Sweettoothless

Glycerin suppositories are a miracle. You don't have to swallow any pills or feel quakey in your intestines. Just pop one in and it will melt your hard poo. (Pop it in and then do something for 30 mins like chores or bathing etc). Additionally you can use a squatty potty (around $20 on amazon)

Aaand...plot twist! My period started yesterday. Not had my appointment with the menopause specialist yet, but my thinking is either:

A) This is a delayed version of the fat cells letting oestrogen lose thing and may be just the one.

B ) This is the last last gasp of my messed up 6 year peri-menopausal story or

C) It really all just was cos I was fat, and now I’m less fat and taking all the right Vitamins I’ve picked back up where I left off in my late 30s for another year or two.

Maybe just a coincidence, but I also had the biggest loss of recent weeks last week - 3.5lbs.
Hmmm...
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I’m working my way down from a regain. I slipped into a number of bad habits - including drinking while eating. It basically leaves you with very little restriction, it washes the food down and you can eat a lot more. This is likely more an issue for those a bit further along since their surgery, but let me give you all a cautionary warning!

Soooo how do I even start off. I’m 7 months post Gastric Bypass and loving the results so far. I was having a bit of a problem (and in retrospect that was just me not knowing when to stop) with my food getting stuck in my throat literally only 3 bites in. I was well past 5 months going into my 6th and was thinking I should be able to eat a normal post-op meal!

I am doctor google, if you guys didn’t know, and found this awesome post from some guy who was going though the same thing and he suggest Super Papaya Enzyme Plus! I was like yes! I found the miracle.

So this chewable mint (tastes really good AND you can chew it?! too good to be true) helps break down Protein and helps with absorption.

I tried this puppy and it’s really easy to get addicted. I would chew 2-3 after every meal so that I wouldn’t get that choked up feeling (again it was just me eating WAY too fast AND not chewing enough).

FAST FORWARD: It’s now April 9th and Rosemary is in the ER with gastritis....

I literally thought I was dying guys. Every single time I ate or drank ANYTHING I would be in this immense pain. I thought it was my gallbladder (because again doctor google here) and I was pretty sure I heard it explode on the night before I finally went to the ER.

Just a friendly reminder guys, don’t be like me XD. There really is no shortcut or easy way out. You just have to stick to it.

If anyone is taking the Super Papaya Enzyme Plus, just be careful. I again self-diagnosed regarding the reason as to my Gastritis, but I since stopped taking the chewable. I have a doctors appointment with my team on the 19th and I’ll keep you guys posted!!

DONT PANIC. I'm a surgical nurse and see all sorts of surgeries that use staplers. It is totally normal for loose staples to have been left in abdominal cavity. I'll explain.
Lets say your doctor is using a 60mm stapler. And he makes his way across the stomach and gets to the end where his last bit of stomach to staple across is only 30mm. He fires the stapler and 30mm of staples are in your staple line and the other 30mm worth of staples have to go somewhere right? They fall out of the stapler into the abdominal cavity. Usually the surgeons at the end of the case will put a bunch of saline in and suction it back out, getting as many of those staples out as they can. But not all of them. They don't have a count of how many loose staples are there and arent going to spend any amount of time picking out every single one. Especially when they know they won't cause any harm.
So even though there was a loose staple that made it's way down to your ovaries, it's VERY UNLIKELY it came from your staple line.

Someone correct me if im wrong but some type of imaging testing could confirm if more are loose.
Maybe your primary could order it so its covered. If so , then perhaps contact the Bariatric doctor anyway and let them know. They may take care of it without charging you in a perfect world or bill it under something covered like exploratory surgery to remove foreign objects.
*Try* ( I know its hard believe me) to not let insurance issues prevent to from seeking assistance or at least asking the questions necessary. But let's hope its a singular event. Totally possible.
Good luck! 💜

Yeah but it is upsetting if things like THAT are free- floating in your abdominal cavity! Dodge those arteries, don't knick that colon and stay away from my kidneys, even though I have 3, I have given already in the Surgical Suite!

I wouldn’t worry too much as they staples are probably not required long term. Once the stomach has healed and formed scar tissue it probably stays together.

Oh My Oh My💦I. I hope it is just that - a Rogue Staple- scary when you think about it!😪

I recently had a hysterectomy and am 5 months out of rny. My surgeon told me she found a staple on my ovary. She wasn't concerned at all and said it happens. They sometimes can get pushed out during the healing process. I am totally weirded out by this. Does that mean my surgery is undoing itself? She took the loose staple out. My new insurance doesn't cover my rny surgeon so I can't go see him. Has anyone even heard of this? Rogue staples floating around inside the body?

I recently had a hysterectomy and am 5 months out of rny. My surgeon told me she found a staple on my ovary. She wasn't concerned at all and said it happens. They sometimes can get pushed out during the healing process. I am totally weirded out by this. Does that mean my surgery is undoing itself? She took the loose staple out. My new insurance doesn't cover my rny surgeon so I can't go see him. Has anyone even heard of this? Rogue staples floating around inside the body?

I buy these from Amazon. 2 of them give me 80 grams of Protein.

I still don't eat very much but I get my protein, Water and Vitamins in every day and that keeps me going. I figure the eating part will get easier with time and this hiatus from food helps take away my constant obsession with it. The first few weeks post-op, all I thought about was how, when and how much will I be eating. I really don't think about it now. I try to get in one meal a day and I will eventually transition to real foods for my protein and ditch the drinks but for know this is working. I'm sure my nut wouldn't like it if I told her I wasn't following the steps and timeline that she has set up for me but I don't see the harm in taking it easy. I just keep in mind, most WLS patients can eat whatever they want at one year to 18 months out so eventually I will long for the days when eating was a hassle.

Yes! So many of my favorites I am just not interested in. I loved pizza and now it grosses me out. Just so heavy. And I am super focused on texture instead of taste. And totally not interested in sweets. I got my daughter donuts for her graduation and I took one bite and it was so gross. I would have gone nuts for a warm Krispy Kreme in the old days. I crave bitter and sour. I drink plain 100% cranberry juice very diluted of course for an infection right now and I like it. I add lemon juice to my Water for kidney stone prevention and I don't add any sweetener. A lot of things just taste like mush now. I so loved crackers and dry toast and now I don't want them at all. In fact I don't really want anything so it is difficult to meal plan and shop for the rest of my family. I'm happy about it though and i hope this aversion stays because i totally would have had Death by Toast and Crackers on my headstone if not for surgery.

Mine allowed diet soda also, pre and post op. They said the idea that carbonation stretches the stomach has been disproven. That being said I don't touch the stuff because it tastes too sweet to me now.

I use a glycerin suppository to melt the hard poos. They are inexpensive like 3 or so bucks for 100ish at wm. BUT weird if you are not used to putting anything in your butt. They are small so it doesn't hurt. You just poke one in and then go do housework or something and 20-30 mins later everything is like soft serve. I probably have to use it 3 times a week. If I don't poo by night time then I'll use one or if I eat a heavy meat like steak or chicken breast I will use one in the morning. It's simple and doesn't cause any cramping and I like not having another pill to keep track of or remember to take.

I know I'm not getting anywhere near my Protein goal. Couldn't eat/finish the single egg I made this morning. I'm on the full food stage at this point. I think so much of my problem is that a lot of things "taste' different now. Can't touch cottage cheese, used to love it. eggs, used to love eggs, now it's a challenge to get one down and keep it there. So my protein comes from the meats I can get to stay down. Mostly chicken. A bite of tuna here and there, a piece of fish on rare occasions and once in a while some hamburger, but very little. Everything tastes discusting. Everything. Except the grapefruit. Surgery was Dec 19th and I have lost about 40-45 lbs. I don't weigh every day. Water is a challenge due to work restrictions. I get a couple good sips before I leave the locker room, a couple during a quick potty break but that's about it. You're not supposed to eat and drink at the same time, so lunch is usually dry. I'd have to do the shakes before work, don't want to do it after bc then I'd be going to bed within a half hour with all of that in the tummy. I know I need to add some variety to my diet, but it's a slow process as I test each new addition to see if it will be tolerated. As far as going back to my Dr., it won't be until June before they'll see me again. Damn little support from their office. A 2 week post op visit, a 6 month post op visit and a year post op visit then maybe yearly. In between, nada. I cannot make the monthly "support classes" bc they are at night when I work. So I have this forum and while 99% of the feedback has been very supportive and positive I have had (in the past on previous posts) a couple of replies that were sharp and criticizing as if I was a complete idiot. What a shame too because as you do research, you can see that even the DOCTORS and NURSES disagree about many things surrounding the weight loss surgery. Just because you have had something work or not work for you doesn't mean it is the same for everyone and so I am truly on my own in this adventure and of course learning some things the hard way. I appreciate being able to touch base on this forum and see if I'm still in bounds or not. I am thankful for everyone that continues to offer support and encouragement, kind and lifting words as I bump along and hit the walls from time to time.

So, not to comment on my own vanity photos BUT I’ve been so mired in a monster plateau for like 3-4+ weeks and it’s been easy to stop realizing how much progress I’ve really made. So, I’m going to say wow, what a difference!!

So... I've just come out of hospital after having a catheter ablation on my heart for some AFib / tachy arrhythmias... only time will tell if they've fixed the problem - my second ablation in 9 months.
Before I went in, I got to thinking that pickles would enhance my life - nice crunchy texture, nice piquant flavours - a good balance to Protein. Well they might have been mighty delish but the 30g (only 30 measly grams!!!) of mixed pickled veg that I ate with a piece of chicken breast increased my weight by 4lbs!! unbelievable!! And, it took me 4 days to start to lose it because weight never goes down fast - those 4lbs decided to hang around for a while, just for the hell of it!!... on the day of surgery, I was still carrying some of the extra weight from the pickle-day. And, of course, after surgery, I gained a further 5lbs of Water that was IV'd into me for the surgery!!! Not been a great week and a half, but I'm pleased to say that I'm on the way down again...
I hate that my body is so sensitive!! I hate that I don't really understand what works for me and what doesn't ... it's a complete mystery! I hate that it's one step forward and 5 steps back!! but, I don't hate my shrinking body shape!
Thank you guys for being on this amazing forum - you all are so wise, so knowledgeable, so full of relevant experiences and anecdotes!! 🤗

I am so sorry you are going through this. Complications were touched on briefly during my journey, however everything I have experienced was never discussed. I went from band to sleeve to y n roux. Last year alone I had 4 surgeries, two of them I could of died...we go with the flow with our doctors advice and each procedure makes everything worse than when I started. I don’t blame, or hold any resposible but myself, but life is now very painful with constant attacks and no answers. My doctor told me “ if all surgeries went like this no one would get this done”. Not very comforting. I am young and have resigned myself to a life of chronic attacks, I am really depressed but I have no options. I feel your despair.

I was going to ask you if you took any medications! I am glad you figured it out
A crazy thing, but my mum was having some really bad palpitations a while back and I had, by chance, read an article about eye drops causing some heart issues. She stopped them and her palpitations stopped. First line should always be to look at your current meds.

Being able to compare yourself to other patients is one of the worst features (or rather bugs) of WLS boards and it's the main reason I deleted the majority of my stats.

Not comparing to others for me is like head hunger and real hunger . In my head I know I shouldn’t do it but in my heart it’s hard not too.
Wow! That was even hard to type and admit out loud

Repeating to all
Never, ever, ever, ever compare yourself to others
we're all different in life in general - losing weight, how long it takes, how
much weight you lose.
don't beat yourself up about anything, things will happen in their own time
- and you'll do great
God Grant Me Patience, Just Hurry Up About It😎
good luck to all
kathy

It matters less how little or how slow you lose as much as you steadily keep on losing. Every day there is less of you on the outside, more of the strong person inside can come through. Be a strong sure jalopy, race cars burn out their engines and end up on the scrap- heap of life.😝

My surgery was 6/4/2018 so I'm at 9 months and ive lost 46 since surgery and 76 total. Its different for everyone. I feel the same way when I see how much more others have lost but my doctors have said I'm right on track or a little bit ahead of where they want me at this stage at each appt. It all depends on how much you have to lose as well. If you only have 100 lbs to lose its going to take you longer. Are you comparing yourself to someone who has 200 to lose? As hard as it is try not to compare yourself to other people's journeys. You will get where you need to get if you stay on your plan