heidikat72

It is quite normal going into surgery to have some second thoughts about whether this is the right decision. And many even have a few regrets immediately post op - but they are short lived regrets. Once you get past the healing phase, you will eat normal food - just a high Protein low carb diet in smaller portions. And a lot of people eat high protein/low carb - so when out with others, it really won't seem that strange once you get past the idea of the smaller portions you are eating. While there are a few sleeve patients who do experience dumping, many do not - dumping is more common with RNY bypass patients. And dumping is usually caused by eating something you really shouldn't be eating anyway. Separating eating and drinking seems bizarre at first because we grew up with the idea of must have something to drink with my meals. But honestly, I'm not quite four months out and it's second nature now not to drink anything when I'm eating. Restaurants can still be a little annoying about it because waitstaff don't grasp the concept that you don't want ANYTHING to drink and typically still bring you a glass of Water even when you say you don't want it. But I just leave it sitting there on the table. The NSAID thing is a concern (note you can still take tylenol - acetaminophen). Some plans even allow NSAIDs for occasional use later on - depends on your medical program and the rest of your personal medical workup. I was popping naproxen daily for about a year before surgery because of back and knee pain - now that I"m down over 130lbs from my highest weight, I haven't had back or knee pain significant enough to need/want to take anything. The part of your post that concerns me though is where you said you didn't seek this option, your doctor is telling you to do this. You should only be doing this surgery because YOU want it and you are fully engaged in it - not because someone else is telling you to do it. The surgery isn't a "cure" nor is it an instant thing that takes no effort. You have to be committed to a lifelong lifestyle change - the surgery just gives you a tool to aid in making that change. I suggest if you do decide to have the surgery, you also talk to a good therapist to help you work through your concerns about the different eating style and any other emotional issues that come up. That being said - it is the number 1 best thing I have ever done for myself. I am actually LIVING MY LIFE honestly, probably for the first time in my adult life. My health hasn't been this good in decades - and I have still have a long way to go. I get out more and actually enjoy doing things now. I'm taking a vacation in less than two weeks and instead of just planning where to eat which is what the very few vacations i took previously revolved around - I'm excited about all the activities I'll be doing including a hike in the Great Smoky Mtns National Park - something I couldn't have even dreamed of doing a year ago!

i actually went to TJMaxx and bought plates marked as "appetizer plates" - and got an assortment of pretty designs.

yeah that's still disturbing for a cardiologists office. I know when I got my stress test done - i did the "drug" induced stress test since my mobility at that point was so bad I couldn't do the treadmill test, they calculated the dosage of the drug based on my weight. What type of scale are they using? Even when my gynocologists office still had the old balance beam type of scale, they had extra counter weights they could hang on the bar if you were over 350lbs (and I was).

You've got some seriously toxic people in your life. And honestly if that guy can't support you in this - then he doesn't deserve to be in your life, be glad he's gone. As for your family, sounds like you probably live with them which makes it hard. Can you sit them down and ask them what is prompting their negativity? and then share with them some actual information on the surgery - maybe even show them a video of the surgical procedure - there are lots of them posted on youtube. I think people think this surgery is no big deal because we only have a couple of tiny little incisions on the outside but when you see what actually happens on the inside you realize this is a serious surgery. For them to think having the flu is worse than the initial recovery phase of this surgery is mind boggling! You are off work right now for a reason - you need time to heal after surgery! and yes, for a while your mind will revolve around food - because you have specific Protein and Fluid goals to meet and Vitamins to fit in and it all has to be separated out on specific schedules. Sit down and go through this with them. Ultimately tell them you aren't seeking their approval but that you will NOT tolerate the negativity they are displaying toward you taking control of your health. You gotta take care of YOU and frankly, they can take care of themselves and your sister's kids - you are NOT their personal slave.

I still catch myself sometimes eating too fast - especially eating lunch at work while i'm still working on something. Some old habits are harder to break than others. Fortunately I haven't done it to the point of vomiting but definitely feeling uncomfortable for a while. At home I seem to be ok - i think because when I sit down to eat, I"m focused on eating. I probably should stop eating lunch at my desk...

the original is from a lady named Shelly who had RNY over 10 years ago. Her blog is called "the world according to eggface" - she has several variations of the ricotta bake on there now. Lots of good recipes and ideas for all stages post op - including a frequent posting called "a day in my pouch" - which she goes over everything she eats that day. when I made it - i put it in a glass loaf pan but a small square casserole would work too - maybe 8x8?

About 4 weeks after my sleeve, I had to lower the dosage on my main blood pressure med because my blood pressure had dropped too low. a month after that, I had to stop that main medication altogether because my blood pressure was dropping again and i was having really scary bad dizzy spells. I still take my other bp med but we are planning to stop that in december (6 months post sleeve). Some surgeons stay stop taking it immediately post op but I would check with your PCP first. Just know that if you are taking it post op - be very watchful - get a bp cuff and start taking your own measurements daily if you don't already. And if you start having dizzy spells - contact your PCP immediately in case you need to lower dosage. I was very surprised at how fast I was able to come off it.

yep i wouldn't worry about where you are getting your Water from - as long as you get fluids in. for the first four days I was only getting in about 40oz - and it literally took from 6:30am when I get up until midnight when I would go to bed. It was around day 5 that I could drink easier - think I got around 50oz the next couple days and then no problem getting 64oz - it was still taking that same time frame. But now I can easily get in 64oz (still have a day here and there when I fall short) without it being constant little sips the entire time I"m awake. It was also around day 5 that I started meeting my Protein goal of 60-80 grams. But most of what I drank had protein in it. So I really would keep drinking Protein drinks until I met my protein goal and then switch to crystal light. And a sugar free popsicle most days - they count as Fluid too!

I agree with LipstickLady for where you could cut some calories. My practice has our calorie range as 600-800calories starting at 6 weeks and going through the bulk of the main weight loss phase. And 60-80grams protein.

I'm so glad you sat him down and now he's on board. And it is good he is asking questions and educating himself. Sounds like he is going to be a good support system for you

I didn't have a calorie goal until i was on soft foods. through puree phase it was just get 60-80grams of Protein and 64oz fluids. I think in the puree phase I was probably only getting 400-500 calories a day. Even now at almost 4 months out I"m not supposed to go over 800 calories a day and my dietician prefers I stay in the 600-700 calorie range. How many calories were you told to be getting at this stage? Although like others have said, I think at this point it is most important that you get in all your protein and Fluid requirements and not worry so much about the calories.

First, I applaud you for wanting to get your health under control now and not waiting. As for the 6 months - I also had a 6 month medically supervised period required by my insurance. I'm thankful for it. It gave me time to get all the testing done (testing that will give the surgeon all the info he needs to make sure your surgery goes safely) and let me work on starting the lifestyle changes before surgery - both eating changes, activity changes and mental/emotional changes. Trust me - that will make your recovery process so much easier (I was 442lbs last december when I started the process and then had surgery this past june). You can do your 6 months medical weight management with your PCP, but if your bariatric center is close it might be better to do it through them especially if they have a registered dietician on staff that you would meet with every month. The bariatric center will know exactly how each of the monthly visit reports needs to be written up to satisfy the insurance company. And meeting with a registered dietician will let someone with some knowledge review your food diary and help make suggestions. Start using a program like myfitnesspal now just to see what your baseline eating habits are. Some people don't like to log, I find it valuable for me. It helps me be accountable to myself! and when you see it there in front of you, it makes it easy to see the things you need to cut out of your diet or things you need to adjust. Logging and meeting with the dietician monthly (as well as starting some very mild activity) helped me lose 78lbs before surgery. And finally, this is as much a mental change as it is anything else. If you can find a counselor who works with obese patients or bariatric patients (your bariatric center may have some they can recommend) start meeting with one. They can help you work through the root of your overeating as well as help you come up with different coping mechanisms other than turning to food. Plus, going through this process in general tends to cause a lot of other emotional issues to come to the surface so you'll need someone to help you through that. I am so glad your family is supportive - it is important to have at least a couple people in you life supporting you on this lifelong journey!

I was only allowed basically walking until 6 weeks out. The same lifting restriction as mentioned above and nothing that would work my core. Even though you are feeling great (and I'm very glad you are feeling so great!), you are still healing on the inside. But there is no limit to the amount of walking you are allowed to do!

also I know when I did a search on amazon a few months ago, there definitely are some cookbooks out there specifically geared to bariatric patients. Bariatric foodie is another blog and she posts recipes occasionally as well as reviews of bariatric geared food items. and she has some cookbooks published - including a recent one full of recipes made with zucchini noodles.

check out the blog - the world according to eggface. She has a whole post devoted to the puree stage. and then a couple times a month she'll have a post called "a day in my pouch" - she had RNY over 10 years ago and has successfully maintained her weightloss. She has lots of creative ideas for breakfast lunch and dinner and even tells you if she ate a snack that day and if so, what. Plus reading some of her early posts I find very inspirational.

I wasn't even allowed to attempt to sip Water until 24hrs after my surgery. and even then only a tiny sip and wait a bit, then another tiny sip etc. And it was hard - definitely felt a tightness in my chest with each sip. I did get some iv nausea meds because while I didn't vomit, I did feel quite queasy as the anesthesia was working its way out of my system. Then the the morning of the second day before I was discharged I took an oral antinausea med because I had another brief bout of nausea. Have you discussed your concern with any of the nurses or doctor?

40oz of fluids at 6 weeks out isn't nearly enough! Don't wait until you are thirsty to drink - keep drinking all day long. While I don't think your weight loss is slow - it's comparable to where I was at 6 weeks out and I'm a much higher BMI, not drinking enough can stall the movement on the scale. Please, please lower your expectations - 30lbs every month is not realistic at all and is only going to leave you disappointed. 10lbs in a month is completely respectable.

how far into your pre-op are you? I wasn't allowed to take ANY medication the 48hrs leading up to surgery. Is there a nurse practitioner at your surgeon's office you can speak with? They'll know the specifics about medication restrictions.

30oz in a day is dangerously low - you will go into dehydration. You need to get a minimum of 48oz a day in and should really be working toward 64oz in a day. I know it is hard those first few days - I was only hitting about 40-44 until day 5 when overnight, I was suddenly able to easily go to getting at least 50oz day and then a couple days later was finally able to consistently get 64oz.

about three times a day I would have a small amount of something pureed - starting with an ounce at a time and by the end of my puree phase (2 weeks) I could have 2 ounces most of the time. I continued to supplement with Protein shakes in order to meet my protein goals. Items I had during puree: dannon light and fit greek yogurt - make sure you get ones that don't have any bits/chunks of fruit in it, some flavors do, some don't. the vanilla, key lime and lemon are pretty safe choices for no chunks. tuna (One of the flavored pouches) pureed with a tablespoon of plain nonfat greek yogurt - i would get two meals out of this. pouches of salmon or canned chicken done the same way. I did refried Beans as well for something warm - although my dietician said that wasn't a great choice (not a bad one either) because the protein content really isn't that great. and towards the end of my puree phase I made the infamous ricotta bake from eggface's blog. I also had a very soft scrambled egg towards the end of puree phase - some people don't tolerate eggs early out though.

my plan wanted us to start to wean off them as soon as we passed the puree phase. Once we could meet our daily Protein targets consistently without them, there is no need to supplement with shakes etc. Occasionally having one after that for an easy grab and go option is fine, but no requirement to continue using them once meeting protein requirements without them. Immediately post op, I considered them "medicine" to help me heal and didn't think of them as food to be enjoyed. And while I didn't find the ones I used to be god awful, that thought process did help me get through that phase.

About day 7 or so, the head hunger hit me with a vengeance for a while. It sucks - I had to stop watching tv because it seemed like every single commercial was about food - all reminders of foods I shouldn't eat. I simply kept telling myself that I wasn't really hungry because honestly if I stopped and thought about how that food would feel in my sleeve - that was usually enough to make me go no thanks! But it also helps to find a distraction when the head hunger hits - for me it was knitting or coloring - something with my hands - or go for a short walk. It helps reset the brain. I still get the head hunger once in a while - the trick is figuring how to move your brain onto something else.

I'm sure not everyone exercises, but from what I've seen the really successful ones (the ones who reach goal and maintain) do. But it doesn't mean you have to be a gym rat - find something you enjoy doing and do that. Just being active helps. I basically do a lot of walking - not even a strenuous pace at this point, some easy yoga one day a week because I know I need help with flexibility, and at night I do some resistance band work while watching tv. Every little bit helps your overall health. My blood pressure is way down, my resting heart rate is way down, I have much less joint pain, I can actually go places I want to go and be able to walk around and sight see - the benefits are endless.

you might not be ready to progress to that solid of food yet and I wouldn't push it. I started with greek yogurt and cottage cheese. and no more than an ounce initially - eaten very very slowly. when that got easier, I had a puree phase where I blended tuna, salmon or chicken with a little greek yogurt. you might want to try something like tuna or salmon which is already broken down into small bits and mix with light mayo or plain yogurt before going to chicken which is denser and a little chunkier. A lot of people have trouble with eggs early out so you may want to hold off and try them again in a week or two - or try egg salad with very finely chopped egg.