2goldengirl

Your surgeon will tell you what their expectations are, but you'll never go wrong cutting down (or eliminating gradually) the things you currently eat and drink that you know will be off limits for a time postop: sodas and carbonated drinks, caffeine, fast food, simple carbohydrates. I started taking my postop vitamins three months ahead of time, I figured it couldn't hurt!

At 5'7 and 229#, your BMI is just over 35, which is the bare minimum for most insurers with a qualifying comorbidity. It's a lot to ask of your body to recover from both spine surgery and weight loss surgery. Are you sure the time is right? That's not a question for you to answer here, but one to ask yourself.

It sounds like you may be getting too much exercise for three weeks out. Your body may simply not be able to keep up with the demands of both healing and your activity. It's hard to tell, will you be a bit more specific? How many calories are you able to get in?

The short answer is yes, you do have a reduced need for Protein (and other macronutrients) as you lose weight, just like you need fewer calories at this weight than when you started. My RD bases my protein needs on my ideal weight. Remember that your ability to eat, and tolerance for things you can eat, will change over time. Yes, you may need a shake or two now, but the goal will be to get most of your nutrition from real food. One argument against protein shakes and supplements is that real foods contain micronutrients that the manufactured foods can't. One reason protein is pushed postop is that all food is made up of three macronutiriets: protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Protein is stressed because fat is generally not well tolerated in the first few months postop, and carbohydrate can lead to cravings - and it's way too simple to get our hands on simple carbs that won't provide us with enough nutrition to dust a fiddle with. Protein fills us up, and keeps us filled up. As far as hair loss is concerned, my own theory is that hair loss can be the byproduct of insufficient fat and micronutrients in the immediate postop period, but an RD, so it's just my guess.

I'd definitely get that sleep study. My surgeon insisted and, to my complete surprise, I DO have sleep apnea. I got my CPAP two days ago and it's a real game changer. My sleep is noticeably better already.

I think you may have misunderstood. Your body doesn't store protein at all, except in your muscles and organs. We store glycogen in the liver and muscles, with smaller amounts in the kidneys and intestines. Glycogen is the stored form of glucose. The reason we need protein in our diets is because our bodies can't either manufacture it, or store it.

She could also be terminally clueless. Also tactless. Fortunately, you don't need her approval!

You know you can have them altered? Your local drycleaner or seamstress can put a couple darts in the back and voila! No gapping!

Happy surgiversary! What will you do to celebrate?

I'd grant her some grace. She's seen you twice now since your surgery. I'm betting that the difference in you is huge, and she's just trying to wrap her mind around it. I'm betting your size wasn't really an issue for her preop, and it isn't your size that is the issue for her now, so much as she's trying to process the huge positive change in you. It's hard enough for us to wrap our heads around our new selves, and that's a process that takes a lot longer than the weight loss phase. Imagine what it's like for those around us to process. What if she didn't really notice how "large" you were preop and is only now beginning to understand it?

At three months it's mighty unlikely that you have a leak. If you had a leak, you would be leaking stomach contents into your abdomen, with a resulting infection. You're healed by a month afterwards that leaks are a miniscule risk, and you're at three months. I hope that eases your mind, not that you shouldn't keep following up on your pain!

You look fantastic, and obviously feel even better than that. As a member in good standing of the vertically challenged set, I drool with envy over those lovely long legs you have.

There are two places your body stores sugar as fuel: your liver, and your muscles. Stored sugar is called glycogen. Glycogen molecules are attached to Water molecules at a ratio of 1:4, so for every ounce of glycogen you've got in your liver, you've got another 4 ounces of water. Much of the weight loss on a preop diet or other low-carb diet initially is the glycogen and the water. Once you deplete glycogen (by limiting carbs), eating carbs again causes you to restore glycogen and water - so the "weight gain" from going off a low carb regimen is actually lean mass and water, not fat. Hope this helps!

At nine days out, this isn't called a "stall", it's called "normal postop course". Your body has been through a major trauma. Let it heal. Put away the scale! Have someone hide it or give it to your neighbor. You will only mess with your own head if you start fretting about expecting to see a loss every day. For the first month or so postop, your body has one goal: healing from surgery. Any weight loss is gravy. That said, most people do experience significant loss postop, but no matter what happens in the first month, it is in no way an indicator of your success after your body has healed.

You aren't the only one to whom this has happened - there was a thread just a couple weeks ago about this same thing. I can't imagine how abandoned you feel. I have to wonder just how supportive he would have been if he could do something like this. Do you have other family and friends around you?

I think a lot of us do something in the way of "food funerals". But there is a way to do this while honoring your commitment to yourself and a way of doing it as something not quite so positive. That six pounds is a warning shot across your bow, and you've heard it, or you wouldn't have posted this. Bravo! Back in October, before I met with RD and my surgeon, I decided I was going to track all my food. I wasn't going to judge or put "should" in anything, I was simply going to be acocuntable for actually tracking everything I ate and drank. And I did, and I learned some things. I use Sparkpeople, which includes a place for a daily journal. I started taking note of how I was feeling (physically, emotionally) in conjunction with that I was eating and drinking. And I gradually shifted things over to choosing more of the things that made me feel good, and fewer of the things that made me feel crummy afterwards. And I adopted a pre-pre-op routine. I started practicing for postop life. I had to lose 5 lbs. Between my first and second surgeon's appintments (four weeks apart, which included Christmas and NY). And I have gone out to restaurants and enjoyed favorite things that I know I won't be enjoying for a while, chiefly things like steaks and lamb chops and big salads. But I made it a practice not to eat til I was overfull. I had a lot of restaurant meals that did me for three meals total. I'd get my baked potato loaded and enjoy every bite - but fewer bites. I've had baked potatoes I've made four meals out of. So I've focused on how I feel, especially after I eat, and on pleasure. I don't eat hurredly or mindlessly. This has worked very well for me. I've enjoyed being in favorite restaurants in the company of people I love. If you find yourself eating something "because I won't be able to later", ask yourself how that choice makes you feel, inside, and outside. If you eat when you're bored, that's something you really need to get a handle on, pronto. You'll need to find other means to handle boredom. Go for a quick walk, post here, chat with a pal, make yourself a cup of tea, do some stretches. Write in a journal. You, and your body, are worthy of love and respect. Remind yourself of this as often as you need to. I hope this helps!

One thing you can do from the full liquid stage on is soupe aux legumes - French housewife's vegetable Soup. This makes a delicious first course or snack for you, add unflavored Protein powder for him. Nothing could be simpler, just heat up some chicken or vegetable broth and add roughly chopped veggies as you like. Some aromatics, some zucchini & green Beans, a can of tomatoes, spinach/kale/chard, even that lettuce from the vegetable drawer that looks tired. Bits and bobs from the freezer. Simmer til the veggies are very soft, then puree with a stick blender. Season with salt & pepper. I add a tablespoon or two of pesto per batch as an easy seasoning. I had some of this yesteday cause I was hungry when I came home from work yesterday but still had to prep dinner. I added a teaspoon (honest, I measured) of cream drizzled over it. It was delicious! Add more or less broth to thin it if you need to. I think a teensy dash of sherry would be nice, too. Or Sriracha. Or a bit of grated cheese. We have a big container of this is the fridge right now, I'm playing with things preop.

This sounds wierd, but I'm enjoying the heck out of chewing. I know I'll be not chewing for 3-4 weeks, so I'm enjoying it all I can. I went to my fave place for my favorite meal-sized salad yesterday and enjoyed every bite. I just won't be able to eat that volume any more. And it was a half-size! Tonight I made grilled lamb chops and braised fennel for dinner. I don't know how grilled lamb and beef will work postop, but I do know it will be a while before I even try.

Have you spoken with your doctor? I mean your primary doctor, not your surgeon. There can be many, many reasons for the kind of fatigue you describe, most of which have absolutely nothing to do with your sleeve.

Oh my dear, that explains at least part of it. You're in the final sprint to graduation which is stressful to the max. No wonder your body and brain are going all wonky on you. Hang in there. Do what you can to manage the stress and anxiety without the chips and Snickers. Go for a walk. Get a massage. Meditate. Take a hot bath. Take care of yourself. Drink your Protein if you have to. You can do this!

As has been posted, every surgeon has different requirements. Two thoughts on "Protein only". First, it IS important that you need your protein requirements, as your body can't make it's own protein. And protein stays with you in terms of satiety - with a tiny tummy, if you don't eat protein with every meal/snack, then you're likely to feel hungrier sonner afterwards. Second, staying off carbs entirely is a helpful way to avoid cravings that really plague some people postop. That said, one reason I chose my surgeon is that she emphasizes a more balanced approach right from the start. There is a reason humans are omnivorious. There are nutritional advantages to eating Proteins, fats and, yes, carbs, provided they're complex carbs. I love my veggies and am already working on ways to get my veggie fix postop.

Make sure she knows in no uncertain terms that you expect her to keep this confidential. I'm wondering whether you don't work for a smaller company that doesn't have an HR dept. if you do have one, they're seriously remiss in teaching managers and supervisors questions they can and cannot ask. This question was absolutely unlawful. You weren't obligated to either lie or tell the truth, because the question was not allowed, period. And the person who "recognized your shakes" needs a piece of your mind. There are a bunch of people here who keep Premier Protein in the office fridge, and most of them aren't candidates for WLS. WTH in your office decided to be the food Police, anyhow?

Is there a University-level medical center anywhere near you? Honestly, what I'd do is take myself there to their ER and get seen via ER. GI issues can sometimes be devilishly hard to diagnose. The trouble with two specialists can be that neither one of them can figure it out, so they defer to the other. I wish you well.

You have been giving some irresponsible and alarming information from professionals who should know better. First, your pain doctor. yes, an anesthesiologist BUT one who spends their time doing injections for pain. A delicate business, but I'm betting this is someone who hasn't anesthetized someone for surgery in quite a while. An anesthesiologist who works in surgery is MUCH more likely to be at the top of their game in terms of putting you under and waking you up. Second, your sleep study staff. This was just stupid and irresponsible. Of course they're going to encourage you to get and use a CPAP, that's their job. BUT that's where it ends. None of them has ever put someone under anesthesia, or woken them up. Third. there are lots, and lots, and LOTS of people out there who have undiagnosed sleep apnea. Care to guess how many of them get surgery when neither they, nor their anesthesiologist, knows they have sleep apnea? You don't "die and never wake up", for pity's sake, you're monitored within an inch of your life and if your breathing rate slows down they deal with it then and there. I never heard of such nonsense. Now, about your sleep apnea. You say it's mild, and that you can't tolerate your CPAP. Have you spoken to the doctor who ordered it and told them that you just can't handle it? There are other means to deal with sleep apnea than a CPAP. My husband uses an oral appliance - the way our insurance is written, someone with mild sleep apnea uses an oral appliance it takes more severe apnea to require a CPAP. It is important for your doctor to know that the prescribed treatment isn't working for you. This is true whether you are being treated for sleep apnea or anything else. So find yourself something else to worry about. My sleeve will be my ninth time under anesthesia since 1973, and I can say for good and for certain that anesthesia now is a total breeze compared to what it used to be. You're much less groggy and less apt to be nauseous, for one thing. The drugs they use are much shorter-acting than before, which means you clear them faster. I personally think the few seconds between the time you feel kinda drifty and you are totally out are delicious, and post-anesthesia sleep is wonderfully deep and sound. Enjoy it!