Ashlegal

@@SuperDave A picture of myself is what catapulted me into my journey. For years I'd see myself in pictures and thought "well duh, the camera adds like ten pounds (definitely not 100)." Then I saw one that put me in tears and it was then I knew I needed to make a change. But I still don't see what others see when I look in the mirror. But as they say "a picture is worth a thousand words!" And I can only come up with one, fantastic! You look fantastic!

Cooking relaxes me. I have always been a "foodie" and loved trying new recipes, being a hostess, making food for my neighbors and stocking my freezer with "home-made convenience" meals. This didn't change after surgery. The only difference now is my portion is much smaller, my recipe choices and meals are Protein dense and I keep an eye on my carb count. I cook 4-5 times a week, many of those times are with friends/family and I make sure nothing goes to waste.

@@trmaloy and @@amtc1204 Everyone will have a different vitamin/brand/form they were either told to take, recommended or prefer to take. My surgeon told me he did not care which brand but I specifically needed a chewable multi with Iron, a sublingual B12, Calcium citrate chewable/liquid and a liquid Omega 3 with DHA and EPA. I could stop at three months with the liquid variety but chewable is always preferred. He also didn't care if I used the gummies but told me to watch for sugar/carb content as they can run high in many of them. Remember to take your calcium two hours apart from your multi!

@@amtc1204 Did they have you up walking in the hospital? You have to work past the "crappy" feeling. It can be hard but very necessary. Time it with your pain meds, either 30 minutes before you are scheduled to take them or 30-60 minutes after you take them. Are you getting in enough fluids? Proteins? Being dehydrated can make you feel much worse than you should. Hang in there, it does get better.

I will be in Vegas in my favorite suite at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where I will be splurging on sports wagering, black jack playing and shopping. I know on Thanksgiving night we will be going to Craftsteak and there I will have the Lobster Bisque and Diver Sea Scallops. I am exciting for my whole family to be getting together for the week more than anything!

I had been taking 40 mg's of generic prilosec along with 150 mg's of Zantac daily for years prior to Bypass. My GERD was the cause of a loose esophageal sphincter and am unsure if having Bypass will make that problem go away. I doubt it but you never know. Anyone know? I have been taking 20 mg's of the same medicine since surgery and was told at three months I could stop. Did you take a similar medicine after surgery? For how long? I'm also assuming that if Bypass doesn't change the issues with my esophageal sphincter I'll have to continue with medicine forever. Bummer.

Are you allowed or should you? Two different questions. You are allowed to eat anything you'd wish and you may or may not suffer unpleasant side effects. Should you have cake? Depends. I've had cake but I didn't have issues with sweets prior to surgery. A piece of cake isn't going to give me permission to binge on cake or other foods.

I have a low tolerance for pain and even without surgery spend most my days at a 4-5 on the pain scale. My pain never grew to a ten on the pain scale, ever. I know everyone feels pain differently but I have not met anyone who had WLS to ever complain about their pain being at a ten. A ten on the pain scale is comparable to a bone break and protruding through skin. In fact the pain GETS BETTER as the days pass, not worse. What they have experienced was the healing of their incisions and if you are not easy with it, it can feel like something is ripping on the inside. But, yes the worse pain to be expected is on the left side where most of the surgery took place and but like I said, I find it odd that it would be pain they didn't feel UNTIL 2-3 weeks out.

Did they explain the reason for the denial?

@@KindaFamiliar Sounds like your priorities are right on point.

I was told that I could take ANY form of Vitamin as long as I was taking the required doses. I take chew two Centrum C Multivitamin/multi-mineral everyday and have since a week after surgery. I don't understand why you doing so would present a problem.

@@glitter eyes I have found it on Amazon, in Target, in Safeway (Vons), Sprout's Farmer's Market, costco and Fry's food (Kroger). It varies in price from each of these places and the best bang for you buck is buying it at Costco.

@@KindaFamiliar How about if they win, you can put the money towards seeing the Grand Canyon?

@@KindaFamiliar The line on their game against Detroit is -14. If I was a gambling lady... Oh wait, I am!

Are you ready for surgery? I am not being facetious, but it is a rhetorical question. This surgery is not an easy way out of being obese. It takes an immense amount of dedication, sacrifice, personal reflection and change. It does not in anyway fix your relationship with food, that is completely up to you. 100%. Many of us (including me) have realized our relationship with food needs more than just our stomachs to be reduced to almost nothing and our intestines re-routed. We have sought the help of therapists and or support groups. Me, personally, I see a therapist once a week, attend Overeater's Anonymous twice monthly and attend a local WLS support group once a week. Yes, yes, yes it takes that kind of dedication for some of us and yes, yes, yes it is important to realize if you'll need that kind of dedication. I might not always need all that support but I know right now I do. Making this surgery a success is important and not a privilege. There are millions of people who will never be give the chance at a new life; don't take it for granted. You must learn to not see this journey as giving up on something important but gaining so much more than a great burger, a bag of Doritos, a big plate of Italian, a heaping bowl of ice cream or a few Snacks in front of the TV. You are going to transform into a person you didn't even know existed. A woman who is healthy, confident, active, adventurous and above all else, NOT OBESE. Imagine the shopping you'll do at a healthy weight, or the places you'll go that your weight held you back from, the new activities you'll try that you weight stopped you from doing or the confidence you'll have in your career, your personal relationships, your social life, with your family, with your friends... I wish you the best and want you to succeed. You can and you will if you take all the strength you applied to eating and apply it towards succeeding.

You have started an exercise routine but have you upped your calorie, Fluid or Protein intake? You may be adding muscle due to the exercise and muscle weighs more than fat. As other posters have said, stalls happen but the most important reminder is making sure you follow your program. If you follow your program you will lose the weight. Be patient with the process, be patient with yourself, stay positive, stay hydrated and stay focused on the program.

My Surgeon had "warned" me that eating meat might be a problem after surgery, which is why he Protein in other forms is so important even months after surgery. He explained that not only are dense Proteins hard to digest with regular "plumbing" that after bypass it becomes that much more difficult. Thus, turning people off from wanting to eat meat. I have had no problems with eating meat (thank goodness) but they do not taste how they did prior to surgery. I have had to get creative with how I cook them (in terms of sauces and seasonings) to make them more palatable.

@@smb1966 As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, all have their disadvantages and research suggests using them sparingly. I have been told by both my PCP and surgeon that our bodies can actually process zero-calorie sweeteners as it would sugar, causing both weight gain and insulin resistance. I try really hard to use any type of sweetener in extreme moderation. I used to use Splenda for recipes, especially for baking as it worked great as a substitute for white sugar, even the BS Splenda was a great alternative to regular brown sugar. However, I have recently discovered Monk Fruit (in the raw) and it has made a wonderful substitute for Splenda and or white sugar. It doesn't have that licorice taste that Stevia has and it is much sweeter than white sugar. http://www.intheraw.com/products/faqs/monk-fruit-in-the-raw

@@glitter eyes She had Gastric Bypass on June 24th.

I found a blueberry tea at Wholefoods that I had been drinking on ice for a few weeks when I decided to nuke it and had a little Splenda. It was pretty good and Country Peach from Celestial Seasonings is good warmed with a splash of cream!

@@enjoythetime The other night my friend made a soup just like the one you posted. She diced a jalapeno and instead of chili Beans she did just plain pinto. Then she made a weird low-carb cornbread to go along side. Mmmm! It was delish!

@@LipstickLady I used to make something similar before surgery, it was my midweek easy comfort go to meal and I plan on bringing it back. It is so yummy! So, so yummy!

I was told I could try ANY form of the required Vitamins. And with each lab result we would talk about the form's effectiveness, then adjust as needed. Right now I am on a liquid Calcium Citrate, liquid Omega-3, a sub-lingual B12, a D3 gel-tab and a chew-able multi. If my labs next month indicate my levels are off, I will try the patch and go from there. I have to use a patch right now for birth control, pain meds and wouldn't mind another patch for vitamins. It would make things super easy.

You might be surprised, you could be one of the luckier ones whose healing process is easy. Mine was aside from the pain and keeping it under control. It is for no one a picnic but some do come out more fortunate than others. Cheers to you and a relatively easy recovery! Congrats!