Anyone close?

Just got my surgery date today (to be confirmed) in Abu Dhabi. I will be sleeved if all goes well on July 2nd YAY!

Tamou, thanks for all your help you have been such a support - and desertmom too!

xoxox

Just drinking Jeera Laban Sweetsusie- YUM

Mabrook...., yum!

Thanks for your good wishes, Sallynew! I was discharged today and am staying with a friend for a few days until I feel OK to be on my own at home again. Apart from a bit of pain round the right incision and across the centre of my tummy, I'm feeling surprisingly well and very optimistic. This is the start of the rest of my life! All the best to you, too!

Hi Janet,

I met Dr. Al Safadi last summer but decided not to have the surgery in Lebanon as AUH was too expensive hospital for me. Hope you are enjoying my lovely Beirut. cheers

Hi, Tamou37! Yes, the big hospitals here are really expensive. I went to AUH for the expertise (my endocrinologist said that Dr. Safadi was the best in Lebanon and once I met him, I felt could trust him completely), but I had the operation done at CMC for the comfort! Luckily, it was covered by my health insurance through work and when I 'checked out' today, I only had to pay US$7 - after five days in a hospital that felt like a hotel and a life-changing operation, $7!

I have been living and working in Beirut for four years now and have really enjoyed it, but later this year I am moving to Kenya to take up a new post in Nairobi, so it will be all change once again. New body, new challenges!

All the best,

Janet

Congratulations JanetF, so glad your surgery went well, and I hope your recovery is all smooth sailing.

Nairobi is a really interesting place,and the Kenyans are lovely. I've been there often. I'm sure you'll miss Beirut though!

Thanks for your good wishes, Smoggy! Yes, I shall miss Beirut in many ways. When I came here, it was my first experience of the Middle East other than an overnight stopover in Dubai back in the early 1990s and I really wasn't sure quite what to expect, especially having grown up in an era when every night the television news at home in England was filled with the awful events of the war in Beirut. It's a great place, though, and I have been able to explore quite a bit of the region, too, which has been a great opportunity. But Kenya calls and all the challenges of a new job, a new life and a much smaller body - inshallah!

Oh, and the very best of luck to you for when the time comes for your op!

Just got my surgery date today (to be confirmed) in Abu Dhabi. I will be sleeved if all goes well on July 2nd YAY!

Tamou, thanks for all your help you have been such a support - and desertmom too!

xoxox

Just drinking Jeera Laban Sweetsusie- YUM

You are welcome darling. You will rock your sleeve.

Hi, Tamou37! Yes, the big hospitals here are really expensive. I went to AUH for the expertise (my endocrinologist said that Dr. Safadi was the best in Lebanon and once I met him, I felt could trust him completely), but I had the operation done at CMC for the comfort! Luckily, it was covered by my health insurance through work and when I 'checked out' today, I only had to pay US$7 - after five days in a hospital that felt like a hotel and a life-changing operation, $7!

I have been living and working in Beirut for four years now and have really enjoyed it, but later this year I am moving to Kenya to take up a new post in Nairobi, so it will be all change once again. New body, new challenges!

All the best,

Janet

CMC is great. Didn't know some insurances cover it.

How is the recovery going?

Will be in Beirut in July, maybe if you are still there we can meet up for coffee.

Are you a teacher?

I am married to a Brit from Bristol. We met when I used to live in Canada but we live and work in Dubai now.

Talk soon

CMC is great. Didn't know some insurances cover it.

How is the recovery going?

Will be in Beirut in July, maybe if you are still there we can meet up for coffee.

Are you a teacher?

I am married to a Brit from Bristol. We met when I used to live in Canada but we live and work in Dubai now.

Talk soon

Hi! What a small world! I am from the greater London sprawl originally, but my home address in the UK is my cousin's place in Bristol!

I am doing well, thank you. The pain is controllable and far less intense than I imagined it would be six days post-op, and I am having no problems in keeping down reasonable quantities of clear fluids, which is great. I am having my first follow-up at AUH on Thursday, followed by a stomach X-ray to check that all is well internally.

No, I'm not a teacher. I used to be many years ago (and an international credit manager, official guide to the Paris sewers, intellectual property barrister and lawyer-linguist inter alia - I've had what these days they call a portfolio career!) but I now work as a linguist for the UN. That's what brought me to Beirut and it's the UN health insurance that covers CMC.

It would be great to meet up in July! I'm not sure how I can let you have my e-mail address without it appearing everywhere here, but we'll think of a way! I'm staying with a friend till Friday and only have my iPad with me, but once I'm home and have my laptop, I could set up a temporary e-mail address. That may be the best way to do it.

All the best,

Janet

Hi! What a small world! I am from the greater London sprawl originally, but my home address in the UK is my cousin's place in Bristol!

I am doing well, thank you. The pain is controllable and far less intense than I imagined it would be six days post-op, and I am having no problems in keeping down reasonable quantities of clear fluids, which is great. I am having my first follow-up at AUH on Thursday, followed by a stomach X-ray to check that all is well internally.

No, I'm not a teacher. I used to be many years ago (and an international credit manager, official guide to the Paris sewers, intellectual property barrister and lawyer-linguist inter alia - I've had what these days they call a portfolio career!) but I now work as a linguist for the UN. That's what brought me to Beirut and it's the UN health insurance that covers CMC.

It would be great to meet up in July! I'm not sure how I can let you have my e-mail address without it appearing everywhere here, but we'll think of a way! I'm staying with a friend till Friday and only have my iPad with me, but once I'm home and have my laptop, I could set up a temporary e-mail address. That may be the best way to do it.

All the best,

Janet

I have sent you a private email to your inbox on this forum. talk soon

I have sent you a private email to your inbox on this forum. talk soon

Great! I'll e-mail you tomorrow.

Hi everyone, FINALLY I am a week away from surgery. Eeek!

Hello everybody,

I am now almost 6 months post-op. i lost 42 kilos so far and went down 2 sizes. This i my fourth stall, but this one is different, i actually picked up 2 kilos. I still eat sensibly, and try o kepp my water/luid intake to about 2-2.5 liters per day. Sometimes however i overeat, and feel very uncomfortable afterwards. I still avoid carbs and sweets, but can have a fork or two jut for tasting. Life is great at his stage. I am reaal looking for more weightloss through exercise now, but unfortunately i have a heel spur that gives e great pain.

As for the medicines, i stopped taking Calcium pills bcause it was giving me very painful constipations. I still take my Vitamins. I am also down to half dose for my blood pressure medicine.

What works best for me, is to have multiple small meals/snacks, instead of 3 full meals. When i do not eat for a few hours i feel pain around the oesophagus area. To make it disapear i have to eat something, or drink lots of Water in medium sips, untl i can eat.

I eat fruits in small quantities as Snacks. I also add some nuts (10 almonds or cashews make about a 100 calories, and are very good for heart.)

I aslo make veggy juices or vegy/fruit juices. I use cantaloup, celery, apple, carrot, orrange,.... They give a great boost of energy of vitality.

Good luck to all of you in your new life.

Please share your stories more often.

Cheers !

Thanks for the update Zeus!

Hi everyone, I'm 5 weeks out tomorrow and have lost 26lbs since surgery and 41lbs since my surgeon consultation. Still on soft foods but doing really well. Nervous about how I'm going to cope back at work though ( I have hardly any time to drink let alone eat at work) as I'm still on vacation. How is everyone else doing? Anyone struggling with Ramadan?

Sent from my iPad using VST

Marhaba!

Hi guys, so this isn't sleeve related, but I just wanted to ask... are you native-born to where you live in the Middle East? If not, what took you to the Middle East -- work, family, etc?

I used to work in El Cajon, CA, where there is a very large population of Iraqi refugees. I LOVE the people, the food, the music, and even started learning Arabic! I kind of gave up on Arabic once we got to the writing part, though.

I hope to visit one day! My husband wants to go to Abu Dhabi (specifically for Formula 1 racing, of course), but I would love to visit Lebanon.