every appointment. I actually found it online in a pdf form. Here is the link: www.permanente.net/kaiser/pdf/39806.pdf (For some reason, the link isn't working on my computer right now. I'm not sure if it's just my internet or the computer. But if it doesn't work, just do a google search for "kaiser richmond bariatric patient information binder". I have already read through it so I have a good idea about what will be covered at the class. Maybe we'll be in the same class! =)

I swear I keep my phone attached at my hip. I set it by the shower, I take it in the bathroom. I do not want to miss their call. lol! I called and listened to their recording and it says they will call within 3 weeks of receiving the referral from your PCP.

Hope that helps. Keep me posted on when they call, maybe we will have the same time frame!

I am 8 days post op and have the pre made bottles. I have found that its hard to hit my Protein levels. So whatever i have to do to make it taste better i do. First thing i tried was adding some crystal light powder and lotsa ice to it. Helped alot. Then when it started getting really hard to drink something that i didnt really like i took the Orange flavor and added some Welches Cherry white grape juice to it and lotsa ice. now i know the juice isnt sugar free but i litterally added like 2 inches worth in the whole bottle. It kinda tasted like hawaiian punch. but it sure helped me get it down. im nervous to try the powder kind but im sure its alot cheaper in the long run!

Well, I did some research online and even though the flavors have the same name, I heard that the powder tastes completely different than the ready to drink bottles. I heard it's even a different consistency. Just something to keep in mind. I've been looking for Isopure samples so I can try the powder kind.

Congrats on your new sleeve, btw =)

I am a week post-op today and have had the Orange pineapple banana and Alpine Punch. I agree that they are dry and not that good, but are much better if really cold. I like to put in a lot of ice and sip. That seems to make it taste a little better!

I am going to go and try a few other flavors, but not sure which ones to get. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Kelly

Orange pineapple Banana and Alpine Punch are my favorites. Blue Raspberry is pretty good. Mango Peach was just awful, which made me really sad because I normally love anything peach. Apple Melon is decent tasting, too. There is a passion fruit one that I want to try but can't find anywhere that sells the individual bottles. I have only seen the 12-pack on Amazon. I don't want 12, I just want 1! lol. I ordered the variety pack from GNC.com and tried all those flavors.

Where do you get the Isopure alpine punch? I'm having trouble finding it.

We have some local vitamin/supplement stores that have them there. They also sell them on Amazon and GNC.com. In fact, the GNC website has a multi-pack with several different flavors. http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2612796

To add what JG said, the zero carb is 50g per serving and a serving is 2 scoops. when you look at the number of servings in the jar, double it.(50 g of Protein is a bit much at one time) I am really fond of the strawberry. I almost always blend it with LF milk and ice. great tasting.I also have the chocolate and vanilla. I am not really a vanilla fan but it is a great base to mix with fruit and stuff.

I've heard that the Isopure powder is completely different from the ready to drink bottles. I'll have to give the powder a try.

I am SO grateful for this website. I am just beginning the process but everyone on here is SO helpful and nice. I am lucky enough to have a wonderful in-person support system. My husband and my best friends are fabulous and I am so glad they are so supportive. But this surgery is all I can think about, so naturally it's all I can talk about. I feel like sometimes I'm boring them with my talk of Protein, exercise, etc. I get SO excited when I discover new things that I like that I can have. It's so nice to be able to come on this site and get ideas and be able to share those little excitements. As wonderful as my husband is, when I come to him ECSTATIC about a new protein supplement that I love or a new way to eat Greek yogurt that tastes fabulous, or a new workout that is fun, he stares at me like I've lost my mind. He doesn't quiiiiite get it. And that's totally understandable. But I love coming on here and feeling like I have a HUGE support system. A support system full of people that are in the exact same boat as me, people that are veterans and have amazing advice to give, and even people that are about to have the surgery and understand those butterflies that fill my stomach... my stomach that is about to be REMOVED. lol!!

Anyways, just wanted to say thanks to everyone and say how much I love this site. And everyone share YOUR "little excitements" that get you going. Today's excitement was discovering how delicious Greek yogurt can be if you mix it until it's creamy and add some sugar free jam and a tiiiiny bit of milk to make it not quite so thick. MmmmMMMM!! =)

Greek yogurt tastes like vomit...unless you sweeten it. Stevia and sugar free vanilla Syrup works great. I tried so many times to like it and hated it until I learned this!

You know what else is really good? I hate plain yogurt. Regular yogurt, greek yogurt. Doesn't matter. I need fruit in it. I bought the Fage Greek Yogurt with the fruit and it adds so much sugar to it. You can buy the plain Greek Yogurt and add a teaspoon or two or sugar-free jam or jelly and it is phenomenal. It tastes just like the fruit in the bottom yogurts but with no sugar added

I thought of doing this too but then... what happens if you actually NEED your gallbladder out later down the road?

lol!! I thought about that. I think if that happened I would just have to make up another surgery to tell her about, then hope I don't need that one, too! Yikes... Kidney stones? Donating a kidney? Yeah, kidney sounds good. Something with a kidney. lol.

Wow, you handled that very well. I am still pre-op, but I have already started deciding what to tell people. I have decided that I am going to tell them "portion control, exercise and no sugars/empty carbs". In actuality, that is true. It is none of their business. I know a lot of people are very open about it, and that is great. I personally have made the decision to keep this private. My close friends and family know, but I do not feel like I need to advertise my decision to the world. People seem to take it as an invitation to voice their opinion. It is similar to being pregnant. When women are walking around pregnant people seem to take that woman's pregnancy as an invitation for advice, criticisms and opinions. I don't need or want random people's advice or opinions on my surgery. This is a journey that I've decided to take and I want to select whose opinions I want to hear.

It seems that some people who have WLS are very proud of it and tell anyone that they can about it. That is great for them, but it seems like sometimes those people criticize those of us who keep it more private and their reasoning is that this is not something to hide. I think it is each person's decision whether or not they want to advertise it or keep it private. I don't think it's some big guilty secret or anything, I just don't feel the need to tell every person that I come into contact with. My boss is a very judgmental person and is constantly talking about other people, so I will actually be telling her that I am going in for a gallbladder removal when I go have my surgery. I'm sure eventually she will figure it out, but I think recovery is going to be hard enough without having people casting their judgments or throwing their unwanted opinion out there.

I am a more private person anyway. Someday I may be more open about it and tell more people but for now, I like having my little exclusive group of people. I have chosen to tell people that are very close to me and will be very positive throughout the whole experience. My own little cheering section.

I'm just kind of curious where you guys are at now? Is it covered? What did your dr. say at your appt?