Bufflehead

sounds like thrush, which is not uncommon after surgery in which you are intubated. If it is thrush, you will need a prescription from your doctor to clear it up. Either way you should definitely get it checked out.

I wasn't cleared for anything other than walking (a treadmill would be fine as long as I only walked, no jogging) for four weeks after surgery. After that, I was okayed to gradually add in more exercise as long as I wasn't hurting myself. Your surgeon's office may have other plans but I think what I was told is a pretty common post-VSG instruction.

I only have one toxic quasi-family relationship, and the way I deal with it is I pretty much restrict my communication with this person to written letters. Older people especially love to receive written letters. I can write this person and tell her all about what is going on in my life, what I think about current affairs, etc. etc. and never have to have the "conversation" steered back to something hurtful. When I get a letter back (not all that often) I can read it then, read it later, or just chuck it, depending on how I am feeling. And I find that people who don't hesitate to be hurtful when speaking with you verbally (or even via email) are a lot nicer when putting an actual pen to actual paper. This way I don't feel bad about cutting someone out of my life, but I manage our interaction a lot more. And I keep my own negative feelings/hurt out of my correspondence entirely -- I make it entirely positive and upbeat, try to write down my memories of our good times together, etc., to encourage a similar response.

@Nuchnuch nope, I only had labs done at my one month follow up -- they looked great but at that time I was taking the Wellesse. As much as I love Dr. Williams, I am a little bit paranoid about getting my lab results read by people who have a financial incentive to find them "bad" (because they want to sell us Dr. Boyce's vitamins) so I am planning to have my PCP do all my labs in the future. I'll see her at the end of October and get the verdict then.

I love G2 - it was recommended to me for post-op by my surgeon. I especially love the G2 natural when I can find it.

I'm not a vet but I got the recommendation for the vitamin I am taking from a vet who has been at maintenance for over two years: Trader Joe's high potency chewable multi-vitamins, take two daily.

Eating really low calories for a long time can slow your metabolism a bit, but not enough that you would stop losing weight. If you could just stop losing weight and maintain by eating super low calories, then no human or animal would have ever starved to death, and sadly, we know that isn't true. Not that I am suggesting anyone following the typical sleeve diet is going to starve to death! People's energy levels are different, but once you get out of the first few weeks of recuperation, most people's energy levels go up, not down. I'm lucky to hit 700 calories a day (usually around 650) and I feel like I'm jumping out of my skin if I don't do my 45 minutes of cardio daily. My body has plenty of energy reserves to draw on -- I suspect most of us do or we wouldn't need the surgery

I find I can tolerate Isopure a lot better if I cut it 50/50 with ice water or a compatible flavor of G2 or essence water. Example: peach mango Isopure mixed with citrus mango G2, or apple melon Isopure mixed with Hint watermelon essence water. No you won't be getting the same amount of protein as just drinking the Isopure straight, but 50% of the protein is better than nothing. Have you tried the Syntrax nectar flavors? They have some really good flavors you mix with water that are fine for clear liquid phase. My favorites are the roadside lemonade and fuzzy navel. Twisted cherry is also really good, and iced tea. You can get a packet of samples from BJ's Bariatrics and other places, just google syntrax nectar sample pack.

Stay out of bed as much as possible. Your room should have a chair, sofa, glider, something like that -- sit upright all day unless you really need to nap. If you have a glider or rocker, move in it as much as you can. Staying upright and moving as much as possible will help you get rid of the gas faster and recuperate faster.

was the chili watery or thick? Watery chili would be like soup and turn the solid ingredients in the chili into sliders, where a really thick chili should fill you up a lot faster. A lot of the homemade chili I have seen and eaten is much more watery than canned chili. I've only eaten really thick canned chili and can't eat more than about 2.5 ounces. I'm 8 weeks out.

I had a lot of hair loss before surgery (bad genetics) -- like way more hair loss than people experience WITH surgery. So I have been using Nanogen (like Toppik but better IMO) and occasionally Toppik for years. I think they are both really good products and should help just about everyone with surgery related hair loss. As the poster above said, make sure you use hairspray after you apply the fiber powders. I haven't started seeing hair loss from surgery yet but I assume it's coming soon, so I've visited here: http://www.hairforwomenhpi.com/ and ordered a topper. They custom make them to match your natural shade and texture of hair, so I won't get mine for a few more weeks. Hopefully before my hair really starts falling out! Because if I get massive hair loss now, on top of what I already have, it is going to be scary without a hair piece to cover it up.

Can you have chili? I couldn't on puree stage but I know some people can. If you can, I know they have chili there, perhaps you can convince them to sell you a small bowl of it. I guess they usually use it for nacho dip, hamburger dressing, etc. If not, honestly, I don't see anything that is puree friendly. This may be a time where you just have to kind of suck it up and be the odd one out. I guess you could eat the queso dip with a spoon but that almost seems like it would be odder than not eating at all.

I try to eat really slowly, so I can't say I got full "right away," but it was fast enough to let me know to stop before I was in pain or made myself sick. The one time I tried to force myself to eat beyond when I wanted to stop (long story, I don't recommend it) I ended up feeling like I had a huge weight pressing on my abdomen and just got immediately completely exhausted and nauseated. I think it's really hard to eat beyond the sleeve capacity unless you have serious problems as a binge eater. That one time taught me well to listen to my body's signals and obey them.

I'm eight weeks out, so things will probably change as I go along. When I was first on pureed foods (four weeks out) I couldn't eat more than 2 - 3 tablespoons of food, depending on the kind of food I was eating. My stomach doesn't feel tight or anything, I just get an overwhelming feeling that I need to stop eating and don't want any more. Also when I have had enough my nose starts running (I know that sounds strange but it's pretty common for people with a sleeve to start sneezing, hiccuping, or having their nose run when they are full). Now that I am on soft foods, I can eat a little more, usually between 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup of food at a meal. I am not trying to push things though. So far I have tolerated everything I have tried to eat quite well. I know some people have trouble with things like bread, pasta, and rice, but I haven't tried any of those -- I'm not permitted to eat them under my dietary plan until six months out, because they don't have the kind of nutrients sleevers need. I am also not allowed raw veggies (they can be hard to digest) until six months out so I haven't tried anything like salad.

The stuff you have to drink is not pleasant but most people get it down without problems. Make sure you drink a TON of water for at least 12 hours after.

After surgery I had four weeks of full liquids (true liquids, no yogurt or cream of wheat or whatever), then four weeks of purees, and now I am two weeks in to my four months of "soft solids" -- food you can cut with a fork, but still not allowed: starchy vegetables such as corn, peas, potatoes, or sweet potatoes raw vegetables grain-based foods such as cereal or bread sweets soup So that's six months of regimented eating total. Puree stage is also stricter than "puree anything" -- it has to be all high protein food, no fruits, no vegetables, no grain based foods, no sweets, etc.

This is what I got: http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B0000645YM/ It's really easy to use -- I had never used any sort of food processor before and I had no problems with it. Purees like a charm. Washing it is easy too. And it comes in eleventy billion colors so you can get your favorite.

I think April is probably your starting date, because it says the visits have to be in consecutive months -- unless you started a formal diet and exercise program in February when you saw your PCP and then saw her for your next follow-up visit in March?

My target range is between 30 and 40, so far I think I only went over once and that was maybe 43 carbs in a day.

Miralax and Senokot or Colace. If you take Miralax make sure you drink an extra glass of water that day!

My surgeon's plan is: meal size of 4 - 5 ounces eat protein first, then veggies or fruits no more than 2 snacks per day, no grazing sit down to eat either a snack or a meal, no eating while standing up or walking (practice mindful eating) avoid except in very rare instances: sweets, starchy veggies such as corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and peas, and grain-based foods.

I get horrified watching other people eat too, but I think part of that is some people do eat a lot and really fast, and then many people eat in a normal way and it just seems horrifying to me because the way I eat is soooo different now. I was on vacation with my sister and her family this past weekend, and watching them shovel in whole platesful of food was disgusting . . . except they are actually quite normal eaters who don't overeat (all of them are easily in the normal BMI range), eat healthy food, and don't just cram food in their mouths. I know that rationally, but sitting down at a table with them still made me queasy sometimes.

Apparently this is because our stomachs are so small, what goes in them is more likely to create pressure on the nearby vagus nerve. And irritating that nerve causes hiccups. It can also cause things like runny nose or sneezing, which is why a full stomach can lead to a runny nose, sneezing, etc. for some sleevers.

I like mine mashed up with ripe avocado and just a little bit of chipotle ranch dressing.

About Time protein is all natural (sweetened with stevia) whey isolate protein. Their protein powders have five ingredients or less. 25 g protein and 100 calories per serving, 1 g carb per serving. The only flavor I have tried is mocha mint but I thought it was really good. http://tryabouttime.com/shop/