Miss Mac

I would take it only if there is someone along to keep an eye on it while you are under anesthetic.

I am confused. You profile says you had your surgery in November of 1999. So, you have lost 47 pounds in 16 years? I just recently had my 18 month follow-up and the doctor reminded me that to get off my plateau and come into goal, I need to get 80 grams of Protein. I asked again about a carb limit, and she said that if I eat my 20 grams of protein first (all of it) at every meal, the carbs and calories will come into line line at around 1000 calories and 50 non-starchy carbs. She also suggested that when I use my elliptical bike to use more of the elliptical function instead of the recumbant bike function, strength training twice a week and cardio every day.

I got my sleeve 12/23/2013, just a few days after my 62nd birthday, sooooo 64 is coming up. Although I am a slow loser and did not lose it all in one flash, I am close to goal. My recovery was uncomplicated and nearly painless. My insides rejoice in outstanding nutrition, I can walk easier and stand taller. I can even get down on the floor to play with my grandchildren now, and get back up without help.

I am in Chicago now, but I lived in Portsmouth in the mid 1980's. We lived in a large (something like 22 buildings) condo complex called The Cedars of Portsmouth. It was across and just south of Water Country Water Park. My memories of Portsmouth include living on the flight line of Pease Air Base. The planes would come in over the condo so close that you could count the rivets and wave to the pilot! I loved walking downtown and around strawberry Banke, to explore the historic colonial buildings. We went to Maine a couple of times to the outlets and to Long Sands Beach. It was on one of those trips that I had my first lobster roll on one of those grilled flat-sided hot dog buns, which are not available in the midwest at all. If they are, I would like to know where. There were a few times that I saw submarines coming up the Piscataqua River to the Navy Yard. It took me two years to learn how to pronounce Pis cat a kwha. Wentworth by the Sea was abandoned at the time, and we were able to wander aimlessly around the property. The scenic route along the coast is so breathtaking!!!! On one trip to Rye, not too many days after a nor'easter, the stone house in the marsh was completely incased in ice, like a stone igloo. I cleaned house for a couple in Rye. Their last name was Gaffney. He was an American businessman who met her when he was in Spain. Her name was Mercedes and was apparently a Spanish princess. She did not speak English, so my high school Spanish definitely came in handy. I had a church friend who lived close to the Hampton Beach tourist trap, but the ocean view was lovely. I remember that about six o'clock every evening, the fog would roll in over the coast and past our condo complex, and it smelled like raw fish. The first time I went to the supermarket after moving in, I could not find soda pop to save my life. I finally gave up and had to ask. The clerk said, Oh, you mean tonic. It took me a while to get used to calling soda and sub sandwiches "tonic and grinders". We went to Boston one time to get on one of those whale watching tours. We went about 25 miles out into the ocean and up towards Maine. I was so humbled by the magnificence of the breeching whales and the school of porpoises swimming along with them. When we first moved there from Pittsburgh, I had no idea that New Hampshire had 17 miles of coastline or mountains. Of course we went to Mount Washington to see the world from the windiest place on earth. And no, it is not Chicago. The New Hampshire coast is so beautiful and historical. If I went back, I could find something to do every day for at least a month. Welcome to Bariatric Pal. I wish you good luck and good health.

So, here's the thing about the Guys' Room.........and all of the other specialized forums. The posts show up on the main forum page with no indication of which specialized forum they might have been posted in. The only way I know not to look is if the emogie clearly looks like a male or female. Alex, can this be fixed so that guys and gals can have their privacy?

I had a stroke and my spine was collapsing under my weight.

Kraft macaroni and cheese Bologna sandwiches on Wonder Bread Banquet pot pies Swanson frozen dinners Pop Tarts Spam Breyers Ice Cream with fudge sauce and brownie Mashed potatoes with homemade chicken and noodles for gravy

What is your specific issue with powder? My bariatrician has me using Gold Bond Medicated Powder and it does the job without drying out my skin. She said that the next step would be a prescription for a medicated cream.

As soon as I progressed to regular cooked foods (4 1/2 weeks) I had chili the same day. The only spice that has given me any trouble is jalepeno.

When I had my 18 month follow-up earlier this month, I brought in my daily diary. My nutritionist noticed that I was doing a great job of logging my food, Water, and exercise, but also that I was weighing every day. The weighing was not so much the problem as was the fact that I put a smiley face or a frowny face next to my weight, depending upon if it was up or down from the pevious day. She was concerned that I was attaching such an emotional value to the scale. She told me to have my hubbyman hide the scale and only bring it out once a month. Talk about withdrawal. Not having that scale is worse than not having sugar, but I am getting over it.

Ashley126, here's the thing about shoulder gas..........it is residual CO2 left over from the surgeon expanding your abdominal cavity so that it is easier to manipulate the surgical tools. I was so worried about it that I asked my surgeon how he handles pain management in that respect. He said that he extracts as much as possible before closing up. Needless to say, I did not have any issue with gas pain at all. I do not know why more surgeons don't take that one little extra step.

You don't have to lie, but you don't have to tell everything you know.

I lovvvvvve going over peoples' heads. It is so empowering - and it gets things done, especially if you threaten to sic a regulatory agency on someone's upper management. Registered letters copied to either the agency or your state's Attorney General get it done, too, because someone has to admit that they received it.

JamieLogical, You are an awesome sister! My youngest sister took me in years ago, when I left an abusive S O B who mistook me for a punching bag. She gave me food and shelter when I had no place to go. She had been recently widowed and was glad to have the company. So, even if she can't compensate you right now, you can just encourage her to pay it forward by kindnesses to someone else when she is able. meSparkle83, Caffein is only addressed in my program materials as a diuretic, making it difficult to reach Fluid levels on a sustained basis. My personal suggestion is that if you need to take an energy drink to stay awake enough to drive, maybe you would be safer to alternate drivers or have a night in a motel. Even train engineers and over-the-road truck drivers are limited by law for how many hours at a time they can drive without rest. Just be careful. I would like to hear that you got there and back safely. Enjoy your vacation.

I took way too much stuff, like I was camping out. What I did use was my Chapstick. I had GasX Strips, but I used them for breath freshener.

http://www.wendyshow.com/2015/06/24/summer-beauty-gadgets/#.VYrqb_lViko This is a link for today's Wendy William's Show. One of the Summer Beauty Gadgets they were talking about was a cellulite massager.

gigito2, I have sugar-free Jello every day. Also, bone broth Soup has a small amount of natural Gelatin in it, plus the extra nutrients from the bone marrow.

This hair loss thing is such a crap shoot. Who's to say that Biotin and supplements aren't just expensive pee and the hair loss is the luck of the draw?

I did not experience hair loss at all. I did take Biotin, but not the little 325 mcg that Walgreen's sells. I got the 10,000 mcg (also at Walgreen's) and took two a day - and still do. Also, I have Gelatin every day and make a fresh pot of bone broth Soup every week. I am 18 months out and at age 63 have the thickest healthiest hair I have ever had. Even my hairdresser has noticed and asked what I am doing. Other than that, I do the same as almost everyone else, such as drinking my fluids (80-100 ounces of Water daily) and getting in my Protein (80 - 100 grams daily). Prior to surgery, my nails were brittle and flakey, too. Along about month three post-op they started to respond to excellent nutrition and supplements. My skin was flakey up until then and has gotten very soft. But I think that is in part to exfoliation with each shower and a rubdown with almond oil. Boy...this is so much work - but I was warned.

If you have fainted, you should have been in the E R already. Since your doctor appears to be associated with Lennox Hospital in NY City, I will assume that you have a bariatric team that you can contact. If you are feelng so physically weak and emotionally hopeless so early out, I would suggest that you take advantage of their expertise. They should have advised you that bariatric surgery can wipe you out physically and mentally and should have left you some means of reaching out to them Please be pro-active and trust in their knowledge. At eight days I was on purees and at two weeks I started soft foods such as the scrambled eggas and tuna that you mentioned. Maybe they would at least let you start pudding or applesauce...something like that. What's done is done, and as you have aleady seen, your sleeve is working even though this part of the process is unpleasant and inconvenient. Barring complications, it just gets easier from here. The worst is already over. The best way to avoid those complications is to get those fluids and Proteins in, and let your team know you are in distress. I hope that they can give you the boost you need to hang in there. Hugs from Miss Mac in Chicago.

At 18 months out, the most I can eat of anything is one cup in about thirty minutes. But.....if I don't space myself out with Water in-between meals, it would be too easy to eat again in another thirty minutes, like djmohr just said.

I don't miss pop and junk edibles (can't call them food) as much as I thought I would. One thing I had to come to grips with was the thinking that healthy food is so much more expensive, until I read an article pointing out that the money I was spending on a $15 a day fast food (before and after work habit) could be MY money or THEIR money. Once I let it go and determined that it was going to be MY money, that freed up ($15 x 5 days a week) $75.00 a week for good healthy groceries from the perimeter of the store. Once that first thirty pounds come off and you start to feel better, you may notice that even if you submit to temptation, the pleasure response is not the same, and your old favorites that deceived you into unwellness, will make you even sicker. It also helped me to view that stuff as poison rather than food. I do not go to McPoison's, Poison King, Poison Bell, or Poison Castle any more.

I have 17 herniated discs, with a three level cervical spine repair last year. My spine was literally collapsing under my excess weight. Although I still have sciatica and need a full lumbar fusion, my orthopedist is expecting considerable relief from my weight loss. To an extent that has been true. For the last four years, I had been getting a spinal epidural every three months. Last October, I got a radio-frequency nerve ablation done, and the relief from that lasted until a couple of weeks ago. I have another one scheduled in July. During the time that I was experiencing relief, I did not need to take the Lyrica that I had been taking at 300 mg a day. As soon as I started back up, I gained almost eight pounds in one week. Also, I have noticed that when I take my Hydrocodone for pain relief, I get constipated and have to take stool softeners. Also, it makes me horribly sick to my stomach. So, right now while I am waiting for my July treatment, I am getting by on Lidocaine Patches. So, my biggest problem is the Lyrica. My bariatrician took me off my blood pressure meds, because she felt that a couple of them contributed to slow post-op weight loss. But my primary put me back on them. I had some good labs last week, so I am hoping at today's appointment that my primary will let me drop the BP meds. If I can drop that three-med cocktail, I will be down all nine pre-op meds and just need supplements.

Is that for the guys who don't have robes or yoga pants?

Mine went from 44D to 38B and are still holding their own at the age of 63. On the TV show BOTCHED, the plastic surgeon mentioned to a patient that 21 centimeters from clavicle to nipple is ideal. Mine are 22, so I guess that's not too shabby.