deboregon

Mini: glad to hear all went well....take the well-deserved rest. Had my phone consult with Dr. K, and, of course, just as y'all said he was wonderfully kind and helpful. Since I haven't been on a scale for four years, I just guesstimated my weight, so based on what I told him, he asked me to cut out breads, pasta, rice, and potatoes for two weeks before my surgery. No prob with that for me as the only thing on that list that I crave is potatoes. I am basically a carnivore, so meat, eggs, veggies, and fruits will be fine with me. he told me the story of the young woman who didn't follow his directions about cutting out complex carbs before the surgery, and when he went in, her liver was so large he couldn't operate. Her mom said she had been eating french fries the whole time. How odd someone would not heed the instructions before a serious surgery!:confused2: So my next step will be a consult with Paula, who I assume will give the big details about food and the stages after surgery. Nicole: Welcome! I am a newcomer also and am here to tell you that the women on this site are the most positive and supportive individuals one could ever want on a journey such as this one. We have all been in the same place at one time or another, so there is no judgement. I took out my loan from the credit union about two weeks ago and my surgery isn't scheduled until August. I wanted all my ducks in a row. Good night all.

10 minutes until phone consult..gulp....:ohmy:

Brandymom: Thanks for the offer to meet up in aug., i appreciate that. shelbi: oh! never thought about the wash cloth thing...that makes sense. Denise: rock on, girl...go for it! you will be in single digit sizes before you even realize it!! Good on ya'.. mini: hope all went well at preop. seems like you were there an awfully long time. thinking about you tomorrow.....

Well, got caught up on reading the posts. I tell ya, Dee and Mini, you two need to put together a comedy act! Funny stuff! Dee, I will join mini and shelbi on hunting down the a-hole from the restaurant....gawd, i hate the way guys think they are attractive no matter what they look like, but women better be slim and fetching. I agree: his leaving saved you time. Send the pix to the new guy, what the hell:rolleyes2: give it a go. If he isn't worth it, I think you will figure it out quickly. You have the ability to see the core of others, even via email, so in person/on phone I am sure you will get a line on his sincerity. Mini, whoa, tomorrow is it!! My phone call with doc is hour after your surgery, so hope there aren't complications....I hate to be kept waiting:tt2: Just kiddin'... You know, I think I am going to have to get a list of items to take with me for morning after and the days following. The only list I saw once had odd items on the list, including long-handled BBQ tongs:confused2: Never quite figured that one out! Wish I could be there to meet all you guys. Maybe when I come in August a few of us could get together that first night, eh? Well, keep up the good work, ladies. You are doing great!

Well, girls, I just finished doing an "Evelyn Wood" scan of the last 30 pages of post since I have been gone...sheesh...it took over an hour!! jill: welcome...i,too, haven't had surgery and won't until aug. 19, but this site is a haven (and it is also heaven). you will be soooo happy that you have entered this domain. mini,dee, shelbi (and others): thanks so much for the reassuring comments about my experience in Mexico. i do so appreciate the idea of thinking of it as the LAST trip like that. mini, i also think "in a year, i will be able to...." i find myself daydreaming about it. i hope i don't gain too much in the weeks following surgery as i had hoped to lose at least 20 lbs. or so before my ceremony on Oct. 11. I want to congratulate all of you who had great weight losses this past 10 days or so. Welcome back to a few whose names I had seen briefly before their absenteeism. Brandy, thank the goddess that you are feeling better (and, mini, thanks for the head's up in your message to me) Lap, great Kathy Griffin-like response to airlines and their stewards! Dee, I have to agree with the others about your ex. Forget it. Men have no clue that their daily or weekly "just friends" chats are not acceptable, particularly after they have betrayed you. Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke!! you are too good for him and most of the other male population, I have no doubt!! Well, guess I will quit my rant here and go out and enjoy the heat wave we are FINALLY having here in Portland: 95 today and tomorrow!

Hola, Senoritas!! Just got back from Puerto Vallarta...lots of sun and humidity! Since there are a thousand pages of blog here to catch up on, thought I would write first and read later. Had a great time down south, except without giving specifics I had the most humiliating experience due to my weak ankles and bad knee (both obesity related frailties). I wanted to die from embarrassment. felt like getting on a plane and coming home. this is the first trip in my life where my activities were so limited because of my weight. i missed being able to access this site and get the emotional support I needed at the time. the tears just burned in my eyes. what the incident has done besides making my heart ache, is steel my resolution to make this surgery a total success. i don't care what i have to do, have to sacrifice, have to face....my life WILL change. Thanks to the kind words and attitude of those of you on this site, I know I can do it.

Wow! Neuroscience is such a fascinating area. As I was ending my teaching career (high school English), the staff was being inserviced more and more about brain science and connection to education. I love the fact that young girls are being exposed to the possibilities of careers in science and math. Such a thing wasn't in the realm of possibility when I was in jr. high (mid-1960s). In h.s. I was basically given three options: nurse (ouch..faint at the sight of blood); secretary (got kicked out of bookkeeping); and teaching. Well, there really was only one option. Wanted to teach history but the realilty of late '60s was only men (read: coaches) taught social science. Second area: English. Oh, well, stayed there for 32 years and loved the subject matter, but loved the kids more. Mini, keep at those young girls encouraging them about the world of science!

Dee: Loved the story about young "love"....you were a cougar cub and didn't know it! i think back to h.s. and i weighed 150 (5/6") and was considered too fat for anyone to want to date me, so I became the class clown. which was okay but i did miss some of the events that i wanted to attend. oh, well.... Mini: how did the documentary taping go? what an opportunity to get people educated. You mentioned you're a professor. Of what and where, may I ask? (It is difficult being new to this as y'all know each other's history already and probably hate repeating stuff:sad: I also don't understand some of the abbreviations: DH??) Marcy: Since I am new, might I ask how it is that you came to be in such an isolated place? I can't imagine the fortitude it must take to live under such restrictions! Good on ya!:tongue:

Mini: my consult is 3pm Mt. time, 2pm here. Dee: my surgery is at Crown Point; that's at the hospital in Parker, isn't it? Also, beautiful letter. I wrote one and gave it to my dad about 3 years ago (he was 79 and I was 53). Similar to yours, it recounted all those special moments with him: his teaching me to drive, throw a softball, build model cars, the two of us watching sat. morning cartoons and Yankee baseball games. The memory of the sight of his hands as they covered mine while I sat in his lap and he was teaching me to read when I was 3. I can still see his strong fingers guiding mine along the letters on the page. The effect of the letter on him was more than I expected; not a man to cry, but he did shed tears that day.:biggrin:

mare: so sorry to hear about your dog. such a loss can seem unbearable, even today I can tear up over pets who have passed years ago. Question: why considering only high-end breeds? Maybe part of healing your heart could be a rescue dog:redface: Mini: leave for Nuevos Vallarta (20 min. north of Puerto V) early Wed. morning. am looking forward to weather there as weather here has been unseasonably cool and cloudy and am about ready to scream:angry_smile: i love sun, water, tanning, reading, drinking adult beverages, etc. so Mexico may be my answer right now. Dee: Currently my surgery is scheduled at 11am on Wed. the 20th. Arriving morning of 19th, renting a car, and staying at some no-doubt slum motel (as it was all I could afford of what was available) until Thursday noon-ish. My phone consult with Dr. K is afternoon of July 2; am looking forward to hearing the voice of this miracle-worker y'all praise so highly!:cursing:

Boy, miss 36 hours and there are pages to read! Great pix of you guys. Thanks for the names for faces. Dee: What an incredibly gifted individual you are. Your ability to know the right words for people's situations is no doubt a big part of your success as a nurse. Such compassion and insight. Hopefully, I will get to meet you in August when I come in for my surgery. How lucky y'all are to have an opportunity to gather for a BBQ. Maybe next year for me! Mini: So happy for the news on your dad's hip surgery. Those days(hours) in between medical reports must have been unbelieveably painful. I agree with the letter idea. I have done that a couple of times over the years for my mom and my dad. The impact, particularly on fathers, is indescribable. Men's inability to express emotion hinders them, but their ability to receive "written" emotions makes the effort soooo worth it. Everyone is making such wonderful progress. Like Mini, I find such great inspiration in this blog. Friends can be supportive, but unless they too are obese, they cannot truly grasp the depths of despair we often time face. It is such a pleasant and encouraging experience to come on this site and read/write about similar feelings. Thanks to you all.

Great pix...could you label/identify each woman so those of us who don't know who's who can now picture who is posting? Thanks

Well, the gambling trip was not a prosperous one!! ALL of us lost $. Oh, well, good time together!

You are all TOO wonderful.. Good luck, Mini,in the next couple of weeks. I am leaving for Mexico on Wed. next week. Wish it were with a smaller body but too bad....it will be me and my magnificently large bod and the water!! Will check in when I get back. Tomorrow I take my parents (78 and 82) to the casino to gamble for overnight. Whadaya gonna do? Can't have them driving themselves!!

Mini: I don't think it is just a coincidence that we all love pets here. I think that people who are positive and supportive of other humans are also the compassionate ones who care for all living things. Frankly, I am always a little leery of anyone who doesn't have/care for animals. I think it says something about their personalities. I always think that when these guys (Dollie, Scout, Tucker) pass on that I am not going to get another dog since losing them is so difficult. But then it is only seconds later that their big ol' eyes remind me of how I can't exist without one (or two).:tongue2:

Mal: Aww...what a cute guy! The pix under my name is my JRT Dollie playing UNO. She is 16 and a hoot. Dee: Thanks so much for the list for us newbies. Those are important items to remember. The drinking part will be difficult for me. I drink a quart of water easily with each meal. It will be tough. I agree with Mini. This site is great! I already feel as if the journey has begun and I haven't had my consult yet!! I have the plane tickets, the hotel room, the loan, the rental car.....and, most important, a POSITIVE ATTITUDE thanks to the people on this thread! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!:behindsofa::grouphug:

When you guys talk about staying an extra day, do you mean a 4th day? I have someone traveling with me. My preop is Tues afternoon; my procedure is 11 on Wed. morning; and I don't leave until afternoon on Thursday so that I can check with dr. in the morning. Hopefully that will work since I can't change my tickets! Thankfully no plane changes! I applied for my loan today; should know in about 10 days.

Well, I booked my flight to arrive in Denver about 11am. My preop appt. is 3:30. We got a room in a place somewhere near Parker:confused2: On line doesn't list any hotels for Parker, plus the ones that were suggested by Natalie were already booked or out of my price range. I think we are going to rent a car. No worries that way. I am having surgery at Parker Hospital. How far away is that from the Bariatric Center? And are Parker Hospital and Crown Point Surgery Center at the same location? I am a tad confused:embaressed_smile: I really appreciate the info and offers y'all have put forth. Hopefully, I will get this figured out! Good thing I didn't schedule this any sooner! Saw Lily Tomlin last night at performance in downtown. My god, for being close to 70 (this year), she is still flexible, athletic, and young-looking. She was soooooo funny!

There are soooo many of you to congratulate for a multitude of reasons!!Great weight loss....positive attitudes....wonderful support. This thread is a necessary tool in this journey. My surgery is scheduled for Aug. 20, and I fortunately have someone coming with me. My question is how far is the taxi ride from the airport to the clinic and then from the motel (Holiday Inn) to surgery center? Need to figure out how much taxi money I need to bring). Mini: what color is your Mini? I recently bought a new VW bug convertible, sapphire blue w/ gray top and interior....LOVE IT:tt1: Lots of animal lovers here! Great! I have a 12-year-old choc. lab named Tucker; two Jack Russells, Dollie (16 yrs. old) and Scout (15 yrs. old). I know it sounds like a canine nursing home, but other than a little sight problem and incontinence issue for Dollie (she is cute in doggie diapers), you would never know they were all senior citizens! Ah, to die and come back as a dog in my house would be a blessing!

About 20 years ago, I had a 72 VW Beetle..a beautiful green with custom roll and tuck interior. One day I looked out to the driveway and couldn't figure out why my car's windows were all blacked out. I ran out, opened the door, black smoke billowed out! I pulled the bottom of the back seat out and threw it on the lawn as it was smoldering (thank god no flames). What had happened was I had set two gallons of paint on the back seat earlier in the day. Whoever had the car before me put in a battery that was "too tall" for a VW (as mini said they are under rear seat). Anyway, as the cans bounced onto the seat, the springs touched the battery terminals causing sparks to fly and stuffing to begin smoldering. Three hours later I had a car full of smoke, a rear seat with a foot-wide hole burned into it, and a ruined interior!! Needless to say, insurance claims guy was a bit skeptical of my story, but the evidence proved me truthful. Story of the too-tall battery still amuses the men in my family.:tongue2:

Hi, all, sounds as if everyone has had a pretty good week. for those of you yearning for a sports car, I have one for sale!! Primo 1978 Fiat Spider with 104K original miles! Nothin' like a convertible to make summer come alive! Beautiful Xterra and lovely young woman! My first car was a four-door 1962 Pontiac Star Chief!! Woooo! It did have power though:cool2:. But then gas was only 19 cents a gallon....oh, those were the days!:tongue2: Hope y'all have a good weigh in tomorrow.

Thanks for info on Holiday Inn and Best Western. Will check both. Mini: glad to hear positive things for your son; have friends whose sons are in same boat. A challenge for all involved.

Thanks so much for the input on Holiday Inn. Is it true they give a discount if I mention the surgery? I am going to make reservations soon for my August appt. congrats, Lap Dancer, on bouncing back and losing 5+. You guys are all so great. Reading this thread keeps my hopes and energies up!:biggrin2:

Hi, guys, just wondering about which motels to consider. My surgery will be at Crown (?) Center; is there one of the suggested motels that is closer to the facility than the others?

I am new to this process. I am currently scheduled to be banded by Dr. Kirschenbaum in Denver in August. I am self-pay and he charges $9950. OHSU is $25-30K; Oregon Weight Loss Legacy: $20-25k; Dr. T in Eugene and CoosBay: $21K now. It was good to hear about Dr. Fitzpatrick as going back to Denver would be difficult. I am really looking forward to this new journey.:eek: