veroa

Looking for recs for dietitians and therapists who specialize in bariatric patients in Austin, TX. Anyone like theirs?

Oh my goodness... thank you so much for your caring, smarts, and wisdom. Truth be that somewhere I know the initial steps to start again, but the overwhelming emotions were paralyzing. Y’all helped significantly with that. And yes, time to get a therapist. I’ve set a “gimme” goal for each week for a month. And I’m stepping away from the scale for a bit. Thank you. All.

I'm at the edge of depression. I had surgery at the end of 2018; my progress was slow, but steady. I even got brave and got new clothes to fit my smaller size. Cut to now... I've gained back a lot of the weight I've lost. I feel like a failure. I go from regretting having surgery (why did I mutilate myself if I just ended up here again?) to feeling powerless, angry, and depressed. Mostly, I feel lost. Just don't know what to do now. Or trust anything. :(

Starting week 7 post op. I can start with normal foods. Yay! But I still have trouble getting more than 3oz in. Boo! I weigh myself on Sundays and the weight loss is frustraaaatingly slow. There was one week where I lost 2 lbs. But all the others I lose less than a lb per week. Is this normal? How can this be when I'm basically starving (on average 500 cals a day)? I'm worried that if I ever get to the 1000-1200 cals per day I'll stop losing weight or start gaining again! And I still have like 50lbs to go to reach my goal. I'm afraid I'll never get there.

Very good feedback from everyone so far. I appreciate and thank you! For some cases, I'd like to clarify that I think there's a difference to feeling full or feeling satisfied. For me, feeling satisfied is "I don't really want more food". For example, I don't have a huge sweet tooth, so, before surgery, I could take one or two bites out of a brownie with fudge and nuts and be satisfied and leave most of it uneaten. I also loathe smoothies. So, I could make a smoothie (also before surgery), drink it, feel a full stomach and not be satisfied. I do understand the challenge of the mental issues. I don't think I've ever not been aware that I'm a food addict. And food is my comforting mother. Yes, this brokenness needs to change to make this process successful and lasting. Someone wondered about why would anyone say anything bad about head hunger. I'm only a few weeks post-op, not even eating soft foods yet, but I'll give it a shot to explain what that could be about: maybe the hunger --or the empty in the belly feeling-- comes from emotional issues, not actual biological hunger. But, the thing is, we don't EXPERIENCE it that way. It feels real, it feels like hunger. So we're still walking around feeling hungry. And that's the tough part. Many years ago I was chatting with a doctor (just an acquaintance) and he said something similar about hypochondriacs. They get dismissed and like their ailments aren't real. But the problem is that they FEEL real to them. To them.. their head DOES hurt, or whatever. Just saying this for some of us to gain empathy. This journey is brutal. At least for me. And I've barely begun. But I am thrilled for those who have been able to successfully get on the track and choo-choo all the way to their goals. Yay!!! My shitty insurance didn't cover my surgery (ouch!) so I had to self-pay. And I've been through enough that I feel I have no way forward but through this. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna whine about it. Thanks guys! I'm sure I'll have another question or complaint in a day.

@Wickedwinner YAY!!! Something to look forward to. Hoping and crossing my fingers.

@Orchids&Dragons It helps. Got a prescription for antacid from dr before surgery, but I haven't felt heartburn or anything similar so I haven't taken it. I'll try it out and see if it makes a difference.

Had my surgery on 12/10. About to go into my second week of pureed foods. I’ve been really good about following the post-op instructions. Does the hunger ever go away? A big reason I went ahead with the surgery was that I was told that with gastric sleeve, you don’t feel so hungry. Honestly, I was relying on that. For the past few weeks I crave everything I see on tv, my husband eats, etc. And I feel hungry enough that I could eat that entire burger and fries, or two slices of pizza (my usual pizza intake before surgery), or whatever. It’s not just bad foods. Good healthy food also makes me salivate. Obviously I don’t, because it’s not allowed. But I was hoping that I wouldn’t be so hungry, which makes the cravings worse. Also, when I eat my pureed food, I can get in between 3-4 oz. And I eat tiny spoonfuls and very slowly (30-40 mins). When I stop, it’s not because my stomach feels full/satisfied. It’s because I feel pain in my stomach. Does that make sense? And an hour later I think I feel hungry again but by this point I’m trying to get fluids with Genepro in. I just basically feel hungry all day. Even though I eat 4 times a day and I’m getting my fluids in.

23 days post-op. Feeling ok physically, but full of fear and anxiety and have no idea what's going well or not. I'm weighing myself weekly and last week I only lost 1 lb. WTF?! Considering that I'm starving (finally this week I have pureed food) and only "eating" liquids. I'm taking in my 64 oz fluids and reach my protein requirement almost every day. But I'm taking in very few calories --rarely more than 500. I expected significantly more weight loss that one f@#$ing pound. Am I crazy?