Berry78

Do you have a weight issue that could be causing some of it? This message board is mostly about heavy people looking to lose weight with the help of surgery. Why didn't the surgeon want to work with you?

It is so hard to guess what is causing pain over the internet My MIL gets muscle spasms that are debilitating. Low sodium V8 helps her. Since the pain is abdominal, you could have something going on with an internal organ. Doctors need to run tests to check those out. Maybe a hernia.. How often do you have pain? Does it stay constant or come and go? Does the leg pain seem related to the abdominal pain? How about your female organs? Is everything normal with that? Do you see what I mean? Soo many different possibilities....

The reality is the surgery DID get you where you are today. It's sort of like a mechanic staring at a bunch of metal parts laid out on the ground that used to be a transmission. If someone comes up and says to the mechanic, " Did you do this? " He says "Yes" And then they point to the wrench, and say, "but you didn't do it by yourself". It would be ridiculous. Would the mechanic get all huffy? Maybe. but it would just be as productive for him to say, yes, I did use the wrench, and it sure helped! The truth is, there is a 98% chance that indeed, without the surgery you would be 300lbs. Own it, be proud that you got the help you needed, and that gives them zero fuel against you.

I am a surrogate mother. I carried a child of whom I am the biological mother for a couple that could not conceive a child on their own. I am not shy about talking about it, as it is part if my identity. When people hear about it, it usually brings up the same couple questions, and they move on. For me, WLS will fall into the same niche. If it happens to come up, I'll talk about it. Mostly people will be curious for a few minutes, then lose interest. They almost invariably dismiss the surrogacy conversation by saying, "oh, I could never do that." I imagine the surgery conversation would be the same way. They ask questions, then put themselves into your shoes to see if it would apply to them or someone they know.

I guess I don't quite"get it". Let's say according to my meal plan, my sleeve should hold 1/2 cup at 8 weeks post surgery. I can picture putting 1/4 cup of chicken salad and 1/4 cup cooked green beans on a plate. I know not to eat more than that, and stop if I feel full before eating it all. If I weigh it out, I can calculate the calories on the plate. If I eschew the measuring cup, how do I know if I need 2 or 3 ounces of chicken salad (or is it 4 or 5?) How many ounces of green beans? Another complicating factor is some foods have a low weight to volume ratio. A half cup of cheerios in milk will weigh less than a half cup of grape-nuts in milk. And, for the record, the videos posted are good at showing why not to use heaping cup measures... but once we are aware of that problem, it is easily fixed. I am sobered by how far off the weight/volumes and therefore calories are. But ultimately, the surgeons publish anticipated volume measures, not weight necessarily. Once I measure a nice level 1/4 cup of chicken salad, I will know it weighs x ounces, so that is what to shoot for in the future... right?

A slow cooker is a great tool for making broths. Plop bone-in meat, water, and seasonings in it, and leave for 8-12 hours. Strain and chill. Skim off the fat. Voila. Use the meat for another recipe. Do this once or twice a week. Separating the meat from the bones is the most time consuming part.

It seems like the best plan is to use measuring cups for portion control, and the scale for calorie counting.

Plateaus are no fun. If you describe your food/exercise routine, we might be able to help more. Philosophically , you think weight loss is formulaic. But what each person needs can vary widely.

Gas has to come from somewhere. Right after surgery it is coming from the procedure. Later it might come from swallowing air. It might come from the bacteria in the intestines. If the patient is constipated, or has slow digestion, the food in the intestines sits around, producing more gas. Probiotics can help establish healthy gut bacteria. Fiber and stool softeners can help expedite the bowels. Chewing and swallowing carefully can help with swallowed air. Pay attention to what you eat. Many of us become lactose intolerant. Other food intolerances can develop too. Hope any of this helps! Gas-x strips might help while you figure it out.

JerseyJules got scared 2 years ago. Backed out of the surgery. Nothing improved, so he went back to the surgeon, and is now a little over a week out of surgery. Stories like that keep me to it. I know if I back out, I'll end up coming back eventually! Might as well get on the other side! Good luck! You'll do great!

Is it in a healthier looking way? Maybe you aren't consuming as many staining types of food/beverages. My mouth is cleaner feeling than before. I'm on the preop diet.

How frustrating! At least it sounds like it'll only be an extra few weeks. Good luck!

Since another surgery is inevitable, and your family is on board with the removal, just try to get the removal and revision at the same time without telling them about the sleeve. They're happy, you are happy.. and when you drop weight, just say you are, indead pushing yourself away from the table [emoji6]

They refer to a period of time with no changes of weight as a plateau. This is because on a line graph, the line flattens out like the topographical feature. Good luck!

Thanks for asking this question! You have to hate it when Mom is right It will make her feel good if you tell her that you've decided to take her advice (without mentioning the message board). Outside, thanks for your succinct explanation!

Your first visit to the bariatric doctor (and maybe previous visits to your primary care doc) is/ the ones where your weight is important. Not sure if high cholesterol will qualify. Maybe look for sleep apnea?

Sitting on a pillow or cushion sounds like a good idea. Something that might help is exercising the glut. muscles. If those muscles can get bigger, maybe they'll help pad the area. Good luck! If you find something that helps, let us know!

Did the go lightly do the trick? I figure I'll possibly be in the same boat. The protein shakes are causing problems preop for me. Guess I need to add a fiber supplement. Hope you get to feeling better!

Ok, did a little bit of research, and most of the time it just means a small baby. You are a small Mom. It is to be expected. Congrats on the upcoming bundle!

Umm.. I think Eleventy didn't look at the dates. Sigh. It sounds like you have been doing everything great! I had high blood pressure with my first pregnancy and it made the baby small. (5th percentile). After birth she gained weight like crazy and has been perfectly healthy since. What does a short femur mean? Hard to say. It might not mean anything! If your doctor is concerned about the intrauterine environment, he/she will say something. I'm sure everything will be fine!

Woo hoo!

Hernias can be anywhere from really painful to zero pain. The only way to know for sure is to be checked out. Most likely you have just strained something, so don't panic. If you develop screaming, debilitating pain... 10 out if 10.. go to the ER.

Oh no! My condolences.

You are an inspiration!

Skakes are considered fluid, not food, so you don't have to worry about the wait around them. 2 tablespoons of full liquids or purees would not get me to wait either. Even if I wash that stuff out of the sleeve early, it isn't hurting anything, but not drinking enough does hurt. Once fluid goals are being met, and you are far enough out post op to start having soft, chewable foods, then I would start listening to the drinking restriction (particularly after the meal). At that point eating less frequently makes sense too.