Kindle

I was out shopping the day after surgery....walked all over Tijuana. Flew from San Diego to SLC day 3, went grocery shopping and drove myself home 5 hours day 4. I did turn down going to a friend's house for Christmas dinner on day 5 (I was tired and couldn't eat anyways) but was back to work day. 7. You should be fine...

HW 238 SW 216 CW 163 Another 2 pounds this week! And that was even with ANOTHER party at the local pizza place. Had 1 chicken wing, 2 pieces calamari, and the toppings off 1 Canadian bacon/mushroom pizza. About twice as much as I could eat last time I was there. Passed on the wine, beer and desert. Loving life.

Online support groups offer the user the chance at interactive communication that books do not. My point was that social networking is not human contact in the strictest sense of the word. It's a misuse and misunderstanding of a very important aspect of our society. Did you ever hear about the experiment with the monkeys that were given a choice between a fake cloth covered "mother" vs a wire "mother" even though the wire one held the bottle? They all chose to cling to the cloth one for the sake of "comfort contact". Social networking is the wire mother that feeds us...it's communication, not contact. Like I said it's me being nitpicky about the terminology, that's all.

Hate to be nitpicky about terminology, but this forum or any other "social network" venue like Facebook, Twitter, or even texting should not be considered human contact. Contact is defined as "the act or state of touching; a touching or meeting, as of two things or people". Unfortunately today's society has moved away from true human contact. Now we simply type on a keyboard, while looking at a screen replying to or reaching out to complete strangers. There is certainly no real human contact in these types of venues. No facial expressions, no tone of voice, no body language, no social skills whatsoever. Perhaps human communication is a more appropriate term. If you are looking for real human contact, you need to attend support groups or see a therapist or even just hang out and talk with your friends or family. Heck, I could start a whole other rant about today's youth's spelling skills thanks to all the texting shortcuts that are used these days. How many even know how to spell laugh? (As in LOL) But for now let's just stick with the original rant concerning the pitiful underuse of this forum's search feature.

Clostridium difficile...a bacterial infection in your colon. It's not so much the Clostridial bug that's the problem, but the toxins it releases. They destroy the lining of your colon and can actually cause perforation of the colon. I'm a vet tech and see dogs and cats with Clostridial diarrhea all the time. In fact, this is where I probably picked it up in the first place since they can carry the same strain that infects people. It was the antibiotic I was on that killed off my normal good gut flora and allowed the C. Diff to take over. Ironically, cattle and other ruminants can get this same thing (it's actually a slightly different strain...C. Perfringens) and it can kill them within hours. There has been an antitoxin vaccine available for them for decades. Pharmaceutical companies are just now getting around to researching a similar vaccine for people.

I got C. diff 5weeks postop. Gastroenterologist and infectious disease doctor both felt I got it as a result of the clindamycin I was on for a tooth root abscess rather than a direct result of my VSG surgery. Multiple rounds of two different antibiotics did not work. Diarrhea would stop while on the Meds, but would come back within a week of stopping. I chose to get a fecal transplant rather than continue with the antibiotic treatments. Ended up costing me over $2000 but it was well worth it to finally be cured (I had been sick for over 2 months and ended up needing IV fluids for dehydration 3 times) You can read more details here... www.bariatricpal.com/topic/303173-fecal-transplant-scheduled/ Good luck. I sure hope the antibiotic treatment works for you. And make sure you talk to your doctor carefully about any future antibiotic regimens. My gastro told me to avoid antibiotics unless ABSOLUTELY necessary.... I even have it on my medical alert necklace.

It does. But like I said, this was just one of many articles that came up when I googled. Sounded like the animal studies showed good results and they had moved on to human testing. I even saw a few posts on GERD support forums from people who had it done (sorry, I didn't spend a lot of time researching extensively before posting this). Just thought I'd throw it out there for interested parties. As for research studies on new treatments, in some cases, the "gold standard" can hinder and delay an easy cure for some diseases. In the case of my fecal transplant, I have yet to read any account of case studies that ranks it less than 90% successful in curing Clostridial difficile. Which, by the way, kills 10,000 Americans a year. But at this point, due to lack of really good "studies" it is considered experimental and insurance won't pay for it. In fact, the FDA tried to put a restriction on the procedure last summer, but they got so much shit from the doctors who had been having such huge successes with it that they retracted the ban in like two weeks. Unfortunately, since donor poop is free, there is no incentive for any pharmaceutical company to pay for the research and studies required for FDA approval. There's no way to make money off of the procedure. So instead, victims are stuck with months and sometimes years of chronic diarrhea and dozens of rounds of (very expensive) antibiotics. I, fortunately, have a forward thinking PCP and a Gastroenterologist that were more than happy to do the procedure as soon as I asked. The CDC has already issued warnings about C. diff being the "new MRSA", but apparently a lot more people are going to have to die before the FDA and insurance companies take fecal transplants seriously. Sorry for the rant, I'm just so proud of my new poop and thrilled to not be sick anymore.

I was told anything that would pass through a straw (but not to use the straw. I had protein shakes, water, propel zero, tea, drinkable yogurt (highly recommended by my nut) and I added Unjury protein powder to every kind of broth and creamed soup I could find....diluted and strained the cream soups.

I did most of my preop research regarding deficiencies by looking at studies conducted on cancer and ulcer gastrectomy patients. Gastrectomy surgery has been around for a hundred years (just not for weight loss). There are numerous studies conducted 10, 20, 30 + years after patients had part or all of their stomachs removed for medical reasons. It actually took decades for some of the deficiencies to show up. But since we are all individuals and we all eat and metabolize differently, I think our best bet is you get our blood tests and adjust our diets or supplementation accordingly. At least that's what I'm doing.

Madam....bravo!! Just when I'm ready to hang up my BP membership, a great post like this comes along. Actually, since the search feature hasn't gone over too well on here I was thinking of petitioning the web designers to come up with a blocking feature.... If a post mentions any of the key words or phases I enter (I.e. Stall, frustrated, is this normal, cheated, not losing, hungry, ate pizza day after surgery, etcetera) it would be not show up in my New Content list.

Yep, people are way nicer to me. (But not vice versa)

Didn't go over great at 3 months, but tried again at 4 and went down fine.

I love Premier but I've never been able to drink them straight. I mix them at least 1/2 and 1/2 with Skim milk...much better! And ups the protein to 40g.

I have had no reason to go to a doctor postop. (At least not surgery related). Both my PCP and OB/Gyn have offered to do any bloodwork I need done. My surgeon in Mexico sent me a list of the blood tests he recommends to check at 3 months, 6 months and annually.

You need to contact your insurance company or talk to the person that handles insurance claims in your surgeon's office. But with a BMI of under 35, you would be hard pressed to find any insurance company that would pay for WLS.

Whatever works for you. I slept flat on my back and either side starting the first night home. I never needed "propping". I was even getting in and out of my low waterbed with no problems. It was about 2 weeks before I could comfortably sleep on my stomach because I just felt so bloated.

I had to force myself to eat for almost 3 months. I had no interest in eating or drinking and it was defiantly a chore, not a pleasure. It will get better. You are only 3 weeks out and your stomach is not even healed yet. Be patient. You wouldn't be out playing basketball if you broke your leg 3 weeks ago....this is no different.

Guess I'm the slacker on here. Used sticky pads to jot down Fluid and Protein for the first 2 months. I also bought a couple blender bottles that I use everyday. That's the extent of my gadget/equipment investment. Don't weigh or measure or track anything. Eat off the smaller plates in my cupboard using regular utensils. Keeping it simple and "user friendly" was the only way I knew this would work for me. I am thinking of getting a Foodsaver vacuum sealer to make it easier to store and freeze the tiny portions I eat so I don't waste so much food. I am only 5 months out, though, so I don't know if you can consider me "successful".

B12 ...found to be the second most prevalent deficient nutrient (after iron) 10-20 years postop for gastrectomy patients. And why SQ or injectable is required for VSG patients.

I eat Chobani or Fage plain. The pre flavored yogurts have always tasted way too sweet to me- even before surgery. I use fresh fruit (peaches, blueberries, strawberries) to add a hint of flavor. Also use Syntrax nectar protein powder to add flavor...and even more protein. I have added a couple tbls high protein oatmeal to it, too for texture. But my ultimate yummiest favorite is a scoop of Garden of Life Raw Protein Vanilla mixed with 1 cup plain Fage 0% ....40 grams of protein, 10g sugar and 220 calories!

Guess I'm the weird one here. I'm not even 5 months out and I love looking at my new skinny body in the mirror. I think I'm HOT. (As long as I don't linger too long on my droopy boobs or the saggy skin on my legs) No more baggy clothes for me...I want to show off my new bod. I did have a hard time eye-balling my new pant size in the thrift store last weekend though. Everything I picked out was way too big. But I also never had a fat body image even with a morbidly obese BMI. I was always shocked to see pictures of myself because I didn't think I was that fat.

Probably too early for you, but I snack on mixed nuts all the time.

BRG... That's two laughs in the same day!

BRG..you make me laugh.

Check on eBay. I was able to get sample packs of a bunch of different flavors of Syntrax nectar. My local health food store also had individual packets of Garden of Life products. GNC may have individual bottles or packets. You can order Jay Robb sample packs of their whey and egg Protein products from their website. A lot of RTD Protein shakes come in 4 packs at local grocery stores or Walmart. Make sure you read labels, though. Some "protein" drinks have more carbs than protein. I shoot for at least 20g protein and less than 5g carb.