mae7365

Well, my opinion has always been that I don't want surgery to become expensive and cumbersome, so I buy my Vitamins at Walmart and my 3 month post-op lab work came back perfect. I take one Centrum Chewy fruit 50+, 2 Viactiv calcium chews, one NatureMade 65 mg Iron, one NatureMade sublingual B12 every other day and one Easy Melt sublingual Zinc every other day. My surgeon was happy with my lab results and told me to just keep doing what I'm doing. So I usually buy the NatureMade at the local grocery store when they are BOGO so my Vitamin regime is very inexpensive but more than adequate.

I converted from VSG to RYGB in October 2020. Recovery was similar, yet different. I had a lot of vomiting following VSG, but less with the bypass. I am one of the 30% who experience dumping, but as catwoman7 explained, it is totally controllable by watching what I eat. In fact, I'm almost 5 months post-op and even the dumping appears to have improved (or I've figured out the triggers!).
I can tell you that I don't get that immediate sense of restriction like I did with the sleeve. At this point in my recovery, my body seems to know when to stop eating before I get the pain and discomfort associated with overeating.
All I can really offer is my advise based upon my outcome. I am so happy that I had the surgery. Like you, I has the surgery to correct my stomach and esophagus issues. But I've lost 47 pounds, I feel great, I can sleep through the night without acid reflux and I look and feel 10 years younger. Don't let fear of surgery and complications limit your decision to improve your health and daily living.

I'm not a seamstress by any means, but I can sew a straight seam. So I just kept taking in the back seam (just stitched, not like a real seamstress would do). I did that until the back pockets touched - then I went to Goodwill!

I lived on the broth of ramen noodles. Even though it is high in sodium (salt), it was ok since everything else I was drinking/eating in the liquid stage was very low sodium.

I was dropping a size a week the first 6 months after my sleeve surgery. I shopped Goodwill until I stabilized at 9 months out. My bypass surgery has been less challenging - I'm retired and tend to live in yoga pants and athletic tops. But I finally went through my closet when I hit my goal weight and got rid of just about everything that wasn't stretchy athletic clothes. I took a leap of faith that I'm going to maintain this weight loss, went to a local Outlet mall and bought a couple pair of jean and dress slacks along with smaller tops and sweater. I'm still not willing to buy any really expensive clothes at this point. I feel like I'm still in the "honeymoon" stage.

I don't remember diarrhea with the sleeve (actually Constipation was my problem), but definitely had the "runs" for a week or two after bypass surgery. My dietician recommended I take Benefiber Sugarfree Prebiotic. It sounds anti intuitive, but my surgeon told me that the Fiber helps absorb some of the Fluid in the bowel, and it worked.

Thank you all for the kind comments. I did steal the polka dot dress and wore it to church that day!

Losing weight is a pretty expensive process. Constantly having to update your clothes & underwear. It’s something you don’t really think about until it’s happening. Bras were the worst. I had back pain every time they got too big. In a year I went from a 18E to 12G to 1OF to 10E. Oh, & then there was the day I had to keep hitching up my knickers because they were practically falling off. 😆 Yes, St Vincent’s did very well from donations from my wardrobe. They’d get multiple bags every month.
I was pretty fortunate as I had kept a lot of my smaller sized clothes. I would excitedly look forward to being able to wear a particular outfit but I was losing so quickly or the season would change & I’d miss my window to be able to wear it. Sigh!
Stretchy pants can get old quickly when you’re wearing them everyday & if they’re shiny Lycra ones they can look too casual. I found a cotton & Lycra pair which looked a bit dressier with the right top or jacket. I also bought a couple of tube skirts (easy to take in too) & tunic style tops that would work with a belt as I’d drop a size. Same with a couple of dresses. I had a couple of events to go to while I was losing & was able to get away with one dress for three of the events with three size drops - God bless that belt ... though I had to buy a new one for the third wearing. Lol!

Took the picture on the left today. The right was a couple of weeks before surgery. Almost 70lbs down in total. A little of 3 months out. I can’t believe it. I have long legs?! What?! Just prod that even if I can’t see the changes every day, they are there. So thankful I got this surgery.

I never thought I'd post pics of me in undies/bikini! But here goes.
20kgs lost so far. I have none of my full body at my heaviest, I couldn't stand to look at it. The two body pics are after 10kgs lost and after 20kgs lost.
No regrets at all.

Just hit the 75 pounds lost today on MyFitessPal. Photo from 222 lbs. in 2013 to 146 pounds today.

I guess I'm a rebel who started back on coffee a month after bypass. I limit it to 2 cups in the morning, use sugar free coffee creamer and I'm a much happier person for it. I'm all about the long term sustainability of my weight loss, so I don't want to give up and/or deprive myself of the small pleasures like coffee.

I also had the revision for GERD, Gastritis and Esophagitis and I'm very happy that all that has been resolved. But I'm also very happy with the weight loss. As you can see below, I gained almost all my initial weight that I had lost after the sleeve. I felt like a complete failure and a fool for having thrown away my chance at a normal weight. I know this revision is my second chance to do it right and learn from my mistakes.
Here are my stats over my 6 year journey.
Highest weight May 2012 - 222 lbs.
Gastric sleeve surgery weight November 2014 - 212 lbs.
Lowest weight post sleeve May 2015 - 151 post op 6 months (61 lbs. lost)
Highest weight prior to revision surgery January 2019 - 205 lbs. (54 lbs. gained)
Weight day of revision surgery October 2020 - 185 lbs.
Current weight March 2021 (5 months post op) - 138 lbs. (47 lbs. lost)
I hope that I never have to add a line that says I've gained weight back again!!!!
Good luck on your journey!!!!

I had sleeve to bypass in October 2020 for GERD etc. After the initial 2 weeks, I have been very happy with the results. Not just weight loss, but no more GERD, reflux, vomiting.......

I guess I'm a rebel who started back on coffee a month after bypass. I limit it to 2 cups in the morning, use sugar free coffee creamer and I'm a much happier person for it. I'm all about the long term sustainability of my weight loss, so I don't want to give up and/or deprive myself of the small pleasures like coffee.

Thank you all for the kind comments. I did steal the polka dot dress and wore it to church that day!

Thank you all for the kind comments. I did steal the polka dot dress and wore it to church that day!

Someone on the bariatric Facebook page told me we should call the "angel wings". Such a softer, gentler term!

You look so great in the dresses. Congratulations.

You look fantastic! #Batwingsunite

You look amazing. Congrats! I don't have any daughters, but fitting into my sister's clothes would be amazing. You gave me an idea for a non-scale victory

It’s the best isn’t it. Did you keep looking at the size tag cause you just couldn’t believe it?
I put on my ballet costume from when I was 12 & it ft. So freaky. Blew my mind cause I wasn’t an overweight child.
Congratulations. You’re looking fabulous.
And I think it’s time we reclaimed our bat wings. 😁

Wow that’s amazing ! I don’t remember the last time I was a size 6 . That’s definitely a goal for me.

Congrats and you look amazing! You should steal that polka dot number from your daughter, it looks great on you!