NewAngela

I had no problem once I was off narcotic pain meds. I drove to my one week appointment. After a few days I had very little pain.
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Its encouraging that your saturation is going up, and I agree with @@NewAngela about what she wrote in regard to ferritin level and saturation. I also agree with taking Vitamin C along with your Iron supplement to see if that help, Vit C is suppose to ad in the absorption of Iron. I'm an RN and we use to do Iron infusions in office, I've given about 100, maybe more infusion. It isn't a big deal for the nurse and it didn't seem to be a big deal for the patient either, the biggest complaint is usually the stick from the needle to place the IV and even then most people either said they didn't feel it or it didn't hurt. People can have allergic reactions to the iron so you'll want to be aware of how you are feeling and if you start to feel unwell. There are quite a few different types of IV Iron and some are more prone to cause reactions that others. There is also differences in the time it takes, some types its just an "IV push" where the nurse will push the medication in over like 5 mins, other types are an infusion that can take up to a few hours and it goes in more slowly. For my doctors I work with we ususally start looking at IV iron when saturation is 15% or less, 20% and up is normal I believe. Keep working at what you are doing and you should get into normal levels and then you wont have to worry about the infusions at all!

I choose bypass because my gastroenterologist suggested it due to a combination of hiatal hernia and previous lap band. The weight loss is slightly better on average, and I like that it would make eating sweet foods harder. The biggest reason was the increased pressure in the esophagus that the sleeve has versus the bypass. I didn't want to feel that pressure I had with the band. I am pretty happy with my decision, but I have no idea what the sleeve would have been like. Type 2 diabetes and gastric reflux and excellent reasons to choose RNY. A sweet tooth also pushed me towards RNY. I definitely can't overindulge on sweets, but I can still enjoy the occasional small servings.
My practice also seems to push the sleeve, so I figured the bypass might be a better choice (I was annoyed they didn't even suggest RNY at the initial appointment.) Sleeve is the new, hot thing. It hasn't been time tested the same way, are though all indications show it is comparable to the bypass in weight loss. I would just rather have the most studied surgery, and my surgeon was top tier so I didn't really face any additional surgical complication risk with bypass.
Oh, the chance of me getting a revision with RNY is less. That is a big reason I went with RNY. This is my 3rd and hopefully last wls.
As far as actual experience, my weight loss wasn't very fast, about 62 pounds at 5 months, from 282 to 219. I am on target, but it isn't as fast as some people. I am a woman and my metabolism has started to slow. I definitely think I would have lost weight quicker when I was younger. I have had minimal restriction issues for the past month. Sometimes I doubt they even did RNY and mistakenly did the sleeve (jk) except that I have mild dumping syndrome with sweets. Mostly just a little dizziness and sweating, enough to earn me, but not enough to compromise my function. My Vitamin levels/bloodwork were all fine. I take a lot of pills without any issues, although I only take chewable Vitamins. Vitamin pills made me feel sick pre surgery, so I am not going to risk it. I even take ibuprofen a few times a month, although I have to take it with nexium. I am able to eat most foods now, including pizza occasionally. I do tend to pick bypass friendly foods on a daily basis. It is just nice to know I can eat out socially without too much planning, although I did have mild dumping after Thai food yesterday. I think they used a coconut cream product for a Soup that had sugar.
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I choose bypass because my gastroenterologist suggested it due to a combination of hiatal hernia and previous lap band. The weight loss is slightly better on average, and I like that it would make eating sweet foods harder. The biggest reason was the increased pressure in the esophagus that the sleeve has versus the bypass. I didn't want to feel that pressure I had with the band. I am pretty happy with my decision, but I have no idea what the sleeve would have been like. Type 2 diabetes and gastric reflux and excellent reasons to choose RNY. A sweet tooth also pushed me towards RNY. I definitely can't overindulge on sweets, but I can still enjoy the occasional small servings.
My practice also seems to push the sleeve, so I figured the bypass might be a better choice (I was annoyed they didn't even suggest RNY at the initial appointment.) Sleeve is the new, hot thing. It hasn't been time tested the same way, are though all indications show it is comparable to the bypass in weight loss. I would just rather have the most studied surgery, and my surgeon was top tier so I didn't really face any additional surgical complication risk with bypass.
Oh, the chance of me getting a revision with RNY is less. That is a big reason I went with RNY. This is my 3rd and hopefully last wls.
As far as actual experience, my weight loss wasn't very fast, about 62 pounds at 5 months, from 282 to 219. I am on target, but it isn't as fast as some people. I am a woman and my metabolism has started to slow. I definitely think I would have lost weight quicker when I was younger. I have had minimal restriction issues for the past month. Sometimes I doubt they even did RNY and mistakenly did the sleeve (jk) except that I have mild dumping syndrome with sweets. Mostly just a little dizziness and sweating, enough to earn me, but not enough to compromise my function. My Vitamin levels/bloodwork were all fine. I take a lot of pills without any issues, although I only take chewable Vitamins. Vitamin pills made me feel sick pre surgery, so I am not going to risk it. I even take ibuprofen a few times a month, although I have to take it with nexium. I am able to eat most foods now, including pizza occasionally. I do tend to pick bypass friendly foods on a daily basis. It is just nice to know I can eat out socially without too much planning, although I did have mild dumping after Thai food yesterday. I think they used a coconut cream product for a Soup that had sugar.
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How in the world are there so many different perspectives among "the experts" (doctors and nutritionists) about eating, stalls, weight loss, "normal" weight loss, etc.?
All these differences reduce my confidence in some of the clinics now involved in the WLS industry.
Not trying to be negative -- just making an observation I'd make about any other process that inspired such disparate prognoses.

Losing 74 lbs in 4 months is behind? That sounds like pretty good progress to me actually. It seems like if your doctor thinks you are behind he would have referred you to the nutritionist for a solution. But I think I agree with previous poster - you don't seem to be eating enough to match your activity level.

The lap band was an interesting experience for me. Mine not only slipped, but tightened in such a way that no food could pass through my stomach. My surgeon said it was like a rubber band separating a balloon that twisted into 2 compartments. It had to be removed right away (well after 1 day of iv fluids, pain and morphine.
The band worked great for a year, although it may have slipped pretty soon after surgery, so my experience may not be the norm.
About 5 years after the band was removed I had RNY. It is a much better experience, although the post operative recovery was a lot harder. No pressure in my chest like I had with the band, and much less hunger. Even though I couldn't eat a lot with the band I was always so hungry.
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I am going to agree with @Babbs
I lost a lot (maybe 20?) of weight pre-op and then I "slowed" to 15ish pounds the first month and then after that? I was lucky to get close to 10 pounds a month. CLOSE TO. Not 10 lost.
Your surgeon IS an ass to put such pressure on you. Your hormones are whacked, your body is screaming WTF!?!?! Your mind is asking you what the heck you did and where did all the chocolate and potato chips (or in my case, chocolate covered potato chips) go. Add to that your lower BMI? Of COURSE you are going to lose a bit slower.
You are losing at an admirable pace. Follow his medical instructions for sure. His unrealistic weight loss goals can suck it.

Update: I do have sleep apnea, just waiting for my Drs office to start with the appeal process.
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Ask that your Surgeon do a peer to peer review with United. This is the insurance plans way of hoping you don't fight it and just go away. Ask them to provide you the plan details that indicate you have to have a comorbity with a BMI over 40 and what comorbities count. Appeal it as much as you can. Go to Obesity Action Coalition for some good info and resources. Good luck!

I really can't compare yet since I'm almost a month post op from my sleeve.
BUT I can talk about the lapband. I had it done in early 2012. I lost 50lbs in about 2-2 1/2 months which caused it to slip and I had to get it repositioned. I totally agree with that annoying "stuck" feeling. We'd go to eat and I had my hubby n kids watching me the whole time to make sure I didn't put my "in stuck" face .
It was really hard to be the center of attention at the dinner table. When I did get stuck the only way to feel better was to wait it out ( pretty painful moments) or go and make myself puke. I'd txt my dr and I would tell him that something was wrong because the 1st thing they tell u is that with a band it's NOT RECOMMENDED TO VOMIT but it's the only thing to alleviate all that's going on ( shortness of breath, chest pain/compression, the "yo-yo-ing of the food, the sharp feeling while the food goes down) all at the same time.
Overall I lost about 80lbs with the band. I kinda got used to the discomfort and figured out a way to word around it I guess. What's weird is that I thank god that I did have this band, because of this band and the going through the discomforts I noticed that my "stuck" feeling wasn't at the pit of my stomach (or more anatomically correct, right under my breast bone) but it was now dead smack in my mid chest area. So I started telling my dr, he kept telling to eat smaller bites and to eat slower this started 12/31/2013 I was literally at the ER every month; twice a month with this "heartburn" that was killing me making me nauseous and making my "stuck" feelings 10x's worse
Looong story short, I went to the ER and I told the nurse that I had this band and I wanted to have an X-ray done since I'd been throwing up for 4days straight couldn't even keep Water down. So they did this X-ray, discharged me 12 hrs later with the all famous OMEPRAZOLE RX like they've done every other time that I went. I get a call at 3am (after being discharged ) and the ask me how long would it take my to be back at the ER and I'm just like why?! What's the problem.... so they tell me that I have to came back because the dr was just going over my X-ray and found a mass the size of a grapefruit in the middle of my chest and they neede to admit me for more tests and a biopsy.
Conclusion, the band worked for me, I guess. I had all the messed up "stuck"feelings u have BUT in a indirect way it also save my life.
I chose to get the conversion because I didn't like the overall feeling that the band brought and i gained 70lbs due to all the chemotherapies and meds and whatnots my dr had to open my band so u could go through my cancer treatments without having all the other junk too (also I had a slip too)
So here I am on another of my many journeys
WLS 6/15/16 Miami,Fl
33yrs /5'6"
highest weight 300s in 2002-03
lowest weight 193 in 2014

I would have mashed potatoes and cream of wheat in moderation, besides the normal refried Beans, ricotta cheese (with Tomato sauce), yogurts, etc. I also would get some of Amy's Soups and purée them. They worked well.
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When we feel judgy, it's almost always our personal issues and hang ups that we're projecting onto other people because we recognize something in them that reminds us of parts of ourselves we don't like.
Whenever this happens to me, I think about where it's coming from. What about myself do I see in that other person? What fears do I have that are causing me to distance myself from this person by judging them? For example: if I see someone in a certain type of clothing and I immediately think omg no, I ask myself why am I opposed to it? Why do I care what someone else puts on their body if they feel good in it? It's usually because of my own insecurities-their fat rolls are showing and my fear is that my fat rolls still show. Or their thighs jiggle and I'm self conscious about the way my loose skin ripples when I walk.
If you're looking at someone who looks the way you used to and you're thinking omg I hope they turn their life around now, it's most likely your own sense of regret from what you perceive as lost time or your fears that you may end up back where you started.
Judginess comes from insecurity and the only way to work through it is by identifying your own gaps in confidence. Insecurity is totally normal but it's not other people's responsibility to bear the brunt of it. I know most people aren't voicing these negative thoughts but it still comes out in our faces, body language, and the way we look at people. Practice compassion with yourself and others and focus on how to love yourself fully. Self love is toxic to insecurity.

Back in the late 80's an obesity researcher studied this question. She found that most non-obese people felt superior to obese people, which was not always accompanied with negative behavior toward obese people, just feeling better than.
Then, she studied obese people who were around "really" obese people. Sure enough, the obese people felt superior to the really obese.
I was over 400#, 6'4", a very big guy, and on the very rare occasion when I was around someone much bigger than me, my internal reaction was always "That poor fat SOB!"
Today, heading for 80# down, 3 months post op, at the public pool, there was a much heavier guy in the pool than me. I introduced myself and we had a good chat about the weather. As I swam away, he said "nice talking to you, John, see you next week". My point is we are all just people, let's use those social skills.

I would have mashed potatoes and cream of wheat in moderation, besides the normal refried Beans, ricotta cheese (with Tomato sauce), yogurts, etc. I also would get some of Amy's Soups and purée them. They worked well.
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I guess I picked it because I saw a chart showing the long term weight loss seem to be a little better with the RNY. I have second-guessed myself along this journey so far but when I told the doctor that's what I wanted and the nurses along the way they all acted like it was a great idea, it's been around longer 2. I think if anywhere along the Route somebody would have just said to me maybe you should get the sleeve I would have went that route, but I'm so psyched now I wouldn't change a thing.
That's really a great question because I always wonder why people decide to go with the sleeve
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HI Secret,
I was banded in Feb, 2008 and I am now a revision to RNY as of 10/5/2016. It took me 2.5 years to lose 80 pounds with the band, and now, at 9 months out from RNY, I am down to 142 (69 pounds down and almost to goal). I will say good luck to you, you will need it - and using your word - BUUUUUTTT - my surgeon says that it is not a matter of "if" but a matter of "when" that it comes out. It is a foreign object and might cause problems for you in the future. My mother had her's out 3 years after getting banded. She ended up with an erosion. And as of 2 weeks ago also had a revision to RNY. It would be cool if it does work for you long term. I can eat better now. SALADS, chicken, beef. Happy days! Good luck to you :-)

I'm new to this site. I'm not sure what the "decline" on the site is all about. I've found people on this site very helpful in the few months that I've been posting on here. I especially appreciate all the advice that I've received over the last 2 1/2 weeks since I had my bypass. Thanks to all you veterans who are willing to spend your time sharing your experiences and advice. It is greatly appreciated!

@@OKCPirate
I'm not sure why you felt the need to post about the differences between women and men, I would not be confident that ALL the men agree with you. Men on this site have not been exempt from "idot troll behavior" We will just have to agree to disagree on your thoughts about women. IMHO
Here it is...All of us should be accountable.

The premeire Protein actually has a blend of protein sources including caseinate which isn't absorbed as well compared to whey, although it is good in some circumstances, it makes sense that a whey or almost lactose free isolate or a high quality whey would be preferred during the early pre op phase.
http://www.nutritionexpress.com/showarticle.aspx?articleid=787
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They are located in the Pharmacy section of the store. Not located in the refrigerated section or around the milk. Look by the other Protein supplements by Pharmacy.

Muscle loss? Not been a problem, but it really depends on how well you do with staying on program. Follow
@@BigViffer This guy is an animal

...whereas bypass creates a low-pressure system.
Sometimes RNY bypass is used as an anti-reflux treatment, even if the patient is not overweight (I guess they created a much smaller bypass then). When I got surgery I met a man who had failed fundoplicatio two times and finally got a RNY to treat his reflux.

I also had a lap band and they recommended RNY for me. I could have had a sleeve, but they would have needed to fix my hiatal hernia. The sleeve leads to higher esophageal pressure, so if you have GERD or an issue with your esophagus from the band, and RNY might be suggested.
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I have finally made it to that special place we call onederland today!!! Protein Drinks are on me