Creekimp13

My dad was an unusual quiet man. Brilliant and odd. Sort of an absent minded professor type. Always distracted by discovery and learning, always very deep in thought. Not much for small talk, but keenly observant. He noticed everything. One way my dad and I connected, was a shared love of animals. He loved watching me train dogs, and he enjoyed all my little pets as a kid. I remember him making a special stop at a convenience store on the way home from work to pick up sunflower seeds, because he liked to feed my pet rats and enjoyed building mazes with me to run them through. One father's day my grandma and I went on a top secret mission to buy him ducklings. Dad loved waterfowl and we lived on a creek when I was a child. He was delighted with his pet ducks. He was like Tony Soprano with ducks. They just made him happy. If there were deer or a crane in the creek, he'd watch absolutely enraptured. He was a thoughtful, gentle, lovely man. My microbiologist daughter often reminds me of her grandfather:) I wish he'd lived to see her collection of creatures and her research. She was his absolute favorite as a little one, and I'm sure that bond would have only grown as she did. He would have been extremely tickled to have seen how her life has played out this far.

I am really sorry about your Dad. What a lot to deal with. Yeesh. If you have any reinforcements....Now is the time to call them in. A bestie, a cousin, an aunt...anyone you trust. You need help. You need to drink. Sip, sip, sip. This is so important. Keep drinking your clears and keep drinking your protien drinks. Put a couple in your car. Put a couple in your purse. Keep drinking. It's your most important job right now. You need to rest when you're tired, but don't sit or lay for too long. You need to get up and walk every hour if possible, except when you sleep at night. Don't exhaust yourself, but keep moving. If you're doing cremation, consider delaying the funeral. My mother in law passed unexpectedly and we did her funeral a month after her death because there were significant health crisis's among the core family. It's unusual, but there is no law against it and people really do understand. Best wishes, and again, heartfelt condolences.

It gets better.

In our seminar we were told that bariatric surgery makes good relationships better and troubled relationships worse. (not saying your relationship is bad....just saying that it does seem to bring existing issues to the surface and demand that they be addressed) There's a reason bariatric surgery is often coined "divorce surgery"....because it does seem to be the catalyst of the end of relationships in a lot of circumstances. It could be his insecurity at the idea of you being more fit and attractive, it could be that he's attached to your old eating habits and doesn't want to change them, could be a lot of changes that come with doing something positive for yourself....assertiveness, confidence, outspokenness, interest in doing more, etc. Regardless of what's going on....I would take it seriously and work on it. Have the hard discussions. Figure out if you need some counseling to help sort through it....it never hurts. Best wishes!

The day after surgery, with a vengeance. I was starving...crazy hungry...until around three weeks when I started eating about 1000 calories per day. I eat about 1200 per day now, and have no problems with hunger at all.

Pea Protein veggie gummies: https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Protein-Gummy-Kiwi-Friends/dp/B076DMZJ5D/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1529161664&sr=1-4&keywords=pea+protein+gummy

So many times I read about parents who feel bad for throwing away sugary snacks...and depriving their kids of "fun childhood treats" But folks...here's a wake up call....Our kids share our genetics. They will likely struggle just like we do someday. The kindest thing...the best thing we can do for their future health and happiness...is model good eating habits and make our homes the basis of good nutrition and good eating habits. Our kids are still gonna get treats. They're everywhere. But learning to eat them only on special occasions out of the house is not a bad thing. Sugar and fat are not love. They are not fun. They are not childhood. They don't have to be. Not being the food police over here...of course kids are gonna have an ice cream here and there, or a marshmellow or some candy, or a McDonalds, or a birthday cake......once in a while, that's fine. But it doesn't need to be in your house regularly. Make good nutrition your home culture. Learn to cook healthy together. Learn to make healthy snacks. That's a gift.

I had one of the smoothest, fastest recoveries i've heard about. Few pain meds. One night in the hospital. Ate 1000 calories at 3 weeks. Never missed a day of 60+ ounces of water. A VERY easy recovery compared to most.....and I had a large hiatal hernia repaired. You should watch the surgery on Youtube. Fixing the hernia isn't very complicated. No biggie at all. You will be fine:)

I still eat popcorn. No problems. However, corn on the cob gets stuck and I can't tolerate it. Not sure why? To be successful, you're going to have to give up a lot of your old eating habits. Sugar, in particular, is a challenge for most. Anything refined. It's hard and it takes a lot of discipline. You can't go into bariatric surgery thinking the surgery is going to do the heavy lifting long term. It will do its part and help....but ultimately your habits need to change. People seem shocked when we say....yes, you lose weight through DIETING after surgery. But it's true, it's all about changing your forever diet and your eating habits. The surgery helps, but the dietary changes...the biggest effort... is squarely on you.

1. Gallstone flushes are magical thinking. They don't work. 2. For a Sleeve patient to ingest insane amounts of apple juice and EPSOM SALTS is recklessly dangerous and could result in an incision line ulcer or worse. 3. Untreated gallstones can lead to acute pancreatitis or bile duct infection, both of which are potentially deadly. If your doctor suspects gallstones, you should ask him if he wants to do imaging to confirm the diagnosis. I really do hope you feel better soon, but ignoring this and playing doctor with it...is extremely ill advised and dangerous. If you're sick and puking after you eat after sleeve, you need answers, not guesses.

What you are describing is not an alternative. It is a medical emergency at best, and suicide at worst. (and it doesn't work) But by all means...physician, heal thyself! Good luck.

Looks like you're about four an a half months out. Could you have the flu?

Hormones, salt intake, how close you are to your period, how many carbs you ingest...all can affect how much water you retain. I would not worry about this.

Lots of people do low carb before surgery (and many do after as well). Hopefully, you're talking regularly to a dietitian and can discuss the best guidelines to follow.

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you do this. Do NOT...repeat...DO NOT do this. Talk to your doctor about managing your gallstones. Go get an ultrasound and get a diagnosis, and if you have them...surgery can usually be done outpatient. You don't even have to spend the night in the hospital. Your witch-doctory could cause your stomach suture line to ulcerate. It's an insane chance to take.

Ondansetron, the patch behind the ear, Scopolamine, and Emend. Emend is Aprepitant, it's a chemotherapy side-effect drug that they are just starting to use for bariatric surgery. So far results have been stellar. It's typically not covered by insurance, and is about a hundred dollars for the one pill you need...but if you are offered this drug, it is worth every penny. Both of the other two ladies roaming the halls with me opted to buy the Emend. A couple of others who were not doing as well elected not to get it. (it was our choice). Do not let the price tag put you off. I never had any nausea. Nada. None. Never gagged, never vomited, never had tummy pain. Was kinda shocking. In the most wonderful way.

I had my choice of aggressive pain management to minimal pain management. I opted for the least I could get away with because I hoped to poop in the next century. Had one dose of narcotic meds to get to sleep the night after surgery. Other than that, I got by with liquid Tylenol. I had very little pain with the procedure. I did have three different meds to prevent nausea, and I think that's what saved me. I had zero nausea. Felt really good. Had it been an option, I would have loved to go home a couple hours after my surgery. Instead, I went home the next day. I walked a LOT in the hospital. Kept doing laps of the whole ward. I think it helped a lot.

It puts the lotion on its skin. it puts the lotion in the basket

Woot!

There are two big risks with this surgery. The first is surgeon error with hemorrhage, particularly involving an accidental spleen injury. Pick a good surgeon. it's important. Pick a bigger hospital that handles trauma in case you need the expertise of a major blood loss event. The other risk is blood clots after surgery causing pulmonary embolisms. YOU HAVE TO WALK. Get up every single hour and walk a little. Just back and forth to the bathroom in your room if it's all you can manage...but GET UP. This prevents the vast majority of clots and embolisms. If you're feeling good...walk the ward. Every hall you roam metabolizes the anesthetic out, gets rid of trapped gas and helps you feel better sooner. Your three jobs after surgery: 1. Walk a little every hour you are awake. 2. Blow in your spirometer frequently as directed so you don't get pneumonia. 3. Sip, sip, sip as directed your clear fluids. (one ounce every 15 minutes before you leave the hospital) Take these three jobs seriously. Write them down, keep a chart, and be vigilant. And when you get home? Keep it up. Don't sleep half the day away. Keep your naps under an hour so you're getting your fluids in every hour. If you want to sleep more, that's ok, but wake up and drink a little every half hour or so. Go for a walk to the bathroom. Ideally, you want to keep sipping and moving as much as possible that first week. Too much bed rest increases risk of deadly pulmonary embolism.

Have you had any of the following yet? Chest x-ray, upper GI, barium swallow x-rays, EKG? Any of these, or a combination....could be your 2 hour preop test appointment.

It's most dramatic between 3-6 months. Should start to slow up pretty soon. it grows back.

If you find these exams upsetting......sometimes going to a female doctor helps a lot. Your health is so important!

I just use Barilla products:) https://www.barilla.com/en-us/product-results/pasta/range/proteinplus/?sort=alpha They're made out of flaxseed, barley, and oats, plus protein-rich chickpeas, lentils, and egg whites, . Good stuff:)