Frustr8

Would you advise buying,the flavor shake I like the most or buy a multitude of different brands, drinking different One each meal, so, i don't get bored?

You do and I wish you well for your surgery.

Ok good goody. I would not have thought it would be that way, but,i will rock it. A 2 , that I fully will like. Thanks Gassy Girl for that info!

Only thing,I dislike, they put celery,in their chili, what an abomination that is! Still,it is pretty good. Someday when the pre and,most diets are over I shall have some.

Today is only a preface,to the Future.

@ jdesmond you look incredibly like my late husband, thank,you,for pisting, now I know what he would have looked like,it I had been able to convince him to lose weight.Sniff💦, he would have been so much better off.

I have had 2 knee replacement surgeries, had my fall bladder out in the bad old days when everthing was OPEN. I have had other surgeries, some Ambulatory some requirng hospitalization. And at 72, a LOT CLOSER to MORTALITY than you! And I am not frightened, not a bit. Lets examine just a few reasons. 1 I really really want THIS Surgery. I started seeking it,is August 2015. I have suffered twists, turns, ups and downs in this persuit. If I tried to sell my story to TV they would refuse it as implausible, not even real enough for a soap opera, yet I LIVED it! 2. I have few people left in my family. In the 2000s I have had a lot of deaths in my life. My mother,my mother- in- law, both,in the same year, 11 aunts and uncles, some i,loved as extra parents,my godmother, many friends and acqaitances, many,of them younger and seemed to be in good health,my husband 6 years ago at the age,of 70 on the 4th,of July, yes the day I should have been celebrating my country's Independance and a son suddenly at the age of 31 suddenly. And although there a few still left to,mourn me every year the number grows smaller. It has gone from a massive funeral, wake and procession to local cemetery to a picnic,luncheon at the local park and a scrapbook for people to look at. 3. It can only improve my health,mobility and future life. A body riddled with arthritis, obesity, being short,of breath, unable to walk around the block only once before I have to rest, not,being able to sit in many chairs because they are too narrow, being more comfortable in bed then up and,moving. Sure I still have a life, but it is not giggles and laughs anymore. 4 I do trust,my surgeon. Oh Frustr8 is VERY very careful who she trusts with her body. Scars, dings, missing paint here and there on my chassis, but IT is STILL MINE. I checked out my doctors reputation, his bio, his statement of purpose, whether he had patients my age before and,most important had he ever had fatalities as a general or Bariatric Surgeon? Since i,now love ME I wanted to give myself,the very best I could. And he is perfect as a surgeon, but I still wanted to meet him, how did he present himself? He is more than a people mechanic , he will,hold my very,life in those hands. Wanted to,make sure he had no tremors or twitches. And all is good. 4 I learned as much as I could about surgeries available. I am 72, no time for "do overs" this has to be,very good. Actually had decided before I met my doctor, Dr Needleman, what surgery I would seek, sure I might listen to his medical advice, but MY BODY, MY CHOICE! So on September 5th I will March proudly through the front doors of Rhodes Hall, the admission area before 5 AM, with a sm8le, happy that,he day has finally come. I don't know what all the steps from them on will be but I can and will go forth happily. And at 7AM, give or take a few minutes, I will be wheeled through the Operating Doors, frankly I would prefer to walk but I will make that concession. And there clad in all his Sterile garb will be my Bradley J Needleman MD, the Big Kahuna, the director of Bariatric Surgery and Metabolic Weight Loss at the Ohio State University-Wexner Medical Center, a full Professor in the College of Medicine. When Frustr8 went surgeon fishing she landed herself a Trophy Specimen.I sure there will be a lot of other people there,this is, after all, a Teaching Hospital as well as a Bariatric Center of Excellence. I will go peacefully to sleep, my arms extending out to each side, I will be intubated, my gown removed,my tummy blown up with CO2 gas to the point I look like I am expecting octuplets, and quite a few more people will learn. that I am a redhead all over. Makes no never mind to me, I'll be sound asleep. And I will receive my RnY, my tool , my key to a brighter thinner future. And I expect to wake up,in the Recovery Room still smiling. What not, if I weren't lying down I'd be wagging my tail. A little tummy pain? Pish Tosh, I've had acute pancreatitis, this has got to,be a walk in the park after THAT PAIN! I expect to be,up and walking, no Cath in place, so it will be "Tinkle Time", walk walk walk and sip sip sip until I recover in a few days to go home. Only concession to my age is I might get to stay longer. Que sera sera! So my young friend I am not waiting for death, I rather look to life triumpant afterwards and you should too. What came before is merely a prelude to the Future.

@ Flicky are you somewhere in the UK or the Commonwealth? They seem to be gung ho about milk diets. @ Macadamia I too drink a,lot of fluids, and like you,diabetes is always in the back of my mind, I have a strong family sytrain of,it, then I remembered duhh,I have 3 kidneys if course I have to.process a lot of liquid. @ Sleevemom I do wish you well and will be anxious to,get what your September date will be. On either this forum or,mine, September Surgeries and Success, uou,may just find a Surgery Twin. @ 3girls+2hd1977, you are doing a great,thing for your girls and also YOU. You are ensuring a chance you will see them grow up, graduate, marry and,make you grandbabies. @VictoriuoSlyG8ful, if your doctor abd,program find more tests are necessary I'm sure they will tell you. I have,been on my liver-shrinking diet,since August 1st for a September 5th RnY? Is it working? IDK,but I am waking up with Dead Dragon Breath so I may be going into,ketosis. I have the BMR of a depressed slug so don' t know what kind of weight loss I can expect, whatever I will work with,it. A very wise Bari- Pal submitted a inspirational quote Even you only lose a half- POUND a week, at the end of a year,you will be 26 pounds smaller. So,I don't cry in my,milk, there's plenty of water there, I buy 1% after all. Don't sweat the small stuff because after while in the Grand Scheme of Life, it's minor anyway. So,Good Luck, Good Weight Loss and Good Health everyone!

Congratulations @Fluffy Grandma, you have ,made it to Surgery Eve and I am envious. Why envious? Because your day is coming tomorrow and mine hadn't come yet. Last night,was my high school reunion. It was, TaDa, 55 years ago as a young 17 year old, on May 28, 1963 I had my high school graduation . And although I have returned to my home town, many of these people I have not seen for the whole 55 years. And many traveled a very long way to return here. Oh there was sadness, over 10,of my classmates have died in the past 5 years m One of my classmates had gone b through the past pictures, the casual ones people had,,of those days, as well as showing each of their graduation pictures, where we all looked so solemn, he had done a beautifull video collage. And there were tears, at 72-73 we are more prone to cry than we were when we were young, but there was also laughing, some of us were caught clowning around. I saw two, Janice from Maryland and Leslie from Oregon that I had gone clear through elementary school also with. We had started Kindergarten together in September 1950, and especially with Janice the years just faded away. We had been in Brownies together, I was the first friend Leslie had when she moved here a couple years later And she remembered I introduced myself, and we went out to the playground and teeter-tottered. And they said I hadn't changed much, bless their 👭💕. I have been very concerned about how I am going to get to Columbus. You see I must be at my hospital in Columbus at 5 AM for my surgery at 7AM on September 5th. We no longer have a 24 hour transportation service in my little town, I was an only child, so no siblings, no car and I don't drive. Uber and Lyft, they may have heard of Columbus, that city's population is perhaps 750,000, but Mount Vernon at just under 20,000 pffft! I was a chubby nerd-ette in high school, no large clique I travelled with, actually pretty timid, wasn't a cheerleader or majorette, never dated anyone,on the football or basketball team. But in the ensuing years I have learned love and be proud of ME. I learned I don't have to walk anyone else's path, only my own. So I resolved to speak to a few people about my upcoming surgery, if that didn't work I would grap the microphone and do a P.A. about it. I live 48 miles NE of my surgery site, no place closer does RnY surgery, which is the right variety for me personally. To make it to Columbus by 5 AM you must leave my town at 3:30 am, 4 AM at the latest, even if you can jump on the Interstate.What kind of 72 year old person asks another person that when to be at her house by 3:30 AM and what kind of person agrees to give up their sleep for me? At 70 sleep does get MORE important not LESS. The second classmate I asked agreed in a heartbeat, I have known her since age 6, although we attended 2 different grade schools we've played together, known the ups and down,of each other's lives, have both had a son die in the prime of life. And I admire Kathy greatly, she has lost 2 breasts, an uterus, both ovaries to cancer but she is a survivor. Joked, "well here I am flat-chested" yes but SHE has a perfect excuse for it. She is one "tuff"broad! So a big worry if odd my shoulders, we exchanged phone numbers, cried a little on each,others shoulders, my husband 6 years ago on the 4th of July, hers is slipping into Alzheimer's pretty fast, accompanied her last night but kind of sat on the couch in the meeting area. Sad, so sad, he was an Industial Engineer when he was younger. So tomorrow when you have your surgery I WILL be thinking about you, sending prayers to HEAVEN upon your behaft. Knowing, 3 weeks from Wednesday I will be facing my,own REBIRTHDAY, my Wonder Wednesday. Fears, Anxiey, ASORROW, not having it in my life. Since 2000,started I have lost to death my mother , my mother-law, 11 aunts and uncles, a best,of classmates & friends. my husband at 70, my first son at 31 to a heart defect no one, even his doctors suspected. I have lived with obesity too long, list several jobs I lived through no fault of my own, it hasn't always been a wonderful life but it has been mine. I am certain that I will not die, so many other stresses haven't killed me, so pffft if I do die, I will wake up in Heaven with my,Lord and Savior, and that will be a WIN also. In the meantime I will love as hard as I can everyone and every thing I can , for that is truly the" Frustr8 Way!"

And @ aliciacollete,you're invited as well, come on , the frienships are warm here, and the WELCOME,NAT is always out for,pre friends!

Well,at and no, as a child my god-mother gave me peppermint tea for a colicky tummy and help ecpell gas, not my gastroenterologist tells me if you have any gastritis it will irritate your stomach lining and,make you feel,worse. Aunt Edith and Dr Mujtaba, gight,it out among yourselves! Personally,i like peppermint and spearmint, don't care for wintergreen. Bigalow Tea makes a lovely,mint based,tea, I love it for,my iced tea. Like Constant Comment still, But this is GOOD stuff.🍵

Hi @ aliciacollete, I also will be a RuN bypass, mine will occur on September 5th when I too become a Kangaroo. I have been on and off obese since babyhood. I grew to loathe myself, I dieted, I Yo-Yo'd like a demented child's toy all over the place. And diets, every time a new one came out I tried it, perhaps this will be🏆the Holy Grail, the one that would work as others didn't. And I had some weird ones, all-meat, grapefruit(I now hate grapefruit with a loathing bordering fanaticism) structurelised starvation Don't work, your BMR goes⬇instead). a lot of pain , sorrow and self-loathing. In October 2017, I asked my PCP for a diet drug to assist me in that search,for slenderness, he put me on Phenteramine, and I Journaled my foods, exercise and feelings, in less than a month I GAINED 30 pounds. And I am a GOOD compliant person, I tried to fit,into someone,elses idea of "perfect", of "normal". of " average" and it never satisfied anyone for very long. After being obese off and on,for my entire life, I grew to self-loathing.I hated to way I looked,I hated being over 300 pounds, a weight more suited to a tree than a human body, I hated my existance, for what I had was no real life, I hated being in pain, of waking up and knowing this was the least pain you would have all day, I hated knowing every day brought me closer to dying. And I was sad. I hated being told by relatives I should commit suicide, that I took up too much space, was a waste of the world's resources and besides no one of any consequence loved me. And I sat, shook and cried. Who could I count on, who cared for me, who cared if I lived or died? And a moment of clear, rational thinking ensued. Who cares about me, just ME, Who could I trust to still 💖me? ME. Who really believes in ME, with all my scars, dings, missing paint,on my chassis? ME. And since I now 💖ME, I will give myself a beautiful, beyond cost 📦, Bariatric Surgery. For now I DO WANT TO CONTINUE to LIVE. So I asked my PCP for recommendations. I did my own research,and decided because of some of my comorbidities, yes I did know the RIGHT term for it all, an RnY would be my best commitment to my future. So I went through,a hospital program, jumped through every hoop they required, crossed every T, dotted every I, cried myself to sleep every night, it was wearying, did my very,best with everything, tried to,maintain a happy attitude through all slings and arrows sent,my way. Then their surgeon decided, after rapeing my insurances,of all the money they could get, after I paid out $200 of my hard-earned money for,pre and post surgical dietary advice, which I didn't get and the 💰 wasn't returned., that I was , ready for this? I was emotionally and psychologically unfit and too stupid to understand the ramifications of Bariatri Surgery" FYZi although I don't attend the local meetings I AM MENSA- eligible So I sat, I cried, I shook and shuddered to my soul. Like,the King in the Bible I had been tried and found UNWORTHY. Then I had a moment of clear thinking. I am a child of God, God does not make mistakes and I as a being created in his image cannot be flawed, in perfect and I have still a Life's Mission. So,i stood up with,my 2 replaced,knees, for I am Noon if there. Was I going to allow a group of maladjusted individuals who claimed to Christian and looking out for,my well being to derail my hopes, to block my chance for better health? NOPE this will not and cannot happen. I have strawberry blonde hair and as a bonofide redhead I do HAVE A TEMPER. So I picked,myself up, brushed off the dirt thrown at me, all the degrogatory phrasing and set out for Ohio State, the premier program in Central Ohio, the place,i would have chosen had I followed my own mind instead of listening to someone's recommendation. They accepted me after an introductory,seminar,in March, met with their staff psychologist Dr Kramer in April, dietician , nurse- practioner and exercise physiologist in May, took my presurgical blood labs that day, met with my surgeon-of-record Bradley J Needleman MD for my surgical conference and physical , Was assigned my surgical date at that time, I will meet with someone from the Anesthesia Department August 24 and then at 7 AM EDT, on my Wonder Wednesday, my REBIRTHDAY,occurs and I think I am the oldest surgical candidate at 72, nut I have no fear,he has no fear and something WONDERFUL,will,occur. All my fears were drowned in my tears. I am thrilled, a little awed to strong,in my belielf that this is THE RIGHT THING, AT THE RIGHT TIME, FOR THE RIGHT,REASONS AND FOR THE RIGHT,NOW WORTH PERSON, ME. and how,you gave the Frustr8 Story. And do you know why we will be Kangaroos? Because we will leave our O..R. with,our own little pouch. So sproing, sproing my Bari-Sister, sproing sproing!

You have a believer in me Ellien I am certain you can do this and do it well. I am going to have my RnY surgery September 5th, haven't had any,other surgery of ti[,

Could you use salsa and a Little taco seasoning and make a Mexican Ricotta?

@Seahawks Fan glad to see you again out on the Net. Next month you have to start watching,my faltering first post surgery steps, 9/05/18 is,my REBIRTHDAY and my first day as an altered 🚺 woman. Will I make the success you've acheived? IDK but I shall devote myself to it. All I have to be is the best Frustr8 possible, do ME and let the world watch if they want. But do I do it perfectly? Time will Tell.

HaHa, I have the thinnest per inch hair density of all ---Red hair. Well strawberry blonde but it's in the Golden Red family. And when it falls out as it will without a doubt, I am going to look like a Vizsla with mange And I will get either a Ducktail, pixie or a Mohawk. Don't think I'll shave it, have dents from the high forceps used on me so I would be willing to leave Mama, I was what is nick-named a "Dry birth" Mama's water broke before midnight on Christmas Eve, I was born 8 minutes after 5 December 26th, a little over 37 hours, these days I would have been a C-section, modern medicine will not postpone birth THAT long. So I could validly,claim to be " Dain Bramaged", that I am so smart is more luck than good obstetrics. But everyone else involved is dead except ME and I'm too stubborn to die. That's one of the reasons,i'm going through surgery!

Nope December 26th is considered on the cusp of Capricorn🈹Saggitarians are,earlier December- late November people. I like Saggitarians, they are honest , tell things like they are. Capricorn,are born solemn and shy, they loosen up as they,get older By the time I'm 80 I'm going to be an absolute hoot, and a joy to be around! At 72, I am well on the glide path to hysteria.😛📣🎶

And guess what, just like my friend,above,I Am the,BEST DANGED ME That it Possible. If you don't find that,enough, your problem, not,mind.😛

True Blue, dang you Phone, you make me look stup-eed!

Do you know why? A FYI- since we now produce minimal stomach a code we can't,digest it. It would be like passing chunks of chalk. Well,maybe not THAT extreme but you get the point.Try my little buddy instead, less than $10 at Wal-Mart, it's a liquid called Wellesse, tastes like melted orange push-up sherbert if you can remember back to kid-hood. And it is try blue Calcium Citrate, I take it twice a day.🍶

🏆Don't Worry! Something is gonna work out!

And my birthday,is the VERY next day. People get in line-Frustr8 LOVES presents. Presents DO NO OFFEND ME!😛🎁📦

Oh Yes Surgical Date September 5th 2018 at 7 AM EDT SURGEON-' Bradley J Needleman MD-- Director,of Bariatric Surgery and Metabolic Weight Loss at the Ohio State University HOSPITAL-WEXNER Medical center in Columbus Ohio 43210 Type Surgery Planned: RnY Bypass and Hiatal Hernia Repair Present State of Mind: Hoprful, Excited and a Little Bit in Awe of the Proceedings

Anybody Interested in any,of mine? OKAY?*****Frustr8** Lowest Lifetime Weight 7lb12oz At birth December 26 1945 Highest Admitted-To Weight 355 lb October 2017 Current Weight 318 lb( lost 3 lb,on Verdompt Liquid pre-diet) Surgical Weight- to be determined First Goal Weight less than 200 lb Second Goal 175lb or 15 junior Medical staff dream 140 lb for decent BMI Frustr8,Personal Goals Less Arthritis Pain Perform Activities my weight precludes me from Less shortness of breath Being healthier Being more Fit Living Longer Being of help to others Serving God by loving others in His Name Proving my worth to the World And to Quote the Snow Sisters on Texas Flip and Move It (DIY TV) A Texas Saying-- Everything else,is Gravy on the Biscuit!

So Missouri-Lee's Summit, can my facility's hostility toward pickles be explained,as a fear of phytobezoars? It's in BIG RED LETTERS in my Life After Bariatric Surgery Handbook but they never explain WHY?