Djmohr

Definately none of those on my diet plan that soon after surgery. I was just starting soft foods that were focused on Protein only with a small amount of vegetables cooked well done.

I did not have a catheter with my bypass. The surgery is quick and they get you up almost right away anyway. That being said, there really is nothing scary about them. they put them in while you are under and they do not hurt or anything when they pull them out. I have had them more than 5 times in my life and my experience is always the same. They don't like to use them for short surgeries when they know you will be up quickly because you are more apt to get a UTI.

Your nutritionist should give you some clear guidelines for maintenance. If they haven't ask. Maintenance is not that much different from weight loss. I stick to my original diet and up my calories a few hundred by adding whole grains, more fresh fruit and veggies. I still have a high Protein, lower carb fully balanced diet.

@@LittleBill I didn't even attempt sweet stuff until i was past the 6 month post op and even then, it was a taste. I had to be very careful or I would stop my weight loss in its tracks. Once I got to goal and kept losing, then I really tried some things that I otherwise would not have. Also, I have allergies to artificial sweeteners so if some food requires sugar I try to use honey but on occasion will use real sugar. I just try to limit it these days even more because it causes that heart racing, sweating and bad stomach ache.

I have talked to many people about this. I know our tastes change but I am shocked at how food was clearly once more bland to me. My son is coming from Minneapolis tonight and I am making his favorite enchiladas. Of course, I will make one very spicy for me.....not sure if he can take the heat but I love it. I also found a spicy new snack that I absolutely love! They are sweet chili spiced pistachios. They have just enough heat in them, I could even go a little hotter but they make me happy!

I am not sure why everyone stresses about seeing the physcologist but we do. Then we find out it was no big thing and we worried for nothing. LOL.....Glad things went well for you!

@@LittleBill I am now 25 months post op. There are some things that you get it in your head that you have to try. I have tried many things that I used to eat prior to surgery and some of them, yum...... For some reason, and I think I know why. I have suddenly developed dumping syndrome. Never had it early on post surgery so at first I honestly did not even recognize it the first few times it has happened. Ice cream of any kind makes me absolutely sick. We have a great frozen custard place here in Milwaukee that is known for their fabulous custard. It is one of those treats you had as a young kid that you would beg for. Prior to surgery Ice Cream was my favorite treat to eat so we would go there at least once per week, sometimes more. When i was probably about 6 months post op the family went there and yes, I had a few bites of hubbies and oh it made me so happy. I felt fine and life was good. Since then, I have tried it a few more times getting the smallest of dishes and asking them to only really put one scoop in. Then I would take it home and eat half one day and half another. No problem.....other than I would have to stop myself from eating the other half right away. LOL. Now, 25 months post op. I had some of that same custard during the summer when granddaughter was in town. All of a sudden my heart begins to race, I get sweaty, my stomach feels as if I swallowed a bowl full of lead and I am on the verge of vomiting. I did not realize this was coming from the ice cream because I had it quite a few times and it never bother me. It only took me 1 or 2 more times with different sweet foods to realize that suddenly I have dumping. And.....even though it is probably a mild version of dumping, it sucks! In my opinion this is a good thing. It keeps me away from most of the bad stuff.

This question is one that has plagued me since my bypass over 2 years ago. At first, it was almost embarrassing because like you I literally could only eat 2 to 3 bites. Down the road it became a little easier because i could at least make a small dent in my food. In good restaurants where they actually care about their food, you need to be prepared. Here are some tricks I have learned: - Ask questions about portion size - if you do that, you give them the sense initially that you are not going to eat a lot to begin with. - When they do bring your food, ask right away for a to go box letting them know that you won't be able to eat much, I simply say I eat like a bird and want to take home my leftovers. - When eating with someone like my husband, I never order my own salad/soup. We will usually pick a salad and sometimes even an entree to share again telling the server that I only eat a small amount Hubby and I enjoy going to very nice restaurants. If it is a steak restaurant which is almost always the case, I will order the smallest filet mignon I can and so will he. We learned that he can eat his plus more than half of mine. He is often told when he orders that his steak will be very small and he simply says, yes I know but my wife will only eat about half of hers so I technically get both. I will also share a few bites of his salad. Any leftovers of the sides which are usually spinach, mushrooms, corn......we take home and have with another meal. I also order off the tapas (small plates) menu most of the time. I can always find great options here. I do remember in those first few months, when a server would ask, my husband would share the fact that I had surgery and cannot eat much. Now for some reason that really bother me and I asked him not to. He then shared with me that he always felt like they were worried their food wasn't good. LOL. I just said, if we set it up right, they wont even notice. And so we learned how to eat out all over again. LOL

@@reree6898 That was a really crappy way for your husband to skulk away. I am very proud of you for handling it and staying on track. I could only guess how hard that would be. Just remember, you are worth more than he was willing to give. Keep focusing on yourself! You deserve it! Congratulations on your weight loss! You have done a great job even through all of this.

@@Jazzzyjay Having RNY has actually change my taste to the point where I crave hot spicy food. Prior to that I would get sick with reflux if I ate something to spicy. Make me very very happy!!!

I take B12 and B1. I buy them from Walgreens and can usually get them buy one get one free. My surgeon's only request was to stay the heck away from gummies, they simply are not effective. And that the B12 was sublingual liquid. Been using them for over two years now and all my blood tests have been great. I also take a generic Multivitamin and generic D3. Also from walgreens on a buy one get one free deal. there are enough of these in the bottle that 2 bottles lasted 2 years/ the only Vitamin that I spend a lot of money on is my Calcium citrate chews. I do buy Bariatric Advantage. They are expensive but i look for whoever has them the lowest. It is usually the Bariatric Pal store or Amazon.

I started aggressively excercising right around the 3rd month post op and thats when my hunger seemed to come back. Thankfully I can eat just a few bites of something and its gone. The head hunger sometimes gets the best of me though. I fight it constantly.

For me, I could not get out of them fast enough. About 6 months post op I walked into a Lucky Brand Jean store thinking I would just try a pair for fun and was shocked when I found that a 14 was too big and had to move to a 12 and then ultimately an 8. They are the only jeans I buy. They are soft, and have movement to them. the more you wear them, the softer they get. I was thrilled to cut up my Lane Bryant card. I still get mail from them and love to run it through the shredder. LOL

Honestly it is almost impossible for you to be feeling actual hunger. They cut the nerves and it will take a few months for them to grow back. That being said there are a few things that mimic the feeling of actual hunger. 1. You may be dehydrated which can cause that sensation that you are hungry. With it you might even feel weak, tired, have headaches, feel dizzy. Any combination of the above. 2. You mayb be experiencing a little bit of reflux. That can happen for the first month or so following bypass but should resolve completely. Again, drinking lots of Water helps with this. 3. you have head hunger. Meaning your stomach actually isn't hungry but you are simply thinking about food or the lack of food. The more you think about it the worse it gets. The best thing you can do is distract yourself. For me head hunger has never gone away. I have to take my mind off of it with other activities like reading, blogging, crocheting, doing chores.....anything that will get me thinking about something else. Unfortunately this has never gone away for me.

It depends on what you think normal is? I am 25 months post op and I always have to watch what I eat or I gain weight. And...it can come on fast. What I eat matters the most. If I allow too many carbs into my diet, I gain weight quickly. So for me eating normal consists of dense Proteins, vegetables and fruits. Some days I add carbs like potatoes into my diet but if I do that for every meal or too many days in a row I gain. Also, salt will cause you to retain Water weight.

When my gallbladder went, it took so long to get a diagnosis that all i could eat was cheerios and boiled potatoes......YUCK! I had mine removed 20 years ago in an open surgery and was literally starving. It took almost 6 months of pain before they figured out that it was my gallbladder. At the time laparoscopic surgery was available but mine was so full of stones that they had to do the open surgery. Now a days....that would not have been the case and I think it would have been diagnosed much faster. it was also in the days with HMO.......ugh.

Unfortunately this is all part of the process. I would not however stop calling to ensure she found your physche eval. You are right if she sends it on without that info you will likely be declined so keep on her. The only thing I can tell you is that all of this jumping through hoops is well worth it in the end. And, keep on them. Hope to hear you have a surgery date soon. Incidentally, I was told it would take insurance a few weeks as well only to get a call 3 hours after my surgeon submitted and I was approved that fast. I did however have a 3 week snafu before that point when the surgeons office did not bother to send in my paperwork because they thought I was still missing a nut appointment. Thank goodness I took a copy of the appointment signature page and was able to fax it to the doctors office. Boy was I angry that they held me up for 3 weeks!

Best of luck to you!

NO!!!! Too much off my butt already! LOL... The only thing holding my pants up is the loose skin on my belly! If it were not for that, Holy cow.

I chose to tell people that were close to me and honestly sometimes I wish I hadn't. First, it is NONE of anyones business. I am not nor have I ever been ashamed of having WLS. I had it for health reasons alone without even realizing all the other fantastic benefits like how I look, how i carry myself and most importantly how confident i am now. That being said, people that do NOT understand that obesity is actually a metabolic disease assume that if we just ate less and excercise more we would lose the weight. The truth is, that can happen. It is keeping the weight off forever that is near impossible for those living with this metabolic disease. Also, the older you get and the more that you yo yo diet, the more you mess up your metabolism until you simply struggle to lose anything. this happens when you get older..... There is nothing wrong with keeping this knowledge to yourself. it is your health and no one has a right to know. Today, when people ask me how I lost all my weight I simply say: I have been working hard on a high Protein, lower carb well balanced diet. I get as much exercise as I can. If someone who is heavy themselves aska and they truly seem interested, I will share that I had WLS with them. You can usually tell when people are being real and not catty about it in just the way they ask. I did initially tell our best friends and things became very weird spending time with them right after surgery. They are both obese as is my hubby and like to go to restaurants that I could never eat at initially. Now, I can find something to eat on pretty much every menu. They made me feel out of place and uncomfortable. They would not comment on my significant loss and avoid hanging out with us. In fact when I first told my friend, she mentioned that she works with a lady who had RNY and initially lost some weight but is now constantly eating candy. It was almost as if she was saying....it wont work for you. Anyway, now that I am two years post op and maintaining, things have gotten back to normal with them. I just felt like everyone would be watching what I eat or drink.....that has not been the case and it is almost as if i have always been this weight now when we spend time with them. I think a lot of the weirdness was really me and not them. Now, I really don't care what people think but I certainly dont advertise it because it just isn't that important....

Then you should be fine with sugar free.....however, i would not make it with Water, i would make it with milk and if you have it fairlife milk because it adds Protein..... My instructions state, no caloric beverages unless they are protein beverages. Again, you might reach out to your surgeon but I would make those calories count by making it with protein.....fairlife is a great product for WLS patients and it tastes like normal milk.

Honestly I did not but mostly because I set my end goal at the high end of the BMI scale for my height which was 165lbs. I set smaller goals along the way to keep me motivated. Such as: 1st 75lbs 1st 100lbs Onederland - hoping to never see over 200 again Final goal 165 I ended up continuing to lose to 158 but now that I am in maintenance I bounce between 158 and 165 which is fine with me. best of luck to you!

Your surgeon or nutritionist should give you very clear instructions on what to drink or eat for many weeks. I had bypass and I was on a clear liquid only diet for the first 7 days. I was not even started on Protein shakes until week 2 when I well to full liquids. So for me I was allowed: sugar free drinks like crystal light, Water, chicken broth, sf popsicles, sf Jello and for this week only I was allow watered down apple juice. Once I progressed to full liquids, watered down apple juice or juice of any kind has been removed completely from my diet. That first week it provides some needed calories/carbs......Week 1 for me was the roughest mostly because it was hard to keep up with everything I was supposed to drink so I ended up somewhat dehydrated. That leaves you feeling very weak, dizzy and even nauseous. My best advice to anyone going through WLS is to sip sip sip liquids every few moments all day long once you get home from the hospital. Getting dehydrated is of the most concern.....protein will come a week or so after and you have plenty of stores in your body for several weeks..... Drink up!

It is absolutely normal to feel like this after major surgery. Try sleeping in a recliner if you have one or use pillows to prop yourself up while in bed. I honestly dont know what I would have done without my adjustable bed. Now I have major plastics coming up and thankful that I have it yet again. Things will get better! A lot of the feelings can be hormones as well but having had many major surgeries in my life.....the feeling down can really get overwhelming. things will get better, give it some time and good luck to you!

I would ask your surgeon to do a peer to peer review with your insurance company. They know exactly how to get around it if in fact it is possible. My insurance company said the same thing only one per lifetime.....thankfully I chose bypass in the first place so hopefully i will never have to worry about it. But I would ask your surgeon to push back given your complications.