catwoman7

my tracking software has entries for just a standard vegetable salad (when I eat them, they're small, so I look up "side salad no dressing" and pick that). I don't really worry about the individual vegetables because unless you're talking avocadoes, they're all pretty low-cal. Then I'll add any "add-ons" separately - like 2 T dressing, 1 oz cheddar cheese - or whatever you're adding to do it.

did you have bypass or sleeve? If bypass, there's a chance it could be a stricture. In either case, call your clinic. They might want to do some testing to see what's up.

bypass patient here. I didn't eat bread during the weight loss phase, but I eat it occasionally now.

I had it in my 50s (I'm now in my 60s) and have zero regrets. There are quite a few of us who've had it in our 50s and 60s - and we occasionally see folks on here who had it in their 70s. I have zero regrets (other than I should have had it years ago) and would do it again in a minute. My recovery, btw, was easy peasy. I had almost no pain and had no issues.

gastric bypass and the sleeve are the two most common weight loss surgeries. If you have issues with GERD, bypass is usually recommended since it often improves or even cures GERD, whereas the sleeve can make it worse (it doesn't happen to everyone - or even a majority of patients, but it's common enough that they'll usually recommend bypass if you have it). If you don't have GERD, it really comes down to personal preference. I had RNY (bypass) over five years ago. I've been very happy with it and would do it again in a heartbeat. I originally lost 235 lbs but have gained about 15 lbs since then (it's very common to have a 10-20 lb rebound after hitting your lowest weight). you do have to eat very small amounts while you're in weight loss mode - but this isn't as hard as it sounds because you have a much smaller stomach, and also, most people lose their hunger for a few months after surgery (unfortunately, it does eventually come back for most of us). However, most of us can eat more once we hit our goal. I've been in maintenance for 3.5 years and can maintain my weight if I stick to about 1700 calories a day. This is really about the same as a lot of my never-been-obese female friends. When I go out to eat, I'll either order an appetizer or if I do get an entree, I'll take half of it home with me. A lot of my women friends do the same, so I'm sure no one can tell at this point that I've had surgery. Good luck with your decision. I've been really happy with mine and should have done this YEARS ago!

P.S. Just wanted to add that most people really worry about losing hair and the loose skin - sometimes to the point that they don't go through with the surgery. I worried incessantly about this when I was pre-op and newly post-op as well. But I think I can speak for most of us that once you've lost a bunch of that excess weight, you'll start to wonder why you wasted any brain cells worrying about it. In the grand scheme of things, the skin and hair thing is really minor. I would take the loose skin any day over weighing 373 lbs again. ANY DAY!!

here's me after losing 235 lbs (originally - I've since gained 15 lbs, give or take). See all that loose skin? I can assure you I had A LOT of it. I just tucked it into my pants and wore slightly oversized, long-ish tops with 3/4 length sleeves (or longer). Ta da! No more loose skin. I should add that I've since had it removed, but that was for me. No one else knew all that loose skin was there since it was easy to hide. Again, this was BEFORE I had the loose skin removed.

supposedly it resets your metabolism and set point. The professional association here in the US is the American Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery. of course, if you go back to your old, pre-op eating habits, you're going to gain. I used to average around 3000 kcal/day...if not more. I'd gain weight like crazy on that now - but that's not a normal amount of calories for a 60-year-old female who isn't a marathon runner. But I can eat around 1700 (give or take) and stay where I'm at. That may be a little lower than average, but not by too much.

I would think they're pretty used to that because of COVID. At the hospitals here, the only patients who are allowed to have people with them are children.

"a lot".

I was pretty tired for the first month - maybe two. I think it's a combination of the surgery (any surgery can zap you for awhile) and, as you said, the low calorie intake.

yes - infusions (regardless of the type of infusion) are IV affairs for sure. I think it takes a few hours to get an iron infusion.

I think those stories are more than the exception than the rule. I have a virgin RNY, not a revision, but I've been hanging out on this and other bariatric sites for several years. Most people's revisions, from what I can tell, have been very successful. not everyone with RNY surgery dumps - I never have. The usual stat that is thrown around is that about 30% of us do, although Tek checked some peer-reviewed articles recently and estimates in those were anywhere from 20-50%. So...still not everyone. Even if you're one of the ones who dumps, you can control it through limiting sugar (even most of those who dump can tolerate SOME sugar - just not a lot of it). I can drink wine and champagne, but it hits me really quickly. I've never been much of a drinker, even before surgery. I used to have many five or six glasses of wine a year. Now I probably have two or three. No problems with it other than, like I said, it hits me a lot quicker than it did pre-surgery.

complications aren't that common, and most are minor. The most common one with the sleeve is acid reflux, although not everyone gets that (in fact, most don't). Most people who have it manage it through meds. I think you'll find a lot of people on here who are really happy with their surgeries and would do it again in a heartbeat. And most complications (if you even have any, which you might not) are still not as bad for you long term as remaining obese.

most of us are on pureed food by then. I couldn't stomach the idea of eating baby food (although that was an option for us), but you can puree a variety of things. Check the blog "The World According to Eggface" for ideas. She's a long-time vet and loves cooking. She has a lot of recipes on her site for all stages.

like others have said, there's not a straight answer for that. If you have a lot of weight to lose (esp 100 lbs or more), you'll most likely have some loose skin, though. How much depends on a lot of things....

the first thing to know is that surgery won't cure food addictions. A lot of us see therapists for that so we won't sabotage our weight loss results, because you CAN eat around any surgery and gain all/most of your weight back. You will have to monitor yourself for the rest of your life. secondly - pain is all across the board, but most people seem to have little to no pain with these surgeries. third - you can walk as soon as you get home from the hospital (in fact, they'll have you up and walking while you're still IN the hospital). I was cleared to do everything except for weights at four weeks out. I think I had to wait eight weeks to do weights again. I hope I don't sounds like Negative Nelly because honestly, having surgery was the best thing I've ever done for myself and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but there are definitely things to consider. Spend some time on this site and others - I probably spent a year reading everything I could get my hands on before I decided to take the plunge.

the only people I know who've had those can't really absorb oral iron - and their iron and ferritin levels get so low that their doctors prescribe infusions. All I know is they feel a lot better afterwards. you might want to try a different kind of iron - maybe they all aren't as constipating (although I know iron, in general, is - it's one of the reasons (besides high protein diet and calcium supplements) that most of us deal with constipation). Supposedly carbonyl iron and heme iron aren't as bad as some of the other versions...

I always take individual packets of protein powder plus an assortment of protein bars with me "just in case". Otherwise, I've been able to find things to eat at most restaurants for several years now - it's really just the first few months post-op where this could be tricky..

yep - I agree with the above two responders. Plastic surgery is MUCH more painful than WLS.

I didn't eat grapes until I was in maintenance because of the sugar content.

I borrowed my mother's walker (that she had for some surgery a few years ago), and that was helpful the first few days because I was so hunched over. I borrowed a raised toilet seat from someone - can't remember if I actually used it or not, though. I must have because I remember I was in quite a bit of pain the first few days - esp when I transitioned (lying to sitting, sitting to standing, etc) They gave me an abdominal binder at the hospital, so I didn't need that - although I did buy an "extra firm hold" girdle thingie (I think it was Maidenform - but lots of companies make them) for when I no longer had to use the binder (at around three weeks out, I think)

no - I think they just looked at the level in my blood

DS isn't all that common. You might want to check out another forum - Obesity Help. They have some long-time DS'ers over there.

some people do have issues with diarrhea, but constipation is WAY more common. Do you think the diarrhea might be a reaction to a certain food? some people have issues with lactose intolerance after surgery (sometimes temporary, sometimes not), and some people react to certain artificial sweeteners. as for no appetite, that is the beauty of these surgeries. Most people do lose their appetite for several months. Take full advantage of that! You'll never have an easier time losing weight than you will right now when you don't give a flip about food. My appetite came roaring back at five months out - I wish it hadn't since things got a lot more challenging then!