ichabodny

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing!
I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.
     

Way to go, girl! Congratulations! It truly is amazing to get your life back!

That's really great. Good for you.

That really is an astounding result for 4.5 months. Congratulations!

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing!
I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.
     

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing!
I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.
     

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing!
I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.
     

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing!
I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.
     

I've been on both Facebook and two other groups. This is the one I stay on but not for negativity reasons on one group and the other one I was attacked for telling members that there were other support groups and to try to find the ones best for you. The person was mean and posted that I should not talk about any other groups as encouragement. I apologized and said that I was only told by my Dr (who has their own weekly in face meetings) that anyone having had surgery should find as much support as they can get from groups and to just try and see which are a good fit.
Another was a good group but I am atheist and it was largely religious. It was an awesome support group for those with largely Christian beliefs but not a good fit for me. One group on fb did begin to become judgmental in responses and not so understanding to members who were older with families that had valid concerns. The members themselves would respond with comments that were mostly attacking or sarcastic and hurtful. It was addressed but I just left the group and it was fine.
One of my favorite groups besides this one is for a group that is specific to women past menopause and over 50. For me, that is a very good fit and I use that group as well.
If this group you are on makes you feel the way are relaying, it's not a good fit for you. This site is actually very informative and largely neutral in answers or encouraging. I have seen very little negativity but on the rare occasion I run across it, it's addressed and then let go.

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing!
I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.
     

I've been on both Facebook and two other groups. This is the one I stay on but not for negativity reasons on one group and the other one I was attacked for telling members that there were other support groups and to try to find the ones best for you. The person was mean and posted that I should not talk about any other groups as encouragement. I apologized and said that I was only told by my Dr (who has their own weekly in face meetings) that anyone having had surgery should find as much support as they can get from groups and to just try and see which are a good fit.
Another was a good group but I am atheist and it was largely religious. It was an awesome support group for those with largely Christian beliefs but not a good fit for me. One group on fb did begin to become judgmental in responses and not so understanding to members who were older with families that had valid concerns. The members themselves would respond with comments that were mostly attacking or sarcastic and hurtful. It was addressed but I just left the group and it was fine.
One of my favorite groups besides this one is for a group that is specific to women past menopause and over 50. For me, that is a very good fit and I use that group as well.
If this group you are on makes you feel the way are relaying, it's not a good fit for you. This site is actually very informative and largely neutral in answers or encouraging. I have seen very little negativity but on the rare occasion I run across it, it's addressed and then let go.

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing!
I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.
     

This week I am 4 and a half months out from gastric bypass and down 113 lbs! I am 20 lbs away from goal but more importantly, I've gone from a size 28/30 barely fitting to a 12/14 depending on jeans or shirts and slacks. The red outfit I have was in a photo from yesterday; the outfit has been in my closet through a move from one state to another and 5 years as a 'goal oufit' that I was always depressed to think to never even come close to wearing!
I was jumping up and down when this size 14 outfit easily slipped on yesterday. I honestly teared up seeing it finally come unfolded and the tags come off. Well, we are in NY, it's COLD and by the time winter subsides, I will be out of this outfit for summer and down at least another size so I'm wearing it in the house now lol. I still remain amazed at how much easier it is to move, breathe and even curl up in a ball or take a bath. I can work now in a very physical job and feel tired but not excruciating pain; it's absolutely unreal to me and delightful.
     

SAMMC Bariatric Clinic: Weight-loss Surgery, Nutrition and Hair loss (whmcbariatric.blogspot.com

Weight-loss Surgery, Nutrition and hair Loss
by Jacqueline Jacques, ND
Original content: http://www.obesityaction.org/magazine/ywm22/wlsandhairloss.php
Typically, about 90 percent of hairs are anagen (in a growth phase) and 10 percent are telogen (in a dormant or resting phase) at any given time, meaning you are usually losing a lot less hair than you are growing so you don't have noticeable hair loss. But sometimes this can change.
A common fear and complaint of bariatric surgery patients is post-operative hair loss. While for most of us as people, our hair is an important part of our self-image and body image, it is not very important to our bodies. For this reason, nutrition can have a great impact on hair health because when forced to make a choice, the body will shift nutritional stores to vital organs like your brain and heart and away from your hair.
Hair loss has many causes. The most common type of hair loss after weight-loss surgery is a diffuse loss known medically as telogen effluvium, which can have both nutritional and non-nutritional causes.
Growing and Losing Hair
Whether you are aware of it or not, for most of your life you are always in the process of both growing and losing hair. Human hair follicles have two states; anagen, a growth phase, and telogen, a dormant or resting phase. All hairs begin their life in the anagen phase, grow for some period of time, and then shift into the telogen phase which lasts for about 100 to 120 days. Following this, the hair will fall out.
Specific types of stress can result in a shift of a much greater percentage of hairs into the telogen phase. The stressors known to result in this shift, or telogen effluvium, include:
High fever Severe infection Major surgery Acute physical trauma Chronic debilitating illness (such as cancer or end-stage liver disease) Hormonal disruption (such as pregnancy, childbirth or discontinuation of estrogen therapy) Acute weight-loss Crash dieting Anorexia Low Protein intake Iron or zinc deficiency Heavy metal toxicity Some medications (such as beta-blockers, anticoagulants, retinoids and immunizations) Weight-loss Surgery and Hair Loss
Nutritional issues aside, bariatric surgery patients already have two major risks of major surgery and rapid weight-loss. These alone are likely to account for much of the hair loss seen after surgery. In the absence of a nutritional issue, hair loss will continue until all hairs that have shifted into the telogen phase have fallen out. There is no way of switching them back to the anagen phase.
Hair loss rarely lasts for more than six months in the absence of a dietary cause. Because hair follicles are not damaged in telogen effluvium, hair should then regrow. For this reason, most doctors can assure their weight-loss surgery patients that with time and patience, and keeping up good nutritional intake, their hair will grow back. Discrete nutritional deficiencies are known to cause and contribute to telogen effluvium. One would be more suspicious of a nutritional contribution to post-bariatric surgery hair loss if:
Hair loss continued more than one year after surgery Hair loss started more than six months after surgery Patient has had difficulty eating and/or has not complied with supplementation Patient has demonstrated low values of ferritin, zinc or protein Patient has had more rapid than expected weight-loss Other symptoms of deficiency are present Nutrition Iron
Iron is the single nutrient most highly correlated with hair loss. The correlation between non-anemic iron deficiency and hair loss was first described in the early 1960s, although little to no follow-up research was conducted until this decade. While new research is conflicted as to the significance of ferritin as a diagnostic tool in hair loss, it has still been found that a significant number of people with telogen effluvium respond to iron therapy.
Optimal iron levels for hair health have not been established, although there is some good evidence that a ferritin level below 40ug/L is highly associated with hair loss in women.1 It is worth noting that this is well above the level that is considered to be anemia, so doctors would not be expected to see this as a deficiency.
Zinc
Zinc deficiency has been tied to hair loss in both animal studies and human cases. There is data linking zinc deficiency in humans to both telogen effluvium and immune-mediated hair loss. Zinc deficiency is a well-recognized problem after bileopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch, and there is some indication that it may occur with other procedures such as gastric bypass and adjustable gastric banding.
In 1996, a group of researchers chose to study high dose zinc supplementation as a therapeutic agent for related hair loss2 in patients with vertical banded gastroplasty. The study administered 200 mg of zinc sulfate (45mg elemental zinc) three times daily to post-operative patients with hair loss. This was in addition to the Multivitamin and iron supplements that patients were already taking. No labs for zinc or other nutrients were conducted.
Researchers found that in patients taking the zinc, 100 percent had cessation of hair loss after six months. They then stopped the zinc. In five patients, hair loss resumed after zinc was stopped, and was arrested again with renewed supplementation. It is important to note that in telogen effluvium of non-nutritional origin, hair loss would be expected to stop normally within six months. Since the researchers conducted no laboratory studies, and there was no control group, the only patients of interest here are those who began to lose hair again after stopping zinc. Thus we cannot say that zinc would prevent hair loss after weight-loss surgery, and further study would definitely be needed to make this connection.
A further note: The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for zinc is set at 40mg in adults. This study utilized a daily dose of more than three times that level. Not only can these levels cause gastrointestinal distress, but chronic toxicity (mostly associated with copper depletion) can start at levels of 60 mg/day. Information related to this study has made its way to many a support group and chat room – even to doctor's offices – with the message of "high dose zinc will prevent hair loss after weight-loss surgery." Patients should be advised that high dose zinc therapy is unproven and should only be done under supervision due to the associated risks of toxicity. A lab test to check for zinc deficiency would be best before giving a high dose such as this.
Protein
Low protein intake is associated with hair loss. Protein malnutrition has been reported with duodenal switch, and in gastric bypass to a much lesser degree. Little is known about incidence, as only around eight percent of surgeons track labs such as total protein, albumen or prealbumen. Limited studies suggest that patients with the most rapid or greatest amounts of weight-loss are at greatest risk.3
With surgical reduction of the stomach, hydrochloric acid,4 pepsinogen5 and normal churning are all significantly reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, pancreatic enzymes that would also aid in protein digestion are redirected to a lower part of the small intestine. It is thus likely that maldigestion, rather than malabsorption, is responsible for most cases. Some studies have also implicated low protein intake.6
Research also indicates that low levels of the amino acid l-lysine can contribute to hair loss and that repletion of lysine stores may both improve iron status and hair regrowth. In a study of anemic patients with hair loss who were supplemented with 1.5 to 2 grams of l-lysine in addition to their iron therapy, ferritin levels increased more substantially over iron therapy alone.1
Many individuals believe that supplementing with or topically applying the nutrient Biotin will either help to prevent hair loss or will improve hair regrowth. To date, there is no science that would support either of these presumptions. While biotin deficiency can cause dermatitis, hair loss is only known to occur in experimentally induced states in animal models or in extreme cases of prolonged diets composed exclusively of egg whites.7
Other
Other nutrients associated with hair health include Vitamin A, inositol, folate, B-6 and essential fatty acids. Hair loss can also be caused by systemic diseases, including thyroid disease and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and is influenced by genetics.
Conclusion
Hair loss can be distressing to bariatric surgery patients and many will try nutrition themselves to see if they can prevent it. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that early hair loss is preventable because it is mostly likely caused by surgery and rapid weight-loss.
Later hair loss, however, can be indicative of a nutritional problem, especially iron deficiency, and may be a clinically useful sign. Educating patients about the potential for hair loss and possible underlying causes can help them to make informed choices and avoid wasting money on gimmicks that may have little real value.
About the Author:
Jacqueline Jacques, ND, is a Naturopathic Doctor with more than a decade of expertise in medical nutrition. She is the Chief Science Officer for Catalina Lifesciences LLC, a company dedicated to providing the best of nutritional care to weight-loss surgery patients. Her greatest love is empowering patients to better their own health. Dr. Jacques is a member of the OAC National Board of Directors.

Hi, my name is Fredricka and I’m new to the group. I’m super excited. I have UHC and I’m starting my once a week 12 sessions with a nutritionist on Thurs. 1/14/21 as required. This is my final step before approval submission. My current BMI is 46. Hope for some tips and info from you guys as well as encouragement while I go through this journey. Anybody go through UHC for approval?

My wife takes some odd photos. These odd photos are great to show the difference before and after. I've had three waves of cleaning out my entire closet. Started with a 48" pant waist at the beginning of the year and am down to 35" now. Shirt size is down from roomy XXXL to XL.

Seven months after a Duodenal switch revision surgery I reached my goal weight of 190 lbs. That's 110 lbs. down from 300 at the beginning of 2020. I've adjusted well to my daily nutrition plan and am exercising every day.
 

 

Great job!! I know you were excited to see that! I'm getting there-hoping I get it for Christmas lol. I was surprised to see 206 a few days ago-can't wait to hit onederland. You're doing awesome!

Everyone is going to respond differently to this as it's so different with each person to what they can be ready for, Dr and NUT orders, etc. I've learned after much research to go with what you can handle. After the surgery, all Protein Shakes just made me nauseous or food come back up (not quite vomit but definitely some coming back out). I was pureeing turkey meatballs (ONLY the Wegmans turkey meatballs-can't handle anything else) right at the soft food stage but mixing with some sauce or fat free gravy.
I still can't handle chicken-even soft. eggs are by the day after I started just learning to chew until pureed in my mouth. I could handle mashed potatoes that were plain at that stage and I still live on sugar free popsicles at 4 months out. cheese is good for me; ice cream KILLS me. Most of my calories comes from the turkey meatballs and mixing cheese with them as I can handle the cheese that is shredded. This is really just a thing of trying what you can handle off of the list you are given. I had some complications after the surgery so the recovery was longer but after about 4-6 weeks, I could get a bit more daring with trying things. I still keep nausea pills with me just in case but try not to use them unless really vomiting.

I'm almost 6 months out and still relying on Protein Powder to meet my requirements. I don't think I could get all my Protein from food even if I ate nothing but meat, unless I started eating between meals, which I'm trying not to do because I don't want to fall back into old bad habits.
I got tired of Protein Shakes between the pre-op diet and the post-surgery liquid stage, so I mainly mix protein powder into my food. My go-to Breakfast is half a container of Greek yogurt plus half a scoop of protein powder (my favorite is birthday cake flavor, but I also use chocolate sometimes). That's 19 grams of protein. You can also mix protein powder into applesauce, protein oatmeal, or pudding, and unflavored protein powder into things like refried Beans, Soups, and other purees. A lot of people like to add protein shakes to their coffee instead of Creamer for a protein boost. I like protein hot cocoa and find it much easier to drink than cold shakes.
What brand of Protein Shake were you drinking when you had the allergic reaction? You'll have to avoid whatever caused that, which could limit the kinds of protein you can have (although it is possible that your reaction was to a different ingredient and not the protein itself). If it was whey protein (which is generally the recommended type), you may have to use plant-based protein. There are some recommendations on a recent thread here:

Congrats on your success so far.
You could be experiencing real hunger. My real hunger makes me feel uncomfortable & restless. A lot of people have an increase in stomach acid which makes them think they’re hungry. Take an additional esomeprazole at night & see if that helps. I sometimes do if I feel my morning dose has worn off.
Are you only eating three meals a day? Speak to your dietician about a healthy snack you could add after dinner to tide you over during the night as you may need to be consuming a few more calories. Have a small piece of cheese, a carrot stick, a couple of blueberries or strawberries or a small piece of chicken or other meat you may have in your fridge.
Good luck.

There is not one person here including myself that was not anxious or nervous about getting cut open and making the decision to get healhty. It is Normal - You should have here join here there are great support members and veterans here that may calm her down. My view is yes get it done before its to late and you die from being unhealthy

ooohhhhhh.....VERY flattering on you!

Thank you so much that is really helpful! I am getting frustrated because I am getting different answers. First I was told it was approved, then I was told it’s still pending, now I am being told they don’t even see my paperwork. I am beyond annoyed.

I'm the same but only 4 months out. Taste changes after surgery. This can be all kinds of issues; especially if you didn't have this until just now. I had gerd 3 before the surgery and then still having gerd issues post op; even sinuses and this issue can be affected by all kinds of different gerd and heartburn issues (some can be silent). I also was very close to NASH before the surgery but now down to stage 1 with full reversal so the liver should be the last thing affected. I'm not sure how they are watching that; if there is a concern, a fibroscan, enzyme labs and eventually a possible biopsy should be the thing with the liver but numbness or any kind of issues should not be present with liver problems. Does your pcp know you had the surgery? Is there a medical weight loss center near you that does more then just the surgeries? The clinics that deal with medical weight loss AND surgeries as separate issues could possibly help you with the labs you need it more detail.
This is not an issue to be worried about honestly, just something to check out.