iamjohnbamber

Hey everyone, Been a while since I've posted, but I wanted to get some thoughts from all of you that have gone on a cruise after having had your surgery. Have you had any difficult conversations or awkward moments because of food left on your plate, etc? I also had a few crew members make some unnecessary comments to me about how "they have a big kitchen" and would love to bring me tons of food. I hate that stuff... I made a video over on my YouTube channel about it, I'd be interested to see what you all think as well. Thanks in advance.

I'm glad my video was helpful - and thanks so much!

That's a really good idea too - using small plates. Definitely has helped me in the past too!

Right on! Have a great cruise, sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun!

For the record, my weight loss has improved my confidence to try things I never would have had the courage to try. I went rock climbing on a past cruise, I've even done scuba diving and all of the stuff fit me. Cruises are my favorite form of vacation because of all of the things to do onboard, and it doesn't make me sit on a plane for a long time.

Wow... I posted that as a general question in a supportive community, not an invitation to get chewed out.

Cruises are not all about the food, and there is far more to do on a cruise vacation than just eat. I understand where you are coming from, but that generalization doesn't apply to everyone. You might be more open-minded if you've been on a cruise, and thus may realize it's not as bad as you're making it out to be.

Hey all, Newly sleeved on 6/27 when Lap Band was removed as well. I had the Lap Band for 10 years, and am just curious from my fellow revised folk: What's been the single biggest challenge or change that took getting used to ? I also had a hiatal hernia repaired during my conversion, so the doctor explained the sensation of drinking and swallowing may feel similar to the band as the hernia repair site heals internally. I'm 6 days post op and I can tell it's less "band-like" each day. (What I mean by "band-like" is this... drinking a sip of Water, feeling the water go down my esophagus and "pause" before draining into the rest of my stomach. ) Looking forward to hearing from you!

Hey all.... Sleeved 6/27, weight is coming off slowly but surely and I'm at the tail end of my restricted diet. My nutritionist told me only eat 3 meals a day and no snacking in between... I've been doing it, and drinking Water between meals, but it is difficult. I haven't had any Snacks but am thinking about it since if I have something that's innocuous or has some nutritional value it should be ok, right?? I mean, is the whole "only eat 3 meals a day" even realistic? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal app -- it's great!

Yeah the protein is sometimes a challenge to get in... but Premiere Protein shakes are great, really helps that they're 30 grams per shake. I'm struggling to get all my protein in but I'm making efforts!!

It's heavenly good... So good I had to take a selfie... Genuine reaction after the first bite. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal app -- it's great!

Thank you! There is always joy in life, because to be alive is a beautiful thing.

Hence why I didn't eat them but I was curious if others did. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

The little bready croutons they give with the soup... If I'm on puréed stage I'm assuming I shouldn't eat those right? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal app -- it's great!

Sleeved 6/27, and have been taking Omeprazole (Prilosec) once daily since surgery, doctor told me to take it for 30 days after surgery. My 30th day is coming up and I'm just wondering if anyone else has had any noticeable change in stomach behavior after not taking the antacid medication any longer.

My doctor approved me for 2.5 weeks... that's how long I was out, and I was ready to go back to work at the tail end of it. I was getting kind of tired of being home all the time.

So sorry to hear... don't give up, though. Most insurance companies have an appeal process, or your doctor may have some other suggestions as to some alternatives. Your doctor or the hospital may even offer a payment plan. Alternatively, have you tried going back on the liquid diet to sort of "reset" your stomach back to your post-lap band days? Sometimes that helps and you can kind of reboot with the lap band.

I miss Chinese food, but I'm also learning a lot about restraint and I think in time I'll be able to indulge every once in a while in a little General Tso's chicken as long as I have it slowly and in moderation. I'm also planning to "budget" for it, so maybe do a shake or two for meals outside of my food that I want, keep my calorie intake down so on the day I want my "Treat" food I can afford it.

Congratulations!! Hang in there it gets easier and better from here. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks about whether or not you got it, you got the surgery to save your life, and to improve your life. YOU did it for YOU, and it's going to help you lead a happier life. That's the most important thing, and nobody can take that away from you.

What's an abdominal binder? Never heard of that... I pulled a muscle on my right side but the pain's since gone away (thank goodness) and I think it was from rolling around in bed. I used to be a stomach sleeper but since the surgery have been sleeping on my back and sides. I hope to get back to stomach sleeping at some point but I'm dealing with not sleeping on my stomach for now.

I start my puréed stage tomorrow, and made the ricotta bake tonight. I tasted it... It's goooooooood. Really good. Like... I'm not a great cook but the recipe was really easy to follow...and it came out really good. Few things I noticed (and if anyone has ideas on how to improve this I'm all ears)... I think I burned the cheese, but it still came out tasting good. The recipe is amazing and really easy to do. Here's a link to the recipe I followed (scroll down on the page): http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html The mozzarella cheese topping wasn't sticking to the base, but I wonder if I might have used too large a pan thus the under-spread was too thin? I'm going to see if it's better after being refrigerated and then re-heated. I used low-fat mozzarella cheese and low fat ricotta, but I'd be interested to figure out the nutritional info (do I just combine the totals on the ingredients?) The ricotta base breaks apart really easily, which is probably why this is allowed during the purée stage... For those trying this the first time, if you are nervous at all, just eat really small bites and chew the pants off it and you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Yeah, full liquids until tomorrow then pureed... Hang in there it gets better, I promise! as opposed to? :-D Interestingly enough, they included these little crouton-like things in the bag when I got it to go.. it was tempting to throw them in the Soup, but I resisted... liquids mean liquids, no solids yet...

During my research in learning about the gastric sleeve procedure I came across something called "Robotic Surgery". In short, a surgeon would operate on a patient from a console adjacent to the operating table, and instead of manually operating a cart with 4 robotic arms would do the actual procedure while under the remote control of the surgeon. I read that these are used mostly in Gynecology and Urology, but I haven't seen anything stating it was used in Bariatrics as well. How do you all feel about the idea of a surgeon remotely operating on you? I for one am repulsed and terrified by the idea... I'd much rather the delicate hands of a surgeon meticulously performing the procedure live, directly on-me. No robot arms on my body. What about you?

Hey everyone, Just started week 2 of my full-liquid diet today, and I'm dreading stage 3... Puréed for me starts next Tuesday, and I don't know what I'm going to do. I've been looking at some baby food, but I'm worried I won't be able to tolerate it since my attempt to have yogurt almost made me dry heave. My one thought was to do another 2 weeks of liquids, but I really should make some kind of attempt to thicken what I'm eating so I can be following the program. Anyone have any suggestions or recipes that got you through the purée stage? Tomato Soup is my favorite thing during this stage, so if anyone has a thicker tomato soup suggestion that would be great... Looking forward to hearing what you guys think. I was thinking of getting some chicken and cooking it, then purring it inside some tomato soup... I'll eat/drink anything in tomato soup at this point to get through those two weeks LOL. Thanks in advance. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App