WASaBubbleButt

I didn't really know what weight would be ideal for me so my original goal was a BMI of 24.9, the top end of normal BMI. I just went from there. Here is a BMI calculator: Calculate your BMI - Standard BMI Calculator And a BMR calculator as well: BMR Calculator On the above link if you look in the lower right hand side it gives more things to calculate. ;o)

It is very good food and it is very affordable too. I'd say about $6.00/meal and it's a LOT of food. They have traditional Mexican food, Soups, burgers, sandwiches, oh... their OJ is fresh squeezed. There are other restaurants around the hospital that are verrry easy walking distance. Less than a block. At Lucerna they have everything but it is a bit more expensive. The businesses won't charge you more for using a credit/debit card but your bank will. I don't recall how much, maybe someone else knows? It has to do with the exchange rate. Since I'm not banded I don't have to go there anymore so I haven't used a credit card there in ages.

Congrats on getting a date! Good for you! It does not matter which surgery type you have, you are always welcome here, forever! BTW, Alex will be opening up a bypass forum soon as well! The sleeve isn't a right fit for everyone, no single surgery type is. We all have to decide what surgery type is right for us. I think you will find that you have an easier time with bypass merely because you have previously been banded. You already know the routine, small bites, eat slowly, etc. I remember a few months after I revised to a sleeve from a band and I was posting on another board someone asked if you slime or barf a lot with a sleeve. I said that I hadn't and I was maybe 4-5 months post op. Another person told me I was not telling the truth, we all slime and barf in the beginning. I really hadn't and that is when I realized the ONLY reason I didn't was because I had already learned how to eat after WLS. I think you will find that you have an easier time than newbies to WLS when you have your revision. You won't have the problems they may have. Congrats to you! And if you try to leave our forum we'll find you and drag you back. ;o) Besides, I think we also have a bypass section of the forum. If we don't we'll add one but I am pretty sure Elisabeth added one in the beginning.

Congrats on your date! That's the day you get your life back!

Thanks, Elisabeth. I am sitting here reading this eating a piece of bacon. ;o)

Day #2 is the worst! You'll feel better each day. Congrats on getting your surgery! The more you walk the better you'll feel and the faster you will feel great! HA! I did not realize you are Jaffa's wife!

How long is not very long? A few minutes? An hour? I never even knew what greens were until Grandma (a friend's gma) made them for me and I instantly fell in love! She had another recipe for what she called Gypsy chicken. Ohhhh that was good. And her fried chicken was the BEST! Grandma's can always cook well!

Oye veh.... I couldn't sleep last night and must have had my head up my butt. ;o)

I get the same thing and I'm a BMI of 20. Remember, a BMI of 18.5-24.9 is normal and healthy. I think people say these things for two reasons, one is that 2/3 of the population today is overweight or obese, the healthy BMIers truly are the minority. People no longer recognize a healthy weight anymore. Also, I have noticed that those who tell me I am too thin are overweight themselves. It's a hard pill to swallow when you see someone that was able to lose weight and you can't. I wouldn't let it hurt my feelings, life is too short. Let them deal with their stuff in their own time.

It really is a good deal. You can't go to just anyone in MX but you can't go to just anyone in the US either. You have to do your research. US: $9K on up, usually much higher MX: $6500 US: Surgery is done on an outpatient basis usually MX: Two nights of hospitalization US: Less experienced surgeons usually (MX has been banding people for 18 years, US is 8 years so obviously, they are going to be more experienced typically since they have been doing it 10 years longer) MX: Harder to find after care There are pros and cons to anything, people have to research and find their comfort level.

Depends on where she goes. My doc is in MX and he charges $6500 for the band, the person has to pay their own airfare ($300?) and she would be in the hospital for two nights after surgery. Figure ... $6800 total. There are no hotel expenses. Clinics use hotels. The better doctors work out of actual hospitals. Even if someone went with her they would stay in her room with her. An extra $300 for airfare and maybe $50 for food. That is $7150. Still MUCH cheaper than the US and a LOT more hospitalization. The issue here is that she would have to find follow up care BEFORE going to MX for surgery. In my city it is no big deal, some cities have nobody that will do follow up care on anyone they did not operate on. For what she is looking at spending in the US she could actually have a sleeve in MX and never need routine follow up care. That is another option.

I have a hunch you aren't in the kind of need that a starving child is Africa is. You have to admit, if he isn't providing for those seriously in need, and are dying for just a piece of bread, he doesn't really provide all that well? Maybe you are just extra special, not sure. ;o)

??? Didn't you already have surgery?

Nonono... it's about 50. Those who have done 250 sleeves AND 250 bypasses. Staple line experience. That is key. If you are looking for the #1 US sleeve surgeon it is Cirangle in SF, CA. If you are looking for the #1 sleeve surgeon in MX it is Aceves. Bypass is the hard staple line, sleeves are easier. Go with experience to avoid leaks.

If the room is open, why couldn't you?

Let us not forget, hospitals are in competition with one another to get patients. You are the consumer, they are the merchant. Make them behave as such.

Soft foods ALWAYS go down faster and easier. That is how one eats around their surgery type. Go for it, eat around your surgery type during the healing phase. After you are done healing THEN you do the WLS way, solid Proteins first. For now, go for it. Eat around your sleeve. It's all good during healing.

Isn't that true! Nobody else seems to "get" it the way our peers do.

Even for those of us that do not know one another in r/t, we are still very close. It's weird... we know one another on an internet message board but we sincerely care about others. I'd love to see a study on THAT! ;o) For those of us with addictive personalities, being an Admin on such a message board feeds my addiction quite well. ;o)

Ahhhh, they are dilating your sleeve. Understood. Please, make sure they go very slowly so they do not cause a leak! Life is good with a functional sleeve!

A very dear friend of mine, her grandmother used to make me greens. I LOVED them! She passed away about 2 weeks ago before she taught me how to do this myself. For this reason I especially appreciate this recipe. I know she used ham hocks. I do not even know what a ham hock is. Can you tell me how greens are made with ham hocks and where I get these things? Grandma was very special to me. I was not prepared for her to move on. She was supposed to teach me how to make southern fried chicken and greens the old way. But she passed away first. She spoke of taking the easy way out, frozen greens and cooked her way. I do not know what her way was. It was very good. ;o) Your timing is perfect, thanks for the recipe. ETA.... I believe she said she used collard greens, is there some special recipe for collard greens? She introduced me to this fantastic food and it feels like I'll never get to experience it again now that she's gone. :confused1:(