DownInSocal

I hate, hate, hate muscle milk. That must be some of the nastiest...... Anyway I really like Chike nutrition. GNC is ok. I love Premier Nutrition ready to drink shakes. They only make chocolate but when my stomach is in a mood this is the only thing I can drink. They sell it at costco and online. You won't starve I promise. I did 25 days on clears. I know the human body can go a long time without food! You will learn to like or at least tolerate the shakes.

I would start recording what you are eating. Just to make sure you are not over 800 calories. It is easy to graze and take in more than you think. You need to use all your room for Protein for awhile so avoid cakes and Cookies. Also high sugar food just turns to liquid and slips right through your stomach. It does not keep you full.

Chancie - Eat it! I spread mine in two slices of swiss, colby, munster, or other cheese and roll it up, lunch. I also put it on lunch meats. You can put it on crackers or pita chips too too. I also eat it straight. Some people like it on hard boiled eggs. Linda: When are you going to post pics? You always eat so good and do good with your water. You are like the model VSG'r. Yesterday: Breakfast: 8 oz steamed milk Snack: Halloween cookie! It was good Lunch: Pureed chicken with a little shredded cheddar and 1 tsp blue cheese dressing, and pureed carrots. About 5 oz in total. Took me over an hour but I wanted the carrots bad. They are so sweet and fab when pureed. Dinner: 4 oz refried beans with a sprinkle cheddar and dollap light sour cream. I didn't finish it all.

Well at least you don't have to worry about falling out of guidelines while you wait for your BP meds to be adjusted. I have a feeling we will be seeing a surgery date posted from you in early January. When is your next appt?

I have not run across one that tastes bad. Most don't have any taste at all or a slight mint flavor. Trust me it is soothing after your poor mouth has been so dry.

I was thinking the same thing as Daisy. You just don't take in enough mass to have one everyday. I am every third day right now. That seems to work just fine for my body.

I used to hate excersise but now that I am in the habit I kind of look foward to it.

Hi guys! I am doing good! No regrets. I wish the weight would come off a little faster but it is all good.

I was also on my period for surgery. I knew it was going to happen that way! They gave me a special throw away panty to wear and a hospital pad. I woke up without the undies and pad. I knew I was going to have a catheter though so it didn't surprise me. My hospital bed had a pad to lay on and they changed it often. Don't worry it is a normal part of being a woman. It is not the first period the nurses or O.R. staff have seen. Don't feel embarrased at all.

My surgery was done through one site and it hurt for quite awhile. I agree that the cutting of the ab muscles is what causes most problems I think. As long as there is no sign of infection I think this is normal healing.

You need to call your doctor for sure. Any puss is not a good sign. It means there is infection. I am sure a round of antibiotics can fix it right up but call tomorrow. Go to the E.R. tonight if you start running a fever or have an increase in pain.

Chancie: You could slim that down by using low cal mayo or this great new olive oil mayo that is out. Kraft makes it I believe. The olive oil would taste fab with that I bet! 11/2 Breakfast: Oat bar with bluberries, 6 oz non fat milk Lunch: Hummus snack pack, two slices swiss cheese Snack: No sugar added applesauce Dinner: Pureed chicken with 2 tbls cheddar and 1 tsp blue cheese dressing. 2 oz pureed carrots, all mixed together. I am not on soft foods anymore I just like my pureed recipes. So much less chewing at the end of a long day. Late night snack :scared0:: Two (yes two) mini kit cat bars and 4 (yes four) candy corn hershy kisses. Damit! That was like 500 calories. Stupid Halloween candy. It is all gone now. I made candy bags for my coworkers and put them on desks this morning.

My father had high BP pressure too. It is hereditary. They can get it down with meds. Lots of walking is going to help your heart work more efficiently which will lower your blood pressure. Are you in danger of falling out of the NIH guidelines for surgery, as in could you fall under a 35 BMI?

That is a whole lot of fat gone forever!! Awesome. Don't worry about your coworkers. Just tell them what AJW said and change the subject. It is none of their business if you don't want it to be.

Be sure to keep us updated. Pardon me but I have not read this entire thread. Do you need your doctors refferal for surgery or can you self refer? In my humble opinion your other doctor is wrong. I think you are a great canidate. I didn't eat a bunch of B.S. either. I just overate when I sat down to eat. I ate a lot of carbs. I never drank non diet soda or gorged on cake. Sweets made me sick feeling. The sleeve was exactly what I needed to help me learn portion control. You learn very quickly what is right and wrong for portion size. I still push it sometimes. Just one bite reminds me why I can't overeat. Usually when I am pushing it I know I need to put the fork down and I choose not to. The consequences of choosing to take one more bite is stomach cramps. Trust me that extra bite will no longer be worth the immediate consequences and your entire view on food changes.

I hate this. I have not had it come all the way up and out but I call it the "creep". I can feel it traveling up my esophagus. It is a very unnerving feeling. It didn't freak me out though because the first time I felt it I knew what it was from being on the boards. It is almost always because I ate one bite too many.

There is no need to suffer guys!!! I have had a salivary gland removed so I can relate to dry mouths. Mine did get worse after surgery and then resolved. I am back to my "normal" dry mouth from just having less glands to produce saliva. In the section of the drug store where the teething gel and tooth pain relievers should be artificial saliva products also. I use one for during the day. It is a spray made by Orajel called Dry Mouth Moisturizing Spray. I use a different one at night that is more of a cream. It made to stay in the mouth longer and is great to stop the waking up with tongue stuck to top of mouth syndrome. I hate that. Make sure you put the cream in as the last thing you do at night. If you drink a lot of Water after you will need to put the cream in again. It never upset my stomach. If you can't find it in the store ask the pharmacist for help. You can also ask your doctor or dentist to prescribe one. There are stronger ones by prescription I think if needed.

Before my complaint session and questions below: I am eternally grateful for having the opportunity to have surgery. My other insurance would not cover the surgical portion so the Navy was my only hope. Even with things that have happened and problems below I would do it all again 100 times. With that being said..... I had my follow up today with the "team". It is not much of a team anymore as my doctor has "left". I am not sure what that means exactly. He was a civilian doctor working at a military hospital. Soooo he is just gone and that is all I know. No one would share. There are other doctors I can see if I asked but it is kind of awkward. I am the patient with no doctor. Not really anyone's problem. I have not seen a bariatric doctor since the day I left the hospital. Odd to anyone? If you had surgery in the states how often have you seen your doctor after surgery? So the "team" that now seems to consist of a nurse wants to start weaning me off Prilosec. I take one in the morning and one at night. So I am supposed to start taking it once per day. I feel like I am being weaned early for an unknown reason. I don't feel 7 weeks is that long to worry about long term side effects. My tummy is still kind of sensitive. I know when I miss my dose of Prilosec. I am kind of intimidated by my now only team member as we have had trouble before. I have been having nausea out of the blue and felt like I had to fight to get medication today. I am out of Zofran. At first they wanted to give me Reglan. That is a mess of a drug if you Google it. I refused to even fill the scrip. Now I have Phenegrin (sp). She was also stingy with it though, 12 pills and that is it. I don?t want to throw up and there is no reason to feel nauseous when there are medications that can help. For gods sake I just had most of my stomach cut out 7 weeks ago. What gives with being stingy? My other insurance reimburses the Navy for all my care (except the actual VSG surgery) so it should not be a cost issue. I have brought this up but it didn?t help. I have options. I can cry to my PCP who is awesome but is not a bariatric doctor. I feel I should still be under care of a bariatric doctor at 7 weeks. I know my psychiatrist would prescribe me nausea if I needed it also. This whole situation is just odd and unsettling. Thoughts from my trusted friends? How long did your doctor keep you on Prilosec?

The thought of stuffing sends shivers through my sleeve. :mad: I suspected rice was going to be a cramper so I have not bothered with it. I think you get so turned off after cramp foods that you are not interested in it later. Negative renforcement at its best.

I let a diet pepsi go flat and drank half of it. The acid was terrible. The taste was also terrible. Too sweet. I don't miss it yet but I am only 9 weeks out. My surgeon said no carbonated drinks forever. I decided being skinny was worth no soda. Soda is bad for you and depletes Calcium. I don't want osteoporosis so that is another positive thing to not drinking soda. I am cleared to have a drink after 1 year. I doubt I will.

Chancie: I just chopped up the artichokes in the jars. I rinsed them well though because they are packed in oil. I can't find any packed in Water. The spinich I run through the bullet to chop it up smaller. Also I chew like there is no tomorrow when eating lunch meat. Attitude: I bought snack packs of hummus from costco. I have not found them at all Costco's though. You can buy small things of hummus in most grocery stores here. You could divide it into smaller containers. I use the 3 oz dipper cups made by Glade. Daisy: You could buy dip premade but I make it myself so I know what is in it and can control fat and calories more by using light cream cheese. Also "dip" in the traditional sense might get too runny and make a mess. Cream cheese stays put in the ham.

Congrats! You are normal! I thought for sure I would never be able to eat or drink anything without pressure and gurgling. 9 weeks out I eat without gurgling and only feel pressure if I don't put the fork down when I should, I didn't measure my portion, or I eat something that I know I shouldn't (like outlined below). Taters and I don't get along very well. Every person is different. When I saw Tiff could eat taters I was jealous. I can have one small piece or spoonful and that is it. If I mix taters with meat (even pureed) watch out. I will pay with cramps for an hour. I can tolerate some dry simple carbs right now but moist/wet simple carbs are a problem. Bread is out of the question. Pasta? One bite. Two bites is no good, I think it swells too much. I have not tried rice and don't intend to. It takes up too much room. I was a major carb addict so this is fine with me. Eating carbs is a danger zone for me to overeat.

I am really worried about you and you need to stop eating food now. You are going to give yourself and leak. You can DIE from a leak. Do you understand that? I mean really understand it, not just yeah I know it is a risk. NO, YOU CAN DIE FROM A LEAK. What you are doing is NOT ok. Who is your support at home? Are you married? Ask for help cleaning everything out of the house that tempts you, sweets seem to be the worst for you. Next time make a change. Drink a shake when you want to eat. This surgery is a tool and you must use it as such. You have to do the other part. I promise everyone on this board understands the want for food after surgery. However you won't find anyone saying you can continue to harm yourself. We want you to be safe and healthy.

It seems like your surgery was just yesterday! That is great!