Sadlers1999

I know it isn't much' date=' but my BMI has gone from extremely obese, to obese...small milestone.[/quote']

Awesome!

My doctor is one of the best where this surgery is concerned. He was the only American surgeon invited to the International Sleeve Conference in NYC on December 6' date=' 2012. I also find it surprising, and confusing when I read how everyone's diet is so different. I was on Clear Liquids in the hospital and through post op day 3. Then full liquids for two weeks. Then I was able to have ( to me ) real food. It must be well chewed and most-seafood, chickent/turkey, well steamed veggies, and raw fruit. I am moving into week 4 as of this Monday, and last week I was ok'd for real coffee, raw veggies, and Vitamins that I can swallow. Plus, I may begin exercising "in earnest". Hubs and I are going to train for a 5K that is scheduled in late spring.[/quote']

Your diet guidelines are the most similar to the ones I was given. Seems like there are not as many of us with this particular plan. That being said, the NUT said that we should not move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 unless we felt 100% like we were ready. She said it is better to go too slow with progressing from full liquids/purees to purees/smooth foods, etc, than to go too fast. Personally, since the focus is on Protein, it's not like we are just eating "anything." Were you given calorie guidelines? I wasn't.

Thursday the surgeon put stuff on it to stop it. It has bleed like crazy ever since. I tried calling the doctors office 3 times on Friday and they have all new people who couldn't transfer me to the right people. I will call again Monday if it is still bleeding.

I don't think the bleeding is "typical," so I definitely think your instinct to keep having it looked at is right. As for your statement, "CAlled three times on Friday and they have all new people..." What kind of surgical center is it? Is it doctor-owned or part of a hospital? I have had similar problems because the Centura system fired the main doctor at it's Bariatric Center (due to his SALARY) and then all his old staff left to pursue other jobs (because they were pissed)...So now I feel like going to the Bariatric Center is a joke, but at the same time, I am not having anything like bleeding. Please keep us posted on what is up. I mean, if the outside incisions are bleeding, that may not be something too alarming, but what about the incisions underneath?

So, we are all almost done with week 3 (since week 4 is on Monday). Unlike many of you, I have been allowed to eat soft and pureed food for a while. A lot of people talk about not getting enough Protein and/or Water, but my problem is getting the 5 mini-meals/snacks. Fortunately, I can get my protein requirement by drinking an Isopure every day, but I don't think that is what my NUT is going to want. I just find it almost impossible to eat on time while parenting my kids. On Tuesday, I was doing the stuff I need to do to get the first two out the door. (They walk to school.) Then I made a scrambled egg and took it with me in the car because I had to get my daughter to preschool. I didn't really eat the whole egg until after I delivered her. By that time, another 45 minutes had elapsed and the egg was cold. I ate it anyway. Today, we had a birthday party. Because we were hosting the birthday party, I didn't have time to drink water. By the time I drank water and waited to eat lunch, lunch was close to 2PM. By 2PM, I am supposed to have a protein "snack." I just can't follow the plan given to me pre-surgery, because I am always taking care of other people.

I think this situation may apply to people who return to work, too...depending on their jobs. Obviously, some work is flexible and if you need to eat/drink, you will have time. But, I can imagine that other jobs (e.g. nurses, retail workers, etc.) may present the same problem that I am having as a SAHM.

I am going back to work on Monday and i am excited because i will get out of the house and NOT think about food all day i hope! Im just wondering how my eating will be there. I will take my lunch but after i get less to no time for moving around. Im scared

Depending on how much time you get for lunch, you should use at least half of it to walk around the building...inside or outside if possible. I just gave my husband a pedometer and just walking 15 minutes improves his "steps per day" immensely.

I feel robbed! I think they changed the BMI calculation. I had done the calculation before and it said 166 put me into over weight' date=' and 138 put me into high normal.. When I put it into this system, it says I am still 30.4. Then, I checked a bunch of other BMI calculators, and it says 163 into over weight, and 136 into normal. : (

No worries, soon enough![/quote']

It is still an achievement. I am struggling to just get to 12lbs off post surgery and I wasn't low BMI like you.

@Jcoufs, COnative, Heyher, Willbethinthisyear - Sorry for all the drama that I brought to this thread, but this is the first time I found someone who had their sleeve done at the same place as me. Since a support group was brought up at Parker Adventist, do any of you belong to support groups other than online forums like this one?

I think he was blindsided a bit' date=' then he was worried that his patients would think he was let go for moral or ethical reasons that's what he told us at the meeting. He didn't really know the "divorce" was even coming[/quote']

Oh, I definitely got the impression he was blindsided. Even when the office called me to say that he had "left the practice," the voices on the other side of the phone seemed numb...And, I did speak to Jo at that point, even though she had nothing to do with medical treatment. He seemed to imply that Dr. Long arrived knowing that he would usurp him and I don't think that is accurate. He might have been told before Dr. Metz was told, but they had only been working together a few months, so how would you broach that? "Hey, Metz, They want to keep me on and they are getting rid of you!" I think he probably kept his mouth shut, because he had just relocated from TX to CO and didn't want to lose his job.

Today 1-11-2013 ' date=' I went for my first appointment after my surgery Dec 17,201. I weighed in before surgery 327., at this moment I currently weighed 299. I'm so proud of myself. Yes........[/quote']

You have a lot to be proud of!

I know that they have a new one' date=' she starts on Monday. I'm sure she is just taking over her appointments. I haven't heard if any is going with him, but I know that they started the center together and made up all the informational supplies and binders together. In Nov he had said that he would've taken everyone if he could've afforded it at the time, but since he was just getting started he did not have the finances. I think he is getting everything ready to open the clinic he wants to. He had found a hernia when doing my surgery. I'm going with him since he will be able to repair it, I hope right along with a tummy tuck...lol[/quote']

Also, I was talking to a neighbor today about it and she said, "Why did he tell you some of that? Seems so unprofessional." And, maybe he didn't remember exactly who I was but he did remember that I was friends with Jo (from church). So, maybe he was more open than normal because he thinks she was telling me stuff, but honestly, I haven't talked to her about it. We are friends but we are not on-the-phone-every-day friends.

I know that they have a new one' date=' she starts on Monday. I'm sure she is just taking over her appointments. I haven't heard if any is going with him, but I know that they started the center together and made up all the informational supplies and binders together. In Nov he had said that he would've taken everyone if he could've afforded it at the time, but since he was just getting started he did not have the finances. I think he is getting everything ready to open the clinic he wants to. He had found a hernia when doing my surgery. I'm going with him since he will be able to repair it, I hope right along with a tummy tuck...lol[/quote']

He rattled off a bunch of names, but I assume that some of them are administrative like my friend Jo LaRosa.

That's a horrible experience. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. I'm not sure who had gone to Metzs' practice' date=' I know Amy is still there, Linsey just went to another place to work as a wellness coach somewhere in Denver. My insurance doesn't go through him until Feb 1. I think he is happier being on his own, since he also performed other surgeries as well, now he is not restricted. I have met other ladies at the groups, it would be fun to get together.[/quote']

I think what it was is that they hadn't given notice, yet, but they just weren't "around." Maybe they took sick days? Who knows? Metz said specifically that Linsay was going somewhere else. Leaving the BCE but not joining him. I think everyone else who was part of his staff is joining him.

Don't you think it's weird that I have an appointment with Linsay for January 30th and nobody has called me? Do you think they will get a new NUT and just have her take all of Linsay's appointments?

You are not alone. I wish I would have known about you Sadler' date=' the support meetings are great and they are a public forum so they are open for anyone. Last night at the meeting Dr Metz sat in along with the Bariatric center staff. We talked about how they are doing the meetings together so that our support for each other will not change. The next one is closer to the end of Feb. You should really come and meet up. I had gone in for my three months check when I was told that he had left. I was confused on what kind of care I would be given and why exactly he left then in the Nov meeting he came in to talk to us. Because of some things that Dr Metz discovered during surgery, I have decided, just yesterday actually, to move over to his practice to continue my care. I really enjoyed the staff, but I really felt comfortable with Dr Metz as a surgeon. It was a disheartening change and I believe it wasn't done for the good of the patient, just for the company. I hope that you will come a enjoy the support of the group, it is amazing how 30+ people who have ask gone through the same things in one room can be comforting, knowledgeable, and inspiring. Hope to hear from you soon![/quote']

I think the reason I haven't attended any of the meetings (yet) is that the conflict with Cub Scouts. I am a den leader two Thursdays out of the month and we have a pack meeting on the 3rd Thursday, so 3 out of 4 Thursdays, I am "detained." My husband has den meetings on Wednesday nights (twice a month), so that is the other day that is typically hard to do something different (because I am babysitting). I wouldn't rule out ever coming to a meeting. The Den parents know that I had this surgery and I wasn't sure what my recovery would be like, so if I told them that I need to go to a support meeting, I guess they would have to deal. But, I don't want to completely drop the ball on that.

Dr. Long found a polyp and a large area that (at the time) he thought was either infected or irritated. It was in the part of the removed stomach, so he sent it off for biopsy and it was nothing. I suspect the irritated area had to do with gluten. I have Hashimoto's (hypothyroid auto-immune disease) and I was told to avoid gluten, but I didn't give it up entirely. Maybe if Dr. Metz had seen it, he would have known, but the past can't be undone. In terms of healing, so far, so good. I didn't need pain med after day three. I've been using a treadmill since day 4 and I started elliptical after Jan 2nd. (I will be four weeks out on Monday).

I can't move to Metz' practice until he accepts my insurance. So far, he doesn't.

Getting back to the support meeting, it will continue to meet with both patients of the hospital and Dr. Metz? Is that a permanent thing or just a transition thing with him having meetings move to his office when it's done being built out?

I agree that the decision to terminate Metz over $ was a business decision and not with any regard to patients. At the same time, all the staff leaving to join Metz is also not in the best interest of patients. My worst day post surgery was day 3, because of my throat. (I had two endoscopies in addition to the surgery on the same day and my throat really, really, really was not happy with that.) I called the office for help and I didn't get any response for 3 days. They blamed it on the phone system, but in light of what is going on, I think there was no one there to get the messages. By the time I got a phone call, I didn't need them anymore. Throat was better. (Fine, but what if it had been more of an emergency?) On my 2-week visit, I was scheduled for 10:30. The nurse took my vitals and my medicine records and then she sent me away to the cafeteria because Dr. Long was still in surgery. I didn't see him until closer to noon. Seems to me that if they scheduled a surgery that morning, they should have rescheduled me, but you can't do that without trained staff doing their job. So, maybe everyone is angry at the hospital for letting go of Metz and they are angry at Long for being his replacement, but their actions have also hurt me as a patient.

I used these measurements to make it for my family and I ( 4 kids and hubby). I would say 10-12 servings since it lasted two days. However' date=' for our size portions, at least a week so you might want to cut the proportions of the recipe in half.

Not sure of the nutritional values. Sorry.[/quote']

Thanks. I would definitely halve the recipe because I love lentils, but if I had a lot of leftovers, the rest of my family would not be happy. (I could freeze stuff but I don't have a lot of freezer space at the moment.)

I'm from Aurora' date=' Co. I was sleeved on August 7, 2012. Down around 97 lbs. I went through the Bariatric center of Colorado in Parker. So happy I did it as well![/quote']

I had my sleeve in December through the same bariatric center, but I feel like my experience has been subpar. Consulted with Dr. Metz. Only had three months of classes because Cigna lowered the 6-month class thing to 3-months. Even though I was glad to be eligible for surgery sooner, I wish they had thought about how they were going to compensate for the information that I did not get in the three classes that I did not have. But, the worst was having my surgery scheduled with Dr. Metz and then being called a week later to hear that he had "left the practice." My insurance was changing in January and so I switched to Dr. Long in the 12th hour. That was unsettling. Then I ran into Dr. Metz at the Parker costco (TODAY) and he told me the hospital let him go because his salary was too high. (Dr. Long is just out of residency and "cheaper.") He continued to tell me that most of the staff at the Bariatric Center was leaving and coming to work for him. I feel very let down and very alone.

There aren't enough recipes for those of us still in the puréed phase. I thought I would share my favorite: Lentil Soup purée

1 cup of red lentils

4 cups of Water or ff chicken broth

2 stalks of celery (cut in pieces)

2 medium sized carrots ( cut in pieces)

1 Tomato

1 onion

5 gloves of minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and cook for about 20-25 minutes in a pot big enough to hold all the ingredients. Scoop a cupful at a time and purée in your blender. If your in the purée stage' date=' purée well. If you're on soft foods, leave slightly lumpy. Delicious! Enjoy!

[/quote']

How many serving is this? What is the size of the serving and how much Protein per serving? <3 lentils.

I have my catscan today at 2pm :-) Here's hoping for good news!

Please keep us posted. We want to support you whatever the outcome.

I heard about VSG over 2 years ago and finally took the steps towards having surgery by attending a seminar in May 2012. (I hope Iggychic reads this because this is another story of a "Bariatric Center of Excellence") There was only one doctor at this hospital's "BCE" and he conducted the seminar. I made an appointment and had a three-hour appointment in July: 1 hour with doc, 1 hour with NUT and 1 hour with social worker/mental health person. At the time, my insurance was Cigna. Cigna reduced the wait time to three months instead of six. Yeah! Finished my 3 nutrition classes in November and scheduled surgery for December 17th, so my sister could be out with me to help around house with kids.

ONE WEEK after my surgery was scheduled, I get a phone call from the "BCE" telling me that the doctor I was seeing has left the practice to start up his own practice. (He also lost priviledges to operate at that hospital location.) Since it was late November, I KNEW that my insurance would be changing for the worse in January and the only way I could keep my surgery date was to stay with the "BCE" and not stay with my doctor. It was very unsettling, but like most people who have this kind of surgery, I had hit a wall re: weight loss and at my age, I really felt like if I didn't do something soon, I was not going to have the quality of life to enjoy my kids (who are still young). So, I met briefly with the new surgeon at the BCE. I found out he had joined the practice over the summer, so I assumed that this meant he had nothing to do with the other surgeon's leaving in November.

I had surgery on 12/17. My healing has been great. Haven't lost a ton of weight, but I haven't had some of the bigger problems people contend with post-surgery. Saw my surgeon on 1/2 and scheduled an appointment with the NUT for end of January (6 weeks out)....

Today I was at my local costco when I ran into my original surgeon....shopping for bulk egg whites and Greek yogurt...They're in the same refrigerator section....I greeted him. Of course, he didn't remember me from July, but that was okay. I asked him about his departure and he told me he WAS LET GO DUE TO HIS SALARY. The "BCE" is a practice that is really run by the hospital and the hospital wanted to save money, so they hired the second doctor at the end of the summer because he was so much cheaper (having less experience than the first doctor). Now, I should say that based on the care I got from the second surgeon, I don't think he did anything badly because he was less experienced. In fact, in some ways, he was probably MORE cautious about certain things...But what really upset me was that the original doctor told me that pretty much the ENTIRE STAFF of the "BCE" was leaving the "BCE" and coming to join his practice. So, my appointment with the NUT? She has already left the "BCE" but the "BCE" hasn't called me to let me know. Maybe they don't think they need to because the NUT is not a doctor and as long as they have another NUT in place, it's all good to them. However, from my perspective, I felt like my relationship was more certain with the support staff in place. Now that I know it is gone, I feel really like the health care system has let me down. In the future, I could potentially switch over to the original doctor and his staff, but currently they do not take my new, lousier insurance with United Healthcare.

So, let this be a warning, just because a center/practice has the words "Bariatric Center of Excellence" does NOT mean anything!!! Excellence my A$$!

It is the size of a golf ball. I am so afraid that it's going to be something terrible. I am a single mother to a 4 year old. My ex is an abusive dead beat. I can't get sick and let the courts give him my son :-(

I will pray for you, but hopefully the mass is isolated and in a part of the stomach that is going to be removed.

I have Hashimoto too. I've never heard anything about not eating gluten. Go for my endoscopy soon' date=' hard to tell what they will find![/quote']

Well, the primary care physician said that people with ANY auto-immune disease seem to respond favorably when gluten, dairy and sugar are eliminated from their diets. That being said, she did not think I should try to give up all three at once and now having had surgery, I am not sure how I could avoid dairy. But, I stopped eating bread and Pasta over the summer (2012) and when I tried some bread in the autumn, it made me sick like having your period (crampy, diarrhea). While Celiac disease is different in cause, my understanding is that gluten destroys something in the lining of the stomach, so I guess I wondered if that is what gluten was doing to me, too.

I guess what I was thinking is that if you didn't want to pursue this surgery, your stomach may have continued to have all those problems. So, indirectly, the WLS surgery has helped you to be proactive about the general health of your stomach. I also agree with you that it is surprising that you didn't have reflux given the situation.

He also found bleeding' date=' infected ulcers from having excess acid in my stomach. I thought that was weird because I have never had troubles with heart burn or anything. He put me on prilosec and antibiotics for that.[/quote']

My doc found a polyp (not cancerous) and a large "irritated/infected" area. Since they were in the part of the stomach being removed, he just took them out and had them biopsied. Although not cancer, I suspect the part that looked "irritated/infected" was damage done by gluten. I have Hashimoto's which is an autoimmune issue and I was told that I should not eat gluten only in the past year....So maybe a little surprise, but not anything bad. And, like you, you are getting treated so your stomach literally should be healthier because of this process.

I'm in Aurora. I was sleeved almost a year ago - down about 159

Sent from my iPhone using VST

Where'd you have your surgery done? And, what kind of pre-op/post-op diets did you follow? Any advice?

I literally got my fitbit 5 minutes ago. Husband ordered it weeks ago but it was on back order! If I figure it out, I will try to friend both of you fitbitters. In the meantime, I have a more regular pedometer keeping track of my steps.

Well, since I have been averaging 8,000-9,000 steps, 10,000 was an accomplishment. I work out on an elliptical machine or treadmill for an hour averaging 3.5 miles per hour and that does NOT get me to 10,000 steps. So, I will have to get faster (more efficient) if 10,000 or 12,000 are the numbers to get to.