Ronjohn

I haven't checked in the hair thing, but I need to. I have a full head of hair and would like to keep it like that to be quite honest... I did the Gas-x, but not for the gas from the surgery (what they blow you up with) . I had a lot of gas inside of stomach, which I used the Gas-x for. Maybe you can establish a whole new schedule with your new stomach... You won't get your Protein in if you wait until 2PM to start on it. Sounds like you are all beat up... LOL

Mine was pretty similar to this. I was put on a chewable and told to wait one week before I bothered. They wanted me to concentrate on getting liquids down.

There are a bunch of them that taste like Poo if you ask me... The nectar sample pack was pretty good to try. I didn't like most of them, but the sampler was nice, so you could rule out some. The Fuzzy Navel one I would say is the best. IMO Make sure you get a mixer bottle of some kind and not a cup. The mixer has a ball (or some other contraption) that helps break up the power when you shake it. If you do it in a cup it ends up lumpy. While you are stocking up make sure you ask them about what supplements to buy. You will need a multi-Vitamin, Calcium and B12. 2.5 months is a long time to be on liquids. Especially since you apparently do not have a ton of weight to lose. I did a ten day low calorie/fat diet (lost 17 pounds on that) and then went liquid the day before. The first week I was on liquid, which included cream soups. The second week I started the puree stage and ate what had to be the best scrambled egg I have ever had in my life. The only thing better was the next day when I ate refried Beans with a dab of sour cream and cheese... Oh, how the little things please you post op...

Which fruit flavored Protein drink did you buy? The most popular one out there that I know of is the Syntrax nectar. There is a company in GA that sells all kids of Protein shakes in samples sizes. The company is bariatricpantry. Right before surgery I purchased the sample pack of Syntrax Nectar, Syntrax Matrix, Coffe and something else that I don't recall. I personally did not like the Nectar, but it is pretty popular. The Syntrax Matrix was the best out of all the ones I tasted. They have a Peanut Butter Cookie one that I drink every morning. I mix it with Fairlife milk and get like 36 grams of protein in one shake. The milk and the shake total 229 calories. If I am in a hurry I drink a Premier Protein Shake from costco (cheapest place I have found to buy them). The Premier Protein has 30 grams of protein and 160 calories. Considering I struggle to hit my calories goal each day I'm not to worried about the calorie difference. As far as the blender you may not need that unless you will be making smoothies at some point. All of the protein shakes can be made in a shaker cup (not sure if these have a formal name). I was actually told not to use a blender by my NUT fir at least a month, as it puts air into the shake, which can give you gas. Not sure how true that is. For what it's worth, I am at 5 weeks and have yet to use a blender. After a few days (at least in my situation) I was able to go out to the store and walk around. I did tire pretty quickly, but I was so tired of laying in bed. Plus you really need to be up and walking anyway. Since you live in Pittsburgh it will be like the frozen tundra, so heading out to a few stores to walk around might be the ticket. Make sure you talk to you NUT and surgeon before stocking up to much on any supplies. Each practice has their own plans on what they want you drinking afterwards. I have seen some people on clear liquids the first week while others were drinking protein shakes and eating cream Soups. One other thing. I am pretty sure that every patient goes on an all clear liquid diet the 24 hours prior to surgery. I think this is pretty much to "clear" you out before the cut up your stomach. After not eating any real food ten days before I was starving the day before and the day of surgery. The nice thing is when they roll you out of surgery the last thing you want is food...

I have to agree with you here... This really irked me. He got screwed in so many ways...

I think that poor boy got shafted... I actually watched this while recovering from surgery. I say in the recliner with my ipad and watched away...

I certainly had some of those thoughts during my 6 month pre-op diet. Near the end I actually gained a few pounds, as I was "gettin in my good stuff". However, when it came time for my pre-op diet I didn't mess around. I knew that there were health risks involved with the surgery, and there was no way I was going to put myself at risk just for a few slices of pizza, or whatever it was. Buckle down and do it for yourself!

A scrambled egg was the first thing I ate on the Puree stage and had no issue. I haven't dumped anything as of yet (fingers crossed). I am 5 weeks post op, so I haven't really eaten a whole lot either...

If you have a desk job I wouldn't think you would need a release. If you work in some kind of labor related field you should probably have a release. I didn't get a release to go back to work. I am still waiting on a release to start working out at the gym.

In hind sight there really wasn't anything to be scared of... Go to a reputable surgeon and you will be OK! The first few days are rough I will not lie about that, but it is so worth it. I am a little over a month and feel pretty close to normal outside of eating in tiny amounts (which is the purpose). I am down 50 pounds since 12/13 and not looking back!

It was my first surgery of any kind. The closest I think I have come was stitches when I was a kid. The nurses during prep were a little concerned, as I looked pale when they were doing the IV and poking me all over the place with needles (why they don't feed all that through the IV?). I really had no idea what all was going on. They finally wheeled me in the "back" and knocked me out. Woke up and everything was OK; albeit in some pain. OK a lot of pain...

This is good info!

You ever try the cauliflower rice from Trader Joe's? I picked some up this weekend and will be trying it out this week.

Having never been a year out I am obviously not in the know here... That being said, what is the difference in caloric intake between 5 weeks and one year if you are still trying to lose weight?

What the what? How far out from surgery are you? Only 60 grams of Protein and only 700 calories? That is nuts if you are like a year out! This Wednesday I will be 5 weeks out. I have a nut meeting in 1.5 weeks and will go up to 70 grams of protein then. I am by no means a nutritionist, but if the poster is having issues losing weight it might be too many calories.

I'm in luck. I have the Bariatric Advantage pills and they are methylcobalamin. .Chewable pills or sublingual? VSG patients typically can't absorb oral B12 anymore. Sublingual. I haven't actually taken one yet. I will be tomorrow now that I have this figured out. i set a timer on my cell phone, so I don't take them to closely. Other than that I always look to take some kind of pill when I eat.

This week I need to start taking my B12 (I had a shot last month) supplement. Is there any requirement on when I can take it? I am currently spacing out my other supplements in two hour intervals. Does this one need to be spaced out to, or can I just take it with the Calcium? I feel like I need to carry a stop watch around my neck to time all this stuff. LOL

I'm in luck. I have the Bariatric Advantage pills and they are methylcobalamin.

My iron is part of my multi, so I was already separating it for the calcium. I was hoping I could take the B12 with my multi since it is a vitamin also.

I had a spoonful the other night when the kids ate Chinese with no ill effects. I wasn't really interested in it, so I didn't eat anymore; I just wanted to see if it would do anything. I haven't really had any issues eating anything thankfully. Dense Protein like pork chops can be rough if I'm not careful.

Oh my lord was that funny... We went from Sir Mix-A-Lot to Juvenile. Sir Mix-A-Lot seems to be a little before your day... You can always listen through your ear buds and nobody knows what you are listening to. Swapping out a booty for a tiny waist line sounds like a winner. So you may never be "36-24-36", but you weren't 5'3", so what the heck... Congrats on your weight loss!

A year out just for the initial consult? I could only imagine how far out the surgery wait list is. You might want to see if your PCP can refer to a different surgeon. Might want to check and see if you even need a referral. I did it kind of backwards and went to the surgeon pre-op visit first. I had to go back to my PCP to get the letter of recommendation, which was a little awkward. Dude was like "when were you gonna tell me". As far as the pickle with your parents... That's a tough one. Would they consider paying for your surgery here in the US? Not sure what kind of insurance you have, but there will still be a good amount of cost to have it done in the US. Maybe let it die down and talk with them again about it.

Don't be stealing my sayings... LOL I had BM issues for like the first three weeks. Suddenly like one week ago everything turned normal. It was like a small slice of heaven...

That made me laugh... How often do we have a Sir Mix-A-Lot reference on BariatricPal?

@cladd-You live in my old stomping ground. I lived in Peters Township. There are certainly a ton of hoops to jump through. I understand why people go down to Mexico.