Iambeautiful

@sassypants Wow you look great. you are an inspiration for me too. I am only just six weeks post op and my appearance has already changed a lot after 33 lbs loss. I have a big lower stomach and wondering how you lost your stomach...(sorry no offense intended... I have a smaller waist but a large lower abdomen from having children) Did you happen to have plastic surgery on the abdomen? I'm hoping I can get that done later when i lose my weight. What kind of diet did you stay on post op.... low carb? Thanks.

@livvsmum what has been your diet post op.... once you could have regular food. I'm just curious and ask this to the ones that have lost a lot of weight so fast like you. It seems the general consensus has been to stick to Protein and veggies and limit carbs...... I pretty much try to do the same.

I have CVS for my prescriptions and I was Denied...... Just for any one's info here...... My primary is Medicare and Insure wrote me immediately and said that Medicare does NOT cover these supplements. Bummer. It's all good thought because I am almost 6 weeks post op and really don't drink the shakes much anymore. I've never tried Premier Protein but i had their alternative in the hospital called Optisource..... I don't know if it was because i suffered with nausea so much in the beginning. but that brand tasted horrible to me. It is so thick and I remember it spilling on the bedside table and it was so thick that the housekeeping dept had a hard time with the clean up..... I had two of them to take home with me but could never drink them. Just the thought of that thick icky liquid make me nauseated. I gave them away. I would have liked to try the Premier Protein just to have them for when i needed to grab something fast to control my hunger if i was in a hurry but i have some powdered shakes here that is still have. Ho Hum..... Can't win 'em all..... I just feel so lucky that my surgery was covered.... by Medicare and my secondary..... I can't complain.

I couldn't get anywhere near that amount of Fluid in or Protein but also I was warned about getting dehydrated to I made a conscious effort to keep sipping on Water all day..... or broth.... the shakes count as liquid too. I still probably dont' get 64 oz in at five weeks post op..... somedays. But i try to do the best i can to get close to it.

Pedant.... :)

@@Steph W-O well you must be one of the very lucky ones I'd say. My experience is similar to the post here. After four weeks I finally felt close to normal again. You didn't say your age. I think the younger you are the faster you may recuperate and how healthy you were prior to surgery and your activity level as welll before surgery. I think the majority of people feel like crap for the first two weeks at least... I didn't have pain on the incision sites but my pain settled in my back for some reason...... Some of us have other health problems as well so everyone isn't going to be able to do what you did after surgery. It would be a miracle for me to have done what ou did with my pre existing arthritis which probably will improve greatly with a big weight loss. I am already moving better now that i've lost over 20 lbs.

@cherbear33 I was just wondering what your diet consists of ... Most people that lose a lot of weight fast seem to be staying on a low carb diet.

?@bagonian74 did you stay on a low carb plan to lose that much weight

@AprilHansen I had a gastric sleeve and had no problem with leaks. If that would happen it would be detected right after surgery as they did a special test on me the next day to check for leaks. They wheeled me down to XRay and had me drink a small amout of a substance that when swallowed would show a leak on Xray. I don't think leaks occur later on down the line from what i can tell. There are side effects and complications that could occur for any of the WLSurgeries. It's up to the indivuidual to do their research on all of the surgeries available and with the help of the medical team to make the right decision for them. I am happy with the gastric sleeve. No problems at all.

Nine pounds but I couldn't keep anything down for the first four days. I was on liquids only and couldn't deal with the Protein shakes too much.... I tried.

Look... don't feel bad. I too had trouble staying on the liquid diet and gave myself an off day or two on it.... I wished that i had been more strict with the diet for sure. I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia after surgery and wonder sometimes if I'd been 100% compliant with the two week Protein drink fast that the out come would have been better. Please try to stick with it as much as possible so you can have the best possible outcome from the surgery. Listen after surgery I didn't even want to think about food and you won't either. I have lost all my bad cravings now and feel in control of my eating for once in my life. You won't be physically able to overeat bellieve me! I eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food and I'm full.... Yes there is hope for you and surgery definitey helps...... just get back on track now and forget your mistake......

I think the bariatric advantage whey protein shakes are good too but they seemed a little bit too sweet for my liking for some reason..... the one I hate is Optisource and Isopure...... the liquid proteins are made from collagen protein and are horrible and is a much infrerior protein.

I used the low carb atkins shakes as well..... they only are good when served cold like most shakes. I've never tried the Premier Protein.... I tried to apply to get my insurance to cover them from Insure Nurtrition but i was denied..... they give the Premier Protein if you are approved... I got a generic brand from a Schnucks store here of Pure Whey Isolate vanilla protein powder and it's low carb and high protein...... you just got to look around. I like the vanilla because you can add flavoring to it. I was actually getting tired of the chocolate. Look online for the NOW products .... natural flavorings to add to anything that are sweetened only with Stevia so are very low carb and calories.... They come in all sorts of yummy flavors and very low calories.

I had my sleeve done laporoscopic surgery on Feb 26... I can hardly see the tiny marks from the surgery... I wouldn't even call them scars at all....... the only ones that are darker are the two tiny marks on my navel.... that really aren't noticable and even if i ever got thin enough to wear low wasted pants and short tops ( mid drift) exposing my abdoment people would probably just think that the marks if they are stil there on either side of my navel might be from a belly button ring piercing LOL...... My doc is an excellent surgeon .... he did a wondeful job and didn't make my abdoment look scarred up....

I am on phase 3 of the diet and was told that i could have toast or crackers. Now I am trying to really stay on a very low carb diet as that seems to be the best way to get a lot of weight off fast. I have read that the 0 carb bread does not affect the blood sugar or there is also a very low net carb bread as well. I've bought the bread form the store with a net carb value of 5gms per slice. Every once in a while I just crave a piece of toast with the PB2 or my homemade chicken salad with low fat and low carb dressing.

The sleeve Does NOT have malabsorbtive features. What it can do though is that if you drink high calorie high sugar drinks like shakes etc and things like kool aid and ice cream shakes. candy and any high carb liquids..... it will be absorbed completely and you WILL gain weight from this.

I was told to NEVER use extended release meds of any kind anymore after the sleeve..... even vitamins that are ex. release as well.

Agreed... We should listen to our medical team foremost in all things related to our WLS

The cure for diabetis is contigent on losing excess weight and keeping it off it seems. If you gain back 2/3 of the weight or more or less the high blood sugar can return at any time. This is not a permanent do nothing cure for diabetes...... I have read a lot about this already

I debated between the bypass and the sleeve and finally decided on the sleeve. It has less complications for the future in regards to possible nutritional deficiencies and risks of ulcers and hernias of the intestines. I found that the sleevers lose just as much weight as the bypass in the long run and actually have much less risk of stretching out the sleeve vs the pouch of the bypass imho. I personally didn't want the side effect of diarhea that a lot of bypass pts. endure. And it's a foul smelling diarrhea at that. I've seen bypass patients get very sickly if they were not careful and also notice that they age considerably in appearance afterwards from what I've seen I would never get the lapband.... Ive seen more failure cases than any of the surgeries. You know after a couple of years the bypass often stops working as far as the malabsorbtive feature goes. Be sure to read all you can about both surgeries. I know that complications can occur with any of these surgeries but inmo the sleeve is the safest. I think I made the right decision for me. What I love about the sleeve is that they take the portion of the stomach away that cause hunger hormones (Grehlin) They do not do this for the bypass. With both surgeries strict compliance is the key to success of course. I have also read that sleeve patients have also been able to be cured of their Diabetis. but if you happen to gain yur weight back after surgery the Diabetis will return again like it did for Carnie Wilson.

There are practically NO yogurts beside the plain unsweetened that would be appropriate to use post op. They all contain too many carbs and sugar. The plain greek yogurt is allowed but i find it to be more on the sour side like sour creme. I had to add Stevia to it and sugar free Jello to be able to eat it. The only one I could find that was not so high in Carbs was the Light and Fit brand of Greek Yoghurt by Dannon but not the one in the big containers but the individual containers or i serving size has about 7 grams of Carbs. I tried the strawberry and the vanilla is excellent. You could add flavorings in the mixture when you blend it. I'd add just a little milk to it but not too much to make it watery then freeze it. Take it out of the freezer after frozen then let it thaw just a bit to be able to get it out of the carton then put in blender and whip it up. It does taste good like frozen youghurt.... You WON'T find ANY ready made frozen yoghurt that is Not hight in sugar and carbs. I guess you could try the plain regular low fat yoghurt and it wouldn't be as sour and add your own sugar free flavors to it. Check online for the NOW brands of little bottles of all sorts of flavorings to add to anything and it's all low carb and low calorie and sweetened with stevia only. I am going to order some from the i herb website for natural foods. they come inall sorts of interesting flavors like pineapple, orange, strawberry, mango, blueberry, blackberry etc..... Enjoy!!!!

@Iamspecial http://www.insurenutrition.com/index.php also if you have had your tests done then Dr. Morales will go over the results and let you know if any other tests need to be done before surgery is scheduled.

Hi Iamaspecial Have you had all of your pre op tests done?? And will you have the sleeve or the bypass? The doctor will go over the surgery that you are having and be prepared to ask him any questions that you may have about the surgery. He will order more tests if he feels you need them after the interview. He probably won't be the one to schedule your surgery. Tha t will be done later. Make sure you follow all the instructions to the T. It's very important for the successful outcome of the surgery and afterwards. The nurse will tell you (or you can ask how long it will take to schedule surgery) Once they have a definite surgery date they will advise you when to start the Protein drinks. Be sure to stick with that as much as you possibly can. It's very important. I did NOT buy the shakes from the pharmacy. I bought my own shakes that were not Bariatric Advantage brand. The bariataric advantage shakes taste good. But if you buy them online I think they might be cheaper if you are on a budget. I used Dr. Atkins shakes and a generic brand whey protein isolate that I bought at Schnucks stores. You don't have to use the brand from their pharmacy. I hear Premier Protein is a good brand. You should check with the website "Insure nutrition" and see if your insurance will qualify you to get free shipments of Premier Protein Shakes and Vitamins. I did not qualify but maybe you would. it would be worth checking into. The application that you do online is painless and short and they will notify you quickly if you qualify. Good Luck....

@tjfergus@tjfergus I had the sleeve done in February. Dr. Morales is a wonderful doctor. He has a whole team that will work with you in his office. You will meet with a nutritionalist, a psychiatrist, and a nurse at first. Dr. Morales did such a great job with my surgery. He did my gastric sleeve laparoscopically and I have barely any traces on my abdomen of ever having surgery a month out. I have total confindence in this weight loss institute. They will walk you through this every step of the way and be there for you afterwards. Good Luck!!!!