CHM

I never understood the straw ban. I get the theory behind it and all, but don't you swallow air every time you drink anyway? Its extremely unlikely you're going to have nothing but the beverage in your mouth when you swallow from a glass. Or maybe I just drink weird, I don't know. Unless you're at the very bottom of your cup, it seems to me that straws would make it LESS likely you'd get air in your stomach, since there is none under the liquid line. Plus straws keep you from gulping.

Okay so 2 people say its worse than an endometrial biopsy. That procedure had me bedridden for 3 days, cramping badly for 2 weeks, and traumatized to the point that my uterus would spasm literally every time I laid down for 3 weeks. Its funny, I have one of the highest pain tolerances of most people I know, yet somehow I just can't handle the internal gynecological stuff. My gyn jokes that he'd hate to see how I'd handle a pregnancy. I think I'm going to rescedule so I don't have to give up my weekend. I don't get out much, and I'm really looking forward to it. Lol. I can't say I'm not scared now, but I'd still rather know what to expect. Thank you all for your input.

I wouldn't call myself a dog expert, but oh goodie, I get to talk about my pupples! I have 2 yorkie mixes: Cole, a 7 y.o. yorkie/shih tzu, and Alice, a 2.5 y.o yorkie/maltese. Both are very sweet and snuggly and go out of their way to do cute things that they know will make us laugh or love them up. Cole is a very calm, 'dignified' type of dog. He is not very playful - he just wants to be around his people, or sitting perched somewhere that he can keep an eye on what is going on around him. Alice is just fun - she is always up for playing with us or her brothers. If no one has time for her at the moment she's just as happy to entertain herself - she'll roll her own ball around to chase or toss her toys up in the air then either catch or pounce on them. Neither likes kids - they hide as soon as they hear little feet or voices. Both are wary of strangers and unfamiliar dogs, but are always excited to see those they've met before and decided are 'safe'. Neither really barks much unless there's actually something to bark at.

I'm not going to lie...I suck at taking my vitamins too. Just like I sucked at taking my blood pressure meds before that. I keep moving my vitamins all over the house thinking "Maybe if I put them here I'll remember." Its something I'm working on. Lol Fingers crossed that I share this experience.

I was required to lose 25 lbs pre-op, but ended up losing 86 lbs over the course of my 3 month supervised diet. Its a boring tip, I assure you, but all I did was what they told me to do. I was told to track my food (I use myfitnesspal), limit to 1200 cals/day, get in 70-90g of Protein, and exercise as tolerated. These numbers would likely be different for you, being male. The calorie restriction was absolute hell for the first week, but I gave myself some leeway to ease down, which made it more manageable. Soon enough my body was used to it. I wasn't insanely precise about it - some days were higher than 1200 and others were lower. As long as it roughly averaged out, I just let it go. Exercise was difficult for me to begin as well - I was just so out of shape and winded so easily. Plus I just didnt want to. I started by walking to the mailbox to get the mail every day (we have a large yard, so this wasn't just 5 steps outside the door). When I could do that without getting winded, I extended my walks to the corner and back. Then to the next corner, then around the block, and so forth. Now my dog and I take a 3 block walk 3-4 times a day, about a third of which is uphill. Focus on doing what you're able to do, as you're able to do it. In the end, just do the best you can. Anything you can do is more than you're doing now and will help get you to where you want to be.

All right, lay it on me...for those of you that have had an IUD inserted, how bad is it? I'm having a Mirena put in on Friday (age 35, no kids) because I suck at birth control. I've looked up the actual procedure, so I know what will happen in what order, but I'm more interested in the discomfort level, especially given that NSAIDs are a no go. Will I be okay to go out that evening? How long until I feel 'normal'? When I needed an endometrial biopsy a year and a half ago I thought I was being smart by not looking into it, figuring I'd just get myself all scared and tense and make it worse. That was not the way to go, because it hurt like a <insert choice expletives here> and I wasn't the least bit prepared. Not making that mistake again.

This. Some insurance companies don't have extensive requirements and approve as soon as you meet the basic criteria. Some require a 6 month medically supervised diet first. Mine required a 3 month diet. Some normally require a diet but will waive it to expedite if you're over a certain BMI. Its all variable and entirely dependent on your specific insurance plan.

Thank you. And yes, I guess it has been about 6 months total now - I started in mid-late September.

You're very welcome. My bypass was in Jan 2016, yes. My ticker is kind of deceiving though - only about 35 lbs of my loss has been since surgery, which is a normal amount I think. The rest was lost pre-op on my required 3 month supervised weight loss plan.

*comes out of hiding* Is it over...are they gone?

In my case the issue seemed to be that I wasn't eating enough. I was only eating 2 of the 4 solid meals I was supposed to be. Adding a 3rd meal on most days got me moving again. It just all depends on what the issue is for you - and again, sometimes there isn't one and the body just needs a break. It's difficult to tell.

I'm 7 weeks post-op tomorrow, so pretty quickly after, especially considering I'd already been stepping out of my 11s for at least a month before I finally replaced them. In fairness I had already lost 86 lbs while in pre-op, so I had a good head start.

Yep, I just had to buy new shoes yesterday. 10.5 (or 11, since 10.5 is virtually non-existent) to a 10 so far.

My immune system has definitely gotten stronger. In previous years between October and March I'd typically get one flu and 2-3 colds, each followed by about a month of bronchitis. We are now mid-March, I've been exposed to a LOT of sick family members, and I have yet to actually fall ill. My husband did just get over a really bad cold, and 3 days ago we thought I'd caught it because I had a slight cough, but I woke up the next day and nothing. This is pretty awesome. Must be all the vitamins!

During pre-op my husband was the only one who knew. Once I had a surgery date scheduled. I let his parents in on it since we were staying with them at the time and there wasn't really any way to hide a 2 night hospital stay and the recovery that would follow. About 2 weeks after surgery, when I was looking and feeling more normal again, I told my mother-in-law that I'd be okay with the rest of family knowing. She's a big gossip and I know it was absolutely killing her to keep it zipped. Plus she is far more vocal and confrontational than I am, so I knew if there were any negative reacters she'd have had them whipped into line before they ever got to me. As a housewife, coworkers weren't an issue for me. I still haven't told my own family and probably never will - they live 2400 miles away and can be quite critical and judgemental.

I hear you - my nearest support group is 2 hours away and I don't drive either. Hence I hover around here excessively.

This question is best directed to your nutritionist. The reason for this is that it doesn't take but 5 minutes of reading these forums to see how extremely varied surgeons' plans for food reintroduction can be. My surgeon's was a more accelerated one - week 1: clear liquids, week 2: full liquids, week 3: purees, week 4: soft foods, etc., but I've seen others have these stages introduced much further down the line. Regardless of what stage you are on, protein and fluid intake should be your top priorities, and carbs and sugars should be as limited as possible. That one is pretty universal across the board.

Unfortunately I'm not in your area, but as a fellow Canadian I thought I'd pop in and say "Hi!" I'm in North Dakota right now, but I was born and raised in the Niagara region, so not terribly far from you. As for support groups, perhaps your surgeons office can direct you to one? I know that local support group info was one of things included in the big binder I was provided by mine.

I love super crazy dark chocolate. As in Lindt 99% dark (yes, it does exist). Pre-op I would eat one square of the bar every evening. Its so intense there was never really a desire for more than that. I haven't tried it post-op yet. I'll be asking at my next follow up on Wednesday if it would be okay to try it. I expect it will, given that one square provides a whole 10 calories, 1g fat, and a miniscule amount of sugar (the entire bar has 1g), and it doesn't trigger anything for me.

How long have you been at a stand still? Stalls are very normal and necessary as we drop the vast amounts of weight we do after surgery, and they often last much longer than we'd like. I just ended a 2.5 week stall and I'm 6 weeks out. Its not a big deal. Just focus on keeping your protein and hydration on point. Once its done taking a breather, your body will start working its ass off again (literally) if its getting what it needs.

I am currently using a NuvaRing, but I'm going to call and make an appointment to have a Mirena inserted. Even with the once a month dosing of the ring, I'm having a hard time remembering to pick up my refill, remove, and replace it in a timely manner. I haven't been on BC in 14 years (haven't needed it), so I'm just not in the habit. I can't imagine me on daily pills! Lol. Haven't had any side effects with it though. As for the first period after surgery, mine was extra long (3 weeks, arriving a week after surgery), and normal on the heaviness and discomfort scale (though I have neither endo nor PCOS). I did stall for a couple weeks as soon as it finished though.

Wow, you've done such a great job! Hopefully this is me in a year! Lol

My ID was refused. I had to bring up my Facebook profile on my phone to prove that the name and address matched my driver's license. Guess its time to get to the DMV!

My husband suggested I try alternating a Water day with a food day so that I can both right at least half the time! Lol. I'm on day 3 of trying that. The food days are tooooorture. I don't know that this will work long term. But I'll get there!