NurseGrace

Thanks. That makes me feel a bit better, my highest weight since I have started the program was like 302 or something like that, which actually puts me down 11 pounds but only 2 since this diet started. I, like you, have had a bite here and there, I had some tuna one night when I was so nauseous I was going to dry heave (that happens to me, no idea why) but that was very little calories and zero carbs so I doubt very little that it had anything to do with it. My diet allows for greek yogurt, cottage cheese,and one string cheese but I have decided to switch to the clear liquid diet early. We are supposed to start that two days before surgery but I started it this morning with the exception of the Protein shakes.

oops and I forgot to add, as someone who was a lapband patient previously I can just share with you that I am not telling anyone about this go around because when I had a lapband I told EVERYONE who would listen to me talk about it and you know what? I made a fool of myself because it went stunningly bad. This time around, I'm more cautious. My parents know, and my husband knows. He may or may not have shared it with his friends, although I asked him not too and thats it. Different people have a different prospective about things like this. If someone asks me how I lost my weight I am not certain that I will be sharing either.

Do you know for a fact from some other source that she DID in fact have surgery? I would never want to be confrontational here on the forums but there are people who do dramatically drop a lot of weight without surgery and if this is all just speculation then I have to say - thats pretty presumptive. Now, if she did have surgery and isn't fessing up for god knows what reason, that still none of anyone's concern. There are a plethora of reasons a person might not want to share that information up to and including the fact that she doesn't owe anyone that information. She could be a private person, she could be embarrassed that she couldn't get it under control herself, she could just be one of those people who don't tell anyone.

Sounds painfully average. Keep your doctor informed if things get worse in case he/she thinks you need intravenous fluids but otherwise just keep sipping.

That sounds very frustrating. Tell me a bit more, when working with larger programs the turn around time is always a pain. Also, just to be the devils advocate for one moment, sometimes, especially in the bariatric fields some patients (not saying you are one of them, but this has an effect on the whole office) are extremely demanding, they leave 5 messages a day and send 15 different e-mails to 15 different staff members and all this does is create conflict, confusion, and slows everything WAY down. So, that being said, If you are one of these, or your program as a bunch of these types, it's chaos and its hard to get back to people. When you say it takes them forever to get back to you, can you define what forever is to you? To me, taking forever is more than three days for simple questions. For some people, if they call in the morning and don't hear back that afternoon that is "forever" so its hard to advise without knowing what your expectations are. For me, anywhere from 1-3 business days is pretty much what I expect. That being said - I have personal experience with an unreasonably slow program, and I LEFT THEM for a fantastic privately run facility. Please, if they are unreasonable RUN FOR THE HILLS because if that's how they treat you before they get all your money, imagine what its going to be like after you or your insurance company has paid them. My old program took weeks to get back to me, and sometimes they were rude on the phone while they were at it, and so I took that as my sign to walk away. All of your psych evals and everything should transfer, I really encourage you to consider this seriously if you are not just being impatient.

You won't die, most likely. Just pay attention next time, your stomach might hurt. If you are really concerned about it go ahead and call your surgeon.

Wooo I relate to this topic so much its kind of embarrassing I was one of those kids who had a lapband placed at 18 years old a few years back when it was considered the hippest, newest, best thing EVAH. lol..... No one could talk me out of it. I knew everything, I was SOLD. I was so silly and I really bought into the type that it was going to pretty straightforward, simple, and everything was going to so fantastic. I think I "knew" I could gain weight - but I was just convinced that it was going to happen to ME, because I was so smart, right? lol..... Yeah, Got the band, my follow up care with that surgeon (NOT my current surgeon) was terrible, no matter how tight or loose they made that thing I just could not get it to work for me and I just could not understand. I would go days without being able to eat, so when I could finally eat, LORD did I pig out. Then I couldn't understand why I was gaining.... Thats been several years ago now, but all this to say, I know the mindset, and I'm a lot wiser for it now, I suppose I'm just happy I didn't start with a more serious operation at that age because I could have really hurt myself. My eyes are wide open now to the realities of weight loss surgery, and its not as exciting or awesome as a lot of new people think its going to be. I can also spot people like "past me" from a mile away. I'm scared for people, genuinely.

This is precisely why some surgeons use drains. With a JP drain in place (yes, even though there is a small risk of that getting infected too) leeks will be detected immediately. That being said, there is something fishy about the timeline of this story but I will give OP the benefit of the doubt that they have made some kind of error rather than declaring it fake. That being said, this is what is called anecdotal evidence. It's evidence from personal experience and may or MAY NOT be reliable do to not having all the facts, cherry picking information for an agenda, and the fact that its nonrepresentational of a typical outcome. We all know the risks of things like this, but the facts are still the facts, and cases like these, while it is POSSIBLE and I think everyone could be served well to remember that, are extremely rare and even had OP's sister taken more initiative in being an informed advocate for herself and her own health, she would not have settled for being diagnosed over the phone before everything became so terrible. I'm not stating this to say that we should blame a patient in a bad situation, but its important to remember personal responsibility when we have these procedures, which for many of us are completely elective.

I agree. I am sort of indifferent on the subject because to me its a trade off, no method is without risk. I'l just not for people becoming presumptive about the subject.

So I am on day two of my pre op liquid diet and I am allowed a serving of greek yogurt a day (plain of course) - lovely right? It's hardly edible. Well, I was looking for ways to make it taste better without adding solids or sugar to it and this is what I did today that actually made it tolerable. mix your half a cup of greek with a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a teaspoon of almond extract, and a teaspoon of lemon extract. I also added a pack of splenda. Don't get me wrong, its not great, but its a lot better than before. If anyone has any better ideas please bless me with them. I already tried crystal light in it and honestly that was pretty terrible for me.

Very true, its not always weight loss dependent HOWEVER (my mother works for an insurance company) One of the ways they will decide if you have been compliant is by comparing results. A stable patient who has many not lost much looks FAR better than a patient who is showing a gain because it assumed that you have not been following orders and will continue to be noncompliant postoperative. This is not always the case and I am not trying to scare you, however, if you are not taking this very seriously I would urge you to start taking it seriously TODAY.

This is a touch out of line. The fact is that there are pros and cons to JP drains. Yes, it is another site that can become infected, BUT what it allows for is catching a serious and potentially deadly complication much sooner than if there was no drain in place.

Have you ever looked on pinterest? There are tons of coffee drinks on there, some are dangerous but there are always a ton of low carb recipes that could easily be altured to make them more WLS friendly. Theres also always Click protein powder but I don't really buy into the manufactured hype over that product - to me it doesnt taste much different from any other flavored protein and it makes we feel weird to top it off. Some people swear by it like MeltingMama, but watch out because I am fairly certain she is paid for that sponsorship.

You will be able to eat, after all, if we couldnt we would die, what you will NOT be able to do is binge eat. Some things may be harder than others but consider this - you mentioned how you feel you might be losing out - how much life are we losing out on being so heavy? Is there not more to life than when is the next time we can have pizza? I know you are not talking in such simple terms but my goal is to put it into perspective, not be taken super literally.

Yep, couldnt have said it better. It's not always like this, but a lot of times it is. Also what you said about nutrition was spot on. I couldnt have said it better myself.

Just remember that this idea of the "heartiness of a good meal" is what got us so obese that we were willing to let a surgeon punch holes in is, take 85% of our stomachs, and sew us back up again. I miss food too right now, I am on the preop diet but I have had WLS in the past so I have been here but we have to keep a sound state of mind about the facts of the situation.

Oh god, this sets off ALL KINDS of red flags in my mind. Have you talked with your surgical team about these feelings. I am sure they would be uncomfrtable operating on someone who is being coerced by their parents to have surgery. This is something that you have to want for yourself. There is a very important book I want you to read called Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend Your parents are WAY overstepping, and I might add, setting you up for an unhealthy relationship with your boyfriend. They have zero right to speak with him about your weight and that is a huge problem for me, and it should be for you too.

Hello. I think that going vegan can be a fantastic life altering step toward a more healthy lifestyle but as a nurse and a healthcare professional I want to encourage you to consider and ponder one thing. Sometimes veganism can turn into just another extension of some type of eating disorder. Some use it as a form of even greater restriction, limitation and its just one more thing that is a result of disordered eating habits. The reason why thats a problem is because it wont save you. You have to tackle WHY you do what you do to yourself. That being said, this is not the case for everyone, and lots of people are perfectly happy vegans and do so by choice and/or other responsible reasons. Just consider things though, in the WLS community I think a lot of us are prone to disordered feelings toward foods.

If cooked though well I would not think its capable of much more swelling but I do not know that to be a fact. Maybe try half a bite (pinky fingernail size and see if it goes down)

Brown rice is complex. The difference is simple carbs are fast digesting (high GI) foods, not too good for building muscle. Complex carbs are slow digesting (low GI) and the preferred type. That being said, WLS patients should limit rice because it fills your sleeve but if you are all set on protein it should be OK.

hahaha wellllll... some men shave for appearances but something to consider is that sometimes pubes trap... smells...? and if your lady is offering.... oral favors.....? It can be nice to not have all that in your face and up your nose.

It wasnt advice, just my thoughts on what I would do as a fellow patient of childbearing age. Im still learning how to use the VST app, but I refuse to be shot down for offering my thoughts on the subject. Thats what a forum is for. Seems to mw that perhaps you dont like the choice, which is also fine. I would never push that on someone who wasnt considering that but there is not one single thing wrong with me stating what I would do other than the fact that I didnt realize this wasnt a new thread, which I already acknowledged previously.

Just watch it and monitor it carefully. We can get a lot of sugar down in soft form if we arent careful. For me sugar leads to wanting more sugar so I try to avoid it at all costs but not everyone is like that