Beckyyb93

So, some of you know my story..it's long and kind of sad but in one week from today everything is going to change hopefully for the better. Everyone keeps telling me I'm due for some good luck and I was believing them until I called my primary care doctor today to set up a post-op appointment and they told me she is leaving the state on the 4th so won't be able to see me again. I just burst into tears..I'm kind of emotionally charged right now and getting this news exactly one week from surgery is seriously freaking me out. What if someone up above doesn't agree that I'm due for some good luck and this is just a sign I'm probably being really dramatic but I had just found this doctor and she was amazing and now she's gone. My last primary care doctor left the state in January so I'm just not having good luck staying with a doctor and I have to start all over AGAIN for the second time in the same year. She was helping me manage my pain medicine and was really understanding and understood why I needed it and didn't think I was a drug addict (I'm not but it always freaks me out to take narcotics, I've never even smoked a cigarette much less abused any substance) and she had a plan to help me stop taking them since I've been on them for a long time. Now I don't have anyone to help me ease off of them, she gave me a name of a doctor in a different practice and I set up a post-op appointment with her so I'm just praying that I'll like her and she will be half as nice as my last one. Please tell me that I'm being dramatic and this isn't a sign that my surgery is going to fail I'm freaking out..

I got some bad news today and it's giving me a bad feeling..I'm due for some good luck so getting bad news right before surgery is scaring me. I just switched to this primary doctor because my last doctor left the state to practice somewhere else and now I just got super comfortable with my doctor and she is leaving the state on the 4th she was supposed to help me get off the Lortab and now she's going to be gone..this is the second time in 1 year that I'll have to switch doctors and I don't want to. She was really amazing and now I have to start all over AGAIN. Hopefully the next doctor will be as nice and understanding as she is but I'm very weary..

I would have to agree, reflux for anyone is made worse after the sleeve even a friend of mine who never had GERD has trouble with acid post-sleeve. I think it's best to just nip it in the bud the first time!

Yup, same here, I made a post somewhere earlier that I am actually sad to see a few of my stuff to go. It took me long time, effort and money to build me wardrobe and now I have to say goodbyes. I mean it is great to lose weight but it will cost me a lot 'til I reach my goal weight Somebody suggested to have my clothings altered, I guess I will look into that, maybe a few of them can be altered without looking funny, but most of them has to be sold... Yeah, I'm not sure how well that would work out..also half the fun of losing weight is buying smaller new clothes even though I will miss some of my old favorites..I have some small favorites too though from before I gained weight that I have kept so am looking forward to being able to fit those!

Super!! You must be on cloud nine!!What can we do to support you in the next week? Sending positive thoughts. Boppin' Thank you, I'm definitely excited but a little nervous too not really because of the surgery but more because of the hope that this will fix the complications. I'm excited about weight loss too and getting back in shape but my fiance really wants me to focus on healing versus losing weight since that's the reason I'm really getting this surgery. It's really hard not to think about the weight loss and exercising too though since that's the reason I really got any surgery in the beginning but Matt wants to make sure I can get Protein, Water and Vitamins in religiously before I start doing a lot of exercise. We shall see, I'm crossing my fingers for both! Pre-op for me starts Tuesday

Yep, I'm before you so I'll let you know how I feel when that class starts so you can have some idea for your surgery! We should keep up with each other

Guys, in one week I'll be having surgery..this time is flying by! I'm so nervous and excited!!

Yeah, I literately have thousands of dollars worth of plus sized designer clothes and am very much looking forward to selling them. Most of it is Torrid and I get between $20-$35 an item which adds up fast when you have a whole bedroom converted into a closet..I'm a serious shopaholic! I can't wait to buy smaller sizes

There are two apps for your phone that I use religiously! The most common one is Poshmark and the trading app is Vinted. This is especially good if you buy expensive clothes like Torrid, things from Macy's etc. (which I do) I buy, sell, and trade on both of those. They also have desktop versions if you wanted to look at what they have before downloading. The bottom line is, if you have nice stuff you can make a lot of money and buy new clothes there! Also, on Vinted..people swap clothes in different sizes all the time. I'm Beckyyb93 on there too if you guys want to check out my "closet". Good luck!

I just signed up for classes..in order to get aid for one class I have to take 6 credit hours but the way it ended up working is a total of 10 hours..so much for my semester off to recover. Two of the classes will be online though so I will only have to be on campus once a week. I just pray that everything goes well and I can keep up with my schedule!

Yeah, sorry that last post was rather negative. The sleeve is a great option for some people, my best friend had the sleeve done and lost over 100 pounds and she is happy and healthy! That's what made me want the sleeve in the first place..I just happened to have a really bad reaction to it because of the GERD. Hopefully more surgeons will steer their patients with severe acid reflux towards the bypass because in the long run they will be much healthier. I try to be honest with people to make sure that they know surgery is still surgery and it might help you or there might be severe complications, there are success stories and people who desperately wish they could undo their WLS..you have to make an educated decision for yourself and your health. I'm hoping I'll have as good of results as you do!!

I second the major congratulations on the successful weight loss!! I'm sure more people will give you some more info but I want to make sure you know that you are 100% normal! Emotions fluctuate like crazy post op especially when your body is losing so much weight. There is a book that focuses specifically on your mind and emotions after bariatric surgery, I can't think of the name right now but I have it at home on my iPad and I'll update this post later when I get home so you can look into it. BariatricPal is the most amazing forum and there are so many people who offer support and prayers and can answer all of your questions...if you stick around you'll love it and I bet you will find yourself able to help some other people that are about to go through what you've already been through. This is a great place for healing both your body and your mind

Yay thank you! I've taken everything except Micro, it keeps getting pushed off in my schedule but I have to take it now. I'm so glad that you guys think it's doable! Hopefully I'll be feeling good by that point, it helps that it's a hybrid that only meets once a week too!

If you have ANY and I mean ANY GERD or heartburn get the bypass. It made my acid so so much worse and now my esophagus is permanently damaged because I got the VSG. If I could go back and do it again I would never have gotten surgery, my life post-op has been h*ll and I don't think it will ever be the same but I'm hopeful that the bypass will give me some relief. Good luck in your decision..

I'm praying for the same results!! I too had the sleeve and am having major major complications with acid so bad my esophagus is eroding and we are discussing cancer at 21..yikes! I'm revising to the bypass on the 1st of August and am so excited to get healthy and start eating solid food! I haven't had any solid food and have had pain with every swallow since surgery in 2012..I'm due for some good luck and am praying for a healthy recovery!

I'm scheduled for a revision from a sleeve to a bypass on August 1st. Some of you know my story, it's long...I had major complications with the sleeve and my esophagus is eroding at a stricture, I haven't eaten solid food since 2012 and they are worried about Barret's and then esophageal cancer and I'm 21..yikes! So, we are revising and I'm a nursing student. I had resigned to taking this semester off but just talked to my advisor and was told that if I don't take Microbiology this semester which is a moderately difficult class and 4 credit hours, I won't be able to start clinicals for another year. So, I think I'm going to take it, I found a hybrid class that is mostly done online then there is a lab on every Friday morning from 9:00-12:50 and the first class is on August 22nd. Am I crazy? I'm hoping to be healed enough to be able to do this class because waiting another year sounds awful. I'd love thoughts and advice, how were you feeling 3 weeks after you had your bypass? The first week will most likely just be sitting but from then on it will be interactive since it's a lab.

I got on the BA website and did the online chat with a representative and they are sending me a free sample of vitamins for the bypass. You guys should go on there too, free is always good and that way you can try theirs without having to buy a bunch!

There are tons of posts all over here with pros and cons, I'd suggest you do some reading around! You also have to think about your individual symptoms pre-op like if you have GERD you would be better off with a bypass because it eliminates acid/hearburn. The main difference (very short version) is the sleeve is just restrictive, you can still eat what you want in smaller portions later which can be both a blessing and a curse. The bypass is restrictive and malabsorptive which will help you lose more weight but can also cause dumping syndrome if you eat sugar/carbs and you need to seriously stick to your Vitamin regimen for the rest of your life since you aren't getting it from food. With the bypass there will likely be foods you won't ever be able to tolerate like the sweets which again is good and bad, you won't be tempted to cheat but you won't ever be allowed a bite here or there if you have severe dumping which can upset people. Good luck! If you have any questions feel free to ask. Also, I had a sleeve and am revising to a bypass in a few days because of the severe acid.

I love the raspberry ones, they taste like candy to me which is awesome because most Vitamins are hard to stomach.

I agree that there are vitamins that compare to the bariatric specific brands but in clinic there are so so many people who are Iron deficient so IMO unless your labs show constant high levels of iron, you need to be taking an iron supplement. I'm not as picky with patients on calcium but iron is just so important that it's worth it to me to take a chewable once a day, plus if you get the right kind it's cheap and doesn't taste bad.

It's exciting and it's coming up! Only 11 more days for me I bought a fitbit over the weekend and am loving it! You can hook it up to MyFitnessPal and it will track the calories you put out and the calories you take in. My Nut at the hospital can monitor my MFP account so she knows exactly what I'm eating..pretty nifty! If you guys have MFP accounts and or fitbit accounts add me, my username is the same there as it is here: beckyyb93 We can help motivate each other after surgery because as I'm sure you all know it will get tough and having buddies to give pep talks helps a ton!

I'm only on a 3 day liquid diet, my surgeon tailors it to your starting BMI. food funerals are very common and I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm enjoying some foods that I love knowing it could be the last time ever if I have bad dumping and if not at least for a while. Though, if you get the sleeve you will definitely be able to eat your favorite foods after you heal. I'd also be lying if I said I'm not praying hard for you to get a bypass, I know you wanted the sleeve but your GERD worries me so much since I had the same thing and am now in bad shape 2 years later and revising. Don't overdo the food funerals because you don't want to put on weight prior to surgery but I don't think it's too naughty to enjoy some food before you have surgery

If your dr thinks you may have an autoimmune disease, you should start with a Rheumatologist. Your internist should be able to refer you to one. I am not sure about waiting or not waiting until after the surgery to do this. If you are started on some type of biologic you will have to stop it prior to the surgery and then after the surgery at your surgeons discretion. I will definitely do that but I think it's best to do it after surgery and after everything is calmed down a little bit with me. I couldn't get my surgery scheduled in time to take classes as a full-time nursing student this semester so I have to take a whole semester off as a break. I'm halfway through and it's not the end of the world but also not ideal. The good part is, I'll have this whole semester to get my health back in shape and will be completely free for doctor's appointments galore! I am also glad I get to have some down time while I adjust to another surgery and let me esophagus heal from the erosion caused by the first surgery. Maybe they will find something, that would be awesome..until then I'm crossing my fingers for a successful bypass!

I order my bariatric vitamins from their website. They are cheaper than in the docs office. I use the 500 mg also. I only haven to take 2 a day now. I have used some of the celebrate products and they are cheaper. Their caramel chews dont taste as good as BA tho. And i cant stand the taste of their chewable multivitamins. BA's aren,t delicous, but much better than celebrates. I only use their sublingual presently. They are ok. You can also get some BA from Amazon. Their chewables are more exspensive than BA's website. Everyone is so different! I love Celebrate's Multivitamin and hate BA's. I think it will just take trial and error..

Both of my surgeons (in the same practice w/ different specialties) let me bring the GasX strips to the hospital for use on the first night and I've never actually heard anyone say they weren't allowed those..they help so much! Good luck