smjuroska

Good Luck tomorrow!

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. I just re-read my post and it sounds like I am babbling away. It's my nerves. when I get nervous I start to go on and on chatting about nothing much! My poor husband has to deal with me and I am sure he is sick of me talking about the mundane surgery stuff!

I am pre too...and reading these post makes me wonder too. Like you I do not want to trade in one problem for another. It will be interesting to see the responses.

This summer has been so crazy that time has flown by! Now I am only a few days out. This all hit me this week and I began to panic. So I had a little pep talk with my friend who had the sleeve over 3 years ago. She made me feel so much better! I have been freaking out all week! I have strict orders to call her when I freak out the next few days. She has done great with it and lost tons of weight and says she feels better now than when she was in her 20s. She did mention that after about 18 months she started to slip with diet. She could eat whatever she wanted and more than ever before. She said she is still battling with sweets and sodas. She never had a craving after surgery until she had a moment of weakness 18 months out and let herself indulge. Since then candy and soda are her vice and she has to watch it. She is still skinny (5'6" 135) but said she put on a few pounds by backsliding. She said this is a TOOL, to me like 1000sX... she was starting to sound like my DR! I just love her! Anyway things are all a go and I have all my vitamins and protein ordered. Still gotta get a few things but I am ready! Still hanging on with the pre-op diet. (I am lucky though only liquids day before)This pre-op diet has had its moments still (mostly my husband taunting me with all the bad foods) but I am doing it and weighed today and I have lost 9 pounds in not even 2 weeks! I have been following it but I am not tracking my calories or carbs. I have just been eating lean protein (nothing fried or battered) and approved veggies. Lots of cheeses no butter. I have not had ANY bread, pasta, or potatoes! That's a victory in it's self! I am allowed 30 grams of carbs so I use that with sugar free chocolates(my treats). I get 3 bite size pieces a day for a total of 21 carbs. I am sure I have a few extra carbs in my foods to equal 30. I also try to add in a protein drink most days to up the protein. Hope that what I am doing is good enough. I hate calculating everything I eat. I did that with WW and I am over it! I was worried I was not doing it correctly but after my weigh in I think I am right on track. So now I just keep truckin on until surgery 5 DAYS FROM NOW!

Hang in there! You gotta stay hydrated! I am going to relate to this post-op too I am sure! I drink ALOT now but after may be a struggle. Take care of yourself and just do your best. Good luck with recovery!

I know right!

For sure! It will be interesting to watch our progress! I am so ready to move past this part too. I am 5'6" 256. Would like to lose 100. So hopefully I can meet this goal.

I agree I did find some info about that but I took the info to mean that the ulcers from H pylori increased this risk not the gastrectomy. Calming down now !

You just scared the crap out of me! I have not been sleeved, I get the sleeve next Tues. I googled it and I did find a case study of one patient. He had the sleeve but also has his spleen removed and had cancer previously...Kidneys I think. He also has diabetes, hear attack, and lots of other issues. So I am assuming that his previous cancer and bad genes has more to do with that than sleeve. They did state there is not evidence that the sleeve increases the risk. I am not sure if this is what you read or not.

I have my surgery too on Tuesday. I am so nervous! Excited but the nerves are winning at the moment. I wish you a smooth text book surgery and an easy recovery! A few months from now we will be celebrating our new improved skinnier bodies and barely remembering why we were so scared in the first place!

No advice, sorry but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Indian food too. I hope I can eventually enjoy it again. Hope all goes well with your first bite/slurp post-op! I am pre-op but on the 2 week diet and so wish I could have some! Enjoy

Good Luck!

Thanks to you all! My logical mind says shut up crazy woman its all ok, but my irrational mind is screaming all kinds of fears! Glad to know there are others out there with these feelings. Makes it more normal and easier to deal with. Only 9 days left! Good luck to each of y'all on surgery and wish y'all smooth recoveries.

Ok so nerves are kicking my butt right now. I keeping having these crazy thoughts. You know the "what ifs". What if I die (the most scary of all), what if I have a horrible recovery ( I work in the medical field and know all the things that could go wrong), what if I never can eat again and live off yogurt broth and protein shakes. I am scared that I will not be able to enjoy foods again. I love ethnic foods and trying new flavors. I hope I can still do that eventually once I heal. The thought of not being able to eat Thai or Indian again makes me sad. Hopefully it is a see you soon instead of goodbye! I am also nervous about losing weight. I NEVER would have thought i would be nervous about this. I discovered this fear when I was browsing in Kohls. I love to shop! I am trendy and I haven't bought any of the cute summer fashions this year. Mainly because my extra shopping money has been going to doctors appts and i don't want to buy something only to wear it a few times. I have bought ANY shoes either because of this. Anyway to get my fix I went window shopping for clothes when I get 'skinny". I held up a size 8 pants and the fear washed over me. I don't know how to be a normal weight anymore! I have lived in this bubble of denial so long (I never felt like the fat girl until recently) that picking up a pants size i could wear 15 years ago literally caused me fear. It's crazy I know but its my nerves getting the best of me. i have all kinds of emotions this week. Nerves plus lack of carbs (2 week pre-op, which is not too bad, bascially the intro phase to atkins) have made me have to deal with these thoughts and feelings. I am being forced to work through them and not stuff them away with chocolate (my weakness). Well this is all just part of it I guess. Part of me is saying hurry up July 23rd while the other part is saying time is going too fast and slow down July 23rd. Oh well time to go eat some lean protein and veggies. Happy Friday!

Thanks for the info! It sounds pretty cool! I will have to take my girls when it opens back up. Went a couple of years ago and half the exhibits where not funtioning. Glad they revamped it!

I was thinking the same thing! My boobs are the thing on my body that I actually love. I was thin I still had them so hopefully they will stick around. You look great socal!

So I had a tentative date of June 27th which would have been next week! YIKES! I was bummed when I hung-up with my dr. office Tuesday saying no go on June 27th. Once again that pesky insurance throws a monkey wrench in my plans! However I am offically scheduled for July 23rd. I am at peace with this date...now. Not so much at first. But this date has meaning. On July 24th of 2011 my brother died while on vacation here in TX. He LOVED TX and was a true Texan eventhough he was born and raised in NC. He LOVED texas country music, the longhorns, his room was TX decor. Obsessed with Walker Texas Ranger. Chuck Norris was his hero. (We personally thought all this was strange lol) So it was kinda funny I ended up married to a texan and moved here. My family didn't want me to move but he was excited because then he could come visit me in the great state of Texas! Anyway off topic! July 23rd was the last time he was awake and responsive and the last time I felt him squeeze my hand and look at me in my eyes. It was also the day I realized in my heart that he was not going to make it and my time with him was short. He knew that day too that he was going to die. It is the date that has caused anxiety and stress. Since that date my memories of my brother have been that last few days replayed over and over. On top of that my mom and daughter (who will be visiting my mom in NC from July3-July 23rd) will be flying in that day too. Another stressor. So all this stuff around my surgery date had me questioning if it was such a good idea. Then this thought popped in my head. It was my brother's voice saying it was all ok. July 23rd is my rebirth day. Before 2011 that date was just another day. Since then that date causes pain and reliving those 3 days in hospital with my brother and watching him take his last breath. I have mourned him since that day and I kinda stopped living my full life. I just exsisted. i forgot all the good memories of my brother. (back story, My brother and I were very close. I was his second mama. No one was as close to him other than our mother. He had down syndrome and we were nearly four years apart. Adam was truly an angel here on Earth! Losing him that day felt like I had lost one of my children. It was tough) So even though that date makes my heart heavy it will hold a new meaning. The day I finally took control of my life. Adam thank you for being here with us those short 26 years and on July 23rd I know you will be looking down from heaven and watching over us all that day, keeping us safe and cheering me on. July 23rd will no longing be a day of mourning but of rebirth. I know he wants us to remember all the good and not focus a just a few bad memories. Even in death he still influences my life and can bring sunshine when I thought it was going to rain. Funny how life is and how things seem to work out. Happy Friday y'all!

We are sleeve sisters Elaine! Good to see there are a few of us all having surgery around the same time! We will all have to keep in touch and check in to see how we are all doing. I know I am excited but scared to death at the same time. Blessing to us all for an uneventful surgery and smooth recovery!

Calcium citrate is the best absorbable source and Tums is calcium carbonate and is not absorded well. I have been told this by my nut and also by my pcp. Which is funny because I have never posed this question to either of them. They just stressed that it was important to take a calcium citrate supplement after surgery and Tums was not it.

You look fabulous! You so need to wear that bikini out and show off your body! I know I would be at the pool/beach/lake every chance I got in my bikini if I looked like that. Good luck with your stall and while you may have not lost any weight recently you do look great! Keep at it!

July 23rd here and can't wait! Hoping we all have smooth recoveries. Good luck to you all.

Congrats! I have surgery on that date too! I was scheduled for June 27th but due to insurance I had to reschedule for later date. Hopefully that was my last hoop! I have been jumping through them for over a year too! All things happen for a reason. Good luck to you both and yay for us!

I am pre-op but I don't think you are done losing and you should be HAPPY! All my slimmier friends are always 10-20 pounds from their ideal weight, be it their personal or bmi chart goal. It has been ingrained in us since birth. The perfect number on the scale! I have a close friend who had this surgery and her last 20 pounds took 8 months to come off. Her first 120 came off the first 8 months. She beat herself up and finally just let it go and kept on living a healthy life. It came off. During that time her skin tightened up inches came off and she started to look like a naturally thin person. She looked great but after her body caught up she looks better than she has ever looked. She had lost so much weight so fast her body needed time. I can't give you any advice as I am not post-op but I think you look great and those damn pesky 12lbs will come off! Just enjoy the success keep on working to be healthy, that elusive number is just a number! I know easier said than done!

Thanks everyone I am literally waiting by the phone to confirm my date! Hoping the OR is not booked up! Fingers crossed!

So I just got my surgery date! Well it is tenative...the hospital has to confirm they have the OR available that day. Ofcourse in true Shannon fashion...the scheduler is out today and you know doctors arent going to do the scheduler's job and make that call! But it is JUNE 27th! That is like not even a full 2 weeks away! CRAZY! She had me worried I wouldn't be getting my surgery for months. She said, "Well how soon are you looking to have the surgery?" I said lets go right NOW! She then said, "Well my schedule is so full right now. We have opened up July and August books". I am thinking, oh great I will have to wait until August or longer. She then said, "Well if you want first available I have the 27th open but not sure OR is available". I said, "August or July 27th?" She said, "No no no this month". I nearly fell off the table. She said, "If OR doesnt have a room she should be able to get me in first week or 2 in July no problem". YAY! So excited and freaking scared! I already have been measured, weighed, my before pic taken and have my scripts for zofran and liquid pain meds for when I get home! This is happening! She also informed me to not start the liver shrinking diet until the OR is booked for sure. I said what if it is not a full two weeks when I find out. She said no problem that she more worried about that in patients who have high liver levels, or are over 50 BMI. She seems confident that my liver will be just fine and a full week to be safe will be enough. I am so excited and scared to freaking death all rolled up in one! But I think I will be fine I heard my feel good song today on the radio as I was leaving the Dr. office (Three Little Birds...has a special meaning for me and lets me know I am where I need to be) which is random b/c 1 I NEVER listen to the radio hardly ever but my ipod was dead and 2 radio here in good ole TX hardly ever plays Bob Marley, even the cool hipster Austin stations. Funny and kinda childish but that was my sign, "that every little thing goin be alright"! Happy Friday Y'all!