Miss Mac

Thanks to my surgery date 12/23/2013, I was able to avoid the family Christmas food fest this year. I bought my presents online and had them shipped to people's addresses early. My daughters moved their celebrating to other in-laws. I was discharged Christmas morning, so the house was pretty quite....just me and my gentleman and my full liquids and my meds. Very peaceful.

I was discharged from the hospital today, with my new sleeve, whom I have named Bossy Bess. My surgery was Monday morning 12/23/2013, and I must tell you all.....no problem with C 0 2. My surgeon had said at my final appointment that he tries to remove as much as possible. The hardest part for me was getting off and on that inflated Bariatric mattress. Glad to be home.

To make my vanilla shakes egg-noggy, I have been adding vanilla, a little sweetener and a sprinkle of nutmeg. I did not miss the egg, but the nog is pretty good.

Well, I have been on this site since my PCP referred me to the Bariatric Clinic at Loyola University in August. My day has FINALLY come. I have to be at surgery intake at 5:30 in the morning 12/23/2013. I am the first surgery of the day. Doctor said I will probably be discharged on Tuesday evening or Christmas morning. My insurance - BCBS Federal generously pre-approved up to five days! Hopefully, I won't need them. So far on the pre-op diet and 7 days of liquid diet, I have lost 27 pounds. I can't wait for this time next year to see how different my health and life will be. Happy holidays to all of you......see you on the other side. So, cover me...I'm going in.

Weight Loss Surgery Cookbook for Dummies. Written by in collaboration with Chef David Fouts, who is a WLS patient himself. The book is about eating well after WLS. It shows how to plan, shop for, and cook delicious foods at all four stages of the post surgery diet. The book is designed to meet the needs of WLS patients and has plenty of recipes for every level. I bought it used from Amazon.com.

My surgery is in the morning. Upon discharge I can start mostly full liquids and some puree. Week two, I can switch it and have more puree.

Maybe it's just the caffeine. Could you have decaf??????

Don't know if it is going to help with the floppity flopperies, but my surgery is 12/23 next Monday, and for the last three months I have been exfoliating every other time in the shower, with exfoliating gloves. The I rub sweet almond oil or a collagen moisturizing lotion all over the place. Only time will tell, but I must say, my skin is softer than it has ever been, and I am 62 years old!

So, I guess I will go into my Frankenstein laboratory and see if I can create a prune juice smoothie:)

I agree with the others on this forum. My sleeve is coming Monday 12/23, and I am well aware now (thanks to all of these posts) that WLS changes relationships as well as bodies, feelings, habits and brains. My guess is that once your friend has her surgery, she will be coming to you for gracious support and feedback since you are on this journey ahead of her. If she is truly a keeper. she will come around.

My surgeon said the same thing. If mine is small enough, they won't bother with it because it won't be necessary. Surgery is 12/23/2013.

Good for you! It wouldn't hurt to get a head start by making one dietary change......to eat 60 + grams of Protein a day......eat protein at every meal......eat your protein item first. I think that is where we all started, even though our other program requirements varied. The time will pass quicker than you think. Just think of where you will be a year from January. "Whatever you can do, or dream you can.....begin it! For boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." Wolfgang Von Goethe

My papers were submitted on 11/21. I called BCBS on the 23rd and was told I had approval. I called the doctor's office that next Monday (before Thanksgiving) and was told that the certification specialist was on vacation all week, and she would be the one to call me to tell me the approval was in. I faxed a copy of a letter I got from BCBS approving up to 5 days for my hospital stay at Loyola. With that info, the surgeon's nurse went ahead and confirmed my date (next Monday 12/23 yeah!). It was still midweek after Thanksgiving and I had not heard from the cert. specialist....so I called. She confirmed that I was approved, but had no explanation for her delay. This is not the first time I have heard of BCBS Federal doing their part, and then you get the delay from a paperwork pusher at the doctor's office. Be proactive. Just a note...BCBS Federal is the best paying insurance I have ever had...ever...and I am retired.

I just had my final surgeon's visit yesterday, with a surgery date of 12/23. He told me to have someone hide the scale when I leave for the hospital and not let me have it for at least a week after I come home. He said I will gain at least ten pounds from IV fluids and to not get on the scale for at least a week, and then to only weigh myself once a week after that. He also said that I should not necessarily expect that dreaded 3rd week stall, and that if I keep my protein to about 80 grams a day, the hair loss should at least be minimized.

Delay is not denial. If you don't get the stones out now, you will have to get them out later with surgery. I had my gallbladder out in 1973 (I was 21 years old) after it burst and set gallstones all through by abdominal cavity. The surgeon said he "had to go fishing" for them. And that was back when they cut you half in two. Sometimes gallbladder surgery follows weight loss surgery anyway. Looks like if it's not now, it will be later. Passing a gallstone is like being stabbed under the shoulder blade with a butcher knife that is being twisted around. All I am saying is that if you can get the stones treated now, under your terms, that is better that suffering worse later. Good luck on your road to healthy. Your sleeve date will come....it will eventually come. When it comes to our health, we have to triage and take care of the most pressing issues first. And as for your hubby, bless him, it's not his body, his pain, or his decision.

I agree....My surgery is 12/23, and I had to do a 3 month nutrition program which extended into four, waiting for the actual date. I was required to log onto myfitnesspal.com and record my eating every day. The nutritionist had me on 1100 calories and 60 grams of protein...eating protein first at every meal. Small bites, eat slow, pace drinking beverages, no caffeine, no carbonated.....so these four months have helped me prepare for my new life. I don't feel overwhelmed by having to make a lot of changes, because I made them. Now we just get down to the real thing - only a week away. Good luck to you.

BatBat, The time will pass. Just think of where you will be in a year if you don't get the surgery, and where you will be if you do. I started my program on July 7, 2013 and guess what? I started my liquid diet today and will have my sleeve on December 23rd. I am so excited. It took forever, but my turn has finally come. You hang in there and do what you have to do to get healthy. Good luck!

Yeah, I agree that it may not have anything to do with your sleeve, and I have learned to not minimize any medical issue. I heard an FBI agent say one time, "Not all that much is coincidence!"

I hope not. I just bought a 16 pound box of sugar free lollipops.

I last posted on this thread on Sept. 6. As it turns out, my date is December 23 also. As a reminder, that is Lake Tahoe in my picture. I was in the area on a business trip in 2009. Good luck with your surgery....I will be thinking of you as they give my happy relaxer shot before they wheel me in.

Miss Mac's hooker name would be BUFFY HENDRICKS. Sounds like I missed my calling!

My surgery will be 12/23, so my liquid diet is coming at me quickly. I thought I might apologize to my dear heart of a boyfriend ahead of time on the first day, for the large possibility that I am going to be cranky and weepy. In the seven years we have been together, he has never once asked me to change anything about myself. He is very tall and "healthy thin", and I am short and round. We look like a pencil and an apple standing together. This upcoming surgery was not his idea, but he has been supportive from the start. I can't bear the thought of being cross with him; he doesn't deserve it. So, I think with fair warning, he can help me through the tears and anxiety. I am soooooo ready to do this.

Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. I am hoping some of my fat ends up in Hollywood, California

Right now I can choose the Protein I want, but the week prior to my date of 12/23 I can only have 1) 4 1/2 bottles of Boost Glucose Controlled daily, OR 2) 4 1/2 cans of Slim Fast High Protein daily, OR 3) 5 1/2 packets Carnation Instant Breakfast No Sugar Added with 1% milk, OR 4) 5 individual cartons of Atkins Advantage. I was told that what calories there are, I need. They don't want me to go without some calories and nutrients every day. Then after my surgery, I can choose my own protein again.

For those of you who have never had any kind of surgery, maybe I can put your mind at ease on the pre-op stuff. My sleeve is scheduled for 12/23/2013, coming home on Christmas day, and I have had 12 other surgeries. Here is what happened every time: After you get into a surgical gown, you are taken to a pre-op prep area where they check your ID one more time, sign final consent papers, and help you relax from the jitters before you go in for surgery. That may be a shot or a pill, or even meds inserted in your IV. The IV is not so bad if your tech is skilled and your veins are obvious. If you are right handed, ask for it in your left hand or arm so that you can use your dominate hand freely. When they tell you that you are going to feel a little prick, you can tell them that Miss Mac's ex was a little prick So, once the IV is in and secured and you are calming down, you can say toodle-loo to your support person. You will see them again in a couple of hours. Your doctor and your anesthesiologist should stop by to say they will see you shortly in the O.R. and answer any final questions you may have. You get wheeled into surgery and transferred to the operating table, where they check your ID again and verify that they have the right patient for the right surgery. You will get an oxygen mask or one of those little thingies that just sits a tad little bit in your nostrils. The anesthesiologist will probably ask you to count backward from 100. 100....99....98....wake up...wake up....your surgery is over...you did just fine. So, you have taken a nap and received a new lease on life. Ta da! There you are in the recovery room, coming back around. In this case, it will be your new birthday. So, Happy Birthday. I wish you happiness and health as you become the newer improved you. No point in worrying. It doesn't get you anywhere. I am sure you want this surgery like a kid wants Christmas. So, go into it hoping for the best. Take care.