newlook

Heyyy. congrats on so many things we do to change our lives and have better health. you are doing great. I had surgery close to the time you did. i have had some minimal hair loss so far. I massage my scalp as often as i can remember to do so. this was a trick used years ago when i had treatment for cancer and high dose chemotherapy. it kept my hair in for six months of chemotherapy (and then it went) when it was suppose to fall out within a month or two at the most. sooooooooo i think massaging my scalp IS helping! and it stimulates hair growth. keep rockin!

stay strong and keep on truckin!

I went through the same thing and still go in and out of hating the powdered protein drinks and mixes. there are a few things that helped me get through that time. one i used plain powdered protein and mixed it into chicken broth when that was what i needed to do. it actually worked and tasted pretty good. the other thing i found to be interesting tasting were the apple melon flavored Isopure drinks from GNC. they ae a clear protein drink. expensive but when they are cold they are a great way to get down 40(!!!!) grams of protein. what i found was if i could get that protein down creatively then ice water was awesome and when that didn't taste good add in a squeeze of fresh fruit for flavor. one more thing - i say it all the time but I lived off the soups at Trader Joes when I was on a full liquid diet. they are still yummy. i hope this helps! and congrats on your sleeve! the first month is the toughest. : )

I learned the hard way when i transitioned to cottage cheese, fish, etc. i was doing great with everything until i accidentally ate cottage cheese that was not low fat. it was horrible pain! soooo one thing i would recommend is keeping things low fat. fish was super easy to get down and I still love Trader Joe soups. they are so smooth in the tummy and yummy. another thing i do is add in a scoop of unflavored protein powder... or even half a scoop. you can get it at GNC. when i have a hard time getting protein down I go for Isopure clear drinks. amazing way to get down a ton of protein. the other thing that was on my list from the nutritionist for gas is simply GAS-X.

I HAD type II diabetes as well. : ) When I was in the hospital they pumped me and everyone else full of fluids with glucose in them. My diabetes sky rocketed and I had horrible headaches. For some reason they weren't monitoring my diabetes well. i had to insist that they check it and then they started giving me insulin shots in the hospital. I had never had insulin shots before then. i was just taking metformin. Since then I'm completely off all meds. Blood work is 100% normal including some elevated liver counts that were in existence pre-surgery. This IS a journey... especially the first month but everything is good now. If I look back one thing that would have been helpful is to have the nurses more in tune with the fact that my blood sugar needed to be monitored more closely.

Good luck on your surgery! Life changes dramatically afterwards. This time is just prep time and I think it makes it easier to transition to what is to come... plus preps the liver. keep on truckin!

I think it might help if the doctor you have been with for quite a few years refers you because insurance wants to see that you have tried numerous diets and programs before and failed at them. I would encourage you to try to get your PCP to recommend the surgery. A possible way to do this is to have a plan to convince him/her that you need the surgery. Talk about all the programs you have tried over the last ??? years. he will ask how many pounds you lost on them and how long the weight stayed off. emphasize your concerns regarding your health and why you believe the procedure will make you healthier. I'd give it a shot with your PCP before moving on to another one. hopefully you can convince him but if you don't it's not the end. there are other doctors who will support it because you BMI is over 40. tell him your insurance just needs a referral because you meet the criteria of having a 40 BMI. make it simple. keep your explanations simple and i'll be it flies if you focus on how your health is going to improve. good luck!

oops i didn't mean phad thai. i mean pho.

my family likes to eat out ethnic food. i know in the nutrition classes they say STOP going to fast food restaurants. i did/we did. but eating out is a social thing. so my plan is to set myself up for success. when we go out it will be something like sushi because we can eat the sashimi... a couple pieces are packed full of protein. if we go out for pad thai I split an order with my daughter. she gets ALL of the noodles. the broth is amazing. and i eat some veggies. don't go out for pizza or a burger joint. or??? this whole thing is like a mind game. lol. we have to create new habits and make healthy choices from here on out. out with the bad. in with the healthy every day. that doesn't mean we wont' have a day here and there where we don't eat a little something we probably shouldn't... i read on here from a lady who had lost 100 pounds that she ate two pop tarts for breakfast one day. lol. if we have healthy habits 30 out of 31 days and then maybe eat something sinful on that 31st day i don't think the world is going to end. : ) keep going!

I'm post op 3 weeks on Tuesday. some things that were helpful to me during the full liquid time is Trader Joe's soups. I wish i had thought of the carb smart ice creams as well. and popsicles are awesome. the no sugar added breyer's fruit are awesome. really what pulled me through the full liquid time was those trader joe soups, though. seriously. tomato basil, butternut squash, black bean soup.

I agree that you should talk to a food counselor. I'm sure you worked hard to get the sleeve. There are some things that have helped me... you should know I didn't tell anyone except my husband that I've had this procedure done. anyways, i have told my children that i went away to diet camp. i was required to have 6 months of diet counseling prior to the surgery. my family kicked and screamed a bit a long the way but by the time i went to surgery our house was cleaned out of junk food and high fat foods, etc... completely. the surgery isn't a miracle maker. we have to buy into it and i think it really helps to get the family involved in learning to eat more healthy. i started with the lists the nutritionists gave us in the sessions. there was a healthy girl list. it listed everything from whole wheat everything to low fat every thing. it sounds like maybe your family needs this food overhaul??? my husband used to eat chocolate bars every night and loved his cheetos. every time i sent him to the store he would come home with junk food. now our fridge is full but it is full of every kind of fruit imaginable. absolutely zero junk food. to start with i'd suggest going back to your paper work from meetings with the nutritionist. dig them up and start overhauling your family's eating habits based on that. yes, me, too... our family needed it. they bought into it to support me but also because it helps them learn to earn more healthy long term. it really really helps. i recently went to my two week post op check up and heard my doctor bluntly tell another patient... are you going to go through all of this and do this to yourself for it not to work? you have to follow the plan, eat right and exercise so do it. okkkkkkkkk so that was last weekend. tomorow is a new day : )

um. wow. that is scary. I hope and pray you are doing better! and home at last!

I'm almost three weeks out now! i can tell you it does get better. thankfully! the worst part was the first week. it is an adjustment for sure.... and easing into soft foods (so far ). cottage cheese is heavenly after those protein drinks. i'm kind of sick of them so starting to get creative. I saw Paula Deen making smoothies with yogurt and fruit and it reminded me - hey(!) I can do that! and then add in the unflavored protein powder - found it at GNC. ate some fish tonight. happy to say i truly enjoyed it... a small amount but my tummy accepted it so kindly after i chewed it a whole lot. LOL. anyways... it is awesome to be able to share stories with others who are right there going through the same thing as me!!! keep on truckin! this works! : )

The week before surgery I purposely scheduled a family vacation to keep my mind off of the upcoming surgery. I'm glad I did because I was starting to think to myself what in the world are you doing? I worked for a year to get approved. : ) As I went into surgery I actually started to freak out a bit and started to cry. They put me under super quick because I was becoming anxious. lol. sooooooo I think the week ahead is a difficult one but good for really wrapping your head around what it is you are doing. the first week after i was still asking myself what in the world had i done to myself? energy was low. i was light headed and had a hard time going on those little walks. almost passed out the first few days. tried to go the grocery store and wasn't going to make it through the first aisle. went in those fun little carts and then got the grocery shopping done with hubby. lol. I was on full liquid diet two weeks prior to surgery and clear liquid 2 days prior to surgery. In the hospital on the 2nd day post I was given Water. then Clear Liquids. SIP SIP SIP and there is no pain. or at least there was no pain for me with nutrition. i got tired of the clear liquids quickly. i think i had them for one week and then transitioned into full liquids. Trader Joe Soups made this phase a breeze. 2nd week post op i started to feel normal again and was able to get into the exercise. towards the end of the second week i got back on a bike. : ) pain wise I've been really surprised as i have had very very little. the only time i've used the pain meds is at night to make sure i get a good night sleep. 3rd week post op. almost normal!!! i've been back to work on my feet for a couple of days with eight hours on my feet and survived. Isopure clear liquid drinks seem to help the most with feeling like i'm well nourished. its something like 40 grams of protein(!) in a bottle and only 150 calories. I've started the soft foods and again, I'm thankful that I do still enjoy food but don't eat much of it. I'm satisfied very easily. Finally at this point I feel like it was a very good decision to have done this. the weight is falling off like crazy. i do exactly what the doctor says with the amount of food to eat, the Vitamins, the Protein, the exercise. At my two week weigh in i had lost 13 pounds from surgery day (with clothes on) so probably even another pound or two. crazy. at three weeks i've lost 22 pounds since surgery day. i didn't even know it was possible to lose that much weight so fast. hope this helps. : )

The week before surgery I purposely scheduled a family vacation to keep my mind off of the upcoming surgery. I'm glad I did because I was starting to think to myself what in the world are you doing? I worked for a year to get approved. : ) As I went into surgery I actually started to freak out a bit and started to cry. They put me under super quick because I was becoming anxious. lol. sooooooo I think the week ahead is a difficult one but good for really wrapping your head around what it is you are doing. the first week after i was still asking myself what in the world had i done to myself? energy was low. i was light headed and had a hard time going on those little walks. almost passed out the first few days. tried to go the grocery store and wasn't going to make it through the first aisle. went in those fun little carts and then got the grocery shopping done with hubby. lol. I was on full liquid diet two weeks prior to surgery and clear liquid 2 days prior to surgery. In the hospital on the 2nd day post I was given Water. then Clear liquids. SIP SIP SIP and there is no pain. or at least there was no pain for me with nutrition. i got tired of the clear liquids quickly. i think i had them for one week and then transitioned into full liquids. Trader Joe Soups made this phase a breeze. 2nd week post op i started to feel normal again and was able to get into the exercise. towards the end of the second week i got back on a bike. : ) pain wise I've been really surprised as i have had very very little. the only time i've used the pain meds is at night to make sure i get a good night sleep. 3rd week post op. almost normal!!! i've been back to work on my feet for a couple of days with eight hours on my feet and survived. Isopure clear liquid drinks seem to help the most with feeling like i'm well nourished. its something like 40 grams of protein(!) in a bottle and only 150 calories. I've started the soft foods and again, I'm thankful that I do still enjoy food but don't eat much of it. I'm satisfied very easily. Finally at this point I feel like it was a very good decision to have done this. the weight is falling off like crazy. i do exactly what the doctor says with the amount of food to eat, the Vitamins, the Protein, the exercise. At my two week weigh in i had lost 13 pounds from surgery day (with clothes on) so probably even another pound or two. crazy. at three weeks i've lost 22 pounds since surgery day. i didn't even know it was possible to lose that much weight so fast. hope this helps. : )