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Good Morning! Tina, there are a lot of people over at verticalsleevetalk . com that have had the band to sleeve revision. From what I've read, it's better to have the revision before a slip or erosion as that makes it more difficult to revise. There are some that have the band out, then have to wait months until they are healed enough to be revised. I don't know what Kaiser does about revisions since the Sleeve is still so new there. Who knows what problems might arise with the Sleeve, ten years down the road. Riley, I'm so happy that you're feeling better today. So this cranberry juice, I know it's no sugar added which is great, but what's the carb count? Could someone please check for me? Thanks! Any Oakland (or close) people on this board? I'm always looking for someone to walk with. Have a fun Saturday everyone.

Hi Katrina, I'm new here as well but have gotten wonderful information. I'm going through the Kaiser Richmond program up here in Northern California. Congratulations on your wonderful weight loss!

Thanks Cajun. Your weight loss is awesome!

Thanks everyone, Candra, the AMA recently came out with new reports regarding the Sleeve. Kaiser just started to offer it as a third solution in the right situations. I have had to take meds that would not be viable for me with the RNY. At my age I decided against the LB because of upkeep and potential problems in the future with the Band. Pat, I completely understand about missing the meeting. My son comes home on the 24th. It will be his first trip home in awhile as he was teaching in Dubai for a year, then went directly to grad school in NY. I would miss it too if I were you. There's lots of future meetings. That is so cool that Virigina is your grammy!! Riley, can't wait to hear about date night. I'm very encouraged to think that I'll be more willing to meet men once I've let go of some of these pounds. Tamra, I'll see you at the meeting! I took Dr. Baggs printouts of my last week's food journal. I told him that I don't lose at 1200 and showed him my logs for 1000-1100 calories a day. He didn't like that I've been having Protein Shakes for Breakfast so I need to work on that. Whatever reason he had for giving me a low pre-surgery weight, I'm grateful! Dr. Baggs told me that as long as I'm under a 30 BMI (170) he'll be happy with my surgery and progress. I put 150 because I'll be in the 25 range. Would you up it if you were me?

Cajun, when they started with the LapBand, they didn't expect to run into problems. Now several years down the road, they're finding problems. That's what I meant by medically. We have no way to know about long range success, or do we?

Hey Ash, I had my appointment with Dr. Baggs this afternoon. I really like him a lot! I went with all my questions and reasons for why I want the Sleeve. Before I even had an opportunity to tell him why, he said that he thinks the Sleeve is my best option. Pretty cool, right? I'm having my psych consult next Friday. Once I get to my pre-surgery goal weight, they'll schedule the NUT and Case Worker. He told me it looks like February or March for my surgery. YAY!

Candra, have fun tonight. Spoken word is very cool from what I've seen of it on TV. Riley, I'm so glad the vodka and jogging helped. Hi to everyone! Stay warm and as dry as possible. I hope Heather is having great weather! I had my appointment with Dr. Baggs today. I told him hello from everyone here. I really really liked him. I've told you all that I thought the Sleeve would be best for me. I went armed with reason why and a notebook full of questions to ask him. He started talking about the three surgeries and immediately told me that he thought the Sleeve would be my best option. My only fear is that there aren't long term studies of the results. I expected to have a lot of weight to lose but he looked at a CT scan I had done last Friday due to pain in my abdomen. He said my liver looks great and gave me a weight loss goal of 230. They set up my psych appt for next Friday. He told me to expect surgery next February or March depending on my NUT and case manager appointments. YAY! Can I still come visiting over here? Please? I'm planning to go to the support group next Wednesday in Richmond. Anyone else going?

Back from my appointment with great news! Tiffy and Cajun, thanks for your supportive words. I had my spiel all laid out for why I want the Sleeve, but before I had a chance to even go through it, the doctor told me that he thinks the best WLS for me is the Sleeve! I had a ton of questions about the surgery and he answered each of them. At the end of the consult he told me that he really liked that I came with my book of questions and hopes that I continue to do so. I know that Kaiser generally asks for a 10% weight loss before surgery. He told me that my recent CT scan shows that my liver is in great shape and gave me a surgery weight goal of 230. YAY! I have my consult with the psych next Friday. He told me that I can look forward to surgery in February or March. I still have the NUT and the case manager, plus some things to work out at the office so that I'll have relatively stress free time away from work. He said that the Sleeve patients generally can return to work after two weeks for a desk job. I'm jumping up and down with joy. I'm going to join the ranks of the Merry Sleevesters. My biggest concern is long term success, not in terms of weight loss, but medically. The doc explained that there's less information available about the long term with the Sleeve. Anyone else with the same concern? YAY!!!

It's finally 12/11/2009 and I get to meet my surgeon this afternoon. I'm ready with my list of questions and reason why I want the Sleeve and not the RNY or LB. I hope I come back this afternoon jumping with joy at a good outcome to today's appointment! I've taken off the 5.2 pounds I put on in NY over Thanksgiving. This morning I weighed in at 131.6 on my home scale, so I'm happy about that.

Hello, I've been reading everything here for the last month. I started my WLS journey on 11/10/2009 at Kaiser Orientation. I knew I didn't want RNY but thought the LapBand sounded like a good option. After much research, I know that the LB isn't for me. I don't want to deal with fills and possible problems down the road. I know that Kaiser Richmond, has a great program but they encourage everyone to have the RNY. I'm hoping that Dr. Baggs will have an open mind and discuss the Sleeve with me. Things I want to bring up with him: I had Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2001-2003. Should it flare up again, I don't think I would be able to take the RA drugs with the RNY. My mom had Celiac Sprue, a malabsorption disease that's herediary. I'm already showing signs of having it. I don't want to compound malabsorption diseases. I have hereditary cholesterol issues. It spiked when I was raw vegan for three years. I'm taking HCTZ for blood pressure that's a little high. I take motrin for ankle surgery 17 months ago that still causes pain when I exercise. Wow, I sound like a train wreck! Is there anything else that people have discusses with their doctors to help sway them from RNY to Sleeve? I appreciate all the posts that I've read about questions to ask my doctor. I'm armed with my questions and concerns for my appointment this afternoon. Am I missing anything? I really hope I come back here tonight to post that I'm on track for a Sleeve! Thank you all for sharing your stories because they've all helped me come to an informed decision about what I want from surgery.

Tiffy, you look radiant and filled with joy. You, as well as others here at VST give so much hope to those of us just beginning our journey. thank you!

Hello, Heather, have a wonderful time! I'm sorry that several of you are sick. I hope the sore throats clear up quickly. I'm still plugging along with my 1200 calories a day. I'm seeing Dr. Baggs for the first time on Friday and want to be at a low weight for the month. I'm finding it a lot of work to be always mindful that every single thought/decision brings me either closer or further from my goal. I was just driving home from San Jose (work) and had a sudden thought that I could stop at Wing Stop! Where in the world did that come from? I've never in my life been to Wing Stop. Needless to say, I just drove straight through. Wing Stop would not help me accomplish what I want before seeing Dr. Baggs. I'm anxious, in a good way, to meet him and discuss my surgery options as well as my surgery goal weight etc. Take care everyone. I may not post very often, but I always read.

Hi Ashley, I'm definitely going to push for the sleeve. I need to be able to take meds if my Rheumatoid Arthritis ever flares again. I'm hoping that will be enough of a reason for them to allow the sleeve. Also, my mother suffered from Celiac Sprue, a malabsorption disease that is hereditary and I'm already showing signs of also having it. So maybe the combination of both will be enough for the doctors. I've been sticking to 1200 calories since I weighed 5.2 pounds up on Wednesday. This morning I have only 1 pound left to shed to be back to pre-vacation weight. I'm hoping to be down a few more before my surgical consult on Friday. How are you doing with your food plan?

Congratulations Chancie! This is wonderful news to wake up to on a Sunday Morning. I'm just beginning this journey and reading posts like yours make me know that I'm doing the right thing.

Tamra, Please don't give up. Can you write your food down and email it to someone, or put it here in our thread? I find that being accountable is very helpful for me. It doesn't matter what you eat, just be honest about it. I bet that you'll find that it gets easier to stick to "your" plan when you know you have to write what you bite. I don't think it's unusual for some of us to get confused along the way and then sabotage ourselves with eating off plan. Maybe you can write about why you want the surgery, and what you're afraid of. I think that around here, there's no judgments about your food because we've all been here/there etc. I'm a very slow loser so I'm going to be at this for a long time. That's ok, there's a lot to be learned along the journey. I'm planning to go to the meeting on the 16th. Someone awhile back asked which meeting is the weighin meeting. That would be the third Wednesday of the month. The scale wasn't there on the 1st Wednesday of December. I'm going to look forward to seeing you there!

Hi Everyone, I've been busy since returning from NY on Wednesday so haven't been around to post much. Pat, it was great to finally meet someone from this group. You're as nice in person as you are online. I put on 5.2 pounds during the week I was away. Just makes me want to be all the more careful with any carbs. I'm happily down 3.2 of those pounds this morning since going back to very low carb with no sugar or grains etc. Hey, if there's going to be a compound, I was one of the original "back to the land people" and had a huge organic garden, canned and froze all our food. Picked berries and wild asparagus, getting milk for cream and butter at the dairy down the road, so count me in! :wink2:

Hi Ashley, You're doing great! You can shed those 5 pounds before your visit. I'm planning on at least 5 down by my appointment on 12/11. This morning I was down 1.4 of the 5.2 I put on over vacation. I'm hoping that by cutting way back on the carbs and keeping calories low, I'll release the weight. Kaiser weighs me 5 pounds heavier because of shoes, clothes etc. I'll let you know how it goes! I spoke with someone at the Kaiser Support group last night. She went in asking for the sleeve but was denied because there was no good reason to sleeve her as she can tolerate RNY or the Band. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens when I see Dr. Baggs. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the update, Cajun. I'll check it out further. I've never used spray zinc, just these homeopathic tablets.

Hello, I'd love to recommend a product to help keep you healthy. I swear by it, as does everyone that I've bought it for. It's a homeopathic redmedy, 100 small tablets for $12.99 at a health food store, Whole Foods etc. It's called FluPlus by Heel, Inc. It's loaded with zinc which ups the immune system. Simply put one tablet under your tongue and let it disolve. If I feel a scratchy throat, snuffly nose, anything cold or flu related, I take one when I wake up, another an hour later. Continue for four hours, then go to every several hours. I haven't had a cold or sore throat in years. This stuff is amazing. Also, I just had my gallbladder removed and got a homeopathic remedy called Carbo Vegitablis - 30 grams. I took it for the gas and never got gas at all. Five tiny granules under the tongue a few times a day. I was told I could drop some into the Water that I sipped all day and that it would help. The one moment I started to get shoulder pain, I took a dose and it was over before it started. Good luck with your surgery!

Good Morning Everyone! I'm back from NY and Boston. I had a great vacation with my son and loved walking everywhere. The only thing that killed was his 6th floor walk-up. After my gallbladder surgery I hadn't been walking much or climbing stairs at all, so I got great exercise. That said, I gained 5.2 pounds. It really points out how quickly I gain weight. Thanksgiving was one plate of food, mostly turkey and veggies with a small bit of carbs. I did eat one piece of homemade pie. The rest of the time was sharing food. Three of us went out one night in Boston and shared two appetizers, 1 small salad and two cups of clam chowder. That was after walking miles all day. No entrees, just shared appetizers for dinner between three of us. If I look at carbs, I gain. So today I'm back off any carbs and back to protein. I see Dr. Baggs in 10 days for my first visit. I hate that I'm up these pounds. I'm back to where I started at orientation which feels awful. It's such a struggle to lose a pound. After menopause it takes me weeks to lose a pound. Not sure what he's going to say to this. I'm planning to go to the Kaiser meeting tonight unless I'm too wiped out. Is anyone else planning to go?

Good Luck ML! My thoughts are with you this morning.

Ashley, That's very exciting that you're having all of your appointments in one day! I can't wait to hear what the surgeon tells you. I have my appointment with Dr. Baggs on 12/11/09. Of the three surgeries, I definitely want the sleeve. I know he'll try to talk me into the RNY because that's the one they perform the most of. I'll see how it goes. I've been in NY and Boston for a week. I gained 5.2 pounds. I ate very sensibly but I did eat some carbs and put on weight immediately. Thanksgiving dinner was 1 plate of food with veggies on half the plate, with only a three tablespoons of carbs. My son and I shared food at every meal. When eating out we split an entree and a salad. It just shows me how quickly I react to carbs. We walked everywhere including several times a day walking home to his 6th floor walk-up in NYC. So as of today I haven't lost any weight from my orientation a month ago. I'm back off the carbs and will really try to get those five pounds back off before my appt with Dr. Baggs. I'm happy to see you doing so well Ashley!

Good Morning, Riley, how are you doing this morning? With all of us sending you warm loving energy, I hope you'll be able to bounce back. It's so tough to lose a loved one. I'm really sorry for your loss of John. I saw a low on my home scale this morning. 231.6 I know that I always gain a couple pounds on vacation so I'm thrilled to see a low number to start with. I'm planning to have Thanksgiving dinner. A small serving of everything that calls to me, except the pies. I haven't been eating sugar and there's no reason to start now. My goal is to eat mindfully and enjoy the company of friends. Canolie, I'm keeping my calories to right around 1200 but I don't cook much. I've mostly been eating meat, a little fat free greek yogurt, eggs and a bit of veggies. Fruit stalls my weight loss, other carbs make me gain. Last week I had 7% fat turkey burgers several times. I tried the Pure Protein 21 grams of protein Frosty Chocolate shake yesterday. 110 calories and I was full for a long time. I got it at Trader Joe's. I'm going to try the vanilla one this morning. My office is having Thanksgiving dinner for 30 people today. They're doing it today because I'll be gone tomorrow. I actually wish they had waited. I really don't need the temptation today but I'll try to stick to turkey and veggies and pass on the rest. I don't need the carbs before sitting on my butt for a 6 hour flight this afternoon. Ok - truly wishing each of you a happy, healthy and mindfull Thanksgiving week.

Riley, I'm so sorry for your rough day today. I will keep you and your friends in my prayers. You're a good friend to them and to everyone here. (hugs)

Hi Everyone, I'm so impressed with how great everyone is doing! Canolie, you are rockin the house and you'll be banded before you know it. Pat, how exciting to be up for a surgery date. Maria, hang in there until 12/2. It's closer than you think but I bet at this point you'd rather go to sleep until then and wake up to pureed foods. Tamra, you're getting so close to goal. Hi to everyone else!! You prolific writers, I can't keep up. I had a good day today with food 2 soft boiled eggs 1 Pure Protein 100 calorie 21 grms protein drink 1 6oz turkey burger SF jello dinner will be 1 6oz beef burger with a spoon of sour cream and salsa on it I'm packing tonight and off to NY tomorrow. I'm going to work until 1, then take BART over to SF airport. I'll be back on 12/1. If I don't get back here tonight, or in the morning, HAPPY THANKSGIVING and let's all remember that it's just one more meal and we can eat on plan! I have my first appointment with Dr. Baggs on 12/11 to keep me in line. I'm hoping to come back from NY and Boston Lighter!!