Erin

Thank you all so much for all the great tips. I was so freaked out last week when literally my hair was falling out in little clumpy fingerfulls......and my shirt was covered in hair! I can't wait to have my first labs done this week to see if I am having any protein deficiency. Meanwhile I did increase my protein, and the Nioxin seems to help a bit. The hair loss is lessened. I also started washing my hair different .....I don't "scrub" I gently slide my hands down my head then rinse. And also no combing through while wet now I wait to pick it after its dry. I also stopped blow dryer and using the brush and flat iron. I look homely but hopefully after this phase stops I won't have bald spots .....lol. I'm still waiting for the silica to arrive I could only find it online. So ill let you know if that helps. I'm also definitely going to try the oil treatment advise! Thanks again everyone!

I'm only about 10 weeks out and most of my protein is coming from my 2 shakes a day ( syntrax milk chocolate and a protein bar called pure protein) for real food .....breakfast is a mini bagel with peanut butter or an egg, lunch is 5 cucumber slices with a slice of cheese and a turkey cold cut.....dinner is a few tablespoons of usually chicken grilled on a stick with teriaki sauce or a grilled fish of somekind. I do buy most of the dinners on work days at traders Joe's because they come in small portions and easy to fix and are really low in fat and sugar. I love to have a piece of there thin crust guilt free frozen pizza. Also love snacking on fresh fruit mango slices, watermelon, apricots.

I knew it was going to happen but it was a shocker when I looked in the mirror today and found saddle bags starting on the hips!!!! OMG! This is too soon I haven't been cleared to exercise yet...lol! And the arms.....I can tell already I'm not gonna be one of the lucky ones.....lol. Any tips for arm flab exercise would be greatly appreciated =)

I was recently reading that between 3 and 6 months post-op is the most crucial time for hair loss. The article says taking an extra Biotin supplement of 3 mg twice a day will help prevent hair loss. So off to GNC I went and they had a chewable Biotin? Is anyone taking this and did it help? I have really thin hair so was just wondering about it?

I am not a good cook and could really use some new ideas for what to eat. My surgeon has a bit longer phase if eat diet stage so now I am two weeks into the month of soft diet. I mostly eat tiny bits of well chewed chicken or cottage cheese or lunch meat. Just wondering if anyone has any tasty ideas to mix it up a bit...lol?

Hi there! Sorry to hear your surgery was so rough....that's awful! I hope your doing better now. Good luck =)

Had a mini whole grain bagel from Trader Joe's with a teaspoon low fat cream cheese and no problem's. Just going to try and limit the bread cravings to once a week. And also had two pieces of sushi with wasabi and was so delicious! Thank God cause I love sushi!

For mothers day we went to a nearby steakhouse. I'm only 5 1/2 weeks post-op so I opted for a small salmon fillet grilled with only salt and pepper al a cart. It was good.....the whole three bites! Lol Well at least I have lunch and dinner for tomorrow. It was hard to watch everyone enjoying the salads and warm bread and prime rib......but I think I did well. Its amazing how fear of dumping or causing harm to yourself makes you stay on track. Lol

Maybe it just the amount of juice you sucked out....maybe too fast or too much liquid and couldn't tell?

I really think medical I.D bracelets are a needed thing. I'm an E.R. nurse and if anyone came in from a motor vehicle accident or couldn't speak for themselves there would be no hesitation to slip an nasogastric tube down you. Make sure the bracelet reads no NGT w/o scope! If they don't use a scope they can really harm pouchie. I ordered a stainless steel one from a cute website that offers free engraving. Make sure its got the medical symbol and easy to read print.

Today is six weeks post op and I've got the sweat pants and tank top on, and brought in and dusted off the glider and weights .....lol! Just finished a little stretching app on my phone then jumped on the glider and after five minutes I thought I was going to die! I have never exercised before in my life so I knew it was going to be pathetic.....but wow! Are there others out there that feel kinda pathetic? Lol. When you guys started out at first how long did you exercise for?

My Nut. Booklet they gave me only states guidelines specific for sugar. To keep it under 5 gms per meal. But it only states to not eat anything too high in fat to avoid dumping. I'm just wondering if anyone else who has had the RNY where given a more specific number of fat grams to have? What's considered low fat for us?

I really thought I had prepared myself for all possible outcomes. I'm only 6 weeks post op and starting to feel a little depressed. I guess I'm just seeing some changes and gravity shifting in the mirror with the weight loss so far . I know I should be happy but I'm not. Maybe this is a phase....I hope.

Baskin Robbins has a reduced fat no sugar added ice cream section. They have 5 grams of fat and 5 grams of sugars for the kiddie scoop! It went down without a hitch and hit the spot on a hot day! I had the pineapple coconut =)

I just found a protein drink that really tastes good. I am only 5 weeks post op and am having the same problem. If you like strawberry milkshakes this is it! Its the syntrax nectar strawberry mousse protein powder....its made to be mixed with milk or whatever you use. Its so good. I use almond milk and fresh strawberries and top it with sugar free cool whip. As soon I took a sip I knew this was my drink finally! And I tried so many! If your a strawberry milkshake lover this is great!

Super dieters tea with natural senna .......and colace stool softeners on a regular basis. Works great!

Congradualtions!

I just received my sample packets of flavored Nectar protein and mixed the first one (apple) with 8 oz. Cold water in my little blender ball bottle and it comes up half froth and then liquid on bottom. Is this right? How are you all mixing these drinks? Lol

I was wondering about sugar alcohol and if anyone has experienced any negative effects or dumping? My dietician never mentioned anything about this. It was kind of a comfort knowing I didn't have to give up sweets completely because of the sugar free chocolate I've seen in stores prior to having surgery. Lol. I mean I know moderation is key but has anyone been told any specifics on this stuff?

It was by no mean the dreaded dumping, but last night I had about tablespoon of salmon didn't like it so stopped eating. Then I realized I had one more calcium chewable tablet I forgot to take so I slowly started to chew that till finished. Shortly after I felt this huge pressure in the center my chest. It felt a massive bit of air and I just needed a good burp....but couldn't get it out. Then I was nauseated and coughed and up came my liquid calcium fluid twice. After about ten min. I took 5 MLS of raglan and felt better. So I think I didn't give time to let my full feeling kick in before I took the calcium. It surprised me because usually I eat more than 2 spoonfuls. Maybe I ate more quickly than usual or didn't chew enough? But it scared me.....I really thought I had something caught! Anyone had a scare like that? Lol

I felt exactly the same way. What made me more confident with my decision was researching the success stories. For every horror story there are many more success ones out there. And one thing I noticed also was even the people who had the horror stories said they would do it again and it was worth it. That made feel so much better. Hope this helps =)

Before and 3 weeks post-op....its a start=] [ATTACH]55[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]55[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]54[/ATTACH]

New to this app on my phone....where do we go to upload progress pics? I love that idea!

So pretty! Like 10 years off in two months too! I can't wait for two months! Hope I have that noticeable of a change! Beautiful!

Hi! I had the same feeling at two weeks. I'm only 4 weeks post-op and once puree diet began it got alot better.....then you can start experimenting with different flavors and mushy foods! Pudding with sugar free cool whip, spinach dip and cheese in eggs, sweet potatoes whipped....all kinds of stuff to help you feel some kind of food satisfaction. I think every few weeks it gets a little bit better=] good luck!