Djmohr

I am two years post op and my feeling of hunger came back at about 5 months post op. I think because i was working out like crazy.

The good news is, it does not take much to fit my tummy and if i follow the rules i can stay full for a long time.

The only real pain i had post op was from the gas they pump into you and the only way to get rid of it faster is to walk alot for days. When you do sit, a heating pad helps and when your bowels begin to move again, gas x will definately help that pain.

Be prepared to stick to the plan and really the first few weeks are all about getting your fluids in. that sounds os easy but when you are not hungry it is much harder than you think. If you dont do it, you get dehydrated very quickly which can make you feel tired, nausea and hungry. I learned to keep the Water bottle in my hand and sip like crazy all day long.

I had United Health Care when I had my surgery 2 years ago. They have strict policies but given you have a BMI over 40 you wont even need comorbitities.

They did require that I use a Bariatric Center Of Excellence and that I had a supervised 6 month diet with that center of excellence.

I had all my ducks in a row and they submitted at 9am in the morning and by 1pm the surgeons office was calling me to schedule because I had been approved. My BMI was 44 and I did have 4 of the 5 comorbitities.

Surgery for me was a piece of cake (pardon...) but it took some getting used to the new eating plan. I have since lost 152lbs and am at a normal healthy weight.

All my comorbitities are gone and some serious illnesses in remission.

I have since begun plastics because I have alot of loose skin and it is exciting in this whole new body.

Best of luck to you!

@@annagene12

I have an excellent plastic surgeon here in Pewaukee WI. Not far from you at all and she does incredible work and her rates are pretty great too. She has quite a few patients that travel here to see her.

Just to give you some idea, I had my arm lift in July and it cost 5950.00. In January I am having a full Abdominalplasty, and breast lift and augmentation and the total cost will be 17200.00 and that is with two nights in the hospital.

She would be worth the drive and stay over.

Her name is Dr. Maida Parkins/Quintessa Medical Spa in Delafield Wi

You can find her on real self or just google her. She provides a free consultation as well.

I am attaching my before and after Brachioplasty. I could not be happier with the outcome. They look fantastic! My after pics are from 3 weeks post op so I am even still swollen in these pics. they really do look great.

Before

After

I dont know but if she is truly a friend blocking her and ignoring her questions might just pose a bigger problem.

Having this surgery can cause confusing emotions about sharing how. Most people knew i had been working on my weight but I found that telling people makes it harder. I was actually treated differently by very close friends in the beginning and they knew. They are both morbidly obese and honestly I think they were just uncomfortable around me.

Now everything is fine and we go out all the time together. It has all worked out.

You just need to decide how good a friend this person is and if you are comfortable you might just explain that you really wanted to be private about this and she should keep it to herself.

Believe it or not, once i actually climbed Homestead mountain in Colorado and I was very very heavy. I thought I was going to die literally but I did it.

That was back in 1997 and I still have fat pictures of me at the summit.

Congratulations!

There are two things that helped me stick to the liquid diet.

1. I stayed focused on my end goals which was to get healthy and I knew i needed to be strong.

2. I took one hour and one day at a time and tried not to think about how long i would be on strictly liquids.

What i found was after day 2, I really did not care anymore and that made it easier to handle.

Lastly, I would not have survived without good homemade chicken broth. You get so sick of the sweet taste of the Protein shakes that homemade, well seasoned chicken broth keep me going. I practically lived on it for those 2 weeks and the 3 weeks post op as well.

Make it homemade though because that crap in a can tastes like dirty dishwater. Blech!

Best of luck to you. Bypass was the best thing I ever did. Now i am about to have my second plastics surgery and I cannot beleive it has already been two years for me.

I am having my Mastoplexy, Breast Augmentation and Abdominalplasty here is WI with an amazing doctor and two nights in the hospital for 17,200. I also had Brachioplasty 3 months ago and it was 5950.00

I think these prices were very reasonable and she does excellent work. I just would not feel comfortable going to another country for this type of surgery. Alot can happen and sending pics just isn't like the real thing of being able to go to their office.

Getting your head straight is important because as time goes by, restriction loosens up. Oh and as for RNY patients, hunger comes back so your really have to recognize real hunger from head hunger.

I am at a normal healthy weight for the first time in 30+ years and I fight every day to stay that way. Some days I do better than others but it is all about my head and the want to keep the weight off.

Yes....I do know exactly what you are talking about. Including the complete fear of weight gain. There are days where I am hungry all day long and other days where I can barely eat anything.

As i hit the 2 year post op mark, it has become even more difficult. I just have to be aware and stay on top of it.

I knew that when i hit goal, I could not stop watching what I eat. If I did, i would be in trouble. I have lost and gained the same 5 lbs 2 or 3 times now since March. I hate to tell you but I think we are forever going to be focused on our food plans if we want to stay smaller.

@@KaiserKid

I do 100% of the cooking in my family. I am Italian and my family was very used to the big sunday dinner scene at our house.

I will say that for the first 6 months, it took some getting used to. I began cooking less of the mixed meals like spagetti and meatballs and really focused on good quality Proteins and lots of veggies.

I found a whole new passion for cooking like this and now love to cook. At first my family missed things like Lasagna, Tater Tot casserole......things like this but I do still cook them very occasionally.

They got used to having a Protein, veggie and a salad instead of so much starch. I still cook potatoes and rice but it is maybe once a week or so and not every meal.

I also still bake for my family but it is less frequently. I would much rather have some fresh fruit.< /p>

You will get the hang of it. It will just take some getting used.

I literally find myself on pinterest everyday looking for recipes to makeover and make them friendly for me.

I buy everything generic at Walgreens with the exception of calcium citrate Chews. Those I buy the Bariatric Advantage and I will buy them either on this site or Amazon whichever is cheaper and has my favorite flavors.

At Walgreens I literally buy the "buy one get one" for: Multivitamin plus D, D2, B12, B1. I am post op 2 years and because they have one for every day, I have on had to buy them once. '

It of course was approved by my surgical team and my blood work has been great with the exception of B1 which we added at 6 months post op. For some reason I was down on this nutrient and it is pretty critical.

You should be able to eat things like cheese, ham roll ups, lunchmeat......can you make a nice cheese, veggie and meat plate that you guys can snack on?

As for taco cups.....I eat them all the time with hubby. I simply make a salad out of it for me and give hubby is favorite taco shell which is a boat.

My favorite holiday treats are cheese, shrimp, veggies with ranch dip.....

Chinese food even after 2 years post op dont do it for me unless it is a stir fry with lovely fresh veggies (no rice) - that is about the only chinese food that actually satisfies me. If i try the fried stuff or even a bite or two of rice, it does not keep me satisfied and i end up having to have a snack anyway so i usually will avoid it. Plus...take out, you never know what they put in their food.

I like to go to places like Stir Crazy and then i hit their market bar so i put what i want in my stir frys.....YUM. I am making me crave stir fry now. LOL.

You have been on Protein drinks, bars for a very long time. I know doctors are different by mine would be all over my rear for that......I still have to drink one Protein shake every morning for Breakfast and i only use a Protein Bar if i have to grab something while i am running out the door.

Are you struggling with real food?

@@Diva Taunia

I have to say i was severely anemic before bypass and have been normal ever since and I am two years out.

I often worry about this and they dont have me on Iron either but that is because i had a hysterectomy and I am told i dont need it.

I hope things get better for you and I will be watching my Iron very closely.

I got to a normal BMI and never in a million years thought it was possible given where i was coming from.

I have been told many times I am too skinny but this is by people who are simply not used to seeing me at a normal healthy weight.

I will be honest, there are parts of me that look thin and other parts that carry alot of loose skin and look heavier. I am have had an arm lift and of course that made me look even more normal. Next i am having an Abdominalplasty and breast lift. I planned for that to be the end of it but if it is anything like how i reacted to my arms, i know my legs will bother me but you really have to stop somewhere.

At the end of the day, I am at a the high end of the BMI scale for my height so having this skin removed will likely put me closer to the middle or lower end and I am ok with that.

This may have nothing to do with surgery. It may have alot to do with your back so you need to get checked out. If you have a disc pressing against your spinal cord, this can happen.

I know this because it happened to me many years ago.

First.....it really is not a stupid question! Congratulations on your fantastic weight loss. I know how it changes a person and 2 years later i still cannot believe that i have lost 152lbs and am at goal.

I stopped measuring at the advice of my nut at around 8 months post op. She really wanted me to focus on eating slowly but within 30 minutes and listen to my body. There are signs that tell you that you are full.

For me, it is usually a sigh. And you need to pay attention to it because further down the road your body sort of gets used to things and you can overeat. I have done it and am miserable when i do. It usually happens when i eat too fast and my brain and tummy are not connected. If i eat slow. No problem.

The other thing my nut and bariatric rn told me that you have to think about that amount of food as already chewed and in your tummy. That is why you can eat more salad that dense Protein. If i eat dense Protein like steak or chicken i am lucky to get 3 ounces in but if i eat a Soup or salad i can eat a good 1 1/2 cups before i feel the restriction kick in.

@@kblanc

Hah.....if you are on liquid only staying full is a bit of a challenge. I was given a very strict liquid diet.

- Protein shakes up to 5 times per day ( i used carnation but if i had to do it over again i would use ready made premier Protein Shakes which have 30 grams of Protein and 160 calories)

- chicken or beef broth. At first i tried the can crap and it tasted like dirty dishwater so my bariatric nurse suggested i make a pot of homemade stock using chicken, carrots, onions, celery salt and pepper. Strain everything, keep the chicken meat for post surgery.

This was what kept me going the 2 weeks prior to surgery. I think i would have went off plan if not for this delicious homemade savory stock. Everything else was cloying sweet.

- SF popsicles which i hated and still do

-SF Jello which i hated and still do

- Crystal light which i simply cannot tolerated because of the aritificial sweeteners.

- lots and lots and lots of Water

I ended up drinking 3 shakes a day and the rest of the time i was either sipping Water or sipping hot broth. After day 3 it really didn't bother me at all.

However.....i had a whole new meaning of full and it was completely different to what i was used to. That is one thing most of us struggle with even after surgery trying to figure out what feeling full feels like. We were used to stuffing ourselves which is not necessary.

Best of luck to you!

- I would make sure you have a good home made chicken broth. The crap in the can or box tastes like dirty dishwater. Make some now using chicken, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Strain it into containers.

I lived on it for the first 3 weeks.

- SF Jello, sf popsicles, sf pudding, 1% cottage cheese (small curd), greek yogurt

Also that first week i was on a clear liquid diet...no Protein shakes. They had me sipping unsweetened apple juice mixed half and half with Water in addition to chicken broth, Water, popsicles, Jello.< /p>

I was a sweets person and yes, I still am. I dont think it will ever go away and leave me alone. I cope most of the time by getting my mind off my sugar cravings....I crave chocolate in particular.

So, i try different methods to get me to stop thinking about it. Keeping my hands busy seems to work the best. So i get on here, or i crochet or i play games, go for a walk, do the dishes, take a shower.....you get the idea.

That being said, there are times when i give in and have some chocolate. I will say i am now rather picky and prefer dark chocolate which i guess is better for you anyway as long as you dont eat a whole bag.

I try using pudding or Protein shakes but after two years, i simply want a piece of dark chocolate that is cold from the fridge.

If you are binge eating you really need to talk with a therapist to work through that. The bypass will give you immediate restriction that releases over time. In the beginning i was lucky to fit 2 Tablespoons in my tummy. Now depending on what i am eating i can eat 1 to 1/2 cups of food. So it is important that i stick to the right foods.

You can do this but you definately need some coping strategies because the surgery definately doesn't change your brain.

@@bayougirlmrsc

Good for you! Get out there and have some fun! My brother is like that. They have been married for 36 years and have yet to go on a vacation or go out with friends. I just dont get it and having had 5 surgeries in the last 1.5 years, I have been cooped up and missed two whole summers.

Staying cooped up sucks! I am not going to let that happen long term for me anymore.

Yes....and it sucks. LOL

First week you likely will have gained only because of all the fluids they pump into your. But then things will start moving very quickly if you follow the plan.

I lost my first 100 in 9 months an the last 52 in another 9 months. The last 20lbs seems near impossible but it is not....you just need to work the plan.

@@etorres

Here's the thing, after surgery you will actually have to force yourself to eat. You wont want to. The most important thing is to stay hydrated then when approved to add Protein shakes back in, you will need to.

Wait until after surgery to figure out which Protein shake will work best for you because your tastes change dramatically and everything tastes too sweet.

I have done it using ground almonds for the breading but i use full fat swiss cheese for sure.

Delicious!

@@HanSolo1977

Are you eating too fast? The feeling of stuck usually happens when you dont chew well enough or eat too fast. it can be really uncomfortable.

Try going slower and chewing even more than you think is necessary. Down the road the chewing part gets better but unfortunately i still have that horrible pain when i eat too fast and it is the one thing that i have still not accomplished.

@@RNY-Gal

When you are sipping Water is it cold? I had the same problem and still do when i am drinking things that are cold. I drink Water that is at room temp even now 2 years later.

If you are drinking it at room temp you might try warm or cold and see if that help. '

In the morning our tummies have to almost wake up so it always seems to be worse in the am.