golden39

Completed! I love that you are doing this research. I actually took this today (after seeing it a few times in here) because I keep forgetting to take all my calcium - do good with my multivitamin as I made this part of my morning routine but the calcium I forget throughout the day. Would love for you to share your results when you get this all complete!

HI bettyblueberry Very normal on the gas - this well even refer pain up into your shoulders - you can try GasX strips - they helped me along with walking, walking oh.....and walking The feeling of your face getting hot is most likely hormonal or even blood pressure changes as your body is getting used to the difference in intake now (decreased calories, decreased salt etc). Make sure you drink your Water as this is very important. The number one reason for Gastric By-pass patients to return to hospital and get admitted is dehydration and this can make you feel like this as well. The cold thing is something that I experience almost all the time now - so weird as I used to be warm all the time (extra insulation ) and now I can hardly get warm - this must be the reduced calorie intake and my body conserving what is can for metabolism. Of course, as a nurse I always say....if the symptoms continue more than a day or so you should always check it out with your doc. They would much rather you call and check in then end up in the E.R! Congratulations and good luck!

Fatti - they won't let you drive home afterward as this can be a huge liability for the hospital. You will definitely need to find a ride home. I know that may be hard but you would be amazed at how people will offer to help if you let them know your need. My husband was with me but one of my co-workers offered to drive the 4 hours to where I was having my surgery and drive me home if he could not. MzBree - tons of good advice in here already. I am a nurse that went through this on July 14th, 2014 so have some advice from the medical side of me I asked for a Compazine patch to be placed before I went into surgery and asked for Zofran. I told Anesthesia that I get really sick with any anesthetic. They did exactly this. I left the patch on for 48 hours and had no nausea at all! It was the best thing. My doc does not believe in doing the Leak test so I was lucky - he does something during surgery for testing - you might find your doc does this. As to driving - just as everyone else said - you can drive if you are not taking narcotics - I drove during the day and let myself have narcotic pain medicine at night for the first week - this really helped. Also - be very careful to stick to the lifting restrictions - you will feel like you can do anything after about a week or two but the issue is you can get hernias from lifting related to where the sutures are. I kept forgetting and wanting to pick up my grandson (30 pounds) and had to mentally remind myself not to do this as I did not want to have a hernia repair on top of everything else. Best advice I got post-surgical was the Gas X strips as I was suffering - of course walking is huge in helping with this. Some have said these helped tons and I have seen some say they did not help much at all - worth a shot. Hope this all helps! Good luch - best thing I ever did!!

Really not a lot to suggest for water it is just one of those things you just have to do. I sort of have a schedule.. I have my protein shake on the way to work.. Eat my first meal when timing appropriate.. I then drink a 16 oz bottle of water before I can have my next meal.. Then a 16 oz bottle... Just keep rotating meal, liquid. I keep a bottle of water with me everywhere I go. It is a pain and I feel like my whole day is spent working towards my water and protein goals but I am getting them in

Yup weightloss4liss... It is all about learning as we go. I had BBQ'd chicken today but put some dressing on it to help moisten and that went fine

Katykate94.. I found refried beans to be a lifesaver.. Top with shredded cheese and fat free sour cream,. I made a pot of white chicken chili for my family and then puréed up my portion.. Great amount of protein and very tasty. I used the can chicken a lot.. Mixed with light miracle whip, mustard... Made chicken salad. Egg whites were a great reprieve.. Even could make up deviled eggs... Eat the centers and then mash up the whites.

I am only 6 weeks post op but really missing my morning Starbucks. I have been allowing myself 1 cup of coffee first thing in the morning and that is doing well. I know when Starbucks says their drinks are 'skinny' there is still probably a lot of sugar in them. Has anyone found a drink or version of a drink that is o.k for us RNy's to have that won't cause us to have 'dumping'?

Thanks so much everyone.. The cafe Mistro sounds fabulous. I also like the idea of using their web to build drinks.. Will try that for sure.

Had my first bought of nausea and vomitting yesterday. Note to self....never eating dry fish again!!! worse thing ever! It got stuck and then could not get relief for over an hour after throwing up a couple of times. Keeping meats moist is an absolute!

I am living by tracking my food on Fitness Pal mostly because I can see my Protein intake. If I have done well all day then I will let myself have something that is not completely protein for the evening meal (like a small amount of Pasta or grilled vegies). This has been very encouraging to me to watch my nutrition intake each day. I have started every morning with a protein shake (that I make from the unjury protein, ice, almond milk and some fruit) and then try to get my other Proteins in through food - I am thinking I might need to add another protein shake in near mid day as I am struggling to get it all in.

Weightliss4liss so glad you are feeling better! Sometimes you just need a little help getting over a hump ( ie. the meds)

Absolutely.. Anything you can see through.. I even picked up some Egg Drop soup and strained out the eggs.. It was a nice change. My nutritionist suggested having some apple juice diluted with water.. I made half and half and it was a nice change from the water

I did not start my shakes until the second week. I had only clear liquids for the first week. I had trouble with drinking my water cold for some reason so had to drink room temperature and very small sips. I took a couple of naps each day to help with my energy but then made sure I ambulated frequently to prevent clots and did my incentive spirometer for the first week

Oh wow Pixars.. I need to work on increasing!

Wonderful weightloss4liss... How are you doing today?

Julez.. The one tip that helped me tremendously was to get GasEx strips for the gas... I was suffering about day 3 and these helped so much.

Hi weightloss4liss... I think you should call your doc as you will become dehydrated very fast line this. The doc can call in a prescription for nausea medicines or others depending on the full extent of your symptoms. .. A small amount of nausea is normal but should not be affecting your sleep and you should still be able to keep some things down .

What daily protein have you all been getting in? I am getting about 60 - 70 grams/ day and wondering if I am still going to have trouble with hair loss.

KEdwards .. I actually did not have much pain at all as my PCA was started in the recovery room. I really was impressed. You might want to ask if they can so that for you. I also asked for a Compazine patch so that I would not have nausea and that ( along with Zofran) was amazing.. No nausea at all. I am a nurse so I knew to ask for this stuff but don't be afraid to ask Anesthesia for these orders !

Isykes6266 I have also had a pretty easy time. Doc sent me home with a Compazine suppository prescription that I have never used. I have been sticking exactly to the diet/ food stages as I did not want any complications that could delay my return to work. I have not tried anything real sugary as I don't even want to find out what dumping syndrome is like. Only thing I had was I am now intolerant to lactose which is not a bad thing. Since I have not had sugar I have really not had any cravings so that is good. Maybe you are just keeping to the rules and, rightly so, doing well!!!

Pixers... When I went for my 2 1/2 week check I had lost 20 and was worried that was not enough. My doc told me that 15-19 was average for that stage so it made me feel better. I am 6 wks Monday and am done 34 so you are doing great!

Oh man! My surgeon just said to my husband " Well, I got that ole band out". I'm glad it went well for you, I was afraid of leaks and the fact that he said that it was a double risk. but all I can do now is wait. He didn't put a time on it. Blackonyx... I am still doing great 5 weeks post op. No complications. I think if you follow all the precautions you will do very well.

Valiant .. I definitely had some cravings in the fluid stages. I tried to pick as many 'solid' liquids as possible.. Ie Jello, Popsicles to help fill me up.. Now that I am on puréed I work so hard to get my protein in that I am not getting hungry often .. Just keep looking forward as the purée stage really helps with hunger

Quest - that might actually be a cool idea...I cannot see why there would be a problem with that since it would be sugar free

Definitely not alone I am like you, nothing quite makes up for the real thing. I am waiting for the next stage and hoping I can have something like a big ole crunchy dill pickle