Djmohr
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Posts posted by Djmohr
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Thank you! And yes, round the clock ice packs laying on my arms. The worst is at night. My poor hubby literally went to 5 different Walgreens here in WI and bought them out of the one time use packs for me on 3 different occasions. Those worked very well but did not last long. Then he bought these two cryo ice packs. You freeze them and they stay cold for 8 hours so they say. Honestly it's really about 4 hours but they were fantastic. He also bought me every itch cream they had! LOL. None of it worked. The only other thing that definately helped what Young living peppermint essential oil. I rubbed on my arms but of course not on the incisions. That takes the itch away for a little while.
It has only been the last two days that I have been able to go without ice and I think it is because I switched to a compression garment that is very very tight on my arms. When you compress them they feel better.
I really hope you stop itching soon.
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I was going to suggest the same thing! I swear by them. I recently had Brachioplasty and I am alergic to the dressings used which can not be removed for 3 weeks so I am stuck.
That caused a bit of a rough recovery for me. I started diffusing and using them topically on my arms. I am a true believer, they are calming, help with Migraine, with pain, with stress, with nausea.
You can treat just about anything with therapeutic grade essential oils.
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Not sure if it anxiety or maybe you did have something stuck last night and after throwing up it has irritated you.
Maybe try going back to liquids for a day or two and see if it improves.
Are you a sleever? It also could be a nasty case of reflux brought on by your food and stress combined.
If you are RNY then, I am guessing it might just be irritated.
I am really glad that you are going to the doctor though. That is the right thing to do if you feel you cannot eat at this point.
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I had mine 3 weeks ago today! YAY! My arms look amazing and they are still a bit swollen. I found a fantastic surgeon who gave great contour. My little girly biceps look fabulous an you can even see the tendons where my arm bends and I am still quite swollen.
I am including some pics for you. Sorry, for some reason when you post these they turn sideways. The first is pre op and the second batch is 2 weeks post op. I am even further along now but waiting to have my dressings removed on Monday.
Before:
2 weeks After:
If you want to see the actual incisions, I would be happy to send them to you in a personal conversation but I don't want to gross anyone out. The cost of mine was $5950
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Incidentally, eating gets better with time. It took several months before I felt like I could eat normal. Every once in a while when I eat too fast, I have a problem as well and it causes me not to be able to eat my meal.
That being said, it does get better. Promise.
For now Water and clear fluids are critical to ensure that you are hydrated. food is secondary. My nut did not even have me start on Protein shakes until week 2.
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Which surgery did you have? 7 days out seems awfully fast to try solid foods.
I had bypass and my doc had me on Clear liquids for a whole week, the full liquids for a whole week, then pureed for 2 weeks which I did not do well with. Finally at week 4 I was allowed soft foods, Proteins that were very moist, veggies that were overcooked. Even getting used to that at 4 weeks was slow going.
Just wondering if your surgical team gave you direction on what to eat, how much and for what period of time.
I have found that every physician is different but at the end of the day most of us figure it out.
I was given a huge binder with every food stage. What foods I could and could not eat. You name it was in there.
Then again, my Bariatric center of excellence made me sign a contract too that ensured I would follow the rules and also that I would not drink alcohol for a year. They were very throrough and it worked for me.
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I had this problem when my bladder was not emptying all the way. It happened to me after bypass and I was not Catheterized. I am guessing they checked for that?
It did get better fairly quickly after.
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Unfortunately itching is part of healing. It will past. Try not to scratch and maybe even try a little benedryl. It will take the edge off.
I know this feeling oh so well. I had Brachioplasty 3 weeks ago today and I have incisions from my armpits to my elbows. Unfortunately I am alergic to the mesh covering or the surgical adhesives used and I have to wait until Monday before that gets better.
Nothing is working for me with the exception of gentle rubbing and ice. Until two days ago I had ice on my arms all day and night because I could not stand the itching.
I do remember having this issue with my 7 post op incisions for RNY as well where they used surgical adhesives to take care of it.
I do hope you feel better soon!
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Ok so tonight I experimented with stuffed green peppers and so far it is my favorite. They tasted better than when I make them in the oven and they cook for an hour or more.
I used 1lb of ground beef - I used 85% because I didn't want them to be dry
2 green peppers
1/3 cup of minute rice. (You can leave this out)
1 onion sautéed in pot ahead of time
Salt
Pepper
Egg
2/3 cup of chicken stock
I preheat the pot on sautée and sautéed my chopped onion in about tablespoon of olive oil. Then I took the ground beef, onion, rice, salt, pepper and 1 egg and mixed it until it was combined.
I sliced my peppers in half and cleaned out the seeds and ribs.
I filled each pepper with ground beef mixture
On the bottom of pot, pour 2/3 of 15oz can of tomatoe sauce, add about 1/2 cup of chicken stock or Water (I used 2/3 of a can but I would back off a little on the stock or Water to 1/2 cup)
Then on the trivet place your peppers
Cover pot until it is closed and plays music
Set the thingy (don't know what you call this LOL) to sealing
Press manual and use the arrows to get to 15 minutes.
Wait until your pot is done (it beeps at you), I waited 5 minutes and then released the rest of the heat.
Within 2 minutes I could smell the green peppers. It made my poor little pouch go crazy because I was running late with dinner and it was after 8pm already.
Enjoy!
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Please please please don't gain to have the surgery. Exercise alone will not get you there. With a 30 BMI, you can do this! But 90% of weight loss comes from diet with exercise being a much smaller portion though still really important.
If you have that good habit built you can begin to change your diet to get rid of this extra weight.
Go speak with a nutritionist, they really really can help you. Moving toward a high Protein, good carb diet is the way to go. Learning about portion management is critical and lastly staying away from sugar, rice, potatoes, Pasta and bread also critical during weight loss.
Here is the thing, if you had this surgery, you would have to change your lifestyle to the above in order for it to be successful long term. So, although I am very thankful for having bypass, if I could have done it withou surgery I would have. My BMI was well over 40 and I had almost every comorbitity.
Gaining weight to get there will only do more damage to your body.
I hope that you find the best solution for you, I am just saying having your insides cut out or rearranged when you are not morbidly obese seems like a risk you don't need to take.
This is just my opinion. I wish you all the best!
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Premier Protein ready made shakes. I was lactose intolerant after surgery and this is what my Bariatric team recommended.
They have 30 grams of Protein, 1 gram of sugar and 160 calories in an 11 oz. shake.
I will just call out that it is best that you try to get some of your protein through your food. Have you just not had any luck with foods?
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I like to do meatballs, cheeses, even a homemade ranch dip with veggies as dippers.
I also have made chicken salad lettuce cups using Bibb lettuce. Very healthy but they don't taste that way.
I actually make naked buffalo wings baked in the oven. I bake them until they are really crisp, then I use the Louisiana hot sauce but I leave out the butter. When I eat them, I tear the skin off.
Enchilada dip is great for football season too. Especially chicken or ground beef, just use ground round instead. With the sauce and cheese it is excellent. Use veggies to dip or just put some on your plate and eat it with a spoon.
Deviled eggs although I can't eat eggs so I don't make these any more.
Any type of chicken salad or tuna salad on a crisp cucumber slice.
But......meatballs are my favorite snack food for football. I cannot wait until our season starts next week. GO GREEN BAY PACKERS!
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You are young enough to do something totally funky if you want. Love the idea of one of those different shaped clutches. They are totally fun if you are confident enough to carry one.
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If I can help in any way, just personal message me. Can you share more of your story. There are many people on here who would love to help.
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My plan is heavy dairy and I do eat red meat about as much as I eat chicken.
So far, and I am 22 months post op my blood levels have been checked 3 times and all 3 times my cholesterol good and bad have been excellent as well as my triglicerides.
I had terrible cholesterol and triglicerides prior to surgery and it runs in my family but so far everything is excellent, better than ever before in my adult life.
This is not the first time that I have heard this but I am not sure we ever got a clear answer as to why.
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I made up a lot of dishes but that is how I roll.
I would sautée chicken breast, onions, garlic, shredded carrot and then use a low sugar marinara sauce or make your own with pettite diced tomatoes, Tomato sauce, basil, Italian seasoning. It was my version of chicken cacciatore and it was delicious, not boring at all. If you like it spicy add some red pepper flakes.
I also made taco meat and topped it with cheese and a dab of low fat sour cream. Once I could eat raw veggies I started adding lettuce, tomato and black olives. You can make the taco mean with ground chicken, turkey or 90% or better beef.
Soups - I ate a lot of chicken and veggie, beef and veggie, chicken tortilla Soup sans tortilla.
There are many many recipes on Pinterest if you search Bariatric foods. I know I have a whole board of recipes I found and new I could change to meet my needs. It has worked wonderful.
I will caution you on eating bread, rice, Pasta, sweets or any kind this early on. It's up to you but at the end of the day those types of carbs can cause stalls as well as set you up to crave them.
Yes, you will likely go a very long time before you eat a sandwich again but you begin to crave what you eat so please be careful. You did not go through all of this pain and change just to fall into old behaviors.
You can do this! Keep your goals front and center and it will happen.
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I am so sorry you are having a rough time. How are you going on liquids? The reason I ask is that if you are even slightly dehydrated you will feel like crap. Weak, tired, dizzy and nauseous are all symptoms of dehydration.
chicken can be rough for some to eat until they are a bit further out. In fact I got the same feeling you describe when trying to eat pureed meat of any kind. I tried ground chicken, ground turkey, tuna, ground beef. I literally would gag and gag. So, I went back to Greek yogurt, Protein shakes, cottage cheese, sf pudding, creamed Soups and the full liquid diet until the pureed stage was done. For me, that was 4 weeks post op.
I felt better almost immediately which told me I just needed to go slower.
At 4 weeks I was cleared to do soft moist foods like chicken, fish, ground meats, veggies cooked well. I had to go slow and try one thing at a time. I will never forget the day I made my first very juicy chicken breast and a teaspoon of sweet potato. I swore I never tasted anything so good before. LOL. Then for about another 6 weeks there were days when chicken worked and days when it didn't. When it did it had to be good and moist. Don't over cook it.
Try drinking more fluids and don't worry so much about the pureed meats for now. I bet you will start feeling better. Of course contact your nut to validate but that is what mine told me to do and it worked.
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Yes absolutely. If you have any type of kidney disease it is important to stay on the minimum side of 1 gram for every 1 inch you are tall. It makes your kidneys work harder.
I have stage 3 kidney disease so I have to be very careful. My kidney disease is in remission but the last few month my BUN levels have been off so I have to watch both Proteins and medications that are filtered through the kidneys.
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Did your doctor provide guidelines in terms of amount of food? For bypass at first it was no more than 1/4 cup of food at meal times. I could barely get that down.
The Water thing is a bigger deal. You will become dehydrated if you don't drink enough and that can cause you to feel like your stomach is hungry when in fact you are dehydrated.
I know this sounds strange but in the beginning weeks and months following surgery I literally had to hold the cup or bottle in my hand at all times and just sipped every minute or so until I was able to get to 64oz MINIUMUM per day. I know it sounds insurmountable but it will get better for you.
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I think the first 4 to 6 weeks are the hardest because you just don't feel like eating or drinking. The issue with that is if you are not drinking.
Every hour you go dehydrated makes you feel crappier.
If nothing else you have to focus your efforts on Clear liquids. The Protein will happen further down the road. For me it was 7 weeks post op before I could drink a whole Protein shake in a day. You have stores of Protein in your body from before surgery that will hold you for weeks.
Water on the other hand is not usually one of them after a few days you become dehydrated. It can make you feel tired, dizzy, nauseous, weak and defeated.
Your focus must be on staying hydrated 1st followed by protein and Vitamins. I promise it gets better every day, every week and every month.
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Ok so I learned what not to do today in my instant pot. Hubby works for 4:30pm to midnight has really been screwing with both of our diets because I am feeding him at 12:30 in the am. It doesn't work. 1. I end up hungry and eating a snack with him when I really should be in bed sleeping
2. He is gaining weight because he is eating so stupidly
So we decided to buy the instant pot so I could make "lunch" our bigger meal of the day and then I can have something small for dinner which I prefer to do anyway.
I have not been shopping so I decided to make chicken with marinara sauce and throw some Pasta in it. I had a doctors appointment so I wanted to throw it in the pot and then we would eat around 2:30 today when we got back and before he had to go to work.
I cut up mu breast into 3 pieces each and browned them in the pot in olive oil. Sautéed onion, garlic a small amount of Tomato paste. Added a cup of red wine and deglazed the bottom of the pot. Then I added a can of tomato sauce, petite diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, dried Italian seasoning, 2.5 cups of chicken stock and 1/2 lb of Pasta. I used Campanella because it was all I had in the house. Hubby eats it, I usually don't.
Set the pot for 5 minutes on manual as per instructions on Pinterest and let her rip. My house smelled like an Italian restaurant in less than 2 minutes.
Them we left after the pot shut off and went to warm. That is where I made my mistake LOL. When we got back 2 hours later I opened the pot to serve lunch and my pasta was way overlooked and my chicken dry.
So I learned that you need to keep the pieces of chicken larger and once your pot turns off, instant release it and do not leave it on warm it will continue to cook your pasta because of all the heat in the pot. DUH! If I would have thought about it for 5 minutes, I would have figured that out without basically ruining my dinner.< /p>
Too dry for me to eat at all. It had fabulous flavor but eech.
So, back to the pot tomorrow night to try something else. I am anxious to try a pot roast in there with fresh carrots and baby potatoes.
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Are you worried about being heavier or lighter? And why are you worried? Did they tell you that you had to be at a certain weight for surgery?
Arm lift?
in Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories
Posted
@@UalreadyKnow
Most people are very happy following Brachioplasty. However it is the surgeon that matters there are some bad ones out there.
Have you been on realself yet? You can find a lot of information on there about this surgery and that is actually how I ended up finding my surgeon. She had such great reviews and from her before and after pics, it was easy to see that I was going to love her.