Globetrotter

I have Tricare Standard too and don't have the option of using an Army hospital and my civilian surgeon doesn't take Standard, only Prime and I can't change up my plan till November, grrrr!!

I look at it this way; what has eating the entire meal ever done for me besides lead to my misery? I'm actually looking forward to having just a few bites do it for me; I will dust off conversational skills with my dining companions, spend less on food, enjoy a wide variety of foods because I literally won't be able to digest old bad stand-bys. Cleaning my plate has not led to my happiness and if it upsets others to see uneaten food in front of me, they are welcome to it!

compression stockings, what a great idea! I bought some for long haul flights, coupla bucks at any Wal-Mart or K-Mart or whatev.

Bougie is french for "candle" and my surgeon just calls it a French. I'm really glad I asked how many VSG's my surgeon has done, I was shy to ask it like I was questioning his abilities, but I'm glad I did it. Turns out he's done 900, sounds good to me!

ARGH! I'll tell you what ticks me off, internalizing the message that thin is a synonym for pretty and vice versa. Shiftling, you are pretty, I can see your picture. This thin girl at your work is not pretty per se, she is priviledged. Those who are used to priviledge demand what they please and their attitude of ownership bends those around them to believe in their superiority. Stop thinking of her as pretty, she sounds hideous to me.

That is a good idea, submitting the other costs to my insurance, hadn't thought of that ... Asking for an itemized invoice, also excellent, see this is why VST is awesome, more brains to puzzle stuff out! =) Yeah, I'm set firm on my surgeon. He's one of the best in the world and happens to be based in my hometown but yeah, the price just staggered me and I was kind of affronted by my having to run around making these payments, if their charging so much, shouldn't they be doing some of these things?

It's a given that salt and hot spicey chilies are a no-go in the immediate aftermath of surgery, but what about other herbs and spices? Herbs de Provence, Tarragon, Safron, Sweet Basil. If I'm going to have to live off baby food for a few weeks it would help if I could make it interesting. Also, there is a tea out there called Kombucha which is supposedly really good for your digestion, bowels, etc. I don't know if I believe that but does anyone know if it's okay to drink?

I'm not angry, I was frustrated and venting. It is just a complication that I will have to find a way around, I am organizing my surgery from half-way around the world which adds all manner of complications.

Cool - thanks!

Wow, KathyM you really hit the nail on the head, I got a lump in my throat! Passing a glass reflection and not feeling sad .... so so true! On a lighter note, when I hit my goal weight I'm going to go to the fanciest department store in town (San Francisco), go to the couture department and try on fancy label clothes that I could not have begun to fit into before! Chanel, Donna Karan, Diane Von Furstenburg. I don't need/want to buy them, it will just be so cool to know I too can participate. =)

Hi All, I just had my phone consult with my surgeon and he said that he uses a 32 bougie, he just called it a french which makes sense. I'm a little alarmed at such a small size, he admits that he does what is called, "a tight sleeve", meaning that even a year out you can fit in a single boiled egg. This concerns me, yes of course I want a smaller stomach that's the point of the surgery, but I have lurked on these boards long enough that I know that more problems arise the smaller the stomach is. Also, were I to get pregnant, I would want to be able to consume enough nutrition without it being a constant scary concern. Finally, we have no data on WLS patients when they become elderly. If my stomach is that small and oversewn so it won't stretch, what will I do when I am 80 and have difficulty getting enough nutrition anyway? I'd really love to hear what everone has to say before I go and freak out on my surgeon.

I can't even see the pics embedded in thread responses, oh well. =(

Hey, maybe this hunger is a good sign, maybe it means that you are a fast healer and were ready for the soft food and then hard food stages before the average sleever!

This body temp shift is apparently common in people who have lost large amounts of weight, regardless of method. I read a memoir of a woman who lost a massive amount of weight through diet and she commented that all of the women in her support group including herself were always freezing. I guess the body gets used to having 100+ lbs of insulation and it takes time to readjust. I'm looking forward to it, I'll get to wear layers for the first time and won't break into a sweat if the room temp is more than sub-zero! =)

Thanks everybody! you've helped put things in perspective and calmed my fears. It's one thing to talk about getting WLS, but now that I've set a date and begun the ForReal journey, I'm probably getting a little manic.=)

You can usually get ginger root in the vegetable section of a good grocery store but it's not important that it be the root, I just like it. I've suffered from a delicate stomach all my life; curvy roads, airplanes, cartwheels!! In my job now I have to fly a LOT and do so in really rough conditions so I had to look into all the ways to cure nausea. Typical pills and patches do zip for me so I looked in the other direction and discovered that ginger has been a cure for nausea for thousands of years. You can get Reed's Ginger Chews, which are an all natural chewy candy, or crystalized ginger pieces, or pure ginger tea bags or the root itself. soak it, make a "concentrate" keep it icy cold and you have a sharp, spicy, refreshing drink that also keeps your tummy happy and nausea a thing o the past! =)

There was about 5 hot minutes in my mid-late teens before I got fat when I had the confidence and authority that comes with knowing you look good. I would like to have that back, along with: people looking me in the eye instead of staring at my gut, buying cheap clothes and never darkening the doorstep of LaneBryant again! Never giving it a second thought when I am ushered to a booth or delicate chair or airplane economy seat. Not asking for a seatbelt extender on airplanes. wearing a regular non fancy basic racing swimsuit at a public pool and diving in without anybody giving me any particular kind of look. Not being the sidekick buddy when the girls go out - being visible to men. wearing bright colors and patterns without looking like a couch or overgrown toddler. And so much more!!!!!

Will we ever be able to glug glug water again? Sometimes there's nothing so satisfying on a hot summer day as chugging an icy water. Never again? When I have my surgery I will put ginger root in my water, to give it a refreshing sharpness and to take care of nausea.

This is so exciting, only 11 days out and 20 lbs!! It took me four months of intense struggle to lose that much the "old-fashioned" way. What were you eating in those 11 days that helped you so much?

Hi, where I live and work hydration is a major issue. In the hottest months of July, August and September I drink about 6 large nalgene-style water bottles a day. Another concern here is electrolytes, drink too much water and don't eat enough or eat enough salt and you can damage your body even worse, and send yourself into renal failure. So, with that in mind, are sport electrolyte powder packets okay after surgery? They are disgusting but I try to make one of my six daily water bottles an electrolyte bottle. And just so nobody thinks I'm exaggerating the heat, I work in Iraq with the Army and in August/September it gets between 120-130 F. I work indoors thank goodness but it doesn't take a lot of actual exposure to still feel the effects.

I'm interested in the exact measuring of food for protein's sake; I'll be keeping a food diary so I can make sure I am taking in the right amounts of protein etc. and my brain understands stuff better when I have hard numbers and portion sizes to attribute to so many grams of protein.

I haven't had the surgery yet (soon I hope!) but I am trying to cover as many bases as I can before the event. Does anyone know where I could buy - or if one even exists! - an ounces measuring cup/tube/pipette? Short of carrying around a shot glass with me in the first few weeks as I get aclimated to my new ounces-eating, I don't know how I will measure out 2, 4, 6 ounces. I travel a lot and eat in unusual circumstances so having a food scale is not practical. Thoughts?