MSWMike

I'm almost 9 months post op and still use Miralax daily. I only take about a half dose, but it does the trick. I tried other softeners- colace, senna, etc....and they did nothing. Thankfully, a bottle of Miralax lasts me about 2 months. It's a bit more expensive than the other softeners out there, but it's what works for me.

I don't dump either. When I have sugar, I typically get dizzy and lightheaded...and that's about it.

I am almost 9 months out from surgery and here's what my weight loss has been like:
months 1-3: 22 pounds lost per month
months 4-6: 10 pounds lost per month
months 5-9: about 4 pounds lost per month
The rapid weight loss in the beginning comes from your body not getting much nutrition, so your body uses your fat stores for energy- thus causing weight loss. As you progress post-op, your pouch size increases and you can take in more food- which naturally slows the process down. Think of it as an inverse relationship: as you lose weight, you don't need as many calories to sustain your weight....and as you progress post op, you can take in more calories. Eventually, you want to be taking in less calories than you burn in a day to maintain weight loss.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, your meal volume is incredibly small [2 ounces or 1/4 cup] per meal. Over the next year and a half, this volume is increased to 8 ounces or 1 cup per meal. So as your meal volume increases, the amount of weight loss decreases.

Hey Philly friends! I grew up in Philly (Roxborough/Manayunk area)...now I live out in Lancaster.
Having people to talk to through this journey is so important. I am thankful to have a few friends who went thru the surgery to talk to in addition to my family.
If the practice that you go to has a support group, GO! Network! Ask questions! They're helpful.

My surgery isn't until May 5th so I can't give ya any pointers, but I definitely can understand what you mean with the gay thing lol.. I'm lucky in the sense, me and my partner have been together for 12yrs and have an almost 5yr old son ???? so I don't have to deal with gay bar scene anymore (by choice) I just couldn't take the fake a$$ people anymore... Best of luck to you on your journey ????

I'm on day 6 of 14 of my liver shrink diet. All I can have are Protein Shakes, any no calorie drinks (as much as I want), and sugar/fat free Greek yogurts. I'd love to have something to chew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw the surgeon this afternoon. He said that the numbness in my right hand is due to 2 things. 1- the way in which I was placed in surgery 2- the fact that my hand and forearm were used as a pin cushion! He said the feeling should come back as the nerve "wakes up" after another week or so. In the meantime, I'm supposed to keep it elevated, iced if desired, and to use my hand as much as possible.
As far as the numbness around my outer left knee, I was also strapped there during surgery and that he and others were leaning into me there during portions of the surgery and this too should go away relatively soon.
I have another follow up next week, so we will see how things go then!

I saw the surgeon this afternoon. He said that the numbness in my right hand is due to 2 things. 1- the way in which I was placed in surgery 2- the fact that my hand and forearm were used as a pin cushion! He said the feeling should come back as the nerve "wakes up" after another week or so. In the meantime, I'm supposed to keep it elevated, iced if desired, and to use my hand as much as possible.
As far as the numbness around my outer left knee, I was also strapped there during surgery and that he and others were leaning into me there during portions of the surgery and this too should go away relatively soon.
I have another follow up next week, so we will see how things go then!

I'm on day 6 of 14 of my liver shrink diet. All I can have are Protein Shakes, any no calorie drinks (as much as I want), and sugar/fat free Greek yogurts. I'd love to have something to chew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm on day 6 of 14 of my liver shrink diet. All I can have are Protein Shakes, any no calorie drinks (as much as I want), and sugar/fat free Greek yogurts. I'd love to have something to chew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Tuesday 7/28, I had RXY surgery. While recovering in the hospital, I noticed that my right hand was a little bit numb. It wasn't bad, but noticeable. Today, 5 days later, I have feeling back in my thumb and index finger, some in my middle finger, and my ring and pinky fingers are still pretty numb. I am sure this is related to the surgery as I didn't have this before.
Has anyone experienced this?

Had my surgery today and now in recovery! :-) a little bit of pain, butndoing well.

Congratulations!! Keep your mind focused on what you'll get out of the surgery in the long run. :-)

I think this is completely normal! I'm scheduled for surgery on the 28th. I'm all over the place with my emotions, but I know that I'm doing this for a reason and I'll come out better in the end.

Not exactly sure what is going on but I had a couple thoughts.
Many times when you undergo surgery, antibiotics are administered. Antibiotics kill many types of bacteria including the good bacteria that make up your digestive system. It is important to build up these good colonies of bacteria to bring back you digestive system to its full working order. After WLS, many times one of the recommended pills to take when you get home is a Probiotics. Probiotics restore your good bacteria in your digestive system.
After RNY surgery, I found that I was lactose intolerant. If I drank a glass of milk, it meant that within minutes I had to make a trip to the restroom because I had the runs. This condition lasted for a couple months. After surgery, my digestive system could no longer process sugars, that included the sugars in milk. After a few months, my intestines learned to perform this function and I was able to drink milk again.

Each psychologist is different. Some do a quick 15 minute evaluation as @@The Candidate mentioned. My experience was different: I had 2 1-hour sessions and took a depression screening test (which took 5 minutes). The psychologist isn't "out to get you" as many people think. They want to see what is giving you the motivation for the surgery, what supports you'll have, etc. They are there to help you and want you to be successful!

Each psychologist is different. Some do a quick 15 minute evaluation as @@The Candidate mentioned. My experience was different: I had 2 1-hour sessions and took a depression screening test (which took 5 minutes). The psychologist isn't "out to get you" as many people think. They want to see what is giving you the motivation for the surgery, what supports you'll have, etc. They are there to help you and want you to be successful!

Woohoo. That is awesome that we can do this. My surgery is the 27th! Getting excited and nervous as well. I want to be a healthy weight then see where we can go from there!

After getting my surgery date of July 28 a few weeks ago, I have been a big ball of emotions. I knew in my heart this is what I was working towards- but surgery is just scary! My ultimate fear is dying during the procedure for whatever reason. After I met with my surgeon for the 3rd time, the practice nurse, and an anesthesiologist from the hospital, I feel more at ease. All three described the typical routine that is followed before/during/after surgery and what I can expect. I even asked my doctor for a video of my surgery and he's going to see whether he can record it for me (yes, I know that's odd...but I like medical stuff!).
I've had my last big weekend of eating whatever I wanted. Tomorrow starts my 2 week liquid diet. I can have 8oz of a Protein Drink for my 3 main meals. I can also have 2 Snacks during the day- sugar free yogurt, Jello, or popsicles. I can have as much to drink as I want so long as it's not a caloric beverage.
I have been asked many times what my goal weight is and I give the same answer every time: I have no idea. I'm 5,10" and at my highest I was 445 lbs. I am currently 425 and hope to be around 410-415 at surgery. If I could get down to 220, that'd be amazing! I figure if I get down to that, I'll be happy. If I go beyond that, that'll just be a bonus. I am also thinking that when I get my skin removal surgery in about 3 years, I will probably lose another 15-20 just with the skin, etc that will be removed.
All in all, I feel like I am in a good place mentally. I know what I need to do, I have the supplies I need to do what I need to do, and I have the supports I will need. I know this is going to be a hard journey with some rough spots along the way, but I am up for this exciting journey so I can get on with my life and live it up!

I'm laughing at @her1981...food funerals!!!!! I've been doing the same thing. I consciously realize that I'm doing it and balance my funerals with some good quality food and sticking to what I'm supposed to do. While I don't overdo the funerals, I acknowledge what I'm doing and know it's a 1 time thing a week for me. And when I have my funeral, I don't gorge like I used to do.

I get to do the liquid diet too. YAY! (note: that's sarcasm!) I have heard that the first few days are the worst, though.
I found my supply of Protein powders that I really enjoy. It's Isopure zero carb. I got mine on Amazon. There's a variety of flavors. My nutritionist said I should only do half a scoop of it since each full serving has 50g of protein in it. So, roughly 14 servings cost me about $20. Not too bad in my book.
Isopure also makes drinks. I got some. Let me just say that they are an acquired taste. They taste good, but have a funky aftertaste. A friend of mine who also had bypass told me how to make it palatable: make it into a Julius. Using a ninja bullet blender, fill it 1/3 with ice, 1/2 of a 20 oz bottle of Isopure, a splash of milk, 1.5 teaspoons of Stevia, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Whirl it up and there you go. Delicious!

@@Cutwater I also cook with coconut oil. I was advised that after surgery I should limit how much I use. My nutritionist doesn't want me to have more than 10g of fat per meal.

I get to do the liquid diet too. YAY! (note: that's sarcasm!) I have heard that the first few days are the worst, though.
I found my supply of Protein powders that I really enjoy. It's Isopure zero carb. I got mine on Amazon. There's a variety of flavors. My nutritionist said I should only do half a scoop of it since each full serving has 50g of protein in it. So, roughly 14 servings cost me about $20. Not too bad in my book.
Isopure also makes drinks. I got some. Let me just say that they are an acquired taste. They taste good, but have a funky aftertaste. A friend of mine who also had bypass told me how to make it palatable: make it into a Julius. Using a ninja bullet blender, fill it 1/3 with ice, 1/2 of a 20 oz bottle of Isopure, a splash of milk, 1.5 teaspoons of Stevia, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Whirl it up and there you go. Delicious!

My surgeon explained to me tha tthe Vitamins are a non negotiable, especially with the bypass, since your body will not be absorbing everything that it used to. On the other side though too... shop around for the vitamins. I found some on Amazon that were a fraction of the cost of the ones they were telling me to get that had the fancy brand name. So just do some shopping. Also as far as exercise goes, make small changes. If you go to a store, instead of driving around looking for the closest parking spot (i was bad about this) park further away and walk in. Simple things like that make your exercise add up.