Kindle

Good to hear. At least I only have to go back to angry dogs and cats. We'll postpone the pissed off horses and cows for a few weeks.

Thanks all for your replies. As for necessity of the surgery, I have had 4 severe attacks in the last year. Multiple Ultrasounds show more and more stones (I had none 18 months ago and now I have many). Believe me, I don't want surgery and I could live with the two hours of the most painful experience ever during my attacks every few months. But I don't want to be caught in the situation of one of the stones getting stuck in the duct and I have to be rushed to emergency surgery. Not to mention my pancreatic enzymes were extremely elevated after the last attack. Yes, I could get help at home with the horses and dogs, but no one can do my job. I am partners in a mobile veterinary practice, and it's just myself and the vet. Besides being the tech, I am the receptionist, office manager, driver, accounts receivable, after hours answering service, maintenance staff, and as the only certified veterinary technician in the county, truly, no one can do my job. We usually work 10-12 hours/day so trying to play catchup after being closed is nearly impossible. We work sick (colds, flus, bronchitis, C. diff diarrhea, even viral pericarditis) we work injured (dislocated shoulder, broken toe, broken fingers, bite wounds, impinged cervical nerves) because missing work is worse. That is why I scheduled my cholecystectomy the day before Thanksgiving and why I had my VSG over Christmas. I actually only had to miss 3 days of work, and those were the first "sick days" either one of us had taken in over 5 years. It just irritates me how this surgeon's office has handled everything. I literally met with the guy for 15 minutes, and after insulting me about going to Mexico for my VSG, he scheduled surgery, told me to show up at 7am and no food after 8pm the night before. That's it! Oh yeah, he did have his nutritionist contact me (he does WLS as well) because he was sure I needed better guidelines on how to eat properly. The fact I've lost all of my excess weight, maintained for over a year, have perfect labs (except the pancreas stuff) and am probably strong enough to take him in a wrestling match was completely lost on him. BTW, When the nut called and talked to me she concluded I was doing great and didn't need her help. As for my upcoming surgery I have had to call the office multiple times for more pre and postop instructions. That's how I found out about these postop restrictions. Otherwise they never said a thing. I guess I'm just going to hope for the best and do what my body lets me do. I only hope this surgeon is 1/2 as skilled as my Mexico surgeon. (my PCP said he's very good, that's why I'm putting up with his shit). But if weren't for the fact insurance is actually picking up the tab on this one I would certainly be headed back to TJ! Anyways, thanks for letting me rant.

You just have to get your head in the right place and be 110% committed. Find what motivates you. Look at the big picture and your ultimate goal, not just the few weeks of preop and postop diet restrictions. Because really, Those are just a drop in the bucket for what it takes to be successful after WLS. Believe me, the lifetime of maintenance that awaits you is far harder than the preop diet. I look back at those early days and only wish it was still that easy. I went through my preop diet during December and went to several Christmas parties, a birthday party and a funeral. Drank my Protein shakes and ice Water and never cheated once, so it's definitely doable. Postop got through Grandma's awesome dinner and New Years celebration also on full liquids. My health and having the safest surgery possible with no complications was a huge motivator for me.

Like BLERDgirl said "do not compare" And my usual response to threads whining about slow loss or stalls is "stick with the program and STAY OFF THE SCALE".

I did mostly protein and veggies while losing but never completely gave up fruits and whole grains. Stayed away from the white carbs while I was losing. Once I hit goal I loosened up my restrictions and at this point pretty much know what I can eat without gaining. I eat every 2-3 hours but stop before I get full. If I do pop over my bounce range after an especially carb heavy vacation or holiday I just do a couple days of "preop liquid diet" and/or protein/veggie basics and it comes back off. I guess I do keep track of my fluids in my head and get 64-80+ oz in every day. As for protein, I eat a Quest bar and drink a protein smoothie every day. That's 40-50g protein right there so it's not hard to know I'm exceeding 60g with all the protein rich foods I eat. For example, besides my quest bar and protein smoothie, today I had turkey Jerky, Greek yogurt with Kashi go lean Cereal, a banana, some peanuts, cheesy chicken corn chowder, quest chips with Avocado and garlic salsa, Brussel sprouts, two Hershey kisses and a mini twix from the Halloween candy jar.

Despite taking it, I had my first gall bladder attack at 8 months postop. Had 4 more over the next year. Now with ultrasound confirming many stones I'm having my gall bladder removed on November 25. My PCP told me from the very beginning he's never seen very good results with ursodial and thought it was a waste of $$$$. He was right. The funny thing about it is that I felt better about my VSG than I do about this surgery. VSG only has a 1-2% complication rate (even lower with my surgeon) but 17-40% of cholecystectomy patients end up with a certain degree of chronic diarrhea. YIKES!

There's nothing I can't eat. And nothing I don't eat. Including holiday treats and mom's/grandmas wonderful holiday cooking. At 23 months out and maintaining 10 pounds below goal for over a year, the "everything in moderation" rule works great for me. No tracking, counting or measuring. The only exception is carbonation. My sleeve doesn't like bubbles, so beer, soda, seltzer, sparkling beverages and champagne are out for me.

Since you won't be able to lift anything, just take into consideration the logistics of your husband dealing with his luggage and your luggage and the baby. I know of some folks that went to Mexico alone because their spouse either had to work or stay home with the kids. I travelled alone and did just fine. The shuttle driver, hotel bell hops and complete strangers in the airport ended up helping me with my carry on bag.

Slept on either side starting the first night. I just pinned the drain to the front of my jammies so I wouldn't roll on it. Took 3 weeks before I could sleep on my stomach because I was so bloated.

Protein shakes frozen into Popsicles, edamame, peanut butter and apples, quest bar, quest chips, mixed nuts, string cheese, laughing cow cheese, deviled egg, cottage cheese with muscle milk cake batter powder (tastes like cheesecake), pumpkin seeds, frozen watermelon chunks, roasted soy beans, veggies ( cauliflower, cucumbers, carrots and broccoli) with ranch dressing, beef stick, jerky, pickles, green olives, prosciutto or ham and cream cheese roll ups.

Tell them you have stomach cancer and need your stomach removed. your oncologist referred you to this Bariatric surgeon because he has the most experience with the procedure. You've already lost a lot of weight from the radiation and chemo. That'll shut em up.

BTW, My goals for the first few weeks- even months- were to drink at least 64oz fluid, get in 60-80g protein, take all my vitamins and walk 10,000 steps/day. These were the only goals set by my surgeon and the only ones I focused on. Losing weight was simply a side effect of meeting those goals.

I weighed exactly the same as surgery day when I stepped on the scale for the first time 11 days postop. I didn't weigh again until 6 weeks out and I was down 17 pounds. I STRONGLY recommend that newbies not weigh more than a couple times/month for the first few months. I guarantee you will lose if you stick with the program. And trying to compare yourselves with others and turn this into a race to see how fast you can lose is only going to create unnecessary stress.

Surgery on Friday, back to work the next Thursday. Active, physical job that involves walking, squatting, kneeling and lifting 10+ hours/ day.

If you don't like it, then don't eat it. You're a grown adult, the nut works for you, and she should help you find other ways to get your protein in. There are many vegans and lactose intolerant patients that get along just fine without yogurt. I happen to like Greek yogurt, but if someone was telling my I HAD to eat turnips or liver I would tell them to go pound sand.

I was self pay but my surgeon required I lose 5% of my total weight on my 2 week preop. That was 12 pounds. I lost 22 instead.

there is only one totally proven way to avoid stalls and all the mental anguish they bring. It worked for me and I went from a size 22 to a size 6 in eight months. I'm still maintaining over a year later and I never once had to stress over a stall. The secret to a stall-free weight loss journey is follow the program, get all your Protein, Water and Vitamins, be active, and most importantly, STAY. OFF. THE. scale.!!!!

@@Mulepick sounds like you've got a good plan in place. Other than the first 3-4 months of healing, I haven't necessarily followed all the "rules" either. I modified the plan to fit my life. I'm a year into maintenance and still below goal so it's working. If I pop even 1 pound over my bounce range, I simply "tighten up" and go back to Protein, veggies and Water until I get back down to the bottom of my range. Your PA is right, that's really what it takes. Actually I've been working so much lately that I'm below my bounce range at this point. This is good timing since I'm going on vacation in 3 weeks and will be eating WAY off plan. I'm sure I will gain and be back in my range, but that saves me having to "tighten up" when I get back home.

Talk to your surgeon. Mine allowed me to take whole capsules and pills after 2 months.

I walked 2 miles the day after surgery and was up to 4 miles within a couple weeks. But yes, you will be tired. You will not be able to go all day without a rest/nap. Hell, I get tired walking around Vegas regardless of surgery! A lot of it depends on how good of shape you are in before surgery. The 4+ miles was normal for me.

Yep, I've got a sleeve of steel. There's nothing I can't eat. Carbonation is the only thing that's out for me

Are you on a PPI? Are you getting at least 64oz of water? Acid and thirst can both feel like hunger...especially acid. My surgeon had me on 40mg omeprazole mandatory for 2 months. Even with that, I would occasionally feel "hungry" and a couple Rolaids or Maalox would make the feeling go away.

I was barely on puréed at one month out and I was still getting most of my nutrition from Protein smoothies (64oz fluid+60g protein/day). The most I could "eat" was maybe 2 tablespoons of refried Beans or scrambled eggs or pureed Soup or Greek yogurt once or twice/day. It was at least 4-6 months before I could eat 4 oz in one sitting. I'm not saying you are eating too much, just that I couldn't consume that much so soon. i actually increased my calories as quickly as possible as I progressed. I didn't want my metabolism to get used to the low calories for very long. I say stick with your plan, don't worry about calories at this point, (you DEFINITELY aren't eating too much) and if you are worried about not losing fast enough, then STAY OFF THE scale. Seriously, I weighed at 11 days and again at 6 weeks. Healing and getting enough protein and Water should be your only priorities right now.

When I was within 10 pounds of goal I started eating more fruit and whole grains. I kept losing. When I reached goal I added even more calories....full fat dairy, more complex carbs (in addition to the 69-80g Protein + veggies and fruit I had been getting). Still lost another 10 pounds. But when my body was ready to stop it stopped and I've maintained within the same 5 pound bounce range for over a year. Turns out my body picked my goal. Just remember, your body doesn't really care about the arbitrary number you or your nut or your surgeon picked out as a "goal". Quite simply, you will continue to lose until you eat enough to meet your caloric expenditures. If you eat more than you burn you'll start gaining again. If you want to stop losing at this point you simply need to add more calories. If you log your food, great, if not that's fine, too.... I've done this without ever tracking, measuring portions or counting calories.

Yes, I had extreme knee, ankle and foot pain before surgery. I'm on my feet all day at work and I would be visibly limping before noon. Shear agony the rest of the day and did nothing but couch surf when I got home at night. I was living on ibuprofen and tramadol. Fast forward postop....I haven't felt a single twinge of pain in my feet or ankles since losing weight. I've taken maybe 2 ibuprofen and a few tramadol (for neck/back issues) in the last year and a half. Losing weight completely eliminated my foot/ankle/knee pain. 3 years ago I went to Yellowstone with friends and I had to stay behind several hikes because I was too painful to even walk across the parking lot. This June the same friends came out again and I left them in the dust on the trails. Hiked 25 miles in 2 1/2 days. Two weeks ago I did an 18 mile hike in one day. Zero pain, except for my toe, which I broke while scrambling down some rocks barefoot (a skinny dipping pool/waterfalls was the destination).