Cervidae

I'll be getting a tattoo to celebrate a year since surgery and close to 200 pounds lost! Though I can see how that may be a little TOO celebratory for most people.

Of the hundreds of people in my support group at the hospital I had my RNY at, I know maybe one person who has had these issues, and it wasn't something that persisted past 6 months or so. I myself am nearly 10 months out and I'm doing really well. I've lost 159 pounds since surgery and have no complications. The girl who shared a room with me on surgery day had a leak, and was rushed back to the OR to fix it. She's now perfectly fine and doing great. So I would say that MAJOR complications like the ones you've described are pretty rare, compared to the number of people who have no real problems, especially if they follow the rules to the letter.

@@laurarogersclark I've lost over 70 more pounds since this post. Doing really well! Thank you.

I've lost over 200 pounds total but I still sometimes have days where I feel exactly as big as I did two years ago. The best thing you can do for yourself is to take pictures and measure your waist, hips, bust, thighs, etc. I take a picture every month on the 17th (that's the day I had my surgery last august) and when I look at them all side by side there's no denying a huge change! I track my measurements on myfitnesspal, which is a great site for a lot of reasons, but I really love how they give you a graph to show you just how much progress you've made. Hope this helps! You're doing great, keep it up.

you can check out the BariatricPal Store too, they have a bunch of soups and bouillons you may like with at least 15g of Protein per packet.

If you are post op, it may be a lactose intolerance rather than a Protein allergy. Also, how much sugar is in the shakes you're drinking? Have you tried other brands?

I think it can sometimes depend on the manufacturer. I live in NY, and I bought some while I was one vacation in Cali, and definitely noticed a huge difference int he taste and consistency. Sometimes it's different from box to box, even. A bit annoying but I still prefer it over any of the other Protein shakes or powders I've tried.

hi, and welcome! Here you'll find a lot of resources, both in the archived forums and in the wonderful people that frequent this site. Sounds like you've got a really good attitude and you're headed in the right direction. This is definitely a journey, and not a destination. Best of luck to you!

I had the bypass in August, and my blood work is perfect. There is definitely a small risk of having these issues, but by no means do the majority of people suffer from severe deficiencies and the like. In fact I've only heard form one person in my support group of several hundred who have had any real big issue. All other issues were easily fixed by changing the Vitamin regimen. I did lose some hair at about the 7 month mark, but now at almost 10 months, it looks pretty much completely back to normal. At 10 months I am now able to get in my required amount of calories and my health is honestly just fantastic. The first 6 months or so were kind of a bummer, as it took me that long to start getting my caloric intake back up. I was often tired and cranky from hormone changes (both of which also happen with the sleeve very often). So the beginning may be difficult, but I can say with certainty that I would do it again a hundred times over if I needed to, and I would choose the bypass every time. My restriction is perfect, I have never had dumping, and I've lost 157 pounds in less than ten months. Hope my experience helps you! Whatever you do, the people here are really wonderful and will always be around to help you in any way we can. In my opinion, it will be so, so worth it to take this leap. The chance of something dangerous happening is so, so low and the chance of dying decades early and suffering horrible health issues because of unchecked obesity is so, so high. In the end, any action you take to better your health is going to pay off compared to not doing anything at all. Good luck! Feel free to friend me or message me any time.

I'd really love to, but I don't have the time or money to, unfortunately. :/

if you're able to drink but not eat, maybe you could just up your shake intake. In the beginning, I sometimes just drank 2 shakes a day.

I was 23. Ask them if the <1% of dangerous complications is scarier than the huge likelihood that being obese will kill you decades early. You may be young, but you are not stupid, and if you've made it this far and know that this is the right thing for you, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Can't tell you how many times I've heard or read "oh man, I wish I had done this when I was younger!" Do what is right for you and your health. Your loved ones need to accept that they are no longer the authority in your life. They are now the spectators, and it's time for you to take the wheel. You can do anything you want, and you truly have an entire life ahead of you. by the way, I've love almost 160 pounds since surgery 9 months ago, and the naysayers are too busy complimenting me to remember what they were freaking out about in the first place. Good luck to you! I hope you have the same success in the near future! Feel free to friend me or message me anytime if you're looking for someone our age to talk to. I would also be more than happy to friend you on facebook, if you'd like (https://www.facebook.com/abbylynn113) Hang in there.

Born, raised, and living in Rochester, NY.

Welcome! I had my bypass last August, and I did have a drainage tube, though I have seen many bypassers that didn't need them, so it could really go either way depending on your surgeon, your health, etc. From what I experienced, the drain was annoying and a little unsettling to me, mostly because I have a lot of anxiety to begin with and I always feared it would get snagged on something and hurt terribly/be ripped out of me or something else that would have been horrible. However, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and I only had it in for about a week after surgery. It didn't hurt when they pulled it out, but it was the most bizarre sensation I have ever felt in my life. Life a GIANT piece of spaghetti forcefully being sucked out of your insides by a giant mouth. It almost tickled! And then it was over and gone. It may be a little cumbersome, but it won't last long and shouldn't hurt at all. Good luck!

It only gets better from here. Glad to hear you're doing better. Keep your chin up, you're doing great!

I am also 24, and 5ft6, and I've lost 155 since surgery last August. I've got a ways to go still, but I've already far surpassed what I felt was even possible. I'm 9.5 months post op and still losing consistently, albeit much slower than the first 7 months or so. You can do anything! Just gotta take the leap. Honestly, even if I were stuck here forever, I would still be amazed and grateful for how much my life has changed. Good luck to you!

What an uplifting post! Thanks for sharing. Congratulations on all your success, and good luck in the transition to maintenance.

@@Dani302011 it's called body fortress, and I got it at Walmart for under $20 a container. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Body-Fortress-Super-Advanced-Banana-Creme-Whey-Protein-32-oz/49606961?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222228037947529&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=90380008712&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=182530172912&veh=sem

I absolutely cannot stand clickbait articles. You know, the whole "she prayed all day and this ONE wacky thing happened! click here to find out!" It drives me completely bonkers. Want to know what the best way to make me flat-out refuse to read your stupid, pointless drivel and give your worthless, mindless site traffic? Give me a bullshit clickbait title! Irritating beyond belief!

I wish we could have more posts in this thread. It's a good one!

@@hernewselfie when all is said and done, people have success with either surgery. It's up to you to decide if you want more accountability, longer weight loss period, no need to revise, or if you want safer, less restrictive, less surgery time, less long-term data. Realistically speaking, there isn't a huge discrepancy between the two surgeries concerning most of these things. "safer" means a fraction of 1% safer. "Less surgery time" means 30-60 minutes less surgery time. The main differences between them that matter in the end are a need to revise, the amount of restriction you want or feel you need to be successful, and whether you're willing to need to take a couple Vitamins a day for the rest of your life. Either way, you will be successful if you do what your plan requires of you. So you play it safe and get the sleeve if that is something that concerns you, or you take a risk and get the bypass, knowing that it is a step beyond the sleeve and wanting that extra step. Good luck to you!

I was 23 when I had the bypass and now, almost 10 months out, I'm doing really well. Just had another blood test, and everything is perfect. We'll see how I'm doing 5, 10, 20 years from now but really, though there is a higher chance of malabsorption, that in no way pre-determines that you will have malabsorption. I would be seeing deficiencies by now if I had them, especially since my vitamin/supplement-taking has been spotty recently as I'm trying to find a chewable Calcium that doesn't make me gag. I've never heard any doctor or patient talk about the sleeve being for younger patients and the bypass being for older patients. In fact, most of the younger people I know who have had wls chose bypass because they wanted the extra accountability, longer weight loss period, and not have to worry about wanting a revision as so many sleevers do down the road, while most of the older people in my support groups went with the sleeve.

@@Sharon1964 we're also both poly. Unless you're the one doing the stalking, I'm gonna go with long-lost twin!

what are you drinking for protein shakes? For the first several weeks post op, I drank two shakes a day, and as much water as I could stomach. My shakes were 30 grams of protein in one scoop plus the 13 grams of protein in the 8 ounces of milk. 43 grams per 8 ounces of liquid made it much easier to get in my protein every day.

Yeah, her mentor either doesn't know what he/she is talking about or has something to gain from getting you to buy it.