Miss Mac

Benjamin Franklin said, "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead." Now that you know where she stands, you can just avoid her and drop back on unnecessary contact. You can speak up just as much as she can. In the future just tell her that you will no longer discuss your personal healthcare decisions with her. Keep changing the subject until she gets the point. Don't give away your power.

Well written. Thank you for being vulnerable enough to share your doubts and strengths with us. I am going back through your post to check out the links.

Well, it's no secret on this forum that bariatric surgey will exspose the raw dynamics of your relationships and you find out who supports you and who dissapoints you. The process is a blessing in disguise. Your presumed "friends" will boldly speak out against your choices for your own health care as if it is their business. Do not give away your power. Become your own baiatric evangelist. You can speak up just as much as she can. You could ask her to explain to you the different types of bariatric surgery and what specifically is the problem with the facility you are going to. Ask her who is the surgeon you will have and how you will be cared for. Ask he is she is willing to "gift" with the funds to have surgery done near your home. You will find that she knows nothing and is not willing to give you a dime. Some friend. Sorry, but it's no loss. Aren't you relieved now that you know what kind of "friend" she really is? Hugs from Miss Mac in Chicago

Wowser...what a great start! I am proud of you. i am 63, and agree that it will enable you to enjoy your grandkids more. I have four small ones, 7, 4, 2, and 3 weeks. It used to be that when I went to my daughter's house, I could only sit and hold them on the sofa. After I lost my first fifty pounds, I was limber and flexible enough to get down on the floor and play with them, and then get up off the floor without assistance. You won't believe how many NSVs (non-surgical victories) you will have that you did not know were coming. Enjoy your grandkidlets and your new life. Congratulations!

Good. I feel better that you will have an appointment.

When I first started, my limit was 1/3 cup plus two tablesoons. When I started regular ccoked foods, I could eat 1/2 cup plus two tablespoons. At almost 18 months(6/23) I can eat 1/2 cup of something dense like stew, 1/2 cup a of Protein based casserole plus 1/4 of cooked veggie, with a piece of fruit later, or 2-3 ounces of grilled chicken, burger, etc..plus a small amount of cooked veggie. I can eat nearly two cups of a green salad with a few mixed Beans or chopped raw veggies, because it's mostly Water. Quite often, I am not able to eat that last bite or two.

Call your doctor. It sounds like a hernia to me. Hopefully one of the nurses on the forum can steer you in the right direction. Since it hurts, I personally would go the the ER if I can't get a callback from my doctor. Good luck. I hope you can get your mystery lump figured out and treated.

Cupcake and livvsmom.......... did you pay out of pocket? At my two year mark, in December, my insurance will pay for a panni, but not a tummy tuck. I would hate to spend my retirement funds on cosmetic surgery, but I am curious to what it would cost to finance it.

It's my taste buds that trip me up. Miss Tummy is done with her measured portion, but my boyfriend is an outstanding Mediterranean chef, and everything he cooks is so delicious. He considers my Protein needs and doesn't push pastas, breads , and Desserts, but oh what magic he does with veggies, meats, and sauces! What I have to do is measure my portion. It helps to not have the extra on my plate to start with. After I eat my portion, I have to brush my teeth right away to get those awesome flavors out of my mouth. What I suppose I would do if I were in a restaurant is get the "to go" box first, and get the extra food out of site - out of mind, bring it home and devide portions then put some in the feezer to enjoy on a later day. Then the deliciousness becomes more pleasure on more days, rather than a belly ache and remorse. Also, those Gas-X strips that are so handy for gas also have a nice mint flavor and they melt on your tongue in seconds. You could also keep some after dinner mints in your purse or pocket.

Amazing difference! You apparently had a great surgeon. Congratulations on your success. I know you worked hard for it.

Very merry birthday, Rogofulm.

Sorry for all the typos. I am up thinkin' when I ought to be sleepin'.

Oops!. Meant to say that my sleeve was the easiest recovery of them all.

Ok, here's the thing about surgery. My sleeve was my 12th, including 2 c-sections, spinal disc repair, gall-bladder out, appendix, blah, blah, blah, and was the easiest recovery, least painful of them all. They will give you an IV. You will feel a little prick. My first ex-husband was a little prick. (My second ex-husband was a big prick)! They will give you a mild sedative, just enough so that you are can be relaxed and don't really care what is happeneing. When the get you to the OR, they will help you navugate your mello self onto the operating table. Then they will ask you to count to 100 backwards - or something distracting like that. 100, 99, 98, wake up, wake up, hey you're all done, You did just fine. There you go, on your way to a new you. You can expect to be nauseous for a few days, maybe even until you complete your post-op meds, but they will give you something for it. No lie, even if you have an uncomplicated recovery, you may still have an uncomfortable recovery. It is a right of passage to good health and being able to be more involved in your own life. For me, I did not really get any energy back until I got on regular cooked foods at 4 1/2 weeks. It is hard to believe that next week I go for my 18 month check-up. How did all of those slowest days days of pre-op liquids, post-op diet phases, and multiple crazy-making stalls go by so fast? Hang around here with us for encouragement, support, and the unvarnished truth about our individual experoences. You will learn a lot. If you want to find a thread on certain topics, go to the search box, type in your subject, click on the nearly invisible little down arrrow for a drop-down menu. Click on FORUMS, then the search magnifying glass. That will give you a display of different threads on that subject. Welcome, and good luck with your surgery.

Luckily I am retired. I just cannot imagine having to go back to work or taking care of small children post-op. I have a lot of respect for those who had to. I guess it depends on the kind of work you do. If you drove a Google Earth Satellite van around, I guess you could go back in a few days, but if you are a hotel housekeeper or construction worker, you certanly would have to recover longer. Maybe some others here can help you with that question.

If you are not into purees yet, you should be soon. Once I got to soft foods, I started to feel better. I did not really get any energy until I was eating regular cooked foods at 4 1/2 weeks, Pain meds made me sick to my stomach. Once I stopped those and other post-op meds, the nausea got better. Did you get a prescription for the Scolomine Patches that you stick behind your ear? They were a big help for me. I hope you feel better soon.

I have one of those cards, too, but haven't used it. It looks like a business card from the hospital and says: Certificate This person has had surgery and is required by doctor's orders to restrict the quantity and type of foods consumed. Please allow him/her to order a smaller portion or make a seletion from your childrens' menu. Thank you for your cooperation It could be that the waitstaff has never encountered a legitimate request like ours and then acted like pricks like we read about airline personnel all the time. I would educate the management with a letter or email, copied to their owner or corporate office. That usually gets results and maybe coupons for free food in the future. I can spell, but I cannot type. The card should read: selection.

Welcome, sleeve brother. This is like...the craziest forum ever! If you have been lurking around, you know that folks can get intense and passionate about their opinions, but there is a lot of wisdom and compassion here. And opinions and tact do vary. I have been on this forum for a year and a half and check in ever day. Good luck with your surgery. I hope you have an uncomplicated recovery and visit us often.

Yuck! I think Stevia tastes like licorice, that thing which i hate.

It's frustrating. I work so hard at this and stay with my exercise program and eat clean. I do think I have found a pattern, though. It seems like on days after strength training days, the scales go up. Then on off days it goes down. I did a strength training day yesterday and weighed two punds heavier this morning. I had 1200 calories, not 8,200. Do ya'll think that the muscles hold Water to repair? My plan advises to weigh everyday, so I do, but it is definitely a crazy-maker trying to get some sense out of it all.

I had to laugh! That is so funny!

Oh, I forgot. I also "stopped to smell the roses" which is a pleasant de-stresser, and brought some in the house.

I did my strength training outside to the back yard this morning. I took my CD player out with some high tempo music. I walk a few laps around the yard (with ankle weights, then would come back to the picnic table where I set my weights and would do bicep curls. Then a few more laps and dead lifts, the laps, then kettlebell, then laps, then chest flys or weighted lunges or squats....that kind of thing. Strength training makes me hungry, so when I came in, I had some tuna salad with slice tomato and 2 litle gherkins. The old me would have had a two fried egg and sausage and double cheese sandwich with mayonnaise on a huge onion roll. Exercise makes me feel good. I have gotten to the point where I am not hypnotized by the TV. So that's it. Whether exrcise helps with weight loss or not, it is strengthening my bones and muscles and pumps that blood through my heart. Also when I exercise, I breathe deeper and oxygenate my lungs. With exercise and outstanding diet management, my body tells me that my heart, lungs, liver, muscles, bones, skin, hair, all of me is so much happier.

Seems to me that the guys lose faster with less effort. If a guy works out and I work out, I think he will build his muscle mass faster, too. Oh well.

One of my favorite things to tell our newbies is this: Stalls are like lovers. Your first will probably not be your last. Trust in the process. It works. It just is a fickle crazy maker. I have found that even though I have been successful these last 17 months, I still investigate every new diet that comes out. I have my 18 month follow-up appointment on 6/11 and will confess to my bariatrician that I have this anxiety and a tendency to have "exercise bulemia". I feel like if I eat anything, I have to go exercise off the calories right away. So, just stay on point with Protein first, then veg, then limited fruit. I had to give up Peanut Butter and cheese to move my most recent stall. maybe I will try those again after my panni at the end of the year. (I have to be two years out.) Remember these basic concepts that many of us follow with the variety of plans our bariatric teams give us: Drink no calories. Drink Water until your eyeballs float - 64 - 80+ ounces per day. Don't eat anything made in a factory. You can do this by shopping the perimeter of the supermarket and avoid the aisle unless you need a spice or paper towels...that kind of stuff. Eat at least 60 ounces of protein per day, and at any meal, eat your protein first - then veg - then fruit. Dessert should be something like an apple, not apple pie with two scoops of ice cream. Avoid sugar, grease, and salt as much as possible. Eating clean will help you discover the real taste of natural food. If it weren't for sugar, grease and salt, McDonald's would have no business. When I gave up candy bars and started eating dark chocolate, I realized that it wasn't the chocolate I missed - it was the sugar. Try to wean yourself off of soda and diet soda. Many bariatric plans discourage soda pop and anything with bubbles post-op. Reduce starchy carbs like bread, flour, sugar, rice, noodle, biscuits, white potatoes, macaroni, spaghetti etc. So what is left to eat? meat, eggs, cheese, Beans, peanut butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, and fresh fruits and non-starchy veggies. You can adjust your current recipes to reduce carbs. The World According to Eggface is a good place to start. We have a forum here for recipes. Also, Sparkpeople.com and Myfitnesspal.com. Many of us use Myfitnesspal.com for logging our food every day. It is really an eye-opener if you are honest with yourself about what you eat. Weigh and measure your food to accurately acknowledge your actual portion size. There is a scientific principle that says, "You cannot control that which you do not measure." Exercise where you can. Move your body every day. Don't become part of the sofa. Good luck, and get going!