Daisee68

Don't let the kidney stone be the thing that puts you off. I actually passed 3 before 1 week post-op. (1 in less than 48 hours). I think the fluids they pushed in the hospital really got it moving plus the constant sipping of Water post-op instead of my usual guzzling of water. I even had a KUB (Kidney xray) 3 days before surgery and urologist didn't even call to tell me a few on the move. (Would have at least been nice to know that.) Fingers crossed all the other stuff sorts out but don't let the kidney stone scare you from the surgery if you can.

Buckling / tying my shoes - without the ties being on the side of my shoe! My thighs didn't stick out quite as much on the chair at my hairdresser's!

I just went back to work this last week too and while I don't work around food, I did find it a little difficult eating in the lunchroom watching everyone else. But it did get easier throughout the week. Give it some time and see if you can avoid those foods. (You can't physically eat them right now anyway without damaging your stomach.) Hopefully by the time you can move to real foods, you will be satisfied enough that those foods won't bother you any longer. But you are right, this journey is the most important. If you have too much temptation, you may have to look for something else. Meanwhile trust your "tool" and work the program.

It does get better! Can you go to another room or go outside and sit while they eat? Promise it gets easier when you can finally eat something in a week or so - even pureed. Don't eat too early. Wait for your dr to say ok.

3 weeks post-op tomorrow. Been on pureed foods since Friday (6 days). I am supposed to be able to have "soft" foods which included tuna, but not sure if I ate too fast, ate too much or didn't chew it well enough but it hurt a lot behind my sternum after about 6 bites and then it did not stay down. Think I'll stick with pureed foods for a while....

@@llovecats so sorry to hear this! Glad you dr is listening to you and looking for the stricture! Seems a lot of doctors ignore this. Hope all goes well!

Ugh! Sorry to hear that. I have not done that yet and hope that I don't BUT I haven't been as adventurous with food as you have yet. Mostly out of fear which I have to get over or I will never be able to eat nutriously!

Don't want you to think I was judging you! I never seem to actually be full until evening but I am too scared to eat too close together. Having said that, I just had something to eat that wasn't satisfying so then I ate a Laughing Cow cheese wedge very fast and was trying to get in a popsicle before I was too full and realized it was too late. Luckily I finally threw away half the popsicle but only because I feared vomiting! Scary that I have the same old habits - like I was fooling someone by eating quickly! (PS - there is no one else here! Why would I be trying to "hide" food? Only from myself! So foolish....)

I don't have sleeve (and I don't have periods anymore for that matter as I had a hysterectomy in 2013); however, I had this issue pre-bariatric/hysterectomy. So strange. I could eat and eat and eat - especially that week! At least now you have the restriction to stop you when it is finally over!

Curse? You might not be getting enough at anyone sitting to hold you off until the next meal, but I would think you are eating a little too close together. I think we are supposed to be waiting 3 or 4 hours in between...

Totally normal. You are mourning food. My therapist said "just stay in the present - just in today". I repeat that to myself often. One thing that helped me (though it might not help you at this stage - everyone is different) is I started researching and pinning (to Pinterest) bariatric friendly recipes I wanted to try when I could. I have been cooking WAY more than I ever have before and enjoying it. PLUS the food lasts forever since you can only have a small amount. check out TheWorldAccordingToEggface.com if you haven't already. She has some great recipes and suggestions and just a good overall blog. Good Luck! You will get there!

If you can hold your nose, you can survive it. It is the smell of Isopure that got me. I took them to work and my co-workers smelled them and one said "oh my gosh, how did they bottle farts?!" Seriously. Exactly what it smelled like. I have had A LOT Of Protein drinks and none of them smell like that. UGH.... I haven't drank them post-op because I can't drink them fast enough to just get them down.

@@kell778 - If your dr gave you a choice to use other Protein drinks, you might check out the Premier Protein ready made shakes. They taste pretty good - both chocolate and vanilla. It's about 11 ounces and 30 g of protein. I have powders and like them as well but find myself going back to the Premier quite often (drinking one now in fact ). helps in getting your protein post-surgery too AND I have been adding Salted Caramel sugar free Syrup made by Torani into the vanilla shake and yummy!!

Oh my gosh! 103 pounds?! That's amazing! Great work!! You are going to hit that personal goal soon at this rate!!

What a great idea! I want someone to start a cooking class for bariatric patients in my area - teaching us how to cook some great high Protein, low carb meals. I know there are lots of recipes online but not quite the same...

You might try an almond or soy milk? Sometimes that helps. Otherwise, yea, your stomach does gurgle a lot. Just wait until after surgery! Totally worth it though! I drank a lot of broth - especially Swanson's Tortilla Soup broth. It was WONDERFUL but a little spicy and I had to back off of it after drinking so much of it for 4 or 5 days. sugar free Popsicles help too. Hang in there! You can do this!

I ate Shelly's Ricotta Bake (marinara sauce and Italian spices) the first day I could move to mushy foods - Day 15 post-op. I have also had some Siracha spice on some items because I was craving spicy. No issues for me - yet....

Great work!! Thank you for sharing this! You are in inspiration!

@@Mobeans63 - if it makes you feel better, I am 47 and was 43-45 BMI at surgery time and also have had no complications - until I tried tuna which didn't stay down. I think I just didn't chew it well enough - so still not a complication. And I wasn't someone that had been exercising a lot before. In fact, I am (was) Type 2 Diabetic, Graves Disease (thyroid disorder), had a stress fracture in my heal, blah blah blah. All to say, don't think if you are slightly older or have a slightly higher BMI or aren't as in good of a shape as you wish, that you won't have a complication free procedure. I am proof that is still possible! Best of luck to you! Just do exactly as your doctor and NUT tell you!

Mine was very quick. Submitted Friday at noon, approved Monday morning. Feel free to call Cigna and be sure they got it and see what the status is. I had to do that when trying to sort out my sleep study because the dr's office hadn't really done that part correctly.

If you are using insurance, it depends on your actual insurance. Here is what mine said (Cigna) so I would agree if you can document your WW attempts and have you PCP sign off, it might work: "Medical management including evidence of active participation within the last 12 months in a weight-management program that is supervised either by a physician or a registered dietician for a minimum of three consecutive months ((i.e., ≥ 89 days). The weight-management program must include monthly documentation of ALL of the following components:  weight  current dietary program  physical activity (e.g., exercise program) Programs such as Weight Watchers®, Jenny Craig® and Optifast® are acceptable alternatives if done in conjunction with the supervision of a physician or registered dietician and detailed documentation of participation is available for review. However, physician-supervised programs consisting exclusively of pharmacological management are not sufficient to meet this requirement. "

I am only 3 weeks post-op and have been adding spices to my pureed foods - like cilantro, garlic powder, cumin, etc. to my fat free refried Beans. I had roasted garlic hummus today with no issues. (I have even used a siracha dried spice I found a couple of times in small amounts.) Definitely use your spices! Just start light and see how you do before making it too spicy.

Still being on liquids will definitely cause you to lose faster? How come you cannot transfer to at least pureed? Fear or has it made you sick? Let us know and maybe we can give you some suggestions. I can certainly tell you fear was a big reason for me to not move on but I have one small meal at a time.

That's encouraging to hear! I am 3 weeks and couple of days and have been very tired last few days. Hoping I am right on track with you by my 4 week. thank you for sharing! It gives us all hope!

Oh my gosh! That's incredible! Go you!!