Sunshine3073

I was so worried about what I was going to have to pay for my bypass. My insurance company nor my surgeon's office could/would tell me what my out of pocket was going to be! My surgery bill from the hospital was only $99.82!! The anesthesologist was $160 something. I'm stoked!

1. Did your insurance pay for plastic surgery after your weight loss? 2. What hoops did you have to jump through, if any to get your insurance to cover your plastic surgery? 3. What type of plastic surgery did your insurance cover? Any other information would be great. I need to find out if my insurance will cover and need to know the right questions to ask and how to word my questions. TIA.

Let me be clear that I have always hated exercising, even when I was on active duty. Cardio is the worst! How do I get started without loathing it? What should I do? Nobody in my healthcare group has really discussed with me where to start and how to stick with it. HELP!

I keep hearing about how great salmon is for us but plain salmon isn't something I'm fond of. I'd love to hear some recipes to help make it taste better like seasonings and such. I really like fish and seafood in general, and I'm not ready to give up on salmon just yet! TIA!

No, I've never been much a breakfast eater plus I am having a hard time figuring out what to have. Weekends are easier because I like eggs, so I will typically have about 1/2 an egg with wheat toast but share 1/2 of each with my 3 dogs. During the week, I'm up early and hit the ground running with no time for breakfast unless I could eat it in the car on my 45 minute commute. Sometimes I will grab a couple crackers out of my lunch bag just to put something in my belly in the morning. I just don't know what to have in the morning.

I love to cook. I don' think that's something that goes away after surgery, at least it didn't for me. I'm a great cook, which also contributed to my weight gain. Now when I cook, it's usually something special for the family, otherwise it's just something small for myself. My husband and son don't really like many of the same foods as I do, particularly anything healthy like vegetables. I love vegetables but can't eat enough before they go bad in the fridge, mostly any lettuce or like items that you have to buy in a package like mushrooms or carrots, that sort of thing. I have to admit that I still enjoy some not-so-good-for-me foods, but I can't eat much at all so when I do indulge, it's now one small slice of pizza (if that) versus 3-4 slices of pizza! Big difference. Last night we had ribeye steak and mashed potatoes. I ate a very small portion of steak, about 4 small bites and two tablespoons of mashed potatoes. It was an indulgence, but I felt like I ate a TON of food and felt bad like when I would binge before the surgery. It's always been difficult at our house to make what everyone likes. Now it's twice as difficult with my limitations.

I have been told different things so I want to get the "straight skinny" from those in the know! Here are my questions. 1. True/False: My doctor says my taste buds may change after surgery and foods I love now I may not like. 2. Will my appetite REALLY go away? Will the feeling of being hungry all the time disappear? 3. I'm totally addicted to food. While I have been able to mostly control it over the past 3 months, there are times when I have NO WILLPOWER and stop at Culver's on the way home from work for a big, greasy double cheeseburger and a soda! Will I be able to break this after the surgery? I'm so worried about this. I'm already having a hard time with the liquid diet. I'm on my 2nd day now and I feel HORRIBLE!

Thank you for all the responses and ideas! My husband and I went on a hike on trails through the woods yesterday. I really enjoyed that! There are few trails like that, so for now we'll stick to that one until we find other trails.

I had surgery August 26, so I'm 11 days post-op. I feel like I should start doing something.

Something I haven't heard much about from my own medical team is what foods have a tendency to cause dumping syndrome? Please share your knowledge with me!

I hope your surgery went well and you have an uneventful recovery, Be sure and let us know how you are doing when you are up to it. The surgery went well but I regretted it and wished I hadn't had it later that day and also the following day. I felt so horrible with so much gas pain and discomfort. I couldn't see beyond those moments. I actually cried for a minute then sucked it up because I couldn't do anything about it anyway. Now, I'm glad I had it as I see the weight melt off. I've lost over 20 lbs since the surgery, which is way more than I ever thought I would. I've lost one of my chins so far, my wedding ring fits better and my ankle swelling is almost non-existent. I'm doing well with getting my protein in. I almost hurled when I tried all other protein shakes but the Premier Protein is tolerable, not great, but not hurling. It's still pretty sweet, which I could care less for now. I just got my drain out today. Boy, did that not feel great at all! I'm so glad it's out though. There was a clot in it that was too big to get out of the tiny hole so it just hung around. Made me want to puke looking at it. lol I haven't worn jeans yet, but will be wearing them tomorrow as I'm showing one of my horses to a prospective buyer and we're meeting at a trail head to go for a ride. I'm struggling with getting going with exercise. I still feel a general abdominal discomfort, not pain though. After my appointment, hubby and I went shopping for a home gym. I used to love to use that when I was in the Navy. The surgeon wants me to start toning with weight training but not work my core yet. Cardio has always been my weakness. I have a super hard time with cardio. Even when I weighed 130 on active duty, it was a struggle to do all the running. I did it but HATED every minute of it. I have to find a way to rectify that. I do have a stationary bike/elliptical combo that we are moving to our family room in the basement with the home gym. That way I can listen to music or watch tv while I do it and not bother anyone with the noise. We have an above ground pool, but I can't get in for 2-3 days until my spot where the drain came out is good and sealed (Drs orders). I like to paddle around. I don't know if I can call it swimming, but I'm moving anyway and also like to walk against the resistance. Too bad we live in Michigan and we can go from 90 to blizzard in no time. lol Okay not really but pool season is almost over.

LOL. Thank you for all the information.

I am sure I'm experiencing dumping syndrome. Symptoms are sweating, feels like a ball in my stomach. mild-moderate dizziness, lump in my throat. Can I force myself to throw up to feel better? I feel wretched! TIA

Something I found and absolutely love is On The Go Paleo Hot Cereal Gluten & Grain Free Power Protein. It's a hot cereal with 12g of protein for a serving. I make it with Silk organic, unsweetened Protein soy milk for even more added protein. Going to sound yucky, but I do the same thing with baby food cereal...not Gerber though. Gerber is GMO, no thank you! So I buy non-gmo baby food cereal high in protein and use the soy milk to mix it with.

I was one week post-op yesterday. Tomorrow I get my drain out. I ignorantly advanced my diet too soon on my own as I'm supposed to be on clear liquids with protein, either powder added to clear liquids or Isopure protein drinks. Problem is, I can't tolerate the protein mentally. I gag on it. The Isopure tastes like Sno Cone topping like icky sweet syrup. Ack! Now I'm back to what I would call a full liquid/soft food diet. I have to get protein. My body craves it. Because I'm still opening up pill capsules, I have one that I have to wait 30 minutes to "eat" so I take that as soon as I wake up in the morning. Then, 30 minutes later, I put the Prilosec powder from the capsule in unsweetened applesauce and mix it in 1/2 of the container that I've spooned out into a small cup. It's so dang bitter that this is the only way I've found to be able to tolerate it. If I'm "hungry", which is my term for my body craving protein, I'll have part of a soft egg but I can't eat all of it, just about 1/2. Later in the day I'll have some Idahoan instant mashed potatoes made thin with a scoop of the protein powder. If I follow this, I don't dump.

I'm so excited to hear of your great results!

So I just had my surgery Wednesday. I am shocked at my poo. It smells like it came from a nursing home resident who crapped their pants several days ago. OMG I might hurl just thinking about it!

Thanks for all the information everyone!

Well hell yeah I did. lol I just had a little Parmesan crusted chicken, like only 1/4 cup, if that. I was thinking maybe the Mayonnaise and Parmesan base and the carbs of the Italian bread crumbs were too much for me. OMG it's awful! CAN I FORCE MYSELF TO THROW UP TO FEEL BETTER?!

They are both powder when removed from the capsule and very bitter. What is the best way you found to take these without gagging?

I'm not consuming any Protein and I had my surgery 3 days ago. My Dr. said he is more concerned about me getting my fluids in than the protein and I will start the protein when I see him for my 1 week post op anyway. I felt very empty, so I got out a small piece of Peanut Butter on the back of a spoon, really just enough to have something that tasted like something. It was all I needed to feel satisfied and now back to my Water. You should be on stage 2 right now, only Clear liquids unless your doctor instructed otherwise. I'm really excited about eating more healthy, but sticking to the restrictions is very important to me also.

Remember that your body only absorbs about 20 grams of protein at a time so you will need to drink some of it later by waiting at least an hour after finishing the first part of the container.

Of course I won't start riding until my Dr. gives the okay but when should I expect to get the okay to start riding again? I just had my RNY surgery 3 days ago so am still on a 10 lb lifting restriction.

No, I can't take whole pills. I see you had the sleeve whereas I had the RNY gastric bypass so no pills for me ever.

I needed to hear this. I just had RNY on the 26th and feel worse than I thought I would. I've had surgery in the past, but not like this one. My other surgeries were to repair a broken leg, two bunionectomies, dental surgery. I can honestly say that this is by far the most difficult surgery to date! I feel empty inside. I sip Water all day and do the incentive spirometer. I'm still on clear liquid and my Dr. said not to worry or force Protein this first week, but do take the actigall and omeprazole as prescribed. The day of and day after surgery I felt horrible. I wish someone had warned me about that. I was full of regret! Maybe it was on this forum, but if so, I missed it. I just keep thinking about how good I'm going to look when the weight is off finally. There is a part of me that wonders if I could have done it on my own. I lost 26 lbs before the surgery on my own. No turning back now though.