Gingerisgreat

If you are on Facebook, look up and request to join a group called "Rock's Kitchen". It is a mainly WLS community site that is dedicated to health and wellness, with a wealth of recipes and ideas shared DAILY about what to cook, eat, prepare, freeze....all geared towards healthy living, cooking, and smaller portions! It has been inspirational for me and they are at nearly 10,000 friends now because it is so popular. I meal prep every week and I utilize a lot of the ideas mentioned above. I also cook for a family, and I rarely eat an entirely separate meal. I too make a lot of meals now that contain meatballs because my family loves anything containing them, and its easy for me to just pick out two and eat them with a side of something else. If my family has spaghetti, I will have two meatballs and a small amount of ricotta. Last week I found a recipe on Pinterest called "meatball sub casserole". It is a base of garlic toast, made using fresh french bread, that has been toasted under the broiler, then placed in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Then you top that with a low fat cream cheese/mayo mix that has italian seasoning in it. Then you top that with meatballs that are already cooked and cut into halves so they lay flat on the bread. Then top with low-sugar marinara sauce, and top that with low-fat mozzarella. Bake in the oven on 350 until the cheese melts and is brown and bubbly. This meal was such a hit that my family fought over who got the leftovers TWO NIGHTS LATER!!!! They wanted it three nights in a row! I did not eat the bread part, I just took some meatball and cheese mixture off of the top. I ate mine with some cottage cheese because it made it taste like lasagna! Eating properly even with a family CAN BE DONE!!!!! My entire family has improved their eating habits because of my surgery. My husband is not a large man but he lost his excess 20 pounds over these last six months just by way of the environmental changes. I used to cook large breakfasts every weekend morning that we were all off and at home. NO MORE!!! Now we all enjoy fruit smoothies, or yogurt with homemade granola, or Breakfast burritos inside low-carb wraps. It is hard at first because you will feel like your list of "Cant Have" is bigger than the list of "Go Ahead" but you will find in time that the things you used to enjoy, crave, desire, are no longer important to you. You can do this:)

@@losing-it, I am glad that my story is now able to help someone else! That is the ENTIRE reason why I didn't feel right about keeping my journey a secret! I do take extra Vitamins, as I was found to be deficient in vitamins A and B1 when I had my three month labs drawn. I take one of each of those every day in addition to my multi, and I also eat chewable Biotin tablets because I have lost a lot of hair. The Vitamin A and B1, i was told, are deficient for me because I was unable to eat meat for so long after surgery. The nutritionist said that with time as I am able to tolerate more meats, or learn which meats I can eat, I may not need them at all as they are vitamins that are commonly found in meats. I do tolerate liver vert well, and strangely I do not mind how it tastes. It was on a list of recommended foods by my nutritionist because of my vitamin issues, so I try to incorporate that into my diet at least twice a month. I don't mind taking the vitamins, but I also try to follow whatever suggestions that I get from my nutritionist.

I also went to my first surgeons appointment with the mindset of having the sleeve. Throughout my appointments, we discovered that I had an ulcer as well as esophagitis due to reflux. My surgeon couldn't believe that I didn't have chronic stomach pains however I had been dealing with chronic pelvic pain due to a metabolic disorder, which masked the stomach discomfort. It was determined that my chronic pelvic pain caused me to use NSAIDs like Ibuprofen and Naproxen so often that it caused my ulcer. Due to those discoveries, and my metabolic disorder, my surgeon highly recommended that I have RNY instead of the sleeve. He stated that the RNY would give me a better chance at metabolic changes that I needed to get rid of the pelvic pain (the WHOLE reason for looking into the surgery in the first place), and that the sleeve would only be a riskier option for me because of the history of ulcers and reflux. I was hesitant and it took a few months of prayer and research before I finally made my decision. I will be three months out on Wednesday and I have NO REGRETS. I do feel that it is a personal decision for each person, but i know that the RNY was without a doubt the best option for me. I feel amazing, my pelvic pain is almost non-existent. I am off of ALL medications, including diabetic meds, reflux meds, and hormonal medications related to the metabolic disorder. I sleep 6-7 hours and wake up feeling RESTED!!! That never happened to me before. I am half way to my goal after only three months, and the changes that I have made are positively affecting both family and co-workers! Prior to surgery, I had an insatiable sweet tooth, and I was known for skipping meals to eat sweets with a coffee. No longer! The cravings are no longer an issue for me, and I feel wonderful. I even get comments on how great my skin looks!

I did have a drainage tube for RNY, as did my BFF for her VSG. They only stayed in for the two days that we were in the hospital. I heard that occasionally they will send you home with it if they feel that it is needed however this is very rare. Maybe all surgeons do not use this practice. I did not find the drainage tube to be painful or uncomfortable, or an inconvenience in any way. It was pinned to the inside of my hospital gown to keep it in a proper position and it wasn't much bigger than a tennis ball. The drainage tube was one of the smaller "issues" that comes with weight loss surgery. It takes about 15 seconds for the tube to be removed, and it is not a painful process. It is a strange sensation to say the least however not painful at all. I hope this helps.

Hi Susan33, Not sure if I am anywhere near you however a lot of our stats seem to be in the same neighborhoods. I am also 33, I am 5'6 and my HW was 288, I believe date of surgery it was 272. I was a single mother to my daughter for the first 6 years of her life before I met my now husband. Single parenting is very difficult but you learn to just DO what needs to be done and not waste any of your precious time complaining about what needs done, and THAT is how things get done!!!! I try explaining this to my husband and he just doesn't get it.....I still sometimes just do what I want done because I wait for no one.....and that is because I had to for so many years. I am CONFIDENT that you will conquer this surgery!!! I had my RNY in November, I actually left the hospital on Thanksgiving night. Who is keeping your children while you are in the hospital?? You will be very tired when you are released home and you will not be able to lift more than 10 pounds, not sure how long your surgeon will leave you on lifting restrictions. I am here if you need anyone to talk to, Good Luck!!!

Congratulations, Its up and up from here (except for on the scales)!!!! I hope your recovery is smooth sailing! Keep us posted!

I too struggled with a LOT of exhaustion. I am now six weeks post op and am starting to feel more like myself, deep cleaning my house, walking, and catching up on everything that i felt suffered neglect while I was recovering. I did ask my nutritionist about it when I was last into an appointment and she stated that the extreme changes within the body caused different responses in everyone. She also stated that we essentially are being put into a medically induced and monitored state of starvation and that our bodies are constantly changing which can make us feel more tired while in the stages of recovery. She just stressed (as someone stated above) to stay on top of vitamins as well as protein and to write how I feel in my journal with my food and weight so that I could later look back and see trends if it doesn't improve. I did have a lot of trouble sleeping early on after surgery as I am NOT a back sleeper, and that is the only pain-free way to sleep after surgery. Also, before I was able to get in all of my fluids, I felt so dehydrated at night that I would wake several times in the night just to drink. I was so parched that I couldn't sleep! I can now sleep in any position I choose and I am doing great with my fluids so although I still wake for water at least once a night, it is only once. What a difference I feel. Be patient, I am confident that you will find the cause of your exhaustion and will be back to "normal" in no time. Best of Luck!

@anewme15: I feel like I am doing fairly well with my weight loss, I am currently sitting at about 43 pounds lost in 50 days which I feel is very successful. I had one major setback last week which was pleurisy around my left lung and hindered my workout for a few days as I had to rest and take pain meds......again. But I'm feeling good again and back into mischief! How are you doing?

This holiday season I was newly post-op so I couldn't participate in much....RNY on 11/25 thus on pureed/softs through the entire holiday. We made bean dip a LOT. I would section out a small amount for myself prior to adding sausage and seasonings for my family. I would add a little cheddar to mine for added protein and they would use theirs with chips, or on tortillas as burritos (my kids' favorite). It worked great for all of us, was high protein for me, and my husband always LOVES to have it leftover to heat up!!!

I was informed from a friend of mine that had surgery before me that the 30/30 rule does not apply to your Protein drinks. I was told that its not a wise idea to "wash them down" with Water or another beverage, however it isn't as important to wait the entire 30 minutes like it is after food. I have been making sure to stick to the 30/30 when eating a little something but I don't worry as much when I am having a shake.

Today my husband helped me recheck my measurements. We took them and recorded them in my journal two days after I started the pre-op liquid diet on November 17th, 2014 because a friend of mine had told me that she didn't take any measurements and that was one of her biggest regrets from preparation. Today, in comparison, each of my upper arms are nearly 3 inches smaller, my neck is a full inch smaller, my chest shows a five inch decrease, my waist is a full EIGHT inches smaller, and my hips are three and a half inches smaller!!!! Each thigh is three inches smaller, and each calf is an inch smaller. I am SOOOOOOOO thrilled with these results! Here's to dressing like a hobo for the first few months of 2015 as my clothes are hanging on me and i REFUSE to replace them as of yet!

Welcome!!!! You've come to the right place! This forum has helped me so much since i joined. I didn't join until after surgery because (I am only seeing this now) I allowed my life to be WAAAAAY too stressful and full prior to going off of work for surgery, and I wish I had joined prior to my operation. GOOD FOR YOU for actually writing down the WHY of what you are choosing to do for yourself. Now that I have had my surgery and some time off from work to reflect on what got me here in the first place, I am making a new commitment to myself to take better care of me and to love myself at every stage that I reach!!! I look forward to hearing about your journey in the future!

I am almost five weeks post op and I feel the same way. I am also on soft foods as well and really the only things that don't make me feel sick is soup that is ate very slowly, and I can only take in about 2-3oz. of the soup. Occasionally I do well with 1/4 c. of cottage cheese or about 2 oz. of a greek yogurt. I am just having to take it very slow. Every morning I try a yogurt to get me started, and I always think that I will finish it later but I never do, its always saved for the next day. I am still having to do protein shakes because I know that there is NO way I am getting in my protein off of foods. I can eat one scrambled egg, but by the time I get to the last bite of it I don't want anymore and I end up leaving 1-2 bari sized bites on my plate. This is definitely harder than I thought it was going to be. I don't crave any kinds of meats at all, I want vegetables again!

On MFP I have noticed that every day it is telling me that I am not meeting my goal for intake and that it could prevent me from losing. I simply CAN NOT take in what it says I am alotted, nor do I care to! Is there any way to tell it that I have a much smaller caloric intake goal now that I am a bari patient? Or do I just have to keep ignoring what it's telling me??

I may have to try this as well. I did try freezing a little of a strawberry frozen yogurt as someone had told me that it does help you to get in some of your protein, and since it is frozen its impossible to eat it too fast so it helps you with learning the timing that is new to post ops. I bought these little containers that are made just for making homemade ice cream and froyo, and I made one little tub. It came out to be SOOOOO hard that I can't even get a spoon into it. I was curious if it needs to be thinned with a little milk before freezing?

Does anybody that drinks Premier dilute them at all? I have a whole case of them that I have been trying to incorporate into my routine but they are so thick that they make me gag after only about three sips. I have been working on this for a month and I am just not getting "used" to their thickness!

I was a HUGE fan of cream of wheat prior to my surgery, and I have only tried it once since. I was only able to consume maybe two teaspoons of it, broken up into very small bites before I felt ridiculously full! Now I am afraid to try it again but It has been a horrible craving of mine ever since surgery, I believe because during my pregnancy with my daughter I was sick the entire time with constant nausea and vomiting. Cream of Wheat was one of the only things I could keep down and now whenever I am sick I want it. For me it's a comfort food and as most of you know, this surgery takes away most of those!

I had the gastric bypass procedure on November 25th, 2014, so my journey is only beginning!!! But I can tell you a few things that I wished I had known prior to beginning the surgical steps. The first thing that I would have done differently is that I would have slowly eased myself into a protein shake for breakfast every morning, or maybe occasionally for my lunch. The reason why I would have done this is because (for me) the pre-op diet would have felt like less of a mental "shock" had I been already doing this for a period of time. Now that I have been drinking the carnation drinks for six weeks, I find that I love them and I crave their taste and texture. Now I can't say that about ALL of the protein shakes because well I think all bari patients can agree, not all of them will appeal to you. Finding one that works well for you is IMPORTANT. As far as motherhood goes, I also have two children and I was definitely more concerned for how they were going to handle this that I was concerned about myself. The oldest child is really the only one that even noticed that things were different, and her main concern was "Will you still sit with me at the table while we eat, even if you're only drinking?". I worried that I would feel left out while they all ate a real meal and I had a shake, but it has not felt that way to me at all. During my pre-op diet I was allowed broth, and some steamed veggies once a day for the first five days of the diet, so I saved my veggies for dinner time, added them to broth and viola! I had soup with my family while they ate. After surgery, you will feel tired for a few weeks as you recover. This is considered a major surgery, and weight limits are usually placed at 10pounds or less for the first few weeks so you will need to line up help with the little ones but it definitely can be done as you will be feeling better in no time. About the pain level, my dearest friend in the whole world had the sleeve done in June. I was there with her and she had issues with pain control. I watched it all and I STILL went through with my surgery. Why? Because being overweight is painful every day. I knew that I was strong enough, and I believe that you are as well. Two weeks ago, this friend and I were hanging out and she asked me how it compared to child birth as she has yet to have children and I have already been through it. She said she feels less scared of child birth now because she made it through that surgery. I told her I didn't want to scare her but childbirth is hands down much harder than WLS and I would definitely do this over again if I had to choose between the two. After my surgery, I actually requested that my pain medication be discontinued as I wanted to walk and the medicine made me dizzy every time that I stood upright. I knew it was a side effect of the medication as I am a medical professional. The doctor of course agreed to allow them to stop the medication and within a half hour I was up walking. Walking moves the gases used in surgery which causes the most discomfort in my opinion. The hardest part, as others here have already told you, is all mental. The learning, educating yourself, and the convincing your brain that you are NOT being deprived of joy by not eating as much as you used to, or WHAT you used to. There are other joys besides food and you will find them. Good Luck, you're already doing the right thing by reaching out! This is a GREAT place to start!

WE BOUGHT A PUPPY!!!!! Exactly 6 months ago today our dog died unexpectedly and our entire family was crushed. We decided at that time to not replace her immediately. At the time I was already in the first few months of my pre-surgical screening and was only weeks away from having two other surgeries in preparation for this BIG surgery. We were also planning a move to be closer to family and friends while we started this new journey as a family towards health, wellness, and less stress. We decided that once we were moved and we knew about surgery dates, we would discuss when getting a puppy would be a good time. We moved in September, and in November my cousins pure bred Collie had her first litter of pups! She offered us one just weeks prior to my surgery and we just knew the timing would be perfect! By the time she is ready to come to her new home, I will be recovered and I will have a walking buddy! We kept it a secret from the children until yesterday and gave them a wrapped box (since pup can't leave her mother for another two weeks) with a puppy bed, toys, dishes, balls, and a stocking with her name on it. Her name is Rosie and we all agree that she is the BEST gift we could give or receive!!!!

Mike, I have heard of this and I was warned when my cath was removed that if I did not urinate on my own within a certain timeframe then they would replace the catheter until my bladder wakes up. I would not be overly concerned until the appointment with the urologist. If they are just being overly cautious then let them, it could prevent you from having other problems down the road. The cath is a pain to have, but hopefully come friday it can be removed with no complications. Just make sure to keep it clean as you don't want an infection right now. But I would't be overly concerned. Best of Luck to you on Friday!!!

@@pupichupi THANK YOU SO MUCH for those words of encouragement!!! I have not really been "secretive" that I was having this procedure done. I did share with a few people what I was doing but prior to surgery I was VERY selective about whom I told for one very specific reason. I did not need all of the stories....."I knew someone who had that and she developed a blood clot"....."my cousin did that and now looks horrible because of malnutrition"......"you will lose all of your hair!!!" You get the idea. I am a medical professional and i am WELL aware of all of the risks, as are all of my coworkers but I didn't need anyone discouraging me. I knew if i didn't do it, I would one day be diabetic, and it would also mean NO change whatsoever of my husband and I making the decision to have a child together (he has one and I have one, but none together and we both had negative experiences with having our firsts so we would like to make an Educated and Heartfelt decision as to whether or not to have one together someday and enjoy the experience). I plan to really make it known what I did to TAKE CHARGE of my health, my life, my future, my families future, and to possibly inspire and help educate others who are investigating this option!!!! My only concern with it is that for me it was not a decision of vanity......I did not do this to look better. I was always very happy with my appearance, I have always taken good care of myself. I always wear makeup, dress up, and do things with my hair. My husband loves me with all his heart, and has never been able to keep his hands off me NO MATTER what my size is. I can already tell that I am going to have to bite my tongue to not say things to the men that will make comments in the future but didn't in the past. Does this make any sense? I guess the attention thing just infuriates me because nothing has changed about WHO I am......I am the same person that I always was, just with less health problems. But I suppose only people that have done this will understand how that feels. On a side note about the comment "EASY WAY OUT"....my husband has been by my side, held my hand, watched me struggle a few days, dried my tears, tried EVERY single shake that I make, and walked the track with me as I exercise....and he says "If anyone says that to you, you tell me because I am kicking them in the NUTS!!!!! This is NOT the easy way out!"

I have always been a belly/side sleeper and I had quite a bit more difficulty in this area than I did anywhere else! I even told my surgeon at week two appt that if I could just sleep normal I would feel like nothing ever happened (however that was before I tried to eat chicken, my pouch doesn't like it). This is what I did: A friend of mine that is an RN said to prop two pillows under my knees, and several under my head to my level of preference, then one pillow under each arm tucked into my sides. This worked like a charm for the first week or so, even better than the recliners!!! Then once my sides healed enough to start turning, I would prop myself up tight to my husbands back. Having my belly up against his back would put just enough pressure on it to keep me comfortable. Now this was more a nap position as you can't both sleep that way for a full night, but even on nights he worked, I would make a fake "husband" out of pillows and prop myself up against that! I ALWAYS slept with a memory foam pillow between my knees so that I wouldn't have to move due to leg pain if my torso was happy. Sleeping comfortably always required MANY MANY pillows, I had to dig out the guest pillows to use those first few weeks. Now I am almost four weeks out and I can sleep normally with no issues, however now I require more blankets than ever before because I am constantly cold. I am sleeping better than I have in years!!!!!

Prior to surgery I had always used the Nexplanon implant in the upper arm. I had used Mirena after my daughter was born however it became very uncomfortable for me, I couldn't even lay on my belly because I could feel it. I am not sure if that is something that would be different once my weight all comes off, however at the time it was very uncomfortable and I haven't been willing to put another one in. The Nexplanon lasts for 3 years versus the 5 of the IUD. It is implanted into the inside of your upper arm right in the doctors office. They numb the area prior to insertion so all you feel is a little pressure when they put it in. The site heals within a couple of days, and after it is in, you can feel it just underneath the skin so it is easy to keep track of its placement. I had NO side effects from it, no periods while I was on it, and it worked wonderfully! I had to have mine removed on October 1st since I knew I would be having RNY sometime in the six weeks after. My reasons were because I have major hormonal issues which is what led me to RNY in the first place, and the doctors treating me believed that in order for me to have the BEST possible outcome from the surgery, I needed to be off of all forms of hormones for a while. We are now using condoms and I am using a cycle tracker in my phone to determine fertility and ovulation. Once my doctors feel that hormone replacement is a wise choice, I would not hesitate to have Nexplanon put back in again. I know some people have said that the cost of the Nexplanon is what kept them from trying it, and that is understandable. My insurance did not cover mine when it was placed because I had such a high yearly deductible at the time, so I had to pay $700 out of pocket however my husband and I knew that was a small price to pay compared to a pregnancy, especially since I am high risk maternity and would not be able to work at all during a pregnancy so we gladly paid that amount. I did plan that amount into our FSA account this year just in case if I am allowed to have a new one placed once I reach goal weight.

Both my husband and I have agreed that sex has been incredible since surgery!!!! Yes it took some time because the abdomen is so sore after having it cut open in several locations. However once things heal, watch out!!!!