Berry78

I live in Cumberland, can practically toss a ball into WV, and head to Morgantown halfway regularly. Excellent medical system with WVU. It is one of my back up choices if I were to need bariatric-related assistance.

Sure, all those myth debunking statements SOUND nice.. but how do we actually put any of it into practice? We are so fortunate that we live in an era/area in which people can expect to live 70+ years. Grocery stores are FULL of foods of every sort. Before about 1910, people only lived about half as long, and food availability was spotty, at best. We ate what was available, when available, and were happy for it. Only in times if abundance do we stop to ask, "what SHOULD I eat?" With only 100 years of science actively asking this question, it's no wonder we haven't gotten it all figured out yet. People get impatient with the process ("but they keep changing their story! First cholesterol is bad, now it doesn't matter!" etc.) But no one seems to realize that scientists are working with brand new data, trying to sort through it, and with additional new data coming in all the time, of course the picture always changes. Pollan is recommending to cut off the science from dinner decisions, and that's fair. Let the scientists do their thing while you eat what YOU want to eat. I do disagree that we needn't count or pay attention. Our food sources are the furthest thing from "natural" as one can get. Doesn't matter that much if you are eating an artificial-sugar laden protein bar or a modern cut of corn-fed beef or skim milk or ear of sweet corn. Everything we eat has been highly modified from what it would have been 1000 years ago. And, don't forget, even if we did eat the same way as our ancestors.. they only lived for 40 years. Maybe that wasn't such a great time either! Human beings are wonderfully adaptive. We can eat almost anything and do quite well... as a species. Individually, we do see lots of instances of malnutrition pop up. Personally I've been short on vit. A and D. Others on this board are short on protein and iron. My MIL is short on Vit. D and Iron. My hubby has low vit. D and low HDL cholesterol. In fact, I'd love to hear from anyone inside or outside the bariatric community that has had all their levels tested and weren't short on anything, and didn't take supplements. THOSE are the people whose diets we should all follow! Lol! (Doctors don't test healthy people for most vitamins, so that individual might be hard to find).

The easiest way to stick to a strict diet is to figure it out ONCE and then eat the same exact thing every day. Boring? Sure. But it's good training for the boring, restricted diet postop. Sample menu: Breakfast: 1 cup full fat cottage cheese and 1 small fruit (320 cal) Lunch: 2 eggs and 1 cup pinto beans with 2 T. Salsa (400 cal) Dinner: 1 4oz skinless chicken thigh, 1.5 cups green beans, 5oz sweet potato (426 cal) you can add a total of 1 teaspoon of butter if you want for an additional 34 calories. There you go. Salt, pepper, cinnamon, and herbs are all ok. Each meal features protein, carbs, and fat. No snacks (if you MUST have a snack, save the fruit from breakfast and don't add butter at dinner. Now you can put a teaspoon of peanut butter with your fruit.) Chicken thigh is 206 calories, can switch out for other equal-calorie meats or fish.

Just keep on doing what you're doing. As long as things are coming out and you aren't in pain, everything is probably ok. The miralax is probably causing the diarrhea, rather than any potential blockage.

Since you are a DS patient, your protein needs have been much higher than most, all along. My local surgeon recommends 120g protein for DS patients. Before you saw the doc, how much protein were you consuming? You said your levels had been fine, but now they aren't. Did your diet change? I'm trying to see if what you have been doing changed, or if it's your body that changed. If you went vegan, then it's probably malnutrition and increasing your protein is the fix. But if you didn't change anything and were keeping up with your intake.. then keep looking for the reason. Meanwhile, increasing your protein shouldn't hurt and hopefully will help.

I agree that this sounds like a real problem brewing. Were your legs so swollen when you were seen? Your doc needs to not focus on any one problem and get a full picture of what is going on. Go back in. If he doesn't start talking about putting the puzzle pieces together, then you may need to get seen by someone else.

Woo hoo!!! Congrats!!!

No, you shouldn't feel this way forever. Try and taste a bunch of different things to see if you can find something you can tolerate. I suspect some people, when in ketosis, get such a bad taste in their mouth that it makes everything taste even worse. So the cure for them is to increase carbs to get out of ketosis. I recommend milk as the first thing to try (not everyone can tolerate it postop). It has fluid, protein, and carbs, so works great if you can stand it.

I'm 6 months out and don't see a problem with an occasional glass of wine. Daily isn't a good idea for weight loss or liver health (the liver works overtime processing our fat).

Stalls of up to a week will happen regularly. Sometimes up to 3 weeks long. You start getting concerned when you are the same weight and size (take regular measurements) for over a month.

Hey, why are y'all talkin' bout me??? (Just kidding.. haven't made my meeting for a couple months... bet they all breathe sighs of relief! Lol!)

I looked into the patch preop, and signs point to "no". The skin isn't designed to absorb all that stuff.

36 is not so very old. A year won't make a significant difference to your ova. You want to get through the year of rapid weight loss because: 1. You don't want to be actively losing weight during the pregnancy.. it might hinder the baby's ability to get enough nurishment. 2. If you stop losing weight, then the surgery was for nothing. Your new set point will be messed up and you won't make goal. 3. While you are losing weight, there is "hormone dumping" happening, and you don't want to expose the baby to all those excess hormones. 4. An enlarged uterus creates a high pressure environment in the abdomen. Excess fat creates a high pressure environment. The sleeve is a high pressure procedure. The potential for debilitating GERD is astronomical. Lose your excess fat weight, and at least that's one less thing to cause heartburn. I could come up with more, but I think you get the gist.

Ok, what I'm hearing is you used to be able to eat enough, now you can only eat a tiny bit. Yes, this is absolutely a major problem, and you need to keep getting looked at.

The hair loss postop is almost always due to the shock of the surgery its self. Not due to nutrient deficiencies. Most people get thinning evenly over the head, so hopefully you won't have completely bald patches. *Fingers crossed!*

If you can drink, then you can drink all your meals and begin to stabilize your health. (2-3 quarts of whole milk a day would get you started.. if you can tolerate milk!) I'm assuming the weight loss is due directly to not eating, rather than some other underlying condition like diabetes or cancer that results in weight loss. But yes, you sound like you need a second opinion. A bariatric surgeon might be able to undo your bypass or figure out something else that could be helpful. I just don't quite understand why you can't eat. Maybe describe what happens when you take a bite...

I don't know what you mean by the runs coming out of the front... Many people get sick from milk after the surgery.. can't tolerate it.

Ulcer, gallbladder, constipation.. there are several common causes of abdominal pain that could be related to the surgery. Hope it's a simple fix!

Sounds like fun! I hope to meet some if y'all one day...

Have you measured or noticed any inches lost?

What on earth could you possibly be consuming to get 2000 calories at 2 weeks postop? Even if you drank 2 quarts of whole milk, that'd only be 1200....

Not everyone with a bypass dumps. When you day "alot more", how much are you talking?

It sounds like you are just one of the unlucky few hopefully even if your diabetes isn't cured, it will be easier to manage... How long have you been diabetic?

I had pain meds in my IV at the hospital and didn't need them later. Hopefully you can do the same! *fingers crossed*

I forgot to ask.. what CAN you consume?