Sajijoma

I am so sad for you, but look at the bright side, if you can swing it, it's going to cost a lot less thrown in with a hernia repair that is covered. That means no second anesthesia charges, and they can cover the things like sponges and sutures and that stuff too. It'll bring the cost down really to just the surgeon's fees for the vsg so hopefully the surgeon will work with you to get that number as far down as humanly possible.

All I can really add to this conversation is to look for dense proteins and add fiber to your diet. The thinner the food the faster it will go through you, so chicken salad is less desirable for staying full than say bites of a strip steak or chicken cubes.

Mederma scar cream will lighten them. They will always be there, but they are much less noticeable after mederma. It takes about 6-8wks to lighten though so it's a slow process.

I'm so happy for you! Life is definitely different on this side of the surgery. Just to be able to not feel the constant and bone gnawing hunger all the time has made it so easy to stick with the plan and get the job done. I love my rny

I'm 6 months and my hunger is definitely different. There are days where I am hungry and still have eyes for a huge plate of food and after a couple of bites, I'm done and there are days I still have to remind myself to eat because I just don't feel hungry. It's not the same as before. It would be almost desperate like I would die if I didn't eat right that second and now, it's more like "hmmmm I could eat something right now".

I wasn't allowed to have protein bars til I was 3 months out so just make sure your NUT clears it before you actually try to eat one. That being said, quest has some really good flavors. The chocolate chip cookie dough and the double chocolate chunk are among my favs. Just make sure you are getting the newest recipe because last year they jacked it all up and made it gross, but they fixed it at the beginning of the year and it tastes good again.

Try taking your food slowly like take a small bite using a cocktail fork or a baby spoon worth and then wait a full minute between bites. It could be that you are just eating too fast. Also if a good bothers you, just put it to the side and come back and try it again later down the road. The first time I tried shrimp I thought I would die from the miserable feeling, but now at 6 months I find I eat it often because it's good protein and sits well. Chicken or pork however....even at this stage I can't tolerate chicken or pork.

I was fitted recently. The problem is massive amounts of hanging skin that needs to be pulled in unfortunately.

It's been 6 months since my RNY gave me my life and my happiness back! I've still got s loooong way to go, but I am on my way! HW:429lbs SW:386lbs current weight:278lbs.

Trust me when I say it will be physically impossible to eat a whole cup of anything. For the first month I was lucky if I could take in a whole 2oz at a time. I'm 6 months out now and still can't hold a full cup of food.

The thing I find hardest is wearing my underwire bras. Before I just popped them in and went, but now they are deflated and they flip out the sides and I have to grab a wad of saggy skin and pull it to the front and tuck it in the cup otherwise I get these creepy bulges out of my side like I've grown a head on either side of me. [emoji33]

@@Sajijoma ... I just read a study last week that contradicts the bit bolded above. Check it out: This study was done by the same researchers who did last week's Obesity-published research that compared the metabolic rate changes between 13 of The Biggest Loser contestants vs. 13 RnY WLS patients. The WLS patients' metabolic rates dipped about half as low as TBL folks. And best of all, a year after surgery their metabolic rates came back to where they were pre-op. http://www.ncbi.nlm....es/PMC4236233/ http://www.ncbi.nlm....es/PMC4236233/ Admittedly, this is a single study. But it is at least directional, if not conclusive. And it's encouraging for me. FYI, I've lost 100 pounds and maintaining at 135 pounds while averaging 1700 - 1800 calories/day. Of course, I don't know if this will continue. I plan to keep weighing and tracking my food daily to find out. I did see that study, but I'm just going on what my NUT told me. That if we ever went back to trying to eat 1700-1900 cal/day as is commonly thought to be the amount for an adult not losing weight and exercising regularly that we would gain all the weight back. It is interesting. I'd like to believe the study. My NUT's advice and suggestions seem to be getting me in more trouble than helping these days.

@@Daisee68 Thanks. She says my weightloss goals are based on my starting weight so I should be losing more....but then she wouldn't budge on my calories or Protein and took away my carbs completely even healthy ones like veggies so I stalled out for 2 months. so....I like her as a person, but as a NUT, I'm starting to seriously doubt her logic. Once I upped everything on my own I stopped getting blinding headaches and dizziness and being so tired I'd just fall asleep where I was. I told her all of this and her solution was to get an Iron test, which I had already done and sent her the results of because I knew she would say that, so....it is what it is with her. I may never make her paper goals. @ Thanks. I kinda feel that way sometimes. She's a nice person and all, but I don't think she really looks at me and my body in her figuring. I was literally starving and stalled for 2 months before I went rogue and since then I've lost like 20lbs! Unfortunately, it being such a small practice, there is only 1 NUT so it is what it is, but I'm thinking of looking for another one to see on the side.

he adipose! "That fat just walks away!" [emoji23]

My first venture out was right after I had my drain removed. We got in the van and drove 25milea to pick up what was suppose to be my foster cat(I adopted her because I suck at fostering LOL).

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.