Rosebud2

I was alway opposed to spinals because I didn't want anybody messing with my spine. I even had two HUGE babies with nothing. BUT, WASA advised me to do the spinal and I did. I specified that it be done after I was out.

One of the deciding factors for me is that Aceves is F.A.C.S. That was important to me. Both doctors have very loyal followings. Personally, I liked having three days in the hospital for follow-up. A bit boring, but it put my mind at ease. If I had an emergency, I wanted medical staff right there (especially so far from home.)

I am so happy I found this forum and one other. So many questions I had about the sleeve were answered on the forums. So much information was proffered. I just got back from my surgery and I went from San Diego to Mexicali with one group and back to San Diego with another. They people I rode with all had the lapband. I'm not disputing their choice. It was their choice. But none of them had even heard of the sleeve. It made me wonder what research they had done except for listening to the t.v. commercials which makes the lapband sound like a miracle cure. The other thing they did not seem educated on was the post-op diet changes they were going to have to make. In the pre-op conference with the doctor one man asked how soon he could start drinking his energy drinks again. Aren't those high carb? In the ride back three folks had the band and the topic of conversation was how they could not wait to get to the mushie stage so they could eat their mashed potatoes again. As much as I love mashed potatoes, they are not at the top of my list when I want to lose this weight. I'm looking forward to high Protein, low carb like tuna or the like. So this just made me wonder if they had really prepared themselves for the lifestyle changes they were going to have to make to reach their goals. Once again, thank you all for sharing your wealth of information with me. I know what I have to do to get where I want to be.

If I want a cup of coffee, I drink a cup of coffee. It may not be every day, but I do drink it.

You're almost halfway there. Me too!

All good advice. My concern would be that she fully understands that her eating habits will change for life. Is she mature enough to make that decision or does she think it is a cure all? It is not a magic bullet, but a tool. The hard work is done by you, and it is hard work initially. She has to be prepared mentally for this. I love the advice of having her meet with a counselor both before and after the surgery. It will be a major adjustment for her.

Are you going to St. Thomas? Actually we should take this to PM or phone. I can tell you about the islands.

Cool. I love the Caribbean. We are doing the Mexico thing. We don't even care if we get off of the ship but it is far less expensive than spending a week at the beach in a hotel. We just drive to Long Beach and catch the ship. My son is coming down from Canada with his family. My daughter, her fiance, his daughter and her son are going too. They are getting married on the ship.

I'm cruising in October. Where are you going? It will be interesting. Eating four or five bites a meal. :001_tongue:

How was the upper G.I.? I have never had one but heard that barium is the worst. Did they make you drink much? What did they tell you after that? So you are going to do it again? Do you think it was worth doing? I'll contact the other two ladies. As I said, august is murder. I only have the 29th and then slip all the way til 9/19. Do either of these work for you or is it too soon to plan? Bearded can be our rose amongst the thorns. lol

I removed my post and will give the benefit of the doubt. It just did not seem plausible. I can't even get 1/4 of anything dense in and I'm much further out. Maybe two cups of broth, but I even doubt I can do that.

My August is shot. I will either have company or be out of state for almost the entire month but I'd sure like to meet up with some of you. I have a wedding in San Diego the end of August and am thinking of staying over an extra day and going for a 3-month check up with Aceves. How many of you have done that? How necessary is it? They said they would do blood work and a barium xray.

Drat I'm in Seattle from the 12th until the 19th. I would have loved to meet up. We have to set something up soon anyway. We have two others here on our journey with us.

I'm late to the party. Which weekend are we talking about?

Welcome. Ditto to all of the above. We understand where you are and will be here for you when you get back.

We only have about a million restaurants here and they are all wonderful. Party!

Why are you doing this? You are sabotaging your surgery? Again, why? You are also putting yourself at risk for serious complications. You can create a leak. As far as eating what you crave because you "can't help it". You know that isn't true. It is a choice you are making. Does your program have counselors on staff? If they don't you might want to look into one privately. You are having issues and we can't really help you here. You have to want to help yourself and you need to do it soon before you cause surgical complications for yourself. I can't believe you can eat two cups of food. I can't even manage 1/4 cup yet. Please get help. We don't want to see you become ill.

Exactly! I usually order an appetizer. This is more than enough for me. If hubby gets something yummy, I'll have a couple of bites. I usually have to bring some of the appetizer home with me.

It doesn't require a lot of strength. You take one bite too many and you suffer the consequences.

I do get frustrated when I'm eating something that will do me good because it contains so much Protein. I fixed 1/2 of a small filet last night and could only eat 1/2 of it. I tried tuna salad for lunch again. It was such a staple on my presurgery diet and suffered for hours after that. It looks as though that is off of my list for a good long time to come. There are lots of frustrations with this surgery, but I keep hearing that it gets better.

In the beginning hot did go down easier. It must relax the muscles. Hang in there. It gets better. Now I can drink normally except for the protein drinks which take a lot longer to get down.

Actually I have not. I'll have to check into that further. I don't normally keloid though.

I'm with you. I really don't want any more surgery either. But if I get to my goal and my arms look like sh*&, and I can't wear the clothes I want, then it will be depressing.

Oh, I'm not looking for lipo because I'm hoping to lose all the weight. What I would want gone is the hanging batwing loose skin.

I had it happen to me. It was totally frustrating. I'm now losing again. It stalled for nearly two weeks. Even though I'm losing it is slow. I was hoping I'd be losing 10 - 15 pounds/mo. at least at the beginning. I probably will lose ten this month, but hoped for more since the first six months is supposed to have the greatest results.