Well, here I am in the Marriott in Tijuana. Easy trip from the East Coast on Christmas day. I have been lurking for some time and I just wanted to make an appearance before tomorrows surgery. I'm scheduled with Dr. Ortiz. This has been a long journey for me. I have had an amazing year with my career, unfortunately it involves a lot of travel and public speaking to doctors. I am having trouble with the plane seats (I got upgraded on the way here. Thanks Delta for the Christmas present!) and I'm having trouble with credibility. It is hard to be the FAT doctor. So, my amazing husband is here in Tijuana watching one of three English stations on TV while I contemplate if I will sit with him at dinner.

I lost 19.5# in the last 7 weeks. The same weight I have lost over and over again. I think I have another 70 to go. I'm excited to see how is tool works for me and I'm happy to be part of this group. Thank you all for sharing and wish me luck!

Merry Christmas, good luck with your surgery, and hope all goes well! KUP!

All the best for a quick recovery.

I'm writing this 7 hours post op. no pain, easy transition to walking, feeling great. The only real discomfort I have is an intense feeling of hunger every three to four minutes. I think they are labor pains! My stomach doth protest!

Congrats. You sound like you're doing great. I was way too sleepy from the anesthetic to be up to much the first couple of days.

I'm writing this 7 hours post op. no pain, easy transition to walking, feeling great. The only real discomfort I have is an intense feeling of hunger every three to four minutes. I think they are labor pains! My stomach doth protest!

Well, here I am in the Marriott in Tijuana. Easy trip from the East Coast on Christmas day. I have been lurking for some time and I just wanted to make an appearance before tomorrows surgery. I'm scheduled with Dr. Ortiz. This has been a long journey for me. I have had an amazing year with my career, unfortunately it involves a lot of travel and public speaking to doctors. I am having trouble with the plane seats (I got upgraded on the way here. Thanks Delta for the Christmas present!) and I'm having trouble with credibility. It is hard to be the FAT doctor. So, my amazing husband is here in Tijuana watching one of three English stations on TV while I contemplate if I will sit with him at dinner.

I lost 19.5# in the last 7 weeks. The same weight I have lost over and over again. I think I have another 70 to go. I'm excited to see how is tool works for me and I'm happy to be part of this group. Thank you all for sharing and wish me luck!

Much luck to you, Linda. It was an excellent Christmas present to yourself!

clovers

We are back in San Diego. I'm still feeling good, my best description of how my stomach feels is that odd feeling the day after you had food poisoning. You don't feel bad but you are definitely not up to eating. Getting better by the hour! ???? Thanks for good wishes, they are working!

Congratulations. Give it a few weeks and you'll barely feel like you had an op. I feel completely normal and was reminded when we went out for a Christmas meal with work (it was a set menu) and people were saying things like "what's wrong, don't you like it?" Normally I'd choose a Caesar salad and nobody would notice me leaving behind the potatoes LOL!

We are back in San Diego. I'm still feeling good, my best description of how my stomach feels is that odd feeling the day after you had food poisoning. You don't feel bad but you are definitely not up to eating. Getting better by the hour! ???? Thanks for good wishes, they are working!

The journey back to Atlanta on day 4 was fairly easy. I drank 32 oz on the plane which seemed to help my gurgles. I don't recommend any lifting or too much walking at this stage. The plane seat could be difficult as it tends to slump you forward and put pressure on the top of the abdomen. Fortunately for me the Gods are looking out for me as my husband and I both got to sit in first class with seats that could fully recline and raise the legs too. It was nothing short of heaven!

On the way home we stopped at Publix and stocked up on broth and juice, so now I have a serious selection of liquids to choose from. Tonight I find my emotions are excited, happy and grateful for the OCC. I was definitely treated like a rock star!

Thanks for the replies here and the private messages. Please feel free to write me if you have any questions about this first phase of the journey. Remember to take care of you!

I've started a blog on this site for all those people lurking on his board like I did for months. I'll chart my journey there. I want to say thank you to all my new friends here on the board.

I'm having trouble posting to my blog so I wanted to put up an update for those of you who are contemplating this kind of intervention. I am moving from liquid to mushy today. I am currently trying to eat a puréed hard boiled egg with a little mayo in them. I have been drinking kefir (a drinkable yogurt) and can only get 2-3 oz of it down at a time. I feel very restricted. I got 2/3rds of the hard boiled egg down and had to take a break. My number one problem is getting calories in. I am averaging about 600 calories a day, which isn't enough so I get fatigued with longer, more physically taxing days. My weight this morning is 218, down from 230 just 20 days ago. I am VERY happy with my progress as I would never have gotten to this point on my own. For me, this is just a way to sustain a lower quantity of food. It is still up to me to do all the work including eating right, drinking all my water and exercising with intention! I'm so grateful today for taking part in this journey. I know it is up to me to take advantage of this tool.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you are doing so well.

Yesterday I started eating real food that I puréed. I was so happy to make egg salad, chicken salad and mushy squash! It took me 1.5 hours to eat 1/2 cup of chicken salad. I was SO FULL! But I was happy to eat slow while watching football and a few hours later had a vodka and cranberry juice which also took me three hours to drink 6 oz. But I felt completely satisfied and thrilled with how physically satisfied I felt. I found that my food and drink intake is self regulating. I know when I'm hungry and I absolutely feel the need to slow down my spoonfuls of food as I get fuller. At this point, if I wanted to over eat, there is no way I could. After 2 oz or so, I am so full I feel like I couldn't swallow it if I wanted to. I hope this pleasantly full feeling continues! it is very gratifying, even on an emotional level. I feel relieved to know that I made a good choice for me.

What a grea post!! My wife and I are having plication with Dr.Ortiz Feb 13th. Your post sure helps ease the nerves

What a grea post!! My wife and I are having plication with Dr.Ortiz Feb 13th. Your post sure helps ease the nerves

The. Chicken broth at the Marroitt is obscenely salty. I brought small packets of miso soup and bought juices to drink. Best of luck to you both! Linda