catwoman7

I started with chewables as well.

I know others who dump on ice cream - but usually dumping involves chills, dizziness, racing heart, cramping, and diarrhea. I've heard it can go on for a few hours. It CAN involve nausea, but nausea can be indicative a lot of other things, too. It's hard to tell since it could also be due to the pregnancy.

I don't really trust anything until it's been out for a few years.

H2 drugs also have issues (although again, if you have severe GERD, the drug benefits outweigh the risks). Famotodine (Pepcid) is still considered safe. My reflux was completely gone for 3-4 years after RNY. It's back now, but it's much milder and only occasional. When I get it, I usually take Famotodine and/or a magnesium-based chewable tablet (I used to take calcium-based tablets like Tums, but my endocrinologist doesn't want me overdoing it on calcium, so I switched to a magnesium-based one)

I had to take it for a year, but I had surgery seven years ago before all the bad news came out about PPIs. I think our clinic just keeps them on for six months now, unless they need it longer (it's OK for the short term, but taking it long term has risks. Of course, for people who have really bad reflux or other serious conditions, its benefits outweigh the risks).

it's actually just been three days since their surgery

it's pretty common to take up to a week for the first BM post-surgery - there's not much in there.

I agree with the person who mentioned a body scan. if you really want to know, a DEXA scan will give you a lot of info. NOT the kind they do at medical clinics - that will only give you bone density. It's the kind you can get at a sports lab or one of those commercial outfits like DEXAfit. It gives you not only bone density, but also body composition - as in how much of your weight is fat vs muscle vs bone. The commercial places charge around $100-150 for a scan. Sports labs at universities are often cheaper. I had one when I got to 146 lbs and wasn't sure if I should stop or keep going. According to the scan, I had 22% body fat, which is kind of lean for a woman, so the tech (and later, my PCP) said it was time to stop losing...I was at a really good weight (odd since I figured I could have lost another 10-20 lbs!)

I was on purees as soon as I left the hospital, so I suspect the sweet potato - as long as it was really soft - might have been OK. Not sure about the meat, though.

It sounds like you DO need a passport if you're planning to arrive in Mexico via air (I know the rules for entering Canada and Mexico have changed in recent years - used to be you didn't need a passport to enter either one) https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Mexico.html

I think that's pretty common. I've always gotten freaked out before surgeries.

yea I remember that being a huge pain. One benefit of this surgery is that at one point, you won't have to deal with that any more!

yes, you'll eventually be able to eat bigger bites. Once you're a few months out, no one is going to suspect you had WLS. The only thing they may notice is that you eat smaller portions - but they'll probably just assume you're a light eater. You won't be taking microscopic bites at the time - or eating microscopic portions. This is really just the few months.

unfortunately, there are women who can only eat 1300 kcal a day in order to maintain. I know women who have to eat even fewer than that to maintain (1000-1200-ish) - and others who can eat 2000 (lucky bums!!!). It's such an individual thing. and yes -- it's possible that your body has settled in at its new setpoint. You can always go lower by cutting more calories, but that's up to you. I kind of gave up the ghost. Trying to take off more and maintaining at that lower weight was a struggle that I decided wasn't worth my effort anymore (even though I struggled with that for a couple of years and would still have days I'd like to be lower!!) on the other hand, it's also possible that your body might NOT be at its set point. I do know the last 20 lbs or so was a real bear for me to take off. We're talking like two pounds a month. But I eventually got there...

P.S. don't chase the full feeling - for one thing, most people don't feel restriction to around the time they start up on solid foods - or until the nerves that were cut during the surgery regenerate (which also tends to be around the time we move to solid foods). Plus the "full" cue is often different after surgery. I don't feel full the way I did pre-surgery. Now, it's more like a discomfort in my chest. when I feel that, I know it's time to stop, or I"m going to be sorry. Others have reported weirder things like runny noses when they're full. For now, you're better off measuring out what you're supposed to eat and just eating that. and no - your surgery is not unsuccessful. You're losing weight at a normal clip. And you'll continue to as long as you stick to your program.

I *only* lost 16 lbs the first month, and I started out at almost 400 lbs. At your low starting weight (compared to most WLS patients), 16 lbs is on the high end of what I would expect. Most of us (unless we're the size of people on "My 600 lb Life) seem to lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month. Of course, you'll find people who lose above or below that range, but most of us fall somewhere in the range. And with your low starting weight, I would expect you'd be on the lower end of that. did you say you're taking "the PPI" AND Prilosec? Prilosec IS a PPI - it's generic name is omeprazole. If your surgeon prescribed a PPI as well, then you don't need to take store-bought Prilosec.

Gastric leaks are almost always discovered before you even leave the hospital. So you can put that fear aside.

pain is all across the board, but most people don't have much (if any) pain with these surgeries. Plus they'll send you home with pain meds, so if you're one of the people who experiences pain, you'll have meds for it.

I think that's true. Plus some doctors these days seem to be more comfortable with older adults being overweight (not obese - but overweight) than they are with younger adults. My last PCP said older adults in the 23-27 BMI range tend to be the healthiest, and my current PCP said she's fine with her older patients being 10-15 lbs overweight as long as they're otherwise healthy. From what I've read, they're not alone in thinking this. I weigh the same now as I did in high school, and I think I look thinner now than I did then (I'm in my 60s)

I did gain about 20 lbs in year 3 post-op, but a 10-20 lb rebound weight gain after hitting your lowest weight is very common. And to be honest, I think I look better at this higher weight, even though part of me would like to get back down there again! To maintain it, I track everything I eat and try to get some exercise most days of the week.

I loved it at the time, but looking at pictures of me at my lowest weight now (which was right smack in the middle of a normal BMI for my height), I looked pretty drawn. I look better now at this higher weight. The PA in my clinic said people who've lost massive amounts of weight look thinner that never-been-obese people who are the same weight because your bones and muscles are heavier. You needed a lot of bone and muscle to hold up all that weight. Granted, you do lose bone and muscle as you lose fat, but not all of it. And then there's excess skin - but that doesn't weigh very much. Maybe five lbs or so.

that happened to me once. They just had me cut back on my iron supplements.

my clinic gave me two or three choices. If none of those worked for me, I'm sure they would have given me more options (although probably further out)

100%. But I've gained 15-20 lbs in the last three years or so - but I think it's still much higher than the average (average for bypass being 70%)

^^^^ I second everything that she said.