Miss Mac

When I lived in Portsmouth New Hampshire in the 80's, we made occasional trips into Boston for sight seeing. You know how nurses are always asking us where our pain is 1-10. Well, my nausea 10 is a whale watching trip I took out of Boston. We flopped around in choppy water for 6 hours, but it was so worth it to see those magnificent creatures propel themselves out of water. I would do it again in a minute, but I would take Dramamine and crackers with me! If I could ever come to Boston again (I am in Chicago for the long haul) it would be great to see Salem and Plymouth. Historically, I have many ancestors from the Winthrop Fleet. You live in a world-class city. Hopefully when you get some energy back you can make some day trips and do some walking through history. Your kidlets are old enough to enjoy it, too. Good luck with your progress.

Rock Star!

Maybe Zumba. You can by the DVD's and do it in the privacy of your home if you don't want to join a class. It's a calorie burner for sure and enhances core strength. Plus it's fun. I have a hard time keeping up because of post-stroke balance issues, but for someone steady on their feet, it will give you a hearty workout.

Congratulations on what may turn out to be the most important decision of your life.

Myfitnesspal.com is an awesome tool for accountability. I type the food in and MFP does the math on several values. You can even tell it which values you want to track instead of the default ones. It is a requirement in my program, and for my next Nutrition visit coming up, she wants my password so that she can check on me in-between visits. The catch - you have to be honest with yourself.

Will your doc let you have sugar free Jello? I find that even pre-op while I am very restricted and trying to lose pounds, Jello made a little thick helps fill the need for substance and fills the longing for something fruity to treat my palate. Boy oh boy do I miss fruit...I could eat 10 bananas a day if no one stopped me. So instead of using 2 cups of water, I use 1 3/4 to give the Jello some thickness. Congratulations on your surgery. Hopefully this experience will help you educate your family on nutrition vrs. manufactured crap. Are you in the city or do your kids tangibly know where actual real produce comes from? How old are they? Are your hubby and other involved family members supportive? When my daughters were little (they are in their 30's now, I use to get a sitter and do my grocery shopping alone. Maybe I did them a disservice, but they did get to help in the kitchen. One thing about the VGS is that most people haven't heard of it and don't understand that you've get had 85% of your stomach removed to save your life. Do what you have to do for yourself. You have to be your own best advocate and follow doctor's direction. They have done this enough times to know what it takes for your surgery to be effective. So if liquids it must be for a while, hang in there, you will get through it. Take care.

Wow! That's awesome. Congratulations. I am a 22/24 hoping for a size 10. I haven't been a size 4 since junior high. Did your feet get smaller too? Did your hair fall out / come back? My surgery is coming up in November, and I am so worried about my hair..........It's hard to see the pictures. Do you have more?

You can tell by my username of Miss Mac, that I am Scottish. I was born with red hair, and it is just now at age 61, starting to go white. My dentist obliges my pain levels with extra relief, but the doctor who gives me spinal epidurals for sciatica at the pain clinic doesn't buy into the theory. As for me, I believe it. When I had some spinal reconstruction this past February, I had to stay in the hospital an extra day because of crazy pain that they were not expecting. Dilauded helped, by made me really loopy. In order to sleep when my sciatica acts up between appointments, I have to use a topical nerve cream (Voltarin gel), hydrocodone, lidocain patches, and sometimes sleeping pills. My doctor told me to knock off with the sleeping pills on top of hydrocodone He said he would rather have a patient in pain than a dead patient. So, he has a patient in pain. Sorry, if that's no comfort, but it helps to validate the Scottish / Irish pain threshold concept. If I have pain issues after my sleeve, in spite of meds, I will probably be slapping Lidocaine patches every where.

Michael Pollen has written some books on what real food is and how it is so different from the genetically modified crap that the large conglomerates pass off as food. Basically, if you can catch it or pick it, go ahead and eat it. He has also discussed cultures around the world and how their various cuisines affect their national health. One concept that has helped me resist bad decisions lately is to think of all of this commercially produced food as poison, like McPoison's, Poison King, Poison Donuts, Poison Castle, Poison Bell. Get the picture? - Yes, we see. A couple of weeks ago, I was on a three day road trip with my daughter, who is a vegan. We were in a small Indiana town that only had a McPoison's and a Poison King fot restaurants. We asked during our tour of the local Historical Society's Museum where the locals go for real food. She steered us to a restaurant in an old house. We weren't too sure of how our experience would go, but the place was very charming and we got to dine al fresco on the covered veranda. My daughter had a Portobello mushroom salad, and I had the Portobello mushroom sandwich and pulled off about half of the bread. It was the most awesome lunch I ever had that was not cooked at home. So, just sayin' we had to dig to locate a healthy option, but it was right under our noses. Anyway, once you see that other junk as poison instead of tasty friends that you miss, it will be a little easier to make good choices. I know we get tired of being strong, but those are times when your forum buddies can give you strength. I have eight more weeks of prep before my surgery, and then I am sure I will have questions daily. We can't be Miss Dolly Sunshine all the time. You hang in there, Gamegirl...we've got your back.

Go as if your life depended on it. We're all rooting for you!

You learn something every day. Today's lesson for me was to look up the word pudendal. I didn't have a clue. I appreciate that people in this forum don't hold back and just tell it like it is. Your honesty and openness is indeed helpful as we give each other gentle doses of the truth.

How inspiring for those of us further back in our journey. Sorry about your gallbladder. I haven't had one for forty years (out at age 21). You will get along fine without it. It was a fair trade for the weight loss and a healthier you. Congratulations.

When I go for my surgeon visit on September 18th, I am adding this to my list of questions. I get epidurals in my lumbar and sometimes thoracic spine to treat radiculopathies 3 - 4 times a year. They are really helpful for soothing over nerve pain for months at a time. Since this sounds like an additional tool for pain relief, I will ask about it. You do mean IN ADDITION to general anesthetic and not instead of....right?

Dude.....you look awesome!!! Do not listen to the haters. I had a mean old rotten (now ex) husband who commented (after a successful 50 pound Atkins weight loss) "Every time you lose weight, you get jowls." Once when I had just gotten down to a healthy 135, the husband of a church friend frequently commented on how hungry I looked. Recently, my daughter told me of a t-shirt that said: YOU DO YOU.

Looks like the brand I will go for.

I have had multiple surgeries for various maladies, and each time I took a CD player with ear buds. I haven't graduated to technology beyond that. Music is distracting, more so than the TV because you've already picked out tunes that speak toyour spirit. This time I will take some Celtic/Irish Cd's that I bought around St. Pat's Day and haven't opened up yet. Also, I will take some calming music recommended by my daughter who is an occupational therapist......that includes Gotan Project, nature sounds, and the kind of stuff they play when you get a massage. It takes you to an imaginary safe place that reminds you of incense and warm oils and low lights and oh man that feels good. Ooops...I got distracted. On a second note, having a daughter who is trained in physical and occupational therapy is as good as having a car mechanic in the family.

Chirp up, Sweetie! My 62nd is coming up in December, surgery in November. I want this VSG like a kid wants Christmas. My weight has caused me so much other grief that it just has to go. More pounds will mean immobility for me. The life change is what I am most looking forward to. Where will our health be in another ten years we do not do this?

The VSG will be my 12th surgery under general anesthetic. My knee replacements were my pain level "10". Since the VSG will be laparoscopic, I am not so worried. The incisions are smaller and less invasive they are not as obvious when they heal. Am I expecting pain? Yes. There will be meds for that. Am I expecting discomfort? Yes, but I will be sleeping in my lift recliner the first couple of weeks. Am I expecting to be disgruntled over a liquid protein diet? Yes, but the prize is a healthier me. I can barely walk now. If I balk and don't do this, I will be in a wheelchair shortly. I am going to claim my life back and take responsibility for it by having a VSG. I have been "dieting" since 1978 and gained an additional 100 pounds in the process. Time for plan B.

When I started this program, I was size 22/24. Because I am pushing 62, I will only get one pair of skinny jeans, in a dark navy blue wash, probably just to wear around the house. But I will do it because I can. It will be a tangible goal prize.

I had never heard about the sleeve until I asked my primary if I was a good candidate for a lap band. He sent me to Loyola University's Bariatric Program. One of the requirements was to take a class or watch a video. I watched the 40 minute video on surgical options and found out about the sleeve. Really? They can do THAT? That's when I decided to do the sleeve. Just make the darn thing smaller and yank it out. I am so done with carrying this extra person for a belt. The excitement is building as I progress through the program. Right now I am in week four of the nutritionist's supervised 1100 calorie diet. This support group is an awesome extra bonus, and everyone seems so honest about their individual experience. I am so glad it's here. Good luck with your surgery.

You hang in there. One thing I learned from escaping a psycho-sociopathic abuser in the middle of the night in 2005, is that you get so used to the abuse that you start abusing yourself. When someone tells you they are sick and tired of looking at your ugly face, the you start telling yourself "Hmmm, I must really have an ugly face." It took a while to convince myself that I am loveable no matter what. I have a new partner in my life now, who for seven years has never asked me to change a thing about myself. We look like a pencil and an apple standing together. I actually had to ask him if he felt like he would be losing something if I have this surgery and lose over a hundred pounds.. He is such a gift.....and totally supportive. So, I told you all that to say this-----don't abuse yourself one day longer with negative conversations inside your head. You are loveable and deserve to be healthy. People who tell you otherwise need to be put on the back burner. You have all of us for support. My surgery won't be until November, but latching onto this community has been a tremendous boost to my spirit!!!!! We are not just pre and post op sleevers. We all have a life story to tell and can draw on each other when we have no more strength from within. Welcome.

Well, if my insurance doesn't pay for a tummy tuck, I just resort to elastic waist pants......just in a smaller size I guess.

I am interested, too, in what sleeve vets have to say about this one. I started out 3 weeks ago at 5'4", 235 lbs and 53" waist. Somewhere yesterday, a sleever suggested Sweet Almond Oil for stimulating, moisturizing, and softening the skin to minimize jiggles and wrinkles. So, I looked it up and liked what I read. Walgreens sells it online, but not in the stores. It is on sale as of today at $3.99 for 4 ounces, way cheaper than any other place I looked at. With a $25 order, shipping is free, so I bought 8 of them. If nothing else, it will be fun getting a rubdown everyday. Plus as much as the flesh resists, I know with my knower that I am going to have to step up weight training.

I am wishing you a speedy recovery so that you can get back to your photography. I lived in Portsmouth back in the mid 80's and loved the beauty of the location. Odiorne Point, Strawberry Banke, the Naval Ships coming up the Piscataqua River, and the Rye Coastline (breathtaking after a nor'easter). I have been to Mount Washington and know whereof you speak. It's called the windiest place on Earth for a reason. Just make good use of the turnouts on your way back down if you like having brakes! I would love to see your pictures too. My mean old rotten ex has mine. But this is about you dear, so let us know how it goes.

I will be waiting to get to that size 10 or 8 myself. I was my healthiest at 135 lbs, and I was buying 8s and 10s then. Good grief, that was 30 years ago! Just getting started, so that will be 100 pounds from now.