You do not need to do anything to treat the scars. They will fade in time. I do remember using Merderma, but I don't think it made any difference.

My husband had his surgery Oct 2018. He got protein powder and put it in everything...yogurt, applesauce, etc....

Realise that noone is entitled to your medical history, so if wait staff comment or indeed, anyone comments on what or how you eat. A simple, "it was delicious, but I'm full" is PLENTY of information.

If your surgeon is one of those that gives you a card asking for permission to eat off the Children's menu, tear it up and put it in the trash. Kids meals are not good nutrition! You draw attention to yourself and frankly a restaurant is under no obligation to allow you to do so! Choose an appetizer or entree and take the leftovers home. I choose off a menu depending on what i think will reheat well or only dress half a salad etc.

As long as you like leftovers, it's great. My husband and I went to breakfast and I got a veggie egg white omelet that I ate for four days. It was very cost effective!

I would make sure you check your feelings before deciding to go out. Make sure you are not emotional, and are prepared to eat just a little. You may get concerned questions from servers about why you didnt eat more. Prepare to be surrounded by things you cannot have. It takes a lot of willpower, but with preparation and the right state of mind, its doable. Oh! And maybe look at menus online ahead of time so you know what to get and are not overwhelmed! You can then research nutrition info and ingredients lists as well!

This topic hit home today. One of my colleagues is organising a group lunch for Christmas. (We have to do it in November because so many people are on holiday in December). I didn't want to go because of the whole I-can-only-eat-a-tiny-portion thing. Now, I'm sure they would be happy to choose a restaurant where I would feel comfortable ordering a side dish, but frankly that would make me feel just as bad, knowing that I had limited the choices.

Also, they want to do a Secret Santa gift exchange. However, I'm trying to to limit the amount of waste I generate. Giving gifts to family or close friends is OK, because you know them well enough that there's a chance they will actually want the gift you choose. But whatever you get for a colleague is too likely to just go in a drawer or be re-gifted to someone else who also doesn't want it.

I hate to be a grinch, and I really enjoy Christmas, so I agonised over the decision, and whether or not to explain. (The colleague who is organising it knows I've had WLS, so I wouldn't mind explaining my concerns, but I don't want to make her feel bad for organising this.) Finally I just said sorry, I won't be participating, but I hoped they had a lovely time. I am doing other things to bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the office, though.