BLERDgirl

I was given a handbook at my first doctor's appt. It has everything very clearly spelled out. From pre- to post op. On the page that discusses Vitamins it states: "After gastric bypass or sleeve surgery, you must take vitamins and mineral supplements for the rest of your life to prevent nutritional deficiencies." Multi & mineral supplement Take 2 multiviatims every day You may need to use a chewable for at least the first month after surgery Do no use gummy vitamins as they are not complete Purchas a high potency Vitamin containing 100%of daily value for at least 2/3 of nutrients listed Calcium Citrate w/ Vit D Take 100-1500 mg of calcium daily. Do not take more than 600mg of calcium at a time Pay attention to serving size. Often , the serving size is 2 pills If you take Iron, do not take iron & calcium at the same time. Separate them by at least 2 hours. Additional Vit. D You will need an additional 1000 international units of D3. Your total daily requirement from all your supplements should be 3000 IU Vit. B-12 Daily sublingual(under the tongue) *If the tablet contains 1000mcg, then you only need to take every other day OR Monthly B-12 shot Iron Supplement (Optional) Some patients will need extra iron. Your dietitian will tell you if you need to take iron. Taking iron with 250mg Vit C will improve iron absorption All of these can be purchased OTC. Sometimes insurance will cover some of them if your doctor writes a prescription. If you are feeling tired you might want to purchase them now. At the very least increase your multi-vitamin. My doctor will check bloodwork at 3mths

I haven't tried pudding yet. I don't think it's a big deal. Just try something else.

I use my fitnesspal to track my food. For me it's not just about calories. I also look at carbs, fat, sodium and sugar. It has helped me be more mindful of what I eat. For example processed foods will almost always be sky high in sodium. Seeing how much has helped me learn to avoid them. I also use and activity tracker. I take water aerobics. I was using the polar loop because it's one of the few activity trackers that can be worn underwater. I liked it but it had a short battery life. Unfortunately mind bricked on me so I plan to get the Garmin vivofit.

It was. Shingles is painful facial shingles is even worse because the skin on your face is thinner.

You are only on multivitamins? My doctor has me on multi 2x's a day, calcium citrate D, vitamin D (think it's actually D3), and B12

I didn't have to do a bowel prep. Can it be there's no much there since you've been on liquids only?

My dermatologist prescribed the scarfade gel but said most insurances don't cover it. I tend to keloid and was really self conscious because the shingles literally ate holes into my face.

I understand it's not everyone's cuppaa. I must say however, not all brands are equal. I like some better than others. Gatorade and sports drinks have potassium but they are full of dyes and other junk.

Coconut Water is good for legs cramps, it's full of potassium. Not everyone likes the taste but if you get the plain kind it should count as a clear liquid.

I had to pay $400. The hospital allowed me to pay half up front and bill me the rest.

It varies. Some people have to complete the form themselves. Once I contacted the bariatric program they sent the request into the insurance company for me.

I had mine done at Penn by Noel Williams. I'm just hitting 7 weeks. Surgical experience and hospital stay could not have been easier. I had a private room and felt well taken care of by the hospital staff.

Fake sugar is worse because it tricks the body. In a world without artificial sweeteners, a taste of something sweet preps the brain and the gut for digestion of incoming calories. When the calories don't show, as happens with artificial sweeteners, those metabolic responses don't fire the way they should. Insulin doesn't increase; hormones that increase the feeling of fullness and satisfaction aren't triggered; and the brain doesn't get a feeling of reward from the dopamine that sugars release.

I am allergic to artificial sweeteners, stevia & food dyes. I use organic sugar, raw honey, date paste or maple syrup. Since my surgery I am just very careful with what I eat and make sure I don't go overboard with it. I've recently been eating oranges again. It's natural sugar and I get a bit of Fiber with it so for me the nutritional payoff is worth it. I'm only 7 weeks out but so far I'm losing just fine.

I switch up. I'm at 7 weeks. My doctor said I should be getting about 800 calories a day. I also use Myfitnesspal. I break my diary up into breakfast, lunch dinner and 2 Snacks. In between I drink Water. Breakfast varies. If it's a gym day I do CVS whey Protein, unsweetened almond milk and a tbsp of almond butter. It's a great boost at 31 gram of protein. Non gym day I do a soft scrambled egg, with a bit of cheese. I may add a tsp of salsa or chopped spinach. Other options oatmeal using the premade Orgain shake with a few dried cranberries. If I want I may have a coffee using the Orgain premade or herbal tea using prosource liquid Lunch: I may do a veggie burger with some salsa. If I have that I eat half at lunch and then the other half for a mid afternoon snack Snack may also be half a navel orange dinner is usually a Soup I try to finish eating by 8pm and then I focus on getting in the rest of my water. if I want a snack I may have hot chocolate using the Orgain premade or herbal tea using prosource liquid

I'm vegetarian. I've been adding a bit of spinach to whatever I eat each day . I ate a salad a day before my surgery and drank plenty of Water. I never ate processed food. I was super regular. Going 2 -3 times a day or more. I was discharged on a 30 day supply of stool softeners. I've been going each day but it's not as robust as it once was. I figure part of it is I'm eating so much less. Once I started adding back in my leafy greens, my once a day felt more robust.

I go back and forth. Some days I could easily just do shakes and some days I want to eat, but still get full after a few bites. One scrambled egg with a bit of cheese and I'm done. The one thing that does concern me is I seem to be craving salt more. I was never a big salt eater. Didn't add it to my food and would buy no salt potato chips. No suddenly food will sometimes taste bland to me and I find I have to spice it up or add a bit of salt.

You really need to taste them because each person will like something different. I had specific needs: no soy isolate, no artificial dyes, and no stevia. I tried a bunch of different ones. I ended up with 3 I use depending on what I am eating: CVS whey powder, Orgain Organic premade shakes and Prosource liquid Protein in neutral flavor.

Scarfade gel. It's not cheap. a tube runs about $50, but it does work. I first used it for facial scars I had from shingles. FYI- the edit button is invisible. Hoover your cursor to the left of the quote buttons and it will appear.

I chose a variety of shakes. One of them was Prosource. I could add that to tea or soup because it was a liquid. There's nothing wrong with hot foods. Just stick to those that can give you some protein. Try a few cream soups.

I'm also a vegetarian. I've always made my own smoothies. I miss my veggies, I've been adding spinach into my purees since I hit the soft foods stage and I will occasionally add a bit of spinach to my smoothies if I'm using the powder and making my own from scratch. Since many green leafy veg also have Protein, I don't have an issue with it. I'm still losing so I don't see anything wrong with it.

When I initially met with my doctor I was given a binder that talked about the surgery, the process all the testing needed pre-op, recomendations for Protein post-op as well as soft foods for reintroducing food back in. I listed week to week what I should be eating at what stage.. They pages of different Proteins to try, a separate page of what Vitamins I needed post op. This binder became my bible of sorts. I used it to refer back to what pre-op testing I needed to have and to make sure I am eating the right things at the right time. As far as the preop diet was concerned, they recommended reducing your calories. The first week I just cut back. I tried to increase my protein intake and Water intake. I think I tried to stay under 1000 calories a day. The second week, I dropped that to 800 calories a day. I basically did Protein shakes and yogurt with one meal a day. The surgeon said it was good to try and reduce because there have been the rare occasion where surgery couldn't be preformed because the patient's liver was too fatty. Of course the day before surgery you are NPO to Clear liquids only after 9pm. I had my surgery performed laparoscopically. I don't know if it makes a difference if you are having surgery another way. As for the psych appointment from what I saw that want to know f you are mentally prepared to do this. Can you put in the work involved in committing yourself to changing your eating habits. Are you willing to add exercise into your lifestyle and what kind of support you have. They want to make sure you don't think this surgery is some sort of magic wand that will take the fat away and understand the work involved in living a healthier lifestyle.

I went with Dr. Williams at UPenn and loved him and the program. Everything was easy peasy. Things could not have been better. I'd recommend Dr. Williams to anybody. I looked at Temple's program before going with UPenn and just felt Penn was a better option. I had a friend who had GPS with him. She recommended him to me.

Excellent all the way around. I love that they have support group meetings several times a week in different locations/times/places. I felt really cared for by the medical team. I have a laundry list of allergies,I'm a vegetarian and I don't accept blood transfusions. I explained all of this to the team up front and asked if this would be a problem or interfere with me have bariatric surgery. I was assured that it wasn't and te staff never pushed the issue. My surgery went as smooth as it could. The only issue I had was they couldn't fine a vein for my IV the day of surgery. They ended up having to go in my neck. It was a little scary because they had to tilt the bed back, but the staff was very comforting and reassuring under the circumstances. Other than that, my surgery was a breeze! I was walking in recovery. I had no pain and never needed to use the morphine pump or take pain meds. I had a private room on the floor and my nurse was great! When they found out I lived alone they made arrangements for a visiting nurse to come check on my upon discharge. I choose Dr. Williams because he had done GBP on a friend of mine and she said he was good. I'd definitely recommend him to anyone in the Philly area considering this surgery.

I'm early yet so I'm still fitting in the ones that were getting too snug. That said when the time comes I will be buying new clothes here and there. I've never been about looking sloppy. In fact one of the thing people often asked me was how I dressed so nice a larger woman. I like looking cute and always will.