suzcomptime

It may work differently. I had my reg Dr. refer me to the bariatric center. There I saw a surgeon, a few nutritionist visits, psych exam, which was all covered by my insurance from the referral of my primary care physician. Once that was done, the bariatric center sent to my insurance to get approval for my surgery.

I have heard that sleeves do not tolerate rice well especially early on but I have no experience with it yet.

I haven't started my two week liquid yet but a friend at work did. She said the first 2 or 3 days were the worst and then after that it wasn't so bad, you got used to it and your body adjusted. I figure that I'll get through it. I want my surgery to have the highest chance of success and I will abide by the rules which I understand shrinks my liver and reduces those risks. Each person has to make their own decision but I've tolerated many extreme diets on the short term so I can manage this two weeks of protein drinks just like I did those other fad diets.

From what I read Titanium staples are never solely titanium; they all have some amount of nickel content but I've had several people who have nickel allergy say they have had no issue with the staples after surgery so I am hoping for the best.

I am so glad that this subject and post are here for me to read and re-read. I have a nickel allergy (it usually is a result of using earring with nickel before your pierced ears are fully healed). It is helpful to see that others with nickel allergy have not had problems with the staples.

No lifting at my job....at my desk, on the computer or meeting with people most of the day. Dr. has said 2 weeks although my post op appt with him is 2 weeks and 2 days after surgery so I'm not sure if I wait until after that appt to be cleared or if I can automatically just go back after the two weeks.

She may not fully understand what "change" means and how it will impact her. She also may be somewhat afraid about the fact that you are going to be gone away for a few days. Have you gone away in the past or is that a rarity. That might be part of her fear that she isn't expressing. Confirm that when you come back from surgery, you will look the same and that slowly you will get healthier and can do more fun things together.I love the idea someone else posted about a list of fun things you can do during your losing journey. Good luck, our kids are so important to us but as with most things with raising children, you have to do the right thing by them even though they don't want it on the short term (think going to the Dr/Dentist, waiting for a treat until after supper, doing their chores, etc).

You think 11 lbs in 2-1/2 weeks is not losing? I think that is great. Hang in there and don't be in a rush to drop the weight instantly. It's not realistic and it will just get you discouraged. I know it is hard to be patient, I can relate to that.....my surgery isn't until 5/21 and it seems like my life is on hold. I know that it will be a few months before a dramatic change. My hope is that I can lose 17 lbs in 1 month and than I figure it will be more like 7-8 p/month after that but at that rate I should be close to goal by Christmas, way better than any other diet I have been on. Hang on and see how you feel 3 months out. For the constipation you should check with your Dr. I don't think they want you to have severe constipation and straining (sorry tmi). It seems like my nutritionist said if that was to happen, I should use baby food prunes but you better check with your Dr. or nutritionist to be sure. I know they can give you something to help.

Two weeks of protein shakes and liquids. 1 day of clear liquids, nothing after midnight day of surgery. Sugar free jello and popsicles are OK for the two week period. I plan on blending my protein shakes with ice to eat with a spoon instead of drinking them for the times I feel I need to eat something.

Hmmmm, nothing like that from my Dr. So many variations on pre, surgery and post procedures.

Do you think the lactose intolerance could be caused by drinking milk on your unhealed stomach? There probably haven't been any scientific studies but I'm wondering if there could be a connection? I'm just thinking about how infants are supposed to avoid some foods until a certain age because having them too young can cause allergies.....and so I'm wondering if it pays to avoid milk products the first little while.

So no cooking?.....I usually cook my steel cut oats (big pot) cool and then refrigerate and eat through the week, this sounds even better. Using the yogurt and protein powder is a great way to up the protein and then to throw in the fish oil gets that out of the way without the ewww taste. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, pina colada fish oil....who knew? I have the lemon flavored liquid, haven't tried it yet but good to know there are options.

Does Click have caffeine? The website sounded like it did and I didn't see a decaf option. Did I miss it? I have to be on decaf for awhile, maybe forever....I can't remember.....sigh.....

My surgery isn't until May 21 so it will be a little while before my pre-op diet but it will consist of two weeks of liquid only, then the last day of clear liquids and nothing after midnight the day before surgery. The two weeks of liquid will be 4 protein shakes and clear liquids in between. Yes, it's all about shrinking the liver I believe.

Maybe the relish/pickle issue is because vinegar is acidic and at least at first we need to avoid acidic foods. On the other hand, a tiny amount mixed with another food doesn't sound too bad but check with Doc or Nutr for sure.

A friend sent me this but I think it was just that day and the first 100 callers. You could try and talk them into it though. Bariatric Advantage free offer

OH, and I think I'll try the cherry ones, I like sweet tarts. The choc ones work if you add a little Water to them when chewing them, if not, they tend to feel like you are eating cocoa powder. I got my free bag of Bariatric chewy bites today and they taste just like a caramel chew but would be a bit more expensive than the dry chewables with my corrected cost calculations Sometimes the extra is worth it so will continue to get at least some of my calcium from the chewy bites.

Yes, those are the ones I have so after your post I went and re-read the label. AHA......Where I got confused is that typically the nutrition type labels tell you the serving size and then the nutrition based on that serving size but I just noticed on the back of my bottle it says "Serving Size 3 Tablets" Servings per Container 30 Then it says "Amount per 1 Tablet and then it lists the nutritional info with calories, carbs, Fiber, 500 calcium etc. So you are right it is 500 p/tablet not per serving. Just the label was written differently than typical. Thanks for pointing that out, I think I've been getting a bit much calcium lately!

Nutritionist said only calcium citrate so had to give up the Viactin I had been taking for my calcium (& guilt free treat). I ordered the Bariatric Advantage Choc chewables but they are like chalk. I can get them down but what I also disliked was that it takes 3 tablets for 500g calcium. If you need 1000g of calcium supplements that would be 6 a day. A bottle of 90 is $22 so at 6 a day, the bottle would only last 2 weeks. That's $44 a month for just 1 supplement (that tastes yucky). The Bariatric Advantage chewy bites are tasty, like a treat. They are 250g calcium each as stated earlier in this thread and at 4 a day, they cost about $23 a month, half of the chalky option. I will never buy the chalky stuff again!

My date is May 21st. I can't wait. Insurance approval is all set. Scope next week 4/11. Just need to get my chest xray and blood work which is walk in but needs to be closer to my surgery date, probably around May 10th, 11th. Start two weeks of liquid on May 7th. Have I mentioned I can't wait yet??

I like haddock and luckily my husband does as well. I expect to eat a bit of that during the soft stage.

If you Google it, you will see plenty of scientific articles where they discuss the connection of memory to ghrelin. It seems to be more recently discovered and I think some aspects are still in debate. The thing that keeps me OK, is the fact that they do have synthetic ghrelin which they are experimenting with for elderly patients so I figure that if there is a memory issue, I can take ghrelin supplements

I am scheduled for my sleeve May 21 so I'm using this time (while I'm impatiently waiting) to research Protein drinks. I read a disturbing article from Consumer Reports about Protein Drinks that were high in metal content such as arsenic, cadmium, lead & mercury. The article was from July 2010 so perhaps these issues have been addressed by the manufacture but meanwhile how do we know? I guess I will avoid some of the higher ones, which were ones I had tried and liked. Unfortunately they only tested 10 different companies (with multiple varieties from some companies). I think there needs to be some organizational support here. Perhaps some of the non-profits such as ASMBS American Society of Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery or whatever else is out there, should offer some type of "Seal of Approval" or something so that we can have a standard. While the average person may only consume 1 of these a day, the 3 a day that Consumer Reports used in their testing, would not be uncommon for this community. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2010/july/food/protein-drinks/whats-in-your-protein-drink/index.htm

Glad there is a group for the 50's My surgery is 5/21 and on that date I will be less than a month away from being 57. I've battled my weight since I was mid to late 30's. I've been over 200 several times and I would struggle it down but never less than 180 and it quickly would return to my prior high weight and then make a new high. The last time I was 220 I started on an Atkins diet I promised myself to look into bariatric surgery if I EVER got up to 220 again. At only 5'2" that is over 40 bmi. I did lose 32 pounds doing low carb but as all the times before (with WW, Nutrisystem, etc) this last winter I was at an all time high and had to keep my promise to myself. I first start looking into surgery with lapband but I later changed to gastric sleeve. I am just anxious to get started. I feel pretty realistic; I'm not even trying to hit my HS weight, but to get to a weight where I have more energy, feel like being active and can avoid some of the health issues that my mother, who had similar weigh battles, now has to deal with. Is it May yet?