mousecat88

Honestly, see a neurologist and explain the situation that you won't be able to take NSAIDs. There's a ton of migraine meds out there. Even something that you take as-needed, like Imitrex. Gabapentin also works.

Okay... totally legitimate question no one can seem to answer. I get the whole, losing inches but not pounds thing... but I thought that only happened if you put on muscle mass? But if I am not strength training or doing much exercise... how am I putting on muscle mass? It is so confusing!

Haha I know I am doing things right. My surgeon is very happy with where I'm at. But WHATEVERRRRR. WHAAA. It's also hard not comparing yourself to other people's progress. Support groups are definitely a mixed bag. "Everyone has their own journey blah blah blah" I just got cleared for some exercise this week. No ab stuff for another week, and no heavy weights until ??? Hoping adding in the exercise will pick things back up and tone me up.

If your mouth is dry at all (I know mine has been since surgery 5 weeks ago), try Biotene mouthwash and to-go spray. Minty and refreshing. And yeah, I get intermittent stank breath. Especially in the a.m..... gross.

I took 2.5 weeks off (there were some holidays in there). It was alright - I have a desk job. I was really dehydrated at first so I would get a bit dizzy and hot flashes. But bearable.

I am really concerned about the NSAID thing, too, personally. I took 800mg Ibuprofen and Flurbiprofen for my joints. Hopefully the topical NSAID I just got works... haven't tried it yet.

I was prescribed topical Diclofenac by my primary care. My surgeon, whom I saw Tuesday, said there is absolutely no problem with the topicals, and I even have an ulcer from the surgery. OP - can you take Mirena? There is no estrogen in it. It is wonderful and you have zero periods. It is levonorgestrel.

This is totally for my own sanity and not because I need a logical reply... but feel free anyways. I am 5 weeks out today and... I HAVE NOT LOST A SINGLE POUND IN 8 DAYS AND WTF I AM EATING 400 CALORIES A DAY AND 100% ON MY DIET GIVEN MY ULCER SITUATION, AND DOESN'T THE HUMAN BODY BURN LIKE 4 TO 5 TIMES THAT AMOUNT OF CALORIES JUST SITTING AND DOING NOTHING ALL DAY SO WHAT IS THE DEAL, BODY??!??!?! WHO EATS ALMOST PURE PROTEIN AND EXTREMELY LOW FAT AND CARBS AND DOESN'T LOSE A SINGLE POUND IN OVER A WEEK? AND YES I AM FRIGGIN' HYDRATED. GET REAL, BODY! DO SOMETTHIIINNNGGG. Aight, I'm better. Not really. But UGH! I lost this much on Atkins. FMLLLLL. Just had to rant. Woooosssaaaa.

Hahaha I know! What are the chances. lol. I don't have Instagram, unfortunately. Sending you a private message!

Did you have surgery at Berkeley Medical or Winchester? I went to Winchester. It just feels... safer. lol.

HOLY CRAPPPP. Me too! I live in Martinsburg!

Totally unrelated - Yay a fellow West Virginian! lol!

I was going to quote-post a million times responding to everyone but that would be annoying so... thanks everyone! Haha. As far as the protein, I am very, very low. I average 27g a day. Yikes, I know. My goal is supposed to be 63-72g (if I remember correctly the upper end). With the soy shake a day I am hitting right under 60g... so, I really do need to keep it up. I simply can't live on 27g of protein. I'm glad I'm not the only one to have these nutty thoughts of being "the only one to stay stuck at 20ish pounds". LOL. I look forward to the coming months and hope within 18-24 months I can reach my goal... I realize most people hit it sooner, but I am TRYING to be gentle with myself.

I have seriously wondered this myself. If the dumping is causing low blood sugar due to the increased insulin pumped in, it would make sense from a diabetic viewpoint to have something a bit higher in sugar to counteract it. But, given our new anatomy, wouldn't that be unproductive and maybe even exacerbate the problem? Like adding fuel to the fire? Because it isn't going to be absorbed and digested like it would in a non-WLS diabetic.

So, my 4 weeks is officially today. I've lost 26lbs. I should be thrilled, right? Nope. I have this total mental derp happening that makes me feel like I will somehow be the only person in gastric bypass history to ONLY lose 26lbs and that's it. I'm done. No more weight loss. lol! I think because I've had so many failures in the past, I just anticipate this being another one of them... even though I am following everything the best I can (in light of my ulcer, I am low on protein - working on it!) I also have a mental derp against protein shakes. Aside from my whey allergy and getting super nauseous... back in 2009 I had liposuction when I was a mere 140lbs. After surgery I drank TONSSSS of muscle-building/weight-gaining protein shakes because the plastic surgeon said I needed them for muscle recovery. Welp, I gained 40lbs doing that! I had no guidance and was an idiot, basically. But that's where the weight gain started - so I have a creeper lurking in my brain that protein shakes = weight gain = super morbid obesity. I am trying to get over it; I have a sweet home gym and was just told yesterday I am not allowed to exercise because my protein is currently too low. So, that has motivated me more and I started a soy shake last night. Gunna keep it up. I feel like I have conquered so many of my cravings-issues, though. I read just a few chapters in Never Binge Again and it is so helpful. I highly recommend that book. I feel very in control, and did have one mishap the other day when I got very stressed (I overate, but not a "banned food")... we're all human, though. Why are our brains so self-defeating?! I know I am championing through this in light of the complication and there is NO reason I will fail... unless I set myself up for it. So, nipping it in the bud now, for sure. But it sure is hard to overcome some of those mental blocks. If it wasn't, I'm sure most of us wouldn't be here. Just my random blurb o' the day.

I'm confused as to why you have a binder? Did you have open surgery? I've never heard of anyone with laparoscopic gastric needing a binder. I did not have any pain post-op except for muscle soreness and pain from the ulcer itself, which only hurts when eating/drinking. I had virtually no pain in the hospital. If you are in pain, please see your surgeon!

So happy to hear! I am *almost* two weeks from being diagnosed with my marginal ulcer. The Carafate is really helpful. I emailed my surgeon the day after the endoscopy and asked if maybe I should be on Prilosec instead of just Pepcid because PPI's seem to work faster than Pepcid. SO he switched me from Pepcid to Prilosec. I have struggled so hard getting enough protein though because I eat much less than I should, just because I fear the pain... even though it is minimal with the Carafate. I am only at 25g a day, but working on it slowly. Followup next week!

Nope, hadn't heard of it. I may check it out. I think I am just going to use Liquacel. It has whey in it, but it is mostly collagen and doesn't hurt my stomach. It's 1oz of gel per serving and that's it. Way easier than shakes.

Ohhh I got the liquid Carafate. Normally it's like 500$!!! But I hit my out of pocket max for the year so it's free. Yay! Just got a message back from my surgeon and they ARE going to add back Prilosec - don't have to open the caps though "yet". Whatever that means...

Haha I am currently having to crush giant Potassium pills twice a day and mix it with applesauce. Fortunately the pills weirdly have NO flavor. It's just a bit grainy.

If you want to be totally bored out of your mind, there's a TON of NIH studies explaining how gastric bypass "resets" your metabolism to match your new weight. Here's a boring, technical article that explains why this is only applicable for bypass patients: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5158101/ and here is a layman's terms article: http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/diabetes/art4005.html There was a really good article about it I found pre-op... but I can't seem to find it anymore.

I did read somewhere else on here that some people do take broken open Prilosec caps or compounded Prilosec post-op. Maybe that could also be an option? I just know the caps themselves are delayed release and useless. I actually just sent my surgeon a message seeing if adding broken open Prilosec caps will help heal the ulcer faster. I totally get you on the heartburn. Was never an issue until about a year or two ago. And it was basically every day and not related to ANY food at all. It sucked. I used to take Adderall (and then Vyvanse), too... so maybe it's somehow related??? On the brightside, after surgery, you shouldn't have acid refluc or heartburn any more. I don't have any at all! Once the ulcer heals up, it'll be awesome.

Marginal ulcer confirmed right along the staple line where my stomach and intestine meet. Not nearly as gnarly looking as yours, though. On Carafate for 30 days and Pepcid for 3 months. I hope it isn't recurrent! No clue how long it'll take to heal. It is what it is, I suppose. Just gotta keep moving on...

I only had surgery 3 weeks ago but my acne has EXPLODED. Both cystic and superficial bacteria. I desperately wanted Accutane, but looking at the risks, I wouldn't feel safe taking it now having gastric, given how fast everything can absorb (like alcohol). I went to the dermatologist last week and it was obvious he had never treated a gastric bypass post-op patient. He wanted to put me on a diuretic... 2 weeks post-op and already suffering from dehydration. So.... just keep in mind that gastric surgery is not that docs specialty and if you don't feel 100% safe taking it, don't. I ended up with a topical antibacterial. Retin-A topical only helps if it's your pores that are clogged. I don't know what type of acne you have.

Somewhere on here are my desperate threads lamenting my endless starvation post-op during that first week. That changed when I got to move to purees. Having liquids only is not satisfying - it goes through your tiny pouch so quickly! It was bad for me, because I have an ulcer and was forcibly dehydrated. I am almost 3 weeks out now and still dealing with dehydration and not even close to my protein goals (which they said don't worry about now)... and even I get satisfied with the purees/soft foods. I say satisfied because if you're eating until you are full feeling, you're eating too much.