Long2BFree

You really shouldn't take anything unless it has been cleared through your surgeon as it might cause complications with the surgery. Perhaps you can gargle with salt water if you are getting a sore throat, get plenty of rest and drink lots of water.

I don't have a surgery date but I just found out today that my white blood cells are elevated. My PCP kept asking me if I felt well and if I'd been sick. I told him 'no' but he's going to retest me. I know it's going to still be high because it was the last time my other doctor checked it. He said it could be due to stress to which I told him I have a huge amount of stress in my life. I've read several posts on the boards were others are dealing with the same thing, so it sounds very common.

I'm sorry that you are having to go through this. Does your doctor know what is causing your port to flip? For it to flip twice sounds so unusual. I hope you get things resolved quickly.

He did mention that my potassium and Calcium levels came back normal. I can't take potassium supplements because of one of the meds I take but I do drink oj, soy milk and eat bananas because of their potassium content.

I had an appointment with the doctor today to go over the results to find out if I have blood clots in my legs. He said everything came back normal and I don't have clots. The cramping could be from my thyroid problems or Bursitis, for which I was recently diagnosed with. The only thing he saw was that my white blood cell count is elevated, which it also was back in December. Now I have one more thing to worry about get to go for more blood work.

I would highly recommend calling the surgeon to see what you can take. I normally take Zicam, Vitamin C and zinc when I get a cold which really knock out the cold quickly but you need to be sure they won't interfer with your surgery so call the surgeon.

Halibut is one of my favorite fishes because it's not fishy tasting but 'meaty' in texture. ... I think we will have fish for dinner.

Great job Sunshine! What is a mini gastric bypass? I'm not familiar with it.

Thank you for the replies and reassurance that everything will be okay. I'm so worried that something I say or if I start crying will hold me back from getting the surgery before I go for more counseling. When I talked to the psych on the phone he sounded very nice.

I do know that my doctor has performed several corrective surgeries for patients who initially had their bands placed in Mexico. I'm sure there are good doctors but I'm sure there are some bad ones. I just hope people get educated before having surgery and not just go solely based on recommendations. Now, as far as people who work for some of these doctors posting on the forum, my thought is that they should be required to clearly disclose this information with each post in a signature block or some place in the post.

Sorry I can't answer your question but wanted to say that I hope you are doing better.

It's much like what CoolCrystal posted in the way that they hook all of these wires up to you to monitor how you are sleeping. My center even had a monitor in the ceiling so they could monitor movement and a microphone so you could talk to them and they could talk to you and also listen to your snoring. After a certain period of time of sleep they will come in and place you up to a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine which is really hard to adjust to so they can see if you sleep better with it. To help you with sleeping, you should avoid caffeine on the day of the study. Wear comfy jammies and don't drink a lot before you get there because it's a pain to get up and go pee with all of the stuff attached to you. They should ask you if you are awake and feel alert enough to drive home. You will be tired afterwards because it's much like being in the hospital when you are woke up throughout the night. You definately want to go home and take a shower to get all of the glue out of your hair and off of your skin.

Yay for you and having such a good appointment!

I too was 11 years old when I started going to Weight Watchers. My mom just recently told me that she used to laugh when she dropped me off at the meetings. Talk about cutting with a knife. Anyway, the best advice I can give to you is to attend the meetings with your daughter, participate in the plan and help her prepare foods. There is nothing worse than feeling alone when dealing with weight at this tender age. Tell her she's beautiful and love her unconditionally so that she has a good self image of herself. Reward her successes with non-food related rewards.

You could also be having diarrhea from the dairy products you are ingesting. My nut said some people develop a sensitivity to it after surgery. You can try lactaid milk or soy milk and see if it subsides.

I like JC but I wonder if you would be getting all of your protein in and I would think that you would be wasting a lot of food because your pouch can only hold so much food. JC food is expensive and they generally require you to purchase a certain amount of food in order to stay on their plan.

Make a commitment to only eat a certain way and stick with it. Once you feel some accomplishment you probably won't feel so emotional. Did your doctor or nutritionist give you some guidelines on what you could eat? If not, call them and ask. If you are eating things your shouldn't and too much you might be stretching your band and putting yourself at risk for slippage. Hang in there. YOU CAN DO THIS!

It sounds like a good idea about freezing your own popsicles but you should check with your doctor or nutritionist about using juice and pureed fruits. Though they are healthy option compared to regular popscilce, they would add a lot of calories that most doctors and nutritionists are trying to avoid. How about freezing Crystal Light instead?

My doctor says if someones dies from surgery it's from a blood clot and not the surgery itself. He's done hundred of gastric bypasses and Lap-Band procedures and hasn't lost any patients. I do know that I will die without the surgery because of my health. Am I scared of surgery? Yep, I am. I've had 5 surgeries and am scared each time.

I have Optifast shakes and also have a shake that is 30 grams of Protein. I tend to stay more satisfied with the Optifast but I do add a little bit more Water to it and place in the blender with lots of ice. Can you have Crystal Light? Perhaps adding some unflavored protein powder to it will help you out. Can you have SF popsicles and Jello?

I like the Equate shakes better than the Slim Fast ones but they aren't low carb and don't have enough protein so I can't have them. :thumbup: They are 220 cals, and 10 grams protein, 3 grams fat adn 40 grams carb

I called two other doctors on the list and received a call back from one of them. He charges $300 so I decided to go with him and cancelled the other doctor. I thought I would like a female doctor better but talked to the one I switched to and he seemed really nice. I'm also surprised that his appointment is 2 hours vs. 1 hour for the more expensive one and he said that he will file my insurance paperwork even though I have to pay him up front.

I received a letter from my surgeon telling me that the next step is to get a psyciatric evaluation along with names of five doctors. I called to set up an appointment with one which will include an hour appointment and then she will submit a written report to my doctor. The charge will be $400 out-of-pocket. I called my insurance and they said they will most likely not cover it because the psycs that don't accept insurance billing normally haven't gone through the steps to be accepted by insurances. I call the surgeon's office and ask if I could chose someone closer to home and was told I could but they had to be board certified and have a PhD. I was unable to find anyone with these qualifications. What I'm wondering is if $400 seems like a normal charge for this appointment or is it high? Thanks!

I thought it was high. The $400 is probably paying for the high rent in Santa Barbara. I think I'll call a couple of the other doctors.

It's good to hear that you are doing so well and enjoying the little bit of free time before you return to work. It sounds like you have a great sense of humor!