Back~To~Amy

I'm very sorry for your loss Kimberly but glad your father is not suffering any longer. Peace be with you during this difficult time.

No regrets here either. Tomorrow, I will be 8 weeks out. Early on, I had some "regrets" but really those times were when my pain wasn't under control. I wish I would've done this years ago.

Or, people could stop being such jerks to one another and realize at one point we were ALL obese, all have/had an obvious food issue and all are HUMAN. Just sayin.

Hi everyone! I'm doing good. Pain is under control. Just had Breakfast of puréed eggs and cream of wheat. Hoping to go home today!

Hi Natty and welcome to VST. After surgery, the primary focus of your diet will be getting in sufficient Protein and eating lower in carbs. I would imagine juice is very carb heavy. However, that being said, I don't worry too much about how many carbs I eat. I eat such a little amout of food now that, by virtue of eating a lot of protein, my carb count doesn't get that high. I don't see why you couldn't incorporate a Protein Powder into your juices. I wouldn't just juice without protein powder though because that is just liquid calories without our VSG'ers most important nutrient, protein. Best of luck to you on your journey.

Congrats on your success!

Forest Park accepts it because I used it on my sinus surgery there 2 months before my VSG there.

Not a one. I took GREAT comfort in Dr. Kim's complication/leak rate. The national average for leaks and such is 1%. His is .01%, so anytime I started to feel really nervous or freaked out, that thought was very calming.
I am doing very very well. Almost 80lbs since February! I was hoping for 60 by October. I blew that number right out of the water!

Dr. Nicholson is amazing, as is Brittany his PA!!! I can't say enough wonderful things about him, he is very personable and I felt so confident in my decision to be sleeved by him! Forest Park is a wonderful facility, truly top notch!

As of this week's weigh in, I have officially lost 30% of my body weight. And today the scale was at 200.8. I am this [ ] close to Onederland!!! Oh how happy I am. I still can't believe this is real and it feels so good. So to Celebrate, I'm heading to the gym!
Onederland, here I come!

I don't know about the hotel stays either as I am local to the area. I did not have a catheter or a drain with Dr. Kim. His nurse said that because the surgery is not very long, they typically do not have to put in a catheter and she said she had only seen one time in all her years that he had to leave a drain.
Dr. Kim's pre-op diet does seem to be a standard two week diet on the shakes you buy from his office. I am almost six months out and still try to have a Protein drink a few times a week. When I went in last week for my regular check-up, I bought more just because I haven't found too many others that I like and the price comes out about the same. I think the post-op diet was four weeks of liquids and then a couple weeks of mushy foods. How funny that I never thought I would live through it and now I am forgetting what it was already. :-) He gives you a ton of information in the BENDS classes about the diet.
As far as which surgeon is better, we each have to make the personal decision on that with what best fit our own needs. Do your research and ask tons of questions until you feel comfortable with the surgeon you choose. In the DFW metroplex area we are very fortunate that we have multiple great doctors to choose from.

I wasn't bitter prior to my surgery, but I did suffer with some depression. My body HURT all the time and doing anything seemed like a lot of work. I always put on a happy face, but inside I wasn't happy. I was "drowning" in my weight and I felt like I was too far under Water to swim to the top. I didn't want to die or anything, but I sure didn't look forward to the future. Now, I'm almost 7 weeks out and down about 44 pounds and my whole outlook on life has changed and more importantly, my whole body doesn't hurt like it did. Today, I look forward to the future. Heck, I can't wait for it.
Good luck to you!

I wasn't bitter prior to my surgery, but I did suffer with some depression. My body HURT all the time and doing anything seemed like a lot of work. I always put on a happy face, but inside I wasn't happy. I was "drowning" in my weight and I felt like I was too far under Water to swim to the top. I didn't want to die or anything, but I sure didn't look forward to the future. Now, I'm almost 7 weeks out and down about 44 pounds and my whole outlook on life has changed and more importantly, my whole body doesn't hurt like it did. Today, I look forward to the future. Heck, I can't wait for it.
Good luck to you!

I wasn't bitter prior to my surgery, but I did suffer with some depression. My body HURT all the time and doing anything seemed like a lot of work. I always put on a happy face, but inside I wasn't happy. I was "drowning" in my weight and I felt like I was too far under Water to swim to the top. I didn't want to die or anything, but I sure didn't look forward to the future. Now, I'm almost 7 weeks out and down about 44 pounds and my whole outlook on life has changed and more importantly, my whole body doesn't hurt like it did. Today, I look forward to the future. Heck, I can't wait for it.
Good luck to you!

I wasn't bitter prior to my surgery, but I did suffer with some depression. My body HURT all the time and doing anything seemed like a lot of work. I always put on a happy face, but inside I wasn't happy. I was "drowning" in my weight and I felt like I was too far under Water to swim to the top. I didn't want to die or anything, but I sure didn't look forward to the future. Now, I'm almost 7 weeks out and down about 44 pounds and my whole outlook on life has changed and more importantly, my whole body doesn't hurt like it did. Today, I look forward to the future. Heck, I can't wait for it.
Good luck to you!

I'm not sure that your whole body hurting would be considered a comorbidity. However, I thought that insurance required a comorbidites if you were at a lower BMI. I would think that being 150 pounds overweight alone would be enough. Have you called your insurance to see what they tell you? You may not have any comorbidites now, but at 150 pounds overweight, you likely will soon. To me, the insurance would be saving money by not having to pay for medical expenses for issues you are certain to develop down the road. I hope they get everything straightened out soon and you get the approval you deserve.

Typically, yes in the beginning. Also, men in average lose quicker than women.

I never have been able to find one that fits right.

Before I became "addicted" to VST, I was "addicted" to Pinterest. I have tons of recipes, most low fat ones. They were not liked/pinned with the Protein content in mind since the majority of them were liked/pinned prior to any thoughts of WLS. I like the idea of having a board specifically for recipes that are more protein focused. However, I'm not out about my surgery to a lot of my followers so for now, I won't be doing that. I will however, put the recipes on my computer to refer to and use in the future.

I was worried about the preop diet and the liquid portion of the postop diet. Here I am off restriction since this past Tuesday and I can't believe the 8 weeks (2 preop, 6 postop) have passed. I really doubted making it through it all but I did. Remember the big picture and that the diet restrictions are only for a small time in the whole scheme of life.
Believe in yourself! You CAN do this!

I was worried about the preop diet and the liquid portion of the postop diet. Here I am off restriction since this past Tuesday and I can't believe the 8 weeks (2 preop, 6 postop) have passed. I really doubted making it through it all but I did. Remember the big picture and that the diet restrictions are only for a small time in the whole scheme of life.
Believe in yourself! You CAN do this!

Welcome to VST. You will find lots of information and support here. I'm probably biased, but I think this board is the best support board out there. Best of luck to you on your journey.

That is really cool. Congrats Lissa and have fun with your new "toy"!