1-4-Many

Isn't it extra dangerous to be taking motrin? That's ibuprofen and a big time no-no in our program. Is it okay in yours? I've seen several people here post about taking it, one who took it on the way home from surgery! We were told it's worse than aspirin for causing stomach bleeds. Don't get me wrong, I know you were in a world of hurt but just would hate for you to cause yourself harm with a med that can chew your stomach up. Feel better.

I can't find the thread but I was asking for an easy to swallow multi and someone (thank you) suggested I try the Celebrate Capsules. The ones she suggested require that you take it 3 times a day so not sure if they are the same ones. If they go down well, I don't mind the 3 times a day. I'd appreciate knowing what you think of them once you get them. I'm having a hard time finding one beyond one-a-day that doesn't make me sick. I can stand 1/2 of a Celebrate chewable so I'm doing that right now. If you are good with the Walgreens one, maybe you could get the individual supplements for A, D, and B1. There's actually a monthly for D that should clear that issue up. I've taken 1 monthly since surgery and it went down okay. I take a B multi occasionally (about twice a week). B's are Water soluble so you don't have to worry about too much. Not sure you can buy just A. Oh, also, are the Wallgreens ones about the same size as the Celebrate chewables? Or are they smaller?

I've never been a gassy person. Never. No burps. No toots. Well, occasionally, but very infrequent. I have never been able to understand that "pull my finger" thing. I thought it was ridiculous. No one could really do that on command. Well, I could now. If you pulled my finger at 5:50 a.m. It's just one of those things I've noticed. Pretty much from the day I started back on full food I start my day off with a toot. I was taking an OTC acid reducer before surgery so I don't think that's the difference. And it never happened while on liquids or puree. The funny thing about it is that it's exactly the same every day. One and done. Okay, kids, tomorrow we'll discuss my new found ability to burp.

Two nights ago I tried getting that 6th feed in by eating at 8:30 p.m. I need to figure out how to get a few more calories. I cannot eat that late at night and again I was up with horrible acid reflux. Aside from eating too late, I never have any reflux issues. Well, it was so bad that I was popping Tums all night long. The first I'd taken Tums since surgery and then I happen to read this today. Thank you for the head's up. I wonder if it's the same risk if you are staying well hydrated? Also, since surgery I am drinking about 1/3 of the Water I used to drink. I used to be a very heavy water drinker. ONLY getting 64 ounces a day took a lot of getting used to for me. Well, almost immediately after surgery my blood pressure dropped like a rock. I had to quit both meds. So I'm wondering if I was creating my high blood pressure by drinking way too much water. I certainly have not lost enough weight to have impacted my blood pressure to that degree. So it just makes me wonder.....

That was my main fear. I've been under quiet a few times but the first time was when I was a kid and it was much harsher than it is now. So I still carry that fear. Be honest with your doctor. They can give you something to take to help you with the fear. For me, I did not get to the hospital too early. I didn't want to have to sit and wait and stew on things. It's hard to describe how I dealt with the issue as a whole. Basically I decided I had to do it and sort of went numb. I just stopped thinking about it a lot. It was going to happen. My screen name is the idea. I was going to do 1 thing I really didn't want to do to achieve many things I wanted. So I kept a calendar and as odd as this may seem, I actually marked out days where I would stop some things and start other things. And there's a date marked where I stopped thinking about the negative possibilities and a date a week later where I started meditating about how well I was going to do. I didn't spend a lot of time at it, but I would force the negative thoughts away and as I fell asleep at night imagine me 1 year in the future and how much better I would feel. As a surgery, this one was so easy for me it actually helped to ease a lot of my fear. Don't get me wrong, I had a day of vomiting, pain getting in and out of bed and fear about the blood clot issue. But overall it was not that rough. And I know now that I can get through this sort of thing. And with getting older, that's a good think to know. Good luck to you. As people told me before, you really will do fine. And great job on getting ready to get your date!

Okay. It may turn out that one thing I was told in my program was true. (Most of what they've told me is either contradicted within their own team or not true to begin with.) But here's what they told me that was true: Always carry a card that directs any ER doctor to call your wls surgeon before they start doing anything if at all possible. In spite of how common WLS is, the general public is more informed than the average non-WLS doctor. The general public watches shows like The Doctors where we get information about things like WLS, doctors -- who know it all -- do not. They even suggested that if you have had informing discussion with your primary care and trust he/she would be able to talk intelligently with an ER doctor, that you have them as a secondary in the event they can't reach your WLSurgeon. This is the case with my doctor who would at least try. I often wear a medic alert necklace that says "gastric path altered". I wear it on a long chain that is down under my shirt. I don't actually care for jewelry, but especially if I am going for a trip where I am away from home for the day and away from my local hospital where the surgery was done, I slip the necklace on. Also have the card in my wallet. Of course, it seems the issue is that even when you can speak for yourself, they apparent have no interest in listening! I sure hope this works out okay for you. My hope is that as long as it has no sharp edges (and it sounds like it wouldn't) it may be uncomfortable but shouldn't do any serious harm until they can get it out. I sure hope anyway.

Ditto. We were told that if it went through a wire mesh strainer, it was full liquid even if it took a bit to drain through. I actually thought it sounded pretty healthy. The only ?? I had was whether the acid from the tomato would be okay. But if it went down well, I think you're fine too.

So you typically mix this with just water as your base, and then dress it up? I'l have to pick up the diet V8. I heard someone else mention it at my support meeting as being a tasty way to add some healthy flavor to drinks.

10 p.m. is lucky. I have to cut anything but Water 2 hours before I go to bed or I have terrible acid reflux. As long as I cut 2 hours before bed, I'm fine. So that means I have 2 fewer hours to try and get the meals in. So I can only get 5 meals in per day. They complain about that but I'm not sure what to do. Eventually I think I will be able to change to eating at 2:30 intervals instead of 3 hours but right now I just don't have the capacity for it. And, as you said, I'm doing as much as I can. And right now I'd rather have one fewer meal a day than the consequences of nightly acid reflux. The few times it's happened, it's pretty miserable. I now understand why people have such issues with that problem.

Tamz: I understand what you are saying. And ironically, I was having a similar thought yesterday. I would never have posted about it as I hate stirring up the "why don't you think this is all fantastic" stuff but since you started a post of similar consciousness, I'll add my two cents. I had a very crazy day yesterday. Before I left the house I made a little index card of the times I have to eat. I packed a little bag with yogurt, sliced turkey, etc., things I knew I could eat because I had no idea what they would have at the facilities I was visiting. Due to a bad situation (one of the people I was visiting was very ill) I missed one of my times to eat. I just can't eat when I'm in a room with someone who is being suctioned or vomiting or whatever. I mean, what? Pull out my sliced turkey? I wasn't hungry, so it could wait. So it was an extra 90 minutes before I was in my car and could eat. Well, that means I am not going to be able to get all 5 meals in for the day. Because you see, before I could have that second meal --- which was supposed to happen while I was in the nursing home but got delayed --- I had to WAIT 3 hours. Most of us have to WAIT between eating. (That's what she means by waiting, I think.) And she's wondering if there will ever be a time where (using my case) I could have eaten before going into the nursing home even though it was slightly less than 2 hours. Because at 2 months out, I couldn't. I had to wait until after. I could not yet hold more than maybe 1 or 2 bites at 1 hour 50 minutes. I too hope there will come a day when this is all a bit more flexible. Right now, if I miss a meal, I can't physically make it up so I'm just short the nutrition for that day. I can do some liquid Protein but as many have said here, it might not be as beneficial. I think there are people who have stressed difficult lives and people who are maybe retired or not working who have very different experiences with what a job this is to do right. If you are a person who can whip food out at any time, if you are a person who has friends who will schedule eating out at your 3 hour interval, you should really count your blessings. That's a wonderful thing and I can see why you would have difficulty understanding why anyone else would find this regimented schedule a challenge. And that was what my thought was as I was driving and eating the sliced turkey breast. Now that I'm into this I'm realizing how very difficult it can be. At least in the first months. And I really wonder if there are people for whom this surgery is not correct for that reason. I wonder how many people are out there struggling because they don't have the skill set to manage this. And I wonder how many start out on easy street and then have their lives suddenly disrupted and it causes the failure we sometimes see in people who have had WLS. I have to admit that before I had this surgery I wondered why some people gain so much weight, or look horrible because they are obviously not getting enough food (a very good friend is in this group) but now that I know what a balancing act this can be, I'm not so judgmental. I'm with you Tamz. I will be very happy to some day not be tied to the 3 hour interval. I will some day love being able to skip protein a day and just go wild with fresh cantaloupe and garden tomatoes. I will some day love to eat at bit at 2 hours instead of 3 just because I run into a friend and decide to join her. I don't know if that will ever happen. But I'd like that level of normal too. If I understood your statements, you're not saying you'd want to eat wild and crazy. Just the freedom of a little bit. And frankly, the freedom I hope eventually will come with the sleeve. It would sure be nice to get back to that level of freedom. And I think the answer is that it will vary for each of us and we'll have to wait and see. And see what you did? You made me get long winded.

I work for a huge company and I personally know about 15 people who have had gastric bypass in the past 12 years. I was the fat person who heard all of the judgmental and snotty comments about these people behind their backs. There was one situation I will never forget. They had a pizza party and the pizza was the type that was cut into the little 2 x 3 inch pieces. The woman on the team who'd had wls about 2 years earlier ate 1 piece then took 2 pieces back to her desk. Well you would have thought she'd been caught in the bathroom with 2 men, instead of two little pieces of pizza. The same people who sat and stuffed their faces whispered about how she was just going to get fat again by "having to take pizza to her desk and hoard it". You are right. They didn't know what they were talking about. She was doing the safe, sane way to have a little celebration. But they were chewing her up behind her back. I heard so many of these kinds of conversations I knew that if I ever had wls, I would keep my audience very small. I know there is a lot of discussion about whether or not you should do this privately. For some reason, even within this community there is the opinion that if you choose privacy, it equates to shame. For me, it was above all else, about privacy. But I completely agree that maintaining a lie is not easy. At least I think we should be glad that for us it's not easy. I know you feel bad right now. But you are doing all of the right things. And you told them in your own time which is how it should be. Behind a 7-11 cracked me up. At least you are keeping your humor about this. In some respects, it may be that they felt excluded. They may be jealous that you were able to make such a big decision and follow through on your own. Don't expect a lot of pats on the back for your success in the next months. But they will get over it and you' are on your way.

You're not alone. All the way through my program, which due to multiple issues stretched on and on, I was in more than one class where we were told that we would eventually end up eating 8 ounces of food, with that spread as a meal. Protein/veggies combined. We would have 3 meals with 2 small Snacks. That was why it was so important to eat that way for months before surgery. This was stated over and over in many different ways. Now 2 months out the story has changed. Now they are saying that what I have now (a 3 ounce capacity give or take depending on the density of the food) will increase by about 25% with maturity. Do the math. I pressed them simply because I hate that they are continuing to lie to people. They were not happy with being pressed and seemed to think maybe it was my responsibility to make this work. Yes, in the support meeting there is no question that some people can do 8 ounces. Without fail they are called men. The longer the torso it seems, the longer the sleeve. Truthfully, I don't miss food. I think that's just dumb luck on my part. So its not really an issue about not being able to eat but more that I feel I will not be able to have the nutrition I need and will not be able to support the two major surgeries I have coming....a hip and knee replacement. And it's the lie. Why don't they just say that some people may be stuck at 4 ounces of food per "meal"? The truth is, I'd read enough to know they were probably not being truthful. But I guess every surgeon is different and I felt he did his procedure in such a way that he knew what the results would be. I was wrong. And I'm happy for those who love their sleeve. But I think people should know the truth before they are cut.

I want to add 2 things: 1 - no one told me about the B12 issue. A complete coincidence, I purchased sublingual B-12 last week and tried it for the first time. 2500 mg. I swear I felt like I had taken speed. I took it two days. I have an irregular heartbeat issue and I had to pull my car over twice on the way home my heart was going so flippy. I could not sleep at night. I am talking to my doctor before I take it again and I'm certain the 2500 mg. was too much for me so I'm going to half it at least. I loved the extra energy so even if I end up taking only 1/4 of a pill I would like to try them again. Second thing - if you are told to take the multi Vitamins you will learn that a lot of people cannot keep them down at first and certain brands are harder to keep down. I was able to take them about week 4 out and after I started taking them I felt soooo much better. So even if your doctor does not tell you to take them, I'd give do it. But it might be a few weeks before you should try and don't worry about that. A lot of these things you have to ease into.

Great comment. There's one I've driven by several times and I am actually craving going there. My life is very chaotic with caring for a disabled family member and working full time so it's an effort to squeeze in something like this. But I'm really looking forward to it. I plan to buy down at least 1 size, not what I can fit into now which I have plenty of since my weight has always bounced around.

This is one of the ways my plan varies from others. I was told to never continue to eat after 30 minutes (and you'd probably never want to) but that I do not have to make my meal last 30 minutes. Just tonight I had beef strips. It's the second time I've had beef. And I was able to eat 1.5 ounces. In a case like that I was told that after the chew, chew, chew and swallow, to wait at least 90 second.s before starting another bite. So basically it boils down to a bite every 2 minutes. That seems to work for me. I'm kind of proud that after 2 months and moving back to regular food, I've never had any issues with vomiting due to overeating or eating too fast. I've had very few moments of discomfort and none of the other signs of overeating. Oddly I am getting the hiccups a lot but it's never anywhere near eating food, but seems to be triggered more by drinking Water. The thing that cured hiccups before now gives them to me! Believe me, my morning egg still is cold by the time I get the most of it I can eat down. And it turns out it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would but I think the fact that it's summer helps. I think eating a lot of cold food in winter will bother me more. After a while, you'll find your own way. I really doubt you'll be stretching 2 ounces of food to 30 minutes for the rest of your life. On the other hand, if you have to, your body will let you know.

I've been sleeved almost 2 months. I have a 3 ounce capacity per meal and that's assuming easy food like yogurt. More dense food like beef cuts me back to about 1.5 ounces. So Protein is #1. And that means my entire capacity of 15 ounces of food per day must concentrate on protein. You could put the fruit and veggies I've had in the past 2 months in a sandwich baggie and it wouldn't be full. That's why you must take the supplements. You are not eating, at least not for a long time, a balanced diet. If you read here for a while you will learn that most people are taught that carbs are terrible for you. I don't agree with that but if you ascribe to that theory, then you will really need the Vitamins maybe for the rest of your life. If you are lucky and given a sleeve that will support maybe 6 ounces of food per meal after a year, then you probably actually could back off the supplements assuming you use that extra space for healthy foods and not a chance to occasionally have a cookie -- which, by the way, I also do not think is a horrible thing. Calcium is very important. Some day we will all be in our 70's and we need the bones to stay strong for us then. And, you actually should have follow up blood work. Most of the vitamins will just be peed away if you are taking too much. But the blood work will give you a guide as to how well you are doing. For me, it's about balance. And those vitamins will get you the balance the sleeve takes away. Good luck when your day comes!

Excellent. Thank you for letting us know.

How long was she in pain. This is the only surgery I know of personally. A friend who has by-pass did it about 3 years ago and her surgeon did a great job. His concern, and he kept warning her, that gravity would cause them to sag again within 18 months. (Very honest surgeon.) But let me assure you, sag of thin arms is totally different than sag of once the arms of a 350 pound woman where Ann started. She has about a 1/2 inch scar and it's fading. Ann never mentioned pain at all. She was bothered more about the anxiety and stiffness of moving her arms and stretching/tearing the incision. And there were drains. And having just gone through that with my sleeve, I know I can take that for a week or so. It's the one thing I must have done. And come Jan 1 I start my savings account and plan to have the surgery in October 12. I want to be healed and ready for the next summer. But the only person I've talked to is Ann. If I find out now it's far more painful than I thought, I might just have to live in 3/4 sleeves.

I'd really recommend trying the BA advantage Chewy bites. They come in lemon, caramel and chocolate. I'm not a chocolate person but the big surprise for me was that post surgery lemon is the flavor I love. Did not like lemon at all before surgery. 60 chews are only about $10 to 12 dollars so you are not out a lot if you don't like them. I find them very appealing. The thing is, I didn't understand how important the calcium was and wasn't getting enough in the first 2 weeks and between that and not getting the amount of Water I was used to (not dehydrated but just not as much as I was used to) I started having terrible morning cramps. Charley horses that shot me out of bed each morning. As soon as I got about 1 more cup of water and my 3 chews a day, the cramps stopped. It's really important. Not recommending buying here, just found them at this site to show you what I was talking about. http://www.dietdirect.com/chewable-calcium-citrate-244.html Oh, and I hated the BA vitamins also. I wish I'd found them before my surgery. Bulemia might have saved me thosands and surgery. (really, just kidding. kinda) Can't figure out why in the world so many programs use them instead of giving options. Just based on flavors alone, I know I'd hated BA. They gave me orange. Nasty, just nasty.

Did she have gastric bypass after the band? Everything I'd heard (which I admit is very limited info) was that she had the band but later had it removed. Did she have a conversion over to R-n-Y? I just did a quick check and found two articles that said the same. I had no idea she was once 100 pounds overweight. Aside from seeing an interview with her about a year ago when she talked about having the band removed I don't know that much about her. I think sometimes I'm lucky that I don't have cable.

A few days ago I had to multi-task as I got ready for work. I was sitting at the computer checking email and combing my hair after my morning shower. I had to get the sticky lint brush out to get all the hair off the front of my shirt. I took a long strip off and did my back as best I could because I was pretty sure the back of my shirt probably looked about as hairy as the front. I wouldn't even mind if I was losing weight really fast but I'm not. Or if only the gray fell out.

Some funny people here. My surgeon didn't even tell me how much I could life let alone anything about sex. Unless, and here's my caveat, you have other health issues that could impact you, I also can't imagine how you could cause yourself harm. Be sure to report back and let us know how things go.....

Boost has a lower sugar version our place accepts. Instead of Ensure they ask you use Glucerna. It's a bit of that "eat this instead of that" thing. Find the best version of what you need. I'm not sure what version of Boost you are using but there definitely better choices than Ensure. I have serious issues with low blood sugar and was actually told to use a few swallows of Ensure to bring my sugar back up quickly if that tells you anything about how sweet it is.

The prescription nausea meds really played with my vision. My guy said to treat it like morning sickness. I was told to eat 2 saltine crackers before I got up. Then by choice I took my favorite antihistamine through the day and that seems to get on top of it. About a week later I was able to back off the antihistamines. If they do nothing else, they help you get you fluids in by drying your mouth, but they really did help me with the upset stomach too. Any Vitamin made me sick while I was in my phase. Just yesterday I tried a wafer type Calcium and it made me sick. Most of my troubles are around the supplements. The only food thing that helped me was to sip hot decaf tea with a teaspoon of honey in it. That tended to settle me well. When I would start sipping my stomach would go into super grumble mode, but at the end of the cup it would be calming down. It's not fun. But my phase only lasted about 2 weeks then it was pretty much gone just as it came. Good luck.

Happy - I am not a subject matter expert, just a poster. That said -- I think we had the same first dietitian. Even called a dietitian. (Had no idea what a NUT was when I first started reading here.) My opinion is that you need to know what is safe for your pre and post surgery. You need to understand the pre-surgery diet and the expectations for about 6 to 9 weeks after, depending on how fast or slow they phase you through your steps back to food. If you understand that process, the rest is iffy as to how important it is. Learn the basics. If you are a person who likes to try different recipes, you might check to see if they have any to share. But otherwise, I think the post surgery importance is minimal if you are ready to do this as right as you can. As you read here you will learn there are programs who believe that even veggie carbs are evil, mine wants people to get back to eating veggies as a small portion of their regular diet. So with differences that dramatic between programs, how important can it really be? At the end of the day, once you have safely moved back to food, you will do what works for you. And your stomach will give you some big hints. Good luck. (BTW, I'd love to tell you the details of my first dietitian but it's a bone of contention between me and the program right now. I paid a fortune for 8 appts. (required - 4 before and 4 after) and it was a joke. Maybe someday I'll share, but right now it's that bad that I need to keep it under wraps!)