winning_by_losing

I am hoping this feeling never goes away.

I now have to interrupt whatever I'm enjoying to eat, but I don't get enjoyment from it like I used to and to me that is great. If I ever get back to the point where I start enjoying meals, rather than what I'm able to do between the meals, that is when I'll start to worry.

I would give them a call to be safe.

Just like Joy59 mentioned, 2 weeks out was way too early for my program to be eating that type of foods, but then we all have different programs.

I have no experience with sodastream, but have you looked into the Crystal Light, Mio, Dasani etc... Water enhancers?

They're all sugar free and there are TONS of flavors to choose from (make sure to pay attention to those "energy" versions with caffeine).

I have a whole shelf in my pantry for my selection, as I buy pretty much any new flavor I find.

My favorites are funny enough the generic store brand ones from Kroger. Orange Tangerine tastes just like I remember Orange soda to taste and the Raspberry Black Tea reminds me of a good iced tea (without caffeine of course).

In my program juice of any kind was not allowed, due to the sugars.

I became a huge fan of Water enhancer/flavorings (Mio, Crystal Light, Dasani, Kool-Aid, and all of the store-brand equivalents). There are tons of different flavors and even now at a little over 6 months out I still rely on them heavily to give me variety.

From everything I've read between the thousands of posts on this subject it seems that just like with how fast we lost the weight, the effect on the skin is unique to each of us.

Some of the factors believed to contribute to the outcome include your age, how long you've been overweight/obese, how fast you gained the weight, how much elasticity your skin has, how large/severe and how many stretch marks you have, your vitamin/protein intake, muscle tone, exercise regimen and of course how much weight you lose.

As I started out my journey I wasn't seeing much as far as sagging skin goes. I held onto hope that maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Unfortunately, now that I'm getting so close to my goal I realize that for me it was just a matter of where I was losing the weight and it the effects have now caught up to me.

I've done a ton of research on the suggested treatments, but unfortunately most seem to either be short term benefits or just pure snake oil tricks. I've finally come to terms with the fact that if I can't put up with the saggy skin I will need to save up for plastic surgery.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but by "live a little" I am assuming you're talking about going back to your old ways of eating, even if only for a few days, correct?

If so, isn't that counterproductive to the whole purpose of getting this surgery?

Why not keep moving along your journey and keep up the progress you've made thus far? Then you'll have less to lose after the surgery and already be ahead of the curve.

I'm not quite ready for the after pictures yet either (I will when I hit my goal in 6 pounds), however I started off MUCH larger.

As for the loss though, at least for me it has really been a gradual losing process all over. At first it was arms and legs. Then it was my butt and my stomach has been the last area to really start shrinking. Of course all of the extra skin doesn't help things, but hopefully that will somewhat tighten up over time.

I started out thinking exactly that same way. As I was dropping sizes like crazy (6 shirt sizes and 8 pant sizes) I tried to buy everything I could from either the thrift shops or wal-mart.

I then realized with the amount of money I'm saving on food now I could afford to buy a couple of somewhat nicer items in each size (usually 2 pairs of pants and 2 shirts). I then could do some mixing and matching with other not-so-nice items and it felt like my wardrobe was at least acceptable. Yes I ended up donating all of it, but it really helped my sense of self-perception throughout this transition and I'm very happy to have done it.

I had mine out close to 10 years ago, so of course my experience may not be quite the same as it would be now after RNY.

However - at the time I had a desk job that I could do 99% of from anywhere I had my computer, I actually resumed work the same day once I was back in my room recovering. I worked from home the next day and then returned to the office the following.

In our program, orientation was really just a high level overview of the bariatric program itself.

They had 2 patients who were about 1 year and 2 years out from surgery respectively. They talked about their journey and allowed us to ask some questions.

They then had the main nurse who coordinates things come in and speak for a bit, followed by one of the nutritionists and then a short video by one of the surgeons.

I think it really depends on which Kaiser program you have.

Here in Colorado, the process went something like this.

PCP referral

Nutritionist appointment

Orientation

Approval for bariatric program

Appointment with bariatric RN

Scheduled for 6 weeks of group classes

First appointment with psych

Classes 1-4

2nd appointment with psych

Classes 5 & 6

Final approval from psych

Surgery scheduled 4-8 weeks out

Class #7

Monthly support groups

I know I've seen some posts in the past from folks who are definitely from the UK.

You may see some more responses by posting with a title that better reflects what you're seeking (people in the UK), rather than about being unsure about something. With the thousands of posts to click through, not everyone is going to open this one.

That is just the official medical term, it isn't any different. Sort of like Influenza being the official term but we all call it the flu.

What does rny mean

RNY is short for Roux-en-y gastric bypass.

what is 5 day pouch

I posted the link in post #5 if you want to read about it. It is basically a quick method to try and reset things and get you back on track.

In the first week after surgery I think I slept a total of about 5 hours. It was miserable. Of course it didn't help that I am a stomach sleeper and couldn't do so with the JP drain sticking out.

Once I got the drain removed and could return to my normal sleeping position I haven't had an issue since. I now get my full 3-4 hours each night and wake just as rested as I always have.

As for the numb butt thing - yeah I get it all the time. I work a desk job for 16-19 hours a day which definitely doesn't help at all, but I find after sitting in the same position for more than 2 hours now my butt, lower back and upper legs often go numb so I have to continually change positions and when meetings allow for it, get up and stretch much more frequently.

+1 for Bariatric Advantage.

They're chewable and don't taste horrible like a few of the others I tried.

But I order mine through Bariatric Choice, as their site seems to be cheaper. I also get Calcium citrate chews as well.

I hit my first stall 2 weeks after surgery.

As others have mentioned, stick with it. Eventually the stall will end and the weight will drop again.

However - if you haven't already done so I recommend taking measurements. I notice that whenever I tend to stall on the scale I make progress with the tape measure, so it is a good way to see that you're still making progress, just in different ways.

I feel hungry a lot of the time, but since my program dictates we stick with 3 meals and don't snack, I avoid snacking as much as humanly possible.

Just like Ginger Snaps mentioned, I keep a bottle of Water around as well as even at 6+ months out I still wake up and need a drink quite often.

I get up each day at 3:00 so I'm usually hungry, but I typically wait until 8 or 9 to have Breakfast, then try to wait for lunch around 1 or 2 and dinner around 7. I'm usually decently hungry again before I get to bed around 11, but do my best manage it with more Water. On the rare occasion I can't handle it, I've found that a couple of teaspoons of salsa works well to quell the hunger without much in the way of calories.

I was actually almost hoping for the hair loss, as it would have given me an excuse to shave my head for a while. While my hair is now not quite as coarse as it used to be and much thinner (the hair itself, not the volume), I haven't experienced any Hair loss at just over 6 months out.

That said, I've been beyond religious when it comes to making sure I have my Protein and fluids each and every day.

As for the dumping - as already mentioned, avoid the sugars and fats and chew your tiny bites as much as humanly possible. I have only dumped once and it was by eating regular ketchup (I now use reduced sugar). It was a bad day (~6 hours), but definitely not the end of the world. After that I learned to try all new foods while at home and to ensure anything I try is extremely low in sugar (I've avoided fatty foods at all costs, so no experience there).

The sagging skin is now more of a badge of honor. While it looks terrible in the shower, I'll happily deal with it knowing that I can be active, healthy and truly get back to living life instead of just surviving.

Unfortunately I don't know that there is anything you can do to combat any of these 3 issues pre-surgery, but in my opinion none are worth fretting about.

I know the Kaiser program we have here in Colorado is different than the one you have our there, so don't expect them to be identical, but here is how mine went.

They first sent me a packet of probably 50 questions that covered things like when you can remember first being overweight, what types of dieting you've tried over the years, abuse, trauma, etc...

Then when I first met with the doc, he reviewed the packet and asked some more questions (I assume based on my answers).

In the 2nd (and final) meeting with him, he then asked more specific questions about what I'd learned through the program, my thoughts on the surgery and my commitment, etc... Only after his final approval after this 2nd appointment would they even schedule my surgery.

I was very open about all of my history, including the history with depression and anxiety and it didn't affect anything.

Its a sad thing that I have kept all my skinny clothes hoping someday I can lose enough. I keep telling my wife I'll fit into those again don't throw them out. I have come so close so many time to just donate them because I just can't lose the weight no matter what.

But I am so excited that I did keep them because soon I will be doing exactly what you are doing. Instead of culling away my skinny clothes it will be my fatty clothes. I look forward to trying on my army uniform from 20 years ago and it fitting! That's my personal goal!

Just make sure you don't wait too long to dig them out and try them on.

I had a small wardrobe of clothes downstairs of things that I'd hoped to fit back into some day. Unfortunately by the time I got them out and started trying things on I could only wear the smallest of the items and everything else was too large.

Don't get me wrong, I'm more than pleased with the 5 shirt sizes and 8 pant sizes that I've dropped so far, but for that short period I could have worn some of those things it would have been nice.

Our next Bariatric Pal support meeting is scheduled for:

Date: Monday, Sept 8th

Location: Broomfield Library, 3 Community Park Rd, Broomfield, CO 80023.

Eisenhower Conference Room ~ 2nd floor

Time: 6pm-7:00 / 7:30pm

Please let me know if you plan on attending so I can plan accordingly, thanks.

In the meantime, if you'd like to receive Calendar Event reminders via FB, please join our Mission Slimpossible online support team. Send me a friend request to Fran Catalan Porter, and I will add you to the private group (for your privacy, not visible to anyone else on FB).

I'll be there.

Well I had terrible back issues prior to surgery, so my viewpoint is a little different.

Once I got down about 80 pounds the pain started to let up for the majority of the time.

Unfortunately now when the pain returns it feels so much worse than before. I'm guessing partly because I used to manage it with ibuprofen and partly because it is no longer constant.

The tylonol we're allowed to have now does nothing for the pain, so ice and rest are the only things that give me relief now.

Surgery was Tuesday morning, was released Wednesday afternoon.

I was originally told 2 nights would be mandatory, but was told Wednesday morning that as soon as I could get my ride down to the hospital I could leave.

While I was waiting for my ride I got to take a shower, do some more walking and chat up the nurses.