Miss Mac

I absolutely agree with Slvarltx, that certain things raise our suspicions whether a poster meant to yank our chains or not. Two of those are a very small number of posts, and a surgery day of November 1999. We have seen posts of people eating drive-through sandwiches at three or four days out and nothing bad happened. So while most forum contributors want to give others the benefit of the doubt, the original poster must also recognize that they are presenting something radical and contrary to sound nutritional science which will generate some concern.

One thing I learned early on when I discovered this forum was that the participants could safely hide behind their anonymity, and that opinions and tact will vary. Before I gave up on yo-yo dieting, I would have ice cream every night at bedtime. It is just one of those things that I will probably never approach again because of instant downfall. What I ended up doing was blending ricotta cheese and Greek vanilla yogurt with some artificial sweetener and use that as a base for my Protein shakes. However, there are those among us whose nutritionists advise against use of any artificial sweetener....so what are we to do? I just follow the plan I was given and use others' suggestions here as inspiration for modifying their recipes to fit my plan. Some use almond milk. My NUT wants me to use real dairy milk. She also does not want me to have a shake every day, but I would if I there were no restriction. It's an easy energy source for me. My suggestion is to follow your plan and not get too bent out of shape if someone else's plan is different.

The brand I picked up was Core Fitness, which I have not tried before. It came yesterday afternoon, so I made one up. Very good...it won't go to waste. I also made up a blend of ricotta and Greek Vanilla yogurt, canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) and some pumpkin spice and sweetener. I scooped it out into a muffin pan and froze it, then froze the single serving pumpkin cups for individual use as I need them. There was a bit left clinging to the blender so I added a cup of milk, and a scoop of the pumpkin spice Protein for a 40 gram Protein shake that will take me two sessions to drink.

Cardiac clearance is par for the course. Don't you want to know why your heart rate is up????? Bariatric surgery won't do you any good if you have a heart attack first. I know we all don't like delays, but delay is not denial. Hang in there and get this heart rate issue resolved first. Your doc is just looking out for you.

At 3 1/2 weeks, I was not eating whole cooked foods yet, just soft stuff. Even now, at almost two years, I will max out at 3 oz of meat and a few bites of veggie. Yeah, 7 ounces sounds like way too much, but he did not have to be a a green meanie about it.

Mine says, " This person has had surgery and is required by doctor's orders to restrict the quantity and types of food consumed. Please allow him/her to order a smaller portion or make a selection from your children's menu." I am almost two years out and have never used it. We just don't eat at restaurants much so that we can control the ingredients in our food. The couple of times we have been out, I have ordered normally and brought left-overs home to eat for another couple of days.

Syntrax nectars. My favorite is the grapefruit. Mixed with Crystal Lite Lemonade, it tastes like Fresca soda.

The tech who did my pre-op EKG told me that she did not think I needed the surgery. I told her to call my surgeon and tell him she disagrees with his diagnosis. That shut her up.

It sounds like you are a loving mom who does everything she can for her children. Wouldn't you like to also give them a healthy energetic mom who will be around a long time to enjoy her grandchildren, too? There is risk in everything we do. Every tie we get in a car, turn on the gas or go down a flight of stairs we run the risk of getting hurt. Not managing health problems puts us at risk too. Just because you don't have diabetes this week doesn't mean you won't get it eventually. I waited until I had a stroke. What event are you waiting until? If part of your worry is because you have never had surgery before, that is not necessarily a problem. Doctors and hospitals don't make money off of dead patients and malpractice lawsuits. They are interested in your surgery being successful, too. We just cannot stop the circle of life no matter what we do or avoid. If you decide not to get the surgery, then at least do something pro-active and stay with us. Learn about high Protein, low carb eating and moving your body every day. Maybe you will be ready at another time, but iif you back out, don't wait until the day before. Give your surgeon a chance to schedule someone else who is ready to take this step. My vote is for the surgery, but I wish you the best, whatever you decide. I My sleeve was my 12th surgery under anesthetic, and I enjoyed the nap and a few days of rest.

My BF was in Fort Worth last week on an annual business conference for work. In five days, he gained two pounds. During those same five days, I gained six! WTF! I have my ever three month appt. with my primary on the 21st, and need to lose those six before then. Geeze. So, today I have stayed on my Protein regimen and tried to take it up some. My biggest trip-up is to fail to plan. When I plan and have the right stuff available, I do very well. When I try to wing it and go an extra day or two with out restocking the fridge, that is when I have trouble. It looks like you packed everything the kids needed and nothing that you needed. It is ok to be a little selfish now. I guarantee you that if you pack cubes of turkey meat, string cheese, cherry tomatoes, unsalted nuts, maybe even some yogurt cups in a cooler, your kids will eat that with you. They won't starve and you will have useful stuff on hand. One of the hardest things for me to learn was how to throw away leftovers and bits on the plate. At this point I mat as well just tape it to my hips if I don't throw it out. Don't beat yourself up. This is hard....very hard. That is why we come here for support.

Thanks for the tip about Pumpkin Spice Protein powder. I just now ordered some from Amazon, and will try this recipe to hold me until the real stuff arrives. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-protein-powder-chef-pumpkin-spice-protein-mousse.html

I get it. I made my first chili of the season yesterday, but modified it from what my recipe used to be. I used to add cooked macaroni or spaghetti instead of crackers ever since I was a kid. Now there are no crackers or Pasta, but the chili still tastes good. My boyfriend has modified all of his rcips for me. He used to make this really awesome homemade ac and cheese. Now he makes shredded zucchini and cheese and puts a little macaroni in it - just enough to say he did, and not enough to do any damage. The only way I can get over my bedtime vanilla ice cream is to take a glass of 2% milk and add vanilla and sweetener to it. I was moaning about missing Cheerios and Wheaties when I was in the grocery with a friend earlier this week, but ally if I give in to starchy carbs, the inflammation and achy muscles come right back. My body is still reminding me that it has gotten used to this outstanding high Protein and low starch veggie diet and does not like it one bit if I stray. My body notices and responds immediately if I fall back into old habits I, too, am looking for a way to incorporate some pumpkin into my fall diet plan. Boyfriend makes some pretty good low sugar cranberry relish, but it does not compare to pumpkin.

The difference was like night and day once I got onto soft foods and actually got my digestion going again. That is when my energy came back, too.

Miss Tummy lets me know by punishing me for hours with discomfort, pain and lethargy. One of the advantages of chewing food to death and eating slower is that you will get that full signal sooner. It s a long time between mess-ups because the pain is a strong teacher.

Benjamin Franklin said some very interesting things about keeping secrets. "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead." "If you would keep your secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend." "To whom thy secret thou doest tell, to him the freedom thou doest sell." "Let thy discontents be secrets." And heard this from a pulpit once, "You don't have to lie, but you don't have to tell everything you know." Your mate was wrong to betray your trust. If you don't want to tell anyone, you should not have to. You will know with your "knower" when the time is right to speak up. I agree that distancing oneself socially from saboteurs and negative Nancies is the best thing you can do to maintain peace of mind.

This site prepared me for the worst, so I was surprised that I did NOT have the shoulder gas pain, and did NOT have any hair loss. I was on a morphine drip at the hospital and on hydrocodone for two days at home. I thought I would need pain relief longer than that, but it was not necessary. So long as I did not bend or stretch too much, only the largest incision made me aware that there had been surgery. That first bowel movement was like pushing a watermelon through a straw. After that I started taking either prune juice, Milk of Magnesia, stool softeners or a couple of magnesium tablets every day. The other thing that surprised me was that I lost the first fifty pounds quickly, but the rest has come off in milligrams. Maintenance can be lost very easily. If I don't weigh my food and measure myself and stay under 50 carbs, I can easily regain 5 pounds in a week. This is definitely not the easy way out . It is an absolute war that will never end.

Are you Type 1 diabetic instead of Type 2?

Just think of it as a nice nap, and when you wake up, you will be on the way to a new you. I was more afraid of having another stroke than of having another surgery. I was out around an hour, and then in recovery for another hour. You may be on a morphine pump for the first day. Just think of that as better living through chemistry!

I got my sleeve on 12/23/2013 just after my 62nd birthday. I had help here, but could have gone it alone by having my supplies on hand and not trying to accomplish much housework that first week. I was sick to my stomach quite a bit, but did not puke until about six months out when I had the flu. What helped me the most was my lift recliner which I got when I had spinal surgery. I put it to good use and slept in it a few nights until I was able to get up and down a little better. If I had not had that available, I would have propped myself up in bed. I got bored in about a week and started putzing around the house a bit. We have a tri-level with stairs everywhere, but I was ok. Since then, I have obtained a Life Alert and a Fall Detector which I wear anytime I am here by myself. It gives me a lot of peace of mind, knowing that if I have a problem with no one around I can either push the button for help or else the Fall Detector will alert the alarm company if it detects a sudden change in elevation. I did have one really bad night (when I had that flu) where I passed out in the bathroom and hit my head on the tub and ended up unconscious for several hours and ultimately spending the night in the ER on IV fluids because the flu had dehydrated me. Right after that is when I got my alarms. If you need to go it alone, just make sure you have several days of supplies on hand and don't get in a big hurry to straighten up the house. If you have a cell phone keep it on you.

I had mine out in 1973 and do not miss it.

I have been on Wellbutrin since having a stroke in 2010 and suffering somewhat from post-stroke depression and anxiety. My sleeve has not made it any worse, and I am currently weaning off of it for the third time. Well, I hope the third time is the charm, because I would like to be off all of my meds at some point.

I was slow to go for a few days post-op, but once I was completely off pain meds, everything returned to natural.

I use a marble mortar and pestle that my daughter paid $15 for. Amazon has them made of various products. A porcelain set sells for as little as $6.50, or you can go high and pay $30. I would at least try it before spending money on something so elaborate as electronic.

My daughter who has always gone the "natural" route, introduced me to Arnica Gel to treat arthritis pain and achy old people maladies. I have not used BenGay or any of ts smelly equivalents for years. She is sort of New Age turns Old Hippie. She is my Earth Mother / Flower Child, and usually brings me something fragrant when she comes over. One time she brought me some cucumber / mint rub for my feet.....I lovvvvved it!