15 months out, no complications all co-morbidities resolved (sleep apnea, GERD, High BP, etc.), off all medications, down -142 pounds (7 pounds below goal) You are welcome to read my story http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ Hope this helps, ~Michelle

Finally a surgery date...and i'm very nervous!!

As I have talked to people, dumping or what happens after you eat something too sweet, varies for everyone. For me it always, always, always involves very, very loose stools that are sudden and unexpected. I also get some nausea and stomach growls and things like that. it has caused me sweats and extreme tiredness as well. I look at dumping syndrome as a good thing. As soon as you can identify what did it to you, you don't want to eat that again. Ever. Period. I'm glad I still have the problem because it reminds me what not to eat. Like tonight. I will confess. I had been able to eat Starburst candies. Tonight, I ate too many and the sight was not pretty. It's a good thing I was home and close to the bathroom. (Sorry for being so graphic.) Just follow your eating plan and DON'T CHEAT! For me, one of the things I did pre-surgery was to cut out caffeine. I did that first about 3 months before surgery. Then, because I was a Diet Coke addict, I moved to caffeine free diet coke and then cut out soda all together and went to Propell for about a month prior to surgery. After surgery, I figured Propell would be Ok and would have been except it tasted too sweet to me. I preferred Crystal Light. Now, I just like plain old water. Sometimes I'll have the Crystal Light. I carry in the little individual packs. the other thing for me was the protein powders. I tried all kinds pre-surgery and found the ones I liked. After surgery, I couldn't stand ANY of them. I found that I could tolerate Liquid Protein from GNC. I put it in the Crystal Light and that worked great for me. It was horrible until I found that. Pre-surgery I didn't really like yogurt but after surgery it was one of my favorite friends. I found if I did not chew my food or ate something too bulky too soon, I got esophagus spasms. It feels like your throat is tightening up and won't let go. It's quite scary. Two things helped there. First, a doctor told me to take a prilosec every day. I've had other WLS patients tell me the same thing. i'd add it to your regimen after surgery. It really helped for some reason. Not sure quite why. Also, another doc gave me nitro tablets and told me if nothing else worked to take one of those. That is my last resort and it does work. Sometimes if I massage the back of my neck it also helps. I found that i can not tolerate dairy products very well. I can do the yogurt and cheese. But milk or sugar free ice cream does not work for me. sugar free popsicles were my best friends right after surgery. For some reason, anything berry or lemon flavored worked great for me. Also, I ate ground beef that was cooked and broken up before my 6 month period. I could tolerate that bette than chicken or turkey. Both of those are very dry and I would have to cut them up in really small pieces. I think you will do great if you just follow the surgeon's eating plan. I wouldn't buy a whole lot of stuff, just enought to get you through for a few weeks. On my list would be yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, Soup (chicken noodle straining out the noodles is cheaper than chicken broth and you still have the chicken noodle that others will eat), clam chowder, pasta (when the diet says you can have it), liquid protein (I'd buy 4--32 ounce bottles), Crystal Light. I also like Cream of Wheat and the Quaker Oat Bran hot cereal with some cinnamon, splenda and a little milk. When you can eat more stuff, be sure to focus on some veggies and fruits. I know the doc says eat your protein first, but we also need the veggies and fruit that give us vitamins. All of those should come before the starches. I found water aerobics to be my exercise of choice. I also did water walking when I didn't get to the pool for the aerobics class or when I needed to go exercise earlier than the class. If you stick with it, you'll find the inches and pounds melting away. Now, skin. That's another matter. Skin won't melt. It has to be cut away and at a high price. But still even hanging skin is better than fat. Best of luck. Let me know how you do. Who's your surgeon and where are you getting it done and when? Teresa

Jeff, Glad things are getting better. Tomorrow 7:00 is my day!! I am sooooo ready. Will let you know how it went. Debi

Lisa, there are a lot of us that haven't had any issues. We just tend to "lurk" around her more than most. I'd pop into other rooms to see what is going on. I did that. I would look at the month ahead of mine, then mine and now I check this one to offer any help to those coming after me. I think you will see that while some due have some complications, most are easy to fix. You can also click on peoples names and view their profiles. They tell you a lot sometimes too about what people go through. So use this board to really get a good picture. Good luck on your choice.