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OK, so un-lucky me, I had to be one of the "UN-lucky" ones that had a very hard time with nausea either from the Anastasia, or the fact that my doctor had to also repair two hernia's while he did my sleeve! I had a higher up one and a belly button one too. I didn't feel to bad the day of my surgery, and thought, "Oh well, this isn't so bad"! Unfortunately the next day I was not doing so swell! I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a Mack truck, and so nauseated I just wanted to "leave my body", and go somewhere, anywhere else, but in my body right now feeling like I did. They gave me drugs to help with nausea, but it didn't help really at all. I hadn't pre-pared myself for feeling this badly! My poor husband felt so bad for me, and I could tell he wanted to help me, but there was nothing he could do for me! I thought I'd only be in for a couple days, but ended up in there from Tuesday morning until Friday morning! I got to say, I was thinking, "What did I do to myself"? That is until I got home, and felt a little better on Friday, a little more better on Saturday, and little more better on Sunday, and then woke up Monday morning feeling like a NEW women!! The nausea was completely GONE!!! Things actually smelled good again, my drinks actually tasted good again too. My wonderful nurse's in the hospital kept telling me that I would turn the corner one of these days, and start feeling better, and they were right! I went in for my post op check up, and I lost 5 pounds since day of my surgery, but I'm still swelled up, and have fluids from my hospital stay. Would I still do it if I knew then what I know now? Yes, yes I would! It will get better! I promise!

Sleevers!! I'm getting sleeved in Mexico on Thursday!! I'm real scared!! My mom decided that it would be a good idea to call me and put the fear of God inside me 2 days before my surgery. Ugh, have any of you guys gone to Mexico for your surgeries?! If so how was it? Did you feel safe/unsafe? Did everything go as planned with no complications? If so, what happened. Any advice and opinions would help!! I'm real scared now and I don't want to chicken out because mama decided to put all these doubts in my head, but I'm freaking out now and I don't know what to do. PLEASE HELP!!! ANYBODY!!

Love yourself again A cup of food per meal Protein first Beginning of a healthy life Abide by your doctor’s orders No vomiting Don’t deprive yourself Satisfied Unfill when too tight! Clothes are too big! Confidence increases Exercise regularly Stay in contact with your doctor Support from family and friends

By excited, do you mean freaking out because I have never been under anesthetic? If so then yes. Actually I went to the dentist once for tooth extraction and whatever they gave me knocked me the #$&*# out! It is vain but I am looking forward to looking good. I am embarrassed by how much I want to be annoyed by male attention. I get none right now. I want to know what it is like to not be able to cross a room without people looking. I have no illusions that I will have a hot body but what I will have is a shape that is not a size 20 and THAT I am okay with. I turn 40 in March of 2014... and people can snark and comment and judge all they want but on that day, I will not weigh 273 lbs like I did this year. I will not fight to lose and gain the same 40 lbs. I will not cry because I see people losing weight at a great clip and I am in pain from trying to work out and gaining and losing the same .4 lbs every week and not eating anything GOOD. For that kind of progress, I'd rather eat a pepper and onions sandwich or a pizza or donuts every Friday. MOST OF ALL when I go out with my girls I will not be the fat chick in the back trying not to notice that the dude is complimenting everyone but me. I will not shy away from pictures because I feel like I look like a beached whale next to everyone else, despite having dropped 30 lbs. What world do I live in where I lose 30 lbs but I am still fat? Never again, if I can help it. So yeah. Excited. NERVOUS. But really looking forward to the after picture. I am on liquids through Wednesday of this week. 39 days to surgery. 29 days until I have to be on the 10 day liquid diet, so I am preparing myself. it's actually not too bad. Meal times are a breeze. I hate having to decide what to eat. I do better with limited options, LOL.

40 days to surgery.... and I've been keeping myself busy so that time doesn't stand still. Keeping up with caring for my skin, trying to improve it. My Clarisonic Mia came in and i've used it twice. pretty cool. Using my Ambi and Garnier lightening creme on the dark spot on my face. Not seeing much yet but it's been just a week, so I have a ways to go before I see something. My parents are coming to visit next month... they said they were coming, I just wasn't sure when or IF they were coming for sure. They will spend Christmas Eve and Day with me and then go spend time with my Aunt and the rest of the family. They live south of town, about 45 minutes from me. I didn't even have a bed for the guest room so I had to scramble to order something. I also ordered a table and some chairs since I didn't have that either. I'll be putting that together this week and finishing up the bedroom. That will be RIGHT AFTER surgery! My mom had Bypass in 2001 so she gets that I don't plan on being the life of the party. At least I will get to see them. I have no idea what to get to have here at the house... I won't be able to eat any of it. Is it bad that I am kind of relieved? I don't really like holiday food. I stuff myself with the few options that I like and then hate myself for it. This year I won't be able to do that. Anyway, on with the preparation...I tried the Celebrate NS vitamin powder you mix in with a drink........ewwwwwww. no. No way I am doing that twice a day. As far as I can tell, Dr Alvarez only requires his patients to take a multivitamin. I got some Wellesse liquid multi and also one with vitamin c and D vitamin, and also some liquid protein. I figure I'll take all of that that I can get and if I can add it to something else, that would be great. I ordered a couple of genie bras, an electric kettle (for making unjury protein soup) and a cup warmer to keep it warm since it gets cold so fast. I also ordered a warming pad... is that what you call it? I can't remember. I got one, anyway. I want to also get a binder because I heard that it helps, especially when on the plane. I am liquid dieting Sunday through Wednesday this week. Actually I started yesterday but I went to brunch first. Dinner was soup and later on I had an Atkins shake and I've been drinking my water. Thursday is our company Thanksgiving dinner and I want to have some of that but I will probably get back on mostly liquids. I still want to hit the 230's by the time I get on the plane. I will be on full liquids by December 10th.

I've noticed something and I can't quite figure it out. Every AM (usually around 7) for breakfast I have a protein shake (Syntrax Nectar) in which I add - Greek yogurt, 1 c. almond milk, 1 Del-Monte fruit cup. I blend and then sip (yes still this is a challenge). This keeps me full all AM (even through my commute where I walk and stand a lot). Usually by the time I feel hungry it is between 12:15 - 12:30 PM. However, I've tried having the same thing for lunch and it is a no go. If I have the shake for lunch (12:30 PM) I am literally starving by 3 PM. I'm not sure why this doesn't keep me full in the afternoon. I'd like to get to the point where I can do 2 shakes and a small dinner. I like the feeling after the shake (feel satisfied but not weighed down) but it is such a no go twice in one day. Anyone experience this? Any suggestions? I'm not trying to do this every day, but on my busy days I just don't always have time for a full sit down lunch.

Today I meet with my Nut. It is part of my 6 month pre-surgery requirement from Kaiser. I have a secret... I really don't like meeting with my Nut. Okay there I said it...My Nut and I were kind of thrown together. I originally met with another Nut (A). She was great. Honest but firm and helpful. She treated you like a partner and held you accountable. I had my first meeting with Nut A where she sat and helped me come up with a plan. I then had my second meeting with her where we decided I would pursue surgery. We tweaked my plan and she scheduled me for a third. That's when the problem started. She is just too darn popular. Everyone (or at least most in my area) wants to work with her. Again, she is great. However, to meet with her you literally have to schedule 2-3 months out. By the time of my 3rd appointment, she didn't have anything available for 2 months. I didn't want to add even more months to my 6 month process so I agreed to meet with another Nut (. Nut B is the exact opposite of A. She makes you feel lousy no matter how well you do. It is like she tries to not be happy. At my last appointment I lost 5 lbs. This was major for me. Not because I haven't lost weight before, but this time I didn't do anything crazy extreme. I was proud that I stuck to the plan (from Nut A) and increased my exercise. Her response? I'm going to pause here to let you know something - - that little lady almost caught big time attitude. I think time stopped for about 30 minutes as my mind processed how to not show my tail in there. I didn't get rude, rather I reminded her that I ALWAYS wear my walking shoes to each meeting because I come directly from work and have to take public transportation. You see, she is simply not easy to work with. In fact, at my last meeting with Nut B, she received a call that someone else (apparently this is common) is leaving her to work with Nut A. Instead of being phased she proceeded to insult the guy - in front of me. Wow! - - and these 2 examples are the "nicer" ones regarding my interactions with her. My point for writing this...it is a challenge that I'm having to overcome. Working with her is actually helping me to see that this really is for me...not her or anyone else...me. It gives me perspective that not everyone cares that I am losing weight. Not everyone cares that I stick to my plan. Not everyone wants to hear my crap (good or bad) regarding this change in my lifestyle. Sure, my Nut should want to be more of a partner with me but her job is to supervise my progress and provide correction to my plan when needed. Her job is to ensure that I stick this through and meet Kaiser's requirements and not to be my friend. Her stand-offish (is that even a word?) behavior helps me to keep my focus on doing this for me and not for someone else's approval. I stick with my Nut (such an appropriate name sometimes) because she does have a high success rate. Very high, even though she is not the most liked. Her people tend to be very independent and exceed their set goals. So there is a method to her madness.

Tomorrow, although I guess technically today (June 26, Tuesday) is my last pre-op day! I am sort of in a calm before the storm state of mind. I'm a bit nervous but not as much as I know I will be in that car ride to the hospital. My mom is coming with me and staying with me while we are there. Thankfully! Everything has been paid off as well, so we are A-OK on that. I had been sick all week but luckily feeling better today and will only be getting better from now on. We were a bit scared at first not knowing if this darn sore throat would be gone by the time surgery came around. It seems to be alright now, hasn't hurt much at all all day. I don't anticipate it to hurt at all tomorrow and gone completely by Wednesday. I called the RN and let her know and asked if we would be alright still for Wednesday and she says it sounds like we are going to be just fine. So glad! So I have a few things to pick up at the store tomorrow, like some sort of G2 or something packets (not crystal light! I am allergic?) to put into my water in case I have a weird intolerance. Want to be able to get in some extra electrolytes, too. Those are supposedly handy dandy for hydration. I'm also going to pick up a couple of jars of baby food. I have plenty of soup/s left over from this week that should be good for post-op. I just have to finish packing my bag. So far I put my chapstick in there and a couple of throat drops although I don't anticipate needing those. I also put my Gas-X strips in there and my tooth brush and paste. My pillow is near by my bag so I won't forget it. I bought a nice big square pillow pet that is a turtle, I love turtles. It should be ok to use for the ride home and when moving around against my belly and whatnot. There's always that feeling like I am missing something or will forget something! Gosh I hope not. Just trying to relax and remain calm and not forget anything. I hope I make it through clear liquids decently! They do list jell-o as something I can eat so I guess I can eat some of that for texture if I absolutely need to..

Well. I got it. I got my surgery date. It's for June 27th. I'm so excited. That leaves 10 days before I have to start my pre-op diet which they require me to do 7 days prior and the day before surgery has to be clear liquids only with no red dyes. I'm stoked. So I've been getting things ready. I ordered 9 sample packs from Unjury 3 each in the chocolate splendor, chicken soup and unflavored packets for $1.99 each so that was $17.91 plus S&H. Then I got a sampler kit of Syntrax Nectar packets. It comes with 11 packets in a variety of flavors including Apple Ecstasy, Cappucino, Caribbean Cooler, Chocolate truffle, Crystal Sky, Fuzzy Navel, Lemon Tea, Pink Grapefruit, Roadside Lemonade, Strawberry Kiwi, Strawberry Mousse, Twisted Cherry and Vanilla Bean Torte. It came to be the same price as the Unjury including S&H. I'm fairly impressed. I know I can find ways to like the taste of the majority of these flavors in some form or another. So I have the protein taken care of, for now. I feel better about that. I have a few samples to try here at home to get use to that taste. I don't particularly like it. But I have another shopping list I need to take care of that consists of some soy milk and yogurt, various liquids that are not a thick form, like vitamin water, etc. I need to get some broth to water down or some no sodium bouillon cubes and some SF popsicles. Lots of people seem to have lived by those and maybe still do. They also said I can find no added sugar or low sugar preserve juice from Smucker's. I guess that's pretty neat. I will look at the nutrition facts and see about those. I loves me some juice! Other than that I'm just trying to take it easy and get in any last bit of shopping I need to do directly before the next 10 days comes too fast. I have to overnight ship the last papers of the financing stuff. So once I can get that expensive crap taken care off I'll feel a lot better. Eric needs to get his side sent in, too. I just hope he can get it in with no problems. References: Unjury: http://www.unjury.com Snytrax: http://www.bestprice...k-11-packs.html

Well, not directly. I'm worried about BEING sick. I've been sick since Wednesday and trying to be careful on what kind of medication I take. I have only taken acetominophen which is NOT an NSAID which is advised against pre-op. It's the only medicine I've taken except a small 25 mg allergy pill to help with a tiny bit of congestion. My problem is mostly a sore throat. It could be strep but I wouldn't know. I don't have the money for a PCP right now because all of our funds went to the surgeon that we had extra right now and I don't have insurance at this time. I mean who would have thought this would even happen anyway? So I'm just worrying, because my throat does not hurt anymore but it is still swollen. I can see it. It's huge in there. I don't have trouble breathing or anything and it's not painful to swallow. I'm just worried it won't be better by surgery time and I don't know what else to do to try to get this swelling down. :/