Hi everyone who is having surgery in October 2014. We can start a new topic for those of us who have had surgery already.

This is the spot were we will all end up, were we'll share our stories and recovery. It will be a new dawn for so many of us. Let's stay close as united we will conquer anything that comes our way!

BEST WISHES GLADIATORS

Bronxmerci--Keeping you in my prayers girl! Let us know when you can what happened!!

@Luna222--I was having the same problem. My Dr. had me to back to mushies for a week, so cottage cheese, yogurt, broth, juice/water--etc. I was getting so frustrated. Weak, from lack of calories, and not drinking enough Water.

Then Monday I had the long Upper GI with small bowel follow through done. That was all clear, yay! Then saw my Dr. after that--I was dehydrated again...2nd time in a week. They pumped in 2 bags. She then had the NUT call me and we chatted about foods I had been trying, and getting sick from. She asked if I'd tried hummus. I asked what I could put it on. She said a wheat cracker or wheat bread, toasted really well. I said, "Oh? I can go to Phase III foods?" She told me to double check with the Dr. but I should be able to. So I called the Dr. back and she said let's give it a try. She said maybe I was having just such an aversion to the pureed food it was making me sick. And seriously the thought of anymore pureed food makes me want to puke! LOL! So...this morning I had 1/2 of a whole wheat sandwich thin with some scrambled egg/salsa on it and a tiny sprinkle of cheese. It took me an hour to eat maybe 3/4 of it. It was delicious!! And NO NAUSEA!

Yesterday I tried the hummus on crackers too. I could only eat 3 crackers. I probably should have stopped at 2. I was uncomfortable, but not sick to my stomach.

I'm not sure what I'm having for lunch yet. But I'm so excited that Breakfast went that well!!

Also added fresh lemons to my water. (My Dr. had told me not to yet, because of the acid, but the NUT said do it, it's fine, LOL!) It's making drinking water today much easier.

I'm weeks out and have a glimmer of hope I'll feel "better" very soon!!

Thanks @@joankrie ! It is so frustrating...I can't possibly survive on ice pops lol. @@amylynns that's awesome! I'm glad the upper gi and whatnot was all clear. I was told to try a little toast too, and omg it was heaven lol. A little bit of egg and a little bit of turkey bacon on it and I was happy. It's all the other stuff tho that's just not making me feel good at all. I'm so glad you all understand, cuz even my boyfriend and my best friend are starting to get on my nerves. They get mad at me and act like they know what I SHOULD be eating, and I'm like wth, I CAN'T! My primary was so upset yesterday that my surgeon doesn't check bloods til 3 months, so she had that done. This morning I got a call that she wants me to go in asap for an ultrasound of my liver because my liver function is extremely high since my surgery. Hopefully it is ok :-/ Maybe that is why I'm always nauseous. Who knows. Blehhhh

@Luna222- I'll be curious to hear what happens with your liver. My surgeon also does not do labs until several months from now. I thought that was odd? They've run other labs, checking for infection, dehydration, etc. But not the "big labs" I call them.

I'm having Mozarella cheese wrapped in a thin piece of Prosciutto for lunch.

See what the newbie nurse did to my poor arm when I was getting fliuds. She didn't even have it in the vein and turned the pump on, so it started pumping fluid into my arm. I had a big bulge of fluid in there for a while. So gross.

Omg that looks like it hurts! I had a newbie that drew blood yesterday and I'm all bruised too...not that bad tho! I'm sooooo beyond frustrated right now, I just left my rheumatologist, and he pretty much said that if I can't take anything he wants to prescribe then he's going to have to just turn me over to my surgeon to take care of my arthritis and wash his hands of me. Seriously???? I wish to god there was another rheumatologist in my area that I could see. The only other one that is taking new patients refuses to see me because "I saw her when I was a teenager". I don't know what to do....so because he is a jerk, I just have to deal with this pain on my own for the rest of my life? It just really sucks

I'm not supposed to get labs for 6 months.... hmmm. wish they all had a basic book of do's and dont's. But in reality we are all so different. Any way it will get better. That is the one thing I can comfortably say for sure. So keep the eyes on the prize and be patient.. :-)

Wow @ amylynns that arm looks bad. So sorry.

@Bronxmerci. Hoping you got the care needed to resolve the blood lost.

Ditto to what everybody says. My God your Doctor is a complete jerk. (ass) they forget they work for us. Do talk to your bariatric surgeon as they are probably at least familiar with this problem. Praying for you!

Thank you @@filmgal ...I'm going for my liver ultrasound in the morning, going to wait and see how that comes out and then go from there...hopefully something gives!

Good luck!

If your RA doctor wont continue to see you, ask your surgeion who he would recommend. I'd also make a complaint to the Board of MD. Kind of sounds like he's violating some of your patient rights. By chance do you live in the Houston TX area?

Fingers crossed regarding the liver outcome. Are you on any medications which will eleviate your liver enzymes??

@@joankrie , no I live in upstate NY. It's very frustrating because my primary dr called around a few months ago and the only dr in the area that is taking new patients won't see me because she saw me um...17 yrs ago, she's the one that diagnosed me. Wth? I'm going to call my insurance company tomorrow and see if I can see someone an hr away where my bf lives. I need someone that will care about the fact that I can't have nsaids. This guy was like "all meds can cause bleeding and ulcers, nsaids are no different" I said uh well I just had STOMACH SURGERY, MY SURGEON said noooo ndaids. That's when he went on his little rant, saying my surgeon doesn't know what she's talking about. This man has had me on NINE different meds this yr for my RA. Most were nsaids, That didn't even work for me. He has not done any tests, xrays, mri, blood work, nerve tests, nothing at all this yr. I left the office and just sat in my car and had a nice long cry. Sometimes it's just necessary :-/

As far as the liver thing, I am not sure what meds cause elevated enzymes, but right now the only meds I am on are the omeprazole, colace, and ortho tri cyclen lo.

Hello everyone. Big day for me. My scale this morning says

230 lbs

I started at 270 lbs that means I have lost a 1/3 of the weight I need to lose to get to my goal of 150. That's 40 lbs gone baby, bye.

This certainly helps my state of mind because I have been having a hard time with food. I eat what I'm supposed to and very very slowly but I have thrown up a few times. I am back to week 2 foods because I am too scarred to eat more solid stuff. Yogurt is my best friend and broth. Will talk to the NUT today.