Roy

This is my seventh day post surgery and I feel great. Started stage 2, light pureed foods to supplement my protein shakes and more choices in my fluids. The hardest thing so far is getting in enough calories. I'm averaging around 600 to 700 calories a day and everything I'm reading calls for 1500 to 2000. I'm not hungry, taking in 3 to 4 protein shakes a day and am on vitamin supplements. I saw my surgeon yesterday and she was encouraging, she told me that I was getting plenty of nutrition from the shakes and supplements and during the healing process just listen to my body. I have been very fortunate in that I have not had a problem keeping things down or swallowing, I'm just not hungry. The challenge, and adventure, is finding protein rich foods allowed at this stage of the diet. Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are the obvious but what else is out there waiting to be discovered. There are tons of foods high in carbs or sugars but they generally offer little or no protein. Malt-O-Meal cereal is a possibility. Anyone else in a similar place interested in sharing their quest for the perfect protein source?

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes over ten years ago and as my weight increased so did my meds. My primary care physician has maintained for years that if I would lose the weight the diabetes would go away as well. Unfortunately my insurance carrier and policy excluded any form of weight loss surgery regardless of reason. A few months ago during a regular doctors visit I was told my weight had become terminal and that the surgery was my best option to extend my life.He suggested I could pay for the surgery myself and enjoy a long life or not and let my family inherit my savings in two or three years. I began a research on the three basic options right away. Lap-band, although the lest intrusive, tethered me to a doctor for the rest of my life and was much more restrictive as to my future food choices. The sleeve, also minimally intrusive, had a fast recovery time, was the least restrictive in future food choices and did not require the removal of major body parts and finally the by-pass. The by-pass was explained by my surgeon as a final stage type of procedure. Something to perform when the first two options either could not or would not be suitable. I chose the sleeve. Prior to starting my pre-op liquid diet I was on 11 different medications for diabetes or high blood pressure. Seven days post-op I am now on 6 meds and it is expected that I will be off all meds by this summer. The real lesson here was that my diet first and then weight were responsible for my blood sugar levels. Now that I'm watching what and when I eat things are coming in line like never before. I am confident the choice of the sleeve was right for me and my diabetes. The by-pass would have been overkill. Choose an experienced surgeon and best wishes on your adventure.