Stef

I'm not questioning anyone's intelligence. Please don't put words in my mouth.

Which brand of chocolate are you currently using? I've heard the Unjury chocolate tastes just like chocolate milk, but I haven't tried it myself.

Goodness, people certainly are taking this personally. Contrary to what someone inferred, I'm not trying to belittle anyone. I'm genuinely flabbergasted by the behavior I've seen and trying to comprehend why it happens so often. It's probably the engineer in me, always trying to solve problems. I understand the temptations people have, I have them myself. I was stuck at a stoplight in front of a KFC today and my mouth was watering because I smelled the Colonel's secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices. I swear, that chicken smelled like the most delicious thing on the planet. My pre-op diet is kicking my ass and I know for sure the post-op diet will be even worse as my surgeon has an extremely conservative post-op regimen. Cravings themselves are not the issue. I'm not criticizing anyone for having cravings or temptations, that would be incredibly hypocritical. I completely sympathize with folks who start threads looking for help because they're craving something. That's not what this is about. What I'm having difficulty understanding is this; why do people seek approval from what are basically complete strangers to violate their doctor's directives, when they know it's not in their best interest? It just doesn't make sense to me. Quite frankly, I'm shocked that people are getting out the torches and pitchforks over this. Perhaps instead of lashing out at me because I touched a nerve, we should figure out why this happens so often and see what can be done about it? That would be support, wouldn't it?

I had "banked" enough carbs yesterday that I was able to eat a whole tomato with dinner. I almost cried it was so good!

I'm not hungry so much, but I've really been craving carbs. Keeping to under 20 grams in a day is tough! I know how important it is to the overall surgical outcome to get the liver shrunk down as much as possible so I'm sucking it up and not cheating, but I'll sure be glad when it's over.

Hi Carmella, I'm scheduled for surgery with Dr. McMahon on January 8th. I met him and Danielle (one of his dieticians) at their info session in August and was very impressed with them and the program. Every person I have interacted with on his staff has been helpful and friendly and I couldn't be happier with the way things have gone so far.

Hi folks, I started this journey a few years ago when I was still living in Boston. I was looking into the duodenal switch and the closest surgeon who did anything other than the Lap Band or Roux-N-Y was in New York City so I drove down and fell headfirst into the WLS world. My life was a bit of a mess at the time and after the initial appointment, I never actually took the next step in the process and things just stalled out. Fast forward to last summer. I decided I needed to shake things up in my life a bit so a few days after my 45th birthday and with my employer's OK to work remotely, I loaded up the truck and I moved to Beverly... Well, no, I moved to Seattle. A new home, a new start and time to start getting serious about my health and get things back on track. After settling in, I spent a couple of weeks looking at the programs in the area and was impressed with the Swedish Hospital Weight Loss Center. They were having a seminar in a week so I signed up and went in. I was impressed with their approach, their mindset and the people running the program. I had my first appointments with Dr. McMahon and his staff on August 26th and after a bit of discussion with the staff I decided to change focus from the DS to the VSG and it's been a whirlwind of appointments and hijinks ever since. My surgery date (January 8th) was scheduled this week and so the first phase of this journey is nearing its end. The second, unending phase will start shortly. I've never had any surgery before and my emotions are all over the map. I'm afraid it won't work, I'm afraid it WILL work, I'm happy, excited, terrified, and a hundred other things all at the same time. I have the support of a great medical team and great friends and it's time to take a deep breath and jump. Here we go! Stef

Pending the outcome of my pre-admit appointment on the 19th of this month, my surgery date is January 8th.