Catracks

My blood sugar went to normal with the sleeve. I was just over the line on my blood tests and he tried to put me on Metfomin or some such thing. I wouldn't take it because I wanted to see if surgery would control it. I have issues with medication because sometimes side effects are worse than the disease. My next two labs came out normal. Your mileage may vary. I should add that my doctor tried to talk me out of the sleeve in favor of Roux-en-Y. He said that I would not even lose as much weight without the malabsorption and dumping syndrome to keep me from eating sugar. He said that I could only expect to lose 50% of my excess weight. Well at 3 months i have lost 50% of my excess weight. I am so glad I chose the sleeve. I feel like I'm grown up enough to have a bite of dessert or my little piece of dark chocolate every once in a while. To give that up forever and be on a strict Vitamin regimen for life was not for me. I wanted to keep my stomach and my nice pyloric sphincter. I want to eat like a normal thin person and I do.

That makes good sense. I can see that. I handle it fine so I eat it all. The nutritionist also said that skins of fruit are not good. but that's where all the nutrients are. An apple for instance without the skin is not very nutritious, but if if tastes good and gives you pleasure then it's a good thing. I guess that's where juicing whole fruits gives maximum benefits because the skin is used. "The secret behind the super antioxidant capacity of the apple is its skin. The apple skin alone provides two to six times the antioxidant activity of the apple flesh alone. So it is important to eat the skin to obtain the full health benefits of apples." It's the same with many other fruits so I think they may be doing us a disservice telling us not to eat the skins and membranes.

I drink a little fruit juice and club soda. Diet soda gives me carb cravings. Diet soda with aspartame is really no good for you. People with a lot of reflux and heartburn should stay away. I don't have any trouble with carbonation. i just burp. Sorry if TMI. I was drinking coffee in my chocolate Protein shake two weeks out. YUM mocha!

I did that this morning. I fed the rest to the chickens.

A lot of the good vitamins are actually in the pith (white part) and membrane. I eat this with no problem. I would wait a couple months out though. Oh, I see you are. I wouldn't do the chew and spit. It is as habit forming and chew, swallow, vomit albeit less gross.

I got a surprise and very heavy period a week post op. That is beyond rude. Just picture them as grunting piggies and then laugh.

I'm so sorry about all the complications. You may not need 3 weeks. I got 2 weeks off, but I could have gone back after the weekend with only a couple days off. i was one of the ones who had it easy though. You don't need much to get started. For the first two weeks I used the clear Isopure drink that they sell at GNC. I'd say go for it earlier if you can swing it financially and try to get back to work ASAP IF you have a non-strenous job. Talk to them. See what they say. They will have a more productive and healthier worker if you get this done. Any other opinions folks?

i paid: $250 for the psych eval $200 to the nutritionist $150 for the endoscopy $1500 to the surgeon $300 to the hospital an untold amount on Vitamins, Protein powder, clear Protein drinks and other miscellaneous crap. Even with insurance, it ain't cheap! BTW I had a PPO and it pays 90% with a $300 deductible. My surgery wasn't until January so it reset

I stalled almost exactly at three weeks too. Many do. The scale will move again soon.

Not to worry. Just apply the bandage and have some extras in your carry on. Those butterfly bandages are like extra stitches and the gauze pads absorb any leaks. It's funny now, but I was overdoing it my first day home from the hospital. I was putting a casserole dish way back into the cabinet and I did a bit of twisting. It probably needed to come open anyway because there was a lot of trapped blood. Anyway, I really started bleeding profusely and soaked a dishcloth. I called the on call surgeon and he was totally unphased. He just told me to apply a gauze pad and tape. The butterflys were my idea. Anyway, this doesn't happen to everybody. It's just a good idea to be prepared. Also: a long flight after surgery? Make sure you get up and walk the aisle a bit when you can and stretch out those legs.

I had never heard of plication. It's not even covered by insurance yet. I think I still like the idea of that great curvature gone instead of folded up inside. I guess it must work similarly, but might be reversible. That is the only advantage I see. Can they stretch then because they have the more stretchy part of the stomach intact?

I think you look wonderful. You did a half-marathon? I am in awe of you! I still see a fat person, but then I think: "I really must have been a cow 3 months ago." Some days I feel really good about myself and some days not so much. I have the bat wings and some nameless floppy skin on my inner thighs plus an old baby pouch. I remember what I looked like when I was younger and thinner, but I have no idea what this 46-47 year old thin lady is going to look like. last time I lost weight, I didn't have this extra skin or the slight bags under the eyes. I think about these things, but seriously, a few months ago I was turning down invitations to parties and nights out because I was so ashamed at the way I looked and couldn't find anything to wear. I was getting too big for size 18s and maybe too big for 20s. Now I go everywhere. I fit easily into booth and amusement park rides. I am so happy overall I can't even begin to express it.

I'm almost 3 months PO. Here is today's food eaten slowly over the day. I don't have set, strict meal times. It works for me. I eat when I get hungry. 6 oz Greek yogurt with fruit - sometimes I have 3 oz of cottage cheese instead. 4 large strawberries on a bed of greens (arugula, radicchio, spinach, etc.) 2 oz. of quinoa with sauteed onions and peppers 4oz of chicken meatballs 2or 3 oz of cheese (today is swiss and baby bell light) 12 roasted almonds For dinner I might have 3-4 oz of salmon and some broccoli.

I will be three months out next week and have not experienced the hair loss. I have a lot of hair, but it is fine. When do people tend to experience the hair loss? Does it come out in the shower? When brushing?

I have a ton of chewable Vitamins that I don't need. I could swallow pills from day one. Now I have all these intensely sweet/sour vitamins to get down. YUCK!

Oh yeah. Bring chapstick and a small cushy pillow to put on your stomach when you get up and down and for the car ride home. It helps with the bumps. I also would recommend gauze pads, butterfly bandages and tape. My big incision decided to open and release all the subcutaneous blood that was trapped there. For the first week if I wasn't wearing a bandage I would bleed on my shirts. Really irritating.

Please come back and tell me what he says. My appointment is the following Monday.

So in the interest of full disclosure I will tell you all that I took 2 pounds off my Easter goal. 186 was an arbitrary number, but 188 is exactly my halfway point. It is also 50% of my excess weight and all the weight my surgeon said I could expect to lose at all. I'm going to go in at my 3 month appointment on the 16th and tell him to stick this in his statistics

These are from The World According to Eggface. She also makes Protein ice cream. Her other recipes are great too. She is a Gastic bypass patient that was once over 300 pounds. She is a slim fit thing now and she loves to cook and eat. She has a real healthy philosophy about weight loss. The cakes are not lowfat, but are sugar free, delicious and full of protein. You probably could cut down on the oil just a bit. Mine was moist enough. I also used SF lemon Jello pudding (tbs), SF lemon jello (1 tsp) and one Tbs of Torani SF lemon and 1 Tbs of SF Torani vanilla. I like to tweak things. The SF jello powder and the Torani syrups are a must in my pantry. I flavor all kinds of things with them. A little goes a long way. I also did a glaze over the top with SF vanilla syrup and lemon juice. You can also do fat free real whipped cream, SF jam or fruit on top of the cakes. I also use little ramekins for the batter instead of a measuring cup. It makes two little cakes that way and I eat half of one cake at a time. More Eggface 5 Minute Cakes: Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free Carrot Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free chocolate Peppermint Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free Chocolate Raspberry Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free Lemon Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Lemon Poppy Seed 5 Minute Protein Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free Apple Cinnamon Cake (Nathan's Cake) Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free Almond Joy Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free Coconut Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free Espresso Protein Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Sugar Free banana Caramel Nut Cake (My Favorite) Shelly's Pretty in Pink strawberry 5 Minute Cake Shelly's Orange Creamsicle 5 Minute Cake Shelly's Lime Green Margarita 5 Minute Cake Shelly's Pistachio 5 Minute Protein Cake Shelly's Almond 5 Minute Protein Cake Shelly's 5 Minute pumpkin Spice Protein Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Peanut Butter & Jelly Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Banana Protein Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Cookies & Cream coffee Protein Cake Shelly's 5 Minute Cranberry Protein Cake More Eggface Protein Ice Cream flavors

Really? Did he try to steer you to gastric bypass saying that you can be expected to lose only 50% of your excess weight. I'm going to my 3 month appointment at 50% lost. I'll say, "Stick that in your statistics." Don't get me wrong, I love the guy but most of his patients are bypass people and he believes that dumping syndrome and malabsorption are needed for better weight loss. I went to a meeting and saw the whole spectrum of bypass patients: A couple people who couldn't keep anything down and were sick and gray looking because of malnutrition. successful people, a person who drank her way back to obese, people who stretched out their pouches and ate around them (slider foods). and all the talk of dumping. I'm so glad I was sleeved instead. No sleeve people at the support group though. Have you gone yet?

Oh WOW! Thanks for the tip. I could die happy at Sansei. I also like Mama's Fish House. The last time I was there we stayed in Wailea. That and Makena are my favorite places. I sure hope I get to goal by then. I'll never do a bikini bottom again, but I hope to wear a bikini top with board shorts. My scars will look funny, but WTH.

You and I are about on the same schedule, have lost similar weight and have about the same goal. My difference is that I still really love food and have been eating like a gourmet. I get about 700-800 calories, 60-70 grams of protein and low on the carbs and fat. Due to the fact that I don't eat much, I have been eating salmon, ahi, steak, lobster, shrimp and good BBQ. Did the doctor have any ideas why food repulses you? Have you tried Greek yogurt? Hummus? Peanut Butter? Nuts like almonds, pistachios and walnuts? Walnuts are super with sharp cheddar and apples. You can also use that Protein powder for other than shakes. You can bake with it. I just made a protein lemon cake the other day. It takes 5 minutes and uses sugar free ingredients. This cake goes in the microwave and can be made into as many flavors as there are Jello and Jello pudding flavors. Sorry. See. I like to talk about food. What makes me happy is that I can eat what I want (I choose healthy foods) and I can eat like a normal thin person. I for one hope that the weight loss doesn't slow down yet. I know how to up my calories with the room I have in my stomach when it comes time for maintenance. Yes, I have some excess skin, but I really could care less. Plus I'm starting weigh training. Something like that may improve your appetite. Good luck.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a health food Nazi , but I'd rather eat something nice for 100 calories than waste it on a measly tablespoon of mayo. I only have room for around 700-800 calories. For that I can have yogurt or 3 oz of salmon or something else nice. Places like Cheesecake factory add gratuitous amounts of butter and oil to their foods so that healthy sounding things are disasters. God only knows what fast food places do to the food.

I love the stuff. Yes, cook it like rice with twice as much water as grain.

To me, white rice is empty calories. I do miss it when eating Thai food though. I've switched over to Quinoa which is much more nutritional and very high in Protein. It takes on the taste of what you are cooking. It's on my you can eat it if you can tolerate it list from my doctor, but they don't recommend it.