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Great job working your Sleeve. Congratulations! I had my gallbladder removed in November and put on 10 pounds from the morning of surgery to the next evening. I was amazed at how much Fluid must have been pumped into me. Feels great to have it out, doesn't it? :001_smile:

YAY!!! I'm so jealous that you're going to be on the LOSERS BENCH later today! But more, I'm soooo excited for you. Congratulations on getting to this point in your journey.

John - Congratulations!!! You are so close to being a happy man again! Ashley, I'm so sorry you're getting this grief from the billing department. Keep trying and don't give up. Maybe you should get a loan to pay for the surgery so you can get it done with and get that day care center bringing in money. Tamra and Canolie, you two must be flying! I can't wait to hear what date you get Tamra. Candra.... Holy Moly, you've got one HOT man! You two look terrific together. I just got in from meditation group. Need to go do a few things so I can go to sleep. I have an early meeting in Sacramento tomorrow. Sweet dreams everyone!

I think it's normal to be nervous. Remember that today is just a consult. You'll have plenty of time to think about what gets said today. Until the day of surgery, you can always change your mind if you decide it's not right for you. I personally can't wait until surgery day! This is such an individual decision for each of us. Good luck on your journey!

It looks like this - Amazon.com: Boiron - Carbo Vegetabilis 30c, 30c, 80 pellets: Health & Personal Care

Pat, when I had my gallbladder out in November, I went to the Natural Pharmacy and asked the Homeopathic person what I could use for the post-op gas. I got a remedy called "Carbo Vegetabalis". She told me I could even add a few balls to my drinking water but I didn't need to. It comes in tiny little balls that you put under your tongue. I'd take it a few times a day. If I felt a twinge of that gas in my upper shoulder, I'd just pop a few and bam, the gas was gone. I'm a true believer in it for post-op. Gallbladder has the same gas as WLS.

Hi Lan, I'm sorry this is happening. I had to do chemo type drugs several years ago. While my hair didn't all fall out, I lost a lot of it. I stopped coloring it and cut it very short so that I wouldn't need to brush it or dry it. It all grew back! I'm not looking forward to losing it again but I'm going to cut it short again when my turn comes.

Tamra and Nicollie - YAY!!! So happy that the two of you are at GOAL!!! Pat, I'm really excited for you. Two weeks will fly by! Tina, I'm so sorry this is so stressful for you. You're right, letting go a little (but not of good eating and exercising) may really help you. Are you sleeping well at night? Here's the five day pouch test that I see many on ObesityHealth.com using. I bet you could substitute tofu and Seitan etc for the meat days. Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test I'm doing ok. Had a good food day and glad it's dinner time! :smile2:

Mine took one hour. She asked me a lot of questions about habits, what I'm doing to prepare for surgery, how many people were in the room we were sitting in, who is the president... etc. Kaiser has everyone do a psych evaluation before surgery.

We can be happy regardless of what the scale says. If we don't like the scale, kick it to the curb!

Good Morning Team! New week. New choices! I've been tracking all my food on Myfitnesspal.com I was using Sparkpeople but someone over at sleevetalk recommended fitnesspal so I've been using it. I've kept carbs low, protein high, calories under 1200 the last three days and walked for 2.5 hours over the last three days. Scale not budging off 233. I think I need to shake up my calories, 1 day higher, then low again. I'm eating primarily meat, veggies and a protein shake, even cut out the fruit because of the carbs. I'm hoping to see a change soon!!! Sheesh. I'm so close to pre-surgery but my body won't let go. This happens on every diet I go on but I'm not going to get discouraged I hope. I just want that Liz appointment already! Tamra, you going in for that weight check this morning? Riley, we haven't seen you much lately, how's it going? Hi hi hi to everyone!

Tina, are you a vegetarian? I was a vegan for many years. Recently raw vegan from 2004 - 2006. Always hungry. After reading your menu, I'd suggest ditching the Oatmeal. When I eat oatmeal I'm always starving shortly after. The carbs are so high. Have you tracked foods that sustain you longer? Are you able to tolerate greek yogurt? Could you try one with a little more fat and protein powder to satisfy you? Do you ever eat eggs or fish? From my reading on the Sleeve sites, the people who wake up hungry are having a protein shake before bed which helps them get through the night. I know that Kaiser says no shakes, but they also expect weight loss. The food plan is the same whether we have the band or the sleeve. I am so sorry you're going through this Band Hell. I can imagine how frustrated you are to be doing everything right and not getting results. Sending sympathy your way....

You're in my thoughts Kai! Good luck today.

Welcome back VegasAngel!

I'm here. Good Morning! I was out getting a mani/pedi this morning. Now I'm gearing up to go walk at the dog park for 1.5 hours with a friend and her dogs. Scale still at 233. Dropped the carbs but scale won't move. So I'll just keep moving. Have a fun day everyone!

DeeDee, This is fantastic. NORMAL!!! How long have you waited to read that word. Watching your journey really gives me hope that with hard work I too can achieve... NORMAL! Congratulations on taking care of your Sleeve!

Hi Tricia, Kaiser started approving the Sleeve in November. Dr. Baggs thought it was the best option for me. My mom had Celiac Sprue and I'm starting to also show signs of it. I also had Rheumatoid Arthritis several years ago. Sleeve is better for people who have malabsorption issues and may need meds for other issues. Who is your doc? When are you expecting to have surgery? I have a few pounds to go before I can meet with Liz (case manager), then after that it's a go. Have I seen you at the support group? I was there in November, December and last week. PM me if you'd like to chat! I"m going to add you as a friend if that's ok with you.

Good Morning! After really counting calories again, eating 987 yesterday, low carb and walking 3.5 miles.... scale still the same at 233 for the third day in a row. I'm just gonna keep those calories low and exercise. I know the scale will move. Right?

Rcarter, not a dork at all. It just means you haven't been on a million low carb diets like some of us. :biggrin0: I'd say that's a good thing!!

Hello, At my Kaiser, I can't get an appointment with the case manager until I have weighed in at Kaiser at my pre-surgery goal weight. She'll be the one to give me a surgery date. I'm told that if I show up to that appt. she won't see me. If we show up over our pre-surgery goal on the day of surgery they cancel it. They're really serious about meeting our goals, whatever they assign us.

Wow, both of you are two pounds away! So cool. I have a little further to go. I'm jealous of how quickly you young'uns shed the pounds. I hope to join you in two weeks! I've cut way way back on my carbs which is how I was eating before the holidays set in. The sun is shining here so I'm going out to walk Lake Merritt with a friend from the Kaiser Meetings. I hope it's nice all weekend. Pam, good on ya for joining a gym you can actually work out at! Candra, lol... you're a young'un too!

Personally, I just count all the carbs. That way I don't have to worry about if I'm doing it correctly or not. There was huge debate with the Atkins people years ago when they starting talking about net carbs. If they counted all of the carbs, people would not have purchased their bars, shakes etc and they would not have made a ton of money off us dieters. Just my opinion. :confused:

Hi Jenn, I wanted to welcome you! I'm going through the Kaiser in Northern California. Our program is a little different as we don't have the Options program. I started with a referral from my PCP in October. We have a five hour orientation, psych consult, Nutritional consult, surgeon consult. After reaching pre-surgery goal weight, there's a case manager consult, followed by class with the nutrition person. My doc said I'd probably have surgery in February or March. I need to finish losing my weight before we can continue. Good luck to you!

Jes, don't even give me that "I'm old" routine. My son turns 36 this month, so if you're old, I'm ancient. We're not going there! Congrats on your sons making it to 21! :thumbup:

Tamra and Nicole.... CONGRATULATIONS! I love the idea of the two of you being Banded together! How cool are you both. :thumbup: