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Congrats!!! Good Luck to you!!

Oh, and just so you know, the six months of classes can seem super long at time, but it does go by pretty quick...Im in utter disbelief that I only have 6 weeks left!!!

Yes, depending on what teacher you get, you'll find that they really push the 10% in the beginning, then as you get towards the end, they start to taper off with it and just want you to make sure you are ready for surgery. Did they tell you who your instructor is yet? I would love to meet for a walk, you could even join up with my group from class too. Many of us are really close (we text daily!!) and we schedule walks. I'm sure you'll join together with your class too. Its funny cause if you ever have to do a make up class, you'll see how each group has totally different personalities!!

Why do you have to get up so early?? They must have made an earlier class cause I take the 9AM on Thursdays in Clairmont. Where are you taking your classes?

Hi there!! Im currently in options so I will have to let you know once I finish classes on May 1st how long it takes. My sister did her options classes in Riverside and the classes were only three months, but when she started, they told her the whole process was a year long. It was about three months before she got scheduled and she actually really pushed for it since she is a teacher and needed to have surgery during summer break!! When I started, they told us it was a 9 month process. I've heard that people from Kaiser have had their surgery at Pacific Bariatric in as little as three weeks, but im sure it fully depends on whether you lose your 10% and how busy the schedule is over at Pacific Bariatric. Let me know if you have any more questions. When I was starting class, I took the very first one that I could get into just cause I had gone in the program previously and walked out. I know I want the surgery and feel very prepared for it, so I knew I just wanted to get the classes done ASAP!!! Best of luck to you!!

My sister is in Riverside and her classes were 3 months long. I'm in San Diego also and I'll be finished with my six months of classes in May. I'm hoping for surgery in May or June also!! I haven't lost my 10% so I know I'll have to meet with the Kaiser doctor again, worst case is that I need to wait a bit longer to lose more, but I've still got 7 or so weeks left to drop some more weight!!

Hi All, So I'm in a Kaiser program that lasts for six months worth of weekly classes. To move forward after the classes and onto surgery, you need to have lost 10% of you starting weight in the program. I'm about halfway through and have not lost anything. I know there was awhile there where I was participating in food funerals and there are weeks that I do great and drop weight and then it comes right back on. I've recently had a pap smear because I haven't had a period in over two years (this is in part due to birth control I was on, but it should have come back by now). the nurse when I was there told me that my body is clearly not processing anything properly and that could be why I'm having such a hard time. I still have about 3 months to lose about 35 lbs, but I just don't know what to do. Although its not the healthy choice, I'm half tempted to just crash diet in order to get down so that I don't have anything slowing me down. I use a logging website and exercise about three to four times a week and I'm just not getting anywhere. Did anyone else have trouble dropping weight pre surgery? Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm giving myself anxiety worrying about it, which I also know isn't helping either. Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!!

Question, at my work , everyone typically wears jeans to work everyday because we are either in the office or on construction sites. My question is this....how long was it before you wore jeans comfortably again? Do regular jeans (not mom jeans or super low rise) hit incision sites?? I know everyone will be a little different, but Im just curious if anyone had experience with this? I think I can get away with wearing dresses if I have to and my boss would probably let me wear sweats if I wanted also, I just don't want to draw extra attention to myself if I can help it....thanks for any feedback!!

Hi All, Let me start out by saying that I know everyone's doctors are different and people will have different opinions, but in all the research I've done, I'm starting to think that a diet suggestion given by my class instructor for post surgery might not be the best suggestion and I'm just curious if I'm totally off base or if others feel the same as me?? So I'm in the Kaiser 6 months of classes and the instructor went through a chapter last week on post operative eating and the different stages. Most of what was in the book, I agreed with with the exception of they gave many high carb / low Protein options as choices. When I asked the instructor about why you would choose mashed potatoes, cream of wheat or applesauce as an option when there is so little room in the pouch, so why would you pick things with very low carbs, she insisted that you need high carb options as part of your day, but she had no real reason for this and it just seems that you would want to avoid high carb options int he first few weeks following surgery. Am I wrong here?? I will for sure talk to the surgeon about it once I get to that step, but I would appreciate some feedback here because I would think you would want to do everything to use the tool of the sleeve to its most optimum. Thank You.

The instructor is very odd about Protein shakes. I'm fully aware that I'll need shakes in the beginning and even ongoing to get the appropriate amount of protein my body will need, but she seems to be against Protein Shakes. She recognizes that they are a necessity for right after surgery but discourages the class from using them preop at all and says we need to be off them as soon as we can post op!!! It's no wonder I don't buy into what she is saying cause not having protein shakes goes against pretty much what every other sleever has done (that I've read about or met anyway). I know that i do my research, but there are people in my class that don't even use computers and are going 100% by what she is saying...it worries me for them!!

My theory on this is that there isn't really a cream that will help tighten loose skin. I think that the lotions and creams out there will help with elasticity in the skin, but many other things play into where your skin will "tighten up" on its own including age, wherther you've had kids, and genetics. I personally have not had surgery yet, but as soon as I started even considering it, I just started using a good cocoa butter on the skin to help its elasticity. Whether it will help or not I don't know, but I would just look into a good body cream rather than the miracle promising "firming" creams that cost a fortune...just my two cents though!!

thank you everyone for the feedback...I should have been more clear in what the instructor was telling us that I disagreed with. I know that int eh months and years follwoing surgery, carbs are part of a healthy balanced diet, but the insturctor is telling her students to eat carbs like cream of wheat and mashed potatoes just within the first week following surgery...that is the part I find odd...It just seems too soon to eat something in your tiny new tummy that has zero to no Protein. I realize that we are all different and I, like us all will be learning what I can handle as I go.

I agree with lowered carbs, not completely cutting them from your diet. I would just think there are carbs in veggies and greek yogurt and many other items that are also portein rich, so you would limit the carbs you eat to those kinda things and not a straight carb like cream of wheat

Five seems long based on what people have posted here...,my sister was in the hospital for three days because she wasn't getting enough fluids in (the kept giving her vegetable broth as opposed to chicken and she just couldn't stomach it!!) so they kept her one extra day

PDXMAN...do the mason jars do okay in the freezer?? I don't know why, but I thought you couldn't freeze glass with liquid in it like that?? Thank you for posting that idea!!! I love it...definitely planning on doing that after my surgery (you know, once im out of the puree stage!!)

I agree that there is no such thing as normal when it comes to this. I don't have to do a pre-op diet either other than not eating past a certain time the night before. Different doctors just have different requirements and depending on your liver, different doctors might have different requirements for their own patients. Bottom line...there are a lot of people who don't have a pre-op diet.

I had to do the stool sample for the same test. My insurance did it in the very beginning though, and I actually did have the h. pylori and they had me on a round of medication to get rid of it before I moved forward. Hopefully you don't test positive so there isn't another delay!! Good Luck!!

Thats fantastic!! Congrats!!!

I think my biggest fear is not losing fast enough and getting discouraged. In the past in dieting, I would always get discouraged and "fall off the wagon" and gain everything back. Logically I know that it would be extremely difficult to gain weight back like I used to, but I fear having too great of an expectation and being disappointed or discouraged. I think that after surgery, the scale will need to be put away for a bit..my daily weigh ins will have to stop so that I don't obsess about the scale number and I only focus on how I feel

You look BEAUTIFUL!!! Congrats on the progress!!

Congrats!!! How exciting!! I can't wait until the day I get my surgery...the waiting game is no fun but it really helps to prepare you!! I'll say a little prayer that everything goes smoothly

That was a great read!! Thank you for posting!!

I had to do tests right away to make sure nothing was overtly wrong with me prior to being fully accepted into the program Im in. About three months in I had to do blood work again because they are trying to get my Vitamin levels up. I know I'll go again at the end of this month. I would ask your doctor if you are supposed to do them now or not. The last thing you want is for your process to be slowed because you waited and were supposed to get them done right away

Morning All, So I understand that after surgery, you want to start walking right away. But how long is it before you are cleared for other types of exercise? I enjoy Pilates, spin and yoga. Yoga and Pilates can be pretty chill, but I'm curious how long before you could really get in a good hard workout?? I do realize that everyone's doctor is different, but I'm just trying to get a gauge of a timeline. Thank You!!

Hi there. My doctor said the same thing about me...that I was the perfect candidate for the sleeve because my BMI is 40. I think you have to do whatever surgery you think it right for you but in all of my research, I was far more comfortable with the sleeve than the bypass just because of the undernourishment problems that can occur with bypass, and I just didn't like the idea of rerouting my insides. But there is tons of info on this site and you should definitely take the time to read up and get your knowledge base so that you would know what to expect with either surgery.