jjinWA

I am 60 and doing well as far as the recovery process goes. I read about all the weight loss numbers on this site and wonder why am I going so slow. But I have reconciled myself to the fact that this may be just what is right for me. After all, I AM 60. I am not going to lose as fast as someone half my age. I do take thyroid medicine, and that may be a hindering factor. I am down below 190#s now so I will not likely see big results each week as someone who may weigh more then that. I am active enough (walking about 22,000 steps most days) but maybe not as active as others. So it is important to keep this all in perspective and keep a positive attitude on all of this as you go through YOUR journey. Love yourself for how special you are and keep the faith. We will all get there if we continue to follow the program..... Just at our own pace. :-)

I certainly agree with your thoughts regarding Omar and applaud all of those that choose to speak out on this thread because it is such a serious accusation. Others should be able to voice their opinions and serious debate can be had here. BUT to disregard a poster's comments on any of these threads by saying we are simply newbies and therefore not worthy of comment is what I find offensive.... Not your comments regarding Omar. You have a right to express your opinions in reference to him. As do others. I am not slamming you, just stating that I took offense to your reference that I only joined in April. I also am a grandmother, and in my sixties, etc etc. which has no bearing here.

I am very sorry for all the victims who fell under Omar's spell. Yes, they are all adults and their is some culpability here for all parties involved. But with that said, no one should be made fun of when they have been maybe a bit vulnerable and have been taken advantage of. I understand that many might see this post as inappropriate, but I wish to think the poster meant no direct disrespect to these ladies, but instead was trying to shed light on the character of Omar in a more light hearted manner. Omar is a bad act, so much so that my daughter and I cancelled her surgery with Dr. Illan, which was scheduled for July 22 because of the negative light that has been shown on Omar via this thread. I hope others have followed through with cancellations and have selected other surgeons because of Omar's actions. Maybe that is the only way you will get Dr Illan's attention.... Through his pocketbook. Linda, even though I am not a veteran on this site, having only joined last April ( not sure how many posts I have in my count, but I am sure you will look it up), I would only ask that you allow all opinions to have value on this site regardless of when they joined. Surely you are not so arrogant to think that only the 'veterans' have any real value here. Or is it they only have value if they agree with you. We all value the advice, feedback, etc that the veterans share with us, but your continued slam to those who are considered newbies in your eyes is inappropriate. Lori may have joined yesterday for all that matters, but her opinion and others who are new should not be downgraded simply because they are not worthy of the 'veteran' status. You slammed me in another thread because it was of an opinion different then yours and quickly informed me that my comment was of no worth because I joined in April. I take no personal offense when others do not agree with my opinions, but I do take it personal when you downgrade me simply because I am a newbie. I am sure you will have a sweeping negative response to this because that is what you and a few of your cronies do, and I will weather those negative hits just as I did in the other thread you slammed me on, (sigh) and as before, I will continue on reading and responding at will to all the fabulous discussions held on this forum. Your opinion is not necessarily the ultimate answer, though valuable I think it may be. :-). Bariatric pal is an awesome site and holds a great deal of information for all of us, because of the opinions that are shared by ALL, not just the Oldtimers. In the future, please feel free to disagree with posters, especially on threads so important as this one. Just do it without personally slamming the newbie. That is when it gets offensive. At least it was for me.

I was told a long time ago that every good employee has been fired/laid off at one time or other in their life. It is very hard to know that despite your own good work ethics, etc that some pig of a boss has the right to just up and let you go at a will. But unfortunately that is exactly what they can do. I worked for a company for 13 years and along comes a new supervisor that decided he wanted his 'own' team and so just 'eliminated my position.' How convenient. He could not fire me because I had received "exceeds" in all 13 years of job performance evaluations. At the age of 60 I knew finding a new job would be hard. So, I looked at all of this differently and decided that losing my job and taking early retirement was actually a blessing in disguise. The stress and very long hours and never ending travel was definitely not providing quality of life. So now, 1 year after the layoff, I am a new and happier person! I know you may not be able to follow my same path due to age and financial status, but you can take this time (while on unemployment comp) to evaluate your own quality of life and let your own job dismissal be more of an opportunity to look for something better for you. Guess you could call it looking for the silver lining in something that otherwise would be a negative experience. As another poster mentioned, internally thank that pig of a boss for opening your horizons and to enable you to look for something better!

Sandstress, your thoughts are as valid here in this forum as any veteran. We are all in different stages of this journey and our emotions can be as different as well. I was told that since I have only been on this site since April that I basically didn't know jack. Well that may be true! Ha, but again all perspectives of a topic should be allowed to be heard and even if not everyone agrees with yours, it does not mean you have to hold back on your comments. I agree with others that have said here... As long as it is not mean spirited, hateful, and hurtful, you should be able to speak your mind.

I totally agree. Solid foods already? Tooooo soon. Go back to (at minimum puréed stage) and see if that helps. I also had severe dehydration when I was 3 weeks post op. I had NO energy. Had to go to ER for bag of fluid. Now I know I must drink my water! Also check your B12. I get B12 shots now because I was very low. Made a world of difference. Your doctor should be able to help you identify the cause.

What doctors are you all scheduled with?

If you are interested in a meet up respond here with dates and times that are best for you. We can then select the date and time that works best for everyone interested in meeting. I am fine with driving up to Seattle area. West Seattle has great restaurants that are bariatric friendly. I just went to a pizza place that let's you order 1 meatball in marinara sauce for only$2. Ha. It was delicious! I will meet whenever it is most convenient for everyone else. I am traveling in Sept though so a meetup in Oct would be better for me.

Love love love my fitbit one. I also wear it on my bra. I started tracking before my surgery. Was getting in around 2,000 steps each day. Now, 2 months after my surgery, and down about 35 lbs, I am getting in on ave 22,000 steps each day! Such a motivator. My aria scale syncs with the fitbit app and so I can track my weight loss also and it shows the numbers on the fitbit dashboard. I also track my food via my fitness pal. Wonderful tools to rack my life!

Yup, OCC sounds like the preferable option.. I am going to check in with them today.

I will contact OCC and see if I can get things rolling! Thanks for the feedback! Very helpful.

Have tried to follow the numerous threads in reference to these two drs. I believe both are good candidates for my daughter's sleeve surgery. I am a bit confused and cannot seem to make the decision between the two. If you went with either of these drs can you tell me why you chose your dr? Can you describe the experience while you were in Mexico? Did you feel your surgery was what you expected and are you happy with the post op results? Did you choose the dr because of price? What was the final cost... Were there any hidden expenses. Was the hospital quality experiance? How many days in the hospital? How many days in the hotel? Coordinator helpful through out your entire stay. Honestly we had chosen dr Illan, but with the very negative comments regarding Omar, we cancelled our July 22 surgery date and are back to square one! Your feedback will help us make our choice.

There are two drs with this last name. Why did you pick this dr. Better hospital? Better credentials? Less money?

I Know we are supposed to eat slow, chew our food well and never drink while eating our meals. But I struggle with all of this daily! I wonder if I ned to sit down to the dinner table with my newspaper and read an article between each bite. Ha. Anyone with helpful suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks Alex. Now if you could help guide me to change me password to my own. I should be good to go!

Alex, I have had the same issue. My password no longer works. I did request to send me notice to set up new password, via the link you noted here. No luck, I have not received an email. So finally set up a new account. I would love to get access to my old username though. Can you assist? My old user name is jjinWA. Thanks.

Have your blood work done and include B12 levels. Mine indicated my level was 186! Very very low. PCP prescribed B12 injections... First four weekly and then Monthly for a total of 6 months. Now after a little over 2 months I have over 16,000 steps each day. Made a world of difference.

I had my surgery in US. All went fairly well, despite a serious bout with dehydration that sent me to the ER. I have had one followup with the surgeon... Well actually his NP. Guess he was too busy to see me. I am almost 3 months out. I hear good things about the surgeons in Mexico based on comments on this site. It seems they hear more from their surgeons across the miles then I do from my own surgeon who lives across town!

Ha! I wonder if he actually eats the bites on Master Chef or if he spits it out (off camera). He looks great!

I attend two support groups. One in federal way and the other in Lakewood. Both are great as a structured meeting. The NUT in both support groups lead the meetings and 1/2 hr is dedicated to some sort of presentation or a speaker. Second 1/2 hr is open for questions from the group. This is a good format to learn about the WLS program. That is not what I was looking for in this new group that we have discussed here. I am more interested in an informal meetup with people who have went through or will be going through WLS. Meeting and making friends with those of us that have common experiences while going through our journeys would be nice. I personally have not shared that I have had the surgery so I get strange looks when I eat 2 oz of food when we go out to dinner. This group would relate to the fact that food is no longer priority in our lives. I don't even care if we don't talk WLS at all when we get together. Instead just make friends and enjoy the company of those that know what we are going through.

I found the support group website. Says no threads that I have permission to view?

Perfect!

My daughter lives in west Seattle so I get up in the north Seattle area often. If we have a lot on the southern area we could try for a central point like south center mall. That is adjacent to the airport area and right on I-5.

I do not participate in FB. But would be happy to keep an active thread here on this site.