mom2lucky (suznc)

Date of surgery 11/27/12 HW/SW 260 CW 215 GW 140 - 150

I did a goodbye tour too right up until night before surgery. My doc didn't require preop liquid diet.

I took 6 weeks off because I could under FMLA & I'm so glad I did. I got so tired after the 3rd week & it was better to come to work when I wasn't as overwhelmed by food management. My doc likes for his patients to be out 4 weeks if they can (lap procedure) but will write for less if the pt needs to get back sooner. He had no problem with 6 weeks - seemed really happy I could be out that long.

I'm mom2lucky

Also, I'm sure most everyone has tried something ahead of schedule. It was peanuts for me at 2 weeks. Only would have 2-3 and would chew them til liquid but the flavor is what I craved + I wanted to chew something salty. After a couple days,the jar had to go! I did feel guilty (but satisfied at same time).

I make better choices for the next meal & I log the 'bad' food into my fitness pal. Before surgery, if I was trying to keep food log, I would omit the bad stuff but I was only lying to myself. Now I am honest & record everything. I'm sure you couldn't have eaten an entire order. Don't beat yourself up & make better choices next meal. You could also do some extra walking or whatever exercise you do.

Chobani flavors are probably so good because they are like 18 gms of sugar. I'm afraid to try that much sugar when there are alternatives. Yoplait 100 Greek has less than 10. You can flavor plain with sugar free Torani syrups too.

Mine was part test, part talk. They just want to be sure you don't this is a cure or quick easy fix for being overweight. I almost laughed out loud when mine asked me about my childhood - so cliche! Oh, I sat on a couch. Lol

My Nut recommended that & I bought it. Before surgery, I always ate out. Now I find I like to make some things that are simple because I can see what's in it & easily calculate nutr info for MFP. I think I will look over the book again now that I'm not so overwhelmed by food & cooking.

I recommend checking out two of my favorite blogs - the world according to eggface & bariatric foodie. Both gals had rny & are several years out & have good recipes & lots of helpful info. I bought two or three books with with bariatric recipes but they don't really fit my lifestyle (I'm not a gourmet chef - lol). Most recipes I've tried & liked came from the above blogs or Pinterest.

Outback's shrimp is yummy. Hubby can order meal & add on the shrimp for you or you can order shrimp appetizer.

One of the ladies I eat lunch with each day is 6 years post WLS & I caught myself watching her stuff herself with carbs. She complains about regaining 50 lbs & grazes on pretzels all day & very little protein. She has nutrient deficiency issues too. Wonder why? It takes me forever at the store due to label reading too. Tonight I did something i never would have done before surgery. I roasted chickpeas! Ok , I burned them but the 4 that survived were actually good. I'll try them again and keep a closer watch next time lol.

Google iron-rich foods and start eating them ASAP. You can supplement but getting iron through food is best for your body.

No mention of that & have had color done x2 since surgery. I'm 6 weeks out & am fighting gray as hard as I can lol

Yay!! For once it's a good thing to gain weight! I'm excited for you!

I haven't found any site that gives away free Protein samples but Nashua Nutrition sells single serving sizes of lots of different Proteins for $1.95 each. unjury samples have to be ordered from Unjury as do Chike samples. I'm glad I found Nashua cause some of that stuff really is nasty. Another idea would be to go to a local nutrition/ supplement store and ask if they will let you try different samples of the proteins they sell.

Your doc office either didn't send in all the required info or the Tricare office lost the info. I've seen both happen at my job. I reviewed the CPT codes on the letter and they are good but it is a mystery to me why the doc office would even submit a lap biopsy code. Call the dr office Thursday and ask them what's up because the letter you have from Tricare states they didn't receive all the required documentation. They should have received the same letter. Good luck & let us know how it goes.

I can answer #2. I work in the financial side of healthcare. These days most hospitals require you to pay any outstanding deductible prior to an elective procedure. They may even estimate your copayment and request that as well. How much you pay depends on your employer's contract with UHC. For example - deductible is $1200 & you have met $200 of it at the time of your surgery. The patient access staff will request the outstanding difference of $1000 + may ask for more if you have an additional copay of 10 - 20%. The reason they do this is because it is difficult to collect money due after the service and this is elective, not an emergency (EMTALA limits what can be done financially for true emergencies). I've seen elective surgeries cancelled due to the patient not being able to come up with funds. As for what UHC requires, Google "united healthcare medical policies" & look for the bariatric surgery policy. The first few pages should provide requirements. You may want to call them to make sure your employer purchased bariatric coverage. The rep can go over the requirements as well. Good luck with your journey. This site has so much support to offer so ask anything

Sky, I think it was you that mentioned the papaya in another thread last week. I had never heard of it, got some just in case and thank God I had it on Thursday. My food was stuck & I was miserable but the papaya really helped. How many do you chew? My brand recommends 4 but I started with 2 & that helped. Thank you so much for the info.

Eggface is awesome. I make one of her "cakes" tonight - cinnamon raisin, and it was so good. There are 4-5 slices in it and less than 300 calories for the whole thing (I didn't add the nuts) & there's protein too. Can' t wait to try the lemon next. I've gotten meal ideas from her "day in my pouch" posts. Bariatric Foodie has some good recipes too. I have collected a lot of these and others on my Pinterest board for WLS recipes. I was never much for cooking before surgery but now I'm into it because I feel more in control. Went to Outback last night & ate 3 grilled shrimp. I will be replicating that at home soon. They were so good.

Congrats! I love your picture!

Crushed ice is awesome. If you have a Sonic drive-in, they will sell you a bag of it for a good price. I can eat a huge cup of crushed ice easier than the same size cup of water.

I just started using Sunday. Mom2lucky is my name

Would like water in ounces, portions appropriate for WLS population ability to increase protein without screwing up other stats & no calories too low message. May e a how was your day comment section. Thanks & look forward to the new development.

Give it another week or two. I'm laying here feeling like I'm dying cause I just ate 2 debreaded, well chewed chikfila nuggets. 1 month out for me & now things are starting to bother me. Ugh...this feeling sucks