catwoman7

I took chewable vitamins the first couple of months - are those available in Japan? also, you WILL lose muscle. As we lose weight, we lose not only fat, but also bone and muscle. It's OK to lose some of it - we need a lot of "infrastructure" to hold up our excess weight, and once we lose the weight, we don't need as much of that anymore. But the goal is to not lose TOO MUCH muscle. This is one of the reasons we're supposed to eat a lot of protein - to keep us from losing too much muscle.

I haven't heard that before, but then the MGB is a newer surgery, so there probably aren't a lot of people on here who've had it (yet). Sorry to hear this!

could also be due to low carb intake....

lots of women have weird hormone-related things going on the first few months after surgery - like mood swings and screwed up menstrual cycles. Estrogen is stored in fat cells, so supposedly a lot of it is released during the rapid weight loss period. It'll eventually stabilize.

yes - the above commenters are right. Some people are intolerant of artificial sweeteners - or at least SOME artificial sweeteners. Sugar alcohols (those with names the end it "-itol" - like xylitol and malitol) are the worst offenders.

that doesn't sound like dumping. I know of someone else who has SIBO - (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) that sounds somewhat similar to what you have, but I'm NOT a medical person. I've also heard of people having issues digesting carbohydrates (not necessarily WLS patients, but I've heard about it in WLS patients, too) who have to eat a low FODmap diets (or at least very low carb diets) to control it. I would see your general PCP - and if they don't know, maybe they can refer you to a G/I specialist. These kinds of things aren't really common, so it could be that the people at your bariatric clinic just aren't familar with it. EDITED to add: I just re-read your message and noticed you said you've had liver problems, too. Maybe it's related to that? I would see if you can get a referral to someone who deals with these kinds of things (G/I person or maybe a hepatologist (if it's liver-related). At any rate, I'd probably start with my primary care covider.

I used to gag while brushing my teeth even years before surgery - esp since I have all four of my wisdom teeth so I have to get the brush back there pretty far. My life changed when I got my first SoniCare with those small brushes. I don't think I've gagged since then.

sounds like acid reflux to me, too. Did they put you on a PPI, like omeprazole or pantoprazale? Some surgeons do that automatically for the first 3-6 months to control acid (since it's not good for healing). If yours didn't, and the burning continues, you might want to ask your clinic about it, or at minimum, let them know what's going on.

Band was less invasive for sure, but they don't call it the "crap band" for nothing! Everyone I know who had one has had it removed. A lot of surgeons were still doing bands when I started looking into surgery (c. 12 years ago - but finally had it eight years ago). I'm REALLY, REALLY glad I didn't choose that. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone placing bands now...

thanks! I'd like to lose about 10 lbs, though. I did need to gain some weight, but these last 10 lbs I could do without. My doctor says to quit worrying about it because I look fine, but it's a mental thing with me, I think. I liked seeing those low numbers!!

yes - it's definitely the most popular choice nowadays. I think most of the people who opt for bypass now are people with GERD issues. And a lot of younger surgeons probably don't have as much experience with RNY because most of what they do is sleeve (because it's the most common surgery now) - so they're probably more likely to recommend it, too.. The surgeon I had is probably 60 years old now and has done A LOT of RNY's, since that was considered the "gold standard" for many years - but they have some newer ones in the clinic now. Not sure if the newbies there are doing much in the way of RNY or not - but I wouldn't be surprised if they're not.

first of all, only about 30% of bypassers dump (I never have - and I know lots of others who never have, either). It's caused by eating too much sugar at one sitting, so you can prevent it by....not eating a lot of sugar at one sitting. the issue with restaurants is temporary - just the first few weeks. Once you're a couple months out, you'll be able to find things on practically any menu that you can eat - and once you're about six months out, you'll be cleared to eat any food item (you may still have some intolerances, but nothing will be off the table). My new normal (well, not so new anymore since I'm eight years out) is either ordering an appetizer or two, or ordering an entree and having them box up half of it to take home. Honestly, most of my never-been-obese women friends do exactly the same. At this point, no one would be able to tell I've had weight loss surgery - they'd just assume I'm a "light eater". and what are you throwing your cookbooks out for? I never threw out a single one - and I've since added a few more to my collection! I enjoy cooking and I cook a lot. I just eat smaller portions now, and I only occasionally indulge in something like chips or dessert. honestly, the eating that people often associate with weight loss patients doesn't last forever. It's tough the first month or two (well, esp the first month), so I tried to avoid going out to eat. But after that you can eat more variety and should be able to find things you can eat at any restaurant. And then, as I said, after about six months, there won't be any food restrictions. It takes about 1600 calories/day to maintain my weight (although that varies a lot among people - I know women who can only eat around 1200 and others who can eat 2000), and I eat very nutritiously most of the time. Yes there are days when I overeat or splurge on some junky thing, but it's not very often - and I'm back on track the next day. There are times when I wish I could eat whatever I want and however much I want every day, but very few people can do that - and it sure didn't work for me since it got me up to almost 400 lbs. I think I'm eating much more like a "normie" now.

there's probably some things that aren't well understood about weight loss surgeries in general, so he/you may be right. It is different from what I've heard elsewhere, though. Eight years out, and I'm definitely not malnourished! (although there are times I do miss the months when I was at my lowest weight - which was admittedly too low for me....but it was a kick being told I needed to gain a few lbs (for the first time in my life..))

everything I've heard is that malabsorption of calories (in bypass) is temporary - lasts a year or two at best. Malabsorption of vitamins, however, is permanent, which is why we have to take supplements (in duodenal switch, the calorie malabsorption is also permanent - which is why it's a stronger surgery). I didn't listen to this whole video, but I think this is essentially what he is saying (I just listened to a couple more minutes of it - he did say we need supplements of some things like calcium and iron, because we don't absorb those well - I'll listen to the rest later to see if he mentions other vitamins - but i'm on my way out the door at the moment...). But that whole thing about carbsi in the intestines and diarrhea - that refers more to DS patients since that is truly a malabsortive surgery - and the malabsorption (of calories and everything else) with the DS is permanent.

dumping happens to about 30% of bypass patients. It's much less common in sleeve patients, so it's very unlikely that you'll have that (since you'll be a sleever). But for people who do have it (both bypass and sleeve), you can prevent it by not eating tons of sugar at one sitting. So I would not worry about dumping syndrome. nausea and vomiting are not uncommon early on when you're trying to see what your stomach will tolerate. BUT..you learn quickly, and most of the time foods that are intolerable early out you can eat later on. Besides, vomiting after surgery is different from vomiting before. Your stomach is tiny and there's a lot less acid in there, so not much comes up and you don't get that horrible taste in your mouth. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's "pleasant", but I don't dread it nearly as much anymore. I probably don't vomit any more often than I did pre-surgery at this point, and haven't for a long time. water - yes you'll be mostly sipping it the first few weeks, but at some point you'll be able to drink it like you probably do now. I know almost no one who regrets the surgery. The first few weeks can be rough and you may have second thoughts because of that, but after that, no. The only regret most of us have is that we didn't have it sooner.

I didn't need help, either. My husband took a week off but ended up going back to work after two days. It was nice having him get things for me (like my protein shakes), although I could have done it myself. I think I was restricted to lifting up to 10 lbs max for the first month or so - so lifting your dog may be a bit much. Pet stairs would be a good solution (my 18-year-old arthritic cat uses those to get up on my bed)

I had GERD and my surgeon said because of that I should at least consider bypass, although he'd do either surgery I wanted. Bypass usually improves if not outright cures GERD. My GERD completely went away for the first three years post-surgery. I have it again, although it's milder than it was before. I just take an over-the-counter antacid (like Rolaids) when it acts up, which is maybe a couple of times a week. no cautionary advice - I love my bypass and would do it again in a heartbeat.

this surgery is so commonplace these days that there's really no need to travel - unless you're self-pay and the surgeon in Texas is a lot less expensive. But then you have to factor in travel and hotel costs, too.

nope - I never got a medic alert bracelet, for the same reasons The Greater Fool listed.

^^^^ what the above person described is what I would consider one of those "horror stories" (read lots of those before my surgery before I made myself stop - because they're very rare, and I was scaring myself about something that was very unlikely to happen). Hair loss (which as others have said is temporary and often not noticeable by others - if you even experience hair loss at all) is temporary) and foamies (which are controllable) are just minor annoyances.

yep - mixed reviews. They seem to work for some but not for others. I've personally never tried them because with my luck, I'd be one of those whom they don't work for.

not all surgeons require a pre-op diet, so consider yourself lucky. Most of us find the pre-op diet the worst part of the whole ordeal, I was relieved the morning that I was rolled in to surgery that the stupid thing was finally OVER!! I think you're worrying needlessly about the surgery. Major complications are very rare - and minor ones, while also not that common, are "fixable". But then again, if you're not mentally ready for it, then there's that... Being nervous before a big surgery is totally normal, though. I've had four surgeries and have freaked out beforehand every time. But as far as my bariatric surgery goes, I'd do it again in a heart beat. I had it at age 55 and should have done it years before.

I don't know how willing you are to travel, but there are two nationally-known ones in California - Dr. Rabkin in San Francisco and Dr. Keshishian in Pasadena. They both do traditional DS.

pre-op diets vary tremendously, and some surgeons don't require them at all. Only your clinic can tell you what their requirements are. Milke (and oatmeal) were not allowed on mine.

it's very common to have a 10-20 lb rebound weight gain after hitting your lowest weight. It's more your body "settling in" to its new set point. Happens to most of us in year 2 or 3. However, beyond that, it's up to you. If you continue to monitor your food intake and keep active, you'll be able to maintain your new weight. If you let old habits slip back in and start eating like you did before surgery, you'll end up gaining most of it back.