Daisee68

Wow! You look beautiful! Great job! Congrats!

@@leebick - Definitely wasn't directed at you. And wow, I am so sorry for your predicament about your mom's surgery and your surgery. I do think it is interesting that so many drs have different protocols. You are right that so many fly home from Mexico fairly shortly afterwards. I had a dr tell me once that their decisions on protocols had a lot to do with the doctors they were trained by and how those doctors were trained and so on and so on.... I think sometimes drs don't keep updated like they should either OR perhaps your dr had a tragedy with one of their patients flying. Either way, I know it must be disappointing and frustrating to go through this major decision and possible postponement. I wish you all the best (truly) and hope you both have amazingly successful outcomes!! HUGS!!!!!

OK I may catch hell for this but honestly "do what you feel" is the worst advice you can receive. Lots of drs have different plans but you chose your Dr for a reason and they may have a specific reason for the type of pre-op diet they want. PLEASE follow their plan. Do not ignore their instructions. You screwed up and you cannot undo it. Beating yourself up won't do any good but just make sure you stick to the prescribed diet going forward. The liquid diet is HARD and it can be even harder after surgery. You have made a life altering decision to have this surgery. Commit now to do everything you are supposed to do. Will you have a few slips here and there? Yep! But the key is learning to recognize those, stop the behavior when you see it, and then make sure your very next snack or meal is a good choice. Don't wait until tomorrow or next Monday. Get right back on track. Now having said that, I made some poor choices last night out of stress. (I am 13 months post-op and at goal.) Not only was I psychically miserable, I was emotionally miserable for turning to my old habits. Today is a new day. I'm going to force myself to get up and go for a walk. Hopefully it will help the stress and get me started on the right path for the day. I hope you return to these boards often for advice on what has worked for people who have gone before you but just know you are not going to hear "do what you think is best" from a real vet unless it is said in a sarcastic manner. Perhaps I read too much in to that response but right now that answer really ticks me off Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

I just read another post where someone is talking about "cheating" on the pre-op liquid diet and one of the responses is "do what you feel"? Perhaps the worst advice and enabling I have seen yet. It is answers like this that make me want to run and not return like a recent vet posted about. SMH.... There may be some folks o. Here dishing out tough love occasionally, but THANK GOODNESS there are! With advice like "go ahead cheat - do what you feel is best - Dr will never know" is not only frightening but potentially life threatening. Wow. Just wow... Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

Congrats!! Amazing work!! Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

Not everyone on this board does but I would say it is the majority. I use Livestrong/My Daily Plate and love it. Most people here use My Fitness Pal. Another one that is supposed to be pretty good is Lose It. Even at goal I am using it to stay on track. I have no way of knowing how much Protein / carbs / fat / calories without it. Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

Glad you said this James. I was just seeing same on the news. Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

I didn't technical have a pureed phase either. At 10 day follow up, my surgeon (actually my surgeons partner as my surgeon was out) said I could move to soft foods which she described as anything I could mash with my tongue. I struggled with things like fish because it was a little to dry. So start slow - soft cheeses, yogurt (w/ Protein powder added in), refried Beans, chicken or tuna salad (with Mayo or Greek yogurt), Ricotta Bake, etc. Try that for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. If you tolerate it well, then move on to some more dense foods (like tender deli meat, baked fish) but always chewing well and with something to dip it in to keep it moist. I would also suggest finding a nutritionist that specializes in bariatrics if you can. The one I use does everything over the phone. Happy to give you that name if you need someone. Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

I wish I had known how unbelievably different I would feel at goal. There were a few difficult times along the way but if I had know how good goal would feel, I might have moved thru easier. I wish I could have trusted how loving and amazing my friends and family would be. It wouldn't have kept me from doing the surgery for so long. I wish I had known and accepted I am a food addict and that it was an addiction I would always live with but could control. I wish I had known my therapist would be key to my success and I wouldn't have dreaded going so many times. Sure there are some scary things but man is it worth it! Best wishes to you as you move thru the emotions of making this decision! Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

@@her1981 - That story breaks my heart and reminds me all to well of me. I remember having all the same reasons for not wanting WLS for at least 10 years before I did it. I remember how very hard it was to get started eating better because the prospect of losing so much without surgery was just too overwhelming so I would run back to my old friend, food. I remember being denied a kidney stone procedure at a certain place because the bed wouldn't hold me and how I cried and cried. I remember calling around to places to see the weight limit on their MRI table and CT table so I could safely go to a place without being mortified and made to leave. I have empathy for your SIL. I was her and I never wanted forget that. Be kind and gentle with her and pray she will find a way to eventually lose the weight - whether thru WLS or other means. Just be there for her when she wants to talk about it. Everyone has to come to terms with their weight and frankly their food addiction in their own time. Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

I take the generic version of Protonix called Pantoprozole and it isn't that expensive I think. I think all drs opinion on length of time taken is different. For sleeve patients, one of the drs at my practice requires it for lifetime. My surgeon required it for the first 3 months for bypass; however, I had a stricture and had to have and EGD with balloon dilation and the GI Dr put me on Pantoprozole 2x per day. I weaned down eventually to 1x per day and asked my surgeon at my 1 year post-op if I could go off it. She said the GI must have put me on 2x per day bcs there was an ulcer so I would have to take it for life ????. Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

@@AmberMc03 - YEs it is normal. It can take a week or so for the Protonix to kick in. It will get better.

Are you guys taking a PPI or other reflux med? It will absolutely help with that hunger feeling and is pretty standard for patients to take the first 3 months or so after surgery. If you aren't taking one, ask you dr about it or at least taking a Zantac. Promise it makes a difference! Also, I can say that even at 1 year post-op, sometimes I feel "hunger" when I am really thirsty. Or well I can say that if I drink something, it sometimes helps that feeling. Good luck! The liquid phase will be behind you soon and you will barely remember it!

Agree with @@Bufflehead - try to cut out the Protein bar and fill in with lean protein and see if that helps speed the weight loss. Other than that, how much fruit are you eating? 30 - 45 g in carbs just from fruit does seem a bit high.

That is probably right for this far out. I remember being shocked when I could suddenly drink so much. First week post-op, I could barely get in 4 ounces per hour then suddenly by day 8 or 9, I was able to drink 8 oz in an hour and then a day or more and I could drink 16 oz in an hour. I think I came here and asked the same question.

@@Valentina - I do the same thing with blueberries. And they are so small you can eat them still frozen without issue. Yummy!

This may be a bit off-topic and I am NOT giving freedom to those who intentionally do themselves harm / disobey instructions, but.... Does anyone think that any of this "I can do whatever I want" is related to the increase in the number or surgeries and lack of care / instruction on doctors' part? I have heard that ANY general surgeon can perform bariatric surgery after completing a "workshop" (Or whatever that might be called). I feel like there are too many doctors out there trying to "get rich quick" off of this and not really investing in a "program". Additionally, doctors are finding ways to do it cheaper and cheaper (partly by not having to staff a team of people to have a complete "program"). I even went to someone who was a "Center of Excellence" and left because the NUT was absolutely horrid and never available. They had an RN on staff you might be able to reach but the surgeons were basically contracted to just do the surgery. (My point being that I don't think "Center of Excellence" designation is all it is cracked up to be.) I am just not sure doctors are helping patients see the seriousness of this procedure. Anyway, I know I digressed but every time I see folks who don't know anything about post-op instructions, it worries me that the doctor(s) never took the time to educate them. I did a lot of my own research (including this site) and was still completely overwhelmed with remembering the info. Thank goodness for this website and then my intense desire to make this work and seeking out counseling and a viable NUT on my own. Without those 3 things, the "tool" as we like to call it would have been completely useless. Regarding the rest of this conversation, I concur with most of you. The odd posts of very early post-ops seem mostly suspicious to me. If it appears to be a valid question and no one else has answered, I try to offer and opinion; otherwise, I try to just move on. I am immensely grateful for the information and advice I have received from the vets on here and want to pay it forward as much as I can but I have found myself of late a bit exhausted with some of the questions.

So blessed by all of your comments! I SO needed these all this week! Thank you!

OK so like most of us probably, I hated taking pictures before (honestly I'm not crazy about it now) but in a conversation with my therapist the other day, I realized I am still not connecting either with how large I originally was or how thin I am now. So I am not posting these for compliments. I am just posting so I can see the reality of the 2 pics side by side and hopefully start to really understand both where I was and where I am now.... Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

I have been doing it every 5 weeks since surgery. My stylist notices the loss of hair but actually commented yesterday how much better it is getting at 1 year post-op.

48 HW 336 SW 296 CW 170 Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

Do you know what your mental health benefits are under your insurance plan? It may be that they only cover a certain portion, but I'm not sure mental health can ever really be deemed "medically necessary" so it seems odd that is the reason they would use to deny. I would call the insurance company now and appeal. Tell them it is required by their plan in order to get bariatric surgery (assuming that is one of their requirements) and see what they say. Start with that and let us know what they say and maybe we can offer further advice.

Carbonated beverages are very much debated on this site with folks feeling strongly about both sides of the argument. Regardless though, I would say that at 2 weeks post-op, it is definitely too soon. It will hurt. Don't do it.

Yes I did! I remember rolling in to the operating room and telling the guy pushing the gurney that I wish I had taken an Immodium!

@@MrsSugarbabe - what an incredible picture depicting how we all feel! LOVE it!! Thank you for sharing! And thank you again to all of you for the wonderful kind and encouraging words! Wouldn't have been able to get to this point with out this amazing community! Yesterday I didn't make great lunch choices (too much grazing - couldn't even begin to track). But had a wise dinner (which is how I know I have adjusted by not waiting until the next day to get back on track). Now if I could just incorporate consistent exercise! ???????????? Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App