dtiller1147

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Today is my 1 year surgiversary, HWE =423# , Started Surgery journey @ 360# , 6mth post 271#, today 240# .So that is 183# total loss 120# surgical loss. My dream goal is still another 65# away but I could stop now and be happy with my health.

This sounds like different group that I can support too! look for my invite.

Alex, this is what I use.
optisource chewable Vitamin & Mineral Supplement
OPTISOURCE Chewable Vitamin & Mineral Supplement is specially formulated to meet unique nutrient needs following bariatric surgery. Contains high levels of Calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, Iron, folic acid, thiamin, and zinc. No artificial color. Now with Calcium Citrate—a more absorbable form of calcium and the recommended form of calcium after bariatric surgery.

Alex, this is what I use.
optisource chewable Vitamin & Mineral Supplement
OPTISOURCE Chewable Vitamin & Mineral Supplement is specially formulated to meet unique nutrient needs following bariatric surgery. Contains high levels of Calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, Iron, folic acid, thiamin, and zinc. No artificial color. Now with Calcium Citrate—a more absorbable form of calcium and the recommended form of calcium after bariatric surgery.

Good Luck to you guys, It has been a long Journey but you now have arrrived!

Good Luck to you guys, It has been a long Journey but you now have arrrived!

That sounds like me when I had gerd.... Not so nice and dangerous to your esophagus. Two things that can help you, first contact your Dr. and let him/her know. There is meds you can take to reduce the acid in your stomach. Second thing to do... elevate the top portion of your body were it is not laying flat. They have raised pillows you can purchase also check out Amazon so you can see them or purchase it. Don't delay your esophagus is in danger. Be safe
Sent from my SM-J700P using the BariatricPal App

Today is my 1 year surgiversary, HWE =423# , Started Surgery journey @ 360# , 6mth post 271#, today 240# .So that is 183# total loss ....120# surgical loss. My dream goal is still another 65# away but I could stop now and be happy with my health.

I did not have one but, do to the anesthesia I was not producing very much urine. The eventually did an Eco of my bladder and said if I do not go soon they would need to cath me. That was all the incentive I needed.LOL

Mine is called "Walter", ya know like the Dummy with Jeff Dunham.

No complications or problems for me at all. I say surgery and recovery was textbook. I knew I had surgery but never got nausea and I have never threw up at all still today. I stop pain meds early after I got home. I was slow getting in the Water and Protein goal for the first week. I work harder on Water than food. It is amazing how little food you can get in in the beginning but it will become more normal after all the swelling is gone. Well our new normal anyway.

No complications or problems for me at all. I say surgery and recovery was textbook. I knew I had surgery but never got nausea and I have never threw up at all still today. I stop pain meds early after I got home. I was slow getting in the Water and Protein goal for the first week. I work harder on Water than food. It is amazing how little food you can get in in the beginning but it will become more normal after all the swelling is gone. Well our new normal anyway.

Djmohr, Ketorlac is a NSAID is your surgon OK with its use? Maybe because it is an injectable it is easyer on us than NSAID in pill form? Any input on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your post.

My wife is on Botox treatment, you have to rule out a lot of other meds first. You also have to have like 15 within a month (cronic). They are several shots at one time and its about every 6 weeks. It helps but it does not cure. After about 4 weeks they start coming back on a regualr bases but have to wait until 6 weeks is up before you get your shots again. They are expensive so you need good insurence.
I too want to research the DHE med to see if she is a candidate for that med. Thanks for the tip.

@@pprl8765
I have suffered from severe Migraine my entire adult life many times ending up in the ER for help. If you have ever been to the ER during a migraine it is absolutely not the right place to be.
About 7 years ago someone at work suggested going to a neurologist that specialized in migraine. I happened to find one that also suffered from them herself.
Migraine is hereditary. Now my son and 12 year old Granddaughter both suffer terribly. Migraine with little to no treatment actually causes damage to your jaw joints. I know because I have severe arthritis of the jaw from clenching due to pain.
Anyway my neurologist started me on a couple of basic preventatives that they give anyone who suffers to help prevent. I was on propanalol and topamax for prevention. She also sent me to occupational therapy which taught me how to leverage meditation for those really bad ones.
These were all good things but Migraines when they come need something to relieve them.
She put me on a rescue drug called Dihydroergotomine. You give yourself a quick injection as you feel the migraine coming on. If you get aura, that's the perfect time. I swear, this injection takes hold in less than 30 minutes. You have your whole day back feeling as if the migraine never even happened. This is not a narcotic it's used to open the blood vessels in your brain which is what is causing the migraine. She also gave me a second rescue medication given by injection called ketorlac. It is what they give you in the ER. This is just in case the DHE doesn't work. I can tell you that I have only had to use the ketorlac 3 times in the last 7 years. I have not been to an ER in that 7 years once for migraine. I can treat it at home and I am up and running 30 minutes later.
Prior to this I tried everything. Botox, imitrex, something that started with an M (sorry cannot remember the name) as well as many others. None of that stuff worked for me and I swear I have told several people that I know who suffer with them to ask their doctor to be put on a preventative and give them Dihydroergotomine as a rescue drug. 2 of the people I work with that tried it have the same results. It is worth learning to give yourself an injection. I promise!!!!
Oh and understanding the triggers and staying away is critical. The first thing my doc did was have me stop drinking caffeine, stay completely away from an artificial sweeteners, red wine. Also she had me stop taking any over the counter stuff because all of besides alieve cause rebound migraines. Excedrine is one of the worst rebound medications. Same is true of any narcotic that has Tylenol in it. When I take pain killers, I get migraines that stay for days and days until I stop the pain killers.

Hello, and welcome to some new DE folks. I know Dover is probably to far for you to travel but if anyone wants to come to my Dover Support group let me know. We meet every 3rd Thursday of the month. Also, if you have questions I will try to respond to them. Best of Luck on your Journey,

I am 20 mth out from surgery and 182# down from my highest weight ever. I have been on CPAP for 15 years. They had to put me on Auto Pap to reduce the amount of air but still require therapy. I also have RLS, tuff with to sleep disorders, but please make the decision based on data and your doc advice. This is one call you want to get right.

I am 20 mth out from surgery and 182# down from my highest weight ever. I have been on CPAP for 15 years. They had to put me on Auto Pap to reduce the amount of air but still require therapy. I also have RLS, tuff with to sleep disorders, but please make the decision based on data and your doc advice. This is one call you want to get right.

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Today is my 1 year surgiversary, HWE =423# , Started Surgery journey @ 360# , 6mth post 271#, today 240# .So that is 183# total loss 120# surgical loss. My dream goal is still another 65# away but I could stop now and be happy with my health.

I'll try to address each of your issues/concerns from the info I've gleaned... but I'm no doctor so take it with that in mind.
The big thing seems to be that you don't want to change any of your eating habits, just think that the Portion Control is your problem. But I'll tell you now, from what you have posted, you have a portion control and a crap food addiction. Unless you get them both figured out, you will not be successful in the long term. Weight loss surgery is not a cure all; it is a tool that give you control back for a portion of time which you are supposed to use to deal with your food issues and throw out how you eat now and relearn how to eat healthy for the rest of your life - it is not easy, and you will have to make a total lifestyle change if you want to be successful for the rest of your life.
Yes, you will be able to eat things that are spicy/hot, and eventually you can eat things like a burger. Thing is, you should be adjusting over to eating healthier versions of things like hot wings (like baked, no battered - just saw someone posted a really good recipe for those), and eating the "regular" versions of stuff like that should be an occasional indulgence, not something you eat every day or even every week.
You can eat pizza and fries and burgers... but why would you want to eat them the same as before surgery? They are bad for you, have little nutritional value and mostly are full of fat, carbs and sodium. You could eat smaller portions of crap and literally starve your body of nutrients. Which begs the question of why anyone would do that and expect to come out healthy and happy?
You get about 12-18 months where the combo of the portion control (from the stomach reduction) and the lack of out of control hunger allow you to completely change how you eat. All of the doctors seem to like the high Protein, healthy veggie, and complex carb in moderation diet. You have to deal with your food addictions and issues during this honeymoon period and get adjusted over to eating healthy about 90% of the time, so that when you do eat something like a slice of cake for a birthday or a small burger at a cookout... it doesn't throw you off because you're not eating that stuff all the time. This is how the non-fat people eat; they have generally good control over their portions and don't eat crap every single day.
Everybody will lose weight even eating crap for the first year or so. After about 12-18 months, however, if you haven't gotten yourself adjusted to eating healthy (good Protein as the main portion of your meal, healthy veggies as a main side and complex carbs like brown rice or small serving of sweet potato if there is any room) you will start regaining weight.
So losing your hair... it is temporary and it's because for about a month or two, you're going to have difficulties getting in enough protein and Vitamins to keep your basic body functions up. So one of the first signs of low protein/nutrition is losing hair (your skin and nails will also suffer a bit, but it almost always is the hair if nothing else). It starts around 3 months out, continuing for a few months while your body catches up to your increasing ability to eat protein in greater quantities. To minimize the issue, make sure to get in your protein ASAP. Also important for hair/skin/nails is to take your Vitamins and drink your Water. Some people see little Hair loss, some see gobs and freak out a bit. You have no way of knowing how your body will react, but it is temporary. Frankly being vain about my hair when I was grossly obese was almost laughable when I thought about worrying over it. So I didn't. Because my health is way more important than a few clumps more in the shower drain for a few months. And it's fine now - I have gorgeous hair.
Carbonated drinks/diet soda. I drink them. I have one soda can a day usually. I open it in the morning, pour it over ice and let it sit for around an hour so the carbonation goes down significantly and the ice melts and waters it down. I also know that I'll never touch anything not diet, and that all sodas have a dehydrating effect (caffeine and sodium is very dehydrating), so I drink more than 64 ounces of water/light drink mix to make up for the fact that I drink a soda. My doctor does not like carbonated drinks, but he wasn't forbidding me from drinking them. But I also know that drinking them can slow down weight loss as well (the fake sugar/sweetener can still react with your metabolism). So if you choose to drink them, then know you're making the choice to continue something that is unhealthy and will effect how well you do with your sleeve.
And finally your last thing about how life is too short to not enjoy your food... No food is worth sacrificing your health! You seriously need to make sure you get help understanding how twisted this viewpoint is, because you have equated food with pleasure and reward and that is so sad! (and I say this as someone that once thought that way, so don't think I'm judging you!)
Your life WILL be too short if your trade-off is food over health. I freaking love food; I taught myself to cook when I was 8 years old and I can make stuff that would make you cry its so good... but I also realized I didn't want to be fat, sick and die in my 50s because I couldn't get control over my food addictions. I still eat fantastic food, but it's healthy and good for me and I feel great now. And because I changed how I cook, my dear husband is also much better - he lost over 70 pounds and says he's never been happier and does NOT feel deprived because we cook so many awesome meals that are good for us.

Do you now have any issues with Gastric Reflux? Have you had to take any sort of protonics? Do you sometimes eat and choke on your food? Do you have acid reflux when you lay down at night? If you answered yes to these questions then I would bypass Sleeve and go to Bypass. I think they are both good surgeries, but with the Gastric Sleeve, there is a greater tendency towards acid reflux. If you have reflux prior to sleeve, it could only get worse. I've always had a reflux issue had the sleeve and the problems got severe enough that with a bmi of 34 I had to go back in and convert to bypass.
There are people that believe if you are a chronic sweet tooth eater that you should chose bypass over sleeve, however there are a lot of posts by people with comments like "I ate Cookies and ice cream and I didn't dump and now I'm really upset". Let that sink in a bit. If you have gastric bypass and you are eating Cookies and ice cream and you are "mad"...after undergoing a serious surgery that you are not even trying to change your habits on your own and you expect a surgery to do everything for you....well, all you can do is shake your head.
Speak with your doctor and continue your research. I myself would have done bypass had I known the issues I would have the acid and the choking on meats due to spasms, which are more common than I thought they were. Pre sleeve I never read anything about 'esophageal spasms' or serious acid reflux.
Note: Not everyone that gets sleeved has this problem, I just always had a problem my entire life with acid reflux and was on two omeprazoles a day. I had acid issues drinking Water.

Today is my 1 year surgiversary, HWE =423# , Started Surgery journey @ 360# , 6mth post 271#, today 240# .So that is 183# total loss ....120# surgical loss. My dream goal is still another 65# away but I could stop now and be happy with my health.

Just as a reminder, please put on your calendar the August meeting of the Bariatric Pal Local Support Group. The date is August 20, 2015 @ 5:30 PM in the Simpson Community Center (6 North Main Street Camden, DE This on the corner of North Main Street and Route 10) and we will meet there.



Please fill free to invite anyone Pre- or Post-surgery who is seeking support. Text me if you need more info 302-632-8111.