AZhiker

I cried in pre-op - wondering if I should get off the stretcher and just leave, I was so scared. My surgeon came in and was so kind. He said, "None of my patients have ever come back saying they wished they had not had surgery. You are going to be fine and you are going to have a new life." I just needed that little boost of confidence. It is normal to be scared. It means you know that you are making a huge, life changing decision. NOT having the surgery has more dire consequences for your health and life than having the surgery. It's just a door you have to walk through. Once you do, you will also find a new life on the other side. I once asked my PCP if I should just try it on my own one more time. Her words spoke the truth, "If you COULD have done it, you WOULD have done it by now."

I really love my Cirrus Sport with drop bar (ie "girl's bike). (With arthritis is my hips and knees, I just can't swing my leg over the seat, and my balance is not that great, so the drip bar is a really safe option for me. I love it.) It is a hybrid - not as skinny as a road bike, and has really comfortable handlebars that are very ergonomic. The gear shifters are thumb levers - very easy and ergonomic. Seat is good - padded and not as skinny as a road bike. I started riding again after maybe 40 years. It was a little scary - especially on a bike that I couldn't get on or off easily because of the top bar. I just bit the bullet and bought my own. I did a 52 mile race a few months ago and am gearing up for a 100 miler later this year. Biking is fun. It is not hard on the knees, it gives a real sense of freedom, and is just great all around exercise. Warning - The day you buy the bike is the cheapest day you own the bike! Then comes a helmet, car rack, lights, water bottles, spare parts bag, jerseys, shorts, shoes......................... never ends. I did find my jerseys and shorts at a thrift store for just $8=$10 - a steal. Found bike rack at the thrift store, as well, which saved at least $150. But then had to get the hitch put on my car.

I AM NEVER GOING BACK! This was my last chance, and I'm not wasting it. I got rid of every bit of clothing as soon as they were too big. Most were donated (some still had tags) and some were tossed. I keep my size 24 jeans to remind me of why I am never going back!

Agree with all of above. As a GI nurse, I see the bad and the ugly (there is no good) that comes from WLS patients who resume drinking after surgery. The worse ulcers I have ever seen are from that combination. I cannot imagine a bariatric doctor doing surgery on you until the drinking issue is under control. The tissues simply will not heal. That is the issue with smoking, as well. Bariatric surgery is about a lot more than losing weight and looking good. It is about building a healthy lifestyle, resolving comormidities or future comorbidities (high blood pressure, diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea, asthma, stroke, heart attack) and giving someone the chance to have a longer and healthier life. Hanging onto acoholism is in direct opposition to these goals. Perhaps an inpatient treatment program would work for you, but whatever you choose , I wish you the very best in this long, challenging journey. It is highly possible that the over eating and the alcoholism are related - just different branches of the same tree. Serious counselling might be helpful in getting to the root of both problems IMHO.

A year out, and I STILL portion out more than I can eat. I have to continually remind myself to take HALF of what my first inclination would choose. There is an old sensation emerging after all this time - the feeling of not getting enough food - like if I don't eat it now, it will be gone. It may go back to childhood days when we were pretty poor and my parents actually put a lock on the refrigerator to keep us kids from eating all the food. I don't know. But it is a head game that is starting to pop up. Anyway, like FluffyChix said, "Don't chase the full feeling." A bit down the road you will find that if you actually do eat until you feel full, you will regret it 10 mintutes later. You have to stop BEFORE you feel full and if you eat slowly, that will be when you don't feel hungry. Forget the full feeling.

I rode 40+ miles on my bike today. I did great with my water and my RX bars, but I was hungry afterward, no suprise. My car tire got a flat and I had to wait over 2 hours at Discount Tire to get it fixed. Anyway, I walked to Chik Filet and got a healthy lunch. Great. Got my car back and THEN drove through McDonalds and got a LARGE fry!!!! I ate it all, wishing there was more salt. (Clue.) And now I am sick. My tum really hurts and feel like throwing up. Remorse, remorse, remorse. Looking back, it wasn't hunger - it was salt. So lesson learned - I need to use some electrolytes on longer rides. But oh how it makes me sad to see how easily I just drove through and got those fries. More head work to do.

Actually I really don't care if I get comments or not. I prefer to just be seen as "me" as a person. It's just interesting to watch people's reactions. I don't think you are ice cold - you are just a guy. Women care much more about how they look....... and I think guys care about how women look, too. Am I right?

I saw some old friends at church on Sunday - they used to be our neighbors, but I haven't seen them since we moved a couple of years ago. I saw them and waved at them........ and they had no idea who I was, even though I was with my daughter whom they recognized. ! I had to go up to them afterward and "introduce" myself. It is indeed a strange world - some of your family and friends will be so happy for you and tell you how great you look, while others will not ever mention your change at all. And then others don't even recognize you! I'm going to a meeting next week of a club I used to belong to. It will be interesting to see how many people won't recognize me right away.

I am NEVER hungry. I feel stuffed all the time. I eat a lot of plant based foods which are very filling and very nutritious. I never feel deprived. I would never have "the will to eat so little...forever." You don't have to! It's all about what kind of foods you eat. Honestly, I wake up and get on the scale every morning, just knowing I must have gained weight, since I ate so much the day before, but the gain doesn't happen. For example, today I have already eaten a bowl of cooked grain cereal, with milk, raisins, gogi berries, and a sliced apple. Then I had at 1 1/2 cup of shepherd's pie for lunch, an orange, a kiwi, grapes, and a cup of cooked greens. Then two cups of raw veggies for munchies in the afternoon. (Red cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, red and greed pepper, radishes). Then a rice cake with peanut butter, and some nuts. That is BEFORE dinner. For dinner I will have a plate of General Tso's tofu over rice and stir fry vegetables. Later I will have popcorn and yogurt with berries, seeds, and granola. Does that sound like a little? It sure doesn't feel like it. I am eating better than I have in my entire life, and feeling great with 110 pounds gone.

I did not eat any concentrated grain carbs until maintenance. No cereal for 7 months, and then very cautiously. Now I cook up whole grains (steel cut oats, quinoa, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, and millet.). I add some slivered almonds, raisins and dried gogi berries, and also some cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. 1/2 cup of this cooked cereal, with a TB of ground flaxseed , along with 1/2 cup of soy milk gives me plenty of protein and is filling enough to last until lunch. It also starts my day with a good boost of anti-oxidants.

I eat 1500-1800 calories a day to maintain. WLS resets your metabolism and disrupts the hunger hormones and the stomach-brain communication that tells you when you are full. WLS is a total reset. Your baseline metabolism does not bottom out like in other weight loss programs. For example, nearly every person on the Biggest Loser has gained all their weight back. Even with exercise, they found that after weight loss they still had to eat at least 500 less a day than a normal person of their weight. The diet was unsustainable. Yo-yo dieting really messes up all the mechanisms for permanent weight loss. WLS gives you a new start that is nothing short of miraculous. It is a powerful tool, but there is still a lot of hard work to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The calories I eat are 99% healthy, nutritionally dense ones. There is no junk or processed food.

I hear what you are saying, but it's hard to dispute the hard evidence of lower cholesterol/LDL/trigycerides, lower blood sugars, lower BP, lower inflammatory markers, and decreased arterial plaque that result from plant based diets. It's also hard to argue with the world populations that have the longest life spans, virtually no heart disease or diabetes, and the lowest cancer rates. They are all plant based societies. Those are just facts. Personally, I never bought into any of it until I tried it for myself and found it to be amazingly energizing and feeling better than I can ever remember.

This is called hormones. You are actually losing a tremendous amount of weight in a very short time. Fat tissue stores up all kinds of things, like hormones and inflammatory chemicals. These get released as the fat is broken down. Your liver is working very hard to do this job, and it is rough and rocky for a while. The emotions really will settle down as the hormones settle down. Your body has a lot of healing to do. All you have to worry about right now is sticking to the plan each day. The rest will take care of itself. Congratulations on 2 years of sobriety! There will be temptations to slip back into former addictions as you give up your food addictions, but again... nothing to stress about now. Just get through the next couple of months, one day at a time. This is a lifelong journey and it happens just one step at a time. You have just as much chance of being successful as anyone else - just stick to the plan. You got this!

Give your pharmacist a call. They can tell you the specifics. I think I am supposed to wait at least 30 min before eating or drinking anything. Honestly, it is nigh unto impossible for me to take it appropriately 4 times a day as directed. I have to separate it an hour from the omeprazole which is supposed to be on an empty stomach and 30 minutes before a meal. I can't get all the timing down correctly on work days, as my lunch time is so erratic and I have to eat more than 3 times a day just to get enough calories in. Furthermore, most docs say it doesn't do much, anyway. The omeprazole is what makes the real difference for me, although I hope I will not be on it much longer, due to long term side effects. If you are having problems, maybe it is related more to the position or adjustment of the band.

It is very helpful for longterm success, that if you cut out an unhealthy habit, you replace it with a healthy one. Instead of soda, drink ice tea - or a Bai drink. I love those things. Instead of snacking on chips, make a veggie bag every morning so you can grab it and munch away on carrots, celery, peppers, red cabbage, jicama, cuckes, or whatever veggies work for you. If you do this, you won't be fighting the strong feelings of deprivation which can undermine the best laid plans,

I developed an ulcer and have to take Omeprazole and sucralfate for 3 months. Everyone told me how bad it would taste. I don't think it tastes like anything, to tell the truth. Maybe a little chalky, but not horrible or bitter or anything like that. Don't drink a chaser - i think that sort of defeats the purpose. It is supposed to coat the lining of the stomach and duodenum. You are also supposed to take it on an empty stomach.

Have him watch "The Game Changers" on Netflix or YouTube. It might give you new food for thought. Let me know what you think and I will have another suggestion.

My surgeon also prohibits gummies

I use it in moderation, but because I am healing from an ulcer, I don't use it straight. I know it is supposed to be helpful with acid reflux and digestive problems, but everything I read says to avoid in cases of ulcers. Soooooo..... I use it when making salad dressings or cooking, and on cooked greens.

I try to use tumeric, ginger, and cinnamon every single day. i use fresh, grated tumeric in a lot of my cooking, as well as adding dashes here and there of the dried. I also add black pepper to the dishes, which is supposed to help the tumeric absorb better. Another very powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory is black cumin, or "black seed." It has a sort of spicy, peppery taste and easy to use by putting the whole seeds in a pepper grinder. My other "go - to" spices that I try to use on a daily basis are cinnamon, ginger (fresh or dried), and cloves. Very good antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. I have no joint pain, except for a touch of bursitis in one hip that has flaired up a bit since I started putting in lots of hiking miles. I may need to get a shot in a few months if I am still intent on doing the Grand Canyon in October. But I am hoping the natural herbs will help.

My 3 yo grandson plays with mine, too. He says, "Squishy, squishy."

Same here. Just the other day, someone asked me if I had lost about 40-50 pounds. Noooooo,,, more like 110!

My hiatal hernia was repaired at the same time as bypass. My endoscope before surgery showed a Barretts polyp that had to be removed and doc made me wait a month before surgery so that it was healed. Endo several months after surgery showed all esophageal issues resolved. No more esophagitis or any sign of Barrets! And no more GERD!

It will come. It takes fair bit before people start noticing. And amazingly, some people will NEVER comment, even after you reach goal weight and you are half the size you used to be! I have relatives like that. There are 3 women in the family who struggle with weight, and not a single one of them even tells me, "Hey, you look good." Funny, but the MEN all tell me I look great! Ha!

I am pretty sure the band was first, then the hardware was removed and a bypass was performed,