LoreLu

Minimize the screen and mute the sound during commercials. Life is SOOO much nicer without gargantuan burgers slapping you in the senses!

@"OKC Pirate" - yes, I also had to give up alcohol and coffee. No more (neverending) glass of wine after dinner! Diet Dr. Pepper was hard, too, but if I didn't eat Protein, the sweeteners in diet soda made my blood sugar bomb, so that's a concern I don't have now. I have no problem with the pre-surgery diet - I have 3 more weeks to go on it - as I rarely get hungry until I START to eat, so it's no big deal. My Nut keeps pushing exercise - and I'm the least athletically inclined creature in the universe! If the game involves a ball, I'll take it to the face; if it involves Water, I'll sink like a rock (I nearly drowned during a drownproofing class at the Y cuz I have heavy bones). I walk and coerce myself to get on the stair stepper, but it's truly a chore. Thank God for mp3 players!

For all of you who fret over the scale not budging despite your adherence to the program - at my pre-op class this evening, one young gentleman was discouraged because he took up water jogging 1.2-2 hours a day, has been diligent on his diet - yet gained weight! The nutritionist put him on the body composition scale and.....he LOST 12 pounds of FAT but GAINED 15 pounds of MUSCLE! So, don't stress over the stalls. A lot is going on in your body.

The center I'm going through checks your blood levels every six months as part of the on-going program, which also includes group sessions and individual therapy with nutritionists and psychologists. They just got recertified as a Center of Excellence.

Thanks for the feedback on that. It's not going to change my decision; I just like to be prepared for the worst so the best is a wonderful surprise.

Now that you mention it, Alex - what time frame can you give us as far as when you feel like you went thru a disposal (as soon as the meds wear off) until the depression/funk/ "what have I done to myself" phase starts, and how long does the funk phase generally last? A couple weeks? Months? Truthfully, our NUT talked about vitamin/mineral and Protein supplements so much at first, I lost focus that I'd ever get to eat real food again. LOL! Can you imagine, being willing to live solely on Protein drinks the rest of your life? Now, a month away from surgery, I realize I WILL get real food again, eventually! (My Dr.'s phase-in to solid food is roughly 8 weeks)

My first appt was late November, 2014, and my surgery is scheduled for August 17. My insurance required a 6-month diet but, once the paperwork was filed, they approved the next day!

Our surgeon warned us that the rooms are very small and, what with Doctors and other medical people in-and-out, it gets real crowded real fast. But then, mine will only be a one-night stay.

". People always seem to make this surgery seem like unicorns eat rainbows and fart glitter but it's more like mules eating metal and farting spikes!" LOL! Too funny! I just started my 4-week pre-op diet this morning. So far, so good. I'm a big fan of ice chips when I'm thirsty and my stomach is finicky.

We can ALL dream - and make them come true by working with our sleeves/bypasses/bands! They're wonderful tools to get us where we need to be.

My pre-op diet is 4 weeks, so I'll have plenty of time on it! That said, I did pick up a sampler pack to see which items I liked....

Be careful with grapefruit juice. It interferes with some medicines, like statins (for cholesterol) so check with your gp first). ???? Right you are, Catherine. My Dear Hubby had to give it up when he started taking Metformin for his blood glucose levels.

You "don't 'deserve' the surgery because you don't do anything to better yourself"?!??? That's pretty screwy logic! How is having surgery to help you lose weight, improve your health and quality of life NOT doing something to better yourself?!??? Oh. Maybe she meant you hadn't kicked her sorry, negative a** to the curb yet. THAT might improve your life, too!

Just scheduled for August 17, and I'm more than ready to get going!

I start my diet July 18 for surgery August 17! It's a loooong process, but it needs to be done and, however much weight I lose pre-surgery (Dr. and insurance require 8% of body weight), I'm that much closer to goal! Nothing about this choice is going to be easy - but it will be soooo worth it to get back to active size!

My nutritionist team emphasizes no CAFFEINATED coffee or alcohol for one year. Their rationale is that caffeine is a diuretic, and keeping your fluids up is an issue; and the alcohol tears up your stomach (that's left) and makes you prone to reflux, leaks and ulceration.

My info was finally faxed to insurance Monday and I got approved today! YAY!!!! Am scheduled for August 17.

I'm a big believer in hiding temptation. Get a folding picture frame, put photos of your family in it, and place that sucker on your desk in your sight-line to that table! Another thing I do... Our TV has a Guide button, that reduces the size of the picture and has the hourly listings for the channel. I turn the Guide on and the sound off when food commercials come on. If the image is not in your face, neither will the food be!

Brevard, NC? I'm in Greenville, SC. There are a number of groups here. Asheville might be closer to you?

At a recent pre-op support group, the RN explained that every 2 lbs of fat requires 8 lbs (?) of water to process it out of our body. Since the body uses up the glycogen in our muscles first, we need to drink the equivalent of 8 lbs of water to convert the equivalent of 2 lbs of adipose fat to energy the body can use once the glycogen is used up.

Have you had any issues with allergies or post nasal drip? I get nauseous from night time sinus drainage, with dry heaves when I brush my teeth, and I haven't had surgery yet! My NUT and NP recommend OTC sinus meds to dry them out before bed. FWIW.

I was told to cover the incision site with gauze and keep it in place with Press 'N Seal (yep, the stuff from the kitchen cabinet!). The P'NS will adhere to your skin but not irritate as badly as tape or regular bandages. Itchy is a normal stage of healing. You might ask if you can use any lotions/gels on it to keep it moist.

Grapefruit juice helps your body bind iron in your blood. Try drinking it frequently between meals.

Now that I've completed the 6-month requirement for my insurance company and saw the surgeon for going over details 4 weeks ago, only NOW I find out the Dr. and the Center of Excellence he runs have been in on-going negotiations with my insurance company. They signed a contract which won't go into effect until early JULY, which means I don't stand a chance of getting approved until mid- to late- July, at which point I start a 5-week pre-surgery diet....putting surgery off until late August? September?!?? AAAARRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH! And my insurance company REFERRED me to this surgeon last November KNOWING they didn't have a contract!!!!! Frustration, thy name is spelled I N S U R A N C E O B F U S C A T I O N !!!

"(Slobovian pro tip: grilled cheese leaves a very distinct aroma in the house. Plan your binge early in the day accordingly.)" LOL! That's funny - AND helpful!