Katie713

Buffets are tricky with our little sleeves...I've done a few, but I never get my money's worth!! And no doggy bags At the seafood buffet I usually get a bowl of steamed clams, and take my sweet time when dining with my family...that way the pace works out ok...but you really only eat a few ounces of Protein all the rest is shells...then I might have a bit of stir fry from the teppan grill - 2oz of rib-eye with bean sprouts, mushrooms and a bit of napa cabbage... At the Mexican buffet, 1/2 a bowl of Soup that I just have a few spoon fulls of, then maybe two tacos - and I leave the tortilla behind, a small salad with a nice pepita dressing. I don't go out much to tell you the truth, but vacations are always special and I do intend to enjoy all my future vacations, whatever the table might bring, I will try and enjoy it while still respecting my sleeve.

Deb...have a safe trip home. Take care, go easy on yourself at home. I overdid it a little bit because I felt so good and strained my internal stitches on the largest of the incisions where they pull the excised stomach from. My doctor told me to cut back on activity and REST while I was healing. As good as we may feel, we have fresh incisions that are healing internally and externally. When I would eat, I would also become VERY tired and have to rest for about 1/2 hour. Walking was one of the best ways I gained strength and I walked about a mile every morning while I was recuperating at home. Good luck!!!

I am a patient at Panorama City - Dr. Alskaf is my bariatric doctor. I think my NUT was Stacy...I almost can't remember, I haven't seen her since Options and I completed the program 12/6/11 and had surgery 4/6/12. We had a group of about 25, not sure how many actually had the surgery, alot of people were on the fence.

Just a pencil and a pen. They will give you a big giant notebook and all the handouts and blank forms you can carry

Well, it brings on an accountability factor and it's good training for life after WLS. I'm happy I did the program - I got tons of educational material, made good friends in the group, felt knowledgeable about the procedure and the post-op process. You're in good hands Jimbo!

No they encouraged us to walk and do some resistance training, I think 30 min a day and log it on a form they gave us. Same with food logs. They give you the forms to fill out and turn in weekly, and you weigh in every week and blood pressure check every week, at least we did.

That sounds about right. Later on you can cut down on your carbs if your weight loss slows. I did it around 4 months out. Dr. Zelada was my surgeon. He does good work, and he is very nice isn't he? I don't do follow up meetings, I network here and have a few weight loss friends I bounce things off of. I go for my 6 month post op next Friday 11/3..

At my location, one class per week, one week with the nutrionist the next with the behavioral therapist back and forth. Food and exercise logs required for every week, adherance to a reduced calorie diet and 5-10% weight loss before referral.

I'm planning on having a beautiful lotus blossom done kind of Indian style celebrating my metamorphasis of change. Almost like something you would see with a henna tattoo, lots of scroll work surrounding the central blossom.

Yes, through the Health Education department. In southern California it is called the Options program.

I agree, this doesn't sound normal. You should make contact with your surgeons office ASAP.

buplee...somehow I missed this thread...glad to hear you are on the road to recovery and I am also glad that you came to the conclusion that having the sleeve surgery is the way to go for you. When I first considered WLS I did want the band (not gastric bypass) but had never heard of the sleeve. When I was approved into the bariatric program for WLS, we were introduced to the 3 options (band, sleeve, or gastric bypass) and the benefits and difficulties associated with each (BTW, Kaiser no longer does the band due to difficulties and success rates) and it was suddenly and absolutely clear that the sleeve was the way to go. By now you know that one of the best reasons, is that your food is digested normally - in through an intact espophagus, and out through the pyloric valve which is untouched. You still absorb nutrients the same way you always did. There are no foreign bodies in your abdomen - no rejection - no adjustments required. A huge plus is the tissue removed is that which produces the hormone ghrelin, responsible for our feelings of hunger. This is an all star procedure with great results! I hope that your rehab goes well, and that you are soon able to move forward with your sleeve surgery as you want to. We will be here cheering you on!!

YAY Deb!! Congratulations, you've made it through and it is good to hear that you are feeling ok. Sounds like everything went like clockwork. Now go enjoy the sun and sending nothing but positive thoughts your way!!

DidZ - is that prounounced Ditzy? I love it We all have our "days" and come to think of it, it's not that different than our lives before surgery...but sometimes not having our food crutch there to soothe ourselves can be hard to get used to. Over time it does change, but you do have to find other coping strategies! As others have mentioned, humor helps! I remember not long after surgery, I started crying at a red light for no reason. When the light turned green, I stopped just like that. I think our hormone levels being all over the place does affect our moods, especially for us menopausal women. Menopausal women coming at ya....watch out!! Be kind to yourself. The sun will rise again tomorrow, and as a new day begins, the possibilities are endless!!

I had my surgery in a regular Kaiser hospital, and my surgeon had indicated that if no complications I would just stay over one night under observation and could go home once I was able to take fluid in by mouth the next morning. The day of surgery and through the night, it felt very conforting to have the staff constantly making sure I was comfortable, checking my vitals, giving me meds for nausea and meds to prevent blood clots, and having the morphine pump for pain if I needed it, and I did need it the first night, although not the next morning. You will more than likely be uncomfortable the day of surgery, it is MAJOR surgery even though it is done laparascopically (for most). If you have the choice, I would advise you to take the one night stay, just to be on the safe side. I took 4 weeks off work, but I probably could have gone back to work the next week, because I was feeling pretty good, and I was able to get my nutrition in. Alot of what you will experience will depend on how your body tolerates the surgical procedure, and how well you can stay hydrated and being able to begin eating again. My whole experience was pretty darn good, hopefully yours will be too!! Good luck!!

Is there any freaking popcorn left??? Not the nameless, faceless brand...make it Orville Redenbacher!

VitaleEM....yup, that's it exactly. You won't even feel real restriction until you are on firm solids....then believe me, you WILL stop eating because you cannot eat another bite, and the feeling of fullness can be very uncomfortable. I do still get hunger, so i eat a snack between meals - like a cheese stick or olives or nuts.

I'm a total Walking Dead Head. Literally

You know, I think each NUT has their own recommendations, but for the longest time I was at about 800 calories, and 60-90 grams of protein and maybe 90 carbs, but I had to tweak it to keep losing...after 4 months increased calories to 1000 but lowered my carbs to under 50 grams. The sage advice I got here on this forum helped me see that the most effective weight loss strategy is low carbing. I will increase my carbs once I make goal. Of course I go off plan at times and allow a splurge, but I go back to plan right away. By tracking your food, calories, protein, liquid, carbs you can see what works for YOU. Right now six months out I am eating around 1000-1200 calories and under 40 grams of carbs.

I also have southern California Kaiser...had surgery 4/6/12 at West L.A. The entire program was top notch! So much education, glad I did the 12 week Options program and got used to doing food journals and exercise, by the time I had surgery, I had already lost 26 pounds just doing the program. The surgical team was great and I feel I had excellent care, with no complications whatsoever. Good luck...I am sure you will be pleased with your Kaiser team of doctors and educators!!! I had my referral for surgery two weeks after finishing Options!!

I know it took guts to disclose your story, but as you said, it is your story and people need to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. I am glad that you made it through and are now starting to normalize. I hope that you continue to gain strength so that you can enjoy life with your loved ones!! Take care!!

This is a huge period of adjustment. You will have your down days and your up days, you are doing the right thing, focusing on your fluids and hopefully your Protein and Vitamins. If you can, go outside and take a walk to do some reflective work. Time passes quickly, and as each day goes by, you will start to feel stronger and hopefully get through the mourning of the old days of overeating or just being able to eat what you want. It takes time to accept the new way of eating...and finding other things to make sense of this new lifestyle. Good luck!!

newgrandmother.... I am also a Kaiser patient so I probably got the same dietary suggestions you did during the Options program. What I have found out is that the diet is somewhat carb heavy and not that low in calories either and by trying it over the months I quickly learned that to keep losing weight, I had to decrease carbs and focus on Proteins and then low carb veggies, if carbs were added it should be whole grain. Verbally our nutritionist said one thing and the handouts were different, we were basically told no rice, no Pasta, no white potatoes, no bread, (except toasted whole wheat) no regular tortillas, no chips, no sweets, etc. (This is all mostly during the losing phase, maintenance is different, of course) As you move forward you should be able to see what works for you, so keep your journals, they really help to let you examine what worked and what didn't. I do find that if I eat my Protein (about 4-6 oz) first, I can hardly eat much else, so I do have a few sprigs of a veggie like broccoli or brussle spouts or cauliflower or squash. Also, when I eat a good protein for a meal, it holds me longer, I don't get hungry as fast. Good luck on your journey....I am six months out and feeling great!

fyre_storm....interestingly enough, most people show their weight loss in their face and neck first...so if you do embark on this journey...just imagine the compliments!! You have such a slim handsome face!!

Obviously how one feels after surgery is different for everybody. I was lucky, not too much pain just some discomfort, I was walking around the same afternoon. The gas pains are annoying but they go away fairly soon. I had a specific plan to follow for the re-introduction of foods. One thing will remain the same, try to get in at least 64 oz of liquids every day and 60-80 grams of Protein. Most people start with a couple of days of Clear Liquids, Isopure for protein (you can buy it at Vitamin Shoppe or GNC) decaf coffee and decaf tea, all sugar free non-carbonated drinks, chicken, beef or vegetable broth, SF Jello and SF popsicles.....after that full liquids including regular Protein shakes, creamy soups, thinned out hot Cereal, thinned out yogurt, SF puddings, jello. After 2 weeks, move to pureed or mushy foods, hot cereals, softly scrambled eggs, soups, softly cooked meats and veggies (think crockpot meals) yogurt, cottage cheese with fruit, refried Beans with melted cheese, chili beans, mashed potatoes with canned chicken and gravy, tuna and any soft fish, stuff like that. At this stage of the diet, I was still drinking 2 protein shakes to meet my daily goals and lots of decaf hot and iced tea. At 4-6 weeks start introducing more solids, start slowly and see how you tolerate foods, move toward being able to get in at least 4 oz of a solid protein, then a non-starch veggie...try and stay away from carbs for the most part, if you do eat carbs have whole grains if possible. At 6 months out I can eat most things but not very much of them. I do still drink a Protein shake each day, and sometimes a Protein Bar as a snack. I was not hungry after surgery and it took a while to normalize and feel hunger come back, but not with a vengeance, and you get full so fast. I have 2 hiccups when I am full and that has happened since I had this surgery. A lot of people get these little burps/hiccups that signal fullness, or a runny nose, it's weird, but a good signal from the body. I feel normal, just that I can only eat very small meals, but you have to eat right to keep losing weight and exercising. That has to continue ...so be prepared, the sleeve is a tool, but you still have to make the right choices. I am so happy with my sleeve...down to a size 14 from a 3X-4X and I can walk for miles, and none of my old clothes fit, they are tent size on me....this is the best decision I ever made for myself. Good luck !!!!