Bufflehead

@@shaylab0 insurance companies and plans really vary in their requirements. My insurance company required a one year history on BMI, not five years. You should have a written booklet (or .pdf) with "Member Benefits" or something like that as a title, and it should spell out all the requirements for bariatric surgery under your specific plan. If it doesn't, get in touch with your insurance company and request a copy of the requirements for your specific plan in writing.

I know I've seen people point this out here before and I thought I would chime in with my story. I've kept my carbs under 60 since my surgery 8.5 months ago. I haven't been bothered with cravings for my old favorites like toast, candy, chips, etc. But for the past 5+ days I've had some nasty digestive issues. I was talking with my sister (who is an internal medicine physician and knows her stuff btw) and she told me I need to eat a limited diet either for the next three days or until my tummy troubles get straightened out, whichever comes first. What I can eat: all natural yogurt, skim milk, brown rice, unsweetened applesauce, whole wheat saltine crackers, all-natural high fiber cereal, baked or grilled chicken breast (small amounts) and bananas (slightly unripened). I can also have one serving of protein powder per day - no more because it contains artificial sweeteners, which can be rough on the digestive system. So, I have kept my calories in their normal range but my carbs are WAY over my usual limit of 60. And I find myself desperately craving just about anything with carbs. I don't usually have any trouble walking down the candy, cookie and cracker aisle at the grocery store, but this morning I found myself actually placing a bag of dark chocolate salted caramel truffles in my shopping basket before I came to my senses and threw it back on the shelf. Today when I was counting out my saltines for my afternoon snack, I really wanted to basically stuff the rest of the sleeve of crackers down my throat. Instead, I stuffed them in the trash. The diet plan from my sister has worked wonders on my tummy but I am so relieved to end it tonight and get back to my regular way of eating. Honestly this has been scary.

My guidelines for soft foods were 3 oz. per meal max, so I would always weigh my food to make sure I was eating less than that. I guess you must be allowed to eat bread? My dietician would horsewhip me for that -- I always have to do protein first and was not allowed bread or any grains on soft foods at all. A lot of people find those kinds of refined carbs are slider foods and won't engage the restriction of their sleeve.

I doubt you did any damage but that does sound like a signal to back off for a bit. And I would say, when you try again, eat less. When I got started on purees I was only allowed 3 tablespoons of food per meal. Also, you may want to think about whether stretching out your eating over such a long period of time is a good idea. Were you given any instruction in that area? My surgeon restricts us to eating for 30 minutes, then we have to put it away until the next meal. He doesn't want us to turn into grazers.

Yep, this is the foamies aka slimies. My dietician says they are caused by one of four things: eating too much eating too fast/not chewing well enough eating too big of bites eating the wrong thing (a texture you aren't ready for or a food that just doesn't agree with your sleeve). So, slow down, take smaller bites, and eat a bit less. That will likely take care of it.

I'm nine months out. No regrets! I would have this surgery again every year for the rest of my life if I had to. This surgery was the best decision I ever made for my health -- physical, psychological, and emotional.

I could have pureed meat four weeks after surgery, soft meat (could be cut with a fork) eight weeks after surgery. Nothing that required a knife to cut (steak, pork chops, for example) until six months after surgery.

I get asked a lot about how to lose weight, both by people who know about my surgery and those who don't . . . but no one actually wants to do what I say works for me. I talk about: no grains, no starchy veggies, no foods with refined sugar, and eating high protein, logging everything on MFP - and people back away like I told them they should only eat puppies that were roasted alive. I swear they all think I'm going to tell them to swallow a teaspoon of lemon juice every day and that will magically make them lose weight. Or "eat everything in moderation!" (no, you won't hear that from me). They all seem to think there's a secret easy way to do it.

1. How long was your 'clear' liquid stage? 24 hours 2. How long was your liquid stage? full liquids for four weeks 3. How long was your 'smooth/mushy' stage? I didn't have a "mushy" stage, but I had purees for four weeks 4. How soon did you transition to 'regular/normal eating? Had soft foods for four months after purees, transitioned to "stage iv" at six months out - I wouldn't call it regular/normal as there are still strict rules to live by such as very limited intake of grains, starchy veg etc. - those are only for special occasions. But now I can eat things like nuts, raw veggies, and steak, no texture limitations. 5. What was your SW? 284 6. How much had you lost at 1 month? 7. How much had you lost at 3 months? Don't know, I didn't weight myself very frequently or keep track on a monthly basis. 8. What was your total loss at 6 months (using SW)? 80 lbs

@PatriciaTateJohnson, you may already know this, but don't count on liking the same protein shakes after surgery as you like before it. Order lots of samples but keep samples on hand until after surgery . . . don't order a tub of anything until you have tried it after surgery and liked it.

I had fun during the pureed stage. I got a lot of cans and pouches of things like chicken, turkey, salmon, and those flavored tunas. I would puree them with a tasty sauce, then warm them up in the microwave with some cheese melted on top. They tasted really good! You just have to experiment with stuff that sounds good to you. Some of my favorites: --chicken with low cal bbq sauce and cheddar cheese --thai spice tuna with sriracha sauce and blue cheese --turkey with peanut satay sauce and jack cheese --shrimp with cocktail sauce --chicken with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese --lemon dill salmon with tartar sauce and swiss cheese --shrimp with garlic basil sauce and pecorino cheese Everything I used was straight out of a can, pouch, or bottle, except the garlic basil sauce which was super easy to make.

I buy bras from Just My Size (I think you can find them at WalMart and Target, but I buy them online at jms.com). They are cheap -- under $20 -- and I find they fit well and are supportive. Their "Minimizer" series works well for me.

My feet have somehow gotten longer . . . but skinnier. Was a 10W and am now an 11M.

I had mild reflux before the sleeve but since I had my hiatal hernia repaired during sleeve surgery, I haven't had it once since.

It could also be a stricture. Definitely check with your surgeon or your PCP if your surgeon isn't local.

I am a very private person as well, so I understand your reluctance. But I echo gman's advice to have your husband tell his mom. I think that's the easiest way, plus if you keep things open within your family, your husband is not put in the position of having to conceal things from his mother or even possibly tell her or his other family members untruthful things. If your mother in law (or other family members) end up wanting to give you unsolicited advice, tell you horror stories, or say rude things about your weight and how you choose to treat it, either ignore them or make some firm-but-final comments such as, "I really appreciate your concern, but my doctors and I have decided that this is the best course of action to treat a medical problem. I would love to have your support but at this point I'm not looking for anything else."

A lot of people like the Premier Protein chocolate shakes. You can order them from Amazon. They also come in vanilla but I guess most people prefer the chocolate. http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Nutrition-Protein-Shake-Chocolate/dp/B00AINLC60/ I actually prefer the Pure Protein shakes -- and you can choose to order single cans or a case of 12, depending on how long you will be in the US. They also have a lot more flavors: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/ww/pure-protein-shake.html I will be honest, I drank the Isopure drinks for the first few weeks after surgery and thought they were terrible! You will read mixed reviews on them. Some people love them, some people hate them. They come in more fruity type flavors and are more like fruit juice in consistency, whereas drinks like Premier Protein and Pure Protein are more milky in taste/consistency. But for me the Isopure had a very strong and weird aftertaste. I had to cut them 50/50 with water in order to be able to drink them.

What do you define as higher carb vs. lower carb? My surgeon's guidelines call for between 30 - 60 carbs per day, which is higher than some. I have seen some have a max of 20, 30, or 40 carbs per day. I keep my carbs under 60 and am happy with my weight loss. My surgeon's team really does want people to get a minimum of 30 carbs per day to keep up energy and strength levels.

I've tried three different all-natural Protein powders - Tera's whey, About Time, and Jay Robb. My favorite was definitely Jay Robb: http://www.jayrobb.com/protein/whey-protein-chocolate.asp it also comes in vanilla, strawberry, tropical dreamsicle, pina colada, and unflavored. They do sell samples. About Time I thought was just okay. They do have a lot of flavors, and I know lots of people love them. They also sell sample packs so you can try them out. And their numbers (calories/carbs/protein) are fantastic. http://tryabouttime.com/shop/ I really wanted to love Tera's Whey - you can get all organic, non GMO, etc. - but I thought it tasted like dirty dishwater smells. I couldn't even finish one drink. But you may want to check it out, people have very different tastes. http://www.teraswhey.com/ I believe these are all sweetened with stevia. One I haven't tried is Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Natural. It is sweetened, essentially, with sugar ("evaporated cane juice powder") but the numbers on calories and carbs are good. It gets good reviews. I have used other Optimum Nutrition protein powders and thought they were excellent. Comes in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. Unfortunately, I can't find a way to buy samples. http://www.optimumnutrition.com/products/natural-100-whey-gold-standard-p-202.html For other liquids, try G2 natural, fruit juice (cut 50/50 with water), tea and coffee (if permitted). Good luck!

I guess it depends on what your style is? I've been trying to keep things very basic. I buy these pants, they come in lots of colors, fit well, and have an elastic waist so they fit well for longer. They are also pretty cheap: http://ttp://www.onestopplus.com/clothing/Pants-in-soft-twill-the-No-Hassle-by-Only-Necessities.aspx?PfId=173657&ProductTypeId=1#.Ux5hvTyvsqC For tops, I use Kohl's and Dress Barn, they have a nice selection for reasonable prices. I also use thredup.com, especially for dressier work clothes. For weekend stuff, LL Bean has a decent selection that is reasonably priced. I try to stick with 3/4 sleeve or long-sleeve tops because no one needs to see my flabby bat wings on the upper arms! Mostly I try to keep my pants pretty basic and go with something a little nicer on top. A nicely fitting sweater, a scoop neck top with a pretty pattern or some embellishment, something like that. And I definitely find that the more fitted my clothes are, the more compliments I get! It feels strange after dressing so long in kind of baggy, shapeless clothing in an attempt to hide, but I'm getting used to it.

ugh, I feel your pain. I had terrible hair loss before surgery (thanks, bad genetics!) and had to use Toppik and similar fibers to cover up my bare scalp. Then I had surgery and most of the few remaining hairs I had left were falling out . . . I went and got a bonded topper and I love it! I've already decided I'm keeping it even if all my surgery-related hair loss fixes itself. I feel so much more confident and happy with it. It's all natural hair and custom made to match my own hair. And yeah, I tried biotin and the only thing it did for me was make the hair on my chin grow thicker and faster. Not the result I was looking for to say the least!

I started with a BMI of 60 as well (okay, 59.9, but who's counting). My surgeon thought I'd do very well with either surgery but he did point out that I'd have to be extra committed and compliant with the sleeve since I would not get the caloric malabsorption that comes with bypass. I have lost 160 lbs overall and 105 lbs since my surgery 8 months ago. I still have a ways to go but I continue to lose weight and anticipate hitting my goal maybe in the late summer. It was a great choice for me. Oh and I am about your age as well.

Are things like bread and cheese nips in your house? If so, get them out. Even if they belong to another family member. Sit down and have a heart to heart about how you need only healthy foods in the house for a few weeks while you adjust to your new way of eating. Other family members can eat bread and cheese nips and whatever else when they are away from home . . . it won't kill them to have to wait a bit in order to support you in this transition. I really recommend the Beck Diet Solution as a way to work through emotions that make you feel like you "need" foods that won't help you succeed: http://www.amazon.com/The-Beck-Diet-Solution-Person/dp/0848732758/ Good luck to you!

I tried rice for the first time earlier this week. I wouldn't ordinarily eat it (I keep things low carb) but it was recommended to me when I was having some tummy troubles. Anyway, I ate brown rice maybe 3 times over the course of 2 days and it gave me no problems whatsoever. I'm 8 months out.

I take Trader Joe's High Potency Chewable Multis. Quite palatable, low in calories and carbs, and cheap! I take a double dose, one tab with breakfast and one with dinner. I have my labs drawn frequently and my numbers are always good.