Christinamo7

it's normal after any surgery. the medicine they give you to dry up secretions in your mouth can also dry your eyes. Use an eye drop like Systane 4 times a day or so until it improves.

hang around a bit more, things will settle down and there'll be a whole new batch of vets. Hopefully some of the old ones will miss things around here and wander back. have you noticed that many of those who spark the issues tend to disappear also?

oh and I don't know if you have it there - but here you can get a diet cran grape drink that would look like wine in your glass for 5 calories. :-D

touch down taco dip! bottom is a can of refried Beans with a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and some cheddar cheese. top layer is some cream cheese and about 6 ounces of sour cream blended with some taco seasoning and spread on top of the bottom layer in a medium size baking pan. top with shredded mexican and bake about 20 minutes at 350. my family eats it with chips, I eat it with a spoon. We have salsa on top when it is served. very tasty and filling. or some greek yogurt with seasonings - or a purchased one like the kind with feta and dill and raw veg if you can manage the veg.

Please follow your own doctor's plan as they may have reasons for having you watch fat that other people did not have to deal with. my surgeon did not have a pre-op diet at all except, of course, the night before surgery. it's good to be curious about other people's pre-op diet, but really at the end of the day it is you and your surgeon and how well you followed their instructions.

you can sub the vit Water zero for some of it, but I wouldn't have more than two a day. your b Vitamins in your bloodwork may be too high if you drink too many of them.

5 months and in a longish stall that finally seems to be breaking. and that is normal too. I try to keep my focus on many things, not just the scale. I feel better than I have in years. I am thinner than I have been in decades, I am happy with the food I eat, even though it is small amounts. I feel like I have balance and am not hungry and depriving myself all the time. These things are every bit as important as the number on the scale.

first thing recognize that your hormones are making you feel everything under 1000x magnification. second thing is in the first month you are still healing. some people are loosing crazy - they probably had a lot of Water and other things going on. you may not. it is very unhelpful to compare. there are some (not everyone but SOME) who are loosing because they are *not* following their programs and may be in some ways in an unhealthy loosing situation - how will they fare 5 years from now compared to someone who follows program and looks for better health above a scale number? There are some loosing more and having complications that keep them from eating as they ought to be eating. some have the advantage of just being boys and tending to loose much faster. GRR. You just can't win by comparing your journey. thirdly, I started off at surgery at 238 and now am at 195. it is slower than some, but it is coming off. I think I had probably lost about 12 pounds at that point and I was very discouraged as well. it took a while to come to peace with the process, but feeling different in my body, seeing the changes in the mirror have encouraged me greatly. you will get there too. keep following your program. fourth - whatever the doctor scale says I just ignore. go by whatever scale you are more consistently using. for me I weigh at different times and such, but first thing Monday morning is my official weight, and that is what I need to see trending downwards, and that is the number that I measure by. Hang in there!

if you can have Splenda, the Diet Ocean Spray cran grape was lovely over ice during that time. you can also make popsicles with it, and you can use it with plain Gelatin to make Jello with it. I think there are other diet ocean spray flavors. You can make a homemade chocolate pudding with either splenda or stevia. plenty of recipes to google and it's easy. I liked plain unsweetened applesauce with unflavored Protein powder during that time. Homemade bone broth is much more satisfying than store bought and is also easy to make ahead of time and freeze in ice cube trays. I love the Vitamin Water zero flavors and they are sweetened with stevia. Kroger, if you have on near you has a store brand of this product and the peach/blackberry tastes like fruit tea.

while I wouldn't mind loosing faster off the middle, or the hips, my face too has gotten thinner, faster. But - it reminds me of how I used to look in the face, so I'm quite pleased. if the wrinkles bother you try a retinol cream, and take salmon oil or fish oil and take Vitamin c daily. these will have a positive effect on your skin. I have been using these products for a long while and I have a hard time convincing people I am my age.

where I work (eye doctor) you have to come in with your new drivers license or some other state ID and then they will change your name on your records. each office may have their own rules though.

I think you have to examine all the reasons you went down that road in the first place....... what was going on within yourself and at home that made you feel like you needed this other thing? also, secondly - you have to decide what *your own* values are, what kind of a woman you want to be and what you want your own future to look like. my husband and I recovered from a bout of infidelity oh, about 12 years ago? because we both addressed the reasons within him and within our marriage why he strayed - set new boundaries on interactions with those of the opposite gender and decided what we *really* wanted out of life was to be together, to raise our children together and to be together for our grandchildren to come. That was how we saw our lives and values and we have never regretted doing the hard work to fix things. If you two decide that is what you want, you can do the same.

you are certainly welcome to express all of this on an open internet forum. but others, even if they incorrectly assess your situation, are equally entitled to their own opinions and just as welcome as you are to express them. I am sorry you have had a hard time of it. For me, this surgery has given me back my life and I am thankful.

I slept in bed. I am a side sleeper and kind of propped a soft pillow around my sore tummy and wore my binder. the first few days were uncomfortable when I needed to get up, or roll over but after a couple of nights I was fine, by the end of the week I did not need the binder any more. If you have a recliner, maybe you would use it? but I wouldn't buy one just for this. unless you want one and this is a good excuse!

thankfully reading about the hormone dump prepared me and allowed me to prepare my husband because boy have we had a lot of fun with that also! How long does the hormone dump last generally speaking? I have no idea on the general duration - for me the real dump good and bad effects were about 3 1/2 months - but at more than 5 months out I can still tell a difference - so tapering down maybe now? perhaps some who are further out from surgery might have a better idea.

the reason we say this is a very powerful tool is because it is. We all fell "off the wagon" before surgery, and none of us are 100% perfect at it after surgery. so hang in there, I know it's tough. keep trying. keep that goal in mind. I had to wait a year for my surgery, so I know how tough it can be. but it is all worth it!

sadly you are 100% correct @OKCPirate the HIPPA thing you sign at the doctors office is really just to protect the office from liability. our state is moving to electronic medical records systems that interact state wide to make sharing of information easier and seamless. There are valid patient care reasons, but it really boils down to coming changes to insurance systems expected in the next 10 years.

I am sorry you're dealing with this - I am only 5 months out from surgery so not much help with your question, except that I find certain foods to be rather filling for me personally on days when I am just hungry all day - do you find that also to be true? if so I'd make a list of those foods to be a go to on hungry/hangry days.

I just say "thank you" most people know about my surgery - and I am happy to talk about that if someone is considering it, but I don't "need" to talk about it either so - you know. now, when my kids haven't seen me in a while and walk past me, that's kind of funny - and of course when my husband thinks something is, er, especially nice, that is fabulous - but otherwise if they notice fine, if they don't fine. I am very pleased with how my body is changing and the things I can do now, and at the end of the day that's what really matters.

I am glad to see this update, and thankful you are able to taper. wishing you all the best as you continue to wean off. I know you will be on your guard to not let something else unhelpful take it's place.

it's really going to boil down to any other issues you may have that would impact the choice, and personal preference regarding living with the surgery long term. I went over my medical history and preference with my physician, and we both thought the same surgery would be the best for me, so going with the sleeve was a no brainer in my case. I'd make a list of pro's and con's for each and then take time to evaluate - but hopefully a pretty clear winner would come from the list.

thankfully reading about the hormone dump prepared me and allowed me to prepare my husband because boy have we had a lot of fun with that also!

once past having medical problems and cleared to eat any kind of food, I refuse to be *afraid of* or *guilty* about any foods. that being said the sleeve makes it pretty darn easy for me to stick with my plan, and that is why I am happy with my surgery results. before surgery my hunger was unmanageable.

I'm looking forward to seeing your progress!

absolutely spot on. I have been on internet forums for longer than I would like to admit. Overmoderation is usually what kills a board. I would encourage everyone to use the ignore function if you don't like a particular person.