I am scheduled for the 4th of November at Northwest( no choice for hospital)
How has life been post surgery???

I will be having my surgery at Northwest and was not at all happy about it. My insurance said that because I live 60+ miles from the hospital that the dr. could request using Memorial but when I mentioned this to Dr. Balette he said they really didnt ever approve those and that Northwest was great. Now I am a little worried after reading your post. I didn't want to go there in the first place and now I don't want to go even more.

Other than the nursing staff was everything else okay with the hospital? How long we're you in for?

My first consultation with him is tomorrow. No surgery date as of yet but I do know that it will be done at Memorial Herman The Woodlands Hospital. That is the only one my insurance will cover around here without having to drive into Houston. I will make sure to have someone with me anyway. I know what you are talking about when it comes to nurses at hospitals. There are not enough true diamonds in the mix and that is sad. How are you doing now??? Which psych dr. did you go see? My psych appt is next week. I hope I say all the right things!!!

I will also be a patient of Dr. Balette soon. Do you have any advice?

I know you had gotten some flack for eating crackers so soon post op. I had my first post op appt with my Nutritionist yesterday and it just so happens she talked about crackers. So I thought I would let you know what she said. She told me that crackers were a part of the "soft food" phase, which is to start around weeks 5-6. She said the reason for this was that they swell once they are in your stomach. They are ok going down, but swell and take up a lot of room and can even bloat the sleeve as well. Anyhoo, just thought I'd share that with you. Hope you're doing great!