Bufflehead

Definitely take it easy -- don't stand in a receiving line or anything like that. You may want to have a pre-planned exit strategy in case you get overwhelmed with fatigue or nausea -- someone who knows and can drop everything to drive you home. I think that you having to use your exit strategy is a small chance, but knowing you have the option might ease your mind and make it less stressful for you. I am sorry for the loss of your grandmother.

The problem with getting your food marching orders from this forum is that you are going to hear about twenty different post-op eating plans, and maybe just tempted to go with the one you like the best. My post-op eating plan was NO RAW VEGGIES AT ALL until six months after surgery. Somehow I get the feeling you won't be wanting to jump on board with my plan At ten weeks post op I was allowed to eat green veggies, but only if they were soft enough that they could be cut easily with a fork. So, I rarely ate them because mushy veggies gross me out. I am allowed salad now, of course, but rarely choose it: it's nutritionally not a good deal when you consider how little protein you get versus how much stomach space it takes up. Give me a rare steak or a piece of delicious grilled swordfish any day instead. And that's only in restaurants -- I don't think about having salad at home, ever. I live alone and there is no way I could eat my way through the raw veggies I'd have to buy for a salad, even if I ate salad for every meal for days, before they all turned brown and slimy.

Also, be careful about the kind of acid reducer you take. Meds like Tums and Maalox are not nearly as effective as PPI's like omeprazole (Prevacid) and Protonix.

@@VSGAnn2014 I swear I have not bugged your shrink's office!

In a way, I do still obsess about food, but not in the same way. I weigh or measure my portions, track everything on myfitnesspal, and make sure I hit my targets for carbs, fat, calories, protein, and fiber (most days -- some days I might miss here or there). I am far enough post-op that I do have hunger and cravings back, but not as intensely as they were pre-surgery. Still, I watch and calculate and think about what I eat a lot. It gets tiresome, but for me, I need to do it. Some folks have urged me (or everyone, in a more general sense) to stop obsessing, stop logging, stop counting, and have a "normal, natural" relationship with food. I look at it a different way. I have a disease, obesity, and it is currently in remission. I need to be vigilant and work to keep it in remission. It may not be fair, but that is my life. I wouldn't tell someone with diabetes to stop obsessing with sugar and quit measuring their insulin levels and just have a "normal, natural" relationship with food. And imagine someone who has a serious problem with shopping addiction and spending money carelessly. Say they get into a terrible financial predicament, have their house foreclosed on, have to file bankruptcy, and end up sleeping with their dog under a bridge for several weeks. Then they get their act together, learn how to budget and spend wisely, and swear off online shopping forever. They build their credit back up and eventually are able to rent a nice apartment and even start some savings. Would you tell that person: "oh, it's obsessive of you to check your bank balance so frequently and be so rigid about following your budget. You should chuck those apps from your phone and develop a normal relationship with money where you don't think about it, don't budget, and spend what you want. After all, if you get hit with some overdraft fees from the bank, you'll know you need to get back on track. And by the way, why don't you do some moderate shopping on Amazon? Everything in moderation, right? If you don't do some moderate online shopping, you might get obsessed and then just go crazy and spend everything you have. So it's really better to shop a little here and there. Go buy yourself something right now!" No, you probably wouldn't. I look at myself the same way. I do have to stay a bit obsessed with food and be vigilant for the rest of my life. I doubt I will ever have a "normal" relationship with food where I just don't think about it very much or care what I eat or when. But that's a small price for having a healthy body and being free from being in the active phase of obesity. YMMV of course.

No, I just ate refried Beans with a little melted cheese and hot sauce. By the time I moved to purees, my plan had me stop doing any liquid calories other than Protein shakes, so soup was out.

My favorites are Teapigs' Liquorice & Peppermint Tea and Trader Joe's Cinnamon Vanilla Tea. My favorites are Teapigs' Liquorice & Peppermint Tea and Trader Joe's Cinnamon Vanilla Tea.

@@NatashaSaysRawr tuna with light mayo and egg salad were both things I ate on my puree stage. I had to actually puree the tuna in a food processor according to my team's instructions -- my second phase was "puree" not "mushie." I know it sounds gross but it makes it easier on your stomach. I would puree the tuna with a little light mayo (there's a light chipotle mayo that I like a lot) and put it in a tiny ramekin and sprinkle some shredded cheese on top. Heat it up in the microwave and it's like a tuna casserole without the noodles. PS I don't mind talking about food suggestions at all, but did your team not give you any instructions? I got a booklet with lists of permitted foods and forbidden foods at each stage, directions on how much to eat, and several suggested recipes. Did your team give you anything like that?

When I am in weight loss mode I stay below 60 total carbs (NOT net carbs) per day.

Well, I would stay away from potatoes, they are super high-carb and low protein. Maybe try some Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. You can also Google Eggface Baked Ricotta to get a delicious recipe for high protein baked cheese & marinara dish that tastes like lasagna. You want to start with very small amounts -- measure out maybe 3 tablespoons of food (less than a quarter cup) and eat very slowly. If you start to feel like you don't want any more, stop before you finish your measured portions. Rumbling and grumbling from your stomach is pretty normal, but you don't want to feel pain. If you are feeling pain or getting sick, go back to liquids for a few days before trying again. The food stages are not a race, and not everyone is ready to progress at the same rate. Good luck!

Do you have to say something beyond "I'd like to take some time off"? Or, "I have some issues I need to take care of, I need to take a couple of weeks off"? (although that might make them think you need to go to rehab or serve your 10 day sentence for animal abuse or something . . . maybe not such a good idea! I can overthink too If so, I certainly wouldn't lie about it. That really can come back to bite you. I officially told my work I was having surgery and planned to come back in two weeks. They know the drill (and the law) and did not request any further information. I did tell some people informally exactly what kind of surgery I was having, but for official purposes, just "surgery." Good luck!

Syntrax Nectar fruit flavors (mixed with water) and Unjury chicken soup flavored proteins were go-to's for me early on.

Bread is both physically uncomfortable for me to eat, and verging on nutritionally worthless. I don't eat it and I don't drink anything carbonated. When I am in weight loss mode, I also eliminate all grains, all starchy veggies, beans and legumes, and sweets.

1. I had all my energy back (and more) about a month after surgery, but it varies a lot. 2. I like Syntrax Matrix, Syntrax Nectar Sweets, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard, Chike, and Unjury (the Chocolate Splendor flavor only). I mix mine with unsweetened cashew or almond milk. But again, this is a place where tastes vary a lot. You can buy sample packs from the BariatricPal store or from nashuanutrition.com. 3. Requirement for skin removal surgery vary a lot depending on your insurance company or particular policy. You'd probably want to have a consultation with a plastic surgeon and have them go over your policy with you and see what coverage (if any) they offer. I do know that if you are having actual physical problems from sagging skin (rashes, ulcers, backache, whatever) it's important to document it, so if that happens to you, make sure you check in with your PCP and get it in your chart. Good luck!

I agree with @@Miss Mac, you should be fine with a couple of days of help around the house, barring some sort of horrible complication. This sounds like a good time for your son to get more involved in meal prep, laundry, and other household chores if he isn't already Also, if you do need more help, consider hiring someone from care.com to come in for a few hours each afternoon to help with light housekeeping and meals if you can afford it. That way your husband could avoid taking off any additional time, and you'll have some truly free time to nap and focus on things like planning your protein and fluid intake. Good luck!

I think you definitely need to see a new doctor, either another bariatric surgeon or a gastroenterologist. You can get copies of all your medical records from your previous surgeon, you are legally entitled to them. Don't keep suffering like this!

I don't take them and I've not had any problems. The potential issues with long term PPI use are a lot scarier to me than potential stomach ulcers, especially since there is hard, published evidence of problems caused by long term PPI use and I'm not aware of any published studies showing important benefits to VSG patients provided by long term PPI use, especially when used as a prophylactic. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23636996

You might want to look into the vitamin patches. I know a lot of people who use them with great results, and no stomach upset at all, of course.

My surgeon does a leak test during surgery and then uses a drain during the hospital stay, so no additional leak test needed. I did have blood drawn for bloodwork regularly (every six hours? it was annoying, that I remember). I had to have an ultrasound of my legs to check for blood clots before I left, and I had to use the incentive spirometer thingy with the respiratory therapist several times each day. I had to wear compression booties during my stay, also quite annoying!

Yes, you need to take the acrylic off so that the anesthesiologist can clearly see your nail beds. Is one of the ways they determine oxygenation, I believe.

I do keep my meals pretty simple. For breakfast I usually just have one thing: chicken breast. Lunch is usually chicken or turkey and one green veggie. Dinner, I have a little more variety but not much. What you might think about, as much as this particular issue (variety vs. no variety) is what appears to be your instinct to argue with your dietitian, believe you know better than she does, and then want to come to the internet for a second opinion and decide who is "right." Believe me, I get it, I have these instincts too! But I have learned to fight against them. The truth is, no matter how smart and educated I think I am, I have made horrible choices about food and eating throughout my entire life. How could I think I know better than someone with multiple degrees and certifications in nutrition, and who has successfully guided hundreds of bariatric patients to their goal weight? So I really, really try to follow the orders of my medical team, including my dietitian, and not think that I know better than they do. The evidence that they know better than I do is pretty strong. When I don't understand something they tell me, or think I have a better idea, I talk to them. I may not like the answers that I end up with, but I follow them. Good luck to you!

The other thing that can definitely contribute to stalled or slowed weight loss is too many calories and too many carbs, so be sure to keep an eye on those numbers as well. Good luck!

I wasn't allowed potatoes or any other high carb food like that. I was allowed seasonings and sauces and so on, but I had to stick to high protein foods and green veggies (as long as they were cooked enough to be soft, which meant I rarely ate them since soft green veggies are gross IMO).

@@JamieLogical we were allowed soft foods from months 2-6, meaning it had to be soft enough to cut easily with a fork. Nothing hard, crunchy, fibrous, or very chewy until 6 months.

day 1: clear liquids day 2 - week 4: full liquids weeks 4 - 8: purees week 8 - month 6: soft foods Plus a whole bunch of other rules about how to eat (3 meals per day of very small amounts, no snacks other than protein drinks, etc.) and what to eat (no grains, sweets, or high-carb veggies).