Renkoss

Welcome Amy! I'm a fellow Ohioian, Northeast Ohio as in Cleveland. Where are you in Ohio? I am one month post-op and had surgery at The Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Phillip Schauer. Where are you having surgery and when? Or do you not have an exact date yet?

I didn't drink a lot of diet pop prior to surgery. I drank perhaps one Coke Zero every day, and sometimes didn't even finish the can or bottle. When I learned that diet pop is not recommended, I stopped drinking it. Did I miss it? At first. Once I had surgery, I don't even drink as much coffee as I used to. And trust me, I drank a lot of coffee morning, noon, night. Now I still drink my coffee in the morning, but not so much the rest of the day or evening now. I'd have to say that I of course drink more Water now. I do not miss drinking diet pop. I have no craving for it whatsoever. The reason it is not recommended by the Bariatric Institute where I had my surgery is because the bubbles fill the pouch, and you are not able to eat food if the bubbles do not dissipate quickly. There was never any mention of it "stretching the pouch or sleeve". I think you are setting yourself up prior to surgery to have your diet pop regardless of what this surgeon or that surgeon says. If you still really want it after surgery, more power to you. But many things change after surgery. I thought that was bullcrap when I heard it, but it's true.

Tonight for dinner I had about 2 oz of seared Ahi Tuna steak and about 2 oz of Lobster Bisque Soup. Delicious and satisfying!

I'm one month post op and the best feeling is not being winded from my big stomach after going up a flight of stairs, and also being able to trim my own toenails!

Your welcome !

The need to chew is a tough one during pre-op diet. I can only tell you to occupy your mind with something else so you don't think about it. You only have 6 more days before surgery, so just get through it. You will be on liquids for a few weeks after surgery as well, but the big difference will be that you really won't be hungry. Good Luck!

In all the literature I received both pre and post op gave guidelines, but also said "if you feel full, stop." So basically what they give are just guidelines; some days I can eat what is suggested and other days I just can't. Today my system is off due to weather affecting me, so I'm sticking to just Protein shakes and liquids. Don't want to make myself feel sick. I think you just have to listen to what your body is telling you. Just because something is listed doesn't mean you HAVE to eat it or that you HAVE to eat all of it.

Valentina, I'm really not a chicken person either. I'm getting more used to eating it though because it seems to be one of the only real meats I can eat at this stage. I had RNY 1 month ago, and so far haven't really tried beef yet. I'll give it a bit longer before attempting. I think the deli meats are a no-no for me right now because of nitrates and such. Just didn't sit well with me. Most of the fish we eat is caught from Lake Erie (I live in Northeast Ohio). My husband goes fishing quite a bit, so we enjoy Walleye, Perch, Bass, and others. We do purchase our seafood though because, well it's a Lake

Exactly how my diet was to progress, except for the liquid part. Mine was liquid 1-2 weeks after surgery, pureed 1-2 weeks, soft foods 1-2 weeks, and regular foods after that slowly. I've tried a few regular food items and not going to push it. I've got the rest of my life to get back on the regulars. I'm sticking with soft foods for now. Today I'm actually sticking to Protein shakes because the weather here and my allergies have my whole system feeling bad. So, not going to push anything on my system right now. I am 30 days out.

May.demers when did you have surgery? If anytime recently I agree that cereal is probably a bit much at this stage. I don't eat cereal anymore, and haven't for a good 5-6 years because of the high carb count for cereal. I have eaten low carb for a long time due to my diabetes. Also, did you consider the milk? If the milk is regular milk it has lactose. Could you have become lactose intolerant after surgery? I've seen several people on the forums hear say that they became intolerant after surgery. Just some things to consider.

YES! Just that one teeny tiny bite and BOOM! You are in the bathroom hanging your head in the commode! I tried the turkey deli meat today and I don't think I should eat deli meats right now. I think had it been turkey breast directly off the turkey, or even a piece of ham right off the ham it would be different. lunch meats have nitrates and nitrites, and I don't think my system likes it anymore. Not right now anyway. I'll stick with the chicken, tuna, and fish for now. I did eat pulled pork a week or so ago and it was fine. So I'd assume it wouldn't bother me.

I have been a Lane Bryant buyer for several years now. I earn reward points every quarter and they send me a check for it. It can of course only be used at Lane Bryant. I will usually luck out and get one right when they are having a 40% off everything in the store, or in combination with a $25 off of $50, $50 off $100, or $75 off $150. If you know how to work it, you are really paying no more for quality clothes then you would at a discount department store.

This BBQ sauce doesn't have vinegar in it, but it does use sugar free or low sugar ketchup. It also uses a diet coke (I use coke zero because I don't like diet coke) and then has lots or different spices and such in it. Some bacon, liquid smoke, onion, mustard (I use a spicy mustard), cloves, salt pepper, and some other stuff. It is very yummy.

My thought was overeating as well. I guess I fell back to poor habits. I won't make that mistake again. I felt terrible!

Awe Kimmey, so sorry that you are going through all this stress. I hope everything works out for you sugar. Sending my prayers to you. I hope you feel better soon.

If anyone is interested, I have a wonderful low carb sugar free bbq sauce that I make, and it is really good. You can make it as spicy as you like by adding additional hot sauce to it. If you are interested, let me know and I'll post the recipe. I don't have it with me right now, but I can do it later this evening. My husband loves this bbq sauce, and we use it quite a bit. It's great as a dip too!

From your lips to God's ears! Glad you are feeling better. I was kind of like that on Day 4 after surgery. Suddenly things just seem to be better. Praying for your recovery!

I had bought some deli ham lunch meat shaved and tried some Saturday evening as a snack. I had two thin slices with a 1 oz piece of cheese. Those two slices seemed to be okay; it did not have any spicy seasonings to it and I chose Ham off the Bone. So no Honey Ham, Maple Ham, Bavarian Ham...anything like that. I got greedy and tried a 3rd piece. That is when everything went to pot. Instantly had pain in middle of my chest, felt nauseous, actually was in the bathroom with head over the commode. I did spit up a few times, and once felt like food was coming up, but after that time everything kind of calmed down. Did I overeat or did the ham not sit well with the tummy? I don't plan on trying the lunch meat again for a while. I also bought some turkey breast but haven't tried it yet. A bit nervous to do so. On a side note, when I began pureed foods, I did take some chili that the husband and I had made over the winter and froze and pureed about 1/4 cup of it. The chili had meat and Beans in it and after pureeing it, was fine to eat and sat quite well. I have not ventured to try any other beef such as taco meat, steaks, etc. yet. I'm pretty much sticking with chicken, tuna, fish and that's about it.

I think you really need to be seen by your surgeon or someone in his office as soon as possible. You are right; you should not be having this kind of pain 6 days out. If you have puss from your incisions under the skin glue, then you are having issues with healing. Puss is indication of infection. I don't know what they are trying to tell you! I would be concerned about leakage from where the new hole that was made to connect the intestine to the pouch. Being that it is Sunday night, I would be on the phone with the doctor's office first thing Monday morning. Hoping things get better. So sorry you are having such a difficult time.

I've always been "plus size" and when my attempts at losing weight were totally fruitless, I just resolved myself to be happy with who I am and concentrated on how I appear to others. I take pride in how I look and therefore I will spend just a bit more on my clothing. Besides, it has always made me feel good about myself. The main reason that I finally did WLS is because of my diabetes and how out of control it was regardless of the lengths I went to trying to keep it under control. So far I've reduced the amount of insulin I'm using, and hoping as more weight comes off I will be able to get off the insulin completely. Until then, I plan to continue dressing myself for success, which means I will continue to spend a bit more on myself, because I deserve it!

What are you eating and how do you feel after eating? Do you feel like you my throw up, or is it a pain in your chest?

I like the people who not only don't think they have to pay their copay at the doctor's office, but those who are totally clueless that when their deductible has not been met, they owe the full cost of the visit to the doctor's office. They are totally surprised. Like what? You think that the doctor is doing this out of the goodness of his heart? He may care very much about his patients, but he's not running a free clinic people! I as the medical biller always get that handful of people who don't pay their bills at all. Ugh. Such a nuisance!

I think just about everyone has that same thought of "what the hell did I do" during that first week. It is slightly rough. But before you know it you are going on one month since surgery, down almost 30 lbs, and eating soft foods. I'm wondering since I'm doing really great with soft foods, when do I start with regular foods? I'm ready to try some things like spinach (uncooked) and lettuce; perhaps a small salad?

Someone skipped the pureed phase, skipped soft foods too I assume if she ate a taco! Cinco de Mayo or not; I wasn't about to eat a taco today! I don't think my pouch could handle that yet. I'm almost a month out and not ready for hard foods yet; still working on the soft foods!

Hoping and praying that the peer to peer review gets you approved. UHC is a difficult insurance to approve WLS. I've read others who have had difficulties with them (some on this site). Keep in mind that it isn't necessarily the insurance company itself that automatically denies. The policies are written for each contract (or company), so it could be where ever the insurance is through (husband's job, your job) and how the policy/contract is written that may or may not allow WLS with only a BMI over 40. I would also speak to HR at the workplace who the insurance is through.