ShelterDog64

Oh, Alex. "terrorize"? Really? Look, I'm not as outraged as some people are, and I'm not demanding that you delete my account. You're running a business and it's been helpful for me. But, it would be great if you'd not use that kind of language. I'm a military veteran, married to an active duty soldier and believe me, there's not one iota of terrorizing going on here. Bullied, maybe. Terrorized? Don't make me laugh. The people you just either banned or caused to leave are the reason I'm here and the reason many people are here...I get NOTHING from newbies eating pizza in their bathrooms so their spouses don't know they're 'cheating'. But when LL slapped me upside my virtual head when I asked about wine at 6 weeks post-op? THAT helped. AND, it made me think 'hey, my team was wrong about BP, there are some nuggets of wisdom to be gleaned there'...I hate that they were right, and I'm going to have to admit it at my real-life support group meeting next week. The snowflakes have had their fun, and when they all leave because they've hit goal or stopped losing because of their crappy habits, it's going to be sad and lonely around here...you may have 310,273 accounts (which we now understand to mean 'anyone who ever signed up, ever'), but you probably have about 50 active posters and about 100 more who drop in from time to time, in the sleeve forums. That's not a robust readership, by any means. I'm sad to see this, and although I may stick around for a while, it's only because of 2 or 3 people who I think need support...there's no support left here for me. And I'm going to buy my Vitamins, Proteins and Moon cheese elsewhere...I never get free shipping anyway. Let's think about things logically for a second..... Do you think this was a personal vendetta against a few members? What do I or BariatricPal have to gain from banning some very active members? If we are all about the mighty $, don't you think it would be in our best interest to keep things status quo and not make waves? BariatricPal is supposed to be a safe place for the weight loss surgery community and my mission in life is to keep it that way. I started BariatricPal the night I came home from my own weight loss surgery. It started off as a hobby for me and I literally spent hundreds and thousands keeping it going for many years without any financial support. It was my way of giving back to the community that supported me through my WLS. We've grown quite a bit over the last 14 years and I've recently launched a few businesses to serve the community and support our growth. It's an awesome feeling being able to help people and make a good, decent and honest living. It's living the American dream. 2017 is going to be a great year for the BariatricPal community. We have some really interesting projects that are launching in a few months. We're done with the rudeness, disrespect and bullying. Failure to follow the Forum Rules will lead to consequences included lifetime bans from BariatricPal. PS: Check your records. You received FREE SHIPPING for every single order you placed at the BariatricPal Store Thanks for helping me to 'think about things logically', Alex. Honestly, is that helpful? I've not talked down to you at all. I will give you a chuckle for the shipping thing...I was trying to be funny and probably haven't paid a dime for shipping I'm truly thrilled that this is a success for you. Ever since I signed on to BP, I've admired you for 2 things...one is that you're a band patient and a successful one. I don't know, IRL, a single person who was banded who has had any lasting success, let alone maintained as long as you have. And two, that you took your life experience and turned it into a successful business. It's one of my great regrets in life that I've never realized my desire to be an entrepreneur, and you've clearly done it quite well. That said, I wonder if this event is in keeping with a desire to keep this a 'safe place' or if it was a knee-jerk reaction to fear that your reputation was being sullied. In my house, we talk about doing the 'hard, right thing' vs caving in to peer pressure and fear. And I also wonder WHO you're keeping this a 'safe place' for? A place where PMs are read by moderators, people are banned with no warning or the courtesy of an explanation, a place where the vast bulk of the participants are as clueless as I was when I arrived here 8-ish months ago? Who is that 'safe' for? That's a big old echo chamber, which isn't a great place for support or information. So, maybe I'm not all that logical, or all that smart, or even marginally valued here...but I'm not sure I'm 'safe', either. I expect I'll soon see some snarky blacked-out name replacing Shelterdog64 in my profile...good luck to you.

@@pvechiola Just to commiserate....I'm 52 years old and my mom had a COW when I told her I was going to have WLS. She was completely against it, and still is, after I've lost 80 lbs, no more hypertension, no more fibromyalgia, down 5 clothing sizes, running 5Ks, etc. It's fear, and ignorance (not stupidity, but lack of knowledge), that's all. Do what you need to do for you...your mom will be fine, as is mine. But YOU? You'll be SO much better

Oh, Alex. "terrorize"? Really? Look, I'm not as outraged as some people are, and I'm not demanding that you delete my account. You're running a business and it's been helpful for me. But, it would be great if you'd not use that kind of language. I'm a military veteran, married to an active duty soldier and believe me, there's not one iota of terrorizing going on here. Bullied, maybe. Terrorized? Don't make me laugh. The people you just either banned or caused to leave are the reason I'm here and the reason many people are here...I get NOTHING from newbies eating pizza in their bathrooms so their spouses don't know they're 'cheating'. But when LL slapped me upside my virtual head when I asked about wine at 6 weeks post-op? THAT helped. AND, it made me think 'hey, my team was wrong about BP, there are some nuggets of wisdom to be gleaned there'...I hate that they were right, and I'm going to have to admit it at my real-life support group meeting next week. The snowflakes have had their fun, and when they all leave because they've hit goal or stopped losing because of their crappy habits, it's going to be sad and lonely around here...you may have 310,273 accounts (which we now understand to mean 'anyone who ever signed up, ever'), but you probably have about 50 active posters and about 100 more who drop in from time to time, in the sleeve forums. That's not a robust readership, by any means. I'm sad to see this, and although I may stick around for a while, it's only because of 2 or 3 people who I think need support...there's no support left here for me. And I'm going to buy my Vitamins, Proteins and Moon cheese elsewhere...I never get free shipping anyway.

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch I LOVE your ability to turn a phrase <3 I might stay around just for you...we can exchange salacious private messages to titillate our moderators

@@White Sale Or you could skip the thread and move along yourself. I'll have my say, thanks.

@@xoxococojay No, I meant most of the 2+ years vets are gone

@@GregMedic51 So, Clear liquids on MY program meant liquids I could see through...no Protein shakes, no puddings, no nut butters allowed. However, that was my post-op diet, I had no pre-op diet. Clear liquids for 2 weeks pre-op sounds awfully restrictive, maybe you can call your surgeon's office and get them to clarify.

@@2Tuffproc You don't want to have other things in your stomach when you eat your little meals, so either take them after you eat or in between meals.

Clear fluids with Protein are the easiest to digest, followed by 'regular' Protein shakes. Isopure wasn't my favorite, but I blended it with ice to make it more palatable. I stayed on clear protein for a week. I did the same with Premier Protein RTDs when I moved to full liquids. The ice reduced the viscosity and having it colder made it less protein-y.

@@avremy I still struggle with eggs at nearly 7 mos post-op...I can eat them poached, and sometimes boiled, but not fried or scrambled. Weird, but typical Refried Beans are great when you start solids, but baked beans have a lot of sugar in them...beans are carb-y to begin with, then the sauce that's added really puts them over into 'don't eat' land for me. Try cottage cheese, greek yogurt, refried beans, lentils, ricotta bake (google the recipe), string cheese, ground meats, flaky fish, canned tuna. Just limit yourself to only a couple of things every few days, chew well and measure/weigh your portions. Dry meats can be an issue, so use some mayonnaise or yogurt with the tuna. And don't give up on eggs, keep trying them periodically...you'll probably be able to eat them at some point!

@@xoxococojay I think most of them are gone

At 4 days post-op, really focus on getting your Fluid volume in vs Protein grams. You'll be okay for a while with less protein as long as you're getting close to your Water goal. Going forward, I second getting some unflavored Protein powder. There are many brands, I'm a GENEPRO fan but there are other brands that others have had good luck with. Find one, because once you get to pureed/soft foods, that powdered protein will be the key to your success. I put it in cottage cheese, refried Beans, yogurt, pudding...anything soft and moist. I'm over 6 months post-op and I still put a scoop in my coffee every morning. Good luck!

From LipstickLady: **I am PISSED that he implied that I was part of any backyard bullying club. Not only would I **never** do that, but I've known for a good year that he was reading PMs so if I was going to do that, it certainly wouldn't be there. I would be THRILLED if one of you posted THIS EXACT MESSAGE in that thread and say that it was from me.** Alex, wtf? How can anyone find this place to be a 'safe space' if we're subject to outright lies being told about us? I'm completely bewildered by your unprecedented breach of normal website behavior...since when do site owners a) read private messages and then comment on the content of said PMs publicly? I think you've painted yourself into a corner here. What I don't understand is WHY you've done it.

@@White Sale The week 3 stall is a well-documented event! I had one, and I started losing again and it's all worked out exactly the way my doc told me it would. I'm in a stall at 6 months...going on 4 weeks with no loss at all. It sucks. I hate it. Now get off the floor and get back at it, dear.

@@Alex Brecher **Unfortunately, this has not been the case recently. I have heard from multiple sources that some members are uncomfortable here. They feel attacked when they post. I have heard this not only from newbie and veteran members, but also from bariatric surgeons, nurses, and psychologists who are members of ASMBS and who have heard concerns about BariatricPal from their patients.** What a bunch of CRAP, Alex. Let me tell you what *I* heard about BP from my surgeon, his nurses and my dietitian: that it's primarily pre-ops or new post-ops sharing bad information, with a store attached to it. The funny thing? They were right. You banning people with no warning has taken away 2 of the reasons I bothered to keep coming here. I don't need more newbs crying because they need 'support' when they're eating ribs and corn on the cob 2 weeks post-op...my IRL support group is stuffed to the gills with them. I need the people with the guts to tell them it's a bad idea.

My sign was when I went to see a surgeon to evaluate another issue I had and the triage nurse asked if I was there for the bariatric pathway. I cried for a day then called and told her she was on to something.

It's almost ALL about self-control at where you and I are post-operatively! You're not meeting your protein goals, which is devastating to weight loss and feeling satiated by your food. I've not done the best job during the holidays, and I'm in a 3 week long stall right now. I know it's because I'm not keeping my carbs down and my protein up, and I'm not tracking every bite I put into my mouth. You should be losing more/more consistently than you are, maybe a re-start with Protein shakes and then advancing yourself through the different stages to reset your diet would be helpful. And you don't mention using any Protein powder...I still have to use it to get my protein grams high enough. On a normal day, I use GENEPRO unflavored in my morning coffee, so I start off with 20-30 grams of protein in a 12 ounce mug of coffee, with monkfruit sweetener and cream. Some days I have a container of plain yogurt with a little low-carb granola mid-morning, or cottage cheese with a tablespoon of pureed fruit stirred in. Lunch, I eat a cheese stick and a couple of slices of deli turkey. I have a handful of almonds or half an apple with Peanut Butter for an afternoon snack, then 3-4 ounces of my family's dinner protein and around 1/4 cup of vegetables. And I almost always have a sugar-free popsicle before dinner. That typical day gets me about 850 cals, 95 grams protein and 50 grams of carbs, with only 21 of them being sugars. I lose when I'm eating like that...80 lbs since the end of June. You've got the tool in place, you just need to commit to using it correctly, find ways to distract yourself when you're hungry (exercise, clean house, work, garden...whatever works) and get back on track. There's literally no reason for you to NOT be successful! Go get it, you CAN do this!!

You're definitely right about having to use the mask as it can be harmful otherwise. That's the scary part. Initially when I did the sleep study at home I had the nose prong thing and it was so uncomfortable for me. I guess that's because it was my first time sleeping with a breathing machine! I did not sleep much at all during that sleep study and kept having nightmares everytime I actually did fall asleep (so strange I know lol). The machine I have is the philips dreamstation and it has two buttons. The power button and a ramp button (I'm assuming) that goes from 1-5. The technician who set it up told me I could increase/decrease but when he tried to it didn't work. He said it may be because the dr had prescribed it to that level. Still waiting for a call back from my dr to address these concerns Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Hmmm, I wonder if the 1-5 is for your humidifier? Mine has adjustable settings. I'm glad you're calling your doctor, I hate to hear a tech tell a patient something like that...if it's a ramp button, it wouldn't be set to a particular pressure...sounds like it was the humidifier adjustment and your tech wasn't properly teaching you to use it. Good luck, I hope you're able to figure out something that works. I said 'nasal prongs' in my first post, but as I read what others wrote, I remember that mine is technically a 'nasal pillow'. Don't give up on finding the right mask...there are many, many brands/styles and you may have to try quite a few to find the one that works best for you. After having my cpap for 5+ years, I truly feel the difference if I go on a trip and forget it. My sleep quality is MUCH better when I use it

@@Coachthex32 These are great questions, especially because you asked them BEFORE you ate the foods I was so apprehensive about the pureed/soft phase that for a couple of days, I just ate yogurt.

@@suzzzzz As usual, we're on the same page about this! When I tell people I've had WLS, I don't even give them the opportunity to offer anything but either silence or support. I tell them that I had the surgery because I couldn't live at the weight I was any longer, that I was sick and in pain, that I've lost weight so many times but can't keep it off. That I decided to use a tool available to me to improve my life and my lifespan. If some asshole wants to quibble with my choice, the only thing they show is their lack of character, IMO. I sincerely do not CARE whether others think I took the 'easy way', or that I didn't try hard enough to be thin without surgery. This is about ME and no one else...and for me, this has been easier so far. My surgery was a breeze, and my post-op time has been relatively problem free. I'm thinner, more attractive, healthier and happier. Who can possibly have issue with that? Not anyone whose opinion matters to me, that's for sure. Someone a few posts back said something about confidence coming with age...I couldn't agree more. I'm 52, I'm smart and capable and I don't care what other people think about the choices I make for myself.

@@CarolinaCourtney Are you off pain meds completely? I had a morphine PCA pump while admitted then came home with liquid codeine and acetaminophen. I had some esophageal spasms but the oral meds really helped.

@@moe_2175 It's so hard to get used to a cpap, but you definitely need to use it. The damage you do to your body with the apnea is no joke Does your machine have a ramp button? It allows the airflow it start at a lower pressure, then work up to what your machine is set for. I put mine one when I'm ready to fall asleep, hit the power and then the ramp...it doesn't bother me at all any more but I struggled at first. @@anniecorda is right on about finding the right mask. I started with a full-face, hated it, tried one that just covered my nose, hated it too. Now I use a nasal prong mask, which I originally thought I couldn't use because I had been a nighttime mouth breather for years, but it's worked fine. Apparently I was mouth breathing because of the apnea, and when I wasn't having apnea, I stopped breathing through my mouth at night. The company who helped you do the original set up can give you different masks to try. Don't give up, you need to use the machine!

First, you can't really stretch a properly done sleeve. The stretchy fundus of your stomach is removed and what's left is very thick, dense tissue. Do you feel restriction if you eat dense Protein, like chicken, beef, pork, hard cheese? Slowing down will help, for sure, as you'll give your body time to get the satiety signal to your brain. Are you getting all of your protein daily, and your Water? I'm just over 6 months out and if I eat the protein I need and drink 64 oz of water, I'm not hungry and definitely can feel restriction if I push even a spoonful past what I know fills me up. The things that DON'T trigger any restriction are carbs, almost all of the simple ones. I could probably eat crackers until I got tired of chewing them, soft cheeses, yogurt, anything sugary. The best thing, IMO, is to clean up your diet (there's no way I could eat a slice of pizza right now, the dough would kill me) and get back to focusing on protein and fluids, and see if that helps with your hunger. Good luck, and you're doing great by your stats! You're almost at goal!

@@erp **For clothing, I agree with the Ann Taylor advice but with conditions. Do not let the teeny boppers that sometimes work there dress you. How could they possibly understand corporate dress for a woman in her 40s. So scope out the sales clerks and work with the one that you like how they have styled themselves.** Oh, yes. I was at the AT in Bellevue the other day and a girl who I SWEAR had to be skipping her 11th grade civics class to be working there asked if she could help me. I wasn't sure whether to ask her 'with WHAT?' or to just say 'I don't think that's possible'. Instead of either of those unwise choices, I just smiled and told her someone else was already helping me. Then I found my favorite 'seasoned' employee and worked with her Speaking of Katherine Hepburn, I got a gorgeous pair of winter white flannel trousers at AT for $20 (originally $98). They have them in the Kate fit that Erp mentioned and their Devin fit, which is a bit straighter. I used to be very big hip and butt/small waist but as I've lost weight after this surgery, I'm suddenly very slim (relatively, of course!) through the thigh/butt area. I actually wear the slimmer fit at AT! I like the Smashbox suggestion, their products aren't my favorites but having one of their artists show you some tricks is worth buying a little something from them. They make an under-eye brightener that I wear instead of concealer sometimes, if that appeals. I've never had good luck with MAC, despite wanting to wear it and going several times for consultations. I usually end up with way too much product on and break out afterward. I'm still open to trying, though, and there are so many more free-standing stores now that I should probably give it another shot. They do GREAT eyes!

I'm laughing so hard...I just adore you <3 First, the clothing color thing: Yes, there are colors that are ideal for each of us, but don't put ANY color entirely off limits. There is a shade of every one that can work on every person. We have very similar complexions and hair color...I'm a dark blonde with green eyes and fair, sun-sensitive skin. I have my hair highlighted with neutral/warm light blonde. I can wear ANY color, honestly, but I don't like blue so I generally only wear blue if it's denim. Wine, burgundy, gold, yellow-greens...they're my wheelhouse, but I also wear black and cream quite well. The only color that I think I don't look good in is white, and is that even a color? And I'm not a pastel fan, they look too kiddie to me most of the time. I'm a HUGE Ann Taylor fan, in part because they do a sort of color 'story' each season...you can buy almost anything in the store and it coordinates with many other pieces from that season. Fall/winter this year was wine/navy/dusty pink/cream/grey. Winter/spring seems to be navy/emerald/white/gold. Their prints are fun but not too trendy, so they can carry over for a few years. The fabrics are delightful...I hate cheap fabric and I'd rather have one *great* pair of AT pants than 10 from most anywhere else. banana Republic has nice things, too, as does J. Crew, but I think they're both grossly overpriced for the quality. Sales are my friend at all 3 of these stores Makeup: I second WLSResource's suggestion of Bobbi Brown, at a department store. I'm a Sephora VIB so you can tell I shop there way too often, but I know makeup and I don't need much help so it works well for me. The girls at Sephora are great and enthusiastic, but if you go to the Bobbi Brown counter at a Nordstrom or Macy's, you get someone who knows their product well and will know what they have that will suit you best. It's subtle, natural makeup that works well on slightly older skin. You can get a full makeover done if you want and they're not super high-pressure about selling the product, in my experience. I wear a lot of Bobbi, although I'm a lipstick/lip gloss junkie and cheat on her with many, many other brands of lip products and I also love Dior mascara, although BB makes a good long-wear version, it's just not my fav. BB's concealer, blush and particularly eye liners are top-notch and I can't imagine not using them. I also like Marc Jacobs eyeliner pencil...smooooooooth like buutter, doesn't drag at all and doesn't need any blending or softening. I don't do the 27 steps so many do with their daily makeup routine. I don't wear foundation at all, I've always had good skin and just don't need it. I use a great moisturizer and also follow with argan oil. I don't use any primers, I hate the way they feel on my skin. I do concealer, eye shadow, eye liner, lash primer, mascara. Then a quick sweep of blush and I'm done. Literally 10 mins, if I take my time, 5 if I'm in a hurry. I used to use powder but my skin looks younger without it. I dye my brows so I don't have that step to deal with daily. I wish we all lived near each other, it would be so fun to go shopping and makeup trying-on together