Navigating the Wilderness

Yes, the forum for this is great. I had it done 3 months ago and it has been fantastic! My surgeon did the conversion in one surgery and it went really well.

http://www.food.com/recipe/weight-watchers-0-point-garden-vegetable-soup-318471 Has always been one of my favorites. I personally swap the regular diced tomatoes with Rotel Hot diced tomatoes. Hot both temp and spice wise. Always a winner. Of course this is a low protein recipe, so feel free to throw in some chicken or protein powder as well.

Usually a PPI. My doctor is making me take them every night for six months. I have had no problems whatsoever, but I know PPIs have been getting a bad rap for long-term use. List of PPI drugs (I use Omeprazole): Omeprazole Lansoprazole Dexlansoprazole Esomeprazole Pantoprazole Rabeprazole

Yup, that was exactly what I had.

Could be your diaphragm spasming. That happened to me for the first month post-op. Thought it was my stomach, but turned out it wasn't.

Hahaha, was wondering about that. In my head was thinking there are a few single mums I'd like to 'sleep' with. Seriously though, do you have any close friends that can be around for you after surgery, even if it is for the first couple days? I know there are people on here who have done fine by themselves.

Considering you lost 80 pounds before, you shouldn't have too much trouble dumping the 10 you gained. Just stick to it!

I prefer to shotgun the whole awful thing. It gets it over with quicker, but yeah, crushed pills suuuuuuuck.

Hoooooraaaaaayyyyy!!

This confused me as well when I first started. Click on your username at the top of the page->My Surgery->Progress. You can alter your weight stats there.

Not a twin, but I wish you the best!!

Stay off the scale for the first couple weeks.

I find most protein 'juices' to be pretty bad.

It's a tough call that I go back and forth with suggesting. I would definitely recommend it if you are as close to the grave as I was, but it depends on your situation. Share details if you are comfortable with it.

Yup, pegged this one. I think most of us fall into this category. First I would suggest sitting down, possibly with a therapist, and trying to figure out if there is anything specific which is causing this behavior like a past incident in your life, or whether you are just an emotional eater, which is much more common. Once done there, you can start to alter your eating habits for the better. You have to always be prepared so you don't go down the wrong road. This includes having healthy snacks/foods available at all times, and planning your meals. There have been certain cravings that I have allowed myself to indulge in, but knowing that it would be a one-off thing, not to be continued past that one time, and only in sleeve-appropriate portions. Of course, this is easier on me at this point in time, but I am certain it will become harder to do that in the future. That said, I have also found that over time the cravings have started to disappear to the point where I simply do not have those cravings anymore. I am perfectly happy to eat healthy food.

I always feel it is best to look at this surgery as something to help you get healthy, never as something that would make me look better or skinnier. I truthfully think that "appearance" is a horrible reason to have WLS (I'm not in any way saying this pertains to you @krystalrose219, I'm just putting it out there because it is related to this topic). So, have you had any blood work yet to see if your co-morbidity issues have improved? Also, has it become easier to move without being in pain? Those are the victories I would advise seeking, as in the end they are what truly matters! All the best!!

I get it. I mean I do have a bad side effect from surgery, I had sciatic nerve issues and since the moment I woke up both legs in the sides are numb and have shooting pain. During the surgery the way they had me on the table caused compression of the nerve. I now need to go for an MRI and see the ortho. This may sound horrible, but the reality is that at 410 pounds I had already messed up the nerve due to the weight pushing on the sciatic nerve, so I do have a bad side effect, but without the surgery I would have probably had worse sciatic nerve pain anyway and the benefits of the reduced weight have been a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I have not had a sleeping test yet, but I have noticed that the amount of pressure from the CPAP is causing my mouth to come open at night since the amount of fat in my neck and related related areas has decreased. So I will definitely need to have the pressure reduced. I am one of the rare people that after 16 years of use loves my cpap.

Hi @Jordan Flake, minus the depression I had all the same issues. Every single one has improved in the 3 months since my surgery. I don't think anyone can tell you which, if any, side effects you may have after surgery because we are all so different. You just need to weigh the pros and cons and go with what you are most comfortable with. Good luck with everything!

So my question regarding this is how are there 30 grams of protein per tablespoon, when a tablespoon is roughly 15 grams?

Hell yes! I'm sure it called for the Happy Dance.

Yes! I had remorse as well. It was transient.

From his site: Men should eat six or seven one-ounce servings of grains per day. Whole grains are an important source of fiber and a healthy diet, so least three of the servings should be from whole grains. Be sure to read package labels to make sure the product is made from whole grains. One serving is equal to one slice of bread, one cup of breakfast cereal, one-half cup of pasta, cooked rice, or cooked cereal. So as long as I eat 3 - 3.5 cups of pasta per day I will lose weight, huh? Suuuuuuure. I don't mean to crap all over his stuff, but a generic "this is what you need" is complete horse-crap.

I don't give a damn if you are in the right place or not. This is AWESOME. Congrats buddy!!

I would completely avoid reality tv advice in every way. Have you sat down with a nutritionist and discussed a plan that suits your specific needs?

I would avoid Phentermine. It has a dismal success rate and is not a long-term solution. Not sure about Contrave, but my wife uses Victoza for diabetes and I believe it works much the same as Contrave. The results have been amazing.