MidwestGirl

My dad had his gall bladder removed about a year and a half ago and he's good as new. I would say you're better off having it removed, though I wouldn't know from personal experience. I would rather take a week of recovery time from the surgery than have the pain that comes with gallstones, which I saw with my dad. Good luck!

Hi Kiwi, sorry your doctor wasn't more specific! Here is the list of Mushies my dietitian gave me:

-lowfat and non-fat cottage cheese, string cheese, and sliced cheese

- smooth Peanut Butter

- fat free refried Beans

- eggs

- tofu

- pureed plain vegetables, fruit, and meat (or 2nd stage baby foods)

- Water packed chicken or tuna blended with mayonnaise

- mashed potato

- mashed banana

- unsweetened applesauce

- plain oatmeal or low-Fiber Cereal, such as Rice Krispies, soaked in skim milk until soggy

- well cooked rice & Pasta

- 1 tsp. margarine, oil, or Mayonnaise daily

Then the guidelines are:

- eat 3 small meals, approx. 1/4 cup per meal

- eat & chew slowly & thoroughly

- stop eating when you *start* to feel full

- wait 30 minutes before and after meals to drink liquids

- include 2-3 Protein supplements to achieve 60-70 grams total Protein daily from food & protein supplements combined

- total Fluid intake should be 64 oz daily, including protein supplements

She also says to try to have 1 "protein food" per meal, two foods total. And when starting mushies to add one new food per meal so if something doesn't agree with your tummy, you know what it was. This is just my dietitian's plan, but I hope it helps. :thumbup1:

Hi! So I bought a body ball and am now making the fiance pump it up for me :001_wub:. Hahaha. Anyway, it came with a little exercise booklet but I haven't tried any of them yet since I'm only a week and a half out. I was wondering if anyone else had one and what ya'll do with them? Do they work well? My physical therapist suggested getting one and just sitting on it when I can't be active (since I'm a student that includes lots of studying time bleh!) and that it would help tighten my abs & help with posture. Any thoughts?

I also got one of Leslie Sansone's walking DVDs - it has 5 different 12 minute miles. I did two earlier, so 2 miles in 24 minutes....and I thought I was gonna die! :scared0: But now I feel better! And accomplished! LOL. Don't worry, I saw the doctor today and he said I can do whatever exercise my body allows me to do. :thumbup1:

Welcome to the sleeved side! Feels so good to walk after surgery, eh? Keep up the good work. :biggrin0:

So, today I had my "two week" check-up (a few days early since I go back to college on Sunday), and the surgeon & dietitian said I'm doing great! I realized once I got home and started using my "Personal food & Fitness Journal" (which is nice because I can keep track of my diet & exercise in one place! :biggrin0:)...I kept track of what I've been eating. With 2 Protein Shakes a day and BEFORE dinner, I'm eating 390 cals, 4g fat, and 42.4 carbs. Also, strangely, 42.4g of Protein so far today. I'm slowly but surely getting to 64 oz of Fluid a day, but my main concern is the carbs. I know we're supposed to stay as low carb as possible while losing, but I was wondering when you guys really started worrying about the calorie & carb counts?? I'm still on full liquids so I've been doing 2 protein shakes (210 calories per drink when made with skim milk) and about 2 - 4oz. servings of Soup (also with skim) and then about 5 or 6 oz. cream of wheat (also skim) per day. All the soup (which is what they told me to eat) is a LOT of carbs. So someone help me please! :drool5: Should I be worried at this stage about my carb count? Or is it just once I'm on "real" food? Any advice would be muchly appreciated.

Good luck to both of you! I'll be thinking about ya! :thumbup:

Woot! Happy thoughts & cyber hugs coming your way! :thumbup:

Hi! Welcome to VST. And congrats on starting your WLS journey! There is loads of good information (and people) :001_tongue: here.

Woot! Congrats on your losses! :001_tongue:

My friend who was sleeved last February went from a 38D to a 32A after an 80 pound loss.

Wow...I'm a 40DD. Wonder what I'll be after. :ohmy: Oh well, at least I won't have to buy bigger tops just so they fit over the girls! Haha.

Woot! Congratulations on your date! :001_tongue:

That is awesome! I think it's inspiring to see you set such an amazing goal for yourself. And it sounds like a pretty fun deal, too! :thumbup:

Congrats, your day is here! :thumbup: You'll be in my thoughts & good luck for an uneventful surgery & speedy recovery.

I'm not too big on coffee but I was kind of wondering about this too...my Mom bought me a huge pack of variety teas for Christmas and I really enjoy a cup of tea with a little milk & Truvia at night before bed, but none of the packages say whether they're Decaf or not. Anyone know anything about how much caffeine is in tea? Maybe I'll ask my dietitian this week if the occasional cup of regular tea is okay.

Hi there! I'm only a week out so I can't say much as for the long-term *except* that one of the things stressed during all of my pre-op appointments was the Vitamins. Like Tiffy mentioned, the Vitamins are for life, and one of the reasons that I was told for that is that long-term deficiencies in some of the vitamins (it might be B12? ) can lead to permanent nerve and/or brain damage. And since we can only eat small meals, it's not probable that we'll get the daily amounts of those nutrients from our food sources.

Deedee suggested Thecitydoll on YouTube and she has quite a few videos from early pre-op to I think 8 months post-op. I love looking at before & after pics (check out Tiffy's for sure! ), but I think it's awesome to see the videos as well. 'll have to check out that one you mentioned!

Congratulations!

Hello all! I was just thinking about my jewelry (rings) and was wondering....so I realize as I lose weight, my ring size will get smaller and eventually, when I get to goal, I will need to have my rings resized. However, I JUST received my engagement ring about 3 weeks ago and I don't want to have to stop wearing it anytime soon just because it's too loose. :blushing: Obviously, I don't want it to fall off & lose it either! Does anyone have any suggestions for a way to temporarily make it smaller? I remember in high school us girls would always wrap our boyfriends' class rings with string & paint over the string with fingernail polish.......I don't think I quite want to go that route with my "slightly" haha more expensive engagement ring. So any suggestions/advice on this or whether it's even possible? Would REALLY REALLY appreciate it! Thanks in advance! :001_unsure:

I was told to crush mine until 4 weeks out but for now I'm just taking birth control, a betablocker, and 4 of those "pre-op" Bariatric Advantage chewable vitamins every day. I would go with what Vegas said, and I may have to check out those chewables when I get to choose my own multivit. Guess that wasn't probably very helpful, but that's my story. :001_unsure:

I'm not sure how soon I was supposed to weigh after surgery...but it's been a week and I'm down 9 pounds! I'm 255 - I don't remember the last time I saw the 250s!!!! I must admit...I weighed after about 4 days & had GAINED like 5 pounds and was pretty hard on myself even though I knew I hadn't done much walking. So I stepped up the walking, started doing my two shakes a day, and actually started getting my minimum liquid amounts in. One week out and I LOVE my sleeve!!! :001_unsure:

Wow. I would definitely be pissed about that! Some people don't know how to mind their own business. :001_unsure: My step-father's ex-wife read about my surgery from snooping around my mom's Facebook and told my cousin (that one cousin I cannot stand!!!) about it. I guess for me it wasn't that I was trying to keep it a secret from my family members in particular, but the fact that someone who had no business talking about me in the first place...bleh. Don't let the ignorance of other people get you down! You, and your doctor, and your immediate family know what's best for you so don't let anyone else get in your way!

I did ask about how many patients he has sleeved who ended up with a leak. Something I never thought to ask before coming to this forum. But, the answer was 1 ever and that individual, according to my surgeon, took matters into his own hands, advanced his diet too quickly, and developed a leak a month or so post-op. So I wasn't worried. :001_unsure: I think that's about it! If you're concerned about nausea afterwards, you could also ask if they could prescribe something ahead of time so you have it when you get home if you need it. That's what they did with my pain meds and I know some docs do nausea meds as a standard procedure, but mine didn't & I ended up with a fit of dry heaves the night I got home so it may have come in handy.:blushing:

My dietitian says I should be drinking 3 shakes a day...and that's too much for me. I'm only a week out but am now able to get in 2 shakes a day, which when made with skim milk are each 32g of Protein = 64g of protein just for my two shakes. One shake = 8 oz. I think she told me I need between 60 and 90 grams of protein a day and so I think the two shakes is working great for me, I'm over the minimum but I'm not struggling to get them in. Have you found one you like or just one you tolerate? That might make a difference as well.

I like A, too! :thumbup:

Hi Sandy! Welcome to VST! And congratulations on getting your date. The people here are great.

Wow congratulations on your amazing losses! I think that's an awesome idea and even for me personally would relieve a lot of stress. I have love/hate relationship with the scale (but it's getting better!)...but I couldn't do it. I think I'm of the personality where I NEED something to obsess over or I'm not motivated. But wow, that takes a lot of extra willpower. Keep it up, Mrs Sasaki! :biggrin0:

You're in my thoughts! Good luck and welcome to the losers bench by the time you see this.