pantala

Yay you! The more we practice this, the easier it becomes. Good on you for starting before getting sleeved.

Thanks for posting this, I am just over a week out and I just know eating too fast (or slowing down rather) will be a challenge for me.

I know I may be accused of being in denial but I'm not addicted to food. I have always joked that I wish someone would invent people kibbles so I could just munch on a handful of something crunchy and move on. Moreover, anyone who has lived with me will confirm that I rarely overeat. So how the H...LL did I put on so much weight and have so much trouble losing and keeping it off? Unrelenting hunger. I don't eat much at one time but I am famished in an hour or 90 minutes. Headache, nausea inducing hunger. And if I do not have healthy food when that hits, I will eat anything to make it quit. And in this obesegenic world that is a very risky place to be. I did not have this problem until about 15 years ago after my daughter was born and I went into gestational diabetes for the second time. I have been told I have "borderline" hypoglycemia but I never bothered with testing as it is time-consuming, expensive, not covered by insurance, and inconclusive. One way I kept weight gain under control was lots of physical activity. But bad feet run in my family and my activities gradually became more and more limited until I needed foot surgery and the forced inactivity really blew my weight up. As my BMI approached 40, I decided screw it, I don't want to fight this battle anymore and with the blessing of my PCP, podiatrist, and Gyn, started looking at surgical solutions. So you could say that for me, the surgery was truly a metabolic surgical fix. And I am already amazed at the difference. I feel so great it's almost unreal for me. So that's how it feels from the standpoint of someone who is not a food addict. It does happen.

I am interested in what others have to say as well. I'm taking in between 500 and 600 calories and feel ok with that. But my post-op diet does not list calories for the full liquid phase either......

We will have to learn to manage a lot of things without the protection of fat and food. It's called personal growth and won't just happen on it's own. And yes, ppl who pay attention to us when we are skinny but ignored us when we were fat are very shallow and we will know something about them that others don't. You/we will always be more compassionate and less judging than the ones who didn't have to struggle this way; don't lose that. Focus on your own growth and not what others are doing, saying, thinking.

Yeah, after 5 weeks if you don't say SOMETHING, the gossip will be worse than the truth!

I'm glad you were comfortable at Florence, your experience sounds a lot like mine what with nausea and blown veins. Isn't Sara awesome? Thanks so much for your detailed review, I know it helps people decide.

Most flavors (and smells!) seem more intense but especially chemically-tasting stuff. No more sugar free anything! I'm sick of artificial sweeteners. And Jello, and pudding, and boullion cubes, and Isopure. Blech. Fortunately I still like my unjury Protein. For broth, I use Better than Bouillon, still a bit salty but I Water it down. Comes in chicken or Beef.

I was in florence last week, it was great. If you have a support person coming with you, they will have their own full bed. And each room has it's own bath room with shower. I happened to find the bed at Florence VERY comfy, some kind of inflation mattress going on. Hard to describe but I loved it. And yes, there was always at least one nurse and resident doctor who spoke great English. The nurses who didn't speak a lot at least managed with a few words; they were really sweet for the most part.

I'm a newbie to the loser's bench, I was sleeved March 28. Gas pain: gone; nausea: gone, post op bloat: gone, energy: yep! I do want to post my immediate post op condition because I'm afraid and will forget just how fast I felt better. And I am 5lbs down from the morning I left home.

Yay! I'm so glad for you and that you're feeling wonderful! You have totally earned this.

Hi Rochelle, welcome to the forums. I know how happy I was to find this group of people. There is so much knowledge and support here. It sounds like you have made an excellent start to your journey, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and don't listen to those naysayers. They are like crabs in a bucket, pulling anyone back down who wants to get out. I just had my surgery on Thursday, I feel wonderful and am already excited about my new life. Can't wait for you to join us on the "losers bench"!

Welcome Becky! There are more than a few MX band revision patients on here as I'm sure you know if you've been reading a while. I'm typing this from Mexico actually. I had a great experience here, heading home tomorrow morning. Look forward to seeing you on the forums.

See, that was like me; totally puking after surgery and the day after. No sleep 'til we got to the hotel. Now I feel great! Just in time to go home tomorrow

Dr Garcia just did my sleeve on Thursday. I can't say enough good about him and his team. He truly cares about the outcome of his patients health. You should go to his Face Book page, his dedication just jumps out at you. You should read as much as you can find here about him (there is a lot!). One thing you should be updated on is that he is also using Florence Oasis hospital as an option as well as Mi Doctor. Once you get in touch with the coordinators (Ready4AChange) they will send you all the information you will need about pre-op diet, etc. I am three days out of surgery and I feel great! So glad I did this!

I'll tell you what, I ended up being the slow baby seal in this bunch! I spent the day/night/part of next day vomiting and running my husband ragged getting towels, the nurses, etc. Then sleeping the rest of the time. Didn't get as much walking in as I would have liked but saw Cindy in the hall But after a seconds nights sleep I felt good and after a night at the hotel I feel great! We sat in the restaurant for Easter brunch and went for a short walk in the neighborhood and sat by the pool. Everyone from the coordinators to the doctors and the nurses at florence Oasis have been fab! I am so glad I did this! Happy Easter everyone!

Well hell, I just typed a big long response and the wi fi dropped. So here goes a second time. I called Samuel after we picked up our bags and he said our driver was stuck in traffic and to give him 25 minutes or so. I told him where we were (outside Southwest baggage claim). He asked me what I was wearing so the driver would know who to look for. He said look for a white Ford van. Then the driver called (Sam Sr) and said he was 10 minutes away and yep, he was there in 10 minutes. Rosie later told me Ready 4 a Change now has 6 drivers! But they all speak English and are very nice. I will try my detailed post again.....BTW, the Marriott is working on the wi fi issue.

Cindy, I am at the TJ Marriott. Ready 4 a Change has like six drivers now but Samuel will send someone if he can't make it. We had Sam Sr who is also Meli's dad! He was great. He helped get us checked in and then Rosie showed up to brief us on the schedule in the morning. You will be taken care of every step of the way - no worries. I hope I am feeling better by the time you get to the hospital; right now I feel like ultra-crap from no food. Anyway, (this is for anyone who is down here now as well) to contact me, email me at: klappegard@yahoo.com If there is wi fi at the hospital (I think there is but not sure) I can pull up my email on my tablet.

My pet theory is that yes, we can permanently mess up the way our bodies respond to food intake. I don't think of it as simple as metabolism though because there are so many biochemicals involved like hormones and insulin. I think, like Drm says, you will have to just find your own sustainable calorie intake. You are an experiment of one!

I would add to visit the different coordinators web sites to get a feel for the company, how much information do they give? Is the site up to date? Also, there are tons of videos on You Tube from different doctors, you can see their personality and there are patient testimonials. Also, check to see if they have a Face Book page you can look at. And keep reading this site and asking questions!

As for complications, you will have to look at your own health history as well as your sister's complications. Some things like infection can be attributed to the hospital or surgeon; some complications are due to your own health condition like your blood being very thin or clotting too easily, or heart condition. You may have drug allergies you don't even know about (yet!). In the US, it has been difficult to find out a dr or hospitals infection rate, or a dr's history of leaks. Sometimes you have to take their word for it. I would try to find a surgeon with as much experience as possible. Bottom line is doing as much research as possible and try to verify any information given to you regarding complications. More info will give you more confidence and mitigate your risks.

Take things one at a time Amy and just breathe. All other things will get handled. It's such carp that you were only trying to do what is best for your health and all this comes up. Now drug allergies?! Love and healing prayers over you.

If it hadn't been for going on Easter weekend I probably could have gotten away with not telling. Waiting until nearly the last minute means they all have less time to fret and I have a limited time to hear about it.

Ok, when I scheduled my surgery I didn't even notice on the calendar that it was Easter weekend. No biggie, we are not a religious family. I also wanted to keep it as quiet as possible as I really didn't want to put up with the negativity I was sure would come my way so only my husband and sister have known. But now that I am four days away and leaving town on Tuesday, I figure I would just suck it up and let everyone know why I wouldn't be around for Easter dinner. I am quite grouchy from the pre-op diet and not ready to have long drawn-out discussions about this. So, it turns out that my mom and middle son are actually very cool with this!!!! You know what they said? They trust my judgement!! Whoa, NOT what I expected! My daughter, who I sort of thought would understand is quite certain I will die. That's what she said: "So basically, you're saying you might die." NO, that is not what I said but it's what she heard so whatever. My oldest son used to live near the border in TX and is just not comfortable about me going into Mexico but otherwise is ok with the surgery. My daughter-in-law is miffed I will miss Easter dinner. I know they will gossip about this on Easter but at least my mom and one son will buffer the remarks. Not that I will lose sleep over it. And I feel better about being open at least with my family. Still feel no need to share with co-workers.......

I'm on Day 4 of pre-op and have a constant low grade headache as well as hungry all the time. Yeah, I'm pretty short with everyone.