Thanks for being there...

I have been on here a lot  trying to learn as much as possible for my surgery on Nov 17(changed from the 21st) with Dr g at Abington, PA. I have learned so much from all of you, copied and pasted info that I may need later and have tried my best to educate myself so I know what the heck i am in for during this incredible life saving opportunity i am about to jump in to...you have made me laugh, made me cry, made me wonder if i am doing the right thing and made me realize this IS it..and no better option for me..I am very grateful to all of the different perspectives....I love the brutal honesty and the candid discussions..you are all so generous to help out people you do not even know in order to help them live a better life..just thanks for being there...and I will certainly be tapping at the doors a lot in the near future...anxiety is setting in with emotions abound..but I am staying focused thanks to all of you knowing a new and better life is right around the corner..
Looking forward to the dark side..where did this saying come from anyway..it made me nervous at first when i came here..lol

You're going to be just fine. The dark side has it's Star Wars overtones but I like to think of it as the special forces and secret operations, or black ops. We DSrs (dark siders?) are talked about as being mean and such on the main board, so the vets adopted the idea and embraced the dark side.

--gina
 

Hope I can give you some help too. I'm not a vet, but I'm newly out and can sympathize with you.

You are gonna do great! Won't be long now! I remember all those raw emotions! We're here for ya!!!! HUGS


Ruby

Clancy,

Best of luck to you !!!.. This is the best thing I have ever done in my life.. I had my surgery in Feb 2011 and I am down 139 #'s so far.. I feel FANTASTIC and do what I am told.  I just had my 6 month labs done and they are all great !!!  Dr. B was my surgeon and I can't say enough about him. THey are all fantastic at the "Institute".  The only problem is all the infor the tell you for aftercare is for the RNY, You will learn alot here on what to do.  Oh and the hospital staff were wonderful too.   Any questions, just ask.

Kathy

I need to know what you stashed for home before surgery..and if you will be at the support group Tuesday..should I have my sweetie come to that meeting or go alone..and how long should he take off work...I told him maybe the day of and then three  days when I get home..does that seem enough? So may werid things in my head...thanks for your help..

If you can get your husband to a support meeting that would be great. I think 3 days after you get home would be a good start, you will just have to see how you are doing after that. Maybe someone else could check in on you after that?

Some things that you may need when you get home are dressings for the incisions, my drains leaked for a week or more! Try to have your supply for vites and calcium stocked up. Get a little food but remember that your tastes may change. Something that seems to work for a lot of us are refried beans. I mix in a little taco meat and cheese........If you are not a big water drinker get some flavor packs because you will be "sipping " a lot.
    I am less than a month out and feeling better every day.

Good luck and you will do fine!

I was just switched on 8/15/11 by Dr. G.  I think you PM'ed me.  Did you join the Facebook group too?  They are helpful and they have a recipe site too.  Support group is the 18th at the hospital.  Last month I thought was stupid but another I went to I liked a lot and learned a lot.  I guess they are hit or miss. 

I must agree, I am afraid to think of what might happen to me if I didn't join this board.  The after care at the office is bad, so glad they (Elizabeth-I think) told me.  I had no idea!  I got scolded by the NUT a week ago for eating tuna from a sandwich out because it had full fat mayo with my tuna. UGH!!!  I have also learned so much about vits here too. I learned a lot about everything here, lol, I can't wait to read daily--don't want to miss anything :)

Trust me I had anxiety and all too, normal.  You would probably be odd if you didn't. 

I acutally am just in Lansdale (moving to Telford in a few months) so give a hollar if you need anything.

Good Luck

Lite,
Don't even get me started on the NUT, One thing that ticked me off is we had to pay $150 which was supposed to include 3 appts with the nut.. My 2nd week post op, I was totally lost and called and wanted to come in to see her (this was before I knew I was better off not going to see her) and she asked if I liked this and that and I said NO and she said "boy, you are going to be in big trouble down the road with what you don't like", hummm, I guess I am in big trouble since I lost close to 140 lbs so far, take my vits like I am supposed to (labs are very good ), so I think we should all get our money back that she got from us..

How r u doing since surgery?

I have my last all day preop event with the team including the NUT in a a couple of weeks...any advice.questions I could throw at her ? Or is that a loaded question...lol