summerset

Why not PM one of them if the question is that important? And may your question not be regarded as "dumb ass stupid" or something...

Unfortunately you are right. And I can already see the "this board is so dead" comments popping up like crazy. Nobody forces anyone to read all threads and nobody forces anyone to answer any questions. Three sites of new posts this morning and I clicked maybe four or five topics. In fact I skip most of the threads because the titles simply don't seem interesting to me.

In the end every board I've ever been on is like this. Boards are like this. It doesn't matter if it's a board about WLS, gardening, cats, dogs, whatever. Sometimes one needs to take a break or leave. Ideally without any overly dramatic good-bye-posts (yes, I can understand the need to read all the "Oh NOOOOOOOO, please don't leave!!!!!!!11" comments but that gets old as well).

Pinned threads are not the worst idea. They give a quick overview over repetitive topics.

@@Lindsey Skinner Abbott: It's still wait and see so far. Nobody wants to perform surgery without knowing all the facts. There will also be a ph-metrie (I'm sure of that) to find out if it's bile reflux or acid reflux. I guess another hospital stay (at least overnight) for diagnostics is in near sight. Blah.

I take PPI and also Ursofalk (in case it's a mix of bile reflux and acid reflux). Haven't been bothered with volume reflux since the surgery so it's still way better than before. Yes, I had hernia repair but there's still the possibility of a recurrent hernia. That's why they want to take a look. Catastrophizing is awful and I'm really good at it. It took a while to calm myself down but it's still kind of nagging in the back of my brain. "What if there will still be reflux and then barrett's esophagus and worse?! What if I need another surgery to get an RNY anastomosis? And what if then there is still a problem?!" I guess you know what I'm getting at.

Damn, I'm noticing some reflux again... By far not as bad as it was before surgery but still. I had my follow-up appointment on Monday and told the team. They said I should find out if the reflux is triggered by certain behavior since it's not bothering me every day (e. g. eating too late or certain foods) and then to make an appointment for a gastroscopy to take a look at things. Since I also had hernia repair there might be a problem with that again. I have to admit I'm quite a bit scared and I'm thinking about possible catastrophes a good deal since a few days. (Yes, admittedly I'm one of these people who can catastrophize things up to esophageal cancer.) Dammit...

So lets assume it is the easy way out - who cares? Why make life harder than it has to be? Why not take the best chance to get to your goal? Wouldn't you be an idiot to not take your best bet? Hey, some people might like to take their dirty laundry to the river and slap it around on some stones to wash their clothes clean, doing it "the hard and natural way". I prefer a washing machine and dryer...

I'm envious. I still feel pretty beaten after work and getting up in the morning is always a hassle.

Doing ok so far. Had some problems with diarrhea for about two to three weeks. Why? No idea. It went away eventually. Regarding going to the potty I'm still not used to the lighter color of the bowel movements though. Energy seems to be coming back slowly.

Freeing regarding to WLS or weighing less? Regarding to WLS it's wonderful that I get to eat the things I like without having to worry about eating way too big portions of it. I can eat "normal food" without having to stop while still feeling hungry and without having to fill up on low calorie stuff that tastes awful.

Well, I'm less impulsive, but also less patient if that makes any sense. I don't know if that has anything to do with WLS or just with getting older. I'm less patient when people whine about something and all I want to say is "That is what you're complaining about? Don't you have any real problems?" but then I think "Ok, for me this might be next to nothing but for the other person this is a real problem".

I'm sorry you have to deal with breast cancer but it seems that you're willing to fight and don't give up! Regarding being raw vegan: I think it's a challenge being raw vegan even without MGB when it comes to sufficient nutrition and as you said yourself, your labs are a mess. If you are interested in nutrition and cancer and using a vegan diet you might want to check out Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live, especially the book "Super Immunity". It's not about healing cancer with nutrition, he always recommends checking with the oncologist and I've seen a few RNY patients on the member center boards as well using this way of eating so I don't have a problem recommending at least looking into Fuhrman's approach.

It depends. Do you have any other complications because of the band, e. g. severe reflux issues?

Another rant about "stupid and uneducated" users? Really? Doesn't it get a bit old already? @OutsideMatchInside: You're right. Either detach or stop posting. --- At least I should stop reading the threads certain users start in the Rants & Raves because it is 99% about - yup, you guessed it! - about the "stupidity" of other users.

I see a whole lot of slim people not eating a lot at buffets. I also see a whole lot of slim people pigging out at buffets, especially young men. Sure, there might be different behavior but why are genes and metabolism factors (as it seems) left out more and more these days. Is it the new en vogue thing? Too depressing for people to hear "sorry, you were just unlucky"? Too many people using "genes and metabolism" as an excuse to get even fatter ("I can't do anything about it anyway so why bother")? Is it supposed to be empowering or something? Interestingly enough I can find myself in a whole lot of the criteria that were listed (always could) but look at me - I got fat anyway! So I'm a bit cautious about these types of lists what "naturally slim people do and don't", also because I know quite a bunch of naturally slim people who should be way fatter than they are when looking at the behavior they display. Anyway, Brian Wansink has published some interesting stuff over the years. I always have to smile a little when thinking about the wine anecdote he tells in one of his books.

On the contrary protein bars help me tremendously when it comes to cravings for chocolate bars.

@@yescres07 My last labs were good. My next follow-up appointment is in October. Maybe I'm just in need of a vacation. (only one working day until vacation, yay!) @@LoveMyBypass Maybe it's me being dehydrated. Sometimes you sweat like a pig beneath all that gear.

How are you all doing? I still feel low in energy on stressful days. Anyone doing physical labor for a living? Or being up on the feet quite a bit during the workday? Today we did an angioplasty with thrombectomy that lasted about 2.5 h - wore full gear with the heavy x-ray protection coat and all of course. I felt like "I need to drink, then I need to eat and then I need to sit down for half an hour". Blah.

Might be. I notice this low energy especially on weekends or when coming home after a work day, especially when I was on-call the night before. Getting up in the morning is harder than ever. On Saturdays and Sundays I lay down for a nap on the couch (Oh well, just 30 min or so...) and often sleep for 2 hours straight. People talk a lot about having so much more energy. Not me (at least not yet).

I feel ok so far. Still a bit low in energy. Not sure why, as the labs are ok.

It's patients gossiping of course. Even if I would know for sure it's nothing I would ever write down here.

Some patients simple suspect it. Others said something like "Ok, they maybe want us on liquids for two weeks but because the doubt our compliance they tell us 4 weeks so we're doing it for 2 week". Same thing with e. g. tumor surgery where most of the stomach has to be removed. They also need time to heal and yet they're on solid food much earlier (of course some patients need longer because they don't tolerate it) - but I bet there are different protocols regarding this out there as well.

You might want to check what patients are allowed to eat after stomach surgery that isn't weight loss related. It's interesting to compare. Sometimes I think that WLS patients are on liquids for so long to boost early weight loss for further motivation.

Clear liquids starting the evening after surgery and the next day. Liquids and yoghurt/quark on the second post-op day for 4 weeks. Then try soft foods for one day (yes, that stage was supposed to be one day), then introduce all other foods, one at a time.