highdesertblue

Doctors in other specialties don't always understand Bariatric surgery. I put mine off for years because my gastro-enterologist (sp?) said I wasn't a good candidate! I've had two bariatric surgeons from different practices say I am a good candidate. I didn't see that he said it was a bad move for psychological reasons, so I would see what the bariatric surgeon says, and get the psych eval from a psychologist who deals with bariatric surgery. I used to feel guilty getting second opinions, but now I stand up for myself. best wishes to you on your journey!

My surgery is Mar 18. It really was true that after the first few days, it got easier for me. The first day or two, I was happy to have a chewable multi-vitamin, and calcium chews! I am making my protein drinks the way Bariatric Foodie suggests. She is on Facebook and has a blog. I have a Ninja blender and any blender that really chops up the ice well will work. I add the liquid first. (I use lowfat milk). Then I add the powder. Blend it really well, up to two minutes. Then, add enough ice to reach the top of the blended mixture. Anywhere from 2-5 ice cubes does it for me. I pulse/ blend it for almost two minutes and I get a thick, milkshake drink. I use Bariatric Advantage because that is what my surgeon recommends, but I have other types of protein powder, too. Bariatric Advantage is thicker than other brands. If you have another brand, and want it thicker, you can add some sugar-free, fat-free pudding (dry) when you add the protein powder. Wait about five minutes or so after blending and it will thicken up. You can add all kinds of extracts to change up the flavor. I also use PB2, the powdered peanut butter for a change once in a while. To be honest, I actually crave my shakes now. The main thing I've learned so far, is that i like my drinks cold! If I use a shaker bottle, I add a couple of ice cubes, and it tastes much better. At night, if I want a pudding, i add half the amount of milk and a tablespoon or so of the sf,ff pudding powder in a shaker bottle. I put it in the refrigerator for about ten minutes to thicken it. i've even added sf ff whipped topping for a change of pace. I keep track of my calories for the day, and don't go over the 1100 that i'm allowed. Sorry that I wrote a "novel' here, but I like to share what is working for me!

Ugh!!! I have faithfully followed the pre op diet, got rid of all the extra food in my house, and now, a few days before surgery, I got a call saying they have to postpone. The doc will be out of town right after my original surgery date. The lady who called said it was her mistake. She said I only have to go back on the diet three days prior to the surgery since I've lost weight. So now what? I'm disappointed, frustrated, confused about what to buy or eat. The protein powder and vitamins are SO expensive, it going to be hard to fit more food, or more protein stuff into my tight budget. My poor husband has been living on TV dinners. I know its just a few more weeks. sigh.

My doctor included any notes he had about when we discusses my weight. That was good for my insurance (a Medicare Advantage company), but they wanted to go back a year. I hope things go smoothly for you!

Maybe I am just looking for a little sympathy, but I just found out that the surgeon's office lied to me when they rescheduled my surgery. I was originally scheduled for tomorrow Mar. 3 (my birthday is today, so it was like a birthday gift to myself). I even found someone on Bariatric Pal having surgery with the same Dr. on the same day March 3. My surgery was supposed to be at 8AM, hers at 10:30. I bought the expensive Protein powder that the doctor recommended, and really stuck to my two week diet. I got a call Thursday saying the doctor would be out of town, so they had to reschedule my surgery for Mar. 18th. Today, I got a message from my surgery friend asking if I am OK. She got a call today, moving her surgery up from 10:30 to my former spot at 8AM. She thought maybe I was sick or had some other reason to cancel the surgery. Obviously, the doctor is not out of town, because he is performing surgery tomorrow. I got bumped for some other reason. I feel sick, deceived, angry. I suppose it is normal to question whether having surgery is the right thing to do. I spent a day really questioning whether the delay was really a sign that I shouldn't go through with the surgery. Is my life really going to be that much better? I have serious back pain. My disks are gone in my lower back, and I have tons of arthritis. My sister, who has never been overweight (and is younger than me) has the same back problems. I just found out that her most recent treatments haven't been helping her back. It's taken me a long time to get up the courage to have surgery. My main motivation is that I can get surgery that would possibly fix some of my back issues. Sometimes, my insecurity sets in. Maybe I am not worthy to get the surgery. Did I get bumped for someone more important? If the doctor's office lied to me about this, should i trust them to open me up, and perform a major surgery/ (I am having an open revision of a surgery from 25 years ago).

I was the first on the schedule. I am calling in the morning, but the scheduling person is hard to reach.

What??? I am fine. Ashley called me Thursday from Dr. Juarez's office and delayed my surgery until Mar. 18th! She said Dr. Juarez was cancelling all of his surgeries this week. Sending prayers and good thoughts your way. I'm sorry I won't get to meet you tomorrow.

Prayers fro success to you who are having surgery this week! Mine is delayed to Mar 18, but my thoughts are with you!

My husband decided to cheer me up and take me to lunch, since I can eat regular food for a while. I was only able to eat about a third of my lunch. Saved the rest for later. I decided to partially stay on the protein drink diet, and have one meal a day until it is closer to surgery. I don't want to go through "withdrawals" from sugar and processed foods again! I'm sure everything will work out for the best, and really, there isn't much I can do to change the surgery date!

@@StephanieM I am so excited we are having surgery the same day!!! We will have to get together at the hospital after we are up and about! My surgery is at 8:00.

Congratulations!!!

Well done! I will share it. It is interesting that people consider obesity a lifestyle choice. Perhaps they choose that idea for things that they choose not to understand. I remember the term lifestyle choice being used for human sexuality, when now most people recognize that love is more than that.

The surgery may resolve it. I developed it after a weight loss surgery in 1989. As long as your surgeon is aware of it, he or she should be able to help. There is medicine you can take, but the one I had made me too sleepy.

I'm having a revision on Mar 3, but I did lose a LOT of hair the first time. It grew back. Surgery shocks your body. Then the rapid weight loss disturbs your system more. Really keep up with your Protein. Biotin, and just all of the Vitamins in general will help some. Use shampoos that don't leave a waxy coating on your scalp so the new hair can grow in easily. A few people might not experience the hair loss, but doing what you can to ensure healthy regrowth is worth it.

I get sick of all the sweetness, too. I add lots of ice and put it in the blender, or use more liquid than recommended so it isn't quite as sweet. Best wishes for success.

Congratulations to my fellow March surgery pals! My date is Mar. 3. I started the pre-op diet yesterday. So far I am doing well. I had pre-op testing with nothing to eat or drink until a little past noon yesterday. The upper GI was last, so maybe the barium drink had me feeling full, but I wasn't really hungry last night. So far today I am doing fine. I can have 4 meal replacement drinks, or three drinks and 1 high protein protein bar each day. I can have sugar free jello and popsicles, but not red ones. I can have broth, and the flavored non calorie water. So far I had one Popsicle. They say the first 4-5 days are the hardest. i had my mind set on the pre-op diet before I started it, and started replacing a meal or two each day with the protein drinks so it wouldn't be so hard. Best wishes for success to you all!

@@kcadoret If you can go on a pre-surgery trip, I say go and have fun! Just so you can stay on your diet, what's the harm? It will take your mind off everything.

We do not have a support group in our county. It is at least an hour to drive to the closest support meeting. I LOVE Bariatric Pal, and come to this site almost daily. I am seriously considering starting a closed support group for people in our county. Any advise or warnings would be appreciated. I hope this will eventually lead to a live support group, too. I would want to share experiences, web sites (like this one), and so on.

Tucson has face to face support groups. They aren't affiliated with bariatric Pal, but a monthly F2F meeting in addition to all the amazing support on Bariatric Pal might be helpful to those of you in Tucson They have a Yahoo group- TUCSON-Southern AZ WLS Support Group-The online group mostly posts information about the meetings. It isn't really an online support group. I live near Sierra Vista, and we need a support group here, as well. I am going to try a Facebook closed local group and see if I can get enough interest. I will recommend Bariatric Pal frequently. My goal is to start a F2F group locally.

@@StephanieM let me know when you get your surgery date. I hope it is soon!

@@bellabloom, if you still aren't convinced you are living in an abusive situation, I beg you to look up and read signs of abuse. Here is one web site; scroll down for a checklist http://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/domestic-violence-and-abuse.htm

I live about three hours away from Phoenix, @@StephanieM, and I want to take the 201 class on the same visit to PHO (on Feb 17 ) as the pre op. testing. I'm not able to attend the Feb 11 201 class because I have a prior commitment. Did you get your insurance approval yet? They called me 3 business days after my insurance approval.

Has anyone with type 2 diabetes had sudden drops in blood sugar on the pre-op diet?. I don't officially start my pre-op diet until the 17th, but I've been replacing lunch with a Protein drink. About three hours later, my blood sugar drastically drops. I've cut down on my metformin to see if it helps. I plan to call my pcp if it continues. I'm happy that it might be a sign that I can go off my diabetes meds after I lose weight, but concerned about how I will make it through the pre-op diet. A plus-since I've been trying to eat healthier, I'm craving protein, and my cravings for sweets aren't quite as bad for now. I don't know if that will last!

Can you have sugar free popsicles or sugar free Jello? My surgery date is Mar. 3 and I don't start my liquid diet until Feb. 17, but I plan to stock up on the popsicles and jello.