Miss Mac

I am sorry to hear about how your sister is struggling. I agree with the others that a gentle and supportive approach is best. My "something bad" that motivated me to finally get sleeved was a stroke.

Great article. What drives me to sugary, starchy comfort foods is pain. If my sciatica is acting up, I don't want Protein, I want mashed potatoes! I usually just end up making sugar-free hot chocolate or eating 1/2 banana.

You just did! Welcome to the forum. Keep in mind that although opinions and tact may vary, your bariatric bothers and sisters wish you an uncomplicated recovery and good health. Feel free to post on any topic. I come to the forum every day to see what is going on. It keeps me out of trouble.

Congratulations! If you are thinking about telling someone, keep in mind that Ben Franklin said, "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.'"

Beans, beans - good for the heart. The more you eat the more you uhhhhhhh like them! Any time I eat beans, or anything with wheat in it, I get gas. I can eat cabbage, onions, kraut, etc. and don't get gas too badly. If I eat too fast, I get hiccups. If I whizz my shakes too long in the blender, they have too many bubbles and I get gas. I guess you could be real mindful of how you eat as much as what you eat. Log your food and see if a pattern of gas response is evident to what you are eating. Beano (you take one just before eating) should be your new best friend.

Welcome back to the wagon. To make my summer exercise more fun, I am taking it outdoors. I made my back yard into a fitness trail. For example, I start at the picnic table and do some pushups by pushing from the bench. For othopedic reasons, I can't do them flat on the ground. Then I march to the oak tree and do squats, the I speedwalk to the shed and back several times. Then from the shed I carry 10 pound handweights and do lunges in a lap around the yard and then to the pine tree and do exercises with the handweights, like backward rows, chest flys, and deadlifts, then back to the picknic table for a rest and drink of Water. Then befor I go in, I do walking laps several times around the yard. While I am outdoors, I am also getting some Vitamin D sunshine. Exercise doesn't have to be boring - just get creative. I even put on loud crazy music while I am puttering around the house doing housework. You can also put on your favorte music like no one is watching. I have 34 DVDS for exercise, so that I could have variety. I will admit my favorite is Richard Simmons Sweating to the Oldies. You can do this with your refreshed commitment to take care of yourself.

Due to my ex-husbands job, we moved fourteen times in the 23 years we were together. I have never waited more than a week to have records mailed to me in my new location. I agree that the are holding your records hostage out of meanness. Make an efffort to contact whatever Hippa or medical regulation there is in your state and sic the regulatory dogs on them. With an order from some entity that can fine them bigtime, your records will magically be available - like its a miracle!

My "Miss Tummy" will punish me for hours if I eat something she dislikes. Still, at 15 1/2 months, she is the boss of me. My whole day depends on what her attitude is going to be, and that requires me to listen to what she is trying to communicate to me. Miss Tummy can't send me an email, so she will get my attention through hiccups, burps, sneezing, pain and nausea. Miss Tummy is inconsistent and will not like something today that she liked last week. She literaly is the boss of me and can easily ruin my day or my sleep if I get too independant and go back to my old ways. So, to answer your question: Yes, sometimes the discomfort message is delayed, but she eventually get she my attention - even if it is the middle of the night.

To the original poster, I want you to understand that the bariatric veterans on this forum speak with many months of experience of introducing different foods to their new tummy, just like when a newborn becomes a toddler, then pre-school, grown enough to try anything. The progressions are established with good reasons, and following the plan your team gave you will provide you with a successful recovery and weight loss. I think I can speak for everyone of the forum by telling you that we just want to be strong in resisting temptation and do well with the progressive program that was given to you. The difference in tone in our comments is based on our upbringings and personal experience in our bariatric journeys. My basic point is that opinions and tact will vary, but we wish you well.

I used to watch Gillian McKeiths "You Are What You Eat" on BBC where she counseled obese patients and guided them through the process of improving their food intake and health. Now I watch the obesity realted reality shows like "My 600 Pound Life". They rmind me that that is where I was headed and how blessed I am to have this tool to help me stay on the straight and narrow road to improve my own health. Also, I do not want to have another stroke.

I am looking forward to not being so hot and sweaty inside 100 extra pounds of insulation and being comfortable inside my own skin.

I got through that phase with the Syntrax Nectars mixed with Crystal Lite Lemonade.

I mix Aldi's FIt & Lite brand of vanilla Greek yogurt equal parts with ricotta, plus a little sweetener. It Is a nice smooth addition to shakes, too.

It took a couple of months for me to get any energy.

Welcome to the forum. You will indeed find a lot of support and encouragement here. I joined in August 2013, and have checked in nearly every day to see how my bariatric borthers and sister are doing. Just keep in mind that we are "just folks" as my grandma used to say, and that opinions and tact will vary.

My psyche eval was more about how I would follow through rather than how I got there. I had one visit pre-op and don't have the next one until my two years are up in December.

I have BCBS Federal through the V. A. I got a copy of my medical records for two years and highlighted my weight at each visit and the doctor's notes on diet and exercise. I provided an additional letter explaining all of my personal attempts at weight loss, family history of obesity related premature death, and how my co-morbidities (including a stroke) affect my quality of life. However, my BMI was 40.6. But I was told by my BCBS Case Manager that a BMI of 35 was still do-able with documented co-morbidities. I was approved within two days of my surgeon's packet being submitted right after completion of a three month supervised diet.

I was not on Medicare when I had my surgery, but I am this year. What I like is that if I need a medical service, I can just go without having to get a referral from my primary doctor first.

I had surgery at 7am on 12/23/2013. I could have gone home on the 24th, but being Christmas Eve, the nursing staff was farting around and did not feel like processing the paperwork. First shift waited until shift change, then second shift waited until shift change, then the doctor said to just keep me another night. My insurance had pre-approved five nights. I went home mid-day on Christmas Day. I did not feel like I missed out on the holiday because my daughters have blended and extended families and have several places to Celebrate with different folks. We scheduled our visit with the grandkids for the week-end after New Year's Day. That gave me extra time to recover before having company in the house.

Everything tasted "off" to me after surgery, until I got off most of my meds. Once my life settled in to a new mormal, food tasted better. Also, I was so used to food tasting like salt, sugar and grease, that I had no idea what the food itself tasted like. Now that I am in my 16th month, it's the salty, sugary, greasy stuff that tastes weird. Yesterday and today I am Eagle Ridge Resort in Galena Illinois as a "plus one" on my boyfriend's business seminar. I was able to serve myself buffet meats and veggies, but today there was applie pie with lunch and I had not had apple lie for over two years. Well, I am so used to fresh apples now, that I nearly gagged on the syrupy sweetness of the pie and ended up just scraping a couple of bites without the crust. Boy, has my life changed!

My plan has me on 800-1200 forever calories, but I find that on strength training days I need more.

Not a one. At my final pre-op visit, I asked my surgeon how he handles pain management, specifically residual shoulder gas. He said he would extract as much as possible before closing up - and he did.

Did your doctor release you to do this kind of activity so soon? I am a retired hospital / hotel housekeeping manager and am well aware that there is a certain amount of thankless lifting, sweeping, mopping, furniture arranging, reaching, bending, bedwashing, and hauling linen and trash bags involved in what you do. I was instructed to not lift anything over five pounds for the first six weeks. My largest incision near my navel was the sorest one for me also, and it needed more healing time than the other incisions. If there is some way you could get light duty for a couple of weeks, you might consider it.

I am on the "speak up" side of the fence on this one. Write a letter to the hospital's Administrator. Then if / when you get a Press-Gainey survey, attach a copy of your post to that, too. The Administrator won't know what needs to be fixed if he / she does not hear from patients like yourself. Patients are customers and hospitals are service providers. I am sorry that the staff is so crude and tactless. A lot of places will not addess anonymous verbal complaints, so definitley put it in writing. I also like the idea of hand-delivering your letter or at least Return Receipt by mail addressed CONFIDENTIAL, to the Administrator. Hugs from Chicago.

That's too long. Call your doctor. This is going to be like passing a watermelon through a straw. Magnesium Citrate would be the quickest way for relief. That is what you have to take to flush you out for a colonoscopy. You will need immediate access to a bathroom for a whole day. Don't wait any longer. Some folks end up in the E R with an impaction. Good luck. You will feel a lot better once this is resolved.