terry1118

The above reply was in reference to nicotine testing mentioned by Renee but directed to Thermo2000, whose surgeon doesn't require nicotine testing. :-)

At my nurse education class they told us that my surgeon does a nicotine test too. If you test positive they cancel surgery, reschedule in three months. A second failure and you're out of the program. Smoking is a serious risk for surgical patients. I am not a smoker but my husband was years ago. I know how hard it was for him to quit (it was hard on us too - he was absolutely miserable). After my surgery everything tasted and smelled strange - nothing was appealing. That lasted almost a month. Maybe it'll be the same with smoking? If so, maybe that will help you quit? Good luck to you.

You look great!

Baked beans. Yummy!

That sounds good! I've never used A1 with anything except steak - I'll have to try it this weekend. :-)

I'm in the larges too. Mine still fit but almost all my tops are XL's which are looking too big and too baggy. I like my sweaters a little big (more room to layer when it's really cold). Today I bought a medium sleeveless summer blouse on clearance for next summer. I'm hoping it'll fit... and not be too big! But if it is I will happily deal with it. :-)

I've bought the flavored syrups. Is it only a sweetener?

I am officially in a sz14!! I've got my eye on the 12's now.. Maybe by Thanksgiving? :-)

I liked split pea Soup, broccoli and cheese soup (if broccoli is chunky put it through the food processor or blender first), French onion soup - minus the onions, bread, and cheese, lobster bisque, tomato soup. I think the only one that has any amount of Protein is the pea soup. You can add a little unflavored Protein powder to any of them but not if it's hot - only if it's warm.

I needed my gallbladder out before I considered the rny- I found out I had gallstones when they did an x-ray for my back pain two years ago. A year later I had my first and only horrible, horrible gallbladder attack. Afterwards I had made an appointment to see a surgeon about removing my gallbladder and then postponed it because I decided to do the weight loss surgery. My wls surgeon wouldn't combine two surgeries because the risk of complications rise dramatically. It's still there, like a time bomb waiting to go off again. I talked to my surgeon at my 4mos post-op appt and we decided to remove it. It's coming out Jan 16, 2014. It's probably better this way - by January I could be down 100 pounds and well within a healthy weight range, making the surgery easier. :-)

I can eat a little but not if it's too dry and I have to eat slowly and chew carefully. I had one from Chili's w/guacamole. I'm not usually a guacamole fan but it helped the burger go down easy. And it was MUCH tastier than expected. :-)

Awesome job! You must be feeling wonderful! :-)

My doctor says no. No white anything - potatoes, rice, pasta, or bread. I can have mashed sweet potatoes. :-)

Splenda is supposed to tolerate heat - you can use it to bake. I've used it to make a sugar-free apple crisp w/oatmeal and pecan topping. I like Jasmin Green Tea but it's hard to find. It has a light, refreshing, flowery taste to it. Tazo Tea makes an iced green tea that is awesome too. The tea bags are very large so they are perfect to make a whole pitcher of tea. Then I sweeten w/splenda and add lemon slices. I can pour it into my Water bottle to take to work. :-)

Visit the website "The World According to Eggface". She has lots of really good recipes for protein shakes - some of them sound amazing! :-)

I don't track calories at all, although my log totals them for me if I'm curious. Meeting my protein and fluid requirements is my only focus. Everything else falls into place. It must be working - all my labs were perfect at my last visit. So focus on protein, fluids, and vitamins and you'll be good, too. :-)

I'd be concerned about wearing a seat belt for that long. I think that no one would have any idea if you COULD do it. Everyone is different in how much pain they experience, how they deal with it, how they feel after (tired, achy, nauseous, swollen, gas pain, etc). Some people have to spend longer in the hospital for various reasons. There are so many unknowns that no one can guess at. Even you may not not know until the day of the wedding and you may need to decline last minute. As to whether or not you SHOULD do it, your doctor could advise you on that. I wouldn't go if it were me. The gas pains were pretty uncomfortable a few days out. That would've made me miserable in public. And I was still napping. It's a hard choice to make...

My husbands says things like "You're going to find another man" sometimes. I always thought he was joking. I hope he doesn't REALLY think that. Maybe I should have a serious talk w/him about it. After almost 34 years of being happily married why would I leave him? We believe our vows, especially the part about "till death do you part". Marriage is work and you don't bail at the first sign of trouble. The exception being abuse, of course. No one should put up with that for any reason.

Does it have any Protein?