Foxbins

Does all that dairy total 1200 mgs. of calcium? That;s the amount I was told to take daily...

That is fabulous! Well done!

Congratulations on your surgery! The bubbling will go away, right now your stomach tissue is so swollen it's like trying to pour a lot of liquid into a straw. As the swelling goes down, you will feel better and better. Keep drinking, burping, and walking!

I got the flu last week and puking is the same as before surgery. Yuck!

I think you are on a slippery slope here...it looks like your surgery was five days ago. Although I had a VSG, I am sure that your stomach is swollen and irritated from the surgery. Tomato sauce is acidic and might hurt. Please keep to your surgeon's directions, you paid a lot of money for your surgery and don't want to mess it up or harm your health, I'm sure. Drink some more Water or broth and do something to distract yourself. Good Luck!

How does it taste?

I went to Mexico and from the time I completed the application to my surgery date was 3 weeks. I did not have to do a pre-op diet, a psych eval, or any of the other hoops some people go through. I did pay for my own nutritionist once I started eating solid food as I needed some advice. Good Luck!

The brand name was Odwalla and it was vanilla-flavored. The label clearly said 40 gms of protein.

Safeway supermarkets carry Protein drinks in the refrigerated section with the health juices like carrot, wheatgrass, etc. (not the section with orange and grapefruit). I found a soy and whey drink that didn't taste bad with 40 gm of protein. If you can eat solids, there are lots of places to buy protein bars--Target, Raley's Supermarket, even some gas stations. Have a great time in LA! Oh, and GNC stands for General Nutrition Center. They are stores that cater to bodybuilders and people who want to supplement their diets with various additives. They are often found in shopping malls but there are some standalone stores. They have lots of protein (dry, liquid, soy, egg, whey) to choose from.

I'm with you, Groove. I am just a private person, and I respect other people's privacy as well. What I do with my life is my business and other people can do as they like with their lives. Want to tell? Tell. Don't want to tell? Okay by me!

I told my PCP a week before my surgery that I was going to Mexico and she agreed to do my follow up. No problems.

FYI: I went to Costco today and bought the old formula (yay!). Apparently my Costco just put the new stock on top of the old; I noticed that some boxes on the bottom of the pile had the arrows and moved some of the boxes on top to get to them. They have an expiration date of Nov 11, 2011 and the new formula has a later expiration date and the changed box. I bought 2 cases and may be going back for more since these are the only shakes I like so far.

Can you talk to your doctor to see if there is something similar you could be switched to (maybe temporarily, until you can swallow pills) that comes in an alternate form?

My surgeon put me on liquid Nexium right after surgery and now I take a daily Prevacid. No problems so far. As I understand it, acid problems are common after surgery.

I lost an average of a pound a day the first two weeks for a total of 17 lbs in January, but about 6 lbs of that was IV fluid, then stalled for about 10 days. Weightloss resumed again and I have lost another 3.5 since Feb 11. I started at 232 and I am 56 years old. I figure I'm about 1/4 of the way to goal after 5 weeks. Can't beat that!

My doc said no more than 2 oz at a meal this early out. I measure it out, and if I finish it, fine. If not, fine. This way I am sure I am not overeating. I am still having protein shakes because I can't get in all the protein from regular food. If you are drinking enough, getting your protein in, and the most food you eat is a pudding cup I am sure you're okay and not overeating.

My *7* Truths: 1. I am not going to lose 75 lbs in the first two months. I started at 232 and have been comparing myself to some people who are losing tremendous amounts of weight in a short time. Not going to be me, but I am losing steadily and expect to get to goal in 9-12 months. 2. Protein shakes taste awful, but Protein Bars taste worse. I can't get all my protein from food yet so have to supplement with shakes no matter what the dietician says. 3. I am sleeping more soundly than before surgery. I used to wake up 3-4 times a night but no more! I didn't have sleep apnea, either. 4. People who have not seen me in a while recognize me when they can see my face. I colored my hair copper and my shape is different so I have to get close to them! 5. It is so much easier to exercise. I used to sit in the recliner all day and watch TV but now I go swimming and walking and miss it if I don't do it. 6. Multi-Vitamin tablets make me want to vomit and I did retch after the calcium, I think they are too big for my sleeve right now. I am taking two vitamin chewables and ordered the Calcet lemon bites yesterday. 7. I am NOT HUNGRY---this is the biggest blessing. I get kind of an empty feeling but it is not hunger as I knew it before surgery. I am so happy and thankful that the hunger went away.

My nutritionist said Centrum in the white box, sublingual B-12, and 1200 mg. calcium citrate. I take on my own 1000 mg. Vit. D.

Hi, Sonia-- My surgeon did not require a pre-op diet for me but my understanding from other posters is that it is recommended so that the fat covering your liver shrinks and won't be so slippery when the surgeon needs to push it out of the way during surgery. Also, and this is the reason I wish I had done a pre-op diet, any weight you lose pre-op is just more toward your goal weight. You won't regain it. Re: pain--I had very little pain, the nurses kept shooting stuff in my IV. Mostly I was bothered by a very dry mouth and some left shoulder pain from the stretching of the diaphragm from the gas they inflate your belly with. Your nurses will keep you well-medicated, they do not want you in pain. I couldn't sleep on my side for a few days after surgery because the incisions hurt but it was more annoying, certainly not unbearable. I did not want cold things to drink after surgery, warm tea and chicken broth were wonderful. Water didn't hurt but warm things felt better, it's hard to describe, like my stomach was more relaxed with warm things. That lasted about a week, and even now at a month out, warm drinks first thing in the morning are better than cold things for me. You will do fine I am sure!

Can't address the PA surgeon question. I went to Mexico because: My BMI was 35 and my insurance won't cover surgery for people less than 45 without comorbidities. I certainly wasn't going to gain weight immediately to have insurance cover it, and I wasn't willing to wait the 5 years or so for my BMI to reach 45. I could afford surgery in Mexico. US surgeons cost at least 3K more than my surgeon charged and often you spend less time in the hospital post-op in the US. I was in the hospital 4 days/3 nights. I didn't have to jump through insurance hoops to be approved and could schedule my surgery 3 weeks after I decided to have it. I could pick my surgeon rather than having my insurance plan pick them. Mexican surgeons have a lot of experience doing VSGs which cuts complication rates. Those were my reasons.

B-Protein shake S-Glass of skim milk L-Shelly's Ricotta Bake (1/2 cup) D-Scrambled egg w/cheese S-1/2 cup carrot juice Water-ok so far Vitamins-half done Calcium-no, makes me puke. Looking for another kind.

I had one that I didn't know about, it was fixed during surgery and I recovered fine. I don't think it added more than a few minutes to the surgery time.

I think the potential problems with the long flights are dehydration and deep vein thrombosis. I felt fine to fly home on the 4th day after surgery so the surgical aftermath should be okay and it was a pretty short flight for me. Water should also be okay if you keep drinking during the flights. I would ask the surgeon's office for their advice about flying so long. I am sure they have experience with people coming from far away.

Three days before my surgery I went to see my PCP and told her what I was doing and where. She called the head of the Bariatric Program at SSF who told her to try and talk me out of surgery in Mexico, but if I went I would have to have follow up. After surgery, I emailed my PCP and she contacted Richmond (it was closer to where I live) and basically they told me that they don't really do aftercare, it's up to the PCP. I did speak to a really nice dietician who helped with vitamin and supplement recommendations and said she would email my PCP the website they have for physicians to do follow up on bariatric surgery patients. My PCP is a doll but Richmond could give a flying f--- about me since my surgery was out of program. I am going to go to the support group and see what it's like. Maybe I will see you there--I will be the one with the forbidden protein shake!

My first "meal" affected me like that too. Surprise! But after that first one, no--I had warning and things got a tiny bit more cohesive...if you know what I mean.