juliedee

Not a "meal", but a great snack or to go with a meal... is roasted carrots in the oven with just a touch of olive oil/seasonings. You can then puree them if you want, but they are so soft after being roasted, that it's not necessary. My NUT said no raw veggies, but I was really wanting something... she said roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. are fine.

My puree stage specifically said no raw vegetables or big pieces of steak/pork because those are harder to digest. Ground beef, chicken, turkey & fish were all ok. My NUT also said that you didn't "have to" puree everything, such as the meat... you could chew it 30-50 times to make it mushy enough in your mouth to go down easily with no "chunks". And if you eat those meats, make sure you have some kind of sauce or liquid with them to go down easier. Some of my favorites during puree were roasted carrots in the oven till very soft, Beans, and ground beef w/ salsa & cheese. My NUT also said mashed potatoes were "ok" (not everyday though) & best if made homemade with chicken broth instead of milk. Those were some of my instructions! Good luck!

I am a little over 3 weeks post op & nausea has been a big issue for me off & on. It did get better once I started pureed foods a few days ago. I did not tolerate so much liquid on my stomach and the Protein shakes were NOT good to me. My dr did give me some prescription nausea medicine & that helped. And now that I'm eating a few solid (but pureed) foods, my stomach is feeling much better. The nausea still hits a little bit now & then, but doesn't last long at all... nothing like those first 2 weeks. Hope you're taking some anti-nausea meds, that's the best thing at this stage!

I was only in one night... out by noon the next day!

I'm 2-days post op (surgery was on Tuesday, 1/6). I didn't have any pain when I woke up. I was really nauseous, though. They kept me in recovery a little bit longer than expected to get that under control, but they did. When I got to my room, I slept for a bit and when I woke up, I felt "ok". Again, no pain (toradol is GREAT!), but very sore. After the first trip to the bathroom, and walked a lap in the halls, felt much better & only got better from there. Everyone's experience is different, but overall mine was pretty good. A little nausea when I woke up, but no pain. By the evening of surgery I was up & around & feeling pretty good. Now, the drinking part... when you sip, you feel it hit your stomach, and you get a little "twinge" that lasts about 2-3 seconds, but then it's gone. You get used to it, and today at 2-days out, it's much better. Don't stress over it, because the whole experience is over relatively quickly and the nurses will definitely take care of you. If you have nausea or pain, they will be prepared to give you something!

Try some of the "New Whey" liquid Protein... they are fruit flavored but not too sweet. BUT, the best part is 42 grams of protein in 3 oz! Lots of flavors to choose from, too.

If you need help eating slower, get the "Eat Slower"app on your phone/tablet & use that when you eat. You set the timer for however long you want to wait between bites, and then it gives you a signal when to take the next bite. Helped me to slow down a lot, even pre-op

I have this quote from Jillian Michaels taped to my fridge... "Think of your weight loss journey as a car. If you were driving along and got a flat tire, would you slash the other 3 tires and call it a complete loss? No. You would fix that one tire and keep going." – Jillian Michaels Helps me on the days I think I've "blown it"!

Hi! I got my surgery date this week for January 6, 2015. All approved & ready to go! I'm using the Wake Forest Bariatric Center in Winston-Salem, NC with Dr. "Fuzz" Fernandez. I highly recommend him. Everyone throughout this whole process has been great! I start my 3-week pre-op diet on Dec. 16, so I will be on it over the Christmas holidays & New Year's, as well as my birthday (Dec. 29). I could've scheduled a later date, but I'm really ready to do this. I can sacrifice this holiday season to make sure I start 2015 on my way to a better "me"! Overall, my experience has been a good one, no problems with insurance or any delays, other than my surgeon not having any openings left this year, so I'm his first one in 2015! I look forward to keeping up with everyone's journey and I hope we can all share our experiences during the process and offer each other some support. -- Julie

I have BCBS NC and I started my process in September and got a surgery date for January. I'm actually approved & ready to go right now, but my surgeon didn't have any more openings this year, so I'm actually his first surgery of 2015! BCBS NC has waived the 6 month supervised diet, but they told me that I had to use a Center of Excellence, which gave me 2 places to choose from. Now, the Center of Excellence I'm required to use did have some requirements before they submitted me to insurance for final approval. I'm using Wake Forest Weight Management Center in Winston Salem. They required 2 nutrition classes, meet with a psychologist, and meet with their exercise team. Then the surgeon required an upper GI first, but I'm sure any pre-op tests are depending on what your surgeon feels you need. I know others who have needed sleep tests or colonoscopy, but all I had to do was the upper GI required of everyone. I'm not sure if all Centers of Excellence across NC have the same requirements, but that was my experience. Overall, it was a quick process and I have had no problems at all with insurance. Now it just comes down to waiting for me, and I have to adhere to my 3-week pre-op diet over the Christmas holidays and my birthday! Good luck on your journey and I hope it is easy & quick for you, too!

I just had my upper GI today. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. The barium drink was not that bad. Just very thick and chalky, but didn't have a bad taste, just the consistency was yucky. The worst part for me was that they make you change positions constantly so it coats your stomach and they get different pictures at all kinds of different angles... standing up, laying down, rolling over, on your stomach, etc. All of that was hard when the barium is feeling so heavy in your stomach. I kind of felt sick to my stomach doing all of that, but again, nothing that was awful or unbearable. Just unpleasant and not something I want to do again! Don't stress over this test, it's not as bad as you anticipate, at least it wasn't for me.

I called yesterday, I am wanting to get the surgery before the end of the year. There's definitely no more 6-month supervised diet/exercise requirement! The BCBSNC rep read all the requirements for me, then I asked specifically about that, and was told it is not required anymore. YAY!