Cervidae

My mainly-used appliances are: my nutribullet, my little food scale, and my crock pot. I also use measuring cups multiple times a day, so I would recommend getting a durable glass set, and plan to love them for a long time.

I love fetlife! Been a member there for 6 years.

I used a chocolate protein powder in 8 ounces of milk for the first month or so. Then I started drinking Premier Protein. I've never used an unflavored protein powder. I was even given a small chocolate and then vanilla protein shake in the hospital the day after surgery. Hope this helps!

I have days where I feel amazing and proud of myself, and can really appreciate just how far I've come. Then I have days when I look in the mirror and feel gross and ugly, and like I look just as bad as I did a year ago when I was 170 pounds heavier. I've seriously lost almost 200 pounds and I STILL feel this way sometimes, it's ridiculous. Our bodies change rapidly during this process, but our minds are going to take some time and effort. If only the surgery could fix our self-esteem like it fixes our appetites.

I'm 9 months post op and I chose the bypass for a few reasons. First, I wanted the extra accountability. Second, a lot of people who get the sleeve end up wanting, getting, or wanting but not being able to afford the bypass. Why would I cut into my body and risk my life twice, when odds are, I would want the bypass eventually? Also, for people who start high like us, the bypass is often better because statistically, bypass patients lose more than sleeve patients. Not to mention, MUCH more data exists for the bypass than the sleeve. People who got the lapband before there was a lot of long term data often really regret it and the majority of them ended up getting revisions anyway (seeing a trend here? ). I decided once and for all that if I was going to go through the pain and difficulty and recovery of a major abdominal surgery, I was going to do get the most bang for my buck, the most accountability, the most weight loss, the highest chances of long term success, and only cut into once. For all of these reasons, the bypass was what I went with in the end. I can honestly say I have no regrets at all. I've lost over 150 pounds since surgery 9 months ago. I feel amazing, I've had no complications, and my life is pretty damn good. I'm finishing school in the fall and moving on with my life. My hunger has been returning now, but it's so incredibly manageable; when I eat a small amount of healthy food, the hunger is gone. This was my biggest dream: to be able to live a normal life out of the control of food and my extra weight. I've still got about 65 pounds to go (including skin. No idea how much extra skin I have). But I'm seeing visions of my goal as it approaches and I can say I would do this a thousand times more if it always resulted in this. highest weight: 442 weight when the bariatric program started: 402 day of surgery: 387 current weight: 235 goal weight: 170

@nyteacher125oh yes, it helps with acne quite a bit. It's been very strange but wonderful to have strangers and loved ones alike raving about how clear and beautiful my skin is now. @@tpasun if you don't mind me asking, how much is it, roughly, for laser hair removal? Does it hurt? I really only care about my chin and mustache getting done, but I'm thinking it's going to be a loooong time before I can afford it.

Hello! I have pretty severe pcos, and before surgery I had the whole gamut of problems. I rarely got my period, had terrible cramps even when not bleeding, skin tags, acne, excess hair growth, you name it. The darkened skin is called acathosis nigricans, if any of you here are interested in googling it for yourself. I am 9 months post RNY, and I can say that many of my pcos symptoms have improved. I get my period most months now, around the same time every month (is this what it feels like to have an actual cycle? I'm grudgingly grateful, I guess ). The skin tags I used to have at least 3-5 of all over my face are gone without a trace. The acanthosis nigricans is also gone, though if you touch my neck and chest where it used to be, the skin is very slightly rougher than the rest of me. You can't see it, though. The hair growth on my chin and upper lip have not really reduced at all, unfortunately, but overall, I would say the symptoms have greatly reduced. The only thing I've used that improved the hair growth is a med called spironolactone. I've been on it for like 3 years now, and when I stop taking it for a few days, it's like a forest pops up in the span of a few hours. It also clears my skin up. I would highly recommend it. Hope this helps!

They are mostly concerned with your state of mind, your expectations, how well you understand what the surgery is all about and your roles and responsibilities. They want to know that you know the surgery is a tool, not a fix, and that you don't have any huge food-related issues. If you're in a good frame of mind and really know what this is all about and feel prepared for it, you should do just fine.

Congratulations! Exciting times ahead.

are you on mobile or a pc?

I actually stall out when I am off my birth control for whatever reason. Most people I've met actually have better results while on birth control. Then again, I and many of these women have PCOS just like @@SweetPotato so it may be different for you if you do not have any hormone issues.

I did! My first 6 months were horrible. Getting up out of bed and getting dressed was tiring enough to make me want a nap. Then suddenly everything was better and my body just sort of adjusted, and now I feel great. Some people are able to just spring right back like surgery never happened, but that was absolutely not the case for me. Sorry you're tired! It'll get better, hopefully soon.

even when I got in all my water, vitamins, and protein, I was still exhausted for the first 6 months post op. It really sucked, and I worried that I would feel like that forever. Now, at 9 months post op, I feel great! I feel like myself again. Like @@KristenLe said, if you're doing everything right, probably there is only time that can resolve this. Hang in there, it gets better.

Changing temperatures helped me a lot too, but what helped me more with my Water nausea was switching to distilled water. Spring water is basically tap water, and tap water is.. well, I'm sure you know all the grossness that is in our tap water. I never really minded it before surgery, but after surgery, it tasted really gross and made me really nauseous, so I explored other ways to get my water in. Since switching to distilled water, I feel a lot better. It tastes like pure water with no other yuckies in it, and never bothers my stomach. That being said, it's possible that you may have some stomach cramping or nausea from food and liquids in general for a while. It became better when I switched to distilled, but didn't go away until about 6 months post op. Now I feel great. I hope you have similar improvements soon.

I had a lot of family members telling me not to do it too. The complications! The drastic measures! Etc. Now I'm 9 months post op and down 150 pounds and healthier than every person who told me not to do it. Take that, well-meaning but utterly irrelevant loved ones! When it comes to a decision like this, no one but you has any right to tell you what to do. They still will try, or course, but if you know this is right for you, if you know you want to be healthier and live longer, and you know you've exhausted other methods of losing and keeping off the weight, then you're right where you need to be and doing what you need to do for you. This is one of the hardest parts of the surgery. You and only you can decide to take the leap for the possibility of a much better and longer future than you would have without surgery. Good luck to you! We're all here to support you, whatever you decide. Sounds like you already know what you want/need.

@@Katrinakit there are 30 grams of Protein and 160 calories in Premier Protein, and only 1 gram of sugar. It also contains a lot of other Vitamins. I'm 9 months post op and I still drink them daily, especially when I'm having an "ew food" day. @@Alyssa Toner my first several weeks were friggin horrible. There were people who had the same surgery at the same time as me and were on the same floor and they were walking laps and feeling great by the night after we had surgery. I barely walked in the hospital compared to everyone else (maybe like 4 laps total in two days) not for lack of trying - I was in serious pain and could barely move. I was on prescribed pain meds for like two weeks, though I only took them at night and in the morning by the end of the two weeks, and then I moved to tylenol. I didn't begin feeling like myself until about 2-3 months ago, honestly. I felt exhausted, depressed, hormones were all over the place... it really sucked. This lasted pretty much the entire first 6 months. Now, I'm 9 months post-op and I can say with complete honesty and sincerity: IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. I would do it again 10 times over to have what I have now, and feel like I feel now. I've lost about 150 pounds since my RNY 9 months ago, and I feel great. I feel like I am normal, like I can do anything I want and be anything I want, and like I actually have a happy, healthy future ahead of me. I can move so much easier, and when I'm hungry, I can eat a small amount of healthy food and then I'm satiated until it's time to eat again. Is this what it feels like to be "normal"? Because it's amazing. And soon, you'll be there too. It's hard in the beginning for everyone, and some more than others have it really tough. But this is just a phase, like the pre-op diet. After all these phases (especially if you do them right and really try hard to take care of yourself and make good habits) you're going to have the rest of your life to be happy, healthy, and free to do and be whatever you want. Hang in there! It gets easier! Here's the progress picture I made just a couple hours ago. I hope it gives you a little hope and a little push to make it through this uncomfortable time. http://imgur.com/RxWZFMB

I was on mine for like 2 weeks, though by the end of the two weeks I was really only taking them before bed to help me sleep more comfortably. Hope your recovery is going well.

@@achappex3 really wonderful. I've had no complications, and now I'm 9 months out and down about 150 pounds. Highland and the bariatric center there have been super good to me. My blood work is perfect, my health is great, and I feel really awesome, despite currently being laid up recovering from knee surgery.

@@martypants if you need anything or just want to talk, you're more than welcome to send me a message as well! I was 23 when I had surgery last August.

Stalls are normal and necessary! We've all worried about them. I had more than average, most likely due to my PCOS, and I was here making similar posts, scared that I would be stuck at whatever weight I was forever. In fact, I have a 2-3 week stall every month, that's just my body's "normal". And yet, here I am, 9 months later and down 150 pounds since surgery. It all adds up, and worrying about it is just needless and adversely affects your mental and physical health anyway. Just keep up with your water intake, protein, and vitamins, and soon you'll feel silly for ever worrying about this.

I should also say I can eat most of the food I've tried, including veggies and salad. I also have never experienced dumping, and I've passed the usual time frame for dumping. Obviously it could still happen but seriously, staying away from the things they tell you to stay away from and taking things slowly when trying new foods will make the odds of it happening even smaller. Just giving a counterpoint.

@@UsernameTaken all your liquid counts - milk, shakes, soup, popsicles, etc. Yesterday I only drank 24 ounces of water but I had a TON of miso soup throughout the day, which all certainly added up to much more than the 64 ounce goal. It's just important to get liquid, doesn't have to be water.

@@UsernameTaken all your liquid counts - milk, shakes, soup, popsicles, etc. Yesterday I only drank 24 ounces of water but I had a TON of miso soup throughout the day, which all certainly added up to much more than the 64 ounce goal. It's just important to get liquid, doesn't have to be water.

@@gina171 you just put words to something that has been nagging me since the very first seminar... the whole thing about not knowing what people you meet are really like without the "fat" test, and all the rest. They are very strange and uncomfortable waters, and to be honest, I still have not really decided or found any answers to these questions. I find myself wondering these things every day, just walking through the grocery store, sitting in a doctor's office waiting room, any time I interact with strangers. I look back and feel almost unbearably sad for the very heavy person I was, because I can see how I'm suddenly "acceptable" in the eyes of strangers. Some even flirt with me, an experience which I am in no way used to or prepared for. Pretty much everyone treats me so kindly now, it's almost scary compared to the way I was treated just this time last year by the general public. To be honest, it makes me frustrated and furious that this is a social reality, and one nothing I do will ever change.

My bmi when I started the program was 66*, I believe. I first planned on the sleeve, but for the same reasons you are wavering, I decided to talk to others and read forums, etc. From that exploration, I saw that there are SO many people who begin the process happy with their sleeve but in the long run, end up revising to bypass. The sleeve can be great, and I've seen a few people (and I mean a only a few) who are happy 3-5 years out and don't want to revise. The fact that my bmi was high, the fact that so many sleevers end up getting or wanting but being unable to afford a revision, and the fact that so much long-term data exists for the RNY all cemented my decision solidly toward the bypass. And now I'm 9 months post op, had no complications, and I feel wonderful. I've also lost almost 150 pounds and 12 pant sizes since surgery day, and gained my health and a level of self-love and confidence I never really believed possible. *edited because I went to the calculator and checked and my bmi was way higher than I thought it was when I started the program at 402. At my highest, I weighed 442... which gave me a bmi of 73. Now I'm 39 and I can't even believe it was once that high... but anyway. >.>