Miss Mac

Oops for my typos. I can spell, but I cannot type.

I smell money $$$$$$$$. If not in comps, then in punitive damages. When you write your complaint letter, threaten to contact the media, the FAA, anyone with clout, and let them know that you should have not been singled out that way. If you do not remember the emplyee's give the best description you can, with airport, flight number, etc to be as specific as you can. Good luck, and this may at least be worth a free flight in the future.

My year is coming up in December, too. So far I have had two blood tests done. In the first, I was low on B12. The doctor started me on Bariatric Advantage AE, which is a huge stinky horse pill that I crush and drink with cherry or strawberry Jello Water. The second blood test (last month) showed everything where it needs to be. But since you mentioned nerve issues, I will be aware for that. I already have sciatica and nerve damage from a botched knee replacement, so I will really have to pay close attention for anything different. Thanks for the heads up. I wish you good luck and good health.

I bought a variety of Syntrax nectar online from www.bariatricchoice.com. The powders mix up better than some other brands I tried, but they also have ready to use Protein beverages and other bariatric products, too. My favorite was the fuzzy navel.

But in Chicago, today is Sunday. Oh well.

If it walks, talks, and smells like a Monday....it must be Monday.

Not sure if my surgery was robotic, but my surgeon teaches robotic and gastric surgery at Loyola University Medical Center, so it may have been. I had a textbook recovery with no complications.

Oh RJ, I am so sorry that a** was so cruel to you. Check out this website: http://www.bariatricgirl.com/2014/05/what-wlsfa-org-is-all-about-saving-lives-one-grant-at-a-time/ and see if these folks can help you with a grant for the surgery you need. They help with plastics as well as bariatric surgery. It would be worth having to tell your story one more time. I know that eventually a person gets tired of being strong. I wish you were my neighbor so that I could come over and give you a big hug.

Nope. I am nine months post-op and down 65 pounds. I have several neuropathies due to a 14 herniated discs, and I have had three others repaired. My spine surgeon said that he wanted to see if losing weight would take some pressure off of my vertibrae. It has not yet, but he is still optimistic about it if I can lose another 40 pounds. If it does not improve after that, then I will have a second spinal repair and get a full lumbar fusion (the one with anterior, posterior and lateral incisions and rods and screws). So, yeah, I am with you in hoping that losing weight will improve neuropathies. I do feel better in other ways; enough to keep hope alive.

Sorry for my typos. I am a little medicated tonight. Better living through chemistry.

Keep in contact with your insurance company. At my final surgeon's appointment, I was told my packet would be submitted that day. I called the doctor's office two days later to inquire as to whether or not my packet was on it's way, and was told that it was. When I asked if I was approved, I was told that the insurance co-ordinator would be on vaccation for two weeks and no one there would know until she returns. So........I called my case manager that I had with my insurance company for other major health issues, She looked it up in their computer and said it was approved immediately. I asked for an approval letter for my own files. Two days after that, I received it, and it said I had five days of hospital stay approved for my surgery. When I called the doctor's office to tell them that I am indeed appoved, and if I sent them acopy of the letter I could set a date. On the approval letter, it did have the five days listed for my hospital stay. So, I called the doctor's office back and got my date a week sooner than if I had waited for the co-ordinator to get back from vacation. The date was in the time frame listed on the letter.

I am one of the fortunate few who has not had significant hair loss. However, I did have some pretty rough skin and fingernails from months three through six. I did keep up with 80 grams of Protein, 80 ounces of Water and approximately 800 calories. That's been hard to balance, but hadpaid off. My bariatric physician did not recommend Biotin, but I bought some at Walgreens and take 20,000 mcg per day. Has it helped? I don't know, but I wouldn't want a do-over without it.

It surprises me that since the surgeon was so closely affiliated with the hospital that all of the patients in his data base haven't been contacted and given options on how to proceed. For a hospital, time is money, and the longer they wait to replace this guy, the more patient revenue they will lose. Definitely work your way up to the top to demand a resolution. Delay is not denial.

Thecurveyjones said what I was going to say. Surgery during your cycle may actually be to your advantage, especially regarding your cramps. You will be on strong pain meds in the hospital, which take a couple of more days to wear off. I had IV morphine which was not removed until day two. After that, I had pain pills (hydocodone) to take home which I only used until day five, then all was right with the world. I had a catheter which was inserted after I was out cold, and then it was removed a four or five hours after I came around (when they were sure I could get up and walk). A medical professional should be used to the sight of blood - geeze louize.

Being retired was a huge post-op advantage for me because I was able to recover without worrying over a work schedule and dealing with people all day. At nine days out I was on purees and transitioned to soft foods at fourteen days through twenty five days. At that point I was permitted to adventure carefully back into cooked whole foods chewed well. I waited another month before eating raw veggies and fresh greens. By nine days I was not taking naps, but was really exhausted at bedtime and slept well. I was no longer constantly nausous, but I was still using the patch that goes behind your ear, and taking an anti-nausea pill every morning plus a PPI (Omeprozole). If you are going back to work at nine days, just be sure that you have Water bottle handy so that you can sip throughout the day. Protein shakes will be your new best friend even if you don't appreciate the taste. Adding a little bit of pureed fruit or vanilla and a sweetener may help. You can alternate between standing and walking and leaning on your desk. Take advantage of every opportunity to rest for a few minutes. I would think that if you have a textbook recovery (no pun intended) you could work at a teaching job so long as you are not the gym teacher.

Stay with your team's plan. My schedule was accelerated, in complete opposite of those who had theirs completely drawn out. Even though you are anxious to move on through the different stages, bread and cheese are not pureed foods. Bread can be a slippery slope for sure. In my previous pre-sleeve life, I could eat my egg and bacon for Breakfast AND four slices of buttered toast with jelly. If there were potatoes in the house, I would not eat anything else until they were all gone. The same went for anything made with noodles or macaroni - not to mention the butter and salt that goes with them. Yesterday, my boyfriend made meatballs for the first time since my surgery (nine months ago today), but he made no spaghetti. We had them with maranara sauce and a little fresh grated parmesan cheese with some green Beans on the side. It was then that I realized that it wasn't the Pasta that tasted good, it was the stuff we put on it....so, I do not miss the pasta anymore. Do your best on introducing foods back into your menu so that you do not fall into those old preferences that got you in a mess in the first place. When you do go into purees, you do not have to eat baby food. You can take any healthy food item that you are allowed and put it through the blender to make it mushy. Be careful, and congratulations on making the decision to have your surgery. I wish you good luck and good health.

Welcome to the forum. You will have amazing non-surgical victories as you go. We call them "NSV's"......things like being able to trim your own toenails, tie your own shoes, run for the first time in years, or getting into a lower size that you haven't seen since you were 20. Keep in touch and visit us often. Congratulations for taking control of your health and happiness.

So.....you were up thinkin' when you ought to be sleepin' I called my insurance company two days after the doctor's insurance coordinator submitted my packet. I had already been approved! Then I called the doctor's office, and was told that they had not heard anything yet, and that the coordinator would be on vacation for two weeks. A couple of days later, I received in the mail a letter of approval from the insurance company and a guarantee of approval for five days in the hosptal, if needed. I faxed that letter to the doctor's office and got a call that afternoon to schedule my appointment. All of that was done before the coordinator even had time to put her sun lotion on!

Mine did arrive a while back and I fogot to follow up on my post. So far I have added cherry to vanilla shakes, as well as adding the orange creamsicle. I tried pina colada in vanilla yogurt and was neither disgusted nor impressed. Was it worth the money? No, I don't think so. They are OK, but not any better or worse than cheaper products on the market.

I found a website for a company called Cappella Flavor Drops. They make 50 flavors of unsweetened drops that you can add to Water or your shakes. These are the flavors I bought, but they have so many others: Cola, Cherry Cola, Peach, Pina Colada, Concord Grape, Boston Cream Pie, Apricot, Orange Creamsicle, and Cherry. I paid $32.90 plus postage for seven flavors. I am hoping the cola flavors will help with the absence of soda pop. I was thinking with the plain cola flavor I could add a slice of lime for that Lime Coke flavored. When they come, I will let everyone know if it was worth the money. If you want to check them out, they are at capellaflavordrops.com

Hey there, Indigo1991, Wouldn't you just love to confront her and ask her how long she is going to wait before she gives up and moves on to spreading viscious gossip about someone else?

A couple of weeks, here. TMI?

When I was a new bride in 1971, I was still suffering from anorexia. If you click on my little picture and go to my gallery, you will see in my wedding picture how absolutely boney I was. This was intentional, because if you look at my family picture you will see how heavy everyone else was, and I did not want to be big too. Later in life the pounds multiplied to the point that I had bariatric surgery last December. One of the challenges that I have had post-op is exercise bulimia. The original poster reminded me of that by mentioning how she is beating herself up over losing conrol over the week-end. My dear, I so understand how you feel. With exercise bulimia, I feel the need to punish myself with exercise to burn up every calorie I eat. When I hit a long plateau it's even worse because there is no tangable result for all the hard work of measuring and weighing food and then exercising every day. For anyone who calls this the easy way out - I would like to smack them upside the head. Our post-op lives are a job in themselves. Every day can't be perfect. You are not the only one struggling to find the balance. One thing I like about this forum is that we can open up and confess or rant and then feel like someone is really listening to our exaspirations and successes. Jessiqoi, hang in there. As you progess through this journey you will become able to help those who come behind you. This is a wild ride. Even though opinions and tact vary, there are friends here.

My weight loss slowed down at around six months. I have been on a plateau for weeks, having lost the same thwo pounds about ten times. Geeze Louize. I do not want to stop at 172 because my goal weight is 135. Just hang in there with me, we will figure this out.

How much longer will you be on clear liquids? No wonder you are running on empty if all you have had is clear liquids to this point, I came home on day three with permission to start full liquids. By day twelve, I was starting purees. At three weeks I was on soft foods, and at four and one half weeks I was allowed to cautiously start whole foods. Hopefully your doctor will let you transition soon. I know some other people on the forum proceeded slowly through the different stages, so you are not alone. Sleevarilla is right, though, about the possibility of head hunger, thirst, or acid upset. Keep your fluids up to as much as you can tolerate. After the first week, I was told to drink 80 ounces of non-caloric fluids a day for the rest of my life. It seemed impossible at first, it is not so hard now at nine months out. When you get to purees, you could buy baby food, but you can just as easily make your own stuff and put it in the blender with a little broth. It's cheaper that way and you can control the ingredients. Once you get past your first month, you will have the hang of it all and be on your way to success. Hang in there!