educationrulz

There are some great recipes on the recipe forum here on VST. I made the ricotta bake and it's GREAT! My eyes want to eat the whole pan but of course my tummy says no-go. I added jar spaghetti sauce and mozerella to the top of mine for some extra flavor. I actually use some fast food to my advantage. I love Wendy's chili. Chick-fil-a strips have been a life saver because they're so moist I can eat them without a lot of drama - well, I can eat 1/2 of a large one. I also go to Taco Bell and get one of the steak strips chalupa and eat the meat, sauce and cheese out of that. The meat is very moist and easy to eat. I sometimes eat a tiny bit of the breaded part. I know fast food is a slippery slope so I do have to watch myself there, but it's nice to have some options for when I don't have the time or desire to cook. I do plan to do more cooking when the amount I can eat stabalizes. Right now, most of what I cook gets tossed because my daughter doesn't eat that much. It's kind of frustrating to me right now so I avoid cooking alot.

I know it sucks to have to wait for your sleeve but you'll probably be able to heal better without those teeth throbbing away. The healing/postop phase is very important - especially getting in fluids and establishing eating habits so you don't want to have dental pain at that time. Good luck!

Thanks greeneyes! Now you've got me trying to figure out where I can get a piece of banana bread. :biggrin0:

Scales are EVIL!!! :001_smile:

Becca, I think you did a great job researching this fairly new surgery beforehand and made sure that your doctor explained things clearly. It sounds like you're doing well already in the postop phase. Dr. Watkins, Thank you for taking the time to post answers to some of the question that we have been discussing about the plication procedure. There seems to be some misleading info or terminology from at least one other surgeon about this procedure as it compares with the vertical sleeve ("super sleeve") and that has caused some animated discussion in our forum. It's good to know that you are providing detailed, accurate, and honest information to your patients.

I'm very concerned that some people who are planning to get surgery, or may have already gotten it, don't seem to understand the difference between plication and "super sleeve". Although the info from one of the doc's websites that has been posted here by several different members explains it - if you read very carefully - it still seems that the docs website uses the term "super sleeve" in a misleading manner. At some point, a person could go in asking for the "super sleeve" thinking they are get the less invasive plication procedure and wake up to find out their stomach is gone. As others have said, be clear about what you're asking for and getting. If you are even mildly confused, make the doctor's office explain it to you until it makes sense - and call them out on using the correct terminology!

I think you'll be fine with that. They had me swallowing small pills in the hospital after my leak test. I never had a problem with them. I think the main problem with the bigger ones is the possibility of them getting stuck when everything is still swollen after surgery. But, of course your surgeon will have to have the final say on this stuff.

I think you can do a plication as a revision of a bypass or a sleeve. Maybe that would be better than a band.

Pushups are great once you are cleared to do them. They work the entire upper arm - and probably the lower arm too. Even the girlie pushups are effective. Start with a few and work your way up. I do agree that for some people surgery may be the only absolute fix. I'm almost holding my breath to see what kind of luck I'm going to have with my arms. It's lookin 50/50 right now...:scared0:

I was cleared for baths at my two week post op, when I still had some glue left on my largest scar and some scabbing on the other larger one. I was told no swimming until all glue was gone, everything was closed up on its own and all scabs had fallen off. I'm almost there but I can see a couple of points of vulnerability on the two largest ones where something might sneak in and set up an infection. I'm going to stay away from swimming for another couple of weeks to be safe. I'm also still doing showers just to be safe.

I have a job that is part desk job with spurts of walking and moving around the office involved, and moving around a large school building as needed. There is no way I could have gone back before 3 weeks. It took me that long to figure out what was going on in my body, get my eating and drinking patterns established, stabilize my Fluid intake, and most importantly to build some general endurance. Obviously, it's sooner for other people. I think two weeks is a good starting point for most people and maybe 4 weeks for those with very physical jobs.

When is it ok to start swallowing vitamins instead of using the chewables?

I just wanted to say that I'm sorry to hear you are going through this. My prayers go out to you. I sent you a Private Message.

I had to wait a little over a week for my approval. I've heard of others getting it in a day or two. I think mine would have come faster if a paper had not been missing from the packet that was submitted to insurance. From what I understand if you meet the BMI requirements, did your 6 months of appointments, and WLS is covered in your policy, you're pretty much going to get approved from UHC. Good luck!

Jane, I think you're going to be fine because you're being proactive. Purchasing the extra seat is clearly the most important hurdle. No one can put you off the plane because you won't be infringing on another passenger's seat space. I think when you make your reservation you could ask to have a special designation put on your ticket, maybe like a medical patient or something. This may be what you meant when you talked about asking to board first. It may be more important on your return flight because it will be more difficult to walk postop and you may need a wheelchair and/or golf cart transportation within the airport. Good luck and best wishes. Keep us up to date on your plans.

I was told no watermelon for at least 8 weeks because of the fibrous content - or something like that. Has anyone else been told that?

6 months!!! Crikey! Treat yourself to a filet mingon as soon as your 6 months is up girl.:thumbup:

I still can't eat enough to get anywhere near 60 grams of protein per day. I'd never get close if it wasn't for the Isopure (or Isopuke as some call them). I try to drink a whole one each day but I can't always do it if my stomach is feeling "off". I'm still thanking my stars every day that I actually like the flavor. I have been buying the individual bottles at Vitamin Shoppe because their bulk packs are all one flavor and I refuse to drink the same kind everyday. I would love to get the variety pack. Has anyone seen them at a GNC store? The link Christy posted seems like a web only offer.

Cool! I'll definitely ask my doc about this. I am ready to go back to that now that I can drink without pain. Thanks

So is the only issue with the caffeine that it can increase appetite? I mistakenly drank caffeinated warm tea a few days after surgery and I was wondering for a minute if I did something to mess up my sleeve. When I realized it, I switched to decaffeinated right away. I was too nauseaus to have it increase my appetite. I'm wondering about this because I eventually want to go back to caffeinated tea. I need some kick every now and then and I'm going to avoid even trying diet soda for a long time. When is it safe to go back to caffeine?

So if you have a hiatal hernia repair during WLS is that supposed to take care of the acid? Do you still need the PPI? I just can't seem to get a grasp on whether I need to be taking it. Does everyone have acid production?

Hiccups and a runny nose sound way better than a big ole burp! I don't know how I"m gonna manage that when I go back to work. I do a pretty good job of stopping eating before I get that uncomfortable fullness most of the time, but I still get the burps even if I'm not stuffed. Will continue to work on making my burps sound more ladylike...:thumbup1:

diva, I totally understand your issues as a single parent. I am also an educator so I appreciate your interest in being somewhat back to normal by the time school starts. (I assume that's what you mean when you talked about needing to be able to drive). However, I would say that if there's anything you can do to get the surgery you want - including changing surgeons - then you should go for it. I would seriously caution against letting the school calendar be the primary reason for stopping you. Yes, your surgery may be delayed and it may affect your child's time in school. In the grand scheme of things, everyone (including the attendance clerk) will get over it. I've had some bad feelings myself about how my slowness to get back to normal has affected my daughter. I've had a lot of days where I've been dragging around, feeling weak and out of breath, and just plain pitiful. Poor little thing was stuck in the house alone with me, no where to go, and no one else to interact with (once my sister left to go back home). I had to keep telling myself that I was doing it for her as much as for me and that this too shall pass. And it's getting better every day. We've been getting out more and more and even made it to the park several days in the last week or so. My point is that things are going to be rough after surgery for a minute no matter when you do it. It'll be ok. Just have some help for the first week and you should be fine after that. If your child misses school for a few days, get someone to bring the makeup work to you and do it at home. If it ends up being the difference of a few weeks to get the surgery you really want, why pass up on the opportunity. And I totally agree with Tiff that you should strap on some weights or something if it's not too late to document your weight with the insurance company. I wish I had done that for my first consult and I wouldn't have driven myself crazy trying to lose weight right before surgery. However, if you decide that the bypass is the right surgery for you, then I think you should go for that. Just be aware that that may not work out to your time schedule either.

I had surgery on June 22 and have lost 16 pounds since surgery. I haven't weighed since last week, so I may have lost some more since then. I don't have any doc appointments this week, so I'll have to find a scale somewhere so I can update my ticker. That may be enough motivation for me to get to the gym so I can check my weight. kenwillmore and I have the same surgeon.

My postop diet from the doctor's office doesn't say anything about straw use. The info packet I got from the hospital bariatric unit only says that straws may cause you to swallow more air. I had decided against them based on what I heard preop about straws, but after reading this thread I asked the nurse about it at my 2 week appointment. She said it's pretty much individual choice. So, I tried it yesterday and VOILA! I got a lot more Fluid in a shorter period of time without any pain or additional gas. I do get gassy if I drink too fast with or without a straw so I think that's a different issue. But, I'm excited about the straw helping me get my 64 oz per day.