Bobby46

Hello. I cant say anything about the Dr.'s you mentioned, I had surgery in Ohio.
My surgeon had me on liquids for the first 4 weeks. He felt it was better safe than sorry since it takes 4 to 6 weeks to fully heal.
Soft foods will taste like heaven to you when you get there so even if you are on soft foods on vacation you will be fine with it. I ate a lot of cottage cheese, greek yogurt, creamed Soups, tuna salad, pureed chili was my favorite and of course Protein shakes, but I thickened them with greek yogurt and fruit.< /span>
At 4 weeks I was still really tired, no energy at all. But no pain at all since the day I got home. You may not have the energy to be very active on your vacation. Just a heads up. But you could also be just fine. Keep in mind that everyone has a different experience.
hair loss....I was told your body stores Protein. I understood that if you hit the high levels of protein for a while before surgery you actually store it and it helps get you through surgery. Protein is important for healing. They aren't completely sure if its protein issues or anesthesia issues that cause Hair loss in patients. I would recommend B12 and Biotin before surgery and use a sulfer free Shampoo and conditioner. It cant hurt. I did it for about 3 months before surgery and still do today. I lost a little hair about 5 mths out. I can notice....but its my head. My hair dresser noticed only because she was aware of how thick it was before surgery. She assures me that no one can see a difference unless they were looking for it. But no one else can tell....and I only ask friends who will be brutally honest!
Loose skin....I'm 47 and short....its gonna be an issue for me. But I will deal with it when I have too. So far its not really bad and I'm down 74lbs.
My opinion.....I would vacation first and then schedule surgery. ONLY because everyone has different experience. You could have it super easy....or you could have it super rough. You just never know.

I was able to take my thyroid pill the day after surgery. No problem. I was given other meds crushed and was told I can take them with a small amount of applesauce to help it go down. I was given a pill crusher/cutter in the hospital. It was about a week before I could take things without crushing. You can cut pills in half or quarters to make them small enough to get down with Water. No worries...you will be able to take all your usual meds in no time. Your doctor will work with you on how to do it the first few days.

I just would not have worried so much about everything.....the surgery, the pain, the "is this normal?" stuff, the smoothies, the Vitamins, the food....do I have enough?....do I have the right kinds of food? , the exercise. It all falls into place one day at a time. I found my way. I am doing it one day at a time and I am thrilled with it!
You will find your way too, no doubt.
Good luck to you!

I just would not have worried so much about everything.....the surgery, the pain, the "is this normal?" stuff, the smoothies, the Vitamins, the food....do I have enough?....do I have the right kinds of food? , the exercise. It all falls into place one day at a time. I found my way. I am doing it one day at a time and I am thrilled with it!
You will find your way too, no doubt.
Good luck to you!

I just would not have worried so much about everything.....the surgery, the pain, the "is this normal?" stuff, the smoothies, the Vitamins, the food....do I have enough?....do I have the right kinds of food? , the exercise. It all falls into place one day at a time. I found my way. I am doing it one day at a time and I am thrilled with it!
You will find your way too, no doubt.
Good luck to you!

I am almost 7 mths post op and I have found that winter is really sucky when it comes to this surgery! You are stuck inside and want nothing more than to sip coffee on the couch with a blanket and a book! I have found that November thru February are still just as hard to get thru as they were pre-surgery.....still have to get thru all the holidays and family birthdays.....it seems every other week junk food is still in the house!
But....you can get back on track. No doubt! You have all the info you need and you know exactly what to eat ....you did it before. Get out your old notes and pamphlets from pre-surgery.....my program required me to take nutrition classes and I have a couple notebooks to refer to. Make an appointment with a nutritionist with bariatric experience??
I am pretty sure you aren't eating as much as you did before surgery so the restriction is still there. No more slider foods. Try the basics again.....protein first, then veggies.....no carbs, few fruits and lots of Water. Give it a week and see if it makes a difference. You will probably feel the control again and be headed in the right direction!
Good Luck! You got this!!

Hi all. I was hungry right after surgery as well. I was told it was stomach acid. I never had acid issues before so I didn't take the Prilosec that was prescribed. When I complained about hunger 2 weeks after surgery my doctor advised to start taking it. It worked.
7 mths out now and I rarely get HUNGRY now .....but I do get hungry...... Hang in there, your body is still adjusting to everything. It gets way better!

I am almost 7 mths post op and I have found that winter is really sucky when it comes to this surgery! You are stuck inside and want nothing more than to sip coffee on the couch with a blanket and a book! I have found that November thru February are still just as hard to get thru as they were pre-surgery.....still have to get thru all the holidays and family birthdays.....it seems every other week junk food is still in the house!
But....you can get back on track. No doubt! You have all the info you need and you know exactly what to eat ....you did it before. Get out your old notes and pamphlets from pre-surgery.....my program required me to take nutrition classes and I have a couple notebooks to refer to. Make an appointment with a nutritionist with bariatric experience??
I am pretty sure you aren't eating as much as you did before surgery so the restriction is still there. No more slider foods. Try the basics again.....protein first, then veggies.....no carbs, few fruits and lots of Water. Give it a week and see if it makes a difference. You will probably feel the control again and be headed in the right direction!
Good Luck! You got this!!

I've not posted since i was in the very early stages, but thought I'd post a before and after. My surgery was Oct. 21, 2014 and I weighed 247. I've currently lost 80 pounds putting me at 167lbs. It's been much slower this past month, and it's been depressing me a little...I'm so afraid I've lost all I'm going to. I hope not!! Anyway,
 ta-dah!

Thank you so so much for your support .... And im glad im able to be part of this support group just reading all this give me motivation and strenght ... Its true we all need to cut off completly now because i seen people that will get comfortable with getting skinny then go bad to bad habits im cutting rice and everything bad from my new healthy life now ????????????????

Hi all. I was hungry right after surgery as well. I was told it was stomach acid. I never had acid issues before so I didn't take the Prilosec that was prescribed. When I complained about hunger 2 weeks after surgery my doctor advised to start taking it. It worked.
7 mths out now and I rarely get HUNGRY now .....but I do get hungry...... Hang in there, your body is still adjusting to everything. It gets way better!

Hello. Don't pack a lot. I wore the gowns as well. I had IV lines and a bunch of monitors and those leg things that massage your legs so you don't get clots. I skipped the bra.....couldn't wear one for about a week after....even the sports type bras. I took a loose pair of jammie pants and only wore them to walk the halls and to ride home in.
The only thing I used out of my packed bag was the biotine mouth spray. Driest mouth on earth and this stuff was a lifesaver!!
I packed my nook and a couple changes of clothes, my makeup and hair stuff.....waste of time.
You might take your own pillow. The hospital ones were thin and it was very uncomfortable.

I can not even imagine loving someone so deeply that a stupid scar would change that.
I don't know you, I don't know him. But....if a friend of mine confided in me that her husband was not attracted to her now because she has a scar then I would scream at her to tell him to get the hell out of her life. Seriously! I would tell her to not sit around and hope that he might change his mind, to hope that that a$$hole might reconsider his love for her. Good grief. Is he so wonderful that you should sit patiently while he weighs the pros and cons of being with a woman with a scar? Life is short. Find someone who loves you unconditionally.

I am a very private person as well. Especially about my weight. Being heavy is very obvious to the world, I don't have to verbally announce it. I am more than 6 mths out now and my weight is what everyone wants to talk about. I only told 4 people in the beginning. One was a close friend and she hasn't spoken to me since surgery. One was my Mom.....I should have just put it on Facebook because she immediately told everyone you possibly could even though I told her I would be extremely angry at her if she told any other family members. My close friends know that I don't want to talk about it....so we just go about our friendship as usual. On the other hand....my aquaintences and co-workers have no shame in flat out asking very personal questions about my size, my weight and everything you can think about to go right along with it. I hate it. I have been polite and skirted the subject but they just keep asking.
I guess what I'm saying is that even though you are a very private person and don't want people to know, changes are coming your way that are going to be blatantly obvious to everyone. You might consider being very firm with people that you will not discuss your weight with anyone. I was a little too polite and kind to everyone in the beginning and now they feel they can still approach me. Stand your ground. Don't give an inch...they will try to take a mile!
I hate being the center of attention....good or bad. This is going to be an issue for me for a while.

I can not even imagine loving someone so deeply that a stupid scar would change that.
I don't know you, I don't know him. But....if a friend of mine confided in me that her husband was not attracted to her now because she has a scar then I would scream at her to tell him to get the hell out of her life. Seriously! I would tell her to not sit around and hope that he might change his mind, to hope that that a$$hole might reconsider his love for her. Good grief. Is he so wonderful that you should sit patiently while he weighs the pros and cons of being with a woman with a scar? Life is short. Find someone who loves you unconditionally.

I recently posted an article titled “The Biggest Loser:” Irresponsible Weight Loss Surgery Comments? . We received many fantastic comments from our concerned members. I've decided to follow up our article with an Open Letter to Dr. Robert Huizenga or Dr. H as he's known on the show. The letter will also be sent to the shows producers and staff members.


Dear Dr. Huizenga,
I am the founder of BariatricPal, the world’s largest online community for weight loss surgery patients and potential patients.
I am writing to you today regarding your role as an expert on “The Biggest Loser.” I am asking you to please stop publicly portraying weight loss surgery in a negative light without any explanation. Most recently, during the Season 16 Finale, you stated that losing weight using methods used on the show were far healthier than turning to weight loss surgery. The implication was that bariatric surgery is under no circumstances the best choice for individuals struggling with obesity.
I am asking you to stop making comments like this. You and “The Biggest Loser” have a significant amount of influence on America. The season finale attracted 5.4 million live viewers, with untold millions watching the show at a later time. Given that one-third of American adults are obese, it is almost certain that many viewers have obesity.
“The Biggest Loser” reaches out to this audience throughout the show. Contestants, trainers, and health experts like yourself directly address viewers who need to lose weight, offering encouragement and tips. As you know, positive gestures like this can motivate people to change their lives.
Unfortunately, the derogatory comments about bariatric surgery can have just as much impact, but in a negative way. Your statement at the Season 16 finale of “The Biggest Loser” and similar ones make weight loss surgery sound like a shameful, dangerous, and ineffective choice in all cases, with no further explanation.
According to the Weight-Control Information Network (WIN), 4% of men and 8% of women in the U.S. have extreme obesity (BMI over 40). That translates to about 20 million American adults who are potentially eligible for weight loss surgery. This figure does not include the approximately 60 million Americans whose BMIs are between 30 and 40, and who might be eligible for surgery due to the existence of a co-morbidity.
Not all of these individuals are eligible for and interested in weight loss surgery, but many are. BariatricPal alone, for example, has a quarter-million members who are weight loss surgery patients or who are considering surgery.
For weight loss surgery patients, your comments can be hurtful. Weight loss surgery is not the “easy way out.” It is a tool to help control food intake. Eligibility criteria include a requirement that patients be committed to the strict dietary changes necessary to lose weight after bariatric surgery. I and millions of other weight loss surgery patients who have successfully used weight loss surgery as a tool against obesity worked hard to get where we are today. We do not deserve for you and your colleagues to suggest that we have cheated to lose weight.
Comments that groundlessly condemn weight loss surgery can harm potential patients just as much if not more. Eligible candidates might decide not to get the surgery in part because of your position. First, your comments can lead to a feeling of shame for even considering bariatric surgery to fight obesity. This is unjust, since the post-surgery diet is strict and requires a lifetime of attention, just as “The Biggest Loser” contestants must modify their own diets for the rest of their lives to maintain weight loss.
Secondly, your comments on the show seem to imply weight loss surgery does not work. While there are patients who do not respond to surgery, and complications are always a threat, the scientific literature overwhelmingly agrees that weight loss surgery is a viable option for the treatment of morbid obesity.
Furthermore, the scientific community largely agrees that weight loss surgery can improve health and metabolic parameters. To varying degrees, methods such as gastric bypass, adjustable gastric band, and gastric sleeve have been linked to improvements in diabetes and other obesity-related conditions, such as hypertension, sleep apnea, and dyslipidemia. The UK’s healthcare system, known as the National Health System or NHS, is so convinced of bariatric surgery’s effectiveness, safety, and cost savings potential it covers bariatric surgery procedures.
Unconditionally stating that weight loss surgery is the wrong choice is particularly unfair given that “The Biggest Loser” contestants do not always achieve or maintain their goal weights. An article on Today.com, which is owned by NBC, looked at initial, finale, and current weights of selected contestants from the first 11 seasons of the show. Of the 56 contestants they highlighted, 20 were within 10 pounds of their finale weights, and 8 had gained back at least 40 pounds since the finale.
These results are impressive but not perfect. And, “The Biggest Loser” is not for everyone. So far, only hundreds of individuals have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to lose weight on the show. For a few others, losing weight at one of the Biggest Loser resorts is an option – but not a practical one for most people. At $3,000 per week, it could take $50,000 or $100,000 or more to reach goal weight, not including time out from work and life.
Weight loss surgery may be the only practical choice for people who have work and family obligations, and who live within a budget. People struggling with obesity do not choose weight loss surgery because they think it will be easy. They choose it because they have no other choice. Nothing else has worked for them. For me and hundreds of thousands of other weight loss surgery patients, it worked.
Because of this, I ask you again to please stop publicly attacking weight loss surgery without explanation. You and I and everyone else who is connected to obesity knows what a terrible disease it is. We should join forces in fighting it. Let’s work together to get the greatest possible number of people healthy, and not work against each other with derogatory and divisive comments.
Thank you for all of your hard work and commitment to fighting obesity. You have established yourself as one of the most influential health experts in obesity, and I hope you will use your voice in a positive way. Thank you for considering this.
Sincerely,
Alex Brecher
Founder, BariatricPal

I'm still pre-op, but the date is nearing.
From the start I said I wouldn't tell many people, but I've been telling more than I thought I would.
I do get tired of reading the responses about how it's nothing to be ashamed of, be proud of the decision, and so on and so forth. Everyone is different, of course, as are our reasons for getting to the point of morbid obesity, however - I am totally ashamed of it, and not "proud" by any means. I'm ashamed that I had so little self-control that my body got to this point, and I need to have 85% of my stomach removed to be successful at losing it. There are people out there who manage to find the willpower and self control and discipline to lose over 100 lbs without having surgery. So no, I'm not proud of this decision, and I'm not just happily telling the world that I'm about to have weight loss surgery.

I am a very private person as well. Especially about my weight. Being heavy is very obvious to the world, I don't have to verbally announce it. I am more than 6 mths out now and my weight is what everyone wants to talk about. I only told 4 people in the beginning. One was a close friend and she hasn't spoken to me since surgery. One was my Mom.....I should have just put it on Facebook because she immediately told everyone you possibly could even though I told her I would be extremely angry at her if she told any other family members. My close friends know that I don't want to talk about it....so we just go about our friendship as usual. On the other hand....my aquaintences and co-workers have no shame in flat out asking very personal questions about my size, my weight and everything you can think about to go right along with it. I hate it. I have been polite and skirted the subject but they just keep asking.
I guess what I'm saying is that even though you are a very private person and don't want people to know, changes are coming your way that are going to be blatantly obvious to everyone. You might consider being very firm with people that you will not discuss your weight with anyone. I was a little too polite and kind to everyone in the beginning and now they feel they can still approach me. Stand your ground. Don't give an inch...they will try to take a mile!
I hate being the center of attention....good or bad. This is going to be an issue for me for a while.

I am a very private person as well. Especially about my weight. Being heavy is very obvious to the world, I don't have to verbally announce it. I am more than 6 mths out now and my weight is what everyone wants to talk about. I only told 4 people in the beginning. One was a close friend and she hasn't spoken to me since surgery. One was my Mom.....I should have just put it on Facebook because she immediately told everyone you possibly could even though I told her I would be extremely angry at her if she told any other family members. My close friends know that I don't want to talk about it....so we just go about our friendship as usual. On the other hand....my aquaintences and co-workers have no shame in flat out asking very personal questions about my size, my weight and everything you can think about to go right along with it. I hate it. I have been polite and skirted the subject but they just keep asking.
I guess what I'm saying is that even though you are a very private person and don't want people to know, changes are coming your way that are going to be blatantly obvious to everyone. You might consider being very firm with people that you will not discuss your weight with anyone. I was a little too polite and kind to everyone in the beginning and now they feel they can still approach me. Stand your ground. Don't give an inch...they will try to take a mile!
I hate being the center of attention....good or bad. This is going to be an issue for me for a while.

I'm 5' and 47 yrs old. My primary doc want me to get to 120 yrs ago when I did a guided diet with him and weight watchers. I actually hit 140 but couldn't maintain it. I bounced up to 165 and maintained it for 8yrs. 165 was right for me even though it was still considered obese on those medical charts.
I have set a goal of 125 because of those goofy guidelines, but.....to be completely honest if I never see it I will be fine with that. If I see 140 and am able to maintain it, I will be thrilled. If I bounce up to 165 and stay there forever you will not be able to smack the smile off of my face!
I have been over weight my entire life. At 47 I refuse to box myself into a number this time. I am healthier at 184 than some of my friends that are at their ideal weight. I just want to feel good and be healthy.

I'm 5' and 47 yrs old. My primary doc want me to get to 120 yrs ago when I did a guided diet with him and weight watchers. I actually hit 140 but couldn't maintain it. I bounced up to 165 and maintained it for 8yrs. 165 was right for me even though it was still considered obese on those medical charts.
I have set a goal of 125 because of those goofy guidelines, but.....to be completely honest if I never see it I will be fine with that. If I see 140 and am able to maintain it, I will be thrilled. If I bounce up to 165 and stay there forever you will not be able to smack the smile off of my face!
I have been over weight my entire life. At 47 I refuse to box myself into a number this time. I am healthier at 184 than some of my friends that are at their ideal weight. I just want to feel good and be healthy.

To be completely honest, coffee is my new best friend. I drank it before the surgery. Since surgery it is the only vice I held on to. Its a comfort to me. I feel myself, normal... with a hot cup of coffee in hand.
My doctor advised that it may stimulate more cravings but as long as it doesn't upset my stomach then I can have it as often as I want.
I have a cup or 2 in the morning and sometimes in the evenings. I really don't notice any difference in my cravings to where I can blame it on caffeine.

My cholesterol also jumped since the surgery and massive weight loss. I hesitate to blame the high Protein diet because I was on a high Protein diet when my cholesterol was going down.
Also, the newest research about cholesterol is telling us that it is much more complex than first believed. Long term studies have called into question the "lowest is best philosophy". While my doctor is still worried about my turnaround and put me back on a statin, I'm not overly concerned. I'm following his orders just to hedge my bet, not because I think my raised levels are really high enough for concern.

I can not even imagine loving someone so deeply that a stupid scar would change that.
I don't know you, I don't know him. But....if a friend of mine confided in me that her husband was not attracted to her now because she has a scar then I would scream at her to tell him to get the hell out of her life. Seriously! I would tell her to not sit around and hope that he might change his mind, to hope that that a$$hole might reconsider his love for her. Good grief. Is he so wonderful that you should sit patiently while he weighs the pros and cons of being with a woman with a scar? Life is short. Find someone who loves you unconditionally.

Mine has jumped too. It has to be from the high Protein diet we are on. But I'm not sure what to think about it just yet. I have a doc appointment in May and will ask then.
Curious too.