Woobs

I'm on January 8th! Be sure to check in and let me know how your recovery is going. :-)

Frza, Thanks for the encouragement. I'm taking your advice and just going for it. I bought a container of unflavored Unjury and two sample packets each of strawberry and vanilla. I picked unjury because it sounds like it's heating up temperature is higher than nectar (140' vs 90'). Nectar sounds like they have more flavors though...any suggestions of which ones you liked? Woobs

Thanks Julester. Wow three years! Any tips for long term success?

Here in town at OHSU. Luckily my insurance covers VSG.

My surgery is on the 8th. My feet aren't ice cubes yet, but they are definitely chilled. Nervous, nervous, nervous. I know I'm doing the right thing, and I should be fine but I'm still scared. Good luck to you!

Hey Frza and Zombie Piper, I'm less than 2 weeks out until my surgery. Not going to lie--getting nervous. I've started taking knitting classes to try and have something to do when I'm healing up and off work. I feel unprepared for my liquid diet and soft food phases. I want to try different protein shakes but am hesitant 1) because so many people say that their tastes changed so...what does it matter if I like it now if I might not in a few weeks. 2) I think the phase will be hard enough, don't want to add extra time so that I am burnt out on liquids long before I can be. I'm on a 1200 calorie pre surgery diet. My surgeon said no cheating for the holidays so I haven't but I am not going to lie I'm eyeing all the holiday treats at work and parties like its porn. :-) Glad to hear you're doing well. I'm sure I will have tons of questions (and posts) in a few weeks as I start bouncing off the walls and going through the post surgery phases (buyers remorse, food mourning, excited success, seeking moral support, etc). Woobs

Hi there, I'm still preop--scheduled for surgery in January. I have been looking at the forums for awhile and there are a number of people who are 6-12 mos but i was hoping to hear from some folks that are further along in their journey. What issues have you faced? What has been you're greatest success? Are you having trouble with regain? Any complications? Thank you for your input.

Can't wait to not- Have to curve my shoulders inward and be as "small" as possible in an airplane, bus, or any other seat where I have to sit next to someone else and feeling like a human pretzel afterwards Having my chest so close to the table in a restaurant booth seat I could prop them up on it. Have to head straight to the big girl section of any clothing store I walk into or walk by a store because I "know" they won't have anything in my size Being worried if the spa I want to go to has big enough robes for me to wear Feeling tired after cleaning my house because I went up and down the stairs to many times Having a friend's little girl tell me that my "legs are really big" or any other kids brutal honesty for that matter Being able to skydive or zip line because I'm to heavy Etc...

Well, my when I went in to see my pcp to tell her I was even considering the surgery she did seem less than supportive of the idea. Her initial response was, eat less move around more. I don't mind contra opinions but my PCPs tone when talking was very judgmental. I will admit it didn't help that in the back of my mind I kept looking at her thinking--"you have never had trouble with your weight have you..." Her and I talked for well over the appt time about all the things I had tried in the past (with me crying in frustration during most of the talk). By the end of the appt I agreed to do a Medically supervised exercise program she agreed that surgery may be a solution to consider. Few months later I went in for a "girl" appt and saw a different practitioner than my PCP. Since this was her and my first appt together we talked about my health overall. I mentioned I was in the process of getting qualified for VSG. She was very positive about the idea. I told her my PCP was not as enthused and we talked about that. She seemed troubled by my PCP's "eat less move more" response and felt it was antiquated thinking when talking about morbid obesity. This made me feel much better. Luckily my PCP got on board and my insurance authorization has come through but after this experience with her I'm considering switching practitioners to the gal I saw for my "girl" appt just because of this whole experience. So at the end of the day, my hope is that your PCP will be on board. My advice is, if they aren't and your convinced this surgery is right for you, find a new PCP who is more receptive. Good luck!

Agreed! Congrats. Glad you're feeling great! :-)

Thanks Frza. Have you had your surgery yet?

I'm still pretty new to the forum but I wanted to say "hi!". I'm a Portlander though technically I live up in the 'Couve. Scheduled for surgery at OHSU in January. Excited and scared...which I think us pretty typical.

I'm pre-op, and I'm just trying to plan and prep for my surgery (tentative date jan. 8) and post surgery life. I use my iPhone all the time...and so I wondered if there were any good apps I should consider downloading that will help me along. I already have Vertical Sleeve Talk (writing this message using that app right now) and Sparkpeople. Any others that are really helpful? Thanks. :-)

Oh..and it's free!!!!

Jwaller, I'd check out Sparkpeople.com, they also have a free app. The excercise section has TONS of excercises, will show you video clips of how to do them! Lots of exercises that don't require gym equipment. Walk briskly for your cardio. Good luck. :-)

I actually had a dream about surgery the other night but instead of my tummy they were doing surgery on one of my leg. I wasnt in pain and I wasn't scared but I was awake and asking them if they were going to try and sleeve me from there. My surgery is in January so...hopefully by then my subconscious will have them at least doing surgery on the right part of me. Lol.

I will have to check these out! Thanks for the suggestions. Anybody heard anything about GastricSleeve eSupport?

I keep reading about chewing and that it's really important so I was wondering about it... First, why is it so important? I understand why with RounY and banding...but I'm trying to find out why with vsg. Is it because a newly sleeved stomach is swollen for awhile? Is it to slow down the process of eating altogether? Lastly, how much chewing is enough chewing? Any recommendations on how many chews per bite? 20, 25, 30? Thanks in advance for the help.

I think the well chewed food is a forever thing too.

I'm reading the "emotional first aid kit" and "mindful eating" now. They aren't thrilling reads, but I figure surgery is thrilling enough (I'm still pre-op). I also read "weight loss surgery for dummies" and "guide for bariatric surgery" which was pretty much duplicate of everything I've read on the forums. I have also read "half a$$ed a weight loss story". Which I really enjoyed. She didn't do wls but she's not critical of it either.

Thanks! How far along are you?

Thanks for the reply! That's what I thought but I wasn't sure. I'd read blender consistency but applesauce sounds more reasonable. I think I will really need to count to start out and I have to practice, practice, practice. My surgery is scheduled for January so I have some time but I want to be as ready as possible.

Hey there! I'm preop too. I'm a little older and I don't have any kids but similar bmi and situation. I have a couple of health issues but my weight is the big problem--I don't believe that's going to be the case forever though. As I told my doctor I'm terrified of the surgery but I'm even more frightened of "the bill coming due" from carrying this much extra weight. I don't want to wait until I'm backed into a corner either. So after careful consideration I decided surgery is for me. Good luck to you!

The big piece of quitting is the behavior modification. In other words, breaking the habits associated with smoking ( like while driving, at bars, after a meal, etc). Its hard but not impossible. You can do it! Plus, it's good practice for the behavior changes that go along with the surgery. :-) Good luck to you!