Today the process begins....

Alioop · Mar 1, 2017

This afternoon I will be meeting with a surgeon and his team for the first time. The past few days have been filled with mixed feelings and data gathering: am I too old (age 64) ...can I change my relationship with food...can I stay focused and remain not discouraged as I go through the pre-testing/gathering of records. I admit on several occassions I have come close to changing my mind.

However, with each day of checkng my blood sugar levels, fighting the C P A. P machine, struggling to move, and, stuffing down body image issues....my resolve will resurface.

So, hopefully today, will be the beginning of the "first day of the rest of my life".....

Christine Seese · Mar 1, 2017

Alioop said:
This afternoon I will be meeting with a surgeon and his team for the first time. The past few days have been filled with mixed feelings and data gathering: am I too old (age 64) ...can I change my relationship with food...can I stay focused and remain not discouraged as I go through the pre-testing/gathering of records. I admit on several occassions I have come close to changing my mind.

However, with each day of checkng my blood sugar levels, fighting the C P A. P machine, struggling to move, and, stuffing down body image issues....my resolve will resurface.

So, hopefully today, will be the beginning of the "first day of the rest of my life".....

You can do it!!! Just keep reminding yourself why you are doing this. That is soooo important. Good luck today.

Anna( Lady Truck driver ) · Mar 1, 2017

Alioop said:
This afternoon I will be meeting with a surgeon and his team for the first time. The past few days have been filled with mixed feelings and data gathering: am I too old (age 64) ...can I change my relationship with food...can I stay focused and remain not discouraged as I go through the pre-testing/gathering of records. I admit on several occassions I have come close to changing my mind.

However, with each day of checkng my blood sugar levels, fighting the C P A. P machine, struggling to move, and, stuffing down body image issues....my resolve will resurface.

So, hopefully today, will be the beginning of the "first day of the rest of my life".....

It's a big decision. I changed my mind 100 times, but there came a moment when I figured out all the obstacles. Then I made my decision. I still had second thoughts but continued to move forward. I'm one month past surgery and I am so glad I did it.

Alioop · Mar 2, 2017

Thank you, Anna...After meeting with the surgeon yesterday I came home and my mnd was spinning with all that needs to be done prior to surgery approval. However, this morning, I woke up ready to charge ahead ...made appointments, requested records and started a journal to log and reflect on my progress.

Now, that you are one month post surgery, what do you feel has been your biggest challenge, so far....?

Alioop · Mar 2, 2017

Christine Seese said:
You can do it!!! Just keep reminding yourself why you are doing this. That is soooo important. Good luck today.

Thank you Christine, my appointment went well. Now begins the approval process..and I hit the ground running today, calling for records and making appointments. What would you consider you biggest challenge to be so far..?

Anna( Lady Truck driver ) · Mar 2, 2017

Alioop said:
Thank you, Anna...After meeting with the surgeon yesterday I came home and my mnd was spinning with all that needs to be done prior to surgery approval. However, this morning, I woke up ready to charge ahead ...made appointments, requested records and started a journal to log and reflect on my progress.

Now, that you are one month post surgery, what do you feel has been your biggest challenge, so far....?

There was a couple of things. Giving up caffeine was difficult. I love my hot tea. Drinking enough water was easier on the liquid diet before surgery, but now that I'm on soft food it's a little harder to still keep sipping. I'm very independent and I'm under a weight restriction to not lift more than 10 pounds. I forget and have to be reminded to ask for help. My doctor had a long talk with me about not worrying about step 3 and to stay focused on step one. Once I started focusing on just the step I was on it went more smoothly. I worry a lot and get overwhelmed.

Alioop · Mar 2, 2017

I too will hate to give up caffeine as I love my Coffee, and the thought of starting my morning off without it seems to be an impossibilty.. I also, am a worrier..but have told myself to stay in the moment and not too ahead off myself..(easier said than done).

Tracy Lindenmuth · Mar 2, 2017

I miss my regular coffee,but getting used to decaf, I also started drinking decaf tea too, it is my go to drink when I think I'm hungry in the evening after supper, I'm sure it is just boredom hunger

Saska · Mar 3, 2017

Anna( Lady Truck driver ) said:
There was a couple of things. Giving up caffeine was difficult. I love my hot tea. Drinking enough water was easier on the liquid diet before surgery, but now that I'm on soft food it's a little harder to still keep sipping. I'm very independent and I'm under a weight restriction to not lift more than 10 pounds. I forget and have to be reminded to ask for help. My doctor had a long talk with me about not worrying about step 3 and to stay focused on step one. Once I started focusing on just the step I was on it went more smoothly. I worry a lot and get overwhelmed.

Are you still finding it hard to drink enough water? That is my biggest struggle now. When I was on the liquids and pureed food it was easier to drink more water/shakes, but now that I am able to have soft foods I cant drink enough water because I don't have room for it. I try to alternate as much as possible. It currently takes me about 3-4 hours to eat a few slices of egg, a slice of beets, and a desert spoonful of tuna salad, and to fit water in also I am finding that hard. I keep water with me where ever I am to help, but I know it isn't enough still.

Debbyg · Mar 3, 2017

I haven't had a soda in 2 months. I didn't think I would be able to quit because I love soda. I drink a lot of water, iced tea now. I buy Crystal Light and various other things to mix into the water. It is hard to drink all the liquid we're supposed to, tho. I have a bottle of water with me everywhere I go.

Keith Wells · Mar 4, 2017

Ah you got this.. I had issues with my blood sugar and fought with a cpap at night... I am 3ish weeks out and check blood sugar rarely and off my cpap.... So nice and lost 50 or so pounds now and can move better....

Christine Seese · Mar 4, 2017

Saska said:
Are you still finding it hard to drink enough water? That is my biggest struggle now. When I was on the liquids and pureed food it was easier to drink more water/shakes, but now that I am able to have soft foods I cant drink enough water because I don't have room for it. I try to alternate as much as possible. It currently takes me about 3-4 hours to eat a few slices of egg, a slice of beets, and a desert spoonful of tuna salad, and to fit water in also I am finding that hard. I keep water with me where ever I am to help, but I know it isn't enough still.

It sounds like you are eating a lot more food than I've been told to. That might be why you are having difficulty getting all of your fluids in. I've been told to eat no more than 3 meals per day and should take around 30 minutes to finish max. Hopefully I misunderstood your eating habits.

Tracy Lindenmuth · Mar 4, 2017

I also only eat 3meals a day, each a half hour long, I also have a sugar free jello after work as a snack,

Saska · Mar 4, 2017

Christine Seese said:
It sounds like you are eating a lot more food than I've been told to. That might be why you are having difficulty getting all of your fluids in. I've been told to eat no more than 3 meals per day and should take around 30 minutes to finish max. Hopefully I misunderstood your eating habits.

A typical day for me would be to have a banana and milk smoothie for breakfast, one glass of milk and one banana. This takes me 2-3 hours to finish. I was eating soup for lunch, but now that I am tolerating soft foods I am switching to having a very small salad mix of a quarter of an egg, a slice of beetroot, a spoonful of cottage cheese, and a spoonful of tuna salad. I would eat that over 3-4 hours as I can only do about 3 teaspoons of food at a time. For dinner I either have cottage cheese or yoghurt. I was eating so little over the first 4 weeks post op that I was feeling so dizzy so much of the time, so I am trying to increase this. I don't feel as dizzy now, but it is really hard to balance eating enough food and drinking enough water. If I stopped eating after 30 minutes I would hardly have anything to eat. I could be doing it wrong, I just know that I don't feel as fatigued or dizzy now with the way I changed eating.

Christine Seese · Mar 5, 2017

Glad you

Saska said:
A typical day for me would be to have a banana and milk smoothie for breakfast, one glass of milk and one banana. This takes me 2-3 hours to finish. I was eating soup for lunch, but now that I am tolerating soft foods I am switching to having a very small salad mix of a quarter of an egg, a slice of beetroot, a spoonful of cottage cheese, and a spoonful of tuna salad. I would eat that over 3-4 hours as I can only do about 3 teaspoons of food at a time. For dinner I either have cottage cheese or yoghurt. I was eating so little over the first 4 weeks post op that I was feeling so dizzy so much of the time, so I am trying to increase this. I don't feel as dizzy now, but it is really hard to balance eating enough food and drinking enough water. If I stopped eating after 30 minutes I would hardly have anything to eat. I could be doing it wrong, I just know that I don't feel as fatigued or dizzy now with the way I changed eating.

arent feeling dizzy. I went through that myself for 2 months and still do occasionally. It sucks!!! I'm glad I misunderstood what you were eating, but I wish I could tell you how to make your meals go by quicker. This is definitely why you aren't getting enough fluids in. One good thing; the smoothie counts as a fluid because of the milk. Do you have a dietician you could talk to? Maybe they have some ideas on how to speed up the process. Just thought of something. How large is your smoothie? I was drinking an 11oz protein shake and the dietician told me that was too much for my tiny tummy. I'm now only able to drink 4 oz. I finish that well within the 30 min and because it is protein, I am full until lunch time. Maybe this is something you could do to get more fluids in in the morning? Just a thought. Sorry I don't have any better ideas, but I'll keep thinking on it.