stoongal

I was self pay so only had to have my regular Dr's okay, and since I had just had 2 knee replacements the previous year and sailed thru them, he had no problem with saying I was fit for the surgery. Compared to the knee replacements, this is an easy surgery - so glad you are considering the sleeve, it really works well and once you are losing, & you can get rid of the too-big clothes knowing you won't ever need them again. I am amazed at how we at this age can do this and know that some of our health problems will be alleviated - I no longer have stress incontinence, or high blood pressure and am off my Lipitor for good! And I am still considered obese at 175 lbs. but I do believe we will have lengthened our life span by losing this weight! So good on you for taking this step, any questions, just ask away!
Cheers,
Donna

No wonder I am the only one in this category, turns out I am the oldest sleeve patient - period!
Also set a new record! My sleeve only took Dr. Almanza 35 minutes from start to finish!
Everything went so smoothly, no bleeding, no problems whatsoever!
I am feeling truly blessed!
Just got home to Canada today, had a nap and now feel raring to go!
So will check in on the other forums and see what I missed!

I too have stopped needing blood pressure medications! But best of all, I have no more stress incontinence! Halleluia!

I was self pay so only had to have my regular Dr's okay, and since I had just had 2 knee replacements the previous year and sailed thru them, he had no problem with saying I was fit for the surgery. Compared to the knee replacements, this is an easy surgery - so glad you are considering the sleeve, it really works well and once you are losing, & you can get rid of the too-big clothes knowing you won't ever need them again. I am amazed at how we at this age can do this and know that some of our health problems will be alleviated - I no longer have stress incontinence, or high blood pressure and am off my Lipitor for good! And I am still considered obese at 175 lbs. but I do believe we will have lengthened our life span by losing this weight! So good on you for taking this step, any questions, just ask away!
Cheers,
Donna

I was self pay so only had to have my regular Dr's okay, and since I had just had 2 knee replacements the previous year and sailed thru them, he had no problem with saying I was fit for the surgery. Compared to the knee replacements, this is an easy surgery - so glad you are considering the sleeve, it really works well and once you are losing, & you can get rid of the too-big clothes knowing you won't ever need them again. I am amazed at how we at this age can do this and know that some of our health problems will be alleviated - I no longer have stress incontinence, or high blood pressure and am off my Lipitor for good! And I am still considered obese at 175 lbs. but I do believe we will have lengthened our life span by losing this weight! So good on you for taking this step, any questions, just ask away!
Cheers,
Donna

A HUGE welcome, JudyX3---
Love your story, brought tears to my eyes as I, and so many of us, relate to your experiences with the extra 100 lbs. We will indeed be sleeve sisters, all of us, and support each other in any way we can.
We are grateful to those who have gone before us to give us the advice we ask for as they understand what we are going through.
Anyway, thanks you for sharing your story, and keep them coming (your posts that is)
Donna:001_cool:

Tiffy, I am looking so forward to displacing enough Water I can float in the tub! Wow, so great!
But tonight in prep for my trip back to MX with my family, I soaked in the bathtub, something I haven't been able to do for a very long time, due to being so very heavy and with 2 knee replacements in 08. But I was able to get in and out gracefully, even knelt on the one knee that was done first to get out and it wasn't so bad as I thought it would be! Not a biggie for an NSV, but I almost cried with relief that I can bathe again and not just shower all the time!

I and at least two others from Saskatoon are here as members.
I didn't even try to get thru our system, just went straight to Mexico,
had the surgery Monday and home now and feeling like it was the best decision I ever made.
My cost?
$100 for the passport, $5000 for the surgery and airfare, $28 for comprehensive travellers medical coverage, and that was about it. Have had to take out a $5000 line of credit at my bank but worth every penny!

Yes, Tracy,
Our doctors gave us the Cornell list as an option for us to follow but thier own guidelines given were also for liquids the first week and in the second week adding apple sauce, Soup broths (potato, Tomato, lentil, vegetable and chicken) and third wk adding chopped fruit (tiny pieces) and whole veg juices. 4th 5th and 6th weeks were menus consisting of a lot of things like canned tuna, ritz crackers, yogurt, blended chicken breast, cheese milk, oatmeal etc. as well as the former Soups liquids etc.
So I do think we followed much of it but I know I did deviate with the addition of the meats I tried out, (only twice with the beef) so now at 8 weeks feel good about my choices for me...like I said... but secretly I have always felt that people who argue with their doctors live longer. (because they take responsibility for their health and are proactive usually)
And I don't mean they literally argue, but that they don't always follow everything doctors recommend due to their own research and knowledge.
Sounds sassy of me, but I have seen too many generations of doctors who have been so very wrong and are so slow to accept paradigm shifts.
I remember doctors touting smoking and thalidimide and countless other drugs that harmed a great deal of the population, and we think today how could they have, well they are human and get caught up in the days notions and go with the flow with pharmaceuticals. Not to say that this operation and diet recommendations are anyway linked to this, but my trust in doctors has been badly damaged over all my 7 decades and I cannot believe they alone have all the answers to our health and our bodies. Yes, I listen, but I also listen to my own inner wisdom and common sense, chalk it up to my thinking doctors are wonderful at fixing broken bodies and finding diseases but for maintaining our own health sometimes we need to shoulder that responsibilty ourselves and we do have that right!
Sorry didn't mean to get on a soap box here, just got off topic somewhat so you can understand where I am coming from.

It is really weird,
Have been eating ham slices from about the third week post-op and have had small pieces of steak tnderloin, and pork tenderloin and had no problems except for eating too much too fast (as they are so good!) but that is a learning process...I just don't do fatty things like bacon or sausages and haven't done ground beef yet, but feel I could if I wanted to, I even have had carbs - but not many. Hate denying myself so many things, and if that makes the weight come off a bit slower so be it. At least it is coming off!
The Cornell Weight Loss Hospital recommends for its sleeve patient that they go on mushies as soon as they get home from the hospital...go figure! So I added some of those ideas into my diet fairly early on. Did not want to be a slave to anyone else's dictates, if my tummy could handle it I was fine with it all. Just had to be sensible and go slowly and use my common sense. Seems to work for me.
I expect doctors figure we lack a lot of common sense (why we got fat in the first place?) and need strict guidelines. But at my age I know myself and I can be very reasonable about my food choices, especially with this restriction.
So the message is do what you think is right and go slowly and try things for yourself. Just make smart choices.
Cheers,
Donna:001_cool: