Krestel

Yeah, I kniw that, but both my mom and sister died from them. so...scared beyond belief. Only the anesthesia and heart is a very far off second and there im pretty much ok.

So well said and VERY inspiring! Im starting my strict pre-op diet tomorrow as I will so remember this. Ive benn doing a soft one since May 1st with meal replacement shakes for breakfast and lunch and then having very low cal dinners and snacks. Gotta ease into it. My goal for the next two weeks besides eating is to learn how to drink.

May 27th and scared sh*tless of blood clots.

Huh? Why? Anybody know why?

Wow! Great job. Both my husband and best friend quit smoking (a long time ago) and they went through hell. Good for you! The health benefits especially for surgery are really positive. Kudos.

I was told not to shave, and if they needed to, they would do it during the surgery. Since this was general information and people dont follow instructions to the T, they kept it general and simple. I think the idea behind is it that so people dont cut the hairs short and they have a hard time getting rid of the stubble during surgery.

Ive started on my pre-op diet and have been having a weird thing happen. Even though I am drinking lots of water like I normally do, my mouth has been dry for the past two days. I'm 9 days into the diet which my surgeon says should be just weight loss shakes. Do any of you have the same reaction?

I had my meeting with the anesthetist and the nurse who informs us about more details about the surgery yesterday. My surgery is on the 27th...Getting close.

If you have never tried to sous vide meat (chicken, pork, etc), I HIGHLY recommend it. If you then sear in the juices afterwards, it becomes heavenly. It really changes how it tastes and makes it soooo juicy. My husband just yesterday sous vide cooked a lot of skinnless chicken breast for me and then pan "fried" it (just a little oil salt/pepper, garlic powder, etc) . Then he sliced it to look pretty and measured out 150 portions to vacuum pack individually. (Im pre-op so 150g maybe more than I can have post-op..dunno.) Those then went into the freezer. So today, I pulled out one pack and defrosted/warmed it in the microwave while I was cooking some asparagus with a dash of parmasean. It took me all of 10-15 minutes to prepare and boy was it good. Even when Im post-op, I am so looking forward to this kind of meal.

What are those containers you have the eggs in? Im so curious.

Sous vode is something for us non-cookers. I am (almost pathologically) scared of burning things, but since you cant really overcook in a sous vide and you are just searing it in the pan, I can handle it no problem. 150g is approximately 5.3 oz which is prolly a bit too much post-op, but since you cook whole skinless chicken breast, you can cook it and then cut it up the the weight you want. So go for it!

I was just going to say the same thing. Us geekgals have to stick together!

Ive been wondering.. when getting gastric bypass, what happens with the stomach muscles? Do they cut through them or what? I feel kind of stupid for asking, but I cant seem to find this anywhere since the focus is typically on the stomach and not the abdominal muscles. Does anyone know how they are affected?

A philosopher once said, "With great power comes great responsibility." (just kidding about the philosopher thingy...it was from the movie Spiderman) BUT the author of the book, "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck", Mark Mason changed the wording around, "With great responsibility comes great power." So true!

A great philosopher once said, "With great power comes great responsibility." (just kidding about the philosopher..it was from the movie Spiderman.

I've told my husband, my best friend and her son (who live next door), and a very few select other people whom I trust completely. I have NOT told my father (who I am in a cold war with and I hope to gawd my mother in-law doesn't say anything to him either)! I have NOT told my work. What I have said to my work is that when I return in August (I'm a high school teacher) that I may have a few health issues but have NOT told them for what. I've kept it really, really vague just saying that is was too embarrassing to talk about. I added though that I will be visiting doctors quite regularly and would like that to be taken into consideration for planning my schedule for the next school year. The rest I'll take as it comes...

You go girl!

I was just talking to my therapist when it dawned on me that "bariatric surgery is just like marriage". 1. You spend time looking forward to the day you get married and lose some weight in order to fit into the dress/tuxedo. / Pre-op weight loss 2. Wedding day! The happy day comes when you actually get married and walk down the aisle! / WLS surgery day! 3. Afterwards there is a honeymoon both directly after and during the next year. Everything is new and fresh and you look forward to (almost) every day. 4. You now live together and have to get along for the long run. / Your stomach has changed forever and you have to learn and keep up good eating habits. 5. Now you have actually realized your goal of growing old together, but still need to put in the work to keep the marriage going. / You need to keep up the good habits and work that got you to where you are. So what does this really say about marriage and bariatric surgery?..."Marriage/WLS" is not only about the wonderful "Wedding Day/Surgery Day", but about what comes before, during, and after. You have to keep putting work into it in order to make it successful. If you had problems before that day or develop them along the way, you are going to have problems afterwards as well. If you think that if you "only getting married / only having WLS" will make things ok then you haven't looked beyond that goal. Now, I want to know what you all think? I am no expert (on anything) and would love to hear what you all think.

Aha, the temptation of having an affair!

Mine is the 27th. I have a question for you all. I was thinking of starting my pre-op VLCD diet on the 1st, but really hate those meal replacement shakes. The sweetener in them gives me diarea and my face breaks out. Do you think it work it/be able to plan a pre-op diet with normal food? Something like taking multivitamins, breakfast: protein/smoothie, lunch: weight watchers soup or modifast soup, supper: chicken breast/salmon and veg (no starchy one). I may even have enough calories to put in a protein pudding snack for the evening or protein shake. I've been lucky enough to find a protein powder that has no sugar added and free from sweetner. It has only slightly more calories (40) than other ones and I really like the taste. So what do you guys think? Eat like I described or suck it up from the 1st until the 27th? or just do VLCD for the two weeks that my surgeon has asked for? (Of course, I am going to ask for approval from my nutritionist, but dont want to bother them if im being stupid.)