theantichick

I did some internet sleuthing, and according to some muscle building forums, it appears that the stuff separates and/or gets pretty sludge-y if it's left to sit too long. And if you're mixing with milk, it can go bad if it sits too long. I personally have found that I can't drink the stuff if it's not ice cold. There were some theories about the Proteins and amino acids starting to break down, but most people thought that if there was any effect like that, it would be minimal.

I hope someone else finds something a bit more definitive.

Didn't do a thing for me, I think mine was a different company. I ended up on one of those automatic shipping things and it took me months to get them to stop charging me and sending them. I think I finally threw them out or I'd offer them for anyone who wanted to try them. Didn't work a bit for me, might work for some people.

Good luck. I swear you would think health care centers of all places would deal better with issues like this!

LOL.

I loved working bedside as a nurse, but I have to say that the management to nurse relationship sucks rotten eggs. I was a mid-life career changer to nursing, from I.T. and I have never had the levels of disrespect in any other industry that I had as a nurse.

I gave my supervisor and the scheduling person 6 months' notice of my wedding. I needed three shifts off, and had the PTO built up. We only got our shift schedules about 10 days before the start of the next schedule, and that's when I found out they only gave me 1/2 of one shift off, and it wasn't even on my wedding day. I had 4 out of town guests in my own home before the wedding, and a dozen people coming from out of town. I'd already re-scheduled it due to scheduling conflicts as well as not being able to get off for it several months before.

I worked in the ER. Came in one night with what I thought was just allergies, but by a couple of hours into my shift, it was clear it was actually pinkeye. Was told they didn't have anyone to cover, and I had to finish my shift. WITH PINKEYE IN AN ER.

Short staffed for a shift? Does management come in to cover? Nope, they just add more patients to the nurses' loads. I worked in one ER where I carried TWICE the recommended load for patients, and they didn't adjust for when I had super sick patients for the entire shift because the ICU was in overflow.

That same ER when I hired on told me I was to work weekend shifts 1 out of 3 weekends. Then they proceeded to schedule me 5 weekends out of 6, and told me to suck it up.

And I had it much better than floor nurses.

Hug your nurses, they need it.

I married two narcissistic men, wasted 10 years on each of them. When I think about the life I could have had, it makes me sad. However, it's also been part of what's molded me as a strong independent woman. Here's what I've learned in the process, FWIW. Take what works for you, leave the rest.

My self love and self esteem HAS to come from myself, not from my relationships.

As scary as it is, it really is better to be alone than to be in a crap relationship.

I need significant time (like a year or more) after a relationship ends to get the right perspective on it, and get back to who I really am, because good or bad, I do change when I'm in a relationship. If I don't get back to my normal before starting another, then it's really going to be messed up.

Alone doesn't have to mean lonely. There are people out there who will be my friends and chosen family. Not to mention my blood family. And if I want, I can even have physical relations without being in a relationship. (But I urge great caution with that one, I've only had 1, maybe 2 situations that truly worked out as friends with benefits and didn't get really messed up, and that's in 46 years of life (so a little under 30 years of dating) so the odds aren't good).

There *ARE* good men out there, and even a few that are perfectly right for me. The trick is to recognize them when they show up, because they aren't typically the ones that make my heart flutter at first sight. (That is actually a red flag, because it means I'm playing into my emotional baggage and picking the exact WRONG ones.) The right ones are the ones where the relationship gradually gets deeper and stronger as you get to know the person.

Very often, the right ones don't start showing up until I decide to quit looking for love and just enjoy my life.

And last but not least

Everything Will Be OKAY.

I read a lot about drains on here so I asked my surgical team about it and they looked at me like I was crazy and said drains were the old way of doing things and that up to date hospitals don't use them anymore.

But so many people on here have had them - they must be more common than that.

They look like a huge PITA so I'm glad I didn't have one.

I suspect (but didn't work in surgery, so am guessing) that they're not the default option, the doc likely puts them in if s/he sees something that indicates there might be a place where Fluid collects that s/he doesn't want. Not necessarily a complication, but maybe something that they think might become a complication so they head it off? My surgeon said that she sees so little blood loss in her surgeries that I don't expect one.

I wish my drain had been like that!

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

There's a bunch of different types of drains. I should have specified that this is the one I saw most commonly when I worked ICU here in the US, for abdominal drains. There's reasons to choose each type of drain, including the surgeon's personal experience and preference. The ones I hated the most were Penrose drains because they're "open" as in no collection container, so the dressing changes can be heck.

Following. I haven't noticed that instruction (haven't looked, honestly), and haven't seen this question before, so I'm also curious as to what's up. From what I've heard it could take an hour or more to get a shake down. If I need to figure out the proportions to mix up just a little at a time, that's good to know.

This is a typical post-op drain. It's basically a tube that has openings along the end and is left in the wound to drain out blood, tissue, and other fluids that can collect. There is a bulb at the end of the tube that applies a tiny bit of suction to the tube to help the Fluid get pulled out, and also collects it. The bulb comes off when you need to empty the collection (but always measure the amount).

Some people experience discomfort, some have flat-out pain, each person's experience is different. Not everyone gets them, I don't know what the surgeon sees that tells him or her when someone needs one. From what I've heard and researched for the sleeve procedure, normally they're taken out before you're discharged home unless there's something a little abnormal going on.

Hope that helps. (Patient education is one of the things I miss most about hands-on nursing.)

@theantichick Thank you so much for this! I just read some more of your blog. I LOVE it! I hope your pre-op diet is going okay!

Thanks! I'm trying to get back in the habit of blogging regularly, I have a lot of writing pent up that wants to get out, but I'm out of practice with the mechanics of writing.

It's going OK. I'm glad I don't have to do only liquids. I haven't been eating my "healthy" meal as clean as I could, but it's a vast improvement from where I was. I keep trying to do better each day, because I know this is just prep work for after, when "cheating" could be very dangerous.

Here's my response to that...

http://www.theantichick.com/2016/08/05/the-easy-way-out/

My bottom number was the one that started out being high, then both numbers went high. My doc had to tweak my meds a couple of times to find the right mix to get both down. my pulse rate was also very high, and one of my meds has gotten it more normal. Luckily I'll be off of them in a few months after surgery.

Keep your doc in the loop, it may take a bit to find the right med mix.

I was on sulfasalazine with some relief. I had to stop it 3 weeks before. But we are moving to biologics as soon as I'm far enough post op. It's the PsA that prompted me to get serious about the surgery. If I did it after biologics started I'd be without treatment for over 6 months. Now it will only be 4 or so. My doc can also put me back on the sulfasalazine after a month until I'm clear for the biologics.

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Heh. I forget that other places don't have Buenos. It's a fast food joint like Taco Bell, but better quality and better tasting food IMHO.

I honestly didn't even think about something like fajitas, since I normally don't even look at their platter meals. I checked the online menu, and they have a fajita platter there, and the Mongol Horde that is my family (yes, two of them still constitutes a Horde) will happily eat anything from my plate that I can't.

See, this is why I hang out at places like this. I tend to tunnel vision on stuff and fret about it.

I'm glad that I did my fretting before the fact though, and got a plan in place.

Thanks!!

So I'm already incredibly lucky that my doc doesn't do a full liquid or even low carb pre-op diet. I'm supposed to have 2-3 shakes a day, plus a "healthy dinner" and can have "healthy snacks" if I just have to eat something. She said there's no specific calorie or carb limit. I'm trying to even figure out what she's trying to accomplish. (I know, I should have asked... hindsight and all that)

I'm on day 3 of 14. Day 1 was rough. I had a Protein Bar instead of one of my shakes, and my dinner wasn't as healthy as I'm sure she meant, but I thought that wasn't too bad. Day 2 was better. Doesn't help that I have to be off my meds for psoriatic arthrtitis, so I'm hurting pretty badly and can't do crafts or the things that would distract me. Have been doing OK today, less headachey and less hungry.

BUT.

We have to drive 45 minutes directly after work to pick up my step-daughter. We always get caught in heavy traffic, and usually stop for dinner in order to miss some of the traffic and feed the starving kiddo (she's got a high metabolism and is ALWAYS hungry). He mentioned something about Taco Bueno (SD's favorite restaurant in the world) when he dropped me off at work this morning. I told him I can't possibly find something healthy at Bueno. He said we'd figure something out. Kiddo's pretty picky, and will be starving when we pick her up. I'm going to be starving and in a crappier mood than I am now. If we then have to drive an hour home (or more) in traffic without eating, it's going to get ugly.

Mind you, hubby has been awesome. He doesn't want to do the liquid diet with me (and who can blame him) but he's working to keep crap food out of the house and fix healthy foods, and is doing tons to support me. This isn't a gripe fest about hubby. If I say we can't stop, we won't stop. Or if I say that I can only eat out if we go to X restaurant, he'll go along with it.

So.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle this. Find a restaurant that has better fare like Applebee's and then just exercise superhuman strength to not order what I am craving? Pop a Protein Bar in my purse (I keep a stash at work) and eat it at the restaurant while they have food I can't have? Say "screw it" and enjoy?

I know that I'm far enough out from surgery that this realistically just isn't going to make that much of a difference. But it makes me feel like a complete failure if I can't keep on a diet even for just 2 weeks. Like maybe I'm not nearly as prepared for this as I think I am. I said from the beginning that it was the pre-op diet that had me more worried than any other part. I don't want to just say "screw it". I also don't want to rationalize my way into eating something and claiming it's allowed just because the doc's instructions are vague.

What would you do? (Restaurant and menu selection suggestions welcome.)

I've posted a few items the last week about WLS.

http://theantichick.com

Including one today about "the Easy Way Out".

My blog also has a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/theAntiChick

I survived my knee reconstruction, which for 3 days postop hurt worse than unmedicated childbirth and hydrocodone barely touched it.

I've heard nothing from anyone here to indicate that this surgery is even remotely that bad. So I figure I'm good.

I ordered sampler/variety packs from everyone... Bariatric Pal, Bariatric fusion, Syntrax, unjury, GoTein all had variety packs or samplers available (GoTein actually sent their three flavors for free). I went to Vitamin Shoppe and picked up several flavors of Isopure to try. So far, I'm working my way through all of the samplers and rating the brands/flavors so I can figure out what to buy. However, I've read a lot of warnings that our tastes change after surgery, so I'm not stocking up on anything yet. I'm actually considering just getting another round of variety packs to taste-test after surgery again.

Ordering from Bariatric Pal (their brand, fusion, and Syntrax) and Unjury were both painless, they were prompt with the delivery and I had no issues. I'd order directly from them for those brands. And the Syntrax tastes so good that unless the IsoPure is significantly better, I'll just go with Syntrax because the IsoPure comes in glass bottles and I don't like getting those shipped, and don't want to have to go to the store for them.

I have found that nonfat powdered milk is awesome for making the powdered shake mixes more portable, as some of the flavors don't taste right with just Water. That I'll probably just grab from Amazon.< /p>

I hated Water before I started on this journey. I used to quote W.C. Fields all the time (fish fornicate in it, if you've never heard the line). I lived and died by my Mio drops for months. Then I started finding that the taste was too strong, and started reducing how much I put in. Then I started drinking plain Water most of the time. I still have to have highly filtered or bottled water if I'm drinking it "straight" and it has to be ice cold. But it's possible to go from a water hater to a water lover.

And now that I'm on my pre-op diet, I'm trying out all the different Protein drink things. I am LOVING Syntrax Nectar!! It won't be my only water intake of course, but it will allow me to get my Protein in and up my overall fluids.

Good luck!!

Aspartame is a Migraine trigger for me. Most of the Protein shakes and drinks I've found do not have aspartame... Syntrax, powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury, Bariatric Pal, Bariatric fusion, Isopure. Just check the labels. Jello SF pudding and Gelatin are kinda hit and miss... I'm just always sure to check the label. However I've read that Gelatin is actually pretty easy to make, you get the unflavored gelatin and add it to your favorite beverage. Haven't tried it yet, but I likely will this weekend. And the instructions say you can make pudding with the Protein shake mixes by using 1/2 of the milk. Again, haven't tried it but I will this weekend (first weekend on pre-op diet, lots of experimenting will be going on).

Luckily there's a lot of options for us out there now, we just have to be vigilant about the labels. I've also found that Splenda leaves a nasty aftertaste for me, so I'm trying lots of different sweeteners. I have laid off the coffee, but I used to use Monk Fruit in it, and it's awesome. I'm going to try some koolaid and other things with the monk fruit and see how it goes.

Former ER nurse here - we would get a lot of patients with these symptoms and it would be due to one of a variety of problems from dehydration to electrolyte imbalances to low glucose to anxiety to heart problems. (Basically everything everyone said here.) Most of the time, it's not a heart problem. And lots of times even if it is a heart problem, it's a mild and treatable condition. DEFINITELY follow up with your GP, since this has happened several times. You absolutely need to rule out a heart problem.

I absolutely agree that people need to hear the stories of people who have complications. The first place I came on this board after reading some of the FAQ posts was the complications board. I wanted to know what the worst case outcome potentially was, and get a feel for the types of complications people have, and if there are things I could learn about those complications that might reduce my risks. I applaud you for speaking out. If I were having the surgery with NHS, I would know some more things to ask and look for with the team before committing, only because you are sharing your experience.

I have said that people need to keep in mind that these stories are not representative of the vast majority of people who have the surgery, and that negative experiences are in a higher concentration in an online forum, because it's the nature of people to speak up only if they need support or have a problem. This is NOT intended in any way to say that you shouldn't share your experience, or that your complications need to be minimized. It is only to remind people that may be worried about complications that the incidence is much lower than it may appear reading through an internet support board.

I bought some 2-3 sizes smaller dresses for work but nothing fancy or expensive. From what I read here people often lose weight faster than they expect, so I will keep on buying clothes regularly. I'm only concerned about bras...

Yeah, and that's not something I'm inclined to buy used... :/

I figure I'll end up needing to buy a couple of decent but not high-end bras at several stages. I wish things like the Genie Bra didn't give me uniboob, because they *are* comfortable and with the stretch could probably see me through several size changes.

Oh, I'm so glad it was only one visit. I already have a therapist (she doesn't like the surgery, we're working on other food issues, which is why I didn't just ask her for one) so I don't need to see someone else over and over. Just clear me for surgery and move along.

I had to fill out a similar form, after a bunch of questions by the psych. It was pretty much what I expected, except for all the math and memory questions.

I'm planning to whip up several drawstring maxi style skirts to get me through the gaps.