LVikingFan

I would wait a while on the meat. When I did have it we cut it up really fine and added lots of gravy to make it super moist. Spicey didn't bother me at all. I think the anti-acid drugs that most of us are taking really help in that department. Be careful with guacamole, it is super high calorie and one of the things that my NUT suggested never return to my diet.

Thanks everyone for your response. I think my surgeon just seems to be ultra conservative about everything. Not all bad though, because I really have had no issues at all beyond hiccups the first couple of days and I have lost of ton of weight already.

Sounds like your blood sugar might be a little low too. A call to the doctor is not a bad idea.

Are any of you taking meds for your tummies? I feel really dumb right now because I can't think of the technical name, but they help so much! At the least go out and get some Gas-X strips. They help with the bloating and tummy pain. I am two months out and just this past Friday at real regular food for the first time. Two ounces of steak and a little sweet potatoes. It satisfied me. The most important thing is to keep the liquids coming. If Isopure is too thick tasting to you thin it out with water, but keep drinking and walk, walk, walk! The first week is the worst by far, but from them on you will get better every day. I never thought it would feel "normal" to me, but now it is just everyday living. It is important to adjust your mind to not think that you are doing something bad to yourself. Think how good what you are eating or drinking tastes. Enjoy what you can have and don't mourn what you can't. Your life is going to be so much better in really a short time. No it is not easy, and anyone who tries to say we are taking an "easy" way out has never done it. But the rewards are huge. Now down off my soapbox. Good luck and hang in there. It will be better before you know it.

I am two months out now and have gone from 50 waist pants to loose 42's! I am retired, so I don't have to worry about clothes for work. I just broke down and got new underwear after taking a lot of grief from the wife. My 2X shirts were all donated last week and I am now wearing T-shirts from a box that I should have thrown out 10 years ago, but are a pleasant surprise that I can wear now. I have one pair of khaki's that I wear to church on Sunday that I just keep tightening the belt on and a few pairs of shorts that my bargain hunting wife found on clearance. I think that I am going to ask Santa for clothes for Christmas since I think by then I should be close to where I will wind up.

I was sleeved back on 7/22 and even though I haven't had any complications, no nausea, able to get my liquids and protein in and no pain, I had absolutely NO ENERGY. Thank goodness I am retired because there was no way I could have gone to work. Now that I am in week 6 I suddenly feel like a new man. I can walk a mile with no problem. This is miraculous. I have a handicapped placard for my car since I couldn't walk into work from the parking lot without huffing and puffing. I have lost almost 50 pounds and I now know for sure that this was the right decision. I went to the doctor last week and he says no heavy workouts for another 6 weeks, but I am ready now. If you are still having issues take heart it will be over really soon and we Firecrackers are going to really be sparkling!

To weigh in on the insurance questions. Most insurances say that they will not pay for anything that you get as a result of something that they do not cover. My insurance did not cover any bariatric surgery and for that reason I put off having the surgery until they did. Since your insurance does cover bariatric surgery they should cover any complications you have even though you did not have the surgery through them. But I agree, a call to member services to guarantee that it is going to work that way is in order. If it isn't make sure that it is covered by any new option that you might have to choose from in Open Enrollment. Relax and hang in there through these first few weeks. I am in my 7th week now and it all seems like normal to me now.

I see everyone talking about cheese. My wife had been adding a little bit to soup to add some protein and mentioned it at our support meeting last week. The coordinator almost had a heart attack, NO CHEESE! Didn't seem how far out you were cheese was a mortal sin. What gives?

Have you tried the Iced Tea Isopure? My GNC mixes a case of the different flavors for me every two weeks. I guess I am weird because I actually kinda like the stuff. My favorite is the blue raspberry. Get it good and cold. The protein shots aren't too bad if they are good and cold too. Protein and fluids are your most important things right now. Don't worry too much about other stuff. And stay off the scale. Just weight once a week and don't stress it. You WILL lose weight.

I must be strange, but I actually like Isopure. I would use it to get all of my protein but the cost is prohibitive. I do like it VERY cold. I don't think diluting it would reduce the amount of protein as long as you drink the whole bottle. I also drink protein shakes made with whey protein. They do have a lot of calories, but my doc says I am losing just fine, so I am sticking with them,

I am almost two weeks out and I have been doing great. Minmal pain the first two days, been able to eat and drink according to what is on my current diet plan. (Can't wait for something I can actually chew. How the hell are you supposed to spend thrity minutes eating Jello and Soup?"?") My question is this. Just above the incision where they took my stomach out there is a kind of hard swelling. It doesn't hurt or anything, just sort of weird. Anybody else have this?"

Remember you have to put something in to get something to come out. Most of us have been on a pre-op LIQUID diet! Then how can you forget that wonderful day of "cleansing" the day before surgery, then of course nothing to eat the day of surgery and then those three tiny cups of liquids that are our first meals. Our colons are very long tubes and it going to be quite a few of our meals to fill it up enough to produce a BM. And even then they are pretty watery. And I so agree with the term "never trust a fart"! My wife is still pretty unhappy with me about her down mattress cover.

My bill was $75,000 for the hospital with an overnight stay. I haven't seen what the insurance is paying, but they made me pay $1,900.00 the morning of the surgery. I had to pay my doctor $1,250.00 and the anesthesiologist $300, all up front. I just got a bill today for my pre-op lab work (that I thought was included in the hospital bill) for $250. But I think my life is worth whatever the price is.

No soda! Try Water that is just slightly warm, not cold at all and just barely sip. Start with just a shot glass and take at least an hour to drink it Sugar free Jello is also good. Don't give up, in a few weeks you will be SO glad you did this.

My surgeon also does laser lipo. I really haven't heard a lot about it. I am still early in the game, just sleeved at the end of July, but I can tell that there is going to have to be something done about my belly. I have lost about 50 pounds and there is just this big pouch hanging there. Being a guy I can pump up my arms and legs and hide stuff there, but there isn't any six-pack on my stomach, it is an entire cooler! So back to my original question, what about laser lipo??

Thanks so much.

Has anyone found a cookbook with recipes for those who have had bariatric surgery? My wife went to the bookstore looking for one and the clerk just laughed at her saying a cookbook for people who can't eat would be an oxymoron. Wifey was more than a little ticked off.

I am taking a liquid multi-vitamin, liquid calcium (that also has multiple vitamins in it) liquid zinc, chewable vitamin C, subligual B12 and liquid fish oil twice a day. I want to add iron but my surgeon says no pills until a least 3 months out and I can't find a liquid iron.

I have a Kitchen Aid mini food processor that my wife picked up at Target for $40. It is super easy to clean, it chops up the ice and really makes my protein shake taste like a milk shake. Only problem was that it only came in red at our Target so my wife decided to paint our kitchen (it has been decorated with John Deere and painted bright green and yellow for years!) to better coordinate with the food processor!

It is totally normal to be freaking out. It is a big life change and not to be taken lightly. The reason we have all done it. (I am 3wks post op now) is we want to be around for our families and to be healthy. I was pretty calm about it but my wife was the one who freaked out in the waiting room while I was waiting to go back for my surgery. Now that is all over and done with, and I must say I am having a perfect recovery, no pain, lots of weight loss and just the problem of hiccups the day after surgery, she has been super supportive. Don't be scared just thnk of this as a new beginning of your life and try to imagine how you will be a year from now.

I have never felt full or had pain from eating (3wks out now). I am really careful to keep to my 2 oz of food. I bought some demitasse spoons instead of baby spoons, they look slightly more adult. My problem is that I drink too fast. Before surgery I would drink 4 liters of soda a day. I live in Las Vegas, so hydration in the summer is critical. Any suggestions to slow down the drinking? I try to think sip, sip, sip and I only use a little juice glass, but before I know it my 4 ounces is gone in 5 minutes.

This might sound stupid, but I have no idea of my bougie size, I am not even sure what it is. Is this something I should ask my doctor about?

The swelling from the gas they use for the surgery was gone pretty much in the first couple of days. By 6 days you will actually start to look smaller due to actual weight loss! There is swelling inside the actual sleeve that will last for up to three months (according to my doctor) and that will let you be able to eat a little more than you can in the beginning, but it is certainly not something that you can see from the outside. Congratulations on the upcoming surgery, can't wait to have you join us on the "losers bench".

Pop as in soda pop? That is a big no-no. The carbonation will expand and stretch out your sleeve.

I am so weak and tired. I feel even worse than I did last week, I am taking all the vitamins, getting my 64oz of fluid and all the protein but I feel awful. I had been walking every day but today I couldnt even do that. I saw my surgeon and my PCP yesterday and told them both but neither seemed very concerned. Is this normal? When will I get some energy? What good will be being thinner if I can't get out of my chair?