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Congratulations! Your life will be kind of like that of the Phoenix. You will rise after that date to live a longer, happier and healthier life and be able to do the things you couldn't do and enjoy more NSVs than you can shake a stick at.

Congratulations on all of your hard work. Great post. It was never "the easy way out", the easy way out is to do nothing, stay obese and die an earlier and unhealthier life. Enjoy your new life, you earned it!

I think we pissed ASUgrad off and they do not want to play with us now.

I don't think her husband and her want anyone watching.

I love it when people post their issues, other people don't give them the validation then want and they erase it. JEEEZUS. Well, at least she wrote "Good Morning". That's better when people erase everything except for a period (.). (We all know how a period ruins a good time. )

They aren't picking on you, they have a business they are trying to run. Don't sweat the small stuff. Luckily they don't impose fees for canceled appointments. Let's flip the tables, operating table that is, imagine if you were prepped for surgery are under anesthesia and your surgeon "forgot" to show up to perform the surgery.

"Burps and Bubbles and Gurgles Oh My!" Well, it could have been worse, you could have had flying monkeys coming out of your a$$.

Worrying about how much more beautiful you are going to look and how you will need to fight the men off with a stick after the surgery must be pretty overwhelming. Congratulations. Everything is going to go well.

Great article, thanks for sharing it. That was some food for thought (pun intended). Here's the reason I am overweight.

You can still go out and have fun. You can eat the same foods as you did before, just less frequently for certain ones and for all, in smaller portions. Any day you are on the green side of the grass is going to be a lot more fun than the other choice. You can't order any "super-size" meals on the dirt side. Look forward to all you will be able to do, the endless NSVs that will happen and your new happier, healthier and longer life you will have post bariatric surgery.

How did you type that with only flippers and no fingers? That proves that dolphins are extremely intelligent! Arthur Dent typed it for me. Humans are good for some thing like that. LOL. Alex Trebek: "Correct. We also would have accepted "Ford Perfect"".

How did you type that with only flippers and no fingers? That proves that dolphins are extremely intelligent!

Simple, but great nutritional advice. I know I feel healthier when I eat less processed foods. Hmmm, "the closer to what comes out of the ground..." I wonder if I that would apply if I buried a package of "Twinkies" and dug it up afterwards?

I would recommend measuring it and journaling your entries. Nibbling can lead to a lot of extra calories if you aren't careful. Use a digital scale or measuring cups. If you have 1oz of a 2oz portion or 1/4 cup of a 1/2 cup serving, then divide the nutrition in 1/2 (6g of Protein & 140 calories for a 2oz portion will be 3g of protein & 70 calories for a 1oz portion). Maybe put the servings divided equally in little zip-lock snack bags or write on the container what a (tablespoon, 1oz, 1/4 cup, etc) is once you calculate it. I know you can do it. Keep up the great work.

Living a longer, happier and healthier life. (Also tonight's Patriots/Colts game).

Both surgeries are very effective. VSG hasn't been around as long as the Roux-En-Y (bypass) procedure, but the statistics show that the long term results are very similar. Out of fairness the bypass has a faster initial weight loss, a slightly better long term weight loss (2 yrs +) and slightly better long term comorbidities improvement, but it also has slightly higher risks involved during and post surgery. You need to read as much as you can about the procedures and work closely with your surgeon to see which procedure is the best choice for you based upon your medical history. Go to websites of gastric weight loss surgery centers of excellence and teaching hospitals, JAMA, ASMBS, attending a a surgical weight loss information meeting at your local hospital and a couple of support group meetings to help you with your decision. Congratulations on whichever choice you make.

ASUgrad, you wrote: Thank you! Yes, there's a good handful of "veterans" on here that like to nitpick and point their fingers at "newbies" (as someone just called me). I'm in several Facebook groups where people admit to being afraid of asking questions like I'm asking for fear of these jerks doing what they're doing to me. Shame on you. I've also asked Alex to delete this thread multiple times because the assholes in this group have made such a mockery of it. Read back and look at the idiotic responses, quite embarrassing. I love the irony of how you call some people "assholes" & "jerks"; their responses "idiotic" and "quite embarrassing" and in the same post write "people admit to being afraid of asking questions like I'm asking for fear of these jerks doing what they're doing to me. Shame on you." I am one of those people who made posts that you may call a mockery, but it was never attended at you. I was having fun and hopefully gave some people a chuckle, which we can all use now and then. My original reply that I posted yesterday, 10/17 at 8:01AM, was very lengthy and hopefully offered some information regarding bougies, their sizes, what affects the overall size (surgeon's techniques), etc. I even provided you a chart I created which converts the standard bougie French sizes to mm and inches. As of this writing, you never even gave it a "Like This", which is ok, but that is still better than you calling everyone who deviated from your original post an "a*****e" -actually, I would rather think of us as "Bohemians". If you want an answer to your question, I would just simply reply "42" (not the bougie size, but a reference to a Douglas Adams' book, "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy".

Getting pissed off? There is an old Chinese saying I once read: "It is better to be pissed off than pissed on". -worse damn fortune I ever found in a cookie.

Congratulations on your hard work. You are very inspirational. I was glad to see you were smiling before you lost the weight too.

I hope we are still talking bougies here. It's not the size of the wave, it's the motion of the ocean! That explains why it smelled like low tide from a woman I was once with. (Sorry, I digressed. It is due to a recessive gene that is tied to us "Y" chromosome carriers). And by recessive gene, I mean the one that makes us "Y" chromosome carriers: Think about sex all the time. Want to watch and laugh at The 3 Stooges films. Think about sex all the time. Go to monster truck shows. Think about sex all the time. Light farts on fire. Think about sex all the time. Hoot and holler when something blows up in a movie. Think about sex all the time. Yell at the sports referees on television when they miss a call. Think about sex all the time. etc.

I hope we are still talking bougies here. It's not the size of the wave, it's the motion of the ocean! That explains why it smelled like low tide from a woman I was once with. (Sorry, I digressed. It is due to a recessive gene that is tied to us "Y" chromosome carriers).

I hope we are still talking bougies here.

That looks like an ideal size. Mine was almost as big as a "whosy-whatsy" but not quite as big as a "thing-a-ma-jig".

Ok, you're right. The bougie is going to be bigger than a pencil, but smaller than a breadbox.

Here is an article on the subject, hope this helps: Sleeve Gastrectomy – Does Size Matter? by Kimberly Taylor on August 21, 2013 · Comments | Weight Loss Surgery The gastric sleeve procedure has quickly become one of the most common types of weight loss surgery, jumping from obscurity to importance in only a few years. Despite it’s newfound popularity among patients and surgeons, there are many technical aspects of the procedure including bougie size that remain controversial. What is a Bougie? The bougie (prounounced BOO-zhee) is a measuring tool in the form of a long, thin, flexible tube. The surgeon uses it as a guide when dividing the stomach. During surgery, the bougie is put into the mouth and pushed down through the esophagus and stomach to the pylorus. The tube creates a bulge inside the stomach that the surgeon uses to guide the stapler when dividing the stomach. After the sleeve is formed, the bougie is removed from the body. Bougies comes in a range of sizes that are identified by a unit of measurement called a French. 1 French is equal to 0.333mm (1/3 mm) and is abbreviated as F, Fr or FR. For reference, a 40F bougie measures about 1/2 inch (40F x 0.333mm = 13.32mm, converted to inches is 1/2″). Standard bougie sizes in the United States range from 32-50F. The bougie size is not the same as stomach size, although it does influence the size of the sleeve. Generally, the smaller the bougie, the smaller the new stomach size, but the same size bougie does not always create the same size stomach. The finished sleeve size is determined by how close the stapler gets to the guide and whether the surgeon oversews the staple line and if so, by how much. While the gastric sleeve is now widely accepted as a primary bariatric procedure, there is not yet unanimous agreement on an ideal bougie size. The decision is trying to find the size that will provide the safest results with the most amount of weight loss. With a smaller bougie size, the smaller the sleeve and greater the restriction, but greater the risk of leak and stricture rate. A stricture is an excessively narrow section that develops when scar tissue grows and interferes with the normal movement of food and liquids into the stomach. It can cause upper abdominal pain after eating and chronic vomiting or regurgitation of undigested food. Symptoms usually start in the first 6 weeks after surgery. Strictures are very uncommon, but surgery is required to remedy the situation. If a larger bougie size is used, the sleeve will be larger and the operation safer, but the concern is that it may not produce enough weight loss. 2008 Study A study in 2008 found that a bougie size of 40F compared with 60F did not result in significantly greater weight loss in the short term. Comparing 40F versus 60F: At 6 months, the excess weight loss was 38.8% versus 40.6%. At 12 months, the excess weight loss was 51.9% versus 45.4%. (Study: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: does bougie size affect mean %EWL? Short-term outcomes. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2008 Jul-Aug;4(4):528-33. doi: 10.1016/j.soard.2008.03.245.) 2013 Study In a 2013 study, researchers wanted to find out if there is an ideal bougie size. To do this, they did a search of medical literature published in the last 5 years and analyzed 32 publications involving 4,999 patients. What they found: The use of bougies 40F and larger had a leak rate of 0.92% and excess weight loss of 69.2%. The use of bougies smaller than 40F had a leak rate of 2.67% and excess weight loss of 60.7%. The results show that larger sizing bougies had a lower incidence of leaks with no change in weight loss. The researchers call for further studies before a decision is made on optimal bougies size, but recommend caution in using the smallest bougie possible because the risks may outweigh the benefits. (Study: The Effects of Bougie Caliber on Leaks and Excess Weight Loss Following Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy. Is There an Ideal Bougie Size? Obes Surg. 2013 Aug 3. [Epub ahead of print]) 2012 Surgeon Survey According to a 2012 survey of surgeons experienced in sleeve gastrectomy, the bougie size used ranged from 32F to 50F, with the most common size being 36F (used by 32% of surgeons surveyed). Studies show that the procedure is relatively safe, but there are still many variations in bougie size. (Study: Survey on laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) at the Fourth International Consensus Summit on Sleeve Gastrectomy. Obes Surg. 2013 Aug 4. [Epub ahead of print]) Bougie Size Bougie size is based on patient input, height, weight, and surgeon technique. The bougie size is typically smaller when the procedure is performed as a stand-alone procedure (32-50F) rather than part of the duodenal switch (50-60F). Depending on the bougie size used by the surgeon, the new stomach size will be about 60-80% smaller after surgery. The average stomach holds 30-40 ounces, or roughly 4-6 cups per meal. After surgery, a small meal of 1/2 cup to 1-1/2 cups will fill the new stomach pouch. The sleeve will stretch somewhat from the surgery size, but will get no where near the size of the original stomach. If you are planning to undergo the sleeve gastrectomy procedure, make sure you discuss the bougie size with your surgeon during the pre-op process. It is important that you understand the rationale for your surgeon’s recommendation and to feel comfortable with the size of your post-op stomach. While bougie size is a consideration, healthy weight loss will ultimately depend on following a reduced-calorie, nutrient-rich diet. The sleeve will help reduce hunger and limit food intake, but it is up to you to choose the foods and liquids that you put into your body. I made a quick EXCEL spreadsheet converting the size to mm and inches based upon the formula. Note: Per this article, the surgeon's techniques contribute to the overall size ("...how close the stapler is to the guide...", "...whether they oversew"..., etc.) Bougie Size mm Inches 32 10.66 0.42 33 10.99 0.43 34 11.32 0.45 35 11.66 0.46 36 11.99 0.47 37 12.32 0.49 38 12.65 0.50 39 12.99 0.51 40 13.32 0.52 41 13.65 0.54 42 13.99 0.55 43 14.32 0.56 44 14.65 0.58 45 14.99 0.59 46 15.32 0.60 47 15.65 0.62 48 15.98 0.63 49 16.32 0.64 50 16.65 0.66