Forsythia

*Knocks on wood* I haven't had acid reflux at all since my surgery on 5/5/14, and my surgeon did not Rx me any meds for it either.

Don't get measured at Victoria's Secret unless you can fit into their bras. Go to Nordstrom or if you have one, a place like Intimacy (there is one here on the mag mile in Chicago). Make sure the person measuring you is trained. You probably need a smaller band and a bigger cup. Sadly I've never been of the big boob brigade dispite being a big girl. Things like dresses always fit in the tummy and hips and had room for days in the chest.

BCBS IL PPO - I had to do 6 months of classes and whatnot. But honestly, the classes and pre-op counseling was worth it to me. I actually took closer to a year when it was all said and done (mostly due to my own scheduling and then towards the end the surgeon's schedule). My BMI was high enough and I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, so there was no issue with approval. With BCBS, it really depends on the plan your job picks whether you have to go to classes or if it gets covered at all. I had already met my deductible, but my plan still had an out of pocket maximum I had to pay.

My husband was supportive about my choice to have surgery. When we met I was not diabetic. Maybe a year later I was. I just didn't relish the idea of being on pills or insulin for the rest of my life. But still, I was very secretive about the whole process. I only told my boss at work to let her know I would need time off and two close friends. Sadly, I am not talking to one of those friends anymore. People are so judgey about it. "Oh, just eat less, put down the fork." I can't not eat. Gamblers can avoid a casino and drinkers can pour all their vodka down the drain, but every day, I have to eat. I lost 70 lbs by diet and exercise and it all came back. In turn all that weight gain just made me depressed and I ate more. I no longer take my diabetes pills, my blood sugar rarely gets up past 130. I don't wake up with blood sugar at 210 no matter how healthy my meal was the night before. It's my body and it was my decision. I don't regret it at all. Life is too short to not be happy.

I find that bread doesn't bother me at all. Toasted, untoasted, white, wheat.. Pasta goes down fine too. I literally weigh out an ounce of pasta and and weigh out a 1 oz turkey meatball and sauce however. I made a chicken quesadilla at home, but used small flour tortilla shells and again, weighed out a 2 oz portion and refrigerated the rest (or fed it to my husband who has the metabolism of an angry hot furnace). I haven't tried pizza. I had a bad reaction to sausage post op. I'm afraid pepperoni or other greasy foods will cause me to barf like the sausage did. Of course, my nutritionist had sausage on a list of foods to avoid but the devil made me do it because I love(ed) sausage.

I was normal size until I was about 6, but then I got sick and was hospitalized. After that I blew up. I couldn't run around outside and play much and never picked up the habit after that hospitialization. I've never not been fat as an adult. I'm not thin yet, but every day is a step (or an elliptical session) in the right direction.

You can get unflavored powders to add to broths or I think someone makes a chicken Soup flavored Protein Powder. Maybe unjury is the brand? MY doctor didn't have me on a liquid diet pre-op, just a high protein low carb diet. I never ate so much meat in my life. LOL!

Everyone is different. I had almost no pain at all after surgery and immediately stopped using the medications given to me. But just because I had a really easy time of it does not make my experience typical, nor does your experience with pain make you atypical. Call your doctor and let him or her know that you are still in a world of pain. Even if I had been in a lot of pain, I'd rather have a bit of pain than continued to have diabetes and high blood pressure. Think long term goals, not short term setbacks.

So ur doctor had u on a 1-2 day liquid diet then went straight to soft foods? My dr had my first 2 days a clear liquid diet an then days 3-14 a full liquid diet. Then puréed for 2 weeks then soft foods. Funny how each program/hospital/doctor is a little different. I was sleeved on 5/5. I was on clears at the hospital for two days, then when I went home it was right onto the pureed stuff, which was horible. Because it was like, bland gross baby food. By the 13th I was moved forward to soft foods.

I still have two more weeks of no weight training left. Right now I do at least 30 minutes of cardio at the gym (because I know if left to my own devices I will just sit on the couch and marathon Game of Thrones or something). Trying to work my way back up to about 45 minutes cardio. I like to get about 3 miles in on the elliptical, but if they are all taken I will do treadmill or recumbent bike (because the upright ones make my butt numb. lol). After the 16th I should be cleared for free weights again. Yay. I miss them, because for me weights are more interesting than cardio. Because I have to concentrate on working the muscles whereas with cardio I can just zone out and watch the attached TV.

Miraclesuits are always good to camoflauge and suck you in - they usually have a high spandex content for maximum shaping. Lands End also have a good selection of one and two piece suits.

So far in my first month post op I've barfed once, and I really do believe it was just a reaction to the item of food I ate. I took three tiny bites and just knew after the third that I did not feel well at all and it came back up. I think the meat was just too fatty and my stomach said "girl heck no, stoooooop!" In my experience, this was very much how I reacted to something pre-surgery that my body was not into. I feel the bile in my cheeks and am running to the bathroom.

I took seven days off from work, not including weekends since I work a M-F job. I didn't ask or anything, I just went back. I needed the money and work a desk job. I also take public transit and do not drive.

Right now I only do cardio, since I am not cleared for weights for another two weeks. Afterwards I intend to work my way up to about 45 minutes of cardio, followed by weights. I when I was doing weights before surgery, I was always making sure to work opposing muscle groups on the same days. Chest/back, quads/hams, biceps/triceps etc. If you are a true newbie to weights, you can use the machines at your gym. You just adjust your weight plates and follow the instructions on usage.

Mine look like someone took a little kinfe point to me in four places - they are all horizontal and mostly just look a little bit like my cat attacked me or something. The 5th is longer, a true veritcal incision, and right above my belly button and very hard to see. I have a previous scar on my abdomen below my belly button from exploratory surgery when I was 6. It is very long and noticeable and is the reason why I would never ever get a bikini, even if I were down to goal weight.

I don't really have cravings anymore. Before my surgery(several months before) I did a sugar detox. I loved sugar. If I were to have drowned in a silo full of sugar, I would have been okay with it. I can look at cake and miss it, but I don't get obsessive and hangry and needy the way I used to when I was on the stuff. Similarly my husband keeps ice cream in the house and it no longer bothers me. But I will say it took weeks to really detox myself from the sugar. And that first one was a bad one.

I have BCBS IL PPO and had met my deductible, but I still had an out of pocket maximum that was only partially met for the year. The hospital sent me a bill. Ended up being about $1800.

My hospital/surgeon keeps everyone two days for any bariatric surgery. I should say I stayed two nights, I left the third day, after lunch.

I am not an early morning person. There is no way I'm going to get up any earlier than I already do on weekdays. So I go after work, usually around 7 pm. I go around 10 am on weekends.

Everyone who had any type of elective surgery at my hospital had to check in at the same day surgery unit. You checked in the same day of your surgery, not that you went home the same day. I had my surgery on a Monday and went home two days later.

I've got nothing but good things to say about Dr Eric Hungness at Northwestern Memorial in downtown Chicago. Super nice guy. The team is all very welcoming and open. The nurses and staff post op are great - one of the nurses even called me after I got home to check in on me.

Well, it took me 31 years to get this big (I'm 37, but started putting on the weight when I was 6), what is one year working on myself mentally in preparation to lose the weight? It was helpful and necessary!

From the time I went to the first seminar to the time I had the surgery it was a week shy of a year. I will say that some of that time was due to my own scheduling issues. probably could have been around 7 to 8 months. But I had to have 6 months of nutrition counseling before BCBS even approved me. The hospital I went to also required 6 months as part of their program. I didn't get approval until March of this year. Had the surgery early this May.

Thanks. I can say I was never so happy to never have to eat baby food/pureed food again. . Hopefully your nutritionist will clear you for soft foods soon. I take my water bottle with me everywhere.

I have two protein shakes a day with at least 30g of protein (usually as snacks - this morning at 6am I had 3oz of chicken salad as breakfast, then had a shake here at work around 10 am). At work I drink the premade Premeir Protein Shakes (you can get them at Wal-Mart, online at Amazon or in some grocery stores). At home I drink the Body Fortress powder, which is also 30g. That's 60 right there. With the body fortress, I use silk soy milk so that adds in another 6g. Because I am Diabetic, I've basically been trying to low carb the heck out of everything. So I will eat lots of Chicken and yogurt (greek has more than regular). And I weigh everything on my food scale so I know if I have 2 oz of chicken how many g of protein I am getting. I've become a bit of a control freak since I started this process. But if I don't weigh and measure and keep track I worry I will just revert back to old habits. I still have things I need to work on. the sleeve didn't magically make me like vegetables. So I've got to work on finding ways to prepare them so that I will eat them.