Andi

My post op class advised for us to avoid beef, pork & lamb for 3 months. Their reasoning was that these meats (especially steak) are are poorly tolerated initially & may cause distress. They even advised that chicken should not be one of our first solid foods due to intolerance. I'm sure that there are people that can handle it just fine, but my bariatric team doesn't want us testing ourselves. I was a little bummed (especially since I don't really dig poultry)

I bought my powder on Amazon.com, they're worth looking at for prices & free shipping over $25 (if it's coming through them). No idea about the Peanut Butter.. I'd think maybe a small wait, but asking your nutritionist is the best bet. I think some like to play it super safe. Maybe some of that PB2 stuff mixed in would be a more gentle transition.

Oh my.. I was already feeling a drink after 1.. even with all this body weight on me now! I don't drink often, but I'm curious too.. I don't want any nasty surprises in a year or so

I haven't had a chance to experiment with them yet (I have some Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard whey coming in the mail), but at my post op class they stressed that you need to make sure that you find one that says whey or soy isolates, and that it should be the first ingredient. Otherwise you may not be receiving all the amino acids that your body will need to build Proteins. From what I understand it won't be forever, just the first stage and maybe a bit longer if you're taller. Our nutritionist is going to tell us on an individual level when we can give them up.

Chewable Vitamins are better absorbed & I believe that they're pretty universally advised. My hospital sells Bariatric fusion. 2 chewable Multivitamin pills, twice a day. They cost $25 for a month's supply & they cover all the supplements that my team requires & it has Biotin too. It's convenient & very cost effective. I'd definately talk to your doctor/team about the fish oil. I'm not sure how well that would be tolerated.

I had that happen in the past when I lost a good chunk of weight. I've heard it called "extra insulation" as a joke, but um yup.. it definately changes things.

I haven't had my op yet, but when I make tuna now I try to use just a little mayo & use light italian dressing. It cuts calories & tastes way better (to me). I'm used to having some chopped pickles with my tuna, but maybe a little pickle juice wouldn't hurt to moisten & flavor. I'm going to have to remember to ask about seasoning with celery seeds too.

At my post op class they said 3 months, with the exception of lettuce & tomato. I guess raw veggies aren't tolerated too well. She did say that peeling things helped with that though. Wow, that sounds like a long liquid phase.

very cute dress, Congrats

Tonight I had an appointment at Lahey, well I thought I had 2, but it turned out into being a class with a few other ladies there. It hosted by the other bariatric nurse & nutritionist (we get assigned a team, but I've met the other "team" during these group meetings). It was an overall good presentation with some good to know info. It started off with the nurse giving an us an idea what to expect on the day of surgery & how to best prepare. The 2nd portion was the nutritionist going over our after surgery diet & supplements. I thought that I already knew quite a bit from reading other folk's posts, but I did learn some things tonight: No driving for 1 week after the surgery Prior to the surgery, no vitamins for 2 weeks & no pain medications other than Tylenol Breathing exercises 40-50 times day (to help prevent pneumonia) No gas-x strips required, they'll provide some if needed (after I just ordered some, of course) Prilosec for 1 month & Actigall (gallstone prevention) for 6 months Bye Bye steak & pork for about 3 months. Also raw veggies other than lettuce & tomatoes If a food gets stuck, DO NOT TAKE A SIP of something to try to fix it (get up and walk around instead) Being full is not going to be experienced the same way. Hiccups, burps or a runny nose could be the signal I had been growing a little concerned seeing people posting about dealing with their insurance companies & with approval/denial forms. It seems Lahey took care of all that, and if an issue does/did come up they try to resolve it. Pretty nice Overall, feeling pretty good. Next week has a total of 7 appointments for me (groan) but I think some of them will just kinda slide into one another (hospital admissions to the nurse examination, etc) so it shouldn't be too too bad. The reality of all this is starting to lurk back into the picture, but I'm not freaking out again (yet).

Congratulations!!! Very inspiring progress

I'd recommend waiting just in case for a few reasons. I wouldn't do anything that would make anyone second guess changing your surgery date. If you've decided on what you want & where to put it, well.. hopefully it will be there a long time so putting it off a little longer shouldn't hurt. Also, your skin is going to be changing. I've heard about how images get stretched out after people gain weight, but not so much about how it changes with losing it. It might not matter so much in a location like the ankle I guess. I'd still want it to look it's best though & wait a little bit.

Everyone is different, but that seems like a pretty safe # to expect. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! You're going to make your seamstress crazy with your dress though

Maybe your father is scared of a possible complication & can't just say that. I would suggest that the best way to "battle" this is to counter their concerns/fears/complaints with data. I've encountered quite a few people (even medical staff) that really don't know anything about WLS. Not that I'm blaming them. It's just been something that they haven't had to deal with directly, so just like anything else not really personally relevant.. they may know a bit here/there.. but honestly not what the path is like. If they don't want to listen, well.. that is unfortunate, but you need to make the right decision for you & your health. If they can't understand that, then it's something that they need to come to terms with.

Are you taking B12 vitamins? They may help with your energy.

2 week pre-op liquid diet (shakes, puddings & broth from HMR I think) for me coming up. This is supposed to help give your liver a bit of a shrink prior to surgery.

This is your first consultation at all with your bariatric team? or with your surgeon? If this is the beginning of your path then you may need to wait a while regardless, which might not be a bad thing. Having a nice break like that will probably be very beneficial for you. If this is the beginning of your path, well places vary greatly with their timelines. Between pre-req appointments, weight loss requirements, tests (EKG, sleep tests, etc), and insurance requirements it's probably going to take a little while prior to your surgery date. Where I'm going requires a 4 week post operative surgical skills group session. They fill up fast & if you miss any of the sessions you need to make them up prior to surgery. There's also a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery. During this time people get a start on their weight loss, meet with the bariatric team & run any required tests. You don't meet with the surgeon until it's almost go time. It may take a while to get up on the table, but it's definately not just spent twiddling your thumbs

Changing brands will be not be an option for me (when the time comes in a couple weeks). Maybe try a couple drops of a sugar free extract/flavoring? If you're not using ice I would recommend that. It should help the texture & cold changes the taste of foods (usually dulls it a bit).

My journey into WLS-land officially began in December of 2012. It's hard to write this without 15 paragraphs of backstory, but maybe that will fill in with time. I was told that I would probably not be on any fast track to getting to into surgery. I hadn't been to the doctor in about 3 years & my diabetes and blood pressure had since been running out of control. Still, when they said it would probably be 4-6 months before I'd be up for the surgery I thought to myself that I could handle that. Besides, from the basic outline of the Lahey pre-req's.. it almost seemed like a minimum amount of 3 months would be needed to get everything out of the way regardless. I took this all very seriously & immediately rolled up my sleeves & got to work. I record every single piece of food that goes into my mouth on the Daily Plate/Livestrong.com. I alternate a bit with my exercise, but try to get in an hour walk @ 3mph & now I'm adding in some basic bodyweight training at home. I'm recording my blood sugar daily. I'm keeping my calories under 1500 (without feeling deprived or hungry). I joined a group on Livestrong that challenges you to "lose 100 lbs in one year" with weekly weigh in's. I was also tracking my exercise on a fitness page with some kindred spirits (to a degree) but when I got it off my chest that WLS was in my future.. I kinda regretted it. I still look there for inspiration, but no more posts. My progress seems to have paid off some. When I last saw my bariatric nurse I had lost 29lbs since 12/20 & the next day I got a call with a surgery date of 4/1. Immediately after the call was a "oh S**t" moment that lasted a good half hour. I'm not scared of the surgery.. I think I'm more scared of this being taken away from me now more than anything.

Hi, I'm another Northshore person going to Lahey Burlington. Surgery is scheduled for April 1st.