catwoman7

Calcium carbonate might be OK for sleeve people - I'm honestly not sure. But I know RNY people are supposed to take calcium citrate - I think because of low acid levels in our pouches. You guys may not have that issue.

Milk of Magnesia. A Godsend to many of us...

Normally people stay one night - sometimes two.

at 192 - and even at 203 - you would have been what we refer to as a "lightweight". With that starting BMI, you're going to lose much slower than someone who starts at over 300 lbs. I think you're doing great!

P.S. supposedly body contouring surgery on massive weight loss patients is a difficult subspecialty, so try to find someone who specializes in it - or barring that, at least someone who does a TRUCKLOAD of these things (like half their caseload). Also, make sure they're a board certified plastic surgeon.

I can't remember if it was here or on another forum, but when I started looking for plastic surgeons about two years ago, I was told to expect about $8K-10K per procedure (with the LBL counting as two procedures). Of course, depending on location, you could be paying more or less than that, but that seemed to be the average cost. I had three consults, and I'd say that rule of thumb was pretty much on the mark...

I agree with Mikeyy - I'd look for a good therapist.

we were told to take a chewable multivitamin early out. At some point I switched to regular multivitamin tablets - maybe at around six months out? (I can't remember when I switched). and yes, we are required to take calcium citrate and vitamin D. A deficiency of those can cause bone loss (well, you will have some bone loss regardless because your lighter body isn't going to need quite as heavy bones to hold it up - but I mean excessive bone loss). We were NOT required to take K2, but I take it because I have osteoporosis. Although the research isn't conclusive, there is some thought that K2 helps to get the calcium where it's needed (i.e., bones) instead of having it accumulate in your arteries. we are also required to take B12, but I've cut back because my levels got to over 2000 at one time. make sure Viactive calcium is calcium citrate. I thought it was calcium carbonate, which we don't absorb well. You need citrate. If Viactive calcium IS calcium citrate, then sorry! Edited to add that I just checked - Viactiv calcium is calcium carbonate. If you're an RNY patient, that isn't going to work for you. You need calcium citrate. You can get calcium citrate in chewable form, although you may have to order it online.

probably muscular - but I'm glad you're calling your surgeon.

I didn't weigh until about a week out for that very reason. It's all the crap they pump into you before & during surgery. It'll work its way out of your system over the course of the first week.

it's kind of hard to tell how you'll feel. I was pretty much OK by 11 days out, just very tired. I could drive by then, but i don't think I could have driven for six hours. If someone else drives, and you make frequent stops, you might be fine. But again, it's kind of hard to tell - most people have a fairly easy recovery, but not everyone.

I don't regret it for a minute, but then the only complication I had was a stricture - which is an easy fix. Sorry you're going through that!

there's no way you gained six pounds of fat in two days. It's water. Or constipation. Increase your fluids and get some exercise (unless you're already exercising a lot). Or if it's constipation, you know what to do. Give it a day or two, and I'll bet it will be gone.

first, you might want to try to go 10 lbs or so UNDER where you want to be. Bounce back is real. It's not inevitable, but it does seem to happen to the vast majority of us. secondly, once you get there, you'll have to figure out your maintenance level of calories. Go up about 100 calories/day. If a couple of weeks go by and you're still losing weight, go up another 100. Rinse and repeat. Once you get to the point where you're not gaining and not losing (for a lot of us, it's a range), you're in your sweet spot. Then your goal is to keep within that range every day.

Liquids won't make you feel full - they go right through you. You likely won't feel full until you start eating solid food. also, a lot of people don't feel much pain with this surgery (some do, of course - but a lot of us don't). I didn't feel much pain with mine, either. Easy peasy!!

it's pretty common. It's most likely orthostatic hypotension. Just get up more slowly...

yes - I was going to say I think capacity might be more of an individual thing than surgery-dependent. I know sleevers who are 2+ years out who eat as much as i or any other bypasser does - some more, some less. One would think it would have something to do with how big the surgeon made the sleeve, but I've heard that doesn't really matter, either...there's not a big enough difference in the various sleeve sizes to make a difference.

the stuff the dietitian told you is puzzling. She must not have much experience with bariatric patients. First, you have to take vitamins for the rest of your life regardless of which surgery you have. And yes - it seems overwhelming at first, but you get used to the routine very quickly. I don't find the vitamin routine difficult or confusing AT ALL. I'm pretty much on autopilot with them. also, the 1/4 C thing is really just during the first few weeks after surgery. At four years out, although my portion sizes are that of a standard "light eater", they're not 1/4 C or anywhere near as restrictive as they were for the first few weeks or months post-surgery. No one would be able to tell anymore that I'm a gastric bypass patient if they were to watch me eat. I eat about the same amount as my "light eater" normal weight friends - which is of course much less than what I ate pre-surgery - but certainly more than 1/4 C. For example, for lunch today I plan to have half a turkey sandwich and a side salad with light dressing. For dinner I'm thinking a "Beyond Meat" sausage with sauerkraut wrapped up in a Flat Out Fold It wrap....maybe with another side salad (although one of those sausages usually fills me up - so I may skip the salad). About 3 oz of meat plus some vegetables or a side salad with light dressing is a pretty standard dinner. At restaurants I'll often order an appetizer - or if I'm really hungry, I'll get an entree and take half of it home. Really no different than my normal weight friends who are watching their calories. so suffice it to say, you're getting incorrect info from that dietitian. She must have some bias toward the sleeve - or just hasn't really worked with bariatric patients before. Edited to add that I've been hanging out on various bariatric boards for about five years. The diets for sleeve and bypass patients are the same - both early post-op and years out. As for vitamins, some surgeons have VSG patients taking fewer than bypass patients (but others, like mine, have them on the exact same vitamin regimen). But either way, you are taking vitamins for life. Pardon my French, but I think the dietitian you saw is full of crap...

RNY...

stalls are a normal part of weight loss. I'd just stick to your surgeon's plan. The stall will eventually break and you'll start losing again.

Water retention - constipation - hormones - all of those would do it.

watch out with the drinking. Not only can you sabotage your weight loss, transfer addiction is REAL. Alcohol tastes way better to me now that it did before surgery - so I avoid it like the plague. The last thing I need is an alcohol problem...

M1 -16.4 M2 -11 (-27.4 total) M3 -12.4 (-39.8 total) M4 -12.2 (-52 total) M5 -11.8 (-63.8 total) M6 -11.2 (-75 total)

I'm over four years out and still take a capful of Miralax every morning. If it gets to be three or four days without "going", then I take MOM. That probably happens once or twice a month these days...

I was cleared for everything except for weights at four weeks out. (I think I had to wait until eight weeks out to do weights). So for that first month, I just walked.