Sajijoma

I went to a sushi restaurant and I ordered a California roll with no rice. I had to explain like a dozen times. I eventually just said I was allergic to rice and just needed seaweeds wrapped veggies and crab meat. LOL

Get the unflavored protein and mix it in your favorite drink and flavor as you want. I've even made my own chocolate milk using Hershey cocoa powder, Splenda, and milk. It was pretty decent and you can dial down the sweet to where you want it.

It's funny how we all react differently. For me, even at 6 months out, I can't eat chicken. Doesn't matter how moist or how much sauce is with it, it is no bueno. Pork the same way, but I can eat just about any cut of beef including beef jerky and it sits well. It really is trial and error to find out what works and doesn't, but yeah, chicken is the devil.

I had a drain for a week I think, after my surgery and when I finally got it out it took forever for the drain hole to completely close. My surgeon told me to undo the dressing and when I showered to let the water run down it which burned like holy heck btw, and to then pat it dry and apply neosporin and cover with a bandage til it scabbed over. It seems like it took probably 2-3wks before it wasn't leaking any blood at all to where I didn't need to put a bandage over it.

I like the Bariatric advantage advanced multi EA chewables in mixed fruit flavor. They taste kind of like double bubble bubble gum mixed with baby aspirin. LOL for calcium I love the Bariatric advantage chewy bites 500. I switch between chocolate which tastes a lot like cosmic brownies and caramel which taste just like the squares you use to make candy apples. There are other flavors, but I really like those. Now protein is a funny thing. I usually buy the syntrax nectars. My fav is twisted cherry and wild grape, but Caribbean cooler and crystal sky are pretty good too. I also sometimes but Biochem chocolate powder and I'm going to be trying out Quest strawberries and cream(when it arrives. I ordered it from the Bariatric pal store a day or two ago). As far as bars, quest bars are pretty good and occasionally I'll have a pure protein bar. I don't think I could have handled either first out of the gate, but at 6 months, I've had no problems.

I'm not a doctor, but based on the limited info given, I think it's probably the extra calories. After WLS your body will never be able to handle a full calorie load without gaining weight, because the surgery itself does alter our metabolism as well. You would either need to substantially exercise more or cut back down to prevent weight gain.

If I just bought my barest of essentials-Bariatric multi, calcium chews, it would probably be around $70/month but I do supplement with protein drinks because I can't physically eat enough protein to meet my body's needs so I usually spend another $40-100 on those each month because I need them and I want variety so I'll get more than one flavor/brand to switch it up.

Psych evals are standard procedure for most insurance companies. They want to know if you have the mental capacity to deal with everything ahead and the ability to understand how incredibly permanent and life changing this is. It's scary, because you get afraid of "what if I fail" but mine at least wasn't too bad. The psych didn't listen to a word I said then gave me a 100 question test that repeated the same questions over and over but slightly worded different. I'm crazy as as crazy can get but I passed so I wouldn't worry too much! [emoji12]

As soon as I woke up, I put on a front closing bra. I don't think I would have been ok to put on a traditional back closing one at that point, but I NEEDED support and the front closing was just enough that no one got their eyes put out or stepped on them dragging across the floor! LOL

My thyroid is dead and has been for the last 15yrs or so before that it was barely functioning from autoimmune disease and exposure to toxins. I take a high dose of synthroid every day to replace what I'm not making. Weightloss wise, it has effected me. I'm considered a "slow loser" by my NUT. I've never met one of her goals on paper, but I am still losing consistently for me(minus the many many stalls). I'm doing ok though. At the 6 month mark, I've lost around 105lbs since surgery and the rest was from my medically supervised weightloss.

Oh wow! Congratulations! I imagine you are probably scared to death, but just hang in there! I'd like to say the morning sickness doesn't last forever, but it sure feels like it and with just having surgery, a lot of the helper things are gone like hard candies and ginger ale. Praying for you and your little one to have a safe and healthy 9 month.

I showered my second day in the hospital. They glued me shut so all I had to do was just avoid scrubbing those areas and keep a waterproof bandage over my drain. The drain was the worst part about bathing but I got a lanyard and clipped it to the drain for hands free showering. Made life easier. I wasn't cleared for bathing in the tub til after the hole where my drain had been had completely closed good...probably like 2 month post op.

I like the Caribbean Cooler, but not enough to commit to a 2lb tub so I buy the to go packets of that one. Tastes great over shaved ice too!

No one can say how long your stall will last or how many stalls you will have along the journey. It's too individual a process. I just came off a 2 month stall. It was the hardest time of my life and I really needed help to get out of it. If it goes beyond 3-4wks really call your NUT and go over your diet and exercise to see if you are getting enough nutrition for your activity level. Mine probably would have broken sooner if my NUT had just suggested I bump up my nutrition.

Being a mom with 7 kids, I totally understand the home situation you are dealing with. When I first started exercising, I couldn't do much and my husband was a bit of an @ss about it too saying stretching and leg lifts weren't real exercise but a warm up to start exercising. Anyway, he gave no support and wouldn't watch kids so I could exercise so I started using them in my exercises. My toddler for instance makes a great bench press. LOL I bought a dance dance revolution game mat and challenge my kids to a dance off. It doesn't matter if the 3 yr old just rocks back and forth the whole time and never hits a single arrow, but they feel included and also stay out from under foot. Then(as long as you are in the northern hemisphere) spring is hitting us and there's beautiful days for taking long walks or strolls with the younger ones and just chasing them around at the park. It counts because your body is in motion. It doesn't matter if it's pretending to walk(treadmill) or an actual walk. If anything actually walking is more fun and motivating than pretend walking. Don't let his lack of caring or understanding become your roadblock to success.

It could be that you are not taking in enough nutrients-protein, carbs, overall calories to sustain your body's needs. I just went through something similar here at 6 months where I wasn't getting enough and I was falling asleep all the time and I would have crushing migraine like headaches every afternoon. My weight loss also stalled out and I felt really just ill. My blood work was all good, just like yours so I asked my NUT for help, but she didn't really offer me anything except when my weight first stalled she cut out my carbs which made me even more tired and more ill. So after talking to several people on here, I went rogue and bumped my protein, carbs, and calories up and now my weight is melting like butter and I'm not tired anymore. It might be something to think about.

It was definitely the right move. I'm losing about 1lb a day now! Woot! [emoji2]

My surgeon doesn't require the liquid pre op diet at all. He said it's really not that effective and all it does is put undue stress and hardship on his already struggling patients. He said that he believed in the next year (that was 6 months ago) that most practices would be phasing it out altogether. I didn't have any problem with an enlarged liver or anything and my surgery went well and was really quite painless compared to my previous gall bladder removal 13yrs before.

I'm so sorry. I hope for your sake that it was just a faulty test. Sometimes when people get positive hcg tests it can be something more serious though. A friend of mine had ovarian cancer and she thought she was just pregnant. I'm not saying that is what happened to you, but you DEFINITELY need to investigate and find out what is causing the high levels because obviously you aren't pregnant unless you know a way I don't know about to get pregnant! LOL

The restrictive feeling is from where your new stomach is swollen and it just needs time to heal. In the beginning, I could only hold 1 oz at a time. If I tried to drive all 2oz of my protein shake in 15 mins, I would throw up. It took at least a month before I could hold a full 2oz. Fast forward to around month 4 or 5 and it was like almost overnight that the swelling went down and I could hold substantially more-like 4oz. Now, at 6 months I can hold between 6-8oz usually.

I was 429lbs when I started. I would start by just walking across the house and pushing a rolling chair for when my legs were too tired to hold me anymore. Then I built up to doing laps around the kitchen island and then to walking the end of the block and eventually around the block and then around the subdivision. Then I added resistance bands and a fitball and started doing basic floor exercises like leg lifts and such. THEN I got an elliptical when I hit my 100lb milestone and currently I'm running 65 min programs each day and doing core building exercises or resistance training every day and when the weather is nice I can easily walk 3-4miles without huffing and puffing like a dying fish. Just find where you are starting from and challenge yourself to do a little more next time. When I first got my elliptical, I could maybe do 3 mins at a time and each time I would strive for 1 min more then 1 more and 1 level more intensity and incline til I built up to where I am. Same with walking or doing leg lifts. Start with like 5 and challenge yourself to do a few more each time and see how far you can go.

I was a nervous wreck in the days leading up to surgery, but the morning of my surgery I was totally Zen. The nurse even had to double check twice to make sure I hadn't already gotten the Valium or whatever because I was just so calm. I'm sure you will do fine. Just find your inner skinny personal and go Zen! [emoji6]

I was 5'10 and change when I was in high school and in my 20's I injured my back a blew a few discs and shrunk to 5'9 1/2 and at my recent point I was just below 5'9 so apparently between the discs and just being heavy and having had so many kids I've lost over an inch of height. Kind of disappointing, but the good news is that it's easier to find "regular length" clothes instead of talls!

Mine wasn't diagnosed, but I definitely had it and don't now. I snored so loud my family could hear me downstairs with the doors closed, and I would wake up choking and with a pounding head most mornings. Since surgery though, I don't snore anymore. Even my husband can't believe how quiet I am now. I don't wake up choking anymore either. I really used to go to sleep each night afraid my kids would find me dead in my bed in the morning. So there is definitely hope that you can be "cured" after surgery. It probably won't be as fast as the day/week you go home, but a few months out, you might be!

So far, going rogue has netted me a HUGE loss! Stall broken-although I hate to say it less I jinx myself into another one! About day 3 of bumping my protein to 90 grams or so, calories around 1000, and carbs to about 30 for the day and I lost 4lbs! In one day! Then over the next few days I've lost a few more! Seems like everyone was right(except my NUT). My headaches are gone and I'm no longer passing out exhausted! Yay!