Hiraeth

Well, I bought a ton of liquid stuff before the surgery. But my hospital pulled a fast one on me and told me that my stay would only cost $150. I only get paid $640 every 2 weeks. Well, when I arrived at the hospital, I found out it was actually going to cost me $350. I had no choice but to give it to them. That left me with only $70 because the rest went to bills. So I bought nothing but liquid to last me for a week. Protein drinks are not very cheap (they are about $8.00 for a pack of 4). I bought 3 packs which cost me about $25 plus tax). The rest went to broth and medication. I now only have $7.56 in my account and I don't get paid until tomorrow. So, it was impossible for me to buy anything else. Once I get paid, I am going to buy soup and eggs and more protein drinks.Greek yogurt is pretty inexpensive, especially if you buy it by the larger container. Do you have a store like Aldi nearby? They are pretty inexpensive. I do have an Aldi that is about 10 minutes away. I'll go there today. Mmmm greek yogurt! I do have a store close by. I usually stock up on protein shakes and soup. I never get things that seem iffy, lol. Thanks for the advice.

Actually, the ramen I eat has 4g of protein in each pack, lol! But you're right. Besides the protein, they aren't very healthy. I had eggs this morning and I wasn't able to finish all of them but they were so good!

I was very bloated after the surgery. It's a mix of IV fluids and pain meds. Have you had a normal bowel movement? Because pain meds will make you so constipated. I hope the pain goes away. When I was constipated, I hurt SO MUCH in my lower abdomen. I thought I had kidney stones because it hurt so much! Prayers for you sweetie. <3

You're right. I was eating noodles because it's the softest thing in my house, lol. I still live with my mom and she eats a lot of chips and such. So, I figured noodles would be ok. I won't be eating them anymore, at least not for a while. Thanks for the advice. I will definitely eat that. I love cheese! I am concerned that you don't seem to be prepared for post-op nutrition and that your home environment may not be a very healthy place. Why not make an appointment with your NUT and/or see if you can come up with some strategies for making sure you have the nutrition you need and that you have the tools you need to succeed. Can you talk with your mom about providing you with a cabinet or shelf in the kitchen and refrigerator that is yours, so you can have the foods you need on hand? Your NUT and/or your post-op food plan would be a good guide for a shopping list. I thought I was prepared since my hospital told me it would only cost me $150 for the stay. That would have left me with $270 for groceries. Well, since they told me wrong, I ended up paying $350 for my hospital stay. I was pretty irked because all I had was a week's worth of protein drinks, soup, and Water. Now I'm on my last Protein shake and I don't get paid until tomorrow. :/

I was not told I couldn't have soft noodles. But, now I know! It makes perfect sense. I was told no rice or bread. I guess they assumed I knew better, lol! Thanks for the response! <3

Well, I bought a ton of liquid stuff before the surgery. But my hospital pulled a fast one on me and told me that my stay would only cost $150. I only get paid $640 every 2 weeks. Well, when I arrived at the hospital, I found out it was actually going to cost me $350. I had no choice but to give it to them. That left me with only $70 because the rest went to bills. So I bought nothing but liquid to last me for a week. Protein drinks are not very cheap (they are about $8.00 for a pack of 4). I bought 3 packs which cost me about $25 plus tax). The rest went to broth and medication. I now only have $7.56 in my account and I don't get paid until tomorrow. So, it was impossible for me to buy anything else. Once I get paid, I am going to buy soup and eggs and more protein drinks.

You're right. I was eating noodles because it's the softest thing in my house, lol. I still live with my mom and she eats a lot of chips and such. So, I figured noodles would be ok. I won't be eating them anymore, at least not for a while. Thanks for the advice. I will definitely eat that. I love cheese!

First of all, YAY for no longer being stalled! But, eating soft food is extremely challenging. I ate ramen noodles last night, and I tried extremely hard to eat slowly and in small bites. After just 5 bites, I no longer wanted it. It also felt as if my food got stuck in my sternum and I could barely swallow my own spit. I was drooling profusely over the sink. Today, I tried eating noodles again. Same thing happened. I actually had to try and make myself throw up because the pain was so bad. I only ate about 2 ounces of noodles and that alone was challenging. I would only take half-teaspoon bites, so I know I'm not taking large bites. I had a hiatal hernia (the size of a golf ball) repaired during surgery. I never had problems with it before. But now, I feel as if I actually have one. Has anyone experienced this? Should I go get an endoscopy?

LOL! "Let's call her B" I see what you did there! I do try my best to kill her with kindness, but it's hard to not let her cold ways get to me. I will try harder. Thank you. <3

I actually clapped my hands when I read this, LOL! It's because you are 100% correct. I believe that maybe she knows she needs to change and she is afraid to get the surgery. She also has a mechanical heart valve and having this surgery is way too risky for her. So maybe she's bitter because she envies the fact that I was able to have the surgery with minimum risk? She says all the time, "I need to change. It's a mind thing. So, when you have this surgery, you'll have to change your ways. But you can do that without this surgery." I have to disagree with her on part of that. Yes, you do have to change your bad eating habits. But, this surgery was designed to help people change their habits. They make your stomach smaller so you don't feel as hungry as you did when your stomach was big. That alone can help people make the right eating decisions. I myself think of fattening food now, and I think GROSS! I already want to eat better. I agree completely. When people say black people are mean because of who they are, I try to tell them otherwise. It's culture, not color. I have so many black friends that I would take a bullet for without hesitation. One of my best friend's, Nick, is of mixed race and gay. So that's why bashing gay people is such a sensitive topic for me. If they only knew him and would give him a chance, they would know that he is not a horrible person, nor is he "dirty". He is wonderful and I love him dearly. He's so fun to be around and I am blessed to know him! LOL Meany Weenies! That made me laugh! XD

Thank you so much! I am actually worried that she will poison K into thinking I'm a bad person. D and K are both black women, and where I live, there's a lot of racism going on. K is more a solid person than D is because she doesn't allow much drama to pierce her life. But it still worries me because she may convince her that I'm prejudice. And the reason I think that is because, in the beginning, D and the other coworker who recently moved out of the room, were being VERY prejudice towards me. They would say "This white girl this, and this white girl that..." And I was shocked! So, I told my superviser about what they said. He talked to them, which made them even more angry. So now it's like they're trying to make me look like the bad guy. I grew up thinking that only white people were prejudice because of what I learned about the time of MLK. I actually sympathized with the black community. I mean, I was a huge supporter of giving the run-down neighborhoods a chance because I thought they were being treated unfairly. But, as I grew up, I realized that I was hated by so many black people. I was bullied relentlessly by them. I was verbally and physically abused by them, as well. Anytime I was bullied, 80% of the time, it was because I am white. I was so hurt to know that no matter how many times I spoke up for them, they could treat me this way. And I STILL to this day am not a racist. One of my best friend's is black. And he has accomplished so much in his life. God knows I'm proud of him. He's actually far more intelligent than I am. I guess the people who hated me were just raised badly.

Thanks so much! I will check out the app right now! <3

You are so right. It's just hard to change because this is who I am. I feel bad if I ignore D. She will bring something up and if I ignore her, she will find a way to get my attention. If I tell her I don't want to talk, she will think I'm a bitch because she knows I'm always nice. I will take your advice about turning her into HR. I've had enough of her verbal abuse. Thank you so much! Well, he isn't my dog. D actually has him. I got him for her. I didn't decide to do it without her permission. She was excited about getting him. She even thanked me. It felt amazing to finally have her like me. But it was short-lived. She's back to being cold to me. Thanks! I will look into that book. It sounds like something I need. I did not tell her about my surgery. She overheard a conversation I was having on the phone with my mother, while I was in the bathroom. When she asked me about it, I did open up to her. I thought maybe she was going to be supportive because she had the gall to ask. But dang, I had no idea that she would pry into my business just to bash me! I didn't think someone who claims to be a Christian could be so bitter! You are so right about how she feels better when she makes people seem worse off than her. I know she's insecure. I want to help her, but I just don't think I can. I tried when I got her the dog, but she's still so mean to me. I want to find another job, but this job is perfect for me when I go back to school. I'm going into Nursing and 6 hours out of my 8 hour shift consists on me just sitting at my desk. It's the perfect job to have while I study. And I know she's not going anywhere. She's been working in this job for over 17 years. She's lazy and not too bright. In order for her to move up to another job, she has to take a test. Well, I realized over the years that she can't even spell the most simple words. So I highly doubt she will get a promotion. Looks like I'm stuck in this Hell-job for at least another 2 years. :/

Welcome, Mandy! You sound so much like me; I grew up thin. I started high school weighing 115 pounds. Well, over the years, I slowly gained about 10-15 pounds each year (probably from taking Lexapro). When I was a Senior in high school, I went from 150 pounds to 199 pounds (size 7 pants, to a size 12). I gained almost 50 pounds in 3 months! My mom said I blew up so quickly that she thought I was having a severe allergic reaction. Well, I kinda did. I was put on oral steroids for my horrible sinuses, and they made me retain Water and eat like I was starving. They also had other horrible side effects; they made my knees feel like they were breaking and made my face turn red. Worst thing I ever did! The steroids convinced me that I was hungry even when I felt full. I downed a whole Red Baron pizza by myself in one day! Normally, I used to only be able to eat 2-3 slices in one night. Now, after I gained so much weight, I can down 5 slices in one night! That's enough for 2 people! Before the WLS, I was the biggest I'd ever been, weighing 255 pounds. My doctor said, since my stature is so small, I shouldn't weigh more than 125. Even at 130 I'm overweight! Now that is disheartening, lol. So, my goal is 120. I hope I can even get back down to 115. With my stature, I should be between 98-125 pounds. I can't believe I was almost 3 times bigger than I should be! But, when you eat a lot, your stomach stretches. Once you stretch your stomach out that much, it doesn't go back to normal. So, even if you lose weight on your own, there's a very high chance that you will gain the weight back because there is still an empty void. That's why we eat so much; we are trying to fill the empty void that overeating created in the first place. This is why WLS is so successful. It allows people to start over on a clean slate. Though, many have to remember that, if you're an emotional eater, you have to be extra careful not to fall into old habits. Good luck on your journey!

I didn't tell her myself. She overheard a conversation I was having with my mother. I was even in the bathroom, and she somehow heard me! I don't know if she was listening intentionally, because when I get excited, I talk very loudly. But you're right. People say that since I'm still young (I'm 25), that I will care more about what people think. They say, the older I get, I will care less about what people think. I hope this is true because, I am very extroverted and outgoing. I want people to like me. It's not a common thing for people to dislike me. I'm always so friendly and compassionate. So I guess I'm trying to make sure I'm not doing something to make this woman dislike me so much. Because, if I ever do something wrong, I try my very best to fix it. I guess you could say I put others first. Putting others first has always been something I do. It has hurt me many times in the past. But I just can't stop!

Thank you so much, Dub. Your posts are always so thorough and intellectual. I'll admit, I haven't been exercising like I should. I want to walk, but it's so hot outside and it makes me feel awful; it also makes my Vocal Cord Dysfunction act up (I live where the humidity is smothering). I always want to walk around the pond at the park, but my mother never wants to drive me there. She's overweight, too, and always says she's too tired to even just wait for me to walk half a mile around the pond! The pond makes the hot air around me feel so cool. I would ask friends to hang out and walk, but my best friend has RA, and she's only 26! She also works all day and has a toddler, so she's always too tired. All my other friends live at least 45 minutes away. I live right by the gym, but it's $30 a month, and since I just paid the hospital $350 out of pocket for my surgery, I'm really hurting in my wallet. All of my money has been going to Protein shakes, Soup, and bills. I guess what I'll do is put on a YouTube video about exercising and try to get in at least 30 minutes a day. What do you think? I've already lost 18 pounds in just half a month, which is fantastic. But I can't help but wonder how much more I would have lost, had I been exercising. XD I probably would have already lost 20 pounds!

I somehow messed up this entry... XD I re-wrote my response below.

I've been having problems at work with this one lady; we will call her D. She was pretty cold to me when I first started working there. Months later, her and another coworker (we will call her E) bullied me pretty badly because I used to listen to my headphones while they loudly discussed how they felt about gay people. I am a Christian, but I DO NOT agree with anyone calling gay people faggots and damning them to Hell. Only God has the right to judge them. I actually love LGBT people. They are great and fun to be around. But my coworker D called them faggots and sissies. That really bothered me, so I decided the best thing for me to do was listen to my music with my headphones. I'm not a confrontational person, so I didn't say anything. D and E claim to be Christians and read their Bibles every morning. They talk about God all the time. But I was taught that we should love each other and not judge one another. Funny thing is, whenever there's a donation round each year, they NEVER give any money. I always give at least $10 to the African American teens who want to go to college, but live in bad situations and are having a hard time achieving an education. Whenever the donation rounds come, D always turns her nose up at the thought and says, "I need this money more than they do!" (Which is not true. She will spend $10 on a box of Krispy Kreme before she ever gave her money to someone who is struggling.) Anyway, about the headphones. E always used to listen to her headphones and sing as loudly as she could. So that made me think that it was ok to listen to mine, so I could drown out my obnoxious coworkers. So when they started bashing gays again, I would put my headphones on. One day, the phone kept ringing. And instead of D getting up and answering it, she let it ring. She told E that I was listening to my headphones and not paying attention. Well, the ringing was E's mom trying to call. (Family members are actually not supposed to call on the work phone.) But E got mad at me and said she was sick of everyone not answering her calls. So I had ENOUGH! I said, "I hope you're not mad at me. I didn't hear it!" And E had the nerve to say we aren't supposed to listen to our headphones. WAIT WHAT? So all this time, she ignored us with her music, we weren't allowed to do it? Oh no, I see. It's only bad when I do it! So I straight up told them why I listened to my music. And they said, "Well that's our opinion! We can talk about how we feel!" So I told them that it's unethical to talk about religion, sexuality, political views, etc. in the workplace. And they got SO MAD. I ran out crying that day. And for about 2 or 3 months, they talked about me so much. I even heard them whisper, "That white girl ain't gonna do nothing." It hurt me pretty badly. Finally, E moved out of our room and upstairs to take another job. I was so happy. But D was still here and I guess I felt that it was ok because now she won't have anyone to pick on me with. Well, she's still pretty cold to me. But I found out that she is unhappily married. She's also in her 50's and weighs over 300 pounds. I feel like maybe she's just unhappy with her life, so I started to feel bad for her. Well, a month later, I found out she likes dogs. I love dogs, so I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to bond with her, because I really hate when there's animosity in my space. So, I approached her and asked about her past with dogs and she was telling me how one of her dogs died and she vowed to never get another one because it hurt her too much. I felt so much sadness for her when she told me this. I felt that it was my duty to fill that void she had in her heart with another dog. I told her about getting another dog and she agreed to get one that needed help. So, I looked online for a dog in need. I found one; let's call him Z. I got this dog because he was free to a good home. The lady giving him away said she needed him gone ASAP or that she would place him into a shelter. So I told her I would take him. Well, D couldn't bring him home yet, because she was having her carpet replaced with hardwood. So I told her I would let him stay at my house for a while, until she got her house in order. I got Z his shots, got him groomed, and I kept him fed. When it was time to give him to D, I was already attached to him. My mom was even more attached. But I promised her I would find her a dog, so I gave him to her. She fell in love with him quickly. I was so happy because I felt that I brought happiness into her life. I was also hopeful that it would make her like me. Boy, was I wrong. When I decided to get this surgery, she would argue with me daily on why this surgery was a bad idea. She would tell me that I would fail because there's a reason I'm fat. She said, "You can lose weight on your own. There's no reason to get this surgery. You like to eat, so how do you know this surgery will work? I know of many people who failed with this surgery. I even know of people who have died." Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it seem like she wants me to fail? I mean, she would raise her voice at me and talk bad about me on the phone to her family! I was shocked! After what I did for her, and she still treats me this way! Well, I voiced to her that I no longer wanted to discuss this with her. But now we have another coworker; let's call her K. Well, K is awesome. She's my "boo thang"; that's what I call her, lol. She's super cool and down-to-earth. She thinks this surgery is a great idea and is even thinking about getting it because of me. Well, anytime I talk to K about the surgery, D gets VERY quiet. I even saw her have a nasty look on her face when I was talking about it. Does anyone know why this woman hates me so much?

Exactly! It sounds like her coworker is bitter about the whole thing because he knows he's at risk.

Now that is interesting! Thanks for the response! That makes perfect sense!

You are so right! I am starving myself, but not on purpose. I lost 2 more pounds since my small stall, but only because I ate more! That's crazy! Thanks so much for your response! I'm trying so hard to get in all my fluids and Protein, but it's not easy because, even before my sleeve, I only ate a lot at night. I barely ever ate in the morning or for lunch. I guess I have more habits to break than I thought. >_<

I asked my surgeon everything that I wanted to ask. That's strange that he recommends the bypass. I know of people who were over 500 pounds who were successful with the sleeve.

I chose the sleeve because there is no dumping syndrome and I don't want my intestines to be messed with. Plus, it has safer statistics. Also, I heard the bypass is usually recommended for people who are over 300 pounds.

I am so sorry about your friend. I really hate that happened. But I am proud of you for losing the weight. Now you are healthier and that's so great. Honestly, it sounds like your other friend is against it because he's either scared, or he doesn't want to make changes because eating is what makes him happy. I don't know your friend enough to tell you whether or not you should talk to him. He seems very stubborn and unwilling to make any changes.

I had my sleeve done on August 4th, and I've lost 17 pounds in just a week and a half, which is awesome! I have finally hit the dreaded stall. I haven't lost a single pound in 3 days, which is fine because I knew it would happen. 3 days doesn't seem like much, but I know my body and it's definitely a stall. My question is... Is there a scientific reason behind why stalls happen? Is it the body getting used to the weight loss or something else? I'm just curious.