BigViffer

I take Diclofenac (generic name for Voltaren) daily and have with no interruptions because of surgery. I have been fortunate enough to even be able to cut down to only one pill a day at most. More & more often I do not even have to take it. I was put on another pill to help with heartburn that begins with an "O", but my memory fails me at the moment. As always, talk to your surgeon about it!

There really isn't much nutritional value to a salad, especially an Olive Garden salad. It's mostly just Water encapsulated in the lettuce. When you are allowed fresh veggies, I would recommend checking out a kale salad from your local grocers deli. Around here we have Meijers, Walmart, & Krogers that have kale salad and a Super food Salad. Much more nutrient dense. Another thing, I used to love ranch dressing. Now it makes me want to gag. The sodium content is ridiculous. So whatever dressing you liked before, get it on the side.

lol, that is awesome. I am going to start using that one!

Totally normal. I went through a phase where I was just mean and grumpy. I'm usually pretty even keeled, but the first couple months were pretty rough. I avoided watching any dramas on TV, not too many action films either. Mysteries and comedies were the best thing to watch. I also avoided people because I would just snap at them. My surgeon warned me of it, but I had no idea it would be so intense.

I know my NUT had some recipes that used honey for sweetner. So I doubt there is any issue with it as long as you don't go crazy with it.

Oh my, not only is that untrue but there are some famous examples! Queen Victoria, Marie of Romania, Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great... it goes on and on! As for a male mistress, I think the word would be Paramour or Cavalier, but I can't remember my college Renaissance era classes 20 years on! I think gigolo might be close, but it is closer to a prostitute than a mistress or concubine. As for the OP, this is an intensely personal issue and I don't think that anyone is going to have a situation that is exactly the same as anyone else's. There will be some judging on this thread, just be warned. Me personally, I would never do it nor condone it. But if someone else does it and it doesn't affect me, meh.

Man, I don't even know where to start on that one. There is a dangling participle and a possessive form of "forums" even though they are talking about a forum post. The there is the fact they are talking about censoring a rant. The way I see it; when the forum founder likes the original post in a thread, perhaps it has merit?

You're trying to give me an apoplexy, aren't you?

Hey now, she's a damn handsome woman!

Your doctor seems to have it backwards. He works for you, he cannot tell you how to live your life. You tell him you will be having the surgery and he needs to know that only for treatment in the future. He may not agree with your decision, but it is not his to make. My doctor is pretty darn great in my opinion. But he likes using the latest meds. I like to be more conservative and only trust meds that have been on the market for about 10 years. That way I can research side effects better than what the drug companies marketing department does. My doctor will say, "I'm going to put you on X drug..." I would interupt him and say, "How long has it been on the market? I won't take it unless it has a record I can research." Then he goes with a more tried and true med. Actually, he used to do that. I am pretty much off all the medications I was one 7 months ago because of the surgery. And in regards to the surgery, he was totally supportive. I hope you can either convince your Dr to do his job or find another Dr that you will like.

Oh man, I had wet dreams about food for about a month after surgery. I would wake up, feverish with desire for pizza. I can still remember the dream of melty stretchy cheese pulling when the slice was slowly taken away from the pizza. I would also see me grilling thick burgers, listening to the sizzle... then flash forward to me taking a huge bite that left my cheeks puffed out. Thankfully they stopped after I got to chew something instead of just liquids and mashed foods. But man, it was weird. I felt like a 13 year old again, but instead of erotic dreams it was food dreams. I think that was when it truly hit me that I was addicted to food.

Let's not even talk about the 64oz of Water. That eludes me too. Like a pipe dream for me at this time. I wasn't a big water drinker B4 surgery. But I'm working on it. I keep hearing that it gets easier, but I am not there yet either. I average 50-ish oz of water. There are days when I am hot from working outside and I blow it out no problem. but sitting in the office all day makes it difficult. My surgeon said as long as you are peeing relatively clear you are physically OK. But always shoot for the 64 oz.

I should add that hummus has more calories as well as protein and fat. It's a trade off.

For variety, you should also try hummus. There are tons of flavors and all with good protein counts. I love black bean hummus. That was my first food of real substance and it was so savory I was literally dizzy from the experience!

This is interesting to me. The day I went home from the hospital I was giving a prescription for pills. The only restriction was that I could only take one pill at a time. I thought that was funny until I had to take a pill. I've taken meds for so long, I could take a handful without so much as a sip of Water. I had a hard time the first few weeks, but I got used to it. I don't remember exactly when things changed, but I do know that I take 4 pills now at a time with just a sip of water. Also, be aware that some medications are not supposed to be crushed. Slow release pills being a good example of one. Check with your pharmacist and your surgeon of course.

How funny, this is the exact reason I had the gastric sleeve done. My pain was not caused by a minor herniated disc though. I had a major car accident when I was young and have serious bone related issues 20+ years on. My back of course is in terrible shape. For 15 years I had a prescription for muscle relaxers and pain pills. Demerol, vicodin, ultram, percocet... the list goes on and on. Also had cortizone shots and facet injections. For 15 years! The straw the broke the camel's back was last September when I had a major herniated disc that caused excruciating pain in my left buttocks, hamstring, and around the knee. I've known pain; I've had all my teeth knocked out and shoved back in while I was awake, had my jaw pieced back together, degloved my hands, broken both ankles, shoulder reconstruction, epididymitis and some other things... but all of those I could drown in pain killers. I could not get any relief from the pain this time however. Now I know that I will eventually need the back surgery that they have been recommending for the past 10 years, but I do not want to sacrifice the mobility that I have currently until absolutely necessary. I went to the back surgeon and he said that he would not perform the surgery until I lost 100lbs. Then he recommended gastric surgery to me. Not the first time it was recommended, but it was the first time I wanted it. My kids are just now in the 10-12 range, I want to be able to do things with them. I want to be around to see what they accomplish. At my age, health started becoming a more important issue that it had before. I'm not old yet, but I do have health issues. This was the turning point for me to not just do something about my back pain, but also about my lifestyle. Because of my health issues and comorbidities, I was approved and scheduled for surgery fairly quickly. Had my surgery Feb 17th of this year. Here comes the amazing part. Before surgery I was taking pain meds, arthritis meds, diabetes meds, high blood pressure meds, and I was getting ready to start taking high cholesterol meds. On my one week follow up, I was taken off all of them. I was feeling better at an incredible pace. I was incredulous, so I asked the surgeon how it was possible that even though I had only lost 15lbs at this time, how could all of my arthritis pain have diminished so quickly? Blood pressure and sugar I can understand, but not arthritis. Turns out it really is the stuff that we put in our bodies that makes a difference. I also think that my body was focusing on other things at the time and I just didn't notice the old familiar pains at the time. So here I am, 7 months later and I only take 1 diclofenac, 1 prevacid , and my Vitamins every day. I haven't had so much as a spasm in my back or legs since surgery. I don't worry tying my shoes or picking up a quarter I dropped out of fear that I won't be able to stand up straight afterwards. I hope that your results eventually as good as mine. The only thing I had to give up was gorging myself on restaurant food and huge family meals so that I could move and be active again. I think I made a pretty good trade.

I like wasabi edamame, tofu, soy creamer, and a few other soy Protein dishes. An acquaintance told me I needed to avoid soy because it can cause breast to develop in men. Obviously I was against that idea! From the research that I did post-surgery, I have found that the concerns come from mass doses of soy protein. The average person just will not be taking in enough to impact you. The people that would have to worry would be the 100% vegans that will not take any protein that has anything to do with animals. The most abundant source of vegan protein is soy and pea. Most of my protein comes from meat, dairy, or Beans. whey is the most popular form of protein. So if you are a competitive vegan weightlifter, you may have a reason to be concerned. Otherwise, you should be safe. Of course, please speak to a NUT and/or your surgeon before making any decisions.

@@4MRB4PHOTO - I think I didn't make a good impression with some people on this forum from one of my earlier threads. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/343777-guys-room-is-everyone-else-overly-emotional-or-am-i-just-an-ae/ You might enjoy it for what it is and not what it was perceived to be.

lol, thanks for that.

I think it is funny that since joining this forum I have been called an a_shole, a d**k, rude, and a few other names. And I have not once called anyone else a name. And what makes that even more humorous to me is that it is the people that try to appear the most supportive and compassionate to the more emotional members. However none have bothered me until this last one calling me rude. At worst I could be called callous, but I would prefer dispassionate. The worse thing I have said was that people were getting self righteous. All that tells me is that if you aren't with those people, they will not abide you. lol, edited to correct spelling!

@@4MRB4PHOTO - Bravo! Witty use of Pastor Niemoller quote. But alas I doubt some people here will catch the reference. Or if they do, they will probably claim Godwin's Law!

@ - Technically it isn't karma, it's irony. Karma would be if someone skipped my posts because they were too poorly written. Irony would be when my mistakes were noticed. Thanks for the well wishes. We'll just have to agree to disagree on everyone having worth. I am being literal and I believe you are being figurative. To everyone else, I apologize for the light-hearted thread turning ugly. It appears I bring the best out in people.

Are you seriously going to say that you have never, not even once thought that you were better than someone? Anyone? I just cannot believe that at all. Have you never watched the news and seen the drug users and abusers, child abusers, pimps, wife beaters, drunks, and politicians and not once thought that they were beneath you? You think I haven't learned that I am no better than anyone else. I think it is backwards. I don't think you have learned that you are better than others. You think me judgmental, I just call it standards.

I swear I am going to give you the 80's teen slow movie clap for that comment.

Just to reiterate and emphasize, allow me to quote the original posting. I clearly state that everything I said was a joke. Since many here did not get that, allow me to show the definition: Now, after I clearly said that it was a joke, I even gave some advice for anyone who was willing to heed it for perhaps better answers or at least more answers. The people who seem to be offended by this apparently missed the humor or may have even thought I was referencing them. I do not know. So, to put a band-aid on this ouchie, I'm sorry if my joke offended you or if you felt it belittled you. Now this is the part where we all come together in a group hug and feel better because we all came out winners in the end.