Sweettoothless

I had mine pre-wls and also pre-internet so I just had it removed without questioning it. They told me at the time that my super low fat/ no fat eating triggered it. I had awful morning sickness all 9 months so I would eat dry toast etc. Leading up to the surgery date (a few months after childbirth) I ate no or low fat because I thought that triggered the gallbladder attacks but they told me in the er that was totally wrong. I've had mine gone for 24 years and i dont miss it.

I read about not bulking up on food / supplies beforehand because your taste buds change. I’ll be writing in my notebook about your advice !!! Thank you so much

Mine was (roughly): 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months (ends up being 2.5 months), 6 months (more like 5.5 months), 1 year, then yearly after that if all is going well. I've done the 2 week and 6 week and so far I haven't had any blood tests. And the 6 wk/3mo appointments are with his nurse practitioner, not the surgeon. I like the schedule Ed_NW posted because it tells you what to expect and also lets you get your blood tests before hand. I suspect (but don't know) that the'll order blood tests at 3 months, but it'd have to be at the appt since I'm going on Friday.

I had my 3-month visit and, recently, my 6-month visit. Normally, my next appointment would be in one year, but I was given my next appointment in 6 months. My surgeon told me that he expects me to meet my goal weight in 6 months and he wants to see me do it. He actually seemed excited (but not as excited as I am to accomplish that goal).

You are doing well making your notebook ahead of time, I wish I did that! I've said before I don't think my center did a good job of preparing me. And you don't know what you don't know. And my first post op poop was scarier and worse than childbirth and my first kid had a big melon and I had no anesthesia. So buy a bottle of those little glycerin bullets you can put in your butt and it melts the log so it doesn't turn into a granite poo. I never used a suppository in my life so I had no idea there was a simple cheap preventative tool available that would have saved me the agony. Worse than kidney stones I am not even kidding.
Don't stick up on loads of things you think you will need unless you buy it from Walmart and keep the receipt so you can return it. I stocked up on Protein Shakes which I loved the taste of beforehand and which I hated and still hate after. I ordered a case of clear Protein from Amazon and it could be a wonderful way to have a light and refreshing way to get in protein but I absolutely hate their sweet taste. And I was a sugar freak before! Also I bought a bunch of the calcium chews that taste like starburst and come in a ton of flavors and now they are worthless because I hate them but before surgery they were delectable. So maybe wait and see what your tastebuds want after surgery so you aren't stuck with a ton of product.
I didn't know you didn't have to stress about protein or Vitamins the first week or two and it would have been awesome to just focus on Water and not feel like I was failing.
Buy a thin short sleeved robe for the hospital because you will need to walk around and go potty a lot after surgery and you wont have to worry about your butt hanging out. If they allow it maybe a short sleeve jammies or nightgown would be a good idea because the hospital gown is so uncomfortable with its high neck and stiff fabric.
I am a slow loser but I am no longer a non-loser. Be happy about every single pound that is let go. Don't judge yourself by comparing to others who may lose super fast.
You might feel panic and regret for a bit afterwards but everything gets better in some way or other. It's normal and it will pass.
You might lose weight in places you dont expect and out of order than what you would think. Like my feet are skinnier to the point i am donating some now floppy shoes. And my wrists are skinnier. It would be nice if the universe would focus on my thighs instead but I am not worrying about the things I have no control over.

I just bought a bariatric multi from this site and it is nice to take 1 capsule of the multi instead of the 3 capsules of the Bariatric Advantage brand. Cheaper too. I bought the bariatric advantage brand chewies Calcium. There are a lot of flavors and they are really a treat. They are too sweet/ candy like for my taste now and are higher in carbs than they should be imo. But I liked them before surgery. This site has a lot of options and information if you go into their online store. I alternate my leftover calcium chewies with Citrical. Those kind of suck because you have to take 2 pills 3 times a day and even though they say petite they are big. The chalky chewable type of most pills taste nasty to me so I steer away from them. Sometimes I use Vitamin b drops. Sometimes I drink a yakult (probiotic drink). I take melt in your mouth Biotin to try and keep my hair.

Hi RuthD. The Vitamin daily requirement for sleeve surgery is very different than for RNY gastric bypass. So from the context of the post, it seems like you had sleeve surgery. Is that true?
So according to my surgeon, the following Vitamins are required for Sleeve patients:
Three Flintstone complete chewable Multivitamins daily.
Additional 65 milligrams elemental Iron daily for menstruating women. [ferrous sulfate]
1200 to 1500 milligrams calcium citrate daily [I use Citrical - this can be tricky because the dosage rate is per 2 capsules.]
500 to 1000 micrograms sublingual B12 once per week. [methylcobalamin]
100 milligrams Thiamine (vitamin B1) once per week.
It is important to put a 2 hour separation between the vitamins that contain iron and those that contain Calcium. So in my case I found that what works best for me is to take the iron supplements just before bedtime.
My surgeon also told me to avoid "time release" vitamins and "gummy vitamins".
After around a few years, I transitioned off from Flintstone vitamins and started to use normal multivitamins. Flintstone chewable vitamins were fairly easy to use and were easy on my stomach. I use to buy them by the large bottles a few years ago, but they have changed primarily to gummy vitamins today. As a result the large economical bottles disappeared from the store shelves.
Now if you had RNY gastric bypass, then the requirements are different.
It might also be desirable to take a probiotic to reestablish the colonies of good gut bacteria after surgery.

I think it is good to keep in mind that even if you get a complication it will more than likely be just one and not the whole list of possible bad outcomes. And you can deal with it if it happens. I told myself I wouldn't worry about dumping unless it happened to me and then I would figure it out. And your surgeon has dealt with probably all possible complications so there will be a game plan. Just look at any complication as a hurdle. One you can jump with the right tools and support. So if you wind up being prone to dumping you figure out what triggers you and you stay away from it. And most hurdles get smaller as you heal. It gets easier to drink Water. You figure out the best way for you to get Protein in. Everyone is so different so there will be lots of advice available if you need it.

Thanks to all for your advice and insight! I think walking will be my primary form of exercise, but I might try out a gym at some point. To be honest, I've avoided gyms during past diet attempts because my size embarrassed me, but it might be a different experience after losing weight. We'll see!

Part of this will be your mindset changing. What you WANT to do physically will shift. For instance, today I deliberately chose the bus rather than other transport, even knowing that would mean a mile walk to the office and then a mile walk back. I also randomly chose to take my dog on a much longer midday walk while on a conference call - altogether I walked 5 miles today, pretty effortlessly.
Before surgery, I would never, ever have done either of those things on a whim. Almost 100 lbs later, it’s just a nonissue.
I will say that you need to figure out your exercise groove. My sister needs to find a gym and sign up for classes, the financial commitment and schedule is what motivates her. Meanwhile I need an open pool pass and opportunistic walking. Neither of our routines would be sustainable or enjoyable for the other.

I was a true couch potato pre surgery. Committing to exercise was a necessary evil that I was not thrilled about. Exercise/activity does not mean you have to step inside a gym. Start slow. Do it even when you don't want to. It gets easier if you make it a habit. You will find you are stronger than you give yourself credit for.
Use your activity/exercise to replace. stress/emotional eating, head hunger or eating out of boredom. Make it a time to process all the changes and mental battles with weight loss. This is the time you carve out for yourself. Don't let anyone interrupt it.
Get zumba videos online and dance your butt off walk and make it about the destination. Take photos. As you get stronger and have more energy challenge yourself to do more. Plan a hike with beautiful views. Make exercise an adventure and not a chore. Buy exercise equipment at a thrift store. (stationary bike, dumbbells or a treadmill) Find your inner bad@ss! You never know where this journey will take you. Who knows how you will feel about exercise six months or a year from now. Many changes coming your way.

I think it is good to keep in mind that even if you get a complication it will more than likely be just one and not the whole list of possible bad outcomes. And you can deal with it if it happens. I told myself I wouldn't worry about dumping unless it happened to me and then I would figure it out. And your surgeon has dealt with probably all possible complications so there will be a game plan. Just look at any complication as a hurdle. One you can jump with the right tools and support. So if you wind up being prone to dumping you figure out what triggers you and you stay away from it. And most hurdles get smaller as you heal. It gets easier to drink Water. You figure out the best way for you to get Protein in. Everyone is so different so there will be lots of advice available if you need it.

I did the same but made the mistake of stocking up on some and my tastebuds and preferences totally changed post surgery. I had shelves of stuff I had to give away. I had an endless sweet tooth and now I hate sweet things especially diet sugary stuff.

I'll look at my packet and see if it says why.

Idk. We only had one giant group meeting with our nut. They had "no gummies" written on the wipe off board. And I'm a sheep. Starting to do my own research though.

That's just some product endorsement going on there. I usually don't suggest going against what your Dr. says but there's no reason why you can't try a different brand that will go down better as long as it does the same thing. Premiere is probably the #1 premixed Protein Drink purchased by WLS patients in the U.S.

As your fat starts to melt and your body starts to use it for fuel i,stead of carbohydrates hormones and other nasties get released also. Its like you have the puberty from Hades suddenly, time should heal it on its own, if not consult a dermatologist, it must be miserable to live through. And I also am allergic to adhesives, it took longer for my left knee to heal because that ortho surgeon was a glue-er instead of a stapler like ortho #1. And I had warned him, but surgeons tend to be conceited and don't listen to advice. I guess you do have to be prettybrave up but holes in people.

I used a top-rated surgeon at a top-rated hospital. We had ONE group meeting with about 30 people with a nutritionist who spent the time pushing one brand of Vitamins and products. They said they didn't sell the products yet after the surgery I found out they actually work for the supplement company. We received one stapled packet of info, most of it enlargements of the nutrition labels of the supplement company they "didn't sell for." So our group knew the ingredients of that one product line but not a whole lot about the surgery. I woke up with a drain and had no idea what it was or what it was for. The hospital provided a typed paragraph reminding me to dump it regularly when I left. I had to Google a lot. Real nutrition classes and meetings with a nurse should have been provided. The fake required class was nearly $200 cash. No surgeon follow up only a few minutes to pull out the drain. So in my case my insurance covered top-rated surgeon's lack of support and program would force me not to recommend him to anyone I knew personally. Some of us have to self-educate more than others. Labeling someone as stupid is unkind and speaks of your character, not theirs.

I actually contemplated not responding (as you see, I didn't respond to nomorefattypatty insults...no discussion there), but I will...
Don't get mad and take your ball home. Don't let one online interaction take away something you find beneficial for your ongoing health and success...that would be self-sabotage. You should stay if you find support here.
I rarely comment on threads like this, but I did ask a question...and it still wasn't answered by either of you. I was truly confused, as I stated, and my question was serious...as I stated. I can't answer why this was in your feed (as the last post before yours was in September)...regardless, the actual post that you commented on was a year old; you became indignant about it (which led to nomorefattypatty defending the president, a grown man who doesn't need defending; which led to additional discussion of a topic, by your account, should not be discussed here) ...in the ensuing year that it was posted nobody referenced the comment about the president, except you..you highlighted it...you started the discussion (go back and take a look); people have now responded (which is guaranteed to happen in any open access online community); the thing that really got me was the comment that this resurrected discussion point about the president isn't appropriate for this site...but it was already dead and had never become a discussion point until now.
And I am not being facetious here: What did you think would happen when you posted that? Did you think people would not respond to it? If you did, how did you think people would respond? Since you say that I wasn't helpful in my response to you, did you actually think your initial comment was helpful for this community, especially given the divisive environment that we are living in?

Dunno about anyone else, but it isn't so much hate as bemusement and pity for the ordinary peeps - same sort of emotions as towards Kim Jong Un, Berlusconi, Ferdinand Marcos, Gaddafi, Nixon, Mugabe etc. Mind you, Oz has Scott Morrison currently at the helm, heaven help the Aussies.

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*cough* he ain't everybody's President by a long shot. Australian living in Ireland here. Don't want to start an international incident or anything but over here he's considered an absolute buffoon.

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Our President is doing an awesome job of keeping his promises which is why he got elected! That has nothing to do with bariatric surgery but anyone knows the post op diet and if that person ate cinnabons right out of surgery shame on them and the people that brought them. This procedure doesn't work if you can't even close your pie hole out of surgery. I really feel sorry for this person because they lack total intelligence or total will power and they will surely fail because this is a life changing surgery. But, you have to be willing to do without some of your favorite things and make healthier things your new favorites. Don't go through all of this in vain and not learn anything! This is your chance to get it right! Don't squander your second chance!

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I think, as with anything, different doctors will have different protocol and frankly, sometimes their protocol isn't the only way, or the best course of action. Pretty much everyone I know with a chronic illness is reading about and joining support groups for their condition, and often they're the ones coming to their doctor with suggestions, alternative protocol, etc. WLS is no different. We share and seek guidance from others who are going through the same thing, because we want to make informed decisions or simply because we need the support.

When I teach patients amd their families in post op, I notice that whole learning style thing is evident (visual, auditory, tactile)
So, people learn differently. Also, some of us have a knack for health care info, others have their gifts/strengths in other areas.
The people in our country are not, for the most part, stupid.

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