Knitchic

I love the Tervis sports bottle. They have the handy lid you can carry them by, they can fall over in your bag and won't leak.

I made this mistake Spring Break while sitting on the beach. I ate almost an entire little packet of raw carrots. I honestly didn't know if I was going to make it up to my room to go to the bathroom. It was so painful. I haven't ate a carrot since. I'm scared lol.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Comparing yourself with others can be playing head games. I started out at about 215 (the surgery was the best method to fix my extreme and I do mean extreme reflux) at 5 months I was down to 170. I'm now just past 6 months and at 164. The doctor says I will lose about another 10-15 and then after a year gain about 5-10 back.
I have been a slow loser and it would blow my mind to see how quickly some people lose. I try to tell my focus that everyone is on their own journey but that doesn't always help haha. Good luck.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I took Vitamins the first few months after surgery. They started making me sick, so I stopped. I see my doctor every six months and my lab results are always fine. May not work for everyone, but I've literally has no issues and I'm 2.5 yrs out

I never did, either. At around two months out, I was so moody! I figure some of it had been because I was losing a "friend," in a sense. It eventually went away, thankfully.

Mines horrible. We named him Oscar; the lion in my tummy.
My surgeon said it's "waves" coming up from your small intestine during digesting/moving fluids through your body. He showed me it during my post op upper GI. It was pretty interesting to watch...and hear.

Ugh...yes I can imagine..,tell them you have hernia or gallbladder or ulcer...they will leave you alone.

Lol. I like that motto. When you live in Smalltown USA what one person knows, eeeeeeverybody knows.

Keep it between you and your husband....

The fat storing hormones thing is real. The good news is, it's only temporary, since eventually you won't be losing fat so quickly anymore.
One thing I have also noticed about myself post-op is that I get "hangry" if I go more than about three hours without eating. I don't necessarily feel hunger like I did pre-op, but if I don't eat regularly, I start to get super irritable without realizing it. My husband and I went on vacation with my parents and my mom started carrying around turkey sticks in her purse and forcing me to eat them when the hangry started happening. It was very obvious while we were on vacation, because we weren't in our normal routine and I wasn't eating on my usual schedule. But I have noticed it other times as well, when I get busy and lose track of time and don't eat when I should.

I too got a new drivers license and it arrived in the mail....

@@cherri2082
Can you not see the ticker under all my posts? I am down 111 pounds since joining the program and about 60 pounds since surgery. I feel great, I am never really hungry, it have to be active and make sure I eat every day. I walk 7.57 miles every morning, I am in training for www.toughruck.org we walk 26.2 miles a couple days before the Boston Marathon. We have 9 hours to complete the walk. You also have to wear a ruck with at least 30 pounds in it, with the name of a fallen soldier. As they have died, we are "carrying them" in spirit past all the Revolutionary battlegrounds in Mass. It's quite emotional.

there is no thing like a good poop. I won't even weigh myself until I've had a good poop. Never heard of Smooth Move tea but I'll have to hunt that down.

I posted another similar topic mostly as a goof awhile back and it's had an amazing number of views and replies. It made me realize that talking about your ass after surgery can be an embarrassing thing. Yes, I have shat myself, a number of times. There I said it. Lipsticklady gave me the words to live by: Never trust a fart. In keeping with educating people, especially new folks, I thought I would condense a long post and make sort of a guide to living with your ass after surgery, if I did this right, you, the reader will laugh and learn at the same time. Nothing is out of bounds in this post, it's just an amalgam of all the great information posted by the community in the last post. So, here we go: ** Note I am not a Doctor, this post makes no medical advice, it is simply my opinion and that of others, nothing can substitute the advice of your Surgeon or Weight loss team **
Section one: Possible Ass functionality. The ass, has three states, I'll name them, Normal, Sahara and Volcano. Normal function is what we all seek. There are a plethora of reasons your ass may not be operating in this state, but we'll get to that. Next up, Sahara, as it's name would imply, this is when your stool becomes as dry as the Sahara desert. You could spend an afternoon on the bowl, read half a book, your legs and feet go numb, and at the end you, if you are lucky, pass a couple pebbles that actually 'plink' when they hit the bowl. The result is blown blood vessels, having the crawl out of the bathroom because your legs and feet are asleep, and a sore anus. This is not desirable. Even the hardcore S&M people are like, no man, that's hardcore. Then there is the exact opposite, Volcano ass. We all know it. You get a bit of rumbling in your tummy, pass a little gas, then it's game on! You pinch and duck waddle at top speed to the bathroom, sometimes you make it, sometimes you don't. (On a sidebar, it seems like the nerves that connect the ass and the brain have a lag of about 5 seconds. Meaning your ass sends out an alert to go NOW, and your brain takes about 5 seconds to process this and get it out to you, effectively putting your ass 5 seconds ahead of you. Anyone who has shat themselves within 3 feet of the bowl knows what I am talking about). Occasionally Volcano ass erupts like Mt St Helens. You are just sitting there, and BOOM explosion. It may have felt like a little toot, but without warning your ass erupted. ** Edit ** Thanks to @@cherri2082 for pointing out something I omitted. Sodium. I know many of us have a tendency to grab the "Low Sodium" version of a product as sodium has been vilified, however it is an essential mineral. The US RDA for a normal adult male is 1500mg per day, I have no idea how a Bypass affects our ability to absorb sodium, and won't until I get a major blood panel done. However, you should strive to make sure you get enough sodium every day, and when your ass is in Volcano state and you are loosing precious Water, a boost in sodium may well spell the difference between dehydration or not. Thanks for pointing this out.
Section two. How to deal with Sahara ass. RNY GB are prohibited from using 'bulking agents' for 6 months post op. Meaning your solutions are the following. First, everyone should be taking a Probiotic. Our digestive system has just been through hell and a little help cannot hurt. Second approach, Miralax, call your Doctor and get a script, it's WAY cheaper. If you are in an extreme state of Sahara, try two does of Miralax a day for 1-3 days. This really should clear you up. DRINK Water, I shoot for 100 oz a day. You cannot be angry with your ass for going into Sahara mode when there is not enough liquid. If 3 days of double shots of Miralax does not help, call MOM. Yep, Milk of Magnesia. I took 3 Tablespoons on the first day and 4 the next, and went straight into Volcano. No kidding I lost 5 pounds in 20 minutes. Depending on your diet stage working Fiber into your diet can be hard. But it is not impossible. Chili is a stage 3 or 4 depending on your surgeon diet choice and you can put all kinds of high Fiber stuff in there and never taste it. I have been eating nothing but chili for over a month, because it's predictable and cheap. That and I am a boring eater. Well, chili for meals I eat other things. Things to avoid, any opioid pain medicine. If you are in pain and prescribed Vicodin or Percodan, plan ahead, start taking Miralax along with the meds, these WILL PLUG YOU UP!!! Feel free to post any other meds you have encountered that can cause Sahara or Volcano. Taking Miralax long term may be a reality for some. It's better than the alternative. There is a drastic measure that can be taken instead of going to hospital. If you have not pooped in I would say 4 or 5 days, see your PCP and get a script for 'Go Lightly'. It's an oxymoron. It is used to clean you out before a colonoscopy. You WILL poop, In fact, you might see stuff coming out you don't remember eating. This is an extreme solution and again if you go to the ER, this is what they are going to give you. Get it yourself and at least you can poop your brains out in your own bathroom. ** Edit** Thanks to @@Cervidae You may want to try Smooth Move Tea. She said she's had good results with it and I recall from the first post a couple people talked about different teas. Just a word of caution, or advice, if the tea contains caffeine remember that is a diuretic so you would want to increase your water intake a bit. Probably not earth shattering, but if your are already drinking coffee, God knows I do, water intake is so important. Thanks for sharing. Another shout out to @@gpmed who noted that MOM caused stomach discomfort and sometimes overshot (or overshat, that line keeps cracking me up!) the target. I found the overshatting part dead on, but preferable to Sahara. Colace gel caps were suggested, and apparently they do work in RNY GB patients. Thanks for contributing! Another shout out to @ for recommending the Squatty Potty. It's essentially a 'U' shaped footstool (no it not that kind of stool lol!!) that sits around your toilet bowl. Putting your feet on it changes the angle of your anus, rectum and colon, and it designed to make passing a Sahara Rock Poop easier. Thanks for the addition!
Section three: How to deal with Volcano ass. Here is the real problem, short of imodium, this is hard to deal with. Most likely you are eating something your ass does not like. Try backing off your diet and going old school. Go back a diet phase if you have too. Probiotics gotta take em. They really help. Aside from diet changes and Probiotics there is not a lot you can do about this. Usually if you are peeing out your poop, it's the body's way of saying there is something here I don't want so I am cleaning you out. Unfortunately the 'something' is unique. You may have become lactose intolerant. Try FairLife Milk (the ONLY milk anyone here should be drinking). It has no lactose, 1/2 the carbs and nearly twice the Protein. AND it tastes GREAT!! The whole milk is like cream. The Skim is like 2% milk. Very creamy. Another really, REALLY important thing to remember when going through a Volcano stage, is to increase your water intake. For RNY GB patients the #1 reason for hospital readmission within 30 days post op, is dehydration. I know I know, your ass is erupting and exploding and the last thing you think you want is more liquid, but you need it. In fact, lack of water can actually make Volcano worse, as your body dehydrates things go awry. Trust me, when I was in Desert Storm I almost died from dehydration. I was CAS evaced to a field hospital and spent 20 days in hospital. The doctor told me I was within hours of death due to dehydration. And that at a certain point, once your body becomes so dehydrated it stops looking for water in the usual places, it drains your eyes, your brain, your organs and even with an IV you may still die. Dehydration is NO ******* JOKE. **Edit, I forgot when writing this to add something I take regularly, however I make SURE to take it when in Volcano mode for more than 24 hours. When your ass is erupting, and your are loosing mass amounts of water, you are also loosing critical minerals that are required to support life. While I spoke about increasing water, and you should, during these times I make sure to add (in my case my water canteens are 30oz) 2 NUUN tablets. They are essentially sugar free Gatorade. You can read about them here and buy them as well from that site (Amazon), they are effervescent but that only lasts for like 20 minutes, so drop a tablet or two into a bottle of water, and let it sit unopened in the fridge for 1/2 an hour and the carbonation is gone. They have a fairly mild flavor, but I've tried every flavor and while some I like better than others, there is none that I do not like at all. Gotta give a special shout out to @@cherri2082 for providing a fix for a burned, chapped ass exit. Aquaphor, which is essentially a better version of Vaseline. We used it on my kids when they were little for a range of things. Good stuff, and it will certainly help a burned out butt. Thanks for the advice!!
Wrap up: We all want a normally functioning ass. Me and my ass had it out a couple weeks ago. A double dose or Miralax followed by 4 tablespoons of MOM and I went into Volcano mode, extreme edition. Once it was over, and it was quick. My ass called a truce. I keep the MOM on the back of the toilet to remind my ass every time I sit down, what power I have available to me. However, Probiotics (do NOT cheap out on them, buy good ones, it's worth the extra couple bucks), lots of walking, lots of water and fiber and my ass has been normal for a couple weeks. I don't poop every day, sometimes I flirt with Sahara, but it clears up in a day. I had a good poop today, and as it's been a couple weeks, I thought I would share all I have learned, and start a post anyone can add whatever they have learned. TOGETHER WE CAN POOP NORMALLY! EMPOWER YOURSELF! YOU CONTROL YOUR ASS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. Remember, anything coming out of your ass, started off in your mouth. Talk about your ass in the third person, it helps. I think of my ass like another part of me, one that needs to be controlled. And unless you want to deal with this: SEE ATTACHMENT
Heed the above advice! HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY POOPING!!!!
Reading this post is meant to empower you over your ass, rise up and declare you will no longer be a slave to your ass, that ass oppression is OVER. And all of us in a single voice say to the world we have had enough (or not enough in the case of Sahara) and we are DEMANDING change, POWER TO THE POOPER!!! POWER TO THE POOPER!!!, POWER TO THE POOPER!!!
/rant off

I would absolutely make my own and give it a try. Ground beef can be tricky in those first few months following bypass. Sometimes depending on the meatball, I still struggle. They need to be pretty soft or they hurt my chest.

Unfortunately, it's just a waiting game for the most part. I took tons of Biotin (started about two months prior to surgery), ate the proper amounts of Protein and also used medicated Shampoo (Nioxin) and it still fell out. As I recall, my hair started falling out around month 3 and it fell it in large quantities for a full 6 weeks. Every single night after my shower the drain would literally be full. It did not seem humanly possible to lose the amount of hair I was losing and possibly have any left, but I did. My hair was pretty thick to start with, but I did chose to get it cut short and highlighted about six weeks ago, which was coincidentally about the time it stopped falling out. My weight has plateaued, which I have also been told is also when it stops falling out. Hang in there, it will stop with time!

I have lost about 45 pounds and I am only down one size as well. I expected to be able to wear smaller pants but they are so tight around my stomach. I have lost in my face, legs and butt. I'm sure the rest well come.

Hi everyone - I've been back in my kitchen experimenting again! This time of year I love everything pumpkin and I recently purchased some really good Inspire brand pumpkin pie Protein Powder. I've had it hot, cold and thought ... what else could I do with this tasty stuff?! Then voila - I decided to mix it with all my favorite things and freeze it. I know it's not Summer, though it's been in the low 80's here in Florida this weekend, but I'm freezing all the time now anyways, so what's the difference. These frozen yogurt pops are beyond delicious. I used the coconut/vanilla blend yogurt because it's what I had on hand but all you taste is pumpkin pie so I don't think it really mattered. They taste good without the SweetLeaf liquid Stevia but let me tell you with just a few drops of it, they taste GREAT! I just love the fact that they're packed with 12 grams of quality protein! Now that you can't beat!!! Oh yeah, I found the ice pop molds in Walmart at the end of the ice cream case for those who may not have any. The brand is goodcook (see pic).


Pumpkin Pie Frozen Yogurt Pops
2 Scoops Inspire Pumpkin Pie Protein powder
½ cup Premier vanilla Protein Drink
3 – 5.3 oz. Dannon Toasted Coconut Vanilla Greek Blends Yogurt
¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon
5-10 drops SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia - Pumpkin Spice (optional)

Blend all ingredients (I used my Nutribullet) and pour into ice pop molds. Place in freezer for 2-3 hours then enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Servings 7.0
Calories 71
Fat 0 g
Carbs 5 g
Fiber 0 g
Sugars 3 g
Protein 12 g

One thing that I find helpful if I am thirsty right after I eat and it's not time to drink; I brush my teeth or I use a squirt of the Listerine breath spray- for some reason that moistens my mouth a little.
I am actually a little addicted to my Listerine breath spray. I seriously can't live without it. Does that count as a crossover addiction LOL

I used to stand at the sink and drink three cups of Water in one go. I never thought drinking water could be so difficult! I am constantly reminding myself to always have a drink in my hand.

1. The itching! No one warned me about the incision itching! (BTW - icepack brings great relief for this)
2. The lack of energy for 2 weeks. Just taking a shower would put me to bed for hours.
3. How difficult it would be to get in all my fluids for the day.

I hear you! I had so much pain and thought I was going to lose my mind. Come to find out I had an infection deep inside the largest incision.
I kept thinking I was just not able to handle the pain like I had expected. Don't be embarrassed to speak up about being in pain. There's no right or wrong. Everyone is different. I cried for about 5 days straight. Especially when it came to having the open incision packed everyday. I cried my eyes out to my husband and said I can't do this I just can't do it. He reminded me that I really had no choice at this point and it would get better.
I'm now 2 1/2 weeks out and it's finally getting better. I'm still not losing like a lot of people but I think my body is working on healing and the weight loss will have to come at some point.
Good luck and hang in there. It's tough. Much harder then I ever expected it to be for sure but you will wake up one day and feel quite a bit better ????

You can also make chips out of cheese. There are recipes all over Pinterest for these but it is pretty simple.
Take a small thus slice of cheese and place on parchment paper in the oven. You can use shredded cheese too. Bake it until slightly browned. Take the whole sheet of parchment with the chips on it and place it on the cool counter. As the cheese chips cool the become crispy.
Very low carb, has Protein and works great with dips.
You can also add seasoning to your little piles of cheese. Italian seasoning, taco seasoning. Whatever floats your boat.

I bet your are!!
Not much longer for you now! I am not on meat yet, but I can tolerate a small amount of veggies in Soup or roasted. I really like Beans, eggs, and light and fit Greek yogurt right now! Yum!

Sounds like you are doing great! I had surgery 10/22 and I am down 34 total including pre op diet weight loss. My doctor doesn't advance people from the broth/cream of wheat type stuff until 6 weeks. I am so ready for some veggies and meat.