Nel

I didn't have to pay the full amount, but my insurance only covered 4k. So I took out my student loans for the full year and paid 12k out of pocket. Mine was around 16k and I'm in Arkansas.

Maybe Biotin?

I have a phone and kindle. Never used the laptop.

Mister found some at walmart. Our walgreens didn't carry it! I feel MUCH better now. I chewed two and sipped water. I think it's okay. This new pouch takes some getting used to. That soup was still super good.

Thank you all SO MUCH for responding. I've been stressed out about this for 11 days now. I make little tic marks on paper for each ounce I drink. Then I count them. It doesn't hurt to drink...I'm just going to sip and hope that within a few weeks it gets better. I'll talk to my surgeon at the post op appointment

I felt anxious just reading that.

Blah, has anyone felt full and bloated for HOURS after eating? I'm worried something is stuck but water is going down. I don't know. What do we do for that?

I was concerned before I read that. I had already sent my husband on a scavenger hunt for papaya enzymes. I live in a small town. He's having no luck. I ordered some online but they haven't come in yet.

I'm on the soft phase...so I thought it would be okay. It was literally like 3 tiny pieces of ham. How can you tell if food is stuck? Would water still go down?

You just scared the crap out of me. i feel really full still and I'm wondering if a piece of that ham wasn't chewed well enough...it was just a couple of little pieces in that soup but I regret them. I'm not getting foamies...and I'm getting water down. I'm not even in pain. I just feel really full and it's been 2 hours since I ate. Now I'm really freaking scared.

Mine had me taking whole pills before I left the hospital.

That's actually really helpful. Thank you!

I'm having 2 tablespoons of split pea and ham soup with cheddar on top. It's....really really really good. I took a taste and thought...that's pretty close to divine.

Yes, I think I'm giving up the juice. Honestly, I didn't notice the diluted part before. I've been on drugs and just kind of trying to get through it. I was just drinking it cuz that's how the hospital gave it to me. If I drink it, and I probably won't cuz diluted juice sounds shaz nasty, I'll dilute it. It makes sense due to sugar content. It doesn't bother me, but it's probably best not to. Thanks ya'll. Just trying to work through this!

ohhh, here's me http://pinterest.com/nellabean/

Of course it's not over. You can even see if they let you order off menu. Take the glass of water and set it aside. Order something small. You might even be able to share something with an extra side of something for the missus. Some places let yo order "double meat" and most places give you enough for 2 people anyway. That's one of the ways I ended up here. Instead of boxing the rest right up front for tomorrow, I always tried to clean my plate and we usually ordered separate dinners or lunches. It's insane really. On some occasions even post surgery we'd ask for 1 meal and an extra plate.

Ugh, I now hate the Unjury chicken broth. I was hoping it would be the magic to keep me from having to drink these nasty sweet shakes. But I can't tolerate it. I'm going to mix some in soup and see what happens.

Goodness, that 30 pounds certainly did make a difference! Congratulations!

So, maybe I've been super bad. I'm not sure. My hospital gave me apple juice and it wasn't diluted. So I've not been diluting it since I had no issues and it's super yummy. I drank 8 oz of it this morning. I'm not meeting calorie requirements yet...so I thought why not. But now reading through my doctors instructions and searching the internet...all the sites say to dilute it. Um, have I done something bad. Is there a reason I have to dilute? I'll start...I just figured it had to be okay...you know since the RNs on a Bariatric floor gave it to me. Then again, one of my nurses really sucked. So who knows? I don't notice any nausea or upset stomach after the juice. What's the point of diluting?

Well, from what I hear it can last until a year out...but then should slow down and hopefully stop if the extra suppliments you're taking don't work. So that's a good thing. Just remember, your hair is on a 3 month cycle (toenails are on a year) so basically it will take 3 months to notice new growth. BUT in three months you should see some, whether the loss stops or not, I would think.

I've heard taking biotin helps. My Celebrate vitamin has biotin in it. I don't know what I'll do when it happens. Probably cut my hair to chin length and use lots of thickening gel.

Hey, what are your nuts instructions? I was on soft food the 2nd week which is pretty much anything you can mush with a fork from what I understand. eggs, tilapia...yada yada. I'm not eating that yet. I'm still on liquids like runny canned chicken mixed with yogurt and grits. What is your post surgical diet plan? And you should be eating a max of 1 ounce an hour. According to MY plan.

Worrying just makes it worse. Good luck and keep us posted. (my son had a growth in his neck. One day it wasn't there and then two weeks later he had this thing growing visibly DAILY. You'll never know scared until you have something removed from your child and sent for biopsy. Every day trying to convince him it was okay and wondering what was in store for us. Whether or not we were strong enough to handle what was coming. How much faith in each other and God we really had to get through something like this if the news was bad. It was nerve wracking. It took two weeks to get the results. Completely harmless. So I know...you can't help but worry. But try not to.And I'll make sure to keep an eye on my pee. I can't believe your surgeon didn't think that was an issue. ))

I was rushing to it until the last 2 weeks. I questioned it every minute. Even sitting in the waiting room. Even when they were hooking me up for surgery drugs. I still rethink it and mine was April 1st. It's normal. I wrote a blog. I read that thing 100 times. It reminds me why I'm doing this. And someday...I'll be thrilled. someday.

Do you have the 4 ounce an hour max?