longer-life

No wrinkles! You look great. I see you still love pretty necklaces.

You will find lots of threads on this. We don't all agree and that is ok. Everyone should do what they feel comfortable doing. I haven't had surgery yet and I have told my family & close friends. I don't want to hear horror stories from acquaintances before surgery. After surgery I will tell anyone that asks. Why? An old college friend that lives overseas and therefore I only see on Facebook was honest when I asked her. She could have lied easily and I would have never known. Thanks to her I heard about VSG for the first time ever. I would like to do that for someone else.

Consider having a sleep study. Like yours, my BMI was below 40 (and over 35) but I was recently diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, so I now qualify. I snored for years and thought it was my allergies! In the meantime find out if your insurance requires proof of obesity. Mine does, but if your doesn't, you "only" have to gain 11 pounds, which could be done the fun way or the "weights in your bra" way. I only know this 'cause I read it here. Good luck!

You have gotten great responses. What I have said to that (during my Weight Watchers failures) is "think of all the people you know and name 1 or 2 that have been overweight since childhood, lost over 75 pounds AND KEPT IT OFF FOR YEARS" They couldn't come up with 1.

I passed! Phew! LOL Thanks to all of you, I stopped worrying. You were right. Thanks!!!!

In my case I filled out a form in the reception area with some easy questions in regards to family etc. Then we talked for about 15 minutes. He asked about my family, marriage, religiousness, details about the surgery & hobbies. After that I answered a 10 minute computerized true or false questionnaire that again asked about the same subjects. He was obviously trying to figure out if I had lied. So much so that one of the computerized questions was "Are you answering these questions truthfully?" Don't worry too much about it. I had had a rough morning with my daughter right before my appointment and I cried when he asked about my family life. I was VERY concerned that I was not going to "pass", but I did! Below is a link about that. The responses I got will help you feel more at ease. Best wishes! http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/24822-i-might-have-screwed-up-the-whole-thing/page__p__210075__hl__cried__fromsearch__1#entry210075

I am a volume eater and that is heaven to my ears!!!!!!!

Congratulations MeggieP!!!!!!!!! How awesome!!!

Congratulations! WOW!!!!!!!!

These are some of the things I have read on this site. I wish I could credit the posters but I didn't copy their names. A heating pad, abdomen support belt. biotene mouth moisture spray & a bottle of aromatherapy oil. I would add a calming music CD. This is what the poster said in regards to the oil "You put a drop or two into your palms and rub them together vigorously. Now cup your hands around your nose and focus on your breathing. In a few minutes you will have a different sensory experience rather than eating."

That would be dishonest. Sorry. :-)

Your post was so cool I felt I was running with you! Congratulations and thanks for posting!

and I NEVER will! I am ok with that though.

Your kindness comes through. Thanks so much for this. It is very inspiring. I hope some of the oldies chime in and help you out with your current struggle. You might want to consider posting a thread about that. You never know what great tidbits you can get. Again thanks and congratulations on your attitude and awesome weight loss!

Great! Tell us how the appointment goes. Good luck!

I have been lactose intolerant for years and I am guessing after surgery the symptoms would be the same. It varies from person to person. Colic, feeling bloated & diarrhea are among the fun ones.

Welcome! Congratulations.

I am sorry to say I would not pick either choice. I will admit to being picky. I don't want the bypass and 20 sleeves is not enough for me.

Dr. Almanza helps pay for this site! It is his ad on the right hand corner of this website. They even help him out by deleting some the threads that hurt his reputation. Despite this, you don't even have to "dig a little to find bad events that have happened to his patients", they are found easily. I will have my surgery here in the US, so I don't favor any doctor, but it is important people have all the information available to them so they can make an informed decision. If they want to listen, of course!

Awesoooooome! I can't wait to get my giant dancing banana like you did! Good job and congratulations!

That is what I would do. You might want to start with the surgeons of excellence in your greater area. Don't know where you live in Norcal (I used to live in the peninsula), but you might want to consider perhaps traveling anywhere between San Jose, Napa & East Bay as long as it is an excellent surgeon than can fit you in right away. Of course take into consideration the times you will have to go back for after care and support groups. I wouldn't pay $5000 fee either, nor would I have a surgery I don't want. Don't lose your spot with the surgeon you were referred to though and don't forget to research him/her as well before he touches you. I wouldn't just go on the word of your old surgeon. Best wishes!

I have a 9 year old and I would tell her that I made a mistake by promising something so soon after surgery. I would reassure her by telling her I am ok, but that it will take weeks, not days to feel better. I would say sorry for not keeping my promise, that I will do it as soon as possible and that I hope she understands. Disappointments and change of plans are part of life. Please do not over exert yourself out of guilt. Take your time. It will show them compassion and patience. That is my opinion, of course. Parenting styles vary greatly.

It is true that shoddy medical attention happens everywhere. Hundreds die, get infections, get the wrong limb cut during surgery and many more horror stories here in the US. However I am having a hard time imagining a situation like hers, unless maybe in some back alley. If they do, I live in a bubble, at least she could have sued. So no, it is not the same here than in some other countries. Does this mean people shouldn't go to Mexico? No, to me this means that people should take a pause when they read these posts (when they don't get deleted) and not let their desperation cloud their good judgement. BTW LilMissDiva, I respect you very much. This post is not "against" you. These threads get to me. I should know better than to subscribe to them.

I'm a lactose intolerant, foodie, no seafood,no canned Soup, picky eater. I can relate. Hopefully others will chime in with store bought ideas but if they don't, would you consider throwing some things in a crock pot and/or oven while studying on the weekends? You can half recipes and freeze/refrigerate individually and grab one in the AM on the way out. One cooking session will last you a LONG time. Baked chicken cordon bleu & Cooking Light Magazine's "crock pot Feijoada" comes to mind. No rice is needed, the Beans and meats are super filling and high in protein. They have other crock pot recipes (with no beans) that you might want to consider. http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/slow-cooker-favorites-00400000038588/page22.html You might not want to cook at all, but I just wanted to throw this out there, just in case. Best wishes!

You are too kind. He was your surgeon and he abandoned you. What you described is horrific. If he won't be available to visit his patients on Sundays, he shouldn't operate on Saturdays. He should have been there to see you first first thing in the morning. He is also responsible for his employees, whether he personally hired them or not. He failed you miserably. Regardless of others that have had a good experience there, unless britiajon and you are lying, he is NOT great, he took your money and ran. The others just lucked out. I will have surgery here in the US, so I don't have any interest other than expressing my opinion and hoping your post helps someone. I am sending good vibes your way for a continued recovery.