Don's Freakout Palace

[Settledownnow]

Don, you have already worked really hard and done a lot of research. As everyone else has said, freaking out and second thoughts are normal! You did not mention the vit/min supplements. Be sure to do your research on the required supplements if you have not already done so.

Btw, I make lasagna with sliced zucchini in place of pasta. IMO, the pasta is not the good stuff. The good stuff is the tomato sauce, meat, cheese, and overall lasagna flavor.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Btw, I make lasagna with sliced zucchini in place of pasta. IMO, the pasta is not the good stuff. The good stuff is the tomato sauce, meat, cheese, and overall lasagna flavor.

That is exactly what i thought when I wrote about it. I just looked it up, there are 17 carbs in one long Lasanga noodle. Not bad at all.

Now, the sauce might be another issue, but its still a treat and not bad at all.

Not everyone has bad reactions to milk..

 

[Settledownnow]

That is exactly what i thought when I wrote about it. I just looked it up, there are 17 carbs in one long Lasanga noodle. Not bad at all.

Now, the sauce might be another issue, but its still a treat and not bad at all.

Not everyone has bad reactions to milk..

I am not a fan of pasta and do not mind omitting it. I tried low carb tomato sauce and went back to the real stuff. The flavor was so bland.
Sorry to hijack your thread, Don!

 

[DonRobbie]

Jackie, I am tentatively scheduled for December 17 (Once I get the check from my 401k and then get my deposit sent in it will be official). Sorry for not tagging you. For some reason I'm getting a server error if I try to quote your message.

 

[DonRobbie]

Don, you have already worked really hard and done a lot of research. As everyone else has said, freaking out and second thoughts are normal! You did not mention the vit/min supplements. Be sure to do your research on the required supplements if you have not already done so.

Btw, I make lasagna with sliced zucchini in place of pasta. IMO, the pasta is not the good stuff. The good stuff is the tomato sauce, meat, cheese, and overall lasagna flavor.

To be honest my thought was that since I don't really start the full vitamin regime until a month after surgery I'd put that off and focus on the nearer term challenges. I've bookmarked the vitalady list and the files on the Facebook group so I figured I'd tackle that a week or two after the surgery. Though, come to think of it, I'm going to be broke (either on short term disability or unemployed) so I probably should order my starting supply in the next month. Aargh!

 

[JackieOnLine]

this is fantastic news and the time will fly by!

 

[DianaCox]

Do as much of your preop testing under your insurance as possible (check with your surgeon about what he needs). In particular, since you are a somewhat "older" male, I would consider getting cardiac clearance now - if you need an angiogram, you want to do that under insurance if possible.

 

[DonRobbie]

Spent a bit trying to get a shopping list together for vitamins. Hopefully this is an okay start. I'm sure I've made some mistakes.

 

[DianaCox]

I would focus on (1) preop testing as needed; (2) getting your nutritional status as good as possible (high protein, vitamins especially D3 and iron) NOW; (3) start exercising to some extent - cardio - to get yourself in the best shape possible before surgery. Powerwalk is good.

 

[Munchkin]

Deep breathing and practice getting out of bed and chairs without using your abs.

 

[galaxygrrl]

I think you are over worrying about vitamins. You will know what you need as you go along. I really just need one mega multi, a B and a D and some thing called L-Carnitine (still not exactly sure what it does). The Multi is made for a DS patient. I took the mega and the D right away, the other two were added at 6 months and for my two year labs I did not need anything new.

To be honest, here is the two things that helped me that other people said. First class flight back from San Diego. I found the flight the hardest part of the experience actually. I will always remember how hard that flight was. The other thing was sugar free Popsicle were very helpful when I got back. I ate them for a year. I still have them sometimes.

 

[DonRobbie]

I've flown Southwest the two times I've flown in the last 20 years and haven't had too many complaints (but then again I haven't ever flown after major surgery). I had to ask for an extender last time which was the usual unpleasantness of "Why are you giving me money, fat person?" but the experience wasn't as bad as it could have been. I'll look into it again (I've been checking airfares and last I looked First class was about $2000 each). Paying for the DS is a big stretch for us (I'm still not sure if I'm going to be paying $10k or 11k). Right now I'm planning on flying out of St Louis because I can get a direct nonstop flight to San Diego (about 4 hours) and it's got to be better than Chicago. Indianapolis is closer to home but all the flights are two hops and more on the order of 6-8 hours. Plan is to rent a car each way to/from the St Louis airport (in my experience it's less money to rent a car to and from the airport than to pay for parking), will swing for a minivan/nicer car for the trip home (daughter will be driving me).

 

[DonRobbie]

Got an email today from my 401k plan administrator that the check was mailed Friday, so it should probably be here today or tomorrow. Our bank usually holds the funds from large paper checks 4 days. So I emailed Nina and told her I'd be sending the check for the deposit no later than Friday. This just keeps getting more real. My plan is to get the ball rolling at work for leave once they've received the deposit and the date is officially reserved. That will be a poopstorm of epic proportions. I hate conflict so I am dreading this. Anyway, just sharing/venting.

 

[k9ophile]

Just got the email from Nina with my approval for surgery. My emotional reaction was really strong. I'm fighting back tears. It's crazy because it's not like getting into Harvard or something, if the check will clear they'll take you.

Anyhow I'm one step further along.

This made me LOL in a good way. It's just my opinion, but losing 200 pounds and getting my life back is better than getting into Harvard. Or at least that's what I imagine as I've never applied to Harvard.

About the *food funeral*, every time in the past when I went on a diet, I had my personal Last Supper. I'm thrilled to think that with the DS, nothing is off limits. I can eat just about anything. Do I eat in the same quantity as before? No. Do I sometimes pay a price? Yes. However, any bit of suffering from gas or diarrhea from a misfortunate choice is temporary. I do think twice before eating some of my questionable foods. I never did that before. I just shoveled it in.

I'm glad you're here. This is an adventure and better when shared with others.

 

[JackieOnLine]

My plan is to get the ball rolling at work for leave once they've received the deposit and the date is officially reserved. That will be a poopstorm of epic proportions. I hate conflict so I am dreading this

I'm sorry to hear it and i hope you are overestimating the issues. remember what Diana said, necessary surgery is all they have to know.

I'm glad you are here, too.