Vixynne

Thank you!!

I got some chocolate PB2 to try out as part of my pre-op dietary explorations. I LOVE this stuff. A teaspoon or so in a protein shake is delicious. You can also mix it with a bit of water to reconstitute it back to spreadable texture--and it has much less fat than regular peanut butter.

Sometimes I think my butterflies are actually bats!

Good luck to you too--sleep well!

Hi tml--I'm doing the magnesium citrate as I we speak (or, umm, type). I bought mine at WalMart for the grand total of $0.97--it was the lemon flavor, and it's a clear liquid. You can find it in their antacid/laxative section. After chilling it in the fridge for a couple of hours, I drank it according to the directions on the bottle; with an 8-ounce glass of Water. It took about 2 hours to kick in, but just like almost everything about WLS, your results may vary. STAY NEAR THE BATHROOM, DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE. DO NOT PASS "GO". DO NOT COLLECT $200. Seriously, commandeer the closest commode and tell everyone else in your house to make other arrangements. When it kicks in, it's not a force to be trifled with. Drink water after you finish the initial dose, and keep drinking water until it goes into effect. It works by pulling water into your bowels, so you need to keep drinking in order to stay hydrated. My surgery is tomorrow, and the last thing I want is to go in with dehydration issues--makes getting an IV much more difficult, and getting fluids in post-op is challenging enough without starting at a deficit! I'm about 2.5 hours into the process, and although it's been no day at the beach, I'm not uncomfortable or in pain. Not sure how much longer to expect it to last, but I'm in for the duration. Good luck!

I'm being sleeved tomorrow, and I wish you a completely successful stent removal and a speedy recovery!! *hugs*

I can second the Ninja vote--I love mine! The version I got comes from Bed, Bath and Beyond. It has the same wattage as the one they hype in their infomercials (1500 watts) and it powers through anything I put into it.

We have liftoff. At least...the beginnings of liftoff. But hooray, progress! (I'll spare you the gory details and simply say it definitely works!)

Sigh--my system must be slow. Or it's trying to work its way past the bagel I ate for lunch as a farewell to the carb monster. *taps fingers impatiently*

Flintstones Complete are one of the recommended Vitamins on my nutritionist's list. They contain the exact %-ages of each vitamin/mineral that she listed. Bypass patients are told to take 2 of them per day; sleevers only need 1 tablet daily. They're far less expensive than some of the bariatric-specific vitamins, too! My nutritionist said to wait 4 wks to start the Vitamin regime back up post-op. Yep, you're right--calcium citrate needs to be taken 2 hours apart from the multivitamin (because the Iron in the multi will stop you from absorbing enough calcium). B12 sublingual can be taken anytime. Editing to add: the calcium citrate I take is from Celebrate. It's $20/month, three tablets per day--spaced away from the multivitamin as well as spaced out from each other, because your body can only absorb around 500-600mg of calcium at a time. So--multivitamin and B12 first thing in the a.m.; 1st calcium 2 hours later; 2nd and 3rd calciums at two hour intervals after that. (Keeping in mind that your specific calcium/vitamin D/vitamin B12 doses may vary per your nutritionist/surgeon's orders.)

It's been an hour, no progress yet--but I will keep the faith! I do have a second bottle on hand but I don't think I'll resort to that unless midnight comes with no results!

Thanks!! I've heard a gurgle or two from the belly region, but nothing to write home about yet. I'll keep my fingers crossed--it DOES always work, right? *bites nails*

Tomorrow--arrival time 10:00 a.m.! Bag packed (weighs enough to have supplies for a small army), all home supplies/supplements/protein/foods purchased and stocked. Now, if this dang magnesium citrate would get things..."moving along". Sigh. Editing to add: I am SO READY for this. I want this more than I want all the sweet, gooey Desserts and greasy, fried crapfood I could eat in the next 20 years without surgery! EYE OF THE TIGER, BABY! EYE OF THE TIGER!

I'm SO with you on that. My surgeon's NP told me that if I'm really anxious at check-in tomorrow, they will offer me a sedative. I think I'll take it! Heck, maybe they can bring it out to the parking lot and dose me as soon as I roll up!!

I'm coming up on 24 hours till my arrival time at the hospital. Commence freak-out in 3...2... (Okay, maybe "freak-out" isn't the right word...but I'm feeling high-strung for sure, LOL!)

Urgh--"rate my pic" reeks of middle school Facebook posts.

EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORYYYYYYY ...is one of my favorite things to watch on YouTube, apart from TobyGames. I blame my two teenagers.

I believe I was told that most leaks (key word: most) are discovered within the first two weeks.

Vitamin B12 saved me from climbing the walls when I gave up caffeine. 1500 micrograms of sublingual B12, and I never had a single headache or jittery moment. I quit all caffeine cold turkey--easiest detox ever!

Messaged you back--tag, you're it!

Good--that's encouraging to know! On that note, I think I can take a deep breath and just let the chips fall where they may.

Thanks, Palmtree. It sounds like you had a good experience at Tobey--it sure helps to hear that!

Kristina, I'm so sorry that you got caught in the crossfire during this whole thing.

I surely will--I'll have my phone and hopefully a laptop computer available by the time I get to my room. I'll try to post as soon as I feel up to it!

I'm as nervous as a short nun at a penguin shoot. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. Plus it might give you something to smile at when your nerves flare up!)