shizwiz

@@Cody's mom SO glad to hear that you made it through the pre-op just fine! Is Ronda a coordinator? I am working with Katy, but unless I call her or something I don't really hear from her. Thank you for the offer for the package of post op stuff. I think I will be OK, I do not do well with the pre-packaged foods. My boyfriend and I did Medifast for a long time and if I never see another packet of pudding or soup again, I will be happy! But thank you SO much for offering

@@mkw10 I ordered Lemonade, Iced Tea and Fuzzy Navel. I hope they are good! They have had stellar reviews, but who knows lol

@@mkw10 I will for sure keep you updated. So far, I have tried: *GNC Total Lean chocolate (YUM) And it keeps me full longer *Premier Protien Chocolate (Also good) I don't feel as full for as long, but it has more Protein...don't know how that works? *EAS strawberry (Eh) Tastes like Strawberry Milk, didn't keep me full for as long as the other two *Isopure Cookies and Cream (Ehhhhh) Tasted .... interesting. I mixed it with chocolate almond milk and it was better than with Water. I should be getting the Syntrax next week in the mail, so I will post more later I also got some generic Metamucil capsules as my doctor allows one per day on the preop diet. I take mine at lunch and it does help!!! I was weary because I have never taken Metamucil before and thought I would need to poo at work,but I didn't. Handy to know! I have found that chugging some water before the shake, then drinking the shake, the downing more water helps me with feeling full. I am also trying to kick my diet coke habit because it makes me hungry. But it is just SO....diet cokey and it's hard to kick. We got this!

@@avermette Glad to know I am not alone! I have been getting a bit better at NOT making excuses to have bad meals. In fact, a comment made by our local pizza place snapped me out of giving in any more. We had called to order (again!) And someone in the back said 'they order a lot'. I was mortified. No more! I have lost 2lbs this week and have been doing well during the day with Protein drinks, string cheese and Water. At night we have a ton of veggies and a lean protein as well. Not having a few drinks during the weekend hasn't been sucessful, though I am totally loving the GNC lean chocolate shakes and am excited as I have some Syntrax nectar on the way...lemonade, iced tea and peach. I like chocolate, but am sure that eventually I will be wanting something new. TWO MONTHS!!!!!!!!

@@RadiantGal Thank you so much for that info!!!!! In am definitely going to check that out Were you super hungry going in for surgery? I have been trying to substitute shakes for meals and am getting scared about being ravenous on the flight down there....yikes! And we're you hungry at all after surgery on the way back? So glad you are doing well!! Woot woot!

Glad you are doing so well! It sounds like your recovery is going well and is speedy (or as speedy as it can be!). I am flying from AK down to San Diego and then will be transported via van across the border to my hotel/hospital. When I leave, I will be taking the same route (van, then flying out of San Diego). Have a good day

Awesome! How are you doing? I am going with Dr. Elias Ortiz (A Lighter Me). Thank you in advance

@ I will cross my fingers for you! It would sure be nice to take out two birds with one stone. I read that most gastic patients are at higher risk of gall bladder issues because of the high Protein consumption? I have not told anyone other than one friend (who is against it and not very supportive so...yikes), my boyfriend of course, my family, and two close coworkers (who are super excited for me!). But yeah, I am keeping it a secret because people sure do have their opionions. I am fine with that, but have a tendency to shut people down a little too rudely when they give me unsolicited advise on weight loss...so it is for their benefit not mine I am actually the Privacy Officer for the hospital I work for...so I am sure people will be afraid to ask details of my surgery one I come back. Mwuahhahaha....

@@Becca R. I think you are right! I am going to try to make an appt with one of my providers and at least ask. I go to an IHS hospital and they generally don't hand out a lot of pain killers, so I will have to cross my fingers!!

@ Can your MX surgeon take out the gallbladder at the same time they do the VSG? I think many of them will do that at the same time (for extra $). I would do that! On another note....I cannot get the song 'Eye of the Tiger' out of my head. I was walking down the hall at work sippin' my Protein shake (testing out Premier today, YUM) singing....I am so READY for January!!!!

@@Becca R. Thank you! Good idea on the dresses, I didn't even think of that!!! I may make a doctor appt to ask about pain relief to take down there....I have been pondering it but keep going back and forth.

@@jenbaby75 I feel ya on the clothes. I feel like I look horrible and know that I am not healthy. I am also on a 'new-clothes strike' as well! No use in buying expensive clothes that I hopefully will never need again. I have an entire wardrobe from sizes 16-22 to work through and when I get to the point of size 16 being baggy, I will reward myself with a couple new outfits! We will get through this. January is almost here (2 more months!) and all of us are already on the road to wellness and health Back to work on my timemachine so I can speed things up a bit....

It is coming up quick!! I am getting nervous for the pre-op diet!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am doing the same thing right now. Isopure Cookies and Cream tastes weird. It has a funky aftertaste and is pretty sweet. I did mix it with some chocolate almond milk and it was more bearable. I am still waiting for Premier shakes to come in, along with EAS, GNC Total Lean and about 3 flavors of Syntrax nectar. (All of those shakes were suggested by other people on here.) Right now I am trying out substituting some meals with shakes so when I get to the pre-op diet I am not completely shocked!

Really?! I wonder why? I guess it could be because of my credit score (mid 600s). I am just going to pay cash though at this point. Glad to hear you didn't get charged as much as I would have been!!!

Yep! When my boyfriend said 'why add debt when you really don't have to?' I kind of looked like the squishy alien toy from Toy Story saying 'ohhhhhhh'. I am more comforable now and feel right about it. Hee hee I was saving partly for a new car, too! Heh hehe.

Thank you! I think you're right. Someone mentioned loan shark earlier and...yeahhhhhh. So happy to go have had a learning experience with great input from the cyber world. I am kicking myself in the tookus for not FIRST using my noggin to create the savings plan, but, hey.... heh heh.

I have my solution. I have devised, with the help of my lovely boyfriend, an aggressive savings plan. I currently have the cost of the surgery plus a bit more available in savings. I am going to forgo the financing and use that. By the time my surgery rolls around, I will have half of my savings recouped. Not the figure I was shooting for by Jan 15, but enough for emergencies, etc. It made more sense to use that as opposed to shelling out another 3k. Now, to mourn for my Sephora addiction. And Amazon. And Zulily. But my health is more important than makeup, unnecessary plastic objects and clothes. I would like to thank EVERYONE for their comments. Without them, I may have made a rash (and costly) decision!

Thank you I hope this post will be helpful to others looking to self finance. I haven't found too many posts with much detail in my research. Toodles!

You and your husband are awesome, THANK YOU!!

So awesome! Do you think there will be an issue with this being the third time I request credit this month? I have Citerra, credit union today and then if I do LC....yikes. what do you think?

Thank you both!!!!

Yeah, my credit limits are about $1000 for each of my credit cards. I requested higher limits and got shot down (very nicely, which was sweet). I know it is my fault, I had debt that was paid off in the last 1.5 years, so even though my score and income has greatly gone up- I still look like a huge risk. Beware, young people! Do not misuse your Nordstrom credit card when you are 18!!!!

Well, I got a rejection from the credit union. I was kind of surprised because I have worked pretty hard to get my credit on track over the last few years. However, I took my credit for a ride when I was 18 (10 years ago) and just recently paid off all debts. That was the reason for the loan denial. I am currently working with Gen from Citerra to see if I can negotiate the terms of my loan. She is going to check with me to see if I can (a) put down some cash and get a lower APR or 'Provider Processing Fee' or ( select a shorter loan term and get some of the fees cut down. Cross your fingers for me, eh? Thank you ALL for the support. It is nice to have people to talk with who are not judge-y. Seriously.

Yikes! Thanks for all of the input! I am really going to have to weigh this one out.