Chris NH

Any particular WLS bloggers or vloggers that you follow?

Thanks! I’ve been following Grace Gets Gastric for some time now but am looking for others.

Wow, you look great. It’s so hard to see the changes in ourselves but as a stranger I can definitely see it. Also, have you had your labs done lately? I’m sure they have drastically improved. You also look more than ten years younger.

Hi, after surgery I wasn’t able to tolerate the Premier Protien skakes so I switched to Muscle Milk 32 gram protein non-dairy shakes. Very tasty. I also set auto delivery up on Amazon Prime which saves me a few dollars. In my area the shakes can be found at all grocery stores and big chains like Target with the best price being Costco. For Vitamins I like Bariatric Fusion and it is actually what my NUT recommends. Again, I have it on auto delivery. I’m four months post-op and I take two vitamins twice a day for a total of four.

I, too, have only chosen to tell only a few people. Outside of my husband and teen-aged kids, only my closest friends know. If someone asks I just tell them I am working with a NUT on a high protein//low carb diet. BTW @Freedom&Bliss, we are both from NH

Spanx is my favorite brand but if you want to try some others Target sells several and they are less expensive. Also many plus sized stores carry shapewear. Here’s a link I hope you find useful: https://cacique.lanebryant.com/spanx-reg-higher-power-panty/prd-223608#color/0000012011

I ended up taking six weeks and I am glad that I did. My big fear was dehydration if I returned to work too early and the extended time also allowed me to really focus on each of the new phases of eating. I know six weeks is a lot so I would say at minimum two weeks-remember, this is abdominal surgery and you will be sore from the bending! Also, while we are in different professions, I do see clients throughout the day and since returning to my sit-down-job it is still hard to get my water intake in (could be just me but I don’t like to be sipping away while clients tell me their life stories. Feels unprofessional).

I love Pilates as it lower impact on my aching lower back and I love how great I feel the next day after all the stretching. If you are looking for a more cost-effective alternative and have a smart tv, try pulling up some videos on YouTube. My favorite Pilates instructor is Ellen Barrett.

My surgeon said my surgery was about 45 minutes.

@Sunshine DiggityI too find that drinking water or shakes while standing is easier. If I sip water or shakes while (for example) reading in bed, I will dump, even if I’m propped up. Sorry to hear about your rough recovery.

@Rolltide87 I found a ton of recipes for purées on Pinterest. Right now, though, I’m keeping it simple and just sticking with squash, sweet potatoes and scrambled eggs and still eating soups.

@Rolltide87I think I was pretty lucky with the recovery. I was up and walking right away and didn’t have too many issues with gas. The only pain I still have is soreness from bending too much. I’ve been active since I’ve been home (spent two nights in the hospital). What I’m struggling with is the transition to purées. I had no problem with liquids but I think I’m eating too fast and thus have dumped the three days that I’ve had purées. Not fun. I’m also not really loosing any weight.... I’m only down six pounds since the surgery. I know it will come but I thought I would have seen a few more pounds initially. Makes me wonder if I’ve hit the ‘three week stall’ that I’ve read about a wee bit early.

I like both MyFitnessPal and LoseIt. I like my FitnessPal ‘s weight tracker better but I like LoseIt’s food entry/Database and how it shows macros better.

@Billy Bob I am drinking mostly Premier Protein and Muscle Milk shakes. Sometimes I’ll drink an Ensure Plus Max. I find the Muscle Milk shakes are thinner thus were easier to get down my first week. Any shake I drink is 30 grams of protein per serving. I will also have 8-12 oz of diet cranberry juice with a scoop of Nectar flavorless protein powder (to break up the monotony of the water). For vitamins I’m taking the Bariatric Fusion chewable (orange creamsicle flavor) 2 vitamins, twice a day (no other vitamins). I’ll be curious to see what others are taking for vitamins. As an aside I’m two weeks post op today so I just started on purées.

@GG33, is your hospital a COE? I’m only mentioning again for in my program there were two people that switched hospitals / surgeons to the one I have after almost completing all their requirements only to find out at the last minute that UMR would not approve the surgery at their hospital. To clarify, they were approved for surgery but just not at the their hospital. Because the program I’m in is so strict they had to start over.

Hi, I, too, have The UMR / United Healthcare insurance and I just had my surgery November 12. How I understood the requirements I needed to be under the care of the gastric surgeon’s program for 6 months and showing a weight loss during that time.

Hi Crystal, I had my surgery on the 12th so we are going through this together. I’m still a little bit tender too, especially around the incision where the stomach came out.

Hi, I, too, have The UMR / United Healthcare insurance and I just had my surgery November 12. How I understood the requirements I needed to be under the care of the gastric surgeon’s program for six months and showing a weight loss during that time. Also, super important, UMR requires your program/hospital be a COE (center of excellence). One thing I did learn along the way with dealing with UMR is that there is a specialized customer service team that deals with just bariatric questions. If you call the general service number any rep will talk to you but they may not be as versed as this team....you need to ask for them. Once I learned about this team I started getting direct answers to my questions rather than having people dig for answers. Good luck and feel free to message me with other questions.

Have you ever tried clothing rental places like GwinnieBee? I mostly order dresses from them and I am hoping with the (upcoming) rapid weight loss it will make dressing for the office a bit easier on my wallet. I agree, too, with the posts above. A decent legging will go down a few sizes with you. I like the leggings from Lane Bryant and on sale I think they run below $20 a pair.

Hi, I’m having my sleeve done on November 12th. I start my pre-op diet two weeks before.