dhrguru

What weight to you use for your starting weight? Your highest? Your weight when you started the pre-op liquid diet? Your weight on the day of your surgery?

My starting weight is what I weighed in at at my first WLS appointment, 335.

All the best for today!

Here's my before/'after' (it took me a minute for me to figure out the abbreviation).

I chose bypass because I wanted the dual advantage of malabsorption and restriction. Also, I felt that was my surgeon's strongest skill, doing bypass procedures. I'm almost 10 months out and down 110#. I don't dump and can still eat sweets, I just try and avoid them. I think my surgery lasted about 3 hours... But I also had a hernia repair.

Regain, that's what I fear. Yes I worry a lot about it. I worry if the changes I'm adopting are sustainable for maintenance. To combat that fear I'm not really restricting my eating options. Meaning maintenance for me won't look much different than my weight loss phase. (Guess I'll see how this works) I worry about forgetting the basixs as time goes on too. To combat that I keep a notebooks of my favorite meals, Snacks etc. So I can easily look back when I get bored with what I eat and forget the fact that I do have plenty of options.

I had my gastric sleeve in 2011 and lost 120 pounds but now Im gaining it back. Does anybody know if I can restart the beginning phase of the diet to fix this?

Whats causing you to gain? Have you let bad habits back in? Are you still eating dense Protein first? Not drinking with meals? Avoiding alcohol and other calorie filled drinks? What's your carb intake? Do you measure portions? Track what you eat? Exercise?

Personally I don't think that going back to liquids will help if you do it for x amount if days without adjusting the other habits in your diet that aren't WLS focused. If you feel you need a kick start, it'll work, but if you return to the same habits that are causing you to gain, it will be for naught.

Have any of you after beginning the journey, felt more aware of your weight? I know I've been over aware, it seems.

I've noticed I e been more discouraged. Not about the surgery, I'm excited for that, but about my current weight condition.

Any help would be appreciated.

I think many of us live in a 'chosen' state of oblivion with regard to our weight. Subconsciously we are aware, but aren't ready to deal with it. When I made the decision to have surgery and really became in tune with how my health was and could have been impacted due to my weight, I had many 'thank God' moments that it wasn't worse than it was for me. I want discouraged, but just thankful my chosen state of ignorance didn't cost me more.

Don't grapple with the choices of yesterday-- they can't be changed. Learn from it, and use what you learn to aid in your success post op!

Welcome! Orientations are pretty thorough, there really weren't any question left to be asked at mine, but be prepared. I had a starting bmi over 53, and like you, all else in the my life was going great except the weight. I'm talking it one pound at a time, finally!

Welcome!! Best of luck for your surgery. Don't be stranger

These forums are freaking me out. I feel like nobody has gone through what I'm going through. Not helping my anxiety. I have had no word on any labs or Vitamins. He just looked at me and said ok you're clear to start solids. I'm almost a month out and am still eating liquids and mush. The most solid food I can stomach is refried Beans with a little avocado and the occasional ritz cracker that's chewed to death. I get horrible stomach cramps and pain if I eat anything more than that. So I'm freaking out about starting back at work and I don't have any control of my food. I don't sit at all at work and generally log in 10k steps a day. I work retail and I cannot be off the floor to eat every hour.. My boss would flip and send me back out on leave. I have a sheet of paper with some food items on it and a diet plan of what to eat and when. Nothing very detailed.

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If you're thinking no one else had experienced what you are experiencing, your not reading enough here. Nothing sounds abnormal about what you're going through. Did you have labs drawn? If so review the result yourself, it's pretty easy to see if your numbers are in range, low or high. See anything concerning, ask your doc specifically since he didn't bring it up. Or ask here. If no lab were drawn, ask for them to be, if he days no, go to your pcp and see if they will order them for you. Take control of your healthcare, don't wait for the doc to direct you.

All because your doc said move to solids, doesn't mean you're ready. Progress through stages as you can tolerate them, but you have to try and incorporate solids. Can you keep a Protein shake with you on the floor at work? Drink that through the day and use your lunch/ breaks to try and get in a small amount if solid foods. And it sounds like you need to expand your diet a little. Early in my favorites were: Turkey meatball, mashed, in sauce with ricotta. Corned beef hash/ scrambled egg. sugar free puddings, Soups, etc.

While I wouldn't tell you that you're too young, I always grow concerned with I see folks in their late teens/early 20's opt for surgery. I'm 38 and am glad I didn't do it younger. Why, 1) because the mental fortitude it take to keep this lifestyle going is a lot. When your that young it takes lots of discipline to live/eat differently than your friends. 2) for ladies who haven't had kids yet, pregnancy and adjusting to motherhood is huge potential for regain. Personally, I'm glad I waited to the point I did.

I'm not saying it's not possible to have WLS and maintain at an early age, just that it takes a whole lot of discipline.

@@dhrguru I have an appointment with my Dr on the 24th for blood work because she put me on diet pills three weeks ago. Thank you

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Are you pre or post op? I'm surprised she put you on any type of med without taking a look at your blood work first.

I was lap RNY with a hernia repair. Use the pain meds, don't be a hero.

Yes, when your a1c crosses 6 I believe you are considered to have type 2 diabetes. You should follow up with You PCP

I'm in a sort of odd situation now. I've lost 110 pounds since surgery 6 months ago, and 165 since my highest weight two years ago. It's a LOT of weight that's just gone forever and a freaking enormous, life-altering change for the better. And yet, I'm still 277 pounds. This is a weight that many people start the surgery process at. It's weird to have done so, so much and come so far and also know that there are people at this weight who call themselves names and feel huge. I'm finally starting to feel like a person again but if I tried to measure my success based on the understanding and experience of others, I think I would be feeling pretty bad about myself.

It's true that no one could possibly truly understand the difficulties of being over 300, over 400 pounds (and up) unless they have experienced it themselves. In a way, that makes me feel a little lonely, and like I need to defend and explain myself to others. But in the end, even if you could magically make a person spend a day in your body, they still wouldn't understand what it's like to be you and to have lived your life as you. You've gotta just know who you are and know your value and strength completely separate from the opinions and judgments of others.

I totally get where you are coming from. I cringe when I see certain self-loathing posts about starting at a weight many dream to just reach. I try not to to say anything about it because I think we all had a degree of self-disgust at some point or another-- and came to terms with who we are/were at different paces. I just write it off to that person never learned to love/appreciate themselves at their highest weight. It took some work, but I did.

If feel like people say they understand what it's like being overweight but you don't really understand if you haven't experienced. Many of my friends, who are much lighter that me, say that I am too sensitive and that they know what it is like to be as big as I am and all the struggles that come with it. I am having really bad anxiety lately and people don't understand that it is my self-consciousness. How do you deal with people who think they have an understanding of being 330 pounds (5'2"). It is much different than people think.

Part of me wonders if what they can relate to is the struggle to lose weight. I don't care if you have 20 or 200#'s to lose-- the battle is no different. But I agree, living SMO @ 330#'s vs. totally different than living "overweight" at 215#'s. Granted the health impact can be the same at both weight though.

What I felt prior To surgery?

Doubt. Doubt it'd work, doubt I could do it. Fear I'd end up with me complications coming out THEN I had prior to. I didn't have many co morbidities, but was keenly aware I was on the fast path to developing many.

What I feel after surgery?

Often, Pride. Pride in the good choices I make, whether it be did our exercise. Fear to a lesser degree, fear that I won't reach my goal, or will let life's complications derail me. Relieved that so many things are easier now, like shopping, or walking a flight of stairs.

There are lots of feelings at play, deal with them all and sort through them, don't let them consume you.

I'm curious to read responses too. I'm 6 days post op and had a small hiatal hernia repaired that my surgeon didn't know about until he was in there. I'm not sure how that is affecting my recovery because i hadn't asked or researched about it in my obsessive researching waiting period pre op!

I was in the same boats as you- had a hernia repair hat wasn't known about going in. He said it was small but still needed to repair it. My recovery was about 3 weeks to feel fully functional again. I doubt the hernia repair had much to do with it.

Hi and welcome! Lots of useful info here, pull up a chair and make yourself at home.

I've seen a few people complain that they feel the bypass caused or worsened tooth decay. I'm not sold that it can so easily be traced to the surgery. A lifetime of brushing/flossing habits, heredity and keeping up with post op supplements are factors that will affect tooth gum health.

Welcome to the start of the rest of your life! take it one day at a time- learn what work and what doesn't for your new digestive system. I can still eat sweets-- but fats/fried food make me feel no so hot. Nerves are normal-- it shows you are aware of the potential for good and bad t happen.

Since you and your hubby are doing it together-- how will you both get home from the hospital?

So, I've been interested in the sleeve since day one because I always thought, what if my stomach wraps around my intestines and... AAH! Just the thought made me decide on sleeve. I want so much for this to be successful, and I recently learned in one of my required classes that if I am a sweets lover, the best choice is bypass. I asked my instructor which is safer, and she said they're both very safe. But in the introduction class, they said 1 in 1000 people die from sleeve & 1 in 200 die from bypass. I'm so confused. I need to make this work and stopping my sweets cravings looks like it's what is best for me. I'm expecting surgery sometime in May or June, but it's good to be prepared, isn't it?

Which did you pick and why?

Not all bypass patients dump-- I don't. Actually the % that do dump is really quiet low. So i would not hinge your surgery on the fact that you like sweets and may have a safeguard in dumping to keep you from them.

Also, the 1 in 200 dying from bypass-- were they straight bypass, or revisions from some other surgery to bypass? I think that make a HUGE difference. And were those deaths immediately after surgery-- or after many years, when surgery can't as easily be pinpointed to be the main cause of the death. There are a lot of factors that can skew these 'statistics'

I chose bypass- I had confidence in my surgeon's skill and experience with this particular surgery. I wanted the additional effect of malabsorpbtion to aid in weight loss since I had so much to lose. I've seen relative with sleeve and lab band be unsuccessful with theirs, so I wanted to try what is known as the gold standard...

Pick a goal-- you can always adjust it later! Best of luck with surgery!

Congrats! Know that that pace won't continue, so embrace it while it melts away.

I think you'll be fine. Congrats on the loss! I'm sure the six months will be filled with ups and downs, so just keep at it