LindafromFlorida

Never pureed anything. Ate soft foods, refried beans, the shakes of course, creamed soups, small curd cottage cheese, yogurt and broths. If we had a few bites of something, we chewed it to oblivion. I could not eat mush.

God Bless You Lisa, and your dear Bear. I know there are many of us who have gone through the heartbreak of losing loved ones, and it is the worst pain in the world. I know losing my 30 year old son to a heart attack and my sister to ALS, nearly destroyed me emotionally. Somehow you will get through these days ahead, only by the Grace of God and a lot of prayer and support. Hospice has been part of my family many times, and not just the end time, because 18 months they were my Mother's rock when my Dad had cancer. They offer so much help, especially with medicines, nurses, and even volunteer sitters on a weekly basis so you can leave your home for a short while. I think with your acid problems the fudgsicles probably help. You should try the knitting or crocheting as someone suggested, something to busy your hands and give you something mindless to do when you are sitting. We can be here for moral support when you need it. Hang in there. Big hug. Linda

I would recommend you not eat and lie down so soon. If you have dinner at 6 pm and go to bed at 10 pm, maybe the food has time to digest a little. Are you taking the Prilosec also? I am 6 months post sleeve and it was recommended I stay on the Omeprazole. Taking the vitamins at bedtime might also be bad. I would take everything earlier. Good luck!

Did not know what to look forward to but the biggest pleasure is shopping for 5-6 hours and coming home feeling good and happy. I am no longer gasping for breath because of fat and asthma. I no longer use inhalers. I no longer sit in my chair in front of the television all day. I am a shopping diva who no longer drives through Taco Bell.

People will never remember at a party or gathering that your skin sagged, they will remember you if you are smiling, friendly and gracious. My skin is very saggy now, and at 67 I was looking in the mirror in my bathing suit from behind yesterday, and giggled at the thought of going in a surgeon's office and saying I want a Brazilian Butt Lift and seeing his reaction! NOT! My husband whistles everytime I strut out in something new and I am loving it. Happiness is truly within.

I love the little hiccups and burps that tell me when I need to stop eating, before I get a feeling of being full. When I overeat, or when I eat too fast, I get that uncomfortable feeling and STOP eating. Only once did the uncomfortable feeling last overnight. I was at the hospital all day with a friend who was sick, and I do not get hungry. However, if I am sitting home bored, I want to eat. The only difference is I go get a SF popsicle or a few nuts. I no longer feel like I am depriving myself and I no longer head to Taco Bell.

You are trying to get healthy. Do not use diet pills for gosh sakes!!!!

Crystal Light, SF popsicles, SF pudding, a few Premier protein shakes in the carton for convenience, make Jello before surgery so it is there when you come home, and the broth. Take my advice and do not overbuy. I was told at 3 months post surgery to back off the proteins, and no more shakes. I have all these protein bars (I dislike them anyway), a couple cases of shakes, and protein powders. You might want to check out Torani SF syrups for your shakes pre and post surgery, to flavor your shakes. Also you can sprinkle Crystal Light powder in vanilla shakes. Good luck!

We also take all our pills without crushing, at least 12 a day including the supplements. The only thing I refused to swallow was the huge multivitamin, and I went with Source of Life Liquid Gold and it tastes awesome and my labwork has been excellent. You can swallow the pills easily.

Kamp, there is way too much to tell you in a post, but I would recommend that you log on every day until your surgery, you read and learn. Things will move pretty quickly for you now. Relax and before you know it you will be sing a new song. The surgery and recovery was 10 times easier than we expected. Had very little pain, and almost felt like "Did they really do the surgery?". The fear of the unknown was the worst. I over bought too much. You will get many recommendations for shakes, protein bars and protein powders. Buy 3-4 and try them all. Do not stockpile as you will end up with a lot of things you will not use. Best wishes, we will be your new best friends! Linda

I have been around longer than most. I learned quickly after surgery I am no longer a priority. I trust my gut instincts to get myself to the Emergency Room if I have a problem. Several calls to the surgeon got me nowhere, when I was scared. Take care of YOURSELVES. Please pay attention to this, especially if you are feeling frustrated with your surgeon. Their job is done. Make sure you have medical care.

Be patient. You will not be wanting bread for awhile I promise! You will be afraid but you can sample tiny pieces later on. I have not bought any bread since Sept. 2013 and it is my favorite thing in the world. Not worth the risk.

Boney? Dont'cha just love it! LOL. Good luck!

Do not be fooled. You will still feel hunger. I am not sure if it is real hunger or head hunger. I eat more than my husband and we were both sleeved. He has greater willpower than I do. I have learned that if I keep busy and do not sit around bored and snacking; I keep all bread, pasta, chips, etc. out of my house; I do not go to the grocery store with eating something first; I don't go shopping without eating first; that I manage quite well.

UH Mark, looks like you have a pretty good journey too! So proud for you!

Friends, I will be 68 in August. I was sleeved Nov. 18, 2013. I am down to 160, after my weight jumped to 230 2 years ago (the last 30 lbs caused by meds). I am off 1 BP med, off Metformin, off my asthma inhalers (I am no longer gasping for breath walking in my house). I shopped from 10 am today to 3pm. Had a salad with friends at lunch. Out of everything I would say the constipation was my biggest aggravation, now is that dang funny or what? Never had any real pain, nausea or vomiting. My only problem is gout, but I will take this hurting toe to all the fat I left behind somewhere. I was buying a 2X and I am in a ladies medium for the first time in 25 years. I have gone nuts over clothes and I am so well dressed. I refused to buy clothes before surgery because I was so depressed and would not look at myself in the mirror. I say it is never too late to add whatever years to our lives that we can. I am happy as can be!

You can do this for six months, or do nothing but eat for six months. Either way six months will pass. If you focus on the reward you will get at the end of six months I think you will find you can do this. My husband and I had three months wait and lost at least 20 lbs each, because we had a plan of action. It will be easier than you think. Start with a protein shake for one meal a day, and don't keep bread, potatoes and pasta in your house. Instead of going out to eat, plan your meals wisely. You can do this!

This will be a problem after surgery so you have to get used to it and experiment with different things. One taste of prune juice and it went down the sink. Finally at about 4 months it got better. Nothing seemed to work with me but I survived it lol.

We were all nervous. Only you can calm yourself down. Get busy and distract yourself. Clean your closet (I did lol!). I was 30 minutes from the OR and they were deciding I if I was too dehydrated. God is in control. You will be fine. God Bless!

I would say my advice is to keep your life simple. I have taken recommendations here and it did not work, because my tastes have changed so rapidly. If you keep the things you like stocked in the fridge, like cottage cheese (with SF Polaner jams), yogurts, Laughing Cow soft cheese, eggs, refried Beans, salsa, and other things, you can mix and match. I remember a lowfat homemade turkey chili at Christmas was my favorite meal for about 3 weeks lol. Now we are eating homemade guacamole, tabouleh, lentils, sauteed fresh fish, cole slaw, chicken or tuna salad, and see no reason to cook a meal because it would go to waste. As your tastes change, experiment. I was told at 3 months, no more shakes, that I was eating too much Protein which was not good for me. I have several cases of shakes, so don't overbuy. Also good advice is make sure you eat before you go shopping or to the grocery, and you will cut your grocery bill in half!

Nothing will cure our ups and downs, the blahs and the depression, not even the weight loss because we are the same inside our bodies. I know that people here cannot HELP me. There are days I am dancing. There are days I am sitting inside doing nothing, feeling sad. Surgery is not a miracle. It is up to me to snap out of these funks. I look better than I have in years, my husband and I have a new spring in our step, but...... I get the feelings I always had. I try to be supportive here. I hope the sunshine brings the best for all of us across the world, and I hope you all find a lake, a beach, a pond, some flowers, birds and much happiness!

Focus on living and doing something, not the scale. We all have had stalls, we all will continue to have stalls.

I take Source of Life Liquid Gold multivitamin since surgery, recommended by a compound pharmacist. My lab reports have been excellent. My husband and I were taken off Metformin at surgery 5+ months ago. You can swallow your pills easily. Get a pill cutter for larger ones. A pharmacist or your doctor can tell you if a pill can be crushed. We had no trouble swallowing pills, but that big multivitamin was one I was not going to deal with.

Be strong. God Bless.