Matt Z

You haven't upset met... I don't understand where this "everyone is upset with me" logic comes from. You are free to believe whatever you want, but belief does not equal truth. To be so focused on 1 thing, you've left yourself no room for the truth, you've only left room for your belief, your opinion. Do not confuse opinion with fact. You can have faith, without religion. It seems only the blindfolded religious folks seem to feel that you can't have faith without religion, and that was one of religions greatest tricks. Enjoy your controller.

This is just more highlighting of the problem. You don't know anything. You only know what you were taught to believe. Belief is a funny thing. I haven't been deceived, I've been educated. I grew up Catholic, I went to CCD, I had one on one's with Sisters and Fathers, I also got in a lot of trouble because I asked questions that they couldn't answer. Like a simple one, if God created only Adam and Eve, they had 2 boys, Cain and Abel, Cain kills Abel, so now we've got Adam, Eve and Cain in the whole world... yet, incest is a sin. So, where'd everyone else come from? I've asked so many religious people this question, and none of them have a good answer, and that's because there isn't an answer, because the bible is a story, that's been rewritten far too many times to count by far too many people to count. You'd be equally as "intelligent" if you based your life off of the book The Tommyknockers. I'm not mad, I'm not hateful, I don't make fun of religious folks. I just can't fathom how you all can blindly follow a several thousand year old story as if it's real. I mean, we know the sun isn't the center of everything and the moon isn't made of cheese now... it's time to understand that, the bedtime story that you've based your life on, is just one long drawn out control mechanism. Now, if you can't have the basic human decency and compassion to honor someone's wishes, then, you can keep whatever religion allows you to feel you are better that someone else over information that cannot be proven. And again. You are free to believe as you wish, I will not stop you or make attempts to counter your beliefs and it would be great if you could at least do that much for the rest of humanity. Your opinions on unproven things don't have any effect on my life and I'd greatly appreciate you keeping your religion to yourself. And @LibbyT85 Honest question, how do you feel about a Satanic Temple doing a worship in your honor?

It's not the initial ignorance that's a problem. (or lack of compassion that others might not share your views), it's the continued pressure / insistence that somehow if someone doesn't believe in what you do, that your imposition of prayer for that person, is what's best for them... I mean, as I've stated before, I don't care. But if you can't say that you'd be as appreciative of any other religion praying, doing worship, doing rituals, etc in your honor when they know you don't believe in whatever that is... Odds are, you won't be as appreciate as you expect others to be when you do it. This is the root of this issue (as I see it), that someone's personal will doesn't matter because of someone else's personal opinion of religion. Live and Let Live, but if someone tells you to not pray for them, it's disrespectful and rude to disregard that persons wishes, regardless of your own personal opinion.

See, this is exactly the problem. You know @Rainbow_Warrior isn't religious, yet you are going to state that your belief supersedes Rainbow_Warrior's? Just because you talk to yourself, doesn't mean that what you believe is a God exists. How about I get a few of my Satanic friends to worship to Satan in your honor? To have them pray to Satan for you? I can do this if you want, or I can do this if you don't want. How you would feel if I told you I just reached out to them and they are going to have a special service at their temple in your honor, to pray to Satan to show you the truth? Would you be so appreciative?

Had my 3 month Surgical check in on Monday, all my labs were good except my Vitamin D levels. I've been using PatchMD patches for almost all of my vitamins, so the fact that all except D were good, is promising for these patches. I have my 3 month nutritional check in tomorrow.

Sweats or pj pants. Some comfy slippers! Your own pillow (both for your overnights and for the ride home) Cell phone, charger with extra long cable. Lip Balm and Dry Mouth Spray (these were so freaking helpful, they made the start of my recovery so much more pleasant!) I didn't use anything else. I brought a book and never touched it. Change of clothes stayed in the bag.

I'd say it's "normal" in that your stomach is still healing so it's possible the liquids are triggering the nerves responsible for triggering the noises. Unless it's just some bubbling from the liquids making their way through, should ease up once the swelling is gone.

Get yourself one of those small under desk exercise "bikes" or "steppers", if you really are strapped to the desk for that long, there are also plenty of other things you can do to get some exercise in! Just googled "Desk exercises" or "chair exercises" https://draxe.com/exercise-to-do-at-your-desk/ https://greatist.com/fitness/deskercise-33-ways-exercise-work

I wouldn't be concerned, odd bloating / gas / etc can happen with a drastic diet change, you'll be fine! Congrats on the surgery! Soon you'll get to start the real fun!

I had my date within a week, it was 3 weeks after that, but I also made sure to tell my team that I was open to any time, any day as long as it was as soon as possible and they worked to get me in, they had a cancellation and slid me right in. Just be open about your desired timeline and willingness to be flexible.

Oh it sucked... and sucked hard! But, being away from easy temptations made it that much easier to work on exactly WHAT I was feeling. After focusing on the "pain" of being hungry for long enough, I realized it wasn't "hunger" exactly, I was getting the nutrition I needed, I just wasn't filling my stomach up. After a while it was easier to identify what type of hunger sensation I was having and I could work on ignoring it. It's funny what we can get used to, what sensations we can learn to ignore with time and focus.

I was an emotional eater as well. And a stress eater. And a bored/tired/anxious eater. Use the pre-op and immediate post-op time to work on changing your relationship with food, it's not easy, but with the right amount of effort it's totally possible to overcome. As far as the boyfriend. I think you 2 need a serious sit down. The lack of respect and support is a major red flag. Not that he's a bad guy necessarily, it's possible he's afraid of losing you, either to surgery or to someone else once you drop your weight. Maybe he's insecure about his own weight and your process is shining a light on that. Either way, I think it would do you both good to sit down, drop all pretenses and lay all the cards out on the table. He's either going to step up and be honest with you... or he won't. But either way, you need his help and support and you should demand his respect. I'm not going to tell you what you *should* do, but, personally, if my significant other was that rude and subversive, I'd be looking for the door. My wife was on-board for the lap band. She wasn't fully sold on the revision to bypass, but she knew it's what I wanted, trusted that I chose what was best for all of us and she accepted that fact even against her own thoughts on the matter. Now, she's looking and feeling better herself as well because of my surgery. My whole family eats better, gets more exercise and overall, everyone is happier, all because of the changes I made for myself. Hopefully everything works out for you, one way or another. Stay Strong, this process if for yourself and yourself alone. You got this!

I've cooked foods directly in liquid smoke and haven't had a single issue. Smoked meats tend to be tender/juicy enough that they don't cause me issues. This might depend on your personal situation and surgery however. But typically, if you can tolerate it, and it's not laden with fat or sugar, you should be good.

Reflux issues from the pre-op diet can be pretty common. However I see you are slated for the sleeve, reflux issues after getting the sleeve are extremely common.

I'd rather have a bit more gas and nasty poops than deal with reflux issues personally. Speaking of nasty... I feel today is going to be a rough one...

I worked right through my (almost)3 week long liquid pre-op diet. It sucks... but, it's going to suck either way, at least at work you've got something to take your mind off of things some.

• +TRANSFERRIN SATURATION • CBC W/ AUTO DIFFERENTIAL • BILIRUBIN TOTAL • CHOLESTEROL TOTAL • GLUCOSE FASTING • IRON • TIBC • PROTEIN TOTAL • ALT • AST • TRIGLYCERIDES • BUN • CALCIUM • VITAMIN B1 • PREALBUMIN • FERRITIN • CREATININE LEVEL, SERUM • VITAMIN B12 • FOLATE • HEMOGLOBIN A1C • VITAMIN D 25 HYDROXY • LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE • MAGNESIUM • BILIRUBIN DIRECT • ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE • ALBUMIN And the ONLY thing that was off... was the Vitamin D.

Nope, you won't really be able to tell you are "different" outside of your eating changes. It's not like you are losing a limb and you have a visual reminder that you lost something... I guess *maybe* the weight loss could be a sign, but honestly... I don't feel that way at all, never even crossed my mind.

The struggle sucks. Not having a support structure during those struggles sucks worse. Not going to lecture, but every choice, is a choice. I went to dinner parties, cook-outs, birthdays, even out to a club all while on my liquid diet and while I did "cheat" here and there (a teaspoon sized amount of lean beef taco mix on a celery stick) I didn't cave in. Even with people all around me not giving a rats backside that I couldn't eat or drink. It sucks. But, it's your choice on how you deal with that. Take control! It's obvious you know you messed up. So, move forward and do better. Check out the rants and raves section, you might have more engagement venting there. Overall, Congrats on deciding to start your WLS journey, it's a tough road but it's well worth it! Stay Strong!

Follow your instructions. Eat how you are supposed to and don't worry about the weight number. If you are exercising, you are more than likely losing body fat and gaining muscle. So, don't stress so much about stepping on the scale.

I was banded in 2011, and I wish I wasn't. Sure there are lots of folks with success stories, but there are many more stories of how the band just didn't live up to the hype, in fact 2 of the major manufactures, aren't making parts any more and LOTS of surgeons aren't performing installations because of the high failure rates, low success rates and lack of manufacturer support. A about 6 years dealing with trying to get the band to work for me, all the depression and issues because it didn't. Getting stuck on foods I shouldn't, etc etc etc. I did lose about 70 lbs, but that was it. Nothing else I did would make that number move any farther. I started to rebound as well a few times. When I finally had the band removed and revised to the bypass, my band was 100% completely encapsulated in scar tissue and took my surgeon over 3 times longer to remove than it should have, I had no "issues" though... no slippage, no erosion, yet, the band was screwed up, no idea what would have happened if I just left it and continued to deal with all the problems. Congrats on deciding to take the first step on your WLS journey, I would however strongly caution away from the band.

The Mini Gastric Bypass is essentially a sleeve and reconnect. They configure your stomach much the same way they do with the sleeve, then attach it to the intestines, so you only have the 1 staple line (on each side of the now bisected stomach) and 1 suture point. There is also some reports about the MGB having similar issues with acid reflux like the sleeve does. The RYN bypass they make the small egg/walnut "stomach" has the 1 staple line (on each side of the now bisected stomach) and 2 suture points. Both have *about* the same levels of malabsorption. So, the MGB is almost like a sleeve with some added malabsorption, but with the downside of potential acid reflux issues like the sleeve. I don't see how the MGB would be drastically better than the RYN given that they both essentially do the same thing, restrict intake with an altered stomach/pouch and rerouted small intestines to provide the malabsorption. My opinion of the 2... I'd go with the RNY over MGB, if only to make sure I didn't have to deal with reflux issues.

Typically the expectation is that if you have questions or anything that you'd call them. If you don't have the information you require, call them up and get it.

I believe you mean Dr. Aaron B. Bloomenthal. I went to Dr. Beth Ryder for both my band in 2011 and my revision to bypass this past March. Dr. Bloomenthal's reviews look good.

The 50,000 IU Vitamin D is a prescription, This review is about the patches, and I wanted to make sure I was clear that even with 2 patches that have Vitamin D in it, plus the chewables and the prescription, I'm still deficient, so the patch is NOT providing the Vitamin D levels they report. But, everything else is good.