gadgetlady

Two. The first didn't give me any confidence whatsoever. The second seemed very knowledgeable, and I went with him.

The only time I can't offer a discount is on the 12th-14th because of Valentine's Day ("the superbowl of gondolas"). But if you can go on the 15th or the 16th, I can give you 15% off any cruise :clock:. Just call 877-4-GONDOLA and ask for the LBT discount.

My dh and I own two businesses: romantic gondola cruises in Newport Beach (CA), Lake Las Vegas (NV), Irving (Dallas area, TX), Myrtle Beach (SC), and soon to open in Orlando (FL) -- see www.gondola.com. My dh also performs wedding ceremonies in Southern California -- www.YouMayKissTheBride.com -- and I run the office for him. Hey -- if anyone wants a gondola cruise in any of our locations, I can give you a special LBT discount In addition to that, we homeschool our two daughters ages 8 (3rd grade) and 5 (kindergarden). <whew> Makes me tired just typing it!

Well, I woke up this morning with a sore throat. After my last debacle, having to cancel my surgery 2 weeks prior to the date because of a cough and fever that were gone in 2 days, I'm hesitant to even MENTION this to my dr's office (although they're not there on the weekends so I guess I couldn't do anything until Monday, my surgery date, anyway). My dh has had this "cold" (really it's only a mild sore throat) for a few days. No other symptoms. I do NOT want to have the surgery if this increases the potential risks/complications. On the other hand, I do NOT want to mention it to anyone if it's really inconsequential but will cause them to cancel my surgery. I can't imagine another postponement, and I certainly don't want to have done 2 weeks of a liquid diet for naught. Does anyone have any experience in this area?

Bronchitis is the WORST! I don't feel like this is going to go there, though, which is why I'm still wanting to go through with the surgery. I didn't tell the doc's office b/c I didn't want them to cancel me.

Yay! Glad to hear it -- and that it was a US doctor as well (I think the MX doctors pretty much allow anything).

Thanks for your input, everyone! I've been doing Vit C for a few hours now and gargling w/ a mixture of Water and hydrogen peroxide (yuck) since last night and I'm feeling a LOT better. I guess I should have worded the liquid diet thing better. I'm grateful for the 10+ lbs I've lost, but the thought of facing another 2 weeks of strictly liquid followed by a 2-week post-op liquid diet, in effect 6 weeks of liquid ONLY, is daunting. 4 weeks is hard enough I realize I'll be making drastic eating habit changes and facing liquid meals once in a while, but I do want to chew :nervous from time to time.

Oops -- I forgot to mention that. I called the dr's office today and told them my dh had a slight sore throat and could I take Airborne to help avoid it? They said no because of the ginger in it. But thanks for the thought!

Monday is D-Day (or B-Day) for me and I'm trying to find the list of things one should considering having on hand. Can anyone direct me to it or give me some keywords to search (that work better than the feeble ones I've been using, "surgery" and "list"). Thanks!

Oooohhh! I found it -- it's called Pre/Post Op Must Have list. Posting what I thought was ON the list helped me with more search terms. I think my brain was fried from a long day. Thank you!

Thanks for the suggestion, Kathy, but I just tried that and it didn't garner the results I'm looking for. I'm not looking for a food list per se (and that's the only thing I found that was applicable); I'm looking for the list that I think mentioned Gas-X, liquid pain killers, heating pad, etc.

I guess I'll get to find out the answer to this question! My surgery was postponed for one month, but because I'm relatively regular I'll still have my period when they operate :target: What fun :rolleyes

Thanks for the laugh, guys! I haven't laughed that hard in a while!

Yup. Exactly right. It's probably less about the surgeon than it is about the anesthesiologist.

Thanks so much. Question for you -- did you write one to your husband, or just your kids? The way the one to the kids wrecked me, I don't know if I can handle writing another one!

Wow! What a topic! Here's my $0.02. Obesity is much more of an issue in 2006 than it was 20 years ago, which was more than 50 years ago, which was more than 100 years ago, and so on. If we adhered to a Biblical diet, in other words the guidelines for diet given to the Israelites in Leviticus, we most likely wouldn't be having obesity issues. But we don't live in that time and we don't adhere to that diet (it would be pretty tough). I believe we face a lot more temptations in this day and age, due in large part to our busy lifestyles and the ease of selecting processed and unhealthy foods. (as an aside -- if you look at people who have a problem with pornography, they struggle more now than people 50 years ago because -- hello! -- pornography is more readily available). So being constantly bombarded with horrible food choices and huge portion sizes, those of us with a proclivity to overeat or make bad selections are more likely to have issues. There may be an aspect of laziness here on some level, but really the issue in my mind is that living your entire life trying to exhibit huge amounts of restraint every minute of every day is practically impossible. I've always said that being on a constant diet is a horrible way to live. And for anyone to consistently eat 1200 calories a day (which is what I need to MAINTAIN my ideal weight!!!), it's just an awful way to live. I'm sure you've heard this before, but alcoholics have it easier. They just need to avoid alcohol altogether. Food-addicts still have to eat several times a day, but they're expected to choose well and stop eating when sometimes 3/4 to 1/2 of what they were served is still left on their plate! No wonder many of us fail! So back to the question of whether using WLS to control obesity is a sin? I believe God gives us tools to bring our lives into conformity with His will, some of those tools are technology, and those tools vary depending on the person involved. Heck, I use www.biblegateway.com to look up Bible verses all the time! Technology can be a blessing! Is it a sin to seek counseling when God gives us all the answers in the Bible? Is it a sin to wear a prosthetic if you lose a limb, because maybe God wanted to you struggle without a limb to learn something? Is it a sin to get a pacemaker, hip replacement, or have an operation to cure a defect in an unborn baby? Is it a sin to take Vitamins because you should be getting all of the nutrients you need out of what you eat? Of course not -- these are all tools. WLS certainly isn't the EASY way out. It'd be nice if there were an easy way out!!! It is simply the recognition that, for us, losing weight and keeping it off has proved to be, over the course of years and years, unsuccessful. And we are therefore choosing to use a tool to force us to control our intake.

Tons, Penni. Where are you in LA? The one I went to in Newport Beach has it's main office in LA or Beverly HIlls. They were expensive but after several interviews with others I had more confidence in them than the others (I'm also NOT a believer in skimping on medical practices). I can't remember the name offhand but if you're interested in LA/BH area lmk and I will find it. As to the whiteheads, I used to get those when I waxed, but not when I did laser. I know it's a big no-no, but I always squeezed them. They came to a head pretty easily because they were so small, and I had redness in that area for abuot 6 hours, but then I didn't have any problems after that. Again, not something you're supposed to do -- but I did it.

Anyone here in Orange County?????

I drink mostly Nestle Pure Life ("Natural Fruit Flavored Water Beverage"). It's clear, no carbs, no calories, and tastes a lot better than Fruit 2-0.

I've been on the pre-op diet since Monday. I've lost 6.2 lbs so far (I know, most of it is Water weight but it's still fun!) but my body fat has been steadily increasing every day (I have a scale that calculates it). I know the scale isn't 100% accurate on body fat, but I've never seen it go up so quickly and so steadily (usually it hovers around the same number and if it goes up one or two days, it goes down the next). Is this because of the pre-op diet? Burning beloved Protein instead of the hated fat? I am not exercising yet (too busy working trying to get everything done before surgery). TIA!

Where in CA? I have great confidence in my dr., although I haven't been banded yet. I've read that some ppl. don't like him but as far as I can see it's because he won't do fills for ppl. who have had surgery in Mexico. HTH!

I'm on a 2-week pre-op diet now; I don't have any requirements about how much weight I should lose. I am supposed to have 800-cal/day and a min of 60 grams of Protein. My dr. "allows" Protein shakes (for me that's 4 shakes of the kind I've selected) and some non-starchy veges (lettuce, green Beans, bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.). Same reasoning about shrinking the liver. Quite frankly, I am so thrilled to be on a diet and already losing weight. I've only been doing it 3 days so far. I needed to do something quickly -- I'm running out of clothes!

This morning I took my "before" measurements, and my thighs are as big as my waist once was!!! How disgusting is that??? How did that happen???

I told everyone in the world! LOL! I have very supportive family and friends (plus my dad's a doctor and he researched both the surgeon and the procedure). I don't know what I would do (in terms of telling or not) if I didn't have the support.

Should I be thinking about this? I'm scheduled to be banded on 2/6, but I have no idea what size band I'll be getting. Should I ask or just trust my dr?