Berry78

I didn't realize how huge I was at 300lbs until I saw myself on video. I bet getting someone to video you while doing normal activities with other people will help. Clothing numbers are.. just numbers, and so is the scale. The mirror lies. Video is where it's at.

If you feel better when you eat, it probably means you need to eat more often. Could be low blood sugar. Many of us got into trouble by "eating all the time".. but after surgery, we HAVE to! Hardly two hours pass that I'm not working on something, and I'm 3 months out.

Thank you.

How far out are you? Are you still on acid reducers? Puking up things that you tolerated before is not something to ignore. It could mean several things, one of which is a stricture getting started. Think about whether this seems to be a 1 day fluke, or a pattern getting started...

It is normal for the scale to fluctuate a few pounds here and there. (Up 3, down 4, and the like.) Might that be all that is going on, or has the weight been elevated for a couple weeks?

Oh gosh Hope you will be seeing someone soon that can help get you sorted out. Do you have an appointment with your surgeon again?

I suspect what happens is this: Food only comes in three varieties..protein, carbs, and fat. After gallbladder removal, fats are usually limited, leaving people with protein and carbs. Protein is usually pretty stable in people's diets, so they increase the carbs.. Voila.. weight gain. The way to minimize this is by replacing fats with veggies. But it's worth considering not getting rid of fats completely, rather just spreading them out a bit thinner through the day. You can ask the Dr. if Actigall might help. It's good for prevention and treatment of gallstones.

Oh sweety, this IS all crazy hormones. [Hugs]. You are still all pumped full of fluids from the surgery, you are bloated and swollen. The swelling will take weeks to go down all the way, and if you are constipated, it makes it worse! Please go throw your scale away. The weight will come off without you watching it. Ultimately, none of us can control what the scale says... all we can control is following our plan. Follow your plan, and have faith! And I'm not kidding about throwing or giving away the scale.

I flew in the day of surgery.. some good and bad about that. Good.. no real waiting jitters.. didn't have time! Bad.. was very dehydrated when I arrived and took days to rehydrate (pee clearish), even with the IV. I had a 6 hour flight, and that is very drying. Surgery was Monday. Stayed Monday and Tuesday at the hospital, went to the hotel Wed and Thurs, drove across the border and flew home on Friday.

I agree with the optifast diet recommendation. The goal here is to shave those pounds off, not to worry about the lifelong healthy eating plan. There is time to work on that plan later. My husband is also living with debilitating back pain. But diet is MUCH more important to weight loss than exercise. Metformin helps lose weight, insulin helps gain weight. That explains your experience. Because you are on insulin, it is really important to manage the diet/insulin dosage closely. If you go on Optifast suddenly, without modifying your insulin dosage, you will have low blood sugar attacks. See if you can find someone to help you work into the diet while tapering down the meds. Do you have family or friends that can help you? (Do shopping, be cheerleaders, etc...) You can do this!

Nausea can happen at any time, and for a huge variety of reasons. I would suspect it was from one of the new foods, considering the timing. Go back to those foods that agree with you. If that doesn't fix it, then you'll want to explore other possibilities. If it lasts more than a couple days, or gets severe, talk to your doc.

Instead of thinking about solids "soon", I really kept my mind occupied on what I was allowed THAT DAY. Try not to think ahead because that's when you will get into the... "Well, I can start this food tomorrow, so what's the harm in starting it today.." Just don't go there. Post your food list up on the wall at home, and make a production out of changing it as your diet advances. Some of the most successful people on this board keep their daily foods the same long term. (Every day they eat the exact same things). I do this 90% of the time, and I have found it very easy. The limited post op selection is good training for eating this way if you choose to.

Probably not gallbladder. Pain on those lower ribs is common, but I don't know the cause... it varies, I'm sure.

I respectfully disagree. 2oz, twice a day is wholey insufficient for 7 months postop. She should be eating at least 4oz at a time, 3-5 times a day. Not necessarily 4oz of solid steak, but at least 4oz of soup and the like (shoot, how about 8oz soup!) Of course, it's hard to tell how much she's eating for those snacks, but the snacks don't have protein, so she isn't meeting that requirement. It is hard to get 60+ grams of protein a day (unless she's drinking protein shakes), and she is in no way getting it. She won't be growing muscles, unless she consumes the protein to fuel their growth. Simple as that. If she complains of being full after 2 oz of something soft, she needs to see her surgeon again to be evaluated for a stricture.

Sure! Always love special mail

Blink, blink. Medical professionals can be so clueless To the OP.. keep trying different fluids. Warm herbal tea worked really well for me. All those artificially flavored drinks were the pits...

I'd make sure any suture material is disolvable. Once the stomach heals there is no more need for the stitches, and having them stay in there is just one more thing that could potentially cause problems down the line. I don't remember for sure if sutures are that important. I think it does help some.

Linda, you need to go and update your profile with your surgery date. You are still listed as preop, that's why you can't post in the veteran's forum.

I think you have a right to be worried. It sounds like she is developing some very dangerous habits. Try to get her family doctor involved. She should go in for a checkup that includes a urine test (to check for dehydration), as well as bloodwork that tests for vitamin deficiencies. If the doctor finds things wrong, then it is medical advice she is exposed to, rather than a nagging husband I'm 3 months postop, and eat/drink ALL THE TIME.. and my bloodwork just came back . Deficient in vit. D and A. A!!!! You know.. carrots! Craziness. You did right, looking around for help. [Pat on the back]..

Have you seen Dr. Matthew Weiner's youtube videos? He explains why surgery works when diet and exercise don't (after a point). Who is to say you wouldn't be one of the lucky 5% that CAN "keep it off"? You haven't tried! But, are you a numbers man? (You are a dude, right?) Surgery= 95% chance of no complications 85% chance of losing and keeping off more than 120lbs for 5 years 85% chance of minimizing future health problems (high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, joint pain) No surgery= 100% chance of no complications 5% chance of losing and keeping off more than 120lbs for 5 years 5% chance of minimizing future health problems. If you really feel strongly about the "one last try".. go ahead! You are young and can afford the time spent. The surgery will be there waiting for you if you need it. A year or two won't make a difference in the big picture. You'll know it is time for surgery when you are continuing to work hard but the weight refuses to budge for months or starts going back up.. or you notice the work becomes "too hard", and you just can't do it anymore. Say you drop 80lbs and hit that wall. Please, please, please, hurry and get the procedure before gaining it all back! The surgery will be safer, and your recovery easier when you are at a lower weight. Your surgeon should be happy to hold off on your procedure until you are ready, so don't let that appointment worry you. Your MIND has to be in the right place, or it's not the right thing to do at this moment. Everyone gets cold feet before surgery.. just try and figure out whether this is normal nerves, or something really worth exploring.

Woo hoo! So exciting when we see changes! It's funny, I was noticing my mini-panni seems larger, but I guess it is because of the loosening skin, allowing it to hang more. At the same time there is some puckering at the bottom too. Does your face seem to keep changing? Mine seemed to change during the first 20lbs, then stopped.

[Hugs] I'm so sorry to hear about this. Praying that this latest procedure turns the tide for you...

Keep in mind the need for a passport. It can take a while for that to arrive. As long as you can get surgery on or before August 1st, then you will be eating normal foods during your trip. So I'd recommend that as your cuttoff. How long have you been thinking about the surgery? If you just started thinking about it yesterday, then you may need more time to process and learn about it. (There is a ton to learn when going the Mexico route since there aren't all the classes, etc. that docs in the US require.) I spent 2 months learning about wls before going under the knife. That was the right amount of time for me.

At some point you have to wonder, if it's such a great solution, why a surgeon would phase out a procedure that is relatively quick and easy...an absolute cash cow... I respect your desire for the vegan lifestyle. Since you are still in the deciding phase, take a year to go vegan. You can still eat enough to meet your requirements, you can see how the lifestyle suits you... and if you steer clear of sugar and white flour, you'll find you drop a ton of weight. A year isn't so long, and by the end of it, you'll likely have a better idea of what you should do.

The surgery shouldn't take 3-4 hours in the hands of an experienced surgeon. Maybe he is adding in time for the prep and recovery? Your surgeon should have performed hundreds of these procedures (total, of any age patients). If he hasn't performed very many, and plans to have her under anesthesia for several hours, I'd be asking more questions. My surgeon has performed thousands and had me under for less than an hour. It doesn't take thousands to be experienced, but hundreds would be good.