PdxMan

I believe there is also a 100 post minimum. I see, with this last post, you have 51 posts.

For me, it is getting to the root cause of why I abused food. Every time I put something into my mouth, I try to understand the reasons. If I understand why I turn to food then I don't have to do actions which may cause me harm, whether that be gambling, alcohol, shopping, sex ... fill in the blank. Cross-over addictions are real and I believe, for me, the only way I can prevent further behaviors which are not in my best self interest, is to understand why I turn to food when I am not really hungry.

I'm a "just smaller amounts" kinda guy. Some of those sweeteners are not only just plain nasty, they are also toxic. I'm going with mother nature.

I agree 100%.....but my point is, if you have a Specific question or a specific problem pertaining to your type of surgery, it would not be productive if I were to tell you what I think based upon my type of surgery and subsequently my experiences.....I think in that case, you would prefer to hear from someone in the same boat, as it were.Generalities yes, but specifics, no. Yet that is what I see...I do not think people realize what forum they are responding to. I do not use my smart phone to access this forum....I did once or twice and noticed I did not have all the menu choices readily available as I do on my PC or Tablet....that may be the reason. Just to reiterate my original post, and as you point out, people don't look at where they are posting. It is obvious all over the boards. This was true BEFORE the boards were combined. Combining them is not the cause nor has it changed this behavior. I was true on VST as well as LBT. But again, the surgery type listed in the profile may not be the surgery they actually had. I know this is true for anyone who joined prior to the re-org. Somebody may have had the band, but has the sleeve listed in their profile. @@Alex Brecher, how about a campaign to get people to update their profiles? Remember the profile update iTouch give-away? Might be time for one of those.

Hmmm ... I have never heard of that. Most fruits have a majority of their Fiber in the peel amongst other beneficial things. But, it is the fiber which is most difficult to digest. It was for this reason that I didn't really even attempt to eat most fruits until 6 months post. I was sleeved in July and did peel my August peaches as those skins were definitely not part of puree nor soft foods. I think you just have to listen to your body as far as what it can handle as you progress. Of course, there will be the whole contingent who will respond very soon telling you not to eat fruit of any kind as the natural sugars are high in carbs. I'm one of those who advocates for the carbs in my life, though. I need them for energy so I can have great workouts. I love fruits and didn't get sleeved to avoid them. If you take a small bite, chew well, and find your stomach can handle them, then go for it.

I'm not sure what a giant hernia repair is as there are many types/forms of hernias ... I had a hiatal hernia repair which was corrected during the sleeve procedure. I'm not sure if the severity made a difference. I didn't even know about it until I was post. He basically told my he had to yank my stomach back down below my diaphragm and sewed the diaphragm up tight around my esophagus. Swallowing would be a little difficult for a week or so, but I'll be fine. I was.

I thought I was in the small PP club ... turns out, I was just fat.

As the others have posted, gas in shoulder is normal. Go for longer walks more often (assuming you were told you needed to walk) As far as the calf goes, I believe FreeBird has the right of it. My money is on dehydration. You should have a drink in your hand throughout the day. Never stop sipping.

I think it is the same issue we see with The powder Room and The Guy's Room. People just don't pay attention to the sub-forum they are in. They get overly excited to relate some bit of experience because they were able to connect to a topic in some, perhaps small, way. There is also the issue Betty points out that many folks do not have their surgery type entered correctly. I know when the new format came, I was listed as LAP-BAND. This was because I FIRST joined LapBandTalk, BEFORE I joined VerticalSleeveTalk. So, when the new format came in, that was what was attached to my profile. I did edit it, but many folks have not.

Yowsers! 21K for self pay? McB and were half that. Yes, here in the states.

I was cash pay, too. I had a choice of outpatient, or for another $1,000, I could stay the night. I am not a fan of hospitals as I feel there are a lot of sick people are there and I wasn't sick. I have an acquaintance who is still dealing with staff infection issues 3 years later (not bariatric surgery, but a procedure on his wrist, spent one night). I opted for the outpatient and it worked for me. My wife was with me and it felt so good to recover in my surroundings.

To me, this sounds like a classic method of one person attempting to exercise control over another. It also reminds me of classic playground tactics of control. "If you don't play jump rope with me, then I am not going to be your friend!" We all have that craving for friendship and question ourselves if we are made to think OUR behavior is the issue, when, in fact, it is the other person's insecurities. This is her issue, so don't make it yours. I think you will find, over time, this was a good move for not only you, but for her as well as she begins to see the costs of her behavior. If she truly has any love for you or your friendship, this will pass, but it will take far longer than you expect.

If you bring your mouse down towards the bottom of the reply, the edit button will appear there.

For the most part, nutrients are absorbed in the intestines, not the stomach. The stomach is merely the mechanical part of digestion, as is detailed in the article. Also, take a look at: http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/stomach/absorb.html As far as pain with eating, take smaller bites, chew more thoroughly and wait longer before taking another bite. Stop eating BEFORE you think you might be full.

Give this a read: http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/stomach/motility.html The bottom line is whatever moves from the stomach to the intestines must be in a liquidy, mushy state. The longer it takes to get to that state, the longer you are going to feel restriction ... the longer you will be full ... Depending on the soup, of course, the time from when it lands there to getting to a mushy state will be far less compared to eating a chicken breast, especially for us since we no longer drink while we eat. The body is going to have to secrete all the liquids to get it to that phase. We are not assisting the mushy process by drinking liquids. Make sense?

Sergey lyass is my surgeon. I live here so I do know how hot it is lol. Been here since 1987 and still run and hide from the heat hang out at the mall or the theater. Sometimes it is so hot there's power outages. We Were going to try to plan a camping trip during August maybe to get out of here. Ah yes, the rolling blackouts. My mother lives in Palm Desert, so they have them there, too. I used to live in Palm Desert, as well, and I know the July heat, as do you. My wife has been down to the desert, but always in the spring. Hot, but nothing like July. She has never had to acclimate to those conditions and it was quite uncomfortable for her, coming from the Great NorthWest. You can say, yes, it is a dry heat, but 115 degrees is just uncomfortable. Good luck and keep us updated. As I understand it, there are a few good support groups in the Vegas area. Have you searched the BP site for info?

Like Miss Mac, it wasn't until I was 40 pounds down before I was able to change pant sizes. But let me share something I read on here awhile ago, which I know was true for me. My pants (and most clothes) didn't really fit me properly. When I was wearing a 40 pant, I most likely should have been wearing a 42, but I would suck everything in and squeeze into my clothes. So, while I was not able to go down in pant size, the pants did fit me better, but my expectations were bigger than my reality, so it just seemed like I wasn't getting smaller, but in truth, I was. Once I did, though, my sizes seemed to drop rapidly as I was now wanting to wear clothes that fit properly.

I was ... 3 years ago. Who is your surgeon? Mine was Umbach. Let me tell you, it was hot. I don't know if you have ever been in desert climates in the summer, but it is nothing short of amazing if you have never acclimated to that type of climate. Even before your surgery, be sure to stay well hydrated. I thought it was great, though, as there is plenty of air conditioned casino space to walk and walk and walk and sip and sip and sip ... Winner! Winner! pureed chicken Dinner!!

Soups are poor indicators of restriction as the liquid content helps signal the pyloric valve to open and the contents of your stomach begins to empty into your intestines. How is your restriction if you have a piece of chicken or a grilled ground turkey patty?

Please be careful. This is a slippery slope for some folks. One finger full turns into two, then just a bite of this and then ... What you must remember is the stomach is the mechanical part of digestion and you just had 85% of your stomach removed. The churning action which takes place in a normal stomach is not conducive to healing your new staple line. I know it is difficult early on, but just remember this is the time when your stomach is healing. How well are you prepared to accept the consequences of not having a properly healed suture line? Don't mean to sound all doom and gloom, but is that potato salad really worth the consequences at this stage?

Shmily ... you owe me a dollar, BTW!

From what I understand from dozens of posts and what I learned at my seminar, was they use your initial statistics, not your post-supervised diet numbers. You should be fine. Good luck!

Thanks, This has been my recipe for success. MY RECIPE. Some of it may resonate with someone else, or perhaps not. The scale thing is a big question and, as you know, one of the top 5 threads on here. I just know that I can let the scale beat me up beyond measure. It is my own issue with self doubt and self sabotage which has repeated itself throughout my life. My solution was to stay away from it as I found myself obsessing over the number it presented versus how I was feeling and how my clothes were fitting. As I always say, my scale measures weight, not fat, and I was looking to lose fat. I knew that if I kept following these guidelines, no matter what, I would lose fat. And I did. I didn't need the scale to tell me this.

I have a confession ... I TOTALLY missed the first line in the OP's thread. I only saw she had joined a year ago and this was in the post-op subforum. I missed that she was pre-op. Soooo ... for the OP and those in the same boat, completely ignore my post. That advice is more for the post VSG person, not the early post-op, but more like when you are able to eat anything at 6 months post op kinda person. AND DEFINITELY NOT FOR THE PRE-OP PERSON. As far as the pre-op plan, my advice is to follow their advice to the letter. It may be in left field, but if you are using insurance, all they have to do is mark on your chart that you have not been compliant with the pre-op plan and blammo ... NO SURGERY FOR YOU!! (said with the Soup nazi voice) If your going to get into the system, you are going to have to play their game. There are shakes out there which are tolerable, it will just take some time and $$ to find the one that works for you. Sorry about not fully comprehending the OP's post. I'll try to do better next time.

Wow, on both accounts! Thanks for keeping us updated. You just gotta know you'll be turning the corner, soon.