SerendipityHappens

This is so delicious, I'm sure it's been posted before but I couldn't find it and it's definitely re-post worthy anyway! 1.5 cups low sodium low fat cottage cheese (can use regular)I used 1% 1 envelope sugar free orange jell-o 2 scoops vanilla or one scoop vanilla and one scoop orange Protein powder (I used jay rob which like most isolate powders has 26 g protein per scoop) Mix 2/3 cup boiling Water with Jello powder stir until dissolved. Pour into blender Add one cup cold water and 2 scoops Protein Powder stir until mostly dissolved, (it may not dissolve all the way) Add cottage cheese.. Blend well until smooth. pour into four glasses/cups refrigerate until set. Makes 4 servings. Each serving is about 2/3 cup 133 calories, 23g protein, 1.5g fat, 5g carb I also made this with strawberry jell-o and strawberry protein powder. DELISH. There is also a variation that uses lemon jell-o, and calls for the addition of 2T sugar free jello cheesecake instant pudding It's supposedly tastes like cheese cake.. I haven't tried that yet because the pudding mix is not on my pre-op diet.

It's somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one who struggled with the math. I actually had my coordinator tell me when to get my tickets. I was getting confused counting DAYS when I should have been counting NIGHTS. She even helped me pick my surgery day so I could get the cheapest flights.

Excellent, I'll see you there! Not sure what floor I'll be on since I'm with Cabrera but I know Mi is a teeny hospital so I'm sure we'll find each other. Are you staying at the Marriott?

Many people fly back a day early and some take an extra day. For me I'm flying in on the 12th, surgery on the 13th and I'm flying out on MONDAY. I am paying for an extra day. If I just went with what my package offers, I'd be flying back on Sunday, but I arrived a day before you. MBC give one preop night in the hotel, two nights in the hospital and then two more nights in the hotel... Does R4C give one less night in the hotel?

YAY! I've been doing an 800 calorie VLCD since December 3rd and I'm currently on day 7 of my actual 21 day preop. I do get a "lean and green" meal (piece of lean protein and a salad of greens)which is kind of nice. I DO know how it feels to do all liquids though as I have done that before (both with shakes and I once did a 30 day juice fast) The first few days are SO HARD, sometimes I would just go to bed rather than endure seeing food... but by day four or so you really start feeling better and stop being so hungry. AND, your body is very kind to you since there is a chemical response when you go very low carb and enter ketosis, that releases a chemical similar to the drug xtacy. This feeling often kicks in between days 3 and 7 and can last from several days to a few weeks!!! So DON'T cheat and eat carbs or you'll lose out on this natural high which can really help carry you through the process. I'm super excited for you. I think having a longer preop period is actually a very positive thing as it has really been helping me feel much more mentally prepared for this surgery!

I agree... With the exception of the comparison to the bypass. When a bypass patient talks about "stretching their stomach" it's actually a misnomer. The bypass pouch is not made of the fundus, it is just the very top part of the stomach that is stapled into a pouch. It is actually the connection that the doctor creates between the stomach and the intestine that looses it's tightness and food is allowed to go quickly into the intestine, almost making the intestine act like a full size stomach! Because Sleeve patients do not have any alteration of the connection between stomach and intestine, then this is not an issue for us. Also I've heard some people compare sleeve stretching due to consistent overeating to blowing up a balloon. The first time you blow up a balloon it is very resistant and difficult to do, but as you inflate and deflate it many times it then it will become easier to blow up. It's not stretched out, and there is still going to be some resistance to blowing up, but it's just not going to be quite as tight as before.

YES!!! The first time I ever went into ketosis. My tongue turned white and felt like a giant caterpillar and all the skin on the inside of my cheeks peeled off! This time around, it's not quite as bad.. but my tongue still feels weird.... and I got BO galore!

LOL, 50C here too... and they're not even a full C.. they're an old lady deflated C already and I've only lost 60 pounds from my highest weight. I shudder to think what they will look like when I'm at goal. Yeah, I'm totally getting those things lifted and stuffed!

You got this! We're lucky, at least Cabrera has a comparatively generous pre-op diet allowing a salad and a portion of lean protein!

This may sound counterintuitive but, When I am struggling, I cut out everything except for protein shakes made with something other than milk and maybe a serving of cottage cheese or egg/meat... If I could get my carbs under 20 or 30 for a few days and that would seem to curb things for me. Then after a few days I was ok to add back in the non-starchy vegetables and my beloved kale juice and a bit of milk keeping my carbs under 60. I know it's really hard to do this over the long haul. I've been at this since December and have less than three weeks to lose the last five pounds before surgery and I think I'm going to come in just under the wire with 40 pounds lost in 3 and a half months.

Ahhh, yeah, I get it. It's a huge decision. I think many of the doctors you've been considering are fantastic based on their records and patient reviews.. but I think the overall experience you might get with Aceves or Alvarez is definitely enhanced so I can definitely see why you might be more comfortable there especially if you are exceptionally anxious. No matter what you choose, you won't go wrong.

March 13th Dr Carbera/valenzuela, Mi Doctor hospital/Marriott hotel. Amanda, I must have missed something or it's my preop diet brain fog but... you're with Aceves now?

Yup yup yup... I'm a stinky, stinky girl. Not just my breath but EVERYTHING. Ketosis.. Also my b-complex vitamin makes my pee STINK. On the plus side, it's also neon yellow so that's kind of fun. I've been doing twice a day showers, two daily applications of deo on both my arm pits and my leg pits.. (yes, deo on the leg pits works wonders) and some body spray to mask the rest.

I use jay robb protein powder. dissolves completely by just stirring with a spoon and it makes a really thin drink. Can be mixed with milk, coffee, or a sugar free drink of your choice.

I'm not a huge caffeine person anyway but I do enjoy daily coffee. I was told two cups coffee/black tea a day is fine. Green tea is also fine with no limit imposed. I know that some doctors don't allow any caffeinated beverages though.

I'm also with Cabrera/Valenzuela

Hey I'm sorry you didn't get your flight.. but excited that we're on the same day! I'm already doing my preop diet. Are you going with Cabrera or F.Garcia?

I just noticed a newer thread with lots of feedback first hand experiences about Jerusalem. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/65082-notes-on-mexico-jerselem-hospital/page__st__20#entry695295

Sara, I get it. food is something I think about from the moment I wake up in the morning until I go to sleep at night.. and often I DREAM about food. Saying "no" is a constant struggle. Someone who does not face the same challenges as we do with food cannot know what it's like. My exhusband and I would go grocery shopping together.. we would always one candy bar each. I would eat mine on the walk home.(duh) and he would put his in the fridge. It would sit there for days. I would think about that candy bar constantly throughout the day. If by the third or fourth day, if he hadn't eaten it, I just couldn't control myself any longer. He couldn't understand why it was so hard for me to say "no" why I was so weak. I tried explaining to him that I was able to say no to that candy bar thousands of times. I literally thought of that candy bar THOUSANDS of times and didn't eat it... I only ate it once, but 99.9% of the time when I thought about the candy, I DIDN'T eat it. Did HE think of that candy bar THOUSANDS of times? No, he didn't so how could he really understand my struggle?

I'm on day four of a 21 day preop. I've done lengthy liquid diets in the past, and just know that the first three or four days are the hardest. Once you get through the first few difficult days, you'll be feeling much better and feel a lot less hunger. Today was actually a really hard day for me. I work in a convenience store and I wanted to EAT ALL THE THINGS!!! I was even a little surprised by how MUCH I wanted to eat, But I know from experience that cheating will just prolong the agony of this hunger and make it worse so I resisted. You can do this. You are not powerless over food. YOU have made this decision to take control. Just keep all the things that are on your preop diet handy and try to stay busy and keep your mind off of eating.

Add me to the "couldn't afford self pay in PA" list.. Heading to Mexico in three weeks. I looked into some low cost providers in Michigan, Las Vegas, Texas and even some doctor in New Jersey... but the package I'm being offered in Tijuana just seems like the best for me in terms of care and price.

Nikki, you going to Mexico for the surgery? Mine is costing just $4500!

Thanks for the update! I'm so happy that everything went so well for you!

I considered Jerusalem for about 30 seconds and then read too many poor reviews and I did not feel confidant that they could handle an emergency... I also chose Cabrera/valenzuela at MiDoctor, I did read one bad review of MiDoctor (the person said toilets didn't flush, the nurses were inattentive, the smell of food from the kitchen was inappropriate for bariatric patients to have to smell, nurse couldn't draw blood properly, the hospital was too small and the person wound up walking out of the hospital and going to a different place. ) the one bad review just seemed such a contradiction to all the glowing reviews I've read about people experiences at Mi.... Now Jerusalem on the other hand, I've read threads with five or six people all saying the same negative things about it.

I'm on day 4 of my pre-op only 17 more days before I start clears. I'm on 3 shakes plus one "lean and green" meal (a lean Protein plus a dark leafy green based salad). I can also have sugar free drinks, broths, and sf Jello. For the shakes I mix my morning shake with skim milk, and the others I mix with Water or sugar free drinks like diet berry green tea. I also can enjoy cottage cheese instead of one shake. This isn't really much different than the 800 calorie high protein/low carb VLCD I've been doing for the past two months so the adjustment has been easy.