Wallflower7522

HW 320 SW 294 CW: 266 Surgery date March 4, 2014

I'm sorry you guys are having such a hard time. Hope you feel better and get to go home soon.

I don't know if I could handle anymore ISOpure. I tried the Syntrax lemon tea and even mixed with crystal lite lemon tea I couldn't do it. I actually managed to get all my Protein in yesterday but I left like I are way too much all day. I was at like 600 calories. I'm jealous of those of you who have found Protein drinks you can tolerate. I can handle the mocha Atkins shakes, but they're only like 13 grams of protein. Better than nothing I suppose.

It sounds like you're doing good. I've lost 40 lbs since my preop diet, but only 24 since my day of surgery. I'm 6 weeks out. So it sounds like you're about on the same track as me. I so wish I could make myself weigh only once a week but I can't do it. I'm in a stall right now, expected because it's almost that time of the month, but I've accepted that stalls are part of it. I pretty much knew when I got up today that my weight wouldn't have changed since yesterday and I was right. Not even an ounce. But I'm ok with that. It will happen in time.

I've noticed a few little things, I'm at 40lbs now.. My thighs look slimmer, my knees and hips feel bony. I don't feel any smaller, I think I look the same, but I started out at a 24 and I fit into an 18 yesterday. It was a tiny bit snug, but doable. I'm almost 6 weeks now. I go back to work Tuesday and I'm DREADING all the comments about my weight and why I've been out. Most people don't know I had surgery. Ironically I've had three dreams about going back to work and in each one I was disappointed no one noticed even though id be mostly happy if that's what actually happened.

The baby spoons were really helpful. I bought baby plates too but I've just been using my normal desert plates mostly. I ate at a family member's house the other nice with a regular size and it was so weird. I have a 3 month old nephew that I can pass down the plate and spoons onto when I don't need them any longer.

Wow your insurance doesn't have max out of pocket? A little tip, it may not work but it's worth a try. If the doctor or hospital offers care credit or some other type of financing, you're NOT going to use it, and you are paying cash/check in full at the time ask for a discount. Care Credit and other financing companies charge the doctor about 10% for a 12 month no interest promotion. And it may be a little bit more for 24 months. It couldn't hurt to ask for a little discount.

They don't in our area, you can get Splenda to add but i don't care for that lol. I did buy some Milo's diet Sweet tea today, also sweetened with Splenda but it's pre mixed so it tastes pretty good.

Ok weird thing I miss. Sweet tea. It's weird because I stopped drinking it two years before my surgery and never missed it before. I actually thought most of the time it was gross if it was too sweet but now I'm craving it. Strange.

My friends who are that far out have all had some hair loss but it wasn't so much that anyone else could even tell. I have very thick hair and tend to have a lot come out in the shower anyway but I started taking hair, skin, and nail vitamins (aka biotin) about 8 weeks ago and I've not had nearly as much shedding so in hoping that helps with the hair loss when I get to that point.

Shannon that's sounds like about where I'm at too. Not quite a pound a day.

I have United Health Care. I had to do 6 months of weigh ins. After I got that taken care of I got my approval in just a couple of days.

Apparently my surgeon sets your goal weight at a BMI of under 30 but I really hope to be in the normal 20-25 range.

I worked in a group home with clients who were mentally and physically handicapped. I had to completely purée food for one of them. Absolutely everything he ate, think of a piece of pizza the consistency of a milk shake. So I completely understand how you feel. I didn't blend or purée anything. I'm Focusing on soft foods I could chew. If you're not going to purée, just remember to chew chew chew. I ate grilled chicken, fish, deli meat, yogurt, cheese and crackers ECT. Chili is good because it's already in small pieces. Count how many times you chew, and get at least 25-30 chews in.

Hope you feel better soon. The preop diet is the worst part. I had to do some solid food on mine, just focus on low carb, high protein.

Refried beans are really good. Get some sort of sauce, like taco sauce or enchilada sauce, to put on them. Can you have soup? I'm not a big fan of yogurt either, but I did manage to tolerate it for a few days, you just have to find a flavor you like. Do you like ranch chip dip? You can make it with plain, fat free Greek yogurt and it taste the same as if it's made with sour cream, but you might not have anything to dip in it.

I went out this weekend for my brothers birthday. Everyone was taking shots, a lot of them forgot and kept offering me shots. I didn't even really want to drink or be drunk, but it sucked so bad to be the only sober one. At least I could DD.

If they are made with Lycasin do not do it! That's what sugar free Haribo Gummy bears are made with and they're pretty notorious for making people distressed intestinally. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EVQWKC?ie=UTF8&at=&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links The reviews are actually pretty comical. Most people describe what pretty much sounds like dumping and if they make normal people dump....

I'm aloud to have mashed potatoes. My NUT just said get your protein in first. You need some carbs for energy. Right now I'm probably getting anywhere from 30-60 in a day and I've been feeling pretty good energy wise. I'm still having a hard time with protein. I'm at 30-60 grams a day. I've been trying to eat more and more often though out the day, just small amounts. That's been helping a lot.

I feel the same way Blue. I've lost two pants sizes but most of my clothes on top still fit the same way.

Ugh anyone eles get cold sores? Today I woke up with my 2nd one since surgery. I knew this would happen so I took my antiviral right up until surgery and a week out I still got one. The pills were way to big for me to take then but when I woke up with the dreaded tingle today I immediately sprinted to my car in my pajamas to get my meds and started cutting the pills into smaller sizes. I hope it works. Other than that, today is 5 weeks for me and I think I might finally be starting to feel normal. I had no pain for the first time yesterday (knock on wood) and I've been able to find things to eat I actually like the past few days. Wendy's chili is awesome, Quest bars are ok, and cheese and crackers may be the best thing ever. How are the rest of you Marchies doing?

Moving this to the post op thread...

My arms are broke out in itchy red bumps. My dr didn't have much to say about it or what might be causing it but she said she'd give me a prescription for steroid cream and then forgot to send it in....

I agree. It drives me crazy too. I got lucky this weekend. I just came from brothers birthday party with his in laws. They set out normal size plates and I had this giant plate with like 3 bits of food on it and everyone else's plate was loaded down. Also the not having a drink with dinner is weird for everyone. At least it was good food I could eat. His mother in law makes some really amazing African dishes and I had some amazing chicken lol.

I followed you Misty.