SKCUNNINGHAM

Like Oregondaisy, I stopped getting those notification emails long before the outage - I don't know why. I have a verizon.net account - and my emails from here do not show up in the SPAM folder. If you could tell me why it no longer works, I would appreciate it.

This is what I do Breakfast at 6 am (proein smoothie or high Protein oatmeal) Snack around 10 (baby bell cheese or a piece of beef Jerky with maybe a few raw veggies - carrots or snap peas) lunch around 12:30 or 1. (protein and veggies) Snack around 4 (same as morning snack) dinner around 6:30 or 7 (protein and veggies) If you still need protein, have an after dinner snack of sugar free pudding cup with a little Protein powder stirred in - or a little greek yogurt with some protein powder stirred in.

What will happen after you finish your six month diet and any other requirements your insurance plan requires is this - your surgeon's insurance coordinator will file all the paperwork with your insurance carrier. You will get a letter back from the insurance carrier either turning your request down or approving you for surgery. Once you have the approval letter, you will schedule an appointment with the surgeon. At that time, you will schedule your date. I got my approval letter on January 2nd. I had my surgeon's appointment about 10 days later. I scheduled my surgery for 2/22/11. It could have been sooner, but I was scheduling for my convenience at work. You will need enough time between your appointment with the surgeon and your surgery date to complete any kind of pre-surgery diet that he/she will require of you. Good Luck!

It will get better the longer you are out from surgery. Any kind of surgery / anasthesia is upsetting to the "poop" system. Compound that witht the radical change in our diets pre-surgery to post-surgery, and no wonder our systems are out of whack for a while. The more liquid and soft your diet going into your system is, the softer and looser your stools will be coming out. And I agree with jhwkgr's doctor - I had a diarrea / constipation thing going on for a while. Then I had to figure out what my system would take to be regular after I got onto regular food. (Plenty of liquids, Benefiber and Miralax). I know at 18 days out, I had to be very cautious about passing gas (or what I THOUGHT was gas). Good Luck - hope things settle down for your soon. Sharon

You look great in those jeans! You are going to be TINY when you get to goal. Make sure and keep a pair of jeans from when you started out, so you can compare them to the size you get to be when you are at goal. Great job working your sleeve - keep up the good work. Sharon

Here is an article I saw on MSN this morning. Doesn't surprise me. It would be interesting if some university would do a study of formerly obese WLS patients to see what our CD36 gene profiles were. I am going to see if I can find the entire study and read it. Sharon Your Taste for Fat May Reside in Your Genes Individual sensitivity might influence what and how much you eat, small study suggests -- Robert Preidt MONDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Variations in a certain gene can make people more or less sensitive to the taste of fat and affect their risk for obesity, researchers report. The team at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis studied 21 obese people and found that those with a particular variant of the CD36 gene were far more sensitive to the taste of fat. This is the first study to identify a receptor on human tongues that can taste fat. The finding was recently published in the Journal of Lipid Research. "The ultimate goal is to understand how our perception of fat in food might influence what foods we eat and the quantities of fat that we consume," senior investigator Nada Abumrad, a professor of medicine and obesity research, said in a university news release. "In this study, we've found one potential reason for individual variability in how people sense fat. It may be, as was shown recently, that as people consume more fat, they become less sensitive to it, requiring more intake for the same satisfaction. What we will need to determine in the future is whether our ability to detect fat in foods influences our fat intake, which clearly would have an impact on obesity," Abumrad noted. Previous research found that rats and mice without a working CD36 gene no longer had a preference for fatty foods and that animals that can't make the CD36 Protein have difficulty digesting fat. It's believed that up to 20 percent of people have a CD36 gene variant that's associated with making significantly less CD36 protein. This, in turn, could make them less sensitive to the presence of fat in food, the researchers said. SOURCE: Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, news release, Jan. 12, 2012 http://health.msn.com/healthy-living/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100283382

Do a search here on the forum and look for LilMissDiva's post on how to get back on track. It is her version of the 5 day pouch test. It has worked for a lot of people.

It isn't wierd to be having dreams related to your surgery or your sleeve. Perfectly normal. A lot of dieters (sleeve or not) dream of food, or dream that they are "breaking" their diet. You are having the sleeve variation of the dreams. Good Luck. Sharon

I would follw up with the company with a formal complaint lettre on the representative that dealt with you. If you don't get the shipment, it will be an easy refund with the credit card company. Just have the details so you can fill out the credit card company's form.

Make sure you drink the recommended amount of liquids. Make sure you are taking all of the recommended vitamins and make sure your vitamins say they are "complete". I would also recommend drinking a gatorade / powerade (try to get a low calorie one) until you feel 100% back to normal. I recently had a bout with intestional flu and got myself back to normal afterwards by drinking that kind of electrolyte drink. I would also encourage you to have regular bloodwork done. I get mine done every 3 months.

Congratulations! I know for a fact those last pounds are the hardest to lose. Great Job! Sharon

You could always tell them you have been having problems with your periods, and your OBGYN wants to do a laparascopic procedure to check things out. Those have to be done at a particular point in your monthly cycle, so it couldn't be moved away from conflicting with your prom.

You have accomplished the first key step to getting back on track - you have recognized the bad habits. Now, make a plan to help yourself not continue those behaviors. I had a problem this past weekend with eating too much popcorn. So, this morning, I threw the rest of the popcorn (a decorative holiday can full of it) in the trash. And, I am going to write down everything I am eating. And, I am going to hang my goal pants where I can see them. Don't beat yourself up for not being perfect. Love yourself for recongnizing what you are doing wrong, and praise yourself for doing the good behaviors. Good Luck.

I made my own broths. (chicken, veggie, or beef) They taste SO MUCH BETTER than the boullion broths, and I could season them as I wished. The meat and veggies I used to make the broth, I used in dishes I prepared for my husband

I like the calcium citrates that are chewy squares - either in chocolate, vanilla or caramel. There are a couple of brands - I get them at Wal Mart or WalGreens. I like the nectar brand of powdered Protein the best. My favorite flavors are Chocolate Truffle, Vanilla Torte, or Fuzzy Navel. I make smoothies with them for Breakfast.

I took Famotadine (Pepcid) morning and evening, and Prilosec in the evening. Now, at 10 months out, I only take Famotadine in the morning, and usually don't take anything in the evening - unless I have had spicy food during the day. I hope you find out what works for you. It should calm down in a few months.

Like M2G, I had gallbladder surgery after having followed the Modifast diet (back in 1987). Anyone who loses a large amount of weight rapidly can have gallbladder issues - so those sleeve patient aren't having gallbladder problems due to the sleeve surgery - it is strictly due to the weight loss. In my case, I had had gallbladder problems for years before I went on Modifast - I just didn't recognize the symptoms. I knew I had bad stomach pains after eating - but I thought it was related to the quantity of food I ate. In fact, it was due to what I was eating, not how much. As Foxbins described, rapid weightloss can cause small stones to be created in the gallbladder. Unlike that, I had a single, large stone. Most people who have gallbladder surgery now have it done with a laparascope, not "open" surgery (like mine was). You will either have it day surgery or stay in the hospital overnight. It is usually not too bad a surgery. I wouldn't worry about it. Talk to your doc about the actigall if you are concerned. Good luck with your sleeve.

The sip sip sip was pretty easy to learn after surgery, because my sleeve forced me to comply. It was the only way I could drink. The not drinking until 30 minutes after you eat was way more difficult for me. I look at the clock (literally) when I finish eating, so I know when I can start drinking fluids again. I don't mind not drinking while I eat (I never really did that before surgery), but would drink right after I ate.

I have just started eating popcorn (after Christmas). It is definately a slider food for me. But, it does taste good, and it doesn't upset my stomach like it used to (bad GERD years ago - popcorn was a big NO).

Maybe that hormone is what "ups" the metabolism so you burn more calories all day, if you exercise in the morning. Lsereno, I am trying to get off these last 10 pounds by 2/22. I am exercising 6 days a week now.

Pasquini - you are outstanding! Congratulations!

When I had my hysterectomy at 33, it made me go into immediate menopause - including the incredible moodiness and horrific night sweats. I was thrilled to go on HRT and am still happy with it. I never worried about the adverse side effects of HRT.

I see by looking at your profile you are young - 31. If you have been heavy for your most of your adult life (the last 10 years) you may be suffering from insecurity based on your rapidly changing body. At 31, you may be used to defining your "self" a lot based on your physical body. If you are insecure, certainly you would not be interested in relationships, much less a sexual relationship. I would recommend you focus on finding out who "you" are, maximizing the wonderful person you are, and falling in love with yourself. Once you are secure and happy with "you", you will find it much easier to relate to other people. Have you ever considered volunteering for an organization you believe in? Go build houses with habitat for humanity, serve meals at a Soup kitchen, volunteer at a food pantry, be a docent at a museum, etc. That is a pretty easy way to ease into being with people, and it will make you feel better. Good Luck, Sharon

I'm 55 and was sleeved last February. I have been on HRT since 1991, a few months after my hysterectomy. I do not have any of the monthly cycles you are describing. Since I am now old enough to have gone through menopause with my one remaining ovary, that is all behind me. I have only the good side effects of being on HRT. Have you talked to your OBGYN? Maybe this is temporary?

I pretty much do the same things that MeginNOLA does. I try to pick lower fat cheese options when I can, but don't drive myself crazy with it. In my opinion, the body needs a little bit of fat to function correctly. I eat a baby bell lite cheese for a Protein snack mid morning or mid afternoon (56 calories, 6 g protein, 3 g fat). I might have cheese with some meat at lunch on a flatbread crisp (sort of an open faced sandwich) or have some cheese in a one-egg omelet. Cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt are the only dairy products I can tolerate. I think it is more important to get your protein in and then worry about the fat than avoid fat to the point that you are not getting in your recommended amount of protein.