catwoman7

^^^ yes - those are good. I used them for a few years...

that's only temporary - and you're not doing it long enough to damage your metabolism. And like an above commenter said, surgery supposedly "resets" your metabolism anyway...

I just googled "BCBS of TN bariatric surgery" and found this. This is pretty typical - most companies require some kind of medical complication from the first surgery before they'll cover the second one. But I'd check with them regardless. Procedures That MIGHT BE Covered The following procedures MIGHT BE covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield Tennessee: Revision Surgery (either Lap-Band Revision or Gastric Bypass Revision) is possible with EITHER of the following conditions met: Physician documented medical complication Physician documented surgical complication

I don't know anything about BCBS of TN, but it's kind of a crap shoot when it comes to revisions. Some will only cover them if there's some medical issue with surgery #1 - and some don't cover revisions at all (like my friend who's having awful problems with her 10-year-old lap band - her insurance company won't pay for revision, in spite of the fact she's been hospitalized with issues and her doctors have said she needs to have a revision). Hopefully yours will cover it, though!

I'd call the clinic. I suppose that COULD be a stricture - they might act a little differently for VSG patients than they do RNY patients. Regardless, I'd call because something is going on.

either get a chewable version for now (you can get them online - the only chewables they seem to have in stores are calcium carbonate, and we're supposed to have calcium citrate) OR get a pill cutter and cut the tablets in half. Either should work... there's also a powdered version of calcium citrate called Upcal D (I've only seen it online). You can supposedly mix it into food or beverages (it's tasteless). It doesn't really fully dissolve, though, so I gave up putting it into beverages. I just mixed it in with yogurt or pudding.

those trackers seem to go in trends - My Fitness Pal has been the big one for a few years - now I, too, am seeing more people use Bariastic. I'm still using SparkPeople, which was "the thing" before MFP came on the scene (I still use it because I've been using it for 7+ years, so I have a long history on it and like looking back at my records). In a basic sense, they're all pretty much the same, so if all you do is log your food intake, any of them would be a fine choice - but newer ones often have new features and sometimes larger databases (although it depends - some trackers that have been around for a long time tend to have pretty sizable databases, too, since users have added a lot to them over the years) p.s. I don't really care about advanced features. so any tracker with a large database of food would work for me!

I think so, too

changes in taste wouldn't be a stricture. With a stricture, you can't keep anything down. At first it's food - and as it progresses, you can't even keep fluids down. Strictures aren't very common with the sleeve, by the way - they're much more common with bypass, but even then, only about 5% of bypass patients get them. EDITED: you must have started this on previous thread since I just noticed that you responded to someone's comment about a stricture. Are you vomiting everything up? In that case, check with your surgeon's office. At 18 weeks out, that's not normal. Strictures aren't common with the sleeve, but on the other hand, they're not unheard of, either. But just contact your clinic and let them know what's going on. It could be a stricture if you can't keep anything down - but then, something else could be going on, too.

I don't notice a difference in what I can TOLERATE at different times of the day, but I'm rarely hungry in the morning, whereas I have a huge urge to snack in the late afternoon (for some people, evening is their big problem time). So anyway, I have no problem at all staying on plan before like 3:00 or 4:00 pm - after that, it's a challenge (I'm a few years out, though)

anxiety and nervousness before a surgery is extremely common, even for those of us who DON'T have anxiety issues. I've been nervous before every surgery I've ever had - it's very common!!

I've been making my own for the last couple of years and I always use full fat milk to make it. So...yes.

I can kind of relate, although your situation sounds worse than mine was. My mother was always really weight-obsessed though, and was constantly on me about my weight, even when I was a young child. Even now, when I've been normal weight for about four years now, she seems to gloat in the fact that she weighs about 20 lbs less than I do. Yea - but she's barely 5' tall, and I'm 5'6". I finally just gave up and let her gloat. I think it gives her great pleasure. Whatever...

I didn't have that, but it's not uncommon after surgeries or certain medications. It'll go away...

three week stall. if you to do a search on it on this site, you'll find over 17,000 posts on it (and no, I am NOT kidding). It happens to almost all of us. Just stick to your plan and stay off the scale for a few days - and know that your weight loss WILL start up again. It always does...

yep - it does. Calcium citrate isn't as bad at this as calcium carbonate is, but it can still cause it. However, dealing with the constipation is better than developing osteoporosis, so we're kind of stuck dealing with it (constipation, that is!)

you'll eventually be able to have some of that again. It's really the first few weeks and months that are pretty restrictive. I'm quite a ways out and really don't have any restrictions anymore and haven't in a long time (by this I mean restrictions placed on me by my surgeon - those were all eventually lifted). At this point it comes down to what my stomach can tolerate. I can drink alcohol again, but I really limit it. I have a glass of wine maybe three or four times a year - but some patients drink more than that. As for carbonation, some surgeons want you to give it up forever - others are OK with it once you're a few months out as long as your stomach can tolerate it (my stomach doesn't tolerate it well so I avoid it - but some people are fine with it). I can't really do much pasta since it sits in my stomach like a ton of bricks, but to be honest, it's been so long that I don't miss it. I've had it occasionally since I've been in maintenance, but I don't eat more than about 1/2 C. I could drink full fat milk if I wanted to, although I'm not a milk drinker. I eat full fat yogurt fairly often, though. You're right about eating what and when you want to, though - there's too much of a risk of putting the weight back on if you do that. I do mostly eat what I want to now - but I monitor myself all the time to make sure it's within reason. The last thing I want is to gain all the weight back (or really, ANY weight!!) anyway, I think a lot of us had those feelings before surgery - but at some point restrictions will loosen up quite a bit and things will seem more normal. P.S. about life never being the same - well in many ways, you're right. I can do things now that I haven't been able to do in years. I no longer sit around worrying that I'm going to have a heart attack and/or never live to see my 60th birthday. I don't worry that I'll get kicked off planes for being too fat or that I'll break furniture. I never get stared at in public places or have to endure nasty comments from kids (and sometimes adults) about my weight. I just blend right into the crowd now!! I also don't have to deal with people giving me "the look" when I'm eating in public, or people looking in my grocery cart at the store (to see what morbidly obese people eat, I guess....). I LOVE my new life and I never, ever want to go back to where I was!!

cravings are mental rather than physical - so surgery really doesn't help with that. Most people do lose their physical hunger for quite awhile though (not all people - but most). Often what feels like hunger is actually thirst or acid. So stay well-hydrated - and also, if you're not on some kind of antacid, you could ask your surgeon about that. Many surgeons put their WLS patients on PPI's for the first few months after surgery (3-6 months is common - but I've seen anywhere from one month to a year)

it should stop on its own. Things do shift around during year 2, so you'll start looking less gaunt - and then in year 3, MANY of us put on 10-20 lbs of bounce back weight (and some put on more), so I wouldn't get too worried yet... I was really worried when I got into the low 130s, but I bounced back 20 lbs in year 3. Now I kinda wish I hadn't - but it happens to the majority of us.

although evidently it wasn't big enough for her to cancel the surgery, so there's that! here are some things that can cause an enlarged liver. One of them is being overweight - perhaps that's why yours is/was enlarged. I wonder if just developing healthier eating habits might resolve it? Not sure.. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/enlarged-liver/symptoms-causes/syc-20372167#:~:text=An enlarged liver is one,the cause of the condition. this also says obesity can cause it - and if so, eating healthy foods and being physically active can improve it https://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/enlarged-liver-causes

yes - that's exactly what it is - the high protein diet + calcium + iron. All of those are known to back people up...

chronic constipation is a pretty common problem with both RNYers and VSGers. Different treatments work for different people. I have a capful of Miralax in my protein shake every morning. That usually prevents it - although I occasionally still get backed up, maybe once a month. When that happens, a night or two of Milk of Magnesia does the trick.

yes - some people do have problems with certain artificial sweeteners. Sugar alcohols (those with names ending it -itol) are especially intolerable to some people - they get major G/I distress from them. they've never really bothered me, but i know they do a lot of people. btw...the redundant colon issue I mentioned - it's not related to RNY. I've had it for a long time.

btw - I just did a search of this site for you on the three week stall. We're up to 17,501 posts on it. Like I said, it happens to the vast majority of us. Stalls typically last 1-3 weeks - and you're likely to encounter more as you move along on your journey. my three-week stall was weeks 2 & 3. Didn't lose a pound. It broke during week 4 and I dropped like eight lbs within a couple of days. anyway, here are the posts about the three week stall: https://www.bariatricpal.com/search/?q=three week stall

you wouldn't have gained five pounds of true weight unless you ate 17,500 calories above and beyond what your body needs. It's probably water retention from sodium - or you may be constipated - or it may be hormone-related. At any rate, give it a couple of days and it may be gone. another thought - it could be the infamous "three week stall" (most of us experience that - although it's USUALLY the third week post-op, it's not always - it can happen any time within the first 4-6 weeks post surgery). If that's the case, just stick to your plan and stay off the scale for a few days. It'll eventually break. It always does.