istytehcrawk

This is my card. Got it at my pre-op group refresher class two weeks before surgery. Front is the note for the restaurant; back is a reminder of foods to eat and those to avoid. Edit: should note I haven't used it yet, as I'm only three weeks out from surgery.

Three weeks post-op as of today, and down 31.4 pounds since surgery day (though I came home roughly 7 pounds heavier due to fluids/gas, so technically I've lost about 38). Amazingly, no nausea/vomiting so far, though I occasionally get air bubbles. Started soft foods today, finally. Puree stage was a week of hell (even liquid stage was better) because I'm big on texture and can only tolerate certain things in the puree texture. Two weeks until I can start with regular foods again. Updated my profile/status with post-op highlights that I intend to keep updating periodically, if anyone's interested.

I was on the 1400-calorie diet all the way up to (and including) the day before surgery, then nothing to eat or drink after midnight that night. The program, I was shocked to learn, does not require any special pre-op diet other than that.

Pretty good for the most part. I haven't had any nausea/vomiting, and my pain is now gone other than occasional sharp pains from the scar tissue forming under my stapler incision (my cousin had the same surgery nine years ago and said she had the same pains off and on for nearly a year). Having some trouble getting in enough protein and fluids, but protein water is helping with that. The liquid stage wasn't as bad as I expected, but the puree stage has sucked because I'm such a texture person. I'm excited to start soft foods on Thursday.

Mine was at Barnes South, on the campus with the Center for Advanced Medicine. My only complication with the surgery itself (as far as I know) was that I sprung a leak before they got me closed up, so they had to repair that. They also apparently had some trouble getting my feet positioned on the bed/table AND it turns out I'm allergic to the hospital socks (which were on my feet for 7+ hours), so the bottoms of my feet seem to have some nerve damage. The surgeon says she expects it will resolve itself, and it seems to be, but very slowly.

I'm not FROM St. Louis, but I had my surgery there on Feb. 15, with Dr. Salles and Dr. Eagon from the Washington University program, at Barnes-Jewish. That was two weeks ago, and I'm down 25 pounds as of today. My surgery was long (6 hours) due to complications, but I couldn't be happier with Dr. Salles (I still haven't met Dr. Eagon). She's great!

I'm in puree stage as well (ugh) and my two favorite things so far have been 1) frozen meatballs pureed with marinara sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan and 2) sugar-free instant pudding. I include a scoop of unflavored protein powder in both (I use Isopure) to boost the protein content, and it's not noticeable at all in either one -- blend it with the sauce, and stir it in with the pudding powder before adding the milk.

Two weeks post-RNY as of tomorrow (March 1). Down 20 pounds since surgery day. Halfway through the two-week puree diet, and I hate it; having trouble getting in enough liquid and as many meals as they want me to get in, because if I eat/drink as much as they want me to, I feel (uncomfortably but not painfully) stuffed all the time, though that's gradually improving. Mostly pain-free except random sharp pains from the scar tissue forming under my stapler incision, which my cousin (who had the same surgery several years ago) said happened off and on for her for nearly a year. Going to try driving tomorrow because I want to get out to see a movie this weekend; only concerns are getting in/out of the car and whether the seatbelt will cause any pain on my incisions.

I noticed a different kind of spasming a few days after I came home from the hospital -- my stomach muscles started twitching randomly, enough that it was noticeably moving the material of my shirt. I couldn't even feel it, though.

My surgery was on the 15th, and I've been sleeping on my back ever since because it was the only thing that didn't hurt. Now that I'm feeling less pain overall, the night before last I tested out every position I could think of, and each one made SOMETHING hurt. Then last night I was able to sleep kind of partway on my side/stomach for about two hours before it became too uncomfortable. I'm REALLY looking forward to being able to sleep on my stomach, because I hate sleeping on my back.

I don't know yet. I have my last pre-op appointment tomorrow, so I'm guessing soon.

Make that triplets -- bypass for me on the 15th as well.

Oh! Also, on mybariatricpantry.com you can buy a mix-and-match sample pack of up to 10 of the Nectar flavors of your choice (not the naturals - that has its own sampler of all six varieties). You can opt for up to three of the same flavor, and since you get to choose your flavors (depending on availability, but I've never had a problem getting what I wanted there), you can avoid ones you know you won't like. Mix and match: http://www.mybariatricpantry.com/SYNTRAX_NECTAR_PROTEIN_POWDER_SAMPLES_p/nectar-sample.htm Naturals sampler: http://www.mybariatricpantry.com/SYNTRAX_NECTAR_NATURALS_PROTEIN_POWDER_SAMPLES_p/nectar-natural_sample.htm

I had that problem with the crystal sky and the apple ecstasy, which was part of why I didn't like them (and the blue color of the crystal sky was just weird).

For me the Syntrax Nectar ones REALLY vary depending on the flavor, from delicious to gross and everywhere in between. Some I like with milk, and some with water. Of the ones I've tried, my favorites are the double stuffed cookie (milk) and cappuccino latte (milk). Good: roadside lemonade (water), strawberry kiwi (water OR mixed berry Diet V8 Splash), lemon tea (water), Caribbean cooler (water) -- but I find I get sick of it far before I empty a tub, vanilla bean torte (milk), pink grapefruit (water), wild grape (water), chocolate truffle (milk), strawberry mousse (milk), naturals chocolate (milk), naturals orange (water) - a surprisingly good OJ substitute to say it comes from a powder. IIRC, there also used to be a dragonfruit one that was decent mixed with water, but I think that was discontinued. Gross: crystal sky, apple ecstasy (which surprised me because green apple is usually a favorite flavor of mine)

I've got my insurance approval and a surgery date of Feb. 15, as long as everything goes according to plan at my final appointment on Jan. 30 with my lab work and all that.

Yeah, the thing with "unflavored" protein powders is that they're not actually flavorless, they just don't have ADDED flavor (like chocolate or whatever), so they still taste protein-y, just with nothing to mask it.

No, that is not true. (Source: Mayo Clinic, which has a chart.)

Follow up: I now understand WHY they're discontinuing it. It doesn't taste like tomato soup; at best it tastes like regurgitated tomato juice. It's NASTY. Of course, I discovered that AFTER spending $40 (counting shipping) on a tub of it, since I couldn't find sample packs of it in stock anywhere.

RNY on Feb. 15 here.

I work in a small office, and I've been open about it with everyone since I started the process two and a half years ago (long story), because it's not something I plan on being secretive about in general, so they'd probably find out anyway because I live/work in small, gossipy towns. (Besides, it's virtually impossible to hide sudden, drastic changes in diet when you eat your lunch in the shared work spaces because there isn't a lunch room/lounge.) So far, everyone has been extremely supportive.

I love both cats and dogs, and have had both in my life (more dogs overall but only cats in recent years).

Isopure, Syntrax, Unjury, and others have unflavored (not to be confused with flavorless -- it has a protein-y taste, just not any added flavor) protein powders you can mix in with various things to give them a protein boost. I'm not sure how well they work because I haven't tried them myself. Unjury has chicken soup flavored protein; Celebrate has chicken soup and tomato soup (at least for now -- I was told the tomato is being discontinued). Personally, I love the Syntrax Nectar powders the best; you can buy custom sample packs of them at mybariatricpantry.com so you can try individual flavors (up to 10 in a pack, I think) without committing to a whole tub. Some stores also carry single-serve packs, but stock is often limited to just a couple flavors.

I found the 2-pack of the 15-hole (roughly 1.25-inch square) silicone ice cube trays for $7 at Gordman's; they were $10 on Amazon last I checked. I like to get my SF Torani syrups at Gordman's, too, because they're usually cheaper there.

It's a series of typos that got strung together into a nickname 15 years ago, when I was a freshman and college, and stuck.