ShelterDog64

@@suzzzzz I've been gaining and losing the same .5 lb for days now...just broke through today. How can I be eating SO little and still swinging back and forth? I keep telling myself I've got a big loss coming one of these days!

This is another example of how varied everyone's taste is :-) I use unflavored protein all the time, in my coffee, in refried Beans, in any Soup that I have, into oatmeal, etc. The brand I use is undetectable once it's mixed in and packs a big protein punch. I can't drink a RTD Protein Drink anymore, they're so grossly thick and artificially sweet, so using unflavored has been a huge help.

@@magoosmom Congratulations! What a great checkup!!

My surgery and recovery were as perfect as they could be. I had some intense pain immediately post-op, that was handled in minutes by a dose of IV dilaudid. I did not have a urinary catheter or a drain, I was up to the bathroom and walking within an hour of getting to the floor where I spent 2 nights. I used my pain meds (PCA pump in the hospital with morphine) freely, because I know that when I get behind with pain management, it takes a lot to get me back under control. I also get very bad nausea very easily, so I pounded this concern home with my surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologist/CRNA prior to surgery to ensure that they were being proactive in dealing with it. All in all, it was textbook from start to finish. I'm 6 weeks post-op now and I feel 'normal', just have to watch my food intake and push Water. Good luck to you!

@@AvaFern nailed it. This IS the 'easy' way out in the sense that it will make it easier for me to lose all this weight that's been making me sick, literally holding me back and changing my life in many bad ways. I'm not sure why we value doing things the 'hard' way in situations like this but value technology and tools to ease our lives in so many other situations? My husband has never said 'thanks for doing the laundry, but wouldn't it be better if you'd washed it in a stream and beat it against a rock?'. My mother had basically the same reaction your brother did, but I'm a grown woman and told her that I was making the decision to use a tool available to me to change my life for the better. She's come around and is probably my biggest cheerleader now. Good luck to you!

If you use GENEPRO, look on their website for instructions on how to best mix it into different temperature foods. For example, I use a scoop in my coffee every morning, so I mix it with the milk that I'm going to add since it mixes better with cold liquids. You should use a fork, not a spoon. It does make a difference!

For the first time in about 15 years, I actually feel better during/after exercise. It's a HUGE motivator. And music...I love to strap my phone to my arm, put my earbuds in and walk until my playlist is done. I'm only 6 weeks out and I have a torn rotator cuff, so not a lot of good gym time yet, but walking and running (well, more like dragging myself along at a pitiful, slow jog) is actually enjoyable now.

I trust my surgeon completely, and I still did my own research, questioned things that didn't make sense to me and asked about anything I didn't think he did a good job of covering. His personality suits mine, he's not a super-strict, super regimented guy and I appreciate that. He trusts me, as well, to make intelligent, informed choices and to be the one in charge of my own health. I wouldn't have had the surgery if I didn't have this kind of relationship with my surgeon.

@@chycky Your story gave me flashbacks to 2013 and 2014, when we lived in NoVa and decided to add on to an existing deck on the home we'd just bought. It seemed like it was 105 degrees and 100% humidity every single day. The more we tore down and dug out, the more issues we found. We love the house and kept it to rent out, but I'm SO glad to have escaped to the Pacific Northwest last summer! All I have is a little vegetable garden here, and the high was 64 today!

I've tried Isopure, unjury and GENEPRO....Genepro is by far my favorite. It mixes very well and I can't tell it's in my food.

You definitely need to increase your water intake. I like the Atkins Lift water, but they're pricey. Have you tried anything like Syntrax nectars to add to your water so you're getting protein as well? When I was just a few weeks out, it was hard to get volume in, so I combined my protein with my water so that I didn't have to try to get down soft protein AND 64 oz/water daily. I'm using an unflavored Protein powder in my beverages now, along with some water flavor drops like Mio. Good luck!

I'm six weeks out and solids is SOOOO much better than liquids. I was dying to chew on something during the liquid phase, and I feel much more 'normal' now. food isn't the all-consuming task it was the first few weeks. Hang in there, in a few weeks you'll barely remember all this!

@@trekker954 You said:"I'm been dreading the dye drink leak test, but the nurse said they no longer do that. I was surprised to hear that. Maybe they check it another way, forgot to ask her that." I didn't have to do a dye test, my surgeon does his leak test by putting Fluid into the abdomen and gas into the stomach, to look for bubbles. Then they suction all the fluid out, all the extra gas out of the stomach and the abdominal cavity before suturing/glueing the incisions.

Exactly! I was able to give mine away in my support group, thankfully, or they would have been a very expensive total loss. The patches aren't cheap, and I haven't had any blood work done yet, but I'm at least able to use a vitamin of some sort. Everything else upsets my new stomach.

I need to go to Trader Joes and find the chicken/turkey that's pre-sliced. I should have gone for hummus but I was out of carrots and didn't want to eat crackers. And eggs are interesting for me now...I used to eat a lot of eggs, particularly when I was 'dieting', now I have to be careful as they don't always sit well. Poached in the morning is just about the only way I can eat them. I used to have a cast-iron stomach And isn't it weird to get worried about going over 800 calories?? And to be capable of staying UNDER 800 calories? It blows my mind. I'm stuck again, weight-wise, but clearly I'm losing inches and getting more muscle from exercise. I'll be at home alone this coming week so I should be able to manage my food exactly as I want, but then I travel for about 10 days, which will be a little challenging. I'll have a refrigerator at one hotel, but not at the other 2. I'll pack my protein powder, a bunch of protein bars and my water bottle. Any travel suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

My family was eating pizza and there wasn't anything thawed that I could cook. I need to slice some raw chicken breasts and wrap them for the freezer, those thaw in minutes. I was being lazy and learned THAT lesson! I had a sugar-free popsicle after my stomach settled, all is well now Eww. I have never had canned chicken but I have 4 cans of it in the pantry I bought pre surgery. Now I have no desire to use them! Could you have had the topping off a slice of pizza? Then again, chicken sounds like a better option. I love sugar free popsicles. With the heat here, they have become a staple in my freezer. Glad you are feeling better. I'd never had it before either, and never will again. There are a couple more cans in my pantry and they're all going to the food bank. The pizza my guys had last night was one of those 'all the meats' kinds, those made me a little sick to my stomach before surgery so I decided to skip it...not that my alternative was any better And I agree about the popsicles, they're a staple here and I get a little antsy when the box gets low. The cold/sweet combo is a good replacement for the ice cream I used to have, and it settles my stomach and gives me fluids...what's not to like?

My family was eating pizza and there wasn't anything thawed that I could cook. I need to slice some raw chicken breasts and wrap them for the freezer, those thaw in minutes. I was being lazy and learned THAT lesson! I had a sugar-free popsicle after my stomach settled, all is well now

Ugh, I just ate some canned chicken for the first time and my stomach is UNHAPPY I'm pretty sure I'll never eat any meat from a can again for the rest of my life. Uuuuuuuggghhhhh...

I woke up in the PACU with horrendous pain right at my sternum, was quickly given IV Dilaudid and it subsided. Once in my room on the ward, I had a morphine PCA pump so I was able to medicate myself when I felt it necessary. I never had severe pain after the PACU, some discomfort from the gas and some at the incision points but not much else. I walked and walked and walked and walked around the floor I was admitted on...I think that helped with the gas. I'm a firm believer in medicating yourself to keep up with the pain, not waiting until you're in agony to use your meds. I came home on liquid tylenol and liquid codeine, I used them both faithfully for about a week after I came home and was virtually pain-free. Good luck with your surgery!

GNC makes a pretty palatable gummy vitamin, I took them for a couple of months pre-op. I tried the chewable bariatric-specific vitamins before I bought the gummys...that chalkiness and the huge size was too much for me. I ordered BariMelts and used those for about a week before surgery and thought I had the vitamin issue under control, but about 2 weeks after surgery, they started making me vomit. Now I'm using PatchMD patches...

The thing about feeling ok with a few bites is that your stomach won't tell you much in that short a time...you shouldn't be eating until you 'feel' full anyway at this point, because you may not ever have the full feeling we're all used to from our pre-surgery lives. I'm really sorry you're not feeling well, but study those directions carefully, and maybe give your stomach a few more days on an all-liquid diet.

I've had some alcohol, a little beer and a little cider. I'm not much of a cocktail drinker (except for gin and tonic, I could kill a pitcher of those by myself!) and I've been hesitant to have wine, since it always gave me heartburn pre-surgery. My doctor is very much a 'think about it and watch how it makes you feel' kind of guy about foods and/or alcohol. I don't have any 'can't ever eat' restrictions, like some docs seem to give to their patients. It's working for me, I'm finding myself making good decisions without having someone give me tight right and left limits on what I can do.

You quite likely would have had diarrhea anyway, the Pasta certainly didn't help. Pasta isn't on my list of things to eat at 6 weeks out, much less 2 days.

Surgery on 8/1 and 10 pieces of Pasta on 8/3? I'm stunned. 2 days post-op I was struggling to get 30 ml of clear liquid into my stomach. I had diarrhea every day for about 10 days as a result of having the surgery. If I swallowed a mouthful of water too fast, it was agonizing. Do you have a clear idea of what the surgery actually DOES to your stomach? My surgeon advances his patients' food more rapidly than most any others I've seen or heard of, but a 2 DAYS post-op, he would have been furious if I'd done something like eat pasta. What do your post-op guidelines say you should be eating? All I can tell you is to eat that, and to call your surgeon's office on Monday and tell them you need to see the nutritionist/dietitian to help you understand how you should be eating and advancing your diet. Good luck to you.

Have any of you started drinking caffeinated coffee yet? I don't want to call my dietitian to ask, but nowhere in my literature does it talk about when it's ok to start some caffeine. I make a decaf latte every morning with my little Bialeti Moka pot, adding a cup of steamed Fairlife milk and a 30g scoop of protein and it's good, but I want that caffeine kick again. Also, what are you eating that's interesting? I'm bored...protein, protein, protein. I had kale tonight for the first time and it's sitting well (yay!), plus some quinoa and chicken. Dinner isn't all that dull, but lunch is killing me. I had a protein bar today instead of any 'real' food because I just didn't feel like being bothered. Yesterday I drank a protein shake for the same reason. As I'm logging my food each day, I'm not getting in much variety until dinner. I'm fine with my boring breakfast coffee, but lunch should be more fun!