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Posts posted by gr8ful1
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1 hour ago, SideOfSunny said:How long did you all have to stay in the hospital after surgery? I'd love to hear about your process and how things went if you're willing to share.
Stayed one night and went home the next day. Everyone's experience is a bit different. The nurses and all of the staff at Reston were fantastic and took care of my every need. Not that I needed a *lot* of help. You are actually up and walking shortly after you are out of the OR.
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11 minutes ago, SideOfSunny said:I know this thread is old but if anyone is still around I just wanted to say THANK YOU! I did a search on medstar (which so far I had not been totally impressed with) and found this thread. Called Dr. Fitzer's office and have a consultation in 2 days!
I'm also going (back) to Fitzer's office in 2 days! It's been 2 years since my surgery with him, and it's time for my annual follow-up. As @SampTheChamp said, Fitzer is the best. He may come across as a bit over-confident, but he is not wrong about how good he is and how relatively few complications his patients have. 😄 I had to work a bit to get him to recommend which type of surgery was best for me, but when I finally asked him if he were in my shoes, would he choose sleeve or bypass, he said bypass all the way. He explained why, and that's why I went with the bypass. Best decision I've made in a long time.
JustLynn and SampTheChamp reacted to this -
Dr. Fitzer's office also runs a very good support group that meets at Reston Hospital the first Monday of every month:
6:00 p.m. Pavilion 2, 2nd floor, Classroom A
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Fitzer is fantastic. I had my gastric bypass with him almost exactly a year ago. I would recommend taking at least 2 weeks off from work, including telework. It's not that you can't manage things like e-mail and phone calls, but you will want to focus on your post-op routines during that time, and that includes drinking frequently, as well as eating different types and quantities of foods as you progress through the green sheet.
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My program requires all solid foods.
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Since yesterday I’ve only been able to eat 1/3 to 1/2 of the portion sizes that I’ve been able to eat for the last 5-6 months. 1/4 cup and I’m done. No pain, no acid, just a very full feeling. I haven’t changed what I’m eating (firm oatmeal, rotisserie chicken breast, cauliflower, broccoli...). I simply can’t eat as much of it at one time. I don’t think this is anything as serious as a stricture because I have no difficulty swallowing Water or my giant Citracal Calcium pills.< br />
Yes, I called my surgery team. The PA will contact me when she isn’t busy seeing patients.
Has anyone experienced anything similar months after gastric bypass? -
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7 hours ago, 2foofy4u said:You all have lost more than I have, you’re doing awesome! I had surgery on July 23rd, I started at 226 and now I’m 173. I’m hoping to get down to 150.
Considering your relatively low starting weight, you are doing very well! Keep it up, you're almost at goal!
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I thought I'd share some of my own "fun facts":
Weight lost after surgery (7/25): 67#
Inches lost since surgery (abs): 8.25
Inches lost since surgery (waist): 7.5
Inches lost since surgery (neck): 2
Lost since 2-day pre-op clear liquid diet: 75#
Lost since April: 89#
And my favorite stat is total weight lost since my highest weight (around 10/2015): 102#
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11 hours ago, NYJenn said:Please call your surgeon's office for advice and to rule out any possible medical complications. In the meantime, try standing up straight whenever you get that feeling while drinking water. My surgeon recommended this as a quick remedy when water seems to get "stuck."
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Just now, FluffyChix said:Depends how much you smoosh it into the cup. Diced small and loosely packed, 1oz by weight = 1/4 cup volume. Swearsies. LOL. But if you try really hard, you can smoosh 3oz by weight of shredded or minced into 2/3-3/4 cup by volume. LOL. Um, don't ask how I know...
Oh wow. So 1/4 pound of chicken is really a lot of volume!
FluffyChix reacted to this -
6 minutes ago, KimTriesRNY said:It’s 4 ounces of dense Protein on a food scale measured in ounces. chicken is 3-4 ounces. Salmon is 4-5 ounces. Pork is 3-4 ounces. Beef is 4 ounces.
That is it. I have to weigh it out because I get hungry, I want to eat. If I don’t weigh it, I will fix too much and it just goes to waste. No room for veggies after that right now. If I want veggies I eat a salad.
Sooooo thankful that when I tried chicken breast (on a Panera salad) yesterday, it went down well. I've also got chicken thighs at home. I have at least 2 more meals left from my leftover salad, but I'm tempted to eat a chicken thigh for lunch to see if it fills me up. I also want to know if 4 oz (by weight) of chicken thigh is anywhere near 1/2 cup by volume. @FluffyChix, I will chop up 4 oz of chicken, put it into a measuring cup, and report back with the results later! LOL
Kcoley, FluffyChix and sillykitty reacted to this -
Oh, I also read somewhere about a study that found almost no correlation between pouch size and weight loss success after bariatric surgery. So consider your bigger pouch a gift! :-)On 09/11/2018 at 17:37, FluffyChix said:
I also have a very generous capacity, but my doc does not seem concerned. I just make very sure to eat lean Protein, low fat, low calorie, low carb, lol low everything! And I eat my 3oz or 4oz of dense Protein first, then fill up with low glycemic veggies and salads that are pretty low in fat (a tiny bit so I can assimilate the fat soluble Vitamins in them). So far it's working. But yeah, I envy those with tiny pouches.
FluffyChix reacted to this -
I’m not going to worry to much about it. Bottom line is that this surgery is helping me to control what and how much I shovel into my face, and so far it is working! I like the way you think with regard to the Vitamins. That is the reason I don’t take vitamins in pill form. I want to take my fat-soluble vitamins with food, and I don’t want to drink Water while eating. So I have my chewables with Breakfast.On 09/11/2018 at 17:37, FluffyChix said:
I also have a very generous capacity, but my doc does not seem concerned. I just make very sure to eat lean Protein, low fat, low calorie, low carb, lol low everything! And I eat my 3oz or 4oz of dense Protein first, then fill up with low glycemic veggies and salads that are pretty low in fat (a tiny bit so I can assimilate the fat soluble Vitamins in them). So far it's working. But yeah, I envy those with tiny pouches.
FluffyChix reacted to this -
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I hear you, and the thought did occur to me. Tonight I had chicken for the first time since surgery, and I must admit I did seem to have more of a full sensation after eating that.On 09/11/2018 at 18:56, insta_adventurer said: -
Well, the dietary instructions from the bariatric practice say that, after 7 weeks, bypass patients should be eating around 1/2 cup per meal while sleeve patients should be eating around 2/3 cup per meal. I assumed that meant that sleeves generally have more capacity than pouches.On 09/11/2018 at 17:38, sillykitty said:
So I know you said you did want to hear from anyone w the VSG ... but, I wanted to say that sleeve does not mean more capacity than RNY. So I don't think you should worry that your seemingly larger capacity would mean you were sleeved vs, bypassed.
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So I can eat much more than the "around a half-cup of solid food" that I was told I could at this point in my post-op journey. Not that I try to each and every time, but I noticed that I was not cognizant of any signs of fullness after eating the obligatory half cup of food per meal. I wanted to have an idea of the real capacity of my "egg-sized" pouch, as well as get an idea of my body's signs of fullness and how to recognize them. I was able to eat a full cup of meat sauce (mostly meat which was ground beef). I didn't feel any fuller at one cup that I feel at a half cup. For my next meal, I could eat an entire 500-calorie slice of lasagna. Again, no sensation of discomfort, fullness, hiccups, sneezing, flushing, or any of the other commonly-mentioned "bariatric fullness" signs. I did *not* test the capacity of my pouch. I stopped at a cup. But I expected to find my limit at somewhere between 1/2 and one cup.
Has anyone else experienced this? I don't doubt that my surgery is working well for me, and I am satisfied with half a cup of food, but I'm a bit concerned that I can eat much larger meals than I was led to believe I would be able to eat. I wonder if the surgeon sleeved me instead of bypassing me. I also have some acid reflux again now. He assured me that I received the bypass, however.
Please note that this question regards RNY gastric bypass only. I am looking for feedback from gastric bypass patients, not gastric sleeve patients.
Thanks!
Mandy1013 reacted to this -
3 minutes ago, Roxine said:Going in for my 6 month follow-up today. Thought I'd post some updated pictures and stats. Currently in a size 8 - have lost 86 pounds - 35 pounds to goal. Pictures taken last week.
Have not had any issues. food and eating is pretty perfunctory for me now. I don't really get hungry. I don't really crave anything. I eat pretty much anything I want, but continue to make good choices - lean Proteins first, veggies next, then perhaps a carb (particularly if I'm plateaued for awhile) just to jump start the weight loss again. Not too bad with sagging skin - arms and tummy and inner thighs but not completely unsightly.
hair thinning seems to have slowed - I did get what they call a "topper" to help fill out the hair - I'm wearing it in the top left and bottom right pictures. Looking forward to my hair coming back in full
That's it for the 6 month update.
Wow, you're doing great, @Roxine!
dsapeg69 reacted to this -
6 minutes ago, Roxine said:What time and where is the meeting tonight? I have a follow-up appointment this afternoon and may just stay in the area.
6:00 p.m., Pavilion 2, 2nd floor, Classroom A. Hope you're doing well and hope to see you there!
SampTheChamp reacted to this -
Keep following your plan and you'll break out of it, as will I. Frustrating when I'm still above a 1-month goal I have in mind, but it is what it is.
PopsFury and sassysleever76 reacted to this -
How's it going now, @PopsFury? Have you broken out of that stall yet? If so, how much weight did you lose the day you broke out of it? I love seeing how @Russ D clearly broke out of his stalls with a 3# 1-day weight loss!
My bypass was on 7/25, which is 4 weeks ago today. I have weighed in at 277# each of the last six days. I go about a week or so between bowel movements, but don't notice a dramatic loss after them. In fact, I had one this morning and thought that would have helped me break out of the stall, but I still weighed in at 276.7. Frustrating. When I was on an 800 calorie per day Opti Fast diet a couple years ago, I lost almost a pound a day for 12 weeks. Now that I'm eating <500 calories per day, I'm losing slower and stalling. The body responds in mysterious ways to weight loss surgery!
PopsFury reacted to this
Anyone use Dr. Fitzer at Virginia Bariatric?
in Weight Loss Surgeons & Hospitals
Posted
I believe I was told that 2 nights is the "standard," but I asked to go home after one night, mainly due to financial concerns, but also because I was doing well after surgery. Fitzer said he would only release me the next day if I met all of the criteria, such as being able to drink enough Water, no complications requiring a longer hospital stay, and understanding the discharge instructions. He visited my room to give me a quiz to make sure I knew what to do on my own, and when he was satisfied I was ready, he discharged me.