Sadiebug

I haven't told a lot of people - most of my co-workers and several close friends don't know. Generally speaking, post surgery everyone has noticed my weight loss but very few people dig in about the "how". They simply congratulate me on the loss and move on. Right at first I was very self conscious about the tiny portions but not many people even noticed that or at least they didn't say anything. I've had a few people push me on how did I lose the weight and if I don't feel comfortable sharing the surgery part I just say "diet and exercise". In the past year I've only had two people really push me on it and I felt uncomfortable because to me their questions were coming from a place of gossip vs. interest/concern for me (or interest in weight loss in general) and in both cases I just firmly changed the topic.

I kind of figured I was the only one who runs to the scale after a big poo to see how much I've lost....

I'm over a year out and I still vividly remember that first poo... My hospital had warned me about it but I don't feel like any warning could have prepared me for that! Now, the good news is that it gets better after this (mostly)! If you find you're still having trouble then talk to your doctor about adding in miralax or something of those sorts to help out.

yeah...just Tylenol but if that's not cutting it go back to your doctor and see what other options they might have. I also use a heating pad and light exercise to help with the pain - especially on the first day or so of my period.

I got the bundle of sample packs off of Amazon - so maybe look there. It includes more flavors than just the fruit ones but I like being able to try all of them. I really liked most of the flavors, especially the fruit or tea ones for a change of pace. I also liked that they mixed very well with plain water in a shaker bottle and tasted fine at room temperature. I have other protein powder that tastes gross in water (so I use milk) and/or need to be ice cold to taste good. I can easily toss these in my purse or suitcase when I'm traveling or just out and about and not have to worry about finding ice or milk to mix them with. I'd say they are worth a try

I personally prefer the gym - or more specifically group classes. Scheduling a class and knowing that it starts at 5:30pm with or without me is a huge motivation. If I rely on myself to "go to the gym" I can come up with excuses or tell myself I'll go after work instead or I'll just sit down for 5 minutes...which turns into not going. I haven't had a lot of luck making myself workout at home - just too many distractions and excuses to not get the job done. But, honestly, whatever you will keep up with is what's best. Lately I have wished I could workout at home because I hate dragging myself out when it's -10 to drive to spin class (but then of course I love spin class once I'm there )

Dry mouth is fairly common right after surgery and is also a common side effect of a lot of meds - you just can't get enough fluid in yet to help resolve it. But, I would absolutely talk to your doctor about the blurry vision. I had some vision changes from the rapid weight loss but that wasn't until like 3 months out....2 days out would concern me.

Some things you might consider though would be when to incorporate different sorts of foods (depending on your plan), any weird things you've been feeling (dry skin, tired, gas, heartburn etc), if you have questions about your rate of weight loss so far, any issues or questions about getting in the right quantities of protein/water/vitamins. That sort of thing. I meet with my nutritionist monthly and those are the kinds of things we typically cover. That being said, my 3 month appointment with my surgeon took less than 10 minutes. I was having no complications and had no questions. So don't feel like you have to spend a lot of time if everything is going well.

Not that I'm aware of - I haven't really ever thought about it.

I hadn't thought about my drivers license or passport - I guess I'll update them whenever they need to be renewed. My face is certainly thinner but I don't think I really look like a drastically different person and I haven't been questioned yet. My wedding rings didn't fit anymore prior to surgery and now they do fit and are getting a little big. My guess is that I've gone down about 1.5-2 ring sizes? and my shoe size is exactly the same but I generally can buy normal width now instead of wide width.

I had RnY and my surgeon did not require a pre-op diet or colon prep. One day prior to surgery I had to eat a liquid diet ('full' liquids up through lunch, clear liquids lunchtime on and then nothing to eat or drink after midnight - my surgery was at 10am the next morning). And no colonoscopy either...so my colon was pretty much left alone

I had to give myself a little tough love right at first... I kept saying that I don't have to enjoy it, I just have to get it down (water, then protein, then vitamins). It was my job, end of discussion. And each day I worked to get a little more than the day before until I was consistently hitting my target amounts. On the water front - I had to use flavors (crystal light), decaf hot tea, sf popsicles and broth to hit my goals. It was probably 6 months or more before I could deal with drinking just plain water.

My surgeon only let me walk until my 1 month follow-up. But, I didn't have any complications and healed really well so I did bike earlier. I swim but stayed out of the water until 6 weeks - again, my surgeons recommendation so the incisions could heal fully. Can't comment on skiing. I would say be cautious and listen to your body (and surgeon of course). My biggest issue with working out early on was not the recovery from surgery but more just exhaustion because my calories were so low and hydration because you can't drink a lot of liquid at one time.

I agree with everyone else - it does get easier. I tried to not go out much at first with people who didn't know about my surgery but when I did I would order soup and just say my stomach was a bit upset. By around 6 months out I could fairly easily 'hide' it with creative ordering, pushing food around, boxing up leftovers etc. With work people I found a lot of success going to places with shared food - like happy hour where we ordered several appetizers to split. I would just take a couple tiny bites and no one noticed that I wasn't going in for more. Same with friends who don't know - I would pick restaurants that are geared towards small/shared plates - and no one really notices that I'm eating less.

Before surgery I only old a few people - my husband, best friend and my parents who came and helped me for a couple days after surgery (I didn't need it...but it made them feel better). My parents ended up telling several family members and friends without my ok which was annoying but it's people I don't see frequently so ended up being no big deal. After surgery I've been selective about who I tell. When asked about my weight loss I sometimes mention the surgery and other times I just say diet and exercise. It really depends on the person and how I think they might react.

I completely agree - I'm guessing it's just because you are so early on. I wasn't allowed fresh tomatoes until like 8 weeks post op. But do report back, I'm interested to know the real answer!

It happens - could be water, poo, maybe you were a little dehydrated on the day you had a low weight or just your body being crazy. I've had weeks like that where I went down several pounds or up several pounds unexpectedly and things always seem to straighten out after another few days. The rapid weight loss is such a shock to your body at this point and now it's just trying to figure out what the heck is going on You'll figure out the patterns for your weight loss over time - I typically have 2 reasonable weeks, then one "gain" and then 1 week with a bigger loss each month. And magically that "gain" is always a predictor of my period - stupid hormones!

I've had the Garmin Vivosmart HR, and now I use a Fitbit Charge 2. I really liked the Garmin but it was a bit more complicated then I wanted at the time. I love my Charge 2. It's simple to use, tracks all of the basic stuff I need (steps, HR, stairs, exercise) it's not too ugly. Plus I like the cheesy little messages and notifications it gives me periodically telling me to get up and walk The Garmin would literally just vibrate and display "MOVE" but the Fitbit puts up a picture of a little guy cheering and says things like "are you up for 200 steps?" The only thing I miss about the Garmin is that it was totally waterproof so I could wear it for swimming/water aerobics.

Congratulations!!! It's such a huge step Hopefully your pulmonologist comes back from vacation soon and gives you clearance!

I had about the same amount to lose and I went with the bypass. Part of my decision was made for me because I had severe GERD prior to surgery - but I mainly went with bypass because I had so much to lose. I also blindly believed my doctor when they described the 'negative' feedback (dumping, nausea, basically getting sick if you eat bad things) and wanted that. Sadly, I did my homework after and discovered that doesn't happen to all bypass patients - and I'm one of the lucky ones who can eat literally anything without getting sick. My weight loss has been a bit slower than a lot of bypass patients but that's ok - I'm still losing which is all that matters in the long run.

I hear you! I was super good for the month of November (even on thanksgiving!) and barely lost anything. Then went in a 2.5 week cruise where I was not so good? lost 6 lbs.... I did read somewhere one time that the scale today reflects what happened last week - or something like that. I wish I could remember it specifically. Anyway, I think it was telling me that I didn't really lose 6 lbs on my cruise

I had Anthem BCBS and didn't have a requirement to lose anything - but my surgeon had a requirement that we couldn't gain. I think I lost maybe 6-8 lbs over the 6 months but I did have at least one month with a gain. I was approved farily quickly (about 2 weeks). It might also depend on how your physician/program writes it up. I had to submit food and exercise logs for the whole 6 months for my program so going into it they clearly were showing that I had given it a good effort. Not saying that makes an approval guaranteed - but my program certainly went overboard with the paperwork they sent in to Anthem.

I wouldn't be worried about this specifically at all. I workout very frequently and don't have issues. Right at first (like 2-3 months out) I had to work at getting the right combination of type of food, portion and timing to fuel my workouts but now it's no big deal. I was so worried about hydration at first too with the tiny stomach but that has never been a problem for me personally. I drink throughout my workout though instead of drinking the whole bottle after my workout. But, I also have no issues when I take a good solid gulp or two of water in the middle of spin class

My cravings are still around - and have been since my first week post-op. Now, cravings are very different from hunger....so I have had to do a LOT of head work to figure out the difference. True hunger I would say didn't return until around 9 months out for me. Going in to my surgery I read all of the stories about people who couldn't tolerate sweets, got sick from 'bad' foods, tastes changed and they now craved healthy foods etc. I was so excited for that! But, truth is that has not been my journey. I very much still love carbs, sweets, fatty foods, processed foods and still don't really like most veggies and fruits. And I haven't gotten sick from anything...no dumping, no nausea. But, I force myself to eat the healthy stuff and stay away from the junk (as much as possible). Now that I have detoxed from all of the processed stuff and lost a significant amount of weight it is much easier to resist the crap. I don't want to say this to scare anyone but just to be honest. I would absolutely have RnY again in a heartbeat and it has literally given me my life back. But, I have had to use my willpower a lot more than I ever expected pre-surgery.

I had RnY so my experience might be slightly different. But my pain was very similar to what you describe. My one bigger incision was also where I had a drain. It was super painful - way more than the rest. Once the drain was removed it was better but that particular one bruised a lot more, took longer to heal and remained painful longer than the rest. That being said, by day 5-7 it was tolerable and then got better every day after that. I did use a hot pack in the hospital and that helped a ton so maybe try that or a heating pad.