joon

Thanks Tiff :-) I appreciate that, and I know you are right. I dont doubt the decision to get it, and there is no reason why I would be so different from all the others on this board who have had great success with the procedure.

PHEW! I was having second thoughts there for a second! ( not really, but I am relieved :001_tongue: ) Being Indian, if I couldnt eat spicy food, there would be a biiiig problem.

Thanks Carolyn, I appreciate that. too funny about the story!

OHHH! right East coast :-) How nice to have the day off work! I actually work part time so I have Wednesdays and Fridays off usually but on Wednesdays I am room parent for my daughters Kindergarten class...work is easier. hehe. But they have school off today and I have a meeting I need to be at so its all crazy cause she is going to come with me to work.

Hey just wondering if you have ever tried Neem oil for this. It is a real miracle cure! It has even helped with my breakouts on my face though being that it is something hormonal it doesnt solve the problem. I mix a little with a few sprays of rosewater and its great. I actually use it on cuts, bruises burns rashes of all sorts and it is wonderful. Look it up on the net!

DeeDee, why are you up so early? My excuse is I have a cold :-(

Hi Folks, I already dont do dairy and was actually wondering if people had any non-dairy Protein shake recommendations. I know about the fruit Isopure which hopefully I will like, but I was also hoping for a chocolate or vanilla option or some other thicker flavored thing for those times when you really need something a bit toothsome. The comments about hot food scare me though! Yikes, I LOVE my spicy food!

Thanks for the info! I will definitely try to get in the protein. thin, I dont think the night sweats would last too long. May just be a phase as our bodies adjust. The topic of night sweats reminds me that one of my HIV + friends just found out that after 15 yrs of slow progression his T cells dropped to 38 ( this is bad for those of you who arent familiar. Should be between 500-1200). He now has an AIDS diagnosis and is getting ready to start medications and is really having difficulty coping. He was diagnosed in the late 80's when doc's told you "make a will you probably will live another 2 yrs". For the next 10 yrs he lived life expecting to die anytime and not making a single plan for a future he thought he would never have. Just in the recent years had he started to do things like save, have dreams about his future, make plans. Even though he works with me ( with people with HIV/AIDS) and sees that many of them live long healthy lives with medication, he is scared, angry and sad. I appreciate any thoughts you would send to him. Puts things in perspective sometimes when we see those around us suffer with things much more difficult than what we must worry about.

Hello Everyone! Thank you for making this great board where one can gain so much insight into the lives of others going through what each of us is going through. Happily, one of the best uses of internet technology. I am a 34 yr old psychotherapist living in SF. I am married and have a 5 yr old daughter who is the center of our lives. Our family is everything to us. We are most content when we are just with one another. Close second to my family is my work which I love and am whole heartedly dedicated to. All these aspects of my life are great, however, I have been experiencing depressed mood, anxiety, fear, and self image problems that casue me a great deal of distress. I am one of those cases where weight was never an issue ( between 127-130 at 5'5) all my life before pregnancy. Was a terrible pregnancy and I gained 60 lbs that has somehow redistributed but never gone away. I lose some for a bit here and there but cant seem to keep it off. Doesnt help that all the activities I enjoyed for exercise feel impossible at this weight like mtn biking and rock climbing, jogging. I know they arent impossible, it just feels like it because I am not used to the weight. So now finally 5 yrs later have decided on "taking measures" :-). Have found this board and a couple others very helpful. I have always used ayuervedic medicine principles and though I have had this persistent problem with weight,for all other health issues our family has been very healthy with them. Any people willing to share their natural preparations and healing journeys I would greatly appreciate. If anyone has suggestions on dairy and gluten free Protein drinks that are low sugar please let me know as well. We tend to abstain from dairy, sugar and wheat gluten when it comes to healing any type of sickness or injury we have. Also, flax oil or ground flax for Omega 3's, pineapple ( dont usually do juice but maybe pureed , or even clear juice the first couple days? and the lemon, honey, cayenne drink. Anyone having success in using these pre and post op? Thank you! BTW, I am looking at surgeons so any advice would be helpful. I know there are a few beloved docs on the board and that speaks well but any other ideas would be great too. I am in northern Cali so I prefer to stay fairly close to the cali border. Also, money is not a primary issue ( well of course it always is but what I mean is, I am expecting to pay $11 for this so anywhere under there is wonderful but I wouldnt take a risk I thought unsafe to get below that). I know there must be whole dr threads, just cant seem to find the right ones. Thanks for the opportunity to be here!

Oh, Also, No surgeon in the US will operate on me at BMI 31.6 I dont feel worried about having surgery with Dr. Aceves in Mexico though. My family is from India and I know that is a country where many people would think the care is terrible. There definitely is terrible care there, but there is also excellent care there. I dont think one can discount a whole country.

Thanks for all the responses everyone. They definitely made me feel better about the issues (and made me laugh) I really have developed the issue in the past year but it is sooo bad! I hope it is related to the weight. For a while I got electrolysis but it was really painful and the hair was just increasing anyway so I thought I better deal with the issue underlying before going for any more electrolysis treatments. What is PCOS?

Thank you DeeDee! Thats a good idea.

Well I have my surgery date, January 5th with Dr. Aceves. I had to plan so far in advance so I could have ample time to arrange coverage for my clients, interns and childcare for my girl. Now that I am settled and scheduled though I just want it to be here now! So excited and nervous. I dont need to do a pre-op diet but I think I will anyway, just because it will be so great to get a head start. I really hope this works for me!!

You know The acne is on my face ( as well as the hair growth). I also thought it may be thyroid related but had that checked and it wasnt that. I am hoping it resolves itself as the weight comes off. I am wondering if the birth control pill may help with that. Thanks for responding though! I hope for both of us that these problems will be a distant memory pretty soon!

Tiff, Hi! Thanks for the info. I kind of feel like I know so many of you guys because I was a bit of a lurker for a while before posting, so I definitely know who you are. :-) Cathy, Wow! thanks for the info. I hadnt even mentioned it to my Kaiser doc because the limit I had been told by some private places here was 35. I never even thought to check with Kaiser about it. Thanks for the tip.

Oh, I'm so sorry Norma! But you know what, in some ways if this was going to happen, now you will be healing from everything closer together rather than feeling like the minute you finish one procedure you have to deal with another. You will feel like a new woman by the time you get through with the knee also!

Daisy, Oh good they give it to you there! One less thing to have to keep track of then when I am going. That will help a lot if I dont have all English speaking nurses. Cajun, you know, that could very well be a regional term, I just never realized that before now as I have heard it so much. BTW, I cant believe you have lost 40 lbs since the end of Sept. That is so great! Have either of you heard anything about compression garments after surgery being a good or bad thing? I am talking about the body girdles essentially.

:-) Crunchy like granola....its a little teasing term for people who are sort of health obsessed. It is ironic that I am in the position I am in after pregnancy because I spent many years very "crunchy" Like eating flax seeds in everything or eating raw or vegan, using all natural remedies instead of going to the doctor, growing a mustache rather than waxing ( havent gone that far) types of things. My daughter actually likes brussel sprouts, cabbage, veggie dogs etc through she draws the line at kale. Very Berkeley-esque which is where I live. I just want to go back to being the person I was before my pregnancy. I think a lot of it is emotional. Some very difficult things I went through when I was a child came up for me while I was pregnant and as soon as I found out I was having a girl. I had a really hard time and am still coming to terms with a lot of it though I am much better with it now, its just that the weight doesnt want to budge. I still eat relatively healthy, I just eat a LOT and I do think I have developed the habit of eating to comfort myself or numb myself sometimes. And Cajun, I do agree it is very important I get a lttle Spanish. I mean I actually speak about as much as the average Californian for whom it is not a first language but I dont think thats enough to communicate on medically related things which is not something you pick up in casual speak. I did see that Dr. Aceves forms include a page of terms in spanish to learn or keep on hand. Very helpful!

Hi Okalani, I am sorry you are feeling bad. I can definitely understand how hard it must be to watch others eat when you can not. Particularly if you were used to eating partly as a comfort activity. What other comfort activities do you enjoy? Yoga? Hot showers followed by a warm oil self massage? Drives, picture taking? Aromatherapy? Also, what exactly is happening with your sleeping? trouble falling or staying asleep? How many hours are you getting continuously? Are you napping? Would you mind providing a bit more detail? Hoping for a quick improvement for you! Joon

thanks cajun! I was about to say Gracias but then I thought that might give you the wrong idea because NO I dont speak spanish! :-)

Again, thanks everyone for all the suggestions and information! It is so great to have the knowledge and experience of so many to help me through this. So I submitted my preop questionnaire to Nina for the Dr to review today. Anyone know if he has any BMI limits? Mine is currently 31 and I have been approved for it by a couple other surgeons I spoke to but I was wondering if Aceves had any specific requirements. It put my mind at ease to know that everything is taken care of from airport to surgery etc. I am hoping to have it done Dec 29th. I am so glad that my husband is supportive. I think he sees what an improvement in will be in his and my daughters life as well if I am happier and more active again. We used to have a lot of fun doing active things and now I even avoid our friends because I feel so bad about appearance. So anyone taking fish oil? how does that work after surgery? Or ground flax, you can probably add it to shakes right? I am also wondering, is the low carb diet a requirement for life after this? Or is it just for the first 3-6 months. I have always followed a lower Protein non dairy diet since I was 18 to help with my asthma and it made a huge difference. It was advice from a holisitc DR. back then and I have seen it referenced many times since then by other docs even Dr. Andrew Weil. I am OK with doing it for the 6 months but I would like to go back to eating a healthy diet of whole grains, veg, fruit and veg protein. Any long term people have any experience with this? Thank you!!!!:confused1: Ok, thats a bit of crazy face....

Anytime you feel like talk/writing, do. I really think we find what we put out to the universe as needing. My heart goes out to you and anytime you need someone to listen, it seems there are many here who would be there for you, and though our relationship is new that includes me.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I am going to go alone so I definitely want something that will be taking care of everything from the moment I get off the plane. I do think that Aceves hospital looks great as well. I am trying to decide here...tough choice.

I'm so glad you are seeing that psychologist. It sounds like you may be able to put to good use some of the tools he should give you. Take care

Wow! Congrats!