blizair09

How long did they give you to lose the 50 pounds?

Welcome and good luck. This site has a lot to offer and it is really awesome having support from a slew of knowledgable people!

I have heard that lettuce and chicken breasts are tough for some people. Both of those were staples of my six-month pre-op diet, so I hope that isn't the case with me. How do you do with really well-cooked chicken that is almost of a pulled-pork-like consistency?

Which foods are still troubling for you? (I'm just curious since you are 4 months post-op...)

I had some throat pain the first couple of days post-op, but it went away pretty quickly. I'd ask your surgeon's staff about the pain if it is still bothering you at this point.

I can't have scrambled eggs until the beginning of Week 5 post-op.

It really is ridiculous that you can't work to improve your health situation without risking insurance implications sometimes. (But I also understand how insurance can be, and as one who has watched over $40K in medical charges magically become less than a $1400 obligation for me over the past few days, I know how important appeasing them is!) Anyway about it, I would work on changing your relationship with food. Specifically, think about how to build a new situation where food isn't the center of every event in your life. That has really helped me!

Why can you not lose more than 5 pounds? Are you close to the BMI minimum?

Start now. I followed a low carb/high protein/high healthy fat diet for my six-month insurance-required diet program. I lost 99 pounds pre-op; I re-established my relationship with food, and I began an exercise program. This prepared me more for the physical and mental demands of the surgery than anything else could have. My surgery was relatively easy, and my recovery has been accelerated, and I attribute much of that to the work I did pre-op. Good luck!

Great post!!

That is wonderful. Heartfelt support from loved ones is SO important. Best wishes as you continue your journey!!

I am not a pain pill fan either, but those first 3 days post-op, I was thankful for them. They wrote me a prescription for 30, and I think I may have used 9 of them. I will say that the addiction issue of others unfairly impacts those who take medicine as directed. During my six-month pre-op diet, I was prescribed phentermine. Now, I have taken phentermine many different times over the past 20 years, but it was always coming from a clinic where you got the pills at the doctor's office. In this case, the surgeon's NP wrote a prescription that I had to have filled. Every month, it was such an ordeal. I had to get it filed on the exact day of the month, and I was always treated like some sort of criminal when I was simply trying to get a prescription refilled. I am glad to be done with that part of my journey.

Congratulations! Hard work pays off!!

My first meeting with the surgeon's staff was March 3, 2016. My surgery date was September 28, 2016.

My first appointment with the surgeon's staff was March 3, 2016. My surgery was on September 28, 2016.

@@GrandmaBee55 You are the first person I have come across on here whose plan sounds more conservative than mine! :-)

I live in New Orleans. I won't lie -- food and drink is a major part of the city, and is what most tourists are really attracted to, but our music and cultural scenes are pretty awesome, too. Have a good trip!

For like 10 years one of my best friends. But she's now several states away we only get to see each other once or twice a year. I just blocked her from my Wls Instagram as soon as I saw she followed me. So it's lame cause obviously she saw things. I changed the profile to private so that can be avoided. Now I feel like I have to talk about with her when I'm not ready to do that. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I'm just a stranger with an opinion, but I would talk to her. Most of my best friends (as in lifelong, will-always-be-there-for-you friends) don't live near me, and we only see each other face-to-face every now and then. But they mean the world to me. You wouldn't want something like this to jeopardize a decade-long friendship...

Yay! What a testament to hard work and dedication!!

How long have you been friends with this person? Will blocking her cause irreparable harm to your friendship?

Good luck! The first few days suck, but you'll bounce back quickly. I'm two weeks post-op today, and I get better every single day!

If you feel that you can't stop drinking, then you have an alcohol problem. I would recommend talking to a professional so that you can determine a good path forward. Best wishes!

My partner is my rock, and my greatest source of support in this and everything else in life. My parents and brother are also a great source of support. My parents were here on the day of surgery and stayed for a week after. I talk to them and my brother several times a week.

You're so sweet. Thank you! :-) I work in educational publishing and services. I've been with them for 10 years now (they plucked me right out of my PhD program). I started out as a math coach (all my degrees are in math and math ed), and now I am over all of our math services and development, specifically around a K-11 digital math curriculum that we will take to market next school year. I don't directly work with teachers and students as much anymore, but I do get around to all of our pilot sites all over the country and our folks that work with the teachers work for me, so my hand is in it all. I just noticed that you are from TN. I grew up in southern middle Tennessee (just north of Huntsville, AL). I went to college and grad school in Nashville and taught in the Nashville area. I lived there for 15 years before I had to move for work.