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Thanks everyone for your feedback! I appreciate your taking the time. I do feel like most of this was because these people have not seen me in a very long time. There are time when I see it and there are times I still see the fat me. I will say when I am wearing clothes that actually fit me, I can definately see it. Again, thanks!

I am 12 months RNY post op. I planned to have the sleeve but my surgeon recommended bypass given I had severe Gerd, diabetes and a few other comorbitities. My surgeon recommended bypass because it can cure both reflux/Gerd as well as diabetes. For me, both of these diseases are gone and 121lbs to boot! It is the best thing I ever did for myself. It was done laporascopically, and I have had no complications. I have met many people who have had both the bypass and the sleeve and are happy with their choices. Some have had no complications others have had minimal complications. I am also of the opinion that both have their own risks and both are equally invasive. Bypass, your intestines are rerouted which provides you with malabsorption which helps your weight loss and is designed to do so. Sleeve, 80 percent of your stomach is permanently removed which also removes the hunger hormone permanently, obviously a huge plus. Both equally invasive. Definately do your research and better understand why your doctor is recommending bypass. There is usually a very good reason for one vs. the other. Good luck to you!

Yesterday I had a follow up post op appointment with my spine surgeon. I had a 3 level cervical spinal fusion in June. I have also had a lower lumbar fusion in 2001 and I have severe arthritis in my mid spine that I am also dealing with. I have lost nearly 30lbs since June when I had my surgery and it seems the closer you get to goal the more noticeable a 30lb loss is. This doctor is a big wig and has an ego the size of Texas but he is an exceptional spine surgeon and I really would not have felt comfortable having someone else do this surgery so I flew in from Wisconsin to have it done. This doctor walked in the room and did a double take. After going through all the surgery details we were finishing up and he said, "Deb, have you lost more weight? You look stunning!" That led to discussions about all the loose skin and I told him I still have another 24 to go to get to a healthy weight. He then asked me if I had lost a lot of breast tissue. Of course I laughed and said "yes, the girls have left the building along with my rear". I told him I was planning on having some plastics to deal with bat wings, tummy, breasts and maybe even put a little back in my rear. He then said he obviously deals with a lot of female patients with natural large breasts who have severe back problems but has never had someone who has had augmentation where they placed the implant under the muscle. He said that muscle really does a much better job and therefore those women don't have the same pain in their backs.he has had women with issues when the surgeon does not place the implant under the muscle. It was actually great to hear from a renowned spine surgeon that getting breast augmentation is actually a better solution for those of us with back problems. Of course he said you would not wAnt to go crazy up in size..... I do plan to go up a size to a full D. Of course my husband who is definately a boob guy then got all happy and told him thank you! He is all excited now because he gets new boobs! At least that's how he sees it LOL! For those of you that have had plastics, when did you start shopping for a surgeon that would give you a plan? Did you wait until you had stabilized or did you start shopping ahead of time? I know that I definately want to wait for the actual surgery until I am at least 6 months stabile but I am not sure when I should start shopping.

This week I went to Minneapolis for all my follow up doctors appointments. I had my 12 month check in at the Bariatric Center of Excellence as well as a post op follow up with my spine surgeon. My spine surgeon was awesome. I have lost almost 30lbs since he performed surgery on me on June 3rd. He is typically one of those big ego guys who has patients to see and doesn't have a lot of time to spend. Last time he saw me I was literally on his table so I probably looked like hell. When he came into the exam room and we got past all the post surgery details he said you look absolutely stunning! You have lost a lot of weight and you look great. Of course that put me on cloud nine coming from him. We had a long discussion about loose skin but I will save that for a different post. All of my appointments went great! I will soon get the results of my labs and I look forward to that. While here, I had the opportunity to meet with a lot of my friends and previous co-workers. All who have not seen me almost since the beginning. It was a great experience for me because most of the folks that did not know I had lost weight or had WLS didn't even recognize me. I mean that literally I had to tap them on the shoulder. They were shocked and told me how beautiful I look which made me feel like a million bucks. One of the guys I used to work with always loved my personality and he used to jokingly flirt with me, of course the first thing out of his mouth was are you still with Jim? (My hubby of 27 years) A few of my closest friends who I have been very upfront with actually asked some questions. Mostly about whether or not I was planning to continue losing. Of course I told them that I still have 24 to go to get to a healthy weight and that I am still considered overweight. They were shocked and told me that I was already too skinny, which I am not but I do look like a normal sized person and I always carry my weight well. Now of course I know where the heavier parts of me are and I want to get to a healthy BMI. This discussion caused me to spend some time looking at myself in the mirror. Yes, I look different, definately a lot thinner but overall I still see the fat me. I know it's not true because I went from a size 26 to a 12. My 12 jeans and slacks are actually loose so I am guessing I will drop yet another size. I wonder if they are really feeling like I am too thin or if they are just being nice. I can't see it for some reason and it's confusing to me. I thought maybe they just have never seen me so thin but then my oldest son has actually told me he thinks I am getting too thin. Why is this so confusing? It's like my brain can't catch up. I guess the goods news is I am setting my goal using the healthy weight charts so my hope would be that when I get there, I will stabilize and be done. I do think I would look very thin at 165 given my height. Maybe I just shouldn't worry about it? Until this week I never even considered that I might get to a too thin point. Anyone else experience this?

Hi there! I am just going to say ditto with @@CowgirlJane! Then again, I have the mentality that I am never ever going back there again. It is up to me and I can control what I put in my mouth and how often I put it in there, while my new pouch controls how much. Never, ever, ever! I will say that I kept 2 pairs of my largest pants and tops so that I can do the look where I was fashion show. For me, that is so very motivating! I have 24lbs to go and so far this has been the hardest 24! I lose a pound or two and get stuck for a month. Then lose another pound or two and then I get stuck again. The good news is, in the 4 months this has been going on, I have never gained, only lost.

I am so sorry! I can imagine how you feel right now. Personally if you can deal with it I would stay on them. I think it would be much harder to start again vs. simply stay the course. Now of course that all depends on quickly they are going to reschedule you. It If is longer than a week or two I would go back to a high Protein very low carb diet.

It will get better. Are you getting your water/fluids in? Honestly that is why will make you feel better as it helps get all the toxins from surgery out of your system. It sounds like you are walking which should help with that bloated feeling. I also used gas X and a heating pad. I hope you feel better soon!

Congratulations! This was one of my favorite NSVs! Everytime I get in an airplane seat I am reminded of what it was like to ask for that damned extender. Now, I strap that belt on and I have nearly a foot of extra! Speaking of which, I have a flight to catch tomorrow morning. Going home from Minneapolis after having my 12 month check up post surgery!

LOL! Get your donut breath away from me! Too funny! Yes, I know a few of those people too! I just want to say, please you don't know the meaning of the word diet! I especially hated it when I weighed 310lbs and was trying to lose weight. I was as hungry as a bear and you are talking to me about your diet! Please!

The whole portion thing is strange. Last night I went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant with my husband and another couple. I always order the shrimp fajitas and I eat about 5 small shrimp, some of the peppers and onions and a sprinkle of cheese. When you look at what is left on my plate I probably ate 1/8th of that portion. I also had a bit of their fresh salsa which is my favorite and 3 tortilla chips. Of course I felt like I ate way too much but my pouch was fine. The group ordered Sopapaillas for dessert and I was so proud of myself because I abstained! I actually felt good about what I ate but part of me scolded me for those darn chips. If you think back to my portion and compare it to what I used to eat! I would have eaten all of my shrimp fajitas including the soft tortillas and had dessert. My friends were actually perplexed that I was full on that little bit of food. We had a whole conversation about how you really can survive on a lot less food than you think. They asked me what my menu looks like in a whole day so I pulled out my fitness pal and showed them that I generally eat between 900 and 1200 calories a day and the types of food I focus on. They could see that I have been tracking for an entire year and the nutrition I focus on. My friends are very good ones who have been so very supportive throughout. I moved states in the spring and I miss my walking buddy so we got caught up last night. She was doing so good before I left but has been stress eating and put on a few pounds. She is overweight but not obese and is trying hard to get back on track. Anyway, it is so weird the way our heads now think about portion size. I know that 900 - 1200 calories is not normal for someone who hasn't had WLS but when I have a 1200 calorie day I always feel like I ate way too much that day. Go figure!

I am 52 and have sleep apnea. I had WLS one year ago exactly. I was on a Bi-Pap machine while sleeping for the last 7 years. My apnea has definately improved. I no longer snore when I fall asleep without it and have had to lower the pressures to the lowest possible setting. My issue is my machine is actually comforting to me and so I still sleep with it. I really need to be retested to confirm I could go without it at this point but I know I can because I have had 2 major surgeries in the last year. In both instances I did not use my machine for a few weeks following surgery because it actually annoyed me and the pressures were too high. So, the answer to your question is yes, mine has absolutely improved, I am not positive if it is completely gone yet.

@@gobeit Hi there! I too have severe psoriatic arthritis. My disease was misdiagnosed for the first 40 years of my life. I was on everything under the sun and nothing controlled it, it kept causing severe damage to my joints. I tried humira, remicade, methotrexate and a slew of very harmful drugs. Tons and tons of light therapy, I even had my own. The drugs used to treat my psoriatic arthritis actually caused stage 3 kidney disease. About 4 years ago when my dermatologist stopped remicade because I developed antibodies and it no longer worked they started me on humira which is actually less potent than remicade. My psoriasis got so severe that I actually lost the soles of my feet and palms of my hands completely. This caused a severe staff infection and put me in the hospital for 5 days on IV antibiotics. I had absolutely no trust in my dermatologist and rheumatologist at all. The hospital sent in another dermatologist for a second opinion and that day my life changed. I met an incredible physician who took one look at me and said my god, this disease has taken its toll on you. I think we should be stepping outside the box with your disease and treating it more agressivelt because traditional methods are not working. He said he would talk to my dermatologist about a plan and they would work together. I said don't bother I am clearly done with the doc I had and began seeing him immediately. He put me on a drug called Stelara which was very new at the time but very powerful. In the beginning we also used a very small dose of cyclosporine to get me cleared quickly. I have been nearly 100 clear since then. Stelara in the meantime also got approved to treat the arthritis portion of the disease. I happened to know it would because within 6 months of starting it, my joints improved as well. Of course I also knew that getting this weight off would improve this disease as well. And I knew that I needed to improve my kidney health or I was looking at dialysis in my future and quite possibly a transplant. Well, I had my surgery 12 months ago, I am 121lbs down with 24 to go! My kidney disease is in remission. My joints feel much better although I did so much damage to my spine waiting so long to lose the weight. If I had anything to do over it would be doing this 10 years ago before all the damage to my joints. Your life will absolutely improve, your disease will improve. Don't let one doctors comments sway you. You need to do this now before more damage occurrs. Incidentally, my ankles would swell so big prior to surgery. Now they are actually teeny tiny! I could wear an ankle bracelet if I wanted to! My body seems to look better and feel better every day even with all the excess skin. I saw my favorite doctor (Dermatologist) yesterday for my Stelara, he gave me a big giant hug and told me how great I look. We both worked hard through this process together learning how to treat my disease. This is all about finding the right doctors willing to step outside the box when it is needed. Using Stelara and Cyclosporine together had not been done before and it was not recommended but I understood the risks and was willing to risk it because nothing else had worked. My rheumatologist was dead set against it. I no longer see him, my dermatologist treats my Psoriatic arthritis and I see a new rheumatologist who provides cortisone in my left shoulder. I have learned you have to find the right doctors and once you do, don't let them go. I moved states recently and I literally fly into Minneapolis and go out of network to see my dermatologist. He gives me a break on my bill knowing my situation and I see him every 8 weeks for my Stelara shot. I wish you the best of luck with your surgery and hope you find peace with your decision. Losing this weigh via WLS was the best decision I ever made for myself!

Congratulations and good luck to you!

The short answer to your question is yes, if you don't eat the right foods you will get sick. You know exactly what you should be eating based on your original post so the big question is, why aren't you doing it?

I do have this happen a lot and don't always understand why. I am 12 months post op and I can even eat the same thing 2 days in a row and have different outcomes. For example, I made homemade taco salad for dinner one night. Now I don't use a tortilla shell but I will sprinkle a tablespoon of tortilla crisps on top for crunch and I am far enough out and close enough to goal that I can tolerate them. Everything else is veggies, taco meat and cheese. Usually I can eat between 3/4 cup and a cup of food at this stage before I am truly full. Well I think I got 4 forkfuls in for dinner that night and actually became uncomfortable so I stopped of course. 2 days later I had leftover taco meat so I made another taco salad for lunch. I was able to eat my full cup without feeling overly full. This happens to me a lot but I notice it more when I am eating the exact same thing. About the only food where I can eat a full cup and even a little more is salad. I do eat a lot of Protein salads at my house.

Don't worry, it is normal. It takes a while before your tummy can even tolerate everything they ask you to. Just sip when you can.

I am totally with you! It is none of their business anyway and you don't need that added pressure. I told my husband and children.

Most of my hunger is actually head hunger and not real. If I do notice myself getting real hunger it tells me I am not eating enough dense Protein and good fats. In between my 3 meals if this happens, I really have to really pay attention to the signs and take the following approach: 1. I feel hungry, am I really dehydrated? I start by drinking Water because it is the only thing I drink. Dehydration can actually cause hunger symptoms. If after 8 to 10 ounces that feeling is still there.... 2. Is this real hunger or am I craving something specific? I really think about this one. 99 percent of the time I am craving something specific and that tells me it really is head hunger. I then go do something to take my mind off of it. 3. After the above 2 steps, if I am still feeling hungry, I actually go have 8 ounces of milk. (This is what I should do everytime but of course I am not that well behaved). Milk turns to a solid in your tummy, fills you up and provides both excellent protein and Calcium. 4. If I just cannot get that 1 thing out of my head after the first 3 steps I might just give in and have a snack. 99 percent of the time I reach for nuts, cheese, jerkey, yogurt or pudding. 1 percent of the time I give in a have a bite of two of something I shouldn't knowing it won't kill me or make me gain all my weight back. This strategy seems to work for me.

@@ladybunny Hi Amber and welcome! Congratulations on taking steps to start a healthier life. I am so thrilled I did this. I had my one year check up today and am so thankful for my bariatric team. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself. If I had to do it over the only thing I would do different is to do it 10 years sooner! If there are questions you have or just want to chat, this group is awesome! We are here for each other. Again, welcome!

I am 12 months post up as of this week. I just recently upped my calorie count to 1200 max. At 8 months I was at 1000 max and was at that for about 4 months. I started really slowing down and thought the added Protein and calories would help but so far I am still moving very slowly. 24lbs to go and it's back and forth constantly,

I am not completely familiar with the mini like I am RNY. I would definately call your doctor to find out if you should be concerned at this point. It seems like you should have lost more but you do have to remember that you actually gain weight in the hospital from all the fluids they put in your body and then it takes your body a little time to catch up. I know I gained 13lbs in 3 days but lost that in the first week and then some. Looking back at my charts I lost a net of 30lbs in month 1 and lost that additional 13 I gained in the hospital. Now, you do have to remember everyone is different and in the end those that lose less in the beginning will catch up to those that lose more si would not get overly anxious about it but I would call my doctor and ask them your question. They may have some advice for you. Good luck and keep us posted!

I did get that feeling for the first 3 weeks post op. I realized that it was directly related to how much fluids I was getting. As soon as I was able to get to 40 plus ounces that lightheaded tired feeling disappeared. Are you getting between 48 to 64 ounces of Water daily? If not try working even harder at it. You will be very surprised what dehydration does to our bodies. Many people end up having to go to the ER with the same symptoms you are having. They give you IV fluids and get you back on track but you have to sip that liquid constantly post surgery. Mostly because your little tummy can only tolerate sips. In a couple of months you will be able to drink more than a sip. I now am able to get 48 ounces in before Breakfast, then I know I only need to drink another 24 and it takes care of it. It will get easier, I promise! Good luck!

@@toasty Hi there, the first 8 weeks following surgery I had to actually thin them out with lactose free milk. They can be heavy for a brand new pouch but I was told by my nut that they are in fact lactose free. Try using a little fair life milk. I started with 1/3 premier Protein 2/3 milk and then within another week or two I was able to do half and half. By week 8 I was able to drink one slowly over 30 minutes and did not have a problem.

I think your approach would be just fine as long as you already tolerate eggs. I still cannot tolerate eggs and I am now 12 months post op. At some point you have to give them a try and they are excellent Protein. Good luck!

@@gpmed Yes, they are lactose free. The biggest reason why premier Protein is because my nut suggested it. It has one of the highest protein counts (30grams) with only 1 gram of sugar. They taste great, there is no dealing with powders and blenders at all. It was a very easy transition for me,