stevemitchell

Me too. Same Doc, today (Tuesday). Tested with mouth/hose setup, with noseclamp for 10 minutes. My metabolism was tested to 14% above what's considered "Normal" metabolism, "slightly fast". To sit-on-my-butt and maintain weight, I "need" 3139-4078 Kcal per day. To lose 1.5-2.5 lbs a week, I "need" 2513-3139 Kcal per day. My Doctor-Supervised Kcal recommended count is 0-2513. Dr. Veninga and I agreed that I'd stay @ around 2000 Kcal a day until my first fill near the end of May. Steve

Oh not at all. I was using the reference to a brandy snifter. It's liquid all right. I've realized that what I was feeling last night was the "REAL" post-op" pain. Not very pleasant, but after 13 hours in bed, it's very tolerable again. Steve

Hey folks, thanks for the outpouring of support. I appreciate it. Barbara said I needed 64 grams of Protein a day and said the Opti would be fine. Fortunately for me, I worked for a very large company and the Cobras are only $283 a month. Doc said I had a lot of fat around my liver and he had to move it around alot, and it's starting to hurt alot tonight. A quick snort (15 ml) of Hydrocodone, and I'm off to la-la land. Thanks again all. steve

Yep, it happened yesterday at Trinity Med Center in Plano by Dr. Veninga. Lemme see: I'm sore. Good drugs, no overt pain. I'd lost 16 lbs on the Optifast two-weeks prior to the surgery. I lost my job the DAY I started the OptiFast, but my partner and I decided that this was too important to blow off, so we elected to continue insurance coverage. I won't "get a fill" until 6 weeks from yesterday. I'm using OptiFast as my Protein drink and am patiently waiting for the soreness to subside. Stevemitchell Started two weeks ago @ 367 lbs, and now am at 348 (mostly Water loss), with 175 to go.

Thanks for the reply. Starbucks used to sell it in moderate-sized bags as Black Iced Tea Bags a couple of years ago. Then after they bought TAZO, they stopped selling the consumer-sized bags, and now sell it ONLY over the counter. The bags I buy are those gigantic bags used to brew gallons (the EXACT stuff they use), but I just rip them, put them in an infusor one big cup at a time, and go about me business. If you're in a Starbucks, one that actually knows how to make it properly, it's pretty tasty. If it's badly done, it's bitter. Stevemitchell

I LOVE these one-word headings. A person just says 1 word, and suddenly they're deluged with helpful comments and such. OK. I drink tea. Let me rephrase that: I DRINK TEA. :beer: (Imagine it's tea) It's unsweetened Tazo Black Iced TEA. If that was all I could drink a day, I'd be OK with that. That said, are there any GOTCHAS that I must be aware of? Stevemitchell.

Just got the insurance approval :clap2:, and am waiting for the evaluation/training meeting before surgery. Nervous. I've tried everything, dodged a bullet from 1½ years on Fen-Phen back in the 90's, and have just gotten so frustrated. I was even on Ionamin, Tenuate, and others as a child. I seem to have inherited a tendendcy to eat mechanically, whether I'm hungry or not. :hungry: Any advice for a soon-to-be-banded Newbie? stevemitchell