Daydra

No worries whatsoever! And no offense taken. Even on a full size computer screen, it's kind of hard to distinguish details in the photos. I often find myself trying to click on the photo to get a full size version, even though I know that doesn't work! I actually enjoyed the opportunity to joke about it, especially since I got to tie in joking about disliking wearing pink, and the ridiculousness of sports bras and tech wear.

Ha! That did sound weird... I am part of a group of women that train and do triathlons together. It was the husband of a teammate. :-)

Ha! That did sound weird... I am part of a group of women that train and do triathlons together. It was the husband of a teammate. :-)

I think Sleeved in Seattle is correct. Tosca Reno states in her Clean Eating diet book that the body can only absorb and use about 25-30g at a sitting. For me, at about 10 weeks out, a 30g, 11oz Protein shake takes me about an hour to finish. I AssUMe... that since it takes me so long to finish, I can probably get away with servings of protein that are greater than that, since it might take enough time for me to finish that it's almost like 2 sittings instead of 1. I actually try to get my protein content in any smoothies I make higher than 30 grams for the simple fact that I know I'm going to spend the next 2-3 hours trying to finish it off. I'll also frequently put the last 1/2 or less back in the fridge and bring it back out to finish it sometime in the afternoon as a snack because seriously, I never realized how boring it would be to eat on the same thing for HOURS... One of the first times I realized that fun little fact, I noticed that I had been having a staring contest with my Protein Shake for several minutes. Someone walked by my desk and started laughing at me and told me that was exactly how his dad looked at his Ensure drinks when he was battling cancer. Good times... Wish you the best!

Just the thought of rhabdo is scary... Disclaimer: I obviously don't know much about how you train, just that you are really into it and seem to want to push your body to it's limits... Could you be overtraining? Are you allowing yourself enough time to rest and repair tissue? Giving yourself rest days and taper weeks as well as alternating intense work on muscle groups? 4 days in a row of intense arm work and daily pull up sets, trying to reach 100 in just a couple minutes sounds to me (an admitted novice) like you could be pushing the limits of what your body can recover from, and could end up facing something similar to the story in that rhabdo article Seattle posted. I think it would be an appropriate precautionary measure for you to consult your doctor or physical therapist for an assessment. Hope you are feeling better soon. Be cautious and take care of yourself.

Just as most have said, it does get a little better each day. It seems (based on my own reading of many posts and my own experience) that day 6 is kind of the magic turnaround day. Hang in there, but don't forget that if you are worried about something, even if you think it might be nothing, your clinic would rather you call and ask about it instead of sitting home and worrying or being more uncomfortable than necessary. Some tidbits that I hope will help along the way: Never be afraid to call your surgeon if you have a question Understand that your hormones and emotions are likely to be all over the place while you lose and adjust. Don't give yourself a hard time about it, but think critically about what you are experiencing so you can get a sense of if you could benefit from counseling or medication. Be careful about your nutrition. Now that you have had surgery, what is likely to cause you the most ill effects is when you don't eat or don't eat enough instead of when you eat too much, like before. Going into semi-starvation is scary, dangerous, and can take a long time to recover from. Don't let nausea or nausea-like sensations get out of control. It will affect your ability to stay hydrated and nourished. If you need stronger nausea meds, ask for them! Vomiting will also increase the swelling in your stomach, which will exacerbate the nausea. Take this time to think about what you need, and take care of yourself. This whole thing is about your health (I assume...). Give yourself the tools you need to become a healthier person in general. Don't compare your weight loss to others. You are going to lose at your own pace. You are going to have periods of time that your don't lose the way you think you should. It just is... Accept it. It will be okay. Don't set unrealistic expectations for yourself, only to beat yourself up about not satisfying them. My clinic still only wants to see 1-2 pounds/wk, just like if we were on a regular "diet". It is simply not realistic to expect a 20 or 30 pound loss every month. It happens for some people, but that's really not the norm... If you seem to average about 10 pounds/month, be really excited about that, because that is awesome! I'm sure there are about a million other things, but above all else, don't be afraid to ask for help. Best of luck to you. I am certain that you will be feeling worlds better in just a few days, but should you experience some complication, don't panic and don't feel like all is lost. Complications are manageable. Just ask for help. There are very, very few situations that create lasting problems. Nearly all complications are minor and can be easily addressed.

I use the Jay Robb unflavored, but I usually put it in something that is otherwise pretty strongly flavored. (smoothies and Soups, mostly) It mixes mostly okay. What really screws it up bad, though, is getting it too hot in Soup (like you try to reheat your soup in the microwave because you can't possibly eat it before it gets cold...) I like to try to get a variety of Proteins so I'm not getting the exact same thing all the time. I haven't found any Protein that I actually "like". They all are in the "tolerate" category. Pretty much, they all suck and I have to think of them like I think of medicine. Good luck! Egg white protein is definitely a viable option if you aren't tolerating whey very well. There are also a lot of vegan protein powders on the market. You want to look for one that is a mix of a variety of sources, just like a vegetarian would combine food to get a complete amino acid profile. The last thing I hear/read is that where people used to be told that they needed a complete combination in each meal, the reality is more like they should just get the combo within the same day. Also... there really isn't any need to fear soy for the phytoestrogens, but I wouldn't make it a large part of your supplementation. Never hurts to be cautious... I would steer clear of single source Pea Protein, though. It's good for you, but tastes like the starchiest, nastiest old pea on the vine and tends to be really gritty. Definitely NOT nummy! Good luck!

I wasn't fishing for compliments, but this is awesome!!! :wub:

Good call on the library! I think I still have access, and if I don't, I'm sure I can figure out how to access medical journal articles at work (I work in Public Health, in the Environmental Division). I bet someone over in the clinic with have access to the good stuff. That is so funny that you automatically referred to me as a male. People often think I'm a dude in person. Probably doesn't help that I wear men's clothes a lot... (they fit my size and shape better) I've decided to believe that people mistake me for a dude because I have a commanding presence. I'm wearing pink in my profile pic! I never wear pink! I hate pink! My team MADE me wear the pink team jersey! The one race I flipped them the bird and wore black, one of the husbands gave me a ration of crap because he couldn't recognize me to cheer for me. And look! There are boobs! (granted, they are mashed down by an industrial strength sports bra and a reinforced tri-suit, with the team jersey on top, so they might be a little hard to recognize as such...) (I hope my teasing comes across as a good natured sense of humor, because that is exactly how I mean it, and doesn't hurt your feelings at all. I'm certainly not offended by being referred to as a male.) Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks! I'll definitely read this one!

Bah! Of course! I totally forgot about Google Scholar! Thanks for the reminder, I will definitely log some hours perusing this. I appreciate the help!

Thanks everybody! This does make me feel better. The information always seems so much "smaller" in my head...

Thanks. Yeah, I've seen most of those and have several of them. These are the books geared toward "diet" that I was kind of trying to avoid because every "expert" seems to have a different story or twist. Lots of these have some good information, but I just don't have a lot of trust that any particular one is getting it right. I'm really looking for something more detailed and technical - more focused on what the body does, and less on how to eat. I may just be best served by a medical text on this one. Right now, I'm reading The Metabolic Storm, by Emily Cooper, MD, but I googled her and her practice (which it turned out is local for me) and found some really unfortunate posts about her lack of professionalism, both in interactions with patients and the way she runs her clinic, so I looked up her medical license and found that the state put her on probation for having inappropriate sexual contact with a client. I'm trying to read it with an open mind (it really hasn't challenged much of what I already knew so far), but I'm having a hard time with not assuming that unethical behavior in one area of her life to spill over in other areas, like perhaps her research or her presentation of the facts or her experience.

Like others said, Absolutely!!! I was at about 8 weeks and was starting to feel discouraged because I was still having to take small sips due to nausea. Got better nausea meds and now magically, I can drink reasonably! Maybe 2-3 full mouthfuls of Water or milk before I need to pause for a few minutes. If the forced sipping lasts a long time (like, maybe 6-8 weeks?) be sure to discuss it with your surgeon during your followup (or just call if you are experiencing anything that is distressing to you!) Good luck!

I looked up your website. Your jewelry is beautiful. I particularly like your Dogwood and Magnolia designs.

I agree, I hope the bariatric clinic contacts you soon as well. So, the constipation... (here comes my barrage of questions... not necessarily to answer, but to think about and consider) How long has it been since you had a bowel movement? They didn't find impaction? The enema was ineffective, did you hold it long enough? So, there is a bariatric clinic near you and you're waiting for a call. I would call and pester them. If you have to suck it up and pay out of pocket for an appointment, it will likely be worth it at this point. This is not something that you can just ignore, all potential serious problems aside, there is no reason you should have to sit around in pain just because you haven't been able to figure it out. If there is any confidence that it truly is constipation and the enema didn't work, you could possibly try a colonic (I make no claim to the safety or medical appropriateness of doing a colonic while you are constipated, definitely run it by your doc if you think about doing it) (I've done a couple. They're weird and somewhat unpleasant, but once you get over the mental squeamishness, they're not a big deal). If all your testing is clear, I think constipation seems like the most likely culprit. The tylenol 3 is only keeping your peristalsis slowed down, so it helps the discomfort, but also could be exacerbating the problem. During all this, are you continuing with a stool softener? (docusate sodium or Miralax, or whatever?) I really don't know... I think I'm tapped out of advice. When I was constipated, I hit it with everything I had. I started on the softener, used a stimulant laxative, followed up with a suppository, and then followed that up with an enema. Even that only got me about 1/2 way to where I needed to be, but continuing to thoughtfully hit it with additional treatments and sticking with daily Miralax eventually got me back on a reasonable schedule. Good luck! Pester that bariatric clinic. They aren't going to feel any pressure to quickly contact you, you are the one suffering. I really hope that you get it figured out and start feeling better soon!

Ha! That's so classic... It's so easy to take things so seriously! :-)

I am totally surprised at what I'm craving or not craving. I expected to crave chips and junk food, you know, all the crap I craved before surgery. I am not craving those things at all. This of course doesn't mean that I might not pick a chip out of a bowl and crunch it at a bbq or decide to eat a cookie at a party, but I don't spend any time thinking about these foods. What I'm really craving is Water (oh, I so wish I could just chug a 1/2 liter bottle of cold water fresh out of the fridge) and fresh fruit. I have been thinking about just digging into a nice bowl of cut up melons, or a whole pear, nectarine, plum, you name it. At least having a chance to have more than a single bite of some fresh fruit. I ran across an online magazine photo of some perfectly ripe, uniformly cubed, watermelon mixed with some perfect blueberries and I swear, I must have gotten lost in that photo for about 5 minutes. The thought of having a bite or two just isn't doing it for me... I really just want to dig into a bowl. Blurggg. I just keep reminding myself that a year from now, this is no longer going to be an issue. Thank goodness!!! How about you all? What cravings or lack of cravings surprised you?

Yikes! Sounds like you are having a heck of a time! I'm really glad you got in to the hospital, though 9 hours in the ER is never fun (I was there for 8 last Monday, doing much the same thing...) Did they only do the CT on your lungs? If so, I'm surprised they didn't do full abdominal to get a look at gallbladder, etc. Good luck getting it figured out. I really hope that they are able to find an answer and get you on the mend, ASAP! Sending healing thoughts, dd

I'm not really after an answer about how did you deal with it emotionally, I totally accept temporary hair loss/thinning as something I may have to address. It will either happen or it won't and according to my reading, there really isn't anything I can do to prevent it. I don't really care that much about the fact that some of it might fall out. I know it will grow back. What I would like to know is how did you deal with it from a style perspective? Did you change your hairstyle? Did you cut your hair short? Start wearing hats? Scarves? If you used accessories like hats or scarves, what kind of style did you adopt? How does one wear a scarf? Is it going to be a pain in the arse? I'm so style challenged, you would think I was a dude, so I really have no idea what to do if I need to come up with something inventive. As a matter of fact, until I started letting my hair grow out, I was frequently called "sir"(one of the reasons I started letting it grow again, even though now I have to dry the damn stuff every morning), which was becoming extremely annoying. I once even had someone do a double take and then decide I was a dude. I swear, I'm really not that mannish! I was even wearing a women's jacket that day! :-) My style is pretty much all REI, all the time, and frequently men's hiking pants and shirts because they just fit better. I guess it doesn't really help that I have a job where I need to wear weather appropriate clothes and safety toe boots to work everyday, although I have to admit I prefer it to having to wear dresses or suits all the time...

That is really awesome that you are so self aware. Learning what you need to do and following through to take care of yourself is the key to the whole thing. I know you are going to be super successful!

Thanks everyone for your replies. You've given me some good ideas for when/if I have to deal with it. I'm pretty fortunate with my hair. It's fine, but very very dense with lots of growth and it's always been very healthy and a bit on the oily side. Hopefully that will be a bit of insurance against anything too tragic. :-) I googled some pictures of headscarves, and I gotta say, I really don't think I'm going to be into that much fuss... Hats it will be, if necessary :-) Best of luck to all of you dealing with it!

Having a couple thoughts on this. Disclaimer: You should always check with your doc if you are experiencing anything you're not sure about. You never know what might be indicative of something that needs to be checked out. Having said that... I had some similar experiences. #1, if 500 cal is causing you to experience fatigue, that # of calories isn't sufficient to support you and you should consult with your doc on increasing your calories. We weigh about the same and I cannot function on 500 calories. Are you experiencing any nausea? Getting a handle on that can help you get enough calories and Fluid to keep you going and reduce fatigue if that's the case. Has the fatigue been causing you to spend more time in bed? I went about three weeks at that level or a little lower due to nausea and had so little energy that I was in bed every minute I could manage. The fatigue also got to the point where I very nearly passed out in the shower. Even on better days, I had to lay down for a little bit between my shower and getting dressed so I could rest. Spending so much time in bed caused a backache for me that hurt more with deep breaths. My abdomen/torso also began to hurt with any deep breath. Mostly along my sides towards the front and around my diaphragm. Are you having regular bowel movements? For me, whatever combination of circumstances were, it seemed like the backache was from being in bed so much, but I was also constipated. Once I managed to have a bowel movement (I was impacted. It took exlax, a suppository, an attempt at self digital extraction (that wasn't a good time...), and an enema to have a bowel movement and it was horrible...) the ache in my abdomen was gone, so I think for me that part of it was just being backed up and the discomfort of gas behind the blockage. If you are having problems with gas, I read somewhere that the simethicone in the gasx or mylanta gas can't really help. They can only address gas in your upper digestive tract. Once the gas is in your intestines, it's a bit of a different game. My mother in law swears by this gas relief tea. I believe it's made by Traditional Medicinals. Might be worth a try. At any rate, anytime it seems something is going sideways, you should definitely call your doc and ask the question. They would vastly prefer spending 5 minutes on the phone with you to you sitting at home suffering or worrying what might be wrong. Best of luck!

I ate a few french fries at lunch just because I wanted them. Fortunately, I was able to pass most of them off to a coworker after I had eaten all I wanted (about 6). I gotta put that in the win column. Like I told my husband when we were talking about how long bags of snacks last now... at least the bag of chips or whatever actually lasts about the number of servings on the label instead of the entire bag turning into a 15 minute snack in front of the tv. WINNING!