catwoman7

I had my weight loss surgery through UW-Madison. I lost over 200 lbs, but then, I was VERY compliant with the program. Average weight loss with bypass is 70% of excess weight, with sleeve it's 65% - although as with any average, you'll find people who lose less or more than that. I would have been fine with a 70% loss (but I lost more than that). message me if you want to chat about the program.

elevated liver enzymes don't necessarily mean anything is wrong. It's very common to have them the first year or so post-surgery. It's because rapid weight loss is really hard on livers.

you mentioned bad swelling in your feet and legs - sounds like water retention. That can definitely cause weight fluctuations.

strictures are actually much more common with bypass, and even then, only about 5% of bypassers get them. That said, it *could* be stricture -- but that's pretty rare with sleevers. GERD would be much more likely. I had two strictures - they just do an upper endoscopy and stretch them out while they're in there - so no surgery required. It's a pretty easy-peasy fix.

I don't know of anyone right off hand, but what you could do with that time is do your six-month supervised diet, if your insurance requires it (many do - but not all). I had to switch insurance companies to get WLS coverage. I decided in June of 2014 that I wanted to get surgery, but my new insurance wouldn't kick in until Jan 2015. So I asked if they would accept my six-month supervised diet requirement if it was done under my old insurance company. Turned out yes, I could - so that's what I did. So I already had that out of the way when I entered the bariatric program in Jan 2015.

yep - definitely! I had my husband take pictures of me from all four sides every month on my surgery date until I hit maintenance. I couldn't always tell the difference from one month to the next, but when I compared one month's pictures with pictures taken three or four months earlier - yep---big difference! And now I have this wonderful photo documentation of my journey, too!

I had my bypass several years ago and take pills. The only thing you can't take are extended release pills, but there are usually substitutes for those. although I don't know about pills for MS, specifically.

I'm part of a group of people who are mostly several years out of surgery. Some have tried WW. Some of them really like it and have been successful with it, but for others, it's not their "jam" and they gave up. I guess all you can do is try it and see if it works for you. others have tried things like Keto, intermittent fasting, or going back to logging and eating protein first, etc (in other words, the basics). Whatever works! BTW - 800 kcal a day being as far out as you aren't isn't really sustainable. Start logging to find out what your calorie range is (i.e., about how many calories does it take to keep your weight where it is. May take a month or so of logging to figure this out). Then, if you want to lose, cut back from there. Maybe 100 calories at a time. For example, if it takes 1600 kcal a day to maintain your weight, try cutting back to 1500. If after a couple of weeks nothing's happening, cut back to 1400. Rinse and repeat.

I had one after plastic surgery, but not bariatric surgery.

I never tried baby food. The thought of it was disgusting (weird how we feed it to babies, though!). I ate things like refried beans and hummus a lot. And Greek yogurt.

I would think you'd still have time to change your mind...

53 lbs in three months is on the high end of someone at your starting weight. hair loss is very common. It's temporary - usually lasts about three or four months, then grows back. Just keep on top of your supplements and protein to keep it from getting worse than it would otherwise.

losing more weight pre-op generally means slower loss the first month. It's because a lot of the loss the first month is water weight. If you lost weight pre-op, then you've already lost the water weight. After that water weight drop, the rate of weight loss is about the same regardless if you lost weight pre-op or not.

I was blowing through sizes so fast that I bought everything except for underwear at thrift stores (like Goodwill). Actually, I still get most of my clothes there, and I've been in maintenance for over five years!

I've always taken Centrum Silver or the generic equivalent. If you take grocery store/drug store vitamins, you have to take two a day (some of the bariatric specific ones you only have to take one a day)

it's not super common, but then again, it's not UNcommon. I've had bouts with it, and I know a few others who have as well. I was told to eat something every 3-4 hours - preferably a protein, but if I have a carb, then be sure to pair it with a protein. Seems to have worked. Although it sounds like you may have a more severe case, or there's something else going on. I'm glad they're sending you for testing. I hope everything is OK...

it's a very individual thing, because it depends on so many factors, such as: gender, age, starting BMI, metabolic rate, whether or not you lost a lot of weight before surgery, activity level, how closely you stick to your clinic's program - etc etc etc for your other question, yes, most people drop the most weight the first month or maybe two, then it slows down. The closer you get to goal, the slower it typically goes

I'd be elated if my hunger had never come back (unfortunately, mine came roaring back at five months out), but yea - that retching would be awful. I'm sorry you're dealing with this. P.S. I could never do a buffet anymore. I can eat more than you, but it's not enough to justify what you pay for to eat at those. I usually order an entree and take 1/2 of it home. Unfortunately, you can't box up uneaten buffet items and take them home with you like you can with regular orders - so I never get those anymore

I'm not a dumper, but from what i understand, it can go on for several hours...

this is only indirectly related, but I had to change insurance companies to get my WLS covered. I decided in May or June of 2014 that I wanted it done, but my new insurance wouldn't kick in until January 2015. So I checked to see if I could at least do the six-month supervised diet during those interim months (my new insurance required this supervised diet. Not all require that, but it seems like most do), and if they would accept it since I would have done it through my old insurance company, and not them. They said that was fine - they would accept it as fulfilling the requirement even if I had it done elsewhere (of course, it all had to be documented, which it was). So if you decide to wait, you can always see if you can knock out a requirement or two while you wait.

almost everyone has their first one within the first month or so after surgery. After that, it's really an individual thing. If you're sticking to your program and the scale isn't budging, then yes - you're probably in a stall. Just keep on sticking to your program and stay off the scale for a few days. It'll eventually break and you'll be on your way again...

I just had them while I was in the hospital - I didn't have to do them at home. But like someone else said, they're really not painful. The needles are pretty thin.

lots of people have trouble with eggs after WLS. For many, it's just temporary.

a few people on here have - hopefully they're still active on here and will respond!

my recovery was similar - way easier than I expected. No pain - and the only nausea was the first day in the hospital, which was controlled once they put Zofran in my IV line. Part of me wondered if they even did the surgery! I wasn't turned off by food, but I had no interest in it, and was never hungry. It was like that for the first five months. I curse the day my hunger and appetite came back - it was so much easier to lose weight when I didn't give a flip about food!