Trinn

Yes. It's changed. And my surgeon's office wouldn't believe me when I told them, but they filed after I repeatedly asked, and I was approved within the 5 days that BS of CA now promises. So, I had my first NUT appointment on June 1, My initial surgical consult on Jun 29, and got my approval on August 24. I was sleeved on Sept 1. From the initial info session to surgery was 3 months, 2 days. And I only had 2 NUT visits pre-surgery. My second one was July 30, and she approved me for surgery based on my compliance and 20 lbs weight loss in two months. :-) So, in my case, because they wouldn't believe me that it had changed, I had to be pretty insistent. By the way, I called BS and they repeatedly offered to call my surgeon's office and explain the new coverage policy to them. I didn't take them up on it, but I did have to keep reminding them of it. For example, the insurance submitting person said, "Oh, it will take a month to get back the approval" and I was like, "No, BS's policy is to return a decision within 5 days." "Oh, but they don't really do that." "No, they assure me they will."

Wow, that's crappy -- but remember, the terms also depend on state rules, etc. So, this may not affect folks in other states. It's sad BC/BS anywhere is going that way. Blue Shield of CA just dropped the 6 month requirement and a bunch of others in June.

This is also important for us: "Acid rebound. Calcium carbonate may cause acid rebound: the stomach overcompensates for the high dose of calcium carbonate, which is alkaline, by churning out more acid. For that reason, people with a history of stomach ulcers are advised that they may not tolerate it and may have to switch to calcium citrate." From http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/what_you_need_to_know_about_calcium The bottom line is that there's a reason calcium citrate is the preferred form recommended by doctors and nutritionists for folks with VSG -- because it's safer and better absorbed.

Nope, this is not correct. It's not just "how it's absorbed." It's that Calcium carbonate needs acid in order to be absorbed, while calcium citrate can be absorbed in a low acid environment. The majority of sleeved patients have less stomach acid; those who take proton pump inhibitors like Prevacid, Prilosec, omaprazole have even *less* acid. As a result, it doesn't matter when you take the calcium -- with food or without -- if your stomach isn't acidic enough an environment, it's not going to be absorbed well. So, if you are *absolutely* sure you have plenty of stomach acid, you can take calcium carbonate, but if you're not, you should take calcium citrate. It is much better absorbed by those who have had VSG and those who take proton pump inhibitors.

Let's see: How fast my incisions healed How much I adored eating canned deviled chicken when I got to that stage The crazy period of Biblical deluge epic level How intense my reaction to some smells was. My sweetie *reeked* of garlic to me if he ate anything that had even the tiniest amount of garlic in it, and I got so nauseous at an event that was serving garlicky hummus that I almost threw up from the smell. That I didn't need my NSAIDs for joint pain, which got much better almost immediately. How many naps I needed.

I was teasing my sweetie of 16 years about this the other day, and he was vaguely uncomfortable about it! He said, "This is not a competition!" He was about 180 when I met him, and is about 205-210 now. He complains about the extra 20 lbs ALL THE TIME. *grin*

I loved the BA Lemon flavored chews the best, but they're only 250's, so my nutritionist wanted me to be having 4 a day. Instead, I went to the BA caramel 500's. Yes, they're slightly chalky, but mostly I really appreciate the taste.

I know I can't have calcium carbonate. Maybe the commenter didn't realize the difference, or didn't notice.

Celebrate has a new chewy multi, it's like a Starburst. It's sort of plastic-tasting, but I am finding it way more palatable than the chalky type of chewable. I had gone off the taste of the BA chewables *and* the Celebrate ones.

And I'm with this poster. My most recent "stall" broke the day after I'd had the most calories since I'd had surgery. Not a bunch, but closer to 800 than 600. :-)

As others have said, completely normal. I stalled within 2-3 lbs from weeks 5-7. And then magically, I started losing about a pound a day again. :-) When I see the scale staying still, I think about how my body is adusting, and how it's healthy for me to get used to the new weight, the new balance, the feeling of my body. Weight loss is great, but it also puts its own stresses on the body. A "stall" is just taking a breather before the next round. :-)

Oh, I feel you. Since surgery, I've gone from a 44DDD to a 40F. That's in two months. So, I had to "retire" about 30 bras, because they no longer fit me, but I'm such a big clothing shopper that I owned bras in every color and style and print you could imagine, mostly from Lane Bryant. I was thinking about it, and I realized that at some point, I will be able to shop in "regular" lingerie stores. I could, at some point, even shop at Victoria's Secret. Except that once upon a time, maybe 20 years ago, I was a fan of the VS line of bath stuff and a scent they carried. So, I was on my way into the local store one day to get some bath stuff, and a sales person stopped me at the entrance and said, "I'm sorry, we don't carry anything for you." She physically got in front of me, as if to head me off from entering. I guess she had thought she was being "helpful" by telling me that they didn't carry my bra/lingerie size? I dunno. Anyway, as you can imagine, it was deeply offensive. I haven't stepped foot in a Victoria's Secret since. I don't think I'm ever going to -- because if they didn't want to even allow me to enter the store when I was a size 18-20, I don't think they deserve my business. Ever. At any size.

I'm just shy of 8 weeks out, and I did this Friday night, and I agree. We had a pizza that was ordered with toppings easier on me (meatball, not pepperoni) and I had tiny bites of it, chewed well. It still made me feel crappy and gross, and I probably won't try it again for a while. However, it was a useful experiment. I'm finding in general that right now, I like my foods simpler and with more basic preparation.

Yup. Couldn't stand plain Water before surgery, and can't stand it now. However, there's nothing magical about plain, unflavored water over water flavored with Mio drops, Torani sugar free, or herbal tea. Anyone who insists there is a difference and that you need to be drinking plain water is being silly and unhelpful. (And yes, I know some NUTs say it, but there are times when NUTs say stuff that is based on their own ideas or prevailing myths, and not factually true.) So, yes, many people don't like the taste/feel of plain water after surgery. Use whatever healthy method you need to get it to a state that you enjoy it, so you get in enough. I use a combination of hot liquids like ginger/lemon tea, cold Torani-flavored, Mio drops, and just mixing my Syntrax nectar with extra water.

I liked Ginger Lemon tea, and I still use it when I'm feeling a little nauseous, even 7 weeks out.

If you are going down bands but your cup size is the same (44DD to 42DD to 40DD, for example), then your *volume* is going down. Because the cup size is the difference between the band and your fullest measurement, if your assets are staying the same size, then every time you size down a band, your cup would go up. So, for example, I went down two band sizes (44 to 40), but only lost a size in cup -- going from 44DDD to 40F. If my assets had been just as big, I would be in a 40G now. But yes, I know what you mean about wearing the good bras. I have so many fancy special ones from Lane Bryant, and It breaks my heart to see them go -- pink and black plunge lacy numbers with matching garter belt skirts and stuff. So sad! :-)

My birthday was a week ago, and I got mini cupcakes to bring to a friend's party, to share to Celebrate. I planned to have one. I ended up having one, plus the icing off a second one, plus part of a third one, which I then spit out because I was feeling queasy. Total sugary food was less than 4 tablespoons (they were tiny cupcakes). So, stuff happens. As far as sweet things, I recommend Hunts or Jello sugar free *pudding*. I like the Hunts because it has a thicker texture. I bought a tiny spoon I use with it -- it's a salt spoon, and holds a tiny bit. It takes me a while to work through one of those pudding cups, but I feel when I do that I've had full on dessert. :-)

Hahahaahha, don't even get me started. I mean, I am already perimenopausal, so I get fairly random stuff anyway. However, the first period after surgery -- about a month after -- was like some sort of Biblical plague had been visited upon my house. GUSHING. And a clot the size of my palm. It turns out that this is a common thing: WLS + increased Iron = REALLY HEAVY PERIODS. Sometimes for six months or more in a row. So, excitement! I'm hoping if it happens again, it at least won't be quite so bad.

I gave in and went shopping last night for a couple of new things. I have dozens of bras that are getting too big -- I mean, like, over 50, in amazing colors and stuff. *sniffle* But hey, helllllo 40F, and goodbye 44DDD. :-) I also got pants that were 4 sizes smaller and a sweater that was 6 sizes smaller.

I think the reason I'm happiest I stayed the night is that the first night, I had to be on oxygen because when I would sleep, my oxygen saturation would go down lower than they wanted. It was evidently an effect of the anesthesia and the pain meds.

Yes, as of this summer, Blue Shield has much easier requirements above a certain BMI, but below it, they appear to still be cautious. However, because of their new "No strict guidelines", they say they are being more flexible. It was certainly my experience -- I went from first consult/info session to approval in 2.5 months. And BS's response on the pre-auth is 5 days. That's their policy now -- you get an answer back in 5 days.

I just want to say that 2 weeks before my surgery, we replaced our leaking toilet with a new "accessible" tall toilet that I had picked out. I was not thinking of it as something for the surgery -- I just wanted a nice one one. I tell you, it was the BEST THING EVER after surgery. :-) Every time I had to use it, I was like, "OMG I am so thankful we replaced the old toilet before my surgery! OMG! So gooood!" *grin*

Sure. To take to the hospital, I bought Biotene spray (for dry mouth), and Gas-X strips (for gas help, no swallowing needed). For after, I bought shaker bottles in colors I love from Blender Bottle, as well as pretty/functional Water bottles (I use Thermos Intak style.) To go with my Blender Bottle I have their "Go Stak" containers, which I use for carrying my many pills and Vitamin chews. I pre-load them each week and pop them into my bag when I go out. I also tasted samples of tons of Vitamins, and ordered those in advance, which I was expected to do, but still some people don't. *grin* I'm looking over my Amazon history. OH! I know. Two kinds of "PackIt" brand lunch/freezer bags. These have freezer gel packs built into them. The "sandwich" size is exactly big enough to hold two Premier Protein shakes, and the "mini lunch" size is big enough for three. I used these to make sure I had my own food with me so I could go out after surgery, because I like the pre-made shakes *cold*, not room temp. :-) Foodwise, I had many kinds of sugar-free liquid available so I would be able to find something I was okay tasting. I also needed little containers of no-sugar-added applesauce, because that's what I had to use to take my omeprazole pills with -- open them up into a little spoonful of applesauce. And speaking of spoons, I bought myself a tiny spoon -- it's a salt spoon -- to eat things like pudding with, because I was taking bites too big. :-)

Thank you so much for posting! I am only 6 weeks out, but I'm already starting to feel that way. I can eat out with my sweetie at our regular places, but I just eat much smaller portions that are mostly meat. (Like, for my birthday, we had Indian food: I had two small pieces of chicken tikka masala and some paneer (cheese) from mattar paneer.) I can feel myself just gradually becoming a person who just is more active and eats smaller meals.

I've ordered some to test, because I'm having the "all my chewable multis make me gag" experience this month.