Yippie!  Horray for Debbie!  I'll be right there with you....  I am a blabber mouth so told everyone I was having the surgery.  The ladies I work with are super healthy and are making me stick to my pre surgery diet and actually, they are hollering at me to get in front of the wii fit right now to exercise!  (LOL, we work from home, so have can squeeze exercise into our work days).  Shhh!  Just don't tell the boss!

Aloha,
Nicole

Hi,

I'm in mid-stage with Dr. Fowler and his staff.  I couldn't be happier.  They are attentive, extremely patient and very nice to deal with.  I can't wait to finish this process up with them on my side!

Aloha,
Nicole

I found a SF chocolate syrup made by Sorbee at Safeway (or Star Market). Hershey makes a SF chocolate syrup, but they are sometimes out of it here on Maui. I prefer the taste of it to the Sorbee brand, but Sorbee isn't too bad since I use it as a mix with the shake powder with water.

I like to add the SF chocolate syrup to the GNC Vanilla Whey Protein Shake mix I use, too. For some reason it just tastes better than the chocolate shakes when I mix it myself using the vanilla. The vanilla is versatile that way... if I feel like chocolate I add the syrup... if not, I have vanilla! I never found a chocolate shake mix that I really liked.... the only one I cared for slightly was the GNC Chocolate Caramel flavor. The GNC Strawberry was horrible to me. I really like the Isopure Strawberry though. The folks at GNC suggested it to me and if I didn't like it, I could return it. (Always keep the receipt!)

Tastes are so different for each of us and so are our tolerances plus they seem to change. I never get a lot of anything at any time to avoid waste.

Debbie,

Congratulations and good luck on your journey to a healthier you. May you have an uneventful surgery and a speedy recovery!

I don't have any words of wisdom about what you should tell the people at work. I can only share my personal experience. I have fourteen people *****port directly to me and I told them about my surgery. There is a level of trust that exists among us and I did not want to damage that trust by being anything less than honest about what I am going through. Especially since they trust me with things that happening in their lives. The other consideration for me is that the results would be obvious and some people might worry that I was sick or  something. Food is a big part of the company culture here and I wanted my staff and coworkers to be prepared for the fact that I can't and won't eat the way I used to. Pretty much everyone I work with in other departments are aware that I had WLS and that my lifestyle has changed drastically. I have had an overwhelming amount of support from my coworkers. That being said, what you tell people is such a personal choice and you should do whatever is best for you.

I took 10 days off to recover after surgery but I was ready to come back after a week. I also work at a desk job and I was fine coming back to work, just a little tired at the end of the day.

I can relate to feeling afraid that the surgery will not work for you. I was afraid to believe at first because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't work. Even though it is obviously working now, I still have days where I obsess a little about what if it stops working and I have to remind myself that it will work as long as I am compliant, follow the rules and do my part. I think it is normal to feel this way especially since it is such a big change.

Sorry this is so long but I hope it helps. Best of luck to you and I can't wait to see you on the loser's bench!

Ole

Congrats...good luck and God bless!!  You will be fine!