CCWriter

That's a reallly interesting observation WhoozisAnyway. Interesting that I had a omelet with cheddar cheese in it just before dumping problems the last two days. But I had some manchego cheese with a tapas meal I ate last night to no ill effect. I've decided to start journaling in the notes on my phone when I have dumping issues and what I ate just before that, because something is sure causing issues. Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh!!!! Onward, Carol

My hubby drove me home from surgery, but I was driving after about three days. Wasn't a problem. Really, I was amazed at how fast you rebound from surgery initially. Then the healing is long, but that's OK. Onward, Carol

For some silly, silly reason, I didn't go totally off caffeine until my Dec. 27, 2011, surgery, which gave me a headache for about five days after surgery and it broke through my pain meds. Not my best idea ever. Wish I'd done it gradually a month or two before surgery, but I didn't, so .... About four weeks post-op, I would have coffee occasionally usually as a no-fat latte, but I don't have coffee every day and it doesn't seem to be a problem. The one caffeinated thing I've totally given up and have no desire to go back to is my formerly beloved Diet Coke. No desire at all. Onward, Carol

Hi Steve ... Obviously, you know you need help and support or you wouldn't be here. Welcome to the forums and I know you came to the right place. So many people who have been through what your going through are on here. I second everything MinaT said. Get rid of the bread, Pasta, rice, all those carbs and you'll get it back off. Up your cardio. You can do it. Stop the bleeding before it gets worse. Good luck!! Carol

OK ... I continue to be amazed at the versatility of the formerly hated cauliflower. I am going to have to try this, just because I swore I'd hate mashed cauliflower and now have a recipe that even 6'2" skinny hubby will eat. Would you mind if I link to your post on my blog if I like it?? Thanks!! Carol

Congrats on your 35 pounds!! Bet that feels good. No, I take that back. I know that feels good. Just think about slinging a 35-pound bag of pet food over your shoulder and carrying it around all the time. No wonder we were so tired!!! I think there are some marvelous loose teas out there. I like The REPUBLIC of TEA brand. You can probably get this in a natural foods store. The Natural Hibiscus version is so good that hubby gets into my stash and drinks it now. Doesn't need sweetening. Other favorites are Organic Mint Fields, Acai Superfruit and Chamomile Lemon. Some are caffeinated, so if you don't do caffeine, watch that. Just get a little mesh thing that sits in the top of your mug (usually sold in the same places) with the loose tea and steep it for four minutes. So yummy!! Make it hot, but serve it hot or cold. I'm thinking of experimenting with making the Natural Hibiscus as sun tea this summer and serving it cold. I've had trouble eating/drinking a few things and am still trying to get my sleeve to love veggies, but it's getting better. I used to LOVE veggies and especially main course salads. But I've already learned that if my sleeve doesn't love something one day, it may be fine with it a few days later. So try, try again and be creative. Hope that helps. Good luck!!! Carol

Personally, butter lettuce would probably be my first choice. Romaine my second. Red or green leaf lettuce my third. That's as far as I go in the grocery store. OK, here's my pitch. We all need to be growing our own lettuces. They taste so much better and fresher -- hey, pick 'em when you eat 'em. Even if you're just container gardening on an apartment balcony, you can still do this. Good herbs and several crops of lettuce/arugula/spinach/whatever. Plus you can control what goes on them (like no pesticides.) Ironically, fresh veggies have been my biggest challenge to get my sleeve to love. Finally getting less resistance and loving it. A main course salad is right up my alley when we eat out. Onward, Carol

I'm 58 and I'm a little more than three-months out. Personally, I think the weight was making me look really old and pre-op, I had no energy. The only thing I've noticed was that my skin was looking kind of dull so I've stepped up defoliation. But I'm not so sure it wasn't looking dull anyway. As far as wrinkles, they are about the same at this point. They might show more when I get more weight off. I'm happy to be starting to see my cheekbones again!! Carol

It took me about six months, which in retrospect was probably a good thing to help me wrap my mind around it, plus my husband's head as well. Even with that, he was still talking about kidnapping me out of the parking lot when we got there for surgery. I went to a seminar on WLS in June and started chipping away at the required weight loss, plus the battery of tests to make sure I was healthy enough to do it. I had my insurance approval and was finally scheduled for Nov. 29 and then my 87-year-old mother broke her leg in two places simply getting into the car. I needed to be able to lift her to get her into her wheelchair, so put it off until Dec. 27, 2011. Aetna was great as far as approving my surgery. I have sleep apnea, hypertension, etc., and co-morbidities speed along that approval. Speaking of that, I'm off one BP med and an anti-inflammatory so far. My weight loss has slowed a lot and I'm frustrated with that, but really I have no complaints and would do it over again. My two cents ... Carol

OK, I'm the big party pooper, but I made some yummy fish tacos and used butter lettuce as a wrap vs. a tortilla. Came out killer, if I say so myself. I'm always playing around with recipes and saw a gluten-free recipe for tortillas. Go figure. I'm not sure how it can be good, but I'm going to try it anyway. I'll report back Onward, Carol

Enjoy it ... that pace doesn't keep up forever. It sure is fun to see that scale budge big time.

I'm so glad to see this thread, because I've been stuck, stuck, stuck for the past three weeks and am three months out and counting. Heck, I sure wish I could figure out what I'm doing wrong. Eating Protein and veggies, with little fruit. I'm only getting between about 600 and 800 calories daily, so I'm wondering if I actually need to eat more!! How could I not be losing weight? I know I've lost inches, but this is craziness. Working on adding more cardio and I'm drinking all my liquids also. Maybe I just need to be patient. Sigh. Onward, Carol

I don't know about the hot beverages, because even in the hospital I was drinking hot broths and teas. Just sip slowly and that should help. Hopefully, you'll have some protein shakes soon and those taste wonderful when you get to take the next step. My doc had my eating "mushies" at two weeks (cottage cheese and scrambled eggs, etc.) and that tasted like heaven. The liquid stage seemed like it took FOREVER to get through, but now is just a distant memory. Hang in there -- you'll get past it soon!! Carol

I'm treating my skin like I did when I was pregnant -- lots of cocoa butter on the abdomen area and hoping it will help my skin go back. I'm a lot older than you -- 58 -- but hopefully I still have a little elasticity. I agree with Cludgie that I'd rather have the skin than the fat. I feel so much better already, there's no comparison. I think staying properly hydrated, making sure you get in your oils in some form and exercising helps. I'm doing an hour of yoga twice a week, walking or bike riding a couple of days a week and just started strength training. My goal is to do one of those things every day. Good luck!! Carol

I started feeling a whole lot better physically when I transitioned from the two-week, liquid post-op diet to "mushies," i.e. scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, etc. I also didn't realize that my doc didn't want me to drink caffeinated beverages for several weeks after surgery, so I had a terrible caffeine withdrawal headache for a week or so after surgery. Heck, if I'd realized that, I would have dialed back my caffeine before the surgery so I wouldn't have to go cold-turkey. Yikes!! I second the walking or bicycle riding. DH and I went for a long ride yesterday in the beautiful spring weather and it was just great. Good luck!! Carol

I understand depression is pretty common after bariatric surgery. I had a relatively mild bout with depression about six weeks out from surgery also. Seems odd, because we should be happy we're losing weight. But I think it's partly because we have a new normal and we're missing our "friend" -- food. We also can't eat much at that point because we're still healing. I didn't have any energy for the first couple of months either. Please talk to your physician about it -- you may be depressed or you may have a Vitamin D deficiency or something like that. But your physician should be able to determine that. The symptoms you describe definitely sound serious. Take good care of yourself and let us know how things are going ... Carol

I have been on so many diets over the years and gained and lost literally thousands of pounds. I just finally decided I needed the tool of being sleeved. But it's not for everyone. And it's not easy either. That said, I am happily sleeved three months tomorrow and haven't regretted it. I've been keeping a blog for my family and friends to be able to check up on me and I wrote a blogpost that might help you out: "Dieting is Hard Work" on Takin' a Load Off. Some friends had suggested that getting sleeved was taking the easy way out. You can tell I had a full head of steam when I wrote the post, but they were very real emotions. Good luck on whatever path you take!! Carol

I tried this and liked it a lot. I linked to it on my blog: Takin' A Load Off. Based on your note to one of your visitors, I figured you'd like me linking to it on my blog and I ALWAYS give attribution. You might like my Low-Carb Shepherd's Pie. It came out really great and I even fooled some people into thinking I made it with potatoes. Hooray! I love trying out good, new recipes. Thanks for sharing!! Carol

Love the looks of your recipe ... will have to try it. Carol

If things don't feel right, I totally agree with FYE. Do not pass go, call your physician pronto. And if you're really feeling badly, go to the ER. If you're having complications, this is nothing to mess with. Better safe ... and let us hear from you!! Best, Carol

I think day 9 was about when I started obsessing about making it to the two-week mushie stage of scrambled eggs and cottage cheese and stuff like that. Those scrambled eggs couldn't come soon enough. Boy, did they taste good. I was super hungry and cranky and my poor hubby kept finding excuses to get out of the house, where he'd order something like Double Whopper and come back with a smile on his face. Poor guy. I second (or third) all the advice already on here. I think that's when I started quietly freaking out a little bit, thinking, 'oh my God, what have I done to myself and it didn't work.' You came to the right place. This is such a supportive group and there isn't any question they haven't heard before. Hang in there, you'll get there ... Carol

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I think the first week, when you're trying to wrap your mind around having had surgery, is probably the toughest part. Your tummy isn't happy at all; you're drinking liquids for two weeks; you're thinking when do I get to chew again? The answer is -- soon. It's all going to be all right. You'll graduate to mushies (scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, etc.) and they're going to be pretty darn wonderful when you get there. I thought scrambled eggs tasted like heaven. Hang in there. It'll get better. I promise and so do a whole lot of other folks on this site. Best, Carol