Canary Diamond

Hi there! How are you handling lactose now that you're nearly three months out? I had surgery July 13 and am experiencing total lactose intolerance as well. Your post and its responses have been very helpful. Thank you!

I'm so happy for you! What a great victory! Thank you for sharing

I'm on purees and since surgery my body has decided to reject lactose (cow's milk) in all its forms. I can no longer tolerate yogurt, cottage or ricotta cheese, cream Soups, or Protein shakes made with milk solids. Lactaid doesn't help. I know there are some Protein drinks out there without lactose, but I'm struggling to come with other protein ideas (and getting awfully sick of broth). I seem to do o.k. with Beans, but tuna salad (even pureed) does not go down well yet. Neither does an egg. Any ideas? Thank you, forum peeps!

FYI - I've had two cervical polyps and neither was serious, just annoying. Certainly did feel better after they were removed!

Please see your gynecologist. Yes, as a gynecologist's daughter I'm biased, but this is not something you should try to diagnose yourself. You may have a cervical polyp that could easily be removed, or any number of other issues. And if it is something serious, you'll be glad you caught it now.

Oh lordy, the commercials! It's awful, isn't it? Yet another reason I'm ready to dump the cable and live off of Netflix. Plus, Charter Cable sucks rotten eggs.

LOL! Love this! You sleev-eth the truth, my child.

Wow, you look great! Love the pink lipstick!

I'm sorry you're feeling this way and I can relate. I asked a question on the technical thread last week about why so many women were posting in the Man Room - thought it was exclusive to men and the day I looked at it (I was lurking, I admit it!) there were literally more posts by women than men. The hostility blowback I received was worse than an old lady fart passed through an onion. You absolutely have a right to your opinions and to own your experience. It's a shame how people use their online personas as barracks walls, which they hide behind and lob angry stink bombs at those who are just here to find information and support.

I think that's great - and I hope I'm able to do that too someday!

You betcha, Taradawn! It was one of my faves too

I've found that since mindless eating is no longer the event/pastime that it once was, I'm watching much less television. The two used to go hand-in-hand and I'm finding it can be difficult to watch tv without eating. I'm curious if any post-sleevers have taken the leap and gotten rid of their television or cable and, if so, how has it affected your weight loss journey?

I know once you reach a certain point, you can eat anything in regulated portions, but I'm way too paranoid about gaining all the weight back to go there, soocalchic! Here's why: My mother works with THREE different women who've been sleeved and gained all their weight back plus more and now eat whatever they want in huge portions. She always brings them up as a warning when I mention I'll eventually get to eat normally again, and I do not want to end up like them (or give her an "I told you so" opportunity). So I'm looking for alternatives to keep me on the straight and narrow for as long as possible!

Hello, Ken S. Do you know if the new website overhaul will allow us to add increments to our height and weight on our tickers to make them more accurate? For example, I would love to be able to enter a height of 5'2 1/2" or, even better, 5'2 3/4" to get the most accurate BMI calculations, and weights in either .5 lb. or .2 lb. increments. If not, no big deal. Just curious! Thanks!

Hello JGJ, I understand where you're coming from. It can be difficult to comprehend why surgeons' post-op diet plans vary so much when you know they do not individualize them for their patients, regardless of BMI or other risk factors. One way I found to help me deal with cravings for more solid foods when I was in the liquid stages was to puree something like frozen peas or Beans (you can do a search for my salsa bean Soup recipe) then thin it down with broth until the consistency was somewhere between a clear and full liquid. I did this with homemade lentil soup and Trader Joe's Latin Style Black Bean Soup as well. It made me feel like I had something to "chew" (even though I didn't) and felt more satisfying in my tummy than plain broth. You also might try mixing yogurt or banana with your Protein smoothie to give it a fuller mouth-feel. As long as it's liquid enough to sip, you should be fine. However, I am not a doctor, registered dietitian, or nutritionist, so please don't take this advice against any given to you by your surgeon.

Sweet tooths? teeth? Anyway, if you haven't already you MUST try Now Sports's whey Protein Isolate in Toffee Caramel Fudge! I got a packet in the sample pack from netrition.com (which is a really good variety, btw). I was really craving something "naughty" last night (as I'm wont to do when my sister comes to visit) and tried this with some chocolate and vanilla soy milk and whoa, buddy! It was like a liquid Skor or Heath bar! I cannot tolerate artificial sweeteners and this was sooooo good, I was sure I was cheating...however it's made with stevia and only has 1 gram of sugar per serving! Plus, you get 23 grams of protein! I woke up this morning feeling so much better than I did yesterday and ordered some packets of this along with Syntrax's Mint Cookie (which I've yet to try, but have heard amazing things about!). I found the best deal on AllStarHealth.com - 14 packets for $18. What are your sweet tooth's favorites?

Those are actually sold on the Bariatric Choice website! Thank you all for the recommendations!

I'm in Oregon, but I've only been diving in Hawaii, the Philippines, and swimming pools.

I'm on the Bariatric Choice website for the $20 deal (btw, am I the only one who finds it funny that VST doesn't recognize "bariatric" as a vocabulary word?) trying to figure out what's worth spending money on. I know not all Protein shakes, supplements, bariatric foods are not created equally, but this stuff is spendy! And there are a lot of things I could find equivalents for at Wal-Mart. Or so it would appear. Those of you who order regularly from them, what do you think is worth paying a little extra for? Any particular brands, shakes containing _____ g of protein, foods you can't get anywhere else? Much appreciated!

Congratulations! Your hard work is paying off. Keep it up!

I'm only 2 weeks post-op. Where did you get 4 from? Do you know someone who had this for 4 weeks?

Lots of great info, thanks! Interesting that almond butter was found to blood sugar spikes caused by bread. Not so sure about putting olive oil on my cereal though!

Has anyone else experienced this? I'm almost two weeks post-op and there's a hard, cylindrical lump in the back of my hand that hurts like hell. It also seems to have turned (used to be parallel to my fingers) and migrated down to my wrist. Do you think it's possible something got left in there when they took the IV out? It really frickin' hurts!

Same issues here. Tried it for the first time last night in the microwave (i know, I know) and ended up with a protein pancake atop yellow water. Then blended it and got foam with clumps. Will try the blender bottle!

Yogurt (regular and frozen), jello, soymilk, juice, popsicles, and blended soups thinned with broth are what I'm living on at the moment. Haven't been able to handle cow's milk.