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LisaMergs

Gastric Bypass Patients
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Posts posted by LisaMergs

  1. Posted

    My surgery is Monday with Dr. Denham at Northshore. Dr. Linn did my EGD. They are a phenomenal group of physicians.
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    Hope you did well! I'm never on this site anymore and just saw this. Dr. D is terrific. Having an EGD with Dr. Linn myself Monday. I've a horrid ulcer that won't behave. Hopefully I'll have good news after it.


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  2. Posted

    @@ShelterDog64 most of your food sensitivities are gone? That's good.

    Can you drink Water normally now?

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    @@NotOnMyWatch lol, you can share your opinion, it's your experience lol. But i get what you mean.

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    If you want advice from a 2 year post op veteran, have some patience someone will eventually answer.

    Your stomach will not return to its pre-op size, but you'll find that you're able to eat and drink more, as time goes on. Sometimes previous food preferences return, sometimes they don't. Not everyone's story is the same.

    Disclaimer: this is info I gleaned from previous posts on this site, and some personal internet research.

    I find that searching the different fora here can sometimes give you the answers you want/need.

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    Wondering? How far post op are you?

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  3. Posted

    Thought I would share my 3 month progress. This is the first time I have shared my "before" pics. It's hard, yet helpful for me to look at them.

    I feel I have only started this journey. Weight wise, I am about half way to goal.

    Before: 239

    Current: 185

    attachicon.gif 3mos progress.jpg

    LOOK

    AT

    YOU!!!!!

    Simply spectacular!!!!!

    Sooooo happy and proud for you!!!!

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    Way to go!!!! Spectacular!!!

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  5. Posted

    @@shedo82773

    Merry Christmas. You have had such a trial of a journey!

    Will they be able to do kidney surgery? My moms significant other had cancer in his kidney some years ago, they removed that portion of it and he has been doing very well. His was very localized so no chemo needed... I hope your husband will be the same!!!!!????????????????????????

    Good luck! I'll keep him in my prayers.

    ( and there is NO getting out of holidays here... the troops would rise up and anarchy would ensue! Lol)

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  6. Posted

    Haven't been on in a while-- wanted to pop in and wish you all a Merry Christmas!

    Typical Italian feast tonight- first, we will do the Seven Fishes, mussels, clams, calamari, white fish, lobster, ahi, shrimp each prepared as a separate dish. Bunch of small sides to go with, including a cheese and vegetable lasagna.

    Then off to midnight Mass, and back to my house after for the meat dishes, antipasti, and more Desserts.

    I made homemade limoncello about 6 weeks back, so that will be brought out after midnight, as well. People won't leave until 3 am lol.

    And tomorrow, we do another whole meal, with roasts and the ravioli we made after thanksgiving that were flash frozen. Crazy times but in our family, that's Christmas.

    Amazing how I still have no desire to indulge in things that are not bari- friendly. I'm so grateful for the gift the surgery became in my life. I'm weighing in at a whopping 137 today. The scale moves slooooooowly now, and bounces up and down but I'll take it.

    So...to all of you who recognize Christmas, as we say in my family, Buon Natale, ora tutti mangiare, bere, e celebrare la stagione!!! È una bella giornata per accogliere Gesù!

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  11. Posted

    Well all, since I hit goal this week, things took a turn for the better.

    I've been looking to go back to work now for a while. I won't go back into actively practicing dentistry, but want to go into practice management and consulting. My hope was to travel quite a bit, and I've had several options present themselves that I've been interviewing for.

    After speaking with a long time colleague the other day, he made a few suggestions that I acted upon. The result? I've received four more calls to interview for positions I never would have considered before, each challenging in their own right and outside my comfort zone, but hey-isn't that what this new life is about?

    There was a fifth call I received from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Now, if you know me, you'll know it has been my intention for YEARS to move to NC! This position is at the dental school overseeing the post-grad dental students who are completing their General Practice Residency. To have a hand in shaping the future of a profession that treated me so well is damned exciting!!! (And let's face it-- the possibility of reduced or free tuition to UNC for one or two of my kids is freaking appealing too if I was on staff!!!)

    My point is this--- never say never. Never say die. Don't quit. Don't give up. Don't cry uncle or wave a white flag.

    So many personal things are changing in my life and family life...kids leave to begin their own life, relationships change or go away. The only thing we have control over is ourselves and doing something to shape or destiny.

    Don't forget you. Don't squander the opportunity. Don't take it for granted. Don't be with people who drain you. Lots of don'ts.

    But how about this:::

    DO love yourself.

    DO live outside your comfort zone.

    DO expect to succeed.

    DO expect the people who surround you to bless and enhance your life.

    DO know that anyone can change.

    DO know that you are worth it!!!

    It's pretty simple, really.

    Look in the mirror and just say "I Do" to yourself.

    And then as you make it happen, you'll grow like the tulips coming up in Spring.

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  15. Posted

    I have noticed something I never noticed before. That in our culture, it's OK to be overweight but only to a certain extent. As a woman, it seems to me that I am not allowed to be over 200 pounds without serious social consequences. Once I got under 200 strangers started to be nicer to me. I feel disgusted by this realization.

    I don't want to be loved for my body, or distained for it. I am so much more than my body, and I am coming to a level of success with my weight loss that is bringing me up against a very deep psychological pain, that was not dealt with fully, or even that I was aware of it until now.

    Due to severe trauma over a number of years around sexuality, I realize that I have been hiding my sensual personality. Growing up and seeing menace predators caused me to try to hide from them: under a lot of weight. Now that I am becoming visible, a part of me wants to stop losing weight.

    It scares me to think that I could fall for somebody who says they love me but really it's my body they prefer. That is, that same individual would not even give me the time of day at my previous weight. I feel disheartened by this.

    I am a widow and I have been single a long time. I don't date much, and I don't intend to change that. I am only making this post with the hopes that I will discover that I'm not the only one who feels this way.

    I worked very hard on myself as a person for many years and I am finally becoming somebody that I like. Losing the weight has been great, but I'm a little bit afraid of losing anymore even though I'm still in the high 100s. My current body type is still way outside our cultural norm, and I am realizing that that has been a big part of the point of being overweight to begin with.

    Has anyone who has reached her goal moved through these feelings that if you become too pretty, too thin, it's dangerous?

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    Here is what I have found---

    When you lose the weight, YES others are attracted to you simply for the PHYSICAL change(s).

    I have always had an outgoing, engaging personality. It may have been muffled under the excess weight, but that was more due to my withdrawal from life.

    Do I find myself approached more? Yes. Unequivocally yes.

    Did I have a hard time "accepting" this fact? Yes and no.

    Here is why- prior to weight gain, I enjoyed a great deal of interaction socially ( not romantically- being married and all) from both sexes. It was my normal.

    Do I sit and think "well screw you, you uppity socialite who NOW speaks to me"? Yep. I live in a community that is both Upper Middle class and extremely wealthy. We all intermingle, but the "super wealthy" women didn't give me the time of day when I was overweight. Now they fawn over me. Ha! Screw them. Didn't need them before, certainly don't now.

    Here is also something I've seen---

    There are those out there who will want to "score" with you, emotionally, physically, whichever, JUST for the hell of it...the game. You MAY find someone who "tells" you things just because...but don't fall for that BS. Be your best person, emotionally, physically, spiritually. Don't derail your happiness and success based on "what if". Don't let anyone or the fear of someone hurting you dictate where you eventually land weight-wise. YOU CHOOSE who you want to let into your life!!!! I'd go so far as to say when the time is RIGHT, choose people who didn't know you pre-op

    Finally, you only become as invisible as you want to be. Having an outgoing, life-loving personality draws people to me. I don't say this to feather my own cap. It just is what it is. If you are outgoing and engaging, you don't disappear, you THRIVE. If you prefer to keep to yourself, then do that.

    Summed up/-- you get to call all of the shots. How, when and with whom is up to you. Just don't fall prey to men who promise love and adoration just to score...no different now or thinner. Jerks abound. You're doing this for you. No one else and you don't need their validation.

    You're definitely not the only person who has experienced this.

    Our society attaches moral values to appearance. We want to believe that thin, attractive people must be good people. We believe overweight people have moral failings, like gluttony and sloth.

    Thin people are much more likely to be hired than fat people with identical credentials because of the baggage we attach to body profile. The effect is much more pronounced in women than men.

    For men, height can be a deal breaker for finding work when competing against taller but equally qualified candidates.

    I lost 100lbs several years ago, and the attention I received from men was brutal (I'm a lesbian). I suddenly had men trying to invite themselves into my relationship with my wife, and had 1 stalker who took it upon himself to become my new "protector." I am generally a warm and friendly person, but I quickly realized that being friendly with men when you are attractive is always perceived as flirting and I opened myself to heaps of abuse from them when they found out I was just being nice (and not in any way, shape or form interested in them.)

    Totally agree with everything you said here.

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  17. Posted

    Hmmmm... This is MY experience, and not typical, but I didn't know that I would/could not care LESS if I ate again...believe me, I eat, but it is truly an eat-to-live situation. I just have no desire to do so--- and get no enjoyment from it. It is a task to me. Much akin to brushing my teeth, taking a shower, etc.

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    @ Lisamergs thanks for your response... So do you think its the surgery itself that leaves you with the desire not to eat or its more so a mental change for you?

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    Well...I'm not sure lol. Likely a combination of both. Definitely do NOT feel hunger on any regular basis. Early on, if I was "late" for a meal, and got too far out, and then went to eat, I'd be in pain. Odd thing isn't it? And again, I do not think that was a normal reaction. I learned that if I found myself in a situation where I was going to miss a meal, and knew I'd end up in pain then as soon as I COULD eat, having a Protein shake was a better choice than, say, meat and veggies. I also found that if I was experiencing actual PAIN from not having eaten, a simple forbidden pretzel or cracker chewed well was able to quell it. Those were the few only times I ate carbs... And I'm not prone to being a binge-eater, so I could literally eat just the one or two. As soon as my pouch settled down, I'd have my yogurt or cottage cheese. Most meats, on most days, still do not set right with me. I'm more likely to have a triple zero Oikos (15g protein) with a scoop of Protein powder added to it (20g protein) for most meals... Boring, but I hit my Protein goals, and today I hit my goal weight. 132 lbs lost since my surgery date.

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  20. Posted

    Hi did anyone notice that their dumping syndrome gets better over time? When did you start noticing that?? I'm 6 months out and I have noticed a major improvement in my dumping syndrome compared to when to the first few months after my surgery. In fact I almost don't dump at all and can eat most Desserts I like (I just hope I don't gain a lot of weight back. Just 1-2 kg's is fine :) ).. however I still feel nauseated every time I have liquid milk, but icecream or porridge or frozen milk is fine !! There are still so many things with this surgery that don't make sense to me at all!

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    My question??? Why are you eating anything that would cause you to dump? Perhaps I'm a bit naive here ( okay, I'm not, but trying to not be judgmental)

    but if you ONLY had surgery 6 months ago, I don't get eating desserts and such. You're still in weight loss phase- the "honeymoon" stage, if you will.

    This seems more like self-sabotage to me... but that's just MY OPINION and well, you know.

    To each, their own...

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    If you read what I wrote you will know that I'm in the maintenance phase already. I have lost 100% of my excess weight and there is a risk I might lose more. So I am now put on a high calorie diet and it was actually my doctors advise to try and consume more sugar because a) sugar is the best way to stop weight loss and b ) I have been suffering from low blood sugar so I need to keep eating all the time and need to consume a bit of sugar. So far I am managing to stabilize my weight for the past 5 weeks.

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    No. Nowhere in that post does is say you are in maintenance...or that you've lost 100% of your weight, it says you're 6 months post op and you've experienced a change in your dumping syndrome... Which leads me to think -if you notice a change at 6 months out---you were eating dumping-causing foods even during WL PHASE...

    And, quite frankly I don't know of any docs who will tell you to eat shakes or iced cream to keep your blood sugar up. There are plenty of things, like oh, Glucerna, that will do that, as well as other slow- releasing foods that don't cause dumping...

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    Read the second post.. well it was my doctors advise! I'm sure he knows better. There are two reasons to eat sugar and not one ..

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    Yeah. I'd find another doctor. But that's just ME...

    And when I'm quoting one post, I can't very well see what was written on another. No worries. I'm totally bowing out of this thread...

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  21. Posted

    Hi did anyone notice that their dumping syndrome gets better over time? When did you start noticing that?? I'm 6 months out and I have noticed a major improvement in my dumping syndrome compared to when to the first few months after my surgery. In fact I almost don't dump at all and can eat most desserts I like (I just hope I don't gain a lot of weight back. Just 1-2 kg's is fine :) ).. however I still feel nauseated every time I have liquid milk, but icecream or porridge or frozen milk is fine !! There are still so many things with this surgery that don't make sense to me at all!

    Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

    My question??? Why are you eating anything that would cause you to dump? Perhaps I'm a bit naive here ( okay, I'm not, but trying to not be judgmental)

    but if you ONLY had surgery 6 months ago, I don't get eating desserts and such. You're still in weight loss phase- the "honeymoon" stage, if you will.

    This seems more like self-sabotage to me... but that's just MY OPINION and well, you know.

    To each, their own...

    Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

    If you read what I wrote you will know that I'm in the maintenance phase already. I have lost 100% of my excess weight and there is a risk I might lose more. So I am now put on a high calorie diet and it was actually my doctors advise to try and consume more sugar because a) sugar is the best way to stop weight loss and b ) I have been suffering from low blood sugar so I need to keep eating all the time and need to consume a bit of sugar. So far I am managing to stabilize my weight for the past 5 weeks.

    Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

    No. Nowhere in that post does is say you are in maintenance...or that you've lost 100% of your weight, it says you're 6 months post op and you've experienced a change in your dumping syndrome... Which leads me to think -if you notice a change at 6 months out---you were eating dumping-causing foods even during WL PHASE...

    And, quite frankly I don't know of any docs who will tell you to eat shakes or iced cream to keep your blood sugar up. There are plenty of things, like oh, Glucerna, that will do that, as well as other slow- releasing foods that don't cause dumping...

    Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

  23. Posted

    Hi did anyone notice that their dumping syndrome gets better over time? When did you start noticing that?? I'm 6 months out and I have noticed a major improvement in my dumping syndrome compared to when to the first few months after my surgery. In fact I almost don't dump at all and can eat most desserts I like (I just hope I don't gain a lot of weight back. Just 1-2 kg's is fine :) ).. however I still feel nauseated every time I have liquid milk, but icecream or porridge or frozen milk is fine !! There are still so many things with this surgery that don't make sense to me at all!

    Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

    My question??? Why are you eating anything that would cause you to dump? Perhaps I'm a bit naive here ( okay, I'm not, but trying to not be judgmental)

    but if you ONLY had surgery 6 months ago, I don't get eating desserts and such. You're still in weight loss phase- the "honeymoon" stage, if you will.

    This seems more like self-sabotage to me... but that's just MY OPINION and well, you know.

    To each, their own...

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  24. Posted

    Thank you all so much...

    I've had unbelievable support here and attribute a good portion of my success to that.

    It is amazing when I consider that it is about exactly one year since my first appointment. One year.

    So many changes have happened, mostly good, some not so much, a thing or two kind of, well, sucky lol

    The most IMPORTANT thing I can say is this:::

    Value YOURSELF. Don't allow anyone else to cloud your perspective, judgement, or thoughts. Find your new YOU and embrace that person. Don't compromise your values, don't let go of your dreams and don't let anyone stand in your way or slow your progress or cause you to doubt yourself, your worth, or worthiness. People can be wonderful, and supportive, but there are also people who can be downright cruddy and not worthy of your time and/or thoughts.

    Just know that you are doing this for YOU--- and anyone who enhances your life that can enjoy your success with you.

    ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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