katie09/21/2016

It was part of my initial labs but I told them I wouldn't pass. When I realized the seriousness of needing to quit. I did and they wrote me a separate lab for that test after I was six weeks not smoking. Some insurance's wont cover it over and over if you don't pass so you may want to make sure you are six weeks out before having that one. I quit cold turkey. You got this.

Every day smoker, 1 pack a day, and it took about 11 days not smoking to clear the urine test. The doctors understand how hard it is, and are patient on you to pass it.

Typically, a lot of obese patients do have sleep apnea, some very severe. Severe sleep apnea can lead to problems coming to from anesthesia or also breathing problems while you are under including having your oxygen levels drop too low. Since you have discussed with your surgeon and he/she thinks you are low risk, you are probably fine. Even if you were to have mild sleep apnea, it shouldn't be a problem during surgery. The test would be a definitive answer, if that eases your mind. I had more symptoms of sleep apnea than you and my testing still indicated my sleep apnea was too mild to even bother treating.

Hi everyone! I am working through my requirements but hope to have surgery in December or January. My insurance required very few things - a blood test, a NUT appointment, and a mental health eval. I'm almost done, with the NUT appt scheduled later this month. But, my mom is a nurse and she asked me if the insurance or my surgeon had suggested/required me to take a sleep study to see if I have sleep apnea. They did not. But, she said that it could be important before surgery to know if I have it or not - and that there could be bad results if I have undiagnosed sleep apnea and go under during surgery?
I talked to the surgeon's office today and they said that they didn't think I needed one based on my discussion with the surgeon at my earlier appointment but that they'd call an order in for me if it would ease my mind. It will ultimately be expensive for me given my insurance - at least $500 out of pocket but possibly up to $1000. That just doesn't feel ok to me financially unless it's really needed. I'd rather put that money into my out of pocket surgery costs (which will be about $2,500) and/or the things I'll need to be successful with surgery.
I was hoping to see if any of you had any thoughts or experience with the sleep study and whether or not you think I should get one.
In case it helps - I'm 5'2, 237 lbs. My husband says that I snore but he's never heard me stop breathing or struggle to breath (nor have I woken myself up with breathing issues. I don't seem to have most of the symptoms of sleep apnea except the snoring (which I did even before I gained all this weight).
Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have to share!

My records for my psych eval was finally sent to Dr. Fass' office. One more appointment on 9/12 and then it'll be submitted to insurance. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I didn't blend a thing - I'm weird about texture. Love these suggestions; it's what I survived on during this stage!

Yep, I only had 1 puree stage as well. Each stage was only 2 weeks long. The goal was to get to getting Proteins from real food. Each program is different, that's why as helpful as we can be to each other here, we need to understand what the program we signed up for requires.

Thanks to those who replied to me..maybe I will get better @ posting/quoting. Today I did really well with sweet potato mashed up.
I love tuna and I only have one pureed stage and tuna/chicken canned is part of that. The tuna just doesn't settle...so won't try it again for a while. I will try the canned chicken in a few days...I am a little scared of meat. I am going to try an egg tomorrow, did anyone have a problem with eggs?
I have eaten refried Beans (awesome) and cottage cheese, both go down well.
I read a lot on here and thanks to all who have shared their experiences. I am so thankful for whomever posted to mix premier chocolate with milk...I am so appreciative. It works for me too! I starting to think I was going to just tolerate the Protein drinks. Again, thanks to all!

I had my sleeve on Dec. 5 2014. My diet is stage 3 for 4 weeks. Stage 3 in my diet is liquid. Milk based Soup, pudding, cream of wheat along with the Protein shakes etc. Stage 4 is mashed food. I am extremely excited to get on this portion of the diet just because I am a tiny bit tired of having the same things over and over. Providing I will be able to tolerate it, I will be able to have some meat and fish as long as its soft. No bread, rice, potato or Pasta. I am on this for 4 weeks then I move on to the final stage. I have see people post that they were on the mashed stage only a couple of weeks after surgery. I was kind of surprised since I thought this was universal for the sleeve. I guess different drs have different stages of diets. I have lost 22 pounds since my sleeve. I dont know if I am ahead or behind in the weight lost but man, it feels awesome to have that off. With my presurgery diet I have 47 pounds off in total. I cant believe how much my body has changed it how it feels. awesome. I get sick of what I have to eat but I just have to look at how much better I feel and change my relationship with food. Its a struggle.

Do you live on campus? Have a meal plan?
Many colleges have a nutritionist on staff for their meal service and/or health center. You might want to find out if there is someone like that on campus and make an appointment. Take the written info from your NUT/surgeon and see if they have any ideas or suggestions. They also may be able to make accommodations (blending food, stocking healthy options).
It never hurts to ask.

Steve, FYI ... I had only a single puree stage -- not two.
Your program is actually the first I've ever heard of with two different puree stages.
So many different programs people are given!

O dp wpnder how many people confuse their dietary stages. For me stage 3 after liquids only, was liquids and puress for 2 weeks, stage 4 for me is soft meats, ground meats, etc. mashed or soft veg, no fruits or anything raw. no white bread kind of stuff etc. so its easy to mistake stage 3 purees, for stage 4 purees so be careful.

I have been living on this Soup for the past few days...it is to die for. I am thinking of adding silky tofu and/or Protein powder to it. (I also snuck in some fat fe=ree cheddar. I used low fat cheddar cheese shredded, rather than velveeta. this Soup rocks my socks!)
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/broccoli-cheese-soup-1
I googled low fat recipes for soup...worked for me. Hang in there sweetie! I understand your confusion...it hits me too.

Type in "Recipe Frenzy" in the search bar to get to a post from bobbyswife. She put a list together of some of the best bariatric online recipes and cookbooks. The two Bariatric Buddies cookbooks are free downloads. Since there is no copyright, you can print them out on your own printer or do it at Kinkos's where you can also get it binded. There is a pureed recipe section in these cookbooks, as well as a recipe section for each stage of the Bariatric Eating plan. Good luck!

I think that's pretty normal. I only ever added 1 new thing a day or even every other day. I just drank my shakes and broths and Soups as staples plus one new food item. That way I wasn't throwing a whole bunch of stuff at my new tummy to deal with. And if there was a day that didn't go well, I knew exactly what the culprit was. Took me longer to progress through the stages, but I had minimal discomfort and never got sick. You are still healing, and just like this isn't a race to lose weight, it's not a race to see what food you can eat. Take it as slow as you need to.

I loved Rosarita traditional non-fat refried Beans (in a can at any grocery store) mixed with cheddar cheese -- then heated up / melted in the microwave. It was literally my favorite go-to food during puree phase.
One egg mixed with cottage cheese and cheddar cheese and "microwave-scrambled" (remixed up every 15-30 seconds)
Grind up water-pack canned chicken and add to refried dish (above) as your tolerance for this increases
Blend frozen fruit (or fresh fruit) to Protein drinks (occasionally)
Add ground water-packed canned chicken to Soups. It's an easy way to get i more Protein.
FYI, I never did fully "puree" food -- instead I just ground up stuff. I'm 4-1/2 months out. Obviously, I didn't die.
Also, FYI -- some foods will go down better for you than others. For example, my tummy liked chicken, but not tuna. Don't worry about it. Just keep looking for things that your tummy likes.
BTW, re your "vague instructions" about pureed foods ... there's really not a lot to say about pureed foods. You puree them. You eat them. That is all.

I sure hope your reading all this because it took me forever to type that up!

I can't wait for cottage cheese and salsa. I miss hot food

All these ideas are fantastic!!

A few things:
1) If you are unclear on what the doctor or nurse has said, you need to tell them that. It is their job to make sure you understand. Ask them for specific examples.
2.) The folks here have posted some suggestions but you have to try. I did some things in the nutra bullet, but mostly I made things up according to my taste buds. My handbook sites examples such as a soft scrambled egg for breakfast., a Protein shake mid morning, 4 tbsp. of tuna fish for lunch, 4 tbsp of chicken for dinner and a shake in the evening.
Here's how I make my soft scrambled egg:
I take 1 egg, tsp of plain greek yogurt (I use Fage 0%), I whip that together and top it with a bit of shredded cheddar. I either cook it on the stove in no stick pan stirring constantly or I pop i in the microwave for 1 minute. If microwaving it will be a bit under done when you take it out. Stir it together and pop it back in for another 10 seconds then chec to bring out and stir again.
You want all of your food at this stage to be fairly moist. You might add some broth to any meats you puree. If they are too dry they may be difficult to swallow and digest.

Yes, literally you just throw stuff in a blender. Add a little liquid to make it the consistency of pudding. That is it! You can do chicken or turkey or tuna. Blend some chili. Add some cooked veggies to the meat when you blend it for a little different consistency and flavor. Put a little soft cheese in there. But YES, you just throw stuff in a blender. You can also Google "pureed food recipes for bariatric patients" (or something similar) and find ideas there.

@@katmaar Keep it simple, do you like refried Beans? Go to the store buy a can of refried beans, some sour cream, cheese, hummus (or whatever toppings you like) heat up the refried beans in the microwave and add some cheese and whatever topping, that's soft/purée and it's good, and cheap for your college budget! Do you like lasagna? Buy some ricotta cheese (at Walmart it's usually where the sour cream is, at our store anyway) use A tub (doesn't really matter what size you get) add 1 egg , some shredded cheese of your choice, salt, pepper, (Italian seasoning if you want) Mix it all together . Add a thin layer of marinara sauce on top and bake it in the oven at 350 for appox 25-30 mins. Your basically just heating it up and cooking The egg. If you are in a dorm you can cook it in the microwave in a small dish probably 3-5 min if your making a single bowl. This is cheap and it's delicious. Blend some Soup or if it's soft just mush it up with a fork. Just find soft foods that you like, take small bits and chew really well. Take your time and listen to your body. Just try stuff, if something isn't agreeing with you stop eating it. Avocado is soft and good if you like that. Eat some grits for Breakfast. (You can buy instant grits in individual package to make in the microwave) If you need to thin them out a bit do it. There's so many things you can have you just have to look. enjoy being off of the liquids!

Have you talked to your nutritionist or doctor? The basic rule of thumb is Protein first. The goal is 60+gms of Protein a day plus 48-64 ounces of fluids. You should not be living off of applesauce. Call your nutritionist first thing Monday and express your concerns.

This is such a great idea!!
Sent from my iPod touch using the BariatricPal App

Cauliflower mash is really very good. I also made a few Soups and puréed them. I put the majority of what I made in small Pyrex dishes and froze them. I go back to work next week and wanted easy grown up choices to heat up at lunch time. I also bought cans of turkey no bean chili, tuna, white meat chicken, stew, and fat free retried Beans.< /p>