armywife79

Hi and congrats! I had my bypass on 03/11 and I am still figuring it out slowly. They cut the nerves when they do this to us so, it takes a long time to really feel anything again. Once you start eating actual food, just go slow and see how your pouch feels. Mine is weird because, five minutes after a bite goes down and I think I can do another, I'm all of a sudden SURE I cant do one more bite! It's a learning process for sure. Also, they say this will even change because the scar tissue will loosen over time and it won't be so tight like it is now forever so, we just gotta roll wit it! Good luck and keep up the good work!

It is hard to wait I know but don't borrow trouble either, you may still get a yes. Even if you get a no, that is not the final word, you always have the appeal process. I am living proof that if you work the system, it can work for you! I got 2 denials, hired an advocate and got my YES in the end! So, don't ever give up, if this is your journey , you'll be on it come hell or high water! Good luck!

HI! Congrats on your upcoming surgical date! I would stick with the milk but maybe start going to the lactose free kind. many of us find we are lactose intolerant after the bypass for some weird reason! I can still do my Greek yogurt and some cheese in small amounts but a shake full of milk...no way! lol I say stay with the milk because Protein is going to be so important in your life so soon. your adding about ten more grams to your shakes with your 8oz of milk, not to mention some key nutrients because milk is a REAL food and you will have to ease back into those slowly at first. Your body will always absorb and heal and just thrive better on real foods so, keep the milk going while you have to lean on the shakes! Also, don't be bummed about the slow loss before surgery, a lot of people don't see a huge loss pre bypass. Remember though, when they DO the bypass, you get a RE DO on your who metabolic system! We get a restart on our metabolism a real do over! So, don't worry about the scale, just know your liver is gettin ready to be read like tea leaves, so its gotta look its most firm and fit! lol That is really what the pre op is all about, the real new you will be here soon enough! It's not an easy thing, but the pay offs can be aw some, you'll see! Keep on talking on here, it helps! Any other questions let all of us know! GOOD LUCK!

Just as a start...Try the Atkins beef merlot. I know its a frozen meal BUT, my NUT gave it the OK. Its got 23 grams Protein and is really soft and flavorful and the meat is pretty dead on 4 oz with nice sauce to get it down well. only takes 4 min in the microwave! I have also made a mock shepards pie..just no veg, potatoes or corn starch. That leaves the ground beef (get a nice soft ground prime maybe at the butcher maybe?? nice!) and sour cream, worstcheshire, onion, garlic salt pepper! makes a great slippery sauce to help it get down! also, takes only 30 sec to reheat in micro and DOES NOT DRY OUT! My Nurse pract and NUT like Bariatric Eating.com also for more recipes to try. Don't give up on food, I know it hurts right now and working out that new pouch hurts like a B! but, if you don't work it out, it wont ever learn how to work right so you can live your best healthy full life. I did something similar when I was a band patient. The way your living is not only physically unhealthy but, very isolating. you should be able to eat real food and sit around a table with others (in moderation) and LIVE. That's why we all did this right? don't hide or be a slave to your pouch or anything! you'll get through this and get back to health and hair again I know it! Just get with your doc and get on real food! and def space out those Vitamins like James said!

One other thought...How much of your Protein is real food and how much is shakes? My sister had the sleeve and really almost LIVED on shakes and lost alot of hair from malnutrition. Once she began to eat real protein again, she began to regrow her hair. I know that can be an issue for many of us because eating is just so hard.

First, I am so sorry to hear that, I hope we can help you find a solution! How many grams of Protein does your doc rec per day? I find it really varies. Mine wants 80 to 100 for girls. Also, if you take your multi and Calcium too close together they can cancel each other out too so, that may be an issue? When was your last set of labs? I was REALLY Vitamin D deficient so, I need a 50K gel once a week for a YEAR! Our systems are so fragile the first year, its crazy how easy it can be to get bad fast but, I felt the difference almost right away when I began the treatment. I think most people would agree on here, you need a good blood panel ASAP.

Sorry one more thing I didn't answer...your insurance can tell you if they are considered a center of excellence or not OR you can simply ask the office! They should have no issue telling you! As far as I know, many insurance companies now insist that you have the procedure done with a center deemed a center of excellence with a doctor deemed the same. If you have any other questions, private message me and I will give you my e-mail. Have a great day!

I found the best way to get a good Vibe on an office is to just go and visit. You can really tell how they operate that way. write down some questions you want to ask and just ask away! Then come back here and give a shout out on the board to any who are current patients and see what their exp. is with them. Another good thing to do is, find out when and where their support group meets up. Go there and then mingle before and after the session with the staff and patients. You'll get a good idea of the real low down on office procedure and general overall positiveness that way too after you do your own recon! That's what I did, it and it turned out very well for me. Just make sure the office hits all your high points and you should be happy!

I have been thru the process twice, Band to bypass. I agree, start at the source. Go to your insurance Co. get some options from them and go to the seminars. Then see how you like them based on that or their ratings on here or doctor rater or just old fashioned meet and greet. Also, you may choose based on the hospital they are associated with. You def want a center of excellence affiliated doc on this ride. One with a comprehensive program not just a cut ya, and send you on your merry way with the bear minimum required visits. What that means is, SUPPORT! Before, after, DURING! For me, the marker of a good office is, many of the staff are post op patients themselves, so, they have been in our chubby little shoes and get it! They have support staff, IE: patient lesion, nutritionist and plenty of nursing staff (you don't feel rushed!) . They have support groups that are practice specific, they are as excited about this process as you are. If that's not the vibe..move on! As to your primary, yes, you will want to have a relationship with a primary just for ongoing health reasons as you move through this process and more than likely it will be an insurance rec. if he is not on board, move on! I hope this is helpful, I wish you all the best, it's a hard decision and you should feel as comfortable and supported by your medical team as possible during this time.

I had the same horrid drain experience as other people here, I have heard of the open wound option in very large patients but, your starting BMI wasn't very high? I'm sure he has a reason but, it sounds painful. Just hang in there, the first six months is really tough for all of us. I caught C-diff in the hospital that I just got over! We all have some war story but, in the end, we get through it and are stronger and healthier on the other side!

HI! I am about a month out, had mine 03/11. This has been a struggle for me too as I try to get away from the shakes. I eat a lot of chicken, very soft cuts of meat (like filet minion...as a treat) deviled eggs were good for a while , I also discovered Atkins frozen meals to bring to work. These are great for us, my NUT approved of them as well. The beef Merlot is actually really great and they have a nice variety of flavors. I also do Swanson Swedish meatballs every so often at work, just throw away the Pasta. Of course, I eat about two Greek yogurts a day still and my favorite drink is def Snapple diet teas...SO GREAT, taste just like the real thing! I have tried a couple of Protein bars but, didn't like any. We cant eat any of the crisp kinds yet so, the others we can are not so great in my opinion. Good luck!

WOW! That's so awesome! I cant wait to be there too! CONGRATS!

I feel I have made a VERY informed decision, especially having had the Lap Band, I have SOME idea what I am in for. However, I know, there is no going back from this. I hope I will have great results, be happy and never look back! But, thinking, reading, learning is all great, however, I want to know about all of you out there LIVING it. Do you wish you were back in my chubby little shoes? Would you do it again? Run screaming from the hospital? Tell me the no BS truth as I know you all will! lol

Hey Chris, I know it's really hard not to let it but, part of this is not to let it get in your head too much. I had the same issues when I had the band. You know what to do, you just have to do it. Go back to what worked in the beginning, high Protein 80-100 grams a day for us, low carb, and get back to working out. You will see the pounds start to come back off again. It will probably be slow since you have so little to loose now, but it will happen. If you feel like you don't have a supportive team, you might have to interview a few others and move on. I hope you take care of you and do really well!

I'm so sorry to hear how much your struggling. I went through this mourning process after I had my Lap Band in 2010. I just had By pass on 03/11 and even though I know the game at this point, I felt a bit like that again. We are addicts, and want at SOME level to be all alone with our disease like anyone with an addiction. I eventually was forced to seek out a Psychiatrist for people with compulsive eating disorders and went on a drug called Topamax. It literally changed my life when it comes to my food addiction. Please do talk to your doctor about these feeling, they ARE common with us and there are drugs that can help. You don't have to feel bad forever and even without drugs, the intensity of the feelings will pass some with counseling. However, I really think you are having the same reaction to your food addiction that I had once the calm after the storm set in. If you ever want to talk, I am out here. Send me a message any time, you are not the only one who has ever felt this way and it wont last forever. Be well.

I am almost a week p poo st op and feel like I will exsplode every time I eat or drink. Is this forever?

Sorry about the spelling guys, stupid kindle!

Thanks Mis, I'm so glad to hear that! I think she will keep on seeing progress if she works with the docs and keeps up with the meds. I told my nutritionist about how passionate I am about using addiction methods of drugs and psychotherapy to help us out because, food does become and addiction to us like anything else. I was so SHOCKED that this was the first they had ever heard of this drug being used to control compulsive eating in patients after WLS. The whole team actually had a meeting on this very topic and now are beginning to use it on patients who are struggling. I was happy I could shed light on this drug to this office because as you have seen, it can be a game changer for some people who just cant shake their compulsive behaviors even with best intentions. Science is a wonderful thing!

When I did the band, I found that when I got off track, going back to square one always worked. Go back to your year one diet till you get it off and are more active for several months and then slowly add a few things like before. I bet it would take no time at all.

I do have epilepsy, so, I do need an anti conclusive anyway but, I went from teg to this for the off label indications it has. I take 200 mg a day. I don't feel tired but do have that slight mental lag, that annoying on the tip of my young, but can't remember thing. It is used as often as subtext in rehab I later found out. My stepmother is a nurse practitioner at a very large institute here and says they use it with good results.

My theory is ...shh..this needs to just stay between us...I think he is intimidated by your TREMENDOUS future hotness! He is obviously petrified, and knows that soon he will be elephant man to your Bradly Coopper! Or he could suffer from micro phallus? You just never can tell with these things, he could have a medical condition! bless his heart! lol

Gotta love these people, do they think slim bots come and take over like the body snatchers?? Who do they think does all the work after the surgery? There is nothing easy about this. You know..this is a procedure akin to what they sometimes must do to patients suffering with stomach cancer, who don't have any weight issues and no choice at all. Would that blundering fool say to that person after they returned to work.."hey, your life is so easy, what are you complaining about??" NO! He would be S*** canned! Jer Bear ..I'm so sorry you have to suffer this fool but, just think of his poor wife or girlfriend and that horrible sore foot of his always stuck firmly in his big mouth!

Sassy, Im so sorry to hear of the knees! My husband has similar issues and I know how agonizing it is. After he has his replaced, he felt like a kid again! Maybe this storm of issues will end up being a big rainbow of relief to long standing problems. As you get your knees fixed up and loose more weight and are over all more healthy, I bet you will feel like a new you. I hope you hang in and start feeling much better very soon.

That's great Toni! I hope you see a real ramp up in weight loss after the GB like everybody says. I am having mine on March 11, and I'm scared after the whole band experience but, I'm hopeful I will get the results I had been hoping for when I got the band in.

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