Roseib

Good luck. Will be sending positive thoughts your way tonight and tomorrow. I had to be at hospital at 6 a.m. for 8 a.m. surgery. It goes so fast once you get to the hospital as there is so much to do. This time tomorrow you'll be sleeved.

Best wishes that all goes smoothly (including the bed being available!)

I had surgery end of June at age 62. Surgeey went fine and have had no complications. The day of surgery was rough but each day after I rapidly improved. Doctor told me he had younger patients that had a tougher time than I did. My only "problem" is that due to severe osteoarthritis I can't exercise as vigorously as most others. There used to be someone on this board who had it at age 70 and did fine.

Since month 3 I've lost 10-12 lbs quickly then stalled for 2-3 weeks and then started the cycle over. It's frustrating but the loss does begin again. Don't panic, Kaehl. Try shaking things up as others have said. I broke my first stall by adding a protein snack and upping my calories. I just broke my most recent stall by upping water beyond the required 64 oz.

I still have a lot of weight left to lose but people are telling me now I look younger. My neck on the other hand . . .

Dr. Ramiro "Sonny" Cavazos of the Center for Medical and Surgical Weight Loss at Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio. However I had my surgery at Foundation Hospital. The facilities and care were excellent as is Dr. Cavazos. He is an outstanding surgeon and a kind and gentle person.

So sorry for this painful bump in the road! Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I live in San Antonio and am willing to check out accommodations here. Two drawbacks. We are not a hub city for airlines so not sure about availability of direct flights. second it is hot and humid in the summer. Not for the faint of heart. Of course everything is air conditioned and we have Sea World, the River Walk, ruins of Spanish missions, a couple of good art museums a children's natural history museum thst has some hands on exhibits etc. The alamo which was outside the village at the time but is now in the heart of downtown San Antonio. A trolley to get around downtown and horse drawn carriages for the tourist experience. And artisans. Actually for museums fort worth would be great. It has a world class art museum and the prestigious Amon Carter museum of western art. DFW airport would have a lotvof direct flights too.

Is there a specific time period folks are likely to be chatting? I checked it a couple of times recently but no one else was there.

Digital. It always is one pound more than the fancy expensive digital scale at the surgeon's. Btw, when I weighed last time at my PCP, who uses an old fashioned manual weights type scale, it weighed me 4 pounds lighter than the Surgeon's scale. So who knows which one is accurate?

Just to add to what others said above the full thing got better for me when I moved to solids. The mushy stage was hideous to me but it only lasts a short while thank goodness. Wishing wife and you the best! Glad she is ok.

Hi, Tabitha. I was so nervous the night before I didn't sleep a wink. Like MINI-me said, nervous is normal. Will be sending positive thoughts your way tonight and tomorrow! Once I got to the hospital there was a lot to be done and the two hours to surgery went real fast. Then I was knocked out I Tahink just as I went through the OR doors and when I woke up -- all done!

Good luck! I was 62 when I had surgery and had fears too. I didn't sleep a wink the night before. I will be sending positive thoughts your way tonight and tomorrow!

The physician's assistant I see for follow up visits told me at my 3 months appt we'd eventually be able to eat a CD size amount of food. I am in my 7th month and I can eat a little more than I could at 3-4 months. I doubt your stomach has stretched.

Perhaps you should get a second opinion if your doctor is not the only experienced bariatric surgeon in your area

Thsnks! Just what I've Been wanting. I eat a lot of ground turkey and can never get it the crumbled to the tiny size I like.

In San Antonio. 14500 for surgeon and hospital including hospital tests and anesthesia etc. 2 night stay private room. Additionally, 225 for pysch eval and 1500 for cardiology clearance. Doctor includes one yéar follow up and access to nutritionist. Followup blood tests our responsibility. I think that is common.

sorry about the double posts. Can't figure out how to delete the second one.

Hi, I agree with what others said above. Re my own decision. Like you I was initially interested in bypass surgery. I knew I had a lot of weight to lose (although my PCP's scales went to 350, the past two years, I weighed more than 350 so I didn't know exactly how much I needed to lose). When I went to the orientation session, I learned about the sleeve and that it had fewer complications than the bypass, which interested me because I knew my weight and age (62) put me at greater risk for complications. When I had my surgeon consultation a few weeks later in May, I learned I weighed 385.5, which shocked me. I told the surgeon I was conflicted about the bypass vs. sleeve. On the one hand concerned about complications, on the other concerned about less weight loss. He told me recent research showed success rates about the same after two years and that he didn't really see any advantage for me with the bypass. If I had diabetes, he said he would have recommended the bypass because he thought it worked better for diabetes (but several people on this board have diabetes and they have done really well!!). He said if I were a member of his family, he'd recommend the sleeve. So I chose the sleeve because of fear of complications and a belief that the outcome would be about the same as the bypass. Results so far: Starting weight 385.5; goal weight: 150. Preop diet began 6/14 - lost 19 pounds; surgery 6/29. By December 29 I had lost 105 pounds total. Won't weigh again until January 29. My mini-goal was to lose half of my excess weight (117.75 pounds) by end of December but that didn't happen. As you can see I got really close though. My doctor's goal for me is to lose 70% of my excess weight or down to about 200 pounds. However, I firmly believe I can make MY goal of 100% loss of excess weight or down to 150. I figure it will take 18-20 months total, but I am sure I can do it with the sleeve. My doctor says if we use our weapons, we can lose weight indefinitely -- no stopping point until we want to stop. WEPNs = Water, execise, Protein, nutrients. Btw, our guest speaker this week at surgeon's support group was a woman who had lost well over 200 pounds through bypass (she was in such bad shape she was in assisted living and was in her early 50s I think) and had kept it fof for a number of years. She was talking briefly to me before the meeting began and when I said I had the sleeve, she said that she would have had it had it been available at the time she had surgery. The sleeve was the right decision for me. Best wishes in deciding which is best for you! Hang around on the board and you'll learn a lot more that might help you with that decision. People here are so inspiring to me.

Hi, I agree with what others said above. Re my own decision. Like you I was initially interested in bypass surgery. I knew I had a lot of weight to lose (although my PCP's scales went to 350, the past two years, I weighed more than 350 so I didn't know exactly how much I needed to lose). When I went to the orientation session, I learned about the sleeve and that it had fewer complications than the bypass, which interested me because I knew my weight and age (62) put me at greater risk for complications. When I had my surgeon consultation a few weeks later in May, I learned I weighed 385.5, which shocked me. I told the surgeon I was conflicted about the bypass vs. sleeve. On the one hand concerned about complications, on the other concerned about less weight loss. He told me recent research showed success rates about the same after two years and that he didn't really see any advantage for me with the bypass. If I had diabetes, he said he would have recommended the bypass because he thought it worked better for diabetes (but several people on this board have diabetes and they have done really well!!). He said if I were a member of his family, he'd recommend the sleeve. So I chose the sleeve because of fear of complications and a belief that the outcome would be about the same as the bypass. Results so far: Starting weight 385.5; goal weight: 150. Preop diet began 6/14 - lost 19 pounds; surgery 6/29. By December 29 I had lost 105 pounds total. Won't weigh again until January 29. My mini-goal was to lose half of my excess weight (117.75 pounds) by end of December but that didn't happen. As you can see I got really close though. I have severe arthritis so I can't execise as vigorously as some others on this board, but I do execise. My doctor's goal for me is to lose 70% of my excess weight or down to about 200 pounds. However, I firmly believe I can make MY goal of 100% loss of excess weight or down to 150. I figure it will take 18-20 months total, but I am sure I can do it with the sleeve. My doctor says if we use our weapons, we can lose weight indefinitely -- no stopping point until we want to stop. WEPNs = Water, execise, Protein, nutrients. Btw, our guest speaker this week at surgeon's support group was a woman who had lost well over 200 pounds through bypass (she was in such bad shape she was in assisted living and was in her early 50s I think) and had kept it fof for a number of years. She was talking briefly to me before the meeting began and when I said I had the sleeve, she said that she would have had it had it been available at the time she had surgery. The sleeve was the right decision for me. Best wishes in deciding which is best for you! Hang around on the board and you'll learn a lot more. People here are so inspiring to me.

Just went to support group tonight where my doctor reiterated his food plan: 3 meals a day. No snacking of any kind. Not healthy snacks. Not protein drinks. No snacking of any kind. His rationale is that research shows people who snack are less successful at weight loss and are more likely to gain weight back than nomsnackers. I think he is one of the stricter surgeons re snacks.

Hi. I'm a Dr Cavazos patient too. He is such a kind, gentle man. Great bedside manner. Dr Gonzalez's patients I've talked to at support group have only good things to say about him. I had my surgery at the end of June at age 62 and it went great. The care at Foundation hospital by nursing staff was excellent! The preop nurse was great, too. I was so nervous. She really helped me relax. Also since the hospital was founded for bariatric surgery it is bariatric friendly design-wise. Good luck. Maybe see you in support group before long! Oh re your question. I had a friend go home from hospital with me Thursday when I was released. She was going to stay until Sunday but it was clear by Friday night I didn't need her for the weekend. I has the month off (in education) but I could have gone back to work for sure in two weeks.

B - 1/2 cup turkey chili no Beans L - 2/3 Wendy's small chili D - 1/3 c turkey chili no beans A few baby Brussels sprouts. It's cold here today hence the chili. Lots of Water

Sleeved 6/29/10 at age 62. Turned 63 in October.

My surgeon says upper limit 100 gms but he wants us to try to stay under 60 gms, which I do (usually under 30 or 40). I asked my PCP if he thought 60 gms is too high because many people on this forum have lower upper carb limits and he said 60 gms of carbs is really low. So I don't worry about it as long as I stay under 60 gms. When I stall, as I do frequently (after losing 10-12 pounds really quickly), I try cutting back on carbs, though. Sometimes it helps trigger the weight loss but not always.