Miss Mac

At 4 1/2 weeks, I was just starting whole cooked foods as tolerated. I could eat about 1/3 cup in a half hour or so. I think the first food that I ate out with other people was chili at a Baker's Square. I also had two french fries off of someone else's plate. That was it. 1/3 cup chili and two fries. But we were there about an hour, with plenty of good conversation. The first time I ate breakfast out with someone was at a pancake house. They had pancakes, and I got an omelet of which I ate about 1/4 of it in half an hour, and took the rest home. To kill time, you can do more of the talking and play with your fork, just scooting food around the plate. If anyone asks, just tell them you have not had much of an appetite lately.......you really don't owe anyone an explanation about your health choices. You don't have to lie.......just don't tell everthing you know. True friends will enjoy your company regardless of what you eat.

Fat still has calories. Two ounces of turkey breast (100 calories) will carry you a lot farther than one tablespoon of Peanut Butter or an ounce of cheese. I find that that nuts are a major slider for me and it is easy to eat 1/2 cup of nuts without realizing I have consumed hundreds of calories. I still scramble my eggs with a teensy bit of real butter, but can't really afford the calories in coconut oil. Although my doctor would prefer that I eat more chicken and fish, I do cook one three-ounce steak a week. I have stalled out about fourteen pounds from goal, so I think I will hold off with peanut butter and cheese until I hit a maintenance weight that I am comfortable with.

Just tell them you are easy to entertain and cheap to feed.

I am surprised that your PCP did not apply steri-strips himself. I had four incisions, all sealed with just surgical glue and steri-strips....no stitches, no staples. You can buy the steri-strips over the counter.

"I saw you were in the hospital" Was this published in your local paper? That would be a violation of your HIPPA rights to the privacy of your medical information if the your hospital of medical care providers released the information. Nobody truly understands what this journey is like except those who have taken the journey themselves. Clearly, your a**hat neighbor has no understanding of metabolism and endocrinology. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity" (a saying called Hanlon's Razor)

You don't have to lie......you just don't have to tell everything you know. You are rapidly losing credibility by embellishing your story. You may really have to have your gallbladder out four months down the line. It is like claiming your Grandma died five times. The people at work don't have the right to know anything that you don't want to tell them. Just say that you doctor has decided to do an exploratory procedure and will fix whatever is urgent to fix once he gets in there.

Two days. But I called my case manager in the Richardson TX office. The doctor's coordinator was on vacation and would not have called me for two weeks.

Two weeks. Once I had lost enough weight to get relief on my joints and neuropathies did I see an increase in drive. Getting rid of Lyrica, blood pressure meds, anti-depressants, and hydrocone help me have more feeling and less fogginess. All is good.

Exactly. Ben Franklin said, "To whom thy secrets thou doest tell, to him thy freedom thou doest sell." Well, since the cat is out of the proverbial bag, you can use the revenge factor as motivation to succeed. For sure they will all be your food Police now, under the disguise of just wanting to help. Take your own food with you every where so that they can't tempt you to eat a bite of this or that. It does not sound like they are going to be helpful at all. Good for you that you are taking control of your own health. Congratulations.

David Stamps has several videos on Youtube. His workouts are geared for people with joint and mobility issues, plus he is easy to look at.

I swear that this site has a typo gremlin. I meant sheltered church lady and polar opposite.

Agreed. It is hard when a poster asks about our individual experiences and then doesn't like what they get back. Guaranteed, opinions and tact will vary. When the subject of unsupportive spouses comes up, a seltered church-lady will give a response that is the poa opposite of someone who has survived domestic violence. When we see a confession of straying from the plan, people who follow the plan are called goody-two-shoes. Sometimes I will back off of a thread that has gotten too hot, because responses tend to become more emotional than practical. I still think this site needs an obvious Front and Center link for Frequently Asked Questions, so that newbies can get some solid clinical information for their earliest questions minus the craziness.

You never hear anyone on the forum concerned about being addicted to Water or apples - it is always fake products made in factories. These industrial giants like Monsanto, Con-Agra, and General Mills create this stuff and then convince us how much we need it because they made it and need to move it out of the warehouse so that they can give their overpaid CEO a multi-million dollar salary while the regular people struggle to make ends meet. You would be shocked if you took a look at the groceries you bought (especially pre-op) and put them in two categories: Natural food and Made in a Factory. The main ingredients of most soda is water, dye, chemicals, and caffein. I have always marvelled at how humans can sit and drink a 12 pack of beer during a game, but can't drink an 8 ounce glass of water without gagging. I used to drink a 2 liter of Pepsi with a meal and still want more. Now that I am post-op, it takes an hour to drink 8 ounces of water. You may want to consider what value you place on your new tummy. Is it just going to be a smaller version of the dumpster that it used to be, or is it going to be a pecision engine that you fuel with the highest octane fuel available? Becoming a post-op NUTRITARIAN will feed your body on a cellular level in such a way as to support a healthy (not just smaller) body. A nutritarian is someone who refuses to eat or drink anything tha does not have some redeeming nutritional value to it. I miss soda, too. My taste buds argue with me every day, but Miss Tummy has a strong rebuttal with the bubble argument, and I don't feel like giving my money to the mega-factories whose products made me fat in the first place. The closest I come to soda now is Syntax Grapefruit whey Protein made with Crystal Lite Lemonade, which tastes bang-on like Fresca.

If you Google DEFLATED, you will find a few threads about boobs and butts. My first thirty pounds was all face and boobs.

Do all of your sessions have to be with this same psychologist? I thought the whole point of a psychologist was to help you map out a plan for success after surgery. This one sounds like judge, jury, and executioner. My psych did not badger me at all. We talked about how to conquer poor eating habits and the anxieties that go along with major life changes like bariatric surgery. I hope you can find someone else. If you are stuck with this one, keep notes while each conversation is fresh. Let her see you take the notes. If you still feel like reporting her lousy approach to bariatrics, you will have documentation. As a former Human Resource professional, I can tell you this: The one with the most documentation wins.

My gastric sleeve 12/23/2013 was my 12th surgery, which included two c-sections, gallbladder, knee replacements, etc. Of all these operations, the sleeve BY FAR was the easiest and the recovery was the quickest. It took about a month to get some energy back, but once I got back on solid food, I felt much stronger. I needed pain meds for only a couple of days post-op. The hardest part of my bariatric surgery experience was the first two days of the pre-op liquid diet. The rest has been a happy roll downhill.

You are shape-shifting, dear. For me, it is part of the process. I have gone from a 22/24 to a 12 top and 14 pant. I have changed from an apple to a pear. I have 15 pounds to goal and a panni will take care of another 15 and have me fitting clothes a lot better. You are making good progress. Oh, your surgeon did tell you that the fat is going to go kicking and screaming all the way, right?????

I go through occassional posting moratoriums myself. A thread will be going along quite nicely, then takes an abupt run off the road and down an embankment of hostile conflict. When we post, we have to be aware that opinions and tact will vary. Even at that, I will back off and watch the battle from afar. Being in a forum, we can be completely anonymous and suffer no consequence for hurting someone's feelings or for fat-shaming our own community. The craziest threads happen when someone admits to cheating or not following their care plan. Boy oh boy, if you want fireworks, tell us you cheated on your diet or that your mate is an a**hat. It will take less than a day for the hornets' nest to explode. If I don't post every day (14 months post-sleeve), I will still peek in on the forum for its entertainment value. Don't give up on posting your questions and comments. This community has become like family, and we all know that family is messy.

Here is an article about What THings Weigh that is posted on SparkPeople's forums. It will help give you some perspective on how much better you will feel as your excess weight starts coming off. After I lost the first thirty pounds, my knees felt remarkably better. I have 14 pounds to goal. By the time I finish my 100 pound weight loss, I can ride a pony rather than wear one for belt. Sunday, July 11, 2010 I have been giving quite a bit of thought to this lately, as I lose more and more weight than ever before. I know this has been discussed elsewhere, but I was hoping to put together a more extensive search of my own. I remember years ago, at a Weight Watchers meeting when the leader brought in a pound of fat for visualization. It was something to see. And who can forget when Oprah years ago, after she first successfully (momentarily) lost 67 pounds, pulled that weight equivalent onstage in a little red wagon? That was a sight to behold. So let's consider, starting small, and especially for those who don't think a pound is all that much to lose (a side effect, I'm afraid of unreality shows like "The Biggest Loser"): Things that weigh one pound: 1. A package of butter (with four sticks) 2. A football 3. A package of bacon 4. A box of brown sugar 5. Three medium-sized bananas 6. A guinea pig (not everything listed is edible) 7. A salami 8. A shoe Things that weigh two pounds: 1. A pineapple 2. A rack of baby back ribs (hopefully, this list doesn't lead people to temptation) 3. A Malayan Flying Fox (I like this one) Things that weight three pounds: 1. World's smallest cat, Mr. Peebles (I like this one, too, even if not good enough to eat) 2. A human brain 3. A two-slice toaster (that'll get you thinking) 4. A steam Iron (not to be outdone by the two-slice toaster, I imagine) 5. A box of wine 6. A can of Crisco shortening Things that weigh five pounds: 1. Mr. coffee 12-cup Coffee Maker 2. A bag of sugar (we knew this) 3. A two-liter bottle of soda (now this should give you pause - it did me) Things that weigh ten pounds: 1. A large bag of potatoes 2. A six-foot aluminum step ladder (now that's a lot to swallow!) 3. An adult Maltese dog Things that weigh fifteen pounds (and here it gets really interesting): 1. A 19-inch flat screen TV (now tell me that didn't give you pause? Imagine carrying that around all day.) 2. A bowling ball 3. 2,000 paint balls 4. Medium bag of dog food Things that weigh twenty pounds: 1. A car tire (whoa! Now I know what they mean by carrying an extra tire around your middle.) 2. A karaoke machine (oo la la! That is really something!) Things that weigh twenty-five pounds: 1. An average two-year old toddler Beyond 25 pounds it starts to get really interesting: 30 pounds is equal to the amount of cheese an average American eats in a year 33 pounds is equal to a cinder block (imagine building a house, and then thinking of what you weigh in cinder blocks - it's daunting) 36 pounds is equal to a mid-size microwave 40 pounds equals a 5-gallon bottle of Water or an average human leg 44 pounds equals an elephant's heart 50 pounds equals a small bale of hay 55 pounds equals a 5,000 BTU air conditioner 60 pounds equals an elephant's penis 66 pounds equals the fats and oils an average American eats in a year 70 pounds equals an Irish Setter 77 pounds equals a gold brick 90 pounds equals a newborn calf 100 pounds equals a two-month old horse (so that's what they mean by "I could eat a horse!" Never again!) 111 pounds equals the red meat an average American eats in one year 118 pounds equals the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica 120 pounds equals the amount of trash you throw away in a month on average 130 pounds equals a newborn baby giraffe 138 pounds equals the amount of potatoes an average American eats in a year 140 pounds equals the amount of refined sugar an average American eats in a year 150 pounds equals the complete Oxford English Dictionary

Or ounces.......at 14 months out I am striking a noble effort to lose a pound a week. At nine days out, you haven't even hit the third week stall. Don't get discouraged. It takes time for your body to catch up on the healing part of this process. Bariatric surgery is a test of your patience and character.

I think that most of us here on the forum already knew someone who had complications with bariatric surgery. My oldest sister had a gastric bypass, and neary died from peritonitis, I did not let that stop me from getting a sleeve. Doctors and hospitals don't make any money with malpractice lawsuits. Your surgeon, no doubt, is just as interested in your post-op success as you are. The trick to leveling out your weight loss when you reach goal, is to re-introduce some carbs and healthy fats. Finding a way to quit losing weight is a problem I would like to have.

To address lindawollacks comment: You are staying with him because you promised. So.....what has he promised? Was there anything in your vow about unconditional love in sickness and in health.

I can trim my own toenails.

I was in the hospital for two nights. My insurance would have covered five. I did not get staples. My incicions were glued, with steri-strips as extra closure. Make a list of questions to ask you bariatric team. On my final pre-op appointment I had 17 questions. The most important question for me was about the shoulder gas. Apparently CO2 is introduced in the abdominal cavity to expand the doctor's view of his instruments. The gas soon rises up into your shoukder area. I asked him how does he managed the pain of the shoulder gas. His response was that he extracts as much of the co2 as possible befoe closing up. Judging from this forum, a lot of surgeons do not bother with that consideration. I had no shouder gas issues at all. Go to youtube and watch some vidios on sleeve gastrctomy. That will give you a health respect for the process. Yes, the bariatric books are helpful, especially that Big Book Of The Gastric Sleeve. I was on a liquid diet for ten days pre-op. The second day was the hardest. Post-op I went right to full liquids for one week. Second week I started purees, third week was soft foods, at at the end of the first month (4 1/2 weeks)I started regular food as tolerated. Raw foods and leafy greens had to wait until three months. Even though we have similar experiences with our surgeries, our doctors' timing and our recoveries are very individual.

My old friend Benjamin Franklin once said, "To whom thy secret thou doest tell, to him thy freedom thou doest sell." Carry your doctor's phone number around in your pocket. When someone puts you down for your decision to have bariatric surgery, give them your doctor's number. Then that a**hat can call your doctor to tell him that he disagrees with the the doctor's diagnosis and treatment for your weight and health issues. You know they won't do it, but really, why do people feel so casual in commenting about anyone' health choices?