LosingItForMe2011

What are you looking for Kim?

Welcome honeydue! You're love it here and will find plenty of information. Poke around the boards and you'll get lots of it but, please always remember to follow your own surgeon/bariatric centers rules and suggestions and call them if you have questions and concerns first. We help each other here as best we can but, we're only answering from our own experiences and surgeon/bariatric center rules. Good luck on your journey!

They are worth a try but, not all restaurants accept them. Have you looked at the dang kids menu's lately...man, talk about junk I wish restaurants offered healthier choices for them as well or at least 1 healthy option. Hot dogs, grilled cheese, mac n cheese, cheese burgers and french fries are the main kid choices on a lot of menus. So much for choosing a kids items depending on where you go!

Nish and Don - I hope all is going well for you!

I hear ya there! I've had to take antibiotics since my surgery. The first time I took this last one I gut it into 4 pieces and thought I was going to throw up everything because it tastes horrible. So the next time I cut it in half only...same thing. Now I just take it whole because it dissolves so quickly it doesn't get stuck in my pouch. I just make sure nothing else is in there and I take in plenty of fluids before and after. (Anyone reading this though should check with their doctor or pharmacist prior to doing this with ANY med. I checked with both of mine first and received permission because of the kind of antibiotic it was.) Congrats!

I was thinking I'll be buying one myself. I've always only had from the chest up but, I think it would be a motivator as well.

Juditha, I had a lapband put in, in 2006, revised 2008 and removed 2010. It is a great tool for those it sits right, mine did for the first 14 months and I lost about 80 pounds with it but, then the trouble started. Never got it right after that and after the revision. It was years of hell with the reflux and no sleep because of it. I had my RNY 6 weeks ago. I've run into issues due to infection but, otherwise I feel good and no adjustments necessary! No reflux either and that in itself is great! Good luck!

I was also told no pasta or rice. Puree'd stage to me is one of the hardest because you're on it for a while and not many food choices. Definitely call your nutritionist they are there to help you! They have lots of ideas on how to get the protein in with the items you do like.

Hello Christi.....Have you tried asking your nutritionist? Maybe getting back to walking will help with energy. I know I feel better when I do my walking. I feel more sluggish when I don't. I'm only 6 weeks out but, I've notice in the mornings I'm more light headed than later on. I figure the hydration during the night plays a part. Is there a time of day where you're feeling it more etc? Best to call your nutritionist or surgeon just to make sure everything is good etc. Hope you feel better soon!

Welcome NancyW! RNYTalk has been one of the friendliest sites I've been on. I had a LapBand from 2006 to 2010 and used Alex's LapBandTalk website. After my band came out I naturally looked for an RNYTalk thinking.....I sure hope Alex created one and he did. I was so excited to find it. I know exactly what you mean as far as unsuportive help on some websites but, this isn't one of them. Everyone here has been very helpful and friendly. If you have a question you can just post it and you're bound to get at least one answer but, in most cases several. Welcome to the boards!

First step is to call your insurance company to make sure they do pay for bariatric surgery when all requirements are met. Then after your initial information meeting they'll probably provide information you need to get your appointments started. Each bariatric group is different and require different tests before THEY will approve you for surgery. Generally they will approve you when they know your insurance will agree with their decision and they'll submit all the paperwork for you to the insurance company for the approval. They will also work with your insurance to get the approval should your insurance wants more info or requires more testing etc. Because each bariatric group and each insurance is different it's very difficult to pin point what is required for you to get approval. Your BMI alone is already high enough to get approval from most insurance companies. Adding co-morbidities such as high blood pressure just about assures it for most insurances. Some insurance do require a minimum of 3-6 months, some a year, of supervised weight loss weigh-ins. Your bariatric group can help with that. Good luck!

Definitely call your doctor and ask. There is no harm in it but there could be harm in it if you don't ask. Coming from a gal who had an infection in that same site. I'm sure glad I asked.

Thanks jenneliza, Quite the strong bugger isn't it. My doc told me if I soil any clothing it should be washed in soap, water and bleach. Hoping I don't soil too much because I have mostly dark clothing and that and bleach won't go well. I bought some clorox wipes so I can wipe down the bathroom often. I'll have to mix some bleach and water in a spray bottle too. I told the guys not to go into my bathroom but, they can be thick heads. I can only do so much. I've always been careful with hygiene, Thank God but, it sure makes me nervous that it's spreadable. We cancelled a cookout my husband planned for his friends this weekend. I told him I didn't think it was smart to have people over. Besides the fact that these antibiotics are making my stomach and intestines more uncomfortable right now. Hopefully that gets better too...if not my surgeon gave me her cell phone number so I could call her over the weekend if need be. I thought that was nice of her.

yuppers very normal especially if you're taking pain meds at home too.

wahooooo! Good for you! Fantastic and I can't wait to get there.

If it's the incision on the left side that is the incision they use the most during your surgery. They use it to hold or retract back your liver so they can see your stomach. My surgeon said it's also the one they use to go in with the stapler to staple everything inside. It's the most used incision site so lots of bruising. After a few weeks it should feel better. If by any chance it becomes red and hot, call your surgeon. It happened to me and I ended up having to have it looked at and taken care of because an infection set in. Doctor said about 10% of patients get an infection there. Not all patients so I'm sure you'll be fine and feeling much better after a week or two

YUP I agree with DLC and the rest. Call your surgeon, better safe than sorry. I called mine because of an issue I thought was nothing but, irritating and now I'm on an antibiotic. Glad I made the call.

Thank you everyone. The test came back positive so I'm now on yet another antibiotic. Weird how an antibiotic caused it and now I have to take another one to fix it. Just have to be extra careful so no one else around me catches it. So looking forward to when this is over, just praying all these antibiotics don't cause yet another issue (My gal friends know what I mean LOL) Anywho...thanks for all the well wishes. This sure has been a ride but, I know I'll look back at it all and be thankful.

Yea I'm tired Jenneliza. OH and the visiting nurse will be by for the last time tomorrow. Insurance hasn't approved anymore visits. My husband will have to do the packing for me....oh boy LOL Thankfully it's not as deep now but, still uncomfy getting it done. This too shall pass

Hello #4, Well it happens from strong antibiotics or you can get it from someone else who has it. For me I was on heavy antibiotics so it wiped out my natural balance in my intestines/bowels. The worse part is I'm not contagious if I have it so I have to be extremely careful so no one else in my family gets it. Craziness! The antibiotic caused it and get this...what heals it is yet another antibiotic. It can cause bigger issues if it's left too long to fester so if I do have it, I'm sure hoping we caught it early enough to not cause colitis or other issues. I had to look this up because naturally the surgeon only mentioned it didn't explain it all. I'm sure she will once we know for sure. It's just not pleasant. It causes cramps or pain in the abdomin but, my period is now 8 weeks late as well so I thought at first that was part of it too. Hoping to hear soon. I think I threw the woman off in the lab. She gave me the sample cup, toilet guard, baggie and told me to put the date and time I did the sample. Then bring it back to her and they'll test it. I think she thought I was going home. Heck...didn't take long to give the sample. TMI I know but, that's how sick I'm feeling with this right now. Yuck! Besides if they have to culture it for 3 days I didn't want to wait yet another day. Thank you for your support. I appreciate it. I keep saying....this will all be worth it. It's for the best....as I squeeze my cheeks and pray to the porcelain Gods LOL

Awesome work!

Glad you're going home. Staying hydrated isn't the easiest thing to do but, we all have to try. sip sip sip Good luck and glad you're feeling better.

Well, I've been having issues after my surgery. The first was the infection in the left incision site. That incision had to be opened back up and it's had to be packed daily since so it can heal from the inside out. At one point they thought I might be getting a second infection in the same site so being a weekend, I was perscribed hefty antibiotics. I ended up having to see my surgeon because the visiting nurse was concerned and it turned out it was healing great and my surgeon said I could stop the antibiotic if I wanted. I took it one more day then just couldn't take how it made me feel so stopped as she suggested. Well that was about 10 days ago. Since then I've had bathroom "issues" but, I figured it was the antibiotics the day it was bad and then after that figured it was my diet because I'm on the Protein only stage....no carbs, Fiber etc. I won't be on stage 5 which includes fruits, veggies and healthy carbs until next week. Anyway....I couldn't take it anymore. Today was bad and I felt I couldn't leave the house so I called her. She said it's either this C. diff or I've become lactose intolerant. I told her I thought about the lactose too so didn't have any and it still happened. She said the testing will show which it is. The visiting nurse came today to pack my wound and they naturally ask questions on how I'm doing each day. I told her what was going on and explained what "it" looked like etc. She said it really does sound like C diff. So we shall see. I read about this C. diff and it said some relief can come by eating starchy foods. I didn't have anything to eat today because I just wasn't up to it. I've made sure to keep hydrated. We have saltines in the house and the explanation said they were a good choice so I had about 6 saltines today so see if it helps a bit. Mashed potatoes didn't help when I had them yesterday or the day before. (sigh) I know after this all clears up I'll feel better and be grateful that I've done this...but for right now man oh man, I'm tired of visiting the restroom and feeling like a prisoner in my own home. I'm also hoping if it is C. diff we've caught it fast enough so that no other complications happen. I guess a few days will tell what's going on. I just wanted to let folks know what's going on so that if you're going through any of this you'll know too. Thanks for listening/reading.

DL What a great idea on the Protein powder and a pinch here or there. Never thought of that and will be trying that myself. Roman...I had my surgery 7/11 and still don't feel hungry. I have to remind myself to eat as well. I try to drink one shake a day mainly because it's 25 grams of protein in liquid form so easier to get down. I do admit though that I sometimes gag at the thought of drinking it so I have to doctor them up a bit. I use sf flavorings and different combos on them to do that and get through them. I've had a slight tummy or intestinal ache the past few days so thinking I may be becoming lactose intolerant I switched tried a soy based shake today. Taste is different for sure but, again with some doctoring up it helps. Some of the things I use to change the flavors: Add Torani sugar free syrups, cocoa powder or capella sugar free/calorie free drops. It's worked so far...hope some of this info helps. I for one can tell you protein is very important. I had an infection in one of my incision sites. After the surgeon looked at it and took care of things she upped my protein intake from 50-60 grams to 70-80. I have to tell you the healing started working alot faster once the protein was upped. So I know that goes for our insides too. Make sure to get it in!

I weigh daily but, i also keep in mind that the scale will go up and down so I don't beat myself up if it goes up a pound. When I do see it goes up I make sure to really watch what I'm doing to get it back down and keep going in the right direction.