Daisee68

Oh man! I don't know why I haven't done this before but I finally bought something to keep food warm while I ate it and got down a whole scrambled egg and it stayed warm! I was so sick of cold meats and eggs and would eventually just give up halfway through once the food got too cold. Blech!.... I got a candle warmer / coffee cup warmer and set my plate on it and wha-la! Here is the one I got in case anyone is interested. (It has a larger surface so it heats a little larger surface.) broth warm in between very slow sips.)

I am so sorry you are in so much pain. That is an awful thing to deal with. I don't have that kind of issue, but I can tell you that my endocrinologist told me that my Synthroid (thyroid med) and possibly HRT may not absorb as well and we may have to adjust doses and sure enough I have had to increase my Synthroid and my anti-depressant. So I suppose it would make sense that your med would work differently also. I hope your PM doctor can find a solution that will help soon. Don't let them off the hook. Call them on Monday and see what they found out. I know that doesn't help you over the weekend though...

Yes, unfortunately that is pretty common. You can try different temperatures - warm, room temp, ice cold, etc. and see if anyone works better. If not, you may just have to try other things for now. Have you tried Propel Zero flavored waters? They are very good and I could tolerate those well. Powerade Zero worked for me too. Try some tea (warm or cold - decaf only for now). Or try some Crystal Light or Orange Crush powders. I am about 4 1/2 months out and I just now am really able to drink Water again without it making nauseas.

I am not sure I have great advice but I don't want your question to go unanswered! I would say you took the first step by coming here and asking for help. My number one piece of advice is go see a therapist if you can at all. That will help. (Call your surgeon for a referral of someone who works with bariatric patients.) At the very least, seek out a local support group if you cannot go to a therapist. Secondly, maybe try a reset by just doing shakes for a few days and go through that "withdrawal" of the addictive foods again. That may help you get back to where you were in your mind the week before your surgery. Spend some time during those few days really thinking about why you did this and how far you have come. Every time during those few days of shakes that you want to reach for food or think you are hungry, go lock yourself in your room or in your car or somewhere away from food and really concentrate on your accomplishment this far. Why did you have the surgery? What was your first big NSV? What was your favorite NSV? Write it down. Start a journal and turn to that journal instead of eating. You have lost 105 pounds! That is amazing! You have the drive. You can totally do this!

You may not know full at this stage. Your stomach is still healing and the nerves may not react correctly. You have to measure your food and stick with small portions. Start with 1/4 cup and see how that goes. Eat very small bites (think dime sized) and set a timer to space your bites 1 to 1 1/2 minutes apart and do not eat for longer than 30 minutes.

@@BLERDgirl - That is sort of my point at being ticked off at surgeons. How can they ethically do such a major surgery just for the money and with no regard for the education patients need to survive? The post yesterday (I think) about the guy eating 2200 calories at 2 weeks post op? And his GF who could eat smaller amounts but was already eating hamburgers at 3 weeks out? I mean how does this happen? No other answer other than their surgeons are only interested in the money and not the true outcome of their patients. (Though to be fair the surgeon of this guy did refer him to the NUT immediately. But my guess is they clearly had no meetings with NUT prior to surgery.)

That is too dry for where you are in the process - only 17 days out, correct? Does your NUT allow you to have more than pureed? Even if so, that is too tough for you to eat right now. At day 15 my dr said I could have "soft" foods which she said was anything you could easily mash with your tongue which any kind of ham or turkey is not the case. If you must eat meat of some kind, then maybe try shaved turkey and very very tiny bites and chew very well.

LOL! Good for your hubby! Surprisingly that was the first place I noticed my loss too. Not what I was expecting. Maybe it is time to try an even smaller size jean?

Sometimes the hunger feeling is actually acid. Try taking a Zantac or Pepcid. Did wonders for me (and many others here on the boards).

Completely normal! I even questioned it AFTER the surgery for a while. Like everyone else said though, it is the best decision I ever made. You just have to get through the first few weeks and then you will see. If you aren't seeing a therapist already, consider doing so - at least once before surgery (though I recommend seeing them continually after surgery). They can help you work through these feelings. PS Make sure it is someone that works with bariatric patients. The last thing you need is talking to someone who isn't a fan of WLS confusing you!

I gotta say that this just ticks me off at the surgeons. How many surgeons are out there doing these countless surgeries without counseling their patients about how very serious this stuff is? I just do NOT get it. You have been given a gift. There are so many that have to struggle to get to the point of surgery - especially financially. You got yours. Don't screw it up. Take your Vitamins. Find a way to get in Protein whether by shakes or food. But find a way. Are there serious consequences? Yes. My aunt died. I think about her every single time that I want to go off program. I am doing this for her and in spite of her at the same time. Find a therapist. Talk to your NUT. Get serious about this or you will end up malnourished, back to your original weight and with 90% less of your stomach.

I didn't necessarily have my taste buds change, but I do get tired of all the sweet stuff like the Protein bars and shakes. Looks like you might need some variety. Here are some suggestions I can think of from my aresnal: Tortilla Soup w/ chicken and avocado Deli Turkey meat Pimento cheese (if you aren't from the South, you may not know what that is ) sugar free Fat Free pudding with whey isolate Protein powder mixed in Add a little PB2 to your shakes Laughing Cow cheese wedge Hummus Hormel Turkey Chili or homemade chili Mini Egg "Quiches" Cheddar Cheese Stick or String Cheese Try some other things. Go exploring in your grocery store this weekend and see what else you can find.

My surgeon has had to do reversals on a couple of complicated cases (believe it had something to do with stomach cancer on the 2 cases I heard about). It is very difficult and requires an expert surgeon in doing so.

@@JamieLogical - I just checked ingredients on my latest box of Quest bars and sure enough it does have the soluble corn fiber. The last week or so , I have been getting terrible indigestion (bubbling and gurgling in .y stomachs and bad enough sometimes I feel nauseous). I intentionally skipped the bar this morning to see how I felt and I felt fine. Just had the bar as a snack and my stomach started bubbling. (Luckily a gas-X will generally stop it). Maybe it's just coincidence but I'm betting not. I am going to go a few dYe without and then try the bar again and see what happens. I really hope it's not the Quest bars but now I am thinking it is!

@@Indieflickers - the dried fruit is high in carbs so you can't eat much of it, but my endocrinologist recommended dried apricots for the Fiber. I only have 2 pieces at a time when I do have it and then I try to have it with a little Protein at the same time.

Thanks @OKCPirate. To be honest, I am TERRIBLE with goals. (I have just been through 2016 budgeting at work and just do not understand that process either.) My thought is as long as I am following plan, then I will get where I get. I am trying not to get too hung up on a number, be it pounds or BMI. But I did think it was a bit encouraging to me as I often think the BMI chart is a bit off (which was the topic that was discussed in the last couple of weeks which I could not locate). Knowing that even my NUT agreed that being slightly higher than the BMI chart made me feel like I could get to a reasonable number and even though I would still be considered "overweight", I would have a good reason for being so - if that makes sense....

Ok, I know there was a topic very recently about this, but I cannot find it. I talked to my NUT today and we talked a little about Goal weight. I told her that in order to be in the "normal" BMI range, I had to be at 174 for my height which seemed a bit of a stretch right now but I would worry about it later. She said to me (and I thought this was so interesting that I wanted to share it) that they recommend a goal BMI of 27 instead of the 24.9 that is normal for women - BEFORE any plastics because of the loose skin. After plastics (with weight of loose skin removed), the BMI can be adjusted downwards but not to be so concerned about hitting the "normal" range if I had excessive loose skin. Makes a TON of sense to me and gives me a little hope since I am only about 50 pounds away from getting to that 27 BMI. Not saying that those of you who are striving to get lower are doing anything wrong, but just thought I would share in case it gave anyone else hope as they re-evaluated their "goal". Oh and she also said (and I feel like I have heard this before) that the weight can continue to come off up to 18 to 24 months post-op. Realizing that most of it came off in the first year but not to panic if it all wasn't off in the first 12 months.

My NUT recommended KRAVE jerkey. They have beef, turkey, pork. I really like it. It is more tender than most so easy to eat. I like the Chili Lime beef jerkey and the Chili Garlic Beef Jerkey. Also, how about some dried fruit like dried apricots? Tuna pouch? Individual pouches of peanut or almond butter? (I recently found Barney's Butter Almond butter in individual packs that is only 1 Tbsp so a smaller serving than normal thus lower calories / carbs, etc.) Babybel cheeses? (I feel like these don't have to be refrigerated but not 100% positive on that.)

PS - I just checked out the new BariatricPal Store - http://Store.Bariatricpal.com - They have some great Protein bar options. Take a look. (I haven't bought any yet but looks like some great choices.)

@@Alex Brecher - I just checked out the store. There are some great options there! Really looking forward to giving some of these things a try!

My NUT recommends Quest bars (though that was before ingredient change I suppose). Lots of folks recommend these in that you get the best blend of nutrients. I like the chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and the Double Chocolate Chunk. My NUT also recommends OH Yeah Victory bars though I haven't tried those yet. I bought the Premier Protein ones and they are quite good but very high calorie, so I don't eat them very often or at least only eat them in 1/2 bar at a time when I do.

Umm I use that in my pool filter. I realize you said food grade, but that doesn't seem safe at all - especially if it kills bugs. Just sayin'....

This has happened to a lot of people. I don't find that it happened to me other than I have burned out on certain things. My favorite Protein drink is ready made Premier Protein - both the chocolate and the vanilla are very good! They are only 11 oz and contain 30 g of protein. HIGHLY recommend those. For powders, I use Precision Engineered Whey Protein Isolate (order it online). I think they are very good (both chocolate and vanilla). The vanilla smells wonderful (even per someone not a WLS patient at work that smelled it as I poured it in to my yogurt). I mix 1/2 scoop of vanilla with 1/2 container of greek yogurt. Or I also mix 1/2 scoop of the chocolate with chocolate sugar free fat free pudding snack. You will get lots of suggestions here. I was lucky that I landed on the above (recommended on this board) and loved them and never had to try different ones. Good luck with your search! Vitamin Shoppe sells some samples and BariatricPantry.com also sells samples. You might start with those.

I wore them before I lost (I am 5'10" and was not much different than you in weight). But I hade to go no higher than 3 1/2" and yet couldn't be too low (kitten heels were worse and made me feel very unstable!) I cannot wait for the opportunity to wear these soon. (I had a stress fracture in my right heel for the past 6 months so I haven't been allowed to wear heels for that reason.) I did wear some 4" wedges the other day and did feel much more comfortable than I have before. In fact, I wore them all day at work without ever having to slip them off under my desk. Of course, I don't walk much for my job so maybe that makes a difference. I am looking forward to buying high heel boots without wide calf for this winter!

I am 4 1/2 months out and I still haven't tried bread. My NUT told me today that I could try toasted wheat bread or wheat English muffin but to make sure it is well toasted otherwise it WILL get stuck. Not sure I would try it as early out as your dr allows but if you do, just be VERY careful. Tiny tiny bites and eat VERY slowly (like wait 1 1/2 to 2 minutes in between each bite).