blizair09

Best wishes for a good day today!!

I suggest using unflavored Protein powder and adding it to some of the pureed foods you are already eating. Good luck!

I am currently on short term disability, and I will go back to work after a total of six weeks. Taking the time to heal, and also to work through the food stages and make the necessary adjustments to living a successful life post-op (eating and otherwise) are my primary objectives right now, and taking the time to devote myself to it 100% has been the best decision for me.

Good for you! The six-month diet program that my insurance required was the best thing that ever happened to me. I completely re-established my relationship with food, lost 99 pounds pre-op, and prepared myself as best as I could for the surgery and life after. You won't regret the work you do pre-op, and you'll be thanking yourself later! Good luck!

I have told anyone and everyone since the day I began the process.

I was the same way. In fact, not only could my surgery not be scheduled until I finished the requirements (six months of doctor visits, a psych evaluation, and 1 visit with a nutritionist) and insurance approved it, I had to have my surgical clearance from my PCP and pay a down-payment (that, consequently, the doctor has to return since my insurance paid it) before they would schedule it. It was quite a process, but worth it all when I watched nearly $50K of doctor and hospital charges disappear before my eyes!

liquids require grit and perseverance -- both pre- and post-op. I agree that you take it hour by hour and try to use broth to make it better. In my opinion, this entire journey is just as much a mental game as it is a physical game. The liquid diet portion of the journey is, perhaps, the biggest mental exercise of them all. Good luck!

Awesome job! Keep up your hard work!!

Are you self-pay or are you going through insurance? If it is insurance, it will depend on the requirements of your policy. If you're self-pay, it will depend on any requirements the doctor might have, but I would imagine they would schedule you as soon as they have availability.

I shared with my entire team what I was going to be doing when I started my six-month insurance-required diet program in March. As I finished all the requirements in August and a date was set, I told them and arrangements were made. My surgery date was September 28, and I am going back to work on November 14. Everyone has been super supportive! Good luck!

No candy for me...

The good thing about life is that there is almost always a second chance. Get up, dust yourself off, and get back to the basics and that regained weight will be off before you know it. Good luck!

We've only been out to eat once since my surgery, and it was when I was still on liquids. My partner and our good friend had some steamed seafood, and I asked the server to bring me a chilled glass for my Protein shake. I explained that I had recently had bariatric surgery, and then she asked me a bunch of questions because it was something she was interested in herself. We got excellent service for the rest of the night.

They gave me Heparin shots several times at the hospital, but I never had to give them to myself before or after, but I remember reading posts where people did have to continue to take those shots after they got back home.

On my plan, you can have salads beginning at Week 7 post-op. What does your plan say since they all have their differences?

I'm not sure that it is possible for anyone to be completely prepared, but I do think you can be as prepared as you can be. And I believe that I was as prepared as I could be based upon my experience so far....

Best wishes for a great day tomorrow!!

Good luck tomorrow!!

I got out of the house on Day 3 post-op and I believe it made all the difference in me rebounding and beginning to feel better! Keep getting out and keep walking!

I am away from work for a total of six weeks. I was sleeved on September 28 and I go back to work on November 14.

With me, I get wrapped up in thinking about something else, and before I know it, I have let an hour go by and I haven't drank anything. I've done that 2 or 3 times over the past week or two. When I go back to work, I'll get my mind in what I am doing (or in the endless conference calls that consume so much of my day), and I know I risk that happening all the time. That's why I am going to have to use the alarms or something... To be honest, I eat about 8 different times over the course of the day, and I haven't gotten close to filling up my new stomach. (I'd say 2 oz at one time is the most I eat.) So, I don't have restriction issues after eating (with regard to drinking). I just don't because that is what I was told to do. Today, I get to add salmon to my diet. I am cooking a 6 oz filet and I'll eat 2 oz of it at three different times this afternoon and tonight. We'll see how I do with that in terms of stomach space...

If I haven't gone to the bathroom after 3 days (which has only happened twice), I use Milk of Magnesia and it clears it right up. (Just take a sip or two, though...)

Walking is the best answer (even though I know you probably don't want to hear that right now). The Gas-X strips helped me tremendously, and Milk of Magnesia has been great when I have had problems going to the bathroom. (Although, just take a sip or two of it. I took the regular dose the first time, and I was in the bathroom almost all day that day.) I hope you get to feeling better soon.

I love setting goals. When I started my journey back in March, I laid out 21 milestones on a word doc that would take me throughout my whole journey (about 220 pounds). Every time I meet one, I bold and italicize it on the document. Celebration-wise, we usually either go shopping or go to the casino or something similar that we enjoy doing.