2Bsmaller18

I would definitely take all 10 days so you can be prepared. However the other tip I would offer is to not start back on a Monday. So maybe if you go back on Thursday then you can push through those first few days and have a weekend to recover before going to work for an entire week straight. Also try to preplan if you usually carry something heavy from your car to your classroom to get a cart or have it already in your room etc. so you don't have to carry anything.

6 hours ago, Slimming Down Steve said:

I agree with Superman. I personally was told today to keep taking my B12 5000 once a day at 7am. I also take three 500 calcium citrate w/ 500 Vitamin D pills and three stool softeners liquid capsules at 7am, 12pm, and at 3pm. I last take a 1 a-day BariatricPal Multivitamin w/ Iron 45 chewable at 6pm and I'm done. I also take some other non related meds at 6pm.

You take the same as me except my Multivitamin (Pro care brand) has a lot of B12 and my blood test come back high so I guess I am absorbing it thru the pill. I know some people post bypass don't absorb it and have to take it via a shot.

On 01/14/2020 at 10:59, AZhiker said:

I was 63 when I had surgery and I am healthier, stronger, more alive now than I was 20 years ago. Really! I have more energy, sleep better, am more alert mentally, and can do so much more physically. My physical immobility was literally killing me, as were all the other co-morbidities of obesity. Nutritionally, I can tell that I am not absorbing fat well, as my stools are "floaties", but all my labs come back just fine for the Protein, Vitamins, and minerals. I take a multi with Iron, B-12, calcium citrate, and vit D3. That is all for the requirements. I do add extra spice/herb supplements to my cooking, like tumeric, ginger, cinnamon, and black cumin to help with inflammation, but that is just my own thing,

Over time, even with the ileum bypassed, the jejunum learns to take over more absorption function. Malabsorbtion was a very bad problem with the early bypass surgeries. It had horrific consequences for patients. Not any more.

After surgery, you must commit to eating the most nutritionally dense diet possible. Every bite counts, because you don't have room for many bites to start with. Any junk food is just cheating you out of nutrition. I am almost a year out now. I make sure to get all my Protein in every day. Then it is at least a pound of raw, colorful veggies daily, then lots of cooked veggies in whatever dishes I make. fruit is more of a dessert. I can now use cooked whole grains, seeds, and nuts. I am eating healthier than ever and feel absolutely great!

I did have Hair loss at 4-5 months, as nearly everyone does. It was in the summer, and I got a short cut which actually felt really great. No one ever could tell that my hair was thinner and it is coming back now.

Just curious. Did they do the bypass differently years ago that the malabsorption is not as severe now? My surgeon has been doing the surgery for decades and I assumed he did it the same way they always have just like a newly trained surgeon would.

On 01/11/2020 at 19:20, rs said:

@2Bsmaller18 not sure how my previous comment came across. It was in reference to your saying you "only" get in 74 oz fluids, and it wasn't meant to be a criticism of you, but rather of me because I rarely can even get to 60. 😊

I agree. It is a conscious effort to try and get that much and it’s usually at 10pm when I realize that I have probably only gotten 30 in so I force the rest.

I am bad about getting fluids in. I barely get 74oz in but I count my 11oz Protein Shake and milk in that number.
Do you count other fluids or is everyone getting 64oz of Water plus other fluids?

I had a normal one a week after surgery but a 2 weeks later I thought I would need a transfusion. It was so much, really heavy for 5 straight days. The second month was better but still heavier. Now it’s ever 3.5-4 weeks a little heavier than pre surgery but manageable. Your hormones are crazy after surgery and it takes awhile to stabilize things.

On 01/08/2020 at 19:07, Sheribear68 said:

Thanks.

Wow, I seriously dunno how I’m going to start eating before 11am.

I’m thinking of some sliders (maybe mixed nuts?) and hummus and veggies (which are slider-ish for me) to compensate.

So now I’m thinking I do IF on work days, which are typically 4-5 day/week now that our overtime for the holidays is over. The days I’m off work, I can try to fit in extra food.

Lol, somehow I’m absolutely certain I’m gonna dip down into the 130’s.



On my 5’7” frame, that’s gonna look a bit dramatic, but I keep telling myself I’m fit, I’m able to live a very active lifestyle, and I’m good about taking my supplements, and I’m doing great on Protein and Water so it should even out

I added high calorie granola Cereal to a cup of yogurt. It added calories, good Fiber, Vitamins etc but also still slide down easy. I can get about a 1/3 c of granola in the yogurt. I started with just a tablespoon.
To up calories I had Peanut Butter then later added nuts. pumpkin seeds are good to up good fats too.
I added graham crackers occasionally since they are sliders for me but we’re not too tasty to start craving carbs.
Even eating a couple walnuts helped up the calories.
I started cooking eggs with olive oil vs the spray too. I still lost from 128 to 125 but that took months and had I not pushed calories I feel like I would have slipped too low too quickly.

My hospital portion was around 2500. They just wanted me to pay a portion. I paid 1000 the day before and then later after they sent the bill. Same with the surgeon and anesthesia fees. So it was about a month later sent to me.

10 hours ago, rs said:

Much better today at work. I wore a different bra, one that is sorta more like a sports bra, like @ms.sss suggested, with a wider band and softer material. I don't like my profile in a shirt with this bra but at least I wasn't uncomfortable from chafing.

On a different note, I woke up with swelling again around my elbows. Surprisingly hasn't decreased very much even though I moved around throughout the day. I'll just have to make a more concerted effort tonight to elevate.

Do you have a stress ball you can squeeze randomly through out the day? That will help your lower arm muscles pump Fluid out of your arm without stressing or overusing your upper arm and shoulder muscles. Even squeezing a washcloth rolled up (use string or a rubber band to keep it rolled up) would help.

10 hours ago, rs said:

Wow! Just wow!

You look amazing! Not just the scars healing well you look so strong and confident!

Do you feel like you are 100% back to normal? Do you feel tight or have any movement restrictions? Able to lift do everyday things without feeling tightness?

I am getting ready to set up my appointment for late Feb. for a modified TT (skin only) and brachio. I am so anxious.

I need to just call, pay the deposit and commit to it.

i will have an appointment 2 weeks before to discuss details but i wanted to ask if any of you had to stop your high dose Vitamin for a day or longer before surgery.

On 01/07/2020 at 03:15, rs said:

First day back in the office since arm lift 3 weeks ago, which meant wearing work clothes and a bra (gasp!) all day. The bra was rubbing against my incisions (I had extended arm lift so incisions go down my side to the bottom of the bra line) and really bothered me. When I got home I was nervous to see if there was any visible damage to the incision areas but it doesn't look like it. Not sure what I can do differently tomorrow to minimize the chafing. I'll try adjusting my straps to see if I could reposition where the bra band is hitting my sides. Still haven't shaved under my arms. When I put deodorant on I carefully put just a little keeping it away from the incision. Thankfully it's winter so I'm not really sweating much. Next Dr appointment is this Thursday.

Can you take an old tshirt and cut a piece of fabric to pad the area?

This makes me wonder about losing the nutritional benefits of Soup in the long term. If I eat a vegetable soup I guess the food particles are probably passing through quicker.
I also drink and don’t wait more than a few minutes to eat. I do wait 30 minutes after eating to drink.
It got much easier after the first 6 months to drink more quickly so first thing in the morning I try to drink 10-12 ounces just to get fluids in. Same thing at night

Of course never having it in your house is an option. However, do you think it would work if you bought some and put the loaf in the freezer with 2 slices in a baggie and let yourself have one baggie a week?

Try ice or heat as well. It may only help a little but could make the pain more tolerable.

CONGRATS!!

I am so happy for you. Let us know how your recovery is. I am sending you good recovery vibes!

On 12/30/2019 at 1:43 PM, Mel_D said:

This is so close to what I am dealing with!

I was sleeved Feb 12 and didn't have a "stall week" at all until I was at 145 (mr Drs goal weight) but then I lost 5 lbs in 2 weeks and was down to 140. Now at 135 I have been steady for about a month, but would really like to be 140-145.

I haven't eaten well at all the past couple weeks. Just pretty much whatever I wanted. I didn't track and I didn't gain.

If I eat correctly, I strugglento get in 1200 calories still.

How much is everyone eating at a meal sitting. My dr says that I should be up to 1 cup at 1 year but I can barely do 1/2 cup.

For example yesterdays dinner was 1 egg with some pico de gallo and bell peppers. I measured it and it was 1/2 a cup and I didn't clear my plate. There were still a couple bites left.

I really dont want to lose more (5'5" and 135, a size 4 jean!) But am terrified of gaining but would like 140. Help! Suggestions?

I started drinking 2% milk, eating higher fat yogurt, nuts, added pumpkin seeds to salads, eating tablespoon of Peanut Butter, eating pistachios, and adding a teaspoon of olive oil when i cooked veggies and eggs. I am basically maintaining with a 1-2 pound loss in the past 2 months. That helped slow down the loss for sure. I did add some not so great carbs but not terrible carbs like adding granola with seeds in my yogurt or boring graham crackers, triscuits etc. Not cake and pie etc. I am snacking a lot to try and hit 1500 calories. A lot of my Protein comes form a premier shake, milk and yogurt. If I et a lot of meat I can't get enough calories in over thee course of the day.

I would call the Md for sure. One thing about the Vitamins. I was on chew able ones for 2 months. Once I was allowed to swallow them it was still hard so I would put the Vitamin in a cup of Water for a few minutes to soften it. It didn't dissolve in that time but the plastic like capsule was a little soft and mushy so it slid down easier.

Just a tip- I was at a park and got mashed potatoes thinking it would be fine and got sick hours later. I didn't have anything else out of the ordinary. I think it may have been because they were made from dehydrated potato flakes.

I did a Dexa scan (10 months post RNY) to get a baseline for future tests.

It didn't give me % muscle etc just scores. The lowest score (still above the normal) was the L Femur neck was 2.0, but the Right and overall both femurs were 2.6 to 2.8 and the lumbar spine was 3.4. I guess carrying around excess weight for decades helped build up my bones.

I will probable have it repeated in 5-7 years when I am near 50 years old and if it still looks great then probable wont repeat it unless my Md feels it necessary.

I’m 10 months out. Regarding drinking after eating-Initially I couldn’t drink for at least 30-40 minutes after eating 1 egg or an ounce of meat. I still don’t drink after eating now just to follow the rules. Early on and now I can eat yogurt then drink 10-20 minutes later with ease since it’s not a solid food.
Regarding drinking before eating-Now I can drink Water and 10 minutes later eat as long as I have not eaten for 1-2 hours prior so my stomach is completely empty, the water passes right through and then I can eat without waiting 30 minutes. I would not encourage purposely doing that especially early on. I’m at maintenance and have to do this in order to get calories in.

Try setting a timer and drink (sip) 1-2 ounces from a shot glass every 10-15 minutes. Do this even if you don’t feel hungry as long as you don’t feel sick.
Early on it was harder for me to drink first thing in the morning or to drink if I hadn’t in a hour so constantly drinking worked. I even would take a sip, play a 2 minutes game on my phone, take a sip and repeat. It forced me to drink and get fluids in.
A lot of us initially had Constipation but if they had to give you a ton of antibiotics then you could be getting diarrhea from that. Yogurt will help to slowly get good Probiotics back into the GI. tract.

29 minutes ago, mousecat88 said:

this is the extent of my scarring on my arms. looks lighter actually, but I'm in a dark office right now. lol. that line underneath is just from the seam of my compression garment.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

WOW. That looks amazing already. I bet it fades and will not be noticeable.

Another question for you. Based on the arm lift when would you be able to color your hair at home? I am guessing the 3rd maybe 4th week?

Were you able to physically tie your own shoes, get dressed etc after a few days? When would you have been able to help a child tie their shoes etc? I am trying to figure out a guess of recovery and scheduling.

I had blood test at 6 months post op and it was fine. Now I have a high ALT of 44 with normal per Labcorp of 0-32 but online it says normal is 7-56 so I don't know if it is a concern until i reach out to the doctor tomorrow.