catwoman7

you're in the infamous three-week stall. Happens to most of us. It's not ALWAYS the third week, but that's the most common (hence, the name), but most of us experience our first major stall within the first month or so after surgery. Best way to deal with it is to make sure you're following your clinic's plan to a "T", and stay off the scale for a few days. As long as you're following your program, the stall WILL break, and you'll be on your way again. It usually takes 1-3 weeks. It's basically your system recalibrating - and this will likely be the first of many stalls. re: bowel movements - constipation is a common issue after WLS. It's because of the high protein diet and supplements some of us take (iron and calcium are particularly notorious for this). It should improve once you start eating fiber again, but many of us have to take things like Miralax, magnesium tablets, or stool softeners daily to keep on top of it.

I've never done any type of detox. I'm not sure if it really does what people say it does.

it's really, really rare to have a stricture that late - they almost always appear - if they're going to appear - within the first three months after surgery. I had two - at four weeks out and again at eight weeks out. The first time I knew something was wrong and I called my clinic. They suspected it was a stricture and sent me over to the hospital for an upper endoscopy to confirm (and "fix") it. The second time I knew exactly what it was since I'd seen this movie before and I went right in to have it stretched. So no, I never got to the point you were at. For those newbies who are reading this, strictures only happen to about 5% of bypass patients (they can happen to sleeve patients as well, but they're very rare with sleeve), and they almost always happen within the first three months after surgery. Just be aware of the symptoms she listed and contact your clinic if you first start noticing stuff like this. They're not going to heal on their own, and they're an easy fix. Just make sure to let your clinic know if you start having these kinds of symptoms (can't keep anything down, nausea all the time) since these are not normal and are usually indicative of a stricture.

I had several stalls - but they all eventually broke and I kept going until I hit goal (actually, about 10 lbs under) 20 months later. When I tried to lose weight on my own, I'd lose at most about 50 lbs before I'd hit a brick wall and my weight would eventually start heading back up. WLS was the only thing that allowed me to break through those brick walls and lose all of my excess weight (100% of it - although I've gained about 20 lbs of it back over the years). I think it's just a coincidence that you're having a stall at your former "brick wall". Just keep plugging away at it. It does get harder the closer you get to goal, though. Those last 20 or 30 lbs were a bear to get off (and It could be that my new, post op "set point" IS where I am now - but this is way, way lower than any pre-WLS set points).

I think all traces of pot pretty much leaves your body within about two weeks - I don't think it's necessary to detox for that to happen. I'd eat the protein - your body needs it - esp after bariatric surgery. EDITED to add this. Just found it on WebMd: If you’re a chronic user, more THC will build up and remain in your body. That’s because your body can only break down THC at a specific rate. Your body stores the excess THC in your fat cells. More frequent marijuana use means a longer time for THC to leave your system. Here are the average detoxification times: One-time use: one to three days Moderate use (three times a week): five to seven days Daily use: seven to 14 days Heavy use: 14 to 90 days

the first few months can be a challenge (although fortunately, most of us lose our sense of hunger for the first few months, which makes it easier), but after that, not really. At least not food-wise. By six months out I was cleared to eat anything my stomach could tolerate, which for me is pretty much everything. I eat a lot less than I used to (obviously), but no one would guess I had bariatric surgery at this point. They'd probably assume I'm just a light eater, like lots of my women friends who've never been obese. When I go out, I'll sometimes order just an appetizer or a salad, or if I get an entree, I'll eat half of it and take the rest home to have for lunch the following day. A lot of my friends do the same. I worried about this too since I'm a food lover as well, but other than cutting my portion size and just enjoying things like desserts occasionally, I really don't notice a huge difference. I do try to prioritize protein and vegetables since I need the nutrients (we all do) and my stomach is small, but I don't deny myself anything. Although there are some things like rice and pasta that tend to sit in my stomach like a brick. I still eat those occasionally, but not a lot of them at one sitting. P.S. your comment about being afraid you won't enjoy food. I enjoy it a lot - too much! (I've been in maintenance for years and it can be a struggle to keep from gaining weight). For the first few months after surgery, though, most of us lose our sense of hunger for up to a year (my hunger came back at five months out). Many of us also do lose some interest in food, too (and that comes back too!). But even though it's weird at first, enjoy it while it lasts and take full advantage of it. To be honest, I found it very liberating. It was so easy to lose weight when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food for the first time in my life! once I got over the weirdness of it, I LOVED it and wished I was one of the very lucky few whose hunger never came back (but again, it does come back for the vast majority of us)

I'm guessing whoever did you scan isn't a bariatric surgeon, so they might call any weight loss surgery an RNY (?). Not sure. If what you got is a sleeve, and it was confirmed by other MRI's and scans, then I'm guessing that's why that person put "RNY" on your summary. He or she just isn't familiar with the various WLSs.

it's not uncommon. Once I was over a year out I'd sometimes get dizzy. Had a complete workup and they found nothing. Next time it happened, it was about an hour after I ate a piece of cake at a retirement party at work. Told my doctor - she said it might be RH, and that my blood sugar might have been fine on the day I went for the workup, so it wasn't detected. She told me to eat something about every three fours, protein preferable, and if I ate a carb, to be sure to pair it with a protein. It seems to have solved the problem for me.

You CAN probably do it, but doing extreme diets like that is usually discouraged because it pulls us back into "diet mentality", which is not helpful. Better to go back to the basics - protein first, then non-starchy vegetables, and then if you still have room, "good" carbs (e.g. fruit, whole grains, beans, etc). You don't need to go all the way back to what we were eating for the first few weeks after surgery, but instead, how you were eating once you were a few months out.

you might just be in a long-ish stall. You should be losing even at 1000 calories a day, so unless you're undercounting, you're probably in a long stall. I'd give it another week or two.

it's very common in the weeks or months AFTER surgery have unusual periods. Haven't heard about before - but the reason for having weird cycles after is due to estrogen being released from fat cells during rapid weight loss (estrogen is stored in fat cells) - so that might be what's going on with you now...

we started out at about the same weight on the day of surgery. I just checked, and I'd lost 63 lbs at the fie month mark, but then, I had RNY - weight loss is usually a bit faster with that than it is with VSG (although you usually end up at the same place in the end). Two lbs a week isn't unusual once you get out that far. Honestly, I still drink a protein shake every day because I'm supposed to average 100 grams of protein a day (we discovered early on that I malabsorb it - so the usual 60-80 grams/day wasn't doing it for me). I could probably get that high from food alone, but I don't like to obsess all day about whether or not I'm going to meet my protein goal. I know I WILL meet it if I have a protein shake for my mid-morning snack. I know some dietitians and surgeons don't like people to stay on protein shakes for long, but I know a few people who hate eating breakfast whose dietitians told them to just have a protein shake for breakfast, then (so they're OK with it in some situations) - but opinions seem to vary among dietitians.

it's been a while for me, but I had to buy shapewear (e.g. Spanx - although I think mine were Maidenform? Can't remember) and wear it for several months. The surgeon actually recommended it, and I'm glad he did. I didn't have any lymphatic massages - not sure if anyone around here does them.

I'd never heard of that - although thanks to Arabesque for posting the article.

People who lose 30 lbs the first month, unless they're the size of the folks on "My 600 lb Life", are outliers. Yes, you'll find a few, but most of us "normal" WLS patients lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month. On top of that, your surgery day weight is a little lower than a lot ours was. I think you're doing fine. I lost 16 lbs the first month, and I weighed 100 lbs more than you do.

could be either - hormones or absorption issues. Some people have to get their dosage adjusted after bypass.

not really. When I was 6-12 months out, I averaged about 5 lbs a month. After I hit the year mark, there were months when I only lost 2 lbs. At 176 lbs, you're getting closer and closer to goal - and the closer you get, the slower it goes. Just keep at it. I continued to lose until I was 20 months out, even though those last few months it was very slow going.

it's an individual thing, but most of us are supposed to shoot for 60-80 grams of protein a day. Calories are all across the board, depending on your body composition and activity level. There are people on here (well, women - men can usually eat more) who maintain on 2000 a day, and others who can only have 1200 a day. It takes some trial and error to figure out your maintenance level. Log your food for a couple of weeks (if you're not already) and note your average calorie intake. If you're gaining weight, slowly reduce your calories. If you're losing weight (and don't want to), then gradually increase them until you reach a point where you want to be - and are maintaining that.

yes - some sleeve people can do this - but very few with the malabsorption surgeries (RNY, DS, SADI) can. The consequences of not taking supplements are much worse for us.

we were told taking vitamins (and other supplements) was for life. The malabsorption of vitamins with either RNY or DS (and its other versions - like SADI) is permanent. That said, I was told by my endocrinologist (whom I see for osteoporosis) not to take calcium supplements anymore, because I was spilling a ton of it in my urine, and my blood levels of that and that other value (forget which one it is - but it's the one that indicates whether your body is leeching calcium from your bones) indicated I had hypercalcemia - which can damage your kidneys. I have my levels tested regularly, and it's clear that my body is absorbing enough calcium from my food - but I think I'm an exception.

1). I lost 16 lbs the entire first MONTH, and I went on to lose over 200 lbs. Most of us seem to lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month (yes - MONTH). So unless you're an outlier or the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life", you are doing very well! 2). sounds like you are experiencing the infamous "Three-week stall" right now - right on time, too! The vast majority of us hit our first major stall within the first month or so after surgery - and it's usually the third week;, hence, the name. If you google the site for the three-week stall, you will find something like 17,000 posts on it (and no, I am NOT kidding). A slight bump-up in weight is not unusual, either. It's almost certainly just water weight. The best thing to do is to continue to stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days. As long as you remain compliant with your program, the stall will break and you'll be on your way again. It usually takes 1-3 weeks. 3). you won't feel much (if any) restriction or "full" until you move to solid foods. Liquids go right through you, and purees pass through pretty quickly, too. Plus you had nerves cut during surgery, and it takes awhile for them to start to regenerate. You'll feel it fairly soon. However, "full" doesn't always feel the same way for many of us that it did before surgery. I don't feel "full" the same way at all - it's more a discomfort - sort of like pressure - in my chest. Once I start feeling that, I know I'd better stop eating or I'm going to be sorry. Others have even weirder full signals - like a runny nose or sneezing.

You might want to post this in the DS forum as well, as I know their requirements are different than those of the other surgeries. You guys eat more calories and more fat the rest of us (plus I remember certain carbs ar tough on DSers - they can cause G/I distress). I just looked up the nutritional value of eggs, and yes, your stats on both protein and fat in them are correct. The yolks are mostly fat. But then I would think eggs would be great for DSers - they're very nutrition, and you guys don't have to be as concerned about fat.

I never had issues with drinking fluids. That said, I still tried to slow it down a bit so I wouldn't hurt anything in my stomach - but I always drank faster than I was told we would.

you should be fine. It's mostly the first couple of months that can be a real challenge.

yep - most of us lose our sense of hunger for up to a year. I know it seems weird at first, but honestly, I found it very liberating after a while. I was free of "food noise" for the first time in forever! I hoped I'd be one of the very lucky few whose hunger never comes back, but I was not. it came back at five months out. Anyway, yes, norrmal. and take full advantage of that!! It's never going to be easier to lose weight than it will be right now. when you're never hungry and don't give a flip about food!