Vixynne

Hi, Kimberly! I'm in Massachusetts, too--down south in New Bedford. I'll be having my surgery on July 1st. Welcome to the forums; you have made so much progress already, I know you're going to be a successful sleever!

I would say to drink every ounce that you can--being fully hydrated is so important!

So far, I've told both my moms about my surgery. I was adopted as a baby, and from the age of 21 on, I've been blessed to have my biological mom's loving presence in my life, in addition to the rock-solid love of my adoptive mom. I was worried that they wouldn't agree with my decision, especially my bio-mom--she's a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, probiotic, unprocessed sugars, whole-wheat flour, herbal supplement, alternative medicine-cured-her-Stage-IV-cancer kind of lady. I kind of thought the idea of removing 2/3 of my stomach wouldn't go over well with her. Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit--they BOTH support my choice 100%! I'm so happy and surprised! This just proves that the women in my life are beyond amazing. :wub:

Paging Dr. Kruger...

Crying "but there's not any wolf" after you've showed us his footprints, and handed out a fur sample is far more irresponsible than crying wolf when there isn't any. You might be lying out of fear, or lying out of guilt--but you're helping the wrong person. Worse yet, you're setting a dangerous precedent for other women who might also be victimized, and then won't be believed because of the quick 180 you've done for whatever reason. For pity's sake, be honest with those of us who stuck out our necks to support you.

I got the Ninja Max set from Bed, Bath & Beyond (with a 20% coupon it wasn't too awful pricewise)--and I love it! Definitely worth the buying price.

Whew--this is only about GUM, not cannibalism! I feel MUCH better. I hope everything about the gum you swallowed, ummmm, "comes out okay".

If this is what's going on, it's SHAMEFUL. No woman who steps forward should ever be pressured, coerced, threatened or "persuaded" to change her story.

Blindsided-- As a woman who's dealt with sexual abuse, it sounds to me like you're now throwing yourself under the bus to protect someone because you either feel sorry for him possibly having to deal with the (totally justified) repercussions of his actions, or because you are afraid he might somehow lash out at you, or because you have some kind of residual feelings for him. Don't back down if what you said was the truth. Don't protect someone who is targeting your fellow females. Don't make yourself a target by taking the heat because you're afraid he has more to lose than you do. Don't cheapen future claims by other women; they will face "Oh we've been down THIS road before, you're just a troll, we got lied to once, we ain't believing it again" instead of getting support. Please. If you were truthful at the outset, don't claim to be a liar now. It's too important.

I meant to say this earlier, Rosehip--don't feel embarrassed for crying! This is an emotional process with a LOT of ups and downs. Hope you're feeling better.

I'm so sorry this happened to you, Blindsided. You went in with your eyes as widely-opened as could be expected, under the circumstances. You didn't know that you were being played; you found out too late, and want to keep other women safe from a predatory doctor. Consensual sex between a doctor and a patient in his care is JUST AS WRONG as consensual sex between a high school teacher and a student of the age of consent in his or her classes. It's an abuse of authority, and any professional worth the ink on their diploma would never, ever cross that line--not for love, money, hormones or any combination of the three. I see nothing, absolutely NOTHING wrong with what you are doing by speaking out. You haven't tried to make excuses for any poor judgements you made, and you're not calling for a mob with pitchforks and torches. I applaud your backbone and your forthrightness. The wolf will soon be de-fanged because you spoke out to protect others!

If eating ONE taco made our livers swollen, we'd all be walking around with livers the size of a tractor-trailer! Don't beat yourself up; I don't even have a pre-op diet and my surgery is on Monday. You bet yer bippy I've been having little treats here and there. On Monday I had a slice of pizza (as opposed to eating the whole thing) and today I had a medium cup of coffee with cream and flavor-syrup (instead of an extra large with extra everything). You're going to do great, just climb back up on the discipline horse. Okay, that sounded weird...you know what I mean, LOL!

Just started one...all anyone needs to do is drop me a PM with your email address, and I'll get the invite sent to you!

She is wrong; flat-out, pig-headed wrong, to say the changes in you are the reason she strayed. You made positive changes for your health, your energy level, your confidence, your appearance, with her in mind. You sacrificed and risked so much in a major surgery and fought your way to a lower weight day in and day out; and you did all of this with her in mind. Her infidelity didn't happen because YOU changed. It's because of flaws in HER, not in you. For whatever reason, she couldn't accept the new version of you, even though on the inside--the part of you that should connect with a soulmate--that inside never changed a bit. I know you're hurting right now, and words can't fix that. Only time can. But trust that the flaws in her that led her to stray from your relationship would have come out for one reason or another, whether you were sleeved or not. If you hadn't had the surgery, she might have cheated because one of you aren't on the "right" career track, or over financial strains, from a mid-life crisis, or simply because she just got bored! It hurts to invest so much time in someone who isn't giving you anything back. However, ten years is better than 30, or 40. As Maya Angelou says, "when someone shows you who they are--believe them." What your gf showed you isn't who you thought she was, who you saw her as, who you dreamed of being with--but it's who she is, and THAT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. You will find that person who is the perfect fit for you, who will Celebrate everything about you at ANY weight. Meanwhile, give yourself the time you need to heal your heart and learn to trust enough again to find Ms. Better Than This One by A Country Mile--she's out there! (P.S. When you find her, send Ms. Doesn't Deserve You a lovely thank-you card for getting out of the way and letting your find your true happiness!)

Hiya Serendipity--just wanted to say, based on your ticker, you're not a slow loser at all! At 107 days out from surgery, with 104 lbs. lost?! That's just about a pound per day! That's fantastic!!

Ooooo, you got moved up earlier! Congrats!! *kermitflail* "Johnny" is what I've always called a hospital gown...I actually went to Google it to find out why it's called that, and it seems to be a nickname connected to the fact that an open-backed gown lets patients use the "john" (or toilet) more easily. Cool, I learned something today!

I hope to be awake, alert, and online by Monday evening, too--when I'm not doing the "walk, walk, walk" routine!

Thanks, Starr! I'm NERVOUS but I know I'm making the right choice. Just trying to prepare, pack and stay as calm as possible, LOL. My arrival time is 10 a.m. at Tobey!

Just curious--did lactose bother you pre-op too, or is that a new thing since being sleeved? I'm hoping that all my whey-based protein powders won't go to waste after surgery, LOL.

I was walking around a couple of hours after my last C-section, so if the pain is less, I think I'll be able to handle it, although I *am* 13 years older now, so we'll see! Thank you for the info--it's good to have something to compare the pain level to!

Here's the visual--and yeah, I could totally run around my house doing this for the next couple of days!! It's hard to prepare for every possibility--I tend to get chilly in the hospital, since the A/C will probably be on "jet engine speed" this time of year. I'll be the patient who asks for extra blankets and wears double layered socks, LOL! I packed a hugely oversized nightshirt for comfortable walking--hopefully they'll let me get out of the johnny, I hate them. I keep wondering if I need real slippers as opposed to fuzzy socks. Funny how easy it is to get hung up on the tiny details!

::disclaimer:: I'm no doctor, but to me, as long as you are still taking small sips rather than trying to chug or gulp with the straw, I don't see how you would swallow more air than a regular swallow without the straw. I don't remember the thread atm (my brane is Swiss cheesed from trying to prep for surgery on Monday) but there was a post about how you swallow much less air--straw or no straw--if you breathe out through your nose before you swallow the liquid. Hold the sip in your mouth, breathe out through your nose, then swallow. You'll notice the sound of the liquid going down your throat is much quieter--less air! I've tried it out pre-op and it works; I'm guessing it will still work if you do the breathe-out maneuver with a straw. That being said--ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR DOC'S PRESCRIBED RULES.

Eeeeeeep! The hospital just called; my arrival time is ten a.m. on Monday! Surgery is probably sometime around noonish...my kermitflail'ing just kicked into an even higher gear!!

Always follow your bariatric team's directions--if you shop around the forums, you'll find that there's as many versions of "the right thing to do/the wrong thing to do" as there are surgeons. My NUT hasn't said anything one way or the other about these drinks, but I find I actually enjoy my Protein powder shakes, and it fits all the qualifications she set for me. And as LDallas said, a tub of Protein Powder is less expensive, just as convenient, and has more protein. All I need is a blender-bottle and either Water or almond milk and I'm good to go. Do whatever your surgeon recommends--when in doubt, that's the best source to go to!

I'm being sleeved on July 1st. Eeeeek, only a couple days to go! My surgeon is Dr. Ray Kruger (not Freddie Kruger) at Tobey Hospital in Massachusetts. I am a jumpy bundle of excitement and nerves!