Creekimp13

I'm 7 months out. I eat 1200 calories per day. I typically eat six little meals. Am almost to goal, will need to increase calories soon. I'm not a protein nut. I get 60g a day, but half come from healthy carbs and are plant based. My diet is unrefined. Lot of fruit, veggies, whole grains, and very lean meat. Beans, peas, lentils, seeds. Homemade wheat bread and bowls of homemade veggie/bean soup are favorites. And once in a while, I eat junk. But never more than 75 calories per day worth. Nothing is off the table...so I don't feel deprived ever...I've just learned to make better choices about my junk consumption.

Talk to your doctor! My doctor allows me to take ibuprofen a couple of times a month for migraines associated with perimenopause. I don't take much, and only for a day or so...but it makes a massive difference for me. Would Tylenol be better for my sleeve? Of course....if it worked...which it doesn't. My doctor is comfortable with me taking ibuprofen with an antacid sparingly in these circumstances. So far, no issues. No reflux, no pain, no problems.......but this is individual and should be cleared first by your doctor. It's essential that it is not abused.

Eat six times a day. Works awesome.

I wish you did! If I could pass you my super awesome easy recovery card, I would. One tip....If you get offered the anti nausea medication Emend....it's worth the hundred dollars to buy the one pill to take before surgery...even if your insurance doesn't cover it. Crazy expensive....but everyone I know who took it, myself included, had a very easy time of it.

There is absolutely no way of knowing. Many people are rapid healers with little pain and little to no nausea. I was lucky and had a super easy surgery and healing experience. If you draw this card...you probably won't have any trouble doing a few hours of desk work after a few days. But there are plenty of other people who have severe nausea, complications, partial stricture, healing difficulties, setbacks, dehydration, difficulty drinking etc. If you draw this card, you could be in trouble for a few weeks or even months. Keep in mind that people who feel well enough to attend support group at 1-2 weeks likely fall in the first category. Luck of the draw. Wishing you the very best outcome.

Clearly, this is something you should discuss with your doctor.

They're highly refined, high calorie/low nutrition, high in polyunsaturated fat. Nutritionally? They're kinda...poison junk. I think they're tasty, but they're so incredibly awful nutrition-wise. If I'm going to do something that naughty, it's going to taste a hell of a lot better than a Cheezit. LOL Also...we all need to work on better ways to find pleasure/reward....than food. Particularly, crappy food that hurts us.

Medical rule of thumb: if it is not within your scope of licensed practice to assess medical conditions and write the appropriate referral or medical recommendation, you are opening yourself and your institution up to liability by discussing said condition. If, specifically as a nurse practitioner (which requires a Master's degree), you are overseeing routine patient care under the supervision of a physician who you know will make the referral based on your recommendation and the patient's stats....this is a different sort of situation. Nurse Practitioners generally work in tandem with a supervising primary care physician. Ultimately, though, most insurance companies will require dietitian and bariatric surgery referrals to come from a physician. Your insurance will also almost universally want your referral to come from a medical doctor. What Nurse Practitioners are authorized to do, and what they cannot do varies widely state to state...and also insurance company to insurance company. Obesity treatment, diet and exercise recommendations can have grave consequences if given by someone who doesn't have the skillset to evaluate a patient's whole health profile. If you are a nurse and a doctor has not specifically asked you to discuss weight issues with clients, you really have no business doing so. You cannot make recommendations. You cannot write referrals to dietitians . You cannot prescribe medication. You cannot make a surgery referral. You cannot even give out a printed diet or suggest Jenny Craig...unless a physician has authorized you to do so. Your best course of action as a nurse is to advise patients you are concerned about to discuss how their weight could be affecting their medical issues with their primary physician and advise them to consider asking what options might be available for them.

Ya know what they say about doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.... Maybe try something different this time? Or not. Whatever works for you. Best wishes:)

If you're eating 700 calories and 300 of them are wine...and you don't see this as an issue...you might have an alcohol dependence problem. Just sayin.

They should become a doctor, first. As a nurse, you are not typically in a position to comment on patient's weight. Like any other health condition....Doctors should present factual information about the health risks of obesity and offer treatment advice, lifestyle advice, and referrals.

My diet was all protein drinks and clear liquids......and one serving per day of like four or so options...a yogurt, or a sugar free pudding, a cup of cream based soup, a serving of sugar free oatmeal. Pre-surgical diet was pure hell. Worse than the surgery, in my opinion. The first two weeks after surgry sucked, too....but at least the scary part is over and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. All in all....that month of hell sucked the big one. I don't envy any of ya'll going through it!

As you've discovered....it's you who does the work, not the sleeve:) Tomorrow is a new day. Your stomach didn't grow back...the tool is still there. Time to work on figuring out how to use it. You can do this!

I took my meds crushed up in a dollop of sugar free cool whip the day after surgery as per my doctor. Some of my meds were discontinued after surgery and I never needed them again.

Could not disagree with you more about the carbs. And could not disagree with you more about not having carbs in your maintenance diet. I eat a metric ton of healthy carbs with lots of healthy plant based protein in them. Has worked awesome for me for slow steady weight loss. My diet is delicious, satisfying and never leaves me feeling deprived or hungry. I value my kidneys....so I don't want to damage them and shorten my lifespan by grossly over eating protein for the rest of my life. I don't have problems with cravings. Sometimes I choose to eat a little junk, but I feel absolutely in control when I do and can stop at a few bites (and enjoy the hell out of them) Part of this, very likely, has to do with my diet full of low glycemic index healthy carbs that keep my blood sugar stable....which keeps me from Jonesing like an addict so I can make sane measured choices on a sustainable plan. I get that you think carbs are the devil. Not everyone does. Not everyone is a ketovangelist. I don't want to live in a world without black beans, health nut bread, watermelon and apples:) (and the occasional bite or two of a naughy assed dessert) And I don't have to.

PS.. For the sake of full disclosure.... My surgery was complication free. I had a very easy recovery. No nausea. Little pain. Before surgery I had prediabetes. My blood sugar A1C is now well within normal range. My fasting blood sugar is in the 70's. Before surgery I took medication for high blood pressure. My blood pressure is normal now and I'm off meds. Before surgery I had very swollen legs at night and especially on hot days, and took diuretics for my edema. My legs are gorgeous now, no swelling....and no diuretics. Before surgery I had the occasional flare up of a hemorrhoid I got during pregnancy. My butt is great now....no sign of the nasty roid. LOL. The only prescription medication that I still take...is thyroid cause my thyroid is permanently feckered:) But yeah....I can run again. I can walk miles without my back screaming. I can get a good night's sleep without my hip and sciatic nerve pain waking me up at night. I feel like a normal 46 year old again. It SUCKED to feel 66 at 46. No regrets. Nada.

Nothing in life is without risk. Driving your car to the store carries a certain amount of risk. Before allowing yourself to be paralyzed by some instances of side effects after surgery (which are actually fairly rare, and nearly all are readily treatable)...consider this: What is the risk of remaining fat? Diabetes is statistically correlated to a shorter life. Type One...by nearly 20 years, Type Two by 10 years. Diabetics have a harder time losing weight. It can lead to poor wound healing, amputations, blindness... it is something you want to avoid. It is something WORTH SOME RISK to avoid because it will shorten your lifespan and quality of life. High blood pressure will cause debilitating issues over time, too, Kidney issues, risk of stroke. People with high blood pressure have shorter lifespans (by about five years) than those who don't. You are reading some scary stuff on this board.....because YES, this surgery carries SOME risk. (Less than a gallbladder surgery) But you are not considering the multitude of stories of people who chose to remain fat, who did not aggressively try to reverse their poor health conditions.....who died of heart attacks and strokes and complications of metabolic decline. Remaining fat carries more risk. When I considered this surgery, I asked myself and I asked my doctor to justify it.....Do the benefits outweigh the risks? Research overwhelmingly concludes....yes, they do. Wishing you the best no matter what you decide.

Good bugs eat fiber. Make sure you're getting some healthy fiber in your diet. Beans, peas, raspberries, figs, oatmeal, apple ,broccoli, squash, flax, lentils, chick peas. Feeds the good gut bugs and helps firm up stools. Introduce beans and peas in very small amounts to avoid uncomfortable gas. You will develop a tolerance to them if you go slow:) Natural probiotics....yogurt, sauerkraut, miso paste, pickles, olives, kefir, tempeh, Kombucha tea, apple cider vinegar with the mother, kimchi.....anything fermented. (that said, you should use caution to find only SAFETY REGULATED products until you are on the mend)

LOSE........what we hope happens to our fat. We want to lose it. LOOSE.....how our clothes fit after we LOSE some weight. My pants are loose. The neighbor's dog is loose. The only way I could loose fat, is if I thew a can of Crisco out the door...and I'm guessing it would still be pretty contained as it isn't very ambulatory. I know...I know...spelling isn't an indication of intelligence. It's not a big deal. We all make a million spelling errors. Myself included. Just ranting. Lose....when something is gone. Loose...your butt with diarrhea. Lose....when you don't win. Loose...when you're friendlier in the sack than you oughtta be. Lose....your car keys. Loose....your kid's baby teeth. I'm sorry. Thank you. I feel better.

At a real life support group meeting, we talked a little about how different doctor's groups offer such WIDELY VARIED advice on nutrition post surgery. Some programs have folks eating tiny amounts for extended times, no carbs, give strict weight loss goals, have no flexibility on diet choices, run to being extreme. Some are extremely lenient to the point of passivity. Don't worry about calories. Don't weight yourself, we won't weigh you. Just listen to your body. It's all good. Most are somewhere in between. So who's right? We had three dietitians at our meeting who had worked for different clinics...who had some interesting comments on this. The gist of their concern......was that some clinics push hard...not for the health of their clients....but because the faster they can make their fat clients skinny....the more business they'll attract. Yeah...seriously. How sick is that? You get put on a brutally demanding plan that might not be in your best interests....to be a walking bulletin board for your clinic. The consensus was that the vast majority of clinics are NOT like this...and do a good balanced job with nutrition....but that each of these women had encountered this situation in their careers (or had known someone who had)....where they felt pushed to advise people to push too hard for the sake of the clinic's image. Your clinic should listen to your concerns, offer flexibility, choice, and sound nutritional practices. I'm so damned glad I went to a clinic that serves an international clientele. Our nutritionists do a great job with supporting different global eating styles and have awesome educations, attend current conferences, etc. Beats the hell out of a "nutrition consultant" with a stack of printed rules for everyone...regardless of their gender, health issues, etc.

Looking gorgeous, Ash! I did water slides with my niece last month and it was a blast! I second the recommendation.

Maybe he's scared you'll see a message from his internet girlfriend or his weird porn. Who know?

Boogie, you mind your P's and Q's and do everything they tell you to. You don't want to screw around with pancreatitis. Thinking of you and hoping you're feeling better ASAP. What crappy luck!

My diet has 75 discretionary calories per day that I can use on whatever naughty thing I want. I can use them daily or bank them. If I were going on vacation, I'd bank them for a couple of weeks:) I'd try to stick to my 1200 calories a day, but wouldn't sweat it too much. Meh....ya gotta live. It's good for your metabolism to get a shake up sometimes. Back home...I'd get right back on the wagon.

Love it!