educationrulz

Can you tell us what you ate each time? Was it something you were previously able to tolerate? I think most sleevers find bowel movements come every few days or so once we start mushies/soft food, so the diarrhea is most likely specific to what you ate each time. Dairy seems to be a fairly common trigger post WLS, but not for everyone. If you are not able to identify anything food related, I would definitely say follow up with your surgeon or a GI doc. You may have something intestinal going on.

I used mine alot the first two weeks but not as much once I was able to transition to soft foods and just chew everything. I intended to make smoothies and stuff but I guess I've just been kind of lazy about doing that. I'm sure I'll get back into it eventually. Don't get it from the tv ads. Try here... Walmart.com: The Original Magic Bullet Express Blender/Mixer System: Appliances

I had a bad sinus infection a couple of weeks ago and the mucus was a HUGE problem for me. After it started making me puke I went and got some antibiotics. I finished my antibiotics (capsule form) without any problems but I'm not totally convinced that got rid of it all. I have found that in addition to my daily Zyrtec, being consistent with my nasal spray is helpful in keeping the drainage under control.

I don't have Kaiser but my understanding from my nurse case manager before surgery was that they are interested in whether you have co-morbidities - not whether they are controlled by meds. Who told you that?

I hope you're able to find a solution that brings some relief so you can enjoy your weight loss.

Maybe you can try some tuna fish, rotisserie chicken (dark meat), baked fish, string cheese, chili, cooked greens/spinach/green beans. At this stage in your diet you should be able to eat most foods that are soft and easily chewed to mush. I checked with my docs office last week and was told that it's ok for me to switch to caffeinated tea now that I'm past the 4 week mark. Of course the sugar free/low cal type would be best because regular sweetened tea can add alot of calories. I just tried diet Nestea today and it wasn't too bad. I could make my own with splenda but it's nice to have the convenience of the cans sometimes. I've posted my postop diet in my blog if you want to compare mine with what your doc has prescribed. If our postop diets don't compare, look around for someone else's that does and then get some ideas from them.

I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your aunt. I can only imagine how difficult that makes it to take this step. I don't know anything about the doctor you mentioned but I'm sure you'll get some feedback. Try running a search and checking the doctor/hospital thread if you haven't already done so. Good luck!

Hey Betsy. Welcome to VST and congrats on your surgery. I think you'll find the forum very helpful in the coming days. It can be rough right after surgery and reading about other people going through the same things helps me alot. It is tough with young kids, but it sounds like you have some good help. :cool0: As for the ticker, I've never tried weight watchers. I use Ticker Factory Weight Loss - Diet Ticker and it's real easy to set up and update. After you set up your ticker the way you like it, there will be a code there for you to copy and paste into your signature line. Highlight the one under "bbCode" then copy it. Then, go to User CP in VST and edit signature. In the edit box for your signature, click paste. Then you can preview the ticker and save the changes. I hope this helps.

I think we all have those preop nerves. Once my 6 months of insurance requirements were complete, I really started to get crazy nervous and uncertain of what I was doing. But, since I am the type who follows through once I initiate something, I made a promise to myself that even though I was having doubts, I would not express them to my surgeon's office and I would not call and cancel anything. I decided to continue on as if I were going through with surgery despite the doubts in my mind. I told myself that if I got to the hospital that morning and my heart and mind were not sure that I would get up and walk out and not go through with it until I was ready. Well, surprise surprise! I was more sure and ready the morning of surgery than I had ever been. I knew that morning that it was meant to be. I guess my round about point is that you really don't have to decide now. Go forward with everything so that you don't delay your surgery due to uncertainties that will probably go away. If you walk away the morning of surgery, the sky won't fall. But, if you have done your research and discussed the cancer/bariatric connection with your oncologist and bariatric doctor and they both think it's a good plan, then you'll be ready when the time comes to move over to the loser's bench. Best wishes!

The heat can't be helping any! :cursing: I feel like I'm gonna pass out sometimes just going from the store to the car. It's crazy. Feel better guys!

Congrats to you and your hubbie! Do you mind telling us how much weight you've lost?

Best wishes Maddie. Please let us know how you are after the gallbladder surgery.

This is definitely a learning process and sometimes very day by day. Yesterday, my schedule was a little off and I went a long time between meals early in the day. Then, I ate a larger than normal dinner and grazed all night. Uuugghh! But, I'm totally back on track today and have no desire to graze or eat anything off-program. Sometimes, you just have to start over and go from there.

Maybe Prilosec doesn't work for you. I started off on omeprazole and it didn't do the trick for me. I switched to Prevacid since that's what they gave me in the hospital and it's working much better. Try another PPI...

Remember that all fluids count - not just water. I try to only count clear liquids and make sure at least 20 of my 64 oz is water, but some days I do better than others. There are some days when my stomach does not tolerate water. It goes down like a brick. Other days, it's no problem. When I'm having trouble with water I used diluted fruit juices, gatorade, and clear protein drinks to count for my 64 oz. But, your protein shakes and other similar drinks also count toward the 64 oz.

Congratulations! This is great progress. I can't wait till I can get back into real weights and strength training. I know it's going to make a big difference in how my clothes fit.

I have found that attempting to "blast" a previous doctor in front of a new one will often get you nothing but silence. They shy away from these issues with their colleagues. Been there, done that. However, most doctors will treat anyone for the medical issues they are currently dealing with. Be sure that you are approaching any prospective doctor from the standpoint of needing help with your current condition and symptoms, not from the standpoint of what the previous doctor might have done wrong. Leave that issue to a lawyer. It might even be good to not even mention your previous doctor's name (unless asked) so that there's no pressure on the new doc to make a judgement call. Have you contacted a doctor that specializes in respiratory issues? There's no reason that kind of doctor should have any feelings about a bariatric surgeon and they should be more than willing to treat your condition. Don't continue to seek out bariatric surgeons. Take care of the respiratory issues and then get a GI followup so you can be sure there are no leaks as someone else has suggested. Any GI doc can do a leak test just as they do the upper GIs for our preop appointments. Let them know about your surgery of course so that they can be aware of your postop issues. I also sent you a Private Message. If you can give me some more info, I may be able to give you some advice, especially about specific hospitals.

You need to avoid heaving as much as possible since your stomach is freshly stapled and needs to heal without stress. I say take the nausea medicine IF it will keep you from vomiting. I dealt with nausea the first couple of weeks but it didn't make me vomit so I didn't take anything after I left the hospital.

I think this is something you could just inform your surgeon and hospital of on your history and physical forms. I can't see how it would affect you having surgery. Surgeon's are used to operating on people with various health conditions and they would just take to proper precautions - although I can't see why they would need any in your case. But, I do think it should be part of your medical record. For example, they may catheterize you. In this situation, they should have this info in your record just in case.

I'm not as far out as you, but I definitely have some days that are better than others. I've been doing good overall the last week, but yesterday I had to take a 3 hour nap while my daughter stayed up and played on the laptop. I couldn't keep my eyes open. You're probably just in a slump that will pass soon. If it doesn't get better after getting back on your Vitamins, you might want to see if you need to have some bloodwork done.

Hey Stacey. I remember that you mentioned in another thread that you are about to start adding strength training to your routine. For me, strength training is the only thing that balances me out. I have always tended to be larger on top, but a few years ago after I lost a lot of weight and got heavily into strength training/weight lifting, everything finally balanced out. It's pretty much stayed that way even after I gained the weight back, but I could see myself heading back toward that unbalanced state a few months before surgery. I'm really looking forward to being able to get back to weight lifting. It never made me look masculine, just nicely shaped up.

I think french onion without the onion would be a clear. I once took some progresso chicken noodle and strained it down to clear liquid. Yummy!

Hmmm....try the Green Apple Isopure RTD. Now that will pucker your lips and you'll get Protein to boot. :thumbup1: Alot of people don't like them but it's been working for me.

I finally made this a few days ago and it is heavenly!!! :thumbup1: After following the original recipe, I took it out of the oven and added a layer of high quality jar spaghetti sauce and a layer of mozerella on top of that. I then baked it for another 10 minutes or so to heat the sauce and melt the mozeralla. I put several servings in my little mini glad tupperware bowls to have on hand in the fridge that week and put the rest in the freezer. I love this recipe because it tastes great and goes down easy.

I too have been using small dessert plates for my meals. I also use the small sizes of tupperware dishes that come in the variety sets and I bought some of the small round disposable plastic bowls (which I don't throw away). [ame=http://www.amazon.com/GladWare-Round-4-Ounce-Containers-8-Count/dp/B000EGBLBM]Amazon.com: GladWare Mini Round, 4-Ounce Containers with Lids, 8-Count Containers, Case of 12 (96 Containers): Health & Personal Care[/ame] (This link I posted has a good picture but it's for a bulk order. They can be ordered in smaller amounts if you can't find them in the store.) These are going to be a life saver for me when I go back to work because I'll be able to pack several different meals/snacks in these little containers and fit them all in my work cooler with my drinks. I'm sure I'll get lots of comments on my small little bowls of food, but oh well, who cares!:thumbup1: