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I was really dreading not having Diet Coke after surgery. And 9 days out, while there are lots of things I miss and crave, bizarrely Diet Coke isn't one of them. I'm drinking Water and diet squash, and while water doesn't taste good to me at the moment, the squash does and I have no real desire for Diet Coke. However, I do know that I want to be able to live a normal life, and sometimes that might mean having a Diet Coke on an evening out. In particular, I don't want to give up alcohol completely (I'm not a heavy or even a regular drinker, but I do want to be able to have a drink with friends every so often, even if they are empty calories), so that might mean I occassionally want a wine spritzer or carbonated cider or gin and (carbonated) tonic. I hope that I will be able to tolerate these since I know they will not be regular features of my diet, and I had this sleeve so I could live normally and still enjoy things in moderation.

I am definitely addicted to sweets. I don't keep them in the house. I have a friend that bakes all the time, and I tell her for me, going to her house is like an alcoholic going to a bar. I tell myself when she wants me to come and visit that I am not going to give in, but it never fails that I end up eating something just because it's there and I have no willpower when it comes to sweets. How do you think overeaters got to be overweight?

I would never say "I'm full." I would eat and eat. Stop because I was tired of eating and 30 minutes later be snacking again. I may have been eating alright things.....but I never quit eating. For me, I believe I will have that "full" sensation and I won't be able to continue eating. I don't think I am actually addressing the issue of why I continued to eat. I imagine it's like that medicine they can give alcoholics that makes them sick if they drink.....but once the medicine is gone, the addiction is still there. We are not addressing it, just giving us a tool so that we stop. That's how I think of this process. Steph

I lived through it too! It's tough and it will pass. The day after surgery I had nausea and dry heaving all day. When I was in recovery at the hospital immediately after surgery I was nauseous and dry heaving. The nurse ripped open the little packets of alchol wipes and had me smell them. They worked! Strange but true sniffing rubbing alcohol helped. Take tiny inhales and exhales. The first couple of days after surgery were the worse for me. I am 10 days post op and feeling like myself again. Getting food and liquids down with no problems (knock on wood!).

I'm sorry that so many are going through the same or similar circumstances. It's really difficult when it comes to family, @hope4momof4, you hit the nail on the head. You feel obligated but are at the same time overburdened. There are many issues that factor in to the family dynamic, and I remember trying to talk with my mom about some of them one time, and she broke down in tears. She doesn't see herself and some of the things she does and says as being hurtful, and quite honestly, I don't think she remembers doing some of them either as alcohol is a big part of their social structure. I'm glad to know that others are dealing with similar issues. I typically don't talk about this kind of thing ever, but it has felt good to let it off my chest a little bit. Please know my thoughts are with all of you who also have family issues and if you ever need to vent I hope I can offer support and an encouraging word!

I got my lap band 5 days ago. I wish I used this board a little more. I could have used some help during the prediet and during the whole ordeal! When I decided back in Jan that I wanted to have this done I weighed about 350. I did all the tests, had a few issues with insurance, but that is all past me now. When I was weighed before the surgery I weighed 340lbs. I cant wait to be weight again to see my progress from this week. I also havent had much problems with the hunger. I am strictly on the clear liquids. Broth, sf jello, water, protein shakes! On my one week anniversary I plan On trying thicker liquids. During my hospital stay, my roommate was also getting the lap band, we are now friends online. I have several books, but think this site is better then the books. I do have alot of stress at home, my fiancee is an alcoholic, so I could use all the support I can get Thank you for listening:smile:

Wow, I never thought I would tell my business on the web, but LoveIsLovely it seems like I wrote this myself...a childhood of sexual abuse, followed by a teenage sexual assault. Toss in a tense, broken family situation and here I am. When I went away to college I went wild with the food and I swore exercise was something only "white folks" did. And then the drinking began and I would find myself coming home from class or work every night with a 15 piece order of wings, a large order of cheese wedges, and a bottle of Paul Masson brandy. And I'd top it all off with a Black and Mild cigar. Real classy, huh? By my final year of school, I had gained 60 lbs. I never thought (and still don't think) I had a food obsession. It just tasted damn good, and I had nothing better to do. But I have since acknowledged my issues with alcohol and the underlying esteem issue. When I had my pre-op psych consult, I planned to breeze through with a pasted smile and a story about portion control. But I found myself spilling my guts to the doc, and I realized just how much my past has contributed to self-desctructive behavior. It's been a tough ride, but with God on my side, and the band in my belly, I'm working toward a truly healthy life.

Wondering what alternative drinks people order when at a bar or restaurant if you aren't drinking alcohol. Most of the low cal options are highly carbonated e.g diet coke Non alcoholic drinks such as lemon lime and bitters or lime and soda are generally quite high in sugar and calories. Plain soda water is boring and plain water even worse.

When I had my surgery I lost a lot of weight in a very short period of time and am now at the point where I am experimenting with fills and have hit a plateau. I lose about 3 lbs over the five day week, and then gain 3 lbs. over the weekend over and over and am so tired of it!! I am walking 2-3 miles almost every day and am trying to make good food choices but I do count calories on myfitness pal. It just seems like every weekend there is an event and I go a little crazy like an alcoholic in a bar. I can't just stay home but it seems home is the only place I am in control. Ugh sorry, I just had to vent.

I worried about the psych eval but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I found the questions to be more about drugs and alcohol and how do we cope with things. I've never had a drug or alcohol problem. Tell the truth. They will find a way to ask the same question multiple times and in multiple ways. That was my experience. I don't know if all tests are the same. Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

Here's my response. I felt he needed some corresponding articulate argument. You're entitled to your opinion and you've clearly stated it here. However, you've discredited yourself by offering guestimates and assumptions rather than cold hard facts. When you discussed the societal issues in the first couple of paragraphs you assumed that obesity or some sort of lack of self control is the CAUSE of many of society's failings. Without going into an entire debate on the subject, obesity is only a small drop in the bucket of a dysfunctional society. First, I'd like to address the causes of obesity besides the obvious overeating and inactive lifestyle. There are numerous studies that have shown that chronic overeating and food addiction are diagnoses as legitimate as nicotine, alcohol or heroin addiction. This is not a simple case of lack of self control. Would you say the same thing of a smoker or an alcoholic who goes through withdrawal? Or a drug addict who is seeking his next "fix" because his mind and body literally crave that substance? The only difference is that individuals who are addicted to food CANNOT live without food. They must somehow learn to live with their addiction by ingesting smaller quantities of the addicted item versus the abstinence methods of alcoholics or drug addicts. The examples of how your life has been inconvenienced, in my opinion, do not hold up. In general, food prices have gone up due to production, processing and serving costs. It has nothing to do with the fact that the obese have decided to protest against "super sizing" or use any kind of public assistance programs. It's the nature of our economy. Insurance rates are high due to increasing health care costs. That's, in part, due to an aging population as well as those individuals who have lead unhealthy lifestyles such as smokers as well as the obese. Those individuals who have opted for surgery (whether it's on the dime of the insurance or not) have opted to improve their health therefore saving the insurance untold amounts of treatments for hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, sleep apnea and various other obesity related illnesses. OH, and by the way, weight loss surgery is NOT the easy ticket you seem to assume it is. For it to be successful, the patient MUST participate and make permanent lifestyle changes. It's prejudices against the obese like this that have only perpetuated the disease. Continued discrimination causes these individuals to become more depressed, therefore withdraw from society and ultimately eat more to comfort themselves. Whether the individual is 50lbs overweight or 200lbs overweight, they're still obese and prejudices like this hurt. If that's your goal, you've certainly stirred up a lot of emotion.

Don't become obsessed with the bathroom scale. Weigh in once a week at the same time, same day (i.e. Sunday, 9:00pm) Greek-style yogurt is your friend. Celery is not your friend. Small bites, chew really well. Join a support group. Moisturize your skin. Avoid alcohol. Take it slow and easy; be patient with yourself. :thumbup:

Surgery set for next Monday, July 11th. So today was my Pre-op and Nut class. After surgery diet: Stage 1 Day 1-21 Full liquid including Protein supplements (only liquids that go easily through a strainer) No Jello. Fruit juices, protein supplements, cream Soups (thinned), broth, Skim or 1% milk, sugar free drink mixes, Water, SF popsicles, and decaf tea/coffee. Stage 2 Day 22-42 Soft solid foods Stage 3 After day 43 Regular bariatric diet ********************************** Try to consume: 60 oz of liquid per day 60 gms of Protein per day Protein supplements: per 8 oz, 200 or less calories, at least 15 gms of protein (whey, egg, casein or soy based) and less than 5 grams of sugar. The paperworks says to AVOID alcohol, caffeine and carbonation. The nut says to NEVER have them for the rest of your life. The room of people started to freak out. NEVER, ever again???? It was almost comical. Her reasoning is that it can cause ulcers. ****************************** Vitamins and Minerals NO GUMMIES. What? No gummies. I went out and bought my adult gummie vitamins this past weekend. Now I can't have them. The thought of chewing up a chalky Vitamin just makes me gag. But I guess no choice now. Anyone have one they love? LOL Take 2 Multivitamin per day Take 1500-2000 mg pre day of Calcium. Chewable calcium citrate plus Vitamin D and magnesium. You are only suppose to take 500 mg at a time. So take it throughout the day. Vitamin B12: 1000 mcg sublingual once per week. All the above vitamins are to be taken FOREVER! I guess that is when it hit me...Forever? Really? Not sure what I was thinking, but this statement made it REAL for me. Part of my stomach is removed and now I have to take this stuff forever to be healthy. Also Decaf FOREVER!! That was kinda hard to hear for me. I can do without the soda's, but if I wanted some good coffee, it has to be decaf PRE-OP class was interesting too. Like most have said, No nail polish, toes or fingers. Lots of good info on what to expect at the facility I'll be at. We also got a tour of the hospital. Oh and no straws....forever. LOL I'm still very excited about my surgery. A little more scared and nervous than before. I guess this just all made it more real for me. I'm also interested if others surgeons or nuts gave you similar info on the above or not. I know alot of docs are different. And I know the info they gave us today was to help us work the sleeve to the best we can to not only lose the weight but to keep off the weight.

I'd forgotten about this site; When I eventually stumbled across it again I was amazed to see that I originally registered way back in Nov 2008. 17 months ago to be precise;17 months of wasted time;17 months trying to convince my self that this time when I loose weight I'm gonna keep it off; 17 months of pill popping, 17months of powder slugging; 17 months of failure. I reached the grand old age of 49 in Feb and promised myself that I would not be fat and 50! In March I gained another 8lbs, despite my promise to myself I gained 8lbs! Can you believe that? I get on my scales every morning and every morning I get off my scales I start my diet. I talk to myself-OK today is gonna be the start, no messing around, its easy you know how to do it, its easy. Well you know what its not easy. Ive finally admitted it, ITS NOT EASY AT ALL! I can kind of understand now how and alcoholic must feel when they first attend AA. Admission is the first step and I really feel quite liberated. The only differrence between me an an alcoholic is that my addiction comes in the form of food. I actaully now realise I can't do it on my own. You see Ive never had a problem loosing weight my problem is keeping it off. So 2 weeks ago I decided I was going to have a band fitted. I spent the next three days researching as much as I could about gastric banding. I watched almost every video on You Tube relating to Banding. I read loads of testimonials. Looked at the most amazing before and after photographs. Cried for people where it had goine wrong. Frowned at people who openly admited to cheating their band. It was time, I was ready. I sent off my initial enqiry and within 24 hours received a response. My consultation appointment was set up and I began counting down to a new me! At my consultation I was shown a model of a stomache, I was shown a band. How could something so small be so effective and life changing. I wanted to pick the band up off the docs desk and kiss it! They told me I was a perfect candidate for banding. My BMI was below 50 I was under 50 years of age (just) ! Non smoker low cholesterol normal blood pressure. Its the first time I can remember a Doc actually telling me I was perfect! :thumbup:My band is going to be fitted on the 3rd June . I cant begin to tell you how excited I am. I will be slim for Christmas, no if or buts I WILL BE SLIM FOR CHRISTMAS. I'm trying to learn as much as I can from this site to make sure my recovery is speedy and trouble free. I know there can be complications however I'm not thinking about that, I'm being positive! 27 days to go :cursing:

I'd forgotten about this site; When I eventually stumbled across it again I was amazed to see that I originally registered way back in Nov 2008. 17 months ago to be precise;17 months of wasted time;17 months trying to convince my self that this time when I loose weight I'm gonna keep it off; 17 months of pill popping, 17months of powder slugging; 17 months of failure. I reached the grand old age of 49 in Feb and promised myself that I would not be fat and 50! In March I gained another 8lbs, despite my promise to myself I gained 8lbs! Can you believe that? I get on my scales every morning and every morning I get off my scales I start my diet. I talk to myself-OK today is gonna be the start, no messing around, its easy you know how to do it, its easy. Well you know what its not easy. Ive finally admitted it, ITS NOT EASY AT ALL! I can kind of understand now how and alcoholic must feel when they first attend AA. Admission is the first step and I really feel quite liberated. The only differrence between me an an alcoholic is that my addiction comes in the form of food. I actaully now realise I can't do it on my own. You see Ive never had a problem loosing weight my problem is keeping it off. So 2 weeks ago I decided I was going to have a band fitted. I spent the next three days researching as much as I could about gastric banding. I watched almost every video on You Tube relating to Banding. I read loads of testimonials. Looked at the most amazing before and after photographs. Cried for people where it had goine wrong. Frowned at people who openly admited to cheating their band. It was time, I was ready. I sent off my initial enqiry and within 24 hours received a response. My consultation appointment was set up and I began counting down to a new me! At my consultation I was shown a model of a stomache, I was shown a band. How could something so small be so effective and life changing. I wanted to pick the band up off the docs desk and kiss it! They told me I was a perfect candidate for banding. My BMI was below 50 I was under 50 years of age (just) ! Non smoker low cholesterol normal blood pressure. Its the first time I can remember a Doc actually telling me I was perfect! :thumbup:My band is going to be fitted on the 3rd June . I cant begin to tell you how excited I am. I will be slim for Christmas, no if or buts I WILL BE SLIM FOR CHRISTMAS. I'm trying to learn as much as I can from this site to make sure my recovery is speedy and trouble free. I know there can be complications however I'm not thinking about that, I'm being positive! 27 days to go :smile:

If there was booze in the pie it is possible. LOL! It takes very little alcohol for me to actually feel drunk. Like I cannot drive drunk.......really drunk. Sugar, no......I just feel really crappy if i eat something with too much sugar. I had a very small piece of wedding cake at my friends sons wedding. It had a boozy chocolate mousse in it. I did not get drunk but could seriously feel the liquor.

I'm not sure if there is already a thread here for cancer survivors or people who currently have cancer, with the sleeve or pre-sleeve? Would love to know that I'm not alone! I am a bladder cancer survivor. I have my 2.5 year scans coming up next week, along with all my pre-testing for my sleeve surgery. I have my story all printed up already because it's a long one...but I wanted to see if others have gone through cancer here? I believe it puts things into a different perspective if you've come through cancer. I was diagnosed with bladder cancer when I was 42. We found out that I was pregnant, surprise! We had already lost two babies, our son Daniel in the second trimester and then an early loss. We are foster parents and had already had three failed adoptions as well. When we found out I was pregnant, they did an ultrasound. They could not see the baby, but did find numerous tumors in my bladder. There started a whirlwind of tests, day surgeries, chemo, and finally major 12 hour surgery in March 2011, to remove my bladder and rebuild a "fake" bladder inside of me. 2.5 years later, I'm recovering still, have a hernia the size of a basketball due to the surgery, and need to lose some weight before I can have my "big" hernia surgery to fix my hernia, and start living again. My story This is what we consider to be our "last chance" at having a child in our lives. I'm 45 now. I've lost three children and two years ago lost my bladder and uterus to cancer. We've fostered children for years and had four failed adoptions. Last chance adoption. If we can afford it. My life reads like a soap opera. When I was 11, my sisters and I were hit by a car while waiting for the school bus. My little sister Kathy didn't survive. I was raised by a wonderful Mom and an abusive alcoholic Father. And then I married an abusive, drug addicted husband. Stayed with him for 12 years until I had the strength to leave. In 2001, I met Mark, the most wonderful man ever. We married in 2003. In 2005, at the age of 37, Mark and I conceived our first child. In 2006, I gave birth to our son Daniel, too early for him to survive. Later that year, we lost our second child. Fast forward to 2010 (time spent between 2006 and 2010 resulted in our becoming foster parents and having three failed adoptions). At the age of 42, I found out I was pregnant. Went for an ultrasound, where they found numerous tumors in my bladder. I lost the baby and started chemotherapy in Dec 2010. In March 2011, I had my bladder surgically removed, along with my uterus....losing any chance of having our own baby. But, in the end, I was/am currently cancer-free. We named our third baby "Angel" for saving my life. We became licensed as foster parents again, and had a 15 month old baby girl placed with us. On March 1, 2013, after living with us for over a year, baby girl was taken and given to an Aunt in another state. Failed adoption number 4. Through all of this, my husband Mark has been the best friend, nurse, Father, husband, caretaker ever. He deserves to have a child. WE deserve to have a child. We've looked into adoption and have started the process, which could take years.

Hi - I'm new here & so will apologize upfront if posting in wrong place on wrong topic, etc. I'm considering banding. Am wondering if anyone here was advised to not have the banding due to psych reasons (example: doctor thinks that you won't be consistent with pre & post-op diets, etc.)? I think a huge portion of my battle with food is similar to those with drug/alcohol addictions. I definitely have a "mind-game" going on with food. What do you do if you have the surgery & afterwards the cravings & addiction mindset continue? I had a counselor once advise me against banding because it was her opinion that my problem was a "head" problem. I guess I'm wondering how those of you out there who would identify yourselves as "food addicts" prior to banding are doing now? How tough is this mentally, not just physically?

Reclaiming Your Power Over food = Reclaiming Your Authentic Power By Louisa Latela, MSW, LCSW Isn’t it amazing how a chocolate chip cookie can control our lives? I am not a weight loss surgery patient, but have certainly had my share of struggles with food and other maladaptive coping behaviors. Despite years of schooling in psychology and social work, I continue to astound myself at how many times I choose to act in ways that do not support my highest good. In the last article I wrote: “Food and Feelings: Making the Connection,” many contacted me after having read the article and wanted to know if I was a WLS patient. While I am not, I have come to learn through years of working on myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually, as well as working with my clients, that there is a common thread among all of us who have ever struggled to truly love ourselves. It is that we lose our authentic power when we give something outside of us the power to control how we feel. Authentic power as defined by Gary Zukav, (author of “The Seat of the Soul”) is when the personality is aligned with the soul. When one is living in line with his/her authentic power, they act in ways that support their highest good. They are respectful and loving to themselves as well as to others. They are aware that the only thing that they can control in this life is their actions and are able to consciously choose to live and behave in a way that truly honors who they are. They hear and act on their inner wisdom, their intuition, their higher power, in essence their truth, their soul. Time and again, I work with WLS patients who are 2-3 years post-op and still struggling with their obsessions with food. It is not that they do not know how or what to eat. It is that they feel powerless over the control it still has in their lives. Hours each day are spent agonizing over what they should/should not eat, being angry about what they did eat, being angry about what they want to eat but cannot eat, feeling guilty about the fact that they ate at all, and ultimately feeling like a failure because they are still having to deal with this issue. They are allowing the thought of food to stop them from being present in their lives and it continues to define how they feel about themselves. This is where authentic power is lost. The way to reclaim your power is to be willing to sit with the uncomfortable feelings of not giving in to the urge to eat when you are not physically hungry, or when you are wanting to eat in a way that is not in line with your meal plan. It is as simple as that, and it is as difficult as that. We begin to discover in a deeper way why these compulsive behaviors exist in the first place. It has often been said that we are always operating from a position of fear or love. When we are operating from a position of love, we are connected with our authentic power. We come from a place deep inside that is rooted in knowing that we are perfect in this moment, that it is safe to act in a manner that supports our highest good and that we know how to truly self nurture. When we are acting from a place of fear, we will look to things outside of us to stop whatever emotion we are experiencing. So I guess all this new age mumbo-jumbo sounds good in theory, but how do you put that into practice? The only way I have discovered to do this, is to take a risk, and keep my word to myself. To make a commitment to myself, as I would to someone I loved dearly, to be conscious of my thoughts and actions, and begin to choose to act in ways that support what I say, are my intentions for my life. While morbidly obese persons are often the victims of prejudice and have to deal with things that average weight persons do not, on some level we are all the same. I have never met anyone who does not have some sort of addiction to some degree. It may be an addiction to alcohol, drugs, work, exercise, obsessive thinking, worrying, relationships, shoes, sports, nail biting, cleaning, chaos, gossip, the internet or sex, but we have all created intricately deceiving ways to help us avoid our feelings. We have all kinds of reasons to defend our behaviors, and it all sounds good, but the truth is, the only person we are really deceiving is ourselves. I encourage you to take the risk to experience the feelings of not giving in to the compulsion to eat when you are not physically hungry. You can always go back to the old way of living, just experience it and see what it feels like. You might just like it, then again it might be scary, just notice. When I have a client sitting in front of me struggling to reclaim their lives from compulsive eating, I often get an image of them holding onto a ledge of a mountain, high up in the air. They are “white knuckling it” to hang on, then they take the risk and “let go”. I then have the vision of them falling through darkness, and I actually experience this in my body. I get a nervous sensation and a feeling like my stomach is dropping, and for a moment, I lose my breath. Then all of a sudden I experience a calm, the tension in my body leaves, I am able to breathe, there is light, and I experience a glimpse of what I believe paradise to be, something that is difficult to describe in words. To know this sensation of paradise, I now understand that it comes from the willingness to go through the darkness in order to experience the light. We are faced with decisions every moment of every day. We are always faced with the decisions of what to think, how to feel about what we think and what to do about that feeling. Because of the work that I do and because of my desire to grow emotionally and spiritually, I am very conscious of my thoughts and actions. As I stated earlier, I sometimes astound myself at how many times I do not choose to think or act in a way that supports my highest good. However, I have also noticed that by putting my attention to wanting to live in a way that is loving and respectful to myself and others, I make many more choices that are self-loving than I have in the past. I trust that the number of self-nurturing choices that I make for myself will continue to increase because I have come to realize that keeping my word to myself feels better than eating a cookie or engaging in negative thinking. Knowing all of this and believing it does not mean that it is always easy to “take the high road.” It takes a great deal of constant, conscious effort. However, the more times you are able to not give in to your strongest urges to overeat, the better the chances are that the next time you are faced with a similar choice you will choose the behavior that supports good health. Most importantly, be kind to yourself as you travel down the path of recovery from morbid obesity. Give yourself credit for having had the courage to have weight loss surgery in the first place. Next, although it is not easy, allow yourself to take a hard look at emotional issues that may have contributed to your obesity. It takes time, patience and self-compassion. Every time you are faced with the decision of what and when to eat and consciously make a choice, you are taking responsibility for creating your life experience. Each time you are faced with that choice and choose health, you are reclaiming your authentic power. If you have any questions or comments about this article I would love to hear from you. You can respond below, visit my website at www.louisalatela.com, email me at louisa@louisalatela.com or call me at 856.429.9799 Copyright 2005 DDB Media LLC www.wlslifestyles.com All rights reserved. Used with permission.

I've had dumping syndrome even before having my surgery. I am a type II diabetic and would experience it if my sugars would drop too fast after being high for so long. Since my surgery I've had it happen a couple of times. Once because of one of my Protein shakes (which contained sugar alcohol) and a couple of days ago when I overdid it with fruit. Sometimes it happens right away, I'll get the sweats and tough it out. Other times, it can be more gradual and I'll end up in the bathroom for an hour or more. I'm almost 8 weeks out and still figuring out what food are ok. I've lost a little over 25 pounds. Fatty foods my body doesn't seem to like at all. So I stay away. I still crave sweets, but I am doing my best to keep away and not wanting to dump helps with that. I want to try a small bowl of ice cream, but I am nervous. In any event, I wish you the best of luck.

yea sugar alcohols are no joke. i never liked dark chocolate but because it has fewer calories and its good for you i can now enjoy it.

If you mean drinking alcohol, wait at least 6-8 months before you try 1 drink.

It's not as hard as it sounds. When I had to give myself Lovenox injections, both last year (following ankle surgery), and after my gastric sleeve surgery, it was no big deal at all. The injections (with my pharmacy anyway) were prefilled syringes. All I had to do was use an alcohol wipe (those little square packages) where I was going to stick myself with the needle. I would pinch (not hard) a bit of the fatty tissue to the right and left of my navel (you want to alternate sides each day) and stick, then press the plunger on top of the syringe. They are very small needles and not painful at all. The medicine tends to burn a little going in, and you shouldn't rub the area after the injection. A nurse showed me how to do these injections after my ankle surgery last year, and a nurse can show you how it's done or your facility may have a video tape presentation of the procedure. It is very simple and very painless.

Definitely watch the alcohol. When you're out, think of yourself as the designated driver. A DD doesn't drink plus there's always water.

Absolutely ma'am! You may be drinking too many calories... 5oz glass of wine is about 100 cals 1.5oz of alcohol is about 100 cals not to mention any mixers... Don't over do it. You came all this way, don't sabatoge yourself.