I recently joined the website. I met with my surgeon yesterday, see the nutritionist and psychologist on the 19th, classes in Januray and if all goes well, surgery in April. My surgeon is Dr. Uchal

I recently joined the website. I met with my surgeon yesterday' date=' see the nutritionist and psychologist on the 19th, classes in Januray and if all goes well, surgery in April. My surgeon is Dr. Uchal[/quote']

Hi i'm in jacksonville! I was sleeved Dec 10th, my dr is Dr. DePeri. April will be here before you know it! Best wishes to you

So great to meet you, I met someone at my Doc's office the other day and she is on here. I know what you mean about it going fast, by the time I get everything done it will be here in a blink. I am 65 now and time is really flying. Do you go to support meetings. I don't know if I will be able to at first. They are at night and with my back pain, I am kind of done by 5pm and they are at 6 pm, I am so hoping the pain will get better.

Great to meet you too! I haven't gone to any support grioups yet; with my surgery being on 12/10 it seemed like Christmas was RIGHT here by the time I was up and about. Maybe after the holidays. I found out a lady I know is having surgery in January so we're buddies. It's nice to have people around close

Hi all,

I had my surgery on Nov. 13th by Dr. Webb at Memorial. The first couple weeks were rough but now everything is going well. I am down 40 lbs. It's nice to meet people locally who have had the surgery. I attended one support group meeting at Memorial in December. Hope to go again this month. Best of luck to you both!

Hi Everyone, nice to meet all of you. I and a friend I met at Dr. Uchal's office are in the process of getting everything done to qualify for the surgery, she will probably be ready in February, the earliest I will be ready will be middle of March. I almost went to Dr. Webb, I know him but did not realize that he was now doing the sleeve, I have another friend who will be sleeved this month (Januray) and she is going to Dr. Webb, I told her she would love him. I worked with him many years ago and he was one of our best general surgeons. He took my gall bladder out. I have also heard good things about Dr. Uchal, he is top choice at St. Vincents is my understanding. I don't know if I will doing the post op support groups because they are at night and with my back pain I don't like to go out in the evening. Maybe that will change after the surgery. I go to my first of three classes tomorrow at 11:00 at St. Vincent's in Riverside. I have my sleep study for titration on the 15th and I have an appointment with my cardiologist on the 17th of this month. So things are moving right along. I know it will be here before I know it. I am looking forward to all the help I can get, especially after the surgery. I am starting the pre-op diet but I am thinking I won't do a lot of the shakes because it looks like I'll be doing a lot of those after the surgery and maybe I won't get so tired of them so fast if I don't do a lot of them before surgery. I do want to try them though so I can see what they are like and what recipes I like etc. Do most of you get the shakes from your doctor or do you get them somewhere else. I heard you can get shakes that are approved at Walmart, the commissary and at health food stores. Any thoughts on this and the flavors?

I would definitely hold off on the shakes for the most part until after the surgery. However, I did start trying different brands before the surgery just to test them out. You can get tired of them pretty quickly once you start on them regularly. I have found that having a variety of different kinds helps. I use ready-made shakes and also the powders. I have been drinking Premier Protein ready-made shakes from Sams Club (chocolate). They have 30g of protein in them and are relatively inexpensive compared to other brands. I also drink the EAS AdvantEDGE Carb control. Not as much protein but also not as thick. I like the strawberry flavor on that one. The powder I have been using is the Pure Protein (Frosty Chocolate) - bought at Target. I blend it with Hood Calorie Countdown milk, ice and splenda. Sometimes I throw a banana in there too. I have heard that unjury powder is good too but have not tried it. You can buy it on Amazon.

I think the key to the shakes is having a variety. Personally, there are some days that I just can't stomach a really thick shake, so I may drink one that has less protein but is thinner. Then I try to up the protein in other areas (e.g. eat a greek yogurt). I am only about 10 weeks post op but the one thing I have noticed is that I will get sick of any one item if I have too much of it!

I am in Jax/St. Aug area and had surgery in 12/27- Dr. Uchal. He was/is awesome! No issues at all!

Hi I am from jax fl. I got sleeved on January 8 by Dr. Athmed. Your surgery day will be here before you realized it. Good luck to you.

Hi I'm also in Jacksonville. I was sleeved 1/28/13 by Dr. Morgenthal! Welcome!!

Hi all I was sleeved May1st.. I'm new here and just happy to see locals. My surgeon was Dr. Chappano from St. Vincent

I am in Jax/St. Aug area and had surgery in 12/27- Dr. Uchal. He was/is awesome! No issues at all!

Hello! I am in the Jacksonville area and Dr. Uchal will be doing my surgery in June..... Are you still happy with your decision to have the sleeve, and how are you doing? I am curious to talk to some one else that has been sleeved by him.

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Dr. Uchal did my moms surgery she is one year post op and she was very pleased with him.

Dr. Uchal did my moms surgery she is one year post op and she was very pleased with him.

Thanks for the info... Hope your mom is doing well! I will find out my surgery date this week. So excited!

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Hello Everyone! I was sleeved at Memorial Hospital by Dr. Roa. I was told not to track food. No hard core calorie/carb numbers. What are the plans you all were given?

Thanks for the info... Hope your mom is doing well! I will find out my surgery date this week. So excited!

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My husband and I are both being sleeved by Dr. Uchal. We have our last class on 5/30 and hope to get a surgery date soon after that!