Gregorio Punderschmidt

Lanette, Right there with you! Tomorrow's D-day for me as well. I haven't been able to sleep all night (*Maybe* had something to do with waking up at 3:00 in the afternoon, I don't know, I'm not a doctor.) I'm pretty uptight and tweaked as well, but probably not for the same reasons. I'm not really scared of the surgery per se. What's the worst that can happen? I cash on the operating table? Great! See ya next life, baby! But the thought of having to get into one of those Guatemalan army surplus gowns at the hospital whose three remaining connected threads leave *nothing* to the imagination, now that sucks a bag of d!*ks. Good luck! I'm sure you'll be just aces. Take care, Tom

Heather, There really isn't anything I can add that hasn't been said by others better, but I'll throw in my ha'penny. Your surgeon is a colossal tool. Yanking the rug out from somebody the day of surgery after you have seriously made arrangements in your life for it is kinda like sending out a pornographic sympathy card when someone's grandmother passes. It's just cruel and low class. If he had some pre-op instructions that were dealbreakers for him, than you should have been told explicitly, "Show up here having done X (or not done Y) and I'm not operating on you." My experience was kind of the exact opposite of yours. I was alarmed at my surgeon's lack of instruction and convinced that what happened to you would happen to me. Instead, he tells me 3 days before surgery to *try* to eat low-fat the next couple of days. Mostly was concerned that I follow the "nothing to eat or drink after midnight the day before" instruction. His exact words, were, "Nothing to eat or drink after midnight doesn't mean eating the biggest meal of your life at Outback at 11:59." That kind of shocked me, as he usually has the sense of humour of a death-row sniper. Oh well, carry on, and always remember the dying words of the Duke's uncle. Tom

Hello all, I know this may sound like a really insignificant, possibly moronic question, but it's always better to know what you're getting into. So what exactly is the story with drinking after you have had this procedure? Is it contra-indicated? Any restrictions on what you can drink, or is it just not really in the cards practically speaking? I don't mean to sound like Joe 12-step alcoholic, but I'm attorney who runs his own firm with three cosmic-sized egomaniac attorneys, insurrectionist disloyal staff, and clients whose pathetic needy clinging is only matched by their boundless rage, usually aimed at yours truly. It's a miracle I only stop in for a drink or two on my way home every so often. By all rights I should have a superhuman heroin addiction. But that's enough of my cheerful thoughts for the day. Looking forward to my new sleeve in two weeks, and I'm glad that this resource exists! Take care, Tom

Hello again all, Thanks to everybody for the common-sense practical advice on my other questions, but I've got a real doozie on this one. I'm scheduled for my procedure Monday the 28, and I'm also supposed to be leaving for a vacation in Kentucky on Thursday April 7. My vacations with my friends usually involve a great deal of walking and heavy lifting. Now, while I'm pretty sure that this trip is, generally speaking, not an advisable idea, compared to the fantastically stupid things I do on a regular basis, this one's hardly on the radar. Besides, the surgery is a great excuse to stick everybody else with carrying the heavy stuff. What I'm most concerned with, is that we do an ungodly amount of walking over the weekend, and I want to know what the odds are that I'll be up for it. Anybody that knows me would be shocked that I'd be asking such a question, as I'm generally regarded as the laziest human being most people have ever met. Gee, a couch potato that needs weight loss surgery. Who would have figured? Sic semper potatum reclinus! Anyway, since this board has smatterings of people in various stages post-op, I was kind of hoping to get some feedback on how long it took to regain full mobility, more or less painlessly. Beyond the walking, the only other things I would be wary of are getting in and out of those folding camping chair thingies, as well as in and out of cars. Lastly, since I'm assuming I'll still be on liquids, is there any recommendations on what to stock the cooler with? I saw some stuff called "muscle milk" at the gas station, should I be looking for high-Protein drinks like these? I'm sure my doctor will fill me on on this stuff (well, one would hope so) but it's always good to hear it from people that have experienced it. Thanks heaps, Tom

Hey Ashley, before you let your thoughts get in the way of enjoying your life again, here's a little quote that always sees me through: "You probably wouldn't worry about what other people think of you if you could know how seldom they do." Olin Miller. Tom

Without getting into any good parts/bad parts of Mexico argument, I guess you really only have to ask yourself one question if you are thinking about going to a third world country for medical care. If your dog was sick, would you want him treated by a Mexican veterinarian? Don't panic, I'm just asking. Tom

Wow. I can't believe you guys are getting your insurance to pay anything. I have a state employees Blue Cross (in sunny Florida) policy and they won't pay for squat. Either that or my surgeon is lying to me. Quite frankly, it's kind of a toss up on that one. Anyway, here's a free piece of legal advice, worth every penny of what you paid for it. Any time you get a bill from a hospital (and this doesn't just apply to bariatric surgery) go straight to the finance office and INSIST on a itemized bill. I promise you 9 times out of 10, it is wildly inaccurate and you can use that to argue them down on the final tally. Good luck, Tom

Thanks to everyone who replied, and for your kind words. As a former prosecutor/public defender, I do tend to have a sense of humour on the darker side. Like nurses and ER doctors, we get to see the repellant side of human nature up close and personal. (As in, sitting next to you in a suit that only a kodiak bear could possibly make look less well fitting.) It's a bit of a defense mechanism. It's hard to not empathize with your clients and feel low when you can't help them (not that they should go around shooting people, no matter how much you agree with their "enemy identification") because they're really not all that bad. It can take it's toll, unless you're a full-on sociopath, which, unfortunately, my profession seems to be OVER-represented with. Didn't Ted Bundy make Dean's list or somesuch? Anyway, as I said, I'm two weeks out, but work has really kept my mind off the epic life-change I'm about to go through. It's not the surgery, that's kind of like flying. After two-three times, it's just not that big a deal. Besides, the older you get the more welcome death seems by comparison anyway. Getting used to a new way of eating isn't that big a deal, either. I don't eat all day long as it is. I don't stop from the minute I walk into the office until I leave. So the liquid diet/soft food phases *shouldn't* be too rough. I'm sure eating out/travelling will be much trickier, but I'll adapt quickly. Besides my Irish whiskey, there isn't much diet-wise I really can't live without. Except really hot foods. Any feedback on how that goes over? Just as a reference point, I mean hot enough to melt the lining of a reactor. I put away bottles of Dave's Insanity Sauce, the only hot sauce (to my knowledge) that has a confirmed kill to it's credit. For anybody reading, that wasn't a joke. This hot sauce has actually taken a human life. Again, thank you to everyone who has replied. This kind of information just isn't available from anywhere but firsthand experience. Without people willing to share it, it wouldn't be available at all. So everybody give yourselves a little chuck on the shoulder. Thanks, Tom