FrankyG

There is no lotion or pill that is going to have any real effect on saggy skin. Using lotions is good for basic hydration of the outer surface, but that's it. It isn't going to radically fix skin that has been stretched out from being fat. Several things are in play for how well your skin will bounce back after weight loss: Genetics. If you have family members that are not real wrinkled and seem to be aging well, then chances are you might have a decent chance of having good skin. If you didn't get lots of stretch marks from gaining weight, then that is also a sign of good skin genetics. Count yourself lucky for this. Age is also a factor. If you're young, skin just has more elasticity. How fast you lose weight. If you are a fast loser, then the skin will sag much more. The slower/longer it takes you to lose, the more time your skin has to adjust to weight loss. Of course if you are a fast loser, you might look much more saggy for a while, but skin may tighten up after so long, so it's not terrible to be a fast loser. How long you've been fat. The longer you've been at a large weight and the longer your skin has been stretched out, the less likely it will bounce back as well. It is just like blowing up a balloon - blow it up and then let the air out immediately, the balloon will probably look pretty good, but wait for 5 days and deflate it and it will be stretched out and wrinkly. Same principle with skin. The best thing you can do is make sure to keep up with your Protein and Water. If you're taking your Vitamins, eat healthy and stay hydrated, that is your best path. By all means, use good lotions like coco butter to keep the outer layer hydrated and nice, but what you put in your body is probably the best way to help minimize the sag. Oh! And avoid tanning and sun damage, and exercise to build muscle since that also helps fill out skin that has lost fat.

I've had extensive counseling to deal with parent/inlaw issues and currently the husband's parents are cut off and may make that permanent. Just because you're related doesn't mean you have to put up with being treated poorly. Blood is NOT an excuse to put up with being a doormat. One of my counselors said something I still use to this day: "Of course your parents know how to push your buttons - they're the ones that installed them!" Stop giving your father information with which to use against you. Either use humor "I've lost so much I actually don't register on the scale any more so I have no idea how much I weigh!" or shut them down flat "I'm not talking about that any more because it makes me uncomfortable." and change the subject. And he gets a warning, then you remove yourself from the situation if he can't stop. So first you'd need to tell him that you no longer want to hear him criticize your weight or make mean comments about your appearance, and if he does, you will call him on it and may leave or cut the conversation off. If he does it anyway, then say something like "Dad, that was a very hurtful comment, and I don't think I want to talk to you any more. I'll check in with you/visit with you later." Then leave, or hang up the phone. It teaches them that if they want to have a relationship with you, they have to be nice to you. And you gain confidence by standing up for yourself and leaving/hanging up when someone treats you poorly. None of this is mean-spirited and should not be said with any anger or venom towards the other person, just calmly being assertive and telling people how you want to be treated. And then following through.

Please reconsider and let your boss know you'll be out for those two weeks at least a little before the actual time. You're screwing over everyone in your workplace by not giving them notice that you'll be out, and if it comes out later (or they even suspect that you had known you were having surgery and just decided not to tell anyone) they'll hold that against you down the road. Not in any way you could prove, but they can and will be pretty resentful and you may suffer for the lack of notice. Think about how you'd feel if one of your coworkers was out for two weeks with no notice and you had to pick up all of their work... And they can and will likely require the doctor's notice to come back to work after a few days if you tell them it was emergency surgery for something else, and if it comes from a doc that is a bariatric surgeon (which will be on their letterhead or easily google-able)... well, you'll end up revealing more than you planned on in the end. You don't have to tell them you're having WLS - I told my boss I was having abdominal surgery to correct a medical issue and that I didn't feel comfortable discussing the details so I didn't even lie. But do let them know so you won't be stressed about your job when you get back, they won't be stressed about the job while you're gone and you'll still have a job to come back to without lots of weirdness.

Definitely talk to your doctor especially if you have a family history of gallbladder issues. You can request all you want, but keep in mind they won't remove it unless it is medically necessary/indicated however.

If you haven't had any symptoms of gallstones, then removing your gallbladder isn't necessary. You would definitely know if you had symptoms, as gallstone attacks are some of the most painful experiences most people go through (similar to childbirth and passing a kidney stone). So if you're curious, ask your doc to about your gallbladder, but they'll likely tell you not to worry about it if you haven't had any attacks.

I haven't experienced this, but it might be caused by blood sugar levels changing too much after eating. Reactive hypoglycemia I think it's called. You can feel poorly physically but I'd imagine it would also make you feel bad emotionally as well if it's happening frequently. Might want to get your hormone and other blood levels checked to make sure there's not a physical/chemical reason for the sadness.

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.

I used some pretty scarfs/sashes and tied them off. Looked nice and very soft. I'd check out thrift stores for those or belts that might work for cheap. I saw tons of elastic belts on Amazon with high ratings tho?

Not even taking into consideration the carbonation being a very bad idea that early, caffeine and sodium are both present in most sodas, and they both are dehydrating - they will make you feel worse, not better.

I eat sushi/sashimi about 2-3 times a week. Started eating sashimi at 3 months and was just fine. Usually I eat 3 pieces of salmon sashimi and then 2-3 small pieces of a sushi roll (usually lobster roll lately). I do tend to take out about half the rice from the roll's pieces tho. I'm about 1 year, 4 months out now.

The reason people gain weight back after having WLS is simple. They expected to have the surgery and continue doing exactly what they were doing that got them fat and unhealthy in the first place. So they don't change anything themselves. My experience is with the gastric sleeve, so the following is from that viewpoint, but even if you have a bypass, the basic features are the same. The surgery's success is because it performs two functions: first, it has an immediate effect of reducing portions. Portion control is also one of the only permanent features. This works for the rest of your life. In the beginning, you lose the overwhelming hunger too, as the main portion of the stomach that produced the hunger hormone is gone. The hunger will come back, but for the first 6 months to a year, you won't register hunger the same as before surgery. What this means is that you get a period of time where you regain control over your body and can change your habits and see real results. During the "honeymoon" time of roughly 12-18 months, you are supposed to throw out everything regarding how you relate to food. You get counseling or try to work through any psychological issues/attachments where you use food for comfort, for reward, whatever - replacing these habits with new healthy ones like exercise or other hobbies. You are relearning how to eat, what to eat and getting used to small portions of food. You make better choices and get your healthy Protein and veggies and complex carbs as your primary diet established and even if you have an occasional treat of a slice of cake or a piece of pizza it won't be something you gorge yourself on let alone even eat regularly any more. The ones that regain? They are the ones that never really used that honeymoon period to their advantage. They treated the surgery as a cure-all instead of seeing it for what it really is - a tool they needed to pick up and use properly and continue to use for the rest of their life. It requires a total mindshift to be successful long-term. My doctor said that anyone can lose weight for the first year even eating absolute crap. But once the person's metabolism catches up and resets to the amount of foods they eat, especially when they eat primarily crap foods or slider foods like ice cream or simple carbs - then they'll start regaining, and say that the surgery didn't work for them... but the fact of the matter is that they failed, not the surgery. I used to say I was happy at the weight I was for quite some time. I was even a "healthy" fat person - no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no cholesterol issues whatsoever. I looked perfect on paper other than my weight. But I knew that wouldn't last and I also knew that my world was getting smaller since there were so many things I know longer could do without feeling self-conscious or needing special accommodations... so I stopped doing them. And it took a death in the family for me to see that I was allowing my weight to rob me of living my life. I made the appointment with the doc and got surgery 3 months later and the only thing I regret is that it took me so long to do this. The years of my life I lost to being morbidly obese and unhealthy... just such a waste. I won't lie; this was and will continue to be hard work for the rest of my life. But I'm worth the work. So the real question here is - do you think YOU are worth it? Do you want to get free of the hold that food has over you? Do you want to give yourself a fighting chance of living a good, long life doing whatever you want to do?

Y'all are describing "food funerals" which is a very common thing before WLS. It's a weird thing to do because you could eat anything again eventually (whether you actually want to eat that crap later on is a different tangent). But the big problem is if you're on a liver reducing diet before surgery and don't stick to it, you could make it impossible to have the surgery if you don't reduce the liver enough for them to get in there and move it without injury (which you do NOT want to do - liver injury can be life-threatening).

I had to do it too for 2 weeks after, but can't remember how often I was told to use it.

I was a 44G before surgery and I'm a 36G now. They are slightly less full (skin is a bit wrinkly if I lean over or am laying down and they are not as firm) but still the same cup size after a 110 pound loss. I still have a ways to go to hit goal, so no idea if they'll go down further. I have hopes that the wrinkly skin will firm up a bit, but so far they're holding in there as far as appearance, and I was actually not wanting to loose too much cup size wise (fine with losing band size) because I like my general shape.

I think you need to stop googling stuff. Seriously. I could go out there and put up all manner of scare tactics and inflated ridiculous stories about why this or that is super scary dangerous and you are going to regret doing X, Y or Z. But you know what? It's all crap unless you know the site is reputable. That site is a Blogspot. You do get that means it's some joe schmoe that has no accreditation or even paid for their site (it's a Blogger site - ANYONE can make an "official" looking site on there!) And you're throwing yourself into a panic because they found a nearly 10 year old study that has been discredited already and was lacking randomized trials and included all deaths of patients - including the ones that died from suicide, drug overdoses and other obesity related events that were set in motion before they had WLS. In other words, the study sited is flawed. And did you read the invited critique of that study the website sited? It says not only was the study not done to look at bariatric surgery in real randomized trials but found... "Collectively these data suggest that the operations are not dangerous and that it may be a greater hazard to not induce weight loss for morbidly obese patients with concomitant medical complications" http://archsurg.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=400686 Please call your doctor first thing Monday morning and ask for help. You need counseling STAT, and get in and see the doctor and tell them you are in a state of panic and need to get answers to help calm you down. It is going to be okay, really. You did something good for your health. It will work out in the end. But you have to stop focusing on bad things and panicking yourself. Stop looking on the web for stuff - you're only going to make yourself feel worse. Get real help from your doctor and from a therapist that you can speak with face to face. It will make a difference.

I was self pay, and I did meet with a nutritionist as they were a part of the practice's pre-op checks they make everyone do. I feel I got very little from them even through my post-op visits. But that is not because they don't have important skills and advice or are unhelpful. I read and research things to death, and understand caloric and nutritional needs VERY well now. I know all about how the body works with what is there, what comes in and what goes out and stalls and low carbing and all that stuff. I am confident that I can (and have) done a great job of managing my nutrition on my own. If you don't do your homework or have difficulties understanding your relationship with food and just need food help in general, a good nutritionist can be very beneficial.

I am so sorry for your loss. You really, really should be in grief counseling as well. Losing a loved one like that is devastating and there is no reason you should not go get professional help just like your granddaughter. Avoiding your grief and emotions and not knowing how to deal with them is going to make everything in your life harder - and eating crap foods is one of the signs that you really need help dealing with this. Please seek help and take care of yourself.

I went from being lukewarm on spicy foods to LOVING them after surgery. But you should probably wait to the 6 month point to start introducing spicy stuff into your diet, and go slowly. By that point, you should be off PPIs and adjusted to being on regular foods.

Can't stop off at a WalMart that has a grocery? They are usually near freeways, HUGE parking lots where you can park a semi or large truck for a few minutes - just park it a bit away and get some walking in to boot. Check out the deli counter and surrounding area where you could get meats, chicken salad, or Soups. There is also lots of small containers of yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese sticks... Any IHOP, Cracker Barrel, or Denny's restaurant can do up some scrambled eggs with cheese (and later sausage/bacon). I ate that for Breakfast and lunch. And most of those places serve soups too. And definitely pack a cooler or fridge installed if you'd like to save money or time. Love the idea of getting a small one that runs off of the truck's electrical.

Let you in on a little secret... Those burgers are held together with pins and other bits and bobs so the "perfect" pickle and cheese slice and all that stuff doesn't shift when the model bites into it. There is a TINY section of that burger where it is safe to bite into. If they miss, they get the #$@! jabbed out of their mouth. Sometimes there's blood. And the burgers are usually cold since it is safer than trying to hold them at a warm temp (and keeps the lettuce and other veggies looking fresher). And they have to do that take dozens times to get it right, so the model has to spit out the bite or else she'd get sick eating cold gross burger. So after each bite, there's a "cut" and then she spits chewed up food all over the place. Still sound appetizing? Where they just show the beautiful ice cream or something on a plate is even grosser. Check this link out: http://mentalfloss.com/article/30195/11-ways-advertisers-make-food-look-delicious THERE IS GLUE, MOTOR OIL AND HAIRSPRAY ON THAT FOOD. :D If you understand how they make that stuff look amazing...

It gets better. It would get much better if your family was more supportive of you and didn't eat that crap in front of you, but you have to do your part to avoid exposing yourself to that stuff in the early days (for exactly the reasons you experienced; it's depressing to smell/see foods you used to eat and know you should not eat them!!) Your body is still raw and reeling from the surgery, so hunger cues and fullness and all of that is going to feel really off for a while. As far as feeling really down - fat stores hormones. As you lose fat, all of those hormones get flushed back into your body and can cause you to feel down, weepy, angry or other extremes. Be aware that you might experience mood swings, but remind yourself that it isn't really you - it is those hormones! And everyone does get a bit "what did I just do" right after surgery when you're still swollen, sore, and can't hardly drink your little bits of Protein shakes and broths and things taste off or you don't feel any restriction.... This is a VERY short time in your journey, tho, so don't worry - you're going to be feeling great and doing way better in just a little while.

Add some lemon or lime or flavoring to your water. It is REALLY common for plain water to taste off in the early days, but flavorings help.

Ditto Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App +3 Sooooo happy and feel great and it's just going to keep getting better.

Yup. Everything tasted off to me, plain Water was gross, things with sweetener were SUPER sweet.... In the early days, this is pretty common. It gets better the further out you get from surgery, but you may discover things you used to love you no longer like much, and other taste changes. I was kind of neutral on spicy stuff before, but I LOVE spicy stuff now.

A small percentage of people (like me) experience bad nausea when coming out of general anesthesia. I make sure to tell them that before surgery (and reminder when placing IV/speaking to nurse and anesthesiologist) and they put something in before the full anesthetic to prevent the nausea. So if you do end up feeling sick to your stomach - tell the nurses as soon as you can say anything and they can help you then. But keep it in mind to speak up prior to surgery for the next time. I never remember anything from even before them administering anesthetic; I get amnesia from about thirty minutes prior to them starting it to being at the tail end of my recovery room time (if I remember the recovery room at all). Which doesn't bother me at all. But the funny part is apparently I'm able to hold intelligent conversations with the doctors/nurses and have no memory of them whatsoever! But mostly it is no big deal, and should be like falling asleep when you're already really tired to begin with. And you'll wake up feeling like you just dozed off more than likely.