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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/05/2024 in all areas

  1. 3 points
    BlueParis

    February 2024 Surgery Buddies?

    So I'm home! I'm 72.5kg (159lbs) this morning so I've made it halfway to my goal like a true @NickelChip twin. I'm home until Thursday when I fly off again but It's going to be a hectic few days ( and I don't even want to think of all the laundry I have to do!). Thats means that in the last ten days since I was home I lost 1.7kg or 3.74lbs which is less bad than I thought. @NickelChip The travelling is hard, I'm usually in hotels with client meetings and lunch and dinners most evenings - I tend to tell them I'm intermittent fasting so manage to skip one meal. I'm not against eating in my room in the evening but do prefer to be out because I just hate the amount of time I spend shut in hotel rooms and prefer to profit from the ambiance of wherever I'm staying. It's just such a massive change for me because I've always been a social butterfly out and about where ever I go ... I went to an international school ( well multiple international schools - I was an "Expat Brat / Third culture Kid") growing up so tend to have acquaintance to visit most places too, or have a random packet to give someones cousin/friend/old neighbor and food and alcohol have always played in a big part in that for me. Eating alone inside isn't really my thing. I've actually got an airbnb for Athens because it's a longer stay so should be able to cook in the kitchen there, and I reckon there will be better salads, but it's a good idea to keep a tub of hummus and crudités in the fridge, I'm not a great fan of yogurt berry combos, but might try... I have perfected my smile and head tilt for when people I meet say "oh my god thats so lucky you get to travel so much" 🙂 @gracesmommy2 I'm not a fan of chips but could go for edamame! I come from a family of tall thin women with massive boobs - I'm the shortest ( and fattest) by quite a bit, I'm 5 ft 6 and my sisters, aunts etc are between 5ft8 and 6ft and probably have BMI's round 20.... So even when I was skinny I've always had massive boobs, I was a already a double F at 14 when I was 110lbs. When I was up at 200lbs and over they got to ridiculous proportions and I'd have deep dents on my shoulders from my bra straps digging in the whole time. I'm happy they're getting a bit smaller but hope I don't loose too much and that they don't head too far south .. but if they do ..that's what good bras are for. That said I am lucky because they've never caused back pain! Do take pictures if you feel up to it - they are good to look back at to see progress, you too @LisaCaryl ... I'm sure one day you'll like to look back at them! @Briss72 @Noelle74 @Eighmmie How are you getting on?
  2. 1 point
    NickelChip

    February 2024 Surgery Buddies?

    @gracesmommy2 Thanks for the suggestion! I've just ordered a 10-pack of the sea salt flavor. I love anything that is small and protein packed.
  3. 1 point
    gracesmommy2

    February 2024 Surgery Buddies?

    @BlueParis Glad you get to be home for a few days at least and I think that’s a great weight loss! I’m happy for you. 😁 just wanted to throw these roasted edamame beans out there for you if you can get them. I find the multi flavored 24 pack on amazon to be the least expensive way to get them (about $1/pack). I know they aren’t cheap but I really like them and they’re like 100 kcals and 11 gm of protein in a tiny little .9 ounce package. They may be salty for some but I love them!
  4. 1 point
    Hi all, I am writing this for the >1% of gastric bypass patients who have the unusual complications that I had and, like me, couldn't find any information about it online to ease your mind. I had my gastric bypass surgery on September 7, 2022. I chose gastric bypass over the gastric sleeve specifically after months of research because of the higher rate of successful weight loss, particularly in women. My first week post-op went great, but after day 8 or 9 when I tried progressing my food intake from full-liquids to pureed foods I began vomiting and feeling really nauseous at every meal. I let my surgeon and dietitian know immediately and stepped my food intake back down to full-liquids. Pretty soon, I couldn't even take in full-liquids and was limited to hydrating fluids and chicken broth. I could keep down hydrating fluids and broth about 80% of the time, full-liquids 50% of the time, and everything else came back up. My surgeon was very responsive and had me get an endoscopy. Under general anesthesia, the endoscopy explored my new stomach pouch and roux limb connections that make up my new tummy system. Typically, gastric bypasses can result in constriction of the connection between the stomach pouch and roux limb, and my gastroenterologist was prepared to use a balloon to inflate the area to ease that restriction. In my case, however, that area looked fine, but further down the roux limb there was a stricture that was almost impassable for the narrow scope. This is what was causing my problem. I had an external compression on my roux limb that was making it impossible for anything more viscous than water to pass through. My layman's understanding of what had happened is that my surgeon brought my small intestine / roux limb up to meet my new stomach pouch through the transverse mesocolon. This involved cutting a hole through the transverse mesocolon to put the roux limb through and then stitching it up a little on either side to make sure nothing else will slip through the hole and cause a hernia. Apparently, this is typically sufficient and there is space enough in the hole in the mesocolon for scar tissue to form but still allow the roux limb to operate appropriately. Not in my case! xD My body and over-active immune system saw a hole and decided that hole must. be. fixed! The scar tissue that formed to close the hole closed tight enough on the roux limb and it was tight enough that barely anything could get through. I had a second laparoscopic surgery on October 12, 2022 to remove the scar tissue and loosen the compression on the roux limb. My surgeon decided to remove the small stitches on either side of the hole in the transverse mesocolon to reduce the chance that any new scar tissue will close the hole up as completely again. Immediately after this second laparoscopic surgery, I felt tons better! I stayed overnight in the hospital and was put straight on full-liquids, which I was barely tolerating before! The reason I am writing all of this out is because, in the month-long interim between surgeries, I couldn't find anything in my online research to figure out what was wrong, or what I could try, or what the next steps looked like, or how long, or why this was happening. I went for more than a month on little to no substantial nutrition, and I found so little information on what to expect or how long I would have to live like this. I even looked in these forums to see if anyone had asked about symptoms that are similar to mine and I didn't find very much information. So, I'm writing about my experience and using as many of the keywords I can think of that I've been searching for over the past two months! So! If you had gastric bypass and you start experiencing nausea and vomiting after what seems like typical food progression, please speak to your surgeon. It could be an internal stricture of the roux limb or the connecting bits, or in my case an external compression of some sort. From the very few resources I could find online, my type of external compression of transverse mesocolon on the roux limb seemed to occur in 0.9% of gastric bypass patients and it seems to happen within the first month. My surgeon pretty much immediately knew what was wrong, and her PA said she had seen it before, but not often, and it was new for my insurance caseworker. The inability to eat made it very difficult to complete normal daily tasks like my job, housework, walking the dog, etc. I wasn't in pain, I just couldn't get enough energy to do anything! My doctors moved quickly to get me back in for surgery, but it still took 4-5 weeks from starting to vomit at each meal to waking up from my second surgery feeling much better. I am so thankful that my surgeon was able to fix what was wrong with the scar tissue compressing around the roux limb; it made a world of difference! I'm not out of the woods quite yet, however. Six days after the surgery to repair the hole in the transverse mesocolon, I had a bad food day and nothing stayed down. I immediately reached out to my surgeon's office and today went in for an upper GI in which I intake contrast dye while a doctor observes how it flows through my new gastrointestinal system with an X-ray. That doctor said it looks like the connection between my stomach pouch and roux limb looks stenosed now. I am grateful that they found something and that there is an explanation for why everything I put in my mouth makes me nauseous and that there's a reason why I don't want to eat anything. I will be having another endoscopy in the following couple of weeks and, as ever, I am hopeful that this will be the last surgery that I need for my gastric bypass.
  5. 1 point
    learn2cook

    Needing some encouragement

    You are doing great! PCOS or menopause or something did slow things down for me, but the surgery does work. 2+ years out and I’m still tinkering with how carbs and preservatives trigger inflammation in me. I still track when inflammation strikes and you will find your ebbs and flows too. I don’t know if you tried WW or any other plan? I remember the normal loss of 1/2lb a week. Just keep thinking of how this loss compares. WLS does work. Body measurements helped me through the many stalls, speaking of which, you’re probably heading into or out of your “3 week stall.” It’s temporary, you will get to where you hope to go. Here’s to good health!
  6. 1 point
    ms.sss

    Needing some encouragement

    lots of folks on here post about being disappointed in their amount of weight loss immediately following surgery. i *think* its because they did a lot of reading and remember the huge weight loss numbers then compare it to themselves. the people who have huge drops are the ones who have waaaaaaaay more weight to lose than you, and frankly, more than most people on here. someone said it on here before and i'll echo it cuz i think its awesome and bang on: "comparison is the thief of joy". you are doing awesome. you have lost 13 lbs in one month. and while you may not see it, i TOTALLY see the missing 13 lbs in your before and after pics. like i mean, you have you SEEN the side by side of your midsection?? you finished one month, and you have several more months to go. can you imagine what the result would be in a year if you keep this up? even if you just lost 5 lbs every month for the next 11 months. pretty effing awesome, i think. keep on keeping on, you are doing great.
  7. 1 point
    summerseeker

    Needing some encouragement

    Who lost 30 pounds in their first month ? Not anyone your size. Who gave you these ridiculous expectations ? It could take a year to 18 months or so for you to be at a healthy weight. Your body will do what it will, you can not force the weight off your body. Stay off the scales, listen to your team and be patient.
  8. 1 point
    Well surgery went good today, went in any 11:30, woke at 3:30 got in room at 4:15. Doctor says surgery went very good. I have 7 incisions, been sipping water, and nodding out from pain meds. All in all, not as bad as I thought 💭 it would have been. Thanks to all the comment and do's and don'ts I've learned, being here on this page 📟 with the pre experiences from ppl here. I'm literally patient of the day, here on the gastric floor. Wanna thank everyone for the helpful information ℹ️ on the surgery. Now looking to further my education in the next stages of the eating process. The do's the don'ts, the can and can't have, and the how to's.
  9. 1 point
    NickelChip

    No weight loss

    The more I read up on nutrition, the more I'm becoming convinced that calorie restriction is not the way to approach weight loss. It actually sets us up for failure and yo-yo dieting. You need to reset your metabolic set point by choosing the right foods and listening to your body for signs of when to stop eating as opposed to counting numbers. When I reached my highest weight last summer, I found the Pound of Cure book by Dr. Matthew Weiner, and this greatly changed my thinking. I started following his program and lost 13lbs slowly and steadily, and without counting a single calorie or macro. Of course, surgery has helped tremendously, but the months I was just following Pound of Cure guidelines, I never felt hungry or deprived. His YouTube channel has hundreds of videos to help get you started. The book is really cheap on Amazon, and there are no soecial products or supplements you have to buy. Just healthy, real food. Anyway, my advice would be to start there and see if it helps.
  10. 1 point
    ms.sss

    Bad Knees and excercise

    Reformer PILATES. All the benefits of cardio and strength without the stress impact on joints. Its actually touted as great for mobility (joints, rotations, etc). I have recently become a reformer pilates addict so i may be biased. I started about 6 or so months ago going once a week, then twice a week, and for the past month i have gone 4 or 5x per week (i bought an unlimited plan at a local studio). i feel stronger (legs and core...my arms still need work lol), waaaaay more flexible (i was already pretty flexible, but now i could probably join a circus), and my abs are pretty frickin awesome to look at these days. it can get expensive, but studios do offer starter packs at a heavily discounted price for first time visitors...a friend of mine just studio surfs and gets starter packs everywhere lol. I also second swimming for low impact exercise...i used to go lane swimming much more before, but now maybe go once every couple of weeks with my Kid. while i love the actual swimming, i hate the changing/showering/etc afterwards, boo. there is also tai chi (never tried), yoga (love!), elliptical (not my cup of tea), cycling (also not for me as it hurts my butt). but the most important thing is to find something you actually enjoy as you will be more likely to continue doing it Good Luck! ❤️ But seriously, try reformer pilates!!

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