I have an appointment for my follow up after my surgery for Sept. 1st. So what I want to know is what happens there? What do I have to bring? I have to do my blood work 10 days before that I know. Am I suppose to be in contact now with Dianne L.? Do I have to take my menu of what I have been eating or am I suppose to email her all this stuff? And about my diabeties too. So far I am on half of what I was on before the operation. My sugars are pretty good now. I was doing really good with the weight loss (lost 21 lbs in 2 weeks) but than my sarcoidoses came back and I had to go on 4 prednisone and now I am at a stand still. I only have to take 3 now for 2 more days and than I can go back to the 2 I was on before.And hopefully I will return to losing the weight.
I am struggling with the intake of fluids. I am trying to remember to drink slower too. I have been drinking water, boost, ensure, cib, apple juice, orange juice, milk, sf jello, sf pudding, yogurt, unsweetened applesauce and some soup. I have shakes with the protein powder and some cream of wheat. Can anyone tell me if that is what I am suppose to be doing? I was able to walk some up until my skin problem had come back. This time it is on my feet and I am not able to walk very far because of it. Hopefully I will be back at it in a week. Anyway any help with my questions would be great. Thanks.  

I went to Montreal for my surgery with Dr. Michel Gagner.  He is well respected in this field and I wanted to go someplace fairly close to home with a surgeon I felt very confident in.  This is a link to Dr. Gagner's profile on this site. http://www.obesityhelp.com/profiles/bariatric-surgeon/dr-mic hel-gagner/

The fee for the surgery, hospital stay (private hospital) and care, meds, etc. was $15,000.  This is likely more than having surgery in Mexico but less than some other places in Canada and the US.  I have read some good reports from some folks who have gone to Mexico and I think some places have financing options as well.  I'd advise to do lots of research if you decide to consider that option and I'm sure you'd be fine. 

I had some other medical issues as well, diabetes, hypertension, angina, extreme fatigue, etc.  so didn't want to wait any longer for the surgery.   Since the surgery (10 weeeks ago) I am off all but one of my blood pressure meds and my bp is better than its been in years, angina pain is gone, blood sugars are much better (almost but not quite normal) and energy levels are up so those things alone made it worthwhile. 

Good luck with your journey.  You'll find lots of good information and support on this site.

Hi there,  Congratulations on making the decision to start your weight loss journey.  You won't regret it. 

Let's hope they do something to shorten the wait time for surgery in Nova Scotia.  I went out of province to have my VSG done as I couldn't wait to have it done in NS so that may be something else to consider if it is an option for you. 

Whatever way you choose, good luck on your journey and this forum is a great place to come for both information and support.

Take care.

Yes I got that call as well on Friday, but I'm not puting much into it, my referral only went in last September

Tracy

 That's awesome to hear Donna!

And 3 oz of meat is a recommended portion for a regular healthy meal, so good to know you can eat normal portions after a few years out!

My bougie size is 34F, I'm two months out -- and 1.5 to 2 oz of anything is it's max capacity at best.

Great to know.. that you're doing so well!