Djmohr

Hi there and welcome! This is a great site for researching information about weight loss surgery, getting and giving support to others who are thinking about getting WLS or have already had this surgery and also venting when there just isn't anyone to share you concerns with. I am a RNY gastric bypass patient who is 7 months post op. This surgery was all about getting healthier for me. Weight loss was secondary as I was in a bit of trouble health wise. I currently have psoriatic arthritis, hypothyroidism and degenerative spine disease. Prior to surgery I had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, uncontrollable reflux/gerd and stage 3 kidney disease. The kidney disease is what pushed me to have this surgery. At my check in with my nephrologist in February, I was told that my kidney function was normal and I was no longer at risk. I chose bypass because I was informed it would resolve my reflux and the sleeve would make this worse. I had also done a lot of research and learned that the band was not an option given how many people have to have it revised to a bypass down the road. Immediately following surgery my diabetes and reflux were completely gone! Within 4 weeks post op my kidney function had improved and my cholesterol was normal. I was removed from all medications with the exception of hypothyroid replacement and a beta blocker used for the prevention of migraines. I was on a ton of medications. My recovery was text book. I followed all of the rules and continue to do so and I believe this is why I have been so successful. I am down over 90lbs with 53 to go. I would agree that the 10 day pre-op diet is challenging but very doable and it sets you up for success. For me the toughest part was the puréed diet. Ugh! I just did not tolerate blended meats and I don't tolerate Beans of any kind. They cause me to gag and vomit.during that stage I lived on Protein shakes, cottage cheese, yogurt and creamed Soups. This surgery was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. There was not ever one second that I regretted it. I can eat anything I want without getting sick. My body craves good protein and good carbs. My sugar addiction is completely gone. I love to get exercise when I used to hurt so bad that I could not move. This week I discovered that I can sit on the floor with both my legs crossed Indian style. Do you know how long it's been since I could do that? I can literally run up and down the stairs when I used to suffer just to get up a small flight. I look and feel fantastic. People that have not seen me for a while are shocked at how great I look. I used to hate shopping, now I love trying on new clothes. It is a blast! Insurance covered everything for me with the exception of co pays. It took 9 months to get through the process mostly because of the six month supervised diet. That time was critical to helping me build good behaviors. This surgery is NOT the easy way out, it requires hard work every single day. My new pouch is a tool I use to help make good nutrition possible. I wish you the best of luck. Please feel free to reach out, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

I hope you guys have a safe and speedy recovery.byou have entered the fun zone. You will get your energy back but it will take some time. You do need to make sure you are getting as much of the Protein and fluids as possible. It would be bad to go in dehydrated already. I worry when you say you only got in 1 Protein shake, Water and soup. Please be safe! Good luck!

Fun, isn't it! Plus you get to spend the day near a toilet. Good luck on your surgery!

Ugh! You all make me feel like I made the right decision going with bypass. I had reflux and germ to begin with and was advised to move forward with bypass. I fought it at first but am so glad that I listened to my doctors. I see so many people on this site who already suffer with reflux/germ and they are so scared to go bypass. I have not had a single episode of heart burn, reflux or term and I am 7 months post op. I hope you guys feel better soon. Gerd, not germ. Stupid auto correct! So sorry.

You really need to check with your surgeons office on the amount you should be consuming for each meal. I had gastric bypass and for me it was 1/4 cup in the beginning. I am now 7 months post op and depending what I eat, I can eat about 1/2 to 3/4 cup at most. I definately ate too much last night and I was miserable! Measuring and tracking is really important. Good luck!

I get that feeling of tight and painful if I have eaten too much or too fast. Even now, 7 months post op. You probably did irritate your pouch given you are only 4 weeks post op and not completely healed yet. The feeling you describe sounds pretty normal. You might think about staying on liquids for a day and give the irritation a chance to go away. If it gets worse or doesn't go away after a day or two check in with your doctor.

Well done! It is a great feeling when you start to see the weight loss in your sizes of clothing. I used to absolutely hate shopping and avoided it like the plague. Now I love the fact that I can walk into any store and buy clothing. I do not have to shop at Lane Bryant any longer. Woot Woot!

I am now down 93lbs heading closer to my goal every single day. I have a lot of loose skin and I know the only way to deal with it is to ultimately have some plastics done when and if I have the money to do so. At the end of the day, my body looks SO much better than when I weighed 310 lbs and was hiding every inch of it. I look at pics of me then vs. now and I am shocked at how much better I look. I walk past ax mirror and I have to stop and look because I cannot believe it myself. I have had people tell me how pretty I look. I have had people tell me that they don't even recognize me and once they realize it is me, they cannot believe how good I look. Last and certainly most important is how healthy I am now compared to 7 months ago. I thank my lucky stars every day that doctors figured out how to save our lives! I am ok if I have to keep every wrinkle. It is worth it!

I am guessing the pain is from the gas they use during surgery. It is very painful and pain melds don't nothing for it. Make sure you are walking as much as you possibly can. When you are laying or sitting out a heating pad on your tummy which helps with the gas. Also try some gas x strips or gas x chewables. They really do help. Also, you must make sure you get your liquids in so you don't get dehydrated which will really make you hurt. I hope you feel better soon. I promise the pain goes away soon.

I am so sorry that he isn't more supportive. Much of the time it comes from three things. 1. He is afraid for you and isn't expressing it the way he should 2. He does not understand that obesity is actually a disease and it needs to be treated 3. He is afraid of change. And life does change for both you and your spouse. It might help if you can get him to talk about what is bothering him most of all. If he simply does not get that obesity is a disease, then taking him to the doctor with you may help. From what you have said it may be a combination of all three.

Way to go! It is such a great feeling when you have affirmation from your doctor that things are going well. For me it was all of my health issues improving.

I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery!

There is absolutely nothing easy about making the decision and ultimately having weight loss surgery. It is a mental battle that one fights daily. You simply have a tool to help control the amount of food you put in your body. You, are still in charge of what you put in your body. You will still deal with and learn to control head hunger. You will have to pay very close attention to your intake of Protein, Vitamins and Water. You will potentially go through a period where you mourn the foods that you love. You will have to come to terms with a whole new relationship with food. Obesity is a disease and most people do not understand what that means. It means years and years of weight gain, loss and then gaining more. It means down the road you will likely have comorbitities that can actually take your life early. At the end of the day the only advice I can give you is that you MUST be ready before you move forward. If you go into this with a scared negative attitude, you will struggle with this whole new life required of you. I can tell you from the shirt experience I have had, it is all worth it, absolutely, positively. I was in the place where my comorbitities were actually killing me. Slowly and painfully. Now, I am very very healthy and most important, I feel fantastic. A whole new life. I was ready, and excited and I try to keep a positive attitude even when things are tough. It helps me to live with my decision. My only regret is I did not do this 10 years earlier. I wish the best of luck for you. Just please make sure you are ready before you move forward.

So I learned from my nutritionist that you should be getting 1 gram of Protein for every inch you are tall. For me it's a minimum of 70 grams per day. She does not want me to go above 90 because that can become hard on your kidneys. I am usually between 75 and 95 and have been losing consistently. I am just shy of 7 months post op. Anyone else heard this rule?

I haven't partied since 1999! Just kidding! It has been a long time though. Funny clips.

Hi everyone! I am 51, married to a fantastic guy for 27 years. I have two grown boys and 2 beautiful Granddaughters. Lucky me! I am in the process of moving out of state. Today we head to Wisconsion from Minnesota. Wisconsin is where both my husband I grew up. We are headed back there to help take care of my 86 year old Father N Law. He is not doing so well and really wants to remain at home. I am excited to start a new chapter in this journey but what a pain! I have to find a new center of excellence for bariatric care and I am sad about that. I love my bariatric team at Park Nicolet in St. Louis park. I found out yesterday that I need to have 3 levels of vertebrae in my neck fused. Ouch! I have degenerative disc disease and the pain and headaches have become unbearable. That has been a problem since 2001 for me and now that I am way more active, it has become worse. I am looking forward to getting that done so I can move forward with a little less pain in my life but I do not want it nor will I allow it to set me back. I feel so blessed to have WLS come into my life. I really truly feel like I got my life back. I want to shout it from the highest mountain! I feel bad for people who continue to suffer with morbid obesity and not realize there is help when they are ready. So many are scared. Well, that's it for now, Time to get ready to make our 6 hour drive.

@@CanyonBaby, I had the same exact problem with raw veggies. It drove me nuts but I kept on trying. I am 6.5 months post op and about 3 weeks ago I had a salad with carrot, tomato, onion and cukecumbers and low and behold I did not have any problems. These days I try to get a salad with some type of Protein in daily. I love it and missed it terribly. I still cannot stomach eggs. Ugh! I used to love them and now I cannot stand the smell or taste of the. I really do hope that changes sometime soon.

What an honorable way to memorialize your brother! It is truly beautiful.

Yum! I will be making this as soon as I get settled in my new home in Wisconsin and can get my grill going.

Good for you! Way to take control of your future for both you and your children. This disease kills! It can make our children frustrated when we cannot do the things they want to do. They are young and have their whole lives to live. It should not ever come to them having to care for us at such young ages. I lost my mother to complications of obesity and at first I was sad and depressed. She was my best friend outside of my husband. Suddenly at 66 I was making life altering decisions for her. I was much too young to have to do this. She ended up losing a toe, then a foot and then finally her leg. She was then not capable of getting up and around on her own, she had rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes and severe sleep apnea. It was the sleep apnea that killed her. She was told she would have less that a couple weeks to live if she would not use a CPAP. She refused and died on St. Partricks day in 2005. Now, I am actually angry with her for quitting. For not getting up and saying my children need me in their lives. I swear, I will never do that to my children and grandchildren. It isn't fair to them. So, while at first I was sad and depressed, now I have motivation to focus on me for a change. I have been doing that for the last year and I feel fantastic, I am about 90 percent healthier. I won't let anyone sabotage me or tell me I cannot do it. I am proud of you for taking the next steps. Your positive attitude will aid in a successful outcome for you. If you need anything, feel free to reach out.

How long has it been since you were losing? Are you gaining or remaining consistent. Are you exercising and if so are you taking measurements to see if you are losing inches? It's hard to provide potential solutions without knowing more. Sometimes I will go 10 days back and forth on the same pound and then all of a sudden it kicks in. I would not call that a stall. I call that my body taking a bit of a breather. The longest actually stall I had went 3 weeks without any weight loss but I did not gain either. The only thing that worked for me was adding a Protein heavy snack to raise my caloric intake. At the time I had been only getting around 400 calories a day. Now I eat about 950 on average of protein heavy, good carb meals. I have been losing consistently ever since. Of course I sometimes will fight with a pound for about a week but I always win that battle.

Thanks Alex! I am excited to see this new forum and what it has to offer.

@@LipstickLady, I completely agree with your points. I was one of those people who was in a state of denial about how much or how bad I ate. I really did not eat big portion of food and I did all my own cooking. Problem was, I always ate my starch's and carbs first because I was not much of a meat eater. I would eat a small portion of meat. If we were eating Pasta which happened 4 out of 7 nights a week, I would go back for a second helping. Oh, and I had a sweet tooth so I had to have something sweet after each meal. Ice cream, candy, pastries, (pie was my absolute favorite) Even if it was non pasta night and I really only ate a small portion, I made up the difference in crap. I know exactly how I became to weight 310lbs and I also know now what a correct portion is. My husband, bless his heart had been gaining a lot while I have been drastically losing. About two weeks ago, he said if you can live on 1000 calories, so can I! He has not had WLS but needs it if he cannot get it together, he has a heart condition and must lose weight before it is too late. Anyway, he is now following the same food plan I use. I make his dinner and lunch portions a little larger but he is doing fantastic! He is down 16lbs in two weeks.nwe track his food on myfitness pal and it holds him accountable. I am hoping this approach lasts with him cause he his doing great. This is all about both how much one eats and the quality of what they are consuming. When you are obese you have built very bad habits and you tend to make excuses about other critical factors like exercise too. I know because that was me and my husband was an enabler.

The other thing I would call out is the feelings of hunger at this point. Stop and ask yourself the question am I really hungry? In the first few weeks/months your head plays tricks on you. Many time what your truly feeling is a symptom of dehydration. When you feel hungry sip sip sip on liquids. It will make you feel better and give you more energy if you are dehydrated. I suspect that you may have a combination of head hunger and dehydration. You need to try to understand the difference so you don't eat everytime you have that feeling. Sip on Water or some type of liquid with Protein in it. It will make you feel better and give your tummy more time to heal properly.

Congratulations on your weight loss and your positive attitude! As I am sure you discovered, it really does take a positive attitude to help us get through surgery.