tmorgan813

* As Always, this is a comical view of weight loss surgery. I hope it makes you smile and if you're lucky, maybe even laugh.* For the full disclaimer, please read yesterday's blog post. ** It' been a little over two weeks and I have been following the plan. I get my protein and liquids in. I exercise almost every day. For the most part I think I am doing well. I have even managed to make it through the crazy mood swings which if you would have asked me a week ago I would have told you they would have been the cause of my marriage falling apart. I should have known things were going too well. Last night around 9pm, I was starving. I have noticed the past couple of days I have been hungry around this time but I have just tried to focus on my liquids to fill me up. Well, last night I had to go to Walmart to pick up a few things. I figured getting out and doing something would help me stop wanting food. I also thought that maybe while I was there, I could find something soft that was high in protein that I could have as a snack. I couldn't have been more wrong. My husband came with me because he too wanted something to snack on. Of course his snacks can range from potato chips, ice cream, little Debbie cakes, or anything else he he is in the mood for. Mind you, earlier he had pizza for dinner while I had my 2oz of tuna and my 2oz of lima beans. The smell of the pizza made me want to run across the room, jump on top of him and rip the slice of pepperoni pizza out of his hands. I didn't do this, but I did visualize it many times while taking my little bites of tuna and lima beans. And, no matter how hard I tried, the tuna never magically began to taste like pizza. For the record, I am a strong woman. I can handle walking through the chip and candy aisle in the store. I can handle buying my husband things I won't be able to eat for over a year, and I can handle knowing that the surgery was not the end all be all of my weight loss. I am going to have to watch what I eat, get my protein in, and not eat sugar. What I couldn't handle last night for some reason was the realization that I can't have any of that stuff NOW. The strange thing, which I tried to explain to my husband, was that I really didn't want candy, or chips, or sugar. I just wanted something that wasn't mush. i wanted something with some crunch and I only wanted a a small bite of it. But, no matter how I tried to explain it, I couldn't get my point across. My poor husband seemed so confused when i finished explaining my feelings. He kept trying to "fix it" by coming up with options (which none of them sounded good at all) which only made him feel frustrated for not being able to help. Then, it all boiled up inside of me. While my husband was deciding between sugary item 1 vs. sugary item 2, I lost it. I became the crazy witch that I thought I buried a week ago. Somehow she managed to claw her way up thought the dirt of her shallow grave and rear her ugly head. I finally snapped. I told him to buy them both so we could get out of there. He didn't get it. He continued to do the pros and cons between the two. I couldn't handle it. I grabbed both things and threw them in the cart before he could say another thing. I somehow made it through the check out line and out the door before I lost it. Once outside, the tears came. I couldn't even explain why I was crying. I didn't regret my surgery. I wasn't mad at my husband for getting real food and snacks. I just felt tired. Tired of trying to explain myself to my husband, tired of not having anything to eat that I really enjoyed. Tired of eating the same thing two times a day. I tried to voice my emotional breakdown but as much as my husband tried to understand, I couldn't even make my emotions make sense to me. Then again, what crazy person can make their craziness sound reasonable to others? That would be like being in an insane asylum am telling the doctor, "yes, I hear voices, and I know they aren't real so I think the medication and shock treatment would be the appropriate form of therapy right now." That doesn't happen, so why I thought I could explain my craziness, I can't even begin to understand. I wish I could say that once I cried and got it all out, I felt better but I would be lying. I still want something different to eat. I miss bread. I miss chips, and I really miss ice cream. But I have to keep thinking that all those things were a huge cause of me getting to the point of having weight loss surgery. Why I want them now, I have no idea. Like I said, I think it's more that I want the option to have them more than I actually want them,. I don't want anything sweet. I don't want salty food. If you would have told me that I couldn't eat tuna, lima beans or apple sauce, I would be craving that. It's all psychological. Not that knowing that makes it easier. It actually makes me feel weak knowing it's in my head and I am still having it affect me like this. Hopefully, my husband won't have to deal with the crazy crying lady again anytime soon. He doesn't like to see me like that and it makes him feel like he can't eat his foods in front of me. Despite me telling him numerous times that I don't care. I can see how the mixed signals could confuse him. I turned into that woman who says "No, I don't want anything for my birthday." but when my birthday comes I get upset he didn't give me a gift. If I was him, I wouldn't want to eat in front of me ever again. The poor man is walking a tight rope with no net under him. I think he's having it worse than I am even though I'm the one crying. The poor man thinks I think he's a monster when in reality, I'm the crazy witch that can't get her emotions under wraps. Hopefully for him and I, things will level out soon and my cravings will go away. If they don't, I may just rip that pizza out of his hands one night.

My husband said he would do the post op thing with me too...that didn't last for even a day. LOL He is a foodie and he wanted to eat. I remember taking him to Burger King, and even though the smell and thought of that food turned my tummy, it pissed me off that he could eat it and I couldn't. Also, it showed me that his post op diet was much different than mine. LOL Good luck with your surgery. It gets much easier every day. I know hearing it from all us means nothing, but it is true. Let me know how you're doing with it.

If you are worried, call your doctor. I started pureed food the day I got home from the the hospital. All doctors are different. As for the BM, remember, you aren't getting in much fiber so you won't have normal BMs. I went almost 10 days with out a BM. I finally began taking a fiber substitute and I feel much better. Don't stress too much. Again, if you are concerned, call your doc.

Glad I could put a smile on your faces. My husband made a good comment today. he said that everyone that goes through this surgery is so freaked out and so emotional, that it's nice to have someone who finds the humor in it all. It makes my day to make you guys laugh. If you keep reading, I'll keep writing. Hopefully I will keep finding the comedy in the everyday things.

I don't know why I did it, maybe it was the pretty blue color that was calling my name. Maybe it was the infomercials showing all these woman with great arms. Maybe it was just to try one out and see if it works. Much to my husband's amusement, I did it, I bought a shake weight. My husband found this his opportunity to quote South Park and laugh at my purchase. I have to admit, the Shake Weight episode of South Park is one of the funniest ones I've ever seen. if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. With all that being said, I can now say I am proud owner of a light blue shake weight and despite what the infomercials say, it's not as easy as it looks. First, it comes with a warning. I am not sure what the warning said as I ripped it off and threw it aside as I digressed into a five year old at Christmas and tore the box apart in an attempt to get to my new toy. Once I had it out, I began to shake. I followed the photos that were included in the box and I noticed a few things. First, if my Wii controller comes with a warning and a string to wear around wrist, then you would think and three pound bar that you shake while aiming at your face would come with some safety precautions as well. But it doesn't. Instead, it comes with mirrors on each end so you can see yourself as the bar flies up and hits you square in the mouth, breaking your front teeth, and causing your lip to swell up to double it size. I mean why else would they have the shinny mirrors on the ends? Second, there is NO WAY you can do this exercise with out it looking sexual. I tried. The whole concept is some strange joke on all women. I think it's a ploy for us to be better at using our hands for "massages". If you ask any man, they will tell you woman can't massage that well...even though they tell us how good it feels. I think this exercise bar was invented so that men didn't have to sit (or lay) through a bad massage ever again. Now, think about this. Think about the positions the Shake Weight wants you to do. Each hand, two hands in front of your chest, off to the side and towards your face, and behind the head. Ok, I can't figure out this position, except that it gives men a great view of our chest as it bounces up and down as we are busy trying not to slam the Shake Weight into your head. So, with all this knowledge, I still shake away. I am hoping my arms will become these beautiful cut arms that are only possible with Photoshop. I know it will take a lot of shaking and possibly a lot of bangs to the head and face, but I'm going to get my 15 bucks out of this thing. Then again, it could just be my concussion talking.

@4ALongerLife. Thanks so much for the info. I will have to talk to my doc about those options. I know it will get better once I am able to eat real food. I think the fact that I am still on pureed frood (not even soft yet) that makes it so hard. You are right, I never thought I used food for comfort, but now that I've had this done, I can so tell that I did. I told my husband that I can't wait to have popcorn. LOL I am even looking forward to it with out butter. I will have to check out the website you mentioned. And, I promise to try to be easier on myself...if I can. I have been easier on my husband, so things are getting better.

I hope so as I have been having them everyday. LOL My doctor said they were considered liquids.

I did the same thing. I felt great the morning after surgery and then three hours latter, I was ready to curl up and pass out due to the nausea. The nurse gave me a shot, but it didn't help. I didn't get any help with it until they gave me something behind my ear. I couldn't even keep down the ice chip I was sucking on. I only threw up once and that was just bile. The rest of the time it was just dry heaving. Once they removed my drainage tube, I felt 100xs better. I couldn't believe such a little tube could do all that. I am sorry you are going through this. Hope you feel better soon.

Yes, I have. I don't know where you are in what you can eat, but I am still on pureed food. My doctor told me I could have canned tuna with mayo. This had really helped with my need to chew. I will admit that even though I chew it to almost nothing, it does help me with that need. I also do the same with a hard boiled egg. I mush it really well with my fork (no big pieces) and add a little mayo. This too helps. One last thing I did was cook lima beans until they were really soft. Then I pureed them. They come out very thick (almost paste like if you don't add a lot of the "juice they were cooked in") and this helps too. I hope I helped a little. Oh, and one last thing, sugar free Popsicles help too. Even though you have to wait until they melt, they do break off in your mouth and you can mush it down and it gives you some texture. Good luck!!!!

@Peasceful. Sounds to me that you may be feeling like he doesn't "get it". You will not be cooking the same way post-op as food will make you not want to. Then again, everyone is different. Is he on your side with this? Does he support you? Or is it that he supports you as long as it doesn't interfere with his life too much? LOL Believe it or not, the crazy witch gets worse after surgery. IF you are on a pre-op diet, then you at least will get to understand a little what it's like before surgery and so will he. I wish you the best of luck. I hope you are able to calmly sit down and explain to him that some things will change but not forever and that you will need his support during the difficult times. My poor husband hasn't had a home cooked meal in over a month. LOL He's learned to make himself a lot of cereal, PB&Js, and grilled cheese and soup. LOL Again, good luck and try to get your boyfriend to uderstand what to expect before surgery. The one thing you don't want after surgery it to get arguing and get your BP up or to start crying and aggravate your stomach. Let me know how you do. Will be thinking about you.

I will so have to check out that web site. Thanks so much for for the info. I know I don't ask for help, but this time, I really appreciate it.!!!!

I am going insane. Around every time I have to eat, all I want to do is cry. Is anyone else having problems finding things to eat? I have had the exact same thing multiple times a day since last Saturday. My day consists of this. Wake up, make myself a smoothie. Drink 4-6pz of that and use it to hide my meds....then I drink crystal lite and more of the smoothie until lunch time. Lunch and dinner consists of 1-2oz of tuna fish, and 1-2oz of lima Beans...sometimes I will get in less than an oz of apple sauce. Then at night I have more smoothie with my meds and crystal lite. I want to eat other things, but I just don't know what I can eat that will give me as much Protein in one meal. With 2oz of tuna and 2oz of lima beans, I get 16-17 grams of protein. Can you all help me please? I have only been out of surgery for a little over a week. I don't want the little food I do eat to make me cry and I don't want to be sick of the little bit I can eat. I did have an egg with cheese this morning...but I'm not a big egg fan w/o bread....and as we all know, I can't have bread. LOL. Thanks for any help you can give me.

I find it interesting how different every doctor is. I have been on "real food" pureed of course since I came home from surgery. I read on here so many people are on shakes or clear liquids. I am not sure if one is better than the other it's just an interesting thing to see. I think the real food has helped me learn when I am "full" compared to gassy. I hope you find something you like soon. I just bought the lean shake and it's not bad at all. After surgery I was ultra sensitive to protein, and I am able to get this in so it must be good. Best of luck.

I think any kind of soup may be good for you to try. Also, any type of beans (refried beans, lima beans) they have a lot of protein. I haven't eaten out yet, so I am not sure what exactly would be good. I do know your frustration as my husband's father was in the hospital and I was starving. I finally got wanton soup. It has lot's of protein in it. 3 wantons and and cup of broth has between 14 and 21 grams of protein in it. The amount was different everywhere I looked. LOL Good luck and let us know what you figure out.

Ask anyone, I am not a numbers person. Math and science were not my strong points in school. Heck, I am not even sure they were a weak point with me. They seemed to be more nonexistent than anything. In high school, I fought to get a D in Chemistry and Geometry. I was good at Algebra, but most any other math based classes were able to strike fear in my heart with out even trying. My father never understood this as he was a math person. he could do almost any math problem in his head and within seconds. This only made my fear of math that much bigger. How could he make it so easy? Was I just an idiot who didn't get it? Would I ever get it? Did my IQ test lie? I must have scored much lower than the numbers said. Why else would I not be able to do what others considered simple math. Then, when I was 26 years old, my now husband brought all those insecurities back on our first date. We were playing Trivia Pursuit and he got a geometry questions. I knew there was no way he would get the pie. I was feeling really good about my standing n the game when he asked for a pen and paper. "WHAT? You have got to be kidding me!!" He then rattled off the theory he needed to use and then proceed to plug int he numbers and draw designs I hadn't seen since high school. Needless to say, he got the answer right and won the pie piece. Right then, all my doubts came flooding back. Then jokingly I asked if he was some kind of a genus. He didn't want to answer but once pressed, he told me his IQ was 165. I just shook my head. How did I end up on a date with my father? Now, I am not telling you this story in an attempt to say, "Look how smart my husband is!!!!! He's so cool. He can do math problems in his head." No, that is not my reason at all. I am telling you this in a feeble attempt to get you to understand that math and i have have a "hate, hate" relationship most of my life. With that said, I know I am still able to do simple math. But, after this surgery I am not sure if that statement is true anymore. I joined Myfitnesspal.com yesterday. I logged in everything I ate and all the workouts I did. Every time I walked, I log it in with the amount of calories I burned. Now, it takes 3200 calories to make a pound. Which implies that if I burn more calories than I take in and it adds up to 3200 calories, I would lose a pound of fat. That to me makes sense. Well according to Myfitnespal.com, I burn/don't take in 1518 calories a day and have been doing this for the past eight days. I know this as I eat the same thing every day and work out around the same amount. With that being said, I should have lost a pound every other day (approximately) give or take a pound here and there. Now, if my math is right....and I will be the first to say that it may not be....I should have lost between 4-6 pounds in the last eight days. How may have I lost? NONE. ZIP. Absolutely nothing. Now, I keep telling myself that I've been walking a lot, and I am sure I building muscle. But even knowing that, I think, doesn't muscle help burn more fat? So I am stuck back to the question, "Why isn't math working?" Is it because I am doing the math? Remember, math doesn't like me. So this could be it's attempt to get back at me after all the years I called it stupid. Maybe I hurt it's feelings and now it's out for revenge. I've even thought that maybe there are little math gremlins that stand on the scale with me (that I can't see over my belly) to make it does not change numbers. All I know is I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. I know not to expect miracles. However, I did expect to lose weight once a week. I didn't care if it was a little or a lot. Even though I've read so many people say that there are times the scale just doesn't move, it still bothers me. When I run the numbers, it seems like I should have some downward movement. but I don't. Don't worry, I am not going to stop doing what I am doing. I will continue to follow my program and get in my protein and my liquids. Maybe I should give the math question to my father and husband and see what they come up with. Lord knows they are much better at the numbers thing than I am. I will say this. If I don't see some movement (downward) in my scale soon....I am going to on math hunt. I promise that I will hunt down all those little gremlins and make them regret all the times they messed with me. Don't they know I'm sensitive right now? This is not the time for jokes when it comes to my weigh in. You will pay gremlins...you hear me? You will pay!!!

Way to go!!! Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with your protein/liquid intake. I go back tomorrow for the first time and I hope my doctor is as happy with my progress as yours was. Keep up the amazing work.

I am aware that there are all sorts of reasons to plateau. I was just trying to give a comic view of stalling. I want people to just take it for what it is....something to laugh at and go, "I've felt that way many times". Thanks for the link. I will read it, but please know that I wasn't saying that the numbers were the end all be all.

I don't crush all my pills. I do crush the really big ones like the gallbladder one and my metformin....AKA my horse pills. My doctor told me I could take anything the size of a "tic tac". I do know that over time, I will be able to swallow the meds whole, but I am not there yet. The first time I took a a very small bill, it REALLY hurt, but two weeks out, it doesn't hurt any more. I think it depends on your swelling the speed of recovery. My sister who had the bypass takes full size meds now and has since around month 7 or 8. So, crushing won't last forever.

Are you on BP meds? It could be that you are need to have your meds checked. I know I had to change my meds (I had to stop taking them) because I no longer needed them. I would say contact your PCP and see what he/she says. Good luck.

I would say so. I am only 13 days out and I have been taking antibiotics for five days due to to a tooth infection. The worst part is how bad it tastes. Maybe you can ask for yours in liquid form so it doesn't taste ass bad. Hope you feel better soon. And, if you're still concerned, call your surgeon.

Happy Birthday. You share the same birthday as my husband...and Hitler. I throw in the last bit of information more as and FYI than anything. It's funny how such nice people can born on the same day as such an evil one. LOL It sounds to me as though you treated yourself very well and pampered yourself this past weekend. That's the way it shroud be.

I can't believe I did that!!! LOL too funny. Yes, I meant Richard not Gene. I read this three times before I posted and even my husband didn't pick up on it. Oh, that shows how exhausted I am and just how much my husband pays attention. (thanks a lot Scott!!! hehehehe) Thanks for making me aware. I think I am going to keep it up there for a while just because it's even funnier now. Thanks for letting me know about my mistake. Who knows, maybe the lead singer of Kiss had something to do with the heath knowledge my parents and I got early on. It would make more sense considering we couldn't understand him. I still can't believe I did that. LOL

I had mine on the 12th...didn't poo until the 16th and that wasn't much. Then again on the 17th. Both were very loose. However, since then I haven't gone poo at all. It's been 8 days. I called my doctor and they told me to take some miralax which I did today. Hope it helps. I am sure you will go soon.

I agree with the group dynamics thing. I facilatated many different groups and it's amazing how group dynamics can impact what people say and do. And, most of the time the group doesn't like having any new members come in even if they say they don't mind. It still sucks though.

I had mine on 4-12. It hasn't even been two weeks yet. I remember in the hospital not even being able to suck on ice as it would make me want to throw up. My how time has made things better. LOL