Marisa46

I try everything. For me sweets in general never feel good going down. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) they haven't made me sick. One great thing I have found is Starbucks hot cocoa mix. I mix it with skim or 1% lactose free milk and seriously the chocolate is so good. It's not sugar free but it doesn't make me sick and it satisfies my chocolate craving.

I won't lie to anyone it is hard work trying to live with out food as my crutch and sometimes (even with the surgery) I fall short of my ideal behavior when it comes to food. There are people who have told me that I've taken the easy way out. I disagree with them but I don't waste my breath arguing with them anymore. Even with the surgery I still have to closely monitor what I eat and be more active. The surgery has given me the help I need to lose weight but it doesn't mean that I woke up from the surgery cured of my old bad food habits. But I manage my eating much better. I'm encouraged that I'm moving closer to where I want to be. Good things that have happened to me since my surgery: I can walk to my car without having to stop and take a breath I'm not in constant pain because of my knees I have given away over 10 bags of clothes that are way too big for me--I'm down 4 sizes so far People sit next to me on the train (I used to feel so guilty taking up two seats when the train was crowded) I cooked dinner at thanksgiving and it didn't wear me out --being on my feet for a few hours easy peasy I look in the mirror and I recognize myself! I do have a figure(my waist line is returning) my bath sheets wrap around me there's no big gap! there is really cute lingerie in my size Oh my doctors have taken me off a couple of my meds I realize I can only eat so much so I visually measure out a cup of food and that's my meal There's a lot of little things but mainly I'm just thankful that I was able to do this surgery. I'm grateful that my insurance covered it and I'm grateful that I chose the right program. I feel really blessed by the whole experience problems and all.

So, I'm mad at my brother Kevin and in response to being mad I stuff 2 chicken nuggets down my mouth quickly. Stuffing my face made me sick (nausea and heartburn). Having to face issues directly is such a pain in the ass but I'm going to have to learn how to feel angry with out hurting myself. Somehow, writing about my struggle with my emotions in this blog helps me to understand my destructive behavior. Maybe understanding how stuffing my face is harmful to me now will help me correct the behavior. I hope so. I have problems soothing the frustration I feel when I'm angry. I just don't know what to do with the feelings so I try to make them go away by eating. That strategy is not going to work anymore, but I want an easy way to deal with the anger and frustration. Hiding from emotions -- concentrating on the food instead of the feelings--has always seemed to be the easiest thing to do. Surgery has made that strategy almost as unpleasant as the emotions themselves. When I'm angry, I feel like I need to act. The actions that first come to my mind(hitting, screaming, etc) are not acceptable. Eating used to be an enjoyable way to comfort myself. Anger and frustration reqire my immediate attention and I tried to calm myself by what was always immediately available--Food. I have to learn how to respond to my anger and frustration in a positive way. (DUH) So much easier to say than to do.

I had a similar problem although mine developed earlier after the surgery. It turns out that I'm lactose intolerant and the color (mine was yellow and occasionally orange) was the result of malabsorption. I take lactaid when ever I have yoghurt, cottage cheese, etc. and I switched to lactose free milk. Problem went away. If you have had your follow up blood work done and everything else is normal you might try stopping milk products to see if it helps. It also may help to wait a little longer before having liquids after meals.

Take a few deep breaths and don't stress yourself so much. I know easier said than done. You will handle what ever comes up in the future beautifully!

It took a while for me too; so don't worry too much. At 6 weeks I still didn't have a great deal of stamina. Remember that normal is a relative term; my prior normal state was having constant pain and being unable to walk more than 5 minutes without getting short winded. A suggestion for the protein Isopure has individual (8 ounce) size bottles that I order from Amazon.com. It's not a shake which is great because I will never ever have another shake as long as I live! 8 ounces and 15 grams protein; the drink has been a life saver since I became lactose intolerant and had to give up Greek yoghurt. Good luck. Things will get better.

There's no way I could have gone back to work after one week. I don't think anyone in my office would have appreciated hearing me moan and complain. I was only half awake the first week even though I had stopped taking the pain medication after a couple of days because the meds made my head spin. The second week the littlest thing made me winded; I live on the third floor of my condo (no elevator) and I moved so slowly. Granted I'm much bigger than a lot of you. I honestly didn't feel well enough to go back to work until after the 5th week and even then I had a few curve balls. If you honestly feel that you can go back after 1 or 2 weeks without endangering your health then WONDERFUL; but please take your time and rest as much as YOU need to. The purpose of the surgery is to make life better but we have to be well to enjoy it.

Thanks! those are great exercises and I am going to try them all!

I haven’t blogged in a while…fortunately my silence hasn’t been because of anything horrible. I’ve just been adjusting to normal life and the adjustment period is full of surprises. The major surprise has been that I’m lactose intolerant now. I never had a problem with dairy before my surgery so the problem knocked me for a loop (literally). I don’t normally drink milk, but one day I decided I wanted an iced mocha; the line at the Starbucks was too long so I decided to try the 7 Eleven “Chiller”. That drink is milk pure and simple. I was able to drink about a fourth of it. 30 minutes later the fun began! I finally had to leave work early. Now this isn’t horrible, except that I love cheese. The lactose intolerance explains why I felt so awful and tired all the time too. I had huge problems with nausea even with the medication I was given. I had been using Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese as my go to foods because they’re convenient and loaded with protein. I returned to work on July 16th; but I never worked a full week until the week of August 6th. Since I removed all dairy from my diet, I’ve done very well. I’m learning that I won’t necessarily like the same foods that I used to. Sweets taste way too sweet now. I don’t like bread, but I enjoy those Wasa crackers I used to describe as being edible cardboard. Meats I still love. This weekend I had a steak. I love red meat and I was worried that it was something that I was going to have to give up so I’m very pleased that there were no problems. The next challenge is exercise. Now that I’m not nauseous all the time, it’s time for those walks. I’m a horrible couch potato but hey it’s what I have to do.

You need to fill out FMLA paperwork, so that your job is protected just in case things don't go as planned and you can't come back in 2 days. I think a week is way to soon but since everyone is different .... just be careful not only is your body stressed but adapting to a new way of eating is a major change.

Don't fret; stalls are normal...just keep doing what you're doctor told you to and you will see a loss. Don't get discouraged.

Question about the hair loss-- Have y'all been keeping track of your protein? I've been afraid of hair loss too and have been making sure I get at least 60 grams of protein a day. I hope that hasn't been in vain.

Thank you!

OK, it has been 20 days since my surgery (REALLY???!!!!) My physical problems have been minor issues that develop when I DON'T follow the rules (i.e. although you may with effort make any food mushy, it's best not to push the envelope too far). My primary problems are all in my head. I'm not hungry even though I average maybe 650 calories a day. I don't have a taste for anything now that the liquid stage is over and I'm on soft foods. I'm grateful for not being physically hungry and not having cravings; however, I have a huge problem with trying to find something else besides food to comfort me. The last week has been hectic. I am on the east coast (DC suburbs) and the violent storm that came through our area made for a couple of challenging days. I'm not complaining about the storm because I was extremely fortunate to get my power (air conditioning) back on so soon. But I also had to offer aid to family who weren't so lucky. Then when the fallout from the storm seemed to be taken care of my nephew who lives with me was in a car accident and taken to the county hospital emergency room. Then one day later my brother had to have emergency surgery. I'm not going to go on about any of these incidents simply because we all have problems and we all have to learn how to cope successfully with our problems. Unfortunately, my coping mechanism has always been food so not being able to stuff my face has made me more anxious. I did worry about not being able to use food as a coping mechanism before the surgery and I can honestly say I was right to worry; however, I was worring about the wrong thing. I worried that I would make myself sick (literally hurt myself) by stuffing my face in a crisis. I'm not saying that I have been following my nutrition guidelines faithfully or that I am not tempted to start chomping on doritos, chocolate, or whatever. When I think of stuffing my face, I automatically think that stuffing myself is going to make me hurt. I hate pain. Fortunately, at this point, I may be safe from damaging myself after being sleeved. Unfortunately, my problem is more subtle and a lot harder to explain. I think not being able to stuff my face is contributing to my depression. I just feel so sad when I think about my family's problems, the world's problems, my cat's problems... I 'm not saying that being sleeved is making me sadder. I'm admitting that even after over a year of therapy about why I eat I haven't developed an adequate substitute for eating to bury my emotions. While I have been writing this blog entry a thought crept into my mind. I should change the title. I don't miss food. The great thing about being sleeved and being blessed with an easy recovery is that I haven't been deprived of anything after the surgery. My surgeon's nutrition guidelines are very generous compared to other practices. What I miss is using food as an antidote to sadness.

OMG! This dish looks delicious! Will definately make!

The medical center that did my sleeve has a manual and "absolutely no protein shakes" after week 7. According to the nutritionist relying too much on liquid protein can actually inhibit your weight loss in the long run. So I'm learning how to get my protein without the shakes.

How are you feeling now?

LOL! I had that feeling so many times. I'll tell you what I tell my tantrum throwing 'inner child' Life is hard and no one knows how hard it is until there up against it. If you are happy where you are don't move but if life is making you unhappy and you want change get busy. Your choosing to love yourself and make changes is getting busy. APPLAUSE

Stellina, when I read your post, I couldn't help but relate. I was in a similar set of circumstances a year ago: My Mom has Alzheimer we are trying to keep her at home but it didn't seem like it was going to happen because My Dad who is horrible with finances had managed to put my family in the position where there was an excellent chance for a foreclosure on my parent's home. The love of my life , my soul mate, the man of my dreams had just embezzled, absconded with $25 k and I was looking at financial ruin while Said love of life was in Big Bear with HEATHER Fortunately, I am employed (Praise God) I've been unemployed many times the last time was in 2003, I know what it's like to know you won't get a job you interview for because the interviewer gives your hips that "OMG she's huge!" look. I'm not going to try to put a positive spin on anything because the number of things that you are going through now would BREAK a weak person. BUT That's the bright spot. YOU ARE NOT WEAK! You can get through this SH#+ and you will thrive because you haven't given up. I'm in awe that with everything that is going on in your life you are choosing to go through WLS and improve your life. Please don't give up on yourself. The WLS process is hard but you are up to the challenge. Go out and kick some kharmic a$$!