pnw218

I am sorry to hear your news. Congrats tho on your positive attitude and willingness to be proactive. I got really frustrated with myself when I couldn't do it on my own - so if you reach that point, please let yourself reconsider self paying. I truly hope the sleeve will become more mainstream, covered by insurances and those who would benefit so much from it, will be able to get it. Good Luck to you!

Congrats Diva!!! And tears of happiness! It just doesn't get any better than that! Continued success!

Good Idea Mini!! I am walking thru airports today and will take the dog for a walk when I get home. Better than sitting on the couch all day like I did yesterday : ) Friday will be 50 minutes of physical therapy, followed by a massage which likely doesn't count.

Congrats on your date! I have been taking Effexor (only 10mg) for a couple of years and Wellbutrin for about 6 months (300mg). The dr recently increased the Effexor to 20mg. I think it was due to a "normal" increase in stress due to being a busy mom with one child in two sports, self employed, business owner, volleyball club director, etc etc. I am not saying the post-op hormones aren't part of it - just that work and family has been hectic recently. I am also dealing with 4 bulging disks in my lower back and sleep apnea. Might as well deal with it all at once! LOL The mental aspect of being sleeved has definitely been harder for me than the physical. I really miss food. I can eat just about anything I want at this point, within reason, but mentally want larger quantities. However, my stomach highly objects if I eat even one or two bites too much. My primary doctor has been very supportive - even the Mexico aspect : ) She even prints my weight charts when I come in for check ups because she is so impressed with how much I have lost. She also took my stitches out and said that everything looked great. You have some time to prepare for the changes. Don't know if you have a pre-op diet?? If not, you may want to start weaning off a few favorites that will need to be avoided for awhile after surgery. I didn't have a pre-op diet and going cold turkey on diet cola was frustrating. Altho, the sips I have had really don't taste very good anyways. Good Luck with your prep! It is a great tool and you will love it!

Thanks again everyone for the good wishes for Tiffany. I have been passing them on to her. She probably will not be online until she gets home. She leaves on Friday. I was so excited to be back in the recovery house. The first time I was recovering from sleeve surgery and had to smell the nummy food they were cooking. This time - they were cooking in the other house, not the one I was in. The food still smelled good but was too spicy for me : ( I still tried some but finished off with some yogurt and milk! Wasn't ready to really test the tummy, even 9 weeks out. I also didn't do spicy before surgery tho. I am at the San Diego airport. Crossing the border wasn't too bad - maybe a 30 minute wait? I ate so good the last few days, that I decided to splurge this morning. I have a blueberry scone and mocha frappacino with whip cream. It may take the entire trip home to finish it tho! I don't even want to know how many calories, etc ... so don't tell me! LOL I will take the dog for a walk after my daughter's baseball game later today. Tiffany was sleeping soundly when I left early this am. I hope today's leak tests go well for her and the nasty purple stuff doesn't make her sick! She was anxious to have Soup broth later today. It was a great trip and good to see the staff again. If anyone else needs a companion, let me know! LOL

Good Luck with your planning! I also started out thinking that I would do the lapband. Fortunately, I discovered the sleeve before I did it! It has been quite easy physically. Mentally I do miss food tho. That is great that your insurance will cover the surgery! I would probably get cranky tho jumping thru the hoops : ) Congrats with your decision!

hello :sad0: I went back to work on Monday, after having surgery the prior Thursday, and I was fine. Tired yes, but no pain or other issues. I also work at a desk most of the time however can get up and walk around anytime I needed to. I have always had fast recovery times tho; was on a cruise 3 weeks after a hysterectomy; back to work less than a week after lap gall bladder surgery. I was able to adjust my hours - go in later, leave early. I could have worked all day if I had to, but I had the option so took it. As far as what to tell people? Totally depends on you. I was going to be fairly cautious about telling and then decided to share it freely if the subject came up. My thoughts: I did not want to tell people that I lost the weight by portion control and exercise only. Mainly, I didn't want others to think I was any better than them - if they had tried and failed at dieting and exercise. I also think this is an amazing tool and I hope it is more recognized soon. There would be so many people who could benefit from it. That all said ... there could be a person or two that I run into that I won't tell. I will just let them think I did it myself. Probably something along the lines of revenge from something they did to me earlier in life! LOL Are you a coach? What do you coach? I have been coaching elementary and middle school volleyball for about 6 years. It is so amazing to see the older girls now on the high school team. Doesn't seem that long ago that they were afraid to even hit the ball : )

Very cool! We do East and West Coast swings too, well the country versions : ) I was in great shape when I was dancing 3 times or so a week. Hopefully I will get back to that!

Tiffany is still doing great! In fact, she is making me look bad. LOL I slept most of my first day in the recovery house. She slept for awhile and now has been up for 3 or 4 hours, downstairs, watching movies and chatting. Fab, I don't know if Dr. Brenda is a surgeon. She has been here a couple of times today and I think will be back this evening. I will try to ask her. It has been very interesting to watch the process from the other side. And I was mistaken earlier. The clinic I was at in February is their main clinic. They have been doing some remodeling so have been using the Vida Hospital. Tony is picking me up early in the morning to go to the airport. My flight is at 11am. Tiffany goes home on Friday. She will get to drink the nummy purple liquid tomorrow for her leak test. I figured I would leave town before that. LOL

Great job Wannalise!! Glad you are grounded and doing well : ) I am terrible about the liquids; figured my body is used to it tho cause I didn't drink enough before surgery either. lol I do miss Wendy's alot. They have the best fries. Hope you continue to do great!

What kind of dance lessons are you taking? My husband and I met country dancing ... back in the early 90's when country and Garth Brooks were cool. We are supposed to meet some friends on Friday night. I hope we still remember how! I would love to learn salsa!

Congrats Sassie and Goodlife! It will be exciting for you! I am so glad I had it done! Sorry about the pre-op diet tho. That would have been very hard!

I haven't lost any yet - and hoping not to. I really love my long thick hair :sad0:. I am taking prenatals. Don't know if it will help but the extra Vitamins I figured were good. My PP is going to do labs at 3 months.

I haven't gone to Salmon Days forever! I need to put that on my calendar! Ouroborous: As far as it raining in Seattle ~ like that is a big surprise!! LOL It would feel odd to come home to anything else!!

Thanks for asking : ) She is doing great! Had a decent night. Got right up this am, took a shower, had her dressings changed. We have been at the recovery house since about 10am. She is sleeping ... I am socializing! LOL After lunch tho I intend to take a nap. There is a new doctor here, Dr. Brenda. She speaks fluent English. She was in the hospital last night to check on Tiffany and then at the recovery house about mid-morning to check the patients here. Met a gal from Texas who is here with her husband. She had surgery 2 days ago. She was so excited to get broth after her leak test today! She was up and around soon after surgery, and is doing very well now too. Typical post-op soreness but nothing big. I guess that is about it for now. The sun went away, so much for a little tanning time! lol

What a totally awesome way to Celebrate your birthday!! That is a great achievement! I can hardly believe 100 lbs in 5 months .... amazing!! Congrats!!

Hi DeeDee ~ I love the PNW! I have lived here most of my life - except for 6 years when my dad was stationed in Illinois and Bermuda while in the Air Force. I have traveled alot, have been to all but 2 continents, and still wouldn't live anywhere else full time. OK. Maybe Costa Rica, Barbados or Belgium. LOL The grandkids are a big issue! We were blessed with our very first last fall and she is a precious little girl. My son is currently in flight school at Ft. Rucker so we have been missing her alot! They will be back in June. I live south of Seattle and actually don't venture north too often. The traffic is just too crazy! Thanks for saying hello : )

I have been passing on your messages : ) We had a real conversation about an hour ago. She is in good spirits. Just had her first GasX strip - they are such a treat! LOL And the nurse brought her an ice pack. Her discomfort is about where the top incision sits. I am hearing her describe everything I felt and said on my surgery day and afterwards. I wonder if we are all broken records??? : ) On a side note ~ today was a beautiful day in Tijuana. The sun was out and it was warm, but there was still a refreshing breeze in the air. Early this evening, it looked a little cloudy out there tho. At least we had one nice day! I know she may feel worse before she feels better, but so far she is on the right track!

Hope your surgery and recovery go smoothly! You will be so happy you did it .... in about a week : ) Good Luck!!

Congrats on your surgery date! I wish I would have brought my refillable ice pack. My chest was very sore after surgery and having ice on it was wonderful. The staff did provide me with ice but MY ice pack would have been perfect : ) I was very glad that I had my heating pad and blankie (a small airplane type). My body temperature was all over the place. Often I just wrapped up in the blanket as a comfort. Sounds like I am 5. LOL Good luck! Hope it all goes smoothly!

My first month was very similar to yours. Everything I have tried has settled just fine. My tummy still gurgles like crazy when I eat something new tho! I am only uncomfortable if I eat too much or too fast. The only Pasta I have had was in a lean cuisine meal but didn't have any issues. Glad you are doing so well!! Keep it up!!

I loved the "farewell tour"!! I laughed and cried thru mine. Couldn't believe that I was really crying over food tho. You might feel yucky the first day or two, but once you start getting on the scale and see lower numbers - your optimism will surge! Good Luck with your surgery!

I am sorry to hear about your situation! It must be very frustrating. I don't know if all insurance is the same - I pay a percentage of allowable charges. Just not sure at the moment if it is before or after the insurance payment is deducted?? Probably the safest route is to call and talk to customer service for your insurance. Not sure if the new insurance can give you much info yet tho??

Surgery is over! She did great : ) She is back in her room and talking just a little. It is interesting to see it from "the other side". It always seems that time goes by so quickly when you are sedated - and that was her first comment: It's over already?? I am staying at the hospital tonite with her. Tomorrow she will probably go to the recovery house. I know she will appreciate the good wishes!

She is all dressed up and only one place to go! TiffanyisMajor is just minutes away from her surgery! She has been calm and cool all day, the nerves are setting in a little now tho : ) We are at the Vida Hospital location. There was some remodeling still going on at the new facility. I had surgery at the "old" clinic in February. This place is large and very modern. Each room has its own bathroom, tv, phone, beds and recliner. The same staff are here and are very nice and supportive. I will post after her surgery is over!