Lisa XO

To piggyback on this comment, an FYI. You can buy bags of ice from sonic. They used to be $2 but are probably more now.

I have pain due to a spinal injury that causes inflammation. As time goes on, it gets worse. To combat pain and inflammation before surgery, I was taking naproxen sodium before bed, every day. I explained this to my surgeon and he said I could start back 6 months post surgery. I know that oral steroids can help a migraine.

I've been using my saucers. lol Makes me feel like I am eating a lot with the full plate!

Before my surgery, I used Hello Fresh almost every week. I've tried a few of the others. Hello Fresh's meals are delicious but usually pretty high in calories. I chose mostly the ethnic meals so I don't know if they have things that are kid friendly. I also liked Marley Spoon, which seemed to have smaller portions and lower calories. I did try one of the low carb plans of one service but I can't recall which one. Maybe green chef, which has good meals, too. Dinnerly is probably the most kid friendly but the meals I got took a long time to prepare and they lean heavily on carbs like pasta, rice, and potatoes, as does Every Plate. Sunbasket was another I tried. It was good but not as good as others so I didn't continue. I have not tried Factor. Overall my favorites were Hello Fresh and Marley Spoon. My advice for way far in the future is to watch the calories and the portion sizes, which can be huge. I did love having the mental exercise of meal planning and shopping mostly taken away. I haven't tried to figure out if the boxes would work for me anymore. I am still eating very little and have some restrictions on vegetables. I think one Hello Fresh portion would be a week of dinners for me at my current point. lol Hope this has helped a little!

Currently wearing clothes that are 1-2 sizes too big bc I am too cheap to buy much of anything. I need to go get out my "skinny" clothes so I can have something to wear that isn't falling off me. I buy all my Target clothes online. I usually see something in the store, look it up on the app, add it to my "saved for later" cart. Then I watch for sales. Their dresses are 30% off right now. I did order a size LARGE and think I'll be there by the time it is in season. 😀

Metformin is a big tablet but if you have no pain, I wouldn't worry too much. If you are on the extended release tablet, I don't think those should be crushed. I would def call your surgeon about this. My surgeon stopped my metformin after surgery but I was able to start back at my month post surgery appointment.

TMI, but I nearly passed out in the shower (not on) when attempting to use an enema. I was in so much pain. Enema didn't work and went the manual route, which was a big relief. Hurt for a few days after but all better after a week. I try to really keep on top of my liquids, too. Constipation is awful. Hope you feel better soon!

I'm so sorry you are going through all of this. Hopefully your revision can be scheduled soon so you can heal and move on.

I take 400mg of magnesium a day. I looked at how much was in my multivitamin and then I add an extra magnesium supplement to get to 400mg. I originally started taking it to help with migraines but it also helps with my (former) chronic constipation. I don't buy anything fancy, just whatever they have at a big box store. Of course, ask your doctor if this is okay for you to add. ETA: Oh, I take it at night bc it can make you a little sleepy. It helped me go to sleep, as well!

I am still more forgetful but it is getting better. RE: your professors The university should have someone who is responsible for disability accommodations. Maybe your advisor can point the way? I would speak with them and ask how they can help with this temporary post surgery brain fog. I am sure your surgeon would help with documentation. Good luck and keep us posted!

I am only 2 months post surgery and I have only discovered one slider food, baby carrots. What are yours? Is there a rhyme or reason about what makes something a slider food?

These were raw baby carrots with cheese as a snack. My dietician wants me to branch out and try more textures of food. This was my first time trying them. I had no issues and ate them again a few days later with some deli meat as a snack. Second time I only let myself eat a couple of them. ETA: I think my restriction has kicked in, but only time will really tell. I can usually only eat around 2-2.5 ounces of food.

Yes, I'm no whipper snapper so I have also watched words evolve over my life. The whole "truth" thing drives me bonkers. But that is for another forum. My dietician told me that she considers slider foods those that you can eat in larger quantities bc they just slide through your upper digestive tract and don't make you full. If carrots are the only "slider food" I get, I'll be pleased. I've not yet tried any kind of potato, grain, or "junk" food. I sat down with a little tray of carrots and cheese that come prepackaged. I ate the cheese first, probably 2 ounces, and then started on the carrots. Before I knew it, there were only 2 left. There were probably 1/3 - 1/2 cup of carrots before. Much more than I thought I could eat 2 months post-op. I'll be off your lawn now, Tek. 😂

This is clever! So far my only slider food I have discovered is baby carrots. That won't get me very far in a restaurant setting. I guess as I get further along, I'll discover more.

Are you a politician, Spartan? lol 😉

I couldn't find any specific answers to this but I did learn that weight loss surgeries are considered "cosmetic" by PSHP. I think you are going to have to call to find out for sure what is paid or not paid and when. Here is the document listing the cosmetic classification: https://www.pshpgeorgia.com/content/dam/centene/policies/payment-policies/CC.PP.024.pdf

Good morning, susanjane. When you say you can't keep anything down, are you vomiting water? Or is it just hard to drink?

I am just out of soft foods. I made individual baked ricotta, tuna salad with the flavored tuna pouches, refried beans, pea soup, black beans, turkey taco meat (cooked with a small amount of water in the pan to make it softer), chicken stewed in tomato sauce (may be too acidic for some), deviled eggs, tilapia in foil pouches with lemon, protein oatmeal, chicken stewed in coconut milk and thai spice base, shepherds pie, and I am sure I am forgetting a lot. I was on soft food for 2 weeks and was supposed to eat five 2-3 ounce meals a day. I get bored easily so I did a lot of experimenting. Here is the baked ricotta recipe I used. I found some ramekins on Amazon that had 2 and 4 ounce measurement marks and used those with 2 ounces in each. Perfect size. https://bariatricbits.com/single-serve-baked-ricotta/

I just did this. Very interesting and will come in handy! Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm still pretty fresh out of surgery but I am going through this now. I was able to start "normal" foods this past Tuesday and I really have zero interest in trying new things, exploring my new options, etc. It doesn't help that my tastebuds have changed. I'm bored with the whole idea of eating, it seems. I wish I didn't have to.

About 20 years ago, I had elevated ALP for a few years. Had all the tests. No cancer, no pregnancy, etc. Eventually, it just went down on its own. In hindsight, I wonder if it was alcohol consumption (was in my 20s) related. Never did find out anything for sure. Try not to worry too much.

I used to make those for my kiddo! I'd boil them with her shell pasta. She loved them

Same.

Has your team ever given you IV liquids? If not, maybe ask for those to help get you over the hump in trying to get in more calories. Maybe if that helps your nausea and dehydration, you'd be able to tolerate more calories. I think I am going to go to an infusion center in the next couple of days just to see if it helps me feel better. I know you said that you can't tolerate dairy but wondering if you've tried Fairlife fat free lactose free milk. I just discovered it after a suggestion here. It has really helped me get in more liquid and some protein, to boot. I make a sugar free hot chocolate with it since I tolerate warm much better than cold. Maybe your issue with dairy is the lactose and this milk might be tolerated?

I'm almost a month out now. I was the same when it came to soups (strained). As soon as I switched to pureed food, I started to feel the restriction that the majority speak of. I did the same worrying and it was unnecessary. When do you start purees?