SuzeMuze

It was my experience that the doctor was the one who called to tell me of my approval, so I would think they would know too. Perhaps with the holidays, they've just been super busy? I'm glad to hear that you got your approval- it's an exciting step towards a healthier new you! Keep us posted

I do the Premier shakes too, and wasn't nuts about the texture cause it was too "milky". I find though that tossing in a handful of frozen fruit & a packet of Splenda, then running it through the blender turns it into something that's pretty close to an actual milkshake- not bad at all! You'll find too that as you get more foods that are tolerated, Protein will come from them too, and not just supplements. Isopure is an acquired taste- I tried them one bottle at a time till I found the ones I liked. Keep in mind too, that your body can only handle around 30 grams of protein at a time (I don't have verification as to where I saw this though). If you ingest more than that at a time, it's a waste & will "go right through you".

You look fantastic- thanks for sharing!

I think there are two big things to keep in mind as you nurture your "baby tummy" throughout recovery. I'm 8 weeks post-op and still learning what I can and can't tolerate & I'll be in line with the others in saying that everyone is different. What you'll be able to eat comes about as a trial and error process (rice is one of my favorites, for example, and a prior poster who's much further out from surgery than I say they still can't tolerate it). Going hand in hand in the trial and error process is being patient with yourself and being able to accept the possibility of the "crapshoot" role food might play in your life. My biggest frustration is eating something that went down fine last week, but now makes me feel awful. It doesn't make me regret my decision (one of the best decisions I've ever made) but it does get disappointing sometimes. I'm learning to recognize my body's reaction to foods & know when something will be a successful eating experience, or if I need to choose something else...pronto! I can't speak for everyone here, but I bet all of us were worried about something prior to surgery, and we're all dealing with our own post-op battles. It's a major deal to undergo bariatric surgery, but it's also a major deal to make such an important decision to better overall health. You'll find fantastic support, ideas, opinions, and listening ears on these boards- keep us posted, and we'll do everything we can to help and support!

<bursts into applause> 'Nuff said.

I'll add one to the list....that moment you realize that the reason your'e suddenly plagued with wedgies is that your underwear is actually too big!!! Happy Holidays, everyone!!

Best of luck to you, Denise and kudos on your bravery and positive attitude through so many challenging circumstances! I'll certainly say a prayer for a speedy, successful surgery for you, and look forward to hearing how you're doing

What a wonderful back story- thank you for sharing and welcome to the boards! You'll find all kinds of opinions and advice from us here- all you have to do is ask!

I got out of recovery & was in my room around 5:30pm, and went home the next day around 2pm. My surgeon offered me a second night, but I just wanted to be in my own bed & I wasn't experiencing any kind of complications.

Hi Mimi! I trained as an opera singer in college before I went into education- nice to meet someone else who's got that passion for singing! Honestly, once I was out of post-op pain and meds, I could sing the same as before. No more than a week or so, truthfully. I was more worried about the post-op sore throat, which I didn't end up having at all

@@MarylandCrab I had RNY on October 23

Not that I'm aware of. Shrinking the liver makes it easier to manipulate your "insides". From what I understand if your liver is still too difficult to work with, the surgery will either be postponed, or changed to a full open incision procedure.

@@dmaddox1 You've got this- see you on the flip side & here's to hoping everything goes wonderfully!

Personally, I think an important thing to keep pointing out is for all of these horror stories is that they can possibly occur if you don't follow your surgeon's advice and/or don't keep up with your medical checkups after surgery. Do your bones lose density? Yep. So we take extra Calcium. Could you experience hair loss? Yep. So we make sure to get plenty of Protein to try and prevent it. No surgery is risk-free, and no side effect can be guaranteed it won't happen. Like Thin-for-Kidney said, follow what your doc tells you, and you'll have the best chance of sailing through

Feel free to email me, Tamra- I'm always happy to talk/support! suzemuze4life@gmail.com

Hey @MarylandCrab- We've got the same surgeon! Nice to "meet" you!

@vinnie1717- the only person who can tell you if it's "too soon" is your surgeon. I was told not to move myself forward with my diet without his approval, and it was 10 days after surgery before I was allowed foods like oatmeal. As for hair loss, there are things we can do to lessen the severity if it happens, but if it's going to happen, it'll happen to some degree. The previous post was correct- hair loss is related to Protein intake. When we don't take in enough protein, that deficiency (along with all the other deficiencies your body is being faced with) can cause your system to go into "shock". In other words, this sudden decrease in calories, protein and everything else can send a signal to your body to go into conservation mode. As far as protein goes, your body will use it to try and maintain muscle mass- at the sacrifice of other "non-essential" uses of protein, like your skin, nails and hair. Your hair "lives" on roughly a 3 month cycle, which is why when hair loss happens, it tends to be between 3 & 6 months post surgery, as the hair you had when you went into surgery begins to shed naturally anyway. If you don't have enough protein in your body to "make" new hair, you won't. Hence... low protein can result in hair loss. How much protein should you get? Again, that's a surgeon question. Some say 60, mine says 80. Either way, I get a minimum of 80 grams a day, plus I take a dietary supplement (started about 2 months before surgery) called Biotin. Will it help? It's supposed to- we'll see Good luck!

@@the_new_tamra Of course you can email me- I'd be more than happy to talk with you suzemuze4life@gmail.com

Yes, one thing you'll find quickly is that every question will have a million different answers because every doctor, every visit, every test, every everything is slightly different for all of us. But for what it's worth, I had my first surgeon visit in the last week of July, packed in all my tests (which had a couple of bumps along the way), submitted to insurance the first week of September, was approved by the third week of September (another bump there), and had my RNY on October 23.

I can relate to the sleeping issues- I'm a lifelong belly sleeper! I spent only 1 night in the hospital because I wanted to be back in my own house. The first night home was awful- made me nearly regret coming home! I spent the night alternating every hour or so between the recliner and the couch...I couldn't even lie flat as it felt like I couldn't breathe. Each night got a little better though- what helped a lot was using one of those long body pillows. I was able to kind of tilt on my side without much pain, and what heaven it was to sleep in my own bed again! All in all, it was about a week until I was comfortable enough to start sleeping on my side w/no pillow, and not long after that before I was a full belly sleeper again.

Y'know what? The number of folks who've died from bariatric surgery is waaaaay less than those who have died from diabetes, heart disease & any of the other comorbidities that so many of us suffer. I know a number of folks who've died after open heart surgery. Would that keep me from having it if it were deemed the proper avenue to improve and/or save my life? No way. Sure, every surgery has its risks- bariatric surgery's are very low. When you look at your quality of life and its projected outcome, is it better than the quality of life projected with successful bariatric surgery? Sorry, I get fired up when folks get anxious as a result of someone who uses scare tactics like this.

We're all rootin' for ya, Mommabird! So long as you're safe and healthy, everything will work out. Good luck, speedy recovery & keep us posted!

I just want to put it out there that I bow to all of you who actually put meals in a food processor during your "puree" stage! I simply couldn't do it- yuck! Fortunately, I didn't pay a price for chewing the daylights out of things to "mouth puree" them, but yay to those of you who can eat a whole meal combined in baby food form!

While following your surgeon's recommendations is always a best practice, in truth I think the way you feel really needs to take top priority. You're not doing yourself any favors by forcing in more fluids only to yack them back up- you're losing what little you can hold! With that being said, I might suggest the Isopure Protein drinks. They look like Kool-Aid, (I'm not saying they really taste like Kool-Aid, but some of them aren't too bad) come in 20 ounce bottles and have 40 grams of protein per bottle. I'm not crazy about all of them, but if I'm having a super busy day or will be on the road for my job, I'll take a couple of them along to kill 2 birds with one stone. My experiences with "Soft veggies" means anything that's not fibrous (like celery or asparagus) and nothing with hulls (like corn or peas) at the stage your'e in. Other than that, cooking them till they're nearly mush opened the door to pretty much anything else. Good luck to you!

As the previous posts indicate (like many threads here) the best advice will come directly from your surgeon's office. For what it's worth, my surgeon instructs us to wait until 1 month post-op to begin taking Calcium, B12, and a multivitamin supplement (at larger than normal quantities) and always in either chewable or sublingual form since they offer the best absorption rate. I didn't stock up on anything in particular because I tend to get bored with food rather quickly. Plus, I found that walking around the grocery store was not only good for me (for the exercise) but being around "bad" food didn't bother me...I just wasn't interested in it.