DLCoggin

The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) has been adopted by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences, the World Health Organization (WHO), the food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is the internationally recognized standard for comparing Proteins for human consumption based on digestibility and the ability to supply amino acids in the amounts required by us humans. The actual scale for PDCAAS is 0 (worst) to 1.0 (best) but those numbers are often converted to the generally more familiar 0 to 100 scale. whey, milk, casein, soy and egg proteins all have a PDCAAS score of 100. Hemp has a PDCAAS score between 49-51 depending on which source you look at. Hemp is a complete protein source meaning that it contains all nine essential amino acids. However, it is deficient in terms of quantities for all nine of the essential amino acids. In other words, it does not meet minimum protein requirements as defined by PDCAAS. Given the number and variety of protein options that offer a PDCAAS score at or very near 100, hemp protein may not be the best option for bariatric patients. There are a number of sources of information on hemp protein but I found this one comparing hemp to soy protein to be quite informative - http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vitexnutrition.com%2FSoy%2520Protein%2520V%2520Hemp%2520Protein.pdf&ei=_T_QUuLvEs31oATR7YGgCw&usg=AFQjCNGjqgNVveA1xA1diDqwpA1lY_OVUw .

Welcome to the forum delicateorchid! Loved reading your post - honest and sincere. You'll find lots of honest and sincere folks here and we're all here to share our journeys and learn from yours. You're gonna love the new you!!

Nicely done!

Protein is your new best friend and it's terrific that the two of you are getting to know each other pre-op! I wouldn't worry a lot about calories at this point. You're feeling good, getting lots of protein and presumably losing weight in preparation for the surgery - well done! You're gonna love the new you!!

Thanks for the kind words ajustice and I absolutely would say the same about you. Have a great evening!

I second My Fitness Pal or any app that you prefer. Food logs are an indispensable tool that will help you to lose more weight, lose it faster and when the time comes, maintain your goal weight. I've been logging for over two years and would literally be lost without it.

Every Protein shot that I've ever looked at with one exception - Yes Whey (not New Whey) - is made from collagen protein. Collagen has a PDCAAS score of 0.08 which means it is virtually indigestible. All the protein in the world is useless if your body can't digest it. The Yes Whey nutrition label indicates that it is whey isolate which has a PDCAAS score of 1.00 - the highest possible indicating it is a highly digestible protein - http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-435130-protica-nutritional-research-yes-whey-rtd-liquid-protein-shot-orange-29-oz . But, every protein shot that folks have commented on, including Yes Whey, reportedly taste awful (to put it mildly). Whey isolate is filtered to remove virtually all fat and what's left, although very high quality protein, is definitely not tasty.

I don't think I could add a thing to the GREAT advice others have already given. How cool is this forum and the amazing folks that make it what it is?!

I'm over two years post-op (bypass) and have never had the "stuck" problem but some bypass folks do experience it with certain foods. I never had the band so can't make any personal comparisons. That said, in reading posts on the forum and other places it seems to be a more common problem with the band than with the bypass. There are lots of folks on the forum that have had band to bypass revisions and I'm sure they'll offer input on your question.

You're certainly welcome Shirl! You can see my "stats" in my signature below. Have a great day!!

Out of all of the pre-op testing, I was most intimidated by the psych eval. Not the actual appointment mind you - but the thought of it before hand. Lol. In my case it was a long set of questions repeated I don't know how many times with different wording. Follow-up appointment with the psychologist a week later that lasted about ten minutes and I was good to go. All of those nerves and in the end it was a total non-event! Come to think of it, the actual surgery itself was almost exactly the same story!

What a nightmare. You probably want to use gloves and tongs to get that sweater to the trash! Hope you're feeling better soon!

60 lbs in three months - great job! And you ain't seen nothing yet! Wait until you look in the mirror a year from now. You're gonna love the new you!!

Congratulations to all of you on your recent surgeries! Please share your progress and your questions with us. There are tons of very knowledgeable folks here who are anxious to help with any questions you may have. You're gonna love the new you!

Welcome Beamish! I have to tell you I love the way you write with an Irish accent!! Lol! Both sleeve and bypass are proven to be safe and effective. There are certain medical conditions that may prompt your surgeon to recommend one over the other (for example folks who suffer with GERD are usually advised to have the bypass vs. the sleeve). But in the absence of any medical reasons, your surgeon may leave the decision up to you (my surgeon did). Sleeve gets the nod for a slightly lower complication rate, bypass gets the nod for a slightly higher average weight loss. Bypass usually gets the nod for being more effective at putting type 2 diabetes into remission but there are diabetes success stories with the sleeve as well. Sleeve gets the nod for a slightly shorter recovery time. You get the idea. As others have said, do as much research as you need to until you're comfortable with one or the other (or both) and ask folks on the forum and especially your surgeon lots of questions. Whichever way you go, you're gonna love the new you!!

It's probably more likely that your surgeon will recommend removing the gall bladder at the same time they do the bypass. There was a time not all that long ago when some bariatric surgeons routinely removed the gall bladder when doing the bypass. Gall bladder problems are fairly common following bypass and the thinking was why do two surgeries when you can do both with one surgery. Subsequent studies showed that the incidence of gall bladder problems following the surgery was not high enough to warrant removing it in the absence of specific indications that the gall bladder is diseased. I don't recall ever reading of a surgery being cancelled because of a gall bladder problem.

Although I can certainly appreciate your concern, everyone is so different that certainty is elusive. I have no experience with the band so can't make any comparisons. But I can answer your questions based on my experience (your experience could ultimately be different). I've never experienced anything being stuck but others have. I seldom eat bread. Not because it gets "stuck" but because it seems to hit the pouch and just kind of lays there in a big lump. Not painful, no nausea and I've never vomited from it. But the "heaviness" is uncomfortable. I haven't experienced it with anything else. And even with bread, the discomfort passes pretty quickly. I have had no problems with salads, veggies or lean meats. I eat a fair amount of chicken, fish and turkey. Occasionally a steak or pork. No problems with any of them. But there are others on the forum that have had problems with one or more meats, especially chicken as you can see from sweet strawberry's response. Like I said, certainty is elusive. Note too that sometimes folks can't tolerate X at one point and then try it again at some point in the future and have no problems. There seems to be a widespread misconception that bypass patients have a long list of foods that they will never be able to eat. From my experience and that of other veterans, that simply is not true. There may be a few specific foods that result in dumping or create that heavy feeling. But generally speaking, I can eat just about anything that I want. Hope that helps and have a great day!

My understanding is that your BMI (in the absence of comorbidities) must be 40 or greater at the time your surgeon's office submits the paperwork to your insurance company. Anything you lose after that point is a good thing and once the insurance company approves the surgery, it is illegal for them to rescind it. Not sure about the spine problem being a comorbidity or not but it's an interesting question. Since you said it was from a fall, perhaps not. But then a case might be made that the fall was the result of the obesity. I'd be interested in hearing what your surgeon says when you get to that point. Welcome to the forum! You're gonna love the new you!!

Welcome Shirl! I've often thought that the pre-op weight loss may well be the toughest part of the entire process. It might help to keep reminding yourself that this is the LAST time you'll be dieting as the "old you". You will be amazed at how the "new you" changes everything. You're gonna love the new you!!!

Congratulations! The journey to a new you begins!

Welcome, welcome! I think you'll find you are definitely in the right place!! So many great folks here! You're gonna love the new you!!

Amazing! Congratulations!!

Dumping is often the result of eating foods with too much sugar but it can also be the result of eating carbs (for example white rice). Although decidedly unpleasant, dumping is seldom serious and rarely requires medical attention. It's also important to remember that many bypass patients never experience dumping. It's a mistake to count on dumping as a benefit of bypass since it may never occur. From a weight loss standpoint it makes no difference. There is no scientific evidence that patients who dump are any more or less successful than those who don't. For folks who experience dumping, about two-thirds experience early dumping. Early dumping usually occurs twenty to thirty minutes following eating. The remaining one third experience late dumping which usually occurs two to three hours following eating but can occur twelve hours or more later. Late dumping is usually reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and symptoms can usually be resolved quickly by eating just about anything that contains sugar. I seldom dump but when I do it's late dumping. In my case, white rice and popcorn are definitely off the menu options. The list of things that might result in dumping would be pretty long. But probably of little value anyway on an individual basis. Person A dumps on "X" every time while person B has no trouble at all with "X" but dumps on "Y", and person C doesn't dump on anything.. Regardless of whether you dump or not, you're gonna love the new you!!

Possibly another classic example of the obesity stigma. Yes - it absolutely exists in the medical profession too. Sounds to me like he did you a favor!

I never went out of my way to tell everyone but I also never avoided talking about it. I figured that folks might notice when I lost 100+ pounds so avoiding the subject was temporary at best. I also had done very extensive research to the point that I was completely comfortable with my decision. I wasn't particularly concerned with what anyone else might think about it since I was confident that I almost certainly knew a lot more about the subject than they did. I was fortunate that everyone was extremely supportive but exceptions would not have changed my decision.