Arabesque

l love it when children do that @starladustangel. Was it a ‘I can dress myself’ moment or just starting a new fashion trend? 😁 Can’t beat a striped T shirt dress. So easy to pop on, little ironing if any needed, pair of flirty sandals or runners & you’re set to go. PS - 4X to a M - well done you.

There are lots of different post surgery plans around. Some restrict certain foods that others allow. Some shorten the time at each stage others make them longer. But it’s always best that you follow your surgeon’s plan. Re eating red meat. This is very individual. I can eat red meat without issue, could from very early out. Others struggle with chicken (especially breast). I can’t do oily fish or mashed potatoes. Some can’t eat certain foods at the beginning but after several months they can. Some develop sensitivities or allergies like developing a lactose intolerance.

I think you call paw paw papaya & rockmelons cantaloupe.

The more common side effects of MiraLAX include: diarrhea or loose stools gas (flatulence) nausea stomach pain bloating The miralax could certainly be contributing to your digestive issues. Apparently it should only be taken in short term i.e. only take it when constipated not every day for weeks/months. It can also be dehydrating. Your issues with artificial sweeteners which you mentioned in another post could also be contributing. Some develop a lactose intolerance or sensitivity after surgery so a food elimination diet or keeping a food log, as @lizonaplane suggested, may be something to try. There are some things I avoid or don’t eat now because they cause discomfort which I discovered through trial & error - mashed potatoes, char grilled meats/vegetables, etc.

Try some other fruit. Watermelon, rock melon, paw paw, grapes, berries, mandarins, ... I’m eating lots of grapes & red paw paw at the moment (sometimes finely diced the paw paw into my daily yoghurt & have as a ‘dessert’). Maybe tread slowly with high acid fruits like oranges & pineapple. I struggle with mangoes but I’ve found some freeze dried ones - yummy & great for work or travelling. I added some whole/multi grain crackers as a snack & have some string cheese if I want a little something else. I have three or four snacks a day but one is always fruit, one a good carb & one a dairy. The 4th is the string cheese or a protein bar depending upon if I hit my protein goal. It’s the one benefit of lower BP - extra salt. Mmmm good.

We all react differently to surgery (any surgery) & sometimes it’s unpredictable but aren’t you glad you were in hospital though & they were so vigilant post surgery. Imagine if you were at home. 😱 I was going to stay overnight because my surgeon didn’t want me going home to an empty house as a precautionary thing. Then I had a lot of trouble swallowing, my BP was very low & then my back went into spasm. Nothing as serious as you but I didn’t go home until day 4. I was glad my surgeon was concerned enough to want to monitor my progress in case something went south. Though it would have been nice to be in my own bed. Glad you’re home now & recovering.

Thank you @STLoser.

Such a pretty dress @kristieshannon. So fresh. And very cute rompers @ANewJourneyAwaits. For many stores in Australia, size 8 (US 4) is their smallest size. Not many go to a 6 & even fewer go to a 4 (don’t have the customer base). So it can still be a struggle just a reverse one. Sigh! But it’s the exaggerated 80s style oversized clothes that are everywhere that are killing me. Huge jackets, extra large shoulder pads, ... Two plus years ago it would have been great because I would have been able to fit into smaller, more regular sizes in these big cuts. Now, I’m swamped, drowning in fabric. I look like I’m a child wearing my mummy’s clothes. I’d need a negative size. I guess I wore it all the first time round in the 80s so i don’t have to now.

I’d cut back on the soups & yoghurts. It sounds like your tummy just isn’t ready for them yet. Some people take a little longer to progress through the stages - we all heal at different rates & plans are different too. I was told no yoghurt until week 3 but could eat thin soups from week one. It’s going to take real prolonged effort of eating large portions to stretch your tummy again so I wouldn’t worry about that. Most of us are told to aim to drink 64oz of fluids a day so at a week out you’re doing well by hitting 50oz. Try clear broths & consommés only not creamy or thicker ones. Sometimes diluting them makes them easier to swallow & tolerate. And don’t worry if you take ages to eat them.

I slept on my side or almost flat on my tummy after surgery without a problem but that’s how I always sleep (have nightmares if I sleep on my back 🤷🏻‍♀️.) But how your incision sites are post surgery will dictate your sleeping position - it will be very individual. My incision sites were basically pain free from the beginning - just a little tender. No real bruising either. I didn’t even have gas pain (don’t hate me). I took my last pain med on day 4 but don’t think I really needed it that day. Waist bands were uncomfortable for a week or two so I just rolled them down to under the wounds. If you are a side sleeper a body pillow might be a supportive.

Stalls are very common along the way. They’re just your body playing catch up. They can last 1 to 3 weeks but you will start to lose again. Yes, definitely increase your protein intake. I was told 60g too though some are told 70. I still aim to eat 60g at two years out. (Recommended daily intake for an adult is .8g protein per kg of weight in the US. It’s 1g per kg in Australia.)

Your weight loss does start to slow as you get closer to your goal. Many of us find the last pound or two the hardest & slowest to lose - can take weeks. It’s because your caloric intake is getting closer to what your body needs to burn to function so closer to your maintenance point. I was never given calorie goals or told how many carbs I should have either. I was told portion sizes, to avoid carbs where possible & definitely no high processed carbs. Besides fruit & vegetables my carbs from less obvious sources like yoghurt or cheese, etc. The only obvious source of carbs were rolled oats (one serve lasted me 2 or 3 days so only about 10g each time I ate them). If you’re worried, ask your dietician/nutritionalist to review your diet.

Surgery is on Tuesday next week. He said if I’d grown one stone I’d likely grow another one so the whole gall is going. Also had a second attack last Friday so five days after the first. Thankfully it wasn’t as bad as that first one but another reason to get it out quickly. I asked him about them having difficulty visualising the gall bladder in the scan & he said it sometimes shrinks around the stone. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I hadn’t seen my surgeon for about 16 months - just checking with his support doctor every three months. He reviewed all my records & said he was very happy with my progress & I was doing very well. Gold star for me ⭐️ ... except for the stone I guess ☹️.

The demi or half cup didn’t work for me at all. All the loose empty skin at the top of my breast just oozed over the top of the bra. Not attractive.

I was told no skins or seeds for a while too. Hard for your healing tummy to digest. Banana should be fine but check first. Make sure you blend & strain your smoothie before drinking to ensure there are no fibrous or lumpy bits.

Contact your medical team. Always call them if you’re experiencing pain or prolonged discomfort or anything that is unusual for you. They may say it’s nothing but better safe than sorry. The gall bladder is on the right & the pain is intense as I discovered last week. Good luck.

Your surgeon and/or your dietician should make this recommendation. I was advised to only take a multivitamin yet others are told to take iron, calcium, vitamin D, etc. as well as the multi. The type of surgery you have can also influence your supplement needs. I believe the advice I was given was initially based upon my pre surgical blood work & they weren’t adjusted post surgery as my bloods always came back good. In fact I don’t take vitamins at all now - stopped at 8 months post surgery - didn’t need them & still don’t. Everyone is different though & you may need to take additional supplements depending upon what you’re lacking in. No point taking a vitamin if you don’t need it - expensive & can too much can have adverse effects.

I was told to wait before & after too though I have been able to reduce the time at two years out. You may be able to in time too. A single sip to help swallow something or because of an unpleasant taste is ok but not more.

Follow your plan. This is important because your plan has been designed to aid healing. Remember there’s a lot of stitches & staples holding your tummy together & you don’t want to risk putting strain or pressure on your tummy before it’s fully healed. Listen to your body. It will tell you what you can or can’t do or eat yet. Things are going to be different but you’ll get used to the changes & how your body may react. It’s not a competition. You’ll lose at the rate that’s right for you. You will lose some hair. Can’t stop it because it’s how your body reacts to the surgery & the reduced food intake. It’s just an acceleration of your natural hair loss cycle. The hair loss will stop. Your new hair is still growing in but just at its usual rate which is why your hair may look thin for a while until it catches up. You will have stalls along the way. It’s just your body taking a breath to catch up with the changes. They may last a week or up to three but they do stop & you’ll start losing again. You will experience constipation. Often a lot of constipation. Include some soluble (non swelling) fibre in your diet & have some stool softeners on hand. You may experience a temporary change in your taste buds. Some also find their sense of smell becomes more sensitive for a while. Some foods may suddenly become disgusting because of their taste or smell. Some people find binders useful post surgery as a support while healing. It’s an individual thing. I didn’t use one. Now the bad news - there is little you can do to stop or reduce the chances of having loose skin. It’s why so many have plastic surgery to remove it. The loose skin is a result of your fat stretching out your skin. Think of a hair band that’s been stretched out from lots of use & is loose. Ain’t nothing goes to make that band as tight as it was when it was new. How much loose skin you have depends upon factors like age, gender, how long you’ve been at your highest weight, etc. if you’re young & still have a lot of natural skin elasticity you likely won’t have as much as someone older like me. Don’t mean to scare you just wanted you not to be surprised if these things do happen. While they are common experiences, it seems they are things that many medical teams don’t tell their patients to expect. They can be quite scary when they occur if you don’t know they can. Good luck.

I’m sorry you’ve been struggling with nausea but am pleased you & your medical team have worked out a way to manage it. Yes, it does become easier. The first months can be challenging because your tummy can be quite fussy & your taste buds often change so you’ll take time to discover foods you can enjoy. Plus you’re working out what foods you can eat within your diet. It’s likely you’ll be able to relax your schedule as you progress too. You do get used to prepping your food & ensuring you meet your goals. You become pretty familiar with the protein, carb, fat, calorie content, etc. of most of what you eat too so that is easier. Though you may find you feel a bit controlled by your diet again when you reach maintenance & you have to increase your calorie intake to stop yourself losing. I still eat pretty much to a routine. I’m pretty careful about what I eat too & cook almost everything from scratch but that’s my choice. I don’t mind the routine now cause I don’t really have to think about it & it makes grocery shopping a breeze. Don’t know what your work entails or if your employers know about your surgery but have a chat with them when you return about your need to maintain a schedule of eating, drinking & meds. If you haven’t told them about your surgery you can still tell them about your schedule. They don’t need to know why just that you have a medical condition you are managing. I took up a contract about a month after surgery & they were very supportive. I told them that I had a surgery & there were times I struggled a bit still with my recovery (low blood pressure, low energy). They never asked further questions. I think they thought I’d had some gynaecological related surgery - lol! I had a desk job & it was acceptable for people to eat & drink at their desks. Giod luck.

Awesome achievement. Congratulations on reaching your goal.

Always call your medical team if something is causing you pain or is not usual for you. In saying that it could be swelling from the surgery. A lot of us do experience difficulty &/or discomfort when swallowing to begin due to the swelling at the top of the tummy & esophagus. It does get better over a few days as the swelling reduces but do contact your surgeon to be sure.

Multi vitamins always made me nauseous even when I took them before I had surgery. My surgeon suggested trying different brands to find one that didn’t but this can be an expensive option. I found taking one in the morning & one at night helped a little. Make sure you have something solid in your tummy, not just a protein shake, before you take them. My blood work has been good all along the way. I think I just absorb the nutrients I need well. (Maybe I’m an abzorbaloff - Dr Who reference.) I remember my dietician saying if you already had enough of a certain vitamin having extra could make you nauseous but I can’t remember which one sorry. Sort of think it was one of the B vitamins but don’t quote me. She told me that when I’d stopped taking vitamins (with my surgeon’s approval) when I had been in maintenance for two months.

Nothing to be embarrassed about. I’ve had regular fittings all y life. The women are usually very professional. I explained I had lost a lot of weight & the fitters understood perfectly what had happened. They’ve truely seen it all. There were stats going around at one time that 80% of women wear the wrong size bra.

As you lose weight a lot of oestrogen is released into your blood stream which had been stored in your fat & it can affect your menstrual cycle. What you may be experiencing now is the effects of your normal hormonal cycle not one I luenced by carrying weight. My cycles were always heavier & more erratic when I carried weight compared to when I was slimmer. Have a chat with your doctor & ask for a blood test to check your hormone levels. Remember 28 days is the average. Some cycles are longer. Some shorter. Congrats on your weight loss.