Sheila

Good luck to all the July 12th sleevers. There are so many of you, you all will be a wealth of information for the rest of us waiting to follow in your footsteps. We wish you a speedy and painless recovery. Keep us updated on your progress and we will talk when you reach the other side. Sheila

Only 2 weeks to go and we will be sleeved. Yay Us!!! We are well on our way to being the best US we can be, that is so cool. So what are some of the feelings you are experiencing as the day draws closer? For me I am anxious, excited, nervous for the after surgery part. My hubby told me this morning that he is starting to imagine what I will look like thin as he has never seen me thinner than I am right now. That is pretty sad. I told him I was doing the same thing. So come and lets talk about what we are doing to prepare, how we are feelings as the day gets closer, we have to support each other during this time to help us all get through. Sheila

I see people on various forums talk about their Farewell Meals, what was/or will be your meal? We are going to have a BBQ on the 16th, 11 days before my surgery date! This is for those people who have supported my decision and will continue to do so! It will be one last celebration I can fully enjoy with all my loved ones! Sheila

July 27 - 2 1/2 weeks away, I am more than ready! Just got to go shopping for broth, Iso Pure liquid Protein, SF Jello and popsicles! All equipment is bought: Magic Bullet, 3 cup food processor, digital food scale! I am so excited and not nervous about the surgery at all! I have thoughts about life post surgery but nothing serious! Yay us! We are all getting our lives together; healthier, thinner, sexier! We are all awesome!!! Sheila

Thank Mike. I have worked hard to lose the weight I have. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for me to reach my goal weight. I haven't weighed myself in the past couple of weeks, and I did today, I need to go update my ticker, yay! Hope all is going well with your recovery. remember, sip, walk, rest - repeat. Sheila

Well 2 1/2 weeks, and I join the losers bench! Hard to believe it is that soon. I am excited and ready to get the show on the road!

DawnOfANewMe and biggriz Sorry I didn't get this out to you before your surgeries. I hope you have a safe, painless and speedy recovery. We look forward to hearing about your progress and experiences. Sheila

Good luck to SmallerSoon, Qpdsful and SamanthaFecher on their surgeries today. Wishing you a speedy and painless recovery. We all look forward to hearing about your expereince and how well you are doing. Prayer going up. Sheila

I was told no more than 10 pounds for the first 6 weeks! No house work for the first 2 weeks. Yes!!!!

1. To get off all my medications 2. To no longer be considered to have diabetes 3. To have better and more sex with hubby 4. To be able to fit in a regular airplane seat and not need the extender belt 5. To be able to look in the mirror and not cry at what I see 6. To cross my legs comfortably 7. To be able to buy clothes from any store and not worry about the size 8. To have more energy to go out walking, hiking, playing with the dogs 9. To set a good example for my husband and daughter 10. To not have food control my every waking thought, but to have control over food 11. To live long enough to see my grandchildren (when I have them) grow to be adults and be happy 12. To no longer have my pannie get in the way of my lap, my clothes, cause skin breakdown underneath. (I can’t wait to get rid of this actually). This is just a small list. I am sure I will come up with more as my day draws closer. 3 weeks baby, Yeah! Sheila

I am taking 5 weeks off work. My surgeon said 2 to 3 weeks, so I opted for 3 weeks to be considered "sick time" and 2 weeks will be for vacation. I did this because I work in a busy clinic with nosy doctors and nurses, and when I am on my restrictive diet, I do not want a lot of questions and food monitoring going on. None of my co workers know I have having WLS and I want to keep it that way. So by the time I come back to work I will be on either mushies or regular food, just smaller amounts. No one will question me because I have been eating this way since November 30. Now if at my 2 week post op appt, my doctor says I can go back to work (no longer on sick time) I will maybe cut one week off and come back in 4 weeks. But I am leaving that option open until that appointment. That is my plan. Sheila

Best wishes to both HeatherH for July 4th and Wendy1974 for the 5th. Wishing a painless and speedy recovery. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences. Sheila

I was also thinking maybe we should add an email address so that people can get Best wishes while they are recovering. I know when I am not feeling well, things like that make me feel better. I will start. My email is: sheila.pinkney@shaw.ca Anyone is welcomed to email me for any reason. I am happy to discuss VSG or any topic with you. Sheila

Kath-A-Leena and Simply_KiZmet, you two are the first of the July Firecrackers to go for surgery. Good luck. Keep us updated as to how you are doing. I know the first day or so will be hard, but I pray for a smooth and easy recovery for both of you. Sheila

My fingers and toes are crossed for you to get a date in ink! Keep us updated. Sheila

I am here. Sorry I have not been more active. My husband and I own and run our own business, and things have been pretty hectic in the last few weeks. Hopefully that will slow down a tad and I can get on here more. I guess I am one of the lucky ones as I do not have any preop liquid diet to go on. I have been on a preop diet since November 30, and my surgeon said I do not need to go on a liquid diet right before surgery. I will place myself on a partial liquid diet maybe 2 days or so before surgery, but that is my doing not the surgeons. When I was told my surgery was on July 27, I thought, "Man that is so long away" but now I realize it is really only 3 1/2 weeks away now. I better get a move on and get all my supplies ready. Before you know it I will be on the operating table. As excited as I am about finally taking total control of my weight, I am just as excited to have this gallbladder removed. For the past month or more, I have been in a constant state of GB attack, some days are worse than others, but not a day goes by that I do not feel some sort of pain or gurgle from the GB. So I am looking forward to what the future holds. My first REALLY big test of Ms. Sleevie is going to be in October when I go to the Dominican Republic. It is in celebration of my 15th wedding anniversary. Going for a week of sand, sun, and relaxation. I get almost daily emails from a website called Swimsuitsforall.com which a web store for swimsuits for every shape and size of women. And I have been SOOOOO tempted to order some right now, but I am holding off because I worry that what I order NOW will be to big in October. So, I am going to wait until the end of September to order a nice suit, with some cute coverups. Can't wait. Well, that is it for now. Come on July Firecrackers, come and update us your preop preparations. Sheila

You can join, I have no problem with that. less than 4 weeks and we will all be sleeved. Yay!

Welcome to the July 27 gang. 5 weeks and we will be in the Losers Club. Yay us! Sheila

Hi. We should exchange email address so we can keep up with each others progress. Mine is sheila.pinkney@shaw.ca Luckily I do not have to do any pre-op dieting like the liquid diet. I have been doing nothing but pre-op dieting since November 30 and I have lost more than the required 10% and I am still following the 1 cup of food 3 times a day. Although I do cheat now and then. My surgeon said that changing to this diet from the very beginning helps to train you to prepare for life post surgery. Anyway, hang in there, our day will be here before we know it. Sheila

HI everyone, Sheila here. I am having my sleeve done on July 27, here in Canada. Dr. Lawrence Farries is my surgeon. I am so excited and ready for this surgery. Not only will I be sleeved, but I will have my gallbladder removed as well as a hernia repair. I am getting a 3 for 1 deal. The next 6 weeks will be exciting. Sheila

Announcing my surgery date, July 27, 2011. I know it is barely July, but it is still July. I am excited, anxious, relieved, and ready to get this show on the road. Hope all July sleevers are doing well and getting ready for the big day. Sheila

WooHoo!!! What a hot chick you are!!! You look absolutely fabulous. Keep up the great work! Sheila

Hi. I have a couple of really comfort sweaters, and I am going to turn them into pillows for the family room. And for some of my other cotton clothes, I am not sure, maybe make one of those twist rugs out of it. Where you make stripes of cloth, and them twist it into long ropes, then make oval rugs and stitch it all together. Just as a reminder to myself I am never going to be heavy enough to be able to do that with my clothes again. Sheila

It is time for my Saturday weigh in. I have been at the same weight for almost 2 weeks now, and I was certain I had gained weight. Yesterday I felt like I had ate way to much, I was so full. I guess my great news from the surgeon`s office helped to spurr on my weight loss. I also took my measurements again. I have them written side by side as comparison. MEASUREMENTS: Jan 22, 2011:---------------------March 5, 2011:---------------------IN. lost: Neck: 15 1/2 inches------------Neck: 15 inches-------------------.5 inches Wrist: 6 inches------------------Wrist: 6 inches--------------------0 Forearm: 10 inches------------Forearm: 9.2 inches--------------.8 inches Upper arm: 14 inches---------Upper arm: 14 inches-----------0 Bust: 53 inches-----------------Bust: 51------------------------------2 inches Ribcage: 46 inches------------Ribcage: 42-------------------------4 inches Waist: 50 inches----------------Waist: 46.5 inches----------------3.5 inches Hips: 59 inche-------------------Hips: 56 inches--------------------3 inches Thighs: 27 inches--------------Thighs: 25 inches-----------------2 inches Calves: 18 1/2 inches---------Calves: 17---------------------------1.5 inches Ankles: 10 inches--------------Ankle: 9 inches---------------------1 inches ---------- Total inches lost 18.3 inches :Banane01: :Banane01: :Banane01: :Banane01: Current weight: 255 Weight lost : 2 pounds Highest weight loss: 47 pounds Since 1st appt: 36 pounds I feel really good about how things are going. I just have to keep it up because the way I look at it is all the weight I lose now will be weight I do not have to worry about losing after surgery.Thank you for the great support you have given me since joining. Sheila

I have my psych evaluation on Wednesday. Everything went extremely well. My main questions was ``Am I am good candidate for surgery`` and he told me that there was nothing that indicated I should not have surgery, and he was putting that in the consult report to my surgeon. YAY, one less worry I have to worry about. Today I had my follow up with my surgeon. I had lost an additional 2kgs since my last appt which is around 5 pounds. So all together I have ``officially`` lost 14kgs and 30 pounds. That is on the scale in the doctors office, my scale at home says I have lost about 35 pounds. So it depends on which one you want to go by, I like my scale better! My surgeon told me today that he was ``very impressed`` with how well I have done with sticking to the diet of 1 cup 3 times a day and very pleased with how much weight I have lost. He encouraged me to keep doing going. Here in Canada, you have to put in a request for a surgery date, so he did that and also put me on a short notice list. I have to attend a preadmission clinic appt on April 5th and after I do that, I will be free for my surgery whenever the date comes up. So just one last step and I will be able to join everyone on the losers bench. I am very proud of myself for sticking with it even when I got discouraged and able to lose as much as I have. I have a wonderful husband who goes with me to all my appointments, he is my rock. I love him :001_tt1: and so happy he is so supportive of this whole thing. I know I could not get through this without him. Well, that is my update. I am very excited. :party4: Sheila