catwoman7

that's a question for your medical team, but my answer would be no.

P.S. Just wanted to add that when I weighed 146 lbs (at the high end of the BMI range for my height), I had a DEXA scan to see how much more weight I should aim on losing. Turns out my body fat was 21%, which is lean for a female. The technician, as well as my PCP, said it was time for me to stop losing. I was shocked. I figured I could lose at least another 10 lbs. Nope. Again, bone and muscle... (normal body fat range for older women (i.e., me!) is 23-33%. So yea - I was pretty low, even though my weight was at the high end of my BMI range)

I would consider another PCP as well. This one is obviously not knowledgeable about WLS. People who've lost large amounts of weight often have heavier bones and muscles than those folks who've never been obese. You needed that extra infrastructure to hold up all that weight. You do lose some of it as you lose weight (along with the fat), but you're going to have more of it than someone who's always been normal weight (excess skin is also extra weight (maybe five lbs or so), but you've had that removed). The PA at my bariatric clinic said you'll probably look about 10 lbs lighter than what the scale says, because of the extra bone and muscle weight you have. plus as others have said, why in the h*ll is this PCP complaining about you having a 28 or 29 BMI, when you've lost a ton of weight? They should be overjoyed. They must not be aware of your past medical records (??)

my clinic's instructions were to wait a year before trying alcohol. This was probably due to healing (early on) and the fact transfer addiction is a common problem. I've read and heard numerous accounts of people who never had a problem with alcohol before surgery who afterward became alcoholic (and since that runs in my family, I'm doubly careful) I didn't have my first drink until I was about three years out. It hits fast and hard. I now drink an occasional glass of wine (maybe once every couple of months), and one glass is about all I can handle. Personally I would be pretty upset if a "friend" tried to talk me into something that medical personnel told me not to.

I agree with others. First, you'll likely lose pretty quickly the first month or two, and after that, it slows down quite a bit - but you'll continue to lose as long as you follow your program secondly, weight fluctuates every day - water retention, a full bowel, or even hormone levels can affect it. If it starts messing with your mind, just weigh once a week so you're looking more at long-term trends rather than daily fluctuations.

re: hair loss: I think mine lasted about three months

I agree with the others - everything you said is completely normal. The stalls, the hair loss (and that will grow back), and the occasional slip-up. It's only a problem if you don't know how to recover from it - that is, forgive yourself, learn from it, and get right back on plan. And 62 lbs in six months is totally normal. That's about where I was at that point.

you just have to ride it out and know that it'll grow back. Like the others have said, a shorter style will make it look less obvious (mine was either chin-length or shoulder-length at the time, and I didn't lose all that much hair, so on me at least, it wasn't a noticeable loss)

almost everyone has a stall around the 3rd week post op. Did you get a DS or just a sleeve? This is the first I've heard of revision from bypass to sleeve (since the bypass is a more powerful surgery, I'm not sure why they'd do this... unless your sleeved stomach is part of a DS? (duodenal switch - which is a sleeved stomach with a partially bypassed small intestine - this particular surgery is even more powerful than the RNY bypass)

high liver enzyme values are not at all unusual during the rapid weight loss phase. Losing weight quickly is hard on livers. Unless there's something else going on here, your levels should stabilize once your weight loss slows way down. Your bariatric surgeon should know this. My PCP freaked when she saw my liver enzyme values that first year, too - but she was later told that this was fairly common. When we retested again a few months later, they were normal.

pain is all across the board, but I would say based on hanging out on this site for the last eight years that most people have little to no pain with these surgeries. I didn't have pain and wondered if they even did the surgery! The only thing I had which could be considered painful (other than some minor "gas pain" once I got home) was that it was a challenge to change positions for a few days. If I was just lying there, or sitting there, or standing there - no pain. But if I was transitioning from one to the other, like from lying down to sitting, my abs felt like I'd done about 1000 crunches. they'll send you home with pain pills, so if you're one of the folks who experiences pain after the surgery, you'll have those to keep on top of it.

no. I used one after my plastic surgery, but not my weight loss surgery. Some people use them, though.

I just checked MyChart for my liver enzyme levels from a few years ago (I had surgery in 2015) - I had my liver enzymes checked a couple of times until they stabilized. My alkaline Phospate level was normal, but my ALT and AST (also liver enzymes) were way out of range (again, they stabilized at a normal level during year 2, once my rate of weight loss had slowed down to a crawl). But see what your surgeon says. It may be perfectly normal for the alkaline phosphate level to be way out of whack during the weight loss phase, too. I Just know it's pretty common to have crazy high liver enzyme levels that first year out of surgery.

you're probably going to be sleeping almost the whole time, so I definitely wouldn't pack much. Your cell phone and charger for sure. Also, some people have dry mouth/chapped lips after the surgery, so you might want to bring some dry mouth spray (like Biotene) and chapstick just in case (I didn't have that issue, but many people do). And big, easy-to-put on comfy clothes for the ride home (I just wore the same thing to and from the hospital). I also brought toiletries, but they gave me a small bag of them when I was in the hospital, so I didn't need mine (they gave me a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant) they'll have a hospital gown for you and those slip-resistant socks, so you won't need anything like that unless you prefer your own.

they may be able to treat it medically (i.e., with stronger meds) - but there are some people for whom the only remedy is a revision to bypass. Although it's a lot more common that it can be treated medically - so fingers crossed! (I have nothing against bypass - in fact, I have one (got it because I had GERD prior to surgery) - but it's just a much bigger deal than taking some med!)

I have a virgin bypass, but I've been eating a normal diet for years. for your questions: 2. Yes, of course! It's not going to be much different than it was with the sleeve, from what I've read. Protein- yes - you need to make sure you're getting enough. For most people it's around 60-80 grams a day (although isn't that true of sleeve, too? My clinic told both types of patients to get that much) My first few weeks post-op I couldn't drink 15 minutes before eating and 30 minutes after, but once I moved to solid food, I was told I could drink up to the time I started eating. Still am supposed to wait 30 minutes after eating to drink, though. Chewing thing - at my clinic, they had both types of patients chewing everything at least 20x before swallowing. I was religious about it the first few weeks, but I don't really do that anymore. I probably should because after surgery (both types) your stomach doesn't churn as much as it did before, so you have to do some of that "churning" before swallowing it, but I don't think I normally chew things 20+ times. from everything I've read/heard, weight loss is slower after revision than it is with a virgin surgery, but I know people who've lost a lot of weight after revising (and others who've just lost 20 lbs or so) I don't think you're going to find it much different than sleeve. One big thing to remember, though, is that you need to keep on top of your protein and supplements. Of course, sleevers should as well, but the consequences are greater if you slack off with a bypass.

it's common for liver enzymes to be high that first year or so out of surgery. Rapid weight loss is really hard on livers. Mine were really high the first year - then they went back down to normal sometime during year 2 (I was still losing weight during year 2 since I had over 200 lbs to lose) how high is your B12? mine is always over 1000. It's met with a shrug at my clinic. Once it got over 2000, and the PA at my surgeon's office just said I should cut back a bit on my supplement. He didn't seem alarmed by it at all. I know several people who say they feel better when their B12 is around 1000 or higher.

I had my skin surgeries in 2017 and 2018 (and a face/neck lift a year ago). Before I started doing consultations, I'd read on bariatric internet forums (and it might have been this one) to expect $8K-$10K per procedure, with a lower body lift counting as two procedures since they do both front and back (in other words, it's more extensive than a panniculetomy). I had three consults in the US, and that range rang true. I did one email consult with a surgeon in Mexico, and his estimate was maybe half that (although I chose to stay in the US for my surgeries). I've had a lower body lift, an arm lift, a breast lift, and again, a face/neck lift. EDITED to add: part of it depends on where in the country you have it done. You're probably going to pay more in a city like NY, Chicago, or LA than you will in a place like Knoxville, Tennessee. I know there are some people on this forum who had theirs done in Florida, which for some reason seems cheaper than other parts of the country.

yes -- that first one can take up to a week, and just a warning - it can sometimes be a doozy! You might want to take stool softeners just to prep for it. and as Arabesque said, chronic constipation is a common problem with WLS patients. A lot of us take Miralax, stool softeners, or magnesium tablets every day to keep on top of it.

whoa - fantastic job!!

Not every surgeon requires a pre-op liquid diet. Some, like yours, just require clear liquids for a day before the surgery. Be glad for it - the pre-op liquid diets are a huge PITA.

most people seem to use either Baritastic or MyFitnessPal

when I was an early post-op, I found some recipes on the blog "The World According to Eggface" https://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ now I just modify regular recipes - you get the hang of it after awhile. Some really can't be modified to fit our plans, but many can...

burning, "bubbling" feeling in my stomach, acid-y feeling stomach. Although on top of the GERD, I felt nauseated after eating, too. At first after a few things - and as it progressed, I couldn't keep food down at all.

I can't remember - I might have. I just remember the GERD-type feeling and the nausea. I might have had burping - but it's been so long my memory has faded a bit...