cerenatee

Kburn! It's me, the Black female with the dreadlocks. LOL. The one you've been hanging with. Glad to see you're on VST. I was suppose to have my surgery on the 8th but I changed it to the 9th. I'm about to take a nap, if this horrible drain will allow it. I can't wait for the doc to come and take this freaking thing out.

Hi ya'll! I'm back and I'm sleeved. It happened Thursday and I'm alive to tell the tale. It was rough for a long minute there - vomiting, pain, exhaustion - but I made it through. Friday was loads better and Saturday was ok also. Sunday, today, has been rough. I'm tired and this freaking drain hurts. I don't know if it's infected or not but it hurts to move around, even a little. The doctor is coming by tonight to remove it so we'll see. I don't have a ton of time but I wanted to let ya'll know I'm ok. I'm about to head off to take a nap. I'll update some more later. Hugs everybody and thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.

At Costco's. I think it's on the spice aisle.

EDITED TO FOCUS ON ME AND MINE I couldn't do my doctor's 2 week diet and I plan to be just fine on the sleeve. I think the point you're missing is if I could follow a diet, I wouldn't need the sleeve. When I get the sleeve, I will be physically restricted from over eating. I will also be less hungry since 65% of my ghrelin should be removed. I will also be fuller quicker. I had none of that going for me on the 2 week low-carb, high Protein diet my doctor wanted me to follow.

If I'm remembering correctly, my hubby spotted the spice aisle, put 2 and 2 together, and that's where the bouillon bases were. Without him, I would have walked right by them. costco confuses the crap out of me. A Lighter Me asks that their clients do a 2 week low carb diet - 2 or 3 Protein shakes a day and 1 meal of salad and meat. Then 3 days before surgery you do a clear liquid diet. The 2 week diet did not happen. I tried it. I couldn't do it. I moved on. I'm sticking to the 3 day liquid diet because it's the most important one to me. I need my body cleaned out and it'll give my liver a chance to shrink if my liver needs to shrink. My bmi is 38.9 so hopefully a big liver will not be an issue. If it is, it just is. If I could stick to a low carb diet for 2 weeks, I wouldn't need the surgery.

My surgery is Thursday so I started my 3 day clear liquid diet today. It started out ok. When I woke up, I drunk the bottled laxative and had a bottle of Water. A couple of hours later I had a SF strawberry-orange Jello cup. A few hours after that I had a SF pineapple popsicle. That's when all heck broke lose in my head. I normally eat around 12:30 pm or around 5:30 pm. At 5:30 pm, a popsicle was not cutting it. I was thinking of Chili's or S&S Cafeteria but looking at jello and tea. The hungrier I got, the madder I got. Then I thought about all the people whose doctors don't even require them to do a pre-op diet and I really got mad. Suffering for the sake of suffering does not go over well with me. Thank GOD, I remembered I bought some chicken bouillon at Costco's. I bought the organic Better than Bouillon chicken base and beef base. I didn't think chicken broth would help but I went and heated up some water anyway. Ya'll, it was awesome. The sun came out, birds started singing, and rainbows filled the sky. It was clear, it was hot, and it was DELICIOUS! The label states it has chicken meat and broth so maybe that's why it's so good. Whatever the reason, thanks to the geniuses at Superior Touch, I just might make it 72 hours to have my surgery on Thursday. So I'm spreading the word - BUY ORGANIC BETTER THAN BOUILLON CHICKEN BASE! I know there are a lot of cooks on here but I'm not one. I don't cook. I haven't used my stove in years. I mainly use the kitchen for the refrigerator - my sodas and leftovers are in there. I also use the glasses if I buy a 2 liter soda. So for me, even heating up water to dissolve chicken base is a big deal. It's out of my comfort zone. But I did it. I'm making tiny changes and they're sticking. I'm going to have another cup of broth in an hour and after that another popsicle. After that it'll be my bed time and I'll have one day down.

It's sucked. I was just about to do a post on it. Thank GOD for organic better than bouillon chicken base from Costco. It's been a God send. I know I couldn't have done it without that broth.

I'll keep you updated on the good, the bad, and the ugly. Please pray for me if you remember and you get a chance.

Luckily, it all got worked out and I'm leaving her Wednesday for surgery on Thursday. Lord help me.

So I spoke to Ronda, with A Lighter Me, and changed my surgery date to May 9th. I wanted the 8th so I wouldn't miss the first day of summer school but I decided I'm not doing summer school this semester. I need a freaking break. Thankfully, it worked out well since Dr. Lopez has too many surgeries scheduled for the 8th. I think he's at 5, when he usually does 2 or 3. On the 9th he only has mine and one other person's scheduled so I feel better about it. But OMG, the fight with United to change my reservations. Generally you pay the change fee and the price difference and it's no big deal. Well the customer service rep ran my card, but the United system didn't update, so she tried to update it again, which ran my card again. The second time, she got a decline, because I'm broke. I had enough in there for one change fee and that's all. What followed was the most frustrating sequence of events, that took freaking hours, and finally had me contacting the complaint department, their facebook page, and the VP head of customer service. As a disabled veteran, I was not freaking playing. You can't put a hold on someone's money and then blame them for not having more money. Thankfully, a complaint rep called me back a few hours later and fixed everything. So I'm now a May 9th patient. I drink my laxative and start my 3 day liquid diet in the morning. Any May 9th people in the house?

Yipee!! Someone else that's a vet. The coordinator isn't being discouraging about the surgery, she's over the bariatric program and gung ho for the surgery. She just wants me to have it through the VA and not in Mexico, which I can understand. She's done no research about my doctor, about the facility, or about others who have had the procedure there. The only experience my the VA bariatric surgeon has with Mexican surgeons is correcting their complications so he's really not thrilled about people having the procedure there. Which is again understandable. He never sees all the people who are fine. He only sees the ones that have complications. And he forgets that every surgeon has complications. I spoke to the coordinator again today and she's still trying to convince me not to go. She wants me to do the move program, lost 5% of my weight, then have my PCP refer me to the coordinating surgeon in Columbia, then have that surgeon refer me to Charleston, where the surgery is performed. So after I lose 13 lbs in 6 months, not more cause if I drop below a bmi of 35, they won't do the surgery, I have to convince my PCP to refer me, then she has to convince the Columbia surgeon to refer me. Then, if all that is a go, I have to pass the psych eval when I have drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and sexual abuse in my past. That's just going to be lovely. So that's 3 opportunities to be denied the surgery after waiting 6 months to have it, plus another month or two for them to act on my request. OR I can just have my surgery this Wednesday coming and not jump through any hoops. It's a hard choice, believe it or not. A part of me does want to have a program that follows me, and a doctor to call when I'm worried, and it would be awesome to save my money. $4500 isn't much but I really appreciate having it sitting in my savings account, just collecting interest and giving me peace of mind. Of course, I would normally spend 3/4th of that in 6 months eating out but there's something about dribbling the money away that feels ok when spending it all in one big chunk seems crazy. I don't know. I look at what I was and what I am and to think of postponing my surgery for 8 months just to be told no? I don't know if I would be ok. Here's a current pic of me (I'm the girl with the crazy big breasts): Here's a pic of me in 2005 with my sons and my mom. I'm in the rust-colored dress: I went from a average size woman to a severely obese woman in 8 years, mostly due to medication that's still affecting me. That's crazy to me. I don't want to live like this another year.

I hate saying "studies have shown." If you google "bariatric surgery sexual abuse" or "bariatric surgery drug addiction" or "bariatric surgery alcohol adidiction" you'll get links to research study abstracts that go into detail the latest findings.

Oh, the math and thinking questions test your reasoning and cognitive ability. Can you really understand and follow what's going on around you. It might sound crazy but some people struggle to follow an entire conversation. The tests just show are you in your right mind logically.

LOL. Believe it or not, that sounds like a normal psych eval. (Yes, I've had more than one). Many people who were addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, transfer their addiction to food. So when you take away the food, they go back to alcohol and drugs or shopping, sex, exercise, even eating disorders. It can get crazy. He was just trying to determine if that was a risk for you and something you need to watch out for. In addition, study after study has shown that a large percentage of WLS patients have been abused, especially sexually, men and women. They don't talk about it, they don't think about it, they eat. Again, you take away the food, you take away the coping mechanism. That's a problem. Studies have shown that people that have been sexually abused lose significantly less weight with WLS than people who haven't been abused. It shouldn't disqualify you but it's something he should point out to you so you can be aware of it and address it if you see it popping up in your life. If you're open, you're honest, and you're willing to address any issues that may pop up, you're going to be fine.

That's a hard one. To get stronger you're going to have to lift past the point where you can handle the weight on your own. When I use to lift, I would have my trainer hold his hands right under the bar as I lifted and we had a code word that meant "no matter what, you grab freakiing bar." In the beginning, he was too quick to give me assistance - male PT with female clients usually are - but after I told him to cut it out, I had to use the code word once or twice. If you're not already doing those two things, think about adding them and see if your trust increases. I don't know how long you've been lifting, but usually over time you get to know your strength and your workouts so you start trusting yourself and your abilities. Kind of like when you have your first baby and you're freaked out about every cold but by the third child it takes broken bones to freak you out and by the sixth child not even that phases you. With time everything becomes the same o, same o.

I'm not there yet but I so hope to get there. I want a great experience and a great outcome so I can recommend him to every and any.

Mine is on May 8th. Are you freaking yet?

Welcome to VST. In the US, most people stay 2 days but I have heard people that left in 1 day. I think that's not the norm but maybe. In Mexico, people stay 2 or 3 days and then they're in a hotel for 2 days. I think that is the norm.

Mine is 1 day behind yours, the 8th, and I'm still struggling somewhat. I took my hubby to a WLS seminar so he could learn about some of the health risks of obesity. He left there wishing I could have that surgeon operate on me. Uggghhh. Then my son doesn't understand why I don't save $2000 and have continuity of care by waiting 6 months and letting the VA surgeon perform my surgery. Uggghhhh. And my finals are this week. And I have to move by June 30th. And I just got a cold sore in the middle of my bottom lip. I FREAKING DON'T NEED THIS! ~breathe~ I've done my research, I've made my plans, and I'm having this surgery. You couldn't pay a thin person $2,000 to be fat for 6-8 months so there is no way I'm saving $2,000 and staying fat for another 6-8 months. The VA doctor will get to operate on me if I have any complications. Yipee for him. I've decided I don't want to be a paralegal anyway so freak a grade. There are a 100 apartment complexes in this city, I'll find another one. And full bottom lips are juicy. Life is too short for this.

I'll message you. I don't want this to seem like my doctor is better than anyone else's. I didn't spend months researching doctors. I only did preliminary research on their licenses, surgical training, residencies, training in the bariatric field, medical association memberships, connections with US surgical profession, reported complications on youtube, VST, GS, and OH, etc. If that information wasn't easily accessible, I crossed them off the list right away so there could be plenty of great doctors I eliminated. I'm sure if I had emailed the doctor most of them would have sent me the information I wanted.

Thanks Alex. I admit I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong. I'll modify my posts to reflect that.

I edited this post to make it clear I don't know the reasons behind anything and to take out language that makes Dr. Kelly seem worst than he is. He might be an awesome doctor, I don't know, I'm not in Mexico, I just can't recommend him. As a Christian, I respect your experience and I take nothing away from you, but you're coming to me with "yes, but he was good with me", that proves nothing. If he harmed 10% of his patients, that would leave 90% saying how wonderful he was. Does that help the 10% were harmed? No. Will that help the other 10% that may be harmed? No. You say people are spreading lies about this doctor but what have you done to check their stories? I went to the Dr. Kelly thread because I was looking for a doctor. I checked the information they told me to check. I checked his license and I couldn't find it. I found everyone elses but not his. I have no idea why so I'm not saying anything about that. I used Google translate to understand the Mexican websites. I checked the hospitals. He no longer has privileges there. I don't know why so I can't say anything about that either. For me, it was suspicious so I decided to go elsewhere. I also, since I was interested, read the stories of people, on this board, that had spoken to him and claimed they caught him in lies. These were people who had already signed up with him so what reason do they have to lie? The gastric sleeve surgery is about as low risk as you can get. There are other surgeons that have done this procedure longer and they haven't lost anyone. If you have a completely healthy mother who is obviously in distress, and you do nothing, and that child dies, or the mother dies, it is not because you had more deliveries. It's because you were negligent. I'm not in Mexico. You're not in Mexico. So it would be wise to trust the medical profession that is in Mexico. And they seem to be cutting ties with Dr. Kelly. No one has to prove anything to you. If you want to know, do your research. Read the Dr. Kelly thread with an open mind. Stop focusing on your own experience and admit that others may not have that same experience. Do the research I did. Then you'll know the truth. If God lead you to Dr. Kelly, great. God told me to run from him and I did. Your calling wasn't my calling. As far as me and mine, I don't trust Dr. Kelly, I'm not using Dr. Kelly, and I'm not referring anyone to Dr. Kelly. You, on the other hand, can do whatever your spirit is leading you to do. He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. (Proverbs 10:17) A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. (Proverbs 1:5) Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. (Proverbs 9:9) How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding. For its profit is better than the profit of silver, and its gain than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens. (Proverbs 3:13-19) Wisdom is protection just as money is protection. But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors. (Proverbs 7:12) Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. (Proverbs 12:1) The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel. (Proverbs 12:15) Through presumption comes nothing but strife, but with those who receive counsel is wisdom. (Proverbs 13:10)

THIS COMMENT WAS EDITED BECAUSE I WAS WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. It will serve no purpose in being read.

I know this is an old post, but I just looked up this information. I went to the VA website - www.va.gov - and typed bariatric surgery in the search field. It brought up tons of info, including links to every hospital that offers the surgery.