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Thanks so much for the tips. I'm trying to keep us both positive but when she gets helpless I feel like nothing I say will help. She is supposed to take 8 of the thyroid tablets a day and yes I definitely think it's the amount rather than actually taking them. I will definitely try the sneaking a go because I think any of them is better than none at this point. She's very fed up with her stomach hurting constantly and is not sleeping well either so all these things have added to her not feeling great. But I'm happy to hear that someone who couldn't manage to be excellent at all the things you have to do is doing well. Her surgeon is less than helpful at check ups which is quite frustrating. Thank you for your kind comment, I think I'll even recommend she goes on this forum for the support that I can't relate to.

Stalls suck green balls. At any time. But most especially the dreaded "3 week stall" that happens any time within weeks 2-6. LOL. I wanted to sacrifice small animals. Cuz I was eating like 4-500 cals and thinking, this is BS!!!! LOL. But I swear it will break. Stay the course. Drink your water, maybe even add in decaf green tea. Walk. Walk. Walk!!!

Are you buying pre-made meals? I’m kind of in the same boat bc my fiancé travels a lot. I’ve done some snap kitchen meals. Not sure if you have in your area. I’m starting to want more flavor and need to get more creative. For a while I was just happy to be eating food again and that has worn off.

I felt exactly like you for the first two months. I had zero energy. I was off work for six weeks bc I couldn’t stay awake for more than 3 hours at a time. I threw up everything. I told my husband repeatedly it was the biggest mistake ever. Fast forward and I’m nine months post op and it was the best thing I ever did. Those first two months were a bear for me to figure out. I felt sick all the time and was sad all the time. But I followed my doctor’s plan to the best of my ability, I found a rhythm, I figured out what worked for me. And today I have more energy than I ever imagined possible. It seems impossible when you’re in the middle of those first months, but it gets so much better as your body and brain adjusts to the change.

That's good info. Every document I have, including a 191 page Anthem BC/Prudent Buyer EOC, says nothing about nutrition visits required, doctor letters, 3 years of diet history attempts, etc...which honestly means nothing. That stuff could be mentioned elsewhere in document I don't have that's exclusive to my employer's plan selections. The only thing mentioned is the requirement BDCSC facility and 40 BMI. We just went through open enrollment so I really just need a policy number so I can call Anthem myself and see what the stipulations of my particular policy are. Not knowing is driving me insane. Hopefully we'll get our cards in the next couple weeks. When did you have your surgery (or when is it scheduled)?

If you are post-baby making days, you could consider ablation....I had it done three years ago along with a tubal. I was getting pretty heavy periods as I got older and went back on BC and 9 months later got a DVT, so i was never allowed to take any type of BC again..not even a copper IUD (which my GP said causes heavier bleeding in many people.). Long story short.....I no longer get a period and no longer have any cramps. I am past the point of wanting more children which is why i chose that. If you want children, you can't do that though.

The "you are guaranteed to lose your hunger" bs surrounding the sleeve is exactly that, bs. No surgery is guaranteed to make someone lose their hunger sensation. All the Ghrelin "research" isn't solid fact, we still don't understand hunger, how it happens, what *actually* triggers it, etc. Currently the information around Ghrelin is "we believe" not "we know". The sad truth is, the majority of WLS patients, no matter the surgery, will retain some level of hunger sensation or will regain that sensation within a year of surgery. It's rare that someone loses the sensation permanently. And some, never lose it at all. So if someone promised you that the sleeve would kill your hunger because it "removes" ghrelin production... well, they didn't tell you all the facts.

Be careful w the egg I’m on day 9 of the liquid diet I called the dietician yesterday to ask if I could have one and she said no bc of the fat content.

well dismissal got slower, I am going home today (December 5th) at 1 PM- 13 weeks, my 3-month surgiversity and exactly 3 weeks until my Birthday, December 26th, when I shall turn 73 years old. I am now old enough to boast instead of hiding anymore. My NaySayers keep dying off and I don't! And I will be going home with my PICC line still in my upper. inner left arm, and being fed by TPN 12 hours every evening. Not the the present I asked Santa for this year, do you think my letter somehow got crossed up with surgical orders from Doctors Needleman and Noria? Anyway my next E.G.J. will be December 28th, do have an appointment on the 19th but only with Valerie, Doctor N head nurse-practitioner, so no commuting my sentence that soon! Oh Well, it still beats Death all hollow!😛🚩🎭😛!!!!

Why do you thin this is BS? The surgeon is supposed to call me today. I should know more after talking to her.

Will that's BS to the highest degree. Did they say why they couldn't repair the hernia? Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I know exactly what you mean. I was wearing size 24 Jean's. My mom came to my house for the holidays (we live in different states) and she made me try on some 16 Jean's. THEY FIT!!! WITHOUT A BELT!!! I didnt want to try them bc in my mind I thought only one leg would fit un them. Definitely just try our brains play tricks. Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hahahaha! IKR?!!!! You are more brave than I! No way will I tell my RD about this experiment! What this is telling me is that I can do Atkins (any version), I can LC, I can Keto/Paleo/Whole30, whatevs! LOL. But I'm not cut out to be a pure carnivore. I'm a straight up, mid-hedonist omnivore! And IIIIIIIIIIII LIKE IT! Ha! I swear, I was jonesing for any veg yesterday. ANY veg. And I about cried to eat that broccoli and it was gone so dang quickly! *snort* I think the reasoning for doing this AMAW/CAMAW thing is: 1. To get back to basics of protein first and fill your pouch with dense protein. 2. Eat less (calling BS on this, cuz it made me have a meat binge last night) 3. Dump fluid. 4. Quick weight loss 5. Losing cravings/control appetite (not so much) *sigh* So far it's not helping. But maybe I'm detoxing right now? I do better when I IF. Seriously! LOL, thanks for experimenting with us though. I hope you will stick it out for the whole week? The only thing I think would be worse is the pre-op liquid diet 5 day pouch reset. OMAGERD! That would be terrible terbs!

UPDATE for Day 2 (day 1 for me bc I'm terrible at timing) Um,. this is the worst thing in the world. :c ALL YO GIRL WANTED YESTERDAY WAS A DAMN APPLE. I was walking past while grocery shopping, staring at them the way I used to stare at like the cannoli or something. I also had an appointment with my RD yesterday and told her about it, and she was like "WTF why are you doing this to yourself?" I told her it was all for the sake of experimentation. Before surgery, I was a vegetarian. I feel like I naturally feel more comfortable with a lot of vegetables in my diet, but we shall progress! Protein: 80 g Carbs: 20 g Fat: 18 g 600 calories My RD wasn't very happy with my calorie counts, she said she wants at LEAST 1,000 a day. Which feels impossible to me, I feel like I eat CONSTANTLY. I did "cheat" at the end of the night and eat an Enlightened ice cream bar. But I don't care, and it was good. lol.

Lol. My 3 month follow up doc was grumpy. Blood work came back great. A1c back in normal ranges. Cholesterol back to normal range (1st time in 20yrs) blood pressure normal. My pcos symptoms....well still waiting to see. Had ablation in 2011. Last 3 months you'd never know it. Things have been heavy cycle wise. Will say pcos symptoms have gone opposite direction from no cycle to spotting etc last 2 months. Have follow up with gyn in couple weeks to either redo ablation or go on bc pills. Only 47 yr old I know with a tubal thinking about bc pills lol. Hair is just now starting to come out little faster but I've gone from 275 on 8/1 to 205 this morning so things are good!!

So I'm not sure if I'll be in this January group or not - here's to hoping. I started the whole process of tests, psychiatric review, and 6 mos of monitored weight loss, etc 9 mos ago. The nurse said she submitted the paperwork on Wednesday of this week to BC/BS and it takes 15 days for review/approval. The nurse says they (not sure if that's the doc or BC/BS of Mass) have a surgery date but just haven't told me? Is that unusual? You'd think they would try to coordinate with me to make sure I was available work wise, made arrangements with family, etc.

Well, it's kinda like this..."Don't Ask/Don't Tell" bahahahaha! If that's what it takes to keep you with us, then I don't think that a couple of handfuls of raw spinach or super greens is gonna hairlip the Pope. But strictly speaking? There are supposed to be no veggies in AMAW and CAMAW. But I can assure you? I WILL be using a bit of condiment here and there. Hello Vlasic Dill Relish in my tuna salad...a green onion in my egg salad. You see? And, if my ketones get too high and start sparking a cortisol dump (which has happened to me on account of my BS metabolism and hyperinsulinemia), then I WILL be grabbing a handful or two of spinach to gently bring me into a more shallow ketotic state. (I just probably won't broadcast it here.) This is kinda doing "caveman" style or Atkins '72 style of low carb for 1 week only. Just to be cray and shake things up. I like to do that once in a while.

I am SO glad I met you here! We're literally in the same kind of boat We definitely need to keep in touch. It's awesome to hear that diet consults are no longer required for your BC plan! Do you remember where on their website you found that or did you have to call? Only thing I wish they had was online chat. UnitedHealthcare had great support chat, but that was about it LOL My new insurance plan is through Anthem Blue Cross. I'm in Texas, but my company is based out of California so we get the same coverage that they do. Even though I can't log in to the Anthem BC site yet, I have my entire plan's documents and not one thing about dietary evaluations is being mentioned as a requirement for approval. Not even in the EOC which is the most detailed document of all. Only requirements mentioned in the EOC are these (see screenshot below)...this is the full section on anything Bariatric Surgery under "Covered Services" in the entire 191 page document. There's some stuff scattered elsewhere regarding the required type of bariatric surgery facilities and travel coverage for bariatric services, but nothing else for the surgery requirements itself. Next section is Transgender Services, which awesomely, are covered. This policy is beyond generous. Thoughts?

Hi! I am 15 years out from DS. I will tell you what I was told not only by my surgeon but more or less everyone in my support group. I say from my support group because when I had surgery there was no DS Surgeon in our state and everyone left the state to have surgery, hence I don't think any of us had the same surgeon other than a married couple. EMBRACE THE FAT!!!! Number one rule! If you don't see fat in your toilet your not eating enough. My skin gets extremely dry any time I cut the fat. I am shocked that you were told or assumed that low fat was great for you. Protein should be about 100 grams a day split up in 20-25 gram servings, so any fatty meat is good!!! Avoid sugar. Sugar isn't as bad for DS'ers as it is for RNY, we don't dump. However, we absorb 100% of the sugar we take in. I am also surprised you can eat bread at all. Most DS'er will have bloating and serious gas issues from bread. For me (and from most I have heard from) the gas hits at the night so you may not be aware of it. For me it has been so bad the stink wakes me up at nigh, thank goodness I can blame the dog Try going flour free for a month then reintroduce it to your body, if you have a reaction please stop. To make your diet easy for you, the order you should be eating your food, fatty meats,non starchy veggies with butter or olive oil, if your still hungry go back to fatty meat you didn't eat enough!!! Go easy on the starchy veggies. IF you need bread and desserts, no more than a bite or two. But as my surgeon says, if you still hungry by the time you get to bread and dessert your out eating your surgery! As for malabsorption, you absorb about 20-25% of fat, 50ish% of protein and 100% of sugar (carbs are sugar, stay way from carbs that are not veggies) You need to go back to experimenting with your body, bread...flour based food give me gas, bloat and in the end a lot of time in the bathroom. I also feel like I have the flu. My husband will look at the cookie in my hand and will ask me if I have plans for tomorrow and is it worth being sick on the couch for. Most of the time it isn't! I also have issues with rice, it will clog me up. I have heard of other DS'ers with that issue with rice too, but many more with flour. Sugar will cause the scale to go up. I still eat sugar, but it is a rare treat, not a daily ,weekly or even monthly treat. Mostly a yearly treat at this time of year. But I still very easy on it because to much will cause bloating and gas too. That is normal for humans who don't eat sugar, not just DS'ers. On the sugar note, if your craving sugar your going thru withdrawal or some protein drinks will cause cravings or you need to up your vitamin Bs special B12. Ok, what to eat on the go. I drive for a living so I have this down. My favorite is meat and cheese roll ups. What ever meat and cheese is on sale at the deli. In the roll up I will put a slice of red pepper or a some cream cheese or a smear of spinach dip (fat is your friend!!!) Jerky and beef sticks are great! Nuts. Costco has parmesan cheese chips, LOVE THEM! Tuna salad eaten with a fork with a cheese chip on top. I get the fatty tuna and a bit of crunch from the cheese chip. Love it! Salad with LOTS of meat. I can do chicken strips, bunless burgers, salad at any fast food place. Be careful of yogurt, most are low fat and high sugar. Actually in general avoid any food that is low fat, the sugar is crazy high. If you want yogurt, plain and add your own fruit or sugar free jam to it. You can eat fruit, pick higher fiber ones just be aware of the amount of sugar your eating. I do apples slices and berries mostly, easy to pack for the road. These are treats, not staples. Depression, I never had depression issues before surgery and was not prepared for it after. It hit me about a year out. I take lexapro now, it does not cause weight gain. I have noticed that when I eat more fatty fish, salmon or can tuna in fat (hard to find anymore) I feel better. I upped my omegas when I caught that, so now I am taking those with my vitamins. I would suggest talking to your primary about depression and then getting a therapist or councilor to talk to. Not only for everything going on in your life, you have a lot! but also for food addiction. Surgery will not fix food addiction and if you don't get a handle on it, you will eventually out eat your surgery.

Ok, so sorry you are going through this and have to live with it. The worst thing in my opinion is always being on a level of pain where you can't sleep, move, etc. But here's where I probably won't be popular, and I can only give you my story. And everyone is SO different and lives a different pain history. In short, I have osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, cervical stenosis and sacral stenosis, bone spurs on my spine, hips, joints. etc, etc, chronic bursitis in both hips, a 50% ACL tear, and neuralgia 360 around my chest extending 8 inches + neuralgia in my hands/feet from hand/foot syndrome during chemo. And in addition I'm a stage 3c BC survivor on Femara (a drug that causes even more bone and joint pain). I've been on opiod pills, neurontin, tramadol, flexeril, nsaids, tylenol, pain patches, pain gels, cortisone shots to the joints. Oh and now I have a Parkinsonian trimmer in my head and hands from the radiation/chemo--so it causes constant muscle tension cuz I trie to keep my head/hands/shoulders from shaking deep inside my body. I used to not be able to sleep longer than 1-2 hours at a time before waking from pain and unintentional movement. I still sleep in a recliner. And every day I woke, I'd wake in at least a 6-7 pain level. I would not medicate until it was an 8+ to 10 cuz I hated the side effects of the drugs. And now that I had surgery, most of that or a lot of that is off the table. Here is what finally helped me. 1. Adjusting my diet to be as clean as possible. (Every time I eat beef or pork, I wake the next morning 20 years older... Every time I have carby carbs like grains--pain so bad I feel 80 years old. Every time I drink any kind of alcohol other than a little red wine--pain like cray. Cheese and dairy is the same way unless it's very very small amounts of reduced fat or fat free dairy.) 2. Started doing severe calorie restriction, then IF and that reduced the pain ENORMOUSLY! Like...magically. 3. Lose weight. I think my doc gave me some number like: for every 15% of body weight you lose, you reduce your pain level by 20-30%? 4. Get PT and then do the frickin core strengthening exercises religiously. (I'm slacking on this! But I can tell when I do them and when I don't. The difference in pain level is a magnitude of 10 with v. without.) 5. Walk daily. Daily. Even when I don't feel like it. Even when it hurts. By the time I'm done, it always hurts less. The best thing I've done is lose the weight. I can do things now without pain meds that I never thought I could or would be able to do. My goal is to get to 125-130lbs to take off as much extra stress as possible and improve my pain level as much as I can. I think the pain meds caused a continual cycle of spring-back pain (forget the name of it). So it was like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because I medicated, I would have more pain at the end of the cycle and need to take more meds. And because I medicated, I'd built up a tolerance and needed more and more meds to help. Now if I absolutely must have one, it takes maybe 1/4 of the amount it used to take. I now wake only in a 2-3 and end of day is usually only a 4 which is entirely manageable for me. Some meds that play well together and amplify their effects: 1. Gabapentin + Tramadol together 2. Tramadol + Tylenol together (this one is especially good) 3. Norco 10/325 + Flexoril (last resort med) Lastly, this is the killer part. (Sorry in advance...and you can only do what you can do--and only you know how clean your diet is and if you are eating low cals.) If you are 5'5" and 178lbs and female, you still have some fluffy slush to get rid of that absolutely would help reduce the pain level. I wouldn't say that if I didn't feel the difference in myself. It was night and day relief. I'm no longer on any pain drugs. And the only scripts I take are my Femara, thyroid, and omeprazole. I walk daily. I try to do strength training 2-3 days per week as much as I'm able. And I can actually "fast walk"/jog which I never thought possible. It's now been 1+ year since one of my cortisone shots and about 6+months since the other and I'm holding up really well. I hope my story helps you. I'm sorry for going on about myself. But I just think, if it was possible for me, how many others would/could benefit from it. The freedom from drugs is really just a great gift of this surgery and lifestyle.

I'm going to my last dietitian and therapy session today. It's been a 6 month process for me. My weight has fluctuated the 6 month bc it's just been a trial and error of finding out what I need to do to be proactive in my weight loss journey. Congratulations on getting this far! You're almost there!

I think it’s bc you’re only 2 weeks out. Still swollen etc. things will be weird for about 2-3 months the. You’ll start to figure out your signs. My nose runs when I reach restriction. Weird!

@TomCruzMomShoes, Yes, great minds think alike. Amazon is currently working on sending me the Fusion bariatric unflavored protein powder. If I remember correctly theirs was 27g per scoop so in 2-3 business days, I will be on that gravy train with you. Is it truly unflavored or do you get a little after taste? I wanted to add it to some of the food too like refried beans or hummus. They were recommended to me but have very little protein in them so I was going to give them a boost. I start the puree stage on Monday and I am ready but also nervous bc I REALLY don't want to fall back into any bad habits. But I am trying to stay positive and keep working at it. I am 25 days post op but my Doctor had me on 2 weeks of liquid then 2 weeks of full liquid (protein shakes/powder) so I am beyond ready for texture back into my life! Thanks for the tip! I really appreciate the advise.

Body dysmorphia is about as common as rain in my beautiful city of Vancouver, BC. LOL It can often take the brain a long time to accept and interpret what the eyes see in a more honest way. The best way to approach it is to battle it head on. Try on clothes that actually fit and flatter you, and don't dismiss it when people compliment you. Look in the mirror - REALLY look in the mirror. Don't look away. Make friends with yourself. Rephrase the automatic negative thoughts that enter your head. Our inner voice has a major influence on our perception. If we repeat the negative, bullying, things we've heard from others we'll believe them even more. Don't allow yourself to bully yourself, shut that garbage down as soon as you catch yourself doing it. In time, and with mindful self-care your brain will re-program itself. Trust me, we've all been there. There IS a way out.

just take it slow. bc I rushed and it HURTS and get "stuck" so to say . It give me anxiety bc I don't wanna throw up haha. But I'm not a quitter lol I go back and try again a day or two later. For Thanksgiving I was able to eat like 4 good bites and then boop done. Its crazy. Bc I was an eater !!! LOL like 2 plates and some more type a girl lol. Reach out of you have any other questions !!!!