Bufflehead

My stages were: 4 weeks full liquids 4 weeks purees 4 months soft foods Each practice has their own rules. You should get detailed instructions for your plan from your dietician, bariatric nurse, or surgeon.

@@ssflbelle I was able to put a bra on just about as soon as I was transferred back to my room after being in the recovery area. A regular bra will hurt the incision -- make sure you get an all cotton bra with no underwire that fastens in front, like this: http://www.hanes.com/onehanesplace/bra/shop-by-category/all-bras/leading-lady-leisure-bra-20231 checking the incision won't be a problem, you just pull up the bottom band a little if the doctor or nurse needs to see under there.

Wear loose clothes to the hospital so you can wear the same thing home. Most hospitals have all your basic toiletries, gowns (easier to manage IV poles, drains, etc. -- I know some people bring their own night gown or PJ's, but do you really want blood and drain fluids getting all over your own clothes?), etc. Lip balm is good. Most hospitals won't want you bringing in or taking medications such as gas-x on your own -- plus gas-x is worthless when it comes to surgical gas anyway, since gas-x works on natural gas in the digestive tract, and surgical gas is CO2 floating around outside your digestive tract. So, lip balm, a phone or iPad (and charger) and you should be good to go. Make sure that whoever is driving you home brings a pillow so you can put that between your torso and the seat belt on the drive home. Good luck!

Yes, I stay away from them unless I am traveling. They are trigger foods and sliders. Basically they are just dressed-up candy bars anyway, no one needs them IMO.

@@Stevehud I agree that there isn't a lot of evidence showing that artificial sweeteners cause diseases (such as cancer). I do think there is some evidence correlating artificial sweeteners and obesity and metabolic syndrome, etc.: http://livebetterlife.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/688.full_.pdf http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951976/ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/artificial-sweeteners-may-disrupt-bodys-blood-sugar-controls/?_r=0 http://www.medicaldaily.com/diet-soda-may-put-older-adults-risk-metabolic-syndrome-how-artificial-sweeteners-325938 That said, I absolutely believe that the medical evidence stacked up against sugar is far higher than that against artificial sweeteners. I use artificial sweeteners relatively regularly but try to avoid added sugar as much as I can.

@@ShrinkingPeach I did read the quantities, I did the math and assumed that the ingredients put together would come out to about 12 ounces total. Divide by 3 for a 4 ounce serving. And as you can see I wasn't far off as my estimate was 175 calories per serving and the OP gave the correct count as 163 calories

@@ShrinkingPeach I did read the quantities, I did the math and assumed that the ingredients put together would come out to about 12 ounces total. Divide by 3 for a 4 ounce serving. And as you can see I wasn't far off as my estimate was 175 calories per serving and the OP gave the correct count as 163 calories

My PCP gave me a prescription for Tramadol -- basically only enough for about 3 days per month, but that's all I need. You may want to check with your surgeon and see what your restrictions are with respect to drugs (some say it is okay to take NSAIDs) and recommendations are. Tylenol is generally a good option for sleevers. However, you should be getting medical advice from real doctors, not Dr. Google or Dr. Stranger on a Messageboard, so definitely give your surgeon and/or your PCP a call. Good luck, period pain sucks, I know!

Keep following your program and stay off the scale for a while.

My apologies posting in the guys' room, since the OP didn't actually want it here I am going to assume it is okay to respond. I had the sleeve due to some medical concerns that made bypass not the best option for me. Otherwise I probably would have gone with bypass. I know several people who have had it, such as my niece and a good friend, and they have all had great success. I see people at my wls support group with bypass. They are all healthy, happy, active, cheerful people. And they are all doing great with their weight loss! I also take vitamin and mineral supplements with the sleeve and will for the rest of my life. I also have to be careful about what kind of medications and supplements I take, since the smaller size of my stomach can affect the way some medications are absorbed. I don't think it it is very different with respect to the bypass. And for NSAIDs, as others have pointed out, many surgeons are recommending against sleeve patients using them. And recent medical studies are pointing out that maybe they are not a good idea for *anyone* to take on a regular basis anyway. http://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/treatments/medication/drug-types/nsaids/nsaids-heart-attack-stroke-risk.php http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm453610.htm

It looks like it would also have about 175 calories for a 4 ounce serving? That seems pretty high . . . but it does look delicious though!

1. My surgical team had a rule that your meals take no longer than 30 minutes. If you can't finish in 30 minutes, put the rest away (or throw it away) and don't eat again until your next meal. Three meals a day only and no snacks other than protein shakes. They do not want us to get in the habit of grazing or snacking. We were told that if we got hungry in between meals, we could have a zero calorie drink or a protein shake. That is my team's rules, though, YMMV. 2. There is nothing wrong with your sleeve. Liquids don't engage the pyloric valve, or not much, so it is perfectly normal for fluids to go pretty much right through your stomach. The reason some people struggle early on with fluids is that their stomachs are badly swollen, bruised, and tender after surgery. Looks like your surgeon has meticulous technique and/or you are a fast healer, so you aren't dealing with that.

Yes, find a good plastic surgeon and start saving your pennies!

They brought me a tray full of drinks with straws in them a couple hours after my surgery. I didn't ever use them because I don't really like straws. But apparently my medical team has no problem with straws. They were never mentioned to me one way or the other.

I haven't seen any studies. That said, although I am a researcher by nature and profession, I didn't really care if there were studies or not. I was on liquids for four weeks post-op, too, so I feel your pain! But I had to tell myself, if I could research my way to good eating habits and a healthy weight, I would have done it and not ended up over 350 lbs and needing bariatric surgery. I decided to put my faith in the professionals who do actually have proven success in getting people from morbid obesity to health, and who I trusted to do major surgery on me, and not on my own apparently faulty ability to make informed decisions about eating and health. So I put me head down and followed orders . . . and it worked for me

@@glitterpockets Look, I am not one to tell people to disregard the instructions of their medical team. But the truth is that you can get perfectly good, inexpensive Protein powder at Wal-Mart and Target. Look for the brands Body Fortress and Pure Protein. Check out places like Trader Joe's, costco (if you are a member), Sam's Club (ditto), . Some big grocery stores (Kroger in my area, not sure what you have where you are) sell cheap protein powders, too. Everyone deserves to be healthy and happy and I promise you this surgery is not just for rich people. You can also swing by GNC or Vitamin Shoppe and ask what low calorie, low carb whey protein powders they have on sale. They do have good sales sometimes. Good luck! eta: most of these protein powders are going to be "whey concentrate" rather than "whey isolate." It is true that you absorb protein more efficiently from whey isolate - but that doesn't mean you will fail with whey concentrate! I used mostly whey concentrate throughout weight loss and have lost almost 200 lbs and have been perfectly healthy throughout. You don't need "whey isolate" -- which is more expensive -- to succeed.

Mine is great! She has a certification in bariatric nutrition (as well as being an RD) and works exclusively with bariatric patients. What helped me the most was the fact that she is super-strict. I had to have regular follow ups with her, she had very strict and conservative plans about what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, and she made sure I logged everything. At every visit I had to sign into MFP on her computer and she went over everything in my diary with a fine tooth comb. She was really important to me. I'm looking forward to checking in with her next month at my 2 year post-op appointment.

Try the Unjury chicken soup flavored protein powder. Get unflavored protein powder and mix with beef broth, chicken broth, or miso broth. Mix unflavored with cottage cheese or yogurt (if you are allowed to eat those things right now). Use a half-scoop of protein powder instead of a full one, or if you are using RTD, cut it 50/50 with skim milk, unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened cashew milk. Yes, the terrible noises are normal and yes the diarrhea eventually goes away. Good luck!

Mine is regularly somewhere between the low 40's and mid 50's. My PCP isn't concerned, she says that's fine for someone who exercises regularly. What does your doctor say?

Whenever your surgeon gives you clearance. Depends on exactly what you want to do, light cardio is going to usually be cleared a lot sooner than, say, weightlifting. Most surgeons will want you to wait 6 weeks or so before weight lifting or doing serious core work, or even cardio that involves a lot abs. But only your surgeon can tell you for sure.

I never took bariatric vitamins and my labs were always great. For the first four weeks after surgery I did Wellesse liquid multi-vitamins, iron, and calcium. I took double doses of the vitamins and iron. After about four weeks I switched to Trader Joe's High Potency chewable multi vitamin -- again, a double dose for the first year. It is FAR cheaper, lower calorie, and lower carb than those bariatric specialty vitamins that are masquerading as candy and loaded up with artificial crap. I also switched to Citracal Petites for calcium and whatever the drug store had on sale (not slow release) for iron.

Do you mean protein powders? I like Syntrax Matrix, Syntrax Nectar sweets, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey, Unjury, and Chike. Have to watch intake with Chike as it is higher calorie/carb than the others.

Ziploc small food saver. Add 3 oz chopped chicken, 1.5 oz chopped veggies, 1 T. salad dressing. shake. Take to work, bring home, wash, repeat. Total cost under $1.

Not sure where you are located but in some states, insurance purchased off the exchange is required to offer bariatric surgery. You would want to research it very carefully though. Plus with premiums, deductibles, etc. it would probably still be pretty costly, and you likely wouldn't be able to buy insurance to start before January 2016. I know many people have gone for revisions in Mexico which is at least cheaper than self-pay in the US. Good luck!

1. lean meat 2. more lean meat 3. even more lean meat 4. eggs Get those packets of flavored tuna, you can eat them straight out of the pouch. Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? They sell cooked, seasoned chicken breast strips of all varieties, like lemon pepper, teriyaki, chili lime, etc. You can just chop some up and put it in a baggie. You don't even need to refrigerate it if you are eating it on the same day. They also sell seasoned and cooked roast beef, pork shoulder, etc. They have great varieties of Jerky, like sweet & spicy buffalo jerky. If you are willing to shop online, check out the Ostrim jerky sticks on Amazon -- they have sampler packs of all sorts of interesting jerky sticks, like habanero elk jerky or bbq ostrich jerky. You can buy pre-cooked hardboiled eggs from Trader Joe's, they make a great snack. If you like different kinds of fish, the little cans of sardines are portable, come in many varieties, and are great sources of Protein and all sorts of nutrients (Omega oils for your heart, Calcium, Iron, etc.). Good luck!