Frustr8

My bariatric dietician recommended Pre-Natal vitamins before my surgery and that's what I have been taking except for the first 14 days Post-Surgery when they insisted I grind everything up. When you have dentures you can't really chew chewables, and they are Nasty Nasty! First time I tasted them all I could think of was giving my babies liquid vitamins and then having them barf all over me. Same evil odors to those things. So at 15 days, I said Frustr8 Old Girl, this IS NOT going to continue! Took a mouthful, okay baby mouthful of 2 ounces, of liquid, three my prenatal in and let it float down as I swallowed. Oh I got some amused states at Wally World going through the vitamins area. One of my ex-coworkers who is now in Over the Counter Pharmacy said " You're 72, do you have something to tell me?" No this was Roy the Dietician's idea, not mine! But until recently it did me good, then after the 3 month TPN through my PICC line I got deficient enough in iron to require an iron INFUSION. Still wasn't as bad as It sounds, I was comfy, took 5-6 hours out of my day, but still it was what it was. Maybe it will hold me for a while, PCP thinks every 3 months, but he didn't order it, it was ordered by my surgeon,in Columbus and that's where I ended up going. So Spring Valley from W-Mart, about $9 a bottle, non-chewy, non-gummies, because 1st ingredient is Sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup and that's a 👿😈Devil we all need to avoid!😎😨

If your urine is dark golden or light brown and starting to get a smell to it, flood yourself with fluid, 2 oz every 15 minutes, that's 8 ounces an hour, 64 in 8, as a person who has herself gone through dehydration, took 2 bags-full the last time, because I got "bull-headed", talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face! Anyway people, and especially bariatric patients, do better on Fluid Drive. Popsicle yourself if necessary but get that fluid count up!!!

Believe you me, if I tried that, Precious Pouch would reflux it right back up so fast I might aspirate. She has absolutely no sense of humor, we get along better if I give her no more than 2-3 ounces a sip.

And my Bariatric Clinic, based in an University Teaching Hospital commits to Each patient life-long management including Dietary. Never realized how lucky I was until I heard others stories on here.

That would be me, I have my son(40) still living with me, the last. hospitalization I had, after having both kinds of pneumonia immunizations, I still caught a variety. At that point, they brought me Crystal lite, the,non- caffeine variety. Pureed carrots, very small dish of pureed turkey with fat-free gravy in an adjoining small bowl , sugar-free strawberry Jello and a 4 oz juice glass of skim milk. For breakfast I got cream of rice, skim milk and Crystal lite. Surely if my inept local hospital ( called derisively by Columbus Hospitals "the Band-Aid Station") had a dietician who could figure it out, I am sure LTF (long term facilities) could keep me from starving. Eventually my local will be adding Bariatric Clinic and Surgery,basically VSG, in Spring- Summer 2020, but I couldn't wait on them with my weight 365 pounds and rising, trying to lose on my own for over 3 years, and Phenteramine made me GAIN 30 pounds in a month, I was to the point of Surgery or not making it to 75 alive. Oh it was not a flippant decision I made, but I realized I feared major surgery less than merely continuing to exist. And there is No One Else my age current on here,most have given up and died. I am my surgeon's Oldest Patient so it behooves Me to Heal as well as possible to prove the Nay-Sayers wrong. Lost 140 since highest weight, 93 ( I weighed myself today) since surgery 8 months ago tomorrow, my clinic forecasts I will break into Onderland ( under 200) on or slightly after my 1st Anniversary and that is despite 3 months of Total Parentel Feedings through my Upper left arm's PUCC line, without the artifially high calorie count (1403 calories daily) I might have made it there already. Never count me out, the REST of my days will be the BEST of my days.

Congratulations to You All,mow your First Month Post-Surgery has started, may all of Your Paths be Smooth!

BrownLady1979, if that is your Birth Year you are the same age as my son, after watching me and my weight loss since my surgery 8 months ago tomorrow, he realizes I am suddenly 30 pounds lighter than him. Oh he wears his weight well at this point, but he plans to speak with our PCP, if he recommends it too, the next step will to also meet with Dr Needleman,my surgeon. He does not like the fact I am in 1X and 2X and wearing his cast-offs, he is still a 3X and a 42-44 waist. He still looks solid instead of really obese but he says" I don't want to wait until I am YOUR AGE! Speedy Gonzales,his pet name for our PCP, has been printing on every summary " Morbid Obesity" because his BMI is 37, FYI mine just dropped to 34, this means I AM NO LONGER MORBID, JUST now" Obese" and I am working toward merely OVERWEIGHT!

Preach it, Brother Garfield, preach it!

Sally have you tried the flavored Tuna packs too, wonder if they might make dyno-mite Tuna Salads?

Look on the postings today, there is another lady who posted a year ago, her pen'--name was RonnysGal, she went through it with success. It is not easy to secure, takes extra skill on your surgeon's part, not many willing to attempt it, and, sad to say, your age may work against it. The old saying is dead wrong, YOU CAN BE TOO THIN! Hoping you do find an answer, don't want to lose a new friend like you to anorexia if there is some way of interceding.

My advice, go to a Center of Excellence Hospital that is also affiliated with a Medical University. I had my RNY at Ohio State University- Wexner Medical Center in Columbus Ohio, my surgeon was also the Chief of Bariatric Medicine and Metabolic Weight Loss. And I was 72 years and 8 months old, they took me when many others refused. Took me over 3 years from when I first started to seek it. YOu may have difficulties convincing the average Bariatric Surgeon to consider you , that's why I say Go High and Prove this isn't a casual thought on your part, RonnysGal found it worth it, but I'll warn you, if you do find someone, it will not be as easy a recovery as Surgery#1 and Surgery#2, we don't heal as well when we are in our late 60s and early 70s as these 20 and 30 year olds, oh we heal but it can be slow. Hey I wish you success in your search and if you do receive it, please update me, I am nearly your peer and am concerned for YOU!😛👍💥

Any pretty much of the regular Ensure Family will have a high enough calorie count to help. The last time I had Boost I thought it left a greasy coating on my mouth. Since Abbott Labs, the makers of Ensure,are headquartered in Columbus Ohio I pride myself on being very literate about their products. Since I am still actively losing weight Ensure High Protein Max in 🍓 is my chosen protein shake after trying many other brands , it honestly tastes like Strawberry Quik. But back when my blood sugars would plummet, working as a STNA, I have drank much Ensure and Boost. My favorite flavor was Butter Pecan, not sure if it's still on their product list. How about eating ice cream or drinking regular milkshakes , they were my caloric downfall in the Fat Old Days!

Whataburgers are fat-laden, have a calorie count through the ozone, I have had in the past had some, they are seductive in their taste so I can understand why Dabeyhive couldn't turn her steering wheel in the opposite direction!🚘

An old thought from Me- if you are committed to office success, you will do your work well, they will let you, and they will sit gossiping and making fun of you for caring to do a good job. Done many retail and office jobs, no matter what, there are goof- offs, their mouths in Overdrive. and their bodies in Park!

And please believe me, as your food path gets thicker things added you will find LESS feels like More! You have quite a road ahead but you are strong, you will be successful, and it all will be so worth it! I had self-doubts in the begining, but now I am 8 months out, I have lost nearly 100 pounds since surgery, 140 since my highest recorded weight. This is at 73 years old and the Baseline Metabolism Rate of a Sick Sea Snail. I had a bunch of minor struggles so I didnt bounce back rapidly as most. But my body finally caught the reducing big and I am rocking it. Started out in 28 and 30W, I am now a 20 and soon heading for an 18 because my slacks, which I got on clearance at Wal-Mart, unless I can sew belt loops on, they are coming close to falling off, especially if I take a deep breath in and I find it fantabulous. Don't remember when I was THIS SMALL- maybe after Tomkitten's birth and he will turn 40 on the 12th of June. Oh I have some saggy stretched skin, but it is controlled- able and nothing beats being so much smaller. I used to have a BIG BOOTY, belly still loose but my rump is getting toward normalcy, maybe that's why my pants are falling down, I no longer have a fat shelf to hang them from! 😛🚩😛

Keep up Drinking your fluids, sometimes what we feel is hunger or appetite is really residual stomach acid. Your body as well as YOU have been through a lot in a very short time. Be kind, be good to yourself, this does pass and your road ahead gets more beautiful every day. And this is a lead-pipe cibch!

And I had no pain then, mine came a few weeks later when I developed a stricture. Every day- in so many ways- you will start to feel better, right now you and your body have been through a lot together. It was Major Surgery so be kind to You, the ones who boast of being dismissed and going right to the mall shopping are a very small minority. Even I had moments of What Did I Do To Me? And I worked over 3 years to gain my RNY bypass, so I wanted it very badly. Yeah not pain per se but I did feel like somebodythrew me ovee a cliff and left me in a heap below. My 72 year old belly felt I had gone through the most extensive Gym Workout of my life. You can vent to us as much as you want, the futurebenefits are surely there, but this initiation is ROUGH. I owe you one big hug as soon as you're less tender!

A very good suggestion. Thanks Big Ange!

Do they keep it in their car so the children cannot find it and ask questions? And glow in the dark makes it funnier yet!😛😵😛

it helps to get rid of the byproducts as you start to use your fat stores for lossm People do better on fluid drive, dehydration feels crappy😪😦😟

Randi, just wanted to wish you luck,with your future surgery and Good Healing afterward. May this commitment to your future weight loss and Good Health be the most wonderful thing for your life!

And I am reporting, in. Had to postpone until yesterday, had to not see the Head Nurse-Practioner Valerie but Shannon. Valerie also does the entrance visits for new people, they must have a big crop because she had nothing available until July. Shannon is pretty okay, not quite as grounded and sure of herself. Oohed and ahhed about my weight loss. Said my stomach ouch is not inflamed at the endiscopy, the stoma although still very small is patent. That means things should start moving down better. Then we come to my ulcers, they are still there in the jejumen, New theory , they have a narrowed the lumen(width) to such an extent that stuff isn't digesting well until you get to the point where stomach remaining secretions, bile and pancreatic juices get reintroduced downstream. So I will,have another endoscopy late June or into July, if thi,ngs are worse or even the same 8-to-5 chance I will require surgery. Usually by 6-8 months you're healed. And no, they didn't expect it, no way of guessing I will. have this problem. Stay on same level of diet, try to get protein more, vegan/ vegetarian okay if I still am having trouble with Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and most meats. High Protein levels will help me heal, be sure to take all meds and. minerals to keep a healthy basis in case of possible surgery. And she thinks I look great, I think still I look like Road Kill! But maybe I am over- critical with myself.

Browninja you are Really Rocking it, may I do the same farther out# Thanx for your pictures.

tiffany, I too am thrilled to meet you. Just a world of warning, I know your cycles are nasty, well after surgery and your fat starts being used for fuel, a whole bunch of hormones will be released, one girl said hers was like puberty again. You may have weird cycles for a period of time, most everybody young enough start bleeding right after surgery. But it gets better, another girl quipped. I'm not crying from my eyes but my uterus sure is! Said she wasn't due for 15 days but Aunt Flo decided to pay an early visit. But it will help with PCOS, I even had it way back, that's why there was 7 years between my 1st 2, last one came 3years after that, and we were not doing anything to avoid them, I was just sub-fertile because of our 4-letter friend.

And at 8 months they have faded so much among my stretch marks from carrying 3 9pound babies, unless you were a patient of my surgeon, knew where he places his incisions, you could not tell. Well I guess you can still faintly see the very top one between my breasts, but it looks more like a bullet hole scar. Oh if you ask, I will admit I had Bariatric Surgery because I am proud of it, but everyone else just thinks I finally found a diet the works. I had very little pain with my incisions, felt more like I had over-used my abdominal muscles. The trochars they use really go in between your muscles, they don't get torn or cut, per se. I had 7 incisions, one between my breasrs, that's where the pain liver retractor usually goes in, mine was very small because I did my liver shrinking diet and reduced liver down to a small healthy state, 3 on the right, usually that is the side RNY has the bulk of their work on, the stapler and other goodies, the biggest one was the last to heal, 2 in the Left side and the last one in my naval. I guess there are some surgeons that can do everything with a single incision, most people on here have 5, a few 7 like me. But your surgeon tailors it to you personally, they are smart cookies and truly know best. I think the VSG patients have their biggest on the left, because that's where the surgeon pulls the stomach remnant out of your body after pulling it across your body. Seems like THAT would hurt more, but we are all asleep so don't notice it.