mousecat88

There are fruity shakes by Syntrax Nectar. BariatricPal store has a TONNNN of puree stuff. I am on purees... foreverrrrrr... and just had their sloppy joe meal for lunch. 15g of protein. You can also add unflavored protein powder into soups and broths. Unjury unflavored dissolved perfectly.

Thank you for the perfect thread title ever.

I think I have your cell in my PMs! I need to add it to mine. I'll shoot you a text so you can save me.

Just saw my psychiatrist today. A brief history... I have been seeing psychiatrists since I was about 4 or 5. I have Tourette's and anxiety... unfortunately never grew out of the Tourette's like most kids do (yay me!) Anyways, therapy has NEVER been of benefit to me. I've seen dozens and dozens over my lifetime. I always end up either depressed (which I usually never am) OR extremely argumentative. It's just not a helpful tool for me. I fully support those who benefit from it, though. I've been struggling in support groups, too, like this and others. I find myself always comparing myself to the stats of other people. I want to be happy for people for losing weight, but like I said in another thread, it just makes me sad and jealous that I'm not there yet. I feel like my entire LIFE revolves around my weight, my food, my vitamins... WAY MORE than it did pre-op. I spend alllll day on various groups and forums. I didn't even own a scale pre-op and now I am on that thing every single day. I am much more obsessed with my size than I was before. After talking about this with my psych, she suggested I get off all my support groups and forums for a while and focus on non-weight related things. Maybe take some classes or pick up a hobby. Stop obsessing over my weight and comparing myself to others or lamenting that I can't eat what other people further ahead of me (or non-ulcerated) can. I think I'm going to take that advice and leave for a bit. I think it's healthier than sitting staring at stats all day long and getting upset about my slower weight loss. In a twist of irony, I am going to ask for opinions on this. I enjoy talking to people that have gone through something similar, and giving advice myself, but I cannot stop staring at the stupid tickers, etc. I don't *want* to go, but maybe it's healthier? At least until I am more comfortable with my progress.

Girl, I hadn't gotten laid in 18 months AND have an IUD and they still did a blood test for pregnancy. C'mon now.... I'm not the Virgin Mary. Immaculate conception.

I have an ulcer and my surgeon said it is completely fine and won't affect it at all. He said the chances are so slim with the topicals; nothing like the orals. I mean, two doctors have said it was fine so I think that counts as two opinions, lol. I haven't used it though because I haven't needed it. You shouldn't be that scared of ulcers; they are treatable and manageable. I've had one the last 7 weeks and I'm fine. Actually trained me to follow the diet better than if I didn't have it, tbh.

Just an FYI, I didn't have a fatty liver at all and still had to do the pre-op diet. There was no liver shrinking necessary. I cheated like 4 times big time on my pre-op and the surgeon said everything looked fantastic in there. You may not even have a fatty liver. I wouldn't stress about it at all. It doesn't matter if you're in ketosis or not. The pre-op diet they had me on wouldn't have even put me in ketosis; it didn't matter. Don't stress. Just keep doing what you're doing and that's all that matters.

I've had a billion surgeries (okay, not a billion), so I wasn't particularly nervous. I was really bored. I had to get there at 5am and they took me back shortly before 8. I have a prescription for Valium and they said I could take that morning of for anxiety, but I didn't. You just go in, go to sleep, and wake up and poof you're done! I did have some pretty severe nausea and pain for about 45 minutes in recovery and then it all disappeared. Just had a lot of muscle soreness for about a week after... like I did a lot of situps. No gas pain, either. You'll be amazed at how not hungry you are the first few days. Bring some pajamas or something and a brush and a cell charger. Things to keep you comfy and not bored during your stay. Your stomach itself won't hurt at all... which I found to be insane. You'd think it would. Best of luck and welcome to the club!

Don't feel bad - it's normal (I am still trying to convince myself of this truth). I am 6.5 weeks and I have seen occasions where it's gone up a pound or two. I eat as little as you, too. I also expected weight to come off faster, but slow and steady wins the race. I guess we really don't want 50lbs dropping in a month (I mean we do... but... y'know... probably not the healthiest way to go). It is very, very frustrating... we will get there. There's a thread Weight Loss Stall Venting I made where I ranted in all caps about the exact same thing... at my 4 week mark. lmao. I AM ONLY EATING 400 CALORIES A DAY HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE I BURN 1500 CALORIES JUST EXISTING?!?! kind of rant.

I know blood draw woes all too well. It's a minimum of 7 sticks for me before they even find a vein. I am always told my veins are "in the wrong place" and too skinny and deep. It's a nightmare. I've made many a phlebotomist cry. Like actually cry. One had to grab the doctor and they used a syringe to suck out the blood. Nightmarish. Every time! Delayed my surgery by an hour because they couldn't start an IV and at the ER on Friday night the IV kept coming out and the CT contrast leaked down my arm.

Yeah, the purpose for me is to swallow it to numb my esophagus and stomach. I guess I need to ask the pharmacist about whether I'll be able to feel fullness.

So, my boyfriend and I were in a rocky state anyways pre-op. I actually broke up with him pre-op, but he was staying with me until he found an apartment. Well a few days after surgery I wanted to go to WalMart at midnight so no one would see me staggering around and I could take my time and he promised numerous times he would go with me. Mind you, I was an insane hormonal mess for the first week, crying at nothing. Well, he decided he wanted to sleep instead and wouldn't go and said he would go in the morning... so I sat around fuming for 5 hours and crying that he wouldn't go to Walmart with me. So at 5am I woke him up and kicked him out. He had to pack his things and be out within an hour. Had to live in his car for over two weeks before he found a place. In hindsight, maybe a little harsh. We're friends again. This has all gone down in the last 6 weeks so... it's touch and go. lmao.

"You use it just like a regular mouthwash by swishing it around in your mouth and spitting it out. If you have sores or discomfort in your throat or the back of the mouth, you may need to gargle with the mouthwash to reach the affected areas. ... Depending on your symptoms, you may be advised to swallow the mouthwash." I actually have it for the pain in my esophagus from dry-heaving.

Yes, most use it for mouth sores they get with chemo. But it's also for gastrointestinal disorders like ulcers.

I had bypass and they just gave me a card for my wallet that says no ng tube.

I had 15 days of 2 Atkins shakes, 1 Advanced Recovery Shake, and 1 Atkins/Healthy Choice meal per day. On the 16th day I had nothing but water.

Ew I take it back. Nausea incoming. Ugh!

Has anyone ever used Magic Mouthwash? I have to pick up a rx for it later for my esophagus/stomach, and it is made of magnesium, aluminum, an antacid, and viscous lidocaine. Is it going to make my stomach numb somehow and will I be able to feel foods/drink/sensation of fullness?

I'm just gunna keep on keeping on. The Compazine and Pepcid helped so much last night, but I am a bit sleepy today. I just dared to eat some dense food (chicken breast) with no ill effect other than maybe a bit too much. I'm trying to stay good 95% of the time and stick to puree. The chicken was very tender and smothered in parmesan cream sauce so... I'm counting this as a soft food. ? Ulcer be gone! Mama want some hot sauce....

My inner voice is pure doubt. I'm down 32lbs since 11/1 and I am convinced it is too slow, even though my surgeon is happy. I increase cals soon, but eat 20g or less of carbs a day and average around 450cals a day (all normal for my program). The last 2 weeks I've only lost 4 lbs. I am convinced 100% it's going to not get me down another 104lbs even if I am perfect with my diet, especially when I start increasing. But, I am just following along.... I can't do anything more than that. I'm pretty sure I am going to doubt everything until I see that 140lbs on the scale some day. lol.

Omgggg. I went overseas and ALL of the towels there were like... hand towels on me. I could barely cover a boob. So embarrassing! That'll be a nice thing to experience. lol! Today my pants fell down at work. Does that count as a victory? (No one was in the hallway at the time so... thank god for that. lmao.) I'm riding out these baggy pants as long as humanly possible.

Hola! The majority of everyone knows I am tackling a marginal ulcer. It was pretty much healed up, but they I mysteriously started getting severe nausea last Tuesday - present. I've had a bit of nausea since surgery.... but now it is SO much worse. Gets way worse by 3 or 4pm through bedtime. I've been on Zofran, Phenergan, and Reglan, all of which didn't help (the Reglan may have, but it made me fall asleep instantly, lol). I also take some aloe juice because why not, I guess. The emergency room gave me a script for Compazine. I took some last night along with a 40mg Pepcid and it worked. FINALLY. Compazine is for severe nausea AND an antipsychotic. Has anyone taken this long-term? I am already on an SSRI and Compazine affects dopamine, so I don't think it'll interact. I am just happy something helped, really. The dry-heaving has re-irritated the ulcer, which was *almost* healed. I gotta be on something to stop this. They thought the nausea was since I (now) haven't gone #2 in 13 days, but a CT Scan revealed I had NO stool in me at all. No leaks or anything, either! Nothing going on in any of my organs, including the pouch. Labs all perfecto. I'm thinking it's just bad stomach acid in the evenings. No one has an answer... saw the ER doc and they consulted the bariatric surgeons on-call. Full of mysteries! Is there a question in all of this? I dunno. LOL.

Yipes. Try to stick to 10g of carbs or less for anything - drinks included!

If you are struggling to finish out your daily protein, you can have 1oz of Liquacel gel protein. It is collagen so shouldnt be relied upon but it an an acceptable addition to meet your goal on a rough day. And quick!

I have some suggestions for anyone whey-intolerant like me. Two good soy options are Now Sports and 365 Everyday Soy. Egg and pea protein is awful. Rice protein is bearable with IsoSplash flavoring. I've also ordered RedCon1 MRE Lite animal protein shakes in Dutch apple pie and oatmeal chocolate chip. They are made with beef, chicken, turkey, pea, and egg proteins. NO WHEY. Havent tried them yet but have excellent reviews. Atkins has whey but is also half soy, so tolerable for me but low in protein.