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Ash, are you going to ask to be transferred to Kaiser Richmond? You can still come to our support group there, even if you're not at Richmond. There was one woman at the support group on Wednesday night that had the sleeve. I'd say 90% there had RNY and a couple of Banders. I want to try to talk to the sleeve woman next month if I see her. I don't know who here doctor is. She just had it done a couple months ago and looked terrific.

Tamra, I live in Oakland! I love it here. I've been here since 1982 when I moved from back east.

Ash, the procedure actually isn't new. This was started as the first part of the Duodenal Switch (sorry about the spelling). It was being used on people who had too many health risks as a way to help them reduce weight until they could get the DS. Now the medical community is seeing this a a stand alone surgery. It's been performed for many years. I read an article and will try to find it and send it to you. I think I'm pretty sold on this. At 59 I don't want multiple surgeries so I'm concerned about the LapBand slipping etc. Plus, I want to get this weight off ASAP. My goal is to be at a healthy BMI on my 60th birthday next October. I'm glad you found this place!

LOL - Monique, you are definitely crazy, but you'll be able to pull this off. Great on you for deciding not to eat the pizza. I always tell myself I can have it tomorrow if I still really really want it. Generally by tomorrow I've moved on to something else. Congrats on your daughter being 6! Tamra, I know exactly where you're talking about in Concord. You're kicking butt on your food intake. Keep it up and you're going to have that surgery scheduled before you know it. To all the post-ops here. Thanks for writing all of your experiences on here. It's great to visualize the process and know what works, and what doesn't work. I had a strange thing happen yesterday. I started smelling cigarette smoke in my apt. I'm on a 10th floor and wondered if it was coming in through the heating vents. In the afternoon I got a headache. At night I started smelling faint burning rubber smell. So weird, right? This morning I woke up with the headache and realized that all those weird smells are coming from me. And yes, I've showered so quit thinking those nasty thoughts! :thumbup: I still have the headache, but that didn't stop me from eating. Don't know what's going on, but I'm feeling less than optimal so drinking lots of herbal tea. Maybe I'll grab a nap. Food so far today 2 eggs 1 spoon sour cream and salsa mix 3 oz lean ground beef dinner - friend coming over NY strip steak and green beans if I can eat I'm a little jealous of all you gym goers doing it together. I have a full gym downstairs and can't afford to belong two places so I'm stuck motivating myself. I hope you're all having a fun day!

Good Morning! I am committing to get my butt down into the gym and onto the bike and treadmill today. I am going to hold off on weights until I return from vacation. I don't want to risk anything gallbladder surgery related before leaving on Tuesday. Do any of you personally know anyone that had the Vertical Sleeve surgery? Has anyone been on this tread in the past that chose that surgery? I'm very curious about it and researching it. Any help would be appreciated. I hope you're all doing well this morning. Riley, how many times have you tried on that dress since it arrived? :thumbup:

Candra, do you have cable TV? Channel 222 is FitTV and they have great master classes for an hour at 6am. I've TiVo'd them to do later in the day. I haven't watched lately but they have a different teacher/style every morning.

Hi Everyone, Maria, glad you're doing so well. Tamra, Where is your new chicken place? Ashley, I've been checking out the VSG site and there's more people over there that had some problems with the band and later had revision to the sleeve. In comparison to the people thrilled with their bands here, it seems like just a few. I think that people that have had problems tend to be a bit more vocal about it. I think we're in good hands with Kaiser. Have fun at your orientation on Sunday! Riley, you've said so many great things about those classes. I'm definitely going to look into them in January. Congrats on all this hard work you're doing in the gym. I've had a tough time staying on food plan today. I did well until dinner. I think I didn't eat enough in the morning and then couldn't quite catch up. I did get in plenty of herbal tea throughout the day. b. 3/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese l. plain ground beef s. 1 apple d. 1 apple, 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt, 2 rice cakes, 1 laughing cow cheese I cooked up lots of beef and turkey burgers for easy protein over the weekend. I'm trying to get myself firmly on track before my trip next week. My son is a very healthy eater and he'll make us big salads at his place, but NY is a great place to eat out. We'll be staying in a hotel in Boston for two nights after Thanksgiving dinner. I know I need to get down into the gym and get on the treadmill. This gallbladder surgery really gave me an excuse but now I'm just plain lame about it. Happy Weekend everyone!!

Daisy, My GB surgery was on 11/2/09. I took my pain meds religiously for the first three days. Day 4 I went to 1/2 pills and day 5 was tylenol and 1/4 pill twice during the day. I had it on a Monday so I was able to just relax for those 5 days and do nothing. On Saturday I did more and on Sunday I went out twice. Back to work on Monday. The only thing my doctor told me was to eat low fat for the rest of my life. The first surgeon that I saw told me to eat very low fat or risk permanent diahreah. I paid heed to that. I lived in scrambled eggs and sprouted grain toast the first week with a little non fat yogurt. When I tried to eat other things I had the runs immediately. Three weeks out and I can eat anything with no distress. On day 18 I saw my surgeon and he said I'm good to go for anything in the gym, just to pay attention and be careful. I hope you start feeling better. Please remember that I haven't had WLS yet so everything I'm saying might be different for your body.

I'm really grateful to read everyone's responses. I'm just starting out my research on which surgery. I think I've ruled out the RNY which is what I think my Kaiser really pushes. After reading here about how many band revisions there are, the band is sounding less appealing as well. I have a feeling I may have found my "home" here at VST.

Congratulations! How great to be in Onederland.

Chandra, I did a month of the shots last year after my ankle surgery because I was completely off my foot for a few months. It was great to not worry about blood clots. I'm here researching the various surgeries and it's great to read how much better you're feeling on day 3.

Hi Everyone, Maria, so great to hear how you're doing! Sorry to those that are feeling sick or PMS. I can tell you that at some point all that PMS goes away! YAY Ash, what time is that meeting in Concord on the 9th? I'll be working in San Jose that day but might make it if the time is right. Tamra, I wonder if that chicken had sugar pumped into it. That would send me into cravings and hunger the next day. I love Costco chicken but don't eat it anymore because they rub it with sugar and shoot sugar and spices under the skin. Now that everyone is talking about Dr. Baggs being cute, I can't wait to see for myself. Food has been pretty good today: b - 3 hardboiled eggs & 1 60 calorie string cheese l - 6 oz turkey burger plain and an apple d - a pork chop and green beans I'm really hungry today. I think I ate a little more for a few days and that always sets me up for more hunger till I get used to it.

Good Morning! Heather, I'm so sorry you're not feeling well. Kudos for staying out of the food to comfort yourself. WTG! Maria, How are you feeling this morning? How did you sleep? Pat, I get it about forgetting you had a appointment. If my calendar didn't tell me where to be, I'd forget everything. I'm excited that you have a case manager meeting coming up. Let us know how it goes. I read the complications threads as well. I'm grateful to have Richmond because it's such a wonderful program. I got weighed last night at the meeting. Incidently, they did mention that the scale would only be coming to one Wed. meeting a month, I think they said the first Wednesday but I can't really remember. When I went to orientation last week I was 240.8 at 7:15 AM, last night I was 238.7. I weigh in wearing my shoes. At home this morning I'm 233.6 but that's first thing, no clothes, no heavy Dansko clogs. I have a five pound difference from morning to night, dressed to undressed, but it's the same on my home scale to Kaiser scale so I know what to expect. Have a fun day everyone!

MB, I was originally given an appointment with a surgeon five days after my orientation. I called and asked for a specific doctor who didn't have an opening until 12/11/09. I didn't think it would matter as it's only a first consult. I think that in the program up here you're expected to lose aprox. 10% of your weight before surgery. Once I've seen the surgeon, it's up to me to lose the weight, then things will progress to the next stages. Have a fun day!

Hey everyone, Just a quick checkin to say that meeting tonight at Kaiser was good. Nothing like what I expected, but good. It was both pre and post-op people all together. We talked about Thanksgiving and what we'll eat. Then each of the post-ops got up and spoke for a few minutes about when they had surgery, doctor, weight loss etc. The pre-ops kinda watched and dropped jaws at the folks who have lost so much weight so quickly. One woman is 2 months post RNY and has lost 75 pounds. If I understood her right, she said she was a size 18 last week and a size 6 today. She was very small. I did end up seeing someone that I was friendly with 20 years ago but haven't connected with in a decade. There was a lot of weight dropped in that room. I think there were only a couple of banders and the rest RNY. One woman did mention that she had the sleeve from Dr. Fisher a few months ago. I wanted to stay and talk to her but ended up walking out with the woman that I knew. I have to say, I spent a good bit of time trying to figure out if anyone in the room was from this forum! :thumbup: I wish you all had been there. Maybe next time!! Maria, I hope you're doing great and sleeping well tonight. I'm sure we're all thinking about you.

YAY Maria!! You go girl! I'm so happy you went through it and that you're home resting now. I'm still planning on Richmond tonight. Will try to get there at around 5:45 if traffic from Oakland isn't too bad. I'll be in the hallway outside the meeting room. I'm still in work clothes. Turquoise shirt and black pants. I really hope some of you can make it. I'm jealous of everyone who's already met each other.

Thanks for the reply Nayna. I've been over a healthy BMI for over 35 years. I'm so done with this roller coaster. My fear with the sleeve is that it's so new at Kaiser. That said, I've just started the program so there's lots of time to think about my options. Good luck and please keep in touch!

Good Morning, I'm new as well, and still haven't quite figured out who's who here. I like that this group is both pre and post op because I'm learning a lot from both. I don't think I've seen more than 10 people posting to this thread, but maybe that's just because I'm still getting people confused. Kaiser is 6-7:30 tonight in Building C - 3rd floor. I'm going to try to get there early and wait out in the hall for you Tamra and whoever else gets to come. I'll look for the pink sweatshirt. It doesn't look like rain, so I won't be wearing the turquoise rain jacket. Don't know what I'll wear. I ate some 94% fat-free popcorn last night. Up two pounds this morning. I guess I'm done with it. It's so not worth it in the morning. I'm going to NY and Boston next week. I almost feel like I'm waiting until 12/1 when I get home to get serious about the 1200. I don't know what's up with that. I've been close to 1200 daily and was doing great, don't know what derailed me with the popcorn last night. Maybe it was hearing Robin's voice, no corn after surgery, no corn after surgery, no corn after surgery. I've been mostly low carb. Don't know what was up yesterday. Back on plan this morning. I'm thinking about Maria and visualizing her waking up from the surgery and being sooooooo happy that it's over and that everything went perfectly! :redface:

Maria, I'm cheering for you too! I can't wait to read tomorrow how well you're doing. You have a great cheering section here. Tamra, You're doing awesome on whatever that diet is that you're doing. It's great to see you so energized about it. Kaiser Richmond tomorrow night. I'm definitely going. If it's rainy like this I'll be wearing an Eddie Bauer turquoise short rain jacket thing and either jeans or black pants. I'm 5'4, fat, 59 with mixed brown/blond/grey almost shoulder length messy hair and green eyes, brown glasses. Who else is going?

Daisy, I just had my gallbladder "coming out party" on 11/2/09. You're going to feel so much better when it's out. I think my energy improved after surgery. I gave up all green tea on the morning of my surgery and I have an abundance of energy now. My thoughts are with you!

MB, I too thought I wanted the Lapband, but as I read about so many who are converting from Band to Sleeve, I started thinking that the sleeve sounds much better. I have to admit, there's something frightening about cutting away part of my stomach. Nayna, I haven't seen the surgeon yet. I just went to orientation on 11/10/09 and I'll see the surgeon on 12/11/09. Do you know how much experience the doctors at Kaiser Fremont have with the Sleeve? It's interesting that you talk about Crohn's. My mother had Celiac Sprue which is a malabsorption disease that's hereditary. While I haven't been diagnosed, I know I do much better without wheat, rye and barley in my system. I wonder if that will make a difference in my doctor's choice of what to recommend to me. Are you at all nervous because the Sleeve is relatively new to Kaiser? I think that scares me just a little. I'm very new to all of this. Unlike some, I haven't spent years or months researching bariatric surgery. My doctor suggested it a month ago.

Good Morning! I have a question. Do we get weighed at the Wednesday night support group at Kaiser? Do we bring our binders with us? I'm so new at this! :w00t: Have a fabulous day everyone.

Maria, I just had gallbladder surgery two weeks ago and that has gas related pain after surgery as well. I went to the local pharmacy that has homeopathic remedies and asked what to take. Homeopathic remedies (if you don't know) are teeny tiny balls of meds that you put under your tongue until they dissolve. Take 5 at a time. I took them two to three times a day (they have no taste but a tiny sweet flavor). I had Zero gas pains. When I felt one coming on the second night, I headed back to the sofa bed where there were tons of soft pillows so that I was propped up a bit. The product comes in a tiny blue vial and is called Carbo Vegetablis. I bet Whole Foods carries it, or any other health food store. carbo vegetabilis - Google Product Search I used the 30cc product. The 200 cc is much stronger, but the 30 did the trick perfectly.

Hello Everyone, You all have been very busy posting today while I was at work! :biggrin: Maria, you are in my thoughts and prayers. I know you're going to do fabulous! Just imagine where you'll be in 3 months. All this work you've done is so worth it. Tamra, I know I'm new here, but I'd like to make a suggestion for your poster board. Instead of putting up pictures and say things that make you feel bad, why not make a vision board. I made a great one on a big piece of posterboard but into a huge heart. On my vision board are all the things I'd like to do. There is yoga, meditation, bicycle, swimming, diamond ring, gorgeous men, beautiful home furnishings, first class airline seats, travel destinations etc. I did this in my meditation group. We all sat around cutting things out of a million magazines, then created the vision board based on what we'd like to see in our future. I bet you'd have a fun time doing it and getting excited about everything that you want. Tamra, I'm getting in the groove of the 1200 as well. Any interest (from anyone) in having a food accountability thread? I'm putting my daily food into Sparkpeople to see how I'm doing with the 1200. I'm so happy to hear that the Kaiser group is this Wednesday! I thought it was next week when I'll be in NYC. I'd love to go. What time does it start? This week is so convenient because I have a 4pm appt at Kaiser Oakland with my gallbladder surgeon, so I'll be home earlier enough to go to Richmond. Opps, how will I know all of you? I want to meet everyone that goes. :tt2:

Good Morning! It's Monday and we all get to make this a great week. I really liked seeing the pictures. I feel like I'm still trying to put names to stories and now even faces. It looks like you all had a great time. I'm doing ok. I'm still not on the 1200 but I can see myself headed that way. My scale is going down a little everyday which is unusual for me. It seems that something happened at my gallbladder surgery that suddenly has me losing on the same food I was eating prior. I did WW both last year and this year, following the program to the letter, not a single cheat and lost only 1 pound a month. Maybe my GB was hanging me up in some way. Pat, I eat the TJ's sprouted wheat bread with high protein. I don't snack or eat sugar, flour, grains etc. I'm having a tough time switching from my very low carb to the 1200. I just have to bite it and do it. I'm keeping my calories at or below 1200, just not in the breakdown that Robin gave us.