SassySenior

Hello Ladies, I have the best excuse for why I haven't posted lately. My computer had a temper tantrum and messed up my computer. On Internet Explorer, for example, it shifted around all of my favorite icons and substituted in its place, things I favored 6 or more months ago. So my icon for this group disappeared. And my memory is as long as a 9 mo old pregnant woman's ability to hold her pee. Practically non-existent. When I didn't see the icon, I didn't remember to post. My gosh, Linda, you poor puppy. I feel so bad for you having to go through gout. So far <pounding on wood> I haven't had to deal with that. But I did have Shingles, which is so painful I was crying, which I never do. Later, my doc said I should have gone to the hospital and be on an IV drip. There is an expression, "pain is mandatory, but suffering is optional." In other words, if we work at it ... and in this case find the right doctor ... our pain may disappear quickly. I think it's a good lesson for anybody. If you hurt, go to your PCP, not the ER. Keep in mind that the ER is staffed by interns, residents, and yes, even medical students. I finally met with my Nut on Jan. 2 and weighed 342, which was a loss of 29 pounds over about 6 weeks. I'm not getting exercise, but have a PT coming in 2/week. My time runs out this week, so I hope I will force myself to walk without her. My tummy is becoming more tolerant and I find I can eat some real food now. I'm about ready to order my favorite guesidillas. What to eat is still a struggle for me because of the difficulty of using my kitchen. I had my meals pretty much figured out before. I ate pizza and chicken salad from Whole Foods and frozen foods from Lean Cuisine and Marie Calendar. I'm pretty close to being able to do that again. Keep in mind, I don't cook. Perhaps if my kitchen were normal size and I could get around, I might. But it isn't. Dear Cheryl - So good to hear from you again. Those idiots who give you a hard time are just insanely jealous. That's it in a nutshell. And a big, warm hello to our newest Boomer, Bupie! Can't wait to hear more from you and why you have that special nickname. Write to us ... we're a pretty nice, loving, friendly, positive group. Good luck to you. Happy 2014 to All!!

Hi Lynda, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Going into this new year, it looks like it's just you and me. I'm sure at some point, another Boomer will discover us and post. In the meantime, I'm happy that you're willing to keep it going. Thanks for the above info. I saw my NUT yesterday. I told her I was drinking about 32 oz. a day, and she said that's fine because I get a certain amount of liquid from my shakes (2 a day, 11 oz.) and my Greek yogurt. She didn't think I needed to increase it at all. The bad news is I have only lost 27 pounds in the last 2 months. Nothing in the last 2 weeks. This has me concerned, even though I am down a total of 99 lbs. from my HW. I have severe arthritis, and the cold weather is making it near impossible for me to get around, so I'm not getting any exercise. I need both knees and hips replaced, but that will be after I lose more weight. Clearly, I am a lot older than most people who get this surgery. In fact, I think I'm the oldest in our group. Darn ... I had to be born in the first year that later became known as the Boomer years. LOL I am going to force myself to walk about my apartment building a little. I have been reluctant to do this because I'm afraid I will need to sit down and cannot. I had a great rolator that had a seat, but it broke, and the one I have now does not. Right now, I'm increasing the amount of real food I eat, but very carefully so. I find myself getting hungry for the first time since surgery. Mostly I consume 2 shakes, 1 Greek yogurt and 1 Protein Bar and 1/2 cup of something for supper. Any suggestions? How was your New Year's Eve? Did you do anything special? And to the other Linda ... how are you and Hubby? Let us know.

WOW, James. That is fantastic. Congratulations! And to think you did it in just under a year. Good for you! Care to share any secrets to your success? My HW was 431, but it was 2 years ago, before I had surgery. Between the various weight loss diets, I managed to lose 72 lbs. before surgery on 11/1/13. I have only lost 27 pounds in the last 2 months. Nothing in the last 2 weeks. This has me concerned. I have severe arthritis, and the cold weather is making it near impossible for me to get around, so I'm not getting any exercise. I need both knees and hips replaced, but that will be after I lose more weight. Clearly, I am a lot older than you. And I'm very happy for you that you did this for yourself at a young age. What a great life you have ahead of you.

Sleevedsilly - I believe you when you say you're going to get back on track. You did it once, and you can do it again. I think it's very brave of you to post the truth and applaud you for it. When I was 431, my eating habits were bad, too. I wouldn't say atrocious, because if that were the case, I would have weighed a lot more than 431. But once I began to gain from taking steroids after chemo, it seemed all hell broke loose. I was always thin or normal before that. The #1 thing that helped me begin a weight loss journey is that I began logging in everything I ate into MyFitnessPal.com It's a hard thing to be that honest ... with yourself ... to look in black and white at the cold, hard fact of not just what you ate, but the nutritional stats. I was willing, maybe for the first time, to be accountable for what I put it my mouth. That was the beginning of my weight loss journey. Today, nearly 2 months post op, I am down 99 lbs. I didn't really do anything special other than that. So best of luck to you. I know you can do it, you just have to make a commitment to yourself.

I was always told that "normal" is 80 - 120. Mine have been much lower than before since surgery. I always ran high because I don't take my meds as often as I should. Now I'm doing great!

Good advice, Lynda. I'm still at the drink 32 oz. stage. I have an appointment Jan 2 with my Nut where I will move on to the last and final stage. I'm sure, they will suggest/insist I consume more Water. I tried taking the Colace a.m. and p.m., but it didn't seem to work for me. It's probably because I not only drink Protein Shakes, but I also take pain meds for my arthritis. In the past, before surgery, I would ease back on the pain meds, and that was usually enough to get my innards working again. But since I added the Protein, the problem has become a very difficult one. I will take you advice under advisement, and try to be more conscientious about taking it on the clock. BTW, I managed to find a plastic cup that is exactly 8 oz. and has the ounces printed on the side. I keep track of how many I have consumed, so this helps. But I guess it's time to develop a better routine for my new life. I think I'll make up a schedule because as it is, I have a routine for my Vitamins and Calcium, and my meds, especially my beta blocker. So it would be really good to combine all of this in one place, print itand, maybe even hang on my wall.

Gwyneth, The Queen of BM I have spent many bucks and hour upon hour in the powder room pondering how to resolve this issue. So it is with a very happy heart and a lighter load that I'm here today to share the secret of my success with you. My winning formula is 2 Colace (Dr. prescribed) either at night or in the morning. Then, grab some reading material and go sit on your throne. Get a bottle of Milk of Magnesia, take the full dose and drink a glass of Water (or more if you can). Now comes the tricky part, and each person is different. For me, I sit in the joan for 30 min. Then I get up and go into the kitchen. While sitting in the kitchen, the ever-demanding fart will rear its ugly head. Since, I still haven't learned "Don't trust the fart," I'll try a test toot and be re-educated on why trust must be earned. During this process, stay close to the joan so that when the time comes, you'll be ready. Gwyneth will try to play mind games with you, proclaiming she can't wait. Don't listen to her. Keep moving to the joan. Once safely inside the joan, sit down quickly, remembering to remove underthings during your rush to get the job done. Next, drink the MoM, retrieve your reading material and proceed to spend 30+ min. of quality time with Gwyneth. For lightweights, Gwyneth is likely to appear in the first 30 min. But if your Gwyneth is saucy like mine, you'll have to pretend to get on with your life before she will beckon you back for an encore performance. How you act after this encounter will determine your fate. First, stop taking all laxatives asap. Sometimes, Gwyneth will visit for days, especially upon arising. Using whatever logic you favor, it’s up to you to decide when it's time to get back on the meds. I usually wait until I begin to doubt I'll ever go again. I have found this to be a winning strategy you can trust, peeps, and I wanted to share it with you.

You got that right, Linda. But I'll have to finish this post later. Shiki is staring at me like ... MOM do you realize how long it's been since we've eaten!!! Now that I don't get hungry, I don't feed him as often as I used to. But I'll be back later after he's been properly taken care of.

Your house sounds perfect for the season. Expect to see me any day! LOL I have heard a lot of things here about doctor's diets, but never that you should eat once a day. At this point, you're hubby should be on mushies, which for me has been a little over a month. I only eat pureed foods, like soup, chicken, chili Beans only. The only important thing is to get your Protein in - 60 g - and 32 oz. water or more. I eat very lightly myself because my sleeve is super sensitive. For Breakfast, I usually have Cream of Wheat. I make it with milk, and usually only eat 1/3 of it. Later, I drink Premier Protein chocolate 11 oz. and 30 g. My last meal is a 1/4 cup of real food and 1 container of Yoplait Greek Yogurt, 10 g protein. And I try to squeeze in another Protein Drink at some point, which I've been doing more lately. My sleeve is getting more tolerant, so I can drink more and faster than before. I'd really think twice before restricting yourself like that. The effects could hurt you. Certainly you'll suffer energy loss, you'll be missing needed protein, which will affect your weight loss and make your hair loss worse. Also you need to have 400-500 calories a day, and if you try to cram that in one meal, you'll get sick and may even stretch your sleeve. I won't say any more about this but seriously check out what is being done nationally. I realize there are a lot of people here who have much more liberal guidelines, but my doctor uses the standard approach, which works well for me. BTW when I had the dumping, it wasn't carbs or candy. I drank maybe 4 oz. first, then ate too much of my meal, too fast. I have two more posts I hope to do today. One is all about how I overcame constipation and the other is about a woman who weighed 1,000 pounds and has lost 600 so far. Keep those Christmas scent coming and the home fires burning.

Sorry you are getting to know your sleeve intimately. It is a real shocker, no? I had a sleeve incident last week. Nowhere near as dramatic as yours, thank God. I ate chicken salad too fast, and since it's not known for having moist qualities, my sleeve responded in anger. I had an attack of dumping. Main difference between what happened to you and dumping is with dumping, there is no doubt whether you are having a heart attack. Generally, you're too sick to even speculate on what the problem might be. It is similar to a heart attack, though, because you usually break out in a cold sweat and wish you were having a heart attack so you could die immediately. There's minimal pain and maximum discomfort. Sick to your stomach, urge to vomit, racing pulse, shaking, feels like someone threw a brick at you and it landed on your chest, Other than that ... piece of cake! Hey ... I don't know if you remember what the prize thing is all about. But you were going to win a prize for being the only person here to guess what my weight was after I was weighed in. Since I didn't make it to the appointment, your prize is on hold. They were trying to resked me for today, not realizing that I'm hours away and I need someone else to drive me. Martha does that for met, but she is not available at a moments notice. So my next appt. is Jan. 2 @ 2 pm. I like the synchronicity of it. As to this site's lack of activity, it's an on again, off again thing. What I do sometimes is copy posts I've written elsewhere. This is especially helpful since we have some good experience and even better speculation on what's wrong when you have a problem. Plus you get a mature take on it. No childish hysteria ... no, it's adult madness! Always a pleasure to interface with a contemporary! That said, I must take my leave, dear peep!

Linda, I just happened to be looking at this thread and saw your post. Sorry to report that that left shoulder pain is from the gas and it can last a lng time. I'm 7 weeks out and still get surprised by it occasionally. I take a pain pill, but I'm not sure it does much.

Thanks, Linda. Your prize awaits. See, I never made it to appt. The highway I was on had a massive traffic jam that extended some 10 miles+. Don't know if it was accident or road construction. We had to get off, turn around and go home. I'll call tomorrow and resked. Thanks for paying attention! Can always count on you! How's hubs? Sounds like he is doing great on the blood sugar. I'm a little spoiled from never having a problem with mine. Don't take it regularly. When I do take it, it's around 150, but I'm not taking all my meds. TTYL

GUESS WHAT? Tomorrow is the big day. I finally find out what I weigh. Yeah! It's been nearly 7 weeks. My SW was 363. My weight on 11/14 was 356, I've been on the pureed diet for a month, so you know I have eaten much. The question is what do I weigh? Make a guess. See how your guess stacks up against our other Boomers. The winner who guess closest to my CW will win a prize. Give it your best shot! You'll find out what the prize is after you submit your guess! Fair enough?

Loaded Cauliflower Casserole more on http://www.bodybuildingnfo.com/ Great for Low Carbers - Just like mac and cheese without the pasta ... 2 lbs cauliflower florets 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided 8 oz shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, divided 8 oz block cream cheese, softened 4 tablespoons heavy cream 2 bunches green onions, sliced (1 1/2 cups) 6 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled 1 clove garlic, grated Salt & pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam cauliflower florets until tender. While cauliflower steams, cream together 6 oz of the shredded cheddar, 6 oz of the Monterrey Jack, cream cheese, and heavy cream. Stir in sliced green onions, chopped bacon, and garlic. Set aside. Drain any liquid from steamed cauliflower and add to cheese mixture. Stir cauliflower and cheese mixture together. Taste for seasoning, and add as necessary. If you want a finer texture, give a few mashes with the potato masher. Pour into a 2-3 quart casserole and sprinkle on remaining cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese. Cover dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is brown and bubbly. Enjoy! ♥♥♥ SHARE so you can find it on your timeline ♥♥♥ Healthy Fitness RecipesSee More

Oh, Arts ... you're a comedian as well as a gourmet cook! But I still wanna know when you're birthday is. I agree with you on the baking ... but my mother who was 100% Irish was a boiler. She boiled everything. Heck, I was 16 before I learned you can do something other than boil a hamburger! Ha Ha. Those were the days. I wasn't a wild child, but I certainly believed in doing things my way ... like staying out till all hours. My mother was a worrier, so this was a bad combination. I used to come up with the most creative excuses for why I couldn't make it home on time. My car was my favorite excuse. As far as my mother was concerned, my car would break down at every turn. I think she actually believed I had the worst car in the world. Ah ... those were the days, no? Now, Linda, OMG, your poor hubby. While my dr. nearly killed me after surgery, what your husband went through sounds like torture. That's the problem with going to the hospital, we put way too much trust in nurses and doctors. They know their stuff, usually, but when we start having problems, we need to questions them. I was too out of it to do that, and it never occurred to the friend I brought along. Quite the opposite - she thought whatever they said was true. Now, as to eating meat, I assume you're pureeing everything? I'm on a 4-week puree, and I gotta tell you, it works well for me. I can only eat 1/4 cup of pureed food. I can eat more soup because it's liquid. I can also add a Greek Yogurt to most meals without much problem. I cannot imagine how I'm gonna eat real food soon. My next appt. is Thu, and that's when I go on real food, or whatever's next after pureed. Your crockpot dinner sounds yummy. That makes me realize what I need is a wife! Yeah, I need someone to cook for me, hold my hand and tell me everything's gonna be alright, and generally coddle me. So how the heck are you doing since your surgery? And I guess no one gained much of anything from my "memorable 10-points?" Oh well, better luck next time.

I have been wanting to share the following with you guys for quite some time. Now that I can paste again (not sure how long that will last), I figure I better do it before the evil board turns against me again. So here it is. Let me know what you think. Thanks. 10 Steps To Making Change Easier --author unknown 1. Begin by making small changes or break up large-scale changes into more manageable increments. This can make you feel better about handling the changes you are about to make while making you more comfortable with change in general. 2. Mentally link changes to established daily rituals. This can make changes like taking on a new habit, starting a new example, if you want to begin meditating at home, try weaving it into your morning routine. 3. Going with the flow can help you accept change instead of resisting it. If you stay flexible, you will be able to ride out change without too much turbulence. 4. When a change feels most stressful, relief can often be found in finding the good that it brings. An illness, a financial loss, or a broken relationship can seem like the end of the world, yet they also can be blessings in disguise. 5. Remember that all change involves a degree of learning. If you find change particularly stressful, try to keep in mind that after this period of transformation has passed, you will be a wiser person for it. 6. Remember that upheaval and confusion are often natural parts of change. While we can anticipate certain elements that a change might bring, it is impossible to know everything that will happen in advance. Be prepared for unexpected surprises, and the winds of change won't easily knock you over. 7. Don't feel like you have to cope with changing circumstances or the stress of making a change on your own. Talk about what's going on for you with a friend or write about it in a journal. Sharing your feelings can give you a sense of relief while helping you find the strength to carry on. 8. Give yourself time to accept any changes that you face. And as change happens, recognize that you may need time to adjust to your new situation. Allow yourself a period of time to reconcile your feelings. This can make big changes feel less extreme. 9. No matter how large or difficult a change is, you will eventually adapt to these new circumstances. Remember that regardless of how great the change, all the new that it brings will eventually weave itself into the right places in your life. 10. If you're trying to change a pattern of behavior or navigate your way through a life change, don't assume that it has to be easy. Wanting to cry or being moody during a period of change is natural. Then again, don't assume that making a change needs to be hard. Sometimes, changes are meant to be that easy.

Well, Arts, I'm pretty impressed that you have a creative way of fixing cauliflower. I definitely wanna try it. What size slices are we talking about? Do you have any other interesting ways of cooking other things as well? We are into sharing ... lol ... especially because your moderator ... namely, me ... needs help. I read a post recently that talked about taking frozen green Beans and tossing with olive oil and a few spices (don't remember exactly, but I think garlic, salt and pepper, maybe more). Anyway you toss them together, then put on a baking sheet at 425? for 20 min.? and they taste fabulous. So ... back to you, Arts ... so when exactly is your B-day?

Cauliflower, I just "Pinned" a recipe for Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup to my Pinterest board. Sadly, I don't know how to tell you to access. Maybe you can let me know. In the meantime, here's another. Shelly's Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole Steam cauliflower poured over a homemade cheese sauce (like for mac & cheese) and whiz that up. Ingredients: 4 cups Cauliflower, steamed 4 Tbs. Butter, divided use 1/4 cup Flour 1/2 tsp. Dry Mustard 1 tsp. Salt 1/4 tsp. Pepper 3 cups Milk 3/4 pound Sharp Cheddar Cheese (3 cups) 1/4 cup bread Crumbs (optional) Steam cauliflower set aside. Melt 3 tablespoons butter, blend in flour & seasonings. Add milk. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in cheese; pour over steamed cauliflower and mix till combined. Top with optional crumbs mixed with remaining 1 tablespoons of butter. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. You can add cooked ground chicken, turkey or beef to this too. Throw your portion in the Black & Decker Mini Chopper food Processor and whiz away.

Hello Boomers, First things first. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTS! What did you do to Celebrate? As I get older, I am really grateful for another year of continued good health. ~~~~~Secondly, I haven’t figured it out how to interact effectively with this site. And that’s why I’m not on here more often. For some reason, I cannot copy anything onto the page. Today, I got lucky and a box appeared asking me if I would allow web access to my clipboard. I said, yes, and another box appeared to paste into. However, I had a lot of trouble with the size of the text. So you’r either gonna get birdseed or billboard size text. I can’t control it. I have had several chats with Alex and he keeps pushing the Chrome browser. He insists if I download it, I won’t have any problems with the site. ~~~~~Third, I am a member of several fb groups, and I often go there first to compose some scintillating piece of wisdom or experience … mostly, just ordinary stuff … lol. I’ve wanted to share some of that with you but couldn’t copy it. Since I can do it today, I’m copying everything as one long continuous thread. Sorry, but it’s the only way I can do it ~~~~~Fourth, Protein Shakes. I'm still gulping Protein shakes. Got sooo tired of Premier chocolate, so based on all the good things I read, I order Syntrax strawberry Kiwi. I hate it, but I have 12, which I'll probably try to shove down my throat. I wonder if anyone else had this experience. It has a really strange taste, and I finally figured out what it tastes like Roquefort cheese (or blue cheese or goat cheese - I hate them all). Double yech. As if that weren’t enough, total protein is 23 g … only after you consume all 4 servings … Oh, great, not bad enough that I have to swallow this gunk once. I have to do it 4 times. This just doesn’t seem right. Did I buy the wrong product? Did anyone else notice the taste? Is there another flavor you recommend? I'm still sooo sick of Premier Chocolate, but at least I don't abhor it like I do this Syntrax. Help? ~~~~~~~~~Next topic is complications. I apologize for having to mix seemingly disparate topics in just one post. But until I figure out how to interact with this site, that’s how it will be. Sorry. COMPLICATIONS Most of us are good about taking our Vitamins, but it never hurts to be reminded of why we have to do it. Taking the vitamins and Calcium is not optional. You can actually die if you don't do it right. Sadly, I just read about two sisters who got the Sleeve, and one of them died from malnutrition. They didn't catch it in time. Here's another story of a Sleever, facing life-threatening consequences because she got too low on her B1 vitamins. “This was totally overlooked after seeing a Neurologist, my family Dr. and my surgeon. I only had my 2 week checkup and just recently my 3 month checkup. This kind of thing does not normally occur this fast, but it did for me! "I am currently undergoing 8 days of IV Infusion for B1, Thiamine deficiency, symptoms of a life threatening disease called "dry beriberi". The same symptoms I am seeing my neurologist for: weakness in my legs, numbness in my feet and fingers, pain and burning in my feet, sensation issues, balance and gait and muscle loss. As well as too advanced weight loss. "My surgeon said they might see illness this from a patient who was 1 year out from bypass, but not this early. I started at 226 lbs. and now weigh approx. 130's lbs. after less than 4 months. Hopefully I will see some relief from the treatments soon, but so far nothing. I just want to make everyone aware that you are not totally free from Vitamin deficiencies. I am rare apparently, but I am sure I am not alone." I'll end this with one of my favorite quotes: "To be forewarned is to be forearmed." ~~~~~Last but not least, big thank you to Lynda for providing me with an array of choices and suggestions on what foods I can put together for variety and added protein. I do appreciate you, Ms. Linda. How’s hubby? Is he doing OK? Why was he in the hospital for so long? Write and tell us the whole story. BTW, I have some great recipes with mashed cauliflower. I'll try to past them to this thread. Luv, Sassy

I would want to know why, and I would ask. But I would try not to "call him out" because you don't yet know what happened. Many people are cowards and take the easy way out. It's totally a reflection of them, not of you. It sounds like you may have hooked up with one of them. There's a majority out there, so unless you're very careful, it will happen again. I can't say I should earn any accolades in this area. But I believe we need to value ourselves enough to realize that he's at least as lucky as we are to get connected. For me, it takes a couple of months until he drops his best behavior before I see the real guy. But my attitude toward myself is what makes me feel so damn grateful that I have someone. I haven't dated in years, but I am hoping to start again next year. Hard as it is, I am going to do my best to value myself and dump anyone who doesn't measure up. I'm getting up there in age, so the pickings are slim. But I really don't want to be saddled with a bad relationshiup or jerk of a boyfriend, so I'm gonna cut the cord once his true colors show. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a nice guy. I wish you the same.

I can only surmise that her stats on the occurrence of a complication are off. I say this because something similar happened to me, and I could have died. I give my surgeon no credit with saving my life, because as one poster above said the surgeon is the one who caused the problem. I don't know if I'll ever know what happened in surgery but something did that caused me to lose a lot of blood. When I woke up I felt worse than I ever have in my life. I really wanted to die and stop the suffering. I think the reason I felt so bad is because of blood loss, resulting rapid pulse and very low oxygen level (below 80). My nail beds were white, no color whatsoever. For some reason, unknown and unfathomable, my doctor waited nearly 2 days before giving me a blood transfusion. I guess he was expecting miracles that would cure me overnight. Only thing I can say with certainty is this: Pick a good doctor. I thought I did, but he was an egotist and a hothead. I had a strong gut feeling not to use him. I didn't listen to my gut and I'm glad I'm here to tell you I made it through. I had brought a friend with me to be my advocate if I needed it. I needed it, but she just assumed the doctor and nurses knew what they were going. I was completely helpless and at their mercy. I swear I will never let this happen again, even if I have to pay to hire a private nurse. We don't think about how major this surgery is and that we could have a complication. In both these cases, it sounds like surgeon ineptitude. Luckily, I'm ok now - no lingering bad effects. So even tho my surgeon nearly killed me, at least he did do a good job on the procedure. I haven't had any problems or pain at all, other than gas..

Ladies, you have confirmed what I've known all along: Having two of you (Linda, Lynda) in the group has got to be a lucky sign. And I was right. You both rock rocks! I am so impressed ... and thank you ... for sharing your holiday ideas with us. I love them. Since I am a lone wolf, they are especially motivational to do something festive! I used to cook, but I don't anymore for a variety of reasons, including having handicapped equipment that don't fit in my pea-sized kitchen. Even my little dog, Shiki, can barely fit his 7 lb. body in there. I equate trying a new recipe for cooking one vegetable with the challenge and motivation required to publish in magazines. (Something I'm trying to do as well.) Yeah, my thing is writing. Been doing it all my life. And I'm pretty good at it. But domestic accomplishments? They are noticeably absent from my resume. <smile> So I am excited about using some of your great suggestions to make my holiday more festive! Yay! I am now almost 2 months post-op and I am finally getting to know my sleeve, KTPea, a little better. For example, whereas 3 days ago I had an occurrence of the dreaded dumping syndrome, and 2 days ago I suffered from taking one bite too many and was sickly for hour. Today I had not quite 1/4 cup of pureed chicken salad, and barely burped at all. This is one tricky piece of medical wizardry which promises great things if/when you get past the early stages. On a good day, I have less than 500 calories, 60 g of Protein and 32 oz. of Water. I'm starting to branch out from just liquids, which I'd been consuming for about a month. Much as I initially loved being able to add Soup to my repertoire, (it was thrilling at first, like a person in the desert finding water after being lost for days). Anyway, the naivety wore off, and now I'm not sure what I'll do with all the soup I bought. I do want to eat real food, but it will be a slow process. I am used to eating pre-cooked food that I get from Whole Foods or frozen dinners (the crème de la crème like Marie Calendar and Lean Cuisine). I had counted on ordering from my favorite food distributor, Diet Gourmet. They made and sold great dinners as whole or separate Entrees. Then reality hit the fan and I learned they had closed 3-4 years ago. w-a-h. I am pretty much relying on the Sleeve groups to come up with recipes to try. So keep up the good work, ladies. Thanks!

Hey Arts, Yes, you are one lucky dude. I've been doing pretty well since surgery, which almost killed me (details later). But for this nagging gas pain. It's nothing compared to what I've heard from others, and it usually strikes in my left shoulder. Now hitting the left side. But the thing about it is when it does hit, watch out. Run for the rafters. It's like a zap of lightning. Very sharp, sudden and very painful. It hurts to breathe, and don't consider moving or even trying to get up. Cindy ... whatever are we going to do with you?. You are getting way to sick, way too often. Do you have a really good doctor you can see? At times in my life, I've had some exceptional doctors. They either knew the answer or they immediately researched to find out what it was ... or in some cases, referred me. This is what you need. You need a doctor you can partner with. I just got a new PCP because altho my former doctor was very sharp, I disliked her intensely. Other than asking me the time of day, there is nothing I would have discussed with her. My new doctor happens to be the head of the department and has my #1 favorite all time nurse. I hope he's as sharp as I want him to be. I've only seen him once, and it was 2 days before my surgery. But I am optimistic that he'll be a great partner. So what's your story, Cindy? And, Arts, who do you see? Anyone else out there that can offer some insight here on Cindy's pain and doctors in general?

I hear y'all. I was happily drinking my Premier chocolate until right after surgery. Gag!! But it was all I had. Eventually, I got back to drinking it without feeling bad. Still ... am sooo tired of just that. I'm waiting on an order of Syntrax strawberry Kiwi. Should be here tomorrow. I'll let you know if I like it. Next thing I'm gonna do is get the unflavored and start adding it to other foods. Sounds like a good way to get the whey in. (ha ha .. get it ... ha ha ... way to get the whey!!) Ok, well at least I enjoy my humor! LOL

RAISE THE DEAD Okay. The group's gone quiet again. Is it just the holidays? I mean, how can I find out about all my aches and pains if no one Is posting? Speaking of which, how long did you have pains for the gas? Just when I think it's over, another burst sneaks in and smacks me. Ouch! Just got hit on the left side. Hey ,,, if you promise to post again, I'll tell you how I almost died on the table!