joatsaint

You didn't mention if you were going against your doctor's orders, but I would not be pushing the limits of my stomach this soon. Do you really want to take a chance and wind up in the emergency room because you stretched the staple line or a small piece of food gets lodged in the scar tissue?

I don't recall any bad dreams pre-surgery. But I sure had them post-op, for about a week. I was dreaming I was in a post-apocalyptic world and was being quizzed to see if I had enough skills to be a valuable member of the team.

The title is from an old nursery rhyme by Andrew Dice Clay. Little Miss Muffet Sat on her tuffet Eating her curds and whey Along came a spider Sat down beside her And said, "Hey, what's in the bowl b-i-t-c-h?" I see quite a few questions regarding whey protein and I'd like to share a few things I learned pre-surgery in preparation for my pre-op and post-op diet. Whey is one of the fastest digesting proteins and the quickest way :-) to get protein shuttled to your muscles. Whey comes from milk protein and contains the full spectrum of amino acids needed to build muscle. Whey comes in several forms - hydrolyzed, isolate, and concentrate, isolate being digested faster and more completely than protein concentrate. The Differences Protein Concentrate: 70-80% pure protein and up to 5% lactose Protein Isolate: Almost pure protein (90-94%) and near zero lactose and carbs, many people that are lactose intolerant have no problems digesting protein isolate. Hydrolyzed Protein: Protein isolate that is broken down even more and is more easily absorbed by the muscles. All three are good sources of protein and taking one over the other will not make a difference in how much muscle mass your body builds. It is only a matter of purity and the speed your body digests and transports the protein to the muscles. Whey concentrate has less pure protein than hydrolyzed or isolate, meaning you'll have to take more whey concentrate to get the same protein in grams vs. isolate. And speed of digestion and transport. Again, whey concentrate is the slowest, it is not broken down in the manufacturing process as much as hydrolyzed and isolate. Hydrolyzed=fastest, isolate=fast, concentrate=slowest. Is speed any great issue? I wouldn't think so. It's like the kids playing basketball, buying a pair of Jordans to improve their game. The difference a pair of Jordans makes for a nonprofessional athlete is so insignificant it's almost zero.

The pre-op and post-op diet were 2 different worlds for me. Pre-op, my mind was constantly focusing on what I could eat next. Post-op, those thoughts were completely gone. I believe it was the reduction of the hunger hormone Ghrelin that kept me hungry all the time. Or maybe I just had to hit rock bottom before I could lose the weight. :-P If my brain worked pre-op the way it does now, I'd never had needed the surgery and could have lost the weight on my own.

My doc said just to take Multivitamin, 1000mg sublingual B-12, and 1000mg of calcium citrate a day. I don't believe we lose the ability to absorb Vitamins and minerals from food the way Gastric Bypass patients do. I didn't start the vitamins until I was back on solid food, so I've never tried anything like the gummy vitamins. I've always taken tablets or pill form.

I don't know if 9 months counts as "long term" yet, but I've never written down how much I eat or drink. I have been using a 1/2 cup bowl for measuring my meals and a 30 oz mug for my Crystal Light. I limit myself to 4 to 6 bowls of whatever I'm eating this week and try to drink at least 4 mugs of Crystal Light. The first few months after surgery, I wasn't able to eat much more than a few bites of cut up foods like steak and other stuff that I couldn't measure with my bowl. So I got in the habit of eating slowly (it was tough at first to slow down) and now I just have a subconscious feeling when I'm on track for my food and Water intake for the day. So like today, I ate a boiled egg around 7am, a 2nd around 9am, 11am I had a 1/2 cup of ground turkey and black Beans, 3pm 5 tsps of the turkey and beans, 3 mile walk after work, 5pm 1 large orange, 7:30 1/2 cup of turkey and beans, 10pm boiled egg. I have no real idea of how many calories is in my turkey/beans mixture, except that I made a 6 quart dutch oven full - total calorie count 3200. I've been eating on it for 4 days and it will last me till Thursday night. The main things I strive for: consistent weight loss, regular exercise, eating healthier foods (like 97% fat free ground turkey, pork loin, chicken breast, beans, lentils), getting enough Fiber so I can poop! :-P

I was really happily surprised to find out that my gastric sleeve surgery is expected to last less than an hour. Apparently my doc has done A LOT of theses and can pretty much knock them out like an assembly line. I'm to check in at 7am, surgery is at 9:30am, expected to be back in my room by 10:30am. Spend the day recovering and walking. Next day drink the barium for the leak test and be released late in the afternoon. He said not to expect any internal pain, the only pain should be at the incision points and very little gas discomfort. So we'll see. Some of the unexpected things that I didn't find out until the last minute: Had to go to the hospital for several tests - blood, ultra sound, chest xrays and EDG (camera down the throat to check out the stomach). Have to go to the hospital with 72 hours of the surgery to get blood typed (in case of the need for a transfusion) and urine test. So the only things I have left is the per surgery blood/urine test and then the surgery. Very excited. My copay for the doctor has been about $2000 so far (office visits/surgery cost) My hospital costs so far, $1000 (blood, ultra sound, chest xrays and EDG) Costs still to be determined: pre-op blood/urine test and hospital costs for the 2 days pre and post surgery.

I swear by Premier Protein chocolate shakes, tastes like thin chocolate milk to me. I toss in 1 scoop of some powdered chocolate soy Meal Replacement to make it thicker. I also like EAS carb control chocolate shakes, but they are a little thinner and I can sometimes feel a little graininess on my tongue. Both are low carb and high in protein. I pick them up at Sam's Club and Wal-Mart. I think the EAS are 4 for $5 and the Premier are 12 for $19.

Dumping syndrome is not associated with the sleeve, because the pylorus valve at the bottom of the stomach is not bypassed. Gastric Bypass surgery bypasses the pylorus valve when the small intestine is rerouted to the new stomach pouch. Without the pylorus valve, food can move unregulated from the stomach into the small intestine. http://www.mayoclini...DSECTION=causes

I'm not sure if it is legally required in Texas - to get a new DL if your looks significantly change, but I get stopped so rarely that I'm going to wait until expiration before getting a new DL.

I take melatonin, it's a sleep aid found on the vitamin isle. Knocks me out in about 30 minutes. It's not a strong sleep aid, it'll make you feel sleepy, but if you later decide to stay up, the sleepiness passes after another 30 minutes.

What tells you that it's not working? Since I started taking sub-lingual B-12 post op, I haven't noticed any changes in the way I feel, so maybe mine is not working like it should.

It was 7 or 8 days before I could sleep on my side.

Too bad you can't flex fat like you can muscle. :-)

I had read on another post that after 6 months the stomach tends to "relax" a bit and it can hold more. I'm at 8 months and know that I can eat about a cup of food and feel full, previously I was full at 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup. But the difference now, from pre-surgery, is that I can eat a cup of food and walk away - not like the past where I'd be thinking about how soon I could eat again. It just takes a little more vigilance to keep myself on track.

I was allowed solid foods after 4 weeks - no restrictions. But I would advise you to eat only a teaspoon full or less and wait 5 minutes when trying a new food. I learned the hard way that my stomach didn't like some of the tougher to digest foods like chicken and fibrous vegetables for the 1st 2 months. Anything with a peel like grapes/apples or fibrous like pineapples/oranges are tough to digest and at 8 months, I still get a few grumbles from Frankensleeve

How To explain away my scars? OK, this is awful so don't read if you are easily offended and do not appreciate a sick sense of humor. Warning! Don't read if you are easily offended! Last Warning! Sick Humor below!!!!! Shanked in prison... Shuts them up every time! - VSGKirk Some idiot: What happened? You: I had abdominal surgery. Idiot: What kind? You: The kind that involves the abdominal area. - newat52 Tijuana knife fight. - Kristina J. I had some "woman issues " - chell1978 Texas mosquito bites I was knifed by an exotic dancer in TJ. Full contact scrapbooking injury... When you get the weird look, you can fill in that scrapbooking is getting really intense now that scrappers are trying to make the hobby "athletic enough" for the Olympics. Bears. But never mind my scar, you should check out my awesome new rug! My wife said somtimes I don't know my place. Tell them you are trying to avenge your father and ask if they have six fingers on their right hand. Two words, "Satin sheets" I don't want to go into details, but suffice to say, I won't be allowed in that Benihana for a while. The first rule of Fight Club is 'don't talk about Fight Club' They say you can't get blood from a stone - well, the IRS tried! Remember when your mom told you not to run with scissors? I was watching the DIY network and they did a show on bodylifts... A zombie tried to eat my brains and missed. Tell them as much as you'd love to talk about it you just can't because your defense attorney and parole officer advised you to keep your mouth shut until after the trial. I got this in a bar fight when I used to ride with Hells Angels. That's where the aliens probed me Don't worry about it. Because of me, they now have a to put on warning labels! Well, let me just tell you this: You should NEVER EVER, under ANY circumstances, go out with a guy/girl that you met on the internet. "I was oyster hunting." They give me a blank stare. Then I say, with a wink, "You've obviously never been oyster hunting before." I was at this party with Marilyn Manson and everyone was giving out hugs. I lost a fight with a can of tuna fish. I slipped while making a salad. I fell asleep, and the clown got me. I'll just put it this way: when they tell you not to feed the bears, it's for a damned good reason. I'm a blade sharpness tester "I had an accident with a scalpel." [person asks why] "Well, you know that guy who woke up in an ice bath and his kidney was gone? Er... this had nothing to do with it. Honest." You know how dogs chase their tails? Well it has nothing to do with that. Nor does it have anything to do with cat scratches. Or the faeries that visit me nightly *ramble on*... What was I talking about? I thought those security tags on pants just sprayed ink, but apparently they spray shards of broken glass, too. "Oh, these?" *embarrassed face* "I know they look horrible, but the sex was INCREDIBLE!" "...Are you consipring aginast me? What's with all the questions? Who wants to know the answers?" *and upon interrupting "I'm doing the talking here" and then continue to ramble until they back away. "...They'll come and get you too. Run while you still can" Knifed by an exotic dancer. Terrible. Yes, they're nasty that way. I had unprotected sex with a porcupine. I took my lizards for a walk and they held on for dear life. The neighborhood cat and I had a disagreement about the paw prints on my truck. The police didn't comply with the terrorists' demands fast enough, so they took it out on us hostages. I keep falling off of cliffs trying to catch that damned roadrunner. The voices told me to do it. I did this as a sacramental offering to my dark lord, you prick. ::Smile:: In my past life I was a ninja. It sucks having parents who are sadists. My boyfriend and I accidentally went overboard during our last S & M session. I moon light as a stunt-woman who dives through glass windows. Look at your scars and frown You mean you don’t have any? Well, last time it was an alien baby. I’m actually kind of relieved. I had a narrow escape from a firing squad. Now that is an interesting question; it all ties in with the eternal enigma: why are we here, for what purpose does life on earth exist? go on about the meaning of life until everyone gets bored and goes away Carving a turkey is harder than it looks You want me to show you? smile evily Don’t EVER give blood abroad! Well, I tend to get a little violent with the computer when it doesn’t cooperate. Oh those? Bad juggling accident. I don’t like to talk about it. I’m much better now Oh these? Hmm, I dunno, they’ve just always been there. Well, I mean, ever since I took over this body, anyway. Strange, don’t you think? Ozzy Osborne is my uncle and we have some kick butt family reunions! Those psychology experiments are soooo not worth the extra credit… Oh my god! Never, EVER try taking candy from a baby! A reminder of my Pirating days.... My trained attack dragon did before I got him trained... I had a duel. Did you know chickens aren't all soft and fluffy? Playing Slug Bug with a cat is a reaaally bad idea. Oh this? *point at scar* That's where my twin used to be attached. Lightsaber battle I kicked Chuck Norris' ass all I got was this lousy scar! Tell them you had to help Jack Bauer escape from the Russians and that's the last time you'll cover his pansy ass. Narrowly escaped a zombie attack Fell on the runway-it's Fashion Week Rachel Ray's dog attacked me. I just tell people it's a "sex wound." My husband is ... just ... a WILD MAN, what can I say? That's all folks! Really, that's all there is. No hablo the english? There isn't anymore. Stop scrolling! Ok, okay, one last one. It's where the alien burst out. What, you think they only come out of chests? Satisfied!??????????

I've named mine Frankensleeve cause he can be a real monster sometimes. :-)

I think straws are stuck up and conformist. They either come in that formal sleeve that covers them from head to toe or they come in a box... everyone looking alike.

Well, it's official. My surgery is on the 27th. The good news is that my pre-op diet is only for 5 days and it won't be too much of an alteration of my current eating habits. From my research, I already had a good idea of what the pre-op diet was going to be like, just didn't know how long I would be expected to be on it. I had prepared myself mentally for a 2 week liquid diet. So it was really a surprise to hear that it is only 5 days and I can drink as much of the high protein/low carb shakes as I want and eat soups (like chicken noodle) as long as they don't contain high carb vegies like potatoes. I've already figured out a combination of dutch chocolate EAS carb control shakes with 1 scoop of Total Soy (chocolate) that tastes great and has a combined 30 grams of protein and 11 grams of carbs per 20 oz shake. I highly recommend getting a shaker bottle with the little ball spring inside. It really breaks up the Total Soy powder making a smooth creamy shake. I bought a 2 pack at Sam's club for $12, and I saw them at Wal-Mart for $7 each. But with the 2 pack I can keep one at work and one at home. I figure I'm having the same thoughts and feelings as others in the pre-op stage. So I wanted to share a moment I had last week that makes me laugh at myself now. I had a small panic attack until I realized how stupid it was. I actually got worried that post op, I wouldn't be able to eat as much I as I could in the past. Stupid, right? But I guess it plays on my basic fear of change. How am I going to handle being thinner and how people will react and treat me at work and socially. As it is, I have 40 years of knowing how people treat the fat me. Now, I have to worry about how people will treat me as a thin person.

I have learned to live with late night snacking. I usually eat either a boiled egg or a half cup of some lean protein or an orange - they seem to really fill me up. I try to choose stuff that is low carb and about 1/2 a cup in serving size.

If you're diagnosed with sleep apnea, you'll have to do a 2nd sleep study while wearing the CPAP... so they can calibrate it to fit your needs. My doc wasn't worried about the CPAP. He just wanted to make sure I brought it with me to the hospital. It didn't effect my surgery date. But be sure and bring distilled Water with you for your CPAP machine. If your hospital is like mine, they only have sterilized water... and you REALLY done want to use it in your CPAP. Sterilized water smells disgusting!

If they are like the Blue Bell SF pops I had, they are made with sugar alcohols. While not completely carb free, from what I've read, your body only absorbs about half the calories from the sugar alcohols.

Walking has really helped reduce the loose skin on my inner thighs and doing wall push ups is helping reduce my bat wings. :-P Now I'm looking for some form of exercise to reduce my loose stomach skin. I think that high repetitions, not necessarily high weight or high intensity is the way to go for me. I think the increase fluid and blood flow into the loose skin areas revs up the skin recovery process.

I'm not really tracking carbs. I try set up my meals this way - 1/2 of the plate is protein and the other 1/2 is vegetables/beans/lentils. It's worked for me so far.