catwoman7

I think that's exactly what they put in pre-made pumpkin pie spice, too!

I'd actually be kind of surprised if they DON'T have to stay overnight in the hospital since you're having open surgery. That's pretty major (most of us have to stay overnight even when it's done laproscopically)

I know at least one WLS patient who takes it (she's several years post-surgery). She puts it in her coffee, I believe, to help her feel more satiated. I've never tried MCT oil, but when I'm having trouble managing my hunger cravings (I'm also several years out), I increase my healthy fat consumption a bit (although not so much that i go over my calorie range)

constipation is a pretty common side effect from taking iron (it is from calcium, too - and high-protein diets, too - so we WLS patients are hit with a triple whammy - and it's why chronic constipation seems to be an issue for many of us) lots of people take a capful of Miralax every morning to keep things moving. Others use stool softeners, magnesium tablets, Smooth Move tea, or eat a few prunes every day. Whatever works for you! Just be sure it's something that's safe to do every day - because some laxatives are NOT safe to use every day.

no - I had to do it for six months, meeting either my PCP or a dietitian at least once a month, but they didn't really care where I did it, as long as it was documented.

I count all fluids as long as they're non-caffeinated (i.e., I do NOT count coffee). But check with your dietitian - yours may have a different opinion than mine.

I just make regular oatmeal and mix a scoop of vanilla protein powder into it.

you're still really early out - I don't think I could have handled salmon at that stage.

actually, I treat all those as fluids and follow the rule (with soups with chunks of stuff in it, I eat as much of the broth as I can first, then eat the chunks)

yes- I'd call them. Policies can change from year to year.

I had a super easy surgery and recovery, too. Part of me worried they hadn't even done the surgery! most people don't have any hunger for several weeks or months after the surgery, but some do. But like Tim said, it could also be head hunger or stomach acid. Do they have you on something like omeprazole? Most surgeons have their patients on it for 3-6 months after surgery. Thirst will also sometimes mimic hunger. I mean - it COULD be hunger, but it's more likely one of those other things.

I'm not sure if the speed of weight loss really makes much of a difference - but you have less weight to lose than a lot of us, so you may be OK. At any rate, you probably won't look like a Sharpei puppy, like I did! P.S. I did google it and saw a couple of articles that said rapid weight loss can mean saggier skin, but I think when you're talking massive weight loss (100+ lbs), most people's skin is pretty damaged and probably isn't going to bounce back.

you're bound to get 100 different answers here because people's tastes are so different. I'd buy a few sample packs and see what you like - better that than spending $30 or more on a big tub of something that you end up hating. my favorites were Syntrax and Unjury products. I drink Fit Frappe and Quest sometimes now, but those two aren't the best choices for new pre-ops because they're not made from whey protein isolate (Syntrax and Unjury ARE made from whey protein isolate - as are a few other brands). The other two I mentioned - and several others out there - are protein blends or protein concentrates (and sometimes something else). Those are fine once you're getting most/all of your protein requirements met through food, but early out, whey protein isolate is usually your best option since we absorb that form of protein pretty easily.

you're eating too many calories - not too few. once you get a ways out, calories are going to vary a lot depending on the person. The only way to find "your" range is to experiment with different ranges to find your sweet spot. I maintain on 1500-1700 a day. If I consistently eat at the lower end of that, or under it, I'll start loosing. If I eat above that range too often, I'll start to gain. I would say I'm moderately active. I usually do cardio (30-45 mins) about 4x a week and strength training (15-20 minutes) 2x a week. I do a lot more cardio in the summer, though, when I do a lot of walking and biking.

there are a couple of major brands names - Biotene is one - G.U.M. Hydral is another - but even a generic equivalent should work fine. I think I just got it at Walgreens. I started feeling better around day 4. I think it's the carb withdrawal. Well that, and you're only taking in a few hundred calories. they won't give you enough to get addicted. They usually give you enough for 3-5 days. A lot of us don't have any pain with this surgery, so we don't even bother taking it, but do take it if you're one of the unfortunate ones who have pain. I would worry if you had something like 30 days' worth, but 3 or 4 days, no. I'm not sure if I had that or not, since I would have been out like a light on the operating table while they gave that (although maybe not that spine one you mentioned - not sure what that is. They may have given it to me, though. That sedative they usually give you before they even roll you down to the OR always knocks me out - I'm always gone while they're rolling me down the hallway. But anyway, if they gave me that spinal one once I got into the OR, I was long gone by then and wasn't aware of it). I DO know that I had a morphine pump in my room, which was hooked up to my IV bag, so I could just press a button when I needed some, which I really didn't. I really never had any pain with this surgery, just some nausea a few hours after it.

yes - universal and for life. Once I got a few months out, they told me I could drink right up to the point of eating, but then wait an hour afterward. Yes - an hour. So I usually do that, but sometimes (rarely) I can't do it because of timing, so I figure if it's been at least 30 minutes, I'm probably OK since most surgeons recommend just 30 minutes. I thought I would have a horrible time following that rule, but it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I've been doing it for almost six years now.

it's not unusual. If I'm not mistaken, nurse practitioners have advanced degrees (master's or PhD) in nursing, and in some states, they can serve as primary care providers. Although the training is different than PA's (physician's assistant), my sense is that they're more or less considered to be at the same level. My clinic has a PA, and he does a lot of the initial and follow-up appointments. I think I only met with the surgeon once before seeing him again the morning of my surgery.

as long as you can deal with weight fluctuations, which you'll probably start seeing soon, there's nothing wrong with weighing yourself every day. Weight fluctuations screw with a lot of people's heads, though - even though they know that as long as they're sticking to their program, the minor fluctuations are due to changing water levels, water retention, constipation, etc. For people who are bothered by them, yes - once a week is probably better.

yes - I think I've seen that in some places. That should work...

I can maintain my weight as long as I stay pretty consistent in the 1500-1700 calorie range (it's not that I never go over that - I do - but I'm normally in that range. If I go over it too often, my weight starts going up. Speaking from experience here...). That range is going to vary for everyone, though. Some people can eat more, others less. and yes - I work out, but I'm not a gym rat. I was exercising about 3x a week and eating a bit out of range too often this past winter so I've put on a few lbs, so now I'm back in my calorie range again and trying to work out most days of the week (30-45 minutes of cardio about 4x a week, and weights 2x a week)

^^^ yes - that's exactly what it is. It takes a few weeks to get over that, but you will!

a lot of people really worry about loose skin (I did too when I was pre-op and early post-op), but I think most of us "vets" will tell you that in the grand scheme of things, it ends up being a pretty minor thing. For most of us, it's easy to hide in clothes, so you'll be the only one who'll know it's there, and I think all of us would take the loose skin any day of the week over being morbidly obese again. It's a small price to pay. how much you have depends on how obese you are, how much you lose, how long you were obese, how old you are, etc. If you have 100 or more lbs to lose, though, you will probably be left with some. That skin would have stretched out to the point where it really can't bounce back anymore. At my lowest, I lost 235 lbs (I've since gained about 20 back). I've since had my loose skin removed, but here I am BEFORE I had it removed. See any? It's there - a ton of it!

I didn't have to do anything with pulmononlogy. For cardiology, a lot of people have to have an EKG. That's a breeze. My surgeon also required a nuclear stress test for people over age 50 and/or people under 50 who'd had previous heart issues. For that, I had to lie on a table and they pushed me in this big loop thing that looked kind of like an MRI machine, but it was much bigger and shorter (because only your chest really needs to be inside - your head sticks out one end and you're sticking out the other end from the waist down). They did all kinds of readings - not sure what exactly, but I don't remember feeling anything. Then they gave me this shot of something that made my heart race (they said they can also make a person run on a treadmill for awhile, but it's hard for some people to get their heart rate up fast enough when they do that, so they usually just do the shot which has the same effect as really intense exercise). Then they stuck me back in the machine and did a bunch of readings again - the same readings they did before, because they want to see how your heart functions under stress, and how quickly it recovers. other than the part about the heart racing feeling freaky, it wasn't bad. No pain or anything.

I get it sometimes overnight and was wondering if it might be due to an antacid - so I guess so! I have a generic Biotene mouthwash and also Biotene spray on my night stand next to my bed. I've seen those XyliMelts mentioned somewhere - I might try those. And yes - I don't think dental issues are too common since we don't hear much about them on here (occasionally, but infrequently), but I talked to my dentist about it before I had surgery, and he said it's probably due acid - but I think dry mouth could probably cause issues, too (btw - he said he's never seen dental issues in any of his patients who've had WLS, but he's read about it in professional literature)

I didn't start eating it until I was in maintenance - and I still rarely eat it. The rice kind of sits there like a brick in my stomach.