Janet ~~ it is so good to see you again....  I come back and read the boards occasionlly, but for the most part I just "lurk"  LOL  Life is busy for me these days also... and I too have gained but I'm back on the losing train now.  I upped my workouts to 5 to 6 times a week and am trying REALLY hard to get back...   My tummy seems to be shrinking back down where it belongs and as long as I stay away from sugar I've becoming a lot less tolerant of it again.... and that's a GOOD thing!!!   You know if we can't get Carnie back to Davenport, maybe we should all just plan a weekend over there......do you think all of girls could be trusted together.... one giant slumber party... WWOOOO HOOO...   Life is good here too...... glad to hear from you... Janie

How is everyone doing, I hope good! Things are going ok for me, been really busy with work and getting my daughter ready for college this Fall. I transferred to days in Jan. thankgoodness cus the night shift was kicking my butt! I have gained about 15-20lbs since my lowest weight but feel great other than I still have my "fat" days and it drives me crazy!!!! If I would exercise, eat right, etc. I know I could lose what I have gained but geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez thats too easy eh! I still have my ole pouch reminding me that it is there, for example ppl do NOT stop taking your antacids as I did and my stomach got so inflamed I was put in the hospital with terriable pains! My Dr. said he has never seen anything look so bad, and trust me it hurt really bad also!!! So remember this is for life take those antacids! I rarely throw up anymore (I know tmi) but trully it was really getting out of control! Like I said earlier my pouch still reminds me that it is there and working, I sneeze when I am full, I have my good wks. when I can eat good and than I have my wks. when I hardly eat at all. I have really slacked on drinking water and know that would really help alot, so shame on me! Anyway life is good and I hope everyone else is happy and healthy as well.....MISS YOU ALL!!! SO LADIES WHEN IS CARNIE GONNA BE IN DAVENPORT AGAIN I'M READY!!!!

Take care,
Janet

Hi Carol, I am having my RNY surgery done in Arlington Heights, IL by Dr. Kane Jr.  His practice has a center of exellence rating.  Which you are probably aware, we ( medicare patients)  have to go to a center of excellence!  Dr Kane Jr.'s father wrote a lot of the bariatric procedures.  Mercy Capitol Bariatrics department actually trained with the Kane Center in Arlington Heights, IL.  I would highly recommend him and any of his partners...they are all great doctors.  Check out the Illinois forum.  I will send you the website address of all of the SS approved site listings.  Check out my profile... Sharen

Thank you guys for the input. I could not hack the Nazi approach.  They only saw the few things I was not doing, nothing good about the good I was doing.  I am the type of person to not take abuse, I felt abused. I could not hack all the milk either.  Dr. G and his staff do not push Milk, YAYYYYYYY!!!

I had my surgery with Dr. Samuel on 2/12/07.

At first, I felt that one particular nurse was really hard on me as I was trying to loose weight pre-op. She would really tear into me on the months I did not lose weight. I thought to myself, "why am I paying for someone to be so hard on me?" But then I reminded myself that the most important reason to choose a program is surgical excellence.  U of I is where this surgery was invented. The surgeons are phenomenal -- I can't stress this enough. They perform where it really counts -- in the operating room. They tend to bypass less intestine (for me, 105 cm) than some surgeons, too (which is better for your overall health). Some docs will bypass more, so they can have patients who loose faster, but end up having more intolerance issues and nutritional deficiencies. You might want to research this. In this instance, they are doing the right thing, as opposed to the popular thing, which I think says a lot about their philosophy. By the way, the nurses totally loosened up after I had the surgery. I do believe that they are Nazi-like at first, because they want to see if you are able to separate from food before you divorce it, if you know what I mean. The follow-up has been great. I have regularly scheduled follow-up appointments. I attend monthly support group meetings that are very educational and emotionally fulfilling. This group truly cares about each and every patient, I can tell you that. They put their hearts into it, and you will feel that. I have read wonderful things about Glass**** -- I'm sure he's a great choice. I do think a lot of folks are scared away from U of I because of their initial hardline approach. But here I sit, 4.5 months out, 81 pounds down (18 lost pre-surgery), with no complications, side effects or intolerances.