dbqueen

Hello, everyone! Hope no news is good news and that you all are doing well. I'm still unpacking stuff from our move to NH in mid-April, but at least I have only 15-20 more boxes I need to deal with. My husband still has his wheelchair accessible woodworking shop to uncrate (it previously occupied a 2 car garage to give you an idea of what's involved). I'm hoping to get some family members to help with that task -- I have several very handy siblings/spouses of siblings in the area who are much better qualified for that job. Besides, I have a lot of feng shui to do with my craft room and stained/fused glass studio! I'm anxious to get started on some projects! As my home is getting organized, I have also been doing a better job of getting back on track with eating well and have started losing weight again. I just updated my ticker and was surprised to see that I am fast approaching the half way mark! It's still about 20 pounds away, but it's great to be making some progress again. How are things with you folks?

Hope things are going well with all of you! To answer your question about the "packaged" diet programs, Dianne, the thought never crossed my mind I have depended upon the ready-made Protein shakes (Premier Protein -- chocolate and vanilla -- are my favorites) when I need to eat something quick and portion controlled. I have not been a very good role model for healthy VSG eating over the past month. The moving van showed up at our house in VA on 4/15 and we had everything unloaded in NH by 4/20. We have been unpacking ever since, and still have quite a few boxes left. Tonight was the first evening we actually sat down and ate dinner at the table and had real homemade food! I am trying to get "back with the program" as far as my eating goes. I haven't lost any weight over the past several weeks, but at least I haven't gained any weight. I'm having trouble with getting in a lot of steps in each day -- I have a condition called spondylolisthesis that makes it hard for me to walk or stand for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. I wish I could go for walks -- it's really pretty around our new neighborhood. I will have to dig my bike out of the piles of boxes in the garage so I can get some regular exercise. Unfortunately, we live at the bottom of a hill, so I may have to start out by walking my bike up the street until I can build up enough stamina What 's up with the rest of you folks in the neighborhood? -- Carol

Dianne -- Congrats on your new knees and your improved health! That's great news From what I have heard, the rehab for knee replacement surgery is pretty tough. Hope it is going well for you. I know what you mean about needing help with crave breakers. I, too, am a stress eater. I was doing great until we moved about 3-4 weeks ago. My whole life seems to be in a state of chaos. I've almost got the first floor done, but then there's upstairs and the basement to deal with. At least I am walking around a lot and climbing the stairs multiple times a day! The sleeve prevents me from eating a lot of my prior favorite foods, but I have found a few "silder" foods that I have been trying to avoid. I have had variable success. At least I have not gained any weight -- I'm just not losing Let's try to keep up the posting on this thread so we can help each other! -- Carol

Welcome, Dianne and Dan! It's been a while since I last posted -- we moved to Durham about 3 weeks ago and we are STILL knee deep in unpacked boxes. Most of the hard work is done, but there is still a lot left to do. I'm hoping to get on to "real life" mode in another 2 weeks at the most. I am 10 days shy of being 3 months out from my surgery. I had a totally uneventful surgical and post surgical experience and continue to do well physically. Getting enough Protein and fluids in has never been a problem. I did really well with weight loss the first month, hit a 3 week stall, and have done reasonably well in the last month. I guess all of the stair climbing and constant walking around involved in packing and unpacking helped! I have noticed that since I have been on "real" food, I have had a tendency to revert back to some of my prior bad behaviors. Being in a state of household upheaval has not helped the process! Now that things are beginning to get back to normal, I am going to redouble my efforts to get back on track and to start exercising on a regular basis. I hope everyone is doing well and that we can make this string a more lively place and support each other in our journey! -- Carol

Are you using protein powders? I can't stand them, but am able to tolerate liquid shakes like Premier Protein (30 g/11 oz) and Atkins (15 g/11 oz). There are lots of other brands -- I just happen to like these two brands.

Hi, Debbie -- I'm Carol. I just went for the 2 week follow up with my surgeon and have "graduated" to soft mushy foods. I'm getting a little tired of Protein shakes, so that's a good thing! You asked about my preferences about the protein shakes -- I have pretty much stuck with Premier Protein (chocolate and vanilla) and the Atkins shakes (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, mocha latte, and french vanilla). They are all 11 oz., but the Premier Protein shakes have 30 g protein per serving while the Atkins ones only have 15 g. For these first two weeks, I've been drinking 2 of each daily -- I use the Premier Protein shakes for Breakfast and dinner and the Atkins ones for lunch and an afternoon snack. That's 90 g of protein. I found that I was feeling a little shaky (no pun intended) when I took in 75 g protein/day. The 90 feels just right. The choice in shakes (like so much of this whole journey) is largely a personal preference. I've always had a cast Iron stomach and have met very few foods I do not like, so I have not had any trouble. My husband tried one of the shakes and said it tasted terrible -- good thing he doesn't need to lose weight I tried several others, but settled in with the Premier Protein and Atkins brands because I liked them the best. I also used the shakes during the 2 week pre-op "liver shrinking" diet I was required to undertake. The only difference between then and these first 2 weeks was that I ate "real" food for dinner (3-4 oz. lean protein and 1-2 c. cooked veggies). I actually lost more weight in the 2 weeks pre-surgery (19 lbs) than I have post surgery (11 lbs). That seems counterintuitive, but I am 60 years old and while I am more active than before, I am still a bit sedentary. Our house is not that big, so there is only so much walking around inside you can do! We at least have two floors, so I am trying to go up and downstairs at least 5-6 times a day. Once spring finally arrives, I can walk around the neighborhood. I'll be going back to work on Monday, and I can do a good bit of walking around the office. I'm a biostatistician and sit in front of the computer all day, so I am going to have to work on developing some better activity habits at work! One more thing about the shakes -- the "already prepared" ones are more convenient and a little more expensive. I belong to a Facebook group of folks that had gastric sleeve surgery in February, and it seems to me that a lot of the folks who say they can't tolerate the protein shakes are using the powdered ones that need to be mixed before drinking. Again, it's all about personal preference! I have had absolutely NO problems taking in enough liquid. Some of my Facebook colleagues have had lots of trouble, others have not. Everybody seems to react differently. At first plain old Water (especially iced water) did not sit well with me. I have been drinking lots of fruit flavored herbal teas and have done well with them. I have especially enjoyed the Celestial Seasonings assorted herbal fruit teas (the blueberry and peach are my favorites). I have also been drinking a lot of Bigelow's herbal teas -- I Love Lemon, Orange Spice, and Mint Medley are my favorites. Today I had my first "real" coffee (i.e., with caffeine) and it was fabulous. I'm not supposed to be drinking caffeine at this point, but I tolerated it well. As for having food problems -- tonight will be my first real food since before I had surgery. I think I am going to have scrambled eggs with a bit of low fat cheddar cheese, and some freeze dried chives. I'll let you know how that goes down! I have bought some unflavored Protein powder to "spike" low fat/no sugar puddings (there are lots of yummy flavors!) and oatmeal (which I plan to have for breakfast tomorrow). I should be fine based on my past history, and I am not expecting any troubles. I hope you find this helpful! I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you might have as you undertake your journey back to good health!

Welcome to the journey! My surgery was on 2/19 and I have had such an easy time (no post op pain, able to tolerate any and all liquids), it makes me a little worried! My first week weight loss was a little disappointing (the 7 pounds I somehow gained after surgery(!) plus 5 "real" pounds), but then again, I just turned 60. I'm expecting this will be a little slower process for me. My reasons for having the surgery were pretty much the same as yours, loseitnow4ever. I have high blood pressure (3 meds), high cholesterol (3 meds), arthritis (2 meds), asthma (4 meds), and sleep apnea (I've used a CPAP machine for 4.5 years). The need to add a 4th BP med and the fact that my HgA1c's were creeping into the pre-diabetes realm did it for me. I've been working with a great clinical psychologist who has helped me deal with my emotional eating issues over the past two years, but none of that mattered to my insurance company. They still wanted me to go through their one year (!) program. I tried to do it, but the process was just plain stupid in my case. I opted to go the self-pay route and went to the same surgeon who would have done my surgery with insurance. It's only been 10 days, but I think this is the best decision I have ever made!

First of all, thank you to all of you who have posted in this thread thus far! It was so refreshing to find folks who can comment on these issues in such an articulate and intelligent way. I was totally (and pleasantly) surprised when I went to the "informational seminar" at my surgeon's office near the end of last year. The message was, "obesity is a disease, WLS is a treatment." No blame! As someone with a healthcare background (clinical pharmacist turned biostatistician), I was familiar with this "new way of thinking." That seminar was the first time I had heard any professional providing healthcare for bariatric patients actually articulate the concept. It really blew my mind! The psychological aspect of this journey toward whole body health is so important! I have worked with several different mental health counselors over the past 20 years. The first three were somewhat helpful but did not have a clue how to address my emotional eating issues, even though that is what I told them I needed to work on. Two years ago, I started working with a clinical psychologist who really "gets it." I wasn't contemplating WLS at the time -- I still thought that I could do it myself with a little help. After six months of biweekly visits, I realized that I did need to have WLS, and then hit a wall with my insurance company. The insurance company requires that you go through a year of monthly 20 minute phone calls with a nice, but totally clueless, nurse reading questions off a script that did not seem to pertain to preparation for WLS. You also had to participate in Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig for a year. Both my clinical psychologist and I agreed that I was ready NOW, but there was no way to penetrate the bureaucracy to see if a waiver was possible. So I gave in, and endured the stupidity for several months -- until about a year ago. My husband and I decided to move nearer to my family and bought a house in NH in June. I was hoping we would be able to move before the end of 2014, so I would not be "in town" to follow through with the program and have my surgery here in VA. That gave me the excuse I needed to quit the stupid insurance program. I think that's what they wanted in the first place! When it became apparent that we would not move until April 2015, I looked into the possibility of having a VGS as a self pay patient. Long story short, when I went to see the surgeon in whose "program" I was enrolled about this option, he unceremoniously accused my of "jumping the line" and said that the wait would be good for me -- I could learn better habits. Then he said he would not talk to me further and walked out of the exam room. As he was walking out the door, he said that he would refund my copay. I have never been so humiliated in my entire life! At that point I looked into having the surgery done with the other bariatric group at another local hospital, and the process has gone smoothly -- I had a VGS done on 2/19 and I a recuperating well. I talked with my clinical psychologist about my interaction with surgeon #1, and she was speechless. She does a lot of the psych evals for patients for both of the local bariatric surgery groups and knows all of the surgeons. She said it was totally out of character, but totally unacceptable. However, Karma gave me a chance to tell surgeon #1 how I felt. I had lower right quadrant pains and was running a bit of a fever and thought I might have appendicitis, so my husband took me to the ER. They admitted me for a couple of days of IV antibiotics for right ascending colitis. While I was in the hospital, the surgeon on call for GI surgery was none other than surgeon #1! By the time he arrived, I was feeling better and I also knew that he would be coming to see me. I was prepared. He said, "You look familiar -- have we met before?" I said, "Yes, I came to see you about self pay WLS a couple of months ago and you kicked me out of your office." He seemed a little stunned and then admitted that he recollected the interaction. No explanations, no apologies, but I feel as if I got my message across. I hope he never does anything like that to another person! I have been ashamed of my appearance for almost my entire life. After growing up as a "fat kid" I was able to get down to a "normal" weight for about 5 years in my mid to late 20's, but once I got married and my husband started having a lot of health problems, I turned to food for consolation and the rest is history. The hardest part about all of this was that I felt that as a clinical pharmacist, I should have known better and should have been able to get my eating under control. As the years went by, I started developing all of the expected illnesses, hypertension, high cholesterol, asthma and a boatload of allergies, depression, and sleep apnea. The thing that lit a fire under me last fall (other than feeling that I was in fact ready and could afford the self pay option) was that my HgA1c's were starting to creep above normal and my BP was no longer controlled by 3 meds. The fact that I knew we'd be moving in April and I did not want to have to go through the whole approval process in a new location weighed on me as well. I think I have gone on long enough in this post -- I hope it hasn't been "TMI." Thanks for listening, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

I had my surgery on 2/19. So far, everything is going pretty well. I was amazed at how little pain I had -- the worst part was the sore throat after the intubation for general anesthesia! I'm able to tolerate pretty much every liquid except plain Water. I'm not someone who sits still well, so I have found it easy to get up once an hour and walk around the house (including a trip upstairs each time). I'll be glad when the weather warms up a bit so I walk around the block instead. The hardest part is drinking an ounce of water every 15 minutes -- I don't feel as if I can get anything else done! I'm glad I can take two weeks off from work -- I don't know how I could keep up with the hydration schedule otherwise. I'd be interested in joining the secret Facebook group, too! Please let me know what to do to join.

Greetings, Amy! We have a lot in common -- I am also in Glen Allen, am a self pay patient, and Dr. Schroder is my surgeon. My surgery is on Thursday I have tried a couple of different shakes, and have settled in with mostly Atkins products. Their vanilla is actually pretty good and they have several variations on chocolate that I also enjoy, including a mocha latte that isn't half bad. The Premier Protein shakes are also pretty good, but are getting harder to find. Martin's seems to be phasing them out, and I couldn't find any at Target the other day. I have stockpiled some 4-packs for my first two weeks post op, as they have 30 g protein per container. As for Vitamins, I went with the suggested Bariatric Advantage chewables, at least for the short term. I'll probably do some comparison shopping once I have some time. In the interim, it was easier to just "go with the flow."

I'm a self pay patient with Dr. Schroder, Dr. Brengman's partner! My surgery date is coming up soon -- 2/19.

I will be having surgery on 2/19 in Virginia, and will be moving to Durham in April. It's not an ideal set up, but it's taken so long to get to this point, I don't want to have to start all over again!

Have you tried doing Kegel exercises? I find them to be very helpful. Here's something to get you started: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/womens-health/in-depth/kegel-exercises/art-20045283 Good luck!