E-girl

Omg. The abdominal binder helped so much. Thanks.

I just had my revision on Sept 10. And so far I have had zero acid reflux. Normally I have it 2-3 x a week. Still really early to tell since I am only on Clear Liquids but I am looking forward to losing the 50lbs of the 100 I gained. Oh and I can sleep flat on my back now. Instead of at a 45 degree angle.

How long did your incision pain last? Day 5 and it’s only slightly better. Would like to stop the pain meds because they turn my stomach.

The hat really makes the outfit.

Getting ready to go. I had second thoughts but I am ok now. Wish me luck friends!

Thanks everyone. I think I was just freaking out because I am scared and don’t really have someone to talk to about it. People are used to me listening to all their problems and getting advise or just venting their feelings but when it comes to me and mine, they don’t have the time. This whole thing has really open my eyes to who my friends really are. Anyways, I am going to do it. Today is the day. Not looking forward to the next couple of days because I remember the pain from last time but I am looking forward to my skinny jeans. ?

So I was reading an post yesterday and now I am having serious second thoughts. I may not even show up tomorrow to surgery. The post was about Reactive Hypoglycemia, a side effect to bypass that can develop 2 the 10 years post bypass. In the post, the patient had symptoms 1 to 2 times a year at first and now is having them 2 to 5 times a week. Patient occasionally passes out because of it. When I had my sleeve six years ago I had experienced those symptoms and I just thought it was because I forgot to eat. It was a weird feeling of dizziness, confusion, and I was with a client at the time and I nearly passed out. It scared the crap out of me. I started doing research online and discovered an article from 2017 that identified that this is happening to 1/3 of bypass patients and is not something that is discussed typically with there doctor. Reactive hypoglycemia may be related to dumping syndrome but can be far more dangerous. In extreme cases the bypass needs to be reversed to fix the problem which brings me to my fear. In my case they will not be able to reverse my bypass after I have it as they are removing the stomach because the polyps I developed taking PPIs for Gerd. So now my challenges is do I live with Gerd and run the risk of getting Barrett’s syndrome and Possible esophageal cancer or do I have a bypass and run the risk of getting reactive hyperglycemia ? Thoughts anyone?

2 days left until my do over surgery....whoooo hoooo.

Oh crap. Didn’t know that! Thanks. At least it was the first day.

I cheated. Had a hand full of chips. Epic fail.

Me too. Minus the gallbladder. Had that out early this year.

Crazy...I just started my 2 week liquid diet too. I really just want to eat chips. I almost convinced myself that it was ok to eat a left over baked potato and steak from last night because after all you shouldn’t throw away good food. What is wrong with me?!? Can you freeze potatoes? What time is your surgery and what are you having done?

Proton-pump inhibitors (ppi). You need to go back to your surgeon to report that. I had to go on several different ppi drugs. I had a Gastric Sleeve done in 2012. Developed acid reflux and now have GERD. Unfortunately for me the GERD was not controlled with the ppi. Now have a serious hernia and developed Barrett's esophagus. Having a GS revision to Bypass in September. You can develop Barrett’s esophagus when acid reflux is not controlled. Barrett’s can turn into esophageal cancer in 5% of patients.

I had GERD that’s was not controlled with meds. For 5 years, about 3-4 times a night i would be woken up from it. For 3 years, I have been sleeping sitting up and it still happens. I think because I know how much it’s gonna hurt and the eating part was such a challenge, I am freakin out. I am freaked out because now taking action could lead to cancer. I should be excited because I know the 40+ I gain will be coming off but I am really scared. When I given the time to think about, I can feel the anxiety come on.

Well I guess it’s official. Just checked my chart messages and I have been approved. I am super surprised how quick it was. I was sleeved 6 years ago and have complications. It took only 14 days. I had it in my mind that picking a date for surgery before getting approved didn’t make it real. Super real now! I just not sure how I feel about it. When I had the sleeve I was super motivated, studied the material they gave me, dreamed about shopping for new outfits, etc. but because I have barrett's syndrome with abnormal cells in my esophagus, I am just freaked out. I having really talked to my husband because he’s freaked out to. Don’t want to stress him out as well. Feeling kind of alone for this go around.

So it's been awhile since I have been on this website. I probably shouldn't have stopped blogging my progress. I have gained some weight back. About 15 lbs. not too happy about that. I started this summer. A pound here a pound there. Then October I started packing on the weight. 2.5 in October. 2.5 in November, 5 in December, 2.5 in January, and 2.5 in February. I recognized that the weight was coming on but I kept telling myself that it would come off fast just like before. Well that's not the case. I have been struggling. And I am very frustrated, very disappointed, and a little scared. I lost my confidence for sure. BUT, I made a promise to myself that I was gonna get this turned around and lose the 15 I gained. One of my issues is not doing any exercise. That can be attributed to my change in work schedule. I have been temporarily assigned to a location 2 hours way so every day is a 13 hour day for me, 2 hour drive, 9 hours working, and 2 hours drive home. There is light at the end of the tunnel. My project ends next week. And I am happy to report that I started working out again 2 days ago and I have an appointment with a pilatites instructor on Saturday. My second issue is my eating has been inconsistent with the doctors instructions. And it is so easy to get off track. I can eat more now. I have been eating things that are not on the approved list, like bread, rice, and pasta. I haven't been getting enough protein in if at all and I have been waiting too long to eat. Instead of eating three meals and two snacks I've been eating three meals no snacks high carbs high sugar just junk. I also have been eating out a lot. Which is not bad and of itself but the places I've been eating has been fast food and bad fast food like I've been going to Popeyes eating the biscuits and fried chicken, McDonald's small cheeseburger small fries and sweet tea, I've been eating portion sizes that are larger than the three-quarter cup 1 cup restriction. I've been spending longer time eating instead of restricting myself to the 30 minutes so I can eat more in one sitting. And lastly I've been eating when I'm not hungry just bored or for entertainment. I think mainly that's because I'm not drinking enough water so instead of really being hungry I'm really just dehydrated instead of drinking water first I reach for food. Finally, my husband was also had a surgery has not been the best at the diet either. He eats bags of chips, buy ice cream for the house, buys chocolate and candy for the house, and rather go out to eat. So I came up with an action plan to try to get myself back on track. Step one was to start exercising which I started this week and tomorrow I have an appointment with a Pilates instructor. Step two, I started tracking my food through my fitness pal again and I bought one of those step trackers. Step 3, blog blog blog. Anyway, I will let you all know how it is going.

OH... and make sure you have all your food that you will need for the first 2 weeks so you don't have to send someone out to get you the wrong thing. Clear Liquids only (Chicken, Veg, and Beef Broth, Decaf Tea and Coffee-no creamer, Spenda, Crystal light, sugar free apple cider, sugar free popsicles) and protein shakes with at least 20 grams of protein per serving. Don't even think you can have bread, rice, or pasta. All three will expand in your stomach and could possibly cause a leak. Also I did liquid vitamins for the first 2 weeks but you can do chrewable tablets (no gummies).

Hair loss occurs for two reasons...lack of protein and the body reaction to major surgery. Your body is trying to repair itself and you are not able to take in the same amount of protein and calories as you did prior to surgery. When this occurrs, your body has to prioritize what it need to do with the calories you are taking in...A. repair the body and maintain organ health or B. grow hair. It's going to choice "A" always! Hair loss is usually temporary occuring between month 3 and 6. If it continues beyond 6 months, then you need to increase your protein intake.

Congrats!. Take a small pillow with you so that you can hold it on your belly if you need to cough. Make sure you get all your pain meds filled before you leave. I recommend liquid pain meds so that you don't have to crush the pills (yuck). As far as class, I think Monday will be too soon. The first 4 days are the hardest and most uncomfortable. By day 8, you should be well enough to go to class but ideally 14 days is preferred. My doctor stated that 8 weeks is when I was able to go back to normal exercise.

Well, its been 9 months since I was sleeved. I am very happy with the results. In fact, I don't think I have ever been this thin not that my goal was to be super thin. It really weird to see my reflection. Kind of a nice surprise everytime it happens. Now that my husband has been sleeved too, it is even easier to make good food choice. Nothing was worse than having to try to order a health food option off a menu when everyone around you is ordering cheeseburgers and fried chicken. Its nice to have somewho is that closed to me to truely understand my food challenges. Not that he was wasn't supportive before the surgery...he just can relate more now. I have lost 96.8 lbs. I started at 208lbs on December 2011. I don't have some excess skin but to be honest it not that bad. There are only 3 areas that really bother me and I saw a plastic surgeon for those areas last week. I have excess skin in my arms, belly, and butt. The good thing is that I only need two surgeries to correct these areas. The bad new is the its going to cost $15,000 to fix it. The one thing I was really pleased with is that I am a canident for a short scar arm lift brachioplasty. The short scar arm lift is achieved by tightening the skin of the upper arm and making an incision in the armpit instead of an incision from the elbow to the armpit. The other really good news is I can take care of my belly and my butt in on operation for a lower body lift. This doctor even offered to do fat injections in my butt to make it rounder, which I have never heard of. Because its so much, I think I am going to do the arm lift first because that bothers me the most ($5,000) then wait a year and do the lower body lift ($10,000) this will also give me time to save for the lower body lift since its so much.

Why didn't they do a scan first before they opened you up? That is what my doctor did. It showed that I have a fatty liver and he instructed me to lose X amount of weight before the sugery, which I did. My husband same thing but he was still big but not so big that they couldn't continue. Ask if they can do a scan the week before so that you don't have to go through that again.

It happens to everyone. Your body is just trying to hold on to your weight because your calories are low and it thinks your starving. It can't hold on for long. I have stalled 3 times on 6 months for 1-4 weeks. Just came off of my last 3 week stall and boom...I lost 3 lb in 3 days (this Friday, Saturday, and today). Just keep doing your diet and workouts. It will kick into gear.

I had my days where I would regret the surgery in the beginning but things really turned around after month 4. That was about the time my food addiction and head hunger kind of stopped and I started working on my new relationship with food as only a source of fuel and not comfort. Now I am 6 months out. Lost 87 lbs. I am 1 lbs from my doctor's goal. I past my personal goal a month ago. I am really happy now. Sure I miss some things about eating but now when I go out to eat with other people and I see how much they are stuffing their face with foods that are soooo not healthy for you, I get a little sick...like physically sick. I remember doing that same thing and at the time thinking "it tastes so good" and it felt good at the time but an hour later I would be crying about how fat I was or how nasty I felt from just over eating or I had to unbutton my pants just to get comfortable. Now I have a few bites and I am done. Everyone else is leaving the table feeling gross and I am thinking...ha ha...I am still a size 2, XXS and I look hot in these jeans! I still think about food but now I am worried about not getting enough Protein in or making sure I get to 1200 calories today. Just remember, those things that you miss right now…those are the things that made you unhealthy and have surgery in the first place. Everyday gets a little bit better.

I use Premier Nutrition Vanilla Shake and mix in 6 oz of 50 calorie OJ. Tastes like a cremesicle. 30 gm of protein per shake.

I am very glad I took a before pic of myself. It's actually very motivating. Let’s you see the changes that you can’t see in a mirror. I took a picture every month on the about the same day and did a Powerpoint slide with weights and sizes. My only regret is that I didn’t have my measurements.