k-statearmywife

Um, how long ago did you have your surgery?

In MOST places in America it is not quite normal for every customer to bring their own bags. It's still catching on, but not all grocery stores give you a discount yet. And as for taking the groceries to the car, I live near a military base and at the commissary the local teenagers do it for a tip because they don't get paid hourly. Even though I don't need the help, I know they do with the money. And the only store I know of that you have to pay for a shopping cart is Aldi which is a very limited, but cheap store.

I've lost 28lbs (had surgery early November), and have gone down 3 jean sizes. From a 24 to a 18 or 20 depending on the brand. I'm only 6 weeks post op and I have a PILE of jeans and shirts that are way too big for me now.

YIkes! I thought everyone knew better than to use Splenda! Looks like there are still some people who are clueless! Splenda is different from other sweeteners in that it claims to be ‘made from sugar,’ and ‘natural,’ because Splenda is the trade name for sucralose. Sucralose is a synthetic compound, which — without going into too much scientific detail –is basically sugar modified by adding chlorine atoms. Sucralose, incidentally, was discovered in the 1970s by researchers looking to create a new pesticide. Chlorine is added to many products – drinking Water, for example – and does not necessarily render the product dangerous. On the other hand, you are ingesting chlorine, which is not advised in large amounts. The reason Splenda produces no calories, is that the majority passes through the body without being digested. Most studies show that only around 15% of Splenda is actually digested. The worrisome fact for some researchers is that people with healthier GI systems, will absorb more of the Splenda, and thus more of the dangerous chlorine. So, is Splenda safe? The truth is we just don’t know yet. There are no long-term studies of the side effects of Splenda in humans. The manufacturer’s own short-term studies showed that very high doses of sucralose (far beyond what would be expected in an ordinary diet) caused shrunken thymus glands, enlarged livers, and kidney disorders in rodents. (A more recent study also shows that Splenda significantly decreases beneficial gut flora.) But in this case, the FDA decided that because these studies weren’t based on human test animals, they were not conclusive. Of course, rats had been chosen for the testing specifically because they metabolize sucralose more like humans than any other animal used for testing. In other words, the FDA has tried to have it both ways — they accepted the manufacturer’s studies on rats because the manufacturer had shown that rats and humans metabolize the sweetener in similar ways, but shrugged off the safety concerns on the grounds that rats and humans are different. In our view, determining that something is safe (or not) in laboratory rats isn’t a definitive answer, as we’ve seen countless examples of foods and drugs that have proved dangerous to humans that were first found to be safe in laboratory rats, both in short- and long-term studies Side Effects:Evidence that there are side effects of Splenda is accumulating little by little. Sucralose has been implicated as a possible migraine trigger, for example. Self-reported adverse reactions to Splenda or sucralose collected by the Sucralose Toxicity Information Center include skin rashes/flushing, panic-like agitation, dizziness and numbness, diarrhea, swelling, muscle aches, headaches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues, and stomach pain. These show up at one end of the spectrum — in the people who have an allergy or sensitivity to the sucralose molecule. But no one can say to what degree consuming Splenda affects the rest of us, and there are no long-term studies in humans with large numbers of subjects to say one way or the other if it’s safe for everyone. If this sounds familiar, it should: we went down the same path with aspartame, the main ingredient in Equal and NutraSweet. Almost all of the independent research into aspartame found dangerous side effects in rodents. The FDA chose not to take these findings into account when it approved aspartame for public use. Over the course of 15 years, those same side effects increasingly appeared in humans. Not in everyone, of course — but in those who were vulnerable to the chemical structure of aspartame. As food additives, artificial sweeteners are not subject to the same gauntlet of FDA safety trials as pharmaceuticals. Most of the testing is funded by the food industry, which has a vested interest in the outcome. This can lead to misleading claims on both sides. But one thing is certain: some of the chemicals that comprise artificial sweeteners are known hazards — the degree to which you experience side effects just depends on your individual biochemistry. Manufacturers are banking on the fact that our bodies won’t absorb very much of these compounds at any one time. And many of us don’t. But what happens when we are ingesting a combination of artificial sweeteners like Splenda dozens of times a week through many different “low–sugar” or “sugar–free” products? Sugar substitutes and the potential danger of Splenda

I find it hard to believe that someone can have major sugery and have no discomfort or mild pain whatsoever. Being psychology major, one year from my degree, I would say a more plausable explanation would be that you've simply forgotten the pain that you had post-op because other feelings or events were more important to you at the time. People don't just get 5 inscisions and an artificial band placed around one of their major internal organs and have no discomfort after the operation. Just saying...use common sense...of course it's going to cause pain.

You're going to get people that are going to fib and say that nothing ever hurt, ever, but you're also going to get answers from the other end of the spectrum saying that the gas pains were pretty bad, definetly worse than the insicsions. They will give you pain medicine both in the hospital, and when you leave, so provided that you take it, your pain will be managable.

Actually Tricare Standard is an option for active duty families as well. It's what most people switch to when the servicemember deploys and the rest of the family moves back home (away from the base) where there isn't military providers. Active duty can switch to Standard at any time.

I have Tricare Standard and let me tell you they will make you pay 15% of the total bill for the surgery, but mind you, each part of your bill is probably broken down into different departments (lab, anesthesia, surgery, recovery...all of which had seperate bills! My total out of pocket cost was over $700. Oh and I was denied on Tricare Prime twice before I switched to Standard and was approved in less than one week.

Intentional or not, like I said, I was claifying the meaning of a vegetarian. Vegetarianism is a lifestyle that people choose for various personal reasons, and when you change your entire lifestyle for a particular reason, you tend to stand by what you believe in. Let me give you an example. If I were to donate money one time (say $20), to a charity of my choosing, yet never did any volunteer work, would I be entitled to call myself a professional philanthropist? No. And I'm sure that the true philanthropists might be offended that someone would call themselves such, given all that they do for other people.

I would just like to claify something. A vegetarian is somebody who DOES NOT EAT meat. This includes fish and chicken. So if you even occasionally eat fish or chicken, you ARE NOT a vegetarian....not even close! If you choose to only eat fish as your only animal meat, then you are a PESCATARIAN. Being a true vegetarian, this offends me when people eat meat and call themselves a vegetarian, or say they follow a vegetarian diet.

Yep! Mine was 30 days prior...but 90 days is better. And the risk of clotting IS NOT MINIMAL like the other poster said. It is a serious risk in the first place because you will not be moving around much immediately after surgery, and oral birth control methods increase this already existing theat. My doctor told me I could restart my birth control at my two week post-op appt.

I'm almost 2 weeks post-op and I've been beggin my husband...but he won't give in because he thinks he'll hurt me! lol. Is it painful? Different in any way?

Try vegetarian sources of Protein...they don't have high saturated fat contents like animal sources of protein (they are superior) here are some examples and grams of protein per serving size at this site (i tried to copy and paste and it didn't work out) Protein in the Vegan Diet -- The Vegetarian Resource Group

I had surgery on a Wednesday, was back in college on Monday....so 5 days....i'm not going to lie though...it hurt

I had to stop taking the pill (risk of clotting) one month prior to the surgery (which was last week). 2 days after my surgery I was bleeding so heavy (I'm talking nickle sized clots and everything) that I called my surgeon because I was so worried. He told me I could advance to the full liquids instead of clear because I may need more nutrients, if ya know what I mean. Mind you, my periods have NEVER been that heavy...this was comparable to post-partum childbirth bleeding! Freaky stuff. It happens.

Thanks for asking this question, and also to Kiz for that picture, I learned something today!

what exactly is "sliming"?

First off, I don't want any lectures about how important it is to stick to my surgeons recommended post-op diet. I am 1 week post-op and have been slowly introducing soft foods into my diet with complete success. With that being said, how am I supposed to know if something doesn't sit well with me, or if I am full, etc.? I've eaten creamy Soups, mushy tuna, Jello, hot Cereal, etc., nothing that I have to crunch, cut, or chew very much (or at all), and I havn't had an adverse reaction to anything! I do however get adverse reactions when I drink a protien shake (immediate gas, which did NOT happen on my pre-op diet). I do feel full after about 1/2 cup of mushies, but not like I used to feel full. Someone give me some advice on what is supposed to happen if I eat foods to soon, NO LECTURES PLEASE!

I have 5 and mine are all glued. My girls (3&4) like to touch them. The only weird part is that around the edges (the surgeon more than covered the area with glue) it's started to flake off, which i'm glad because it kinda catches on my tshirt.