PatrickG

No. Just the distance from the camera. That's why I take the pictures in front of the door for scale.

I was shopping at Target this weekend. My wife suggested we browse the men's clothing section. I caught a glance of myself in a mirror and my 40in waist pants looked baggy in the seat. I mentioned this to my wife and she said "I know. That's why we are here". I bought a few pairs of 38in pants. I started my weight loss in tight 46in pants.

The protein powder is nothing like the bottled kind. It is much more "milky". I bought the protein powder thinking I would save over the bottled kind. I ended up mixed it with plain greek yogurt.

I mix Isopure protein powder (alpine punch flavored) with unflavored greek yogurt. I tried the Isopure with water or milk and I didn't like it. The greek yogurt ads enough tartness to make in taste OK.

Look for omeprazole. You can get it at most drug stores next to the antacid tablets.

I went for my 3 month post op appointment today. The doctor had me do the barium swallow to check for restrictions since I have had trouble with solid meat. The doctor said there are no restrictions. I got the see the shape of my new stomach and I think it looks more like a curved dumbbell than a sleeve. There is a pouch below the esophagus, then the sleeve part curves to a smaller pouch just before the pylorus. Now that I have seen it I can understand why I get full so quickly on meats. I really need to work on eating smaller bites of meat so it can get through the narrow sleeve in between the two pouches.

The surgeon took several different views and said it looked "beautiful", so that's good I guess. I am sure I stretched out the top of the stomach a little by overdoing it, but also it could be what is left of the fundus. The bottom pouch is deliberate I think so there are enough nerve endings to activate the pylorus. I agree that an empty stomach might look smaller in the middle if it is flattened front to back. I probably expanded the top because I gulped the barium and some air got in.

I am almost three months out and I still have problems with eating too fast. I get the hiccups often and I have thrown up several times. It takes a long time to unlearn the bad habit of wolfing down my food.

I saw the surgeon yesterday for my two month appointment. I reported that the only meat I am eating is in the Soups I have for lunch. He said I have to try eating more solid meat and not relying on Protein drinks and stewed meat to get my protein. I think his words were "you can't eat like a baby for the rest of your life". For dinner last night I ate some taco meat. No problems there. Tonight we went to Culver's for my younger sons birthday. I order ed a kids meal burger with no toppings. I ate about half of it with the bun and then ate the second half of the patty without the bun. I probably should have skipped the bun and eaten just the patty. I felt ill and when we got home I threw up. There is a reason that I have avoided solid meat. I had pain from eating pureed tuna or chicken so I have avoided eating solid meat. I try to chew the meat thoroughly but I must not chew enough. The surgeon is concerned that I might have a stricture. If I continue to have problems eating solid protein, I will have to do a barium swallow at the 3 month appointment to check for that. I guess I have to keep trying. Next up is canned tuna and chicken. If that goes OK I will try chicken breast.

I tried the cubed chicken breast last night. It went down OK but I ate too much. I should have stopped at 1/4 cup instead of the 1/2 cup I ate. I of course had to throw up phlegm because there wasn't enough room for it and the meat. I am working really hard to eat solid meat but I have a lot to learn.

I love Italian beef so maybe I will try making some. I like a good steak too but it will have to be very tender for me to try it. Seafood sounds yummy too. I don't like the taste of canned meats either -- too metallic. I just picked those because they are easy to blend. Tonight I will try cubed chicken breast for dinner. I used to eat that with vegetables for lunch every day. My wife would cook it in broth so it is very tender. I'll see tonight if my sleeve can handle it.

I know I am not only one who gets morning wood. It never really went away even at my heaviest. Since I have been losing weight I have noticed the return of "wet dreams". I haven't had this since I was in high school. I may need to bother the wife for more than once per week. Anyone else experiencing this?

I tried a sip of my wife's diet coke this evening. The carbonation burned a little bit. I think I will stick to iced tea for my caffeine. Note this is NOT sweet tea which is loaded with sugar.

I quit all caffeinated drinks at the start of pre-op diet. The surgeon said diet coke is bad because of all the sodium and the caffeine would irritate my stomach. It has been two months and I finally caved in to my caffeine cravings by drinking iced tea. So far no problems.

It has been 8 weeks since my surgery. My wife took photos the morning of the surgery and today. I have gone from around 270 to around 230.

<br /><br /><br /> No problems that I recall.

I always found it to be more of a hassle to "go fishing" than to go "over the fence". I suppose boxers make it easier, but I have always worn briefs because boxer bunched up on my thighs.

Weighed my self on the Wii Fit this morning. I am down 50 lbs since I first started weighing myself on the Wii scale. I started at 280 last July and I am now down to 230. Below is the plot from Wii Fit.

I monitor my blood pressure every morning. I noticed that sudafed makes it go up at least 20 points. Caffeine does that too. I have avoided both.

Thanks

I have had post nasal drip for about a week thanks to allergies. Today I had my second case of what I call "the foamies". The post nasal drip created a foamy mucus that sat in my stomach. I drank too fast and all of the foam came floating out of my stomach and into my throat. I was spitting that out for a few minutes. I described this to my surgeon and he said this is a form of vomiting. I guess he is technically right, but it is not like I over indulged. There just wasn't enough room for the foam and the drink. Has anyone else had this experience?

I realized that what I was drinking had something to do with it too. I was drinking a Slurpee from 7-eleven ( I know, I know, empty carbs are bad) They put a foaming agent in Slurpee to keep it fluffy when it freezes. That and the post nasal drip combined to over fill my stomach.

Walking 30 minutes a day helped me break my first stall. Nothing strenuous. I just walk the dogs every evening.

I would recommend Prilosec OTC or its generic omeprazole. I tried OTC famotidine, ranitidine and cimetidine. They all wore off too fast. Maybe their dosage was to low. The 20mg omeprazole twice a day works great.

No. I only go for appointments. I have to drive from Yorkville.