ribearty

Hi Curvy Cakes,

Welcome to BariatricPal and your upcoming sleeve surgery.

Here is a forum that is dedicated to patients having their surgery in March 2014. http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1000-march-2014-sleevers/ There appear to be two topics posted there already. You may be able to find other March members.

There are a lot of topics and many helpful members here at BariatricPal.

Good luck with your surgery

ladyd,

What does your doctor and nutritionist list for you in this phase as acceptable vegetables? When I was on soft foods my doctor only allowed canned and frozen vegetables which had to be steam cooked. It seems every doctor has a different post-op diet and I would follow what your doctor advises you to have.

Hi,

I had an odd experience last week, and I have never experienced this before in the 6 1/2 years I have had weight loss surgery.

I went to an oral surgeon for TMJ pain, and after examining me he told me he was going to prescribe NSAIDs. I told him I could not take them. He proceeded to ask me why and I told him I had weight loss surgery. Then he asked me which doctor told me this and my reply was my bariatric doctor. He then tells me, "I have no options for you, the only recourse I could offer you is NSAIDs and you negated that by having weight loss surgery." This phrase was repeated a total of three times in my meeting with him. I knew I would not be seeing him again since he said there was nothing he could do for me. It was weird because I felt he was criticizing or chastising me for having undergone weight loss surgery.

Am I reading too much into this, or have you ever experienced something similar?

The biggest problem with shrimp when ordering at a restaurant is making sure they cooked it properly. If they overcook it, it can be rubbery and tougher to chew.

Since your doctor lists foods like tilapia for soft food, I would stick with that for now. When your stomach is ready to move to the next phase and shrimp is allowed, definitely add it.

Enjoy going out this evening.

Do you have a book from your doctor or nutritionist identifying the foods they consider to be soft foods? I know for me shrimp and see food did not come until five weeks out, but tuna, cod, and tilapia according to my doctor fell into the soft food group.

Shrimp now is a go to food for me. Good Protein source while being easy and quick to prepare.

Congrats and keep up the good work.

Are you doing the basics?

Getting in enough Protein first,

Tracking food

Exercising

If not, you might start doing these things to get a picture of your eating habits. For me when I see things written down it helps me get a clearer picture of what is going on and how to modify it.

This is one of those areas that there are a variety of opinions on and no consistency similar to pre and post-op diets. My doctor's office said no straws because it can cause you to take in more air and also can cause you to drink more quickly and gulp which we all know are big no nos with weight loss surgery. Taking in more air and drinking too quickly can lead to more pain. Drinking with a straw may be a nonissue for you. I have used straws since my surgery by accident without incident. I was out for dinner in a restaraunt and the server brought me Water with a straw. I took a few drinks and realized I was using a straw.

If you search the forums, you will find a lot of topics on this. Here are a few

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/289965-thoughts-on-drinking-through-a-straw/page-3?hl=%2Busing+%2Bstraw#entry3271094

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/205248-frequently-asked-questions/page-5?hl=%2Busing+%2Bstraw#entry2798684

Right now nothing exciting. PMBOK 5th edition. I am preparing for a final exam in class and planning to sit for the PMP exam in March.

Man, do I feel sorry for you. I couldn't get through 1 pages without getting bored to tears. I highly recommend Head First PMP. MUCH more digestible.

http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-PMP-Jennifer-Greene/dp/1449364918/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1388950180&sr=8-1

My class is based on 5th ed PMBOK. After class I will be concentrating on PMBOK and 8th ed Rita Mulcahy Exam Prep. I rate PMBOK up there with some of my insomnia cure reading for other classes including con law and admin law. Can't want to read something fun. Hopefully by end of March if not sooner. Just have to pass my PMP exam.

Mrse,

If you have any questions about pain, call your doctor they will be the expert.

I don't believe coughing is going to damage anything. I had a band before. Coughing a lot can cause pain. I got a cold 20 days postop myself after my sleeve surgery. It took me a little longer to recover from it. I attribute it to having an additional surgery 11 days after my sleee surgery. I put my body through a lot in a short timeframe and returned to work part-time at 12 days out. I got another the week of Christmas but it has gone away in the regular time frame. Crazy weather temperature differences could be a contributing factor. We have gone from 70 to teens in two days time several times lately.

I swear by Zicam. For me if you start taking it when symptoms appear, it helps lessen the length and the intensity of the cold.

Hope you feel better soon.

Mama,

I found myself not as focused also and attribute it partly to the anesthesia. It takes awhile to get it out of your system. I believe some of it also is tiredness. It is major surgery. I need to have a lot of focus with my current position, and it wasn't there in the beginning. It cleared up by six weeks post-op for me.

I too am back in class and finish next Sunday. I hope to sit for my professional exam in mid-March.

Good luck with your recovery, weight loss journey and doctoral studies. I received my master's in May 2012 and it took me until November 2013 to take another class.

it's quite the learning process. Scared to get stuck like band days. I don't want to have to get u know unstuck like that being only a few days out. Hours later and I'm still not hungry though

I have not had one instance of food getting stuck since I have had my sleeve, and hope you have the same. I didn't start experiencing any hunger until a week post-op. At that point it was not uncontrollable nor has it been since surgery. I am 10 weeks out.

Right now nothing exciting. PMBOK 5th edition. I am preparing for a final exam in class and planning to sit for the PMP exam in March.

Snuff, I am a revision patient also. It sounds like you were full. The same area where I feel full now is around the area where my band used to be.

I got fruits with no skin in their own juice at 4 weeks, and skinned fruits at 8 weeks. I don't get citrus until 3 months. It seems every doctor has a different post-op diet. Check with your doctor or nutritionist to see when you are allowed to have them.

I am missing clementines a lot.

Snuff,

That sounds similar to what I feel when I am full. It is a tightness in the center of my chest a little lower than my bra line. Just eat slow because the difference between full and pain from eating too much can be one bite.

It will take awhile for you to learn what full is. After weight loss surgery it is a learning experience to learn what full is, to sip slowly, not eat fast, and to chew your food well.

Have any of you tried Premier shakes? They are ready to drink and do not have a funky Protein after taste. They come in chocolate and vanilla flavor. I get mine at Sam's or costco. I use Torani or DaVinci sugar free syrups to help jazz them up.

An 11 oz drink contains is 160 calories. 30 grams of protein, 3 grams fat, 5 grams carbs, and 1 sugar gram.

Unjury has some good flavors also. In case you didn't know, you can often times get free samples or reduced prices for sample packs from manufacturers for Protein Drinks and Vitamins.< /p>

I can't find the thread right now, but TapSnap started one and it has a lot of information in it.

Good luck.

I have to work for every pound and that's okay. It has been my experience that anything worth having you have to work to get it. If it was easy, everyone would be thin.

When I work hard for something, I appreciate it a lot more and will work extremely hard to keep it.

The people who are the most successful are the ones who follow the plan and combine healthy eating with activity. One without the other does not work as well as the two together.

Blue Cross Blue Shield. You can have the same insurance as someone else but different coverage. Coverage is established by the contract the employer agreed to with the insurance company. I have a friend who also has United Health Care but she had different requirements for her surgery than I did because we have different employers with different coverage and criteria.

I agree tighter is not better. I believe my band being overfilled is a major reason it prolapsed. When I first had my surgery, my doctor did not do fills under fluoroscope. For me at least there was a fine line between the green zone or sweet spot and being too tight.

Please don't think you're doing yourself a favor and you'll lose more weight by having your band too tight. If it's too tight, you will more than likely wind up gaining weight. If it's too tight you can experience difficulty eating and keeping down food which could result in you eating slider foods because they stay down but are much higher in calories.

I got in almost 3 miles of walking today with no pain. A good day. Plus my ab crunches.

Jean, another great article. The above is true for any restrictive weight loss surgery. If you don't change your eating habits and physical activity, you may lose for awhile but not get great results. Weight loss surgery is not a magic pill or wand. It is a tool to assist and still takes work to be successful.

Walking and walking on a treadmill are two different things. I walked after surgery also but not on any type of equipment until released by my doctor.

What did your doctor tell you about exercise, or what was on your discharge instructions? When I saw my doctor at my 1 week post-op visit, I was released to do more than walk. If you feel light headed at times, you might not want to walk on a treadmill or other exercise equipment at this time, or do it slower and not on an incline. It would suck if you hurt yourself on the treadmill from being light headed and resulted in a further delay before you can begin working out normally. I know it's hard because you want to get out there and do everything you can right now. In another week or so, you should be able to do a lot more in the way of exercise.

Good luck.