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I'm on my 10 day pre op diet and I'm suppose to have protein shakes twice a day in addition to other liquids. But.. my problem is... I don't care for the powder whey protein. I found a liquid protein its the new whey protein and I can mix it w water and add a little crystal light to it and its great.. so I was wondering if I could do that or if I needed the powder as well?? It has 42g of protein in it. I can't ask my dietician until tomorrow. Any advice is helpful..

Just read ur post and was curious who did ur surgery? I live in upstate SC (Liberty) & went to Bariatric Solutions in Greenville, SC. I had RNY 10/10/11 & have had only a few complications. My sister went to a surgeon in Spartanburg & is disabled from seizures as well. She had a PICC line that got infected & they think that affected her brain. You are right, the psychiatric ramifications are a huge part of the surgery. They really don't focus on that as much as they should, which is a shame. Hope things get better for you. I will keep u in my prayers. -Mandy

It does get better As time passes, you will discover what your tum likes and what it loathes. Me, I can't eat Chinese food anymore; for my sister, it's salads. At 10 months I miss the early days of mimimal portions and, yes, even the pain because it meant I'd had my procedure.

Thanks for the great advice, everyone! I figure I can clarify a bit; I don't currently run 28 miles per day (I barely have an hour to myself on an average weekday, and that is part of the problem), and I have tried plenty of diets, ranging from tame to extreme. It has become obvious time and again that when I am on a diet that is strict enough for me to consistently lose weight, I am so miserably hungry all the time that within a few weeks I am quite sure I no longer wish to be alive if I have to feel as starved and miserable as I do on those diets. Also, I am married into a big, traditional Chinese family (I am a Chinese-speaking white guy, and only my wife in our family speaks English), and it is absolutely impossible to overstate to someone who is not from rural China just how important food is to people there. Where my wife was born and in her family, food is not everything, it is the only thing. To show your family members love and affection, you do not hug them or tell them how much they mean to you, you cook for them and they are obligated to eat it. You do not engage in intellectual discussions of current events or history with your family; you eat with them with the only topic of conversation being how much money you made that day and what you think of the food. I am able to be part of this culture (I use Chinese at home and basically live a Chinese life outside of work, despite being a country boy from the South) and just eat very small amounts of the food that is so critical to the cultural existence of my wife's family, but it makes it that much more difficult to diet when food is a topic that is given such importance and discussed constantly. Also, it sure does not help that my wife can eat massive amounts of whatever she wants, and yet in the 10 years we've been together, she has stayed between 110 and 120 pounds, with a height of 5' 6". It is obviously very nice to be married to someone so stunningly and effortlessly attractive and thin, but it is maddening that I have to be so careful with what I eat and still be on the overweight-obese borderline, while my wife can stuff her face and still look like a model. Heck, she only gained 15 pounds in her pregnancy, and within a week of giving birth she was 10 pounds lighter than when her pregnancy began! I have actually never been denied by a doctor, and I do have 1 co-morbidity factor; the pretty severe sleep apnea, although I was diagnosed with that at 14, when I was no-kidding 118lbs at my current height of 6' 1"!

If your insurance will pay Chantix really helped me. I have been smoke free for over 10 weeks now. My surgeons requires a pulmonary test and I did not pass it. Now it is a waiting game until I can take it again. I was a smoker for 30 years.

Hey good luck! My husband had a tumor growing on the L pedicles of T-9 through T-10. They were removed and benign. I'm sending you positive thoughts and I truly understand how stressfull this time is for you.

I'm so glad you mentioned this. I had my lapband 8 weeks ago. I have only lost 2 pounds since surgery. I have had two fills and am at 3 cc's in a 10 cc band. I am so frustrated. I am working out everyday (something I never did before) eating mostly protein and 3 protein shakes a day, lots of water. I'm very disappointed. I feel like giving up. If anyone has any idea's, I welcome them......

Annisversat date 01-21-10 lost 88lbs to date

Nice! Congrats. Surgery day is tomorrow and i'm sure you're already on your liquid diet to prep. Get ready for a roller coaster of feelings for the first week post op, but it will go by quick! I'm 13 days post op now, and I'm back to work feeling 90% amazing. One of my incisions is still a little sore (I think that's the one the stomach was removed from), nothing intolerable but some discomfort. Sounds like you've found yourself a great doctor, so i'm sure you'll be doing great after surgery, just make sure to HYDRATE! It's a total chore for the first few days, but keep sipping. You should finish a glass shot of Water every 10 min or so. It's going to be tough, but you'll get through it. Sip on those Protein shakes too! If everything goes wonderful, i'm sure by week 1 your pain will subside, and depending on your doctor you may be able to drink broths, eat Soups, apple sauce etc. I just started all that a few days ago and i'm feeling so much more energized. Best of luck!

Hi there! I'm 19 months out from surgery and doing very well in all aspects of post-surgical life except for one thing - Water makes me slightly nauseous. Does anyone else deal with this? I've tried it flavored, room temperature, ice cold - it doesn't seem to matter much (although warm to Hot drinks are fine). It's not anything I can't handle, and I still get most of my water in, but it's odd. I can't remember if it used to happen when I took my ppi, and I'm wondering if I should start my ppi up again...any advice? Thanks!!

I signed onto My Chart for a message. Posted was my August 10 surgery date and my surgical pre-op appt. Aug 5. My surgery notification (the date I already knew) said procedure performed by Dr. Rosenthal (the one I know) and Dr. Ganga. I had two doctors (I didn't even know) do my egd, so I should assume they'll be more than one doctor doing my sleeve. I couldn't find any info on him, other than he is a MD at Cleveland Clinic. From their site, I find he is in the Residency surgical program. My biggest fear when going into a teaching hospital is that I'll be handed over to a student. Is this common in a hospital clinic setting? I'm thinking I'm going to make sure I physically see Dr. Rosenthal before they put me under. Although to be honest, Dr. Rosenthal wears the thickest glasses I've ever seen. I did ask his nurse about his eyesight and she assured me its fine. Am I just getting too picayune and just chill out and be happy insurance is paying.

Hello everyone! Been watching this forum for a while but this is my first post. Had my VSG on June 28,2018 and had a terrible ordeal (enlarged liver, surgeon found a hernia and had to repair it, extreme vomiting for 2.5 days straight in the hospital, and severe dehydration because I was too afraid to swallow anything but my own saliva). But I made it through! 7days post-op today and I've been on nothing but broth, Jello, ice chips and popsicles and I'm sick of it! I also have a lot of the air/gas they put in me for the procedure and it's like a every 10-20mins painful surge that goes thru your stomach and chest, like contractions or something, and I just have to brace myself until it passes. Can't wait till all the gas is out. Other than that I don't have much major pain, but if I do, codine is right there next to me to lend its druggy hand.. But! As you know it was July 4th yesterday and they were BQQing on my block, so my friends and BF came over. And the way my mouth drooled over those ribs, hot dogs, burgers, and MAC AND cheese, you would've thought I was a rabid animal lmao. But nonetheless, I just rolled my eyes at each scrumptious plate passing my face and drank my dinner and followed up with my strawberry and lemon jello to make me feel better. And I all kept saying in my head was "You're gonna look better than all of them one day, so don't worry and keep going." Lmao! That leads me to the bright side of all these pain and struggles-- 17lbs downs as of today!!! Whoop whoop!!! ((HAPPY DANCE)) Now I'm sure it's mostly due to the clear liquid diet I've been on, but still what a difference a week makes! My current struggle is getting all this water (64oz) down in one day, i barely finish a 16 oz bottle in one day, but I'm trying because dehydration is SCARY!!.. Keep going guys we can do this!!! [emoji4]

bring an extra long iphone/ipad charger. like a 10-foot one

I definatly have days where I am just hungrier then other days. And yes exercising can increase your appetite. 4.2 in a 14. band does not seem like an awful lot, but as you know we are all different. I have only had 1 fill so far, 4.6 in a 10. band, I can't eat as much as pre-banding, but I know I have not hit my sweet spot yet either. Anyway you are doing great

I am not sure how many sleeves he has done but he is doing more of these I think then bypass and bands now. I was only in the hospital for one day-insurance approved one day. I was at the hospital 5:30 am for surgery and left the next morning by around 10 am. I was off work for one week-I have a sit down customer service job working from home. They have a website http://www.alabamawls.com/ you can check out. If you want to send me a private message you can email me at kelly.stricker@att.net.

I learned the lessons of public perception and the problem other people have with obesity at a very young age, and it was not easy. My "weight" history has been a roller-coaster! By age 10 obese, I was told at that time by the teacher in charge of the "pep squad" that nobody wants to see a fat cheerleader. By age 12 I morbidly obese - suffered countless hours of bullying from my middle school peers, likely the most painful period of time in my life. As a result between 8th grade and freshman year - with no viable self esteem I "aquired" bulimia and lost all excess weight down to 115lb. Same peers from middle school suddenly sought out my friendship. Not so politely, I told them all to piss off! I stayed a healthy weight until I was 18, I gained 85 pounds. I lost that eventually, but by age 22 I was on what would become a 12 year incline that includede many brief ups and downs in weight, "topping out" at age 32 at 286 pounds. Through pure self determination, I lost 145 pounds in about 10 months, promising myself I would never be obese again.....of course I continued to go up and down by 40 or 50 pounds for the next several years, but by age 42 I had ultimately regained up to 256. That was when I decided to have the lap band surgery. I have gone into stores and felt invisible (in my obese body) because the sales clerks will not make eye contact with you, and what can be even worse that that is going into a clothing store that sells average sized clothing and have a clerk look you up and down and in a patrionizing voice say "uh can I help you" clearly communicating you don't belong there. I don't know about the rest of you but in spite of having been thin at different times in my life, and even now that I'm down 60 pounds with only 50 more to go to reach goal, I feel much better physically and mentally however, regardles of my actual size, I will always be that 12 year old in middle school on the inside. Not all people who have enjoyed an average sized life are rude, superficial, and ignorant....but I think that most all people who have struggled with weight have learned lesson in empathy, and compassion which the average sized world cannot even begin to comprehend.

I was told at 10 days out, that many people gain weight and that any loss at this point is just a bonus.

Also, please make your surgeon and RD clarify what they mean by "ounces." This was one of the MOST confusing things to me and it aggravated me no end! I don't honestly even know if THEY understand the confusion they cause! VOLUME is king in our world. Most often, when docs and RDs refer to "ounces" in the very early days post surgery, they are talking BY VOLUME and FLUID measurement. That means roughly we should aim for these volumes. People will swing either 1 step up or down on the time scale for volume. In early days when real estate is totally at a premium, we concentrate and fill that volume with protein first. As we mature, we can handle other things in addition to meeting our protein goals. When dealing with dense, solid PROTEIN in the progressing phases, it's important to go by weight, but it still needs to fit within the VOLUME limit for the meal. And this is where it gets tricky cuz 1oz BY VOLUME does NOT equal 1 oz by weight. That's why I still weigh my protein into a measuring cup first so that I know I get my protein needs met and don't exceed my 1 cup per meal volume prescription for my forever diet: BY VOLUME: 1-2 weeks post op: 1 oz by volume = 2 tbsp of food = 1/8 cup by volume = 1 medicine cup of volume 2 oz by volume = 4 tbsp of food = 1/4 cup by volume 3-4 weeks post op: 3 oz by volume = 6 tbsp of food = approx 1/3 cup by volume 4 oz by volume = 8 tbsp of food = 1/2 cup by volume 5-8 weeks post op: 5 oz by volume = 10 tbsp of food = approx 2/3 cup by volume 9-12 weeks post op: 6 oz by volume = 12 tbsp of food = 3/4 cup by volume 13 weeks to forever post op: 7 oz by volume = 14 tbsp of food = approx 7/8 cup by volume 8 oz by volume = 16 tbsp of food = 1 cup by volume BY WEIGHT: 1 oz by WEIGHT = 28.35g by WEIGHT METRIC = 1/4 cup by volume (approx) = approx 7g of protein by macro/cooked 2 oz by WEIGHT = 57g by WEIGHT METRIC = 1/2 cup by volume (approx) = approx 14g of protein by macro/cooked 3 oz by WEIGHT = 85g by WEIGHT METRIC = 3/4 cup by volume (approx) = approx 21g of protein by macro/cooked 4 oz by WEIGHT = 113g by WEIGHT METRIC = 1 cup by volume (approx) = approx 28g of protein by macro/cooked 1 oz by WEIGHT = 28.35g by WEIGHT METRIC = 1/8 cup by volume (approx) for veggies cooked al dente 2 oz by WEIGHT = 57g by WEIGHT METRIC = 1/4 cup by volume (approx) for veggies cooked al dente

My one year was 10/31. I don't feel the way you are describing. Maybe because I'm not to goal yet? Maybe you are struggling with letting go of this monumental project, and deciding what to focus on from here? I could see myself feeling that way eventually…

My band worked great at first, but almost a year into it, I kept getting stuck. Then I had my gall bladder out, my lap band surgeon did the gall bladder. ( When I awoke, he told me he thought the band had slipped, so he completely took off my band and repositioned during the gall bladder removal. I had to go thru the whole shebang again, Clear liquids, full liquids, pureed, etc. My band never gave me any restriction after that. Had a 10cc band with 10 cc's and no restrictions. spent about 6-7 months trying to adjust to work. After 5years of getting food stuck on top of the band and having to go to the bathroom to throw up the stuck food, I went back and asked to get it removed. The rny bypass was something I decided on after making my mind up to get the band out. I am so glad to be on track now, looking forward to seeing the surgeon 5/2/14. Hoping to have surgery before June 1st or after July 15th. Coworker will be out with new baby in the middle. Good luck on your approval, and keep on them. Keep us posted on your progress, it is always nice to share and have someone in your corner!

I am sorry to hear about your mother Mariposa, I will keep her and you in my thoughts and prayers. I had a neurologist advise me once that I needed the steroid shot in my neck to help my migraines...I told him no thanks, cause I knew a lady that had it done and had a migraine for 2weeks after hers and it didn't even help after she recovered. Over the counter meds work for some, not for me, excedrine migraine, excedrine extra strength, and excedrine tension headache all have the same meds in them they are just labeled like they are to promote selling. I tried all of them too and they didn't work. The funny thing is I was shopping with my then boyfriend when excedrine tension headache came out on the market and I stopped and said to him " I wonder if this will work?" He said well lets compare the ingredients so will pulled all the excedrines down off the shelf and read the ingredients label... come to find out they all had the same thing. I had never paid attention to ingredients before I met him but now if something new comes out I always read the ingredients. I envy those that can control their migraines with over the counter stuff!! Anyways, there are several different migraine meds on the market now (perscription that is) I went thru alot of them and found that the imitrex works best for me. Imitrex is not without its side effects though and some find that they are allergic to the #1 ingredient in them. The only side effect I get from them is a scratchy throat. I used to give myself the injection form of it man that worked with a quickness, no joke I'd give myself a shot and 5mins later I was fine. Now that they reformulated the 100mg tablet it works almost as well, it takes about 10-15 mins for relief. Imitrex also has a nasal spray which I have heard works fast like the shot but I hate nasal sprays so I stick with the pill. The best thing to do is pester your doc to keep trying meds until you find one that is right for you! Plus most of the migraine med makers give them samples for just that purpose so you wouldn't have to buy a whole perscription. I pestered my doc until she went into her trial arsenal and pulled out every kind and gave me samples....she had me keep a diary and list the time I took it and how long it took to take effect. She also made me see a neurologist and after 3 I told her I didn't want to go to them anymore and that we would just do trial and error until I found something that worked. Don't take no for an answer, keep going back until you find something that works for you. Some people take narcotic based meds to combat the pain of the migraine, while I don't suggest this sometimes it is the only thing that works for one individual. I do know that most narcotic based perscriptions like loritab or anything with codine in it makes mine worse. Hey, I am not trying to knock codine based meds, I especially love the codine caugh syrup they gave me after having my tonsils out....man I was 20years old and me and my friends partied on that stuff all summer long. Sorry for the flash back, what I am trying to say, is that there is something out there that will work for you the trick is finding it. Lucky for me my doc is wonderful and handled my pestering very well. Don't suffer any more than you have too!!

I find that ice water is helpful. I also take peppermint oil, 10 drops in the water. It helps with spasms, which might be what you're experiencing. Check with your doctor.

Great advice! It is so easy to get caught up in the moment, caught up in being R.I.D. and lose sight of the bigger picture. For me, I still have odd moments when I feel fat and look in the mirror being very self-critical. The reality is I am not. I am 85lbs lighter than last year with a BMI of 25. I am a UK size 10/12. To the world I look normal sized. I have to shake myself and it helps to think about what I am grateful for - no diabetes, no pain from arthritis and the other night it was simply sitting at the cinema and being able to sit with my arms INSIDE the chair. There wasn't a bit of me "leaking" into anyone else's space beside me. For me, being grateful usually gives me perspective on what I was R.I.D. about. Like the idea of writing it down because I think I would be surprised at just how much I have to be grateful for every day....

I was getting a little hanging skin on my neck. I read that you can fix it by looking straight up and puckering your lips or trying to kiss the sky. I decided to try it and would do it 10 times a day and after a few weeks, I swear it's tightened up and the loose skin is gone. I do use lotion on my neck too.

Ok I was not sure where to post this.. But I was sleeved may 2012 have lost 95lbs, and had my plastics done July 2013. The problem is that as much as they say dumping is not an issue with the sleeve, is there anyone experiencing it? I have talked to my family dr and he thinks it could be. But I'm his first patient to undergo the sleeve. My symptoms. Within 15 min of eating (at least 3-4 times a week and each meal in that day) I start feeling sick to my stomach, hot, my sugars get really high, and I'm running to the bathroom and don't dare leave the house. Then within an hour I get so tired that I go into a coma like state where it is impossible to wake up my brain barely is awake, but can't move if I tried. I get so cold that 10 blankets won't warm me up and my sugars drop really low. Once I do wake up I have to eat right away or I'm soooo shaky and foggy. I did the two hour blood sugar test, and within the 15 min I ended up sick and taken to the emergency for 4 hours. The results were exactly what I was seeing at home. High sugars and then a full drop. So the outcome was that they think dumping syndrome and to carry sugar pills :/ now my concern is if I don't eat I feel fine ( but that's not healthy either) it doesn't matter what I eat and it still causes the same reaction (protein, fruit, veg, carbs anything..... I don't eat much sugar anyway as I am not fond of the taste) Another dr sd that he thinks maybe my body hasn't adjusted the insulin levels after weight loss. I'm not sure but I do know I don't like feeling this way and it has only started after having the sleeve. Now I could be the small percent of people that experience it. Lol