Miss Mac

Music, meditation, exercise, distraction.... I use them all. I suffer from post-stroke anxiety since 9/11/2010...a really bad day. My doctor put me on Sertraline (a generic Zoloft) and that served me well for a while. When I started my bariatric journey in August 2013, the bariatric physician switched me to Buproprion ( a generic Wellbutrin). There has been a noticeable difference in my anxiety level, plus the benefit of extra friskiness...if you know what I mean

The materials I was given say 30 minutes max...then put the fork down and walk away.

I mix my Protein drinks with whatever makes them go down. This morning I mixed strawberry unjury (21 grams protein) with Crystal Lite Lemonade, and right now I am working on a chocolate Extreme smoothie (35 grams protein) to which I added a sugar free fudgesicle. Don't judge .

No nausea for me once I got home. Take care.

I use the chicken flavor for soups, and the unflavored for sugar free puddings and jellos.

What we can eat is so individual. Many people do not tolerate eggs, yet for me, eggs are my go-to. I admit to eating baby food, because it did not seem to make sense to cook batches of anything right now. I have made a couple of Soups and put them in the blender. I add whey Protein to as many foods as I can. I think on my second week of soft foods I may incorporate fresh chicken. I don't see how something spicy like chili can be on my mushie list, but some folks are just being creative with what they have on hand. For my plan, it looks like the purees are just thinner versions of my soft foods list.

myfitnesspal was a godsend for me. I thought I was not eating all that much, but once I had to account for every bite I was amazed at how much I was eating. My NUT put me on 1100 calories, eat Protein first. One of my meals had to be substituted with a bariatric shake. I am not able to do much exercise yet because of physical challenges, but I lost 23 pounds pre-op by complying with the plan. In America, we are not used to being hungry, but its ok to be hungry for a little bit. Beware of slider foods - foods that you can unconsciously eat large amounts of without thinking...like popcorn, potato chips, pizza, etc. My worst slider was bananas. So, even though I am 3 weeks post-op and they are on my list..I don't dare. So, good luck. We are here to encourage you to be successful.

I would think that being 24 would not necessarily be a hinderance since you have sleep apnea, which is a strong co-morbidity. You could stay with the nutrition visits anyway because even if you don't get the response you want from Medicaid, the nutritionist can give you some coping skills and kitchen strategies to help you with weight control. Wishing you good luck and good health.

Yep! I was in the hospital for 8 days at the end of October for ischemic colitis - tons of IV antibiotics. As soon as I got home I began coughing and was pretty sick for a week, so I went to my primary doctor. He said I had bronchitis. I asked him how could I get sick with anything with so much antibiotics in my body. He called it a secondary infection and that it happens all the time. I am wondering if this is part of what people call a hospital acquired infection? I am much better now and was able to have my sleeve 12/23. Hope you get better soon.

Early on, not much because I was purchasing bariatric products on line. Now, I am in week 3 post-op and eating very little. My boyfriend just buys bachelor food for himself, so I would say our grocery expense has gone way down.

Every day when I first get up, but many (most?) others don't.

Prune juice for me, too.

I have been able to swallow my meds, too. I just don't try to take them all at one time. I spread them out all day so that I don't have to drink a lot of Water at the same time.

You could ask for lemon slices for your water and make your own lemonade.

For rhw94123 and others who miss Fresca......I had 2 packets of grapefruit Syntrax whey Protein and made some up with Crystal Light Lemonade. Unexpectedly, it pleasantly tasted like Fresca. I like it so much that I went back to mybariatricpantry.com and ordered a large container of it. They have about 10 flavors of nectar which you can get in a sample pack as well as large cartons. I find the nectars easier to swallow than the shakes. It has 23 grams of protein per serving.

2 weeks post-op, now in phase three. I am allowed one serving of soft fruit per day. When I want something sweet I go to: 1. sugar free suckers 2. Cool whip lite on sugar free pudding or Jello 3. Peanut Butter mixed with chocolate Protein powder 4. sugar free popsicles 5. Healthwise Protein biscotti..I have choc chip, lemon, almond on hand.

Ground meat is allowed in my phase three, which I just began on Monday 1/6/14. However, there is a caveat in my instructions that for some people, meat isn't tolerated at this point.

The first NSV I am looking forward to is for my belly to not touch my legs.

The IV definitely will not be the highlight of your day. I do suggest that they put it in your non-dominate hand or arm. It's hard to eat, drink, or even toilet yourself with an IV in your dominate hand. Here's the other thing....one time I was having a needle inserted for a blood draw. The nurse said "you are going to feel a little prick." I replied just out of nowhere "My ex-husband was a little prick!" So if you keep talking you way through it, the apprehension may not be so bad. You can do this.

Two weeks post-op. Textbook recovery - no problems, not even gas. I am down 12 pounds in 14 days, and I am ok with that. To fend off constipation, I am taking Colace twice a day, and 2 ounces diluted prune juice at bedtime. I did buy the unjury Protein cheese sauce, and I put it on almost everything. I am adding unflavored protein to sugar free pudding. I tried making Jello shots, but the protein rises to the top. On the soft diet I can have bananas or potatoes, but those are trigger foods for me. Otherwise, my soft diet doesn't seem to be much different from the pureed diet except for consistency. This afternoon, I am going to make a few chocolate Peanut Butter balls. I made them when pre-op.....just mix chocolate whey protein with peanut butter and roll into small balls - refrigerate. They will probably be my favorite snack. Good luck to other December sleevers. Like SleevinIT said...What are you eating?

Congratulations!!!! I will see you in Onederland before the week is up. 200.6

Do you know why they put side blinders on horses? It is so the horses don't get distracted or spooked when crossing a bridge. You have already started your journey, so just look straight ahead and keep going forward. Don't pay any attention to the verbal commotion going on around you. It is time to take care of yourself and be proactive about your health. Ultimately, it is your body, your health issues, and your mental anguish. Do what you have to do to get yourself healthy and happy. We will see you soon on the other side. Really, the anxiety is worse than the surgery. I am two weeks post-op and don't regret it at all.

When I need "sugar free" juice, I get them from Food For Less, which is part of the Kroger chain here in Chicago. They are 5 calories, and though they are not 100% juice, they satisfy that fruity flavor in my mouth. Ocean Spray has some cranberry w/ other fruit that are 5 calorie.

I am 62 years old and just got sleeved on 12/23/2013. My co-morbities were just getting worse the longer I put off doing something. I have already had one stroke because of my blood pressure. This past February I had some spinal reconstruction. The surgeon said he would not do anymore until I got some of this weight off my frame. 58 is not too old. If you need it - do it. It is not too late to get healthy.

I had that conversation with my gentleman friend of seven years. I asked him if he felt that he would lose anything if I lost 100+ pounds. His sweet response was that he just wants me to be size "healthy". My surgery was 12/23/2013, and he has supported me in every way that he can. If your man loves you, then he will love you any way that you come.