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@ Welcome and congratulations on making the decision to get healthy! You have done terrific on your pre op diet. What your are feeling right now is perfectly normal. What helped me get through it was 2 things. 1. Constantly thinking about why I made this choice. For me, I was sick with many comorbitities but also very severe arthritis. My body was breaking down literally. 2. Focusing on 1 step/day at a time which clearly you are. Don't fret about all the possibilities of what could go wrong. I know you are worried about dumping, but don't. Only 30% of people get it and if you do you figure out very quickly what not to do. In terms of post op pain, tell your doctor that you are worried about this and he will make sure that they give you proper pain control. The worst part of the surgery is the stupid gas they use in your belly. The best thing you can do for that is walk, sip Water and use a heating pad. It only lasts a few days. Just remember that the pain really can be controlled. As far as complications go. Try not to focus on this at all. Why worry about something that hasn't happened yet. Back to point number 2, take it one step at a time. I am very happy for you. If you have a similar experience to mine, you will realize this is the best decision you ever made for yourself! I am literally 1lb from goal. I no longer have pain in my knees and ankles. You are quite young which means maybe you catch this before it does worse damage to your joints. I say this all the time, my only regret is not doing this sooner! I am 52 and for me the joint damage is done. The best of luck to you and feel free to reach out with questions.

In the beginning Water did this to me and I learned it was the temperature that caused it. To this day I still only drink spring water and it has to be room temp. Occasionaly I do enjoy tea made with milk for my dessert but those are the two things I drink. I will say I am very picky about water though. I think some waters like Dasani and Aquafina taste dusty where as spring water is delicious. Weird huh?

@@lifeofblair Holy cow! They have this at my local grocery store. I may have to give this a try. Have you tried it?

I am 18 months post op from bypass. I have been able to eat whatever I want without dumping. I very occasionally treat myself to sweets. It is all about how how much of something you eat. If I have a small piece of cake, cheesecake, pie, scoop of ice cream, I don't get sick. I have only made the mistake once of eating just a little too much and it left me feeling crappy but I don't get sick. Now, I have had too many carbs and they can stall you so just because I can eat whatever I want, doesn't mean I should. Also, anything overly sweet just simply doesn't taste good to me. I try to choose a dessert that isn't overly sweet tasting. My favorite is cheesecake! I have a couple of bites and I am satisfied. Of course I never even attempted trying sweets until I was post op 6 months. I still have not tried alcohol but that is because I am on pain medication. I also don't do carbinated anything mostly because I didn't drink soda before and I don't need to start now. Life after bypass is pretty darn good. My only side effect that I truly complain about is constipation. My doctor recently put me on Linzess and it is working fantastic.

@@retzlpa Well, it happens! I am right there with you. Last week I did not make the best choices 3 days in a row. Unfortunately I gained 2 lbs! Now, I certainly didn't go completely nuts but I ate a lot of salty chips and crackers so I am guessing I gained Water weight. the important thing is that we recognize it and get back on track. Give yourself a break, we are human......

@@CowgirlJane You are correct. With bypass they do not remove the remainder of your stomach. I was also told that The larger portion of the stomach actually performs a function with digestion in the small intestine. There are digestive juices in that part of the old stomach. As food makes its way into the small intestine, the digestive juices in the old stomach mix with that food and it AIDS digestion. Bypass can be reversed if medically necessary. That is my understanding of how it works.

I have asked my surgeon this question and was told yes, you would likely be over the legal limit before you even notice the buzz!

@@_Laura_ I would be happy to share my experience and knowledge. If you are interested, message me directly. I have some ideas that might help get you started.

I don't usually get this frustrated but after reading this string now multiple times I really have to say this. Bypass patients are NOT plagued with malnutrition! It frustrates me when people do not educate themselves enough to understand the malabsorption process. It is intentional, not a side effect. It helps with weight loss. The reason some people end up malnourished is because they choose to eat the wrong things or they don't take their Vitamins It has absolutely nothing to do with having bypass surgery. You can end up malnourished with any weight loss surgery. As long as you follow the plan and get your blood work done regularly you will not end up malnourished. The reason I am frustrated by this is because I personally almost went with the wrong surgery because people were telling me that the malabsorption would cause me to be malnourished! It took 2 different doctors to help me understand that this is a false statement. I suffered from severe Gerd and would have chosen the wrong surgery had I not educated myself on these procedures. All I am asking is that you understand the advice you are giving and speak from your experience not from what you might believe to be true. To the OP, I wish you the best of luck and the best thing you can do for yourself is to leverage your medical team to guide you given your medical condition. Rant over......

I went on a low fat diet. Of course I had no idea what the heck I was doing. There was very little Protein, tons of carbs but focused on low fat. I lost 60lbs in 4 months and my gallbladder! My doctor told me that because of my fast weight loss my gallbladder decided to produce so many stones that they had to do an open gallbladder surgery. I still remember the surgeon telling me to be careful, that I was likely to gain all the weight back and then some. That's exactly what happened. I gained that 60 back plus 40 more! I then tried so many other diets that caused me to lose and gain. I finally decided that I simply could not diet anymore or I would end up weighing 500lbs. That was about 2 years before I had bypass.

Hooray! I am so glad you had such a great experience! And you didn't gain! Congratulations!

I originally planned to have sleeve surgery and ended up going the route of bypass for two reasons. I had severe reflux and learned that bypass would cure it and it did. Secondly I wanted to have 1 surgery and be done with it. Given bypass is the gold standard and has years of data behind it I decided to go for it. I am very thankful that I did as it cured so many comorbitities in the process. I don't have any side effects. I take Vitamins every day (4 of them) instead of taking numerous prescriptions for all my comorbitities. By the way, sleeves take the same vitamins. The malabsorption factor actually helps you to lose the weight, it is not a side effect. It is very effective and my prescription strengths went down not up as a previous posted called out. Both surgeries are equally as invasive. The sleeve removes 90% of your stomach which means it is not reversible where the bypass is. hair loss can happen with both surgeries, some people have this issue and some do not regardless of the surgery you choose. I lost a lot of hair but it came back, all of it. Loose skin happens with massive weight loss regardless of how you lose your weight. This is not caused by the type of surgery you choose. I am now 17 months post op. Down 143+lbs, 1 lb from goal. I fit into a size 8 jeans from a size 24/26. I have never dumped and it only happens to a small percentage of people. Yes my hunger came back but it is not the same and when I do get hungry a few bites and I am full. I am a good cook and if I taste my food too much while cooking I will get full before I even get to dinner. Bypass is the best thing that ever happened to me. I thank god every day for the doctors and nurses and dietitians that work in this field. Without them this wouldn't be possible. Oh by the way, I have not been able to exercise for nearly a year now do to issues with my spine. The best I can do is small walks. I control my weight with mostly my diet. Because I have had bypass this is totally possible.

I would definately pack some protein bars, shakes and jerkey just in case you have a hard time for some of your meals. I have not been there in years but what I do remember was overly expensive junk everywhere. This way you can have a few good quality options handy. I hope you have a great time!

@@Sharon1964 I hope you have a fantastic time in my favorite city! I wish I were going too! Enjoy!

I guessed it as soon as you described it. Many times it is caused not by Protein but by too much Calcium or not the right kind of calcium. I hope you get it taken care of soon and your pain is better! Hugs!

@@proudgrammy definately rocks! She is a great cheerleader and is very inspirational! You go girl!

@@bugsy72 Hi there! Congratulations on getting healthy! I am 17 months post op and just a pound to go to get to my ideal weight. I am down a total of 142lbs. I lost a lot of weight in those first 6 months fairly rapidly and then I slowed to between 5 to 10lbs per month with many stalls along the way. What happens is your body adjusts along the way and the closer you get to goal, the slower the weight loss happens and the harder you have to work to keep it going. I am one of those people that have had to fight for every pound because I am also restricted from excercise and have been since June 2015. It just means you have to be very diligent about what you put in your mouth, of course having a tiny really helps you do that. I have learned that if I stay under 1000 calories a day with 70 grams of Protein and below 70 grams of carbs I will lose. If I am somewhere above 1300 calories I gain. If I hang between 1000 and 1200 I maintain. Maybe when I can be more active I can add more but realistically I have a hard time getting above 1200 calories anyway, not sure if that will change down the road but I am well fed at that 1000 to 1200 range. Not sure if that makes sense but that is how it worked for me.

I guess you need to ask yourself are you hungry? Really? Or are you simply falling into old behaviors. Trust me, I have to do this every single day many times a day. Your carbs are quite high given you just had surgery and are in the weight loss phase. As far as eating dinner, you should not skip meals but maybe starting tomorrow focus on reducing Snacks or choosing a snack that will stick with you longer. sugar free chocolate is not a good option. It won't kill you but there are choices that will keep you fuller longer. I had to stop eating yogurt because for me it is a slider food and I am hungry again pretty quickly. I will usually snack on cottage cheese or chicken salad or lunch meat and cheese. Those tend to stay with me longer. Also I noticed that Protein bars that have Peanut Butter in them stay with me for a very long time.

Pain on the left side is pretty common following bypass. If you are really concerned give your doctors office a call. Hope you feel better soon!

Hooray and Happy Birthday!

I am looking forward to your update! Hope all goes well for you.

I had a very hard time with raw veggies following bypass. I was 6 months post op before I could eat salad or raw veggies of any kind. My nut told me this is common. Now, I love me some salad!

Prayers and hugs. I hope all goes well!

Glad to hear everything went well and you are back on track! Congratulations!

I am 17 months post op and still have this problem. I saw a gastroenterologist yesterday for some tests. I was taking 2 stool softeners with laxative twice per day and still am not going regularly. I eat plenty of fiber. I have not gone since Friday. He put me on a medication called Linzess and said it will work much better than all that other stuff. I just took my first dose so I don't know how it will work yet but I am hopeful.