catwoman7

I know having a dry mouth can definitely cause tooth issues. Do they have you using something like artificial saliva? Even without the tooth issues, I bet having a dry mouth is really uncomfortable!!!

she was asking about people whose teeth got bad after weight loss surgery, though - since you just had surgery a few days ago, sounds like you've had a problem with teeth for awhile (plus the TMJ) - sorry to hear that!

you can, but it's a really complicated surgery because they have to take down the RNY first, then do a sleeve - and then do the intestinal bypass part of the DS. Only about a half dozen surgeons in the US specialize in this.

I've never heard of anyone losing all their teeth to it, but I've read some (albeit not very often - maybe a couple times a year on internet forums?) of people who've had issues with decay (moreso than they had before surgery). My take on this is although it can happen, it's not very common. I asked my dentist about it before I had surgery, and he said although he'd read about it, he's never seen it in any of his patients who've had WLS. My bariatric clinic doesn't know of any patients who've had that, either (of course, not all patients do their follow-ups through their bariatric clinic, though - so it could be that they just don't personally know of any patients). my dentist told me that the problems are likely due to excess acid, either from vomiting or unmanaged GERD. I don't have a problem with either, but he said he'd have the hygienist do a fluoride varnish on my teeth twice a year, and he also gave me a prescription for a super-high fluoride toothpaste that I use before bedtime. He said those should go a long way toward preventing any type of decay. I don't know if I necessarily needed it because I have regular dental checkups, so he may have done it just to placate me since I was so worried about it. But that's fine - I'd rather have all the extra protection! so long story short - I've never heard of anyone losing all of their teeth. We do see maybe one or two posts a year on people have more decay issues than they did prior to surgery, though - but I would think if it was a common issue, we'd see a lot more posts like that.

there's a chance it could be real hunger - but it's more likely stomach acid or head hunger, like others have said. and yes - carbs do have that effect on some people. I'm not particularly carb sensitive, but a lot of people are - they seem to stimulate hunger for a lot of people..

I have anxiety before any surgery, even though I've had a few under my belt! It's a normal reaction. This is pretty much a routine surgery these days, though - and they're considered very safe, so don't stress too much! (although I realize that's easy for ME to say!) the liquid diet is the worst part of the whole ordeal - but a lot of us can relate! You just have to white knuckle through it - it'll get better by day 3 or 4, when your body hits ketosis. As another posted said, sugar free popsicles are great to have - so is sugar free Jello. There were days I hate an entire thing of sugar free Jello, just because it was the only thing I could have that somewhat resembled real food! I was also allowed to have a limited amount of tomato juice/V8 and broth (I think it might have been a cup of each per day) - that helped, too - the sodium in it made me retain water, which made me feel a little fuller.

leaks usually happen pretty quickly after surgery, so it would be pretty unusual to have one this far out. I'd just run it by your surgeon...

hang in there - things usually improve around day 3 or 4...

check with your doctor about the menstruation. Although it's fairly common to have weird hormone things going on after WLS. Estrogen is stored in fat cells, and some of it is released when you're losing weight rapidly. A lot of women have screwed up cycles for a few months - but then it stabilizes when weight loss slows down. But in your case, given you haven't menstruated in awhile and you're on a med that's supposed to stop it, I'd check in with my doctor just in case.

being dizzy when you get up is common after surgery - or at least during the first few weeks or months. It's often due to changes in blood pressure - but in your case, it could also be due to dehydration or weakness from not eating. So try to drink/eat what your clinic is telling you to, even if you're not hungry or thirsty. And if it's blood pressure-related, try to get up from a sitting or lying down position more slowly.

I would just let the anesthesiologist know you have allergies to a lot of meds. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone being allergic to whatever sedative they use (although I HAVE heard of people being allergic to surgical tape or surgical glue), but if some people do have allergic reactions to the stuff they use to put you under, then the anesthesiologist will know what to do if you could potentially have a reaction. They may be able to use some alternative sedative - or if not, they'll watch for a reaction. A hospital is going to be the best place to be if you have a reaction to something!

it's way too early to wave the white flag. Most of us don't hit that point for months - and some up to two years (depending on your starting BMI). You're likely in a stall. Almost all of us hit our first major stall within the first month after surgery. They usually last 1-3 weeks. Mine was weeks 2 & 3. During week 4, I dropped like 6-8 lbs within a couple of days. Just stick to your program - it'll eventually break and you'll be on your way again.

most people are at around 600 then, give or take...

I mostly just listened to their thoughts and ideas, but I would plan on doing 3-5 consults if you can, because you may hear different ideas on how to do things from different surgeons. I did four consults - one with a well-known surgeon in Mexico (but I decided to have it done stateside instead, even though it was a lot more expensive), and three in my region. The first two in my region whom I talked to had such different ideas on how to approach it that I decided to get another consult to see if it was a tie breaker. So I went to a guy who's known to be pretty expensive, but is nationally known in working with massive weight loss patients. Before going, I really never seriously planned to go with him because of the cost, but I knew I would respect his opinion. Well, his opinion was the same as surgeon #2, so I knew that was probably the way to go - but I ended up going with the expensive expert anyway, because his estimate wasn't really that much more than the other two (and most of the extra cost was due to the fact that he'll only do his in a regular hospital, whereas the others do them at outpatient surgical centers, and he also makes you spend the night at the hospital to make sure you're OK to go home, whereas the other two send you home at the end of the day. I preferred to spend the night in the hospital, *just in case*). I don't know if there's anything I would necessarily ask each one about - although questions did come up at each consult (not always the same questions), but check pictures if they have them - and if they don't have them at their office, check their Web sites for pictures (but keep in mind they're only likely to post their best work). With the body lift pictures, be sure to notice belly buttons. Belly buttons are supposedly tough to get right, so if the person does good belly buttons, that's often a good sign. as someone else implied, some surgeons will recommend you to wait 6-12 months after your weight is stabilized to have plastic surgery. It's probably not a bad idea because unfortunately, a majority of us seem to have a 10-20 lb rebound after we hit our lowest weight. Although I did spend that time doing a lot of research on surgeries and surgeons, and creating my "short list" of surgeons I wanted to do my consults with...

let your surgeon know. Many of us are put on a PPI like omeprazole or Protonix for the first 3-6 months post-surgery.

depends on the surgeon. They had me eating purees before I even left the hospital.

totally depends on the surgeon. I was eating purees before I even left the hospital.

stalls are common - I had several on my journey. To deal with them, you just have to stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days if you have to. As long as you stick to your program, stalls will eventually break. They usually last 1-3 weeks. check with your surgeon about the ulcers. They may have to increase your PPI dosage (or if you're not on PPI's, they'll probably put you on them - many of us are on them for 3-6 months after surgery)

I know too much calcium can cause kidney stones - but I didn't know about calcium citrate. I didn't have kidney stones, but I was excreting WAY too much calcium and had to quit supplements altogether. Contact your PCP - they may have to do some testing to see what's going on...

I agree with the other poster that if you look at statistics, bypass patients tend to lose more, but not by a lot. And this all really comes down to the individual. You'll find people who've been wildly successful at both, and people who have failed at both....and people in the middle, too (those who've lost a bunch of weight, yet not made it all the way to their goal). Success is really more a factor of the person's commitment to their program rather than which surgery they get.

I don't know if it makes that much difference, to be honest. If people's skin is super stretched out and damaged, it's not going to bounce back. I suppose if the person isn't all that overweight to begin with, it might, though...

that first stall is usually the 3rd or 4th week but not always. Mine was weeks 2 & 3. As long as you're following your plan, you should be OK. Definitely work on getting your fluid intake up. And if it hurts to exercise, it's fine to hold off for awhile. Your calorie level is higher than mine was this early out, but you should still be losing weight on 600 calories.... I think it's just a stall.

they work for some people but not for others. I've never tried them since I figured I'm probably one of those whom they wouldn't work for...

yep - it's that infamous first stall that pretty much all of us experience. Keep doing what you're doing and stay off the scale for a few days if you have to. It'll break and you'll be on your way again...

I don't have a lot of that stuff. I use my blender a lot. As in several times a week. Food scale is also a good investment. I already had measuring cups, but I bought a set of 8 oz ramekins so I could tell how much I was eating without having to measure everything. I do have an electric kettle and use it to make tea - and heat water for SF Jello - but I don't know why you would need it after surgery. If you need to heat water, you can still do it the old-fashioned way. I don't know why you'd need the ice cube trays. Or most of the rest of that stuff. Some of it might be nice to have - but certainly not necessary. Food storage containers (like various sizes of Tupperware) are great to have regardless of if you've had surgery or not, but I already had a lot of those...