Daisee68

Promise it gets better! Congrats to you for recognizing it as an addiction. Strongly recommend counseling to deal with that addiction battle as you work through it.

Great attitude @pink22. I am trying to do the same. My surgeon told me at first visit she would like to see me under 200 but I would have to work hard for that. 6 1/2 months post-op, I am only 13 pounds from that goal. Luckily at 5' 10", I carry my weight well. I like the idea of getting to a "normal" BMI, but I am not focused on it just yet. Now when I get closer, I wonder if my mind will change but for now, I just want to become healthy and lose enough to get plastic surgery on various body parts! Oh ok, and small enough to stay off my meds...

Well not exactly the same thing, but I can tell you that I had to up my depression med (Brintellix) and my Synthroid after surgery because it just wasn't absorbing correctly (though I did have bypass). Any chance of trying a different anxiety med maybe that is more weight neutral? If not, you could always give it a try and just see how it goes. Great job on the loss by the way! Keep up the great work!

Here is a link to some pureed recipes. My favorite was Ricotta Bake. http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html I ate a lot of Soups, fat free refried Beans, pimento cheese (southern thing if you haven't heard of it), yogurt (with Protein powder added), sugar free pudding snack (with Protein Powder added).

Completely common. It is the excess fluids they gave you and swelling. May take up around 7-10 days for that to calm down and loss to start showing (not to mention your body is trying to catch up from the quick 30 pounds you lost). Try to stay off the scale the first week.

No but when you say at one time, are you saying you can gulp down 24 ounces in fairly short order (i.e. minutes?). if so, not sure it will stretch out your sleeve but not sure it is wise either. Are you tracking your food? Getting in your Protein? Had a change in exercise?

Chapstick, ear plugs, heating pad, easy slip on shoes (or slippers) to wear for your walks and Gas-X.

I had a lot of vomiting and nausea in the beginning. My team told me that each time I vomited to go back to fluids for 24-48 hours and let everything settle down before attempting food again. I know your team said no Protein drinks but if you are struggling with food, I would think a Protein Drink at this point would be acceptable and may help you get through a few days while your system calms down a little. If no protein drink, maybe at least milk? Fairlife has more protein than most. That might help.

I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions! Is the med helping the pain though? (I hope I hope!)

Ditto. Huge part of my diet. I guess I don't know it loss would have gone faster but not sure I would have wanted it to. I'm quite happy with the 10 to 12 pounds loss per month.

Yep I could easily (and did often) eat a large pizza and some wings while drinking a soda. At 6 months post-op, I have been afraid to try it except once for fear of it being a binge food. When I did eat it that once, it was a fancy place and a type I wouldn't normally order and ate toppings of one piece and maybe half of another piece with the crust.

I am also able to take Tylenol and do. I miss Advil somedays but I think it as more of a habit than anything. For joint pain, you may be able to get prescription for topical anti-inflammatory such as Voltaren Gel. Because it doesn't process through your stomach, it should be fine (at least my rheumatologist said it was!) Also, you can rely on ice and heat a lot. If it is too bad, a pain mgmt. dr should be able to help.

To be honest, I did regret it several times over the first 3 months. I remember someone posting this same question when I was probably 5ish weeks out and I answered that yes I regretted it. Having said that, at 107 pounds down and off diabetes meds (right out of the hospital) and my stricture being fixed, I absolutely do not regret it. I still question sometimes if I did the right thing (always wondering if I will be able to maintain the loss) but not regret. Even having lost my job last week and facing unknown unemployment, I still have been able to NOT run to food for comfort is the biggest victory of all. I do have my days that are a little more rough than others but not at all as I felt when I responded that first time 5 months ago. As you have read, the fears are normal. Just keep working the program. Come here and learn and vent and cheer on others and be cheered on by others. And to me, most important - don't stop meeting with your nutritionist or counselor!

The first 3 days of the pre-op diet are the hardest. After that it gets a little easier. You will lose those 4 pounds easily in 2 weeks so don't fret. Don't let it throw you off track! Just keep your eye on the prize!! You got this!!

Well you can see the answers are all over the board. I certainly wouldn't have been able to go at 4 days post-op just out of exhaustion and post-op pain. Having said that, there seem to be a lot of people who went back to work in less than a week and I just simply cannot imagine how. Wait and see how you feel that morning and then beg off if you need to. If you do feel up to it, be prepared to only stay a short time and to come home and rest a lot afterwards. The smells of the food may make you nauseous. Take anti-nausea med with you (usually prescribed by your dr such as Zofran). Take Water and keep sipping the whole time. Best of luck with your surgery!

First, congrats on your loss thus far! Great job! I haven't had the replacement surgery but my dad did a few years back. He too went to a rehab for about a week and while he was mad at me for making him go, he was able to say afterward that he was very glad he went. He also was not hungry. I would suggest contacting your bariatric surgeon and NUT and touching base with them to help you have a plan. Know that you will need to focus on Protein and fluids just like you did after your bariatric surgery. You don't want to get dehydrated! Have some ready to drink Protein shakes like Premier Protein at hand (and chilled) so you can at least get those in during the first week. I think I would also contact someone at the hospital (not sure who) about your food needs while staying there. Maybe you can take your favorite Protein drinks with you that they can refrigerate for you? Good luck! I know it is a rough surgery but I have also heard so many afterwards so how grateful they are that they had it done!

@ - How are you doing? Did you find another surgeon? Apologies if I missed a post about that. Either way, just wanted to say outstanding work so far! Your loss pre-op is wonderful! Keep up the work! Hope you have found a resolution? For what it's worth, my suggestion would have been to find another surgeon also.

@@songsmith - Here is the one I used http://www.donateyourbra.com/index.html. I just liked their concept. I know there are some others though. Some Soma stores take them as well.

I haven't yet but I am going to have to. t 100 pounds down I get a lot of strange looks when they look at my license and wonder if it is really me. Same with passport.

@@Djmohr - Thank you for the kind words. Today was not a good day as I had to call my clients and tell them. I cried most of the day. You are right it is like going through all the stages of grief. I did see my therapist today and I guess it helped a little just to talk to someone who is not in the midst of the turmoil with me. Mostly we talked about having a plan to keep busy to occupy my mind, but right now I am tired and just want to sleep. So many people go through this and much worse and I am trying to keep this in perspective but just wasn't very successful with that part of it today. Perhaps tomorrow will be better....

How very frustrating! Don't let it get to you. Don't give up! How much Protein per day are you getting? I would say that could definitely be part of the problem if you aren't getting enough. Also, I do eat beef jerky but try not to do so everyday. If you are eating it pretty often, it could be the salt in it that is hurting you a bit. Of course, I eat a lot of cheese too to get my protein in and many here believe that is a bad choice too due to the fat. I think you will eventually find the combination that works for you!

@@katiet0526 - Thanks for the kind words. Re diet and exercise, I am not sure I know the secret other than really sticking with the plan. Sometimes it falls off fast and sometimes stalls but I just keep moving forward. I have gotten a TON of great advice from @@Djmohr who is also our height and slightly lower starting weight than you are or I but has lost 134 pounds. She has been great! So for food, I am getting about 800 calories per day at 6 months post-op. Some days I do go over but not too bad. I generally get between 80-100g protein; 40-50g carbs and 20-30g fat. I still drink at least 1 Protein shake per day. I need to focus better on veggies and better carbs which I am not great with. I didn't like Pasta or rice to begin with so that has helped. I did given in and experiment with chips and cheez-it crackers a few weeks ago and realized it was a slippery slope for me. For me, it is too soon as those are binge foods for me. I do not drink before, during or after my meals. I track my food religiously (have not missed 1 day in 6 months) because it is the only way I know how I am doing. As I get towards the end of the day, I can tell what I need to eat for dinner - more protein, less fat or more carbs, etc. I have to confess I am not as good with my fluids. I often get my 64 ounces or more but some days, not so much. For exercise, I just finished 12 sessions with a personal trainer (2 per week) but otherwise I am not consistent with my exercise. I walk and do some DVDs (Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone mostly). See? No secrets. Just stick with and work the program. In the beginning I felt like it was coming off too slowly but it just adds up eventually. Actually, I think my biggest secret is that I am still meeting with a therapist who specializes in bariatric patients. I see her now every 2 weeks (though in the beginning it was once a week). She has been a huge help in getting me to understand my food addiction. My addiction is not gone (as I found out with a potato chip and subsequent Cheez-It binge), but now that I have finally admitted it is an addiction, I seem to be able face it easier. Some days it is out of just sheer willpower and I white knuckle through the day. Some days I stay busy enough that I am not hungry. Oh and I had a stricture at about 3 months so because I was getting so sick, I was turned off by food for quite a while. I am much better now but still have to be careful. Tried steak last night for the first time, but it didn't work, so I won't try that one again for a while. I hope some of that helps. If I can ever help with more specific questions, don't hesitate to send me a private message. Maybe I can pass on some of the knowledge and encouragement that I have gotten from some of my mentors on here! Really sorry to hear about you losing your job before surgery! I cannot imagine how stressful that was/is! Or you @@Niki15! Talk about strong! You guys are total warriors! Keep up the great work!

Yes normal. I had the same issue and asked the same question. Once the swelling is down it does get much easier. My NUT said not to worry but still follow the 30/30 rule and don't push it. Still don't gulp. But I think at 3 weeks I could easily get 16 to 20 ounces in an hour (not every hour all day just that I could get in much more than I could the weeks before).

Somehow my cup size is getting larger while my band size gets smaller. Not a bad thing I guess but starting in a 46C. Now down to 38 band and the C definitely doesn't fit. DD too small (muffin boob is GROSS!) and DDD is a bit too big, so I got the bigger ones and stuffed them with what I lovingly call chicken cutlets! Still have 40 - 50 pounds to go so I will be very curious what they look like in the end!

Thanks guys. Just so it doesn't sound like I m superwoman, I wrote that to try and remind myself of the positives. Tomorrow might be different but today , so far, I'm doing OK. (Well tonight I am. This morning not so much. ????).