Alithinos

My OB/GYN was very supportive, so I started looking into WLS almost 2 years ago. When I finally got serious about it last January and talked to my PCP, she was concerned, but she hadn't had any patients who had done this yet. She was happy to hear that I was going through an excellent medical center and we discussed how, with my weight and family history, I would likely be extending my life (and its quality) by many years. She has seen how I have struggled with my weight.

The fact is that this is a rather radical approach to weight loss and it is not without risks. I liken it to sacrificing 3/4 of your troops to win the war; I think military folks might call that "acceptable loss". I needed to get it under control while I was still healthy and young enough to do so. At nearly 3 months out, I'm now off both the blood pressure medications that I'd been taking and am not likely to develop the diabetes that killed my grandmother and makes two of my aunts so terribly ill. If you go into this meeting with your PCP able to discuss the pros and cons as objectively as possible and as measured against your specific health concerns, I can't see your PCP not being open to the concept. In any case, they hav 6 months to prove themself right if you're able to lose weight effectively. I had a 3 month requirement and only lost 12 lbs.

I saw the NUT at one month out and will go back at 3/4 months and periodically for the next couple years, but mine is covered largely by insurance.

I'm so glad that the visits are covered because I do find the advice to be helpful as I develop these new habits. For example, I found out that I should not be taking my daily B12 with my Calcium, but can take it with my Multivitamin. Since I have not liked plain Water since my surgery, we talked about alternatives. We discussed how to tweak my diet to maximize weight loss during the first six months. While a lot of the info from Johns Hopkins Bayview was provided in writing, the face to face visits help nail things down. If you're interested I think you can pull their nutrition info off their website.

Agree with the others. Who do you trust? The retail salesperson or the well-educated medical team treating you?

I'm 10 weeks out and usually have two shakes a day (early and late). The doc says I should aim to be down to one a day by 4 months and getting my nutrients mostly from what I eat. I mix the unjury strawberry Sorbet with both Water and almond milk, and the rest with almond milk. To be frank, I prefer the vanilla and the chocolate splendor the most, and they do not froth up so much if you use a Blender Bottle instead of an electric blender. I've never been able to drink milk though. The Unjury chicken Soup is an absolute must the first couple weeks.

Go slow and follow your doctor's instructions. Don't worry about everyone else.

I don't think you overreacted, and the fact that he is telling you that you did and that you're being overly sensitve is sending up major red flags - that is very manipulative behavior. It doesn't sound like it is a very healthy relationship anyway. He sounds insecure and is pressuring you inappropriately to maintain an unhealthy weight and to tape your sexlife. There may be some trust issues there. Having said that, all relationships are learning experiences, which means whether a relationship sucks or is wonderful, having learned from it is a positive. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to be in a relationship at age 23 and while you're working on yourself. As you come through the WLS process you might find that how you feel about yourself, other people, your priorities will change.

How does this guy make you feel about yourself? Do you feel respected, cared-for, listened-to, valued, etc? If you don't feel positive about yourself 100% of the time, then he's just not worth it.

The gas pain is a killer. Sorry for the personal question here, but are you going #2? Are you taking a stool softener such as Colace? My doc has me taking it twice a day. Also, when I had these problems the first three weeks post-op, the surgeon advised me to take Miralax. You can also take Milk of Magnesia, but it is rough on your system and should not be taken regularly. I took Miralax every day for about 2 weeks and then started taking it if I did not go #2 for a couple days.

Funny story: I thought I had a pulled muscle in my lower right abdomen starting about 9 or 10 days post-op. I couldn't stand up, sit down, bend over, etc without some very serious discomfort. Then the Miralax kicked in and I felt like a new person. So, take the Gas-X strips but make sure things are moving through your GI system.

The first day home, I was told to stand with my back to the shower only, and then to shower mostly normally without scrubbing at the incisions.

My surgeon said no lifting anything over 5 lbs for 2 months and would not clear me to go back to work until she saw me 2 weeks post-op. Even then, I took advantage of telework to get me through the first week back to work. I can't imagine how much harder it would have been if my work were more physical. The first two months are the toughest, and I really didn't start feeling back to myself until about 4 weeks out. But, as other people have said, experiences with this surgery are all highly individualized.

Echoing everyone else here... I'm 10 weeks out and have been taking 5 mg of Lexapro each day since a month before surgery in an effort to avoid having anxiety and depression issues. Glad to say that I've been successful so far. The Johns Hopkins psychologist warned me that people who have dealt with anxiety often experience a heightening of their symptoms after surgery. You're doing well by talking to your therapist. Does exercise help you? Does your therapist recommend medication?

Come to think of it, I haven't taken my Lexapro in a couple days and am definitely a bit cranky tonight. Also, I'm only 36 lbs down, so you're really doing well with weight loss. I am down two sizes and finally had to break down and buy new pants and bras. That felt pretty good... I'm of the opinion that slow loss is fine as long as I'm still losing. Don't beat yourself up. You will be fine.

I use a blender/shaker bottle instead of an electric blender to make my shakes, and they are not at all frothy if I am using Unjury Protein powders. However, other protein powders I've tried develop thick froths no matter what. I can't stand the foam either. Have you tried using a shaker bottle instead? Also, what liquid do you use? I wonder if that makes a difference. I use unsweetened and unflavored almond milk.

I'm 9 weeks out and don't like Water either, but can't tolerate crystal light or Propel Zero - not sure if the problem is aspartame or the citric acid. The Crystal Light with stevia sounds promising though... I add an ounce of "no added sugar" apple juice to my water and a bit of ice. I'm doing okay with having a half caf (caffeine was fine for me starting at 8 weeks). I might have to give the sugar free lemonade a try. Is there a brand you use/prefer, Getting There?

I was born lactose intolerant, but can handle most cheeses and greek yogurt well. I cannot tolerate regular milk, so I stick with unsweetend almond milk (I prefer it to both soy and rice milk - some people also don't tolerate soy well and rice milk is a little too sweet and watery). I don't seem to have a problem with whey Protein, thankfully, but there are egg based Protein powders out there. The Vitamin Shoppe carries Jay Robb protein powders and you might be able to find or order their egg white protein powders. You should be able to get a couple of single serving envelopes for him to try before buying a whole tub of powder. Lots of the ready to drink shakes seem to be made with milk. Switching to a powder may help.

If he seems to be okay with whey protein isolate, I could not recommend unjury protein highly enough. In addition to the usual chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavors, they have a chicken Soup and a cheese sauce.

Intestinal cramps could also indicate Constipation. I had awful pain on my lower right side - I thought I had a pulled muscle at one point. Once the Miralax kicked in, I felt like a brand new person.

It really seems, though, that each person has a highly individualized response to this surgery, their recovery, and food/drink preferences. When in doubt, ask the professional.

How far out r u do u swallow the capsule

Yolo

I had surgery on August 24th, and I've been swalling the capsule (twice a day with food) since 7 days out - it isn't so bad.

For the original poster, if you have a family history then your Gastro may be on to something. A friend who is two years out from being sleeved had hers out last month. I'm not sure what the odds are if you take the medication religiously vs not religiously vs not at all. Would be good to see a study on that.

I have been taking ursodiol (generic for actigall?) since surgery and believe I need to take it for a total of 6 months. Have not heard about taking it before rapid weight loss starts.

I mix the strawberry with Water. Have you tried their chicken Soup? I have their cheese sauce and need to try it as well.

I was told no raw foods until I hit the 3 month mark. I cannot wait to have sushi again.

I really like this cookbook, and made several recipes to get me through the puree phase. We made them, pureed the heck out of them, and poured them into ice cube trays to get 1 oz cubes out of them. The chicken and mushroom Soup is great, as is the chicken beau sejour (similar to the soup in flavor), the pot roast, and beef stroganoff. I was not a fan of the Tomato basil soup.

I got a Blender Bottle from Amazon.com and use it 2-3 times a day. Also, I use the small thermometer that unjury sent me when I ordered their bariatric starter pack (and I now have them sending me Protein cannisters on a monthly basis). Also, I like the Bariatric Support Vitamins (multi, Calcium and B12) that I get from the Vitamin Shoppe.

I also bought two thermoses off Amazon - an 18 oz and a 28 oz version - I use both daily for work. I can fit 2 shakes into the 18 oz bottle with ice, and fill the other with my water/apple juice blend (can't do Water by itself right now). Would recommend that you consider baby-sized bowls/dishes and spoons as well. If you don't have a good blender/food processor, that will help you too.

Protein preference is incredibly personal, as you will see. I like Unjury because it doesn't get as thick or foamy when blended as other powders - this is especially handy the first 2-3 weeks. My favorites are chocolate Splendor (with almond milk) and strawberry Sorbet (with water). I also like their chicken Soup, and need to try their cheese sauce, which is only available in Autumn/Winter. I also like Chike's Orange Creme flavor. I buy both Chike and Unjury directly from their websites.

I am 5 weeks put and dealing with the same. I find eating goes fine, but I'm not getting in the fluids. I've tried adding other things to drink, but Crystal Light makes me sick and I don't tolerate sweet or chemicalish stuff well.

I had a drain (surgery was at Johns Hopkins). It was removed before I was discharged. No big deal.

You can find True Lemon at a grocer. They come in little packets like Splenda. I got it to put on yogurt, but found it too tart. Will try it in Water. Watered down crystal lite isnt bad, but my digestive system is none too pleased with it.

Take the benadryl tablets. 2 at a time.

I had spasms right at the bottom of my breast bone. Also, after surgery, it would hurt there if I hiccuped (which I did a lot post-surgery). It was so bad that I went to the local ER to make sure it wasn't anything else. They gave me a "GI shot" which soothed my esophagus and hurting stomach as well as some prevacid and an iv of Fluid. The next day, things seemed much better. Inclined to agree that it is a combo of gas and GERD. What sort of ppi are you taking? I'm taking protonix 2x a day currently. The gas will subside - keep moving. Also do what you can to go #2.

Same here - Water felt too heavy. I've been putting a couple ounces of no sugar added apple juice into my water along with ice. I do better with cold. Start with 6-8 ounces water and 2 ounces apple juice and see if that works for you. Mio was too sweet for me. I might have to water down the Crystal Light I got based on some comments here.

The South Beach Diet says that scotch whisky and red wine are okay. They are both pretty low on the glycemic index. Since you don't care for wine, I'm guessing you might not be fond of whisky. Time to hit up your local package store and get a bunch of mini-bottles and some mixers such as fresh lime juice, lemon juice, etc. How are you with martinis? I'm a gin martini girl myself... Check out recipes for gin rickeys, gin or vodka martinis (go heavy on the vermouth and find a good one like Dolins). There is a plethora of really interesting and new liquors out there. There is a bar here in DC (PS7) that does 100 Calorie Cocktails, bless their tipsy little souls. I don't have the actual recipes, but if you have a bartender friend, they can probably figure it out:

Tighten the Beltway

Bluecoat Gin + grapefruit + ginger

The Chile Flip

Stoli Pomagranik + lemon + Kashmiri Chiles

They both sound really cool, but the first one sounds like a winner.

Protein gets weird when it is heated over 130 degrees F, so you probably would want to heat your Soup (not too much) and then check the temp before you add the powder. You can't cook with it.

My next choice would be soy Protein if I couldn't tolerate whey. I'm glad that I can, considering the fact I'm lactose intolerant. Not a milk drinker either, but almond milk is a great thing. Can you do soy milk?

At the Vitamin Shoppe, you can find Jay Robb egg white Protein shake mixes that have about 23-25 g of protein per serving, which is great. I have a sample but haven't tried it yet.

There are things you can do to amp up the protein level, such as adding yogurt, to shakes. Can you tolerate greek yogurt?