ocgirl15

I have autoimmune thyroid issues (hashimotos) and psoriasis. I am 9 months out psoriasis is very mild now. Just a little patch on my scalp... I don't like putting stuff my scalp so that is without medication. It use to cover all 4 limbs and was considered severe. I only use a topical foam 2-3 times a week now and use to take Ortezla orally... It made sick as a dog. My fibromyalgia is almost nonexistent and I am off cymbalta (And many more Rx's as well). I don't think autoimmune can be cured but WLS has made it 95% better. But why? Was it weightloss alone? Low carb/ low sugar diet? No NSAIDs. And old Rx was making it worse? I don't know. I do know I am 99% gluten free. My NUT allows whole grain In appropriate quantities in maintenance but I have chosen not to bring them back. I gut tells me it is the gluten. I really think there is something to diet and autoimmune connection. I don't think I would have realized that without WLS. And maybe giving up dairy or soy would work for
someone else. Dairy is my main Protein source and I am clear while eating. I lost weight on medifast which high soy and had the worst psoriasis flare of my life so I know it is more than just weight loss.

I could have sugar free Powerade or Gatorade but no fruit juice at any stage..... My NUT thinks fruit juice is sugar laden empty calories and I was told to avoid it forever. Her #1 rule was do not drink your calories except for Protein Drinks when on pre post surgical liquid diet. Thats my plan but ALL plans are very different. I am not saying that's what everyone should do but it works for me ; )

Mine approval was very quick. Probably less than a week. I had absolutely no issues with BCBSIL.

@Alex Breacher... please delete the accounts for those who want to leave. You don't want us here and we don't want to be here. If it is about member numbers new ones will replace us ina few weeks. FYI this is my official request to be deleted. Deleting posts was bad... banning people terrible but reading PMs is beyond unacceptable.

Sure! I am 7 months post op. I got to my doctors goal months. ago. I am 3 lbs from normal range BMI and 8 lbs from personal goal. My health has improved so much. Off 3 medications; cymbalta, Metformin and Spironolactone. My PCOS, cholesterol, plantar facitis, metabolic syndrome, incontinence, psoriasis, back pain, knee pain, ankle pain and arthritis are either 95-100% better. I also rarely get headaches anymore. I have energy, I can keep up with my young children and my husband has the girl he dated back ( I am better than the girl he married lol!). I have less aniexty with no medication at all! Also I look awesome!

So.....stop.
Just stop. Quit sabotaging your ability to gain results.
It's not too late to get realigned with the suggested methods your bariatric group instructed you on.
You use the term, "I can't ". I'm calling BS on this. You can, you simply choose not to.
You've had weight loss surgery.....altered your body in order to set yourself up for losing weight. It's not to late to make the mental adjustments needed to support this.
People the world over are flooding their gyms and diet centers this month in hopes of fulfilling their New Year's resolutions to lose weight. Be a joiner, lol. Follow along.....or better yet....lead the way. You've had a head start on them.....now leave them in the dust.
Or don't.
Your choice.
Keep doing as you've always done and be content with not getting the most from your surgery.
Or follow the rules and thrive with the benefits that will be forthcoming.

Thank you for posting your first-hand experience. I have had people in the past act like I'm being all dramatic when I say that people have died or landed in the ICU with a leak from disregarding their physician's post-op diet advancement instructions.
My surgeon kept saying, "remember, it's a little surgery on the outside, BIG surgery on the inside".
Once your suture line is healed, knock yourself out "cheating" on your diet plan. You'll only be sabotaging your success. Violate your surgeon's diet advancement instructions, and you're literally gambling with your life.

I'm sorry for your loss.
I have big time guilt and your concern or expression of annoyance speaks to me if it's worth anything. I'm for sure going to fess up to my doctor on my follow up about my half slice of cheese at day 5. I don't think it's ok for me to cheat anymore just cause I chewed really good and seem to have digested it fine and I don't condone anyone else do the same. I was just posting honestly because this has been very difficult! But no it's not worth dying from complications.
And well what's done is done, at least your cautionary tale is a driving factor in my will not to stray again and in fact you may have saved my life in doing so.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing this important information that we need to follow the plans (especially the post recovery plans).
I am equally annoyed not only at the people who blatantly violate important rules to follow post-WLS that are designed to help a surgically altered intestine and/or stomach heal properly but the enablers with no medical/surgical experience who say that it is ok not to follow these critical steps, because they did not, think it is ok to not follow or know someone who did not follow.

So I just read yet another post about someone advancing their diet on their own too soon. This one from someone 4 days post op advancing to broccoli Soup. Probably won't kill them but it could. Then of course we get the irresponsible follow up poster saying that they too advanced their diet on their own way early and explored all kinds of foods and as long as their stomach tolerates it they see no problem with it.
Now I'm getting super frustrated, I had to put my two cents in. And perhaps I was harsh. But I watched someone die 4 years ago from doing just this.
My x mother in law had gastric sleeve surgery. At less than two weeks post op she started eating tidbits of foods she was not supposed to have, turkey, stuffing, ham, chicken in very small bites and yes chewed very well. All that didn't matter. She was fine at first. In fact showed no symptoms for days. Then she became extremely ill, with pain and fever. She had a leak which had to be repaired by surgery. After surgery she developed a serious infection and a fistula which led to the outside of her stomach. Everything she tried to drink seeped outside her stomach onto a large padded napkin that she held up to the opening of that fistula. They could not get the infection under control. They fought it for three months with the best antibiotics they had. Eventually she became septic, her organs began to fail and she passed away.
I am only 4 weeks post op VSG, you better believe I thought long and hard about having the same surgery that she had. But I can also say that I have followed my an to the T, with the exception of drinking coffee which I discussed with my surgeon beforehand.
When are people going to realize that following their diet is serious. And more so when are these idiots going to stop coming on and saying things like it's ok to explore foods early as long as you tolerate them!!!! My mother in law tolerated those foods just fine for damn near a week before she finally showed the signs of a serious leak.
Your prescribed diet plan after major stomach surgery is not just a guideline that they want you to follow so you can lose weight. It's a prescription that really can mean life or death, I've seen it with my own eyes.
Ugggggh sooooooo frustrated!!!!!!!

Kinda noticed that too, not sure how it all works in US but with us here in Glasgow it's so strict that surgeon appointment is only placed once investigation done by WM team. Psych can cancel you, dietian can cancel you and surgeon won't even look at you if they have suspected weight gain to meet targets.
It's insane.
I'm so sorry to hear of your family member.
Fridge Pickers Wear Bigger Knickers ????

My post op diet bans them for life unless they are flat. I do still find them unpleasant a year out. However there are some who seem to tolerate them fine and it has not hurt their success.

Hi All,
Wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous New Year ahead with great success, new heights and good health .

That is awesome to hear ocgirl15! Congratulations on your progress and improvements! Its awesome to hear from others!

I have PCOS and hypothyroidism and I don't feel it slowed me down. I got to goal in about 8 months and lost 110% of my excess weight. Sodium will depend on personal medical situation so I don't recommend getting advice from anyone else but your medical team. For example I don't avoid sodium because I now have low blood pressure... But your situation could be totally different. I didn't have HBP before.
I only had a Protein goal. My nut said Protein first and not much else. No calorie, fat or carb goal. However no sugar, rice, white flour or processed carbs. Early on walking was the recommended exercise and they wanted me do as much as possible every day. After all post op restrictions were lifted no limitations at all. I think most medical teams would be thrilled if your exercising every day. And year post I still worry about my weight every day and I at goal. Best of luck to you!

I have PCOS and hypothyroidism and I don't feel it slowed me down. I got to goal in about 8 months and lost 110% of my excess weight. Sodium will depend on personal medical situation so I don't recommend getting advice from anyone else but your medical team. For example I don't avoid sodium because I now have low blood pressure... But your situation could be totally different. I didn't have HBP before.
I only had a Protein goal. My nut said Protein first and not much else. No calorie, fat or carb goal. However no sugar, rice, white flour or processed carbs. Early on walking was the recommended exercise and they wanted me do as much as possible every day. After all post op restrictions were lifted no limitations at all. I think most medical teams would be thrilled if your exercising every day. And year post I still worry about my weight every day and I at goal. Best of luck to you!

I have PCOS and hypothyroidism and I don't feel it slowed me down. I got to goal in about 8 months and lost 110% of my excess weight. Sodium will depend on personal medical situation so I don't recommend getting advice from anyone else but your medical team. For example I don't avoid sodium because I now have low blood pressure... But your situation could be totally different. I didn't have HBP before.
I only had a Protein goal. My nut said Protein first and not much else. No calorie, fat or carb goal. However no sugar, rice, white flour or processed carbs. Early on walking was the recommended exercise and they wanted me do as much as possible every day. After all post op restrictions were lifted no limitations at all. I think most medical teams would be thrilled if your exercising every day. And year post I still worry about my weight every day and I at goal. Best of luck to you!

Oh yes! I can honestly say it is an awesome workout if your joints are up to it. I love beachbody turbo jam. Great abs and core workout not to mention great cardio.

For the first week I took them as prescribed except at night because for some odd reason they give me insomnia. Second week it was as needed. If I was in pain I took them but it wasn't constant. After that I had to go back to work and maintain a clear head.... Or I would have took them longer.! Lol.

My favorite is crystal light blueberry/raspberry.

I lost 85 total and plastic surgery would be cosmetic and not at all required. There is nothing about my skin that is limiting me. Quite honestly I would go up against any 44 year old woman that had 2 kids.
I think age, genes, how heavy you were and how long you were heavy dictates whether extra skin will limit you. I think pregnancy did much more damage than being obese.

I agree that there's no need to beat yourself up over something that's already done. And no, I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. However, I am a registered nurse, and I have to take exception to some of the things being said here.
The post-operative diet progression instructions are given for VERY good reason - the patient's healing and SAFETY. As my surgeon says, it's a little surgery on the outside, but a VERY BIG surgery on the inside. The entire length of your stomach has an incision with staples and has to heal. Eating things outside your surgeon's post-op diet progression orders is not "cheating" on a diet, it's violating your prescribed post-op instructions, and it can have very serious consequences. Anyone saying that there's no reason to worry, simply doesn't know what they're talking about.
It is very true that many people can eat things not on their post-op diet orders and not suffer any consequences. But it is also very true that a few can suffer leaks or abscesses that can land them in the ICU or worse because of it. We are not being overly dramatic when we say these things.
@@huskergirl1972, it is more likely than not that you have suffered no damage from this. However, it's important that you understand the gravity of deviating from your doctor's diet progression orders for the first several weeks post-op. Until your surgeon has cleared to a full diet, your incision has likely not healed, and you are vulnerable to complications. Your surgeon can tell you specifically what to look for in terms of complications, but the biggies are very sharp pain that is much worse than the pain you've had so far post-op (and usually very localized to one spot), very fast heart rate, dizziness (especially when standing up) and fever. If you develop those symptoms you should call your team and consider going to the ER.
The post-op diet is hard, especially the first couple of weeks when it's liquids only. But it is only a short time, and it is for your safety. Please work very hard to follow your surgeon's instructions closely until released to a full diet.

I don't think anybody cares what somebody eats 6 months or a year out. After cleared by your doc to 'try any food' ... Have at it. When I read constructive criticism from vets it usually someone days post op eating a porkchop or taco or drinking wine when they are still in the liquid part of their post op diet. That is never going to be cool nor will vets ever coddle or validate that behavior. EVER! It is potentially life threatening. When I see that kind of advice from vets am thinking 'yes' and hope all the newbies and pre-ops are paying attention. On the other hand if you stay at goal or under eating cupcakes good for you! I am happy for you and jealous. But the reality is I will fail if I made cupcakes and pizza a regular part of my diet. All I want newbies to know is that they might be lucky like the OP or unlucky like me. Thread lightly until you know for sure.

I am 5'1" and 127. It puts me at the high end of the normal BMI range. My body resists going lower but no need too because I feel and look healthy.

I tried a sip here and there and I don't care for it anymore. If I get something with carbonation I let
It go flat. Lipstick lady is right it doesn't stretch anything. Avoiding carbonation is about avoiding discomfort and empty calories.