Finding Myself

Thanks guys. I'm right after Cissie and my nerves are all over the place as well as my emotions! Arrgh!

Awww!!! I am SO pre op and emotional! I totally cried. LOL

My surgeon is having me stop my BC pills prior to surgery. Did anyone else do this? If so how did you do it? Just not start a new pack? Or stop mid cycle?

Hmm, I will check with my doctor about that! Sounds awesome! Michelle, that's exactly what I did. I simply did not start my new pack after my last period. I'll start them again after surgery.

I had never heard of it until now! I have uterine fibroids - does it treat that too? I'd love to get off the pill but my fibroids make it difficult. Why did you get novasure? Now I'm curious!

Crystal I just read your blog and it made me giggle!!! I left you some comments. So glad you're doing well.

Comfortably Numb, you are so right. When I started this journey I checked out every one of these doctors and narrowed it down to a few. I chose Dr. Kelly because of my interactions with him, with his staff, etc. For about 3 months now, I've been in constant contact with him or Omar and I could not be happier. I feel like I am included with a big family! I've talked to dozens of people privately, previous patients, etc etc. Not one of them had anything negative to say about their experience with Dr. Kelly. The clincher for me was meeting a lovely lady who went to him with a friend, then went back to him for her own surgery, then referred her own family members to him! Honestly, that was the best referral info I could have gotten. Many of these doctors are very good, and you can find positives and negatives about ALL of them. Yes there are some who do this surgery for a LOT cheaper (using recovery houses, etc) but honestly, that's what works for some people. If that's all they can afford and are willing to take the risk, then that is their decision. Sometimes that's the best someone can do. I am scheduled for next week, and I'm scared and excited and having all of the expected emotions. But I'm still very happy with my choice of doctor.

This house smells like heaven!!! It has a very beefy smell to it but tastes awesome. I'm gonna cool it and skim off the fat today. I made a couple of liters worth, I'm guessing. I think I'm gonna try different recipes, where you add various vegetables, etc. Yum!!!! And too easy - put the bones in the crockpot, add 2 tbs of vinegar (this allows the demineralization of the bones so you can get minerals into the broth), some salt, and start it on high till it boils then turn it down to low for about 12-24 hours. Awesome!

I'm also making a crockpot full of bone broth today to put in the freezer!

I thought they were 1/2 c servings! But whatever works pre op! I just know I could drink jello a lot easier than eating it and that's probably not a good habit to get into for me. LOL

We are just gonna have a good party! Hehe.

Probably a good idea to still limit it to a serving size, though.

I also have met a whole group of WLS people who have gained significant amounts of weight back for various reasons. (yes sleevers too!) This is not a magic trick, a guarantee or even permanent restriction! You MUST do the work NOW or you may find yourself gaining weight again in a few years.

Since those of us here are self pay and won't have the same insurance coverage as others, I think it's important to be well educated about all aspects of our chosen procedure. One thing I came across is the increased rate of kidney stones post-op, so I got to looking around and found some more info on it. I rec. reading this: http://bariatricsurgeryblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/bariatric-surgery-and-kidney-stones.html It has some tips on how to avoid it. I see many people on these boards simply not taking care of themselves post op, not eating correctly, not drinking enough Water, not taking in enough calories - you can't do this to yourself! I know it's tough in that first month or so, but after 6 months you should be eating healthy, exercising and definitely drinking enough water! Another topic you can research is starvation after this surgery. Not in the typical sense, but in the sense that you MUST take in adequate calories, even post op! Or it will affect you adversely! Even pre-op, I see sooooo many people who do not take in enough liquids. Well, post op, you MUST DO THIS. It will help you avoid all sorts of problems! I've even watched videos of people who are post op who are basically eating junk. You have to STOP that. This is about nutrition and feeding your body correctly after surgery. You cannot continue to eat fast food and potato chips and drink cokes. If you can't get your head around that, then you should reconsider this surgery! And yes I'm saying these things as much for myself as for everyone else! This is serious and not a quick fix and there can be very long term consequences to not making healthy choices after this surgery. So I wanted to mention these things and make a post on it and tell people to make sure they do their research, KNOW what they are getting into, and know what they are going to do after surgery. I'm a scuba diver, and there is a saying: "Plan your dive and dive your plan". This applies to us, too!!!! "Plan your foods and eat your food plan" applies to us too!!!! Just want us all to do well.

Naturals, I'll be there with Thin at the Lucerna!!

Do you know how we can best avoid kidney stones? Is it directly related to the amount of protein we are eating?

Anaid, me too. I'm about 3 hours away from TJ and honestly am more impressed with the Mexican doctors - all of them!

Pam, for me it was my interaction with him and his team. It was never high pressure sales, it felt honest. Dr Ponce is good but does not speak English and since I don't speak Spanish, that was not for me. Dr Aceves was not available when I have time off, and I didn't want to fly to see Dr Alvarez. So it came down to Dr K and once I started having regular communications with them (I email them several times a week) I realized it was the best choice for me.

Thanks! I thought it deleted one of them! I'll have to fix it when I get back on my computer! That sucks about your friend but glad she's doing better!!! You sound like you're doing well!!!

Obviously Cathy and I are on pre op diets and are grumpy hungry. LOLOL

What's sad about it? They're doctor forms, not coordinator forms! Why woukd anyone care?? And having seen forms from multiple doctors, they all ask the same stuff! Most important thing is to get accurate info to your doctor prior to surgery.

Beauty that is awful!!! What happened???

That is great Reese!! Would love to hear more!!

That is awesome!! I love it!!

Yeah that makes perfect sense. It's all just general paperwork anyway. Nothing special. Glad you had direct contact with Omar - they don't use the coordinator services like some of the other doctors. Also, if you end up going with Dr. Ponce, one of his other coordinators gives a better price. Someone else on here mentioned that... that made me more uncomfortable than anything. (as in, the coordinators charging people different prices for the same doctor) Just do your homework!