educationrulz

Wow Yolanda! That is GREAT news! I don't think I could have stuck with it that long but it will be well worth the battle. And you can definitely lose those few extra pounds before surgery with a low carb diet. I lost 15 pounds in about 2 and 1/2 weeks preop eating any proteins I wanted. Good luck with everything and keep us up to date on your progress.

It seems like if her BMI is 40 or more using a baseline of 300 in comparison with her height, she should be fine. Has she ever been to weight watchers or any other program that would have taken her weight? Alot of insurance providers accept records from official weight loss programs. I hope you can get the documentation you need.

Uuugghhhh! This stuff was gross to me. I know others swear by it though. It was totally stinky AND nasty no matter what I put it in. Try ordering a couple of sample packs from the Unjury site. They're pretty cheap. You might like it. I love Isopure RTDs and plenty of people find those disgusting. You really can't go by what other people experience when it comes to the protein stuff.

Seems like you're too soon out for soda, but if you get really desperate put some in your mouth, swish, and spit it out. I tried that when I couldn't get past a craving and it totally worked. I did stir the bubbles out before I did it though.

Ok, first Stacey, now you. I sure hope this dating thing rubs off on the rest of us single girls out here. You're doing great, so be proud of yourself!

BTW, you're doing great with your weight loss Mozart!

I don't know how detrimental this habit is to our weight loss, but if I can break this habit, ANYBODY! can do it. I was a hardcore "must have a drink with every meal" person preop. It was to the point that no matter how hungry I was I never sat down to eat without a drink. And if the glass got low or ran out, I would get up in the middle of my meal to get more. Water generally did not suffice either. Amazingly, I just stopped cold turkey after surgery. I read someone's advice to not have anything to drink next to me when eating. I started out that way when I hit the puree stage and haven't looked back. I don't order drinks with my meals when eating out. It's easy in that situation to get a water brought to the table later if you're there long enough. I don't fix a drink at home until my 30 minutes have passed. I only take a sip immediately after eating when I need to swallow vitamins or medication. If the food is getting stuck in your throat you may not be chewing thoroughly enough. If drinking with your meals is allowing you to eat more, I would seriously consider working on this habit now. It may not be a big deal soon after surgery when you can't eat much, but when your volume increases and you get closer to maintenance it could make those last pounds much harder to lose.

Meatloaf would probably be ok once you're cleared for purees AND meats because it's very soft and mushy. Do you have a specific postop meal plan to follow? If so, I would stick with that. The time will pass quickly and you'll be eating better food in no time. If you don't have a diet plan, you might want to check out the Carnegie WLS post op diet. Here's mine: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/blogs/educationrulz/646-post-op-diet.html

I was given liquid hydrocodone - which is the generic of Vicodin. It got the job done.

Thanks, I hadn't heard it explained this way before about the sublinguals. I'll have to see if I can find a small supply to try first because I have a weird aversion to any chewable supplements right now and I guess I've lumped the dissolvables into that category. My post op plan only recommends Multivitamins and Calcium so I guess I'll be ok for a while.

I think this is because most of us can't eat enough (especially early on) to ensure that we're getting the proper nutrients we would normally get from food. The multi takes the place of food-based nutrients.

OMG! Eating BBQ ribs again was like an AHHHHH moment for me. It's a totally everyday food that tastes great and is full of Protein. Don't know why I didn't start eating them sooner. My typical diet is protein heavy with meats and cheeses and supplemented with Protein shakes and drinks. I get rotisserie chicken pieces from the deli or buffet line with a little veggies and it lasts me forever. I still eat very small amounts. But, here are some of the "normal" foods I've eaten or nibbled on in the past few weeks since going to a normal diet on my post op plan: pizza, mcdonald's cheeseburger (mostly just ate the meat and cheese but it was nice to taste a little of the bun), tuna fish (full tilt with onions, celery, egg, etc), hamburger helper, hot wings, chicken nuggets, pecan pancake from Cracker Barrel (yum yum - but could only eat three or four small bites). So, yes, you will totally be able to eat normal foods again.

Keep coming here for stories from others who have had the surgery. This was very helpful to me the closer I got to my surgery date. Even though the bad stories can make you nervous, most people's experiences are positive the further along they get. So, keep reading and best wishes.

Why on earth are you trying to eat 600 calories a day?! :ohmy: I don't think that would keep an invalid's body going all day. That doesn't seem like a healthy amount to intentionally eat and it's going to cause big stalls at some point. Sorry...off topic.

A few days ago, I got a last minute notice about an important professional event. I needed a suit, like the next day! Yikes! Both of the suits I owned are size 22W and way too big. So, I planned on Macy's after work. I decided to go straight to the women's section, grab something in an 18, and get home. Well, I was standing in the dressing room in the size 18W suit and it was loose and baggy! You might as well have hit me over the head with a brick. I thought about getting a 16W but I wasn't excited about what the options were. I stood there trying to decide what to do and it slowly dawned on me to go to the misses section and try on an 18 there. When I got there it was like walking into clothes heaven. There were so many more options, as I had suspected. I felt like an interloper (like people were looking at me thinking I was too big to be in that section) but I quickly found several gorgeous suits in 18. I still didn't think they would fit. I tried on one of the jackets out on the floor and low and behold it fit nicely. I RAN to the dressing room with 3 or 4 suits and had a great time trying them on (all with my 5 year old in tow). I left with a beautiful suit and coordinating shirt and looked FABULOUS the next day - if I may say so myself. I got a lot of compliments from coworkers also. I can't wait to go back and get another suit on sale. I've always salivated over those nice suits that I saw in the "suit section" (especially the Kasper suits). Now I can actually go and buy them! I don't plan to make it a habit with my size changing so much right now, but it's nice to finally have something really nice in my closet to wear. I feel like I've been let into some exclusive club. It's great!:thumbup:

I dealt with this for a couple of weeks postop. It gradually returned to normal. I didn't do anything special to get back to normal because I was too busy trying to choke down some fluids.

I'm sorry to hear about what's happened with your sleeve. I guess this is one of those outcomes that many of us worry about. It sounds like you're finally getting some solid info that you can work with to make an informed decision. Hopefully you'll be able to get enough info from your surgeon about the specifics of your sleeve immediately postop (such as how small it was, oversewing used, stretchy part remaining etc.) to be able to decide if the revision or DS is the best option for you. If possible, I would consider getting a second opinion - just to be cautious. Best wishes and please keep us updated. I know everyone else will be rooting for you as much as I am.

If she's throwing out clothes left and right, it sounds like she's right on track. Take her shopping. That usually makes us ladies feel better. Keep up the good work - both of you!:biggrin0:

OOWEEEE!!! Baby, when I can fit into a pair of size 12 jeans, they'd better look out. It's gonna be ON! :thumbup1: Keep enjoying yourself.

Congratulations Jane on the positive changes you are seeing - despite what the scale says. Keep at it and you will see results with the scale too. As for the issue of how many meals per day, I've never understood the three meals per day thing. Although that's what I typically did preop, I knew it wasn't for the best. I tended to overeat at each meal. Most diet plans tell you to break your meals out into smaller meals throughout the day. We know that when athletes are training to be in peak physical conditions they eat multiple meals throughout the day - typically high Protein stuff. So why any medical person would suggest that we stick to three meals a day is beyond my comprehension. I sometimes think that people assume this philosophy will keep patients from overeating but it's bad advice especially soon after WLS. My postop diet has progressed from 6 to 5 to 4 meals a day in the normal diet phase. Now, in practice, I don't always get in my 4 food meals a day these days. I tended to get in more meals in the earlier phases because on liquids and soft foods you need to replenish more often. Now that I can eat dense Proteins, it stays with me longer. Like a lot of others here, I just don't want to eat for a long time after a full protein meal. I do try my best to get that 4th meal in the form of a healthy snack or a Protein Drink. I noticed that when I added in the extra meal as a Protein shake my weight loss sped up noticeably. I now get in my protein shake every morning between Breakfast and lunch, and sometimes do another protein drink after dinner. I seem to be zipping right along now.

After making it through a whole month without weighing myself (http://verticalsleevetalk.com/post-operation-vertical-sleeve-gastric-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/8561-made-through-scale-strike-won.html), I strangely have no desire to weigh myself anymore. I have absolutely no idea how much I weigh. But, I do know that I bought a designer suit from the misses section for the first time EVER in my life two days ago. I can't wait to go back for another one after payday. I don't own a scale yet and usually weigh at WalMart during my Saturday shopping trip. Today I was there and it crossed my mind, but I immediately dismissed it. I didn't want to take the chance on getting on the scale and being disappointed. I'm continuing to drop in clothes size and having a ball with shopping these days. Why ruin my high?!