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Same as always...dinner at grandma's with friends and family. Gonna eat whatever looks good. And wash it down with a glass of wine . And then have pie for desert.

I personally know 3 people that have had bypass. I talked to them when making my decision and none of them regret their surgeries. All of them have lost their weight and kept it off. however, there are a lot of foods each of them can't tolerate...and it's different for all. One of them vomits a lot. they all dump. And two have suffered from various nutritional deficiencies/dehydration/anemia through the years. So my main reason for choosing VSG over bypass were the malabsorption and food intolerance issues. BTW, I started with a BMI of 39 and have lost just over 100 pounds. good luck.

it took me 7 weeks to lose 17 pounds after surgery, so you are doing great! fast forward 11 months...I'm down 100 pounds. you will get there! I couldn't eat more than a couple tablespoons in a whole day at first either. Eating and drinking was a huge chore and I didn't feel normal for almost 4 months. and I'd do it all again in a second! Try and remember you just had major surgery and it will be awhile before your sleeve can perform its job. Imagine trying to play basketball 3 weeks after having a knee or hip replacement! be patient. You will lose as soon as you are healed and can eat more calories. And like others said, it took about 40-50 pounds before anyone noticed my loss. then Explaining about my surgery became a daily conversation.

I'm looking forward to NOT having to work. Unless, of course we get any emergency calls. (Help! my dog is choking on a turkey bone because I was too stupid to keep him away from the kitchen!)..... which is highly likely, but a gal can dream! oh yeah, and I'm trading in my daily Protein smoothie for all the turkey, dressing and potatoes I can stuff in my sleeve. and wine.

congrats and good luck with your surgery! The sad part is there is no one jumping on the everslimenema bandwagon because there is no money to be made. No pharmaceutical or medical equipment company will ever do the research and studies to get something like this FDA approved. How do they make money off of this? After all, poo is free. Like I mentioned, I had a fecal transplant to cure my C. diff infection and it worked great. The FDA actually tried to ban fecal transplants a couple years back but that lasted about 2 weeks due to the uproar from doctors having such success treating C. diff and IBD. My gastroenterologist has a 100% cure rate using fecal transplants for C. diff infections. And it's SO easy! In contrast, the "approved" treatment methods includes months and months of antibiotic treatments and hospitalization for severe cases. C. diff kills over 10,000 people/year and is on the rise....the CDC has even sent out alerts. The local infectious disease office sees 10+ cases a week. But is anyone conducting the studies it takes to get fecal transplants recognized as a viable treatment plan? No. But there is a company (I think Merck) spending millions on a vaccine for the toxins that C. diff produces. Thats because they will be able to market this vaccine for even more millions at some point. I turned down being part of this study because I actually wanted to be cured. (They wouldn't let me get the fecal transplant if I had joined the study) So if they aren't willing to look into the benefits of fecal transplants for a life threatening infection, they certainly aren't going to "waste their time" seeing if it could make you skinny. I, however am THRILLED to have a skilled, forward thinking doctor who has given me the bonus of skinny poo as well as curing my nasty infection!

what bufflehead said... it's really not that long if you look at the big picture. Between pre and postop my liquid stage was over a month, but I would have done it for as long as my surgeon wanted. This is about your commitment to your health, not about what everyone else is doing. use this time to get creative with your options.....try different flavors of shakes, use Torani SF syrups and PB2, mix unflavored Protein powder in broths and cream Soups. I rarely had the same thing in any given week (except my favorite chocolate banana shake and pureed/strained broccoli cheese Soup with protein powder). No cheating in the world is worth a complication. Besides, you will come out the other side a whole lot stronger and proud of yourself.

I am 5'5" and was nearly 240 pounds. My knees and ankles and feet hurt everyday. I would be limping (hobbling is more like it) by 10am everyday. I broke L4 and L5 years ago and have had chronic pain in my lower back. chiropractic visits, narcotics, NSAIDS and steroids were a big part of my life for a long time (and let's not even get started with the two vertebrae I had fused in my neck). I am now almost a year postop (I had VSG, not RNY), down 100 pounds and am totally PAIN FREE. In fact, the relief was noticeable long before I reached my goal weight, and I have not needed any pain meds since surgery. Everyone's ailments are different, and I'm not saying you will find complete relief, (no weight loss in the world would have relieved my neck pain), but excess weight can aggravate so many of the "little things" so that they become big things. I think you need to talk with someone a little less biased and better informed about WLS than your pain doctor when it comes to helping you make this decision. good luck!

I was very active in my teens and 20's .... cross country runner, softball player, ski instructor, raft guide, hiker, mountain biker, backpacker, kayaker, etc. And I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight. Then I turned 30 and just like my mom warned, my metabolism slowed down. Then I changed to a career which didn't naturally burns thousands of calories/day. Then I turned 40 and my metabolism really slowed down. Then I got lazy and spent more time on the couch than on the trails and rivers. Then my brother died and I spent over a year and a half mourning his loss with alcohol and food. LOTS of alcohol and food. When I finally woke up from my haze of grief, I realized I had become a miserable FAT person that hurt all the time and couldn't hike or kayak or mountain bike even if I wanted to. And for the first time in almost two years I didn't want to feel miserable anymore. So I did something about it. Now, less than 2 years later, here I am, looking a lot more like the 25 year old I used to be than the 46 year old I had become.

Well, I did 3 days of high dose pred and am weaning down at this point. Unfortunately I only got about a 25% improvement in symptoms. I also ended up taking both Prilosec and sucralfate to protect my sleeve until I'm off the pred (another 3 days). guess I've got another medical issue to deal with in 2015 ????. at least it's not painful yet. thanks for everyone's help

also, Un jury makes a protein chicken broth powder you could have in clear liquids stage.

My surgeon had us on 40mg omeprazole for 2 months mandatory regardless of symptoms. it makes for a less acidic environment for our sleeve incision to heal. After two months I weaned down to the 20mg OTC version for a couple weeks and then stopped completely and luckily have had no long term GERD symptoms. I will, however (at the advice of my surgeon's office) take a coarse of Prilosec if I have to take any other medication that can be irritating to the stomach. For example, I am taking steroids for a compressed nerve in my neck right now and will be on Prilosec the whole time I'm taking the pred. But it's different for everyone, some people do have to take PPI's for life.

isopure is a clear protein, as is genepro (which I haven't tried, but read about on here) that you can mix in anything.

I went to Mexico, but I chose a surgical team that was readily available for postop communication. I had no complications, but it's been nice to be able to touch base with them when I have questions. At the very least, you really should keep up with regular bloodwork, which any doctor can take care of. My surgeon recommended 3 month, 6 month and annual labs for life (CBC, chem panel, Vitamin, mineral and Iron panels). My PCP simply calls the Rx in to the lab and I go get my blood drawn. My OB/Gyn even volunteered to run it for me. But you really should check with doctors in your area ahead of time ....you definitely want a backup plan just in case you do have problems. As far as weight loss, I've lost over 100% of my excess weight with no help from a nutritionist, psychologist, followup doctor visits, etc, My surgeon provided very clear postop instructions and there's more than enough advice to be found on these forums.

I did mix unflavored protein powder in mashed potatoes during my pureed stage. But overall, I avoided all white carbs (potatoes, rice, bread) until I was at goal. And even now they are a rare thing....maybe 2-3 times/month. (but ask me again after this Thursday ???? )

I've also got an aunt and a cousin that have had a hard time since having their gall bladders removed. Thus my reluctance to do so, despite having two incredibly painful attacks.

oh yea, that's an easy one. I had a pumpkin pie Protein shake just last week! Muscle Milk Cake Batter Protein powder, milk, and Torani SF pumpkin pie syrup. It would also probably work with most any vanilla Protein Drink and I'm sure you could poach a few squirts of pumpkin pie flavoring from any number of coffee shops or convenience stores this time of year. And depending on whether you are still on liquids or pureed, you could add pumpkin pie syrup to plain or vanilla Greek yogurt. I also added unflavored protein powder to mashed potatoes in my pureed stage, so that's an option if your plan allows. afraid I don't have a good alternative for the dressing.....except wait till next year. ????

Stick with your diet plan. it's only one holiday season and you will be back to normal next time around. I spent last Christmas hanging out on grandma's couch, sipping my protein shake, watching everyone else eat. I was 5 days postop. And I had no regrets...it's only food and just being with friends and family was good enough. Be thankful for a safe surgery and recovery, respect your new life and don't do anything to sabotage your health and progress at this point.

I'd say go for it! I'm not a fan of thinking anything is off limits....I just want to be normal. I plan on eating a couple bites of everything. But beware like others warned - you never know how something new might go over. around 4 months I had my first bite of cheesecake and my first glass of wine. Both felt funny, but I didn't dump or anything like that. Just have one or two bites or even take it home to try out just in case.

I'm a big fan of whole food based Vitamins. they have cofactors and micronutrients that just can't be duplicated in synthetic Vitamin products (it's like eating an orange vs taking a Vitamin C tablet). I currently take Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Women. daily dose is 4 capsules but I only take 2. I also take Nature's Bounty Vitamin D 5000iu 3 times/week and B12 500mcg sublingual every other day. I used to also take Calcium citrate 1000mg and an Iron supplement a couple times/week, but my 6 month labs showed these my calcium and iron were high so I stopped taking them (I eat a lot of dairy and red meat, so.....) I'm scheduled for my 1 year labs next month, so I'll see what adjustments, if any, I may need to make at that point. regular bloodwork with full vitamin, mineral and iron panels is the best thing to do for keeping ahead of any deficiencies.....even years postop.

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I really wanted to take 2 weeks, but we got too busy and I had to go back after 7 days. I'm a vet tech with a physical job bending, squatting, standing, driving and lifting. i was a little tired, and still on full liquids, but had no problems working full time. I had a 3 week 20 pound lifting restriction, but was picking up 60 pound dogs by 18 days out.

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yep, had wicked headaches that lasted 3-4 days. had to wrap a warm towel around my head just to sleep. and I was starved and grumpy the whole time. no one said it was going to be easy....but it's all worth it. I'd go through it all again in a heartbeat.

wow! I was self pay in Mexico for my VSG ($6500) so the only other surgery bill I have to compare was my cervical neck fusion. I had it done at the neurosurgery department at the University of Utah....the surgery itself was nearly 3 hours long and involved removing a disk, implanting cadaver bone and putting the whole thing together with a titanium plate and 4 screws. Postop X-rays, 1 day in ICU, a visit from an occupational and physical therapist, neuro rounds with the residents, and WAY more pain Meds than I had for VSG, and it still only came to $35,000!

Thanks for sharing! I love it when families come together like they should. sounds like you have an awesome one.