quietcougar

At three weeks out, you should probably focus on very soft foods; if you're going to have oatmeal, yes, I'd make it watery. I'd also omit the cracker from the soup, as the refined flour can be difficult for your stomach to process. Yougurt, cottage cheese, soft salads and finely ground meats should be ok, but keep your portion sizes to about 3-6 tablespoons of solid foods or 4-6 ounces of liquid (like fat free milk) at each meal. I would also focus on Proteins at this point, as it's the most important element for helping the healing process. Adequate Protein intake will help keep you from losing the lean muscle mass you have, while stimulating the burning of fat (like the Atkins diet). You could also eat things like scrambled eggs, tofu, or refried Beans for extra protein. Hope that helps, but the best advice would be to contact your surgeon and get advice from them - they know you the best!

If you didn't follow your doctor's orders, he may or may not cancel the surgery. I congratulate you on getting it, but this is the time you really need to settle in and decide why you're doing this. Is it for you, or is it for everyone else? If you can honestly say it's for you, why sabotage yourself by not following directions? You'll need to after surgery, and those directions aren't something you can ignore. I'm not going to beat you up over your discretion, but think about why you're doing this. Your life after surgery will never be the same. Ever. Trust me on this. If I were you, I'd admit to my doctor I'd cheated and see what he says. Yes, it may delay your surgery, but better that then end up in the recovery room only to be told nothing happened. Best of luck!

The problem with canned crab is the excess Water. It'd be hard to get that out, and since the recipie doesn't use fillers, you're counting on the lack of moisture to help hold things together. You may be able to get by with canned if you treat it like tofu, and put a weight on it to squeeze out the extra water for about 20-30 mins. It'll taste fine either way. Good luck!

Each cake has approximately 70 calories, 8 grams of Protein, and 2 grams of carbs.

Sure, here it is: Pacific Dungeness Crab Cakes (suitable for those in the soft texture stage, but can be pureed if desired) 1/2 lb. Dungeness crab meat, cooked (or any crab meat may be used, except canned) 1 tbls. minced celery 2 tsps. minced red bell pepper 2 tsps. finely chopped fresh cilantro 2 tbls. non-fat mayonnaise 1/8 tsp. sea salt or Kosher salt 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional) 2 tsps. olive oil 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil 2 tbls. salad greens 2 lemon wedges 2 tbls. low-fat tartar sauce Method: Put crabmeat in a strainer or collander and squeeze out the excess moisture. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and add the celery, pepper, and cilantro. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, salt, and cayenne pepper (if you're using it) and stir until well mixed. Add the mixture to the crabmeat and mix together until well incorporated. Form the mixture in about 6 equal sized patties, appx. 2 ounces each. Press firmly enough to hold the mixture together, and put on a piece of wax paper on top of a plate. Cover the top of the patties with another sheet of wax paper and place in refridgerator for 15 minutes. In a medium, non-stick skillet pan, heat the olive and sesame oils over medium high heat and swirl to mix the oils. Gently place the crab cakes in the pan using a thin metal spatula and cook undisturbed (no matter what, no peeking!) for 6 minutes on each side, or until well browned. You should move them only to prevent burning. When they're done, remve the pan from the heat. Place a tablespoon of the greens (spinach would work well) in the center of a small plate. Place 1 or 2 crab cakes on the greens. Put a lemon wedge next to the greens, and a teaspoon of tartar sauce either on or next to each cake.

How long have you noticed this? Did it come on suddenly or slowly? In any case, it sounds like you should call your surgeon's office and speak with one of the nurses. They can ask you the appropriate questions to tell if it's something to worry about or not. If you're eating and drinking and not in pain, it's probably something minor, but better safe than sorry.

Neat - I live about a mile from campus and several people I know have graduated from there. If you like seafood, I have a recipe for Dungeness crab cakes (no flour or fillers, just pure crab and some other goodies) that you may be interested in. They're really good!

Fellow Wisconsin person here! You don't mention how far out from surgery you are, but if you're in soft foods, I'd guess you're at least 3-4 weeks out. My worry is that if you aren't far enough out, one of those seeds could get stuck in your staple line, your tissue heals over it, and you get an abscess. Not good. However, the further out you are, the less likely this is to happen. Since there were probably very few seeds that you actually ate, my guess is that you'll be fine. You may want to call your doctor just to let them know and see if they think it's ok, but I think you're good to go.

There is a limited amount of ghrelin production that returns after a year or so, and there's ghrelin stored in your fat that is released as you burn it off; however, it's nothing like it was pre-surgery. If you stick to what your doctor and nutritionist say, you should have no trouble meeting and maintaining your goal weight with the sleeve. Proteins first, then veggies/fruits, and last carbs (at least for me, your mileage may vary).

I think it depends on the doctor's technique. I know I've seen some people say they didn't have a drain; I did, but I knew ahead of time I was going to. Best thing to do is ask your surgeon. Mine was in for a week. You can't shower with a drain in (which was annoying) but you can wash up with a cloth. I was glad to get that out!

I'm a professor of computer science at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College - nice to see you all! I told my boss and my immediate team members (there are 3 of us), so they wouldn't be so shocked when I come back in the fall. I'm sure some of my students will also be able to see the difference, since I teach a 2-year program. Glad I did it, though. It's a lot easier to exercise and I actually enjoy it!

My surgeon gave me one of these; it looks a little different, but it's essentially the same thing. I thought it would be great to have one, but now that I have one, I don't use it. For one, I prefer to keep it on the down low. The waitress doesn't need to know the details of my life. Second, I feel a little guilty asking for a discount. Yeah, I can't eat much now, but there's leftovers, and it wasn't like I offered to pay the restaurant more when I could eat three times what the other customers could. Just my opinion.

Yes. Because your anatomy has been significantly altered - even in sleeve patients. The doctors at the hospital are going to be planning on you being "intact". It can change medication dosages as well as medications given (for example, no ibuprofin). This way they'll know what to expect and how to treat you.

Anything with lentils in it should be fine; also vindaloo or tikki masala. Rajma should be fine, that's got a lot of protein. The drier dahl would be better, since we can't do naan. I would think a papadam would also be ok, that's chickpea flour, but you'd have to check into it. At least it's a little crunch. I have always loved Indian food and eat a lot of it. I have had curries since surgery and they went down fine.

I got the WalMart special, but oddly enough, it's almost exactly what the doctor's office says - consistently within a pound. Go figure.