Daydra

I'm really mad at your medical team on your behalf. You are 5'7" and weigh 391. Your resting metabolic rate is around 2475 cal/day (that's before added exercise). At your height and weight, even a brisk walk is probably burning you 12-15 cal/min. At 1000 cal/day, you should be losing about 1/2 pound a day if you are exercising. If you are getting enough Protein, you are not getting too much fat, and even so, at the level of calories we consume after surgery, we need to get fat in too. As far as carbs go, I'm in no way convinced that 75g/day is too much. Your medical team is effing with your head here. Based on where you are post surgery, I would expect that you are experiencing what many of us experience several weeks out... a period where your body is adjusting to what you are giving it. I don't believe there was any need whatsoever to reduce your calories.
As far as starving... yes, we absolutely can. I hope no one tries to convince themselves that they can cut calories as low as they want and suffer no ill effect. We do have a bit more buffer time, but it's not infinite, and it doesn't even last as long as we might expect. If we don't get an adequate amount of nutrition, we will experience muscle wasting and we will experience extreme fatigue, fainting, all kinds of nastiness... and the gift that keeps on giving is the up to 40% reduction in our metabolism that will have to be rebuilt over time with a lot of effort and hard work.
You are only getting maybe 20-25% of the nutrition your body is using daily. I dropped down to that level myself. (I'm only about a week further out than you and have a kink/torsion which is making it really hard to get a reasonable amount of food/fluid each day. I thought I had gotten really dehydrated due to lack of energy, dizziness, etc. but my bloodwork showed that I wasn't. When I discussed what I was able to eat with my surgeon, she said the problem was far more likely to be not getting enough food. I'm still struggling to get 600 cal/day and about 60g Protein. Carbs are around 50 right now and fat is around 20. I am still experiencing light-headedness and fatigue. In fact, I got up late today, so I didn't get to eating right away and I nearly passed out in the shower. That is no exaggeration. I seriously was trying to prop myself up on the walls until I could lower myself to the edge of the tub to sit down.
Anyway, don't be hard on yourself if you feel like your body isn't getting with the program. For many, it takes awhile to see consistent loss, and it doesn't mean that you are eating too much of anything. Your body just needs time to adjust. If your medical team can't accept that, I am really sorry, but you will have to let their criticism go in one ear and out the other and examine their advice carefully before following it.
Best of luck. Whatever you take from this post, know that you are not at fault here. I know that you will be successful! Good luck! (sorry... apparently I only know how to write War and Peace in these things...)

I'm really mad at your medical team on your behalf. You are 5'7" and weigh 391. Your resting metabolic rate is around 2475 cal/day (that's before added exercise). At your height and weight, even a brisk walk is probably burning you 12-15 cal/min. At 1000 cal/day, you should be losing about 1/2 pound a day if you are exercising. If you are getting enough Protein, you are not getting too much fat, and even so, at the level of calories we consume after surgery, we need to get fat in too. As far as carbs go, I'm in no way convinced that 75g/day is too much. Your medical team is effing with your head here. Based on where you are post surgery, I would expect that you are experiencing what many of us experience several weeks out... a period where your body is adjusting to what you are giving it. I don't believe there was any need whatsoever to reduce your calories.
As far as starving... yes, we absolutely can. I hope no one tries to convince themselves that they can cut calories as low as they want and suffer no ill effect. We do have a bit more buffer time, but it's not infinite, and it doesn't even last as long as we might expect. If we don't get an adequate amount of nutrition, we will experience muscle wasting and we will experience extreme fatigue, fainting, all kinds of nastiness... and the gift that keeps on giving is the up to 40% reduction in our metabolism that will have to be rebuilt over time with a lot of effort and hard work.
You are only getting maybe 20-25% of the nutrition your body is using daily. I dropped down to that level myself. (I'm only about a week further out than you and have a kink/torsion which is making it really hard to get a reasonable amount of food/fluid each day. I thought I had gotten really dehydrated due to lack of energy, dizziness, etc. but my bloodwork showed that I wasn't. When I discussed what I was able to eat with my surgeon, she said the problem was far more likely to be not getting enough food. I'm still struggling to get 600 cal/day and about 60g Protein. Carbs are around 50 right now and fat is around 20. I am still experiencing light-headedness and fatigue. In fact, I got up late today, so I didn't get to eating right away and I nearly passed out in the shower. That is no exaggeration. I seriously was trying to prop myself up on the walls until I could lower myself to the edge of the tub to sit down.
Anyway, don't be hard on yourself if you feel like your body isn't getting with the program. For many, it takes awhile to see consistent loss, and it doesn't mean that you are eating too much of anything. Your body just needs time to adjust. If your medical team can't accept that, I am really sorry, but you will have to let their criticism go in one ear and out the other and examine their advice carefully before following it.
Best of luck. Whatever you take from this post, know that you are not at fault here. I know that you will be successful! Good luck! (sorry... apparently I only know how to write War and Peace in these things...)

From what I can tell based on reading here, you've asked two separate questions. One, how much Biotin to take, and two, how to prevent hair loss. They don't appear to be related
I'm being a bit facetious, but only a bit. A lot of people here have said that despite keeping up with their Protein, Water, Biotin, fish oil or other juju, their hair still fell out. Others have taken no supplements for their hair, and not had it fall out, and yet others took something and their hair didn't fall out so they think it was because of what they took but who knows?
All in all, it seems like a crapshoot. I'm not quite sure if I will take it or not. 5 weeks post-op, I'm already losing more hair each time I Shampoo.< /p>

Hello VSTers...
This past labor day weekend.. I took a short vacation and visited San Francisco and met with a friend who has not seen me in person for over 2 years.. (she did see my weekly update pictures though..)
I’ve been overweight/obese for as long as I remember.. and being invisible is my specialty.. but not this weekend! This is going to be one weekend that I will always remember..
First, I walk to my terminal in airport.. all worried that I was not going to fit in the plane seat.. and a pretty young teen walks up to me and says.. “You look pretty..” I had the biggest smile when I said thank you..
Second, I fit my seat…I actually had a little wiggle room!
Third, my friend was flying in an hour later than me to SFO.. so I was waiting for her and I started waving to her when she stepped out.. She kept looking back.. not knowing who I was..
Fourth, one of the guys in a restaurant was more interested in “me” than my skinny friend!!! That never happens!!!! Never! And I clearly did not know how to react..
Fifth, downtown SFO.. my friend and I were crossing a road.. and I got called out.. “Hey.. you look pretty!” by a wow looking guy.. I’m yet to believe that I was not dreaming.. he he.. and the thank you that came out of my mouth was very awkward! I just wanted to dig an hole and hide my head in there.. :ph34r:
Sixth, I can’t stop looking at the pictures we took.. for once.. I’m smiling in the pictures!
Thank You... for reading that.. no skinny person is going to understand how it feels to be not invisible!

I just want to take a minute to throw out a general thank you to all that are willing to share photos (particularly the gritty, unclothed, saggy skin photos). I think that most of us are going to face some really serious sagging skin and feel just as body conscious, or even worse, than we did about our weight. Seeing that we aren't the only ones that have to deal with this undesirable side effect really helps the negative self-talk where we feel like we're defective or have destroyed our bodies. We don't have to feel like we must be the only one that has skin this saggy, yada, yada, yada.
Heartfelt thanks for being so brave!

It has been awhile since I have posted here. So long, that I almost forgot that I was a member. September 15th will make 5 months since I had my surgery. A lot of things have changed for me. First off, the Protein shakes, had to stop. At first they were easy, and great. Except, I could only drink one kind and only one flavor of that kind. Everything else was making me sick. Of course, two of the same flavor, of the same kind, twice a day, every day, after a few months, also started to make me sick. It got to the point where I was getting sick, thinking about drinking the shakes. My meal also changed. After the healing seemed to complete, I noticed I started eating more often. At first this bothered me, because the idea of eating more often, seemed in my mind to defeat the purpose. Yet, I also noticed that I was eating a lot less.... just more frequently. I also noticed I was drinking a lot more fluids then I had ever done. I also, have not had a drink of soda, since my surgery, which I think probably also helped. I noticed that bread, will not be eaten again. That includes cake, Bagels, doughnuts, etc. I have tried almost all of these things, and while it does not make me sick, it hurts. I am not a fan of pain, so I do not try them again. I find that I do not miss any of them. I have noticed that I have a very huge craving for grapes. I now go through grapes, like I used to go through milk. I used to go through a lot of milk (something else I find, I do not miss.)
Well, after almost 5 months, and fearing that my eating was going to become a problem, I have lost 92 pounds. I am very close to the goal that my doctor set for me, and I believe I will pass that goal. Some other things that have changed. I am off all of my medications, except for my thyroid. Since I eat more times a day then I used to, I find foods that are high in Protein for Snacks, such as tuna. For the first 3 months, I could not eat tuna, but my dietitian told me to keep trying. She said that if I am going to cut out the Protein Shakes, I needed to find other sources, and tuna is a great source. So far, now at 5 months, I find I can eat tuna again. In fact, other then the breads, I have found that I can eat just about anything. My sweet weakness is M&Ms. I usually eat a bag of them a week. Which compared to how I used to eat them.....much much different. I also have a weakness for chocolate chip frappachino from Mcdonalds. I had someone tell me, I should not drink those, but I compare it to what I used to get at Mcdonalds. One meal at Mcdonalds for me used to be, a double quarter pounder, large fries, two mcdoubles, and a milkshake. Now a meal for me at Mcdonalds is the frappachino, and thats it. So I felt guilty at first, but not so much in contrast. That and instead of going like 3 times a week, I go like once a month.
I also found out, that I can run. I started running a mile every morning. It was only taking about 7 minutes once I got into it, that I thought that was not enough time. So now, I run for 30 minutes every morning. One day I will try to see how far I am going. I leave my house, and run for 15 minutes, and then turn around and run back. It is amazing, because I would not run before. I used to have a joke at work, that if someone made me chase them, they would get hurt if I caught them for making me run. Now, I have had to chase people, and smile the whole time I am doing it. In my local area, I am signed up for two 5ks.... coming up in October, and another run, called a Mud run in December. That one has an obstacle course, which I think I need some training for. Learned about something called a Zombie run, which I will be doing next year.
As far as more personal things, there was a rumor that I was told about.... size. I am talking about the little guy size....downstairs. Anyway, I was told that for every 30 pounds lost, I would gain an inch. I thought that was complete BS, yet, it was extremely pleasing to one day wake up in the morning, and notice that I could see.... everything. In a way that I had never experienced. Then to top it off, my wife, told me some stuff about things that could not be done before, that was being done now. I do not want to go into detail, but that rumor, seems to have a bit of truth behind it. Something I used to be ashamed of, I am now very proud of.
My kids have noticed a difference with me as well. I am doing all sorts of activities with them. Went to a Water park with them, and they where shocked that I went on the slides with them. Something I would not even think about doing before. I had an amazing time, and I am sure they will remember it for a long time. Something I do not think I would have been doing before I had the surgery.
I also got very luck with loose skin. As, so far, I do not have any, and have been told by the doctor, that I might not have any. He said to make sure, once I lose to the point I feel comfortable, I should start weight training. That building up muscle, would help fill in the skin, that was full of fat. Sounds like a plan to me. Anyway, that is my story so far. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me.

No stricture thank goodness. MD said to just give it time, that everything looked good. Interestingly, I got to see my new tummy and the incision line. Makes me appreciate the magnitude of what I had done and how truly amazingly quick our bodies recover! It is no joke in there!

I just want to take a minute to throw out a general thank you to all that are willing to share photos (particularly the gritty, unclothed, saggy skin photos). I think that most of us are going to face some really serious sagging skin and feel just as body conscious, or even worse, than we did about our weight. Seeing that we aren't the only ones that have to deal with this undesirable side effect really helps the negative self-talk where we feel like we're defective or have destroyed our bodies. We don't have to feel like we must be the only one that has skin this saggy, yada, yada, yada.
Heartfelt thanks for being so brave!

If you think that you might be able to afford the monthly payment of an additional, individual policy (I've heard rumors that individual policies rarely cover bariatrics, I have no idea if this is true), what about just financing the procedure in the US? Mexico is an option, but you have to remember that you have to add all travel expenses to your total cost, though many still find that cost effective. There are some companies that finance medical procedures. My clinic uses Bliss and Care Credit. They recommended I try Bliss because they had better rates in general. My clinic also offers, through Bliss, 90 days of insurance against complications in the cash price (I bought up to a year, it was only about $150 out of my pocket for the buy-up). I financed about $18,000, didn't get the lowest rate, and my payment is under $400/mo, which depending on your age and individual insurance plan options is pretty comparable to a premium. And I don't really have to worry about complications, because I'm backed by insurance on that.
Another note... When they do things like the upper endoscopy, they code it for GERD, so insurance often covers it. That brought my cash price down almost $3000. As the insurance billings come in, we're finding that they are paying for some of the items we didn't expect them to pay for, so I anticipate getting some money back after all is said and done.
There are definitely options. All is not lost. You just have to sit down, think really hard about the possibilities, and figure out a solution.
Best of luck to you!

It sounds like you are doing all the right things. You are going to be great!

thank you all for the encouragement and helping me see outside the box here. This news hit me like a load of bricks and it's been a pretty horrible day. I didn't realize about the medical financing and the alternative coding, and shopping in different markets. I'm in Southern AZ, and while my surgeon of choice is very good (and is a leader in VSG from what his resume says), i can probably look into Phoenix, So. Cal or Texas. All of which would be very reasonable for travel.
really. thank you so much for the other things to consider. i appreciate a little glimmer of hope and some commiseration.

Girl it's been of the hook!
Now if I could just find someone to do it with..

Is it something to do with steers and.....oh nevermind.

I'm new here and live over on the Kitsap Penisula in Bremerton. Yeah, I'm a navy wife. LOL!!
I just had the Lapband Removal and Sleeve Revision, and an Incision Hernia Repair on 3-19-13 at Madigan Army Medical Center. I "was" scheduled with Dr Sebesta, but he had to go out of town. Dr Hague stepped in and did my surgery.
Feeling fine a week out and just want to say hello!!

I would like to add that being a good mom has nothing to do with eating birthday cake... and it's not like you can never have birthday cake ever again, you just aren't ever likely to have a large hunk of cake like we usually cut (the average person cuts cake pieces about 2-3 times bigger than a serving). You should discuss your boyfriends comments with him, however. Remind him that "reminding" you of all the things you "can't" have or do is really not helpful and only makes things harder on you.
Keep reminding yourself about all the days in the park, field trips, amusement park rides, hikes in the wilderness, swims in lakes, and anything else you can think of that you have in front of you to spend really quality time with your kids. Those experiences are going to be way more important to them than a stupid piece of cake at a single birthday party!
Congratulations on your work so far! You have so many great victories ahead!

I was sleeved at Puget Sound Surgical Center in Edmonds.
I live in Capitol Hill M-F and Port Orchard on the weekends.
It would be cool to have some kind of gathering!

I would like to add that being a good mom has nothing to do with eating birthday cake... and it's not like you can never have birthday cake ever again, you just aren't ever likely to have a large hunk of cake like we usually cut (the average person cuts cake pieces about 2-3 times bigger than a serving). You should discuss your boyfriends comments with him, however. Remind him that "reminding" you of all the things you "can't" have or do is really not helpful and only makes things harder on you.
Keep reminding yourself about all the days in the park, field trips, amusement park rides, hikes in the wilderness, swims in lakes, and anything else you can think of that you have in front of you to spend really quality time with your kids. Those experiences are going to be way more important to them than a stupid piece of cake at a single birthday party!
Congratulations on your work so far! You have so many great victories ahead!

I already battle fatigue with my RA, so I am hyper aware when it rears it's ugly head. I moved up my mushy stage to exactly two weeks rather than waiting on my dr appt tomorrow and the past two days I have managed 650 and 830 calories. So I do believe I will be able to get the calories and Protein in once my sleeve stops being swollen and angry!
I am also working with a therapist to help me work through these negative self-talk issues that take the form of my mom's voice. I don't want to turn around after this and have the same battle in two years because I couldn't learn to let go of her negativity in my life......
thank you all for the kind words and support......and even the "lipstick" smile !!! I tend to tell the truth the same way!!!

The guidance I was given basically states that it happens due to the shock of surgery and weightloss, and that for those patients that experience the hairloss, 30-40% of it could fall out, several months after the shock occurred that put them into the "resting" phase. Guidance states that it's not likely due to nutrient deficiency and there's really no intervention necessary or particularly effective and that it will begin to grow back and you don't have to worry about whether or not to Shampoo or how vigorously to shampoo, because all that does is loosen the strands that were going to come out anyway. I think this is one of the side effects where "Suck it up, buttercup" applies, unfortunately. Might be a good time to develop a personal style that includes some cute hats...
Good luck!

Posters so far have given you some really great comments, so I won't add my 2 cents on what they've already addressed. I noticed that you mentioned that you were barely getting in 400 cal/day. I just wanted to remind you to be really careful to get enough. I don't know where that line is for you, but I just spent a couple weeks with some nausea, thought I was dehydrated, and neglected getting in calories in favor of trying to push more fluids. I just found out that my bloodwork showed that I was never dehydrated in the first place, but have spent the last couple weeks getting less than 400 cal/day. I developed some pretty significant fatigue that I thought was just another symptom of dehydration until my surgeon told me last night that it wasn't . Her determination is that the fatigue is because I was basically starving, since I burn about 5 times that number of calories in an average day. The fatigue isn't fun... So just be aware and be careful.
And our parents sometimes really screw with our heads. I know they usually don't mean to, but still... You are definitely not a failure and this will work if you make the appropriate adjustments, which the sleeve will make easier to do.
Best of luck to you and congratulations on your hard work so far!

Posters so far have given you some really great comments, so I won't add my 2 cents on what they've already addressed. I noticed that you mentioned that you were barely getting in 400 cal/day. I just wanted to remind you to be really careful to get enough. I don't know where that line is for you, but I just spent a couple weeks with some nausea, thought I was dehydrated, and neglected getting in calories in favor of trying to push more fluids. I just found out that my bloodwork showed that I was never dehydrated in the first place, but have spent the last couple weeks getting less than 400 cal/day. I developed some pretty significant fatigue that I thought was just another symptom of dehydration until my surgeon told me last night that it wasn't . Her determination is that the fatigue is because I was basically starving, since I burn about 5 times that number of calories in an average day. The fatigue isn't fun... So just be aware and be careful.
And our parents sometimes really screw with our heads. I know they usually don't mean to, but still... You are definitely not a failure and this will work if you make the appropriate adjustments, which the sleeve will make easier to do.
Best of luck to you and congratulations on your hard work so far!

I am 10 months out from my first surgery and still have medical treatment from a nurse daily....But I can not longer see through my hair and I am getting stronger and stronger.
This surgery gave me my life back..It did not happen like most of you...slow start....but it is happening...ye haw!

FIrst: Congratulations!
Second: I have never seen any reason to invest time and effort to maintain a relationship that doesn't give you what you need. Life is far too short and we have far more important and rewarding things to spend our time and energy on. In your position, I think that I would step way back, at least for now. I think that you are right to continue to treat her with respect. Perhaps someday, she will realize what has happened and acknowledge it. At that time, you may or may not feel that rekindling the friendship is worth it.
Best of luck. I'm sorry that this friend has not turned out to be such a good friend after all.

Interesting update: Turns out my labs showed that I was never dehydrated. Surgeon thinks nausea is caused my me taking too large of sips and my stomach refluxing because of that. I am flabbergasted that my labs didn't show dehydration. I've had significant thirst and dry, sticky cesspool mouth since the surgery, but whatever, I guess. She recommended I go back on the anti-nausea med, go back to using a sippy cup, and focus more on food. This week, I started experiencing some of the worst fatigue I've ever had, very similar to when I became anemic several years ago. She said that kind of fatigue wasn't normal at 6 weeks and it's likely happening because I'm not eating enough (have been eating very little in an effort to spend more time/effort getting fluid) once I told her that over the last 10 - 14 days, I probably only averaged about 400 cal/day at the most, usually, more like 300. So, basically, I'm starving. Good thing I know what to do for that! I gotta say, though... I would make a horrible anorexic!
So... my marching orders are eat, sip, and take my zofran! Marching on...

I just want to take a minute to throw out a general thank you to all that are willing to share photos (particularly the gritty, unclothed, saggy skin photos). I think that most of us are going to face some really serious sagging skin and feel just as body conscious, or even worse, than we did about our weight. Seeing that we aren't the only ones that have to deal with this undesirable side effect really helps the negative self-talk where we feel like we're defective or have destroyed our bodies. We don't have to feel like we must be the only one that has skin this saggy, yada, yada, yada.
Heartfelt thanks for being so brave!