Nurseypoo

I have multiple sclerosis so I can relate to your nerve pain. I will be 1 year postop as of next week and I can tell you that this surgery was the best thing I ever did for my body and the MS. My pain has decreased as the lbs came off and the more active I became. My surgeon and neurologist worked closely to make sure that I received the correct treatments for my MS postop because IV steroids cause gastric ulcer. Good luck to you and I hope that this helps you as it helped me!

I had these same pains everytime I ate after I was treated with IV steroids for a MS flareup. It turned out that it was a start of a small ulcer in my stomach, something that before the surgery I had been able to pinpoint easily, but postop the feeling is just not the same. I was a dum dum a few weeks ago when I started my new job and broke the rules and was drinking coffee everyday, sure enough the symptoms came back until I realized I was giving myself an ulcer. I stopped it and about a week later everything was normal again. I'd def go see your weight loss surgeon about it though, they'll know best. Good luck and I hope you feel better!

It's official. This morning I weighed in at 198... officially in Onederland now!! I have lost 193 lbs total!

OMG Shelly, I was going to write a post tonight because I'm having issues and if I had, it would of been pretty much identical to yours!! I am 10 months post op and I want to lose 30 more lbs. I track my food intake using the app LoseIt because it allows me to scan foods instead of searching. I have found a few high protein tricks in the past couple weeks that are helping me get out of that slum where I'm sick of cheese/greek yogurt/cottage cheese. Everyone told me hundreds of times to try edamame, i bought it, but never tried them and kept it in the freezer. I finally sucked it up after my dietician appointment a couple weeks ago and I LOVE them. There's a great recipe on Pinterest where you coat with olive oil and parmesan and roast them to eat as snacks. They are incredibly high in protein. I have ice cream cravings a lot, probably because I dont drink nearly enough and i think my body likes it because it "quenches my thirst". I found a fix to this tonight (no it's not high protein but it it really good and a healthy choice). Slice bananas and freeze them, then put into a food processor and blend until it looks like ice cream. It kicks the sweet craving. I think I'm going to try buying some tuna to have for lunches this week, it's pretty high in protein. I'm still looking for more ideas for protein!

In a tiny lil town of Bath, NH in the good ol' White Mountains. Traveled monthly to Manchester NH at CMC for a year for my surgery. 10 months post op, surgery was 3/26/12. Down a total of 185 lbs. BEST decision I ever made!!

I was asked in my last post what I eat daily. Mind you, I know I am way below calorie count and protein intake than what I should be. I'm working on it, but any suggestions or recommendations are welcome!! So far today: ==6oz of Banana Strawberry Greek Yogurt for breakfast 14oz protein 160 calories ==in between meals I was naughty and got a Dunkaccino at Dunkin Donuts. I typically stick with a strict no calories by liquid rule but sometimes a girl needs her chocolate coffee goodness. I had a small which is 230 calories and 2g of protein. ==Lunch a half of a roast beef sandwich on homemade artisan bread with balsamic onion, lettuce, and an aeoli sauce. I peeled off one of the pieces of bread. (No I didn't make this, we were out and stopped at a cafe rather than a fast food restaurant.) A rough estimate is that this was 212 calories and 17g protein. That's it so far today. Yesterday's meal was a little higher than normal because I typically dont have protein shakes in the morning and being in class all weekend, they provided lunch. Breakfast= Bolthouse Coffee Protein Shake (if you havent tried these, they are SOOO good!!! They are located with the organic fruit juices in the produce section) 420 calories (2 servings in a bottle and I was in class all day so I did drink the whole thing eventually). and 32 G Protein Lunch- Subway Turkey and ham 6" sandwich which shows at 280 calories and 18G protein, but I did remove half of the bread like I normally do but I don't change calorie count for that. and a half a mini box of Raisins 70 calories Snack: chobani greek yogurt 14oz protein, 160 calories Dinner: 1/2 cup of pasta with ground beef, sharp cheddar, and mixed veggies all mixed in. This is a homemade recipe that was a total of 281cal 17g protein. TOTAL 1201 calories and 70g protein. I actually did well yesterday! Saturday: Breakfast: Greek yogurt 14oz protein 160 cal Snack: 4 apple slices and pretzels (1oz) 120 cal and 3 grams protein Lunch: Leftover chicken breast 3oz 93 cal and 17g protein Snack: Dinner: chicken breast pieces 95 calories 5g protein, and half a slice of pizza toppings, no bread. (Yes I pick my pizza apart, bread just is uncomfortable to eat) I have no idea calorie count for pizza toppings... According to my app that tracks my food I was at 515calories for the day and 39g protein. But figure in sayyy another 100 calories for the pizza stuff and I'm still way below my requirements. I know what I should have, snacks of cottage cheese, cheeses, protein shakes, protein bars, boiled eggs, all protein for meals, etc.. It''s hard!!! And I get tired of the same old same old. Recently I did try edamame beans and I am in love!!So you can see my intake requirements are all over the place!! I just can't seem to get over this plateau either but I know what is necessary to get my weight loss moving again.. Just gotta correct my eating a bit...

Thanks everyone! I still have 40 more lbs to go. And I owe it all to the great preparation my Bariatric Center provided me with before having the gastric sleeve done. I actually lost 130 in 10 months, the other 60ish was required to lose before my insurance would pay for the surgery and it took me all of 2011 to lose that! I'll post what my typical meals are daily in another post!

So I haven't been on here for awhile, life has gotten very very busy!! I see that I have lost almost 60 lbs since my last entry. I am oh so close to my goal. My problem these last few weeks has been the dreaded plateau. But I exercise daily, and I try to eat right. I think my biggest struggles are getting enough food in to meet an adequate calorie count (I know they say calorie counts don't matter but even when I tell them that my daily calorie intake is only 600-1000 calories even they are concerned). I'm just not hungry. And add in exercising 500 calories a day, then you can see that I'm basically stopping my own metabolism with the calories in/out. So I know why I'm not losing any more weight now just to fix it. Greek yogurt still is my go to. The protein intake struggle is still there. I'm lucky to get 60g a day, nevermind the 80-100 I should... But some positive things.. Last Friday I participated in, for the first time in my life, a cardio kickboxing class. I don't know why it was called a kickboxing class, there was def no kicking involved. The biggest thing for me was that I was able to keep up with the other girls, most of which were athletes!! For once I was considered an equal instead of the "fat girl in gym class" that my brain was used to. Downside?? I kinda overdid it with my MS and haven't been able to walk too well over the weekend. But I did it!! Now just to wonder about going back Even better news, December 7, my husband got a kidney transplant. Something that we were told never to expect because of how highly sensitized he was from his first transplant. We never expected that phone call and even more miraculous was the fact that the woman who passed was the equivialent of his twin, there was no better match. We pray for her and her family every day for this gift of life she gave him. I have my husband back! The weight loss has greatly improved my MS symptoms, I can exercise without going into a relapse (ahem as long as I don't go crazyy), I use the elliptical every day for 40 min then tone and do strengthening to try and tighten up some of this skin. I am determined not to have skin removal surgery. What else.... I will upload a new updated pic later on. What a difference when I look at my pictures on facebook!! But I definitely need to pay attention more to my eating.. Till later all!! Take care!

Over the past few months I've had no regrets at all about this surgery. I've spoken to a couple people who have had the gastric bypass in the past few months. I'm always shocked at how many people have complications from that procedure. I also chose a program that was an hour and a half away instead of the one only 45 minutes away because the informational session at Dartmouth was WAYYY too lenient. They made the surgery sound so hunky dory and all they wanted to talk about was the money part and positive parts. My program I chose, basically from the start made the entire process sound like hell. I am so glad I chose my program, it was more work, but I have more support, less complications, and an overall better outcome I think. I met someone tonight who had gastric bypass and she is 10 mos postop, has lost almost 200 lbs in that time, but she cannot eat solid foods still and has to eat baby food to this day. She said she has constant diarrhea and vomiting. She regrets every day ever having the surgery. It took me 14 months from the informational meeting to the day of my surgery (mostly because my insurance required a 15% weight loss) but it would of been at least a 6 month wait anyways because that's what the program required. It required all people to quit smoking at least 6 months prior to surgery, which I think is an excellent requirement, I quit 3 years ago. So many people rather take the easy and fast program, because let's face it after (for most people) a lifetime of being overweight who wants to wait that much longer. But I am sooo glad I took the time in this decision. I am so glad I didn't go to the Dartmouth program and I'm so glad I chose the sleeve. There's this woman who had the bypass surgery the same time I had my surgery and we always have our followup postop appt's on the same day. Every time I see her, she has a new complaint and complication. Then again I think she made a lot of her own problems, because on our 4 week post op she was telling me she was having a hard time eating and could only take in those peel cheese sticks for food, which was a big no no.. Then at our 6 week postop meeting, she came out of the dieticians office and the dietician was telling her to stop eating pasta. I still to this day will not eat pasta, no nutritional value. This woman always tells me she can't hold anything down and is in severe pain all the time etc. SO yea I always count my lucky stars that I made the right decisions and chose the program that I did and the procedure that I chose.

I'm curious if anyone has the same issue as I have. There are some days that I just can't seem to eat anything that settles. Doesn't matter what it is. Could be a piece of chicken that is prepared the same way and it goes down fine, but if I were to make the same thing a couple days later, I can only take a few bites and it just feels like I ate a rock! And on those days it just seems like anything I eat doesn't settle right, no matter what. I usually have absolutely no appetite on these days but know I have to eat something to get my protein in. Should I have a protein shake on those days? I usually stick to a Greek Yogurt for breakfast and lunch those days. Anyone have any other tips or things that they do??

I think you're right, but if you think about it, the people who say negative things about the surgery are naive, and probably were being condescending about us anyways for not being healthy and overweight. So when we do something to change that, because it isn't the way they think we should "get healthy" then it's the wrong way. I don't think anyone will ever win with people like that. Ignorance.

One of the greatest things that this surgery has taught me so far (post op almost 5 mos) is that no one should ever have to care what others think. For the year prior to surgery I only told close family and a couple friends because I didn't want people to talk me down the entire time. But while I was in the hospital recovering I came out of the closet on Facebook and it was def a positive response. I'm sure there's people that disagreed, but they didn't say anything outright. It is totally up to you when and what to disclose and I know that as you lose more weight your confidence is going to shoot right up and pretty soon you're not going to care if people think what you did was right or not. The only problem I see happening with telling people that you're losing via diet and exercise, is that they will see the great results and start asking for specifics of what your doing for advice. So just be prepared. Congratulations on the surgery and the start of your new life!

I found that if I ate or drank too quickly, even today being post op almost 5 months, that I get a sharp pain in my left shoulder/neck. My surgeon says that it's different for everyone to have a different indicator to slow down or stop. I know that when I first started on the protein shakes, I had initially gone out and purchased the Unjury because of the high ratings on it. Some rumbling and grumbling is expected but for some reason the Unjury made my stomach go absolutely bonkers to the point that I went to Walmart to try their nasty protein drink, and as much as it tasted horrible, my stomach was quiet(er) about it. I tried a few weeks later the Unjury again and found that it just caused so much gas, I ended up returning it. So I suggest trying to change your drink. As far as water goes, I was never much into water, but I refuse to drink anything with calories, so I'm constantly drinking Crystal Light, but I water it down like crazy, it's just too strong as is. Good luck to youu!

My husband's favorite slow cooker chicken recipe that I make is Buffalo Chicken. It's so easy and you really can just do it in the oven too if you wanted to. You just take a couple chicken breasts, put a few Tbsp of butter on top, and then a cup or so of Buffalo sauce. If you cook them low and slow the chicken just falls apart after a few hours, and is great served over rice. I love to flatten a chicken breast then roll up something inside of it to bake, someitmes ham and a piece of lowfat swiss cheese to make Chicken cordon bleu, or creamed spinach.

I used to be a huge pizza fan, and still to this day like the taste of cheesy roni-goodness! But I don't like the carb part of it, the bread is just too much and fills me and it has no nutritional value anyways. But when I do have that craving, I make a recipe of my father in laws. Take a large zucchini, the ones that overgrow in the garden, and slice it about a quarter to half an inch thick. Coat them in whisked egg (no flour). Then as soon as they are coated in the egg, put them on a greased skillet and cook them until nice and toasty brown both sides (this part makes the house smell like french toast. Line the cooked zuchinni's on a baking sheet, top with marinara, cheese, and other toppings. Bake to let the toppings heat and melt, then enjoy! Really good as leftovers too!