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CONGRATS!!! I was banded on the same day you were. I was lucky enough to have my insurance cover it. My surgeon allowed yogurt from the day after surgery. I guess it is just based on who you see.

I used ISO-Natural unflavored and mixed it with yogurt or with V-8 when I was on phentermine and doing a 1000 cal diet. I'm not sure what is allowed after surgery since I am not that far in the process but I enjoyed it and it kept me full.

Hello- I'm so glad I found this site! I had vsg surgery last Thursday and am still trying to fully recover. I guess I fooled myself into thinking a had a really high tolerance for pain/nausea, and assumed I'd be that one person who had surgery at 7:30 am and would be out of there without spending the night...I ended up in there for 2 nights. Things are slowly getting better but I am thirsty and have to constantly fight the urge to take large sips of Water. My surgeon was Dr. William Johnson @ Emory Johns Creek Hospital (in Atlanta suburbs) - not the closest hospital but everyone I talked to said he was wonderful. He's optimistic, exceptionally kind, and seems very knowledgeable and skilled. I've never thought this would be easy but I really think I can make a lot of great progress. I'm going to walk on the treadmill tomorrow morning and get back into a routine. Does anyone recommend a particular "off-the-shelf" plain Protein powder that I could use to mix with yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.? Thanks for any advice you can provide!

Hmm...my two weeks pre-op was a liquid diet and I easily lost 10 lbs on it. Protein shakes, and up to six servings of cottage cheese, cheese sticks, yogurt, sf pudding, V-8. I know everyone's pre-surgery diet requirements are different though.

7 weeks after my sleeve I had to have my rotator cuff repaired. Just make sure they don't give you crackers or Cookies in the recovery. I took a cup of apple sauce, and a yogurt with me. I was told I had to keep something down before I could be discharged from the surgi center.

I am paying for it private as the NHS advised it could take up to 3 years!!! Not started the pre op yet due to start next week, it consists of 3 pint of semi skimmed milk, 2 yogurts an 2l of water a day by the look of it I was given the option of both also and like yourself i felt the bypass was a bit too much so i opted for the sleeve as its less intrusive. Where about in the Uk are you from?

So I went to the grocery store this evening to buy stuff for my puree stage starting tomorrow. I was like a deer in the headlights. I haven't been in a grocery store since July 25!! Before the surgery I stocked up on liquids, Jello, Protein powder, Soup, etc. I bought fat free Greek yogurt (unflavored, cause I am tired of sweet shakes), egg beaters (I'll have to cook and puree), hummus, small curd cottage cheese, light mayo, and canned chicken and turkey (which has to be pureed too). The single-serve hummus cups look so small, but I'll only be eating 1/4 of them for an entire meal! Tolerating Protein shakes and Water has been easy for me -- fingers crossed that the purees will go down well, but not so well that I don't want to stop I'm hoping that the floodgates will stay firmly CLOSED! Finediva -- have you moved on to soft foods yet? Ellen

Hello Steve. I'm was banded in late June. To qualify for insurance, I had to go through a six month medically supervised nutrition theray as well as 8 weeks of lifestyle / band classes and a slew of medical tests. I was really frustrated early on to be required to do all of this but by the end, I was grateful for all that I'd learned and new habits that I'd adopted prior to surgery. As part of the insurance qualification process, I had three visits with a psychiatrist and took the MMPI and another psychiatric test specific to gastric surgery. During the first appointment, the psychiatrist warned me that it's not unusual for spouses to be reluctant about the positive changes that we experience as our weight drops. Although I thought I had my husband's support, I have also heard comments that I must be going to leave him when I've lost all of my weight. My husband also notices that other men are paying attention to me now that I'm slimming down. I can relate to your comment about people in your office thinking it's great when you're losing weight and then feeling ashamed when you gain it all back. I've roller-coastered so many times! As part of my six months of medical nutrition therapy, I got my BMI down to 29 before surgery. The surgeon and many medical professionals questioned me about still having the surgery but I chose to go ahead, seeing the band as a tool that I could fall back on if I fell off the wagon. I said that I was grateful for the six months of MNT because I was able to lose my weight before surgery. Now, I own my weight loss. I didn't have to have a band to do it, so I can proudly take credit for my accomplishment. I don't think I was really on board with losing the weight on my own until I started counting calories on My Fitness Pal and using a Fitbit to track my daily activity. Now I eat 1200 calories a day and walk 12-15,000 steps per day. These have been tremendous tools. Which is better a band or a bypass? Actually, I asked my surgeon which one he would choose and he said the sleeve. The band is adjustable and reversible. The monthly visits to the surgeon post-op for adjustments would be expensive if you didn't have insurance. I don't know that I feel more full with a band than I would have with a bypass, but I can tell you having food stuck is a new kind of hell. There are many foods that I no longer eat: Even the most tender steak can be a problem. My tastes though are changing and the things that are causing me to get stuck really just don't appeal to me so much anymore. I eat a lot of Greek Yogurt, Protein shakes, Protein Bars, Veggie burgers. It takes planning to get 65 grams of protein into a 1200 calorie diet, especially since I'm eating 200 calories a day in dark chocolate! The thing that you have to realize is that these surgeries aren't magic bullets. The changes that you'll need to make in the long run can start now, before surgery. There's no substitute for hard work. Track your foods and get that body moving at least 1/2 hour above and beyond your current activity level. On a nutritional level, you may need to separate yourself from the diet of your spouse. Personally, in my house, my husband, who loves fast food and junk food, has to fend for himself. We may eat at the same table, but we often eat different things. I had to sit him down and discuss this early in the process so it wouldn't come as a shock to him. Beyond that I really didn't discuss much of the post surgery lifestyle changes with him in advance because I didn't want to hear his concerns on a decision that I'd already made. I wish you luck on your journey. Michelle

I am so sad that your having such a rough time. The only suggestion I would have to help get the medicine down is to try putting it in some pudding or yogurt if possible. It might not taste so bad. Keep sipping water as much as possible to stay hydrated.

So I'm 8 days out from my surgery an had my first doc appt. I was healing up fine up until last night . I think I moved wrong and now a part of my stomach feels like its on fire. The doc said if it continues to hurt see him again. Anyways! In 8 days I've lost 25lbs which is a lot! That's insane and really shocking but I'm glad something is happening considering I always hear about a 3rd wk stall, maybe this makes up for it lol. The surgeon also said I can start eating cottage cheese, yogurt, cream of wheat etc. I'm so excited to try to get my protein from food instead of gross shakes!!

You're not alone. It happens to me with drinks. And can be loud! I didn't do much broth, everything was too salty so I ate a lot of applesauce. I'm having a yogurt now and it's going bubble bubble. I'm 4 weeks out, can't speak to the does it go away part.

Could be a little of both. Are you on a PPI (acid reducer?) This will help. Also, measure everything you eat (drink) So for everything that comes up, eat or drink more slowly. I had same problem using old gulping habits. Was unable to tolerate mushies for 5 weeks. Have you tried a bite or two of applesauce? That was my first food. Next was soft frozen yogurt. Have you considered that you might have a lactose intolerance? I was intolerant for 4 months. Take it slow and give your self time to heal. Also, looking up VSG diets online might give you ideas of what to soft foods try. I had a decaf skinny vanilla latte (ask for a protein shot & get soy milk if you are intolerant to milk) At least you will get in 15+ gm of protein. Hugs, things will get better, I promise.

Okay! So I want to keep this as short as it possibly can be (not very) so let's get right to it!! Basically I'm 25, a mother of two (6.5 & 3.5). My highest weight was 241 and I'm 5'1" tall. I am a text-book "healthy" person who's fat. I don't smoke, I rarely drink, I had no co-morbidity in addition to the obesity. My blood pressure and cholesterol are both fine. I'm not diabetic or pre-diabetic. The point is that I knew that this health wouldn't last for long and it was time to do something about it once and for all. I started with my initial surgical consult in November 2011. On January 30, 2012, while in Orlando with my family at Disney, I was on my laptop at my hotel and saw online that BCBSIL (my provider) had announced that they would lift their 6-month supervised diet requirement on February 1. When I got back home to Wisconsin, I called my surgeons office and they confirmed. They then put me into action with my psych eval, an upper GI and whatnot. My insurance approval through BCBSIL took 1.5 business days and was submitted in February, though I can't remember the day. I anticipated having a surgery in March however, my surgeon goes on an annual mission trip to Guatemala every year for the entire month of March so, it was April for me. I wasn't willing to compromise the surgeon although it was offered to me by his office. I worked with Froedtert Hospital & the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee where I'm from. My surgeon is the director of the bariatric program and a professor of surgery at the College. I will say that to this day I worship the ground this man walks on. He is no-nonsense and I get a lecture for sure when I mess up, but I wouldn't trade him for the world. He is amazing. Pre-op diet: It was one week of high Protein, low fat and low sugar. Salads and some fruit were ok. It was basically a week on weight watchers. It was so nice, because it gave me one less thing to worry about prior to surgery. I know a lot of other programs encourage liquid diets but mine didn't have me on one for even a day. Just nothing to eat or drink after midnight of the night before my surgery. Surgery: Anyway, so I had surgery April 19. What's kind of funny is that for as "healthy" as I am normally I gave them quite a scare in recovery. Apparently my heart started to beat very erratically and I maintained a very, very high heart rate (think 140's-150's) without a break. I also spiked a 103 degree fever for a while too. The surgery itself went fine. I went through an upper GI the next day and there were no leaks, although the Dr. in Fluoroscopy did note that my sleeve was very very tight and would probably give me difficulty for the first few days (it did.) I went through a complete panel of tests on my heart and no one is really sure to this day why my heart did what it did. I'm on medication that's got my heart rate into the 90's and that seems to be good enough for now. They suspect I've always had an erratic heart beat and no one caught it until I was hooked to a heart monitor. It may have been an after-effect of the anesthesia. I stayed in the hospital for 2 nights, 3 days total. Post op diet: Again, there is no liquid diet. My nutritionist and doctor both just feel that it's not necessary before or after surgery and causes an unnecessary distraction. I started on pureed foods starting the evening of day after surgery while I was in the hospital. I had some pureed scrambled eggs that aren't as bad as they sound, but nothing to write home about either. Just tasted like a mushy hard boiled egg yolk. As of today I've eaten yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled egg yolk/salad and refried Beans with sour cream. I eat Jello and chocolate pudding. I drink Water, chicken broth, 1% milk. It's been 8 days and today is really the first day I'm starting to feel semi-normal. I have no trouble getting around and stopped using any pain meds two days ago. I have 6 incisions which is funny because I had no idea until like day 5 when I was getting out of the shower. That's when you know you're too fat - when you can't even see that there's an additional part of your body that's been sliced open! I had my follow up with my surgeon today... it was supposed to be a two week follow up but he's about to be travelling again, heh. So I guess I'm glad I caught him! He said I'm doing great and he cleared me for the stage II diet starting with dinner tonight, which is basically "soft" foods that break up with a fork, and I can move away from pureed meat and into ground meat. He said to be careful and chew thoroughly. He said I could start soft fruits and cooked vegetables but I probably won't be able to fit any of it in. He said that his normal goal for patients is 60g of protein daily but because I'm younger he wants me to try for 75. I've been struggling as is so we shall see! Weight loss: I feel like I've done pretty good. I lost hardly anything on my pre-op diet and given the diet I wasn't expecting to... I lost 3 pounds. So I started at 238 and as of today I weighed in at 224. Not too bad for 8 days I really wasn't planning to share my surgery story with the world but I felt compelled to because I see a lot of people questioning why their surgeon is different than those in Mexico or whatnot and I just wanted to say - trust me, whatever your surgeon recommends will work. I'm in the early early stages but I can't say enough about my doctor and his staff. And I can only speak for the first 8 days but my surgeon's program seems to be working just as well as any. So HAVE FAITH!! Have a great day everyone!

Hi, I had my surgery on May 17 at Kaiser Fremont. I am 54 yrs old, weighed 222 and I am 5'6". The Dr. repaired a small, undiagnosed hiatal hernia while he was in there. My outside stitches were the dissolving type and by the time my steristrips fell off, they were long gone. I found the pain medication at the hospital and at home (generic liquid lortab) effective as long as I didn't put pressure on my tummy. It hurt when I sat up or twisted, but not as long as I laid still, sat still, or even while walking. I was able to sip and walk as soon as I was allowed. I didn't pick stuff up off the floor for several days and I slept propped with pillows to mimic a hospital bed with my knees and upper back raised for about a week. I had discomfort- not pain. My stomach rumbled like a mac truck was driving through it. I felt tired, weak, and like I had been slugged in the stomach. I had diarrhea for about the first two weeks. I discovered I was lactose-intolerant following surgery (fairly common, but it goes away for most people after a few months), and when I gave up all milk products except yogurt, the diarrhea slacked off to 2-3 times per day, slowly returning to normal for me (once a day). I think 20 days will probably be enough time off, but you will be pooped after getting off work, so if you have home responsibilities, do whatever you can to make them easier on yourself. Everyone heals differently, so you are likely to hear a wide range of pain levels, tiredness levels, and complications after surgery. If you don't get enough responses to see a variety of information, poke around on the boards for older posts about this topic. Many people check in often in the days following surgery, so you can read their thoughts about the process as they were going through it. Best wishes on your upcoming surgery! Lynda

Am I supposed to be able to eat 5-6 ounces of yogurt in one sitting? Or is that too much?

Can also try a teaspoon of yogurt. You get some of that creaminess in.

I'm also 5 days out sugar free popsicle are my best friend. Oh and key lime pie yogurt is really good. I'm too scared to try anything else been doing good and want to keep it that way. I made tacos for the kids tonight and it didn't faze me at all.

Mmmm, popsicles. I'll have my friend run by the store to get me some. I can also eat Jello which I haven't done yet. He also said I can have a small spoonful of sugar-free pudding or greek yogurt.

I personally have to drink two premier protein shakes a day and then that leaves me no room for any food, because I have to drink my water the rest of the day. I have bought unjury unflavored and chicken soup protein, and unflavored soy protein from Kroger, but the texture of it in yogurt or jello just makes it inedable. I cannot stomach bariatric advantage. I was sleeved on the dec 27th also and my dr said to do whatever I had to do to get my protein

shuckybucky, that is so true. The mindset is the hardest thing to change. Since i first posted, I have already had a few really good days. eating my protein and taking time for me that means cooking and thinking about what i put in my mouth. I had salmon and made a dill sauce W/ yogurt, garlic dill and lemon. so good!! walking too, and feeling better. thanks again for the help guys. hope is rising!!

At your stage I ate: Oatmeal with protein powder (blueberry, strawberry, banana or a combination of those). Cottage cheese with fruit juice and unflavored protein powder mixed in Yogurt with extra protein powder Mashed potatoes Tuna Scrambled eggs Chicken Spread Baked white fish Cake Batter Muscle Milk - same consistency of cake batter, eaten as a snack Home made soups Chili Seafood Gumbo without rice

Yeah from 1-5 weeks post op, I am only allowed to have cottage cheese, greek yogurt, sugar free pudding, apple sauce and of course the protein shakes strictly.. My nutrionist says that anything else is too hard on my staples /:

They actually sell frozen Greek yogurt now, try that!!!

If you were not given dietary instructions, you may want to purchase a book on WLS so you have the tools and guidelines to help you through this process. For most patients the general guidelines are: 64 oz of liquids each day 65+ grams of Protein daily Multivitamin D3 1000 mg daily B12 1000 mg sublingual 3 days a week B1 (thiamine) 50 mg daily After a month add Calcium citrate 2X daily 500 mg 1-3 days Clear Liquids - Isopure can be a great way to get your protein and liquids During this phase, caffiene free coffee, tea, sugar free drinks, Jello, SF popsicles, broth based Soups. 3-7 days Full liquids, Protein shakes, creamy soups, thinned out hot Cereal, yogurt drinks, 7-14 days pureed stage: all the above plus start adding more protein, yogurt, cottage cheese, pureed soups, crock pot meals pureed, refried Beans with melted cheese, pureed chili beans, pureed veggies like squash, soft scrambled eggs. 14-30 days Soft food stage: all the above plus food with more solid substance, soft meats, tuna, fish, ground meats. After 6 weeks you should be able to tolerate even more solid protein, chicken, steak, pork, and most vegetables, even salads and nuts, cheese, etc. in small portions and chewed well Serving sizes start at about 3-4 oz and as you move forward up to 6 oz. I am almost a year out and can tolerate 8 oz but not more than that. No drinking with meals. 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after is the rule As you move forward most people trend toward less carbs for maximum weight loss. Stay away from white processed foods like bread, potatoes, rice, sweets. Good luck!!

Lux bitc h, bitc h, bitc h!!!!! you think you have problems!!!!! this afternoon i couldn't decide between blueberry or strawberry yogurt!!!! you know i'm kidding you bud!!!! i/we are all sad for what you've gone through this past year i've "seen" you and your horrible situation/story on the board in the past i can only imagine what a hard time you went through you have a family - having them have to watch you hurt not a joke - but - you having to watch them dealing with your pain glad things are finally, very slowly, and very overdue - improving 200 lbs down - the very hard way!!! do you mind if i ask you your starting weight, and where you want to end up???? you went through such hard/miserable/painful times........ you should get an award for bravery above and beyond the call of WLS take care of yourself get stronger huggggggs kathy