AliveAgain

I asked this same question when I was about 50 pounds out, if you want to read the responses. And everyone was right, a lot of people think it's rude, don't know if they should say anything, or just simply don't notice b/c they don't pay close attention. There is a "magical" point when they will start saying something, and then you won't be able to avoid it! In just this last week, I've had more people tell me, "You don't look like the same person anymore." Just enjoy feeling great and watching the loss!

Had this happen a couple of times my first month on solids, then it went away. Came back twice this week, both times with pills I take with swig of water before/during meal. The first time it happened I had that horrible pain in chest for 20 minutes. Now I know it's better to just stand over a sink and let the slime come up, feel better right away.

I hated cottage cheese before surgery, then it was one of the first mushies I tried. LOVED IT! I still eat it a few times a week now.

My doc gave me the OK at 3 weeks when all my incisions were closed. If you're just getting wet, should be fine. But remember that standing in moving water, bracing for waves, picking yourself up can use your abdominals muscles more than you realize. I'd be more concerned with overdoing it or pulling something. Stay safe!!

Do a search for "constipation" or "bowel movement" using the search bar or the main search page. It been asked and answered many times! Milk of Magnesia, Benefiber, and/or Colace should help - drink plenty of water!

I had one at 2 weeks and 1 month, then I won't see him again until 1 year. Those are just the scheduled visits, granted I could go see him any time if I felt like I needed it. I talk to his nutritionist more, she guided me between food stages and helped with vitamins. I see him when I go to his monthly support group meetings, too.

You will notice a lot of new "mystery" stuff like this as you get back into and increase your activity. I've been in and out of physical therapy since February due to old injuries, balance issues, and increased/repetitive use. I can't use the elliptical b/c of my knees. Odd, I know, since it's supposed to be good for that. But for me, it makes my knees pop and seize like nothing else. I get foot numbness with treadmills, bikes, and sometimes while hiking. My PT gets it when she's on the elliptical, too -- same reasons Butterthebean mentioned. Make sure you have good shoes, go to a fitness store if you can and have them properly size you and suggest the type of shoe you need. I'm in a neutral shoe with SuperFeet orthodics because my ankles/heels need more support than the average shoe gives. Just going from an 8 to a 9 made a huge difference! If anything hurts or goes numb, stop what you're doing for a bit and try it again in a few days. I'd work on balance and stabilization exercises to help use the right muscles for proper stride. You can Google a lot of it and find videos, ask a trainer at the gym, or see a PT.

The good news is that 25 pounds is *usually* easy to drop as the initial loss is mostly happening by making your body tap into it's glycogen stores. By switching from carbs to Protein for energy, your body will tap into the stores that are Water soluble. So once you use them, the water weight usually goes with it. That's why a lot of people see the scale move, but don't immediately see it or feel it. It will be hard work on your part to convert to protein and no/less carbs though. But what your doctor is really going for is shrinking your liver and pancreas by putting them on "vacation" from processing carbs and hormones all day. That will make it easier to get to your stomach at surgery time. I agree with Benjammin, the focus is ridding carbs and upping the protein. Whether it's liquid or solids pre-surgery shouldn't matter, but I think that's part two of the doctor's goal. They want you to get used to what you'll be on for a while after surgery, get to know what flavors you like, etc. so it's not a total shock to your system when you're in recovery. They ask you to aim for the stars hoping you'll at least get to the moon (i.e. asking for 25 pounds, but it's OK if you hit 15 or 20). You'll do great!

LOVE the new profile pic, Pookeyism! You have a great smile to share with the world! I could not agree with you more, how strange it is to have this new body but still see yourself as you once were. I totally do the same thing, all the time. I stared at a pair of size 14 shorts and was convinced they would not go above my thighs or hips, but now I wear them out everywhere. It was the same way on the "way up the scale" when I was going from a 16, to an 18, to a 20 and never felt like I was bigger than I was at an 8. The world was getting smaller, I wasn't getting bigger. Congratulations not just on the weight loss, but the fabulous positive outlook on the future!

Yes, insurance is a pain in the tukas. Do as much prep work as you can up front, and ask a LOT of questions. Hospitals do offer financing as well, if it something you can do.

Do not worry, you will not stretch your sleeve -- especially during the liquid phase! I was drinking my morning and lunch protein shakes about every 4 hours, considering it could take me an hour or more to finish just 8oz in the first weeks after surgery. Then at night, I'd have my broth or soup protein about 5 hours after finishing my lunch shake. Most of the time in between I would be sipping on water or tea to meet my 64oz fluid intake. Of course, I'd stop the water about 30-45 minutes before a "meal" and resume about an hour after finishing.

What is the $10,000 max lifetime? Do you mean "out-of-pocket maximum"? There could be a number of things going on: They haven't been fully reimbursed by insurance, so the bill was sent on a cycle before it shows the adjustments and payments? (This has happened to me before). There is a difference b/n the fee surgeon's charge for "uncovered" services and then what they charge the hospital. They should have explained this to your friend before surgery. Most hospitals offer a financial screening before your surgery to tell you what the estimated charges will be and how much you will most likely owe. Mine did this, and then they offer a discount if you pay that amount up front THEN let the insurance work out and bill/refund the difference. I think mine said my portion would be something like $1200 and they gave me a 20% discount; once all was run through Anthem BC, I actually got a refund of $200. It could just be that after the deductible plus other co-pays, that the percentage left over (of the 90/10) was close to $20,000. I checked into the hospital at 8am and was discharged the next day at 5pm. I had one overnight stay, no complications, no tests run (CT, leak, etc.) Just your basic bed, IV fluids, hooked-up to machines, monitored by nurses, blood drawn periodically, etc. and the total charges billed were something like $112,000 for the hospital. The anesthesiologist is a separate service, and he was $2000. Thankfully I have a $1500 out-of-pocket maximum, so once I hit that number everything went from 90/10 to 100% covered. Had it been a higher number, then upwards of 10% of the "write-off" amount would have been mine to pay, somewhere around $5500. Are there any exclusions to the 90/10? Sometimes labs, diagnostics, durable medical equipment do not qualify or qualify at a different rate (like 50/50).

I use mine all the time for longer rides, but I waited until I was 4 months out just to be safe. I also use straws on occasion when drinking EmergenC, never had any problems. Sometimes helped to sip it into the mouth, swish it around before swallowing just to know if there is a lot of air.

Thanks for posting this, Catracks. I've been experiencing the same thing myself, wondering why the scale doesn't seem to be moving like it used to when I seem to be working out harder. I noticed I'm still drinking plenty of fluids (80oz or more each day) but didn't seem to be peeing as much as I once was. Perhaps my body is holding some Water weight for the extra endurance? I have to remind myself that my biggest reason for doing this was to lose weight to be healthier and to participate more in life, in fun things that I used to enjoy. So long as I'm able to do that, I feel confident the scale will move with time.

Yes, we can take laxatives as needed. My surgeon and gastroenterologist both recommend stool softeners if constipation reoccurs, like Colace or Philips. I find I get constipated 1-2 times a month now, so I first try one stool softener per day for 2-3 days to see if it works. Then if it gets to a point of discomfort, I'll use a single dose of Milk of Magnesia at night. It always works. Drinkable magnesium citrate can also help, or senna tea on occasion. Make sure to drink a lot of water with any of these!!

Congrats on the 58 pounds lost and KEPT OFF! Be proud of that loss! I know it's hard not to see the 40 still to go, but you will get there with patience, diligence and time. I am coming up on being 5 months out, and have noticed a slow down in my weight loss the last month or so. I now tend to bounce around with the same pound for 3-5 days before really losing it. But I'm happy so long as the scale just keeps going down, not up, and the clothes continue to get baggier. I would recommend going back to the food journal, and trying to scale back to 800 calories for a week or two. Make sure you're still getting 80-100g of Protein daily, 64oz or more of fluids, and try to keep the carbs between 40-60g. That should help kick start the losing again. My surgeon and nutritionist tell me 1200-1400 calories is what I will eat once I'm in maintenance -- once I hit goal and do not want to lose or gain any more. Every body is different, but on average we only burn 1400-1800 calories per day doing normal, routine things like showering, driving, working, etc. Of course, more active people burn more, men more than women, etc. And you have to expend 3500 calories to burn one pound of fat. The body converts carbs to energy very easily, more so than fat or protein. So if you're feeding your body enough carbs, it will default to using that for energy and slow down on using the things you want it to use -- fat. I'm still experimenting myself. I had to increase my carbs from less than 40g to about 60g per day because of the type of activity I'm doing. I found myself continually bonking about 1.5-2 hours into a bike ride, or on longer hikes. I'm not sure that's really slowing down my weight loss, since I'm expending more energy, too. But it's pretty normal for the loss to slow down at the 6 month point. It gets used to what is now your "norm" and you have to shake it up a little bit. Maybe take on something new like pilates or swimming? But definitely go back to the basics of what you were doing at months 2-3 to see if that helps.

(If you do a search from the main search page, enclosing the phrase in quotations like this: "unflavored unjury" -- there are many results!) As for your question, I keep all the unjury flavors in my cabinet. I break them out from time to time, and yes, to make them "go longer" I'll sometimes do half/half flavor/unflavored. It blends well like any other powder. I personally use Blender Bottles, few shakes and you're ready to go. They blend well in blenders, too, if you're into adding other things like fruit, ice, etc. My other trick is to make SF Jello like normal, only using a scoop of unflavored in the cold Water and waiting to mix once the hot water is below 130 degrees. Then you get a little extra Protein in your Jello!

Actually, bra fitting "experts" tell you that if you go down in band size, you have to go up in cup size. There is no real change in their size, it's all perspective of cuts. Same thing happened to me, I dropped from a 40I/J to now a 34G/H. It was tricky because it was like band, band, cup, band, cup, cup, band.

I've wondered this myself. My doctor never mentioned a drain, and until I joined this forum I did not realize it was an option for some. I can say I had a pretty easy hospital stay with no complications. Just one large incision and four small ones that I can barely see now, all closed shut with glue. Came home the day after surgery, able to take in a protein shake and water 6 hours after surgery. Did not have to go back to have anything removed at all, just regular follow up visits.

Hi Jamie, welcome to VST! I was confused much by the same thing when I was considering this surgery. I first heard about it months before I had my first consult, when I wasn't even looking for it. I had gone in for a consult for breast reduction, and that doctor pretty much refused to do surgery on me until I lost a lot of weight because I was too high of a risk for complications. I had a few doctors tell me over the years to consider the surgery, but I thought it was too drastic -- I can do it myself. Well, after multiple attempts to diet and exercise properly, I realized I didn't have everything I needed to make this a success. Too often life gets in the way: Work stresses me out, I don't get enough sleep for weeks on end killing my will power, my family creates drama and I eat to cover up my feelings. You name it, I had a lot of barriers ahead of me. Yes, I was eating a lot of the right stuff, most of the time. But usually still in too large of portion sizes. And I still had moments of binging on the wrong stuff (pasta, rice, bread) when my emotions got the best of me. After years of therapy to reduce my anxiety, I still wasn't getting the eating thing under control. And so long as I was 130 pounds overweight, every attempt to exercise just caused pain and injury. So I decided to have this surgery. And it's the best decision I've made in a long, long time. The surgery doesn't remove any weight at all (except for the excised stomach, which doesn't count!) It's not like liposuction where someone else is REMOVING the fat cells for you. It's merely giving me a smaller stomach so that I can't abuse it's volume any more. It's like having a coach with you at every meal, deciding your portions and telling you when you've had enough. It's this little reminder that now that you only have a small amount of space, you'd better fill it with healthy food that will give you energy, nutrients, and sustenance throughout the day. Believe me, I would not have made it more than a few weeks on a 600 calorie diet with less than 40g of carbs. I would have broken down 50 times since my surgery when life got my emotions worked up, when I felt like I wasn't losing enough, when PMS came-a-calling. This allowed me the "OOMPH" I needed to deal with my head issues, start and KEEP to a healthy eating schedule, and feel proud that I was keeping on the "straight and narrow." With that came the initial 30-40 pound loss that helped me start walking, biking, etc. without pain. And with the new diet, I found I had more power, less illness, and more willingness to be more active. I hope this helps you!

My weight yo-yo'd in my 20s and I gained about 30 extra pounds after a bad break up. I dropped that 30 plus an extra 15 one year, and everyone "accused" me of having a breast reduction -- since my weight goes straight to my boobs and then LEFT my boobs. It lasted a few weeks, then they finally shut up about it. I have not told anyone but my husband and doctors about my surgery, and at this time do NOT plan on telling anyone. The fact is the surgery is just a tool that helped me lose the weight, but the actual LOSING I've been doing on my own my being diligent about changing eating habits and exercising daily. So I don't feel like a liar when they ask how I've done it and I say "diet and exercise" because it's the truth. I know some people disagree and believe the only way to get rid of the stigma of surgery is to be proud of it and back it up. While I agree with this logic, I also believe that telling or not telling is a very personal matter. All of us came from different backgrounds and it's hard to say what applies to one should apply to all. Personally, I know I'd have those who support me and those who'd chose to judge me. I honestly would rather not know and do not feel prepared to have the relationships in my life shift for that reason. Maybe one day I'll change my mind, who knows? But for now, this is my choice.

My doctor did not put me on a pre-op diet, but advised I should try to lose 10-15 pounds before surgery and go low-carb and kick the sugars so my liver could shrink a little. I ate the foods I'm eating now, high-protein, etc. practice food journaling, and then went on a liquid diet 48 hours before surgery. What you had sounds fine to me for 10-days out, just get back on the horse and try again tomorrow. Shrinking the liver is very important, it can prevent them from being able to do the surgery at all. The stomach is kind of hidden behind/beside the liver, and they have to be ever so careful not to damage it.

Considering I've never been in a bar fight, and I've never been stabbed - that wouldn't mean very much to me. It felt more like doing 250 ab crunches meets some really bad menstrual cramping, just a little higher up in the abdomen. In fact, sometimes the menstrual cramps are worse than what I felt after surgery!

A few years back, I was shopping in a cute boutique with a friend. I knew they only went up to a size 10, but I was looking for gifts for other people. A very rude saleswoman made it a point to let me know, "We don't carry your size in here, you may want to go to the mall to find what you need." Well, today I walked into a Lane Bryant to return some size 14 shorts I bought last month. And wouldn't you know it, one of the saleswomen kindly pointed out, "Ma'am, I don't think we have your size here, may I ask what you're looking for?" Ha. THAT was a first...

I'm finally to the point I keep my ring and band in their original box during the day. I like to wear them at night (comforting), but I've awoken to find them strewn in the bed. They fall off very easily with about a 2-3mm gap to my finger. But I still have 50+ pounds to lose before I'm where I want to be for long-term. When did you have your rings resized? I'm afraid of waiting until I'm near goal, going too small, then regaining. Let's face it, we're still planning to have a kid or two and I'm betting with age I'll crawl back up the scale here and there (you know, when I'm 80). I'm not interested in the little band things you can put on the back, I tried my grandmother's and they're very annoying.