Bufflehead

I'm sorry you are both struggling with these issues post-op. I really want to encourage you to reach out to your respective health care teams for help in dealing with the physical and emotional stresses of adapting to life post-surgery. I know chewing and spitting seems harmless, but it is recognized as a form of disordered eating, and it is how many bulimics get started. Please don't head down that road! It can also mess up your metabolism. Best wishes to both of you going forward.

The weight loss stops when you let it stop. It isn't a mysterious process . . . eat at a caloric deficit and you will lose weight, though it may be slow at the end! I had to do hand-to-hand combat with the last 20 lbs. I made sure to track every single morsel of food and was hyper-vigilant about getting my portions weighed or measured correctly. I did not eat *any* grains, sweets, or high carb veggies. No liquid calories other than Protein shakes. No snacking other than Protein Shakes. I exercised for at least 30 minutes a day for 6 days a week, but did not count the calories burned or make an attempt to eat them back. It was hard work. I had no illusions that I was going to let my body do what it wanted. My body wanted, and still wants, to be over 350 lbs. F my body and what it wants. I am in charge. ETA if you are not sure about eating at a caloric deficit, a good rule of thumb is to start with your current weight x 10 and consider that your maintenance number. So for you, that would be right around 1700-1800. Eat at least 500 calories less than that each day and you should lose somewhere between a pound and two pounds per week, depending on a lot of factors.

Get up and walk after surgery as soon as you can. When you are done walking, don't get back in bed. Instead, sit in a chair or on the loveseat in your room. If there is a rocking chair or glider in your room, use that and rock/glide as much as you can. The more you can move and stay upright the better you will feel (plus getting in and out of bed is a b***h). ETA don't try to be a hero, keep taking your pain meds as long as you need them.

--Eggface Ricotta Bake (Google for recipe) --refried beans with a little cheese melted on top --poached or scrambled egg (if permitted on your plan) I made little mini-casseroles, but without the carby junk in them. Basically, take meat & a flavorful sauce & puree. Put in a tiny ramekin, add a little shredded cheese if you want, and heat in the microwave. Some of the combos I tried and liked: --chicken breast with marinara sauce & mozzarella cheese --ground bison with low carb bbq sauce & cheddar cheese --salmon with lemon dill sauce --turkey with peanut satay sauce and jack cheese --ranch flavor tuna with nonfat ranch dressing & swiss cheese You get the idea. I used a lot of the little packets of tuna, chicken, and turkey and small cans of meat.

In the OR after I was transferred to the table. I was offered the pre-surgery tranquilizer (Versed) but declined. I didn't see any reason for it, for myself.

@@lisakreature I was not allowed that on full liquids. In fact, I wasn't even allowed it on purees because my instructions then were high protein foods only. But my team is very conservative in what they allow -- you may want to check in with your team to see what they allow, if it is not mentioned in your post-op eating plan.

Well I never did, and I started at a very high BMI and followed an extremely strict post-op regimen to the letter. The most I ever lost in a month was 20 lbs, and that was one time at the very beginning. I still managed to lose over 200 lbs and go from a 6X to a 6. Hang in there and focus on the long game, not what the scale said yesterday or what it might say tomorrow. You can control what you eat, how much exercise you get, and your stress and sleep levels (both important for weight loss). But you can't control exactly how the scale responds to that. The sooner you give up expectations of seeing losing x pounds per month, the happier and less stressed out you will be. Good luck!

It really is normal, and understandable. But the truth is, you are reducing your risk of death significantly -- by 90% -- by choosing to have bariatric surgery. Surgery does pose risks, but they pale in comparison to the risk of death from being morbidly obese. The surgery risk is just grabbing your attention right now because it is looming so close. But you are giving yourself the absolute best chance of life by choosing it, as scary as it seems. So, try to focus less on the risks of surgery and more on what your life can be like afterwards.

I know I had to pay mine up front, I think it is pretty normal.

day 1 - clear liquids weeks 1 - 4 full liquids weeks 5 - 8 purees month 2 - month 6 soft foods Plus lots more rules about exactly what foods are allowed, how much to eat, how many meals, etc. -- the food texture part of my plan was a relatively small part of it.

I have tons of coffee -- caffeine will not dehydrate you (fn), no worries there. But be very careful of all the extra calories in a latte. That's what would worry me about it, not the caffeine. Also, coffee can be hard on a tiny, healing, stomach -- it is very acidic. So that's a good reason to limit any sort of coffee drink, unless you like playing roulette with the possibility of ulcers, like I apparently do. Furthermore, just keep in mind that liquid empty calories are a great way to get on the slippery slope away from healthy eating and weight loss. Might be a factor to keep an eye on. Skinny lattes are something I allowed myself as an occasional treat, but only after I hit my goal weight and maintained for 6 months. I would not have had them while I was trying to lose weight -- but that was my call as to what was right for me, as well as following my dietitian's plan. fn: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/30/milk-and-other-surprising-ways-to-stay-hydrated/?_r=0 http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/01/13/262175623/coffee-myth-busting-cup-of-joe-may-help-hydration-and-memory

I really liked the ginger miso broth from Trader Joe's. It was a nice change from chicken. I also liked the Progresso Italian Wedding soup (with everything strained out of course).

Sounds good then!

I would not have been allowed that protein shake because the calories and carbs are too high. My rules were: max 180 calories, max 15 grams carbs. But the rules that applied to me aren't necessarily relevant to you . . . did your surgeon or dietitian give you any rules or guidelines for protein shakes, or anything like that?

Start with your insurance -- get your member benefit handbook and see whether bariatric surgery is covered and if so what the requirements are. If it is covered, then you'll probably need to work with surgeons that are approved by your insurance plan, so you'll likely look at the directory of approved medical providers to figure out which surgeons you can use. Call the surgeons' offices to see if they offer introductory seminars or consultations. The surgeons will typically have an insurance coordinator who can answer questions about exactly what you need to do to qualify (if you qualify) and what the timeline will look like. If you are not using insurance, then how you proceed depends on whether you want to use a local surgeon or do medical tourism (usually Mexico). If you are going to use a local surgeon, find a surgeon associated with a bariatric surgery center of excellence nearby. This is all assuming you are in the United States -- your profile doesn't show me where you are located so that's just a guess since most people on this forum are in the U.S. If not, there are separate sub-forums for different countries, you may want to find the sub-forum here for your country and post your question there. Good luck!

I know some PPI's come in liquid form (Nexium for sure, I think also Protonix?) but you'll need to get a prescription from your doctor.

I use vanilla unsweetened cashew milk. If your "milk" is too thick, try using 50/50 milk (of whatever sort) and ice water.

@@steph82 I apologize, I did not mean to make you feel stupid at all. I was trying to be lighthearted and put you at ease, and clearly I failed. So I am very sorry. Best wishes to you going forward.

It's so normal that when I see posts like this I often question whether the person is sincere or just pretending that they don't know this is probably the most frequently asked question on the forum! Seriously!

Here's the advice my sister gives out (she's an internal medicine physician), some of which people don't like to hear, but it is not meant to be mean, I promise: --make sure you go outside for a total of 45 minutes per day. 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes mid-day, and 15 minutes late afternoon. Do not wear sunglasses! --in fact, do not wear sunglasses ever unless you have to do so in order to drive safely. --turn off all lit screens (tv's phones, tablets, etc.) at least an hour before bed. 2 hours is better. --get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, but not within 2 hours of bedtime. --if you can (partner, hand, toy, etc.) find ~release at bedtime (sorry to be so frank) --keep phones and tablets out of the bedroom, or at the very least, not where you can reach them while in bed. Good luck!

Are you getting all your fluids in? Minimum 64 ounces? I think dehydration is a lot more likely to cause dizziness and weakness than lack of nutrition -- it takes several weeks if not months for nutritional deficiencies to manifest themselves, and your body has all the energy it needs to run happily stored away in your fat cells. In any event, I do think dizziness and weakness is cause for checking in with a medical professional. Good luck! ETA another potential problem post-op is low blood pressure. Are you monitoring your blood pressure? Are you taking medications that would lower your blood pressure? Many people who are taking blood pressure meds before surgery need to stop them after surgery because their blood pressure drops. Even people who aren't taking them before surgery may find that their blood pressure drops after surgery to the point of dizziness or weakness. When do you suffer from dizziness and weakness? If it is immediately after standing up (or sitting up from a lying down position) google orthostatic hypotension and see if that seems to fit.

Did you have sleeve or RNY? You posted in the sleeve area, but are saying pouch, which is what RNY people have, not sleeve people. So I am not sure. In any event, I don't think what you are describing is normal, but I am not a medical professional. I would suggest checking in with your surgeon and/or your PCP. My guess is one of the first questions that needs to be settled is whether this could be gall bladder attacks (assuming you still have your gall bladder). But definitely see a doctor, you should not be screaming in pain, that is quite alarming. Check back and let us know how you are doing.

You've lost over 30 lbs in just a little over a month and you feel like you are in a rut? What were you expecting, exactly? That's WAY more than I lost in my first month and my surgeon was super pleased with my results and told me I was doing much better than average.

You are in luck, the Eggface ricotta bake has already been entered in the MFP food database. Just search for eggface ricotta bake when you go to enter your dinner and it will come right up. For future reference, on the website, to enter a recipe, go to Food --> Recipes From there you can import a recipe by putting in the URL, add ingredients manually, or click the green "Enter New Recipe" button.

I also told my work "I'm having surgery." I work with mostly lawyers -- no one was stupid enough to think they had the right to ask me what kind of surgery. I really recommend not being untruthful -- just say surgery or planned medical leave. If you make up stuff like "gallbladder removal" or "anal fissure repair" then when the truth comes out (and odds are high that it will, no matter how secret you want it to be -- when you have a surgery and then start dropping weight like crazy, people WILL figure it out) you look like an untrustworthy, dishonest person. So just keep it simple and factual without revealing any details that you don't want to. I think your timeframe for work is possibly unrealistic. Some people can manage to return to work that quickly, but most people can't. I took two weeks and probably should have taken more, I could barely get through three quarters of the day after two weeks. I also work at a desk job. For most people, it isn't so much about the pain as the fatigue level. You can grit your teeth and get through pain, but if you are falling asleep at your desk, that is not good. Also, you may need to consider your commute -- if you are still on narcotic painkillers -- and many people are at that time out of surgery -- you won't be able to drive. So if you drive to and from work, you'd need an alternate plan just in case. Good luck!