Time2Lose

Hey All:
As I count down to my surgery, I have tried to calm my jitters by continuing to be more informed about the surgery, the effects, the complications. I have found some very informative videos on youtube posted by a Dr. G. Alvarez. Search "Endobariatric" within www.youtube.com.
11 days to go!

If you have the bucks I recommend the Ninja Kitchen System 1100. It seriously kicks backside.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ninja-Kitchen-System/16513417#Product+Reviews

Thanks guys! I was able to get them out! A few of the scars seem to ooze a bit though...yuck!

My surgery was March 1st: below is an excerpt from my pre-op instructions.
You will need to be on a liquid ONLY diet. You may have broth (chicken, beef or vegetable), sugar-free Jell-O, sugar-free ice pops, sugar free juice, Clear liquids (i.e. Crystal Lite, Diet Snapple, water), coffee or tea with a sugar substitute, and Protein powder mixed with Water. The key to the liquid diet is LOW sugar and LOW carbs. NO SOLIDS of any kind. Please also be sure to begin getting as much exercise as much as possible. Just walking 30 minutes a day 5 - 7 days a week is sufficient. This will aid in your recovery and lesson complication risks. This is the recommended pre-op diet for those with a BMI of 40 or below.

There is a soup I make (it's African) that I used to replace chicken broth, which I find is just so bland.
Two chops up onions, tomato puree (enough to make the color of the broth to your liking - I prefer it red), 2-3 bay leaves, some black pepper, some salt (to taste), some seasoned salt, lots of thyme, scotch bonnet peppers (I like pepper though, so you can skip this); a spoon or two of sugar; chicken legs/thighs/wings/oxtail/beef (clearly you would not be consuming these after the soup is done - you can freeze them for when you can actually eat them); pop all items in a pressure cooker and cook under medium heat for about 30 to 45 mins depending on the number of creature you have in it; and Bob's your uncle! Sorry...forgive the British slang there lol!
When you can do soft foods you can include potatoes and carrots before your pressurize...very yum!!

My surgery was March 1st: below is an excerpt from my pre-op instructions.
You will need to be on a liquid ONLY diet. You may have broth (chicken, beef or vegetable), sugar-free Jell-O, sugar-free ice pops, sugar free juice, Clear liquids (i.e. Crystal Lite, Diet Snapple, water), coffee or tea with a sugar substitute, and Protein powder mixed with Water. The key to the liquid diet is LOW sugar and LOW carbs. NO SOLIDS of any kind. Please also be sure to begin getting as much exercise as much as possible. Just walking 30 minutes a day 5 - 7 days a week is sufficient. This will aid in your recovery and lesson complication risks. This is the recommended pre-op diet for those with a BMI of 40 or below.

Yup, your symptoms sound about right for 2 to 3 days out. Hang in there, it gets better.

Blackanese25: You look smoking! I have always rocked my heavy weight, I am pear shaped and so I could always get away with cute tops and the usual denim or black pants (wide legs) to balance my hips out. But I bet 4 months from now my mouth would be on the floor when I do my before (258lbs) and after (??lbs) pics. I think we like to convince ourselves when we are at our heaviest that it's not so bad. Keep up the good work! I'm lookin forward to getting to where you are at!!

I have only told 3 good friends, my mum and my siblings. One of the friends had the procedure done last year so no fear of judgment there; one asked a lot of questions but was supportive and the other is totally with me on it. I think it is no one's business how I achieve my weight loss and that's just my personal view on the matter. They would notice the weight loss and all I would say is "thanks" to compliments and "well it was about time I took my health seriously and eat right" to the question "how are you doing it?"
See people can be very judgmental and this is a very emotional decision and given that they have not lived our lives I think they need to mind their business and I'll mind mine. I am happy with my choice and I am not going to allow anyone to dampen that.

Well I am finally post-op! I opted for Dr Almanza in Tijuana Mexico. Was picked up with about 6 other patients at San Diego airport and driven to the hospital which is in a strip mall. It was relatively small but very clean. They had us register (passports, green cards etc.) then did our blood work. The nurse (Lupita) was pretty darn good. I have never in all of my annual exams had blood drawn at the first try and certainly not after having zero liquids in 12 hours. Lupita got it in a single shot; needless to say to was impressed. I was anticipating a minimum of 3-4 tries.
We then went through an intake process; personal history (illnesses, alcohol and drug usage; family history, pregnancies etc.). We were then prepped (i.e. got into hospital gowns, got IV drips attached for hydration and then waited). The cardiologist Dr. Diego came by and did his tests to ensure no redflags with the heart. Dr. Almanza dropped by to introduce himself and took a pre-op pic with me. They operate in order of BMI, with the lowest going first. I was 4th, which meant I waited for approximately 4-5 hours; however I was comfortable and slept for a good portion of it.
They came by to get me and all I can remember is getting on the table, stretching my arms out and then the next thing I know I was being taken into my room. The night nurse was kind, came by with little bowls to spit up into thanks to the nausea; rubbed our backs (I had a roommate) when we had too much gas pain and kept up the meds for pain, antibiotics and nausea.
I spent most of the night making trips to the bathroom - too hydrated - which given the intake restriction post op isn't a bad idea. The next morning, we received medicine packs to take home with us. Naproxen, Cipro, Maalox and antibacterial spray for the incision sites.
The issue at this point was gas!! It hurt my chest and the center of my back. There was little pain related to the incisions except when getting up or switching positions. I can tolerate popsicles, but drinking liquids no matter how slowly just hurts going down. We did our leakage test yesterday and had to drink some of the most vile tasting liquids to ever cross my lips!! But thankfully no leaks. I opted to come back stateside once the drainage tube was removed (ouch!) and good decision because it took 3.5hrs to get back into the US vs the 30 minutes it took to get into Mexico. I fly back to the East Coast today. My only concern now is getting enough liquids and Protein in.
The hospital, doctors, and nurses were competent and kind and I'm so far glad I did this.

Hey:
I have a few sayings that I found and saved in preparation to succeed. I'll just type them out here and you can copy them into Word and print them out and maybe stick them on your fridge or the cabinet with the bad foods :-)
PATIENCE. Let's be realistic here. You won't drop two jean sizes in one day. You won't lose fifty pounds in a month. You're going to binge (or be tempted to) every now and then. You will go a day or two without working out. Your weight is going to fluctuate here and there. You're going to try new techniques, and they're not going to work. You're a human being. You're going to fail (sometimes). But nothing GREAT is ever accomplished without a FEW obstacles. JUST KEEP GOING!!
Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs, the burning in your legs and the voice inside you that yells "I CAN'T!" But you do not listen. You just push harder. Then your hear that voice fade away and start to whisper "I CAN". That's the moment you discover that the person you thought you were is not match for the one you really are!!
RISE ABOVE IT! NO EXCUSES!
You've had a long day at work
Your legs are a little sore from yesterday's workout
It's raining outside
It's cold outside
It's hot outside
The drive is too far
You don't have time
Your alarm clock didn't go off
These are all excuses made by common folk
You are not common
You are not a quitter
You are not the person you may have been in the past
You are a ferocious, unyielding competitor
You will succeed
You will UNDENIABLY...Rise Above It!!
Rise Above It Wondering1. Good luck!

Thanks for the good advice everyone.
Circa - thanks for the advice. The treadmill is in the family room where the tv is. A lot of times that helps, but sometimes I just don't get my arse off the couch.
thinoneday - I agree with you.. I am bored. I've decided to join a Pilates class and go twice a week.
dorrie - I tried to find a therapist in my area but no luck. I will have to drive a little over an hour to see one. I find this very frustrating because I think it really would help.
Meg - get rid of all my crap food? really? should I? could I? I don't think I can. Again, I know this is a choice I'm making but I keep telling myself I can deal with stuff in the house. I don't have Cookies or chips or anything so its not that bad but this Mountain Trail Mix that Walmart sells tempts me everyday and is full of fat. Maybe I'll stick it in my hubby's car so that he can munch on it all day.
Time 2 Lose - thanks so much for your RISE ABOVE IT list. I'm posting it on my fridge. That was awesome!!
and thank you everyone else that responded. I'm back on track today and my goal is to keep myself on track for lent. so another 44 days. I know I can make it. We all can....
Thanks again everyone. You guys are great.

Hey:
I have a few sayings that I found and saved in preparation to succeed. I'll just type them out here and you can copy them into Word and print them out and maybe stick them on your fridge or the cabinet with the bad foods :-)
PATIENCE. Let's be realistic here. You won't drop two jean sizes in one day. You won't lose fifty pounds in a month. You're going to binge (or be tempted to) every now and then. You will go a day or two without working out. Your weight is going to fluctuate here and there. You're going to try new techniques, and they're not going to work. You're a human being. You're going to fail (sometimes). But nothing GREAT is ever accomplished without a FEW obstacles. JUST KEEP GOING!!
Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs, the burning in your legs and the voice inside you that yells "I CAN'T!" But you do not listen. You just push harder. Then your hear that voice fade away and start to whisper "I CAN". That's the moment you discover that the person you thought you were is not match for the one you really are!!
RISE ABOVE IT! NO EXCUSES!
You've had a long day at work
Your legs are a little sore from yesterday's workout
It's raining outside
It's cold outside
It's hot outside
The drive is too far
You don't have time
Your alarm clock didn't go off
These are all excuses made by common folk
You are not common
You are not a quitter
You are not the person you may have been in the past
You are a ferocious, unyielding competitor
You will succeed
You will UNDENIABLY...Rise Above It!!
Rise Above It Wondering1. Good luck!

Hey:
I have a few sayings that I found and saved in preparation to succeed. I'll just type them out here and you can copy them into Word and print them out and maybe stick them on your fridge or the cabinet with the bad foods :-)
PATIENCE. Let's be realistic here. You won't drop two jean sizes in one day. You won't lose fifty pounds in a month. You're going to binge (or be tempted to) every now and then. You will go a day or two without working out. Your weight is going to fluctuate here and there. You're going to try new techniques, and they're not going to work. You're a human being. You're going to fail (sometimes). But nothing GREAT is ever accomplished without a FEW obstacles. JUST KEEP GOING!!
Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs, the burning in your legs and the voice inside you that yells "I CAN'T!" But you do not listen. You just push harder. Then your hear that voice fade away and start to whisper "I CAN". That's the moment you discover that the person you thought you were is not match for the one you really are!!
RISE ABOVE IT! NO EXCUSES!
You've had a long day at work
Your legs are a little sore from yesterday's workout
It's raining outside
It's cold outside
It's hot outside
The drive is too far
You don't have time
Your alarm clock didn't go off
These are all excuses made by common folk
You are not common
You are not a quitter
You are not the person you may have been in the past
You are a ferocious, unyielding competitor
You will succeed
You will UNDENIABLY...Rise Above It!!
Rise Above It Wondering1. Good luck!

So today I went to the mall in desperate need of new jeans. All my jeans all falling off me and I don't have any at the next lower size. Anyways all the jeans in the plus size sections or stores are too big for me! Yes- I was finally able to purchase jeans again in a regular store! Been a long time and I was so happy to be back. It was like seeing an old friend! I'm here again and this time to stay. I will not go back to the plus sizes!!! What a great feeling- can't wait to wear my new jeans!

Congratulations!!! Reading your post gives me courage. My surgery is scheduled for March 1st. Looking forward to a healthy life!