Lee

Dalal, we can talk about it when you get closer to your surgery date. There are lots of fun things to do in the Bay Area and lots of great fun that are day trips away like Napa, Half Moon Bay etc. Will your husband be with you? This is so exciting for you!

Congrats on a fabulous first ten days! Aren't you so excited?

Hello, I'm a little older. I'm 59 and had my surgery last month. I'd vote to do it together. I was in hospital for one night (Wednesday), one night home alone, then my 36 year old son flew in from NY to spend the weekend with me on Friday. It was great to have a little distraction. He virtually never left the house except to go for walks with me or down to the gym. Being on Clear liquids for 5 days, the full liquids for 10 days there was very little to buy in order to be prepared. My son left on Tuesday morning and I was back to work from my home desk. I worked 1/2 to 3/4 of the day the first week, then went back into my office full time after that. We all heal differently but this wasn't too much more difficult than my gallbladder coming out last November. Learning how to eat again with our new Sleeve is the trickiest part. I think it would be so much fun to have a partner to do it with. Walking together, preparing food together etc. I really didn't need any help and would have been fine even if my son hadn't come home. He was more of just a distraction and to keep me from getting bored.

Hi Dalal, There are several people over on obestityhelp dot com that have used Dr. Cirangle. If you go to that site, look for the VSG forum. I think that MacMadame occasionally posts here. She is very pleased with him. I can think of several people over there who have used him. He has an excellent reputation. He's in my area and I would probably have wanted to use him if my Kaiser didn't cover the Sleeve. Oh golly, I see that you are coming to my neighborhood. Will you be traveling alone? Do you know where you will be staying post-op? I hope that you are allowing for a bit of site seeing post-op if you are new to the area. Do you know what hospital you will be in for your surgery?

Dan and Angel, congratulations to both of you for your successful surgeries! Enjoy each step of the way and let us know how it's going for you!

Heather, it's hard to predict how our kids will grow up but I think that giving them a healthy start with wholesome food is a real bonus. My son too grew up without candy etc. For many years I had huge organic gardens back in the 1970's. When I was a child I went to gardening school, not camp so I loved raising all our veggies. We've always been a home with fresh organic food. Very little was ever processed as we cooked from scratch. The only time Zach got fast food was when the soccer bus stopped on the way to a tournament. He's 36 today. Has been a professional soccer player in South America, has been a professional Muay Thai boxer in Thailand and to this day eats healthier than anyone else I know. I love when he's home visiting because the foods he prepares are always fresh and wholesome. His meals of choice are huge salads for all three meals a day. Unfortunately being in grad school again, he rarely is home enough to prepare all his meals. So regardless of having heavy parents, it's possible for kids to grow up with great eating habits.

Pammie, I hear ya on having to find out what works and what doesn't. You're so right, it's a fine line between how much to chew and when to stop eating. I figure this is a learning curve and at 5 weeks out there's been so much to learn. I think I'm going through the "you need to just freakin let go of the last bite syndrome". I'm a pretty fast learner. Last night I just spit out the last bite of salmon because a little voice said... i bet that's the one too many!

Hi Heather, I went to Baja Fresh. I think it's on Laguna. It's a great place for us post-ops to eat as you can get a small side of any meat/fish and also get a 3oz serving of beans. I got their grilled shrimp and then got lime slices from the salsa bar to squeeze on the shrimp. They were very yummy. The small side of shrimp and beans was more than enough for 2+ meals. Cheap at $5.50! The Elk Grove meeting was very unstructured. People talked a lot about Diabetes pre and post op and how to be careful about meds etc. Mostly people just talked over each other. I was not at all impressed with the unstructured attitude, but I was made to feel very welcome. There is some great weight loss success in the room and many with long term success. Next Monday the speaker will be a Plastic Surgeon for anyone interested. Heather, I'm going to be in Elk Grove again on Monday night but I think you're always in the gym. I have an invitation to dinner at a former Boss/friend's home, but think that I will probably cancel because after teaching for 8 hours, I'm not all that social. If you happen to be free/not in the gym, let me know please. I'd love to meet you. I'll be at the Holiday Inn right next to Mimi's on Stockton off Laguna.

John, I've had a couple of episodes of eating what must have been one bite too many and it did come back up. I was grateful that it did because I felt better afterwards. Three butterflied shrimps are too much... really? I seem to be at two ounces of dense protein. Maybe I was just testing it more this week? Dunno but tonight I spit that last bite of salmon out because I was afraid it would be too much and that was the last bite of 2 ounces. Didn't have anything else with it, just that. I know that the book says we can have 1/4 to 1/3 cup of protein, then a little fruit or veggies, but there's hardly room for that after the protein.

Why not just tell him that this is a personal decision made by your doctor and you, based on your health needs and risks. Let him know that the entire world wants to discuss your decision, but that it only causes you undue stress. Ask him to be supportive as a family member, but to keep his opinions to himself as they aren't helpful because he's not your physician.

Tamra, trip was good but I find that restaurants give me "one bite too many itis". I have to get that in check. I always think I can have that last bite but it pushes me over the edge. The Sleeve is not friendly to "one bite too many". I did make great food choices though. I found a Mexican place near my hotel, where I could get an order of grilled shrimp and black beans to go. I just kept it simple. Candra honey, I'm so sorry to hear you sounding so down on yourself. Forget the number on the scale for today. What can you do to get back on track, one meal, one hour at a time? How can I/we help you with that? I hate to see you struggling and feeling down.

Faithful, I'm so happy to read that you're home and doing so well! Please keep us updated on how you're feeling.

You'll feel much better in a day or two and you'll be so happy with your sleeve in another week! :sad0:

Laurel, I went back a few pages and see that you're home and doing well. YAY!! So happy to read that! Ali, are you the next one up? :Banane20:

Good Morning! I've been in SAC for a few days but finally got to sleep in my own bed last night. YAY If you missed the CNN piece on the 14 year old, the way I did... I watched it on CNN Video. There were two of them. I just put 14 year old weight loss surgery into their video search. For Contra Costa people looking for a support group, I hear that the John Muir meeting in Walnut Creek is good. I'm going to check it out in April. I believe it meets the 2nd Saturday of every month from 10am - noon and is for anyone, not just John Muir patients. Where did this rain come from while I was away?? Hey, I want to see everyone's pictures too please. :Banane20:

Tiffany, down girl down. You barely know this guy at this point. You've only seen him once. Just because he suggested something, doesn't mean you'll have to do it. Going on vacation is a plan between two people and so far, he's the only one planning. It doesn't sound like going to a naked drinking party for your first date is particularly appropriate anyways. You won't be one of those drinkers in October. Wouldn't it seem like something a little more conducive to getting to know each other would be better? If you haven't been going out and he does go and meets someone else, he wasn't your guy. There are lots of guys out there and yours will be perfect. As far as not eating much when you go out with him, by October you'll be eating small meals. Most of America is dieting. You can decide to be honest with him, or you can order an appetizer and push it around your plate when you're done eating. That's what most girls do on first dates anyhow. I say... take a deep breath, focus on your surgery and recovery and trust that everything will work out just as it's supposed to.

Hey Krystal, Good luck on your approval! I hope you hear very soon. :thumbup1:

Hi Michelle, Welcome to VST. I really don't have anything to add to what Tiffy said, but I do want to say.... I love my Sleeve! Good luck and I hope to see you here often!

I used Myfitnesspal . com pre-op and still use it now. I find it to be very easy and it has every food in the database that I eat. I think it's normal to want to have that "last supper". I imagine that many people do it. Just search and you'll find lots of posts. Food has been part of our lives for a long time or we wouldn't be here research WLS. Why not plan a couple of meals to Celebrate your upcoming surgery, then let it go. In my case, I was very lucky. Kaiser gave me a surgery goal weight and I had to reach it before I could get a surgery date. I was so lucky to have surgery within two weeks of getting the date because I knew that if I was over 230 they would send me home and not operate. I'm a very slow loser so I knew I had to really toe the line and not have last suppers. It sounds like you have a lot of support at home. Use the support and make this a fun family adventure leading up to surgery. You won't be able to eat your way through your Sleeve. It will stop you dead on if you just stick to eating Protein first. You'll be full and won't be able to stuff in anything else. My plan calls for eating 3x a day with no Snacks so I really strive to get in that protein. Good luck!!

I'm so delighted to read that you're doing well. Be sure to keep us filled in on how you're doing.

Wishing you all good things. This will most likely be the best trip of your life!

Congratulations on doing great on the Cruise!

Hi IC4, I'm doing Atkins post-op, but I'm not figuring that it's going to be forever. I'm doing this while in the losing stage because I'm 59 years old and want to get to goal. I bet that if we watch the carbs and get the weight off, that we'll be able to eat carbs a bit more freely when we get to goal.

I didn't worry about getting in Protein in the first two weeks. On full liquids, I ate greek yogurt because it's high in protein. I couldn't do the Protein shakes. At around two weeks I started drinking some RTD Muscle Milk Light but mostly focused on my 1/4 to 1/3 cup of pureed foods. I have a desk job an went back to work on Day 7. Hang in there, you'll be fine.

Sorry you're hurting. Why not take it easy for a day and see if it gets better.