makemyownluck

Haven't tried the unflavored Syntrax yet but all reviews say it's undetectable in most things. And it's also medical grade Protein. I assume unflavored means no sweetener... I can update once I get it in the mail.

Syntrax is about 16$ for 1 lb. Unjury is about 21$ for unflavored, flavors are slightly more.

I have a Keurig and I love it. Makes hot Water too.

syntrax nectar has an unflavored powder also. amazon offers it for a low price that you can also set up to auto deliver.

where do you find dry milk? is it in the grocery store? by the condensed milk or what?

you look great - lovin the gun show!

I'm getting sleeved May 2nd! I'm looking forward to going places without worrying where I can fit - this includes sitting in a restaurant booth. I want to see how people react, I'm curious to see how some people I know act toward me when I'm thinner, how/if people will ask me about it or comment on it. I can't wait to buy clothes in any store I want to! I want to be able to wear cuter shoes. And cuter clothes! And I used to get a fair amount of attention from men when I was thinner, so I'm hoping that will start happening again, too.

hi! I'm getting sleeved May 2nd. I'm not a vegetarian. However, I cook a lot with meatless products simply because I'm sort of germ phobic about having raw meat in my house. So I limit what I cook with meat-wise at home, but I don't exclude it from my diet completely. I also have a good friend who is vegan, so I've learned a lot of alternative methods to make things meatless so we can have dinner parties. I plan to get most of my Protein from dairy and Protein Shakes. I'm hoping my tastes don't change too drastically because I actually don't mind the shakes and they are a very convenient way to get the protein you need. I take it from your list that you're not vegan. If that's the case, it shouldn't be too much more challenging for you to get your protein than it is for any other sleever.

maybe get some unflavored powder that you can add to anything, like Jello, homemade ice pops made with crystal light - you could also use strawberry powder for either of those. unflavored could also go into soups/broths. i just stocked up for post op also (I start my 2 week liquid diet on thursday), and it included gauze, tape, some anti-septic spray, gas-x strips, biotene mouth spray, milk of magnesia, liquid imodium and chewable Fiber. I also went online and ordered all my post op supplements/vitamins as well. I'M READY! (I think)

just ordered the sample pack from bjbariatrics yesterday. and i got 2 tubs of unflavored nectar from amazon yesterday as well. I've been using the body fortress brand strawberry, and I really like it with some crystal light lemonade or raspberry lemonade. i start my preop liquid diet on thursday... May 2nd is getting closer and closer!! i'm really looking forward to trying the nectar, they have some yummy sounding flavors!

THANK YOU for the tips on the coffee flavored drinks. I've been using a RTD vanilla shake in lieu of creamer for now, but it's not ideal. I got this case of these shakes and I don't particularly like them, so this is the best way I can use them without wasting the money! I'm going to try the sample pack from Big Train. Syntrax Nectar makes an unflavored powder also, I got mine on Amazon. They offer a lower price if you sign up to have an auto shipment - and you can specify if it's every month, 2 months, 3 months, and so on. I think it's $16 or so for a 1lb tub. They offer all the Syntrax flavors as well. I also get Body Fortress brand from Walmart. $16 or so bucks per can. They have a tasty chocolate peanut butter flavor. I also like their strawberry powder mixed with crystal light lemonade. I just ordered some liquid biotin that I'll be adding in with this drink also. It's cherry or berry flavored (not sure which), and I got that from Puritan's Pride. Thanks for sharing all your ideas/tips and things you've learned!

I had it on my diet diary every time I saw my NUT and she never told me to curb it. I agree with other posters that it will depend on how you tolerate it after surgery. Just like anything else, if you can tolerate it, then have it. You won't be able to drink as much as pre-op anyway. I think the biggest concern within a month of surgery is that you don't want to drink a diuretic during that time since getting your fluids in is hard enough right after surgery. I do still plan to drink coffee, but I'll switch to decaf for a month after surgery, then half caf, then back to regular, as I can tolerate.

I'm wondering if I should bring my cell phone? I would love to play my games or catch up on celebrity gossip and these boards, but from what it sounds like, I'll be too drugged up and sleepy to do any of that... should I bring it? or my ipod?

Well, we have different tastes, but I definitely agree that uptempo is best. I'm not a Top 40 person, either, this is more hip-hop/dancy stuff. Here's some of what's on mine: Drake - The Motto KP & Envyi - Shorty Swing My Way Deee-Lite - Grove is in the Heart Kylie Minogue - Love at First Sight Rihanna - SOS, S&M Beyonce - End of Time, Naughty Girl Robyn - None of Dem, Get Myself Together JJ Fad - Supersonic Salt N Pepa - Push It

I start my 2 week liquid pre-op diet on Thursday. I'm going to sort of ease myself into the liquid diet starting today. I had a strawberry body fortress shake instead of eggs and meatless sausage for breakfast. (I made mine with unsweetened almond milk and a splash of vanilla creamer - the creamer makes it SO MUCH BETTER), I'm having yogurt and maybe a cheese stick for lunch. And I have some Gardein Turk'y that I'll have for dinner with some asparagus. Then a shake if I'm hungry later. Since I started my journey, I have been focused on what I had to do to get approved for surgery, not what I had to do to get prepared for surgery. Some of these things go hand in hand - like changing your eating habits, losing a bit of weight, increasing exercise - but I have definitely not focused much on the emotional journey I'm about to go on. I've been more focused on the physical journey and the financial one. As a result, I had the tiniest of meltdowns at Walmart last night. I was doing "post op prep shopping" and it was like everything I picked up led me to unpleasant thoughts about what I'll be dealing with in just a matter of weeks. It started when I was at home and went online to make purchases from various sites for vitamins, supplements, protein powders, storage containers, etc. I mean, I spent nearly $200 right there simply because I'm definitely a sucker for "buy more, save more" specials. Even though I had a pretty long list going into the store, something about seeing these things pile up was just... overwhelming for about 22 seconds. I spend a good 45 minutes in the "Health" area - picking out gauze, tape, bandaids, ointment, lotions and a lot of other things like Milk of Magnesia, liquid Imodium, fiber gummies, Gas-X strips... just so much stuff. Just in case kinda stuff that I've seen over and over again in these forums that people need. And it's taking me a long time to get these things because I don't use any of these things now. I have a first aid kit that barely gets used... I don't currently get constipated, I don't get gassy, I don't get reflux, I don't get diarrhea... but I'm about to do something to myself, VOLUNTARILY, that will probably give me all of this and more, in combination with each other. And yet, I read over and over that people suffer through this and don't regret a single thing because it got them to where they want to be. So all of this went racing through my mind as I was in front of the fiber supplements (the last thing on my list for that section, the top shelf of the cart overflowing with all this stuff). No one was really around, so I sort of let myself go, for just a few seconds. I let out a deep breath and about 4 tears popped out of my eyes and I was done. I took another deep breath, wiped my tears, and picked out some fiber gummies. Did I come this far to back out? No. Do I want to stay where I'm at instead of having surgery? No. So I'm ready to face the emotions. This pre-op fear? Well, I'm as prepared as I can be. There's actually a lot of comfort in that. Expect the best, fear the worst. That fear is making sure I'm darn prepared so I don't have to bother going out and getting what I need when I'm already in trouble! Things are only going to get better... and better...

haha, hair in a towel! Great job!

I get veggie chips, they are sold by regular chips and are wayyyy better on carbs. single serve bags are (per bag) 130 calories, 7g fat, 10 carbs and 1g Protein. And considering post-sleeve you can probably only eat 1/4 of the bag, that's not too shabby when compared to cheetos and potato chips. They make these in chips or straw form - both are good. The chips remind me of munchos, if you've ever had those.

silk makes an unsweetened almond milk that's not bad: 1 cup = 30 cals, 2.5 grams of fat, <1 carb, <1 dietary Fiber and 1 Protein. silk's unflavored light soy milk has 60 cals, 1.5 grams of fat, 5g carbs, 1g dietary fiber/3g sugars and 6 grams of protein, by comparison. I'd rather take the extra gram of fat and skip the carbs and calories, especially if I'm using this for a Protein shake anyway. With that info in mind, which one do you think is better? (i'm a newbie to this, would like some input - also, I don't drink milk currently, so non-dairy options are what I'm interested in)

My MD and my NUT totally have different post-op plans. I called my NUT on this conflicting info and she said that you just need to go slow and only have as much as you can tolerate, so time frames aren't AS important as pacing yourself and going slowly to judge how your stomach is going to react. This response seemed completely reasonable to me. It's hard to get an exact answer on this, every surgeon has different plans - as do different NUTs. But it's your body. Try a tiny bite and see how you do. If you react badly, then you know to wait a few more days to try again. Personally, I'd try the almond milk before the cream of wheat, but I'm pre-op, so what the heck do I know? lol Good luck!

the reason is because nsaids cause ulcers, and with a reduced stomach, it's much more likely to do damage. hopefully with weight loss, you won't need pain medication as much, or at least milder medications will be more helpful. My date is May 2nd. WOOOO HOOOOOO!

that's awesome. When I told my mom I wanted this surgery, she told me she had been thinking about getting the band. I've tried to steer her away from that as gently as possible, but I know she's curious to see how I do with surgery before she makes any decision. I hope to be by her side if she makes this choice too! What a wonderful thing to go through together!! Good luck to her! and to you too!

http://www.bcbs.com/why-bcbs/blue-distinction/blue-distinction-bariatric/bluedistinctionbariatric.pdf that's a list of approved providers, and I just realized Rush University (where my surgery is happening) isn't on that list. Uh oh. Better make some calls tomorrow... Here's the list: Centegra Hospital Woodstock Woodstock Little Company of Mary Evergreen Park Memorial Medical Center Springfield NorthShore University HealthSystem Evanston Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago Silver Cross Hospital New Lenox St Alexius Medical Center Hoffman Estates University of Chicago Medical Center Chicago University of Illinois Medical Center Chicago

looking so cute!! when was your surgery?