pnw218

My sisters and I have weight problems and are always sharing diet tips. One day my oldest sister was showing us a low-fat cookbook and pointed out a chicken dish she had tried the night before. Reading the ingredients, I commented, "It looks like it would taste really bland."

"It did," she replied, "until I added cheese and sour cream."

**********

My friend Kimberly announced that she had started a diet to lose some pounds she had put on recently.

"Good!" I exclaimed. "I'm ready to start a diet too. We can be dieting buddies and help each other out. When I feel the urge to drive out and get a burger and fries, I'll call you first."

"Great!" she replied. "I'll ride with you."

**********

Although I knew I had put on a few pounds, I didn't consider myself overweight until the day I decided to clean my refrigerator. I sat on a chair in front of the appliance and reached in to wipe the back wall.

While I was in this position, my teenage son came into the kitchen. "Hi, Mom," he said. "Whatcha doin', having lunch?"

I started my diet that day.

**********

Although I was only a few pounds overweight, my wife was harping on me to diet. One evening we took a brisk walk downtown, and I surprised her by jumping over a parking meter, leapfrog style.

Pleased with myself, I said, "How many fat men do you know who can do that?"

"One," she retorted.

If a cop stops me in Arizona and says "papers" and I say "scissors", do I win?

LOL

I should forward that to one of our radio talk show guys! That is big news these days!!

I have been using Premier since very early post-op. I didn't have any issues but everyone is different. You might try a few sips, see how it settles and then try a little more.

I used Atkins and Nutrilite pre-op and the taste is pretty similar; they only have 15 Protein tho.

Good Luck!

Good luck with your loan approval and scheduling! It is an exciting time! I only had to wait about 3-4 weeks from when I scheduled until the actual surgery, and that was hard!

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, either here or via private message : )

Happy planning!

I took a potassium supplement before surgery - helped to prevent cramps in my legs and feet. I have continued to take that after as well. I also take prenatals and a B complex.

I had my Iron checked about a week ago - and it was just fine. I am having full labs done in about 3 weeks.

If it was just soreness and not cramps, you could be sleeping (or if you are sitting in a recliner) with your feet flat and knees up? Not sure if that is described properly. I found myself doing that subconscientiously after some point and then couldn't figure out why my calves hurt! lol

Congrats on moving forward! It is an amazing tool!

You will do just fine. I love the clinic and the people, everyone was always very kind and attentive when I was there, both for my surgery and with TiffanyisMajor : )

I printed and took common/medical phrases with me - sounds pretty similar to what Dr. Aceves hands out to his patients since his nurses aren't bilingual. I never had to use them but had them just in case.

There is also a list of contact numbers by the phones in the rooms in the clinic and the recovery houses. Includes the Hospital Vida which is just a few minutes away in case you have an urgent situation. The receptionist I spoke to at Vida did speak some English also.

Ideas of things to pack....

reusable fillable ice pack: nice to use after surgery and on the flight home. You can get ice from the flight attendants

gasx strips: I had some gas, but more nausea the first 24 hours. The strips were great for a treat tho before you could have or wanted anything else : ) I used the cinnamon kind.

heating pad: my body temp was all over the place, and I liked to leave the window open and/or ceiling fan on in the recovery house. The heating pad felt good on the tummy and on the neck or back to warm up.

At the recovery house - the tv in your room will have some English stations. What we found was the best were the music channels. Keep looking, you will find them : ) We kept soft classical rock on low, even when we slept and it was nice.

I think I may have a list also at my "Mexico or Bust" thread.

I did bring my regular laptop, but could have survived without it. There is one at the recovery house that you can use. I also have internet/email on my droid - so could have survived with that only or just brought my mini. Next time .... lol

The phones are all vontage (or something similar?). You can call home for free and give your family/friends the numbers and they can call you. Cheaper if you don't have international dialing on your cell phone.

I am excited for you!!

Excellent! I wish I had made this decision at your age, and not waited until I was 51!

Amen to that Lori! I had surgery on my 49th birthday! : )

Sarah - so glad to hear from you! You are doing amazing! Seems like it was just yesterday that we were all groaning together - why did we do this?? LOL

I have a really funny story about that whiny chick ... will pm you with it. I had the pleasure of spending my last day at the recovery house with her! Was really wishing you hadn't left early : )

Did your friend decide to have surgery??

Congrats on your progress!! You are doing amazing!!

Total subject change!! What did you tell people when you started losing weight? I have a few close friends and family that KNOW, but then there are other friends that don't know, and I'm not telling them, but I don't know what I will tell them when I start losing weight. Some know I've lost about 17 now, know that I'm 'dieting' but I'm afraid that the change in eating and the drastic weight loss.....will I have to come up with something else? Any suggestions?

Initially, I wasn't going to tell very many people. Didn't want to deal with the questions, negative comments, etc. After surgery, I decided that I would tell pretty much everyone. My main reason was I knew what a struggle it had been trying to lose weight. The sleeve was a godsend. I could not with a clear conscience tell people who I knew had also struggled that I did it thru smaller portions and exercise. That would have been mostly true, but not honest. I didn't want them to think I was any better than they were. In my mind, it just wasn't fair. For the most part, I have received more positive comments than negative - there have been a couple who said they weren't interested in giving up yet and taking the "easy way" out.

I knew nothing about this surgery until about a month or so before I had the surgery. I wish someone would buy a front page ad! I really think alot of people could benefit from it. And I am so tired of hearing about the band in tv commercials. :redface1:

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I do appreciate the positive comments - Immore, still re-reading yours, not sure if I am reading too much into it or not! lol??

The past couple of days have been a little crazy, as expected I guess.

Was hoping to have had the referral by today; will call the dr's office on Monday if we don't hear something in that morning. The center does offer family programs so we will participate in those as well.

I spent last fall dealing with my uncle who is a severe alcoholic with a colostomy bag and other fun things. My cousins were so burned out and frustrated that they couldn't get him in anywhere. My brother and I stepped in for awhile. It took months - you can't force them to get help and he kept talking his way past doctors and counselors. He even passed an interview with another cousin, who is a nursing placement supervisor. She said that he answered all of her questions. Uh, yes he did but did you bother to check if the answers were actually correct?? They weren't. But it was too late, he had already been released. Finally, after being found by a policeman in a parking lot in below freezing weather at 3am (his truck had been stolen and he had been assaulted) he was close enough to death that a judge finally ordered treatment. He did 90 days, got out, is drinking again, in and out of the hospital.

Fortunately, my husband's situation isn't that bad ... yet.

I did take part of the day off today. Had lunch with a friend, went to the mall for nails, hair and shopping. Had bbq for dinner : ) It was all great therapy. Now just trying to keep the daughter and dad away from each other at home. Tired of the bickering over stupid stuff.

Thank you for the private messages as well. Several shared their own personal stories and I really appreciate it. Nice to know I'm not alone.

Hey MP : )

I live about 5 minutes away from you. Would be glad to even meet you somewhere in person - your hubby can even peek at my incisions to show I had surgery! LOL

There is another gal near me who had surgery a year ago. She is also very willing to share her experience. She also had her surgery in Mexico but at a different clinic than I did.

I was so happy to have been able to talk to her in person and hear her story. She went from 280 to 145 in one year! From a size 22 to a 6/8.

I only told my husband, sister and my youngest daughter who still lives at home, before the surgery. My 24 year old daughter still thinks I am crazy and hasn't commented on my weight loss a single time or asked me how I am doing. Most people I told after the surgery AND after I had started losing weight. Wanted to make sure it was working first! LOL

Good luck with your research! There are a few places doing the surgery locally between Tacoma and Seattle.

It has been a long disheartening experience for you and your wife for sure. I hope she will continue to feel better all weekend and Monday will bring great news!

Thoughts and prayers for you both.

Sorry to tell you that hunger did NOT go away with my surgery. It's reduced, but not even close to gone. Since I eat so little at once, I find I'm ready to eat again 1 or 2 hours after a meal. The only difference is that now, the hunger is tolerable whereas before, hunger was an emergency. I can put it off now and of course I don't need much to satisfy it. Just being honest. I was very much looking forward to not being hungry so it's a little disappointing that it didn't go away. I still love my sleeve though. My weight loss is going slow but at least it's still going! Good luck with your journey!

Sounds frustrating! I don't feel too hungry unless I have waited a long time to eat. However, I do graze much of the day. I am the same as you - I can only eat a very small amount and then need to do it again.

I also wonder why I even bother to heat up my food ... by the time I finish a couple of ounces it is cold again! lol

I am averaging about 2 pounds a week and am totally fine with that. Better than it was before surgery! :redface1:

congrats!! every day will be better : )

and the smaller numbers on the scale makes it all worthwhile!

Nutella is amazing!! It was a staple with bread for Breakfast or Snacks when I was in Africa.

I wanted to buy some the other day but it isn't post sleeve friendly : ( Maybe in the maintenance stage :redface1:

Just a note to let you all know my surgery went well and I'm doing fine. I'm still at the hospital but will post a full update when I get home! Spent yesterday very nauseous and in lots

of pain but doing pretty great now. Lots of pain in abdomen when I move around or in the proccess of standing up or sitting down. But once I am sitting still or walking slow I feel pretty good. I am getting down 1 oz of liquid every 15 mins with no trouble. Was not expecting a drain but I did get one. Yucky. Also most of my incisions are just 1 inch but the one in front is like 4 inches!!! That one hurts a lot. Time for me to walk the hall again, will update more later.

Congrats!!

Interesting about the 4 inch incision? guess all drs are a little different : )

It will get better fast and you will be very happy!

Enjoy your walks!

much better than a week later : )

hope it all goes great for you!

I said congrats on your other post : ) I am glad you found a doctor to do this for you. Sounds like 4oz might work great!

Keep up the positive attitude! It only gets better!

yea!! that is great!!

I think we all have a few "why did I do this" thoughts immediately afterwards! lol

Glad you are doing well and are home! Hope your recovery continues smoothly!

I had my surgery on 5/4/10. During the surgery, while the doctors were stappling my sleeve, they hit my pancreus. As a result, they had to remove part of my pancreus. Needless to say I ended up staying in the hospital 6 days. I went in to my surgeons for a 2 week check up, I am still having quite a bit of pain, just below my rib cage on the left side. Doctor order a CT scan. Today she called and told me I have some Fluid near my drain site, oh and by the way it looks like there may have been some damage to my spleen as well. I really and feeling like I am loosing faith in this doctor. I was a self pay patient, And I do have a supplemental insurance through the office for 90 days, which SHOULD cover cost of additional services.

I am struggling mentally. I just really want to feel good. At this point, I really can not comment on my sleeve because I think it is the one thing internally that may be right. Thanks for listening to me ramble. And Just get a few things off my mind.

The pancreas?? Probably about the worst thing they could have bumped! I have heard that is so incredibly painful!! I had an ERCP last August to correct ODDI dysfunction and they kept me over night just incase I got pancreatitis. I was fortunate that I did not.

Hope they are able to help you feel better soon!

Yeah, I've been trying to be good with the Vitamins too. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Calcium chewables I'm taking are causing the Constipation (hope that's not too much info) so I'm beginning to slack on that.

I've increased my food intake a little and am finding that I dislike the feeling afterwards. This morning I had 2 poached eggs and half a piece of toast. Too much! It doesn't hurt but it's just not comfortable. I seem to keep forgetting that I can have something as often as I want it. I don't have to confine my meals to 3 a day with no Snacks. This is sure going to take some time getting myself retrained! How are you doing in that department?

I graze all day. I just can not eat fast or it is definitely uncomfortable. So long as I am still losing, I am just not worried about it. It is hard not to compare yourself to others. I just cannot eat more than 2 ounces, and maybe 3 at the most, depending on what it is. I am only hungry if I go a long time between meals.

I got busted at lunch today with a couple of girlfriends. You sure aren't eating very much! Fine. Here's the story ... lol

Where is TiffanyIsMajor? Is she ok? I hope everything is ok with her...

She is fine. Just back to school and busy : )

I totally think it is not fair if you get to skip the barium swallow : ( LOL

I have been away for a couple of days so was wondering if you had surgery or not. Glad the surgeon didn't need to cancel!

Sounds like you are doing great! Bummer that you don't like broth tho! How about warm tea?? That was really soothing as well.

Hope your recovery goes smoothly!

if you have found a powdered Protein drink that you like, or at least tolerate, lol - you could take that on the plane and get either Water or milk from the flight attendents to mix it. I always bring my own travel cup.

I also use Atkins bars - they are more filling than you might expect.

good luck!

LOL posting fr my phone, waiting for a dr appt so have to keep it short : )

I have had 9 surgeries. Have always had short recoveries. Everyone is different tho. My experience is detailed at the thread Mexico or Bust. I was also on vacation 3 weeks after a hysterectomy and on a volleyball court 5 days before and 7 days after delivering my second child.

Does depend on your job also. If it involves anything real physical, you will prob need more time : )

Good Luck!

I had a very easy, quick recovery and went back to work on the 4th day post op. I do have a mainly desk job and worked about 4-6 hours per day. Went home early for a nap if I needed one : )