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So sorry you went thru this! I know my surgeon says no MRIs for 3 months after surgery--but you are 6 months out. I have a bone tumor that has to be followed every 3 months and my next one is going to be late bc of the surgery. I have been dreading going and feel worried hearing you had this experience at 6 months out. What does your surgeon's office say? I hope that you feel better very soon...take care.

Sassygirl, that's very impressive! Congratulations! What is your favorite type of exercise?

But when you are pre-op, you are eating more than 150 calories/meal....

I think this seems reasonable and something I have sort of been doing--but we can't have liquid calories, including Protein Shakes, once we start purees. Part of my dilemma!

yum, thanks Pottergirl!

I think it's a great bday present to yourself! I'm almost 3 weeks post-op and today is my wedding anniversary. My birthday is in a couple of weeks, and Valentine's day was about a week after my surgery. Normally we would have celebrated all of those days with dinners out, but I have sort of enjoyed focusing more on the occasions this year and not worrying about the food that goes with them (I don't really like birthday cake that much anyway!). I am thinking for my bday we will go out for Mexican food and I will eat some refried Beans and maybe a little guac. That will be my first meal out. May try it as carry out first, just to avoid any possible issues. I hope you have a great surgery and a very happy birthday!!!!

that sounds great, Pottergirl! do you know about how long you bake it and at what temp?

Thanks so much, DeeDee--I really appreciate the great advice! I saw the single serving hummus containers at Costco and plan to pick some up. I just started tracking on MyFitnessPal this weekend and love it! I hate that it adds more calories to your daily goals when you exercise, but I read to just insert your exercise as having burnt 1 calorie to sort of override it.

great job! looks like you are going to need a smaller belt!!

could you get some of your clothes tailored/taken in as your weight goes down? I bet no one will notice if you repeat outfits a bit more frequently. Just change your tie!

My surgeon doesn't limit caffeine--it seems like most other surgeons do?

Dee Dee, is your edamame roasted and crunchy? Where do you get it, or do you make it from fresh edamame? I am thinking of making an edamame/tofu hummus (still on purees, so would just eat it with a spoon).

DeeDee, thanks so much for posting this! I have been a vegetarian most of my adult life and love seeing what other vegetarians eat, especially those farther out than me (I am almost 3 weeks out). When were you sleeved? Your weight loss is great! do you exercise a lot? Also, do you know about how many calories you are getting in a day? thanks!!

damnyouautocorrect.com is a really funny website where people submit funny iPhone autocorrects! It's very addictive.

I have BCBS (their requirements vary by state) and they did require an actual 6-month waiting period, not just 6 months worth of appointments. Your experience may be different. It was a bummer for me b/c my deductible for last year was paid and I would have loved to have my surgery in December with no deductible--but I had to wait until Feb b/c of the 6 month requirement and then the insurance approval time (quick for me) and wait to schedule the surgery.

I think one thing to keep in mind is that your response to any pain meds is highly individual. I would try what the standard is for your surgeon/anesthesiologist (unless you already know you don't do well on one of their preferred drugs), and if that doesn't work, ask to be switched.

do you follow the rule of not drinking for half an hour before a meal, not drinking during a meal, and then not drinking for a hour after your meal? I have heard people can cheat the sleeve and overeat by drinking while they are eating.

Is it just 6 appointments or 6 months? I know a lot of insurance plans require 6 months of appointments.

Was it maybe Demarol and not Toradol? The morphine worked great for me for the first day post-op. I had a pump set up by the anesthesiologist and could hit it every 15 minutes as needed (it's set so you can't OD). For a while I was trying not to use it and the pain was awful. The nurse told me not to be a hero--that's what it's there for. LOL. Once I was done with that, they switched me to Percocet, which I hated. It made my vision all weird and I felt really anxious on it. So they switched me to Demarol and Tylenol (you can't have Tylenol with Percocet bc Percocet already has Tylenol and you could overtax your liver). This combo was better for me. Your mileage may vary. I'm grateful to the nurse who suggested that maybe I wasn't feeling well bc of the Percocet, bc I also got to go home with Demarol instead of Percocet.

I think you would be great going with either CC or St Vincent's. Dr. Ben-Meir did my VSG on Feb. 5 and he and his staff (and the hospital staff) have been wonderful! This may seem like a silly consideration, but it is so much easier to get in and out of the St. Vincent office. So if you need to take time off from work for pre-op and post-op appt's, it's just easier to park at SV and not have to take a whole half day off of work, etc. Dr. Phil Schauer at CC also is very well-known for laparoscopic bariatric surgery and he does a lot of research in this area that has been published in well-known journals. I'm not sure if CC is doing as many VSGs as Dr. Ben-Meir--I would ask. They are doing a clinical trial for gastric plication, which is stitching the stomach up instead of removing it. I asked Dr. Ben-Meir about it and that's not a surgery of choice for him--if you are curious, ask him. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. I was happy with my choice to go to Dr. Ben-Meir.

My surgeon only allows us 30 minutes to eat, and if you feel full at that point, you put your food away or dump it. I think it wouldn't be a good habit to get full after 15 or 20 minutes and then eat again in 20 minutes when the fullness subsides.

I think it's good that you are reaching out! Do you have a dietitian whom you can go see for advice? i would also focus on Protein, Water, and track you food in myfitnesspal.com. How can you eat portions close to the size you were eating before surgery--do you not feel restriction? Wishing you all the best--youc an do this! Even with your weight gain, you are 1/3 of the way there!!

You look fantastic! Great job!!!

I would check to see how much sodium you are getting due to the beef jerky, triscuits, lunchmeat and such. Also, since you are taking thyroid meds, I'm assuming you are hypothyroid. I do think it's more difficult for those of us with hypothyroidism to lose quickly. Have you had your thyroid panel done recently to check your levels? Congratulations on your weight loss so far--it looks great to me! But I understand that only you know the pace and what came off when--etc. I know you said you lost a lot at first and that it's slowed down significantly, which I'm sure is frustrating. Hang in there!!

That's so coincidental that you should post this--I just posted that I think I see a better weight loss when I get enough rest/sleep (I have some stressful issues going on right now that have prevented me from sleeping well but I've been taking something to help me sleep the past few days). There are a lot of studies in the medical literature right now about the importance of getting enough sleep for disease prevention and to prevent weight gain--so I think it would follow that it's needed for weight loss too. It sounds like you have a really busy schedule and there's not much you can do about it now--but I would say just get the most rest/sleep you can whenever you can. It sounds like you are being very good with your meal planning. Does this leave you any time to exercise?