Luvin_Life125

I take 22 pills a day if you include my vitamins every day. I have divided my pills out so I don't make a meal out of them. Anything I could move to earlier in the day and take them in conjunction with my scheduled vitamins. I take all of my medications as whole pills and have since a few hours post op. I worked with my surgeon and primary care doctor to find a plan that worked best for me. Discuss this with your surgeon and see what they feel is best for you. Good luck!

Your surgeon should be used to it. I had 3 previous abdominal surgeries before my sleeve surgery. I warned my surgeon too and he kind of blew it off when I had my pre-op consult. However, my surgery was scheduled to be done in 90 minutes and ended up taking over 3.5 hours. My husband was really worried while he was waiting for me to get out even though I tried warning him before I went in. I got the last laugh when I woke up and found out how long I was really in surgery for. Lol, maybe they will start listening to their patients. The only effect my scar tissue had on my surgery was making it take longer. Please don't worry about more than you need to and it will all end up as it should be in the end. Good luck and we will make some room on the loser's bench for you.

Smooth move tea! You can find it at Walgreens near the laxatives. You can probably find it at other stores too. It works great and doesn't give me the crampy, gassy side effects other laxatives do.

I have been on Prozac for a few years and I am 5 months post op. My dosage hasn't changed in over a year , but I am planning on talking to my PCP about increasing my dose. I have chronic pain issues which mess with my head and have a direct effect on my weight. Our weight loss can have an effect on how antidepressants are metabolized. Definitely keep up regular appointments with the doctor prescribing your antidepressants to make sure you are still taking the correct dose and the dose that meets your current needs.

I never crushed any of my meds. They gave me my meds whole in the hospital within hours of my surgery. I suggest calling your surgeon's office and asking them when you can swallow pills whole again.

My gallbladder was out before WLS too. It doesn't create any concerns and is just one less thing to worry about post op. No problem at all!

I am feeling down today. I have severe chronic back pain and have had this for over 15 years. The pain finally got bad enough 3 years ago that I haven't been able to work since then. I have had the lowest pain levels in 4 years since my VSG surgery and I thought for sure I was finally on my way to getting my life back in all aspects. The weight loss helped immensely and I have been able to exercise, walk, and just live more of life that I have in a long time. My world crashed around me 3 days ago and my pain has come roaring back. I barely survived walking around an aquarium for 3 hours with my son's class and had to lay flat since I got home. I am back to maxing out my pain meds and they are only bringing the pain down a little bit. I am going to schedule a follow up visit with my pain clinic to see if we can mess with my meds to give me a bit more pain control. I guess I just need to vent a bit. I am afraid the sudden stop to my physical activity will halt my weight loss efforts. I am so afraid to lose all of the muscle mass I have worked so hard to build along with all of the physical conditioning. I am afraid the pain is back to stay again for years. I don't want to lose what little I have gained in the last 4 months. It would have been tolerable if I didn't have a taste of what life could be. Grrr, sorry for the downer everyone. I just am trying to sort the emotional changes from surgery and pain together and reconcile it. I may contact the shrink and see if they can maybe help me with the emotions, fears, and stress.

I am in a similar situation and losing slower than I would expect. However, my surgeon's office is thrilled with my progress. At my last body compositin analysis every pound I have lost has been fat and I haven't lost any muscle mass since surgery. The PT was amazed and said that rarely ever happens. So keep up the great work in the gym and know you are doing your body changes the right way!

Yay! NSV's are wonderful and inspiring. Congrats on your awesome weight loss before surgery! Don't worry about not changing clothing sizes much at this point. Plus size clothes are cut generously and usually have a lot of give in them. Also, I tended to wear my same size clothes even as I gained weight the clothes just gradually stretched with me. I started in a very tight size 22 jeans and it took almost 50 pounds before I was able to get into a size 20 jeans. It took so long because my jeans were so tight prior to surgery and I refused to buy bigger pants because I knew surgery was coming and I wouldn't be wearing them long. Secondly, I carry my weight around my middle which sucks for pants because even though my legs, butt, and arms were losing quickly, my belly and waist line didn't. I was stuck in my baggy jeans until I lost enough in my waist to be able to wear the smaller jeans. Hang in there and you will be dropping sizes soon. Keep up the great work and we will see you on the loser's bench soon!

My hope is it finds all the people who are cruel and degrading to the obese! Let them live in our shoes and see how horrible you already feel without their assistance!

Poor girl. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers. I really hope her surgeon will be able to quickly figure out why she is having such a rough time and how to fix it. My experiences with nausea and vomiting are they create a vicious cycle. I had problems with both of my pregnancies and ended up on a Zofran pump for about 4 months with my second pregnancy. I know can empathize with how she must be feeling. Once you start with the nausea ad vomiting it keeps getting worse unless you can get ahead of the cycle and stop it. She may want to ask the surgeon if she can be admitted to the hospital for fluids and IV medications to break the nausea and vomiting cycle. If the cycle can be broken in the hospital and she can catch up on fluids and nutrients through an IV, she may feel so much better in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, being severely dehydrated or malnourished can cause nausea and vomiting in some people. It may continue indefinitely until she is able to catch up on her fluids and nutrients. If her surgeon's office won't admit her for IV fluids, I suggest contacting her primary care. She has been sick for too long. Is she able to sip pedialyte? I suggest trying it whatever temperature you can until she finds the temperature that is the least offensive. The smallest of sips at a time may be the only way to get it in and keep it in even if it makes the nausea flare. I mix it half & half with apple juice and taking a sip only enough to barely wet her mouth at a time (about 1/4 tsp) and do it every 3-5 minutes. It will help her to get some of the electrolytes she is losing and the amount is small enough there won't be any measurable liquid in her stomach to vomit. Please keep us updated as to what her doctor says and I sincerely hope she feels better soon. She is a strong woman with a strong mom to support her. Be her advocate and push her medical team for treatment if they need prodding.

@@CanyonBaby Thank you for your compliments. I always try to help if I can because that is why we are all here. I have received so much support and help from these boards, I hope I can help others as much as I have been helped. THanks for the suggestion of looking into a compounding Vitamin shop. We are in a very rural location and the closest larger city is at least a 90 minute drive each way, and the Twin Cities are almost 3 hours away. Unfortunately, that kind of drive will limit my choices. I am going to search online though and see what I can find. It is always worth trying! And please don't worry about all of the crap. It is part of life and is much easier to go with the flow. I don't even think about it much, I would rather spend my time finding ways to streamline what I need and then forget about it. Life is much easier this way. I hope you have a wonderful day today also! It is rainy here, so it looks like a good day to clean out a closet or 2. My kids are outgrowing all of their clothes and it is much easier to purge their closet while they are at school!

Please don't ever worry about asking me questions. I am an open book and don't have much I am not willing to discuss no matter how personal. I have noticed much more acid problems since being sleeved. I have had pills get stuck at the junction of my stomach and esophagus causing major horrible acid back flow. It usually happens with my larger sized pills (ie vitamins, 40mg omeprazole, etc.). The only way I have been able to get the meds unstuck is by eating something followed by a lot of Mylanta. Before my sleeve I was able to take my medicines by the handful and never had a problem. Now I have to space them out and be careful of their size. The pills sometimes get stuck, sometimes cause reflux, sometimes feel like they are all stuck together and sitting like a rock, etc. the sleeve has definitely changed the way I take medication and how the medications affect my stomach. Fortunately, I haven't had any medicine thrown back at me yet, but I have always (since the sleeve) taken a few pills at a time and kept them spaced so there is less chance of them clumping up. No new ulcers that I know of either, but I have never had symptoms even when I have raging ulcers. I hope it helps to know you aren't alone. We each have to find a way to cope with our new body part.

I know how you feel about taking a lot of pills everyday. I take 16 pills a day plus my 6 calcium and 2 multivitamins. They are a meal in themselves I have really had to space everything out through out my day so I don't get full on pills and am able to only have a few at a time in my sleeve to help keep my absorption levels steady. It truly is a scheduling nightmare now that my rxminder app goes off every 90 minutes from 6:15 am until 10 pm. I am all for the cookie idea and would gladly buy them if it meant less pills!

No definitely not cheap compared to other things, but cheap for Quest bars. Since I am addicted to those delicious little packages of protein & fiber, I will take any break on the price I can get. my husband had a bit of a melt down the first time he went to GNC with me and I bought a pack. We then had a discussion about how much I don't eat anymore so I am still coming out ahead with my 1 Quest bar a day habit. I am a slave to my Quest bars and would seriously be sad if I had to give them up.

OOH, I forgot to mention if you shop through ebates, you can get 4% ($1.60) cash back on your purchase too! You can sign up for ebates through this link http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=HHtAraQnUqb6rcIupZstDA%3D%3D&eeid=26471 Please pm me if you have nay questions about the ebates program. It is legitimate and I have used it for a few years. To use both the 20% off and get the 4% cash back follow these directions. 1. go to http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=HHtAraQnUqb6rcIupZstDA%3D%3D&eeid=26471 and type drugstore.com in the search bar. 2. A new window will open for drugstore.com. 3. Come back to the original post in this thread and click on the link for the 20% off. Which will also open a new window. Close the newest window and return to the window the ebates website opened. 4. The 20% off coupon will be applied to the drugstore.com window. Search for Quest bars and proceed to purchase 2 12 count boxes of the flavor of your choice. 5. Enjoy your delicious bars when they get delivered! Yumm!

Thanks for sharing this deal! Great price!

calcium citrate is required by my bariatric program. I take the citracal petites I bought at WalMart. I have to take 2 tablets 3 times a day and have to be careful to space them out with my multi Vitamin twice a day too. I use an app called Rxmindme to make sure I space my supplements and regular meds out at the appropriate intervals and also so I don't forget to take anything. The app allows you to set reminders for many different things throughout the day. Since I have been using the app I have been so much better about getting all of my Vitamins and regular meds in every day and on time. Another great tasting calcium citrate chewable is the Bariatric Advantage calcium citrate chews. I have tried the lemon, raspberry, caramel, and chocolate flavors. The chocolate was the only flavor I didn't love. The lemon and raspberry reming me of extra chewy starburst. The caramel is a rich and creamy caramel flavor. You need to take 2 chews 3 times daily to meet the 1500 mg daily calcium goal. They are a treat to me and really help keep my cravings for chewy candy under control. I LOVE chewy candy and the Bariatric Advantage chews provided me "candy" 3 times a day! Good luck finding a supplement that works for you and meets your needs.

I don't mind answering questions at all. I am always looking for anything to try or new approaches. I will try just about anything if it has the potential to possibly help. I have been re-evaluated about 4 months ago. It included a MRI and consults with my primary care, pain clinic, a neurologist, and a surgeon. Unfortunately, the general consensus is I am not a surgical candidate because my spine is working hard on fusing itself and is steadily making progress. The thought is an auto-fusion will be so much better than the surgeon going in and breaking all the bone built up by my body and then turn around and fuse it surgically after all the trauma. I have a lot less chance of the pain continuing longer than 10-15 years if I let my spine continue. The fusion may leave me worse off long term. I am only 37 years old, which is a negative when considering disc replacement or any other devices/implants. I would need them to last for so long and unfortunately the technology hasn't advanced that far. The hope is eventually the nerves trapped between the bone will eventually die from lack of nutrition and constant inflammation. I have had over 40 steroid injections into my spinal canal over the last 12 years. They used to help a lot, but haven't worked much in the last 3 years. I had a spinal cord stimulator trial to see if it could potentially help alleviate some of the nerve pain. It didn't help the pain much, but made my leg even number and with less control than I usually have. They have tried radio frequency nerve ablation, but couldn't get to the part of the nerve causing most of the pain. We have been playing with medications for over 5 years and seen to need changing the meds every 5-7 months because I build a tolerance and start losing ground quickly. I just keep playing the game and buying time hoping we will find a combo that works for a while. We have looked at the sleep number beds and are seriously considering getting one. Thanks for the info on how much yours helps. We have a supportive inner spring with a built in memory foam as the top layer and it has made a difference. We are considering the switch though. I welcome any other suggestions or questions you may have. I really am open to any suggestion that I can discuss with my healthcare team. I am willing to try just about anything if it has potential to give me some of my life back.

My surgeon only had me do chewables for the 1st 3 weeks post op. I couldn't stand the bariatric chewable no matter which brand. I finally just went with Flinstone chewables. After 3 weeks to the day, I switched back to my regular swallowed Vitamin (GNC Women's Ultra Mega) twice a day. Calcium is a different story all together! I love the Bariatric Advantage calcium citrate chewables. The raspberry and lemon flavors remind me of starburst candy and actually help keep my sweet cravings at bay. The caramel flavor is also sinful. The only problem was the cost because I had to take 6 a day to meet my nutritionist's recommended amount. I now take the citracal petites, 2 pills 3 times a day. I haven't had any problems with the switch from chewable Vitamins. Definitely talk to your bariatric team and see what other choices they can recommend. You aren't the only patient turned off by the taste of the chewable. They should have other options you can try. Good luck finding what works best for you!

You can also use the wide variety of extract flavoring a available in the baking aisle at the grocery store. A very small amount makes a big flavor difference. It is an inexpensive way to expand your flavoring options.

My favorites are a cup of unflavored Greek yogurt, one cup of whatever frozen unsweetened fruit combo strikes my fancy that day, 1/2 cup of ice, and 2 tbs of ground flax for the Fiber and Omega 3's. You can toss in a half cup of spinach too for the extra nutrition and fiber. You can't taste the spinach at all, but it will turn your shake green. Play with your fruit combinations and have fun with it. The sky is the limit! My absolute FAVORITE is when I use 1 cup of frozen peaches and not just any peaches. We go peach picking every summer and those peaches taste 1000 times better than any peach I have ever found in the store. Once the fresh peaches ripen enough to be really sweet. I will then work to slice and freeze 1 cup servings in individual bags sealed with a vacuum sealer. Nothing tastes better in the middle if February when winter won't end and I open up a package of the peaches we picked over the summer. Find things you love and enjoy your fiber and Protein smoothie. You can always add a scoop of Protein Powder to add even more protein. Check out The World According to Egggface blog and her Pinterest page. She has a wide variety of recipes to try. Make sure you share any winners with us so we can give them a try too!

Lands End goes down to a 2, LL Bean goes down to a 4. They have some nice suits.I need to try lands end again! Used to use them just forgot! Lands end is my absolute go to for swim suits. They have suits with underwire and compression to keep the girls where they belong and the jiggles contained. They also aren't trying to show off everything I have and then some. Make sure you check for coupon codes. No sense paying full price if you don't have to!

Definitely learned a lesson here @@Luvin_Life125 I will certainly think twice before eating sweets. I hope you were at least at home when it hit you? The first time I experienced it was at Disney World waiting for a bus back to our hotel. It was the longest bus ride I have ever had and a long race to my room hoping I made it to the toilet in time. That would have been mortifying if it broke loose on a full bus. I didn't figure out what was going on after the first time because it had been a while since I had last eaten. Everything I read about dumping syndrome made it seem as if you felt the effects pretty quickly.

Hmm, most often I wake up on my side. I usually sleep snuggled up to a body pillow and that same pillow rests between my knees to help support the alignment of my hips. I will definitely try laying on my back and see if that might help some on the not pleasant days. Thank you for the suggestion! I am always open to trying new things. You never know if they help until you try.