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Hi all, here is my Journey so far. I was one of the lucky ones (NOT) who had a JP Drain. I hope my story helps others. So far, so good - no regrets at all!! June 2017: My ins just dropped the numerous lengthy requirements and is allowing sleeves. I jumped on it, and was able to navigate thru the list quickly. Start to finish took me about 2 months. Do Ins companies really think we haven't tried every program out there prior to considering major surgery??? Stupid! They no longer require 6 months of Dr administered weight loss program, but my Dr watched me for a few months, and submitted it just to make sure I would not run into any problems. I was approved 10 days after submission. I hate having to jump thru hoops, but the savings was worth it. Altho, I would have paid out of pocket if denied. Check off the requirements, and you should be fine. Most Drs have a good relationship with the ins claim reps. My daily (boring but working) pre op intake is: coffee with a splash of Premier Protein banana or caramel , then the rest of the Premier Protein Shake for Breakfast, at 10am I have 2 C of chicken broth, at Noon I have 2 C chicken broth + another Premier Protein shake, at 2pm I have 1 sf Jello cup, at 6ish I have 2 C chicken broth (appetizer ) and another Carmel Premier Protein shake, 8pm snack another sf jello cup. I don't really like any other flavors of broth or I would have those. My shakes have to be under 200 calories, high protein (these are 30g) and as low sugar as you can find (1g). Premier is handy, pre made, and I like the flavors (Caramel, Banana, and strawberry Cream are my favorites). I SWEAR I have not had any headaches, and my energy level is really good (just fall asleep earlier which helps me not dwell on food). Aug 25/2017: Surgery day and I couldn't be more excited!! My surgery went well except that I needed a JP drain that will remain in for about a week. I was up walking 2 laps of my floor that night. The nurse said she had never seen anyone do as well as me. She said my positive and excited attitude surely helped! My pain never got above 2 or 3 and I needed very little pain meds. 3 ice chips made me nauseous, so I did not eat or drink anything the first night. I do have to give myself shots in the stomach of Lovenox (blood thinner) to prevent blood clots for 2 weeks. Aug 26: Got discharged this afternoon after my upper GI and chest xray came back ok. Was able to keep down 4oz of liquid before I left the hospital. I'm off the pain meds now, and don't even feel the need for Tylenol. The Lovenox shots are not as scary as I thought they would be. The trick is to freeze the area for 10 minutes before you give yourself the shot, and put the ice back on right after you are done (the after affect feels like a wasp sting). Now I just need the gas to pass (pun intended). All said and done, I feel great for what I've been through, and lost 12 pounds pre op. I will keep up with updates. Thank you for all the support and info. This Forum is great, and I hope to pay it forward. Aug 28: Ok, so to continue my journey, I am 4 days post op and my drain is still working over time Im not concerned, but can't go back to work until its removed. After having little to no pain, this morning I noticed pain on my right side - like a stabbing pain. I have to hold my stomach when I walk for any relief. Seeing as most of my stomach was sliced off, I am assuming that now that the swelling is going down, some of this is "normal". Its definitely NOT gas pains. I don't like taking the liquid pain meds so am taking tylenol only. liquids are going down no problem. Energy level is up, and I'm looking forward to Protein Shakes on Friday. Update: Dr said my drain most likely moved which is causing the pain. Its pretty intense. Good thing is they will be removing it on Thursday. Bad thing is I will be living with the pain and have to take the liquid pain meds until then...a small price to pay I've discovered a love for tropical flavored sugar free popsicles !!! Aug 29: Having a good night and a great hair day so I'm psyched! Lol. My incisions are dissolvable stitches with a rubber cement waterproof type paint over them. The stuff just flakes off when healed. Easy peasy. I SERIOUSLY think I could have returned to work tomorrow if not for the JP drain. All bodily functions working perfectly, and no hunger pains. BUT I know that even tho I feel good, my body is still recovering from major surgery, so I am working from home Thurs and Fri and returning full time the day after Labor Day = 10 days post op. Knowing that there is still swelling and fluid retention from my hospital stay, Im staying off the scale until my post op appointment. I have ankles again!! August 31: Got my JP drain out today (yes, it hurt), but as soon as it was removed, the pain went away!! I feel like a million bucks Sept 1: Diet additions today!! I get to have protein shakes again, yogurt, milk, and cream soups. Still not feeling hungry and am down 18lbs. Had half a protein shake for breakfast, yogurt with sugar free cheesecake pudding mix stirred in for lunch, broth and a half glass of milk for dinner and sugar free jello with sugar free whipped topping for dessert. I heard that some are lactose intolerant after surgery, but I had no issues with anything I ate. I'm paranoid of gaining anything back, so am kind of afraid to eat. I will have to watch that. Having cabin fever so decided to venture out for the first time since surgery. I have a tendency to feel good and over do it, so wanted to be careful. Took a quick trip to the store, and then for a well deserved pedicure. Heaven. Energy level is still up. Since my boyfriend took good care of me, I decided a date night was in order and we went out. Challenging to say the least. How do you go into a bar without ordering a drink?? Pre planning helps. THIS IS A NO JUDGEMENT ZONE!!! I ordered a tall glass of water with lots of e and 1 small shot of vodka. Then I added Crystal Light cranberry to it that I brought along. Nursed it for 2 hours and did not even finish it. I have read others say alcohol hit them quicker after surgery (no noticeable change for me) and I KNOW that its not allowed (this soon or in some minds at all), but I am human. I gave up diet coke for Gods sake Next challenge coming up = lunch with friends in the liquid stage. I am mentally preparing already. Eat before, and take my Crystal Light. Since I am keeping my surgery secret, the only viable option is to say Im having a little tummy issue. Stay tuned. Sept 2: More milestones accomplished today! Ride my motorcycle - check, go boating - check Sept 3: Lunch with my man and his mom.....First I had to reassure my fiance that he could eat in front of me, and I would be ok. He was considerate enough to make sure that it was ok to plan lunch with his mom. Sweet man. I had a protein shake for breakfast and some vitamin water. We chose a restaurant where I knew they had soup on the menu. I told my future mother in law that I had been having stomach issues, and was changing my eating habits. I am not telling people I'm on a diet, or that I had surgery because history has shown that when you do say these things, people watch what you eat, or fill your ears with "helpful" tips etc. I'm not having it. So I ordered water and a cup of soup. Ate the broth and inconspicuously covered my cup with my napkin and handed it to the server first chance I could. Mission accomplished! You can go out to eat when in the liquid stage. Sept 4: Family bbq planned today.......Again, I will eat before we go. My fiance and I came up with a plan. We will both take plates and put food on them, he will then eat his plate of food, and then mine. Oh the games we play....Again, sweet man! I really don't care what anyone thinks, or surmises, this is my Journey and I will do it my way. 2 more weeks til I can eat real food The bbq was great. Truly a testament to the fact that it isn't the food, it's the company. I drank a shake for breakfast and then had some Greek yogurt before we left. Packed some So Be Life Water (my new staple). My brother in law tried to tempt me with Sangaria and grilled pineapple and I simply told him that I was trying very hard to eliminate sugar from my life plan and I was feeling GREAT so I must be doing something right. My fiance and I carried thru with our plan, and as we went thru the food line, he put on my plate half of what he wanted and then ate everything on both plates. Nobody said a word!! Not even my brother in law who notices, and comments on everything. That night we hit one of the last post op milestones Sex 10 days post op is just as fantastic as pre op. Yay! Sorry for the TMI, but this is a question that others are wondering about. Sept 6: Planning our road trip evac for hurricane Irma. I am packing protein shakes, cream soup packets, SoBe Water, crystal light packets, cottage cheese, yogurt and sugar free pudding mix for my yogurt. Wish us luck! Sept 12: The past week has been hell thanks to Hurricane Irma. Prepping 2 houses and 4 days of travel thru 3 states.....Boy, if I ever needed comfort food, or wanted to garbage up, it was now. But I stayed true to my plan by packing a cooler, and was never hungry! Sept 14: I am now in the puree stage and happy to be "chewing" kind of. I still love my sugar free popsicles. I have been switching it up with egg salad, tuna salad and lots of soups. I am surprised that I do not have any hunger pangs. So far I have not had any issues keeping food down. Watching my fiance eat the foods I used to eat does not bother me because I am so looking forward being thinner and healthier. So far I am down 24 pounds in 1 month (that includes my pre op diet week). Yay!

Don't worry about your Protein counts right now. Very, very few people find they can actually meet their protein requirements within the first... I'd guesstimate 2 - 3 weeks post op. I know I could barely get down a few ounces of Water, let along water with anything in it. I've never encounterd two surgeons who used the same post-op diet. I don't remember the specifics of mine now, but it was something like liquids for 3 or 4 days, then thick liquids which included "cream of" soups, yogurt, etc. Then mushies, then soft solids, then as tolerated. I think all in all it was an 8 week acclimation period. My pre-op diet was 2 or 3 days of clear, SF liquids. I never cared for soup before I was banded, but that first taste of "cream of" soup was heavenly - to finally get something with some consistency, and non-fruit flavor. I will never forget that moment.

Hi all, Im 37 and injust got my MGB revision 20 days ago. I was sleeved 10 years ago and never reached my goal weight. After babies and hormonal BC i gained a lot back. I feel surprised now tho. I feel i havent loose much these days. I just started Phase 3 and where i live (Middle east) is very hard to find sugar free, fat free products and im wondering if is the greek yogurt (flavored) and the protein drink the ones that arent helping. Both say they dont have added sugar but have sugars at the end. Also i dont feel there is really a restriction in my stomach. Im still hungry, i can eat half cup of food, i can drink a whole glass of water with no issues... such a different experience than the sleeve. Im scared of failure. Im passing very light yellow stools i dont know why and is so painful. Sometimes i wonder if there was a surgery after all. Any ideas of why this weight loss is so slow?

Here's what it feels like to me: (Im 6 months post-op with 6cc's in a 10cc band) When Im out with friends for dinner, I order a chopped barbeque chicken salad, the lunch portion. I eat about 1/3 of the lunch portion--maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup and am totally stuffed. About 3 hours later, when we stop in the mall for frozen yogurt, I get a kiddie size cup of non-fat yogurt, have a half a dozen bites and throw the rest out. It feels like food no longer controls me. I eat when Im hungry. I stop when Im not. I dont feel compelled to BINGE. (Binge eating was a huge issue for me) I feel...dare I say it, NORMAL.

I'm on day 6 post op. Not sure exactly what it is. I'm sure I over did it I felt so good and probably did not rest as much as I should have but today it felt like heartburn (bad) I can't keep crushing Pepcid so I got chewable and they helped but still hurts so not sure what I'm feeling. Wonder if I ate to much. I may have drank my broth to fast do I took in to much? Or maybe half a yogurt was to much? I'm not sure how to tell. Glad I'm seeing the surgeon tomorrow I'm a little nervous.

I remember going thru that, I think it's just a change your body is going thru. Mine only lasted a few days. I'm eight weeks out and I rarely feel hungry. I make sure I have my two protein shakes every day. Besides that I eat a Greek yogurt and very small portions of food.

I went through a similar path. Make sure you stay on the liquids. The constipation stage was horrible for me. Brought out roids and I won't even get into that. I ended up taking daily probiotics and adding them to yogurt or pudding, and every other day had probiotics that had added fiber. I think the brand was Culturelle? I stole some from the supply for my kid - but the adult version is just taking 2 of the kid doses. I started with kid doses (one packet of powder). Just make sure you get those liquids for sure. I have heard the biggest contributor to readmissions and complications ends up being dehydration. Back in the day I would just chug a bottle or two of water and catch up, gone are those days!

I think it depends on the type of food. I can eat 6 oz of yogurt in 20 min, It takes me the same amount of time to eat 2 oz of chicken or beef Jerky. Its not stretched. I am sure your not self abusing.

Hi @loveflowers Man, you weight is coming off fast! It is so great you can get the protein shakes in. Have you tried protein soups? Hot and savoury, which makes a great change from the often-sweet shakes. And yogurt is good too - some of my earliest variety was adding flavour to plain yogurt - sweet chilli, chipotle... Your surgical team will have good advice - it does come right, but sometimes takes a little time. And the diarrhoea-then-constipation is very very common! Again, it usually comes right... Nice to see you here - the support makes all the difference...

<p>I've never been one to have problems with foods, I can in general eat anything, and I've only ever PB'd twice in 18 months. But I do worry about it in public eating situations, I"m always super duper careful.</p> <p> </p> <p>I'm not a teacher yet, I'm half way through my degree. I had full time teaching practicum late last semester and am going back in 3 weeks for more. For the first time in my banded life I found eating in public an awkward experience. For reasons unknown I was tight as a fish's proverbial every single lunchtime. I took Soup or cheese and crackers every single day and I even ahd trouble with the soup! I was just soooooooo careful - given that I didnt know these people at all. If I'd been in a work situation where I was a member of staff, I would never have hesitated to tell everyone I was banded. But I felt so silly, it took me literally the whole lunch hour to eat a bowl of soup! I know people noticed. </p> <p> </p> <p>If there's one limitation on my life as a result of being banded, its that being unable to eat in a hurry is darn inconvenient sometimes. I have to elect not to eat at all.</p> <p> </p> <p>At this stage of my banded life, I could get by on a good Breakfast, and somethign really really simple like a yogurt for lunch, perhaps a piece of fruit or a muesli bar after school hours have finished. When I go back in 3 weeks there's no way I will be even attempting sandwiches, Pasta etc, all things I normally eat for lunch with no problems.</p> <p> </p> <p>I think I was probably nervous about it and that made me tight.</p> Unfortunately PB's are not something that I could cover with a cough. When it has happened to me, its been a very loud and definite ralph, lol. Preceeded by 40 minutes of horrid sliming that I could never have hidden. I am most definitely not OK when that happens and could never pretend to be. But before you run screaming in fear, I've done it to myself when its happened. Its entirely within my control to prevent it and that's all I'm saying. Dont eat difficult foods, dont eat a lot and dont eat quickly in public and you'll be fine.

Yesterday I started drinking one protein shake a day as a meal replacement, and was shocked to find that it kept me more satisfied than a regular meal. I had ISOPURE from GNC (which some people call ISOpuke, but I like it!) and I mixed a scoop of powder with 6 oz milk, 1/2 of a cut up nectarine and 1/2 carton of low-everything yogurt, oh a sprinkle of Splenda too. It was YUMMY and filling, so yummy that I made another one for breakfast today. I got myself a mini-blender made by Hamilton Beach for $20 on Amazon.com (couldn't affort a Magic Bullet) and it works GREAT! After you wizz up your drink, you just remove the blending container and drink out of it. I also bought a bunch of "samples" of different protein drinks from a site called: wlssupplies.com. It's owned by a gal that had RNY surgery. It gave me 70 samples of different brands and flavors of protein drinks. The cost was $80, but that's for 70 meals so not that bad. Definitely enough for the pre-op week and post-op weeks. The delivery was slow though, I think maybe 3 weeks to arrive in Oregon from Florida. I guess the site has been slammed with so many orders they can't keep up. All of the samples come in these little plastic "jugs" that hold 8 oz, they're reusable, and have a sticker on them telling you the nutritional content and the brand and flavor of the contents. They are all whey protein isolates. I thought it would be a great way to keep from getting bored with the usual "chocolate and vanilla" that you see for most protein supplements. Some of the flavors are: roadside lemonade, cool chocolate mint, chocolate peanut butter cup, orangesicle, pineapple ectasy, vanilla bean torte, island banana, capuccino, pina colada , etc. They're made by big names in supplements like Syntrax, ISOPURE, Sci-tech, Sci-fit, etc. At first I was mad because the shipment was taking so long, but the website owner (Jennifer) does write you back and update you. When it arrived I was so happy with the variety and convenience of all the "take and run" little jugs. Check it out yourself. It seems to me that the more "jump start" we can achieve by losing weight before surgery, the better. Besides, this weight loss is permanent, so that inspires me, by making it worthwhile.

When I was a kid my parents had an ice cream maker and I would sneak handfuls of rock salt. We lived by our neighborhood's baseball fields and I'd go sit in the bleachers, watch games, and snack on rock salt like it was popcorn. My parents were worried so they took me to the doc and he's the one I heard about it from. It made sense, because I never really drank milk and have hardly touched it since I was about 8... and wasn't much on yogurt, cheese, etc. either. He told my parents to give me 1200mg calcium a day. About 4 days later the salt cravings went away. Too bad the admiration for cheeses came in its place.

I have a question for you...does slimfast have enough Protein in it to keep you full? When I was doing my pre-op diet I remember looking at those shakes and the protein content was pretty low compared to others on the market... My husband and I used Premier Protein with 30grams of protein about 160 calories. We choose that one because of the protein content and it had the best flavor and texture for us to work with. Also what helped me was I put a program in place, so I was eating or drinking something every hour. For example I would have a Greek Yogurt (chobani I found had the best nut values for the calories) at 9am, then at 10 I would have Water or decaf coffee/tea then at 11 a shake, 12 water, 1 Soup, etc. That kept me from being bored, and I felt pretty satisfied. When I had the urge to chew I would try a piece of gum, if I really needed the chew and crunch I would have a small salad or grilled vegies. Good luck on your journey!

I did. I did liquid diet fie total of almost 7 weeks straight. I wss committed of course but I rold my husband I'd love it if they made a garlic chicken flavored Protein shake. I was counting down the days until I could have something like Jello and yogurts. Hang in there...

Me! I think we all struggle with this. What helped me a little was when I could advance from liquids to pureed. At least I can now introduce things like Greek yogurt (thinned with skim milk), ricotta, Jello (which I was not permitted on liquids). The sugar free popsicles in Tropical flavor really saved me - felt like a treat that i could sort of chew. Hang in there - keep your eye on the prize! It will be worth it.

If I had to eat the plain kind I would just skip the yogurt all together!!

I like the Voskos brand Greek yogurt, as well as Brown Cow and sometimes Chobani. I am a yogurt snob and won't eat any yogurt that isn't 100% natural. I refuse to put artificial sweeteners or flavors in it. All natural yogurt will have a few more carbs, so I just eat low carb elsewhere, or don't eat as much of the yogurt.

Feeling GR88888888888888888888T , Lost 2kilos in the 2 weeks on mushies.... AND I CAN EAT NORMAL FOODS NOW........Yeah !!! I came home and had 3 cruskits with low fat cheese spread , it was so much better than having yogurt, I like Yogurt BUT after 2 weeks I wanted a change.... FOR dinner I managed 1/4 salmon fillet ,1 potato 4 asparagus spears a spoon of Quinoa (instead of rice) and am as full as a goog, a bread and butter plate and I couldn`t finish it ....I was so looking forward to it real food after 5 weeks and thought I could demolish the lot no problems ...But thats great proves to me the band is working even though I don`t have a fill yet.. I am Booked for Tuesday 6th April (Easter Tuesday) for my first fill............3 weeks ... I told the dietitian I was going to have a Easter egg to Celebrate ... will be my first chocolate since February and I LOVE CHOCOLATE......... Can you tell I feel very very HAPPY .......

Ok, my diet is different too. I can have two low carb slimfast or other low carb drinks a day, plus 2 servings of vegetables, and 2 servings of cottage sheese, or sugar free yogurt or pudding. And, of course, all of the calorie free liquids I can drink. I have not been hungry at all, but I swear I have thought of food every ten seconds, and I am on day 3. My surgery is Oct 3. I may be chewing on my own arm by then. But I really think it is just psychological. I'm supposed to eat the veggies raw, but tonight, I boiled a chopped carrot and a chopped onion in my fat free chicken broth. It was great!!! ANd I don't feel bad about cooking the veggies. I pretended it was like a chinese Soup. How fast does the liver really shrink? Isn't that the purpose of this whole thing anyway? I can't believe it will shrink in a week, but my doctor says it will. I do great at work, but when I get home, I want to cook and eat! I'm doing ok with this becasue I'm afraid of the whole thing not working becasue the surgeon can't get past my liver. How do you keep your mind off food?

I use Vanilla labrada powder and add banana, im sure you could add yogurt aswell

I need a good protein recipe recipe for breakfast. Anybody know of any? I want one that I can add yogurt

Breakfast and lunch: protein bar or shake... mid morning,afternoon evening snaxks:small piece of fruit or lowfat yogurt. dinner 3 oz lean meat. none starchy vegetables unlimited

I am just wondering if anyone else has experienced lactose intolerance after their surgery? I am finding myself sick and crampy after just a sip or two of anything dairy which has sucked tremendously since I was moved to the full liquids. So yogurts, creamed Soups are all making me sick. I had my surgery on 11/30 and I am supposed to be on the full liquids for another 2 weeks! Any suggestions on what else I can have in this stage that won't make me sick? Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

I would get a small cooler and pack food meant to be eaten cold "I k e Greek yogurt, sandwich meat and cheese, etc

I use loseit app and the fitbit is my best friend to keep on track with my activity. I also pack food- cottage cheese and yogurt are my go tos.. Then I make sure to eat something else at night when I have more time and access to appliances..