Miss Mac

It works kind of like this When you get a new aquarium - new glass tank, new gravel, new tank decorations, and new fish, you will have a very hard time getting a proper PH going for the fish to survive in new Water. UNLESS, you get a cup of gravel from the bottom of someone else's functioning aquarium. The bacterial cultures introduced into the new tank will multiply and bring up the bacterial balance needed for the fish to thrive. I have heard of fecal transplant, but you are the first person I have heard of that is having the procedure. I wish you good luck and good health.

I had the surgery to keep from dying of the complications from being 100 pounds overweight, which already caused one stroke. For all the issues you read about on the forum, you will hear stories like mine. I had NO post-op gas pain, and have had a textbook recovery. I started full liquids as soon as I came home, started soft foods 1 1/2 weeks after that, and started regular food at 3 1/2 weeks. Yeah, there may be a little pain where the incisions are healing, but there are so many benefits from having this done. I just passed my halfway mark this week. I feel so much better. I get around easier, my range of motion in my knees is better, I can roll over in bed easier, and can get on the floor now to do pilates and therapy exercises. Eating high Protein and low carb has made my body sytems run better, too. This surgery SAVED MY LIFE!.

Wow.......what a beautiful, healthy difference! Tell us about the stalls and challenges you met along the way. We all need nuggets of encouragement.

Per my previous post - don't know what is going on with either my brain, my fingers, or my keyboard - a lot of typos there. Oops!

Hopefully you can still find the sofa so that you can sit down and get some rest. You need to take the time to get well. Tere is a lot of healing that needs to happen, and you can't let a good day distract you from your doctor's orders. So what if the hose isn't perfect. You don't want to bust a gussett trying to catch up now. If anyone complains, they can just pitch in a help!

Add new foods one at a time. On the way home from my appointment where I was given to go-ahead for solid foods, I stopped at Wendys and had 1/3 cup of chili and four french fries. One thing I did not tolerate was steamed cauliflower - thought I was going to die. Even now at three months, I can still handle meats better than steamed veggies. Lettuce gave me the whistling **its, so I am not trying that again until about six months. I go easy on fruits because of the carbs, but I put berries in my shakes.

I agree with Laughing Cat. I took music to listen to - did not use it.......books to read - did not read them.......puzzle books - did not do them. I mostly slept.

When I was in the hospital for my sleeve, my boyfriend and I (we're in our 60's) made a list of every state each one of us has been in, and then made a new list of the states we had not seen. So, from that smaller list, we will choose a place to go after I recover from the sleeve and an upcoming spinal fusion. One thing we will do is take the scenic route to avoid major highways and chain restaurants. So, most likely for us it will be Rhode Island, Delaware, Virginia, the Carolinas, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Hawaii, or Alaska. I really would love to fly to Philadelphia, then rent a car or camper to travel back to Illinois by way of the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road to Rowan County North Carolina, then over the Daniel Boone Trail, Cumberland Pass, and Wilderness Road through Kentucky and back home through Indiana to Chicago. A couple of years ago, I took up the mantle as family genealogist. My McCullough ancestors came over in 1734, and were country neighbors to the Boones and Morgans in Rowan County, North Carolina. Subsequent generations fought in the Revolution there, then came with Daniel Boone to open up Kentucky to settlement. Our family history of pushing the frontier makes me appreciate their effort and fortitude. I would be honored to follow their path, but not on horseback. A car will have to do. I am counting on reaching my goal before then so that I can walk better and be able to tolerate getting around. It would be nice to get out of the house for something besides a visit to the doctor's office. This cabin fever is making me crazy.

Don't forget your teddy bear. If you don't need it for hugs and tears, you can use it to prop up your IV arm, hold your phone on the bed, or as a brace for your belly when you cough or sneeze. Some hospitals even provide a Bari-Buddy bear with stiff back. My hospital does not, so I bought one to take anyway.......so glad I did. If you don't have a teddy bear, a solid small pillow will serve the same purpose. Chapstick was my best non-human friend in the hospital.

I went in the other direction and bought barefoot shoes called Vibram Five Finger Shoes. They are designed like the foot of toe-socks, and have a rubber sole for protection against rocks. Some extreme atheletes even climb mountains or run marathons in these things. They are a little pricey, so instead of getting mine from the Vibram site, I got them on clearance from http://www.travelcountry.com.

I overbought, thinking I wanted variety. Even though I have many brands and flavors, my defaults are

Back in the old days (1973) when they cut you half in two to do gallbladder surgery, I was taken to the E R with pains exactly like yours. I was misdiagnosed with ulcer pain for some reason, and they gave me some creamy stuff for doing some images. That threw my gallbladder in to spasms, and it ruptured, spewing stones all over my abdominal cavity. That hospital (St. Anthony's in Effingham, Illinois) nearly killed me. The surgeon said he had to "go fishing" to get them all. I was in the hospital for 11 days, and lucky to go home alive. That is just a caveat for you to immediately stop eating anything rich or creamy or cheesy or spicy. Your gallbladder is having a hard time processing fats right now, and needs to be babied. If you need to have surgery get it done sooner than later. If done in time, they can do it laparospically and the consequences are a lot less to deal with. We are talking two days stay or maybe even outpatient depending on how you recover. Just don't try to be brave and soldier through it. All I could do when the pain hit was to lay bareback on the cold bathroom floor so that the tiles were like an ice pack. Yeah, I thought I was giving birth to a watermelon through my shoulderblades.

Three months out I still use my smal utensils almost daily for something. This helps to keep my bites small even if it is just to remind me that I need to be mindful that Miss Tummy likes a little pampering.

Still in size 9, but had to switch from wide to narrow.

Miss Tummy has taught me to eat slowly and wait for the tupperware burp. That's my clue to put my plate away. Typically, if I measure out the 1/3 cup and two tablespoons that I was told is my capacity, the burp leaves me one last bite to throw away. If I take a chance and eat anything after the burp, I am freakin miserable for four to five hours afterwards.

That is the way we do eggs at our house. The abrupt change from hot to cold actualy shocks that filmy membrane under the shell so that it releases from the whites, and you can peel it easy and pretty. Now, what if you got busy and forgot to come back to your eggs? Just put them back into the some hot Water for a couple of minutes, and the same thing happens by reverse process, and the shells will release.

Way back in days of old, I was an anemic and anoexic teenager. I was given B-12 shots on a regular basis, and prescribed to eat food that are rich in Iron (specifically liver - blechhhhhh !) My mom sometimes would fry liver, but it tasted like dirty feet. We had an neighbor from Mexico who stepped in and offered to prepare liver for me in a tasty way. So, she minced the liver into itty bitty tiny pieces and fried it up and put it into tostados, tacos, enchiladas, etc. What a difference! I now love, love, love Mexican food, and could never tell that liver had been incorporated into her recipes. It did not take long to come out of the anemia, and I obviously got over the anorexia. In my post childbirth years is when the overweight issue arose. But I also learned that I need to eat foods that are strong in heme iron. This neighbor also loaned me her double satin, thoroughly beaded wedding dress made in Mexico City. You can see it in my gallery. You can also see how bony I was at the age of 19. Being anemic can be short-lived event if you follow your doctor's direction. I am thinking probably B-12 shots and dietary recommendations. Just remember, if the recommendations include organ meats that you don't like - mince the hell out f them, and put them in something spicy and flavorful. Wishing you good luck and good health.

I take two magnesium tablets every day, and two stool softeners. Works same as milk of magnesia. Helps prevent constipation.

OK Amber, I am sending a private message to that email.

Do you need just pants/shorts or other items as well that would be suitable for spring?

Amberbaz....little detail...you did not say how tall you are. I am 5'4", so if you are 5'10, my stuff will be "floods" on you. If you are 4'8", you will trip oer yourself. Please advise.

Amberbaz, I just sent you a private message. I may be able to help.

Straight through the middle from the sternum. i don't have a gall bladder since 1973. That pain was on the right of my back under my shoulder blade....felt like a butcher knife being twirled around. Some people have gall bladder issues after this surgery, so don't dismiss the pain just because you are not sure what it is. If you are suffering, call your doctor.

Try the Mark's Daily Apple website. Our post -op diets are very similar to primal/paleo and you may be interested in the information there about fitness and nutrition. He encourages Intermittant Fasting (such as the 5:2 plan) as a way to break a plateau. I had been hesitating on trying 5:2, but it has worked for many, many people in this forum. So, I am giving it a go now to see how I do with that. Onething that that he suggests, as a retired professional triathlete, is that people tend to engage in chronic cardio which causes injury, wears people out, and increases hunger. Mark's plan explains ways to do strength training at all levels of ability. It also includes reasons why we should do more walking and basic movements such as pushing, pulling, lifting, lunges, and playing to help burn fat. Hope this helps.

If I eat that one bite too much, Miss Tummy lets me know in a number of ways, and back distress is one of them.