catwoman7

I just used vacation and sick leave - but then, I wasn't out for very long. Most people are only out for two weeks - some even one week.

eggs are a problem for a lot of people in the first few weeks/months after surgery. So is chicken - in that case, it's the dryness. Haven't heard as much about the others, but you may be able to eat all of those at some point. Are you able to eat things like tuna that comes in a can or pouch? Maybe something soft and/or flaked might work (??). Or some kind of sauce on the meat to cut the dryness? If not, you'll probably eventually be able to eat all of that again at some point - the first few months after surgery can be touch & go with food.

I started taking them as soon as I got home from the hospital. The only one that bothered my stomach was my vitamin B complex capsule, but that was just temporary. A week or two later I was able to tolerate them.

looks like the standard BMI range. The PA at my clinic said bariatric patients often look 10 lbs lighter than they are because even though we lose bone and muscle along with fat, you're always going to have more bone and muscle than someone who's never been obese. You needed that "infrastructure" to hold up all that weight - and even though you lose a lot of it while you're losing fat, you're still going to have more/heavier bones and muscles than someone who's always been normal weight. So long way of saying, my clinic is fine with people who end up "overweight" or "class I obese" (which is actually not very obese - we're talking like 20 or 30 lbs). They'd consider that pretty normal.

the OP is a bypass patient - not sleeve. Not taking vitamins isn't an option for bypassers due to the malabsorption.

I think you pretty much have to with bypass because of the malabsorption component. Sleevers don't have malabsorption, so it may be different for them (depending on the person and their labs, of course...)

I've never taken bariatric-specific vitamins, other than samples I've gotten, but check on the package for how many you should take. I've seen some that are once a day and some that are two. Not sure if I've seen any that are 4x a day, but if that's what the package says, then that's the recommended dosage. It really depends on the brand. And again, it should list the recommended dosage on the package. regular drug store/grocery store vitamins (like Centrum or Flintstones Complete) you usually take 2x a day - but again, bariatric-specific vitamins vary. P.S. I do take B12 (sublingual) and vitamin D supplements. Oftentimes bariatric-specific vitamins include a higher dosage of these than drugstore vitamins do, so you may not need to take a separate supplement for them - but check with your clinic. also, the above commenter is correct - sometimes your clinic will change your regimen based on your lab results. If your levels are low on some vitamin or mineral, they'll have you start taking more, and vice versa.

yea you're right - I didn't think of that. The fiber could have done it, too.

there seem to be a lot of different pre-op diets. Mine was strictly ultra-low cal (or no cal) liquids, 4-5 protein shakes a day, plus sugar free Jello, sugar free popsicles, and a limited amount of tomato juice and broth (I think a cup of each). But that was two weeks. Some people are allowed to have a small dinner with regular food, but I was not. Hopefully you'll be able to since you have to do it for four weeks. Mine was just for two - thankfully!!!

it might be - although that usually involves heart palpitations, sweating, and dizziness. Diarrhea for sure - nausea is less common (I know you said you had a couple of these symptoms). Sugar or fat is what normally sets off dumping (sugar is more common). This bar didn't have very much sugar in it, though - so I'm not sure if this was dumping or not. I'm thinking it could also be a reaction to whatever artificial sweetener they use in those bars. I've heard of those kinds of reactions to various sweeteners, too - esp sugar alcohols (those whose names end in -itol - like xylitol or maltitol. PS Just looked those bars up - they do have xylitol in them, so it could have been that, too.. https://healthfully.com/xylitol-sweetener-side-effects-5965019.html

I don't feel "full" the way I used to. Like ms.sss, I just feel tightness/pressure in my chest. When I start feeling that, i know I'd better stop or I'm going to be sorry. Some people have even weirder fullness cues - like sneezing or a runny nose.

it's been a few years for me - and I honestly don't know that person any more (i.e., me!). I'm always shocked when I see how huge I once was..

as long as you stick to your program, yes, you will lose weight. As I mentioned above, I lost 16 lbs the first month, around 12 lbs the second month, and gradually less and less as time went on. But I remained very committed to my program and eventually lost all 235 lbs of my excess weight (so, in other words, lost 100% of my excess weight) (have since had a regain of about 20 lbs, which unfortunately happens to most of us after hitting our lowest weight. But that's fine - I'm happy where I am)

nope - "normal" WLS patients do not lose that much that quickly. Maybe if they started off at 600 lbs, but otherwise, no. You might find some "normal" WLS patients ("normal" as in starting off in the 200s or 300s - and maybe low 400s) who lose 30+ lbs the first month, but even that's not common - and they certainly wouldn't keep up that pace after the first month. I've been hanging out on bariatric forums for the eight or so years, and just based on posts I've read (which have been thousands), I'd say most of us lose around 15-25 lbs the first month, then about 10 lbs (give or take) a month for a few months - then it drops to around 5 lbs - then 2 lbs......then eventually stops. as far as not losing any weight the last 1.5 weeks, you're in the infamous three-week stall that most of us experience. I just did a search on it here on bariatricpal for you just a second ago. Here are the 17,501 (and no, I am NOT kidding) posts on the three week stall for your reading pleasure: https://www.bariatricpal.com/search/?q=three week stall

20 lbs in four weeks is great. I lost 16 lbs the first month, and I started out well over 300 lbs. Unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life", a 20 lb lost during month one is pretty normal.

that's pretty common. Usually it gets better over time. I bought two coccyx cushions - one for my office chair and one for my car. I retired four years ago, but I still have one in my car for when I take long trips (and I'm over seven years out...)

my vitamin D was low, but that's super common (especially in the north, where I live). They put me on prescription vitamin D until my level was normal (can remember how long this took - maybe three or four weeks?), then I switched over to an over-the-counter vitamin D tablet.

it's pretty common after surgery - I think part of it is loss of "insulation", and part of it might be that our internal thermostat gets screwed up - at least temporarily - since it often happens pretty soon after surgery, when we're still pretty well-insulated. For some people (like me...), it's a temporary phenomenon, for others it's permanent (or at least lasts for a really long time...).

I lost very little hair. I barely noticed it, let alone anyone else. a lot of pre-ops and post-ops worry incessantly about hair loss (and loose skin, too). I was one of them. But i think I can speak on behalf of most - if not all - of us who are more than a year out. Hair loss is but a blip on the screen - a minor inconvenience - if we're even affected by it much at all. I'm pretty sure all of us would take the temporary hair loss any day of the week over being morbidly obese again ANY DAY!!

inability to vomit seems to be an issue for some people (luckily, a minority). Hopefully for you it will be temporary....not being able to vomit would be awful (since I always feel better after i do...)

that's about where I was at seven weeks out. Sounds like you're doing fine!

if you're already on tymlos, I'm not sure if calcium supplements are going to help much. Are you working with a specialist? I have osteoporosis, and my PCP referred me to an endocrinologist who specializes in it. If you're not already working with a specialist, I'd see if my PCP could refer me to one. Sounds like you have a complicated case. Maybe they could just try a different drug (??)

those kinds of complications are pretty rare, so you're not likely to find anyone who's been through that (but then again, who knows...). I'm so sorry you're going through this!!)

I was allowed to swallow anything smaller than a pencil eraser right after leaving the hospital - which for me meant all but two pills. One was calcium tablets, so I just got chewables. Can't remember what the other one was (it's been over seven years), but the PA at my bariatric clinic said it would be OK to wait for a couple of weeks to start taking those - and by that time, I should be able to swallow them. He was right.

btw - yes, you can absolutely stall after one week. My "three week stall" (which most of us experience) was weeks 2 & 3. Not a pound lost during those two weeks.