splashdancer

Thanks,

Right after I posted that I found it! thanks a million!

Me too. It was really good!

Hi everyone,

I have spent all morning looking for that list of recipes that someone who is a regular here posted. It was a very long list and it was great. I thought I had saved it but didn't. I am only 5 days post op but need suggestions as I love variety. I think maybe it was "tiffykins" or someone who I've seen on here a lot. I really appreciate your help in locating them!

Yeah, I figured it out! My brain is still under anesthesia or something. Every website I went on today baffled me.. and I really am pretty savvy for a soon to be 50yo. I am only 4 days post op. Thanks again!

really ? I don't know... I have been with them for years.

I jsut sent Fitday and email asking these questions. I wan tto be able to use an online program no matter what computer I happen to be on, where I can track daily calories, foods eaten, exercise, meds, etc.. I appreciate your help.

Hmmm. there is no free version that I can see.. maybe they started charging after you started using it..it says buy now, etc, and there is no 'free option. am I missing something?

Hmmm. there is no free version that I can see.. maybe they started charging after you started using it..it says buy now, etc, and there is no 'free option. am I missing something?

I use the free version.

Hey, thanks,

I am looking at it online right now. It says the download is $29.95- does that mean that is the only fee I will pay? So, it's not like you are going to a website that just saves the info? boy what a learning curve!

I use fitday.com

thanks, I'll check it out.

I track my Vitamins on myfitnesspal.com - have not tried to see if meds are there but could easily add them.

Thanks. I do have a couple of things like that. Since I posted, I've calmed down a bit. I do have all my meds divided into the three times a day I take them with a big list above them in my kitchen. I am still looking at Livestrong, Sparkpeople, Myfooddiary.com, etc to try and decide which one of those I might use to track what I am eating. So far, being at home after surgery has made that easy. It's when I go back to work that I am worried about. Actually, I spent hours setting Outlook up on my computer with task reminders, etc so that helps with meds too. Thanks again. If I can ever figure out how to set up a profile, and add a weight loss ticker, I will!

I don't track my meds online, but my husband found me something like this at Meijer and it's perfect for my daily pills:

http://www.amazon.co...n=3760901&s=hpc

I can remove each day separately and take to work in my purse. I keep it right by my computer desk so I don't forget to take any.

Hi,

I am newly sleeved, 4th day post op and all is going pretty well! I am now taking more meds than I did before as you add in the Multivitamin, calcium citrate, stool softener, Actigall/Ursidiol, pain med, magic mouthwash, Maalox... I never took any of these before surgery so added to my already 4 or 5 daily meds it is a lot to keep up with. I would like some kind of easy way, using my laptop to track EVERYTHING daily. I have looked at SparkPeople, Livestrong, and my daily food diary sites. I don't see where on any of these nutrition/activity tracker sites where you can add medications, and check them off as you take them. Am I missing something? It seems dumb these sites wouldnt' also add med trackers. Any advice on this and or the easiest most versital online tool to track everything! Thanks in advance!

Hey there,

My surgery is tomorrow so I am right there with you! I am more scared than excited but the support and people's experiences on this website has been a large part of what has convinced me this is a good idea and I won't regret it. I support you and trust you will be glad you did too!

Surgery today at 1230. On the way to the hospital now. I am soooooo excited!

The Citracal gummies are the BEST! They dissolve totally, easily. The nurse who runs my support group suggested these, as the staff had just tasted them. So, I highly recommend them.

I have surgery on Thursday and have gotten most of the things I need to have post-surgery for convenience sake. I have sublingual B12 and chewable multivitamins.

My plan was to use Citracal, but II suddenly don't want to be crushing what is sure to be a nasty tasting calcium citrate pill.

It seems I have two main options: an order to Bariatric Advantage shipped to my parents' house where I'll be recovering or purchasing Citracal Chewable Gummies. I know Viactiv is a bad choice due to it being Calcium Carbonate, but apparently the Citracal chewables are something called Tricalcium Phosphate. Is that acceptable? If nobody knows, I'll try to call my hospital nutritionist to find out. I can buy the Citracal in stores, and it's a bit cheaper than the Bariatric Advantage.

The other side to this is has anybody eaten these Citracal gummies? How are they?

Wow, again thank you both. I am feeling better and better!

THANKS so much. You are all helping me a lot. I will soon add more to my profile and be on here more, I am sure. Thanks again!

I think most of us can testify you usually only hear the negative from people who know very little about WLS. I knew up front my choice in having surgery has risks, however, so did my diabetes,, being extremely overweight, my inactivetly and my overall life style.

I remember telling one person that I was having WLS and she proceeded to tell me how this one person died, like 4 years ago of pneumonia but because she had WLS she had health problems ever since and then she got pneumonia and died.... I could not believe my friend even bothered to tell me that story! She works at our local hospital which I went out of town to a larger hospital... but get real, think about even a little local hospital and they have to site one person 4 years ago that had pneumonia.... OMG....incredible some peoples logic.

Above are some great suggestions, going in with a positive attitude can help so much!

Mind over matter, choose a good doctor, a good hospital, read, read, read up on the sleeve, precautions, what to expect, etc... and you will be just fine!

Wow thanks to all of you! Feeling better now. My Dr. is Dr. Dennis Smith, Advanced Obesity Surgery, in Marietta, GA. I will ask Monday about the insurance one of you mentioned. I have not heard about that, but think it would be well worth it.

Hi again,

Newbie here having surgery in about a month. I have been very active my whole life in spite of my weight of 230, 5'2 and 1/2. I have been taking spinning classes at least twice a week and swimming or some other form of vigorous aerobic exercise another two times a week so this adds up to 4-5 hours a week of serious aerobics. If any of you were active before or got active quicklky after, how long did it take before you were able to exercise to the same degree? I think about the dehydration possibilities. I already have to drink a good bit of Water while spinning, so now wondering when that time comes if I will be able to handle it becuase I will likely need even more water. I also just wonder about stamina, etc. Any advice from you good exercisers out there would be helpful. Thanks!

Hi,

I have only posted a couple of times and am about a month away from having the sleeve surgery. Oddly, till today, I had only seen really positive things on the board. There is so much to read maybe I subconsciously stayed away from seeing anything negative. It seemed like nobody had any major complications but today I see all kinds of scary stories. To begin with, I was only planning on taking a week off. My surgery is private pay, too. Then I see where people are having vomiting, leaks, dehydration, stents? OY! I would have to pay for any extra expenses. The money is there but now I am picturing a nightmare of possibilities.

So, first of all, I'd love to hear what percentage of you had complications/get complications and how soon people (without complications) were able to return to work. I am a mental health professional in private practice. The good news is I can control my schedule/hours.

Also, I know when I went to the informational seminar and my doctor's success rates were discussed, his "leak rate" was less than 1%. Does anyone know what percentage of people have complications early on to where they are staying in hospital more than two nights or admitted again within the first month? Thanks for any numbers you have and any reassurance!

sorry to soubnd thick, but what is MJ? im form the uk :-)

MJ is Marijuana!

Have no been on here for a long time but I have been smoking everyday since about 6-7 weeks out. I am 3 months out now and have not had any side effects or anything that I know of. I do not get the munchies at all. I hardly eat. that is my problem I am not getting enought liquid, Protein or anything, I do not feel hunger

I was 485 pre op 451 day of surgery and I am 376 today. so been going good and now trying to get some workouts in! Later ya.

THANKS!

I also hope you post on your experience when you do go back to mj. I am considering and am curious about this too.

My biggest worry would be the coughing... of course, if you smoke MJ pretty regularly, then maybe you don't get the heavy, hacking cough. I would worry that hard, heavy coughing could cause stitches to split, a hernia, or just be damn painful. But I'm not a doctor, so that's just my opinion.

As for the munchies, I never had them & actually always felt far more in control of my eating that I would when completely sober. I think it is definitely something that varies by person

Good luck & when you do restart smoking, maybe you could post how it went? I'm guessing others would appreciate the info without risking the criticism that goes along with posting the question themselves.

Thanks so much! I would consider your surgeon in Ocala. I think someone else here mentioned Ocala also. In Atlanta where I am looking at (Dr Dennis Smith at Advanced Obesity Surgery) charges around $16,000 not including clearances.. I hate that - knowing I could save 2-$4,000 in Fl or TX but I've been told this particular doctor will NOT follow people who had surgeries in other states. I haven't checked on that with every bariatric surgeon in Atl. though. There are only 4-5 in the metro area I think. I'm still investigating and thinking.. Thanks again!

So glad you are taking this so seriously and looking after your health. Being your own informed advocate is so important. I decided against going to Mexico for some of the same reasons, and because I learned about how there are differences in their hospital system should a true emergency arise than U.S. hospitals. I am sure if there are no problems there are many skilled and sensitive surgeons there, but those uncertainties plus being that far from my surgeon the first week or so made me nervous. Plus, if you have problems develop which need a good experienced bariatric surgeon to fix, many U.S. doctors, understandably, will not jump in to take care of you.

Dr. Mohammad Jawad of Ocala/Orlando is my surgeon, and I can't say enough good about him and the hospital (Ocala Regional Medical Center) and his staff. They were extremely careful. He has done thousands of laparoscopic and bariatric surgeries, including over 200 sleeves, and has only one mortality over those thousands. I would trust him to help decide it all. And, I believe a self pay is around $12-13K, hospital included, plus whatever clearances are not covered by insurance. Not sure how long I would stay in the area before going home, but a few days to a week might be a good idea. There are hotels, and suites hotels, which have great hospital rates. I believe Homestead Suites in Ocala has an under $100 a night hospital rate, and it's across the street from one and around 3 miles from ORMC). Have the post-op doc visit and get the staples out while there would be super careful and conservative.

Good luck.

Thanks for all that info. Wow, most people would have never noticed most of the things you did unless they were a nurse. I would be so nervous I really wouldn't think about # 1 and #3.. maybe #2. I was talking via email to a nurse who works for Dr Alvarez in Mexico- can't recall the city but I know someone who had her sleeve done by him. Anyway, I explained to the nurse that 15 years ago, when I was 35, I had a DVT and PE that put me in the hospital for a week and it was also found at that time that I had Factor V Leiden in my blood- an inherited clotting disorder, basically. I had taken a long plane flight among other risk factors as well. Anyway, that was 15 years ago. So, a hemotologist had me taking Coumadin for the next 10 plus years. I kept going back to see what the latest research said about whether I needed to stay on it since Factor V Leiden is relatively newly discovered I guess. Finally I saw another hemotologist, she tested me again, took my whole situation into account and took me off. I have taken only a daily baby aspirin since. Meanwhile, I have had one surgery since- a total knee replacement in 2008. That surgeon was not concerned about my history and the surgery was definitely needed and a success.

So, after I put all of this in an email to the nurse, she quickly said I was no longer a candidate for any surgery with Dr. Alvarez. I was crushed but confused still. I did have concerns anyway about taking a long plane flight back to GA and maybe that factors in to his decision, no pun intended.. Since then, I have spoken with nurses for two different docs in the US and they both said they didn't believe my history would rule me out, that I would simply need to get special clearances. I am going to an informational seminar tomorrow here in the Atlanta area with one of those doctors- Dennis Smith, MD. I would like to hope I can still do this! We shall see. Thanks for your post!

Thank you. I am sure it would be worth it, too. I am happy you are happy and doing so well.

@MyJourneyBegins: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! 100 Lbs lost is a MAJOR DEAL!!! Enjoy it by celebrating with something nice for yourself!!

@splashdancer: IMO, I'd rather have loose skin than carry around the weight of a whole extra person. You can always cover the loose skin if it bothers you enough, however - you cannot cover up all the extra pounds. Nope, you have to wear that and its out there for everyone to see. I have some loose skin, and I'm sure it will even get worse the smaller I get, but by golly I'm here and I'm happier than I've ever been!!!

Thanks for this info. I jsut recentley saw him on The Doctors, and have been trying to find someone closer to me (I am in GA) who does it. There is a doctor in FL, that is probably closest. I am also trying to determine if it is available anywhere for less than around $18,000. That is the cash estimate from Dr Merema in FL. Please let me know if you can help answer this/ THanks!

My surgeons were Dr. Brian Quebbemann and Dr. Justin Braverman at The N.E.W. Program in Newport Beach - Orange County, California. I actually saw Dr. Quebbemann on the Doctor's TV Show. He showed how he does the gastric sleeve through the belly button. You can't see any scars! I contacted them and my insurance required a facility with a Center of Excellence and these surgeons and their facilities had what I was looking for. Their after-care program is great and their staff support is everything a patient can ask for. I HIGHLY recommend The N.E.W. Program.