Charity G

I have been usig Celebrate Multi-Complete 36 chewable with iron vitamins since my surgery 2 years ago. Lately, It's been difficult getting them, so I'm looking into trying Bariatricpal Multivitamin One with 45 mg iron. Have any of you used either one of these. Any feedback is welcome. It does look like the Bariatricpal Multivitamin One gives you more bang for your buck. Charity

Today I am three months post gastric bypass. I've lost 54 pounds so far, and have been taking my measurements monthly. Everything is progressing as I would like, but when I took my arm measurements they went up (despite using the same methodology as past months). The day before surgery, the widest part of my arm was 21.5, at one month it was 19, at two months it was still 19, but at three months it was 20.5. Is this normal? Just FYI, I've been doing water aerobics 4x a week for an hour each time, which includes upper body strengthening.

Love this NSV! You inspired me to check my steering wheel, and lo and behold, I could lower mine too!

I had a NSV tonight that made me smile...my bath towel wrapped all the way around me without any gaps

I didn't ask for further information when the surgeon said that he had to "pull some fat from the walls." I just assumed there was extra fat in the way of either doing the hernia repair or possibly scar tissue from previous Gastric Lap Band incision sites that needed to be removed in order to complete the RnY surgery. (FYI, had the band from 2002 to 2009...lost down to 250 from 350, then when it was removed gained up to 396).

Had my surgery May 3 in St. Louis, MO

My bruising was in two areas and both looked worse than the original posters, but I did have hernia repair at the same time and my surgeon also said he had to pull some fat from my stomach walls, so I would expect bruising.

I totally know what you mean. I've been in the soft food phase for a week, but next Friday I'll be cleared to start a regular diet. Its scary eating things now because I'm afraid of pain, throwing up or some other unpleasant reaction, so I've relied heavily on protein shakes, Dannon Triple Zero Greek Yogurt, cottage cheese, and soups. Tonight was actually the first time I had a clear indication that I needed to stop eating. I was having a homemade turkey and spinach meatball and maybe I was eating too fast or I didn't chew enough, but it felt like the bite I took was creeping back up my throat. I immediately said I was finished with dinner and luckily it all stayed down. Today was my one month anniversary from surgery, so to have avoided throwing up makes me feel like I'm doing something right.

That sucks! I'm sorry that they didn't recognize or mention your visible weight loss. This has been one of my fears...that I would be working really hard and going through a difficult surgical process, only for people to not see the results.

So it is officially one month since I've had surgery. Here's my comparison stats: weight: 304 to 277 bust: 53.5 to 50.5 waist: 57.5 to 53.75 Hips: 65.5 to 60.5 Thigh: 30.25 to 28.5 Right Arm (batwing): 21.5 to 19 So, I've lost 27 pounds and 16 inches My surgical incision sites got infected, but I finished up the antibiotic two days ago and saw my surgeon Friday and he said they looked like they were healing nicely. I've been walking almost every day for at least 30 minutes at a time and have noticed that my speed and endurance have improved. I even spent six hours outside in 90 degree temps yesterday (at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game) and survived (in the past there is no way I could have tolerated that much heat and standing). I'm really excited for all the new experiences I'll be able to have as my weight decreases and my health improves.

Three weeks out I had lost 20 pounds (plus the 10 pounds I gained while at the hospital from fluids and such). Losing a pound a day has been awesome, but today was the first day that my scale at home didn't register a loss. I really only count my official weigh-in's on Wednesday mornings at my weight loss support group (TOPS - Take Off Pounds Sensibly), so we'll see where I am on Wednesday, which will be my 4 week weigh in. I'm excited because I'm fitting into clothes that I haven't been able to wear and I'm able to purge my over-stuffed closet off winter items that I damn well better not be able to use come cold weather.

Matt Z - thanks for the suggestions. Gas X seemed to help.

Today I'm not feeling the same amount of tightness, so I'm wondering if maybe that is what gas feels like after surgery. If it comes back, I'll give the surgeon a call.

Did you just have surgery yesterday? Are you still in the hospital? I turned red, but i was also itchy and the medical team said I was just having a sensitivity to the pain meds. However, with you also running a fever, it could be infection setting in and would be cause for alerting your surgeon IMHO

I had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and a hernia repaired through my belly button on May 5th. I have noticed the last two days that I have tightness in my stomach. It feels like I'm wearing a really tight pair of high-waisted pants, or a corset. Is this normal? I'm getting my protein mainly through protein drinks, but have introduced a few pureed foods, as instructed by my surgeon. I'm not hungry at all, and have to force myself to eat (such a weird phenomena for someone who lived to eat).

@frust8 I was 304 going into the surgery, and somehow came out of the hospital at 312!!! But, today I weighed 296.8. So, I'm down 8 pounds since surgery, and now officially 100 pounds down from my highest weight (396 back in January 2011). I've been doing pretty good getting in the 64 ounces of fluid and the 60 grams of protein. However, I must have missed the memo that i'm supposed to be eating 2 to 4 oz. at a time. I had been eating a 5.6 ounce yogurt once a day for the last week (granted it took me about an hour to do). So, I'm being much more careful and paying more attention.

I had my surgery on May 3 and was in the hospital until May 5th. The surgeon also did a hernia repair through my belly button. He said I had a bit of fat he had to tear apart to fix the hernia and deal with some scaring as a result of my lap band I had from 2002 to 2010. It's now been 9 days, and I am FINALLY under my pre-surgery weight. For the first time in 8 years, my scale was under 300! I've been having some difficulty with activity because of the leakage of fluids (was pinkish clear, but now there's a lot less liquid and its more of a yellow-brown clear) from my belly button. I saw my surgeon yesterday and he said my belly button looked like it was healing fine (along with my other incision sites). His suggestion was to keep changing the cotton ball in my belly button each time it gets soiled, and try hydrogen peroxide once a day to clean it out. Basically, any time I get up and move around much, or do any bending, my belly button weeps So, I try to avoid much bending ( to whomever came up with the claw thingy that I can use to pick stuff up from the floor). As for diet, my surgeon moved me to the puree stage. I've been drinking protein shakes, milk, and water with unflavored protein powder and a dash of flavored drops. I have also been enjoying soups with unflavored protein powder stirred in, mashed potatoes and gravy, and Dannon Triple Zero Greek Yogurt. I think this evening I will try cottage cheese pureed and maybe some refried beans (if I get up the energy to drive to Taco Bell). I'm still taking 3 Percocet a day (7 a.m., 3 p.m. and 11 p.m.) and one muscle relaxer at 11 p.m. I've been getting some great sleep in my recliner thankfully, but just started sleeping in my bed today (took a mid-morning nap and it went well in bed). I'm also going to switch to regular Tylenol at my 3 p.m. med time starting tomorrow. Going to try to be off Percocet by next Friday. We'll see how that goes, as I also have Fibromyalgia my pain tolerance is very low. As for my diabetes, the highest my blood sugar has been since surgery was 143, but usually stays around 115. This morning my fasting blood sugar was 100, so I am very excited about that. I'm off all insulin, but Friday my surgeon asked me to resume Metformin for a month and then we may discontinue it if my numbers stayed low. Considering I hadn't been taking it since surgery, and they are running in the 115s, it will be interesting to see what the Metformin does when I restart it tomorrow.

Good luck with everything! Persistence is key You'll get there soon. In the meantime, I can't believe I'm a week away!

What happened?

What do you mean by unpleasant chore? How is the impacting what you eat?

@frust8 I'm having my surgery at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO. I was really upset to have to push back the date, but I know things happen for a reason.

Wishing you all great success and quick healing! @Nowheregirl - My surgeon doesn't require a liquid diet THANK GOD! His only requirement is that at least two weeks prior to surgery you adhere to a 1400 calorie diet and that you do not go above your weight recorded at your one month prior appointment. Also, I see you had a band before. I had a band put in in 2002, but had to have it removed in an emergency surgery in 2010 thanks to it eroding into my stomach. I'm just now venturing back into the WLS pool. I hope I have more success and less complications this time around. @Gangidiane58 - Yes, my surgery is covered by my insurance. I started the process in December 2017 and had my surgery originally scheduled in early April (doc was traveling in March so appointments weren't available then).

Is anyone else scheduled to have RNY in early May 2018? My new surgery date is May 3rd. I was originally scheduled for April 10, but a week before surgery, the anesthesiologist required me to switch to a larger hospital due to my history of Congestive Heart Failure. Now, I've got 14 days to go and can't wait!

RNY scheduled for April 10 in St. Louis, MO