Malyss

Congratulations on getting a great doctor at a great price! I remember Conway, SC. I lived down that way back in the mid 90's. It's not far at all from Myrtle Beach.

Some surgeons have their patients put on catheters for the surgery. I'm guessing that if your surgeon has you catheterized, then you would likely not have to worry about the incontinence issue. It might be best to bring up the topic with your surgeon.

I can only attest to having tried the Shirataki Tofu Noodles. They are serviceable, but do not expect them to have the same taste or texture as traditional Pasta. The texture is quite different. Right out of the bag, they have an unusual aroma. Perhaps "odor" is a better word. They need to be rinsed a bit, dried off a little and then boiled for a little bit. Do a Google search to get a better idea of how to handle a package of these noodles. It's been a while since I've dabbled with them and my memory isn't so great. Adding or cooking them with a good sauce can help. If you haven't tried them, then maybe get just 1 package and give it a try. I was able to locate the noodles in my favorite Asian market as well as my local Shop Rite.

I was told that I should not drive until after my first post-op visit with my surgeon, which was just about a week after my surgery. My theory is that the idea was to discourage patients taking pain medication (mine was vicodin in liquid form) from getting behind the wheel.

This week, I'm really enjoying my pureed pork tenderloin. Over the weekend, I cooked the pork tenderloin in a crock pot with some Hoisin sauce, some sliced onions and some chili garlic sauce. It turned out really well. I'm also pretty pleased with the homemade spaghetti sauce that I made over the weekend. My husband had been craving it for a while, so I gave in. The homemade stuff is just so good.

Best of luck to you! I had a speedy approval with BCBS.

I wish that I could count the running around that I do at my job. Since returning to work, I've had a harder time getting motivated to do anything. I need to check with my doctor to see when I can start using my eliptical.

Hello. I'm down in the Alloway area. Have you chosen a doctor yet? I had my surgery with Dr. Kakkilaya and am doing quite well. Yesterday was my 3 week anniversary and so far, so good.

My surgery was on 02/22/12 and I had my first post-surgery BM on 02/27/12 without taking anything.

This Wednesday will be my 3 week anniversary. Today was the first day that I was able to get 64oz of Water in. So far, it's been a struggle to manage to drink enough. My water bottle is always near me and save for the pre-meal and post-meal periods when I am not to drink, I am generally sipping. Protein hasn't been a problem for me. I'm currently in the puree stage and have been making purees from pork tenderloin, chicken thighs, and cauliflower. I basically turned the steamed cauliflower into "fauxtatoes" with the addition of a little bit of light cream cheese and some time spent in the food processor.

I was on a high protein shake diet for 2 weeks prior to my surgery and the day before my surgery I was on clear fluids.

I'm jealous. I ordered one from World Market and the top part came in several pieces. They were at least very very good about refunding my payment quickly. I think that I might just see if I can do anything similar in my crock pot, though I know that it's not same.

By about my 3rd to 4th day out, I was feeling much colder than usual. Even my hands were freezing and I rarely have cold hands. I just piled on some blankets and carried on. My husband wondered if it might have been from my metabolism being slower due to not taking in many calories. After a couple of days, my body heat came back.

Congratulations! I'm glad that you're feeling better than how you felt starting out. I felt a little icky my first day or two and was having "buyer's remorse," but by the third day or so, I was feeling better for having had the surgery. Best of luck with your recovery!

I ended up having one true food funeral before starting my liquid diet. The weekend before my liquid diet was to begin, my husband and I got together with friends and had sushi. It was nice. I ate enough, but not too much. It was a good "farewell for now" to the sushi. Someday, I'll have it again but in a different way.

Definitely beautiful...hot, I would even venture to say. I truly feel inspired to find my goddess within.

It's not been 2 weeks for me yet, but I'm feeling great. I think that my biggest struggle is trying to drink enough water. It's hard to get 8 glasses in. I sip and sip as much as possible, but it's still a challenge. Otherwise, I'm great. I have no pain. I'm going back to work on Wednesday.

For a bit, I think that I was more concerned with having a catheter than I was with having a major surgery. I decided not to stress about it. I watched a video or two online about the insertion of catheters and became a little more comfortable with the idea. For the duration of time that I had a catheter while in the hospital, it really did make life easier. After the surgery, I was out of it for a bit, so it would not have been easy or convenient to have to get up periodically to urinate even if I was getting up every now and then to walk the hallway. And when mine was removed, it didn't hurt or bother me at all. I experienced absolutely no discomfort from my catheter at any time. Best of luck with your surgery!

@RossJL & Aspiring Evangelist - Thanks. It's definitely a good milestone. I didn't expect it to happen so soon!

My surgery was just back on 2/22/12, but I am already off of my high blood pressure medicine. When I went for my post op visit with my surgeon back on Thursday, my blood pressure without my meds was great. So, I asked whether or not I needed to start up my meds again and he said no.

My doctor says 2 weeks as well. I've been handling everything that I've tried quite well so far, so I'm looking forward to giving pureed food a whirl, but I'm trying to be patient. At least on my doctor's "full liquid" portion of the diet, I am permitted runny hot cereal (I like Mother's Oat Bran) and nonfat cottage cheese. So, I sometimes feel as though I'm almost eating "real" food.

Wow. Congratulations on your success. It does take a big leap of faith to go into the operating room. I had my surgery last week and it's all still fresh in my mind. I'm hoping to get down to around 170-175 as well.

The Thursday post can be found at: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/31998-its-thursday-thinker-time/page__p__278922#entry278922

It makes it rough at times when so many things end up food oriented. I wasn't sleeved yet, but a few months ago I was slightly disappointed maybe even a little peeved that the reward that my office received for doing well was a small luncheon...a sub platter, some chips and some soda. Granted, it was probably economical for my employer but considering my office was being rewarded for over a year of hard work, which we did without the benefit of a supervisor it was a little sparse. I think that most of the folks in my small office would have been happier with a gift card or something along those lines. I'm very much not into food oriented rewards...especially now.

Last weekend, I found them on sale at GNC and tried the apple melon flavor. I found it to be all right. I didn't find it to be any great taste sensation, but it was quite all right.