BetsyB

Ditto Hummingbird. The only difficulty I have is related to timing of drinking with food. I have to wait 90 minutes after eating to drink---that cuts out a lot of potential drinking hours. But when I'm "allowed" to drink, I have no trouble at all---no need to sip, or anything like that.

Right now, Fluid is the primary concern. If you're getting enough liquid, then you can relax. With time, you will be able to get in all the Protein you need. For now, do the best you can. Do you have some good quality protein supplements on hand? They can make it lots easier, especially at the beginning.

hair loss seems to be more due to the trauma of anesthesia/surgery (which interrupts the normal falling-out/regrowth cycle) than anything else, though getting enough Protein is really important. (So is taking your multivitamin--and it can't hurt to take Biotin, too.) If you're not getting 60 grams, you really do need to push a bit. I'm not a fan of the protein bullets. They used to be the best protein available, but now it is known that the Proteins that make them up are NOT as bioavailable as other, just-as-easily available proteins. Whey protein isolate is better absorbed by the body. If you're going to spend $$ on protein, and choke it down, you might as well be using protein that your body will use. My favorite proteins are the Inspire line available at bariatriceating.com Aside from protein supplements, do you tolerate lean meats, poultry, and fish? Legumes? Fat-free cottage cheese and Greek yogurt? I get around 100 grams a day with no struggle--I have a warm Protein shake in the morning (helps dissolve my Vitamin capsule), and Beans, turkey, chicken, fish, beef pork or fat free-cottage cheese or Greek yogurt (with a bit of unflavored Protein Powder added in) at each meal. If I haven't topped 80 grams by dinnertime, I add in a protein shake in the evening. Protein should be the mainstay of your diet at this point---lean protein and nonstarchy veggies. If your doctor okays grains and other starches, they should take a bit of a back seat until you learn to reliably get the amount of protein your body needs.

I agree that there's no need for guilt or self-flagellation. We've all suffered enough of that for several lifetimes! However, I am not in the "the postop time is for healing, not weight loss" camp. Yes, the postop time is for healing. But you can still eat properly and lose weight before you have restriction. I have one of the "strict" surgeons---and I'm so grateful for that. For me, it was really great not to be frustrated by a scale---to see my weight going down even without restriction. It was hard at times---but I knew that it was the last time I would be hungry in the name of weight loss. That knowledge helped a great deal. I'm not suggesting that there's no room for indulgence. I am suggesting that, if your doctor has specified a way of eating, it might be really rewarding to stick with it to get good weight-loss results. It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it.

Happy anniversary! Here's to many more happy years!

Hi, Lisa--Dr. Joyce is awesome! You don't have to worry about a thing. He and Dr. Lahmann have the best practice in the area, IMO. Their aftercare is excellent--and they're both such great guys. My experience at Silver Cross was outstanding---excellent, excellent care. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have---feel free to PM me!

If they use good hand-washing techniques, it wouldn't really give me much pause. I know lots of nurses in the U.S. who don't wear gloves when starting IVs. It's standard protocol to do so, but it can make it lots harder to locate veins. If a nurse washes his/her hands before and after caring for the patient, it's not a huge concern, IMO. If it's part of an overall pattern of nonchalance about medical care, then it's problematic. I haven't gotten the impression that the care is sub-par in Mexico; my concerns involve the difficulty in assessing a surgeon, with foreign credentialing (and a different language) from afar.

Be careful about sugar-free candies with sugar alcohols--they cause some people serious intestinal distress.

Intense exercise is their occupation. They don't do anything other than exercise. The weigh-ins also do not always reflect only one week's loss, I read.

Welcome, BobKat!

It's standard practice in the United States, too. Not all gloves on healthcare providers' hands are sterile. Some procedures require sterile technique, and others require clean technique. The boxes of gloves in doctor's offices, on walls in hospital rooms, etc. are not sterile. They are clean. Gloves are worn for a couple of purposes. Sometimes, sterile gloves are required--but by and large, gloves are worn to protect the healthcare worker from blood-borne pathogens, NOT to protect the patient. When giving IV care, doing routine wound care, and so on, sterile gloves generally are not used. Some dressing changes require sterile technique. But those associated with routine banding do not. IV care does not require sterile gloves---the skin is cleansed with antiseptic, but clean, nonsterile gloves are used to protect the nurse from YOUR blood, not to protect you from germs. (The antiseptic on the skin takes care of that.) I would not choose to have surgery in Mexico for a number of reasons--but this is not one that is cause for concern.

Both are good choices for many. I opted for the band because I like the long-term follow-up; I think that being in close contact with a doctor after modifying your body is really important--and the band has the need for this built in to it. For me, the best choice was the surgery that (a) was least invasive, and (:thumbup: had the longest track record. A not-unimportant consideration, too, was the fact that my insurance does not cover the sleeve at this point. I reason that, should my band ever need to be replaced, I can re-evaluate at that time. Then, there will be more data about the sleeve, and my insurance is more likely to cover it. I LOVE my band, and if things continue the way they have, I think I would stick with it. But you never really know what's down the road. If I'd gone with the sleeve, I would remove options for revision. (I am not willing to go the bypass route. I strongly believe that, for me, the malabsorption aspect of the surgery would be hugely detrimental.) I think sleeving is a great option with a lot of promise--but I wasn't ready to commit to it at this stage in its development as a surgical procedure.

Careful with the Werther's. Lots of us are very sensitive to the sugar alcohols in them, and this can become more of a problem postop. I discovered the mini Werther's preop and was SO excited---until I discovered that 1/3 of the "serving" had more sugar alcohol than my poor gut could tolerate. Horrible cramps and diarrhea ensued---which is likely something you don't want to experience. So, take it slow with them until you determine whether your body has difficulty with sugar alcohols. Some people have no problem at all with them---but for others, they are misery.

If you can barely eat, focus on fluids until the swelling recedes a bit.

There's a good chance you can---ask your doctor. A bt of the fill may have dissipated with time. (No one really knows why this happens, but people often need to be "topped off.") But even if not, most bands seem to have a max capacity that far exceeds the number of ccs they're labeled with. Do you think the reason for your gain is that you're not restricted adequately, or are you choosing foods that bypass the band easily? If you're veering toward old habits (and slider foods), a fill alone might not do the trick for you.

I don't get it. Has your husband been at home, thinking you're out walking every evening---while you've been stopping for a salad with your friend en route each night? I may be reading it wrong (I hope so!), but I'm envisioning your husband, at home, thinking his wife is out walking, working hard to establish new habits---while in reality, you're sneak eating and deviating from doctor's orders. Yes, break the date with your friend. It's time to change your pattern. (And if your friend is aware of your preop restrictions and is enabling your cheating, it might be time to change friends, too.) The point isn't whether a salad is terrible choice. The question is whether you are going to second-guess every professional recommendation you're given. There will be a lot of restrictions down the road---how are you going to handle them? You're right. One of the purposes of the preop diet is to stimulate the liver to give up its glycogen stores. Another is to promote a bit more weight loss before surgery. But another--important--purpose of the diet is to get you in the right mindset for the restrictions you will have postoperatively. You will not die as a result of eating salad. But you're doing yourself a huge disservice. And you're also doing your doctor a disservice. When you stop to think about it, every time a surgeon operates on a patient, s/he places his/her license on the line. A responsible patient does everything in her power to reduce the risk not only to herself, but also to the physician who is going out on a limb for her.

It's not a choice I'd make this soon out, but if you do go ahead, steer WAY clear of anything with carbonation.

I think your response is natural. Anger (frustration) is one of the stages of grief, and many do grieve the loss of what has been a source of pleasure and comfort for many years. It will pass with time. You will work through it, and come to a happier place where food does not have the importance to you that it does now. That does NOT mean you won't eat enjoyable foods again, or derive pleasure from eating. It just means that it will not meet the same needs as it did before. A really good book for dealing with the emotional aspects of overeating is Shrink Yourself by Roger Gould. Another good one is The Food and Feelings Workbook by Karen Koenig. Both help you figure out ways to deal with the frustration.

Learn something new every day! I never had this test. I did, however, just have the complete metabolic panel done via blood test--after fasting. It's so interesting to me how differently doctors approach the surgery and aftercare.

I don't think that the alcohol will be an issue at all. As long as you stick to real moderation, you don't have to worry about it affecting your weight or impacting your liver in any lasting way. The smoking is a bigger issue. It really is strongly, strongly recommended that you not smoke for at least four weeks before surgery. While even a couple of days of not smoking produces some benefits (reduced carbon monoxide levels, for example), quitting for less than 4 weeks before surgery may actually increase respiratory risk from anesthesia. I know this sounds insane, but it makes sense if you consider that when you stop smoking, your lungs increase their production of mucus as they heal. These extra secretions help you hack out the crud from smoking----and in the long term are beneficial. But they're not beneficial if you are combining them with anesthesia, abdominal pain that prevents coughing to clear the secretions, and so on. Smoking 2 weeks before surgery really ups your risks. Quitting for 2 weeks before just isn't enough. I'm a former smoker, and know that drinking and smoking often go hand in hand; when I quit smoking, I had to give up drinking for quite a while. If you can't separate the two, that'd probably be the safest route for you to take.

It really depends on your doctor's restrictions. At two weeks, I was on soft Proteins only. I would not likely have had any difficulty with "regular" foods, in terms of getting stuck---but they were completely contrary to my doctor's plan. There are as many postop eating plans, it seems, as there are doctors/nutritionists. I'd give your doctor a call to see what his/her postop "rules" are. It's great that you're planning ahead--and that the venue seems very receptive to meeting your needs! (It might be a good idea to pack a pouch of Inspire Protein powder or something similar; I suggest Inspire not only because it tastes better than anything I've tried, but also because (a) it packs easily, and (:thumbup: it dissolves easily in just 4 oz. water---you won't need a blender or shaker cup, or anything special at all.)

It is illegal to deny emergency care to those presenting in an emergency department. I would write a letter to the hospital's quality control manager. But I would also report the hospital, and the bariatric surgeon you spoke with to your state licensing agency. The emergency room doctor did the right thing in calling in the surgeon; he likely was not able to do it himself, and called the person who could. THAT is the person who failed you. And he should be reported to the licensing agency.

I really liked having sugar-free popsicles on hand.

It really does get better---before too long, you'll be amazed how food really does start taking a back seat in life.

Well, aren't we all jolly?