iggychic

I travel about three hours including a boat ride

Well technically 150lbs for you is still overweight so I don't know why she was being such a downer...what does she expect of you? I would chalk it up to her being a bit of a nut, and a not terribly informed one if she said that when your goal is entirely realistic...even high IMO. You can achieve that easily if you put your mind to it...and likely much more!

I didn't do this so I could never eat again Most people aren't allowed Pasta until their stomach is healed so that shouldn't be a concern. Some people tollerate it better than others. My family goes to spaghetti night every Wednesday at my friends local restaurant. I have meat sauce with pasta (I can only eat about 1/3 cup pasta with some sauce...total 1/2 cup food) and I love it. I never go over my carb limits and I also plan it so I meet my Protein goals. And I have it with a nice glass of red wine This should be life with the sleeve. Kale pasta? BLEH (sorry but umm BLEH) If I have something like spaghetti carbonara at home I do make it with whole wheat pasta which I enjoy. Still not much, but I enjoy it on occasion and I'm losing weight just fine.

I tried a thin mint today...I still can't do it. My body had zero tollerance for sugar (this is a good thing). I barely swallowed a bite. The girls scouts of america just lost a MAJOR account LOL

Wow your surgeon is very proactive....too proactive? I don't know but in my case, I'm four and a half months out and I could no sooner eat 8oz at a meal as I could eat an entire horse. (And I like horse meat LOL) I had complications which made my stomach smaller than it should have been...it's a concern, but at this point in the game we aren't going back in to do anything. I just carefully watch my intake and make sure to get in my Protein, Vitamins and fluids. I rarely hit 800 cals even if I've had a couple of glasses of wine in a day so 8oz and 1000 calories....yikes I do get very tired, but that seems to come and go. It's not regular for me. You're so early out it's actually in the pretty high realm of normal, so your surgeon's choices surprise me a bit.....But what do I know Best of luck.

They can walk and do this? I was told to do keegels while walking...I nearly passed out

Darling those headaches suck! I went through them too and visited my doctor after reading about anything and everything about headaches. What I learned is that a magnesium shortage is commonly shown through headaches, migraines at that. After WLS they are common and it can take months to build your magnesium back up to proper levels on our diet. You can take shots, which DH swears by, but I am using a magnesium oil spray daily. I started a couple of weeks ago and my headaches are GONE! I posted about them on MFP because I was having such trouble with them. Testing for a magnesium deficiency is a special test, which I'll have done next trip to the doc, but I swear by the oil. It's a spray I just do in the morning and evening (no residue) that I got at a health food store. It works much faster than supplements because of how it's absorbed. Epson salt baths will do the same thing...but I have a 7 year old and never time for a bath LOL You might give this a try. I'm amazed how fast it cured me

if you put your wee wee out the pee pee hole.... Ummm I tried to make that acceptable to the rules

I've been down that road many times Hun. You are taking it the right way. If there was something wrong with the fetus this early than it might have been much worse later. It's especially common in first pregnancies and women go on to have healthy pregnancies from there . Best of luck with your future peanuts. Take care.

Spanx is available online at spanx.com which is how I shop most of the time as most stores don't carry a full selection. I like their high waisted tights (wear them almost always) as well as their super duper support slips and body suits. They aren't cheap but they do last forever. Nordstroms carries spanx as does Neiman Marcus (I think). And spanx just opened some retail stores so you can check their website for that info. I would love to have one close by because you'd get their full line to shop from!

I didn't see a post calling the folks names. I'm not sure what you are reading...maybe I have someone on ignore. I was however horrified about the lack of guidance that a couple of these people have been given. Chicken, any fibrous meat, is not a soft food in any doctor's regime. It's dangerous when a doctor leaves a patient without proper instructions. Soft can mean a hundred things...it should mean "not meat" LOL But many people think meat is soft...tenderloin can be softer than chicken. For the OP, refried Beans were a go to food for me on soft foods. With a dollup of sour cream and a pureed salsa they were yummy. Unlike Nancy, I was told to focus on volume verses weight because my doctor focuses on capacity. So for me, I use my half cup measure....ok measurers LOL I have several, to determine what I eat and don't worry about weight. While a denser food does fill me up sooner, sticking to capacity and the signals my body is sending me (which works further out than six weeks for many) works well. I never go over half a cup though. Personally I listen carefully to my body because I don't like to vomit, and haven't since surgery because I really do stick to the MD's instructions carefully. Last night we had venison. I had my usual measuring cup of food, but I couldn't get down much of the meat. While it was a tenderlion and very moist, it is still a denser Protein for me so I ate my cauliflower mashed potatoes and just a bit of the meat. (Venison is not a soft food LOL just in case anyone gets any ideas) I can see that early out Nancy's docs idea of Soup being a liquid and not to worry could make sense. My doc said not to worry about calorie content early out because it's tough to overdo that anyhoo, but you don't want to get in the habit of eating high calorie liquids (many many many soups) because overtime that does become an issue for sleevers (drinking your calories back to fat status) hence his requirement to always use a measuring cup Different approaches are fine, but leaving a patient with no guidance...that peeves me off

It's so hard to know how to deal with illness and the kids. Your's sound like troopers! I did let my son see me because honestly, I thought I wasn't going to make it and wanted every second I could have with him. The reality of that was I just cried whenever I saw him like they were sticking a tube in my butt....but I still needed those mins. He and DH were about three hours away so I couldn't see him as much as I wanted and he really missed me. He's been ill most of his life so when he was in hospital I never left his side. We rarely are separated for any period of time so I'm a big fixture in his little world of sanity He did well when I was gone, but when I returned home he had lost a great deal of progress in his feeding (he has an eating disorder) as well as behavior in school. We're fortunate he is at a small school that worked with him and understood, but it was hard to see that he slid backwards like that. Because he spent so much time in hospital I was comfortable having him there. He's a funny little guy....shove tubes up my nose, mom bawling constantly, gad one visit I just vomited bile the entire time, and he sat on the bed and colored and told me stories I wish he wasn't that comfy in hospital, but it did help with this. I regret having this surgery for many reasons. But like you, mostly because of what it did to my family. I thought it was going to be a cake walk so I did it when he started school. Turns out that was rather stupid! If I could turn back the clock...well I wouldn't have the surgery LOL But the other thing I would do if I did have it, would be to wait until he was older. No it's obviously not easy even when kids are older as yours were, but then if I'd have died he would have been in a better place medically to move forward from. Kids are funny little beings. As yours have said, it was harder not to see you than to see you suffering. Of course they didn't see that (and that's honestly not a bad thing) so they have no frame of reference for that. I think you made a good choice there. A hard choice, but still I think it was the right one. Your older daughter probably has the best perspective on that as she did see you when you were at your worst. WHat a wonderful child you raised. She sounds very strong and a 20 year old who doesn't hate their mother? gad rare too LOL Your torture sounds...well torturous! It's amazing how mid evil medical care to save your life can actually still be. I had my bad procedure four times, and then because it wasn't working (my plural sacs would just fill back up in less than 6 hours) they had to put a hose in the front attached to a pump to keep pumping out the fluids. I spent a lot of time in the pulmonary unit! That's a scary unit by the way...don't work in there LOL I would hear people coding CONSTANTLY! I told my doc to fix me quick because I was afraid my number would be pulled next in the lottery of life, just given the high odds in that unit!

Oh Casey I just want to send you a hug. I too had complications (and highly don't recommend a stint by the way) and had the PIC line, feeding tube, blah blah blah....I did it all while they tried to repair my damaged body. I'm left with a smaller stomach because of the damage done to the tissue sadly. This is fine now while I try to lose weight, but my current doctor is concerned about my long term ability to get proper nourishment. He feels that I likely won't be able to ever consume a cup of food in a sitting. The reality of that concerns me as I was hoping not to have to rely on Protein drinks for the rest of my life...it's why I didn't have the "Big" surgery you are hoping to avoid. Food wasn't a crutch for me so I didn't go through some of the psychological issues you are facing, but I do remember well the long period of time without ANY Fluid or foods...gad wiping your mouth off with a sponge is not a great way to live! The first sip of tepid tea I took was like nectar of the gods LOL I was telling Sannah (another complication survivor) that towards the end of my torture I found enough hope to look forward. That was hard to find at my worst. I wasn't sure I was going to live let alone eat again, so moving beyond that fear into the world of a solution was a huge step. It might not feel that way now, but you obviously do have a handle on what the problem is (first step!) and you've made some decisions on how to move forward (PIC etc). Sure those aren't easy and I'm sure you feel like you are so far back you'll never catch up, but you are taking steps forward which is the right way to travel dear. I was down for over two months, unable to care for my child, or even myself. It was slow coming back but today (four and a half months later) my life is relatively normal (if under 800 cals a day and less than half a cup at a time is "normal" LOL). I have only that long term worry to consider dealing with in the future, but worst case, it's something I can deal with (our son has a feeding disorder and we've been supplementing calories for years so I know how). I eat out, have dinner at friends, enjoy a glass of champagne on occasion and wine on more occasions. I'm slimmer but still me. You are going to get there, it's just a very slow road sadly. I'm sure that not only are you suffering from the complication, but your heart and mind are suffering as well. It's hard HARD to deal with medical procedures on a daily basis. It's physically and mentally draining. The pain never seems to leave and that beats you down, coupled with not enough nutrition and you are fighting to survive every second. It's hard to not wonder if this is forever....it's not darling. It seems like it!!!! But it's not. Baby steps hun. And if it helps to write down your worries and anger and whatever you need to share....do it here. The people here were instrumental to my success. I told them all of the stuff I didn't want to worry my family with. Cried with them, laughed, the whole drill and it did help. Hugs!!!!!

There must still be hope Laura..I'm currently into onion rings....

I took Charlie. He's an IKEA dog that sleeps with whoever in our family is sick. From my son to myself, charlie has been our constant companion. So much so that when I left the hospital I sent additional Charlie's to the docs who saved me Charlie is an extension of my son and my life...and if you have any issues in hospital, having that personal connection to a silly object might bring you more comfort than you know Anyhoo...Charlie