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Chicken was on my soft good list. Thank goodness I did well with it because it took some time before I could process shrimp effectively.

Glad I missed it too. sometimes I wonder why people like this can even get a show. Ridiculous!

Wow! That is absolutely fantastic! Congratulations on your new NSV!

@IcanMakeit@VSGAnn2014 You guys are very motivating! Thanks so much for the kind words. I am looking forward to getting to goal and seeing what happens. I have already won in my eyes so every step closer to that goal is fantastic. You could say, I will have my cake and eat it too! LOL. Minus the cake of course!

Yup, staying off the scale will keep your sanity! I of course never follow that plan but have learned not to get all e cited when the scale doesn't move. My longest stall was 28 days and yes, you will have many along the way. In the first week you are still dealing with all the fluids they pumped into your body before surgery. Give it another week and you should see progress. Anyone here of the 3 week stall? Sometimes it comes at 3 weeks, sometimes a week of two later but almost everyone has one. This is your body adjusting. You will have many stalls along the way. I don't call them stalls unless they last longer than a week and I don't lose anything during that week. You have to remember your weight fluctuates all the time, that is why you should weigh at the same time of day and the same circumstances every time you weigh. I weigh first thing in the am right around the same time every morning. Also, don't use the scale as your only barometer for success. You should be considering how you feel, how your clothes fit and measuring as well. Remember, you did not become obese overnight and you will not get thin and healthy overnight either. I personally use my clothing to assess my real progress. Good luck everyone! You are all doing great!

Tylenol is the only pain reliever without getting into the hard stuff. Since surgery, it also seems to work so much better as well. Good luck!

No nausea for me at all and I used to get nauseous from vitamins.

I have only lost hair on my head and a lot of it too. Jokingly I wished I would lose it on my legs. I have not heard anyone mention losing eye lashes and brows before. Have you asked your surgical team?

Thanks so much everyone for the very kind words! @@IcanMakeit, I was kind of wondering what size I will ultimately end up in recently. Your comment about dropping sizes much quicker as you near your goal reminded me of a question my husband asked. Will I ever get down to single digit sizes? I honestly cannot ever remember being smaller than a size 12 anytime in my whole life. But I have to believe if I lose another 30lbs minimum, I will get there. It is not a goal of mine to get to a certain size, it is my goal to get within a healthy weight which means I need to get to 165 at the high end minimum. If that means I will get to an 8, well hooray for me! It sounds like from your experience that dropping sizes happens much faster as you near your goal. I am looking forward to seeing that happen.

I know how hard it is to eat properly when you don't feel hungry to begin with but if you want to be successful with bypass, you have to go back to the basics. 3 small meals per day, eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly. No drinking anything 30 minutes before or after a meal. You need to build this habit now before your hunger comes back or you will end up with big problems down the road. If I were you, I would start from the beginning again and schedule your meals. See if that helps your situation and if not, then I would seek medical advice because you might have something stuck. Good luck to you! I hope things get better!

@@JustWatchMe I am right there with you at 31 lbs to go. Then I can start seriously thinking about plastics. I cannot wait!

Yes your hunger returns. Mine came back right around 6 months post op. You have to remember that this is a tool. If you rely on your new stomach to control you, you will be one of those people who gain their weight back. You also have to remember that it only takes a small amount of food to get full and the right foods to stay full longer. Dense Proteins and good carbs should be your focus. During the pre op and early post op phases you teach yourself how to behave differently. You eat healthier foods, stay away from refined sugars and foods that don't add nutritional value. You exercise, get your Protein in and drink plenty of non sweetened liquids. You also learn to eat slower so your brain registers that you are full. I have continued to lose significant weight following the return of actual hunger. The important thing is to recognize the difference between head hunger and real hunger. Try some Water because it could be you are dehydrated. If after you determine you really are hungry then you have a meal or an appropriate snack. Also, this is where grazing can get you into trouble. You should be eating 3 protein rich meals per day. If you need a snack try skim milk, cheese, lunch meat, nuts or seeds. They all have good nutritional value.

This weekend I had to go shopping. I was down to one pair of jeans and 5 tops that are literally beginning to hang on me. For my birthday I received a gift card to Victoria's Secret and some cash to buy clothes because my family knows I needed them badly. I wanted some new work out clothes, Lucky Jeans and a top or two. I never imagined that when I went to try on clothes that I would be able to fit into a size 12 or a large! When I started this journey I was a size 24 pants and a 26/28 top! I still have about 30lbs I would like to lose so I am now even more excited about where I will end up. When I started on this journey I was looking for improved health, that was my main goal and it was a good one. It never dawned on me that I would even care about clothing size because I hated the way I used to look and could not even imagine myself being smaller. Well I definately achieved my better health goal and now I can actually see myself getting to a healthy weight and looking fabulous in clothes again. Woot woot!

Update: I am 8 weeks post op now and doing pretty good. They ended up fusing all 3 levels and actually removing my c5 vertebrae completely. They put in a strut graft using a cadaver's fibula bone. Sounds gross but immediately following surgery the nerve pain, weakness and tingling in both arms is resolved. I am still in the Miami j hard collar that I have been wearing since surgery. As of Thursday I can take it off for short periods in the house when I am sitting or eating. Hoorah! It has been driving me crazy. I did have a pretty serious complication. Apparently a major nerve has been either damaged or irritated. It is the nerve that Impacts heart rate and blood pressure. My blood pressure and heart rate drop so low that I have passed out and end up in the ER for X-rays. The room goes black on me everytime I stand up or sit up so I have to take it very very slow. Of course I still have a significant amount of pain if I get active as well. I believe most of that pain is muscular in my neck, shoulders and mid back. I also don't tolerate longer car rides well. Things are getting better everyday and the good news is, although my weight loss slowed and I had a 28 day stall, I have still lost 12lbs since surgery! That makes me very happy!

@@snickysnack78 You are making very good progress! Think about losing 27lbs in 5 weeks, that is over 5lbs per week! As you get closer to your goal you won't see numbers like that. If I lose 10 per month now that is an exceptional month for me. I just saw my bariatric team yesterday, they don't set a goal. They want to ensure you are happy with your weight loss. Well, they were extremely happy with my progress and as I said, I lose on average about 10lbs per month. I may or may not get to my personal goal before my one year anniversary which is at the end of September. The big thing is that you follow the plan. If you do that and not stray off, the weight will come off. For some it happens a little slower but in the end everyone catches up over the long haul. I would not worry about your follow up, it should go well for you.

At first when I was going through the 6 month process I told only my husband and my grown children. I was worried that if I shared it with others and did not get approved, I would be really disappointed and feel like a failure. Once I had surgery and the weight started coming off, I told my closest friends and anyone who asked me how I was losing weight. I was thrilled with my results from the very beginning and I had what I was going to say prepared. I wanted to educate people about obesity and help them understand what hard work this is to have WLS. I was lucky in that only my obnoxious sister n law irritated me. She really is a drug addict who as a child was overweight but is well below a normal weight now. She has always been jealous of me because of my very strong relationship with her brother and parents. I have been a part of her family for 29 years. Anyway, my getting thin is clearly bothering her and she says the most ridiculous things to me. Her fear is that I might end up thinner than her which honestly could never happen nor do I want it to. Anyway, everyone I have told is extremely supportive and I really appreciated that. I am glad I shared my story with people. I have not regretted that decision and the truth is I really don't care what other people think. If I can help one obese person by telling my story then it's worth it to me.

I feel blessed after reading all of your posts! My nut was extremely helpful throughout the process. I saw her monthly for the 9 months before surgery and I have met with her 4 times since surgery. She helped me in the beginning by focusing on the right behaviors to modify. I was not a smoker, drinker nor did I drink anything but Water prior to surgery so we focused on slowing down, removing distractions and changing the rations of what I was eating. Post surgery I struggled with lactose and I have several food allergies, artificial sweeteners being one of them. She helped me build a food plan that would take me through all of the stages. Because I had questions about how your body absorbs both food and Vitamins after bypass, she helped me understand where in the newly routed digestive system nutrients are absorbed. It is different depending on the nutrient. For example a RNY patient will not malabsorb Proteins because that absorption happens below the reroute but Calcium is absorbed up higher. Therefore i have to take 2 to 3 calcium citrate per day vs. just one. Mine was super educational and very supportive. She also believes in a balanced approach to eating. Meaning I am not only supposed to focus on Protein but ensure I get good carbs in as well. 2 bites of protein for every one bite of good carbs. If I do have a craving for some food, don't deny the craving, just ensure I eat the good stuff first and there will only be room for a bite or two of whatever I was craving, Her approach has really helped me to stay on track and I really appreciated her insight.

@@Daisee68 I am so sorry you are having trouble! I hope that they can figure out what is going on and get it straightened out for you. Deb

Thank goodness! You definately need to take care of yourself and it sounds like you made the right decision to wait on WLS. I wanted to share with you tha I too was planning on the sleeve but it was recommended by both my bariatric surgeon as well as my enterologist that I have RNY because I had severe Gerd. I cannot tell you how many nights sleep I missed because I was up walking the floors with stomach and chest pain from that disease. I went ahead with the bypass and low and behold, I have never had Gerd or heartburn since and I can pretty much eat anything. All of the things that used to set me off, I can now enjoy. I am so glad I went this route. I wish you the best of luck and hope you continue to get good news!

Congratulations! You have made excellent progress in the short 10 weeks. You should be very proud of yourself! Dry skin does seem to be pretty common with WLS. It is usually a sign that you are not getting enough fluids. For the most part my dry skin got under control when I was finally able to get the 48 to 64 ounces of Water in on a daily basis. I just used Aveeno lotion every day, multiple times a day.

Glad to hear you stopped using a straw, it can put extra air in your tummy and in the beginning that can be painful. I was told no straws at all post op. Then in June I had neck surgery and am not allowed to tip my head back so now I have to use a straw. I notice that I do get extra air in my tummy but because I am healed it is not painful.

Good luck Mildred! I learned a lot about myself and my eating habits as well as got some good advice from my physcologist. I hope all goes well for you!

Well, there is good news and bad news, LOL! The bad news is, I am 10 months post op and I still gurgle when drinking as well as eating. The good news is, you get used to it and almost forget about it unless you are in a room with no sound. I think it is my grouch pouch telling me she is happy that I am feeling her something. LOL!

You are very early on and might have rushed eating things like shaved turkey and thin sliced cheese. Many folks here were on Clear liquids only the first week, full liquids in week 2 and if that went well we advanced to puréed (strictly puréed) until we were post op for 4 weeks. If we did well on puréed at week 5 we were started on soft foods. Even this is aggressive and some folks have had to go back to the beginning and give their new tummy a rest. Also, it is common to have something work one day and not the next but down the road it will be fine again. I think your doctor made the right recommendation, just take it very slow and give your body time to adjust. Your weight loss is incredible! Good job!

It definately gets easier and you will learn tricks. For example, when I go to stir crazy, one of my favorites, my husband and I will share an order from their market bar. I pick everything and have it made and we both have plenty to eat. I also learned that if I order a entree salad, I will have them take only half as my meal and I ask them to box the other half and put the dressing and wontons on the side. I then have lunch or dinner for the next day. I have learned to ask lots of questions and ask for alternatives as most meals come with a Protein and potato. I will ask for a vegetable or fruit or cottage cheese in place of the potato. We have been eating a lot of take out food as I had cervical spine surgery 8 weeks ago and cooking is still very difficult. My husband cannot boil Water and he actually hates cooking and of course he has to clean up the mess. I have found several take out meals that are great when you get to the regular food stage and even soft foods. Noodles and company - buff bowls are excellent! I get minimum of two meals out of these. The Japanese pan buff bowl is my favorite Applebee's has lots of choices but my favorite is there Napa chicken with portobello mushrooms. It has a very tiny amount of red potatoes so I eat her eat around them or tell them to leave them out Lettuce wraps when available are an excellent choice in any restaurant Panera bread - soup and salad combo is outstanding. I love their grilled chicken salad that is made with spinach, fresh fruits and strawberry poppyseed dressing Chick Fila - on the children's menu I order the grilled chicken nuggets with a fruit cup instead of fries This gives you some idea of where you might consider having lunch or dinner. It really is all about making good food choices. I try to find local restaurants that offer a wide variety of protein and vegetable meals as that is what I crave most of all. Good luck to you! It will get easier but I do understand your tears, I had the same experience. I struggle when going out for breakfast because I cannot eat eggs and many time they offer very sugary yogurt. I just don't like that much sugar. I will usually have some cottage cheese and fruit.