NikkiDoc

I bought Matrix vanilla and was allowed to add frozen no sugar added peaches or mangos. Berries would come later. I also used DaVinci SF syrups such as caramel, brown sugar/cinnamon, gingerbread, peanut butter They have other such as raspberry. You can add Peanut Butter to the chocolate or vanilla shakes. There is PB2 which is powdered peanut butter. I just used real peanut butter. I did eat some creamed soups and strained the chunks out. I loved the broth from wonton soup. I would suggest ordering samples of Matrix or Nectars. I got mine from MyBaratricPantry. They have a huge variety. I drank shakes for a few months after the full liquid phase to make sure I was getting Protein. I use them less now that I am 5 months out from surgery. It is nice to have the shakes available for awhile. I way prefered the Matrix or Nectars to the pre-made. The full liquid phase will pass soon enough. You will get throught it.

Including the 10 day pre-op, I am down 57 pounds, 45 of that is since surgery. I sleeved on 2/2/2015. I had bloodwork for my 4/30/2015 and my numbers look great. Next visit is this Friday 6/26/2015. I started as size 20/22 depending on the item and am down to size 16. I need to get back to the gym. Vacation and business travel got me out of the habit. Although we did bike a couple of times and kayak on vacation.

That is what my pre-op diet will consist of although luckily I only have to do a week. I am looking forward to it though, because that will mean the loser's bench will be so close. My suggestion is to wean off of caffeine well before your pre-op period and to start easing into your pre-op diet. I started replacing a few meals a day with the Protein Shakes and eating a piece of small fruit or a small handful of nuts as a snack a few hours later if I got really hungry. My meals were really low carb- chicken and broccoli type stuff. I found when I got to my 10 day pre-op diet with just protein shakes, broth, SF popcicles etc... it was no big deal. No headaches, not tired. I think because I did not go cold turkey it helped. Drink lots of Water. I like mine flavored with MIO. Post-surgery it is the only way I get in my 64 oz a day. I actually drink closer to 90 oz. Good luck to everyone. It does get better and it will be so worth it.

Quick Weight Loss Center which eventually became LA Weight Loss. I lost about 35 pounds and plateaued. They couldn't help me past the stall. The pudding, soups and shakes were nasty. It was low carb without the education plus add in the money making products. That was $900 down the drain. Atkins worked the best. I also had the best blood work results when I was on that diet. I tried vegetarian, not vegan. I like meat too much. I ate too many carbs since Protein is more filling for longer. I was constantly hungry so I would eat Pasta and other crap. It isn't meat, it is low fat all good right? Herbalife was expensive and I was so tired I think I made it two weeks. I am surprised nobody else mentioned them.

When I first was looking to decide on which surgery my stats were similar to yours. 255 pounds and 5'3". I was looking at band versus sleeve. Bypass seemed too invasive. Dumping syndrome scared me, I trail ride my horse in the woods for hours at a time. Dumping syndrome would not be convenient at all. I eventually decided on the sleeve. I did the 6 month supervised weight loss for my insurance and was down to 242. I had a 10 day liquid pre-op and was at 230 on the morning of surgery. This morning I was at 184 which is the lowest I have been in 6 years. I feel great. The sleeve was the right decision for me but it may not be for you. In the end you need to make the decision for you. You know what you are comfortable with, you know what your eating pitfalls were that got you to the weight you are, your surgeon will know your medical history and your family medical history to help you make your choice. On paper I was not a good candidate for the sleeve since I had GERD. But 3 months after surgery I was off Nexium, 1 week after surgery no longer needed my BP meds. Take your time making the decision. It is a lifetime decision.

I was in-patient but I had very little pain so I likely could have done outpatient. Sleeved Monday AM, discharged Weds around lunch. I only hit the IV pain meds three times in two days. I took an oral narcotic pain med right before discharge since I had an hour plus ride home. I took one pain med that night to make sure I slept well. I never needed another pain pill including Tylenol. I was lucky and did not get the gas pains most people get. Since I was over an hour from my surgeon it would not have made sense to do outpatient. He came and checked me every day, the NUT came on discharge day to go over my diet for the next 2 weeks, I had a woman that came a couple of times a day for my breathing thing to prevent pneumonia plus the hospitalist who was monitoring my blood pressure to determine when I would start those meds again. Since I was so far from the bariatric surgeon and hospital I would not have been comfortable doing outpatient. If I was closer that might have been different.

Mine went away when I went to soft foods. Until then I would suck on a mint. I think they are Ice Breakers. Cinnamon and Wintergreen was the best for me. They were really strong. I would normally throw the second half away.

I recently made a marinade for fish that was good and then a friend used it on chicken. It would probably be good on shrimp. Olive oil Zest and juice of 3 limes Fresh grated salt and pepper Fresh chopped cilantro Marinate for a few hours. Sorry I don't really have measurements. I am one of those people that kinda just throw things together. I am thinking maybe 1/3 of a cup of olive oil. I used regular olive oil not EVOO. I love this time of year since I love to gril

That was crossing the line. I would either call your surgeon if this is the hospital he works out of and let him deal with it or call the hospital administration and find out who you should talk to.

Call your surgeon and discuss it with him. It may be too soon after your surgery for pregnancy to be safe for your or to be able to eat correctly for the baby. Sorry you are going through this. Good luck whatever you decide.

I weigh daily. It keeps me on track. But I only count weight on Saturday. I then use the Sat to Sat weight to calculate how much I have lost in a week.

I live in Pottstown, PA but work in North Wilmington near the mall. So I could be an honorary DE support person. I sleeved back in the beginning of February so am a bit ahead of you guys. NewMe- I am sorry to hear that you have to postpone your surgery. Have you checked with your insurance yourself about how much they will pay? It almost sounds like your surgeon/facility is either non-network or not a Centers of Excellence under your insurance. They may pay more if you go to a different facility/doctor.

I have had this with incision sites with another surgery (laproscopic ACL). I was told it was just a reaction to the dissolvable internal stitches. I was told to take a good moisturizer, rub the incision sites to keep things soft and break up any adhesions. I would do that twice a day. It only takes a couple of minutes.

You look great. Great job.

I take the calcium chews and the multivitamin. I love the caramel chew. The chewable multivitamin is fine.

I took myself off my BP meds 1 week after surgery. I was monitoring my BP at home a couple of times a day. It was staying good without it so I didn't take it. My cholesterol was 160 prior to surgery so that was not an issue for me. I was sleeved 2/2/2015 and came off Nexim on my 4/30/2015 visit. I had been on Nexium for 10 months prior to surgery and had a hiatal hernia repaired during surgery.

I had GERD about 6 years ago, had an Endoscopy and did not have a hernia at that point. I I treated with Nexium for three months and was good for a few years. I started back on Nexium about a year before my surgery which was 2/2/2015. I had another Endoscopy in January and now had a hernia. It was repaired when I sleeved. I came off the Nexium on 4/30/2015 and have had no symptoms since.

I was swallowing small pills the last day in the hospital (day 3) and medium sized pills after that (day 4). *****Please check with your pharmacist before you take any crushed or dissolved pills. Anything that is an extended release should not be crushed. You probably should not crush anything that is buffered or enteric coated as that also may change the efficacy.

Yup, it is real. Mine lasted 2 weeks. I lost lots of inches during that time.

I got sleeved in early February 2015 and no regrets. However I have a feeling that people that had WLS and have regrets don't tend to frequent this board. I don't think that is the particular demographic that is represented here. My co-worker had the band 6 years ago. The sleeve was not an option then. She has lost the weight and kept it off but does not recommend the band to anybody. She gets stuff stuck and still vomits periodically. Her sister had by-pass 10 years ago and she wishes she had that instead. She would love to revise to the sleeve but has no band slippage so insurance won't cover. She is happy she had surgery just not that surgery. Her daughter had the band also 6 years ago and never lost weight. The doctor refused to do any more fills until she had a psych visit. She refused to have one. I bet she has gained another 50 or 75 pounds. She never should have had any weight loss surgery. She was not ready for it. She was also only 20 years old and very immature for her age. . She would eat, throw up, eat more. She never did the liquid diet pre-op and started eating solids too quick after surgery. She would eat slider foods and drink lots of alcohol. She did have a psych eval prior to surgery and "passed" it. Her cousin had the band 5 years ago and had the band removed a couple of years later since she never lost weight and then couldn't stand the thought of something foreign in her. Yes, most of the family has weight issues. It is a tool. Do your research, take your time and make sure that you are willing to do the work. It will take work and planning. It is not a magic wand. For me it has been well worth it. However it is not for everybody. Your choice in which WLS is also a personal thing.

I really get the whole dog thing. I have 3 dogs. The two males, both fixed, have not been in the same room at the same time for 4 years. The Eskimo Spitz pick fights with the lab. The lab has almost killed him twice. It is a pain in the butt because all 3 dogs want to be with people. The female foxhound is fine with either dog so near people at all times. That is a good thing since she will bay if she isn't near me or my husband. You would think living in a kennel with dogs for 11.5 years she would be fine without humans for more than 2 minutes at a time. Nope. I am convinced my surgeon's staff was losing paperwork. It amazes me but 4 separate providers in 4 separate health systems told me they send the results to the surgeon's office. The staff claims they never received any of it. I also know that the psych eval was received by their financial department yet the surgeon's staff kept claiming they didn't have it. I had to insist they get it from their own finance department. Of course, the finance department hadn't gotten the mailed copy I had to have the psych doc fax it to her. It is so frustrating when the doctor or surgeon is great but his staff sucks. I dumped an orthopaedic doctor over the office staff and refused to let my husband use that doc when his PCP recommended him. Look on the website for your new antidepressant. The manufacturer sometimes have programs to help with the cost. That can buy you time until you can see a psycologist. I personally think for long term issues in the mental health area you do best to see somebody that specializes in mental health. I think they have a better education regarding which drugs are available. I also think that they are better able to provide the therapy and additonal coping skills that a PCP cannot. I feel the same about diabetes being managed by a PCP, I think a endocrinologist is far better equipped. I hope your stress levels come down soon. Go ahead and keep following up with the office staff. I was calling mine daily for 2 weeks. I am sure they cringed when they heard my voice. Tough titties. This is my health.

My husband has a piece of blue painters tape over the camera on his work laptop so there is no chance of being on camera. At one point he a picture of Mr. Bill as his picture for work. His name is Bill so..... I have been able to avoid having a picture at work other than on my ID. My boss was able to push back against having our pictures on most things.

I was traveling for business early in the week since I flew I did not have a cooler option. I was able to stop at a convenience store and get a light yogurt and P3 by Lunchables. I love the grilled nuggets at Chik-fil-A. The kid's meal is a perfect size. I get either fresh fruit or no sugar added cinnamon applesauce as the side and a diet lemonade. Wendy's has a grilled chicken sandwich but I skip the roll and don't get a side. You can get Wendy's chili. Wendy's has a few salads with grilled chicken or with the chili. It looks like McD's has some grilled chicken sandwiches or grilled chicken on salad. Boston Market has some good options. Arby's has a lot of sandwiches. On the kid's menu they have a turkey cheese sandwich and GoGo squeeze applesauce for a side. They have a roast turkey salad. I have no problem just eating the meat/cheese, lettuce, tomato off of a sandwich and dumping the rest. Same with a burger. In your case I would pack a cooler. Even if the rest of the family wants McD's you know you have something you like and won't lead you into temptation. But regular bread and basic hamburger rolls have never been my downfall so it is easy for me to not eat it. If bread and rolls is a weak spot for you you may want to go with the grilled nuggets, Boston Market chicken (hold the cornbread) or salads. I have never asked but the restaurant may be willing to put the guts of the sandwich in a box and hold the bread/roll and thus avoid the temptation.

I have generally found if I have a medicine that might make me nauseous if I take it with thick dairy like cottage cheese or vanilla pudding it helps. It only takes a couple of bites then take the pill. I take Celebrate and they are almost exactly like Baratric Advantage. My NUT gave me a sample of the BA one. I don't have problems taking the Celebrate chewable however I take an Actigall at the same time so my surgeon and my surgeon recommended taking that with warm Water and cottage cheese anyway. My NUT did tell me I could switch to 2 Flintstones chewable or multi-Vitamin with Iron, including pills.

I second the person that said to closely monitor your blood pressure at home. I was able to come off my blood pressure medicine 1 week after surgery. If I had not been monitoring it I would have risked it going too low. I would take my pressure before I took my meds. Once it was a good number I stopped taking it and then would take it a couple times a day to make sure that it was not going up. I probably should have been a more compliant patient and called my PCP before stopping it. Therefore, I will recommend contacting your PCP or cardiologist to figure out at when and how they want you to monitor your blood pressure and potentially wean off of your medicine.