AnaA

Hi Ulta, Welcome, Did you have your plication in July too? So, when I was talking about having trouble getting my calories up that was back in Week 5, and it was my first week of going from soft foods where I was taking in about 800 calories, to full foods where I was advised the caloric intake would now be 1200-1300 regularly and 1500 if I was working out regularly which I translate, possibly mistakenly, as daily. Week 5 I was hovering between 800-950 trying to get to 1200-1300 because I have read getting too little calories can make you stall. During Week 6, I was able to maintain 1000-1100 calories. I am currently working on week 7 and now stay steadily at 1150. I find that 1150 (while not being 1200-1300) fills me up pretty well and makes the scale move. I'm not sure, when I ask about the frequency of weight loss, which I did recently, i'm told that we all have different bodies and lose differently. I wait the full 1 hour before and after meals to drink, but haven't noticed my weight loss exactly burning up the charts like it did the first month. I do get in 64-72 ozs of water daily, and again, you can follow my weight loss in my signature to see my rate of loss. Not to say that following this ideally doesn't work! Quite the contrary, it's just my metabolism I guess. I am open to things that will speed things up too lol Maybe I should hit that gym a lot more. Good luck, stay in touch and keep me posted.

Hi Karen, I had the plication, but I am supporting all WLS friends. Thank you for posting that fill infomration. What a great resoruce!

OK, I went out of town so couldn't post my week 6 results for this past Friday, August 31st, so here's week 6: I lost 1.8 lbs during week 6!! Yea! It's true, I want those 3 lbs lost weeks back, but compared to gaining 4 ozs, i'm elated the scale is going the right way and hopeful I will get more 3lb losses soon. My constipation (Thank you Dolittle for the MOM recommend!) is now a thing of the past thank GOODNESS! Dolittle recommended milk of mag and WOW is it fantastic! It did not make me diarrhetic and it did not cramp my stomach, ich, a terrible experience, it let me go regularly. It worked in 2 hours so didn't happen instantly and I appreciated that. Aahh, my stomach was regular and not distended for week 6. Relief! Also, I had a small big victory! I was in whole foods, which I LOVE and I was looking at gluten free cookies, because for the first time I felt like having one, and I was looking at my options, yummy choc chip, sugar cookies, oatmeal, nila and choc wafers, it's amazing how the GF (gluten free) market has expanded! But the cookies were 120 calories for a 50 cent piece sized cookie. I stood there for a moment with the bag in my hand just letting that twirl around in my mind. 120 calories for 1 cookie. Hmmm. Most of my breakfasts have been at an average of 237 calories and I am COMPLETELY full and satisfied. 237 calories. That is less than 2 cookies... At that moment I realized that a moment of wanting a cookie was outweighed by the price of what it would cost. It just wasn't enough. Two cookies would not be satisfying to me. Not the way my 237 calorie breakfasts are, not with my sugar craving past. And these calories could be better spent on other satisfying, filling food I really enjoy. So with that, I put the cookies down, and walked away! I felt so victorious!! I WON!! I WON!! I still feel victorious!! I WIN.

Hi Katie, I gained 3 lbs post procedure too and when I asked about this, I was told that gaining 3-5 lbs. post plication is the norm since the body is bloated with gas. That went away within the first week and the weight loss was significant. I am aware that some people who have had the procedure have had literally little to no gas pain and I just marvel at that! It was QUITE the different story for me. The gas was so bad it hurt under my rib and at my left shoulder. It was pretttty intense the first 3 days, so much so that I thought something else might be happening, but as it turns out, all was fine, it was just tremendous gas pain. I honestly never thought gas could be so evil! Also, I am a flipping sleeper, meaning that I go from being on my back to my right side to my left side, but the first week of surgery it felt super uncomfortable going from side to side, almost like I could feel all my internal organs falling downward in slow motion! That dissipated by the end of the first week to barely noticeable and that may be because I was determined not to let that discomfort keep me from sleeping how I wanted to. I would just prop pillows all around me and squeeze one to my stomach when I turned on my side. I didn't have my ankles swollen but, hey, the gas pain was enough! Take Care Katie, best of luck and keep us all posted! -Ana

Hi Lea, Have you talked to the Doctor that performed the plication? I know when I had my procedure I was nauseated for the first 3 days, but I let my caregivers know quickly and was given anti-nausea medication that worked fine. Also, right after my surgery I was very sensitive to smells. I would get nauseated very easily and could NOT drink soup.The smell made me sick. During the first 3 days after surgery I only drank maybe 3 ozs a day and that was toward the third day. Definitely get in touch with your doctor. Welcome to the forum and good to have you here Lea, Ana

Hello, I'm just wondering what the best bariatric vitamins are for plication patients? I have been taking the Bariatric Advantage Multi Formula Capsuls since August and have enough until early September, but I am taking them 6 at a time and it's just too much to swallow! Is anyone taking a great bariatric vitamin that's chewable or easy to swallow and less than 6 a day? Thanks! Ana

ahhh bless you! I am going to buy some today! I took 4 tsp of epsom salt with water, that is also effective, but yuck tasting, so i'll get some MOM! Blessings Dolittle!

Hello Everyone, and Hi Donna, I was plicated, but I have to agree that as a WLS family, we do share some commonalities and it is the solidarity and mutual support that goes far and counts for a lot. I am committed to keeping this blog going and am here for anyone who needs moral support. I'm currently scouring the board for constipation remedies.. anyone? anyone? and am going to start the metamucil capsuls tonight, but if anyone has a better option, please let me know!

Well. It was a frustrating week 5. I was severely constipated and gained 4 ozs.Grrr. I don't normally track ounces, I just list the weight but for the sake of tracking, I gained 4 ozs. What is frustrating about that (more details in my blog) is that i not only went in the wrong direction, but also didn't lose anything during week 5. The abdominal distention wasn't fun either. Made it hard to feel good about losing weight because I couldn't feel the slimness. I continue to drink 64 oz of water a day and follow the healthy eating habits and the 1 hour either side of meals before drinking. I got some information from Dr. M about what to do for constipation so I am looking forward to implementing that solution. Well. Here's to hoping I have a better week! Sheesh. :\

Ok. Last week was pretty frustrating. I gained 4 ozs., went from 190.2 to 190.6 That was frustrating in itself because it meant that I not only gained 4 ozs, (it's not the amount I gained but the fact it went the WRONG way) but that I did not lose anything all week long, and believe me it felt loooooong. I was super constipated all last week and right up to yesterday *sigh* and OUCH!!!. Very! And I know it was the culprit that contributed to this set back. Still its hard getting over the psychological aspect of it. Not having lost anything all week, having adhered to everything exactly, and the distention of my stomach which omits my concentration on just feeling good about feeling thinner. Frustrating. I tried to get around that by just focusing on how I have lost 31 lbs. and that i'm sure this can't go on for long... grrr I called the OCC and received advice from Dr. M so here's to hoping that this week is better! I weighed in this morning, and I was at 189.2, so I have lot a pound this week so far, here's to hoping its a better week!

I am not sure if I will post my results at the end of every week, but I wanted to post at the end of my first week which this is and then I will post if something notable happens or I need advice or want to give tips, and barring that, I will update montly. I feel compelled to update monthly because when I was going through my decision making process what I wanted and didn't feel I got was someone who updated regularly. Peeps eventually dropped off the radar. Kay. Today is my 1 week post plication procedure anniversary and I weighed in at 199! I am sooo excited to be in the 19's! Wow. It is a great feeling to leave those 20's behind. Today I also started the full liquids so it was the first day I had soup and a protein drink, met the 64 oz. consumption of liquid intake and the 30g of protein intake Boy! Did I feel water logged! lol I was sloshing in my shoes. So much to keep track of! Until it becomes autonomic and I am sure it will, I am on myself to monitor the proper intakes to make sure that I don't get dehydrated because I had some baby signs of that. My 64ozs consisted of 1 liter of water, 10 ozs of ensure clear peach (I love this drink: tasty and protein!), a protein shake that recommends mixing with 1 cup of water, i changed that and made the protein powder scoop with 16 ozs of water, it was perfect! Not too thick, nice and watery which is how I prefer intake at this time. (I use GNC's Spiru-Tein High Protein Energy Meal protein shake, vanilla & chocolate because they are soy based and not made with milk) The soup I had was gluten free clam chowder. I have a couple of food issues pre surgery, I am gluten intolerant and lactose intolerant so I don't eat bread or drink milk products. I put the clam chowder in the blender. Wow, it was superb. The brand was progresso. They do nice soups. And for my probiotic because I can not drink yogurt I drank yakult which was pretty pleasing. I had an otter pop too. After I finished eating/drinking all that throughout the day I felt stuffed. I kinda had to push myself to get all that in. I am curious as to how this is going to go tomorrow because I have events to attend all day. Hmm. My gas/burping is still present but lessoning all the time. All in all I am very pleased with my procedure and my healing.

OK! Today is end of week 2 for me. I have lost 2 lbs. for a total of 24 lbs! This week was a challenge. I was already taking in 8 ozs of pedialyte daily when I showed signs of dehydration. This week I noticed some slight signs again and determined to stay ahead of it I upped my pedialyte intake to 16 ozs now. Still showing some signs, and have upped my liquid intake. I have seen some positive changes this week. I notice that my favorite jeans, jeans that I could NOT fit into before pre-op diet are now loose! I can pull them 2 inches away from me easily and that makes me feel good. I definitely feel like I have gone down in inches, and can see this in the mirror. I opted not to measure that stuff so no specifics, but it is notable. My energy level has been pretty good and that is saying a lot considering that before I even heard of the OCC my energy level was a constant struggle and low! I have been increasing my walking and am looking forward to resistant training and exercise which I can begin at the end of week 3, next Friday. I feel proud of myself that I have been on liquids for 17 days and feel good. I would have never thought it possible for ME? to stick to something like this for this length of time and I just feel very proud of myself.

(again just transfering the first months weekly updates from the forum to my blog) OK! Today there is A LOT going on! It is the end of week 3 and I have lost a total of 4 lbs this week! I am so excited about this! So far in the last 3 weeks since my procedure I have lost a total of 13 lbs! I've never used so many exclamation marks!! lol And over all including pre op weight loss I have lost a noteworthy 28lbs, over 12% of my body weight! BMI going down. There's a lot for me to report on. Today was/is my first day of soft foods and THIS transition has been an experience in itself let me tell you. I have a lot to say about this part of the experience so I am going to blog that so as not to suck up too much forum space haha. Carry on. That is all.

I keep forgetting to add my forum updates to my blog updates, so here is the post plic 1 month update from last Friday: It's been a busy week for me. I am happy to report though that at 1 month post plication, to date, I have lost 16 lbs! I am very happy with my progress and just continue to feel this was the best decision ever. I have been taking in 64 ozs of water since the required day we were to do that, week 1 of soft foods I believe it was. I enjoy my water intake. I have found it somewhat difficult to get all the calories in, so I am working on that. I am adhering to the Golden Rule at every meal, waiting both 1 hour before and 1 hour after meals to drink and feel good about incorporating this once intimidating aspect into my life. Even met a gal yesterday who has never had WLS but does the no drinking before and after food, she does this for 30 minutes either side and when I told her that I do this for 1 hour either side she was very impressed with my discipline. That made me feel really good, a great motivator. Today is Day 1 of regular foods. I had essentially the same soft food breakfast and lunch that I have been having, the only thing I did different was that I added 1 whole slice of toast to each meal, and added non butter butter. It was great and filling. For dinner I had 1 roll of sushi and a small salad with thousand island dressing. I know thousand island dressing is fatty, but because I am trying to get calories up, I had it. Won't do that again. It tasted super fatty! My palette is so cleansed that I am really sensitive to fats, disliking the amped up taste, it's like watching a movie in technocolor.. too much! So I will stick to my wish bones. Yep, i'm coming along nicely

Yes, definitely Gas X strips or Papaya enzyme (for gas). I would also make sure that you stock your home pantry for the liquids etc. that you are going to need when you get home. You may not feel like running around and shopping for things after you get back. Best of luck on your procedure! I look forward to following your great success.

So WOW. How to handle this all? Right? It was overwhelming for me to think about going from liquids to soft/regular foods. Liquids were easy because all I had to do was to make sure that I had liquid in my hands at all times throughout the entire day. I simply finished one kind and grabbed another. Easy PZ. For me, in order to master something totally foreign to me, while adhearing to the golden rule of no liquids within an hour of meals requires clarity. For me, clarity means scheduling. So this example is just for those who might want to know what it looks like to track things my way: 6-6:30 am Breakfast : usually oatmeal or cottage cheese and crackers (high fiber gluten free low calorie: Mary's Crackers) 6:30 - 7:30 am NOTHING 7:30 - 10:30 : Liquids: 32 ozs of water and a 16 oz protein drink w/ 23 grams of protein (syntrax nectar) 10:30 - 11:30 NOTHING 11:30 - 12pm Lunch: usually cottage cheese, grapes, crackers, or mashed potatoes (gluten free mashed potatoe flakes) 12 - 1 pm NOTHING 1pm - 5pm Liquids: 32 oz of water, 10 oz ensure w/ 9 grams protein, 2 yakults (for probiotics, zero lactose) 5pm - 6pm NOTHING 6 - 6:30pm Dinner: a fraction of a lean cuisine meal with mashed potatoes and veggies 6:30 - 7:30pm NOTHING 7:30pm - Liquids What I love about this plan is that the time frames are flexible. You can cut back an hour of liquids to add in a snack of fruit, etc. I also love that breakfast is a no brainer because when you wake up you already get an hour of not having had anything before, so that is a freebie! It should also be mentioned that I am gluten intolerant and cottage cheese aside, lactose intolerant, (cottage cheese has very small amounts of lactose so it sits ok with me), and vegetarian so my diets are based on no meat, no gluten, and no milk. Given that this is quite the speicalty I hope it can help others in the same boat With this way of scheduling, I get my 64 ozs of water in, at least 32 grams of protein in (plus what I can get from cottage cheese) and this is good until I can learn to incorporate more high protein foods. I'm still new to food phase so still looking up high protein low cal recipes I actually still enjoy my liquid intake more than my food intake. I do love incorporating fruit too, I believe I missed that more than anything. I also love that after 7pm i'm not eating anymore and having just liquids, so that sticks to another addage i'd always heard, don't eat food after 8pm.

So 2 weeks ago I had a really difficult week. I noticed that my emotions were going up and down like a rollercoaster. I was ranging from upset to super sensitive to hurt to mad. It wasn't happy. I read online and discovered that when you lose weight your fat cells release hormones and that can make you mood swing. Especially if you are losing weight more rapidly than usual. To remedy this, I went out and bought some Rhodiola tincture. A friend of mine put me on to these a few years back when I was going through some stressful moments. This has regulated my mood and now that roller coaster ride is a thing of the past. I feel so much better mood wise! I just wanted to blog about this in case others have similar things going on. I recognize that this is my body expeirencing this process and that it may not apply to others and the same goes for Rhodiola moderating mood. I am grateful though that it worked for me!

Thanks Canuck for the syntrax link! I love these and have to order more only 4 left!!

Hi Debra, nice to have you here. Welcome. I wish you every success with this new plication! It is a fantastic tool. I do steadily get my protein in, the problem for now is how to transition that from drink to food. I have been looking up recipes! Any suggestions??? I eat a lot of cottage cheese too, but I am vegan so no meat stuff here. Also, I am lactose intolerant so no yogurt either. For probiotics I have been drinking yakult and like it. I will drink protein shakes if I have to, but I found these nice drinks called Syntrax Nectar. I get mine from BJs Bariatrics. They are 23g in 1 packet and nice and tasty and no bulky powder. How are you doing on the golden rule of no liquids 1 hour before and after meals?

It's been a busy week for me. I am happy to report though that at 1 month post plication, to date, I have lost 16 lbs! I am very happy with my progress and just continue to feel this was the best decision ever. I have been taking in 64 ozs of water since the required day we were to do that, week 1 of soft foods I believe it was. I enjoy my water intake. I have found it somewhat difficult to get all the calories in, so I am working on that. I am adhering to the Golden Rule at every meal, waiting both 1 hour before and 1 hour after meals to drink and feel good about incorporating this once intimidating aspect into my life. Even met a gal yesterday who has never had WLS but does the no drinking before and after food, she does this for 30 minutes either side and when I told her that I do this for 1 hour either side she was very impressed with my discipline. That made me feel really good, a great motivator. Today is Day 1 of regular foods. I had essentially the same soft food breakfast and lunch that I have been having, the only thing I did different was that I added 1 whole slice of toast to each meal, and added non butter butter. It was great and filling. For dinner I had 1 roll of sushi and a small salad with thousand island dressing. I know thousand island dressing is fatty, but because I am trying to get calories up, I had it. Won't do that again. It tasted super fatty! My palette is so cleansed that I am really sensitive to fats, disliking the amped up taste, it's like watching a movie in technocolor.. too much! So I will stick to my wish bones. Yep, i'm coming along nicely

Hi Navid, I agree completely with Pam and Meredith. You cannot let your weight loss interfere with your daily social life. You just have to figure out a way to incorporate your new life style in. Good Luck and stay in touch here on the forum for support.

OK! Today there is A LOT going on! It is the end of week 3 and I have lost a total of 4 lbs this week! I am so excited about this! So far in the last 3 weeks since my procedure I have lost a total of 13 lbs! I've never used so many exclamation marks!! lol And over all including pre op weight loss I have lost a noteworthy 28lbs, over 12% of my body weight! BMI going down. There's a lot for me to report on. Today was/is my first day of soft foods and THIS transition has been an experience in itself let me tell you. I have a lot to say about this part of the experience so I am going to blog that so as not to suck up too much forum space haha. Carry on. That is all.

Hang in there Beverly, and keep in constant contact with the OCC. If you have questions about the jelly email Dr. Miranda, if you have questions about your procedure, email the Doctors. Does it feel different to you than the first time around? I wish you the best. Please keep coming back here for moral support. Keep talking to us sweetie! *HUGS* Ana

Hey Mer! Thanks for starting this post and for the shout out in the message It's true! We post all the time! You have a beautiful family. So checking in for roll call, i'm Ana and from NorCal. I had my plication done on July 20th, 2012 at the OCC and it is the best decision I have ever made. I will check in / weigh in tomorrow as I do on Fridays for my weekly anniversary. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks post plic. I can not wait to see what the scale says! You can see my weight progress in my signature line. So the whole lovely constipation thing. I have been able to go but only sporadically and not anything substantial. I can't wait to have that be regulated. I figure the way I will get around that is to buy some flax seed powder and stir it in to cottage cheese and oatmeal once i start my soft foods TOMORROW!!! Has anyone tried that? I have to admit, i'm kinda nervous to transition to soft foods. I feel a good amount of security being on just liquids and I have not been hungry except 1 day and that was only 1 small stomach growl and to regulate it, I did breathing excercises to get rid of it. I was totally water/juice logged and don't even know why that happened. It is amazing to me to think that I have been eating healthy since June! That was when I decided to do this. And I have been on liquids since July 18th! Wow. 23 days! It's been an amazing journey already. I have learned a lot about myself and have learned FINALLY to listen to my stomach in a way that is healthy and have gained mental control over my appetite. Honestly? I did not think there would come a time in my life when I would be able to say that my mind was in control of how I ate. I had felt like such a slave to cravings for so long! I feel so grateful to be experiencing this sensation and let me tell you, I will never let the stomach take over again. EVER. It's had control for most of my adult life! Thanks to the OCC I have a truly new lease on life! I have some questions for those of you who are going / or have gone through the soft food phase: 1. Were you able to get your protein in? I feel like i'm still going to need to get that from the drinks during soft food phase. I mean how much protein does cottage cheese, tuna and oatmeal have? No where near the 30-50 gram recommendation. And I bought these fantastic drinks called Nectar protein, 1 packet is 4 servings: 100 calories, 23 g protein, and I mix it with 16.9 ozs of water. That, my clam chowder soup, & my ensure give me my protein (38g). 2. How about fiber intake? 3. How much soft food intake were you able to take in the first day per meal? I have heard others say they could only take in 2 TBSPNs at a time. 4. Did you eat 3 soft food meals a day or more or less? 5. Did your initial soft food intake increase after the first 3 days? or week? 6. Did you have to start all over again when you went to regular food? 7. How did you do on having nothing to drink 1 hour before and 1 hour after soft/solid foods? OK! That's my intro. See u all tomorrow for weigh in at the end of Week 3!

Awww, You were thinking of me! *HUGS* I have been thinking about you too so thanks so much for the update! 12 lbs last month YOU GO MEREDITH!! I am totally sold, I feel better already and to just think of feeling better and better... WOW! I can't wait for it to keep on going! I hadn't thought about the sodium in pedialyte... hmmm, how much liquids were you taking in during your 2-3rd weeks of full liquids and did you ever get dehydrated? I would appreciate any/all information on how everyone is managing to stay hydrated because yesterday and today I started to feel the initial little pullings of cramps in the legs that want to come forth and I do NOT want that! Yes! It feels fantastic to be losing weight! Stay in touch And I look forward to hearing about how you and others keep/kept hydrated! Ana