Strivingforbetter

I really like strawberry flavored BariMelts Multivitamins. These melt really fast in your mouth and I don't mind them at all. Anything else I've tried made me gag. One brand I absolutely cannot stomach is ProCare Health Bariatric chewable multivitamins. In fact, if someone wants 29 tablets, you can have them for free, including shipping. I chewed one tablet and about turned inside out. These are citrus flavored and you're supposed to chew one daily.

If you're a DS patient, I don't think the Flintstones Vitamins will be enough.

12 hours ago, court2180 said:

I had the DS

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Was your DS surgery in 2013 or is that a typo? Your info also says you were sleeved. Were you originally sleeved in 2013? Just curious.

3 hours ago, ssflbelle said:

I was 497 when I started to seriously try to lose weight. I used 2 different weight loss plans and went to a gym to do sit down exercises as I am disabled and was not able to stand but 2 to 3 minutes at that time. I had a BMI of 80.2. I managed to get to 352 which was a BMI of 56.8 when I couldn't lose any more weight on my own and went to a Bariatric Doctor. He said my insurance requred that I be on a 6 month supervised diet even though I had lost all that weight on my own. During that 6 months I went through all the preop training and testing and lost down to 315 which is a BMI of 50 when the surgeon did the sleeve, repaired a hernia and took out my diseased gallbladder.

I would go to the Bariatric now so that the weight you do lose will count toward the supervised diet if your insurance requires you to be on one.

Holy cow! You should be congratulated for being a valiant weight loss warrior. That's an amazing loss even before you were sleeved. Truly inspirational in how far you've come.

I was self-pay, so maybe that's why I wasn't required to do a pre-op diet? Not sure. I still had a lot of pre-op appts with various people on his team for months before my surgery. I've heard a lot of good things about Dr. Esquera in Mexico if you think you might want to consider that option. As someone suggested, it would cut a lot of the red tape out, be cheaper, and they've done hundreds of DS surgeries, though I personally am not familiar with any of surgeons in Mexico.

Big changes are on the horizon! I'm excited for you. Recovery wasn't as difficult as I expected. I'm 10 weeks post-op and have no regrets. You're going to do great.

I had the same experience. It didn't last too long, maybe a week or so. I didn't do anything to help with the itch and just endured it.

I was just going to post this question to the forum: If a person consumes only 950-1000 calories a day (I know some of you don't count calories) over a period of eight months, doesn't the body start to readjust to the lower calories and stop losing weight? My fear is that I've cut my calories back so far that over time I'll start gaining weight if I eat anything over 1000 calories. What a nightmare that would be. I'll be fat and starved all at once.

8 hours ago, SIPS'ing on Sunshine said:

Thanks, today was rough for sure. I so hope tomorrow is better. I've been working on my liquids no where near where I need to be but I'm working on it. Every sip just hurts. Almost like hunger pains or gas pains I can't even tell anymore. I did manage to walk 4000 steps today too. Please let this gas and nausea go away!!!

It does hurt to drink Water for the first few weeks. No way around it. I don't get that stabbing pain any longer at two months out, so rest assured it will go away. I'm still working on getting my required amount of water intake, however. I still feel nauseated periodically after eating. I'm not sure if this goes away entirely, but it's not the constant queasiness I had post-op. Two weeks from now, you're going to feel so much better. I didn't get the horrible gas post-op. Sorry you're experiencing that. Sounds like you're walking a ton to address that issue, and that's good. The stage you're at is so not fun, but by week three the sun comes out again.

17 hours ago, SIPS'ing on Sunshine said:

Buh bye band, hello SIPS!

Arrived at hospital at 5am, surgery started at 715a... was up and walking by noon. Had my cat scan and swallow test by 3, discharged by 530p and home a little after 6....

I'm super nauseated and sore but dealing ok. Now laying down in bed. I don't like this weird pulling feeling in my tummy and I am having a heck of a time completely emptying my bladder (thanks to the catheter) but I'm managing.

BAND out SIPS DS in, one operation. I'm ready to get this journey on the road! Woohoo!!

I said good-bye to my band two months ago today! Wow, I just looked at the calendar and realized that. Anyway, congratulations! The first two weeks are rough, but I promise you'll feel better soon. Make sure you take frequent sips of Water all day long so you don't get dehydrated. I'm excited for you.

I had the DS and my BMI was only 40 the day of surgery. I do not have a foul odor about me, and my social has never been better. When I use the bathroom, I do not have unusually foul stools. This is probably because my common channel is 150 cm long as opposed to the traditional 100 cm long for a DS patient. The reason for this is my lower starting BMI. It sounds like the doctor doesn't know how to perform the DS, so he is making up stories to persuade you to accept a surgery he actually knows how to perform. You absolutely qualify for the DS if that is the option you feel would work best for you. But, as others have said, you still have to make choices about your intake with the DS. It's not a magic bullet, only a tool to help you feel less hungry and absorb less fat. I agree with the first person who posted a response; I would run as fast as I could way from this doctor. He has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. I, too, was a self-pay patient and chose to have my surgery in the states. However, I have heard fantastic reviews about Dr. Esquera in Mexico. Best of luck to you. (Your first step is to find a different doctor who can actually advise you properly.)

5 hours ago, Postop said:

Try once a week if you're really dying for it. But consider waiting like they suggested. You don't want to do anything to slow your weight loss during the first 18 months. That's your key losing window. I was very careful during that window to ensure I got the most weight off I could.

Good advice. Could you explain a little more about the losing window? How long is it? A year? Two years?

I'm 8 weeks out and have no regrets. My common channel is one and a half cm longer in length, so 150 cm as opposed to 100 cm, which means I absorb a little more than the average DS patient. They warned me about foul smelling gas and bathroom visits, but I haven't noticed any of that, perhaps due to my longer common channel. In fact, since I revised from the Lap-Band, my gas is way down. One bit of information no one told me about was that if you eat something that has too much fat or grease, you might see orange oil float to the top of the toilet. This freaked me out the first time it happened because no one had mentioned it. Might seem like a small issue, but whoever sees orange oil in the toilet? I still have to make food choices because I'm still able to eat carbs, but to be successful I have cut them way back. I'm finally seeing results in the mirror and in my clothes. It's a different life but one I can live with.

On 8/1/2017 at 1:55 PM, Postop said:

@Strivingforbetter I was just told to stay away from grapes/raisins as they're pretty much sugar.

I eat 1 piece of fruit a day. Usually, a banana before bed. Sometimes an apple or peach. But I can't always finish it.

Did you ask if it was a permanent ban or just during this high losing phase?

They said it was just through the weight loss phase, and once I reach goal I could add them in. I know many people are losing 3-4 pounds a week, so I guess if I want to lose quicker I need to eliminate the fruit. However, if you've included them in your plan and you've lost over 100 pounds, it seems to be ok to include them in moderation. Jess13, thanks for responding. That's good feedback.

Has anyone been told by their doctor's office to leave out fruit from their diet as a DS patient? I'm craving fruit and have no problems digesting it (watermelon, honeydew, cherry plums, cantaloupe), but at my appt yesterday, his aide said to leave it out because it's high in carbs. I'm losing, on average, two pounds a week. Thanks for the ideas about ways to keep the Protein up. This thread has been helpful t me as well. I had my surgery on 6/9/17. I just noticed my ticker shows I have 209 pounds to lose.....I only weigh 209, so.....

On 7/27/2017 at 2:17 PM, Postop said:

That's known as the foamies. Often after the DS that's how you throw up. It's kind of a gush of foamy saliva. I'll still get them if I eat or drink too much together at one time.

I wonder why I got that on an empty stomach? I felt better within a few minutes and haven't had it since. Foamies are no fun. I used to get that with my Lap-Band if I ate something that got stuck. I was hoping to be done with that when it was removed.

On 7/27/2017 at 9:58 AM, Finding_Stacy said:

Yes! That's her. I felt so bad for her, but so terrified for me--I'm not even kidding. In the end I went with the sleeve. I thought, I could always change my mind and get the DS down the road, but let's first take this sleeve out for a test drive and see how well I do with it alone. All I know, I'm almost three months out and not regretting having bariatric surgery. Best. Thing. Ever.

How are you feeling?

I'm feeling really good, but I'm still very new at this. I'm still learning how to eat and get enough Protein in. It's a new way of life, but something I can comfortably live with.

On 7/27/2017 at 2:20 PM, Postop said:

Is the woman you are talking about have a first name that begins with "J"? If so, her hair looks OK to me.

No, this woman looks like she's in her 60s. She does not give her name. She hasn't posted for two months. I did notice, however, that her skin in her last video looks brighter and more nourished. As stated, she has dark brown, thinning hair. I absolutely adore the woman whose name starts with J.

On 12/23/2016 at 9:22 PM, Finding_Stacy said:

Thank you so much, Post Op!

I totally missed this post earlier somehow. It was packed with some really great information. I will ask him about the length of the channel. I will admit, when he strongly urged me to do this procedure, I was completely unprepared (even though I knew it was a possibility) and shocked on the inside, but trying not to show it on the outside.

After a couple of days have passed, I'm feeling better about it. More so because I will get a bunch of weight off with the sleeve first, which means I'll have more absorption time to build up on my minerals and Vitamins. I guess I just saw some videos on Youtube that freaked me out.

I'm not kidding.

One woman looked like she was doing a side of crack cocaine along with a healthy dose of meth on a daily basis. She started the procedure looking like she was in her mid thirties and a year later she looked like she belongs to AARP. I honestly felt nauseous watching her, scared that was going to be me.

But soon, I came to the realization this probably isn't the best sample size of this procedure. Who knows why she looked like that. It's hard telling. Maybe she didn't take her daily vitamins or maybe she really does do a healthy side of crack cocaine after her two bites of fish--I don't know.

But really, good job with all the weight loss. It says you had the surgery in 2004-05? Have you had any regain and how do you feel? Do you ever get nauseous taking that many vitamins?

I know which woman you're talking about and her videos freaked me out too. I still had my DS, but honestly that woman does not look healthy. Short, brown thinning hair. I too went in thinking I was going to have the sleeve and changed to the DS because I wanted to keep the weight off long term. I had the entire DS done in a single procedure, which took two hours. My doctor only prescribed me a Multivitamin with vitamins ADEK, a chewable Calcium, and a B12 supplement. Those are the only pills I take twice a day. He 's done over 200 DS procedures and trains other doctors around the country to do them. He does the double anastomosis, but he gave me a longer common channel because I began with a lower BMI than most patients. I failed to lose weight on the Lap-Band.

Ohh, I see what you mean. Yeah, I also had the double anastomosis. Yesterday, just as I woke up, I was so nauseated. Nothing on my stomach, but for no reason I had this gushing of saliva and I thought I was going to throw up. Sure hope this queasiness quiets down.

On 7/24/2017 at 8:00 AM, Postop said:

No. You're OK. While I had the full DS and not the loop, I'm certainly familiar with what you described.

I also had the DS. What do you mean "I had the full DS and not the loop"? What's the "loop"?

It was about 6 days out that I finally felt good enough to go into the office, but I was only there a short time. I needed at least two weeks to have the energy to work, but you might heal quicker. I had the DS and never used a binder. I had very little pain and slept on my side just fine. Everyone is different.

I got so sick of broth, I gag now when someone even mentions the word. The Bone Broth is probably a lot better than the regular broth I had. I also had a wound seep after the first week and ended up needing to have a stitch put in. It was a constant drip, drip, drip and I couldn't keep up with it. The Fluid was pinkish in color like yours. I finally used a maxi-pad and gauze, which worked for about an hour. Went through a few of those before I could finally get into my doctor. I was constantly exhausted my first week. I can't imagine walking a dog. I hardly ate a thing my first week and lost 14 pounds. However, I didn't have an appetite. I sipped Water all of the time to keep hydrated. Great advice from Bariatric Master. Focus on the water. Things will get better in a few weeks. Hang in there.

6 hours ago, Postop said:

Yes. Can be orange or yellow oil. It's rare for me now but every once in a while....

Thank you, thank you!! What a relief! I haven't heard anyone mention this on any of the boards and the first time it happened I thought, "What the heck?!" For about 10 seconds, I thought maybe I had cancer.

8 hours ago, ebroms17 said:

I haven't heard of that but then again I'm not eating a ton right now. Surprisingly my color is pretty normal (maybe because I have a longer common channel?) or because they're being tinted by the dark chocolate Protein Shakes, lol! the funny thing about having this surgery is that I suddenly have very little shame talking about body stuff - I actually find it quite fascinating!

I also have a longer common channel. I think the normal DS is 3 feet and mine is about twice that because I had a lower BMI to start out. Sounds like we had basically the same surgery. Hey, we have to talk about these things to know if we're normal.