Djmohr

No coffee, no creamer is what I was told but every doctor seems to be different. Most require no caffeine at all for some time. The caffeine causes dehydration which can be very bad for us. If you can detox off of coffee now I would do it.

@ I actually got Biotin from Walgreens that melts on your tongue. Just ask them to help you find it. It works great and no swallowing pills.

Best wishes for a safe surgery and speedy recovery! Keep us posted on your progress when you are up to it.

Head hunger can get the best of everyone. I think it is the single most difficult thing to learn to deal with. You cannot possibly be feeling real hunger at this point so it's one of two things: 1. You are letting yourself get dehydrated which carries similiar symptoms as hunger. Make sure you are getting 48 to 64 ounces of Water a day. 2. Head hunger. Thinking about those things you used to love or watching cooking shows can make this worse. You will have to learn tricks to help you. My trick is to go do something else to get my mind off of it. I will go crochet, read a book, take a shower, go for a walk, literally anything to help me not think about it.

I believe I got it for the very first time 2 nights ago and let me tell you, it sucked if that is what it was. I had a small scoop of ice cream at my father n laws. Butter pecan to be exact. Now I have had ice cream since my surgery in small amounts and usually I just get a heavy feeling in my stomach but no big deal. Within 10 minutes of eating that ice cream my lower intestines began cramping up to the point where I was doubled over. It felt like my insides were actually twisting. I thought oh my goodness do I have a bowel obstruction because it was excruciating. This went on for 3 hours before it finally calmed down. I did not throw up nor did I get diarrhea. Either it was a form of dumping or it was a severe lactose intolerance issue but I can tell you, I won't be eating ice cream again. In the beginning I had a lactose problem but it went away. I have never dumped and I am glad if is anything like this.

I started to notice mine returning around 4.5 months during certain situations like working out. Then at 6 months it came back fully. The good news is, it's not that same gnawing hunger and it takes very little food or a cup of milk to make it go away. I still deal with more head hunger which in my opinion is much worse. At least with real hunger its there for a reason.

I know the feeling, I have found I am thrilled with where I am but find myself constantly criticizing myself. I went shopping to find dress clothes for a wedding I have to go to on Friday. I was absolutely thrilled that I was fitting into larges and size 12s. My body looks fantastically normal in clothes. My biggest issue now is all the extra skin which makes me feel fatter than I really am. I would easily be able to get into a size 10 if not for my tummy and arms. I still have 25 to go, I am guessing this feeling won't change until I do some plastics to address my tummy, arms and boobs.

Honestly that full fat cheeses are better for you in the long run. They are good Protein and keep you fuller longer. I do not bother with lite cheese, mayo or sour cream. I hardly ever use mayo as there are no sandwiches in this girls life any longer so no real need for mayo but if I do, I will go full fat.

Still no caffeine here. I quit about 6 months before surgery and I am almost 12 months post op. it was hard at first but I got used to it. Good luck!

There is a recipes section on this site. Not sure if you have had a chance to look at it or not. Also there is a site called "the world according to eggface", it has a lot of bariatric recipes. I would definately suggest making a good homemade chicken stock for your liquid phase. Use carrots, celery, onions, chicken, Water, salt, pepper, garlic if you like it. For most this becomes a lifesaver during both preop and post op liquid phases. Trust me, you will be sick of Protein shakes and needing something warm and comforting to sip on. It helps with hunger too during preop. I made homemade chicken cacciatore using boneless chicken breasts, mushrooms, onion, green pepper, garlic and your favorite marinara sauce. I then vacuume sealed it in 2/3 oz. portions and froze them. When I wanted to eat, I simply dropped one in boiling water to heat through. I bought a vacuum sealed after another bariatric pal suggested it. It is one of the best tools in my kitchen given my need for tiny little portions, especially the first 6 months. I would bring home leftovers from the restaurant and get 2/3 more meals or more out of 1. I made a lot of different chicken, ground beef, ground chicken/turkey dishes. In the beginning casseroles are not recommended. Stick with Proteins with Fat free gravies or sauces to help them slide down easily. I would go to the eggface site to get some good purée ideas. I personally did not do well in that phase and lived on yogurt, Protein Shakes and cottage cheese. Good luck to you!

I am a September surgery too! But last year! I will Celebrate my one year surgiversary on 9/26. I am down 121lbs and 25 away from my goal. It has been a whirlwind year and I am so thrilled with how far I have come. I would be happy to be your buddy if you still want me given I am a year out. You may want some folks that have the same timing and some that are further down the road.

You are almost there and you will be so very happy when you are out there hanging with the kiddos! The feelings you are having are really normal, we all had them. Before you know it your weight will become a non issue. It was shocking to me how fast I started to feel better. Right before I had my bypass I went on a 7 day cruise with my family. I was so sick and did not even realize it. My family would not do anything without me and so I trudged along on shore with them only to turn back because I couldn't walk anymore after 30 minutes. They missed exploring the island of Aruba because I needed to go back to the ship and would not go without me. It made me sad and miserable. That was last August, I had surgery at the end of September. On February 7th we went on another cruise with my other son to Hawaii. We went on 5 shore excursions that week. My husband and son had a difficult time keeping up with me this time. I had to keep slowing down and waiting for them. I never held them back the whole trip. Do you know what that did for my self esteem? Wow, it was the trip if a lifetime for me! You will be there very very soon! I am excited for what you will discover. No matter how hard you try, it is hard to imagine those feelings until you experience the. It is like discovering a whole new world that you get to participate in! I wish you the very best of luck! You will do well, you have the perfect motivation! Those lovely kiddos!

Are they sugar free? I don't do either so I really don't know but find a good sugar free solution and you will be fine.

It is appalling when you go out to eat and they bring you a ridiculous amount of food. It is absolutely no wonder how we in this country are obese. It is the one thing that I noticed first after going out to eat post surgery. My husband and I will share a meal and there are still leftovers! Oh and he is not a WLS patient and is obese himself and recognizing he is overeating. I really wish that restaurants would recognize this, create smaller portions and charge less money. It would likely assist the country in losing weight overall. just controlling portions would make a huge difference.

Definately do not change your food plan. Stalls will happen and I would not consider a stall a stall until you've not lost anything in two weeks. My longest stall lasted a month. Your body simply needs time to adjust, embrace the stall, it will end. Follow your food plan exactly.

Yes, getting up to 64 oz. of Water took me a very very long time to achieve. As soon as I did, my skin improved significantly. Water and Protein are your two best friends for healthy skin. The other thing is Biotin has really helped both my skin and nails. I started taking it to help with hair regrow the, I am one that lost a lot of hair volume. I am shocked at how well my nails and skin have improved because of it.

Welcome & congratulations on taking steps to become healthier! I too had diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, severe reflux/Gerd, stage 3 kidney disease and severe arthritis of the spine. I still have the arthritis issues and recently had my 5th back surgery but all of my other co morbitities have disappeared completely! I feel like my bypass surgery has given me my life back. I have never felt healthier! I can deal better now with the spine issues because I don't have all of those illnesses pulling at me on top of it. I hope that all goes well and you get approved and scheduled soon! Best of luck to you!

I would just add that it is very very clear you're friend may be obese but clearly does not understand this disease at all. The issue is rarely about losing the weight it is about keeping it off permanently. Our bodies are programmed to focus on keeping that fat over the long haul. I have lost hundreds of pounds over the years only to put it all back on and then some. I bet most people who have had WLS have had that same problem. Oh and by the way, the older you get the harder it is to lose any weight at all to begin with and the easier it becomes to pack on more weight. It is a metabolic disease. In terms of her mothers failures, I bet it would be very difficult to gain back all her weight if in fact she was throwing up constantly. Her mothers failure likely came from not following the plan and eating around her surgery. Don't let anyone cause you to fail. You are in control of you and that is really all you can and should be focused on. You have let others opinions into your life. I would simply ask your friend for her support and tell her if she cannot do that you will simply remove yourself from the situation. She will likely try to sabotage you in the future given her beliefs and that is truly not a friend anyway. Good luck to you! I hope all goes well with you're surgery. You are doing great so far, don't let small minded people suck you down.

I had a different experience. I am not sure exactly how long from the operating room to recovery but based on the time it was not long. I stayed in recovery for 1.5 hours and then I was moved to my room. Before I got into my bed I was up and walking. My surgery was at 1pm, it lasted 1.5 hours. I remember very clearly walking the hall for the second time around 6pm. I have had a lot of surgeries and usually recover fairly easily from anesthesia. I may be different from some.

I vote never! Just kidding! As you can tell me and my scale have a love hate relationship. I am a daily weigher, same time, same conditions every day. As I have gotten closer to my goal my weight loss Has slowed to a crawl. Last month I lost 4 total lbs. it is still a loss and I am thrilled about that but like most I would really like to get to my goal just a tiny bit faster. I think those are normal feelings but I still have to contend with my feelings when I hop on that scale. I have learned to have a quick talk with myself before I weigh. It goes something like this: "You won't let what you see on this scale make you crazy regardless of what it says" "I know you have been working hard and you just have to trust that the weight will come off" Then I weigh and usually feel ok about it. I have also stopped weighing everyday now. Maybe once or twice per week.

During the first few months it is normal to not have an appetite at all. In fact the thought of eating is a chore. However, as hard as it is to eat you have to do it because it will really mess up your metabolism if you don't. Not to mention the issues that will result if you don't get enough Protein. In the first several weeks it is rare for anyone to eat and drink as much as they ask you to but you have to simply do the best that you can. And don't skip meals. Set an alarm if you have to and just stick the plan as close as possibl. Good luck and I hope things look up soon for you!

I would immediately call the surgeons office and let them know what is going on. They definately don't want you to have diarrhea as it dehydrates you. They also don't want you to skip meals nor do they want you to cheat as you won't get the same liver shrinkage as expected. Also if you literally cant get the shakes down ask if you can switch to a different solution. Premier Protein ready made shakes are excellent non gritty and non stinky. They have 30 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar and only 160 calories. Post surgery it is one of the go to protein solutions because of its high protein and low sugar. They have chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. In my opinion, chocolate is the best. The other two seem sweet to me but I started them post surgery and everything tastes rather sweet. You can get them at Sam's and costco in 18 packs. Good luck on your liquid diet. You can do this you just need the right solution. Give them a call asap.

Usually they will postpone if you are sick. It all depends if you're respitory system is involved or if you have a fever.

Don't do it! The number one driver of weight gain is juice and sugared drinks. You need to find something that works for you. Try Water with fruit infused in it if you don't like crystal lite. Used lemons, limes, cucumbers, raspberries, strawberries and leave your water sit in the refrigerator with the fruit. It will not be sweet but it should quench your thirst. Honestly I cannot do any of those non sweetener drinks either so I had to get very used to drinking water. It is all I drink and is the most important thing in your diet besides Protein. I would hate to see you sabotage yourself. Try doing things to get your mind off of it. I crave chocolate a lot and have to entertain myself or convince myself that I would rather have nuts or Jerky. If I do that often enough my brain believes it and I can move past it. Good luck to you!

@@shellbell125 I am really curious. Did he say why you did not get a better result? I ask this because I have very large bat wings and I definately intend to have brachioplasty and I would be very disappointed if my wings were not gone. I have not had any consultations yet and do not know too much about expected results but if I am going to go through that surgery and be left with rather large scars (which I am ok with), I would at least like to know that the wings will be gone forever. One of the things I am worried about is that it seems to be the last place where my weight is coming off. I want to make sure I am at my goal and have stabilized before moving forward. I keep wondering if I will actually lose all the fat there. I would guess if I do it too soon I could lose more weight and then I would just have smaller bat wings. I am just wondering why and I really appreciate your sharing your story with us.