Berry78

I asked my surgeon whether he uses absorbable sutures to reinforce the staple line (he did). You could ask what the staples are made of, and how long it takes for scar tissue to form on the stomach (preventing leaks). You could ask whether you can expect to have a drain. Ask what percentage of excess weight you should expect to lose. Get a copy of the pre and post op diet plans.

If you decide to wean, you'll be dry in 1-2 weeks if you stop abruptly. I highly suggest stuffing raw green cabbage leaves into your bra while you are drying up. If you taper off, it'll take a good month but is more comfortable. I never think it's a good idea for people to breastfeed through surgery... your nutritional status DOES impact the quality of your milk. So either delay surgery, or begin weaning.

Hi, and welcome! This whole process feels a lot like those exercises where you fall backwards, blindfolded, trusting someone will catch you. The good news is once you are put under, (nothing bad will happen), but if it did, you wouldn't know anything about it. When my time comes, I can only HOPE to go out so peacefully! I had my surgery 6 months ago, and they gave me something to calm my nerves before going to sleep. It really did help Surgery is, statistically, much safer than obesity, particularly once you are over 2 months postop.

Follow your preop diet as stated. During the postop healing phase, as long as the TEXTURE is appropriate, the macros don't matter so much. Your surgeon may recommend low fat, but fat won't hurt your stomach. It possibly could hinder your weight loss though. (So that's why they have the recommendation). Once you understand the point of the recommended diets, you'll feel free to create your own rules. Just so it's clear: if the surgeon recommends skim milk, you can't replace that with chicken. You could, however, drink whole milk. Preop, in order to get the liver to shrink, it's important that your diet be low carb and low fat.

Your NUT is misinformed. Happens to me sometimes, can happen to others as well Any major surgery can cause it. My daughter had a huge surgery on her spine.. took like 8 or 9 hours. She lost tons of hair. Her diet wasn't affected at all (other than right around the procedure).

I saw where you were only eating 800 calories in February. You didn't lose weight eating that little? Are you still eating that way? If so, then another surgery won't really help. I don't know your stats, but maybe it'd be good to look at what you are doing to see if a non-surgical solution is your best bet..

I lost 17lbs the first month, which seems about average. You're doing fabulous!

Oh, and I'd make an appointment with your family doctor...he/she can help with questions about stitches and anything else you are concerned about.

As for how much to consume.. you need to meet your goals. You are sipping or eating small amounts, frequently. It can take a few hours to drink a protein shake. Or you could do it in 40 minutes. You have to slowly figure out how much and how quickly to go. Don't guzzle 12 ounces in 5 minutes. I recommend looking at published postop plans from other groups. Stay within the framework that your surgeon gave, but you'll likely find more detailed descriptions elsewhere.

Too many fat people in Michigan... so funny! My mom's family was from MI, no fat people in that group! My family doc really didn't want me getting surgery. At a 48 BMI there was no question about my qualifying. She said, "The surgery won't do what you think it will" but she never even asked what I thought it would do! So, I found a new doc that thought surgery was a good idea (though she WAS nervous about Mexico). Now she is so tickled every time she sees me. (I don't see the old doctor anymore.) It's awful nice to have someone on my side when I need my routine bloodwork and aftercare.

So sad My first job was at a Tastee Freez. There was a big old jukebox there, and I'd play "Into the Great Wide Open", like, every night while cleaning up...

I also see where you can click on your name, and, again, drop down menu that shows your ticker you already have, but there is a button that offers "create ticker". I always mess with my ticker on the laptop, not phone.

Are you on a laptop or desktop? If so, then in the top bar that shows your name, right next to your name it says "create" that has a dropdown menu, and ticker is at the bottom.

Thanks for clarifying! I guess I heard the wrong thing at some point. I never was a gum chewer, so guess I didn't really care enough to look more into it.

Gum is frowned upon, I think because of the risk of swallowing it. You'd hate to gum up the works. As for beans, here's a good page to read: https://eatingrules.com/how-to-cook-dried-beans/ For super fast cooking, check out the instant pot: https://instantpot.com/cooking-time/

No worries. 1200 is not a long term number, and it doesn't matter much because he "cheats". He went on a business trip for 3 weeks and lost 1 pound (at least he didn't gain!), but the weight started dropping again when he got back... nowhere near as fast, but he's doing well. Low calories will always cause fat loss. The scale may not show it due to fluid retention, but for my hubby it is working. His cheat days boost his weekly totals, and allow him to drop the cortisol-induced fluid weight. If I put him on a "sustainable" number of calories, he'd still cheat (he cheats for emotional reasons, not hunger), and not see any movement on the scale at all... just like what happened on his business trip. Once he gets near goal, we'll get his bmr tested to see what his maintenance calories should look like. We'll build in a daily "cheat" that will hopefully make it all sustainable for him.

I should add that I cool the coffee with milk, then add the vitamins since the protein powder clumps with too much heat. The heavier particles settle to the bottom of the cup by time I get down there, so that last sip is the pits. No pain, no gain! Lol! Adding them to a smoothie is probably better... In fact, I'll send you a sample if you like so you're not buying a whole tub if you don't like it. Just pm me your addy.

It's true. When my fingers puff up, I know I need to drink more.

I went to Ceasar's twice. Soo good! Glad you made it to a beach somewhere out there! Lol. I'll have to see the Pacific eventually...

Woo hoo! Congrats Half-Tum... you are living up to your name... inside and out! As for dyslexia.. yes, there does seem to be a hereditary component. My father had it, skipped me, but now two of my kids. What is interesting is dyslexics tend to have non-reading "gifts". They are particularly good at other things. My dad was mechanically/electronically inclined. My daughter has no interest in art, but one day just picked up a pencil and drew this (she did look at a picture on the computer, but just free-hand copied it. Note the minimal erasure marks. 12 years old.) My son has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of all things fish/fishing.

Thank you for utilizing correct spelling and grammar. (It wasn't I, however, that was complaining about lose/loose. As a mother of two brilliant, yet dyslexic, children, I tend to overlook such trivialities).

Aww shucks

Amazing transformation! Thank you for running for such a worthy cause.

Contact your team to make sure everything is ok, physically. Strictures happen (scar tissue pulls everything too tight), and when they do, they need treatment. Hope they can help you get sorted!

I love you too, Fluff. So funnny!