Djmohr

Yes this is normal. The important thing is to measure this early out. You will find that things like Soups, yogurt and soft foods slide through much easier leaving you room for more. Dense Proteins like meat, fish, cheese will actually fill you up faster and keep you full longer. I find that Greek yogurt definately stays with me much longer than regular yogurt, same with cottage cheese. This is why it really is important to measure your foods, figure out what is a slider for you and stay away from them. Especially during the first year which is considered the honey moon period.

Wow! You look fantastic! Congratulations!

@@khuuxo I am not sure how much weight you have to lose. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if it is a lot it is likely that your apron will only continue to drop. When I started this process I never thought I would consider having plastics and that I would be simply happy with the weight loss all by itself. For me, I lost 152lbs which is nearly what I weigh now. I call it the mudslide that happens when there is extreme weight loss. So, in July I happily met with plastic surgeons and decided I would need to do something. The mudslide has actually made my back issues that I had before surgery worse. So I started with a arm lift in July and was amazed at how much it helped my neck which is fused at 3 levels. Not to mention I got outstanding results cosmetically. In 12 days I will have a full abdominalplasty and breast lift because they are not where god intended them. I am doing this to get rid of all that loose skin and am actually hoping I get some relief on my low and mid back. My lumbar is also fused but most of my back pain is in my mid back. I guess I found that my journey wasn't complete simply after the weight loss. I simply gained a lot of confidence which not only fixed my inside but made me want to enter the second part of my journey which was getting rid of the loose skin. How much loose skin you end up with all depends on things like: how much you have to lose, genetics, age. I am guessing if you have gone through WLS chances are you have a considerable amount to lose? Best of luck to you as you continue your journey.

I would say mostly I feel compassion because I was there for a very long time. I know that likely they are feeling pain physically but also mentally. And there is a part of me that wants to simply tell them they don't have to live like this. But I have also learned that someone suffering from obesity has to get to their breaking point before they are ready to listen and take action. My husband is a great example. He is morbidly obese and a few years older than I. He watched me go from from a normal size when I met him to exceed a BMI larger than his now. He also watched me suffere through many back surgeries and health issues because of it. When I decided I was going to have WLS, he decided he was going to too and began the process with me. He backed out and although extremely supportive of my decision to move forward, he clearly is not ready. He eats completely out of boredom not hunger and yes, it does frustrate me to know he could be living differently but he clearly is not ready. I think it will take a health issue to make him ready. He is generally healthy and does not feel pain yet. Something will have to be his last straw and he will have to get there on his own. I have many friends and colleagues who are morbidly obese and they are all curious but none ready to do anything so drastic to take action. So, I feel empathy and compassion because I know that at some point they are going to feel pain or end up with serious health issues and they don't need to live like that.

I do things like this all the time. I swear i am getting senile and I am way too young for that. I am a born organizer. I spent my entire career in roles where this completely played to my strengths. I worked for a company for 25 years and nearly 3 years ago i got laid off. Anyway...suddenly I cannot organize anything. Its like my gift completely flew out the window. I am the family travel arranger. In the last two years I have booked the wrong flights multiple times, setting them up on the wrong days. Or I booked a hotel in Hawaii and had the taxi driver take us to the wrong hotel on the other side of the island. LOL. I did the same thing in San Francisco and prepaid the hotel through expedia. Well.....I ended up booked us at a downtown hotel when we needed to be at the airport by 6am. Ha....... Now, my husband approves all travel arrangements. Senility....i tell ya!

This really is one of the hardest things to deal with but you just have to work through it. In the beginning my husband was so good about not eating foods i love in front of me. In fact, the man would literally go eat downstairs. It actually frustrated me more because now I was always eating alone. I did not want him to change because I decided to have bariatric surgery. So, i finally convinced him to knock it off and eat with me telling him I really did not care about that crap he calls food anyway. Now, fast forward 2+ years.....he is always bringing stuff in this house that he knows I love and he must think I have extreme willpower. The truth is, I don't. I would prefer he not bring me a bag of dark chocolate promises or a cherry pie. My two favorite things....I know that he does this because he feels guilty that he is enjoying stuff and so therefore it helps him feel better. Well, last week he brought me a bag of dove dark chocolate promises. I literally went into the kitchen and threw them in the garbage. then I turned to him and said. I love you. Now STOP bringing me treats that I really don't want nor need. I will take care of my Snacks please. He looked sad for a second and then got immediately past it. You simply have to realize that we are responsible for controlling ourselves and you cannot let what they do influence you. And that is a hard pill to swallow sometimes when you have a clear enabler living with you.

@@LittleBill Now wait now....I am the negative one. Love your story. Of course I started by immediately looking at the picture and knew what was going to happen so I chuckled out loud through your story.

I would definately reach out to your surgeon on this one right away. I would worry most about how soon you are post surgery. Lastly, I will give you some advice only from my experience. I have learned that most doctors that are not bariatric doctors really don't have any idea of how to treat WLS patients. A bariatric doctor can handle a lot of things for you and will always keep your surgery top of mind to keep you safe. I have had doctors tell me to discontinue Vitamins that are very important to RNY patients. Since moving out of Minnesota where I had my surgery and on to a new insurance company, most doctors I deal with it look to me to know what I can and cannot take or do. Seriously..... If I had a magic wand, my one wish would be that all General doctors were required to know the ins and outs for patients who have had bariatric surgery. That way you would at least have one educated doctor that knows. I hope all works out for you but I would seriously call your surgeon.

How far out from surgery are you? I had RNY and constipation is a constant companion since surgery. My doctor put me on Linzess and it really truly helps. I did not start that though until i was post op a year and still having trouble with it. There are times even with the Linzess that I have to take a stool softener with laxative but that is maybe once a month or so. Prior to RNY I always had the other problem......and i have decided I would much rather have the other problem than constipation. That is about the only negative thing for me post RNY and I am 28 months post op and it is not that difficult for me to deal with. If you are newly post op, I would give the surgeon a call and ask for the best remedy for you. I know mine had me using Milk of Magnesia and even suppositories when it got really bad. I went 10 days post op before I was able to go and only with the help of the items mentioned.

You should definately seek a second opinion. There are pros and cons to both surgeries and both are very effective at massive weight loss. You and I are close to the same size and weight. I was 310 and 5'10" when I had my surgery. I chose bypass because of the benefits related to gerd and diabetes among other things. For him to tell you that you are not overweight enough does not make sense (no offense of course to your current weight) I originally was going to have the sleeve and because of my gerd and diabetes we chose bypass even though i have Psoriatic arthritis. With the bypass i can no longer take nsaids which is not recommended post either but more so with the bypass. Anyway, i could not be happier with my choice. I have had literally zero complications. I followed my plan from the beginning and stick very close to it now. What complications was he referring to? Lastly I would say either of these surgeries can get you to your goal and help you stay there. I have seen people on this site with both surgeries lose all of their excess weight.

I get something similar and it is when I have overdone it in volume or if I decide to indulge in something way to heavy/sweet. I will get terribly nauseous and then I want to throw up so bad but all i get are the dry heaves. It goes away for me after maybe 30 minutes or so?

@@ShelterDog64 I love Anne Hathaway. What a compliment! Thank YOU!

I just wanted to reach out and say congratulations! Sometimes we just have to kick ourselves in the butt so that we can get to the other side. I have always said, the loose skin is way better than the fat and is definately something you can live with. and for those that do end up with plastics, the scars are way better than the loose skin! Each of our journeys are our own and you have done a great job moving past obstacles. Keep on moving forward! Best of luck to you!

Your story is absolutely lovely! Thanks for sharing it, it is inspiring! As I was reading the part about trying on dresses in Las Vegas, it brought tears to my eyes. Every single time I go try on clothes, it still shocks me and makes me feel exactly the same. It takes a very long time for your brain to catch up with your body. I still catch glimpses of myself in the mirror and sometimes I don't recognize myself and other times, I still see the fat me. I think seeing the fat me is fear of regain so I am critical of what I see. I never want to be sick and fat again, I feel like I lost too many good years to let myself get back there. And life today is grand! Isn't it! Congratulations on your new life and continued journey!

Hopefully soon you will be able to swallow a normal Vitamin. I think I did the chewables (centrum) until the bottle was empty and then my bariatric team told me to buy the generic Vitamins with added D3 from Walgreens. I was able to swallow them about 8 weeks post op. I still cannot swallow pills that are fat. I can swallow long capsules like tylenol but things like NyQuil liquicaps will get stuck on me so I buy most everything in skinny capsules or small pills. The only chewable I still do is my Calcium citrate which for me is one of the most critical vitamins as I am a bypass patient and had arthritis and bone problems long before I had bypass.

It is best just to stick to the plan and the stall will break. I am 28 months post op now and have thought about using the liquid diet simply to detox after the holidays however I am having plastics in a couple of weeks and they really don't want you to change your diet that close to surgery. So, we will see what happens after that. I am guessing a few days of Protein shakes and cottage cheese type soft foods will reset me anyway. Incidentally I still drink 1 Protein shake every day for my Breakfast but I have noticed that within an hour or so I am starving so once my recovery is over, I am planning on dropping the shakes and eating dense protein for breakfast. I cannot do eggs so I will have to find something that works better for me like lunch meat and cheese.

@@Marissa.Ann.C Most insurances DO NOT cover plastics. Some will cover a pannilectomy if you have a lot of back up doctors appointments that show you have been dealing with infections. Other than that it is out of pocket. Prices vary by city. I live in Pewaukee, WI. So far I had a brachioplasty (arm lift) in July - outpatient so I went home a few hours after. the cost was 6500.00 and it included the compression garments and pretty much everything. I did spend a small fortune on ice packs both reusable and disposable. 2 weeks from yesterday I will be having a full abdominalplasty which includes muscle repair, a breast lift with augmentation - I have chosen to stay in the hospital for the first two nights since hubby works and I cannot be alone. The total cost was 17,200.00 and includes everything. In fact, she is also doing a small revision on my left arm near the elbow where I have a bit of a crease - we are going to try some more lipo of the elbow to see if that helps. I will say plastics is expensive and painful but so worth it. I have a lot of loose hanging skin that pulls on my back and I have back issues to begin with. I also get redness and rubbing that can be painful and could cause infection and had. My insurance covered none of it. I ended up taking a extra project to pay for most of my plastics so far and they do have financing options available at some plastic surgeons. It is best to do your homework and make sure you use a board certified plastic surgeon who has worked on people with massive weight loss. Good luck on your surgery! It really is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I am so glad I did it. I was one of those people that did not think all the extra skin would matter so much. For me, having bypass was about getting healthy. I had a lot of comorbitities, but the more weight I lost, the more confident I began to feel about myself to the point that I want my body to look pretty good again. When i was young (BK....before kids), I was one hot mama. The more weight I put on, the worse I felt about myself and began hiding my body. Now, I want to show it off! I am 53 and look pretty great and more importantly I feel fantastic! Best of luck to you! I hope all goes well and you are on your way to a whole new life.

How exciting! Congratulations on getting through the first phase and now on to the second. Before you know it, you will be living a whole new life! And.....I would take your documentation just in case.

Having this type of surgery can be very emotional. It is perfectly normal to feel a little bit down at this stage. The important thing is you recognize it. Just know that it will get a little better every day. Try to take some good long walks, I swear it made me feel human again after my bypass. Drink lots of Water and try not to let it get to you. best of luck!

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch, @ Thanks and yes, I like this picture better too! I hate having my picture taken. I am usually hiding behind someone. LOL

@@mrsNilla Nice recap of life right after surgery. Oh what I would give to be back at the stage where I would forget to eat. You are right, those first few weeks, you literally have to keep track of what you drink and or eat, or you don't get enough. Congratulations on your surgery!

@@Babbs Right back at you! I absolutely love how straight forward and honest you are and always look for your posts. I am usually sitting here yelling at my laptop "you tell em Babbs!" On top of that you are one hot tamale! I still love that sassy haircut! I have been growing mine out but it's annoying me so I am thinking of going short again. Leave it to us women, we can never make up our minds.... Ha

RNY leaves with a golf ball size pouch for a stomach. It also reroutes your intestines on purpose to promote malabsorbtion so you don't absorb all of the food you do eat. For me, it has been a wonderful experience and a great tool to help me control my eating. I am 28 months post op so I can eat more than right after surgery but maybe I can eat 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food depending on what it is. If it is dense meat, I can eat just two to 3 ounces and I am full and stay full longer. With RNY, the hunger does come back after the nerves regrow however it is not that gnawing hunger that I had before surgery. Also, just a few bites and I am full again. I love that I was able to have this surgery and lose all my weight and I love that so many others on this site have had the same success both with RNY and the sleeve. Best of luck to you!

I had to sit in the middle seat of an airplane this week. I swear......i had to look and see if I was accidentally sitting in first class. there was at least 6 inches on each side of my rear and the arm rests. Also, when the folks sitting next to me came down the aisle, they did not look at me and cringe with dread. Instead, I swear I saw relief on their faces. And, best of all...my seatbelt actually had nearly a foot of extra belt on it. I said to my husband either airplanes are getting bigger or I am truly smaller than i think. I used to dread asking for those darn extenders, it was embarrassing.