catwoman7

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/what-to-know-about-how-long-marijuana-stays-in-your-system

dumping isn't very common in sleevers. About 30% of bypassers dump - so even there, it's not the majority. I don't know what the percentage is in sleevers other than it's a lot lower than 30%. also, plans vary a lot among surgeons. Some are low-carb, some are ultra-low-carb, others don't care about carbs at all and stress balance instead. So yes, some plans would allow potatoes and oatmeal, others would not. The best advice is to follow your own clinic's plan.

150 grams of protein for a 300 lb person is not too much - and in fact, skewing toward eating more protein vis-a-vis fat and carbs will help you lose weight. Protein takes longer (and more calories) to burn off than do the other two macronutrients, and it can also keep you satisfied longer.

I only noticed changes in intensity of flavors - for example, sweet things tasted sweeter and spicy things tasted spicier. I haven't noticed that in a long time (I had my surgery eight years ago) - not sure if it was temporary or if I just got used to it. As far as liking things I didn't like before and vice versa, that didn't happen to me.

a lot of people have issues with chicken the first few months. It can be kind of dry. Thighs with some kind of sauce might be easier to get down than chicken breast. Or just avoid it for the time being and try again later.

yes. Although carbonation can be hard on some people's stomachs. I can tolerate carbonation if it's not TOO bubbly. I sometimes have to let certain things sit out for awhile until the flatten out a bit.

I never could understand the big butt craze, either.

I never waited 15 minutes (or whatever) between fluid A and fluid B. They're all just fluids and they go right through you. Waiting to drink after eating is so the food doesn't wash out of your stomach before you feel full (or at least, not hungry), but a shake is going to move through pretty quickly. I've always counted protein shakes toward my water goal. Actually, I count all non-caffeinated beverages toward my water goal (although some people count coffee, too).

yep - it took me years to come to the conclusion that surgery was my only choice. I also lost over 200 lbs and my life is completely different now. I would do this again in a heartbeat and my only regret is that I didn't do it years ago.

It took about two months before my energy level was back to what it was pre-surgery, although it gradually got better, day by day...

do you dump? I never have. If you do, just limiting (or avoiding) sugar and fat should prevent that.

yes it does seem overwhelming at first, but after awhile it becomes old hat.

I would suggest something about the infamous three-week stall. It seems like there's a post almost every day from someone who's about three weeks out, frantic because they haven't lost any weight in several days. I really wish more clinics would tell patients about this early stall, because it happens to the majority of us, and most people don't know about it ahead of time so they freak out when it happens. also, something about how the rate of weight loss is dependent on many factors, some of which you have little to no control over, like genetics, how muscular you are, starting BMI, age, gender. And also not to expect to lose 30+ lbs the first month, because that's not common with people unless they're the size of the people on "My 600 lb Life". Just let them know that if they stick to their clinic's plan, the weight WILL come off. Their ultimate success is dependent on how compliant they are, not their rate of weight loss.

it's good to have it checked out, although this far out from surgery, the usual culprit is low blood sugar. I started having issues with that at about two years out. I went in for a workup and they tested everything - glucose, blood pressure, ears (it can also be due to an imbalance in your inner ear), even urine (not sure what that test would have been looking for with that, but whatever..). Everything came back normal, but I noticed it again about two weeks later. It was a couple of hours after I'd eaten a piece of cake at a retirement party. I usually just eat a couple of forkfuls, but that time I'd eaten the whole piece. So i let my PCP know. She said the problem was probably low blood sugar, then - it's just that my glucose level happened to be normal when I had the workup. She suggested I just eat something about every three hours - either a protein or, if a carb, then pair it with a protein. Seems to have resolved the issue for me.

not really.

neither harder or easier. It's just that it may be more challenging to get all your protein requirements in.

it's supposedly a lot easier to get pregnant post-surgery. This didn't apply to me since I was post-menopausal when I had surgery, but I think they recommended using two forms of birth control for the first few months since it'll be a lot easier to get pregnant.

a lot of us seem to use either MyFitnessPal (the free version) or Baritastic

(for some reason my post above posted twice - and this thing won't let me delete the duplicate)

I've heard something like that, but it didn't apply to me at all. I just checked - I'd lost 40 lbs at three months out and 130 lbs at the year mark. maybe this formula applies to a lot of people, but I really don't like these kinds of things because it just causes worry and anxiety in people if they're not reaching certain "goals" at certain points in their journey. Especially those of us who were slower losers. I was a slow but steady loser and lost all of my excess weight by 20-months out. I would have been really discouraged if I paid attention to these kinds of predictions and took them to heart.

I originally lost 235 lbs and gained back about 20 of it. So 215 lbs (it's very common for us to have a 10-20 lb "rebound" gain after hitting our lowest weight, so I was prepared for that and went a little under my goal to account for that). Was it worth it? OMG yes! Best decision I ever made - I should have done it YEARS ago!! P.S. I had my surgery almost eight years ago.

pain is all across the board but most of us seem to have little or none of it. I had hardly any pain and never even opened the bottle of pain killers they sent me home with. If you're one of the ones who has pain - never fear - they'll send you home with pain killers. Just take them on schedule and you should be able to keep on top of it. But again, most of us don't have much pain with these surgeries. get used to needles - I had follow-ups with blood draws about every three months the first year, I think (I had my surgery almost eight years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy). After the first year, I only had to come in once a year unless I was having issues (I haven't had any issues), and I have to go for a blood draw before that appt, too. They like to see what your various levels are so they can adjust your vitamins or whatever. I never found the needles very painful - I just look the other way.

there's not really a best option. They're both good surgeries and you'll find people on here who've been very successful with both. there are some medical conditions that might make one surgery more appropriate for you than the other (for example, GERD), but if you don't have any of those conditions, it really comes down to personal preference. I chose bypass because I had reflux issues before I had surgery. There's a chance sleeve can make those worse, whereas bypass usually improves or even cures them. So I decided not to risk it and went with bypass. I've been very happy with my bypass and would make the same choice if I had to decide today. But you'll find people who are just as happy with their sleeve. I know it's a hard decision. Even with my reflux issues, I still went back and forth before deciding for sure. P.S. in response to the comment above, malabsorption issues aren't very common as long as you keep on top of your supplements (most sleevers have to take supplements as well - although the consequences aren't as severe if you slack off). Also, about 30% of bypass patients dump, but it can be controlled by limiting the amount of sugar and fat you eat at one sitting. So those issues really didn't affect my decision. For me it came down to my reflux issues - and the fact that at the time I had my surgery almost eight years ago, sleeve was still kind of new, and I was more comfortable with a surgery that had a lot of history and research behind it. The latter reason wouldn't really apply today because the sleeve has now been around long enough to prove itself, but I personally would have still gone with RNY because I didn't want to take the risk of having my GERD getting worse (it doesn't happen to everyone - and not even to the majority - but I was worried I'd turn out to be one of the unfortunate ones, and I didn't want to go there) I think the suggestion to talk to the surgeon about your lifestyle, etc, is a good one. It might help you make a decision. Good luck, though - I know it's not an easy decision.

exercise is only about 10% of weight loss. 90% is due to food intake (or the lack thereof). So being active does help a bit, but most of loss or gain is due to food intake. I know of several people who've lost a ton of weight with WLS without exercise, so you should be fine. not losing the first week is common, and Sigh is correct, it's due to the IV fluids you got in the hospital, which is essentially salt water. The sodium in it causes water retention in a lot of people, and it takes a few days to work it's way out of your system. Lots of us leave the hospital weighing more than we did when we entered. I've read about people "gaining" up to 10 lbs in the hospital! So no worries. You'll start losing weight soon..

no - I just prepped my food at home and packed however much I could eat of it into a container and just took that. I also always had a couple of things of Greek yogurt and a ready-to-drink protein shake or two in my office refrigerator.