Diana_in_Philly

A few questions - how many surgeries has your surgeon done. Did you research him/her as much as the procedures? Have you met with the rest of the team and discussed any of this before today? How long have you been in the process? If you really feel uncomfortable, then consider changing surgeons, but, when I spoke with my surgeon he asked me the same question. I told him I preferred the sleeve because I was concerned about all the complications with bypass (dumping, etc.). He then laid out the pros and cons in a very thoughtful way and told me his recommendations based upon the 200 bariatric procedures he does every year and has done for the last 19 years. I trusted his judgment. He has a medical degree. I don't.

Sounds like your body doesn't like the whey or vegan proteins and your intestines are making that displeasure known. My guess is that they see this often enough not to worry about it. I'd get to TJ and stock up on the powder your body likes.

Not a college student, but the mom of a college aged child. Your mom will be concerned because all surgery has risks and you are her child and by the very nature of the relationship, she worries about you. So, that being said, she understands what is involved since your dad had the surgery and knows what you will go through. That being said, you are 19. You don't have to tell her and your docs don't have to talk to her unless you say so because you are an adult. About your timing plan, please keep in mind that your insurance company may require a monitored weight loss period. That could affect your planning. Also, I would want to have at least a month before staring the class schedule, etc. For the first 4 weeks, depending on your team's plan, you won't be on solid food. You should be moving to purees somewhere around 4 weeks. Also, you have to have a visit back with your surgeon 2-3 weeks after surgery. That being said, be calm when you speak with mom. Maybe make some notes with your reasons why you feel this is important. Is your team near home or near school? Maybe have mom come with you to your first meeting and consultation. I had my husband come with me to my meeting when I met my surgeon for the first time. It was good for both of us, because then he understood exactly what would be happening. Best of luck on your journey.

Two words -- IV Fluids. It's going to take a few days to pee all that out. You had an IV in from the moment you put on your hospital gown until right before you were released. They hung many liters of fluid that your body absorbed. Give it a week. It's entirely normal.

I didn't do single incision. My surgeon did three incisions, only two of which are visible and are about 1/4 inch. One incision was in my belly button, one near my upper right ribs and the other was about mid-belly on the left. I'm 7 months out and they are almost invisible now. My only regret was not having surgery sooner.

@mama3beartn - Here's a bit of my story. I'm 7 months out. HW 271.5 (April 2016) SW 246.9. CW 188.2. 55 year old mother of two girls - one a senior in HS, one in 8th grade. THIS IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE (other than marrying my wonderful husband and having my two amazing girls). In my first year, I had to see my team monthly for the three months of supervised diet (began May 11, 2016). I had a few more appointments during August because my surgery was August 23 - so I had the big pre-op diet, post-op diet nutrition class. I saw my doc 2 weeks out, 3 months out, 6 months out and my next visit is at 1 year. I will see him annually after that. I correspond regularly with my NP at the practice and my RD, by email. I had a sleeve done. Was in the hospital overnight and back to my desk job in less than a week. I was in the gym about a week after surgery working out. If you can avoid moving to the middle of nowhere until after you get to the six month point, I'd say you're in the clear. I've had no complications (knock wood.) I don't have any good photos of me recently - but here are two for you to compare - the one in the blue shirt was in August 2015 at close to my high weight (within 5 pounds). The one with the red sweater was in November when I was about 3 months post op. I'm down another 25 pounds since then. Best of luck. D.

Maybe if we knew what you trashed, it would be easier to respond. I didn't throw out much because we have fresh fruit and veg in the house, meats, etc. We were never a big junk food house. All food is healthy, so long as it is not processed. My day would come to a standstill without protein shakes, Oikos Triple Zero yogurt, apples, peanut butter, eggs, cheese, salad ingredients, fresh vegetables and meat. Sometimes I'll have a few Wheat Thins. Damascus Whole Wheat wraps (110 calories 11 g protein) deli turkey, ham or roast beef. Hummus to dip carrots in. Sugar free pudding and jello. Halo Top Ice Cream. Torani sugar-free coffee syrups for use in shakes. Two or three types of protein powder, frozen fruit for shakes and PB2. Coconut milk (unsweetened) or Fairlife Skim or 2% milk. Vitamin Water Zero.

Not being snarky, but - how's that diet thing worked for you in the past? I think if we could lose it and keep it off by dieting, none of us would have had surgery. I understand your parents' concern - they are scared because it is surgery and sometimes bad things happen during surgery. That being said - make a list for them -as best you can recall - of all the diets you've been on, how much you've lost and how much you've kept off. Have you been to an info session with a surgical team? If not, bring a parent with you to it, if you feel it would help. My husband was concerned at first, too. Then I brought him with me to my meeting with my surgeon and to some support group meetings. FYI - I weigh right now what I weighed when I got married 20 years ago. I'm in better physical shape right now and my wedding gown is big on me. But, more than anything else, as was said above, you need to have your head in the game. If you don't want to make the change and the commitment, then surgery isn't going to work. Also, most insurances require a monitored diet for a few months prior to surgery - so your parents can also see how much you lose (or not) when on a medically supervised diet as you move toward surgery.

I'm seven months out and started squeezing into 2x tops and 20 pants (should have been wearing a 22 - looked like a sausage). Wore a pair of size 10 pants to church yesterday! Business attire goes to Career Wardrobe http://careerwardrobe.org/ which provides women in transition clothing for interviews. Casual stuff goes to Salvation Army or Goodwill. A really good consignment store is your friend - I do a lot of shopping there so that I don't feel guilty when I shrink out of clothes - no guilt in shrinking out of a pair of $150 jeans you paid $15 for after 6 weeks. Some of my jeans now (the 12s) are going to my daughter who is a senior in HS.

@Dknal2 - were you heavy when you met/married? He may be insecure and afraid now that he is going to lose you to someone else because you look so good. I'm not justifying any of the hurtful things he said, but trying to look at what might motivate him to say those things. (From the perspective of someone who knows nothing about your relationship.) Maybe that's part of the discussion you need to have with him - he may not realize that he is scared and he's saying awful stuff because its the only way he knows how to react when scared. That all being said, you need to do what is best for you. Counseling for yourself with someone you trust can make a huge difference. Wishing you peace.

I was cleared for coffee immediately, but it was something that was discussed with my team right away. No coffee increases my risk of committing a felony against family members, especially in the morning.

Clothes. Most of the stuff I bought as I was slamming through sizes was from thrift shops. I couldn't see spending money on decent clothes. Then, I treated myself to a nice blazer - since I know that I loose slower in the bust than in the waist and hips. I got quite a bit of use out of it. New Shoes. New workout gear/clothes. Massage. Facial. Lipstick. Sessions with a personal trainer. Laser Lipo. Need me to keep going?

I guess part of it is whether you were adding activity prior to surgery. I started working out in the three months before my surgery. So about 2 weeks after surgery I was back in the gym doing cardio and light weights. Like @twothegrynd said - listen to your body and start with walking or if you have access to a pool - water walking or swimming. I have bad knees, so I found that starting with a recumbent bike was helpful. I would make that the only time I could catch up on shows on Netflix - so I pedaled my way through the first two seasons of Breaking Bad. Make sure you have water with you and sip, sip, sip while you are working out. If you have been having issues with getting all your fluids in, consider sipping on Powerade Zero or G2 when you are working out. For what its worth, I'm 7 months out. I'm going to be running at 5k in 15 days. (It's for charity and I still hate running, but the rest of the family is doing it.) However, I enjoy other cardio now and do like going to the gym and working with my trainer. I recommend that you find someone to help you set up a routine that works for you and meet with them periodically to evaluate where you are. It is a worthwhile investment in yourself.

@ellykann - Where did you have your surgery? HUP/Presby/Pennsylvania Hospital have multiple support group meetings a month. I'm in Philly, I'm about 7 months out. I had my surgery at Pennsylvania. My schedule has kept me from getting to many meetings. Feel free to reach out to me --

I'm 55. I had my surgery six weeks after my 55th birthday. I have two teenage daughters, one a senior in HS and one in 8th grade. I am very aware of how I react to anesthesia and drugs post op so I had some detailed talks with my team about what would and wouldn't work. But the walking is key. I brought my slippers (I hate those sock things in the hospital) and my bathrobe to the hospital with me to do my laps. I had the nurses on the floor cracking up - they swore I was like security guard doing rounds. I don't sleep well when I'm not in my own bed, so even through the night I got up about every 1.5 hours to walk. I had my iPhone with me and played music while I pushed my IV pole around the floor. Being in the right place in your head is the key to this - I am convinced of it. I'm seven months out and have lost 62.9% of my excess body weight. I have about 39 more pounds to go - I think I want my goal at 150 not 140 - I need to change my stats. The closer I get, the more I think 140 will look too Barbie for someone my age. But after seeing photos of myself taken before my oldest daughter's junior prom last year, I swore I was not going to be that fat person when she graduated high school. I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner. Best of luck

@dashofpixiedust David Wernsing at Pennsylvania Hospital did my surgery (part of the Penn system). Love the team there. Do you need to adjust your caloric intake? I find that sometimes I need to bump up or down a bit to get thing moving. I fought with the same 5 pounds for most of January and then increased my calories to 1000 and boom - gone. But I dropped one pants size in January when the scale didn't move. How much protein are you getting in a day -- I find on the days that I'm not good about my protein real and head hunger rear their ugly heads. You have done an amazing job. Keep up the great work and try not to get discouraged - If you haven't been keeping track of measurements, do so. It helps. I'm paying more attention to how my clothes fit now - Also, if you feel you need more advice, email your team. I love my NP and RD and sometimes just a quick email with some questions can get me moving again with ideas I hadn't thought of.

Before my VSG, I had two c-sections plus open abdominal surgery. I had an ankle rebuilt and two knee arthroscopies. This is a walk in the park. I had my surgery on a Tuesday. I was home by Wednesday at 2 pm and back in the office (I'm a desk jockey) on Monday. (I work from home 3 days a week and in the office 2). As soon as they would let me out of bed, I was up and walking and walked laps at least once per hour. I had some gas. For me the nausea was the worst. I didn't wind up using any of the pain meds at home. Used the nausea meds once or twice when home. Walked on the treadmill at the gym on Saturday after surgery for 20 minutes. Best of luck.

At 5 months you will be on a regular diet - so when you have breakfast you have have eggs or an omlette. Lunch - there's plenty of protein at the various restaurants - so maybe some fish with a veg. Dinner - same thing. If you're really concerned, pack a container of protein powder and a shaker bottle. The bigger issue will be dealing with the temptation of all the sugars/sweets/carbs/pastas and alcohol. And avoiding the temptation to eat all the time, since food is always available. Make use of the fitness center and when you are in port, get lots of walking in and other exercise to offset and "slips" which might occur.

Consider adding a protein shake after your workout. I find that protein after a workout is a huge boost to not feeling like a dead man. Also, Powerade Zero or G2 from Gatorade are lifesavers in those first weeks when working out.

I'm 7 months out. HW (April 2016) 271.5 SW (8/23/16) 246.9. CW 189.1. I have lost 69.4% of my excess weight. My goal weight is 150, which still classifies me at overweight on the BMI charts, but does not account for the fact that I have fairly high muscle mass with an athletic type body. I've gone from squeezing into a size 22 (should have bought the 24s) last year at this time to wearing size 12 pants that are starting to sag and I really need to look at 10s now. Most people think I've lost 100+ pounds. I haven't tracked month by month percentages because life happens. As long as the scale moves down or the tape measure gets smaller, I'm making progress. Some months my weight loss was slow but I dropped a clothing size. Other months the pounds flew off but I stayed in the same size clothes. Our bodies are all different and we are in a different place with co-morbidities and other issues -- My weight loss is slowing in part because my thyroid is acting up again (I had issues for years) and we're trying to get that worked out. Most surgical teams consider you successful at 60% - which I hit at 6 months, but that was me. You are you and you are different. Walk your journey one step at a time. Work your plan and the plan will work for you. Protein, water and exercise. Ups and downs are going to happen (I sometimes fluctuate 3-4 pounds in 2-3 days - my team says to expect that) so don't sweat the small stuff. Best of luck.

What about trying something new together - a tango lesson? Go to see a performance of something you both like - live music, theater, etc. You get your time together and get to do something fun. Or a restaurant that specializes in small plates or tapas. My husband and I do that regularly now since I can't eat like I used to. At 5 weeks, you should be able to have most foods, but in small quantities. You can always order an appetizer as your main course if you go to dinner. I was about 5 weeks out when my mom passed away and we had to do the big Italian funeral -days and days of lots of food. No one really noticed that I wasn't eating and I stayed on plan as best I could. Life happens. Enjoy and Congrats!

Every policy is different. Call your carrier and ask for an explanation about whether Bariatric is covered and then ask them to mail you the specific policy provisions they are basing that information on or send you a link to where it is in your policy online. That's the only way you will get this question answered properly. Then call a week later and talk to another rep and see if you get a different answer. If the answers are different, ask for a supervisor. Good Luck.

The theory with tumeric is that it reduces inflammation - so if you pain is due to inflammation (e.g. arthritis) it may help, if you take it for 4-6 weeks and keep taking it -- like glucosamine. There is no hard science. I'm bone on bone in both knees and need to have them both replaced. I was switched from RX strength NSAIDs to Mobic - which is a Cox2 inhibitor - same class of drug as celebrex. For the most part it controls my pain. I still use Vicodin for breakthrough really bad pain. (I used to use a lot more Vicodin, but 82 pounds will fix part of that.) Talk to your doc about alternatives to Tylenol for occasional pain. There are some out there.

I'm 7 months out. It was really bad from month 3-6. It's almost stopped for me now. When was your surgery? My hair was always very thick and I have a lot of it, but it scared me to bits. Now, it's coming back in. Biotin.

Keep in mind that what works for someone else may not work for you -- everyone's "girls" are shaped differently so what might fit me perfectly may make you look like a bag lady. Find a store that will do a fitting - Nordstrom does them - you don't have to buy to bras to get the fitting but you can make a note of what fits you well and then go bargain hunting. (I normally don't advocate that because it harms retailers in general.) Or there may be a shop nearby -- we have an independent shop whose owner is a miracle worker with bras - average price is $40. Maybe worth it to go a little high for one so you know what to bargain hunt for. Good foundations make all the difference.