Circlesis

Wearing a mask keeps your germs close to your own face instead of spreading them out to others. Your mask protects the people around you, Their masks protect you.
A properly fitted N-95 actually filters out the particles and protects you. However, the key is to have a properly fitted mask. Healthcare workers are fit tested annually to ensure they have the proper size and know how to test it for fit. They use these masks when caring for patients with airborne infections. N-95 masks are not easy to wear. They are quite hot and difficult to breathe through, as every bit of air is going through the mask. Furthermore, if the mask gets wet or damp from condensation, it is worthless. I laugh when I see people out and about with N-95's that are obviously not fitted well. They are only as effective as a simple paper or cloth mask, but give the wearer a false sense of security.
So, to answer your question, yes, wearing masks offers a layer of protection from the virus. But everyone has to be wearing one. If 99 people wear a mask and 1 person who has the virus does not wear one, then everyone is at higher risk. But...... you cannot be touching your mask, and it needs to be kept clean. Also, wearing it below your nose is pointless.
As to what kind of mask to wear, the LEAST effective are the single layer neck gators. Double layer cloth masks and the paper surgical masks are about the same and are effective.
Keeping your hands clean and not touching your face are just as important as wearing a mask. These measures will also help prevent the flu. Any by the way, people, GET YOUR FLU SHOTS! This is NOT the year to skip it. I can only imagine how bad it would be to get the flu and Covid at the same time.

Could it be the inside stitch? If so it will eventually pop and stop hurting, just like that.

@LAJ23 agree totally. I think we are saying the same thing

I don't necessarily have a problem avoiding starches, however, I'm on a general diet and was told by the surgeon and the dietician that pretty much anything is ok, as long as it's a "healthy choice" (per the post-op diet binder). I'm not cramming myself full of Pasta, bread, potatoes or anything else. As a matter of fact, I've had very little of any of those things, and am still sticking to a low/SF diet as well. My confusion/concern is why two people in the same practice have such differing views and one was downright rude about it. I think I'm doing pretty good as far as weight loss goes - I'm the lowest I've been in about 19 years and still losing!

I read this as a request for feedback on her question list.

137.8 today. I am happy that I seem to have stabilized around 136-138. My BMI is 21, so I'm thin but not scrawny. Only one episode of reflux this week at night, but I was sick too, with a splitting headache that wasn't relieved by Tylenol. I rooted through the medicine cabinet and found some Vicodin from a long-ago dental procedure and took one of those. I finally went to sleep but woke up feeling pretty crummy, no appetite and still a bit of a headache, so I rested most of the day. I got the gentle Iron yesterday, I will start next Sunday because I just reduced my omeprazole dose again and I don't want to change too many variables at once.

I had my sleeve done in 2011, reached my goal weight of 138, and have maintained it since. I developed GERD about two years after the sleeve surgery. I've been on omeprazole since, the max dosage the past two years. GERD gave me an esophageal stricture which causes food and liquids to regurgitate back into my mouth after swallowing. It's truly gross to have to repeatedly reswallow the same mouthful of food. Sometimes things get stuck and I have to vomit them up. I've had a couple of endoscopies, a BRAVO study, and esophageal manometry. The manometry shows I have achalasia (impaired swallowing) too, not surprising when you only have a 12.5 mm wide esophagus. It was dilated during an endoscopy, but shrank back down fairly quickly. My surgeon wants to do a Heller myotomy to fix the stricture but a common side effect of myotomy is GERD. So he has to do something about the GERD, too, and that has to be some kind of bypass. Since I'm at goal weight with a BMI of 21, I don't have much spare poundage to lose. Plus I'm 65 and don't want to end up one of those "frail elderly" people who can't carry groceries or walk very far. I am hoping that my surgeon will make the very shortest bypass limb he can.
Approval came a week after submission so I'm scheduled for June 29. No preop diet required. It's all happening a little fast and I'm a little freaked out. I think I've forgotten all the food stages :-). Support would be appreciated.

Hey everyone today is the last day of October I hope everyone is doing well! I had my sleeve done 10/13 . My beginning weight was 251, surgery weight 242, and current weight is 226
i move to soft foods in 2 days! Can’t wait to have ricotta bake, shredded chicken, and tuna salad
I also had a fuckboyectomy. I lost an additional 230 lbs of dead weight who wasn’t supportive *kanye shrug*

I highly suggest you wait you are going to go thru a lifestyle change and one of the bumps are head games. The last thing you need during this journey is bullshit and feedback from Social media. This is you time do not let others ruin it for you. Down the road you may be ready but it is a journey and i see nothing in social media that can help you on this journey, all I see is trolls and idiots messing with you

I started to regain as well. Fortunately for me I have a group of family and friends who have had bariatric surgery and we counsel each other. Here is what I have been doing to combat the weight regain.
1- First and foremost I stop eating after 7PM and don't start eating until 8AM the next day. This has a double effect. First it's an intermitent fast AND it stops me from eating/snacking before I go to sleep. As I found, two very important steps to take as it does have a positive effect on your body's ability to lose weight.
2- ANY exercise that I can get I do. Whether it's walking stairs, doing yard work, walking instead of driving.
3- I don't eat processed foods. They are empty calories and have no nutritional benefits what so ever.
4- I don't snack. I eat only when I'm hungry during my 8AM-7PM window and eat to get the feeling of fullness.
5- Adhere strictly to the 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after rule for drinking Water.

I hope this helps.

4 yrs later, I feel great. My start weight was 143, went down to 137 which fluctuates about 5 to 10lbs at most.      

Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Update: I got my date for the DS revision, coming up in 2 weeks.

I have only 1 week of pre diet this time around. Anyone else?

Finally, seems to me like it took forever but from what I have read on here my approval was relatively painless, got me surgery date...excited and ready to do it.

@circlesis it amazes me how different each surgeon is. I eat regular food at this point, just shy of a month. I still don’t have much of an appetite even though they didn’t touch my stomach. I’ve noticed on days a way more, I lose more but I haven’t learned to trust my tool yet. So scared of failing again. How are you?

I’m sorry your recovery was so rough! Congrats your losses so far and on getting through it. I recently revised from sleeve to DS myself.

I recommend you do your plan as your Doc/Nut require.
Do NOT chew, chew, chew in the first few weeks because when you don't chew enough, and you won't, your food will stick in your tender surgery, you're gonna wretch, and you be in pain, and you could cause bad things to happen to your surgery. Don't do it.
I thought puree would be yucky but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I went for high flavor profiles.
Following your Doc's plan is about both learning to eat appropriately AND actually following through on a plan. We got to needing WLS by not following plans. Invariably, if we didn't abandon the plan completely, we started making changes, which made other changes easier until we were, well, needing WLS. Losing weight by following the plan gives us positive reinforcement for good choices, and for actually following through on our commitment.
Good luck,
Tek

Hi folks, Felt like updating so here I am. All has gone well so far. They found I had a hernia during the surgery so that got taken care of. Pain hasn't been bad at all but I did do my pain meds for the first few days. I'm looking forward to getting rid of drains and being able to lie down instead of "beach chair" sleep. Anyway, I find myself super grateful for my good health and a few more pounds gone. I did the fleur de lis Tummy Tuck. I can tell things are different but haven't really "seen" myself yet. Best wishes and Happy Halloween to all!

First.... i did have fears.... the first WLS (band) i feared the same as everyone else... Death, failure, regain of weight.
Second time.... Because i told no one except my husband... death and not having told my kids and family. Again failure and gaining back. Having a complication and having to cancel my wedding which was a month after SX.
@Smitty74 Goods: Health, and knowing that you are doing this to make positive changes in your life. Confidence in knowing that you are taking control of your life and that most things will get better. I like walking with my head held high knowing i look better. I always hung my head and looked at the ground. Hated shopping (still dont care for it). The feeling of ..... WOW i just did that (fill in your own). I still want to go sky diving, i want to do a long hike, I want to go to an elaborate Ball and look like a million bucks. I want to buy and wear a really sexy Halloween costume and feel great in it.
Bads: How people treat you before..... I've seen and felt both... before where you feel invisible (men actually hold doors open now). People pass and don't give you the time of day, won't help if in trouble, look at you with terror when they think you will sit next to them on a plane. How your own family will sometimes treat you...... they try to stop you from doing the SX because of their fears of your dying, that you will leave them. Partners will sometimes discourage you because of their own insecurities.... Mine did, he said ... You don't need WLS you just need to diet and go work out as you did before and stick with it (then ask you to bake a cake). He said that my personality changed, and I know it did. I wasn't that easily controlled person anymore. He controlled everything in my life because I had zero confidence and felt like I didn't deserve better. After I lost, I gained confidence, and the things I settled for in the past I no longer settled for. No longer did I just agree with everything he wanted. I wanted things too... I wanted to go out and be an active member of society (he was happy sitting on the couch). I had so much built-up energy... I no longer wanted to settle for sex 2x a year. He told me from day one of our marriage that one day we would divorce. Turns out back then he was cheating on me (i was even smaller than i am now). I thought that if i lost the weight he would want me again.... Nope, turns out losing weight tore us even further apart. His insecurities really came to lite. In the nearly 8 years i had the lapband he cheated on me (i didn't know for sure, but my gut knew). He would insult me on a daily basis about my WL. Tell me i look terrible, a bag of bones, ugly, wrinkly, and that i needed to gain the weight back. And for a little while, I did put on 20lbs to make him happy, but I was starting to get depressed again. I snapped out of it and lost that 20lbs and begged him to go to get help, but he said no, that there was nothing wrong with him..... it was all me. After 25-26 years my marriage ended.
I lost close friends that couldn't understand my new way of life. They were happy being large and happy with themselves. And it think thats great for them, but it was not for me. So when they would ask to go eat out, they couldn't understand that I no longer took joy in food. That food was just some to keep me alive. I wanted to go to the gym an exercise.... for me it took the place of food and it now brought me joy.
So the loss of a relationship with a partner, the loss of friendships, the loss of my favorite foods. Even the loss of some of my comfort clothes. Getting rid of my favorite pants and tops.... the ones I wore because they hid most of the flaws.... The sagging skin is not fun either. The losing hair. The having to learn to THROW OUT FOOD.... that was bad.

I've always been overweight. I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't. But it's crazy how when you're a kid, you're not fat, obese, or whatever, you're cute and chubby, and the extra weight that you're carrying is no need for concern. But as you get older that quickly changes and you're no longer perceived as chubby and cute, and the extra weight has become a major problem, not just for yourself, but for others as well. I wonder if any of you can relate to this. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. I know many people say this and it's as if they're just talking, but I've actually been the biggest person in my class, school, church, etc. It was rare that I would see someone that was just as big as I was, if not bigger. I've tried different diets, exercise plans, supplements, nothing has worked for me. If I did lose any weight, it was a short-lived accomplishment. I've struggled with deeply rooted insecurities that only further fueled my horrible relationship with food. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for years because in my mind I could never get to that perfect weight or body. Just a constant battle with myself for most of my life.
It has taken a great deal of trial and error for me to get to where I am today in how I see myself, physically and otherwise. I have come to love myself and my body and I feel that there's nothing wrong with loving who or how you are physically, mentally, spiritually, and yet you feel the need to change a part of you. I believe most people would associate this with insecurity, but I beg to differ. I believe that it is the reasoning behind the decision to change that makes the difference. While I have learned to love and appreciate my body for all that it has done and continues to do for me, I am also very aware that carrying over 200 pounds of extra weight is not healthy for me. I want to have children one day and I don't want to put them or myself at increased risks because of my weight. I don't want to be at an increased risk of high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes, or congestive heart failure. These things run in my family and I don't want to be next in line. I want more for myself. I haven't went swimming in years, but I remember how good it felt to feel weightless in the Water, how peaceful and serene it was for me. I view this surgery as an opportunity to experience life in a different way. Even though I can walk or run at the weight I currently am, I know that my body will feel a lot better walking and running with less weight being carried around. Even though I can go swimming now, or travel the world just as I am right now. Simple things such as "will I fit in this seat? Will they have clothes my size? Is there going to be a lot of walking, etc...". I don't think many people understand the daily struggles of an obese individual. Yes, we're all aware of the "health concerns" associated with being over-weight. But not many people are aware of those small things that affect us daily such as standing for extended periods of time, back and body aches, getting winded or out of breath easily, etc.
I've made the decision to have gastric-bypass surgery as I'm confident that this is the tool that I've been missing to help me finally be successful in my weight-loss journey. I'm nervous and excited, but in the end I know this is the best decision for me. I'm interested to meet anyone who would like to go through this journey together, no matter where you are in your own journey. I'd love to hear from you all and know how you're doing and if I can be of some help to you, even if it's just a kind word. Good Luck! And Blessings to you all!

The active ingredient in gas x is Simethicone. I would look for a product containing it.

The active ingredient in gas x is Simethicone. I would look for a product containing it.

I have had both of my tubes removed. I am unable to get pregnant.

Thank you so much everyone for replying to my post! You've all been so helpful. Just thought I'd provide an update. I took a good hard look at things, started writing down everything I was eating, and figured out I had gotten into a really bad habit of grazing all day long. I am a crisis responder who works nights 12PM-12AM and wasn't planning for meals. I would just grab a bunch of Snacks (fairly healthy but still not the best) and head out. I decided to make a change by giving myself actual meal times and planning for them, with 2 snacks a day. For my weird schedule I'm having Breakfast (an egg and bacon or sausage) at noon, lunch at 3PM (a salad with protein), and dinner at 7PM (Some sort of Protein and veggies). I've been having nuts around 5PM for snack #1 (thank you for the suggestion!), and then around 9PM eating for the final time with snack #2 of fruit or popcorn. It's working.. I'm down 10 pounds and feeling better! I really appreciate all of the suggestions, encouragement, and help here at Bariatric Pal and am prioritizing a daily visit to the site again like I used to. Take care everyone! XOXO

Have you spoke with your surgeon's team? Every person is different, of course, but I wasn't able to eat Beans until after 3 or 4 months. tuna was about 3 months. Beef was at least 6 months out. I still don't eat rice and I'm 9 years out.
Your eating plan sounds way too aggressive for me, but as I mentioned, everybody is different. If I was trying to eat those things 1 month out, I would have been in a lot of pain, too. Talk to your team and find out where you should be at.

Ok if those don't work out, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND trying these 👍🏽