Djmohr

@@HanSolo1977 Good luck tomorrow! I hope you have a safe and speedy recovery!

It is definately the nerves that were severed during surgery. I itched like crazy for both my bypass and my plastics.

Yes, you can get 4 packs at Walmart and some Walgreens stores. At costco, you get 18 per case instead of 12, they are 24.99 right now which I believe is 5.00 off but that changes back to 29.99 at the end of August.

@@SalOdyssey It's fun! It's like dreaming........until of course surgery day and the few weeks following. You are still excited but ouchy.......all those big incisions are worth it but annoying. LOL My arm incisions are itchy today!

Yes and it is normal and as time goes on it should be better for you. In the beginning I could only tolerate fish and very juicy chicken. I was about 8 months post op before beef really became good for me. I started with Filet Mignon (I know, poor me right? LOL). I eat my steak med to med rare and more done than that and it's too dry. After filet mignon started working for me, I tried lean ground beefs again and low and behold I could eat them. I also eat very tender cuts of stew meat in stew and soups and my pouch is very happy. It also took me a while to tolerate shrimp but I love it now. Pork.... Can still be tricky. It has to be tender and very juicy so I buy a lot of pork tenderloin and cook them to just done. If they are dry I struggle. Chicken and turkey as long as it is very moist. If it is dry I cannot handle it. It feels like it gets stuck. I have also had very tender corned beef, brisket. I cannot eat eggs still but keep trying. I actually get ill from them. I tell you all this because I am nearly 2 years post op and still work hard at eating my meats. I could tough meats in my instant pot until they literally fall apart. It makes me very happy!

@@mbnurse It is strange how things change. I am with you, the only thing I tolerate and tolerate well is premier Protein chocolate. Everything else is too sweet or gritty or smelly.LOL Before surgery my surgeon had me on carnation instant Breakfast. YUCK....talk about too much sugar.

I have to say, the only Protein in can tolerate is in the form of a ready made shake. Premier Protein (chocolate). It has 30 grams of protein in 11oz. 1 gram of sugar and 160 calories. I spent so much money on protein powders before and after surgery and just gagged on them until I found premier which I still use today 2 years later. I am picky with protein.....the only shake I really like is the chocolate. I have tried the vanilla and strawberry but they are a bit too sweet for me.

I lost 13lbs in 10 days following the liquid plan. Your surgeon is likely comfortable with this but the question is are you? I would call them and ask your question directly just to give you peace of mind. Honestly, many surgeons require the liquid diet for a much shorter period of time than mine. Then again, I met my plastic surgeon on Monday and had my Brachioplasty on Thursday. Had I had the chance to have my bypass long before I did I would have jumped at the chance. That's just me but I have had a lot of surgeries in my life so I was comfortable with it which is what matters. Are you comfortable? If not, take the original date.

The other thing about waiting is your body make up changes. I know it sounds strange but it really is true. I would have loved to wait for a year past maintenance but I just could not take the pain my arms were causing on my neck. So I had them done at 5 months post maintenance and am waiting for my tummy and chest.

Yay! Congratulations on your surgery. I hope you get better every day. You may not feel your arms as badly because the Abdominalplasty is one of the more painful surgeries and your brain is focused more on that. I had a lot of pain in my arms, the worst being night 2. They burned like I had laid them both on the stove for an hour. I also learned that I was allergic to the surgical adhesive and that definately contributed to my pain along with the extensive lipo used there. But my result is extraordinary. Next is my tummy and breasts and yesterday my grown sons and granddaughters told me I have grandma butt. Or no butt like a grandma is how they said it.....I am considering having a Brazilian Butt lift but that would be very far down the road.

As soon as I was 8 weeks post op I was told I could move to regular generic Vitamin plus D3. They are small easy to swallow, generic and inexpensive at Walgreens. I buy one get one for free. My surgeon recommended them. Now Calcium citrate on the other hand I am very picky about. I buy the Bariatric Advantage chews. The strawberry and orange are the best in my opinion. They are certainly more expensive but given RNYer really malabsorb calcium they are really worth it. You can get them here or on Amazon.

Gas X, Heating pad, sipping lots of Water and walking is about the only thing that will help in my experience. The good news, it really does go away pretty quick. I think it was day 5 or 6 all the gas was finally out of my system enough to feel more normal.

I had to go purchase a few new items to boost my wardrobe (if you can call it that). I noticed that suddenly I am drawn to bright colors. Usually I will try them on, look in the mirror and head back to the racks looking for black or navy. Well, I got this new very colorful Ann Klein wrap blouse! I also never ever would have worn a wrap blouse but this one looks very nice for my now boyish figure. My hubby loved it on me.

I thank my NUT every time I see her for insisting on a balanced diet that includes Protein, whole grains, vegetables and fruit. I would be lost without my fruit and veggies and often wonder why some programs simply avoid fruit altogether. Just my opinion but that does not seem healthy to me. I say this has I am eating a nectarine.....YUM!

Weight fluctuates depending on the day, your Water retention, what you are wearing, etc. I weigh myself in the morning naked..... And I go by what my scale tells me because I am on it at the same time in the same circumstances.

Definately milk them down. In the beginning I would take 1/3 premier Protein shake and 2/3 either lactaid skim milk or fair life skim milk. Both are lactose free and will thin the shake out while still adding more protein from the milks. I had to do this until I was about 8 weeks along.

If you are hanging out in the bed, that is the worst thing you can do. You need to get up and start drinking fluids. You guys will feel better. You are likely tired, dizzy and nauseous and it all steps from not enough fluids and Protein. It's a good way to end up back in the hospital..... Try drinking your Water at room temperature and your protein icy cold. They do go down better that way. I hope you get better soon.

@@Donna415 Congratulations! Clear liquids - Homemade chicken broth, SF Jello, SF Popsicles, crystal light, Water. They also had me mix 1/2 apple juice with 1/2 water for that first week. Full Liquids - all of the above, creamed strained Soups, Protein shakes, Greek yogurt, cream of wheat made very thin pureed - I had a tough time with this stage. I could not tolerate and still cannot eggs, I had a hard time with pureed chicken and turkey and I am alergic to legumes/beans. So I lived on cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and all of the stuff from above. I also had very soft cooked veggies like carrots that I would mash up with a fork. I was also allowed sweet potato and had it once.

@@Michilingi The dizziness is most certainly coming from dehydration. The first several weeks are the hardest to get enough. I learned after about 2 weeks that I could get more liquids in if I literally held the cup in my hand and sipped every few moments. I started by focusing on Clear Liquids and then was able to get Protein shakes in once I finally found one that worked for me. I ended up using Premier Protein ready made shakes. They don't have grit, they don't smell bad and there is no fuss. You just need to drink them cold. Each 11oz shake has a whopping 30 grams of protein and only 1 gram of sugar. At first I had to thin it out with skim milk so I would take 1/3 shake to 2/3 milk which also add protein. You can also use fair life milk which adds additional protein. It took nearly 8 weeks for me to be able to get the full amount of protein needed for my height. The most critical thing right now is to get you hydrated. Once that happens you will begin to feel better and the docs know that you have protein stores in your body that will help you initially that is why they don't worry so badly if you cannot get the full protein in. It becomes a problem when that goes on for very long periods of time. Keep working at it. You have to sip sip sip every few moments and you will feel better.

Congratulations Gina! I am so happy for you and especially happy that things are going well for you. My experience was almost exactly as you described and it only got better from there as the weight started to come off. I am glad you are home and recovering. Let me know if there are any questions I can help with.

I lost 86lbs from day of surgery to the six month mark.

@@Gary Crain You are going to have to get used to a whole new "full" feeling. Also, it is nearly impossible for you to be feeling actual hunger with either the sleeve or the RNY. The reason is, with the sleeve they remove the part of the stomach where the hunger hormone is located. With RNY, they cut the nerves where Grehlin is located and it takes several months before they come back. You are likely experiencing head hunger which feels real but it is not. You may think you are hungry, you may even experience rumbling but it is not hunger it is your digestive system at work. If you had the sleeve it could in fact be reflux that feels a lot like hunger. Are you taking something like omeprazole? It is really really important for you to not over eat at this point. I would suggest calling your surgeons office and help them understand you are feeling this way. They may makes some recommendations for you. Lastly, it sounds like you are on the liquid diet which does make it easier to drink/eat more. When you move to pureed stages the quantity is really going to matter. I try to remember that just because you can eat more than you are supposed to, does not mean that you should. Especially now when you are healing. I am really glad to hear you are able to stay hydrated, that is usually hard for people in the beginning due to swelling. You just might not swell as bad as some. If you are worried call your surgeon.

I definately did it because I simply had a puree meat aversion. It made me gag and throw up. So I started using my fork to mash things up and then chewed like a crazy person. I really followed more of the full liquid diet through the puree stage. What made me mad was my nut had me make all these little containers of pureed turkey and chicken and freeze them. I tried it several times ended up vomiting or dry heaving every time and threw all that food away.

@@brimm_brittany I could tell how badly you felt about it. I know from my own experiences that once you do it, you regret it instantly because your realize it's not even worth it. Mostly those foods don't even taste good anymore and what's worse they make you feel badly too. I believe in foods in moderation once you are closer to your goal and definately approved for those foods. Then again, I also don't diet any longer. I simply eat differently and every once in a while I indulge in a treat because if I abstain then my brain runs away with the fact that I cannot have something and it will drive me crazy. Good news.....one bite and I am usually satisfied that I don't have to do that again. LOL.

This is in response to most other answers. You are right, we all have those cheat days. The danger in doing it this early out is you can damage your new tummy. It just isn't worth the potential complications. I cringe when I see people telling everyone it's ok to cheat this early on. I get it, we slip...we all do it but doing it so close to surgery date is very dangerous.