2Bsmaller18

Stated suddenly at 4 months stayed steady until 5.5 months then slowed. That could have been because I already lost so much. I already had biotin in my vitamin but stated using Nioxin at month 5. Now at 6.5 months still more than before but definitely slowed and I have baby hairs at my forehead but can’t see them on my scalp too much. I had it cut, only wash every 2-3 days, use Moroccan oil to prevent tangles. It may not help but mentally at least I know I’m doing everything I can to minimize it.

I had to initially but once made the mistake of getting the cherry flavored kind vs the sugar free. That caused issues.

What would be your suggestion for those of us with normal labs? Should we get a DEXA scan yearly? Start that at a certain age? This scares me and I would rather be proactive. Thanks

Normal cycles before surgery. After very heavy, every 3-4 weeks but after 4-5 months getting better. Sudden drastic weight loss really messes with your hormones

I added carbs to slow weight loss down but purposely choose food that is not something I used to like or that was super tempting. So I will eat a half to one sheet of a plain graham cracker. I knew I needed the carbs and a little more fiber. If I ate a bagel I think that would be a slippery slope for me. I also will occasionally eat a 1/4 cup of cereal on top of yogurt. It was 85 calories (granola type of cereal). That is besides adding nuts and nut butters, cooking my egg in olive oil, adding butter to veggies etc. I can't increase calories with all healthy foods yet. I still have too much restriction. I too can still lose 15 lbs on the chart and be in the normal BMI but i think for me I would look too sickly. A month ago I was still loosing 2-3 # per week was too quick and was concerned that in 1-2 months I would be getting too close to getting underweight. Besides we are carrying extra skin that the BMI chart doesn't accommodate for so I don't think 115 on me vs someone who has always been thin looks the same. I am more muscular too. Mentally its is frustrating since if I lose 2 pounds over a few days I get panicked that its too fast and I am not in control of it but if I gain 1to 2 pounds then the fear of rebounding creeps in. I have to remind myself that all day long the scale will jump a few pounds but look back at the trend over the last few weeks. Now that I have been able to bounce around and only lost 3 pounds in the past month I feel more in control. I had a thought today that it was like when I was first pregnant; it consumed every thought all day long. Then you kind of get over the newness of it. I think that's mentally where I am. I think it will take awhile of being at a stable weight to forget that we just went thru this major life changing surgery.

I was cold and felt ta little shaky but that may have been stress. Once I woke up today I felt back to normal. It was Okios lemon yogurt. I think I have had that flavor before but maybe I haven't and it was the acidity or flavoring that bothered me. It's so discouraging and it makes me feel like I will never feel "normal" again.

You can also swing by a local pharmacy and check you blood pressure.

It's both legs right? If it is one leg only then you would have a concern re a blood clot. If it is both legs I would call the MD re that symptom and the lab results. Look at you diet and see if you are eating a lot of high sodium lunch meats and if you are getting enough fluids.

I’m 6 months post RNY. I have only gotten sick twice the first month after surgery from eating too fast. Both time it’s what others call dismiss but for me it a sudden gush of salamis like drooling. Tonight I had 2 ounces of chicken and a cauliflower cheese side. I think I ate at normal speed and all was fine. About an hour later I ate most of a 5 oz yogurt I’ve had before. I was almost done with it after maybe 7-8 minutes and felt full so I stopped and didn’t finish the last bites. It’s been 2 hours of nausea and an ache between my shoulder blades. That’s a common thing I feel if I eat fast or too much. Now it’s been almost 3 hours since the chicken and 2 since the yogurt and I just got the foamies and still feel nauseated but the achy pain is better. Is it normal to feel this bad hours later?

My MD said if the morning of surgery I weighed in with less than a 35 BMI they wouldn't do surgery since insurance will deny it. Otherwise I think you are good.

I agree. If something was stuck I think the other food would not pass and you would be vomiting. Go back to soft food/liquids and slowly reintroduce regular foods in a few days. This happened to me early on but was back to normal within 1-2 days.

I don’t think I lost any the first week due to swelling etc. I think week 2 was maybe 4-5 pounds then I remained steady initially 3/week at 5 months 2-3/week. I never stalled and I didn’t follow the typical big drop initially and slowed loss over time. Take body measurements so you can see losing inches when the scale may not show you your loss.

I think part of it may also be where we lose weight. I know I had chubby cheeks and after only losing 20 pounds my face changed a lot. It’s also someone seeing you change so much in a short period of time. Friends I hadn’t seen in months noticed of course but I didn’t get as many comments compared to people I see more often.

I only went down a half size after losing about 30 pounds but a lot of flats and even a pair of flip flops were too big. I guess loosing that fat pad on the top of my foot or around my ankle was enough that I had to donate a few pairs. I also had to adjust the strap on sandals to a notch tighter.

I have days/times where I don't want to eat but I put the food in a small bowl and try to watch TV or play a game on my phone to distract me to get the food in without feeling gross. The distraction helps.

What are your top foods for high nutritional value yet for smaller volume? I still have a premier shake to help get in protein. I am also sautéing 1-1.5 cups of spinach with an egg to get more iron and fiber. I have nuts or nut butters to help with protein and increase my calories for maintenance. I have not tired chia seed but plan to soon.

I never weight food. I use a few small bowls but I measured out a 1/4 and 1/2 servings so now I can just eyeball it. I also googled 1 and 2 oz if chicken, ground beef, cheese etc so I would have a visual. That way I would put in the cruise to amount when I recorded my food on Fitbit and now the MFP app. It was important initially so I knew the protein but also so I didn’t eat too much too quick and get sick.

To maintain I started eating a small amount of nuts, peanut butter, cooked an egg with a teaspoon of olive oil. I also switched from low fat to 2-4% yogurt, and changed from skim to 2% milk to get some more calories for the same amount of food.

I knew I needed the bypass due to GERD. My surgeon talked about how this surgery has been around for decades and is even used as a surgery to treat GERD not just weight loss. Yes the side effects and risks are higher but I didn’t want to mess with the risk of a second surgery. Just know that vitamins are lifelong and make sure you do the labs to check your levels. My MD and nutritionist both said a lot of long term issues are preventable so if you follow the vitamin guidelines your risks are even lower.

It’s still sweet but have you tried the protein waters? You may need to mix it with water but it would be another way to get your protein in.

I saw the surgeon and nutritionist yesterday. They were both happy with where I am at. I stood on a scale that measures muscle and body fat etc. Luckily according to it I have only lost a half pound of muscle in 6 months. I just started back to lifting more weights last month so I am confident I will get back or improve where I was initially anyway. It said for peak ratios I should lose 3.5 pounds so I am not going to purposely try to drop weight but if a few pounds comes off slowly over the next few months I am not going to stress about it. I also am going to watch that the pounds don't go up. The scale said my BMR was 1300 calories. I am getting around 1000 now and have been the same 1-2 pounds for 3 weeks now but the nutritionist said my body is probably still in a starvation mode and will probably level out in the next few months. She anticipates that my level will be around 1200 calories to maintain long term. She said long term on 1200 calories I should be at 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. Right now that seems so high in carbs. The nutritionist suggested I start adding in some more carbs slowly. Things like a half cup of oatmeal or a half piece of grainy toast to get extra fiber. That just seems crazy to me at this point so I will have to test that. The hand outs all say to wean away from protein shakes but they were both fine with me drinking 1 a day indefinitely. Their concern is that it's a slider and if my appetite increases then it would be better to get protein from food that fills me up but at this point to get my calories and protein in it it's fine. I talked to the MD abut hair loss and he said there are so many probiotics etc that get destroyed with surgery as well as the low calorie and protein that it affects you for awhile. We talked about supplements and he said a probiotic would be beneficial. He also personally likes to Coromega liquid to get more Omegas in. Has anyone tried these? He said to come back at 9 months or wait until the 1 year mark. My blood work was fine so we will check it in Feb. and annually there after. I asked them about long term issues and complications. They both said when people stop vitamins or go into the hospital for other issues and don't get the vitamins it can cause issues but they felt like I had a handle on everything.

Initially I had the PB powder mixed into milk or yogurt. you can mix it with water to make a great tasting peanut butter too. I am in maintenance now so 1-2 times a week I will eat 1 tablespoon of peanut butter if I need the calories and protein. Early on I would even put 2-3 tablespoons of cool whip in a bowl and sprinkle the PB powder on top and sometimes add a teaspoon of sugar free Hershey syrup so I felt like I was eating a peanut butter ice cream treat.

Can you suck on a sugar free breath mint?

My started peeling around 2 weeks but the areas where to glue stayed on closer to 4 weeks have healed better (lighter in color and thinner scar). My suggestion would be to try and not peel the glue off. I was allowed to shower after a few days but I would lightly rub my soapy hand over the incisions, I didn't use a sponge or washcloth over them.

If you want to avoid creams and lotions you can try putting an ice pack wrapped in a towel. It will numb the area slightly and help with the itching.