Oregon Rose

I tried OA and didn't like it. I think there is a lot of guilt thinking involved. I really didn't need any more guilt. Guilt and discouragement go hand in hand. If you feel discouraged, you stop fighting your obesity. This is a death sentence. The group pressure is for you to confess that you are a compulsive overeater. Are you? Not everybody who is obese is eating compulsively. You will have to decide if you are heavy because you eat in a compulsive manner, you have poor nutritional habits, you never exercise, or you have a medically proven metabolic problem. Some may have a combination of these things. You have to discover why you are obese and choose the appropriate solution. If you are eating compulsively, then a GOOD therapist would be the first choice for getting to the bottom of why you are eating compulsively. OA also might help in this case. Maybe what you need is to correct your nutritional habits. Some time spent with a dietician might help in this case. Maybe you are a couch potato. Join a gym, a hiking group, a dancing group, etc. Find some form of exercise you can enjoy. If you come from a family of obesity, seek out an endochronologist. OA isn't right for everyone.

Name your favorite high protein, low calorie bars and tell us where you buy them.

Hey Wisconsin Gal- Wishing you the very best surgery and recovery possible. Let us know how it goes.

Hi boredoncemore- After the three-four week post surgery liquid diet, I was advised to try cottage cheese, Nonfat sugar free Yoghurt, and pureed chicken Soup first for about two weeks. This was the semi-solid food phase. After that (around weeks 4-6) I was advised to try Proteins in the following order; fish chicken, turkey red meat This is because red meat may be the most difficult to digest. I found it hard to transition from the semi-solid phase to the solid phase. At first I couldn't eat very much of the solid food before my stomach felt very full. Now I'm eating meatballs with marinara, New York steak, gound beef casserole, pot roast, etc. Of course, I can't eat very much, but I can eat the same food I serve my family. When they have spaghetti with meatballs, I just have two small meatballs with sauce. Take it easy transitioning to new foods. Best wishes,

Hi Twobluecats: Everyone is different. The lowest incision bothered me for about 2 months. I didn't want any elastic around that area so I wore nightgowns and dresses. While I did do the recommended walking the first week, the rest of the time I just wanted to sleep. I didn't have bounds of energy. In fact, it took me about a month before my energy returned. I didn't have a drain. I would imagine having a drain would make the lowest incision even more sensitive. My advise: take your pain meds, keep moving (so you don't get a blood clot) and have some faith that this is going to be wonderful once you get past the first month or two. If you even suspect something is off, call your surgeon to check. I think on this web site you hear how easy it was or you hear the horror stories. People who have average experiences probably don't feel they have much to post. Best wishes,

Reporting on some more bars: Balance Mocha Chip Bar :tongue_smilie: Not terrible, but not the best Balance Cookie Dough Bar :001_tt2: Good - tastes a little like a Three Musketeers Balance chocolate Bar :tongue_smilie: Not terrible, but not the best Balance Chocolate Raspberry Bar :thumbdown: didn't care for this one at all Balance Honey Peanut Bar :001_tt2: Good I also bought a sample box of BariWise Bars. I cut a little piece off the bars and tried them all. The three I liked the best were: Caramel Crunch :drool5: Peanut Butter :drool5: Rocky Road :drool5: The BariWise Bars are better than most of the bars I have tried. They also have a good amount of Protein for the calories. The BariWise Bars I liked the least were: Double Peanut Butter (why take the chocolate coating off?) :tongue_smilie: strawberry Cheesecake :tongue_smilie: Not bad, but also not the best of the bunch were two bars with vanilla coating: Caramel Brownie :001_smile: oatmeal :001_smile: Best wishes to all,

Everyone is different. I have seen and heard a lot of malicious gossip. At one company I used to know who would be leaving the company before he/she did because I heard malicious gossip coming from the cubicle next to mine. Sure enough about 6 months later, he/she anounced that he/she just couldn't pass up this opportunity at another company. After seeing this pattern with about a dozen people, I was convinced of the dangerous power of malicious gossip. I have heard people pass on the most private and embarrasing things about other people. While I find this kind of thing shocking and do not participate in it, it has made me very reluctant to be an "open book." I have only told my husband, daughter, and my best friend.

The burning definately sounds like acid reflux. Your surgeon should have you on nexium (Rx) or prilosec (over the counter.) Ask your surgeon if he found a hiatal hernia and if so did he repair it??? If you had a hiatal hernia and if it wasn't repaired at the time of your surgery you will have much worse acid reflux than people usually get after VSG.

Hi Angel & MidWest Girl- The incision near my waist was very sore. I took lose panties and a nightgown (not pajamas) with me. I also had a casual dress for use afterwards. Anything tight around your waist will bother you for 1-2 months. Also, if you wear the kind of bra with material that extends underneath the underwire, that might be uncomfortable. Be sure you get about two weeks worth of supplies ahead of your surgery. You won't feel like taking trips to the store afterwards. Do all of your errands and pay your bills ahead of time. This way you can just focus on recovering. Wishing you both the very best,

Sip slowly and steadily. You have to stay hydrated.

I was only allowed clear liquids for the 24 hours before surgery. I didn't have to take magnesium citrate or anything else.

So, how much Protein do Oh Yeah Bars have and where do you get them? Here are a few more I have tried: Balance Tripple chocolate Chaos, 210 cal, 14g protein, 23g carbs. :thumbup1: Yum! Zone Perfect Chocolate Mint, 210 cal, 14g protein, 24g carbs. Yuk! Later.

My surgeon recommends the following to prevent hair loss: flax seed oil fish oil Biotin Coenzyme Q-10 I am taking all of these. So far (3 months post-op) I still have all my hair.

Hi LAN2k- No one else can know just how much pain you have. I had some pain/tenderness at the lowest incision point for about 2.5 months. But it wasn't very much. Everyone is different. People have different stomach sensitivities. Some people throw up easily - even certain smells are enough to induce vomiting Other people never vomit. What does your surgeon have to say about your symptoms? Since you are 2.5 months post surgery, perhaps it would be about time to have a post-op check-up and address your questions with the surgeon. Make sure he/she examines the area of pain with the hands. Best wishes,

Hi Barbara- It doesn't hurt to call your insurance and ask what they cover and what they exclude. I called and was told VSG was excluded. I asked for a hard copy of the section of my policy that dealt with weight loss surgery and read the VSG exclusion myself. (The insurance representative told me where to find a copy on their web site.) My surgeon's office also told me that a patient with my same exact insurance was turned down for VSG, appealed twice and was turned down for both appeals. This is how I knew that I would have to pay for VSG myself. I'm glad that I didn't waste any more time trying to qualify (6 month waiting period) for the non-existent insurance benefits. Even though I had to pay myself, I'm glad I had VSG. VSG is so much better than Band (better weight loss) or Bypass (no malnutrition issues.) Why wait and torture yourself. Best wishes,

Yes, every surgeon is doing it for money. They deserve to get paid for their time and skill. However, there are two potential problems: lack of skill and lack of ethics. Let's face it, some surgeons graduate at or near the bottom of their medical school class and for whatever reason are not particularly good. They may even have substance abuse problems. This is why it is extremely important to check out your surgeon before you hire him/her. You can buy reports on U.S. surgeons online. They are not very expensive. The report will tell you about malpractice lawsuits, arbitrations, etc. The reports will also tell you patient satisfaction, where they went to medical school, where they did their surgical residency, etc. Going to a top notch medical school and having a prestigious residence and a prestigious fellowship is a good sign that they are smart and competent. Only the best and brightest get these positions. If they have any malpractice suits or arbitrations - run for the door! :tongue_smilie: If you hire a Mexican surgeon, I don't know how you can find out if they have bungled any operations. If someone else does, please advise the rest of us. There is also the issue of lack of ethics. :001_tongue: Lying about how many sleeves they have done in order to get more business, taking shortcuts to save themselves money (such as using cheap staples) on the operation, taking on a patient that should not have (due to risk issues or psych issues) the operation, not telling the patient if they have severed an artery, damaged your liver or spleen, etc. For the money I spent, I wanted experience, competency, and ethics. I believe I got that with my surgeon. But then, I bought the report! Best wishes,

Linda- Thanks for the suggestion. I plan to try them! Since I've started having 1 Protein bar per day, it has been a lot easier to get my protein in. I'm also feeling less hungry. Here are more bars I bought at Whole Foods and tried: Greens+ whey Krisp: Yuk! Yuk! Yuk! :001_tongue::scared0::cursing: This bar is actually green! I couldn't eat more than 1 bite. Think Thin chocolate Fudge: Yuk! :tongue_smilie: Think Thin Chunky Peanut Butter: Yuk! :tongue_smilie: Tastes like Vitamins. I'll post back in a few more days when I have tried more bars. Best wishes,

Tell me what you guys are eating for lunch. I'm getting bored with 1/2C canned Progresso Soup or 1/2C non-fat cottage cheese. I need some new ideas! Thanks for the input.

I got some beef tamales from the freezer section at the store. 1/2 El Monterey Beef Tamale has 150 calories and only 4.5 g Protein. It tastes so much better than anything I have eaten for lunch to date. I will have to start looking around to see if I can improve on the protein content. Portland isn't exactly the Mexican food capital of the world. So if I find something better, it will take some hunting. Actually, I think Tex-Mex is to die for. Whenever I travel to Texas that's all I want to eat. Next time I go to Texas I don't think I will be able to eat much though! Keep the lunch ideas coming! :laugh:

Thanks Oregon Daisy and Tiffy for you feedback on bars. I have recently tried the following: Zone Perfect Fudge Graham (210 cal, 14g Protein, 23 g carbs) It was good. :001_tt2: Zone Perfect chocolate Coconut (210 cal, 15g protein, 23g carbs) It was good. :001_tt2: Balance Almond Brownie (200 cal, 15g protein, 21 g carbs) I didn't care for it, but others who like an all chocolate might like it. :laugh: Balance Gold Caramel Nut (210 cal, 15g protein, 23g carbs) It was really, really, good. :drool5: All of these I bought at Whole Foods. I have a few more bars to try, so I will report back later. Best wishes,

Dear Daughter-in-Law: I am so sorry to hear about your mother-in-law's troubles. I hope she will start doing better soon and will start complying with the dietary and liquid requirements. Those who have had VSG need a lifetime of vigilance with respect to Protein, Water, and Vitamins. This is exactly the kind of post that everyone needs to read. There are real risks with any kind of surgery, VSG is no exception. Having surgery in a country with poor sanitation can increase the risks dramatically. I had surgery in the U.S. and was not given, nor did I need post surgery antibiotics. Those who have surgery in the United States do have to have a psychological evaluation. (Not that psych evaluations are all that accurate. How can they be when the therapist has only met the patient once?) I had my surgery out of state. My surgeon coordinated with my primary care physician for a physical, a chest x-ray, a cardiac stress test, and various blood tests. Before surgery, I had a pre-op appointment with the surgeon. After surgery, I was required to stay in San Francisco until my surgeon released me. I was released to return home after my post-op appointment. The other post-op appointments can be done by telephone or in person with the surgeon. But, my care is also being coordinated with my local primary care physician. I think anyone who is planning surgery whether in-state, out of state, or out of the country needs regular follow-up care. If you mother-in-law had proper follow-up care, the surgeon (or follow-up physician) would have asked her questions about compliance, how her wounds were healing, etc. The problems would have been discovered much earlier. Also, a leak usually appears with 1-2 days after surgery, so I wonder why the surgeon :laugh: didn't catch it? Best wishes to your mother-in-law. She should be grateful for having such a caring daughter-in-law.

Hi Vegas Angel- I like the tamale idea. Should I look in the freezer section or in the canned section? Is there a particular brand that you like? I've never bought tamales in a grocery store before. Although I don't eat that much at any one time, it seems I'm hungry again in 2-3 hours. Nothing keeps me full for 6 hours. I wish I would feel comfortably full for multiple hours at a time. Sometimes when I eat too fast, I eat 1-2 more bites than I should and my stomach feels very uncomfortable. Even so, I will be hungry in about 3 hours.

Hi Tiffy- I'm at twelve weeks and have been on solid food for a while. I'm just getting bored of the same old same old. Any ideas?