I am so happy I found this forum and one other. So many questions I had about the sleeve were answered on the forums. So much information was proffered.

I just got back from my surgery and I went from San Diego to Mexicali with one group and back to San Diego with another.

They people I rode with all had the lapband. I'm not disputing their choice. It was their choice. But none of them had even heard of the sleeve. It made me wonder what research they had done except for listening to the t.v. commercials which makes the lapband sound like a miracle cure.

The other thing they did not seem educated on was the post-op diet changes they were going to have to make.

In the pre-op conference with the doctor one man asked how soon he could start drinking his energy drinks again. Aren't those high carb?

In the ride back three folks had the band and the topic of conversation was how they could not wait to get to the mushie stage so they could eat their mashed potatoes again. As much as I love mashed potatoes, they are not at the top of my list when I want to lose this weight. I'm looking forward to high Protein, low carb like tuna or the like.

So this just made me wonder if they had really prepared themselves for the lifestyle changes they were going to have to make to reach their goals.

Once again, thank you all for sharing your wealth of information with me. I know what I have to do to get where I want to be.

I have been going to counseling for some other issues and the first thing they asked me when I told them I had WLS was if I developed any other addictions. At first I didn't even know what they meant. They had to clarify, do you gamble, shop , or drink? It kind of cracked me up. I hate gambling because I am cheap. I am not fond of shopping unless I need to buy something. Luckily, I hate the taste of alcohol.

I am even having trouble bringing myself to drink that sugar free gatoraide that Dr. Campos suggested I drink because it has artificial sweetner in it.

If I want a cup of coffee, I drink a cup of coffee. It may not be every day, but I do drink it.

I'm reading this book on Sports Nutrition and it says that caffeine isn't really dehydrating after all. I just read that about an hour a go.