Marisa46

I try everything. For me sweets in general never feel good going down. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) they haven't made me sick. One great thing I have found is Starbucks hot cocoa mix. I mix it with skim or 1% lactose free milk and seriously the chocolate is so good. It's not sugar free but it doesn't make me sick and it satisfies my chocolate craving.

I had a similar problem although mine developed earlier after the surgery. It turns out that I'm lactose intolerant and the color (mine was yellow and occasionally orange) was the result of malabsorption. I take lactaid when ever I have yoghurt, cottage cheese, etc. and I switched to lactose free milk. Problem went away. If you have had your follow up blood work done and everything else is normal you might try stopping milk products to see if it helps. It also may help to wait a little longer before having liquids after meals.

I won't lie to anyone it is hard work trying to live with out food as my crutch and sometimes (even with the surgery) I fall short of my ideal behavior when it comes to food. There are people who have told me that I've taken the easy way out. I disagree with them but I don't waste my breath arguing with them anymore. Even with the surgery I still have to closely monitor what I eat and be more active. The surgery has given me the help I need to lose weight but it doesn't mean that I woke up from the surgery cured of my old bad food habits. But I manage my eating much better. I'm encouraged that I'm moving closer to where I want to be. Good things that have happened to me since my surgery: I can walk to my car without having to stop and take a breath I'm not in constant pain because of my knees I have given away over 10 bags of clothes that are way too big for me--I'm down 4 sizes so far People sit next to me on the train (I used to feel so guilty taking up two seats when the train was crowded) I cooked dinner at thanksgiving and it didn't wear me out --being on my feet for a few hours easy peasy I look in the mirror and I recognize myself! I do have a figure(my waist line is returning) my bath sheets wrap around me there's no big gap! there is really cute lingerie in my size Oh my doctors have taken me off a couple of my meds I realize I can only eat so much so I visually measure out a cup of food and that's my meal There's a lot of little things but mainly I'm just thankful that I was able to do this surgery. I'm grateful that my insurance covered it and I'm grateful that I chose the right program. I feel really blessed by the whole experience problems and all.

Take a few deep breaths and don't stress yourself so much. I know easier said than done. You will handle what ever comes up in the future beautifully!

It took a while for me too; so don't worry too much. At 6 weeks I still didn't have a great deal of stamina. Remember that normal is a relative term; my prior normal state was having constant pain and being unable to walk more than 5 minutes without getting short winded. A suggestion for the protein Isopure has individual (8 ounce) size bottles that I order from Amazon.com. It's not a shake which is great because I will never ever have another shake as long as I live! 8 ounces and 15 grams protein; the drink has been a life saver since I became lactose intolerant and had to give up Greek yoghurt. Good luck. Things will get better.

There's no way I could have gone back to work after one week. I don't think anyone in my office would have appreciated hearing me moan and complain. I was only half awake the first week even though I had stopped taking the pain medication after a couple of days because the meds made my head spin. The second week the littlest thing made me winded; I live on the third floor of my condo (no elevator) and I moved so slowly. Granted I'm much bigger than a lot of you. I honestly didn't feel well enough to go back to work until after the 5th week and even then I had a few curve balls. If you honestly feel that you can go back after 1 or 2 weeks without endangering your health then WONDERFUL; but please take your time and rest as much as YOU need to. The purpose of the surgery is to make life better but we have to be well to enjoy it.

Thanks! those are great exercises and I am going to try them all!

I haven’t blogged in a while…fortunately my silence hasn’t been because of anything horrible. I’ve just been adjusting to normal life and the adjustment period is full of surprises. The major surprise has been that I’m lactose intolerant now. I never had a problem with dairy before my surgery so the problem knocked me for a loop (literally). I don’t normally drink milk, but one day I decided I wanted an iced mocha; the line at the Starbucks was too long so I decided to try the 7 Eleven “Chiller”. That drink is milk pure and simple. I was able to drink about a fourth of it. 30 minutes later the fun began! I finally had to leave work early. Now this isn’t horrible, except that I love cheese. The lactose intolerance explains why I felt so awful and tired all the time too. I had huge problems with nausea even with the medication I was given. I had been using Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese as my go to foods because they’re convenient and loaded with protein. I returned to work on July 16th; but I never worked a full week until the week of August 6th. Since I removed all dairy from my diet, I’ve done very well. I’m learning that I won’t necessarily like the same foods that I used to. Sweets taste way too sweet now. I don’t like bread, but I enjoy those Wasa crackers I used to describe as being edible cardboard. Meats I still love. This weekend I had a steak. I love red meat and I was worried that it was something that I was going to have to give up so I’m very pleased that there were no problems. The next challenge is exercise. Now that I’m not nauseous all the time, it’s time for those walks. I’m a horrible couch potato but hey it’s what I have to do.

You need to fill out FMLA paperwork, so that your job is protected just in case things don't go as planned and you can't come back in 2 days. I think a week is way to soon but since everyone is different .... just be careful not only is your body stressed but adapting to a new way of eating is a major change.

Don't fret; stalls are normal...just keep doing what you're doctor told you to and you will see a loss. Don't get discouraged.

Question about the hair loss-- Have y'all been keeping track of your protein? I've been afraid of hair loss too and have been making sure I get at least 60 grams of protein a day. I hope that hasn't been in vain.

Thank you!