Kindle

I reached my doctor's goal a couple weeks ago and am still losing. My personal goal is only 6 pounds away, so I want to start to slow my loss, too. Like you, I can't really eat anymore than I already am. I even tried cheating this weekend at a picnic...had 1/4 burger, baked beans with bacon, taco dip with Doritos and even some vodka and a shot of apple pie moonshine! But I still lost 2 pounds (this is NOT a complaint,). So I am going to switch from skim milk to 1% in my shakes and eat real PB instead of PB2 and maybe start adding some noodles or rice into my meals a couple times/weeks to see what happens.

I slept flat on my bed from night one. I could sleep on my back or either side. I couldn't sleep on my tummy for about 2 weeks because of the bloaty feeling. Sure, my abdominal muscles were a little sore, but I never had any mobility issues. And my bed is a low, sloshy waterbed with 2 dogs and 2 cats acting as obstacles.

Don't take your doctor's advice about what surgeries or complications your insurance will or will not cover. Maybe SHE is too closed minded to continue to care for you afterwards, but if your policy pays for WLS it probably pays for post op treatments. Read your policy carefully because it will specifically indicate exclusions. And maybe it doesn't cover complication if you don't have it at a Center of Excellence, but again, read your policy. (BTW, I had my surgery at Obesity Control Center in Tijuana, which is an International Center of Excellence in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) As for me, my policy specifically excludes any obesity treatments, including therapy, weight loss programs or surgery. It also specifically excludes complications from WLS (whether it was done in the US or anywhere else) unless it is for a life saving procedure. For example, it wouldn't cover a scope or other diagnostics if I was having problems holding food down, but it would cover emergency treatment if I had a leak and became septic.

The GMO thing always makes me roll my eyes. Do you know how many life saving medications are produced by manipulating the DNA of organisms?! One that may hit "close to home" for a lot of people on here is insulin. To produce it, Insulin producing DNA is injected into the genetic strand of a bacteria. (E. coli is used more often than not) The bacteria then duplicate like crazy and the insulin is extract from the bacteria Soup. Without manipulating genetics, there would be no insulin for millions of diabetics and/or it would be ungodly expensive. (Sorry for hijacking the thread with my rant)

I really like the tattoo you've got for your brother. My younger brother died July 3, 2012. I was devasted for a long time, but am now in the process of designing his tattoo. I know it's going right over my heart.

Try Source of Life Gold and Garden of Life Raw Code vitamins. They are both whole food based and come in tablet, chewable, capsules and gummies. I take the capsules because all chewable vitamins taste too sweet to me postop.

The first one is on my lower back, so it was a little hard to take a picture without being able to see where I was aiming. The second is a wraparound on my forearm.

Torani is just flavored syrups, not Protein syrup. Lots of people add them to their Protein shakes for flavor variety Another Protein powder I use is Garden of Life. And if you go to www.bodybuilding.com, they sell protein products from over 200 different manufacturers.

Actually, Pure Protein is pretty low in sugars, so those should be fine. I've used unjury unflavored and Syntrax unflavored. I liked the Unjury better. And FYI, it's unflavored, not flavorless. whey has a taste, so you need to mix it with something else with a stronger taste (the cream soups were great). Also, don't heat it over 140 degrees or it will denature the protein and cause clumping (like when you pour an egg into egg drop soup). I still use the Unjury, but I mix it in casseroles, pancake batter, soups, and even quiche to up the protein. You get Unjury from their website and I think I got the Syntrax on Amazon. GNC may have unflavored protein powders if there's one near you.

I flew home 3 days after surgery in TJ. My flight was only 2 hours, but I wore the compression stockings my surgeon sent me home with. I also had to drive 5 hours after landing and I stopped several times to get out and walk around. He suggested that patients with longer flights should get up and walk the aisles as much as possible. There was one gal in our group that was going to be flying 12 hours that day (with two layovers).

I add 1-2 teaspoons of benefiber and Metamucil in my protein shake every day. I try to eat fruits and veggies for more natural fiber. If I miss a day of pooing, I take milk of magnesia that night so I'll go the next day.

What Protein shakes are you drinking? The Syntrax nectar, unjury, Premier Protein, Garden of Life and Jay Robb I currently drink have less than 1g sugar and just few carbs, most of which are Fiber. At your stage I was eating a lot of plain Chobani or Fage Greek yogurt flavored with Protein powder because the flavored yogurts usually have a lot of sugars. Adding unflavored protein powder to diluted, strained cream Soups and broth gave me tons of protein all through my liquid stage and even into puréed and soft food...I just didn't have to strain them anymore. When I did eat mashed potatoes and oatmeal I added unflavored protein powder to them.

Besides the nice "wow, you look great, I barely recognized you" comments, I've had several people ask me if I've been sick and yesterday a third person asked if I had cancer. Really? I think thats just such a weird thing to go blurt out...I mean these are clients, not "friends". I have to reassure them that I'm fine, and they all tell me not to lose anymore weight, that I look great where I'm at. (Of course I do )Good thing I haven't had any hair loss or I'd really have the rumor mill churning.

Try softer Proteins, you will be able to eat more and get more Protein....cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tuna salad, refried Beans, spam, skim milk, split pea Soup, cheese, eggs. As for Protein shakes, which ones have you tried? There's dozens and dozens of different brands and at least as many flavors. You don't have to stick with just the thick, sweet, chocolate/vanilla/strawberry ones. The RTD shakes would make me gag, but I learned to dilute them with milk and have tried at least 15 different products to find the ones I like. I'm enjoying a cherry lemonade Syntax nectar Protein Drink on ice right now. There are also pea protein, egg protein, hemp protein and sprouted seed protein products out there if it's the whey/milk that your body doesn't like. It's important for you to get your protein or your body will suffer. Even at 6 months I can't eat enough to meet goals without at least one shake /day.

The research finding the right surgeon was the hardest part. I researched on various forums, searched records, verified credentials, called doctor's offices and coordinators and asked tons of questions. Took almost 6 months before I was ready to commit. Once I decided to go with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez at Obesity Control Center, the rest was easy. I booked my date, sent a deposit, and they emailed several information packets including a health survey to complete, pre and post op diet plans and a preop checklist to make sure all the details were clear and taken care of. I spoke with the cardiologist and the nutritionist before going down. I had the option to talk to or even skype with the surgeon but I didn't feel that I needed to. I already had a passport, but that's something you should figure into your logistics if you don't. I booked my flights based on their recommended time schedules. My sister was flying in from somewhere else, so she did the same. If you are looking at going to Tijuana, you will be picked up at the San Diego airport and shuttled to your hospital or hotel. I had massive flight delays/cancellations, so I ended up getting into San Diego at 1am instead of 3pm the day before. I was in contact with Gloria from OCC during my traveling fiasco and she was great about making arrangements to accommodate my forever changing ETA. If you are looking at other Mexico destinations, I'm not sure how the transportation is done. Once there, everything went incredibly smooth. The OCC and Marriott staff took care of everything. It was actually a fun mini vacation for my sister and I. I certainly didn't want to leave to come home. If it weren't for the crappy weather that affected my travel plans, there would have been nothing negative to report.

My surgeon has a no drinking 5 minute before / 45 minute after eating rule. Makes more sense because the fluids certainly don't stick around in your sleeve longer than 5 min. As for pain, I never needed pain meds after I left the hospital. Barium swallow...he's right, tiny leaks would likely be closed from all the swelling. My doctor does a barium fluoroscopy 3 days post anyways. It was explained that it also allows them to assess how well things are passing through into the intestines and any delay would be picked up. A flouroscopy is more or less a "real time" moving X-ray and you can watch the liquid travel down your esophagus, through your sleeve and into your intestines. It was very cool to watch...and that's how I know liquids run through your sleeve in well under 5 minutes. Drain...I had one for 3 days. It really wasn't an issue. Allows them to monitor the color and consistency of the Fluid in your abdomen. Again, a leak may not be super evident because of the swelling, but any abnormal internal bleeding would be detected immediately. I don't think it's a big deal that your surgeon does things different from some others. JUst like so many pre and postop diets are different. Like you said, if his complication rate is low then he must be OK.

Here's another great article another member posted..... http://www.muscleforlife.com/the-truth-about-protein-absorption-how-often-you-should-eat-protein-to-build-muscle/

Great article! Thanks for posting. I'm going to put a link to it on the other thread since it's so relevant..

I started the thread called " changing how I consume my protein" because I ran across some info about protein absorption rates. There were others who posted responses knew more about it than me. I am the 40g protein shake gal (premier shake diluted 1/2 and 1/2 with skim milk gives you 40g). I had been drinking the shake over 1-2 hours, but after hearing about how much our bodies can actually absorb, I've switched to drinking 1/2 (20g) in the morning over an hour and the other 1/2 in the afternoon. This way, I know I am getting all the protein I need between the shake and the food I eat without having to obsess with tracking and measuring.

At six months out I still have a protein drink with 30-40g protein every day. I don't do the protein bars because they all taste gross to me. My restriction is so much there's no way I could eat enough to meet requirements without the shake. But if you are getting enough protein from food then you should be fine. Just make sure you make up for the decrease in fluid if you stop the shake.

Thank you zmdh39 for your great responses. Ditto for me about not needing any pain meds after surgery. Dr. Ortiz actually sent me home with sublingual supradol which is an anti inflammatory. In a lot of cases, surgical pain is caused by inflammation resulting from the tissue trauma. Getting the inflammation out is a basic defense to preventing pain in the first place. I took them for 2 days, because I knew reducing the swelling in my new sleeve would also help with nausea and being able for things to pass through. I've got 4 leftover doses that I saved in case I get a bad backache or headache or something. The other thing narcotics do is slow down your GI tract and can cause constipation. Definitely not something a bariatric patient needs! And I know what you mean by US doctors overprescribing. I was given 40 Vicodin after my endometrial ablation and I took one....pretty sure the other 39 are in my medicine cabinet. And don't knock tramadol, folks. It's the best pain med I've had for my broken back, fused neck and broken ribs. Worked way better than the hydrocodone and oxycodone I was given. (Doesn't do shit for a headache, though ) Everyone has different reactions and tolerances to pain, so definitely take pain meds if you need to, but don't take them just because....

GasX only helps with intestinal gas. What you have is gas they pump into your abdomen for visualization. Walking and moving is the only way to help your body absorb and dissipate this gas.

Travelmego has definitely done a lot of research on this subject, so she will have good advice. As you know, I did have my surgery at OCC and couldn't be happier. Not sure where you read Dr. Ariel Ortiz does a lot of surgeries in a day. There is another Dr. Ortiz (Elias) that maybe you have mixed up. OCC does no more than 5 surgeries/day. They only have 6 patient rooms and they keep one room available in case someone has to stay an extra night. They also only do surgeries 4 days a week and Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez do every surgery together, so you have an extra pair of eyes/hands on you throughout the procedure. Dr. Jimenez is the cardiologist and will do all your preop work. Dr. So is the followup doctor and he will perform your barium fluoroscopy and pull your drain. I've had great followup communication from both Dr. Martinez and Dr. So. Dr. Ortiz's reputation and skills first attracted me to OCC, but I felt especially good knowing there was an entire team of specialized doctors, RNs, and support staff that would be taking care of me. Good luck with your decision. It can get very overwhelming sorting through all the info, but in the end, you should go with who feels right for you.

Just by glancing briefly, I can tell you this not a complete Protein product. It mentions 19 amino acids and I'm pretty sure our body uses at least 22 different ones for basic cell building and function. Which ones are missing? The term "predigested" is vague, too. How are they processing it? Is it hydrolyzed protein? What's the actual Digestibility and absorbability of the product? What is the source of the amino acids? My leather belt is 100% protein but it sure isn't very nutritious. I'd want a lot more info from the manufacturer before relying on this as a protein supplement. Don't get me wrong, it could be a great product...I'm just always a little skeptical with new products until I know more about them. Been there done that with too many "miracle weight loss" supplements.

That's great...glad you were able to get a plan that works. I tried to do the same thing, but unfortunately there is no individual plan offered in Idaho that covers WLS. So I traded in the truck down payment I had been saving up for surgery in Mexico. I couldn't be happier driving my 15 year old Ford!