Iniysa

That with the back pain is classic gall bladder! If you haven't had a swallow study, like stated earlier, it is definitely something to bring up to your PCP. I had the white poop very late stage before my gall bladder was removed and I was seriously ill by the time I had surgery.

Sounds like a gall bladder issue with no bile being produced--at lease that's what it is for babies. Hope it's something simpler but it's definitely a symptom to share w your doctor.

Weird. Are you letting food sit in your stomach for a while or washing it through with Water? In other words, are you drinking while or right after you eat? I would call the doctor in any case. That seems unusual.

I remember reading something about that before. I want to say something with your liver.

I did a quick search for white poop and it doesn't seem to be normal. Good thing you have an appointment already. I did not have that as a sign of anything with my gallbladder. My gallbladder issues were severe pain from chest through to back and severe acid in my stomach.

No idea, but do keep us updated. Hope you feel better soon. Glad you are going to see the dr. If nothing else, it will relieve your mind to know what the cause is.

Will do!

Don't worry about TMI, I just asked a poop question! LOL

9 days out my poop is all kinds of messed up and changes on a daily. But white poop? weird. lol

I'm not a doctor - but I remember being curious about my changes in stool. This helped (link below) But always remember that even a simple symptom can lead to life threatening diseases that will make you die in 7 days, ACCORDING TO THE INTERNET. That was supposed to be a really bad joke by the way, my mom always tells me that when I run to her with my self - diagnosis... Definitely tell your doctor though.
http://www.doctoroz....ling-you?page=3

Congrats! Wait until you get that date, this it REALLY becomes real! See you on the losers bench!

It was asked of me last weekend if I could clarify one thing about WLS, if I could make one notable point that has not been mentioned what it would be. So I thought, hmmmm….
We are constantly reminded that after WLS our stomachs have gone from being a sources of distress, these large cavernous things that CAUSED us to be overweight, FORCED us into eating poorly, etc. to valuable tools we use to lose weight. We have changed our stomachs to be sure. What, however did we change them to? VGS is generally a laparoscopic procedure that removed most of the body of the stomach. Starting generally below the pylorus, the suture/staple/cauterizing procedure extended along the length of the body of the stomach and removed the greater chamber, and may or may not have removed the fundus. So now what, what does that mean?
Now we have our tool. We eat less, we have to. The weight comes off. It may drop like a rock or progress slower. Different body types, health issues, meds, and still the foods we choose to consume will help determine this. So we have a tool for weight LOSS.
Then we maintain. Now we just eat less and it stays off, right? If you have been on the forum for even a little while you will see it is not always that easy. There are still many questions, lots of issues and answers still to be figured out, each in our own way and time. Many questions are about how to use the tool in maintenance.
BUT this post is not about maintenance; it is about the in-between, one of the less mentioned but in my opinion more profound things we do with this tool that affects our success. I define success not by an ideal size or shape but ability - ability to be a size that allows me to be active, and healthy, and off at least some medication, to name a few things. These are not the only goals I have, but they are the achievements I have that I now use to have a far superior lifestyle to the one I had before.
A big shift I have undergone is that I recognized that my tummy did something I did not expect. It provided a way to eat less and it has definite, defined physical ways it has assisted me, no doubt. Mentally it has assisted and even raised more questions! Beyond that, however, there is something more, and whether or not I embrace it I think is the true test of how successful this will be for me. I am talking about the “gap”. I have tried to find any reference to it in the articles and such that I spend a bit of time reading but so far I have not found that many.
The gap I refer to is that space that we never met successfully when we dieted. The ‘ –‘ in yo-yo. That point where the adulation of successful weight loss, and health and compliments began to lose momentum. It lagged with stress of home life, maybe. It was the burger and fries when, honestly, even if it had been a lackluster salad one could have ordered that instead, heck ordered TWO, whatever to be full – but did not. It is the sinking feeling one get when 50 lbs. of weight loss did not make the ailing marriage better, or the bills did not pay themselves. Maybe the issues that were under those layers were still there and still hurt. food was there, with food came feelings of comfort and simultaneous guilt, and a yo-yo began before the weight even crept back on.
Here is the “gap” the ‘ –‘ in yo-yo, and here is where our new friends, our new tummies, kick in. I think it is much underrated in the WLS journey. Our sleeves fill the “gap”. In between that space that we could not overcome, that ‘– ‘ in the yo-yo. We do not eat the burger and fries, we cannot overindulge by volume. We have a means to bridge that gap, if we want it. I think our longest terms of success can be affected by how we choose to take advantage of this bridge over the gap. Better habits, educating ourselves on food choices, understanding what got us here, learning to forgive and set vanity aside. Repairing the mental damage from being in the shells we were in, this is something our sleeves offer us that we did not have before. Much more important than just eating less and as vital as exercise - we have time. Time to recover before we even stumble, time to get equanimity from our minds and bodies at the same time we do not regress to bad habits and start that journey back up the scale.
We have time to make time – days and months and years to in turn create space to enjoy those days and months and years. If we did not gain a day from this, we gain quality. You know the sayings about rather have quality of years over a lot of years? We get an opportunity for both!!! From VGS and the bridge it gave over the “gap”.

My story is similar. I looked in to WLS years ago but decided to try to do it on my own. In the years after: I went back to Weight Watchers, did medifast, nutrrisystem, three dr supervised diets, lived at the gym, had a PT and GAINED over forty pounds.
When I decided to have the sugery this time, there was no hesitation. I had tried everything else, this was my last option. I am now below where I was when I went to my first WLS siminar years ago, and going strong.
I have no regrets.
That being said, this is a huge decision you can't back out of once it's done. (That was a big appeal to me. I'm good at backing out, I love that I literally can't with this.) So make sure you're ready before you do this.
Good luck!

I had all kinds of flavors for my Protein drinks before the surgery. After the surgery however I couldn't stand any of them. Even sugar free is to sweet! The moral of my story is that you probably shouldn't rely on what you like before the sugary. Your taste buds will be changing drastically soon.
Sorry, I know I didn't answer your question, but I wanted to throw that out there.

I would be upset too. But look at it this way. There is a reason for everything, whether you figure out that reason or not. God does not just change things for no reason. He has a plan. I was upset when I learned how long it would be before I could get the surgery. But in the end, I was happy with it. It gave me enough time to really come to terms with what I was about to do. It gave me time to truly prepare.
I kept reminding myself that God has a reason, when I finally understood, I was glad.
Your turn will be here before you know it. In the meantime, keep praying, stay engaged with the program and remember patients.

I would be upset too. But look at it this way. There is a reason for everything, whether you figure out that reason or not. God does not just change things for no reason. He has a plan. I was upset when I learned how long it would be before I could get the surgery. But in the end, I was happy with it. It gave me enough time to really come to terms with what I was about to do. It gave me time to truly prepare.
I kept reminding myself that God has a reason, when I finally understood, I was glad.
Your turn will be here before you know it. In the meantime, keep praying, stay engaged with the program and remember patients.

I would be upset too. But look at it this way. There is a reason for everything, whether you figure out that reason or not. God does not just change things for no reason. He has a plan. I was upset when I learned how long it would be before I could get the surgery. But in the end, I was happy with it. It gave me enough time to really come to terms with what I was about to do. It gave me time to truly prepare.
I kept reminding myself that God has a reason, when I finally understood, I was glad.
Your turn will be here before you know it. In the meantime, keep praying, stay engaged with the program and remember patients.

I was initially scheduled for gastric bypass ( I initially wanted sleeve but I had reflux that was not being controlled). I cancelled two days before surgery. I got scared and decided I could lose weight on my own. I put on twenty pounds pretty quickly and scheduled an appointment with my surgeon. We talked about my fears, developed a plan for addressing my reflux, and scheduled sleeve surgery. you have to do this in your own time. But, I am so glad I did. That feeling of powerlessness and helplessness is gone. I am 3 months out and down 47 pounds from my pre-sleeve weight at this point. It is so to have this tool and see things moving in the right direction.

Since the surgery is irreversible, I would want to be sure before I did it. Do you feel you can do this on your own and succeed? Have you done it before and kept the weight off for a long time? If so, it might make sense to try again.
For me, nothing was working. I was eating very little and was still unable to lose it. When I did, it was always through drastic means and it would all come back even higher than before. I went into this with zero doubts and was very sure that i was not going to be able to do it on my own.
Having said that, I read posts here all the time about people who vacillated until the moment of the surgery so I think it comes down to how decisive you are. I am very decisive. If I'm waffling, there's a good reason why, even if I can't pinpoint it, and I have learned to listen to my gut.
If you are not always decisive (read, opinionated like me, lol) then if may just be a matter of reading as much as you can, and being as sure as you can before you proceed.

I don't know your exact circumstances obviously but I have spent almost my entire adult gaining and losing weight. Every time I have lost weight through diet and exercise I have felt really great and felt like I was on track to reach my goal and then eventually I have had something get in the way that broke me out of the healthy habits (frequently injuries) and I have gained the weight back plus more. I had the exact same doubts and questions you are expressing now but I realized that cancelling the surgery and doing the same thing all over again and expecting different results was truly crazy. I was just afraid of the surgery and the changes it will require in my life to all of the familiar things that I have loved for so long. It's a big change and a big commitment. I got my sleeve 8/13 and I am taking it one day at a time. Whatever decision you make, I wish you the very best, but please make sure you understand WHY you are making that decision before you make it.

My story is pretty much like Cowgirl Jane's. I tried everything & there was nothing left & I felt I was running out of time (or life), so I closed my eyes & jumped in! Good luck on your decision!

I was the same as CowgirlJane. I tried it all, a few times with varying success. It is a personal decision, one that you have to be ready to embrace. Doubts are normal, it is major surgery. You need to follow your heart and do what is best for you - and only you will know what that is.
Unless this is a dire situation and your comorbidities, if any, are making it a necessity, take your time and be sure in whatever you decide.
Best of luck to you!!

I spent a year torturing myself over this decision. During that time, I tried a variety of programs (in addition to the lifetime of things I had already tried.).... I did..
that hgc hormone thing
nutrisystems
behavior and nutrition counseling
a doctor supervised eating program
I think that year of hell helped me with my long term success. There is nothing like trying EVERYTHING that committs a person to making WLS a success!
Good luck whatever you decide.

I have lost and gained 100's of pounds over my life and tried everything except hypnotism...That is just freaky!!!
I was on a 4 year waiting list and to be honest...If I had been called the first 2 years i would have not been ready..But as everything kept failing and my life was getting more difficult it made perfect sense to me to do this..I never ever lost this much weight on any other diet and never felt this good either....55 and getting healthier....wow
For me it was the only solution left....i went through a lot after the surgery due to complications....5 months in hospital to be exact..But I would do it all again if I knew I could feel so much better...I am off blood pressure meds and stomach meds now......
That is only 1 benefit..But as Jason -in-Texas said be sure you understand why you are doing this and think through all your other options...If you decide to do it.....We are here to encourage and help anyway we can....
All the best!

I had a stricture in my esophagus. Well, I still do, really. It's gotten better but it's still not back to where it was before. It no longer bothers me, I'm used to it. From what I am told, however; it's not common.