Skywalker

Anyone who knows the answer--I hear about a lot of restriction right after surgery. How does anyone get in the 30g of Protein they're supposed to have to recover?

Reading some of these threads makes me a little nervous. Some people describe the post-operative pain as torturous, and others say they snapped back pretty quickly. I like to think I have a high pain tolerance--I never stressed even over my worst contractions during childbirth--but it sounds like each operating is an individual experience.

Hi, I don't know much about Fisher or Colorado Surgical Associates, but I'm in Pueblo and having mine done through Dr. Snyder in Denver (www.denverbariatrics.com). I researched around a bit and he seemed to be the best, with reasonable prices. Upon researching a little more, I saw somewhere that his surgical center (Rose Medical) was also the only one with a rating of excellence in the state of Colorado. Greetings from a fellow Coloradan and feel free to friend me or ask me any questions.

Nice to meet you. I'm going in for surgery around that date too.

Hi Chris! My date is going to be around the middle of December too. I haven't really tried protein powders, but what I do like so far is this (carried at Costco): http://static.parastorage.com/media/86fc87_51262428d2ff4c028e3cafe534c8e72b.jpg_256 They have 10g of protein each and taste really good, like chocolate milk. I've tried Premiere Protein (30 g per shake), but it's disgusting and lumpy by itself; it's only tolerable when I put it in a blender with some milk and Splenda....

Hell yeah! Great job, this is so wonderful to see and encouraging (I can't wait to get mine)...

I don't know why you would want gastric bypass with these specs....you don't have a severe amount of weight to lose, and the sleeve ought to (easily) do the trick for you, without rearranging your insides and being a malabsorptive procedure.

I know, right? It's like, duh. I was hoping the medical insurance companies would piece that one together. Obesity can cause blood clots also, like the one my husband was hospitalized with a couple years ago, to the tune of $30,000. They really should more thought into these procedures as preventative, rather than cosmetic or experimental.

I feel pretty gross and bloated tonight. I've been really good on the pre-op diet and am not having alcohol/soda/caffeine anymore, but feel I might be gaining weight anyway. I don't know why. The appearance of new red stretch marks reaching up to my breasts has shown itself. I hope the lackluster results I am seeing now are for dietary habits a few months back because my body's recent response to better eating seems to be really discouraging. This is the exact thing that caused me to fall off diets again and again--hard effort with no or negative results. I just don't understand it.

Thanks for the tips; the scale at home says I've lost approximately 5-8 lbs since I started the nutritionist diet last month.......maybe the stretch marks that are reaching upwards are from a few months ago? I'd noticed them in a hotel mirror (not my normal at home mirror)

According to my bariatric surgeon, it's possible. I asked them the same question, i.e. "If I have 80 lbs to lose, does that mean I'm going to lose only 40 to 50?" She just smiled and told me that most of their patients lost 80-100 lbs within a year (so 100% or more of excess weight), and the nutritionist who told me this was downright scrawny herself. I hope, like you, that they're correct.

Was wondering about alcohol use and surgery/anesthesia. What is generally considered the rule for drinking when waiting to get surgery? Omit all alcohols or just certain types? Restrict intake to a certain level or cut it out completely? I enjoy a couple glasses of wine a few nights a week, but I can cut it out if necessary. I had read something that it is good to stop all alcohol 3-8 weeks before surgery as it can affect anesthesia, but I don't really know. I just want to be as safe as possible. (And obvious yes, I understand there would be no alcohol 48 hours before and after surgery, but I was looking more at long term use rules)

Have no surgery scheduled yet, just over halfway through the six month approval process. Was hoping to get it this fall.

I mean no offense with this question, so no one please take it that way, but I've been reading a lot about extensive diet restrictions, both before and after the surgery. Some examples are (1) Don't have Fluid with your meals (2) Don't ever have sweets again (3) For that matter, don't have Cereal and have fruit pretty sparingly. The push is Protein, protein, protein. So my question is (again, no offense to anyone, because I just want to understand)--wouldn't these extreme dietary restrictions work without the surgery? What is it about the surgery that makes the weight loss a done deal, since a person is already radically changing their diet (in other words, what is the point of the surgery, or what does it do for you that you couldn't naturally do for yourself?) Thanks in advance for feedback...

In regards to the skin sagging (or stretching), I've heard that using a lotion with Vitamin E helps, especially since it's supposed to be good for skin elasticity. I might try it.

Sorry to butt in, but some of the numbers in this thread confuse me. Namely, the 600 calorie and the 5,000 calorie....are you guys serious? That's two extreme ends of the spectrum. Once upon a time, I was on a 1,000 calorie diet a day and lost weight to where I was 92 lbs once; my family worried I was anorexic (that's the key word in this sentence, with that little calories). And then, the 5,000 calories; I don't think I could get that many calories in now. How is it a post sleeve person can fit in 5,000 calories? And are you guys absolutely sure the post sleeve diet could dip to as little as 600 calories...that seems significantly under a healthy range for weight loss.

gogogirl--Interesting. I was wondering how something could be a "slider" when your new stomach had a finite amount of space anyway. And like I mentioned, when I get so thirsty during a meal, I often keep eating the meal just hoping to get some Water out of it. The fullest I've ever felt (prior to surgery) was when I would have two California rolls/sushi and several glasses of water--very full feeling. McButterpants (and anyone else)--in regards to smoothies, I know there are the homemade kind, and then the sweet kind (like you might have made for you in an ice cream shop). Usually when I say smoothie I mean when you take home ingredients and mix them--such as milk or water, fruits, and some Splenda. Is this the kind of thing you guys eat?

I'm truly sorry to hear about your family/friend deaths, Linda. I can't even imagine losing a child, although my aunt did (in 2000, her son died of massive heart attach at age 52). Not to put down anyone's story, but probably what hit me the hardest was losing my cat/companion in 2009. It was probably his time--he was around 19--but I grew up with him and was closer to him than most of my family. Honestly, the only person I've ever loved more than him was my daughter.

So would you say Water with meals slows down the rate of weight loss, or stops it all together? Another thing the nutritionist said was to strain the water out of Soups (and, newsflash--if you strain the water out it's not soup, it's soggy vegetables so you may as well never have soup again) Do any of you, post sleeve, have anything like fruit smoothies or ice cream (which are impossible to separate from their water)?

Sorry to drop back in after several days......so having hypothyroidism (controlled by medication) is not a contraindication for surgery?

My mom and aunt swear by him, but Oz always seemed kind of like a running infomercial/medical prostitute to me.

I thought this was interesting. A Stanford study (from a few years back) concluded that those who lost weight via WLS tended to have a moderate weight loss "halo" effect on their family members as well, even if they didn't get WLS: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8831352/Anti-obesity-surgery-causes-family-halo-effect.html

That sucks doesn't it? My husband only had to put out a modicum of effort and his weight would come off on Weight Watchers; it would make me so frustrated. I would be hungry, logging everything, and my weight would come off like 0.5 lbs every two weeks, if that.

I can kind of see both sides, but sorry she's not more supportive. I took a look at your BMI, and you'd think she would be a little more concerned about your health (rather than her food selection) at almost 300 lbs. I don't know if maybe there is a way you guys could compromise, like she puts her treats in a locked/secured drawer in the fridge or cabinets so you couldn't access them?