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@@Serena89

I understand that you might have gotten thrown into this because of your previous condition. But you have a plan from your doctor and you are choosing NOT to follow it.

Also you state you are not to eat Protein bars until 12 weeks post op yet you are eating cheetos and candy. I know you want to do better and that is why you are reaching out for feedback.

That being said, YOU have to take responsibility for YOUR behaviors. I get cravings because I have them every single day. That never goes away so you need to find constructive ways to deal with it and get your mind off of it.

The most important thing is that if you eat what you are supposed to, it should keep you full and satisfied.

If you are eating sugar and simple carbs, they raise your blood sugar and cause you to have more cravings and be hungry sooner.

If i were on a fork tender diet, I would be eating fish, chicken and vegetables or eggs, cottage cheese, Beans and greek yogurt. These are things that will provide good Protein, good carbs (not bad ones), keep you full longer and help you to lose weight.

Also, I use Water and milk when I get cravings to keep them at bay. I try drinking lots and lots of Water and that can make the craving go away. If that doesnt work, a simple cup of milk. It turns to a solid, provides excellent protein and fills you up for a while. My doctor required I drink a cup of milk in between each of my meals in the beginning.

Lastly if you have cravings, go do something to keep you busy and your mind off of it. Do some crafts, go for a walk, read a book, take a nap. You should be drinking lots and lot of water and protein shakes. This will help get your strength back. If you are dehydrated, it is likely why you are feeling so tired.

And if you ask for feedback be open to what you are going to hear. We are only trying to help you at your request.

Be good to your body, it is the only one we are given. Best of luck to you.

Honestly speaking losing weight definitely makes your face look older. Everything droops a bit and it takes a while for your brain to catch up with the changes.

That being said, I have never received a negative comment about my looks. I have been told I look beautiful and healthy.

I have taken steps to remove alot of the loose skin and I do plan on a lower face lift at some point in the future.

You are not going to like my answer and maybe things are different because you are a sleeve patient and I am a RNY patient but I have been dealing with Constipation issues since my surgery two years ago. Prior to surgery I never experienced it, I always had the other problem.

Anyway, about 10 months ago, my gastroenterologist put me in Linzess and it works fantastic. You might give your surgeon a call and let them know that your constipation is bad.

Also, are you still on pain meds? that can make it even worse.

best of luck to you!

When is the last time they were checked? Also, are they checking potassium? that can sometimes cause that restless legs and make you very tired.

I have had problems with my legs in the past and was treated for restless leg syndrome but eventually it went away.

I know I have had 4 surgeries in the last 15 months and that can really take alot out of you so your doctor might be right however it doesnt answer the leg issue.

I used to be hot and sweaty all the time and since surgery and the loss of 152lbs, I am freezing all the time.

Seriously, even in the summer I am wearing long sleeves and covered with a light blanket in the house. If it gets bad enough, I even use a heating pad.

You learn to wear layers. For me, I would much rather be thin and cold then fat and hot. LOL.....I hated being a sweaty person that could not get cool enough.

You should ask that they do a nutritional panel. you may be short on B12 or some of the other critical Vitamins.

When is the last time you had a full panel done? It should be done at 3,6,12,18 months and then every single year after that.

Call your bariatric surgeon and have him provide the list of tests they do. There are alot of things they look for.

I suspect you may have a defficiency somewhere. Even if you take your Vitamins you have to get checked because your body malabsorbs them so without testing you wont know.

It shouldn't. I was on a max dose of a PPI for years before surgery and they put me back on it for 30 days after.

It should not impact your surgery but give them a call and ask.

I would definately call the doctor because reflux is supposed to be cured with RNY. I had very severe gerd prior to my surgery and have not had a single episode of even light heartburn since.

they did keep me on a PPI for the first 30 though because there is some stomach acid for a short periiod of time.

i would call....Lastly are you drinking all your fluids? Sometimes dehydration can feel like heartburn and hunger.

I have been dealing with thyroid issues since i was 21 years old. I have hypothyroidism.

I would not worry too much about it impacting the actual surgery. Just go to the doctor and get on the right meds.

If your thyroid is slow like mine as soon as the weight starts coming off your levels will flucuate and you will need to work closely with your doctor to regulate. I am currently 2 years post op and still trying to regulate the right dose. It has come down alot and now i am taking one dose one day and another dose the next day. I think it is finally working but have to go get levels checked again.

It will be ok, i think. Just follow through with your doctors.

It definately gets better. There are so many hormones at play after this surgery and it can make you emotional. You have to dust yourself off, get up and get moving.

Also, I would ask if you are getting all of your liquids. If not, that can make you feel like absolute crap and it wont go away until you take action and get hydrated.

Everyday it should get a little better for you but the first couple of weeks suck. Low energy.....and just all around yuckiness. Also, if you are still taking pain meds, they can cause that hot and cold until you stop taking them for a day or two.

Here's the thing. The more junk you eat like that, the more you will crave it.

What foods are actually on the diet the doctor gave you? The best thing you can do for yourself is follow the plan. If the first surgery failed in the end and now you have a second chance, I would ask why you are self sabbotaging?

You need to talk with a therapist or I am afraid you will be right back where you started.

By the way, neither of those foods are on a fork tender diet and sugar and simple carbs will only make you crave them more. I literally have to go through a detox after indulging.....go back to the plan.

The other thing is you have a short period of time (honeymoon) period when you can pretty much do anything and you will still lose weight. If you dont leverage that time to begin eating healthy and exercising by the time it wears off, you will start gaining again. There are posts all over this board as well as others about what happens when you don't follow the plan.

The surgery is about 10% of weight loss, the head game is the other 90%. You need to change your behaviors for good.

Which surgery did you have?

@@bayougirlmrsc

Had my bypass 2 years ago, and I just celebrated my 29th wedding anniversary on Halloween. My marriage has always been good and my husband extremely supportive. Don't get me wrong, we all have our moments but we are best friends. He is obese himself and I believe some day will end up taking the plunge as well. When he does, I will be just as supportive for him.

He is very excited these days as I have been going through plastics. I started in July with my arms (that was for me)...in January I will have my Tummy Tuck, breast lift and augmentation. (he gets new boobs and as he said, he cannot wait to take them for a spin) Yes, he actually said that to my plastic surgeon. She laughed so hard. He is usually pretty quiet so I think he shocked her. LOL.

@@weightglitch

You are not wrong. Having this surgery is not only life saving, it is exciting and I don't blame you for wanting to get it done faster.

I will be having surgery in January......but mine is plastics! Having WLS allowed me to lose all of my excess weight and now I am very excited about getting my body back. I had arms done in July, Tummy and boobs in January....who knows whats next!

Best of luck to you! Leverage the time you have to develop excellent behaviors that will help you when you get to maintenance. Losing the weight is a piece of cake compared to maintaining it. I am serious about that.......

All I will add is that I totally 100% believe that because I went through the long drawn out process it allowed me to change bad behaviors more slowly. Not everyone leverages that time to do the best they can but I am not certain I would be as successful as I have if it were not for the 9 months I spent with my nut, surgeon and bariatric nurse.

I learned a ton about this disease and how to treat it properly. If i were to have gotten through the process so quickly I am convinced I would not have lost 100% of my excess weight nor would I have kept it off this long.

Just my two cents.....it would be interesting to get a real accounting of success rates with a waiting period vs none. There is a reason why many surgeons and insurance companies require it. I have to believe there is real data somewhere about why.

@@candacer

If you search success stories on this site you will likely get alot of information.

I was 51 when I had RNY gastric bypass. I chose bypass over sleeve because I suffered from GERD and RNY is know to cure it. I also had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and stage 3 kidney disease.

I am 5'10" and at my heaviest weight was 315 lbs.

I lost a 152lbs in 18 months and reached my goal this past march. I went from a size 26 to a size 8/10.

Best of all I no longer have GERD, sleep apnea, high BP or high cholesterol. My diabetes has been in remission since the day I had surgery and my stage 3 kidney disease has been in remission since 3 months post op.

For me, having this surgery was the best thing I ever did.

I had no complications and I believe that is because I followed doctors orders to the letter.

I was scared when i started mostly because of all the required change but once I started the process i kept my goals top of mind and they literally drove me.

Best of luck to you!

@@genn

Got it, when you said juice I thought you meant fruit juice. Any of the sugar free drinks like crystal light and such work but I am with you I cannot eat or drink anything with sugar substitutes. They cause Migraines for me.

I had RNY bypass 2 years ago, lost 152lbs and have been at goal since March. I chose bypass because I had gerd and that can get much worse with the sleeve requiring a revision to bypass anyway.

I have had NO complications at all. I can literally eat anything that I want, not that I do. The only exception is eggs, my stomach just feels heavy when i eat them so I dont.

If you get your blood work done on schedule and take your Vitamins everyday, bypass is an extremely effective surgery. By the way, you have to have your blood work done and take Vitamins with the sleeve as well.

Both surgeries are aggressive but effective. RNY creates a small pouch for your new stomach and reroutes which provides a malabsorption factor that assists greatly in weight loss. On the other hand the sleeve creates a banana shaped pouch and removes the other 90% of your stomach. As you can see.....both aggressive.

RNY is the gold standard in WLS surgery but the sleeve is fast becoming just as popular however there is less long term data available.

The important thing is to choose a surgeon you are comfortable with and do your research.

Usually juice is not on the list because of all the sugar.

You are so close! Congratulations and all of this stuff will be well worth it.

It is normal to be a bit nervous right before surgery.

Be good to yourself the next two days. Take a hot bath, read a book.

Yes. It is called reactive hypoglycemia and it is common post RNY. It happens when you introduce too many simples or if you dont eat often enough.

I have had to switch to 5 or 6 small meals a day vs 3 or it happens more frequently. A few times my sugar got so low I did not know what was happening to me and if you eat sugar to get your glucose up, it will simply happen again an hour later.

It is really important to catch it early and ensure you eat Protein.....it happens more frequently if I choose to have cream of wheat for Breakfast and dont follow it an hour later with a Protein shake.

I got so sick of the sweet cloying taste of the shakes, Jello and popsicles. When I talked to my bariatric team they suggested making some homemade fresh chicken broth. Not the canned stuff.....

If it were not for that, I dont think I would survive. I sipped on it alot pre op and definately post op.

In terms of the weight loss, I have a feeling you are not eating enough and your body is fighting you. I would suggest adding 100 to 150 Protein rich calories.

It might bump you off your stall.

I had a stall that lasted a month and I thought I would lose my mind. come to find out I was exercising too much and not eating enough so my body was fighting me. I reduced my hour a day cardio to 30 minutes per day and increased my calorie intake up 150 calories. within 3 days my stall broke and I never had another long one like that again.

@@asantiago

I dont have the answer to the belt question. I just wanted to say that I am glad you are on the mend and hopefully feeling much better.

Take care!

For me, there was no minimum time but just take it very very slow. figure out how it is sitting before you take the next bite.