Cervidae

Afternoon all! I'm writing this on a super awesome day: my one-year post op date! This day last year, I weighed 387 pounds and was in recovery after my bypass. This day two years ago, I weighed 450 pounds and saw very little hope of making it past 30. Today I am 207 pounds and perfectly healthy. How times change. I've learned so, so much in the last two years since I started down this road towards health and happiness. Some of the things I learned were tough lessons, some of them were illuminating and freeing, but all of them together have brought me here. "Here" is a place I never in a million years thought I could be. "Here" is an entirely different Abby, an Abby I thought was sort of a childish dream, or maybe a fairy-tale I told myself to comfort myself during the painful years I spent being obese and incredibly unhappy and uncomfortable. I still struggle every day with the person I was, the person I am, and the person I am becoming. I struggle to regain my self-image, and to regain an understanding of who I am outside and inside. I struggle with the social and emotional changes that have happened since my surgery, namely the way that people suddenly treat me like a human being because I am no longer painfully obese. I struggle to forgive the cruelty that I experienced at the hands of so, so many people, including my own family and friends. Including myself. I struggle with food cravings occasionally, and with the gravity of the change my personality and habits have gone through. I struggle with that tiny voice of fear in the back of my mind that tells me I couldn't possibly keep this goodness up. I struggle not to compare myself to others and I struggle to keep clothes on my back as I continue to drop sizes. Every day is a struggle. Every day is also a miracle. I would do this again, and again, and again... forever if I needed to, if it would bring me back here every time. This road has been a little bitter, a lot of sweet, and a wilder ride than I could have possibly imagined or prepared for. And it ain't over yet! From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of you here who have been a part of this journey with me, whether you realized it or not. Thank you to all the vets who slapped some sense into me and the kind strangers who listened during times when my anxiety was out of control or when I was feeling so bad about myself that I felt hopeless. You all share a little piece of my victory with me. I wouldn't be here without you and the enormous host of other people outside of this site who have supported me and encouraged me and been proud of me the whole way. THANK YOU. I have a life now, and a future that simply did not exist for me two years ago. I am ecstatic to be able to share these pictures and my progress with you all today. I love you all. <3 Cervidae (Abby) Stats! Starting weight: 450 lbs Surgery weight: 387 lbs Current weight: 207 lbs Weight lost since surgery: 180 lbs Overall weight lost: 243 lbs Jean sizes lost: 20 (size 34 to size 14) Waist inches lost: 28 in Hips inches lost: 35 in Neck inches lost: 4 in Shoe size lost: 1.5 sizes

Yes! So excited for you! Today is my one year RNY surgiversary, and I can't even tell you how incredible the last year has been. That's going to be you next year this time! Good luck, keep us updated. Walk as much as you can and sleep whenever you are sleepy (which will be a LOT). You've got this.

Mine was very similar to yours, only it never did and still doesn't include crackers/bread/pasta. At one year out, the "lifestyle" plan I'm now on is all Protein, veggies with whatever room I have left, and fruits occasionally if I can tolerate them. We're also allowed good carbs like Beans and quinoa/brown rice in moderation (once or twice a week) and potatoes, preferably red skin, once a week at most. My nut encourages Fiber but doesn't like wheat products because she says they're just a carb vehicle to get you fiber but there are other ways that are lower in carbs and better for your glucose levels/digestion.

I know much of my family suspects, though I haven't told anyone outside of my mother and sister and one aunt, and I know they will keep my secret as long as I want them too. However, another aunt has been snooping around asking "have you heard that Abby might have had weight loss surgery? Did she say anything about it?" and the only people who know just continue to feign ignorance, but she totally wants to know that her suspicions are correct. There's no way she could possibly know because the 3 who do know are completely loyal and trustworthy. I KNOW they didn't tell. I suspect if she found out she would probably try to diminish my achievement of losing over 240 pounds by saying that I took the "easy way out" or some such nonsense. There's a reason I told very, very few people, especially the ones in my family. In the meantime, until she has proof, it seems she's going to keep trying to ferret out the proof and pretend she's super proud of/happy for me while talking about me behind my back. Whatever dude! No one else in my life has been anything but proud of me and happy for me about my newfound health/happiness. Only family members.

I'm like Djmohr, I never dump and I'm able to tolerate everything I could want, though that doesn't mean I actually eat whatever I want. It's entirely possible to have bypass without dumping, especially if you follow the plan to a t from the beginning. It gets a lot less restrictive further out. Just adding to the perspective!

I agree with the sundress suggestions above! I've dropped two pants sizes this summer but I'm still fitting into the cute sundresses I got at goodwill in the spring. They can really last a long time. Some of the bigger ones I'm still wearing are made cuter with a belt around my waist. Think of us whenever you do get to some sunny beach somewhere.

Not stupid at all! Asking is how you learn. Different programs require different things, and then even individuals within the same program may have different Vitamin needs. I, for example, only use a Vitamin patch and an iron/b12/folic acid pill once a day (which I may be going off for a while soon as my Iron levels were a bit high) but I have a friend who had the same surgery and who is a similar age, and she takes like 5 different vitamins/supplements a day. It's going to have to be something your surgeon and surrounding doctors/nurses to figure out. Most likely you'll be put on their standard regimen of Calcium, multi, iron and then they will adjust accordingly after monitoring your levels of everything via regular blood tests. Hope this helps! No questions (or I should say almost no questions ) are stupid. This is the time to learn as much as you possibly can. I'm sure I'll see you around the boards and be talking to you again soon.

Congratulations! Very happy for you!

For me, it was a good six months before I tried salad, and now at a year out, it's still rare that I eat one because by the time I've gotten my Protein in, there's just no room. I understand wanting some, though. Just be aware that you may not have room without sacrificing your protein goal. On top of that, many people report pain/discomfort with salad, especially in the first several months. I know a few people who still can't tolerate it a couple years out. I get my veggies diced and thrown in eggs or sauteed with chicken/shrimp/ground turkey. Good luck!

I'm going to copy and paste something I wrote a couple weeks ago explaining my reasons for choosing the RNY over the sleeve. Hope my perspective helps in some way. I did consider sleeve and would have happily gotten one if my surgeon had had some reason for me not to do the rny. But rny seemed like a better option for me based on a lot of different things. - There is much more long-term data on it. - It's considered the "gold standard" of wls. - My bmi was very high at the beginning of the program... about 67. From everything I've observed/researched and learned in the surgeon's seminars, those with higher bmis tend to lose more during the honeymoon phase and continue to lose more/easier in the maintenance phase. I had a looong way to go to get to my goal. - I wanted the accountability of the rny. Many sleevers I talked to simply didn't have dumping, or were able to tolerate slider foods even in the weight-loss phase. I wanted the most strict accountability either surgery could offer, and that meant the rny. - Many sleevers I talked to years out that had started very heavy as I did were not really happy with the larger amount they were able to eat, how easy it was to eat bad foods they should not eat, etc. The rny offers more restriction. True, I can stretch out my pouch just like a sleever can stretch out their sleeve but it seemed to me (and statistics back this up) that rny-ers had more restriction farther out than sleevers, and I wanted that. - I also knew a lot of sleevers who, for whatever reason, wanted revisions years later and couldn't get them because of insurance, etc. I could mess up my rny too, of course, but I wanted the smallest chance possible, and the biggest bang for my buck. - I saw many sleevers, particularly ones with high bmis, entering maintenance with 50, 60, 80 pounds left to lose to reach goal. Of course, this wonderful tool will help you reach goal after maintenance has started with enough work and dedication regardless of the type of wls, but since I had such a long way to go and I wanted to lose weight as quickly as possible to give me a good head start on my life-long road to health, the rny seemed a better option. As it is, I'm not yet in maintenance and I'm about 45 pounds away from my goal. Chipping away. - The only arguments people had against the rny did not really matter to me at all. I have to take Vitamins for the rest of my life? Okay, no problem, most people probably should be anyway. There's a slightly higher risk with the rny? Okay, it's really a tiny extra risk, and with all the added benefits, entirely worth it. It didn't scare me at all. I may deal with malabsorption and other complications? Well yes... but so may the sleeve. The different percentages of risk were so close anyway, it didn't worry me at all to take that leap for what I perceived to be my best chance at getting the best head start I could, which would not only greatly improve my health (it has!) and greatly improve my self-esteem (it has!) but also greatly reduce the difficulties of everyday life (it has!!) as soon as I possibly could. I'm 24 and I left college two years ago because I was so sick. I've been sitting here fixing my body and essentially saving my life, and I really don't want to and can't wait another second to start my life. I'm enrolled and going back to school in about 3 weeks, and I look and feel pretty much normal now. I've had no complications, and I've lost 172 pounds since the day of surgery less than a year ago. This was my dream, and it felt like a silly and ridiculous fantasy before. But here I am, and everything I could have possibly wished for has come true for me. AND BONUS! It only gets better from here! For all these reasons and many more that are more personal and harder to explain, I would choose the rny all over again, and again, and again...

You're definitely rushing it, and pushing your luck by eating solid foods this early out. You may be doing serious damage to your stomach, but not feeling it because the nerves in your stomach were severed in surgery and have not yet knit back together and healed. You could cause serious and life-threatening problems by eating things before they are allowed. These rules are in place for a reason! I know it's tough in the beginning to stick to the plan and go slowly, and everything is bland and unappetizing, but these guidelines exist for your safety. You've come too far and worked too hard to sabotage yourself now. Did your surgeon give you some kind of meal plan?

chapstick isindeed super important. I would also add wipies to that list! I felt completely disgusting and wasn't allowed to shower immediately post op and for the first two days or so because of the drain and so on. The wipies were a godsend. Good luck to you!

In two days, I'll be a year post op, and the thought alone of that enormous amount of sugar makes me wanna hurl! I still struggle to eat a whole banana without feeling sick from the natural fruit sugar, and there are 14g of sugar in a banana. Careful!

@ I have never had any nausea or any kind of aide effects besides occasional skin irritation if I leave it on too long.

@@KristenLe - thanks for the mention. I agree completely about therapy. Everyone who is considering, going through, or has gone through this recently needs to talk to a professional during this time of enormous change. @@zsnaani - I will be celebrating my one year surgery anniversary in 3 days on the 17th. I have lost 168 pounds since surgery and 241 pounds since my highest (recorded) weight of 450 pounds two years ago. I still weigh 209 pounds, and I often find myself worrying and feeling bad about myself for not being lower than I currently am. At my one year follow up appointment a few days ago, I asked the nurse practitioner if I was on track with my weight loss, and she told me that the average in their program is 60% excess weight loss in the first year, and that I'm at 46% excess weight loss. Hearing that made me completely ashamed, and I was in that bad place all over again, the place I lived for many years in which it constantly felt that I was powerless and my very best was not good enough. I seriously had a huge plummet in my mood, and I spent the rest of the day miserable and anxious, worrying that I was somehow doing something wrong or not good enough, or that the center would be judging me or something. All of these fears are completely illogical, of course, when I look at the situation with a little more objectivity. I've lost almost 170 pounds in a year. That's about 14 pounds a month, and for the last three and a half months I've been almost completely sedentary while healing from knee surgery. Is that slower than many people, especially people who started as heavy as I started? Yes. Or at least from my own observations, yes. Does that somehow make the weight I have lost any less of a huge achievement, and something I shouldn't be proud of? Absolutely not! I've literally lost HUNDREDS of pounds off of me in the past few years. In 5 years, when I've been at my goal weight for a long time and I'm just living my normal, healthy life, is it really going to matter that it took me 3 years instead of 2 to save my life and improve every single aspect of it? Why do I feel like I'm in some kind of horrible, impossible race, and I'm losing? The reality is, you and I should both be enormously proud of ourselves. Even if I stayed at 209 pounds for the rest of my life, I have still 100% fixed my body. I've given myself an entire future that would not have existed if I had never gone to that first bariatric seminar. At 23, I was prepared to die before 30. Look how things have changed. Really take a step back for a minute and look at the person you are now and the person you were before you started the surgery process. What did you feel every day back then? Did you feel hope for the future? Did you feel safe and healthy? Try to see your life today objectively (trust me, I know how difficult that is...) and really ask yourself "am I moving in the right direction? Have I gone down the right road, even if I had to take a detour? Is my destination within reach?" and I bet you'll realize just what an amazing thing you've done for yourself. I hope you remember all the incredible possibilities that are now totally within your grasp because of the endeavor you've undertaken. The hardest part is over, even if it doesn't feel like it. Now you have to remember that by having surgery, you've given yourself the tools you need and did not previously have. The tool will always be there whenever you're ready to get back on the road toward your goal. You just have to get back on the road. I truly believe in you. With how little hope I had in my own future and the changes that have happened since then, I really believe there is nothing truly out of reach now for those who are willing to take the leaps we have. I may have already been dead by now had I not gotten surgery. That could have been you too. That could have been many of us. Instead, we're here to be able to give you some perspective when you reach out for support. Thank you for asking - we WANT to help! At least, I know I do. My inbox is always open. The fact that you're here already and have come as far as you have leaves me with little doubt that you can do anything and everything you could ever want. And if you want to reach goal, you WILL reach goal. It's not a race, it's a marathon.

I wrote this post a few days ago after my one year check up blood tests. I've been on the Vitamin patch for about 6 months. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/374766-the-multivitamin-patch-and-blood-test-results/

I was 23 and 402 pounds when I started the bariatric program at my hospital, and 450 at my highest when I was 22. I'm now 209, and I will be one year post op in three days. That's going to be you soon! So excited for you! I never believed it was possible to be here, yet here I am and still losing, slowly but surely...

Oh hey! You'll be having your surgery one day after my one year post op anniversary. Congrats! I'm excited for you!

I truly cannot figure out what body shape I am. I just can't make that connection or recognize it. This is annoying. :/

I'm going to copy and paste something I wrote a couple weeks ago explaining my reasons for choosing the RNY over the sleeve. Hope my perspective helps in some way. I did consider sleeve and would have happily gotten one if my surgeon had had some reason for me not to do the rny. But rny seemed like a better option for me based on a lot of different things. - There is much more long-term data on it. - It's considered the "gold standard" of wls. - My bmi was very high at the beginning of the program... about 67. From everything I've observed/researched and learned in the surgeon's seminars, those with higher bmis tend to lose more during the honeymoon phase and continue to lose more/easier in the maintenance phase. I had a looong way to go to get to my goal. - I wanted the accountability of the rny. Many sleevers I talked to simply didn't have dumping, or were able to tolerate slider foods even in the weight-loss phase. I wanted the most strict accountability either surgery could offer, and that meant the rny. - Many sleevers I talked to years out that had started very heavy as I did were not really happy with the larger amount they were able to eat, how easy it was to eat bad foods they should not eat, etc. The rny offers more restriction. True, I can stretch out my pouch just like a sleever can stretch out their sleeve but it seemed to me (and statistics back this up) that rny-ers had more restriction farther out than sleevers, and I wanted that. - I also knew a lot of sleevers who, for whatever reason, wanted revisions years later and couldn't get them because of insurance, etc. I could mess up my rny too, of course, but I wanted the smallest chance possible, and the biggest bang for my buck. - I saw many sleevers, particularly ones with high bmis, entering maintenance with 50, 60, 80 pounds left to lose to reach goal. Of course, this wonderful tool will help you reach goal after maintenance has started with enough work and dedication regardless of the type of wls, but since I had such a long way to go and I wanted to lose weight as quickly as possible to give me a good head start on my life-long road to health, the rny seemed a better option. As it is, I'm not yet in maintenance and I'm about 45 pounds away from my goal. Chipping away. - The only arguments people had against the rny did not really matter to me at all. I have to take Vitamins for the rest of my life? Okay, no problem, most people probably should be anyway. There's a slightly higher risk with the rny? Okay, it's really a tiny extra risk, and with all the added benefits, entirely worth it. It didn't scare me at all. I may deal with malabsorption and other complications? Well yes... but so may the sleeve. The different percentages of risk were so close anyway, it didn't worry me at all to take that leap for what I perceived to be my best chance at getting the best head start I could, which would not only greatly improve my health (it has!) and greatly improve my self-esteem (it has!) but also greatly reduce the difficulties of everyday life (it has!!) as soon as I possibly could. I'm 24 and I left college two years ago because I was so sick. I've been sitting here fixing my body and essentially saving my life, and I really don't want to and can't wait another second to start my life. I'm enrolled and going back to school in about 3 weeks, and I look and feel pretty much normal now. I've had no complications, and I've lost 172 pounds since the day of surgery less than a year ago. This was my dream, and it felt like a silly and ridiculous fantasy before. But here I am, and everything I could have possibly wished for has come true for me. AND BONUS! It only gets better from here! For all these reasons and many more that are more personal and harder to explain, I would choose the rny all over again, and again, and again...

@@KristenLe I do! It feels amazing to be perfectly healthy. I never thought it would happen, really. I truly believed I was just going to suffer on until I died before I turned 30... what a turnaround the past two years have been. :') @@4u2nvyme I use this https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/patchmd/products/multivitamin-plus-patch-30-day-supply Just make sure if you try it that you put it on an area that has the least amount of subcutaneous fat. I usually go for under my collar bone or on a shoulder blade. Also make sure you take it off after no more than 10 hours or so, because I found that if I left it on overnight my skin sometimes got a bit irritated. Nothing terrible, though.

Very interesting, thanks for posting! You always post such great articles.

Afternoon all! I just had my one year post-op check up yesterday, though my surgiversary is not for another week (expect a post then too!) and my blood test results are already in (I love my bariatric center!). Recently there has been a lot of discussion and confusion about Multivitamin Patches and some of you may have seen in previous posts that I am a proponent of the multivitamin patch for people who have trouble swallowing pills as I do. I promised I would update about my blood test results when I found out, so here they are! Everything is completely normal except my folate, which is high, which will probably mean I need to reduce my Iron supplements. I'm going to wait to change anything until I speak with my doctor about it. I've been using the Vitamin patch for about 6 months. I also take a prescribed iron/b12/folic acid supplement. I have not taken Calcium for several months because my Premier Protein shakes, coupled with my diet, is obviously sufficient. So there you have it! My promised blood test results. I would like to add a disclaimer: ***my results may not be everyone's results. Some people may have deficiencies or pre-existing issues that affect levels in the blood, and the patch may not work as well for them. I am not claiming the patch is for everyone, nor am I even claiming it's working for me. It's entirely possibly that my Protein Shakes and diet happen to be enough for me right now to achieve these normal results. It's also entirely possible that this will change in the future. I'm simply showing you all how I'm doing right now while my daily regimen consists of Premier Protein shakes, one iron/b12/folic acid pills (prescribed by my surgeon), and a multivitamin patch.*** Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a healthy and happy rest of your day. <3 Cervidae.

Hello! I will be one year post-bypass in one week. I've lost 175 pounds since the day of surgery and 238 overall. Feel free to message me anytime! I am also more than happy to friend you on facebook if you find it easier to communicate that way.

You look great! You're beautiful. Congratulations on your success.