Nancy Rivers

Glad to hear things went well. No, I don't think you're being a baby for taking the paid meds - that's why they give them to you! Thanks for giving an update.

I've been dieting off and on for years, and yeah, I may loose some weight, but it never stays off and when it comes back, it brings friends. Unfortunately many people tend to think of WLS as the "easy way out" mainly because they do not understand it. It's not an easy road and does require lifestyle changes. The WLS is a tool to help with those changes (at least that's how I see it). Since my stomach is only going to be about 20-30% of it's original size, it makes it more difficult for me to eat the massively oversized portions that I am used to. Could I make that change on my own? Well, maybe - but I have 38 years of not being able to do that under my ever expanding belt. That's one reason why I am electing to do the surgery. I will not be telling my sister about this though. She's a RN and teaches nursing, but is dead set against any type of WLS. According to her it isn't safe nor effective. Well, statistics don't lie. She thinks that I should be just like her and have the "willpower" to loose it on my own. Thankfully, I am not my sister. As for anyone else who doesn't like it, well, the only opinion that truly matters is my own. I am doing what I need to for ME and not for anyone else. If they don't like that, then so be it.

I haven't been sleeved yet, but I know from a couple of previous surgeries, that yes, after surgery your period does come at a different time. You're hormones are all screwed up from the anesthesia and the stress of having stuff done to your body causes the period to happen sooner than it "should". It will eventually straighten itself out.

Today I came across this wonderful website ( http://vsgfaq.wordpress.com/ ) that has links to a number of different nutritional guides from different programs. I've read through a couple of them and have learned a LOT about what foods should be eaten when. The Cornell Weightloss guide clearly states that meatloaf is considered a SOFT food and also states that for their soft food stage - any food that can be put into a blender to give a final consistency of a puree would work. None of them that I have looked at so far have mentioned the word mushies - they instead will used pureed or soft. I don't know if that helps or not.

Thanks. I've been checking nutrition labels long before it became "fashionable" to do so. That one just surprised me a bit. I'm not a fan of coffee or tea - so I didn't order those sample flavors. I typically love fruit juices though, so I was glad to see that variety and ordered practically every "juice" flavor there was to sample.

I'm not on the liquid diet yet, but after reading the posts on here, I thought I would order some of the samples to see what I would like. I realize that my tastes may change after surgery, but this will give me an idea at least. So, I figured I would try one a day or so until I go on the liquid diet (I ordered a lot of samples) when I know I'll have to up it. Today, I had the Syntrax nectar Twisted Cherry. I mixed the 26g pouch in with about 12 ounces of Water. First sips aren't too bad. No real bad odor and while there is a bit of an aftertaste, it's not totally disgusting. I actually like it. What kind of surprised me though was on this packet (which I got from Nashua Nutrition who said the whole packet was one serving), it said there were 4 servings in the packet! But, looking at the actual nutritional values, it indicates that there is 6 g Protein per serving - which taking the whole packet would equate to 24 g (and what I thought I was for a single serving). Is this typical - where the package labeling indicates smaller serving sizes than we are supposed to have?

Thanks. Today I am making another baby step - I am no longer going to eat fast food. This will be really difficult for me as I have literally lived on it for the last several years. Eating McD's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc for Breakfast, lunch and dinner EVERYDAY. Yeah, I knew it was bad for me, but these places are EVERYWHERE and it's hard for me to resist. But the dietician yesterday said that I couldn't eat there anymore, so I need to do this step. Yeah, I know that several now have salads - but that is not why I go to these places. The temptation is just too great if I go for just a salad, therefore, I need to cut it out completely. Gads, this is going to be tough... I also came across another really helpful website (I posted it in the general discussion area, but wanted to mention it here too). It has a LOT of links to various places - including the link to a document called "The Cornell Weight Loss Surgery Program: Dietary Guidelines for Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy" and another link to the "Nutrition Guidelines for Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy for the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Bariatric Surgery Program". I've only had time to read through the Cornell one, but wow, it answered a LOT of questions that I had about the dietary guidelines - giving examples of what foods you could eat at what stage (and yes, meatloaf is a mushy food!). A quick look at the one from Johns Hopkins has recipes in it. There are also other recipes, hints for making Protein drinks palatable, comparisons of the various bariatric procedures, links to sites with information on the long term effectiveness of VSG, etc at this website. http://vsgfaq.wordpress.com/

In the midsts of doing my research on the surgery, I just came across this resource that had some useful information on it and thought others might find it interesting too. http://vsgfaq.wordpress.com/

Wow that is really great! Congratulations on your loss!

I think some of my students would still dispute that... LOL Thanks for the support ladies. I really appreciate it.

From what I have gathered, it does depend on your surgeon. I will have to do a 2 week liquid diet - but during that 2 weeks I can also have some "real" food - I get to choose 6 items from a list they will give me. I was told they do this to help shrink the liver (or the fat around the liver) so it makes it easier for the surgeon to move it out of the way when they do the surgery. It's also a good way to start practicing for how you eat after the surgery.

I just gave up my daily diet coke a week ago. Yep, I had the headache and last weekend it was not good to be around me. But I am feeling better now without it. It's best to get yourself off of it before surgery I think because you're going to be putting your body through heck then, why add to it if you can get this out of the way first?

Ok, thanks. I can understand it in the beginning, but I would have thought after getting to the point of eating "normally", the vitamins wouldn't be a requirement. Oh well... Thanks everyone.

The Dietician that I met with today for the initial consult said that I would have to take vitamins for the rest of my life after having the sleeve done. Was anyone else told that?

Wow that is really fantastic! That really gives me hope. Thank you for posting!

I can't as I'm starting the process. However, on the main page, if you scroll down, there is a section for the "older" sleevers. Check it out. By the way, yes, I'm scared to, but the people on these boards are really helpful and it has been a real comfort to me so far.

Congratulations! What a great achievement! Keep up the good work!

Congrats to all of you! It's great to hear you are all loosing. About the gas - well, they say "better out than in" - so I wouldn't be embarrassed - after all it's a "natural process". Wow, back to work in such a short time. That is fantastic. My doc told me today that it would most likely be 2 weeks before I could drive when I consulted with him today. I think that's going to drive me bonkers, but we'll see when I get mine done.

That's awesome! Congrats!

I know this is going to sound really crazy, but I was so nervous about my first meeting with the surgeon this morning. I thought for sure he was going to tell me that I was crazy or something and wouldn't go forward with it. Yeah, I know - I was being really stupid. Anyway, I met with Dr. Northup and he thought that the sleeve was the right surgery for me and that I would be a good candidate for it. I had a few questions and he answered them all very openly. A couple of questions I had asked him I knew the answers from the discussions on here, but wanted to see what he would tell me. He gave me the same answers as I was finding here on the boards - so that's a good thing. With their program/package they include 6 months membership at their fitness facility (which is a really nice facility with special areas just for the weight loss patients) and 2 meetings with a personal trainer. The doctor told me that would start about 5 or 6 weeks after surgery to give me time to heal before starting it. Of course, I'm going to attempt to get in a few minutes walking daily starting next week as I really do need to start exercising (I am extremely sedentary). I also got to meet with the dietician who had some preliminary questions for me, as I did for her. She told me that it would be a 2 week liquids diet (with some real food - get to choose 6 foods from a list they will provide) before the surgery, and then it's 2 weeks of liquids after surgery before moving to mushies/soft foods and eventually real food again. I had anticipated that from these boards, but it's nice to have her tell me that too. She also took my measurements and said they would be repeated 3 months after surgery too. Since I am self-pay, the doctor wants me to have a number of lab tests done through my PCP, as well as a referral letter / letter of medical necessity from him to try to get my insurance to pay for those. So, since that office is closed today, I'll be making that phone call tomorrow. I travel a LOT for work - but been in Cincinnati, OH for the majority of the last 9 years. So, I decided to have the surgery in Ohio, but my PCP is still in Michigan. Needless to say, I have a bit of a drive to plan and will need to take a day off of work now to try to get the labs scheduled/done before I see him again. There is one test he wanted me to do there and that is scheduled for June 10. I see the psychologist on June 21. The dietician did give me some diet "tips" to follow until I actually start the pre-op diet: Discontinue Caffeine consumption, Discontinue Soda consumption (reg & diet), use a 9-inch plate to control portion sizes, eat 4-5 times a day, include Protein at meals and Snacks, avoid fried foods. Well, I already have done the first two - I cut out my diet coke a week ago. Eating 4-5 times a day will be tougher with my work schedule, but I will make that change since I need to for the after surgery diet (might as well start now). Avoiding fried foods will be slightly difficult - but I will definitely make the effort there too. I can't believe the journey is starting!

Thanks for posting your experience. Congratulations and keep up the good work!

You look awesome! Thank you so much for posting.

Love this post. Thanks for the smile this morning. You're doing great and keep up the good work!

I use Firefox to view the forums on my computer - which has ad block plus installed in it, so I don't get to see the advertisements. When I use my iPad, I also do not get the ads - nor the signatures to people's posts. If the ads really bother you, try changing web browsers and use ad block plus. Yeah, I know the ads pay for the site to be free, but I find them really annoying, so I use tech to block them whenever possible.

Congrats. Glad to hear the surgery went well. Thanks for posting!