KittyKat848

Have a question that I hope someone has experience with: My surgery was 12/31. No known complications, good recovery and meeting Protein and Fluid goals. I have 6 incisions -- 5 for the RNY and one above my navel for an umbilical hernia they found and repaired during surgery. All seem to have healed well. I've lost 45 lbs thus far. My issue is some pain I feel on the left side about 2 to 3 inches from my belly button. The pain is quite sharp and sometimes burns. It's particularly noticeable if I bend over, lay on my side or strain my muscles during a BM. The odd part is that it feels quite similar to incision pain, but there's no incision there. I thought perhaps it was pain from a levonox injection in that area -- but it's been two weeks since any injection there. Oddly, it doesn't hurt to touch it. In fact, rubbing it makes it feel better. Has anyone else experienced this or know if I should be concerned? Thanks in advance.

I was on insulin 3x per day and 1000 mg of Metformin twice a day. My best A1c was 6.5 and my fasting numbers were usually between 110 and 135. Since surgery, I have been in remission. I no longer take any medications for my diabetes. My last A1c was 4.2. I eat less than 40 g of carbs per day.

First you must figure out what your excess weight is. The way the medical community does it is by subtracting your ideal weight (based on a BMI of 24) from your current weight. Now, many people do not consider their "ideal weight" to be a 24 BMI and that is fine -- in that case, choose what your personal ideal weight is and subtract that from your current weight. However, for the sake of this response, I have chosen to use the BMI of 24. So, I started with a weight of 344 pounds and my ideal weight is 138 pounds. Thus, my “excess” weight is about 206 pounds. The medical community views a loss of 65% of excess weight as "success." For me, that would have been a loss of 134 lbs and a weight of 210 pounds. If I were to lose 100% of my excess weight, I'd need to lose 206 pounds and end up weighing 138 pounds. I am 11 months and 10 days out. I have lost 169 pounds. This means that I have lost 82% of my excess weight thus far. I hope this helps.

As cliche as it sounds, I regret that I didn't do this sooner. Nothing else.

You know, your daughter's wedding will still be very special even if you don't eat cake. I've found that changing how I view eating/food is a key to success.

I am six months out and I have never dumped. I am so glad that I had gastric bypass.

I am allowed to take Claritin. I use the rapid melts.

Just adjust myfitnesspal. I have it set to 800 calories per day

I think it's funny that so many of us view WLS as some sort of moral failure. Inefficient and old-fashioned doesn't mean that something is better. I mean, my grandmother washed clothes on a washboard heating well Water over a wood stove. It was hard work that took much of a day for much fewer clothes. I use a washing machine. Does that mean I'm taking "the easy way out?" --- or am I using the most efficient and intelligent way available to me now? The old-fashioned way of losing weight is nearly possible for the great number of morbidly obese. That's why less than 5% of us manage to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off after 2 years. WLS has an 85% success rate. How is choosing the most efficient and long-term solution to a medical problem something to feel badly about? Is taking insulin for diabetes, surgery to replace worn out knees, or chemo for cancer also taking the easy way out?? My advice to you is to stop viewing your WLS as a moral failure, easy way out or something to be ashamed of. Instead, you're being courageous in choosing the most efficient and intelligent option available to treat your medical condition that's available to you now.

if you are going with someone else, simply add the shrimp to their dinner. It's the cheapest and 4/5 shrimp are plenty this early out. I still order that as an add on to my husband's dinner -- it's perfect.

My biggest obstacle is dealing with clothing. I have very few things that fit and I cannot afford to buy clothes all the time. Sometimes it's really depressing to have 3 shirts to choose from. I am grateful, but I wish I had budgeted for clothing.

I can certainly understand. I've had them, too. They're miserable. I wish you luck in never having them again. :-)

I am 14 weeks post-op. I average between 450 and 600 calories, 30 g carbs, and 80-90 grams of Protein per day.

No offense, but I can't find any peer reviewed research that shows what your doctor told you is correct. Of course, you should listen to your dr rather than some random internet poster, but here are some sites to ponder... http://www.kidneystoners.org/information/does-drinking-iced-tea-really-cause-kidney-stones/ http://www.taylorkubota.net/1/post/2012/08/making-studies-out-of-nothing-at-all.html Take home points from Kidneystoners.org For better or worse, drinking iced tea probably did not “cause” your stone. Cutting out iced tea will probably not make your stones go away but neither do you have to swear off drinking it either. If you like iced tea and you are a stone former, drinking a moderate amount is unlikely to cause you to develop more stones. Based on the available research, it may actually decrease your risk of stones. If in doubt, ask your doctor for a 24-hour urine test to measure your urinary oxalate levels. If you have normal urinary oxalate, you don’t have to worry much about restricting the amount of oxalate you eat or drink. If however you have high urinary oxalate, work with your doctor to develop a plan to lower your oxalate intake. Realize that no one (including us) can really tell you for sure sure whether tea is good or bad for kidney stone patients until a well designed study is done in which a large amount of individuals are randomly assigned into tea drinking and non-tea drinking groups and then followed for many years to see which group develops more stones. This study is unfortunately unlikely to happen. In the end, most stone formers might do better for themselves by keeping things simple. Focus instead on the three basic dietary recommendations given below. There is less controversy about the benefits of these recommendations in reducing your risk of stones and as a bonus they will also help to improve your overall health. 1) Increase your overall Fluid intake to keep your urine dilute and close to colorless 2) Watch your salt intake- try to keep it at 2300 mg a day or lower* 3) Watch your animal meat intake- try to keep it less than 6oz a day and instead eat more fruits and vegetables*

The book Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies is actually pretty good. Also, the American Society for Metabolic Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is a great resource. http://asmbs.org

I am eating an average of 600 calories a day, but am getting between 75 and 90 grams of Protein daily. I had surgery on December 31st -- so about a week before you. I walk about 3 miles per day -- and I work on my feet as a college teacher. I wear a fit monitor and log an average of 7000 - 9000 steps per day. I was told NOT to deduct any exercise calories from my totals. I can't imagine taking in 1200 to 1500 calories per day. I honestly do not think I would lose if I did.

"Calcium makes it harder for your body to absorb either supplemental Iron or iron from food, according to the National Institutes of Health. Calcium competes for absorption with iron in your intestines and reduces its uptake. This means that a multi-mineral supplement is likely not the best way of getting iron due to the negating effects of the calcium and some other minerals." Source: national institute of health.

To the OP -- I just wanted to express my deepest sympathy for your loss. Be patient and kind to yourself. Grief is a long journey. ::hugs::

I teach, too... College. I went back at two weeks and also had that terrible pain. Compression didn't help me much. Ymmv. A heating pad helped a lot. Good luck! That pain will soon be a memory.

Have you ever tried this? I use garlic butter on it and it's a great substitute. http://www.superhealthykids.com/blog-posts/cheesy-cauliflower-dippers.php

I've found it in any large grocery store. Mine is found with all the bob's mill stuff --- like flax, almond meal, isolate etc -- in the baking needs in one store here and in the special dietary (ie: gluten free) in another. It runs about 8.00 here but it lasts forever. They also carry it in health food stores. :-). My husband (a skinny person) uses maple syrup and brown sugar on it.

Ok, I know this sounds really weird, but I make a high protein oatmeal substitute that's pretty close-- I take 1/3 c of TVP (textured veg protein), 1 c water and a dash of salt and mix it together in a large cereal bowl. Pop in the microwave for 1 min. Stir. Cook at 40% power for 10 more minutes. I top with Splenda, cinnamon, vanilla sugar free syrup and almond milk. 107 calories and 16 protein -- before any toppings.

Exerderin migraine. Nothing knocked out headaches better for me.

I guess I see my friendships differently -- which is just different, not necessarily better or worse. I like that my best friend sees me -- not weight. I've never felt defined by my size. My friend is beautiful and thin, but she's always made me feel beautiful, too. She's not jealous of me -- and when I was her MOH, I'd never want to take attention away from her special day. I don't think people who truly love us think about weight like we do. She hasn't said anything about the 80 pounds I've lost, and frankly, I don't need her to. For me, validation about my weight loss comes from within. Again, not better or worse, just a different perspective.

Why is it so important that other people acknowledge your weight loss? To me, this is the real question.