MSinger
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Everything posted by MSinger
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How long from First appt until surgery?
MSinger replied to riemgirl's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
My insurance did not require months of weight loss monitoring, just an eval from nutrition. Initial surgeon consult was 3/23/17, surgery was 5/23/17. -
1 week, no weight loss!
MSinger replied to AmandaWho's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
At 11days out you may still have some residual fluid retention. My abdomen was still swollen around that time. Don't stress about the numbers on the scale for the first month - you're healing from your surgery so who knows what's going on with fluids you may be retaining. I gained 10lbs the first few days after surgery. Focus on meeting your goals and being as active as you can. The results will come. -
6 month update with Pics -part 2
MSinger replied to Dknal2's topic in Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story
Oh, my goodness.. you look fantastic. Congrats on the amazing progress! -
Ok.....got 0 carb isopure with 40g protein
MSinger replied to lizpuller's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I think you should call your NUT and see what they think. Everyone has a different plan. My NUT didn't tell me I necessarily had to do low carb, just avoid concentrated sweets since my A1c level is borderline diabetic. It sounds like you may have a different plan. -
Don't worry about the NUT's reaction. You are doing great! As long as you feel good, the numbers are moving in the right direction, and you are following your diet plan, there isn't a problem. Moving from size 18-10 is huge progress and sometimes people will fail to give you the reaction you're looking for. You gotta be happy for yourself
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Favorites for each phase
MSinger replied to victoriak419's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Preop: Premier Protein Shakes. I still drink them, but my tastes changed after surgery and I don't like how they taste as much anymore. Clear liquids: Isopure protein water, Prostat protein syrup, jello (hated jello preop) Full liquids: cream of mushroom soup blended. tomato soup (another food I never liked preop) Puree/soft foods: cottage cheese, isopure unflavored protein powder (mix this into anything that doesn't have that many grams of protein), oikos triple zero yogurt, mashed potatoes and mased sweet potatoes with protein powder added, fat free refried beans, still eat soup on the regular with protein powder mixed in. Post op taste changes: Can't tolerate extremely sweet foods. I used to have a major sweet tooth but gagged when I tried some sugar-free chocolate syrup post-op. I also get queasy from plain water and need flavor enhancers. Pre-op I drank 2L of plain room temp water. Now, it has to be cold and I started using Trulemon water flavorers (don't like mio). -
Lesson for the day: Get. Your. Water. In.
I only drank about half the water I should have yesterday. I usually make my water goal, if not exceed it a bit, I just was not in the mood and let it slide. This morning I went out for my walk and all of the sudden felt dehydrated adn overheated. Of course, it being almost 80degrees at 10am didn't help, but it makes it all the more essential to make sure you are well-hydrated. I came back home a dizzy, parched mess, and barely made it through my shower. Today is gonna be fluids, fluids, fluids!
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How far out from surgery are you? You definitely need to be drinking your fluids. I'm not sure if you're having a hard time tolerating plain water... if that's the case, maybe try to add flavor infuser drops. I use Trulemon and it's delicious, 10cals/pack, and helps get my fluids in. If it's been a few days of you majorly missing your water goals then call your surgeon office and let them know.
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Post Op, My Story (Aussie) - THe Beginning
MSinger replied to ziggary's topic in Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story
Congrats and welcome to the other side. Every day does get better and you're doing really well so far -
So much this! Learned my lesson last night. Just because you don't feel any pain or fullness after three bites doesn't mean to keep going. Take some pauses to make sure you aren't overdoing it. I didn't feel like vomiting, but I had terrible abdominal pain. Proceed with caution!
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Vsg & domestic abuse
MSinger replied to Deactivatedfatgal's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Oh my goodness... I am so sorry you're going through this! You seem to be taking healthy steps: documenting, separating yourself from the abuser. Make sure you are never, ever alone with this person again, and document everything - especially if your child's custody is being threatened. Please be good to yourself right now. Big hugs! -
The fatigue lifted a bit the past two days and I even went both days without taking a nap, but I think it's catching up with me today. I might be taking my *second* nap for today....zzz....zz..z...
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I'm planning on having a breast reduction/lift when I reach my goal weight. I've always been stacked, and I have pain from them now, as well as 2 bulging discs in my neck. I'm hoping the weight loss and muscle strengthening when I start lifting will help with the pain, but I'm sure they are gonna look scary once I reach goal. I'm open to having a tummy tuck if necessary, but I'll see how my stomach recovers before I make up my mind.
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Very fearful of being nauseated
MSinger replied to Dabearo's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I don't want to frighten you, but I had severe nausea and violent wretching from the moment I woke up from surgery. I had a scopalamine patch, compazine IV, zofran IV, tigan injections, and I was inhaling alcohol prep pads that were held up to my nose - believe it or not, they actually helped some. I was taking all of my nausea medications as soon as they were available and the nurses did an outstanding job of watching over me and reminding me as soon as I could take my next med. I couldn't eat or drink at all my first night. Compazine and tigan helped me the most. The good news is that as the days passed it gradually got better. When I was discharged, I had some lingering nausea when I woke up in the morning that I took zofran for. I'm a little over 2 weeks out now and don't need nausea meds at all. My experience is really an outlier here. Most of the stories I've read here have been very mild, but everyone reacts to surgery and anesthesia differently. -
Anxiety and emotional eating-gastric sleeve
MSinger replied to Emailkariann's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I've always been an anxious muncher. It's so tough preop because not only do you have to overcome stress eating, but you also get stressed about the surgery itself. But it does get much better post op. I have had some minor food cravings, but they are nowhere near the compulsion I used to experience. The food commercials that used to drive me nuts preop have absolutely no power over me now. I could care less about pizza, and I used to order one every week just for myself. Sweets make me nauseous and preop I'd plow through an entire pint a few times a week. I also realized whatever momentary "cravings" I do get now are usually because it's time for me to eat again, and completely disappear once I have a spoonful of the foods I should be eating. I will warn you that some folks do have cravings post op. I was one of them. Once I started tolerating my full liquids better, the food cravings started creeping back in, but again, it was nowhere near as bad as it ever was pre op. They were frustrating, but were never tempting enough for me to want to break my diet. You just gotta refocus, think about the drastic change you just put yourself through in order to lose weight, and the possible complications you face by advancing your diet too soon. Good luck to you! -
Just had my dinner: 3oz ff refried beans, 1 ultrathin slice of colby jack cheese, 1tbsp sour cream. It was the most delicious meal I've had since I started my pre-op diet.
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I recall on POD 4 and 5 I was incredibly gassy. Lots of burping and throat/stomach gurgling whenever I ate. I think the GI system wakes up a few days after surgery and unfortunately, it gets uncomfortable to eat. Eating small bites and very slowly did help, along with walking to get the gas out. If you are having trouble tolerating your clear liquids call your Dr office and let them know.
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Second status update for today... look at me
Doing better with mushy foods, tried 2oz ricotta cheese, had some hiccups but otherwise did well. I also killed it on my walk - 2k steps! It was tough, I was a little tired, but the dizziness was minimal and I had enough energy for my shower afterward. Hooray for small victories!
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I recommend calling your surgeon's office ASAP. Horrible diarrhea is not normal, and you run the risk of dehydration/electrolyte imbalances due to it, especially if you can't tolerate enough fluids to recover. Good luck!
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Ugh... I am so glad I work from home because my workplace likes to spread rumors about people who are losing weight. I had a friend who had bariatric surgery while we were still working in the office and one day a lady who otherwise never talks to her came up and asked if she had cancer. Some people... Sorry to derail, OP, but these boards are a good source of support and information. If you don't have the support system at home you can always reach out here
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I was a huge water slugger preop. With meals and without. It took some adjustment, but I think if you're well-hydrated you'll get used to it. Just takes practice.
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It's always best to speak with your surgeon office/NUT, particularly since you are so fresh out from surgery. You being allowed mushy foods at this point is not something I've come across very often and your Dr's office may have some ideas on how to advance your diet according to their plan. I did want to clarify.. do you feel like you are able to tolerate clear and full liquids, and that the mushies are what's causing the trouble? If you're having trouble tolerating clears, that's definitely a problem and you need to call your Dr's office asap. As far as full liquids, I was able to tolerate them ok last week (I'm two weeks post op right now), it just took time for me to drink them. At one week post op I was spending the entire day either drinking clear liquids, or my protein shakes. My NUT told me when you advance your diet, it may be that for the first few days or so you're mostly eating at the previous level, and just having a small bit of the new foods (if that makes sense). That's what I've noticed so far. Today I had my protein shake, I'm drinking my protein water, and tonight I'm gonna have some refried beans, but I'm not depending on them to meet my goals for protein and fluids - I'll just eat as much as I can handle. Of course, your NUT is gonna know your plan the best, but I just wanted to pass this along because I found it helpful.
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My surgeon allowed me full liquids from POD1 forward, but I really couldn't tolerate them until POD 4. And even then it took hours for me to drink a premier protein shake. I'm learning that just because you are allowed certain foods does not guarantee you'll be able to tolerate them enough to hit your goals. What helped me a lot during this time was a protein syrup called Prostat. It's 15g/oz and 100 cals. It helped me bump my protein intake up so I could focus on getting more fluids. I still drank full liquids, but I did not depend on them to meet my goals. Right now I'm having a hard time with mushies and I'm back to needing an hour+ to eat 3-4oz, which is cutting into the time I have to drink fluids, so I'm back to supplementing for my protein and not counting on the mushies to meet my goals until I can tolerate them better.
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First day back to work today! It feels good to have a regular routine again, but after two hours of sitting at my desk I'm dizzy and tired. I work from home, so I'll just take a nap during my lunch break, but if I were in an office, I probably would have asked to go home by now.
Happy Friday!