catwoman7

I had to take a test online that took at least an hour. It asked some of the same questions in different ways. It's been so many years that I forgot what was on it, but I'm pretty sure none of the questions had anything to do with food. It might have been the MMPI or some version of it - to gauge if you have any mental health issues. afterward I talked to the clinic's psychologist for about 30 minutes. We talked about my history of eating and weight, what my expectations were of the surgery, etc. It all went fine.

most people spend one night at the hospital, but that varies...

back when I had surgery seven years ago, most people were eating about 600-800 calories a day at that point, but it seems like a lot of surgeons now want you higher than that.

bypass here. Zero regrets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Best decision I ever made.

Centrum Silver (or the generic equivalent) for me. 2x per day. I also have to take a few odds and ends ones - like D, B complex, B12, iron, and calcium.

re: the fear of dying = banish that thought. You're not going to die. Weight loss surgeries years ago were dangerous, but they just aren't anymore. Techniques have vastly improved, and these have become very common, routine surgeries. They're really no more risky than any other abdominal surgery. The mortality rate on gastric bypass is 0.3 %. It's even lower for sleeve. So you have at least a 99.7% chance of not dying. Those are excellent odds. Better odds than hip replacement surgeries, and they do those all the time. Honestly, you're more like to experience complications and death by remaining obese than you will be having the surgery. the pre-op diet is tough - and the first few weeks post-op can be tough, too (although in many cases, the pre-op part is worse). But you'll be through this before you know it. I would have this surgery again in a heart beat. No regrets whatsoever.

are you taking iron? That can also cause black stools. like others have said, you're still healing, so that might be all this is. If the stoma remains too tight (known as a stricture), that's an easy fix - they can stretch it out during an upper endoscopy. I had that done twice (strictures, when they occur, are almost always 1-3 months post-op - they're very rare once you're three months out)

hair loss is super common after bariatric surgery (actually, it can be a side effect of ANY major surgery because of trauma to the body - but I think we see it more after bariatric surgery because in addition to surgery trauma, we're also taking in very few calories those first few months) I had it from months 5-9, but fortunately, I didn't lose very much. I doubt anyone noticed besides me. about the only thing you can do is keep on top of your vitamins and protein to keep it from getting any worse that it would otherwise. Some people swear by things like biotin, but others say it did nothing for them, so....

yes - I know. But she asked the following question near the end of her post - so I was responding to it: "just out of curiosity has anyone had a bypass and went to sleeve?"

I also think it's probably more likely due to the E. coli. This far out I'd be surprised if it was due to the bypass.

dumping can happen with sleevers, but it's uncommon. I suspect you've either become lactose intolerant (which is common after surgery - and often temporary), or it's the artificial sweetener in the protein shake that set that off, which is also common.

I doubt anyone has gone from bypass to sleeve since bypass is the more powerful surgery of the two. there are people who go from bypass to duodenal switch (which has a sleeved stomach and a bypassed small intestine), but to standalone sleeve, no. statistically, bypass has slightly better results, but statistics are statistics. It depends much more on your level of commitment than it does on which surgery you have. We have several people on here who've lost 100% of their excess weight - or close to it - with sleeve. revisions typically have slower weight loss than virgin surgeries.

most of us experience our first major stall within the first month or so after surgery. We call it the "three week stall" since it's often the third week post-op, but not always. Mine was weeks 2 and 3. And no, your body isn't done. I'd lost about 10 lbs by the time I hit my first stall, and I ended up 20 months later down over 200 lbs. if you stick to your plan, the stall will break and you'll be on your way again. If it's getting to your head too much, then stay off the scale for a few days. The stall typically lasts 1-3 weeks.

yes it would have been the sugar. Sugar makes some bypass patients dump. Most coffee places have sugar free syrups for their fancy coffee drinks, and pretty much every place has packets of powdered artificial sweeteners.

stalls typically last 1-3 weeks, so you're likely near the end of it.

It's an individual thing. I'm a bypass patient, and I drink coffee - and various coffee drinks - all the time. Never had an issue.

a lot of people (most, actually) have a 10-20 lb rebound gain during year 2 or 3 - so if you haven't had that yet, it may help with the drawn look. Also, things sort of shift around after your body settles in at your new weight, so that also helps. Although I also lost over 200 lbs and looked older (well, probably more my age, since I looked younger than I was when I was fat). But I ended up having a face/neck lift, esp since I didn't like my turkey neck. it sounds like you're overly obsessed with your weight and eating. I've been accused of that as well, and I've backed off a bit - although since doing that, it's been harder to keep my weight in check. It's gone up a bit more, but it's still acceptable (well, at least to my PCP and my surgeon - personally, I'd rather be 10 lbs lighter than I am now). But I think I'm in a better place stress-wise since I'm not so obsessed with my weight and eating. I agree with some of the posters above that maybe it would help to work with a dietitian and therapist...

I think I chewed that much when I was an early post-op, but I don't anymore. I do try to thoroughly chew things, though, because a tiny stomach isn't capable of churning food like a full, normal stomach is - so you have to give it some help (by doing some of the digesting while the food is still in your mouth).

I eat crackers occasionally now (at seven years out), but early out, I personally wouldn't have. I'm sure they're not harmful, but you don't get much nutrition bang for your buck - and when you're only taking in a limited amount of calories, that's kind of important...

stalls are very common during weight loss. You'll likely hit several of them along the way. Make sure you're sticking to your program and try to stay off the scale when you hit them. They'll eventually break and you'll be on your way again. Keto "works" right away because carbs hold on to water, so those big drops are water weight (and over time it works because you're taking in fewer calories overall). You're taking in fewer calories NOW, too. The only thing Keto would do would be to let go of water, causing a temporary drop in weight. Water weight doesn't count. Just stick to your clinic's plan.

RNY or VSG? If you had RNY, I would agree with the person above - it's most likely a stricture. They're an easy fix - go to the ER and they'll do an upper endoscopy and stretch it out for you. You'll feel 100% better afterward (I had two of them - they almost always occur 1-3 months after surgery, so you're in the right window of time for one). if you had sleeve, I'm not sure (could be a stricture - but they're not very common in sleeve patients). In any event, I'd go to the ER. People can live for quite awhile without food, but not fluids. You need to get that looked into ASAP.

agree with the others. Slower weight loss seems to be the norm with revisions. On top of that, you're getting close to a normal BMI. The closer you get, the harder it is to take weight off. You may just be in a long stall (they do seem to become more frequent and last longer the closer you get to a normal BMI), but if you want to keep going, you can always drop your calories. However, if your body is happiest at your current 179 lbs and doesn't want to go lower, it'll be a constant struggle to keep it lower than that (dealing with that myself....). It can be done - but it will be a struggle. I've kind of thrown in the towel at this point. My weight isn't as low as I'd like but it's acceptable. But still, there are days...

I wouldn't think there would be an issue of having them both together, but check with your dietitian just to be sure.

I'd ask about the stool - it could even be something like excess iron, but I'd check to be on the safe side.

it's not super common but definitely not unheard of among bypass patients. Glad to hear you've got a handle on it...