ShrinkingBiker

The ricotta bake seems to hold down well for me. Ricotta cheese (I added some powdered spices to it to doctor it up) an egg mixed with the ricotta tomato sauce (I used borilla marinara) top with some mozz. cheese Bake in the oven on 425 for about 20 minutes until the top is browned. It gives a nice "real food" flavor. Cottage cheese is something I like.. I know others don't.. Cream of wheat isn't my fav. but I can eat it without issue so I try to have that. I was told no Pasta or breads, but I see others eat mac and cheese and I would really like some of that.. lol I also like Tuna. Another thing I made, my wife uses to spread on her crackers.. I took imitation crab meat (2 packs of the shredded style) 3 teaspoons of lemon juice 1tsp garlic powder 1tsp onion powder a little salt and pepper a table spoon of light mayo or tea spoon of extra virgin olive oil put it in a food processor until it's almost a paste. stick it in the fridge and you can take out a little bit at a time. Now, this is something my pallet likes. I like acidic tastes so ymmv.

Oh, and first week I was drinking a little more each day.. First day home was about 2 oz of broth, 2oz of carnation instant breakfast (I had to water it down because it didn't work well for me at first) and a bottle of water, second was the same with 4oz of each and double the water. Then I held at that until my 8th day. Week 2 I was able to get a little more "food" in and 3-4 bottles of water is pretty steady from then til now at just over 2 weeks out.. I moved to puree yesterday.. I had about 4oz of ricotta bake, a cup of juice, and some water melon. Also weight watchers fudge pops snack size are good for getting a little extra in, and sugar free ice pops work to give you a little bit of variety. Today I tried my first cream of wheat and it's pretty easy. I had about 4 small spoon fulls then stopped. I'll probably have another few in an hour or so. Then have a bit of something later in the evening. It's hard to learn to change your whole lifestyle over a day after surgery.. Even with the prep courses you still need to learn what you can eat and how to know when enough is enough.

It gets better.. Best advise I can give is to walk as much as you can.. even laps around your home.. That's what I did.. walk til I burped or farted.. lol Then on day 3 or 4 my mother came over and took me out to a park and we did about a 1-2 mile trail walk. I felt pretty crappy when I got home, but the next day I felt 10000 times better. I took my wife back 2 days later and we walked a little bit (not nearly as much as with my mom) and try to keep that up every few days.. even if it's around the block, or a store. Week 2 gets much easier, and it keeps improving every day. If you do have pain that persists for a long time and it seems abnormal give your doctor a call just to be safe.

very inspiring. I was just about at the same start weight as you, and just passed into the 280's 2 weeks out. I hope I see the same results. Thanks for posting this.

Thanks, I am doing really well.. I really want to ride my motorcycle, but the doc said wait 6 weeks, so May 1 is the day. I was able to comfortably eat a bit of ricotta bake last night which was nice. I've been good without naps for the most part. I was laid off a few months back so, it's mostly dealing with boredom, and frustration of not being able to lift heavy stuff. My wife is so supportive, but it sucks to have to ask her to take in the groceries, fill the aquarium move stuff, and so on.

Hi All, I am new here and had my surgery on 3/20. I did read a few things on the site while doing some searching for answers over the past year. I'm going to give some details into my progress so far. So, I am a male 37 years old, peak weight of 326lbs before pre-op diet. Pre-op diet. I did cheat more then I should have. First night I had 2 PB&J sandwiches.. Then a week before the surgery I had a dinner out with my grandfather (we would go out every wednesday) Then the friday after that I had a sub sandich. And finally the sunday before (3 days before surgery) I had 2 hotdogs. I know this was wrong, but I did still lose 15 pounds. I really struggled with the diet and hated every minute of it. I am also a smoker. I didn't stop smoking and my doctor was aware of this. I smoked about a pack a day or more. I am 2 days post op, and really haven't amped up the way I was. I have maybe 5 or so ciggs a day right now. I probably will quit though as the cravings right now are very low. Post op I had to be in for my appt at 10am. When we arrived, I met with everyone, but honestly, I don't have much memory of this.. I went to bed at 10pm the night before, and woke up at about 1am and didn't go back to sleep. The surgery took 3 hours and a couple hours in post op recovery. I was taken to my room and was in severy pain. I was also "tachy" meaning my heart beat was very high. I was also told I have sleep apnea. The machine that monitors heart beat and oxegen levels would go off every 10 minutes or so. It really made it so I could get very little sleep. I also ran a 101-102 fever. which I didn't understand really. I guess I didn't expect that. I was extremely doped up.. It wasn't a fun patient I am sure. My wife said I was quite comedic at times. All in all I had a great staff, and they where kind. even though I would accidently hit the nurse call button with my elbow all the time. I have very foggy memory of the entire thing. I according to my wife decided that it was time to go home, and was tired of waiting for the nurse to remove my IV so I took it out myself. I am a little confused as to how any of that went down as I was not in my mind. BTW, I usually enjoy pain meds when I need them.. This Delodin is not one of them. I did not feel like I was in my own head most of the time. I do not like it at all. I stopped dosing it the next morning. I was released the next day, and went home and pretty much have slept much of the time. I feel like I need to fart but i can't either because there is nothing there, or it just hurts too much to push it out. I am burping up a lot. The pain is pretty strong. I was given liquid vicodin for it. I've taken just 3 doses today. I am in a strruggle right now with trying to drink enough and get the "food" in. My wife is a saint and is on top of getting the calories and protien in me. We have one ounce medical cups the doc gave me and today I have had 2 and 1/3 bottles of Water (poland spring 16oz) 3 oz of chicken broth (romen Soup, she strained some of the broth out for me and she ate the rest) and 6 oz of carnation instant Breakfast. I am struggling with the intake. I have been sing 2% milk with the carnation, and then my wife waters it down. I am going to switch to fat free because I feel like it is too sweet and creamy. The pain is intense, and I find it hard to walk strait up, and I am holding my belly when I walk. I know it will improve over time. I will get there.

It really took us time to figure out a sugar free drink.. We like lipton diet iced tea.. little aftertaste and very lemony.

I had one the other night.. I wasn't sure what I was allowed to take.. so I just took a dose of the pain killer that the doc gave me from surgery. It either worked, or knocked me out so either way it worked. I'm still not sure what types of meds I can take for headaches / migraines. Once in a while I get them so bad it makes me vomit. Very rare though. I'm pretty sure sometimes it relates to not enough Water intake, so I try to stay on top of that.

it's insurance that needs the eval not the surgeon, at least in my case. I would see another shrink because this guy seems to be looking to make a quick buck off you.

I got the same sort of resistance from my wife, but as she read up on it she became more supportive. She said she was worried that I would not want her anymore once I am skinny.. I told her that I didn't love her because I was fat, it was because she is who she is. She was also worried about the risks of surgery. The best advise I could give is to sit down and talk to your wife. Tell her how you feel, why you need it, and that you really need her support. now this isn't fitting to everyone, but I told my wife to look at my family history. Diabetes, heart issues, obesity and a life that rarely goes past 60... We got married in our early mid 30's and I want to be around to Celebrate our 50th together. I also told her to look back at all the times I tried to loose weight, and how I would do good for a little while, and then gain it back plus 20. I NEVER expected to be 325+ and I don't want to keep this up and in a few years say how did I hit 400?!?! It's the time to do it.. I'm otherwise healthy, and while things could go wrong in the surgery, things WILL go wrong if I don't have it.. It's just a ticking time bomb. She agreed and is the most supportive person I have for this. She always is, this just scared her and I am sure it scares any spouse.

as others have said. give your doc a call.. but I had a small spot where one of the stitches is. The others all healed over, but that one sticks out just slightly. My doc told me that it happens sometimes and either the body will absorb it, or reject it and it will come out on it's own in time. All the others are pretty much all scared over now, and scabs came off. I'm 2 weeks out. I should note that I have always healed very quickly.. It just looks like dry skin around the scared area and a couple of smaller scabs in some areas of where the cuts where.

best of luck!

I think they did a really good job with it so far.. this week you got to see the psycho coming out much more. I really don't like any of the characters except the girl with the oxygen bottle. Everyone else is just sooo sleezy

I don't think I would have been able to if I wanted. I just moved into puree and had the hardest time eating tonight. It's only a couple of weeks you can do it

I didn't think so.. but that is what my doctor said he left in. It kinda freaked me out.. I was expecting them to only remove 70-80% but he's really good.. maybe I had an extra large stomach... lol

Ha, I had trouble getting in one, but squeezed myself with the harness until it clicked. It will be nice to not have to do that anymore. I haven't gone in a few years after that experience.

Glad to hear the trip went well. I am really excited to get back on the bike. Last year, my father, 2 brothers and I rode from NJ to the Laconia Rally. I'm hoping to do some runs this year, but will probably keep them semi-local. Right now I feel I need to be close to a bathroom.. lol One of my dream rides is to go from Jersey to Sturgis, and also Jersey to Daytona. My brother did Daytona this year, but I wouldn't have returned until 2 days before surgery and I felt that was pushing it, and I probably wouldn't have stuck with the pre-op diet while being down there. I'll get there though

Good luck, and we will see you on the other side!

congrats!

congrats! Every little step puts such a smile on my face. I put on a pair of jeans yesterday that hadn't fit me in a long time and they where a perfect fit. I now can't wait for them to be too loose! I'm also not pushing our scale past 0 anymore which is a treat for me.. lol My wife calls me the incredible shrinking husband. haha

I can cut anything with a fork if I put my mind to it.. I'm kinda surprised at how different diets are from doc to doc. I'm only 2 weeks out and just not moving to puree.. I had cottage cheese last night and felt like it was sitting in my throat.. I only had 4 teaspoons of it too. I can't imagine I will manage to get a burger down just a week from now even without the bun. lol Bread of any kind worries me right now. My doctor explained that our stomachs will be swollen for about 6 weeks and about the size of a small hose with a zipper on one side. Thing that can get stuck to that zipper can cause inflammation, infection and leaks are to be avoided until at least 6 weeks to ensure proper healing. Stick some bread into a cup of Water and watch how much it expands, now imagine that stuffed into a banana sleeve with the meat stapled together. Probably not a good idea to push it while still healing. The risks at this stage are just too great for us, even if we feel better.

My doc had me do a low carb / fat diet pre-op for 7 days (I did 10 but cheated 3 times) it was a shake for Breakfast and lunch and then some sort of cooked meat and vegge for dinner vegge or yogart as a snack if needed. The day before surgery nothing but Clear liquids. It did suck.. it was by far the hardest part of this entire thing for me. I can say that 12 days post op, I am much better, and have very little "need" for food at this stage. If I am hungry (which seems rare now) I have an allowed food and I loose any hunger or craving. I think post op is much easier to stick with then the pre-op. I'm sure those further out would probably have more room to fill, and be able to cheat if they chose. for me, i keep looking at it as life or death.. I don't want to eat something that can cause a leak, or infection to the open wound in my stomach. I know the pre-op sucks.. You will get through it. It's only a week that you will be miserable lol. When you are about 2 weeks post surgery you will look back and be giving this advise to someone who is in your spot now

That bike is a beauty! Hope you are enjoying it.

So, I ride a 2009 Victory Jackpot. I LOVE my bike, and worked very hard to get it. I even drove 10 hours round trip to pick it up because it was the exact one I wanted. But, I do miss my old sportbike sometimes. I sold her off in 2010 because I just couldn't deal with the back and shoulder pains. I would love to get a sportbike again at some point and was wondering if anyone who rode one pre surgery and like me had to give it up has gone back? Is it easier to ride now? Do you still get pains? I was looking into the ninja 1000 that came out about a year or two ago. It has more of a standard style position with higher bars and not so far back foot controls.. That might be an option when the time comes. I was thinking that might be my goal reaching present to myself. I'm sure 50 other bikes will spark my interested between now and then though.. lol

Spoke to my Doc last Thursday and he said 6 weeks before riding. April 24th is already marked on my calendar!! lol I've been riding since I was 17 it will be 20 years in July. My wife decided she wanted to try riding herself and I took the MSF course with her to support her goal. I got her a little ninja 250 to start on.. She rode it 3 times after passing the class and decided she preferred to be a passenger. It just wasn't for her, but I was proud that she went through with it, and learned. It made her a better passenger too! We sold her bike and used the money to get a nice corbin seat for my bike with a backrest so she's more comfortable on longer trips.. The best part is I can move the back rest up to my back when she's not on the bike.. lol