Miss Mac

Some doctors won't operate unless you do. When I had a spinal fusion last year, the neurosurgeon said that he would not operate unless my boyfriend who is a smoker, promise to not smoke in the house or in my vicinity. The reason is that apparently our bodies heal much better with healthier oxygen to breathe. Can you imagine if you were in a hospital bed and the nurse put that little oxygen device at your nose, and nicotine smoke came out of it for you to inhale?

At 10 1/2 months out, I think I have cleared past the hair loss event without trauma. There were a few strays about the house here and there, but no clumps in the tub or my comb. What did I do differently? I don't have a clue. My Protein has been at 80 grams, and I take 20,000 mg of Biotin every day (that's a truckload), but I can't tell whether or not it was just expensive pee.

With weight loss surgery, there is no immediate difference in one's appearance, but with a breast reduction, everyone is going to know as soon as you walk in the door. Plus, you will no doubt be tender for a while and not want people to touch you, hug you, or shake your hand too heartily. Tell the truth and run!

Paleo is not so bad. As a matter of fact, paleo / primal eating is very similar to what we bariatric patients are doing now. The primary emphasis is Protein and plenty of it....eat your green veggies....fruit once in a while, but not so much as before.......avoid breads, crackers, noodles, pastry, rice, etc and starchy foods......get off the couch and move your body every day......drink Water until your eyeballs float. We aleady eat as natural as possible and have nearly eliminated any foods made in a factory. So, guess what? You are eating paleo. If you want to learn more about the paleo / primal concept go to Mark's Daily Apple www.marksdailyapple.com. If we were to go back and ask out nutritionists to remind us of the basics, they would tell us to eat more protein, some green veggies, as few starches as possible, fruit not so much, and drink water until our eyeballs float. You and your daughter have so much in common with your new dietary lifestyles, that you could have some really supportive conversations with each other. She may not be ready for discussions about surgery just yet, but good for her that she is trying a process that will help until she is ready to talk about surgery.

I did not lose hair, but my surgical stress came out as dry skin and brittle fingernails. This lasted from months 2-5. I took extra Biotin and Gelatin, plus exfloliated with each shower, then used moisturizing lotion all over.

Your story hits close to home. My one year is coming up on December 23. I lost 65 pounds and came to a screeching halt at 172 -174; I just keep bouncing back and forth, losing and regaining the same two pounds every couple of weeks for over three months. So, I have a few questions for you. Did anyone on your bariatrc team give you any grief for not reaching goal? Is my goal of 135 rediculous? Are you comfortable at 174 if you never lost another pound? What was your longest stall? What is the most you are eating in one sitting? How many calories a day are you at now? I can use any encouragement you can spare. Thank you so much for posting. So many people drop off the forum after a few months, and there are not that many of us further out who check in on a regular basis. I can think of maybe a dozen of us who post on a regular basis.

I guess he had better open up a soup kitchen in the front yard for a couple of days or go buy a small deep freezer.

4 Biggest just below the navel. Two small ones on the left. One small one on the right.

172 no change

Since you like hummus, you could try to drain and pat dry a can of garbanzo Beans. Toss theses in olive oil, lay them on aluminum foil sprayed with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with garlic powder and sea salt, or cayenne, or cinnamon and sweetener, whatever flavor you like. Bake at 450. degrees for 40 minutes. Let cool, and you will have a nice crunchy snack. Here is the breakdown for 1/4 cup: Calories - 65 Fiber - 3g Protein - 4 g Carbs - 11

I kept a bag of cotton balls around, and would use one of those to gently tickle the itch.

My biggest obstacle was timing. I am retired and home all day, so my routine is pretty much the same every day. So, at 10:00 am, I was ready for somthing to eat, but had a shake insted. At 1:00 pm, I was ready for a light lunch - had a shake instead. At 3:00 I was eady for my afternoon snack. had a shake instead. At 5:30 I was ready for dinner. Had a shake instead. At 9:00pm, I was ready for a bedtime snack. Had my last shake instead. It was hard, no lie......because I was so used to eating at certain times, and without the food to see, smell,and chew I just about lost my mind. But I wanted the surgery so badly that I toughed through the liquid diet. Consider it a right of passage into better health.

At 10 1/2 months out, I have noticed that my posture is way better. My 51" belly was pulling me forward and affected by balance, too. There was no trainer involved - just gradual improvement. And I don't walk so heavy now, like a dinosaur stomping into the room.

Welcome to the forum........always glad to see new faces. You can ask us anything.

I am 62 and had my surgery on December 23, 2013. I came home on Christmas Day. What happened was......my daughters had Christmas with others in their homes. They took care of their own cooking and cleanup. My girls and grandkids came over here on New Years Day, just long enough for the gift exchange. That was fine with me, and we will be back to normal this Christmas. Just let someone take care of the Christmas details, and you get some rest.

I am sorry to hear that you do not have support from the people who should be supporting you the most. The one good thing that I do pick up from your post is that you have control over how the food is prepared. For example, if hubby wants scrambled eggs and toast for Breakfast, you can have scrambled eggs with a little bit of cheese. If he wants pot roast for dinner, you can have the meat and tomatoes, and just fix enough potato in it for his serving. If he wants a tuna salad sandwich and chips for lunch, you can have a tomato stuffed with tuna salad. I have even used thick cucumber slices to substitute for chips or crackers. If the family wants hamburgers on the grill, then just skip the bun for yourself. You could still have the beef patty with melted cheese. I have canned green Beans on hand for when I don't want something else (like mac and cheese) that comes to the table. At our house, we had Thanksgiving early because of my boyfriend's work schedule. He made a roast turkey, which I can eat and stuffing, which I did not eat and fesh green beans (not the kind with mushroom Soup and onion rings) which I did eat and mashed potatoes which I did not eat, and home-made cranberry relish (made with sweetener) which I did eat. neither one of us went hungry. You can't expect everyone else to embrace your new diet because they did not sign up for it. If you provide enough fresh meat and veggies without adding a lot of extra ingedients you will be just fine. So if the family wants spaghetti and meat balls, let them have the spaghetti, and you have some meatballs and a geen veggie. If they want homemade apple pie, then save you back an apple and eat the slices with Peanut Butter. So, use your imagination. There is a bariatric - friendly website called The World According to Eggface. It is good reading with many practical recipes and suggestions. I wish you good luck and good health.

I am on here every day. My sleeve surgery was 10 1/2 months ago.

All of that works for me. I take the stool softeners every day. I take a magnesium supplement every day. I eat sugar free candy every day. (Read the Amazon reviews for Sugar free Haribo Gummy Bears. I bought some in bulk right after surgery. Within four hours they work as well as the liquid you have to drink to prep for a colonoscopy.) If you have people you don't like at work just put some in a candy jar on your desk. I also swear by the Smooth Move Tea. I bought several flavors to keep on hand, but the chocolate is my favorite because I can steep some in my hot chocolate at bedtime and add a little sugar free whip cream.

My BCBS Federal Employee covered everything except $250, which was billed after the fact.

From 9 Wide to 8 1/2 medium, and I still have 40 pounds to go. My shoes are sloppy, now.

Unjury powder tastes alright Isopure powder has more protein Synrax powder mixes better Celebrate tastes alright, mixes alright, but takes twice as much product for the same amount of protein as Unjury

White Castle used to be my vice. As for any fast food joint - I just pass them up. As far as I am concerned, they are McPoison's, Poison King, and Poison Bell.

Yes and Yes! I have been using this stuff since pre-op ten months ago. I bought the chocolate flavor. When things are moving slowly, I steep one in my bedtime hot chocolate. By morning - all clear.

I am beyond the period thing, but did alternate between diarrhea and constipation the first six weeks. At ten months out everything is a comfortable normal most days.

Sounds like "Cabin Fever" to me. Yeah, get out of the house and do something, even if it is window shopping at the mall to start getting an idea of what your new style will be when you get closer to goal. At about 30 - 40 pounds down, you will be ready for your first closet flush. My surgery was December 23, 2013. So what I did was start on-line clothes shopping on Black Friday. During the holidays every retailer had nearly everthing on sale. I took advantage of that and bought clothes in every size from 16 on down to 8s. I started out as a very round 22/24 and am in some14s and 12s now, but it varies with the manufacturer. Don't fret about missing your favorite foods. keeping in mind that soda pop, breads, Pasta, rice, you know - the starchy stuff, did you no favors. There is still A LOT that you will be able to eat. The first thing I bought when I was cleared for solid foods, was Wendy's chili on the way home from the doctor's office. My boyfriend is the cook around here and he cooks in the Mediterranean style since he is from Malta. When he makes meatballs, I eat a couple of meatballs with marinara sauce and a little mozzerella and parmesan. With that I will have a few green beens or a small salad. He cooks just a couple of raviolis for himself. If I want pizza out, I will have one slice, but not eat all of the crust. Might even have a small salad. At home, he has made eggplant lasagna, which I really enjoy. You just need to get creative. Looking for recipes with adjustments is a fun project; just do it right after you have eaten a high Protein meal. Also you can go to the website for The World According to Eggface. There are lots of recipes there for folks like us. Also look up Atkins recipes or anything paleo - they are both high protein compatible. I am ten months out and eat anything I want. The big difference is that what I want has changed, and my sleeve ( and a kitchen scale) helps me with portion control.