catwoman7

true. My program never had us counting carbs - they stressed balanced eating. I lost over 200 lbs.

regular strictures occur in about 5% of bypass patients, and they're an easy fix. I've never heard of the issue you had before - but I'm glad they fixed it!

I agree 100% with everything Sleeve_Me_Alone said. All of those issues are very common.

mine got better. My husband is pretty active, and when I weighed over 300 lbs, I could barely keep up with him - and now I can. We enjoy doing a lot of activities together - like biking, walking, and kayaking - that I couldn't do before. I agree with the person who said that strong relationships tend to get stronger and weaker ones sometimes fall apart. That does seem to be a common pattern (although of course, not always). I think with the weak ones, they sometimes fail because the person who's had surgery develops more self-confidence and has more options - they're no longer "stuck" in an iffy relationship because they're afraid its their only option.

bypasser here. The first few months after surgery I pretty much stuck to a few berries that I tossed on top of my yogurt - but I eat all fruits now and have ever since I hit maintenance.

People are more likely to smile at me and/or strike up a conversation. I've gotten some male attention (some of it unwanted), which surprised me since I'm in my 60s. Attention has been positive - as opposed to negative attention that I got (that is, when I got it...) when I was obese. For instance, no being laughed at or pointed out by adolescent males - and no one peering into my cart at the grocery store to see what "fat people" eat. Also, it still seems very weird to me to be able to eat in public without people looking at me. Oddly, I still feel anxious about doing something like walking around eating an ice cream cone, even though I know no one is going to think or say anything, like they might have when I was obese. So yes - I'm treated differently - at least in some instances.

high liver enzymes level do seem to be common the first few months after surgery, though...I see postings on that a lot. Mine were as well - then about a year out, they were back to normal. My PCP was freaked out about it, but I did read online that it wasn't that uncommon, and it was due to the rapid weight loss (which is hard on livers). Interesting your surgeon said that, though. EDITED to add: unless he meant it wasn't anything related to the surgery per se, but just rapid weight loss in general? (as in...even if your rapid weight loss wasn't due to surgery?). Not sure. here's an article about temporary spikes in liver enzymes after weight loss: https://www.mdedge.com/endocrinology/article/53013/obesity/liver-enzyme-spike-after-weight-loss-deemed-transient

dumping isn't very common in sleevers, although it could be that. It's usually caused by consuming too much sugar or fat in one sitting - I don't know how much of either would be in your protein shake. It could also be an intolerance of some sort. Hard to say...I'd just monitor it and see if it happens again.

an endocrinologist would be more of a specialist in that area, but depending on your insurance company, you may have to get a referral from a PCP first. re: osteoporiasis - is that the same as osteoporosis? If so, that's another area that some endocrinologists specialize in. I see an endocrinologist about my osteoporosis (which may or may not have been related to my RNY - it runs rampant among women on both sides of my family, plus I'm over 60 years old to boot).

less beef and more broccoli will definitely turn that around - although as we know, protein is really important, too. Although I suppose you could make it with chicken if you wanted... 340 calories per serving and 28 grams of protein is actually decent - although I'm in maintenance, which makes a difference...

the pre-op diet was the worst part of the whole thing for me. i was actually relieved the morning they rolled me into the OR for surgery! You just have to white knuckle it - it'll be worth it in the end. It's been a few years for me, but the first few days were the worst - it did get better after awhile...

I slept in my bed with some extra pillows to prop me up.

only about 30% of bypassers dump, and for those who do, you can prevent it by avoiding or limiting sugar intake (or fat - some people dump on fat). I've never dumped - and I know lots of other bypassers who've never dumped, either.

if you can get through six months, you'll probably be OK (not everyone loses hair). I started losing mine at five months out, but I didn't lose very much. Highly doubtful anyone noticed.

in addition to what kcuster83 said (which I agree with), stomachs don't "churn" nearly as much after surgery than they did before....so it's doubly important to chew things really well before swallowing. So that could be another factor (although I agree with the dryness of chicken - lots of people have issues with chicken the first few weeks or months because of that)

just wanted to hop back on here to add that the last 20 lbs was a BEAR for me to get off. At that point I was only losing around 2 lbs a month. Yes - a month. But I kept at it, and they did eventually come off.

my sense of taste intensified for awhile after surgery - sweet things tasted sweeter, spicy things tasted spicier. I haven't noticed that in a long time, though - not sure if it went away or if I just got used to it. But to answer your question, I don't remember being bothered by non-hot spices, like cinnamon. It was more the hot ones. Like hot peppers in various Asian dishes. I can eat them again now, but for a few weeks or months, they were too hot for me.

I had weird spatial awareness for awhile, but fortunately, I never hurt my toes! But I remember always being surprised when I actually fit through things...

5'6".

I had gastric bypass 7.5 years ago. I love my bypass and would make the same choice if I had to choose today.

it's hard to say. I would lose weight on 1500 calories (albeit slowly), but some people would gain. I've been in maintenance for several years (and have been hanging out on bariatric boards for about eight years). I know people who can maintain on 2000 calories, and others who can only eat 1200. You can always experiment with different calorie ranges and see at what point you lose, at what point you maintain, and at what point you start gaining. That's really the only way to do it other than the RMR test that someone above mentioned. at any rate, 1500 calories isn't that much. Some people do gain on that, but then, you're pretty tall so I'm guessing you'd either maintain or lose on that much. also, the closer you get to a normal BMI, the slower weight loss becomes. That's just a fact. 1200 calories is super low, unless you're short or have an incredibly low metabolism. Most people can't really sustain that forever. Personally, I'd give up the ghost on that one. As I said, even 1500 is pretty low for most people....sustainable, but low. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're gaining on that. for the record, I can maintain on 1500-1700 calories. If I'm doing some heavy exercise, I can go up to 1800 or so - maybe even higher.

plans differ. My clinic's plan was balanced and they didn't give a hoot about carbs. Never mentioned them at all. Although honestly, you take in so few calories the first few months and the protein requirements are so high, that if you follow the plan you can't really take in that many carbs *anyway*, due to the protein requirements. The first few months I rarely went over 80 carbs a day - and I don't think I ever went over 100 (I do now...but then, I'm several years out from surgery)

screwed up menstrual cycles seem to be very common in the first few weeks or months after surgery. It's supposedly due to the fact that estrogen is stored in fat cells, and it starts flooding your body during rapid weight loss. It'll stabilize once your weight loss slows way down. a couple of people mentioned Depo-Provera. I don't know about the side effects after WLS as I didn't have WLS until I was post-menopausal, but I was on Depo when I was in my 30s. I gained about 45 lbs on it, and I switched to another birth control method after my ob/gyn couldn't guarantee that the weight gain would eventually stop. It has to do with its effect on hormones.

it seems to happen to most of us. My size didn't change, but I went from a wide to a medium. But a lot of people go down a size - or a half size - too.

yes and I still use them when I eat yogurt! Just become I like them. I got mine at Target.