MzB

It could be gas pain, @@brandeett? Try Gas-X strips if you're from the US, or chewable Windeze in UK.

..

watching this, I'm the same way...

Well I was going to say low in Iron but apparently your blood work came back just fine. I had anemia before I had surgery and mine is worst since then. I have bruises everywhere and they can take a month to heal. I wish I had more advice but certainly do not. Good luck!

A year ago I had that problem really bad. I had huge bruises between my knees just from sleeping on my side! Part of the problem was I got too thin. even though the nutrient analysis showed no problems, i do believe it was related to nutrition. I was put on a natural remedy called "veinoblend" that provides additonal micronutrient support beyond the multi Vitamin. I started eating more (I was well into maintance when this happened to me) and it solved the problem. Try looking into a tempory iinfusion of a vein support remedy from a health food store.

Dr. Kim and Dr. Nicholson.. Both in DFW and both have the "making surgery affordable" option with the hiatal hernia. Good luck!

Wylie/Sachse/Murphy
I would love a support group in the Wylie/Sachse/Murphy area.

I admit I was concerned about telling people. And I limited who I told before I did it. That is when I felt I got the most unsolicited advice. I am now 2 months post op and I have decided to just own it. I realized that what others thought wasn't as important as what I thought. I don't tell everyone, the same way if you had a hysterectomy, you wouldn't just use it as a conversation starter. . However, I truly believe that this was MY decision, and what was right for me. Most have beenreally supportive, the ones who aren't, I just ignore. It's not their life.
I have also found that people are curious and a number of friends have thought about it and now want to ask thoughtful questions. If I can be a good resource for them as they consider this option, I want to be.

@@nyjocool - There are only a few "nevers" that I truly consider a "forever never". I am still a newbie, being post 11 weeks and 1 day, but I would have to list a big forever never as diet soda, or any soda. I was a big fan of caffeine free diet coke. I didn't drink them regularly but if I did it was that or regular sprite. I chew gum (sugar-free).
I think you need to re-think about what "never" means post-op. I think in most cases, "never" a whole pint of ice cream, a big glass of fully sugar sweetened iced tea, bucket of buttered popcorn at the movies. IMHO you could have a couple of bites of the ice cream, a SF glass of tea, and a couple of handfuls of well chewed popcorn (minus the tons of butter) after you have had surgery and get past the restrictions on your diet suggested by doctor/NUT. I haven't had ice cream or popcorn because I just HAVENT wanted them. I have had tea, I just add the lemonade SF drops. I LOVE popcorn and not having it I thought would bother me. It hasn't. I am really not a big ice cream person but I used it as an example.
I did the surgery for me, and have no regrets. I am wearing clothes I haven't worn since 2007.
That's a "never" I thought that was forever (being able to wear clothes that start with a number 1)

So I decided today I was taking my butt and my kids around the entire block on a walk even if it killed me. Well, it nearly did! LOL by the time
I got home I was gasping and wheezing and was very lightheaded so I sat down on the porch to rest. Well, at that exact moment, who calls me? The Psych to set up my psych eval appt. and I'm trying to talk to him and I know I'm sounding like a dumbass but I can't really think straight and I'm gasping still and God, he sounded like he had the rubber stamp for the loonie bin ready with my name on it by the time the call was over. I hope he doesn't hold it against me when we have our appt in 2 wks! Haha it was so bad! Why doesn't anyone ever call me when I'm calm, composed, and not under physical duress!

I think if I would have followed Ann's plan, I would have been to goal by now. Months 4-7 I was only getting 600-800 calories, and it really slowed things down for me. I was stalling all the time and barely losing. There was one month where I only lost 2 pounds! Not until I took some advice and looked at what she was doing did I smarten up and increased my calories to 1000 and now to 1200. Since then, I've been pretty steady and only had one or two tiny stalls. Now I'm 6 pounds to goal.
But yes, everyone is different too

I told family and close friends before surgery and like family and friends are supposed to be, they were totally supportive. Of course they expressed the normal amount of concern over the fact it was major surgery and I was traveling to Mexico, but they were all positive and offered any help I needed.
Post op, I was asked how I was losing so much weight several times every day (I see up to a dozen clients/day). With very few exceptions, I told them I had surgery and proceeded to answer any questions they had about the type of surgery, the process involved, diet plan I follow, etc. The exceptions were clients I don't really like and have no interest in having ANY type of non-professional conversation with. By the 2nd month my work partner was answering the questions herself because she had heard them so many times. We were both very glad when the novelty of my skinniness finally wore off!
Telling the truth about my surgery was really the only option I had. Anything else would have felt like lying and I don't feel comfortable letting people think it was just diet and exercise. And as a result, at least 4 other people have had WLS since hearing my story. Not to mention the 100's of people that now have a little better understanding of obesity, WLS and the great medical care available in Mexico. And if anyone is saying anything negative about my surgery they are doing it behind my back because I have only had positive responses. (Except my hairdresser who calls me "skinny bitch" )
And my dogs have been totally supportive. They love the fact that I can no longer clean my plate.

How damn hard this can be at times. Especially emotionally.
Most of us have relied so much on food for comfort, boredom, celebration, sadness, etc....and learning other coping skills besides turning to food can be a hard pill to swallow.
But I also didn't know how great it would feel to finally be in control of what goes in my mouth and seeing my weight decrease because of that. The rewards are endless!

I think everyone here knows that your body will not necessarily behave like others' bodies.
Also, remember that when you reach goal you can't HELP but be much more active than you were at your highest weight and couldn't or didn't move very much at all. Therefore, your caloric / metabolic needs will surely rise.
Here's my advice, based on my experience thus far: Don't make assumptions about how much food your body is burning. When you get to maintenance, keep recording how much (calories / Proteins / carbs) you're eating daily and what your moving macronutrient averages are. You might be surprised at how little effort this record-keeping actually takes with tools like www.myfitnesspal.com . And if you're an Excel hound, you can have a ball!
I know from a lifetime of yo-yo diets and weight losses and regains that my eating / exercise / meal-planning instincts and impulses are not reliable enough to rely on without planning and monitoring. At some point in the future my instincts could become sharper and I might be able to move away from my record-keeping and metrics. But for now, I'm sticking with what is working.
Short version: Don't guess. Know. Be prepared for things to change. Adjust as needed.

I am in Birmingham and am having my surgery Friday. Started my pre-op diet this weekend and cannot wait!!!!!

I can tell you my experience:
My highest weight was 235. I lost almost 20 pounds pre-op (on my own diet and my surgeon's pre-op diet). Surgery day I weighed 216.
Month 1 I got up (finally) to almost 800 calories (was hitting closer to 500 most of that month).
Months 2-4 I ate 800 cals/day on average.
Months 5-6 (thanks to my bariatric PA's advice - who knows TONS of stuff about bariatric nutrition, more than my NUT, frankly) I gradually bumped up my cals to 1,000 cals/day.
Months 7-8 I gradually raised my daily cals to 1,200.
I hit my weight goal (150 pounds) 8.3 months post-op.
In the last 2.7 months I've been trying to hit 1,750 calories/day -- the calorie budget that my PA, my NUT, my exercise consultant and I all independently determined would be a good maintenance diet for me. That's pretty hard to do, and as a result I've lost another 6 pounds. However, I think that finally at 144 pounds the 1,750 cals/day thing is working for me.
I am sooo glad I didn't eat 800 calories for 8 months. There's no way to know for sure, but my feeling is that if I had eaten less during that time that my maintenance calorie budget would be lower than it is.
I don't want to lose anymore. I am older (69 years old now) and look just fine. I also want to be able to bounce if I fall down. And I don't want to eat like a bird to maintain some fantasy 125 pound weight that's too light for me at my age.
This has worked out really well for me.
Everyone's mileage may differ considerably from mine, but that's my story.

@@MzB Thanks! I got to 950 calories yesterday, but I felt like I was eating way too much. I actually had to eat at 10pm to get those extra calories in. I'm also using MyFitnessPal, and am tracking all of my calories, Protein, carbs, sugar and fiber. Ideally, I'd like to shoot for 850 calories/day, but I'm torn between doing that and following my Doc's advice to the letter.

SleevePerry,
for my 6 week checkup I got similar advice and I think it is a doable goal. I am just a little bit further than you in my journey (2 months) and I have found that I can get 700 calories pretty easily. I strive for 800, but only get there occasionally. I have never gotten to 1000/day, but it is nice to know that I I shouldn't worry if I go above 800. Most of what I eat is Protein, I am still struggling to get in some good carbs.
I use MFP to track everything, but I focus on the nutrition numbers not the calories. I have even stopped reading them on the labels. Just look at carbs and Protein.

Do NOT feel ashamed!! I think that is one of the biggest problems we have all had to deal with and get over.
We should all be proud of the fact that we have made a decision that is going to give us a healthier, longer, more active life. Don't look back, look forward. You are NOT crazy.
Be strong.

SleevePerry,
for my 6 week checkup I got similar advice and I think it is a doable goal. I am just a little bit further than you in my journey (2 months) and I have found that I can get 700 calories pretty easily. I strive for 800, but only get there occasionally. I have never gotten to 1000/day, but it is nice to know that I I shouldn't worry if I go above 800. Most of what I eat is Protein, I am still struggling to get in some good carbs.
I use MFP to track everything, but I focus on the nutrition numbers not the calories. I have even stopped reading them on the labels. Just look at carbs and Protein.

A friend of mine pm'd me yesterday and said that her college age daughter saw me at our forth of July parade and said that I looked so confident and Hot!. She then went on to describe what I was wearing. A blue skirt and tucked in shirt with my purse slung over my shoulder. Her daughter knew me from before losing weight and is very fashion conscious, so I'll take this as a very big compliment.

I am 8 weeks out from surgery and doing great, but I have to admit I am struggling with how to eat in the new "normal". I did this surgery to lose the weight and keep it off, but I don't like the feeling that I am on basically going to be on a strict Atkins for the rest of my life. I am staying at less than 30g of carbs a day at this point but I feel like I am having to be incredibly strict about only eating Protein and almost no carbs. My PA said some carbs were good to have, but all the threads on BP seem to really caution against it. I really want to be successful but I seem to worry that a small piece of bread or rice will totally throw me off. Carbs are scary! LOL. Wanting to feel a little more normal. ????

I was lucky to find a man who loved me at all my various sizes. I was a size 18 on our wedding day and he thought I looked beautiful. And just so you don't feel those guys aren't out there, I got married at 36. ☺ There is a whole story about having the word "spinster" on my marriage license. But that is probably best for another thread. .
One thing I will share is an experience in college that reminded me it isn't just others seeing a thin person and treating them different, although I will say it will happen. You will change too. In college I put on weight by my senior year. ( Size 16). No dates! Nothing but guy "friends". One day I was in a particularly good mood and was more open and even a little flirty. Wow, the attention I got. I noticed guys and they responded. My size hadn't changed, my attitude did! I suspect that when you start to lose weight you will feel more confident and sexy. Guys will be responding to that as well. . Just remember to be open and love will find you. The right guy will love you for what is inside even if he is first attracted to what is outside.

Watch this
http://imperfectlife.net/ilovemyuglybody/
I if you can't love your self then how can you expect anyone else to?