Pinky Green

I understand that we need vitamins because we might not get all the vitamins we need from what we eat after surgery, but since we don't have malabsorption why do we need super extra bariatric vitamins? Why not just regular liquid or chewable vitamins?

Most insurance will accept if you do the 6 month NUT in your home town - I've heard of them accepting medifast or with a nutritionist in your home town. You could do the preliminary required testing in OK City and have the surgery with a physician in Dallas. They could have you do the follow-ups with your PCP in Oklahoma City.

Have you considered going to a different city to have the surgery? Maybe there is an in-network doctor and an in-network hospital in another city not too far away. I live in Houston so there are plenty of in-network doctors. Lots of people come to Houston from as far away as Beaumont or Victoria (125 miles away) to have surgery. I see you are in Norman, OK. How far is that from Dallas? Or Tulsa?

I usually look to the right side bar for Recent Topics for the most recent conversation and read what other people are saying. Most of the time they talk about things that either I was thinking about or hadn't thought about but should. Also if you have a particular question you can put a key word in where it says search, click on This Topic to change it to Forums and then click the magnifying glass to search and it will bring up topics related to your keywords.

That worries me a little too. I met my boyfriend when I weighed about 170 and and then after a number of stressful things happened I got up to 240. Now I'm down to 220 and I am sure he will be ok with me being 170 and probably even 150 - but what about if I get down to my doctor's goal of 130 or my personal goal of 120. But what worried me more is that I might have to have knee replacement surgery at 55 or that my blood pressure which used to be low all the time and had started creeping up to the 140's and I might have a stroke or heart failure. Or that I might die in my sleep from sleep apnea. I want to be healthy and if he's not happy with that I'm a strong, independant woman and I will get along just fine without him.

OK listen, right now you are trying to lose weight, even though you may be able to eat these things with no problem - and you want to eventually be able to eat them in moderation - stick with low-fat things right now and keep your carbohydrates fairly low. I was told to mostly make sure you got at least 60 grams of Protein and make sure you get enough fluids - at least 60 oz a day. And eat your protein first. If you eat your protein first, low carb vegetables and fruits next and then you won't be able to eat as many high carb fruits and vegetables and grains.

kimbernada, I think you misread her post. She's worried because so far she can eat anything except bananas.

I'm 12 days out and I would be thrilled. I don't want to not be able to eat something. I want to not be able to eat very much of it. I don't think I really ever had a problem eating all the wrong things (although sometimes I did). My problem is that before I could stuff myself with the biggest Mexican food dinner they had and eat it all. And I would make Weight Watchers friendly dinners and eat one serving but then find that I wasn't satisfied and eat 2 or 3 more servings. I also haven't had any problem eating anything yet (although I'm still on liquids). I have had tomato basil soup, butternut squash soup, black bean soup and carrot ginger soup so far. Tonight I'm going to try having some cream of chicken. I go back to the doctor on Wednesday and hope to be put on soft foods. I'm gonna have me some eggs, fat free refried black beans and avocado. I can't eat corn tortillas yet but in a few weeks I' have one or two. I want to eat like a normal, skinny person and hopefully my sleeve will help me do that.

Well, I don't know about 15 lbs a year - if I had gained 15 lbs a year I would have been 700 lbs by now - but I do know that the diet soda never kept me from gaining weight - what I was wondering is if maybe it stretched out my stomach so that I needed more to fill it?

By the way, I've heard of Boar's Head but what are people here saying about it?

Not sure whether you are in an area that has Kroger, I believe they carry it.

Well, then maybe say something like this. "I have something to tell you, but I really, really don't want you to mention this to your family." And then tell him. If he asks why tell him you are afraid they will judge you - just like you told us.

I was being good, having a small bowl of tomato Soup and I'm home by myself so I'm hanging out in my underwear. And I brought my soup into the living room and sat down on the couch to eat it and spilled it all over my bare right thigh. Burned a spot about 5 inches in diameter on my inner thigh right above my knee. I ran to the bathroom and ran cold Water on it and then went to the refrigerator and got an ice cube tray and put it on my inner thigh. Then I took some of the pain medicine that I'd stopped taking a few days ago. Hoping the pain stops soon. Way worse than the pain from the surgery was.

I don't see how you could hide it from him. How will you explain going from being able to eat a lot and then getting full eating like a bird?

I bought a robe and I put my right arm through the robe and draped the other side over my shoulder and I felt better than if I had just had a hospital gown.

Oh it was ok. He doesn't realize what I can't eat - he asked if I wanted a bite and I told him no I can't - I told him maybe in about 2 months we would go out and have them. They honestly aren't near as bad a diet disaster than my pre-surgery favorite Tex-Mex meal but I know I can't have them now.

My boyfriend just walked in the door with 2 chichiron pupusas with the spicy pickled cabbage and tomato salsa. I can't wait until I can have just a few bits. I told him not today (I'm almost 2 weeks post-surgery) but maybe in a couple of months I can have a few bites. For those of you who don't know what a pupusa is - it's a Salvadorian delite. It's like a thick corn tortilla stuffed with a variety of ingredients - sometimes chichironnes (pork skins), cheese and Beans, sometimes shrimp, or chicken or loroco (some kind of Central American herb) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa

I'm about sick of them also. I don't think that they taste so bad really, it's just that having had them two weeks pre-op diet and also before that I was having a couple a day. And then after surgery the doctor says to get at least 40-60 grams of protein - I've been getting at least 54 from the protein drinks - I'm just sick and tired of them.

I didn't have a presurgery drink or cleanse - just a 2 week liquid diet.

You can get 1% milk at McDonalds and any place that has a bar has tomato juice as does Denny's. If you have been cleared for soft foods yet you can get oatmeal and eggs at Denny's also - be sure and request that your eggs be cooked without extra oil.

Well, I'm 10 days post-op now and feeling great and my cold has pretty much gone and I'm breathing better than I have in a long time now. I've lost 7 pounds since surgery.

Oh, man. I had a bit of a cold going into surgery and every time I get a cold, I get asthma. The only real problem I had in the hospital is that when I woke up in the recovery room they kept telling me that I wasn't breathing and to take deep breaths. It hurt quite a bit to take deep breaths and they decided to give me oxygen. Finally, after 2 or 3 hours I started breathing well enough for them to take me out of the recovery room and put me in my regular room. It was a little scary.

I ate the hell out of sf popsicles all during my clear liquid and full liquid diets (still on full liquids hopefully just until Wednesday). In fact, I think I will have one now.

I am 10 days out and lost 12 pound pre-op and have already lost 7 more pounds since surgery. My doctor approved me for driving as soon as I wasn't taking pain meds and I had surgery on a Wed., went home on Friday and was driving around (off pain meds) by Monday or Tuesday. I have a manual transmission car and I am short and previously, it took quite a bit of effort to get my left foot far down to start the car. Pre-op I was able to move my seat a couple of notches forward and driving was much easier. Post-op, I had to put the seat back again, but about 3 days later I was able to move it forward again. My daughter says she can already tell I've lost weight and my boyfriend who lives with me noticed - if someone who sees you all the time notices - you know that it's noticeable because people who see you all the time see the changes so gradually.