Lavieboheme84

HI All

June 21st here! Good luck to all of you---June is right around the corner !

Hi there

I am lactose intolerant and am concerned I won't have a lot of options for the pureed stage. Anyone have any suggestions/recipes?

Thanks!

I am a candy junkie. Every and all. I am almost a month post op. I have a little craving this week with all the Easter candy around. I felt the urge and didn't slip bc I know I can't be trusted. I know this is going to be a life long battle. My surgeon said it's like quitting smoking. The addiction is real and people like me use it for a coping mechanism. But I have to say I have noticed from my preop diet to now, my craving isn't as strong as it use to be. My fingers are crossed for all of us sugar junkies.

I have a huge carb addiction. I cut carbs (and sugar) out of my life completely. I have kept my carbs to 20 or less for over a year now. Purging my life from carbs and sugar was/is the only way I am going to be successful long-term.
Good luck!

Hello,

I had the sleeve in 2014 and lost 60 pounds. I have a HORRIBLE SUGAR ADDICTION and was diagnosed with diabetes at 26. To help with my diabetes I got the sleeve which I thought initially would work but ended up failing. In my opinion the sleeve is mainly for ppl who over eat but it doesn't help with cravings. I gained 30 pounds of the 60 I lost and went to get resleeved a couple of months ago. Try your best to fight the craving because u will notice that just about all Desserts will fit in your little pouch.

I am a sugar addict but I am treating it like alcohol,addiction...just like an alcoholic cannot have just one beer, I cannot gave just one candy. So I go day by day. I am on day 41 now. Yes once or twice, I did give in and had a piece of candy bug the next day I started over and go day by day. That is the only way I am able to do this. To reconize that each day is z victory. I am also off of bread , Pasta, wheat and rice.
One day at a yime, one step at a time. My surgery is July. I Want the change...I want the freedom from sugar.
It's a conscience choice, to tell myself not that I can't have it but that I don't want it.
Sugar addiction is hard to break but it can be done...one day at a time. If alcoholic's can do it. I can do it!!

The cravings will be blunted and almost nonexistent during the honeymoon period of 6 to 12 months post-op. However, in most people the cravings return. This is especially true for many people who compulsively ate sweets and sugar. There are two types of weight loss surgery patients: moderators and abstainers.
Moderators can moderate their intake of trigger foods and stop before falling off the wagon, whereas abstainers must abstain from their trigger foods because they will definitely fall off the wagon. If you cannot moderate your intake of sweets, you need to abstain or else you will regain your weight.

I have a carb addiction! I am having surgery in June, and I have started cutting back alot on my carbs. I think I do better when I KNOW I CAN'T have something. I have been researching carb alternatives. We CAN do this!!! GOOD LUCK!!!

I'm pre op too. For me the only way to break the sugar addiction is to abstain. I have so little control with chocolate and sweets once I start eating them. I've also read that most of this stuff goes down easy after healing so it will be a life long commitment to abstain.

Hi All

Did anyone who has had the sleeve struggle with sugar addiction before surgery? (Chocolate, ice cream, candy etc)

If so- how did you manage post surgery? Did your cravings come back? Were you successful with the sleeve?

I ask because I'm reading more things recently that the sleeve is good for folks who have trouble with Portion Control but not so much for those who have a sweet tooth.

Any experiences would help.

Also- I am aware that it's important to try and work on eating behaviors/emotional eating pre surgery and after- I'm just curious on the experience people have had. Does the sugar cravings/desire ever go away after time? Anyone successful kicking sweets for food post surgery?

Thanks!

8 hours ago, Suaniya said:

Childrens tylenol because they come in chewables and liquids...you may have problems swallowing pills since you cant deink big gulps of anything.

Thanks all! Great info!

8 hours ago, Suaniya said:

Childrens tylenol because they come in chewables and liquids...you may have problems swallowing pills since you cant deink big gulps of anything.

Thanks!

I loved using baby spoons to eat, sippy cups, small 2-3 oz. containers, stretchy pants and a good pair of sneakers for all the walking [emoji5]

My only suggestions would be to get your Vitamins and gas-x strips ahead of time.
Oh and childrens tylenol (liquid or chewable)... I had a bad headache one day and was glad I had some on hand.

I bought all the "stuff" and didn't use most of it. My nut recommends stocking up 6 months of PPIs... my surgeon didn't even suggest I take them! SO glad I didn't purchase them- they are EXPENSIVE!! I bought the small plates, cups, spoons, etc and didn't use any of them. We already have small side plates, small pyrex bowls, etc. I just pay attention to the size of the bites I take. I bought the very expensive Biotine mouth spray and never opened it; I was allowed to have spongy mouth swabs dunked in Water and that kept my mouth moist enough for the first day. It all seemed expensive and unnecessary to me.

Can everyone share what they felt was important to have in their toolbox immediately post surgery other than food? Examples: 1-2oz plastic cups to eat out of, baby spoons, antacid, listerine melts etc

I am building my arsenal lol

19 hours ago, BubbleSam said:

Update for my dates!!! Yesterday I had my last visit with my dietician. I will be seeing my surgeon on 4/11/17 for my last visit with him before surgery. Seeing my Primary Care for clearance on 4/18/17. Starting my pre op Optifast diet on 4/19/17 and then having my surgery on 5/3/17!!! I am so excited I can't stop smiling. My boss knows what's going on so she is already approved all of my dates off. Now the reason why I don't start my pre op diet till 4/19 is because they said it takes about 2 weeks for insurance to review everything to approve the surgery.

Congrats!! Thanks for keeping me posted. Good luck!

[mention=310703]Lavieboheme84[/mention] will do! I'll make a note here at my computer just for you. [emoji4]

46 minutes ago, Newme17 said:

I started the process on Jan 21st. Due to have my third NUT apt tomorrow. I have one left about this time next month. At that time, my surgeon/team with submit my paperwork to Cigna. I have no idea what their turnaround time is, so hopefully it's just a few days. I'll either get my surgery date before the submission (in hopes it goes through) or when they've approved. Not exactly sure how the center I go to will do it.

that's great! we are in the same boat--I started 1/18/17, same timing

Good Luck--if you remember, let me know how you fare with insurance.

Best

5 minutes ago, Newme17 said:

I have Cigna and I'm in TX. Requirements are three months waiting, bmi 40+, or 35+ with co-morbidities, pcp referral, supervised diet visits, etc. It's pretty nice actually and not too much (for me at least-I have no co-morbidities-that's what I'm preventing!) The waiting is the worse part.

When did you start? When do you submit to your insurance?

I don't know about Cigna NY, but it's very possible that's all they require. Seems pretty standard. I have BC/BS of IL and they don't require any type of waiting period, as long as someone has a bmi 40+, or 35-39 with two co-morbidities, you're good to go. Just call them and they can break it all down for you. I called my insurance even before I watched my first online seminar just to be sure. Give them a call!

Has anyone been approved through Cigna NY? They only require 3 months and it seems too good to be true. I require BMI over 40 since I have no co morbidities. Thoughts?

Thanks guys! I will try your suggestions and see what works!

Thanks all! Great suggestions/explanations.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi All

I am lactose intolerant and also have a poor reaction to whey and artificial sugars. As you can imagine--this really effects my ability to find a good Protein shake/protein powder for pre-op and post/op.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I can use for both the 2 week pre-op liquid diet and then post op?

Also--I've heard stories about people who've had gastric sleeve that developed lactose intolerance---has anyone experienced/heard the opposite? Where the lactose intolerance disappeared? (wishful thinking)

Any advice welcome!

Thank you so much for this response--your words are exactly what I'm feeling. I'm glad to know others have experienced this thought process as well and it's good to hear as long as you stay the course it can be manageable even in life's more stressful situations.

For me, my sleeve has worked exactly as I had hoped when I got it. I never felt I needed weight LOSS surgery. I needed weight MAINTENANCE surgery. I was always a pro at losing weight. I had managed to lose 25-100 pounds countless times throughout my adult life. I just could never KEEP it off. So when I was back up near my highest weight, after having lost 90 pounds, and I was looking at the long road ahead of me to lose it all again, I thought the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. How was THIS time going to be different from all the other times? The answer was the sleeve!

So I had my surgery. I lost "slowly", but that didn't matter. I reached goal right around my one year mark. I have maintained near goal for over 15 months. During that 15 months I have had my sister and her 4 kids move in with me, bought a new house with my husband which we did a lot of him improvements on, trained for and run a half marathon, decided to divorce my husband, had that new house on the market for 5 months, trained for and run a full marathon, had a serious boyfriend, bought a new condo, moved again, broke up with that serious boyfriend, and fixed up the new condo. ALL of those things were tremendously stressful. My exercise has been erratic and sometimes non-existent. In the past, I probably would have gained 50 pounds through all of that. And you know what? I am still hovering right around my goal weight. My sleeve is the best thing ever!