orionburn

Could be the new routine? I struggled with my vitamins for the first few weeks. Used to love my chewables but then came to hate them with a passion after surgery (that and a lot of other favorite flavors tasted horrible). Two weeks is pretty normal to go before getting switched to the pureed stage, so I don't think that's the case. However you will have to use caution as you introduce foods back into your diet. Some things went down fine and I had no issues with. Other foods left me feeling blah and didn't enjoy them. Might not hurt to try changing the time of day when you take your vitamins and see if that makes a difference.

Good luck! The time will go by quickly. I'm glad I found this site prior to surgery because it really helped me learn to what to expect. Even though we had a support group for pre/post-op people it was easier to interact with the folks on here.

It's normal, and yes, it will pass. As much as I thought I had prepared myself mentally it was still a challenge. I had complications and was in the hospital for almost a week, everything tasted like crap when I got home, was weak and tired all the time, and by the end of 2 weeks I was just depressed from being stuck at home. I think that you'll find when you can start eating some normal foods again and get your energy back you'll start to come around. I don't think I ever really regretted having the surgery but I certainly wasn't the happiest person in the world as I waited to heal and get through the first few weeks. Now I'm coming up on my 1 year mark and have done more in the past year than I did the previous three because of all the health issues I was battling. Despite a rocky start I would still go back and do it all over again. Keep yourself busy with things you enjoy and try to keep your mind off of things. It does get better!

Part of the struggle is that once you get behind it can be really difficult (or impossible) to get caught up. I had a horrible time getting my fluids in the first week. It's constant work when you're having difficulties. My nurse told me while yes, they want you to get your protein, when it comes down to it water is the most important thing at this stage to make sure you don't get dehydrated. Do keep in mind that any protein drinks do count towards your daily water intake. Popsicles can be a help as well as ice slivers/chunks. Just make sure they're small in case you accidentally swallow one. One other thing that I did was kept an old 32oz Powerade bottle around. I'd fill that up with Crystal Light and sip on that. My goal would be to have that bottle empty half way through the day, then fill up and try to get the rest in by the end of the night. It never hurts to give your doc a call and let them know what's going on and see if they have any advice. If anything at least it makes them aware that you're having some difficulties.

I know it seems daft. If I got under a certain weight I would have been denied as well with my insurance. Don't recall exactly what the BMI cutoff was but think it was lower 30s.

The 1 in 10 sounds about right (from what I was told anyway). The other thing that apparently people turn to is shopping, like online ordering addiction. Really it's anything that can turn into an addiction. I definitely have an addictive personality and have to be mindful of things.

First week is fairly tough, but it'll get better soon. Honest. I was still sore after the first week and could feel some minor pain when I'd stand up. Otherwise it wasn't so bad. I didn't have any heavy duty pain killers but did have some that I was able to take.

I used to take the Celebrate chewables. I know what you mean, though. Right after surgery I could not stand the taste of them and they made me feel sick for the next half hour. Part of it was mental - I had myself so worked up because I hated the taste that I know that made it worse than it probably was. After my "everything tastes like crap" phase they didn't bother me. The orange flavored ones were actually pretty decent. When you take them with food how are you doing it? Before eating? During? After? And why are you "not allowed" to take gummies? Simply because your doctor doesn't like them? I've never used them but there are vitamin patches. The BP store has some and I'm sure you kind find them easily somewhere else: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/patchmd

To be honest I'm surprised your doctor's office wouldn't know this in advance. I can understand that they may not with some more obscure insurance plans, but I would think they would be well aware of requirements from BCBS. When I had my first consultation my nurse knew all the ins & outs of what would be required. From the start I was told it would be a minimum of 6 months. Definitely talk with your doc to see what you can do. Hopefully there's an easy way to get it sorted.

I wonder if BCBS varies between states. My insurance (I'm in Indiana) did require a 6 month monitored program, but not a year. That seems extreme.

Although it might not make sense exercising too often and too low of calories can actually inhibit weight loss. Your body can do some amazing things to keep from losing weight. Also bear in mind that if you are this active you could be adding some muscle mass and losing fat. I always hated to get measured at the gym but it's a good (better) way to track progress rather than the scale. Personally I think 6 days out of 8 it too much. You're what? A month out from surgery? Don't get me wrong - exercising is important but your body has been through a lot. With weight training (assuming you're doing some) you need to give your body time to rest. If you feel your food intake is dialed in then keep it the same for now. You may get to the point where you actually need to try to bump your calories up a bit to get things moving again. This won't last long so don't worry too much about. Once you go through a stall you'll realize it's annoying AF but you may hit them mulitple times in the coming year. Stay the course and things will be fine.

This is the bigger reason so much caution is used in regards to alcohol. I'll have to look up the stats but the rate that people turn into alcoholics after WLS is significant. Lower inhibitions may lead to eating more or eating things that you shouldn't.

I think this is one of the key takeaways. I don't consider myself to be on a "diet" any longer. In days of old being on a diet meant cutting out junk food, eating more salads, etc. It was always intended to be short term. Now that I've cut out so many things of old I don't consider myself to be dieting. What I eat now I consider to be normal.

It never really goes away per se but you do get over a hump where you just kind of come to terms with it and accept it. This is the time when we experience true hunger and should hopefully be a wake-up call to how fooled we get by head hunger when we're eating. Even now head hunger is something I still battle and always will. My NUT always suggested that when you start dwelling on it get up and do something for 5-10 minutes to get your mind off of it. Go for a walk, read a book, do some sort of hobby activity, etc. Anything to get your find focused on something else. There are some really good protein shakes out there. I know it sucks when you can't even enjoy your shakes. I used Unjury while I was on my 2 week diet and loved those (still do).

Trying to check-in with some folks that had their sleeve done last January like myself. For me I've been stuck at the same weight for the past two months. Focusing again on the little things. Upping my protein, cutting out carbs where I can, getting more active. This winter has slowed me down but now that the holidays are over I'm ready to get focused again. I am happy to say I didn't gain any weight over the holidays. That is a first ever for me so I need to find some silver lining for being in this stall for so long. Coming up on a year and it's hard to believe how much has changed. Despite some initial complications and a rough first month I'm so happy that I went through with WLS after debating it for so many years. When I went to my first consultation meeting in May 2017 I was back up to 350-355 lbs. By the day of surgery I was at 318 lbs. Now weighing in at 235-237. I was really hopeful to hit 225 by the time of my 1 year anniversary. Might happen if I can get things to kick in again. Part of why I'm starting this thread is to get my head on straight again and keep things dialed in. For the record I'm not falling back into old habits or anything, but need to get my exercise up and tweak my diet. My biggest struggle at this point is still having the same "shape" even though there's a helluva lot less of it. I feel so much better than I did from a year ago. The health benefits have been unreal. Just can't get my eyes/mind around it at times. Hope everyone else has had a good first year after their surgery!

Athough I prefer liquid mouthwash over anything else those Listerine strips work great. Nice to keep in your pocket when you need a quick fix.

Almost a year out and still get it on a regular basis. Kind of depends on what I eat. For whatever reason things like yogurt tend to make the most noise. Doesn't stick around for a long but in a quiet office it stands out...lol

That's something I struggle with as well. Although I have a ways to go yet, and despite losing 100+ pounds, because I still have the same "shape" there are days where I feel as big as I used to. I feel a million times better, but it's difficult to deal with at times. Congrats on your progress & success!

This. I kept a bottle mouthwash with me at all times. Even if the mouthwash is only a tempoary fix it gave me some peace of mind and freshened things up. For me drinking plain water never helps the breath issue. I typically do Crystal Light mixes and am a coffee lover, so having some flavored drinks can help as well.

I've had some here and there, but not something I do often. I didn't have any issues with it but it's one of those things where you can tell it would make you feel like crap if you ate too much (for me at least). I don't think I even tried it until maybe 10 months out.

Sorry to hear the bad news on the relationship woes, but congrats on staying upbeat and not trying to find a way to get into old/bad habits. Best wishes on your future!

I had a sleeve done but yes, lot of people go through a depression phase. My surgery had some complications so it took longer to bounce back. It's easy to get down when you're limited on what you can do and eating/drinking is a chore. More so since we've all obviously struggled with food and not being able to go back to old (bad) habits of eating when feeling down makes it all the more difficult. Try to keep yourself as busy as possible. Whether reading a book, doing what activities you can (hell I remember being happy to run the vaccum when I finally had enough energy), or any other hobby it helps to keep yourself occupied. By the end of my 2 1/2 weeks off of work I was pretty miserable being at home that long. The upside is that it will get better. As you heal up and it gets easier to eat/drink more and you can start adding more foods into your diet you'll see a big upswing in your mood.

This. Never hurts to call the doc and tell him/her what's going on. I feel for you cause I had a horrible time getting fluids in for the first few weeks. Didn't have a stricture but would get that feeling that the water was "stuck" above my stomach and would hurt from time to time. You can also try popsicles. Those helped me out for the first few weeks. You can also suck on ice slivers, but make sure they're super small. Last thing you'd want is to accidentally swallow a whole ice cube.

So much this! If you have to do a liquid pre-op diet you can try doing what I did. I knew it was going to be tough so I tried to prep myself as much as possible. When I was a month away I started doing a liquid lunch at work. Some times it was just chicken bullion cube in hot water and a few saltine crackers. Even though it was difficult at first I knew that I would be getting food at dinner and taught me some tricks on fighting head hunger (and real hunger) during the day. Not saying my method was the best or right for you, but it helped me. Don't beat yourself up for failings. It's like people that beat themselves up when trying to quit smoking. Yes it sucks when you break a streak of going without a smoke, but we need to give ourselves credit when we go from a pack a day to having a single smoke after a week. This is much more mental than we think. Don't give up!

Yes, it'll count as a drink for your daily goals. Nothing wrong with making a slushy out of it. I like to mix half ice and milk for my protein shakes to give it a milkshake consistency. Kind of acts as a treat from time to time.