Vidalia

I experienced the same thing you are talking about (not incision related). I would have to pull it off my chest to get a good breath, especially when I was eating. It will go away soon. In fact, I had forgotten it even happened until I read this. I am 4 month post op.

My nose starts running and it starts feeling congested. I feel the need to blow it at the end of my meal. The fullness is sudden...like you have just finished hogging out on your 3rd plate at an all you can eat buffet...but the feeling occurs only after about 10 small bites. I cover the leftover food with a napkin because I don't even want to look at it. I am never hungry. I miss eating, but it still worth it and I would do again.

Is the Mac brand the microwave type or already in the bag?

It does start getting better. I am almost 4 months post-op. I went through a long period where eating was absolutely a chore. The last month I started getting my appetite back somewhat. I look forward to eating more than I did, though it is nothing like before surgery, which is a good thing. I was scared too, that I would never want to eat again and I missed wanting to eat. But, it is getting better.

I do not like any of the Greek yogurts very much. They are just too thick and strong tasting. I finally found a way to enjoy them. I dump one fruit flavored Greek yogurt in my Ninja blender, along with a little skim milk, a sprinkling of sliced almonds and a sprinkling of oatmeal and about 1/2 cup ice. I have been able to drink the entire smoothie and enjoy it! The 12-14 grams of protein from the yogurt + protein from the skim milk and almonds gives me a nice breakfast or lunch. Yay! I have not tried to add any protein powder yet, but I may try that soon (didn't want to ruin it).

I have tried all kinds. I have settled on Premier pre made chocolate protein shakes from Sams with 30 grams. I don't love them, but I can tolerate one every morning.

Your whole perspective about food will change in general. When I see someone else take a big bite of a burger or sandwich I think, "I would never WANT to take a bite that big". When I am in a restaurant and see a platter of food come to another table I think, "Omg, I cannot believe I used to eat that much food." You will be fine.

I am a little over 3 months out and I eat them for a snack. They do not bother me at all. I only eat maybe 2-3 rinds every other day when I want something crunchy and tasty. I eat the BBQ flavored ones too.

This my favorite cheap lotion of all times. It is creamy baby oil (looks like lotion). It goes on easy and smells like suntan oil. You can get it at Walmart or about any store. http://www.amazon.com/Johnsons-Baby-Creamy-Cocoa-Butter/dp/B0030UF6JM

Ahhh....I've been waiting 16 years to say that! It is a ONEDERFUL feeling! If you are not here yet, keep up the fight. It is so worth it!

Is the Muscle Milk you like the powdered kind or the premade? I have tried the powder but did not like it. I have not tried the premade.

I have tried numerous shakes, powdered and premade. Premier Chocolate is the only thing I can tolerate.

I had to drink the Bariatric Advantage post-op and they were unbearable. I had to force them down. I have gone through many different types of protein shakes since then, powder and pre-made. I have finally found one that I can tolerate. I don't LIKE it, but I can drink it without too much dread. It is pre-made Premier Protein shakes from Sams. They come in chocolate and vanilla and I have tried both. I only like the chocolate. They have 30 grams of protein.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kathysheridan.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/TruAde1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://kathysheridan.com/blog/?tag%3Dtruade&h=972&w=1054&sz=738&tbnid=4IznngRZtcW3jM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=98&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtru-ade%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=tru-ade&usg=__ESyJ0JjdRh-J2E5WQu2Uv4NOuZo=&docid=_dsUEEtOw5VgEM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=it0gUZ_tJ43g8ASXkoC4Dg&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQ9QEwAQ&dur=529 This has become my daily drink to help me get my Water in. It is non-carbonated and comes in sugar free in the Orangeade and Lemonade flavors. I do not like the Lemonade at all, but love the Orangeade. I usually drink half the bottle full strength and then dilute the rest with ice water and keep drinking.

I take two Vitafusion multi gummies and 1 Flintstone multi with iron per day. I just had my 3 month labs done and they were perfect. You may want to also try the Vitafusion multi gummies. They are very tolerable. You can get a big bottle at Sams for good price.

I could have written your post! I have been hovering at 200 for 2 weeks now also. Onederland has actually been scary for me to think about psychologically for some reason. I think it is because I have lost large amounts of weight in the past and every time I get to close to Onederland is when the weight started coming back on. Also, I have not been in Onederland in over 15 years when I started gaining all my weight (also the year my dad died and I went through divorce). I am hoping my stall breaks soon.

I eat all kinds of nuts all the time and started about 6 weeks out. For some reason, I am able to tolerate nuts better than any other snack. Blue Diamond has a lot of flavored almonds. I eat cashews, pecans, peanuts, pistachios and almonds. My NUT said it was fine as long as I was tolerating them and chewing well. She said the fat was good fat and the extra calories would actually be beneficial at this point since I wasn't getting very many calories per day.

Thanks for all the advice. I think I will go ahead and get my foils soon.

I buy my Biotin at my local Walmart. It is not very expensive. It comes in bottles of 1000 mcg or 3000 mcg. My nut said I could take between 1000 and 3000 per day. I started out taking 1000 a day, but I have recently started taking 2000. They are about the size of a tic tac and very easy to take. I think my hair does feel thicker since I started taking them.

I usually get highlights on a regular basis. The last time I got them was right before surgery in October. I really need some because my roots are showing bad and it is driving me crazy. I am 3 months post-op and I have experienced very little hair loss so far. My questions are: When you start losing hair does it happen all of a sudden? I know that most people say it starts at 3 months, so I am waiting for it to start falling out, but hoping it doesn't. Do you think getting highlights at this 3 month point is a bad idea since any chemical treatment weakens the hair? My hairdresser has been keeping a close watch on my hair. She said it actually looks healthier to her (probably because of all the Biotin I am taking). She said we could try like 3 or 4 foils in the top only if I felt comfortable with it. I am just not sure what to do.

I ate the raspberry and chocolate today and really liked it. I am looking forward to trying the coffee and chocolate. I was afraid to buy the other flavors yet. Like PEvette, I have tried so many different things and ended up throwing them away, especially shakes and bars! I get excited when I find something that I actually like.

http://chobani.com/core/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BITE_RaspDrkChoco-lg.png Found this today. It was sooo much better than the regular Chobani. I was able to eat the whole container. Not as much Protein as the regular container, but not as much to eat either. Raspberry with dark chocolate chips, coffee with dark chocolate chips, Fig with orange zest, and Caramel with pineapple chunks are the four flavors.

I too had to endure the Bariatric Advantage chewables (berry flavored-eekk). I forced them down for about 3 weeks. It would take me literally 1-2 hours to get one down by letting it slowly dissolve. It was horrible. It was truly affecting my quality of life. A friend did give me a bottle of Bariatric Advantage french vanilla flavor and I could get those down a little faster because they were not as bitter. Now I almost 3 months out. I have tried swallow Vitamins a few time, but have a hard time swallowing them. Now I am on Gummies and I am sticking with them unless my levels are bad at my next check-up.

I was sleeved on November 9th. I have been snacking on them for a few weeks and have had no problem. I only eat maybe 3 or 4 a day which is plenty (BBQ). But, the crunch and flavor is good.

Don't get too excited about it. I have tried numerous different kinds and all the ones I have tried are nasty. The titles sound good, but I have yet to find one that I love. The most tolerable ones I have found are Atkins Indulgence Coconut (tastes like mounds) and Fudge Nut (tastes and looks like Little Debbie fudge brownie), but they only have about 6-7 grams of protein. The ones that have 15 or more I have taken one bite and tossed it.