Official West of Cleveland Hi Ya

Debber7714
on 5/22/11 12:24 am

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick note to introduce myself - my name is Debbie, and I am hoping to have a surgery date in June - been going through "the process" since March, and am going through the Cleveland Clinic.

Was wondering how many others have gone up to the Main Campus, and who all have had Dr. Stacy Brethauer?  I had my 1st appt. with him a few weeks ago, and really like him.

Any input you have would be greatly appreciated.

    
               HW=238 CW=194 SW=220 GW=125  Arrived in "One-derland" on 9/1/11! 
                    "What you choose is what you shall have...
                        what you allow is what shall continue."
Winnie_the_Pooh
on 5/23/11 10:01 am
Hi Debbie,

Welcome and congrats. I am south of Cleveland (Akron) and have a June surgery date.  I am in the program at Summa so I know anything out the docs up north.

 Winnie

 

Debber7714
on 5/23/11 7:59 pm
Hi Winnie,

Well its nice to meet someone else from Ohio that's having this done around the same time I am (hopefully).  I go in this Friday to talk to the NUT and do the last 2 tests - I'm so worried that our insurance will run out - my husband stands the chance of losing his job come July 1st.  So I'm praying that everything work out.

Good luck with your surgery - I hope fo follow your progress as we go along.  Thanks for writing!
    
               HW=238 CW=194 SW=220 GW=125  Arrived in "One-derland" on 9/1/11! 
                    "What you choose is what you shall have...
                        what you allow is what shall continue."
LibitCS
on 5/31/11 1:23 am - OH
Hi!  I had a rny at the Cleveland Clinic on Jan 31st.  I didn't have Dr. Brethauer, but I've sure heard his name often enough at the Cleveland Clinic.  I live in Sheffield Lake, so I am also out here on the West Side.

Good Luck!  Keep us up-to-date on how you're doing!!

Liz
lisaj803
on 5/31/11 7:40 am
Hello,

My surgery is scheduled for Jun20th at the Cleveland Clinic.  Dr Bipan  Chand is doing my surgery.  My first appt at the Clinic was on March 3rd.  I have found that everyone is so nice.  The nutritionists are very nice and so is the psychologist.

I am sooo looking forward to having the surgery but I am nervous too.  I just can't wait for this to be over and I am on the road to recovery.

It is nice to find people in the area that are having the procedure done at the same time.

I hope we can be a source of encouragement for each other.

Please post when you get your surgery date.

Lisa
LibitCS
on 5/31/11 8:09 am - OH
Woohoo!  Lisa is less than 3 weeks away!  How exciting!  And the liquid diet days are almost here.  Do you have your protein shake of choice picked out yet?  Are you starting to stock up on things you can eat after the surgery?  For me it seemed like there were a ton of details to manage leading up to the surgery, but most of that was just my way of feeling in control.

Loved the Cleveland Clinic!  What a great staff of people.  They really know what they're doing.  So no worries.  You picked a great place to have the procedure.

Good luck!

Liz
Debber7714
on 5/31/11 1:09 pm
Hi Liz,
Its so encouraging to know you had a wonderful experience at the Cleveland Clinic.  They sure seem to be very thorough...God knows I've been poked and prodded, stuff down my throat and every type of xray, ultrasound, et. al...done.  I'm really ready to move forward and get my ball rolling regarding my VSG surgery, and I am like you...I have to feel like I'm in control of things and have everything ready and in a cupboard full of stuff just for me...got my liquid diet stuff too.  I sure hope I get a date and my insurance co. doesn't deny it.  But I don't have any control over that, so alas, I wait.  I'm not a very good waiter...
    
               HW=238 CW=194 SW=220 GW=125  Arrived in "One-derland" on 9/1/11! 
                    "What you choose is what you shall have...
                        what you allow is what shall continue."
LibitCS
on 5/31/11 10:19 pm - OH
Yup, Debber, without a doubt, the waiting for insurance approval is tough.  I have Aetna, so there was this 6-month-medically-supervised-weight-loss requirement.  That sort of made me nervous the entire 6 months.  What if I lost too much weight and they denied my surgery?  What if I didn't lose enough weight and they denied my surgery?  Yeah, no stress there.

I'm actually glad now that I had the 6 months.  I got the chance to gradually introduce some of the post-op changes into my lifestyle ahead of time.  And I would take an entire month just to focus on one aspect and figure out how I was going to do it after surgery.  I was never a big meat lover, so the month I spent on proteins really built up my confidence.  I spent the time figuring out what proteins I really liked and could eat and how much it would take to get 60 grams of it a day, etc.  Now, managing my proteins is easy.  (See how I cleverly justify by obsessive behavior!)

It's awesome to know I have a fellow planner-controller buddy nearby.    Let me know when you hear from the insurance company & get a date set.  It's soooo exciting.  And if you have any questions or just want someone to chat with, I'm here for ya.

Liz
lisaj803
on 6/1/11 5:39 am
I haven't started to stock up on anything yet.  I am planning on going shopping this weekend. 

Is there a protein shake that you prefer.  What if anything would you say are must haves after surgery?

I am looking forward to starting liquids because I know that that means my surgery is only 2 weeks away.  On the other hand I am nervous because that means it is only 2 weeks away.

I am looking forward to see how all of us June people transform after our procedures.  I hope everyone posts pictures.

Lisa

LibitCS
on 6/1/11 11:26 am - OH
 Lisa,

I tried a bunch of different protein shakes and mixes, but the ones I like the best are the Muscle Milk or Atkins Advantedge in the premixed boxes.  Sometimes premixed is just easier.  But for every day I use the Optimum Nutrition Gold that I get from the Vitamin Shoppe.   It's more economical than buying the pre-mixed shakes, but it isn't at all grainy or gritty.  Some of the others I tried were so nasty because I could feel all this grit in my mouth and going down my throat.  Yuck!  The folks at my local Vitamin Shoppe (in Avon) had some free samples that they let me have of the Optimum nutrition shakes.  That was great, because then I felt a lot more comfortable buying the big container because it was something I knew I liked and that it wasn't at all gritty.

I mix a scoop with water in a shaker bottle (24 grams of protein) or with skim milk for even more protein.  A few months before my surgery the NUT suggested I replace one meal everyday with the shake.  So I started having a shake every day for breakfast and now I still do.  Nothing like kick-starting the day with a nice burst of protein -- after that, getting in the rest of the protein is pretty easy, so less stress for me.

After surgery you are going to work your way through the full liquid diet (again) then pureed foods and soft foods and finally back to regular foods.  I tried to stock up on some things for every stage, but not everything worked as well as I would have liked.  The sugar free jello, popsicles, fudgesicles and pudding I was eating before surgery tasted WAY too sweet and I ended up throwing it all out. 

My favorite post surgery Liquid diet foods:  the lemonade flavored Nectar protein drink (to me it tastes just like Crystal Light) is lighter and easier to drink than the shakes after surgery but still has all the protein.  I also really like the hot cocoas from MyBariatricPantry -- 15 grams of protein in a yummy cup of cocoa!  And of course skim milk because I have always loved skim milk.

My favorite post surgery pureed & soft foods:  Mashed potatos & gravy; liverwurst/braunschweiger; cottage cheese; cream of mushroom soup and cheese soup.

For after surgery, you are probably going to want comfort foods, so think about savory flavors you like now that will fit the bill.  Everything I've named is stuff I have liked since I was a kid and have good associations with.  You probably have some as well if you think about it a little.

Hugs!!

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