

ShoppGirl
Duodenal Switch Patients-
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Wisdom from a 10-year VSG Veteran
ShoppGirl replied to JamieLogical's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
Did you not need calcium? I had the sleeve and was just revised to a sadI and with both I was prescribe 1500mg of calcium supplements. -
I was just thinking of that while I was on my walk that maybe they could just keep doing nerve blocks for a little while. So glad you are getting some relief.
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August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Important thing is that you figure out something that works for you and you do not dread doing. It needs to be a little bit fun for you whether it’s time to yourself so you can just think or you’re listening to a really good book on tape or whatever it is that you enjoy. it can even be a sport or something else entirely. Just move your body, but you’re never gonna stick to it if it is not desirable, which the treadmill was not my thing for sure I dreaded it every single day. I have no doubt that you will figure out what works for you. -
August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
When I had my sleeve I tried to do the treadmill and absolutely could not stick with it. This time I am walking outside. Not sure if that’s an option for you but it’s so much more entertaining. Things to look at, people to say hello to, and you can go different ways and plus it’s fresh air. It’s also easier on your knees. I also walk a bit inside. For both, headphones help with music and a fitness watch so you can log your progress. After my nighttime shower I just put my exercise clothes on and sleep in them. That way when I wake up I am already dressed and I jump up and walk a bit around the house while my coffee is going and chilling over the ice so I can make my “proffee.” It’s just like 15 minutes (started with 5) or so but it’s a good start to my day. Then, I try to do a few minutes a couple more times during the day so I do it when I take my calcium (I have a recurring alarm to remind me). Depending on your job you may be able to do this on breaks. In the evenings, I prepare dinner but then head out to walk, depending on the weather. I am now up to 45 minutes but I started at 15. This one I get sweaty so I shower and put my exercise clothes on again (I have two sets and wash the other one daily) and then I sit down for my dinner and chill with my hubby for a while before it’s bedtime and i start it all again the next morning For me, it’s also easier to make a habit of things if I do them everyday, at least for a while. Eventually things will come up so I don’t do it every night, I’m sure but until it’s a habit I do it daily. My goal is 30 minutes a day no matter what but I try to do as much more as I can. The PA (physicians assistant) was at my support group meeting and did a talk one night on fitness and he shared that 90 minutes of exercise a week (15 minutes a day for 6 days of the week) causes a 15% Drop in “all cause mortality.” My surgeon was there and said that surgery actually only creates an 11% change so it’s pretty incredible. This takes 25 minutes per day because you want to do a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down. During the 15 minutes your goal is a zone 2 heart rate. You calculate the zone 2 range by first subtracting your age from 220 that is your MAXIMUM heart rate. Then you multiply that number by 60% that’s the lower number of your range and 70% which is the upper number of our range. The example is a 40 year old. 220 - 40 = 180 (MAX). 180 X 60% = 108 and 180 X 70% = 126. The zone 2 heart rate range for this person is between 108 - 126 beats per minute. (The fitness watch will tell you your heart rate so you can check You can do it at the gym if that works better for you and you can of course break it into three 30 minute sessions instead of daily if you choose as long as you get 90 minutes per week minimum. Once I can add strength training I may actually do it this way and do my weights on the other days. For now I’m just worrying about the cardio part. I can tell you though, it is so absolutely worth it. Since I have been doing the exercise I feel incredible. My energy has increased tremendously and my mood is so much better. It’s an all around good thing and not that hard, really, once you set your mind to it and get a few days under your belt it gets easier. I have been very sedentary for YEARS and I can’t believe I didn’t start this exercise thing sooner. It’s seriously pretty great!! Ooh and I was told the same thing for weights. At 6 weeks I can lift more than 10 pounds but not weights. Especially if I didn’t lift them before surgery and would be straining. Even at two months I’m supposed to slowly work my way up but I think that’s probably advisable for anyone whether they had surgery or not. Also, my friend found a fitness watch on Amazon for $20. Doesn’t have to be a fancy expensive one, just need heart rate and steps or distance really to get started. And if you know anyone else who wants to do some exercise, my friend and I talk on the phone most nights while we are both walking around our own houses. She said she wants to do her exercise bike last night but it goes so much faster when we talk. I said we can still talk while you ride your bike it doesn’t matter if we’re doing the same thing. The person you’re talking to doesn’t even really have to be exercising. They just have to be willing to talk to you and encourage you to keep doing it music works pretty well as an alternative busy a couple of nights and I’ve just used my headphones from instead of talking on the phone. Some people listen to podcasts as well -
Yea I had breast implants years ago and don’t recall that being extra painful either but everyone I have talked to says that plastics are extremely painful in comparison. I really think it varies from procedure to procedure though. I had two weight loss surgeries with the same surgeon and one I went home next day at my request on no pain meds and tbis one I was there for 5 days because they couldn’t control the pain. Why? Who knows but it was night and day different.
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So I am day 6 into soft food and I am very quickly remembering how much food I wasted with my sleeve since my hubby eats like a bird too and it’s just us. I am going to try freezing stuff this time. I made Turkey meatballs and lean beef chili and froze them already but I’m wondering if I can freeze the Turkey Taco filling I made last night. I assume the Guacamole and Pico I will just have to make less next time but I would like to at least freeze the meat if I can. Is there a trick to it or will the freezer ziplocks work?
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I agree with @SleeveToBypass2023 about your pain. If you insist on not taking anything, though, reach out to your dr and ask about opioid alternative. I know that Tumeric is supposed to help with inflammation and of course Tylenol and ice can help some but they have other alternatives.
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August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Had my one month post op appointment today and I showed her my food tracking summary of all my macros and told her what I’ve been doing on my fitness and she was very please. Said my weight loss is excellent and my food choices are perfect. She wants me to increase a little bit to add a little more protein and carbs because I’m so active now but other than that everything is fine. I cannot believe how amazing I feel you guys. I have not had this level of energy since I was a teenager and I’m not just eating but ENJOYING foods that I never liked before!! The fresh ingredients is seriously the trick. It’s more work but it makes things taste so much better. -
Report Your WINS ..What is your today's win??🥇
ShoppGirl replied to Mspretty86's topic in Rants & Raves
Today was my one month post op appointment and I gave her my phone with the summary of all my macros for the past week since I’ve been on soft food and a “normal” portion size (3/4 cup) and told her my current steps and she was really happy. I was worried that since my stomach was not operated on and I can tolerate foods and the larger portion of the range that I was eating too much for a month out and she said that with my level of activity I actually need to increase my protein a bit and the carbs as well and that my calories were fine to go up with that. She said that my loss is excellent and to keep doing what I’m doing just to increase my protein to 90g. She even said that I can add more veggies and some other foods as tolerated. I was worried about trying like asparagus and corn or rice paper (I’ve been craving spring rolls since I seen a recipe while on purée). I had already done my grocery order for this week and was going after there to pick it up so I added them rice papers to my cart for next weeks grocery run. I went ahead and scheduled my appointment for next month but she said that if I am still doing this well I can reschedule to my three month for my labs. I’m pretty excited! I did not feel like this after my sleeve. I feel like I have a handle on this, I am actually enjoying the healthier foods and the exercise. My energy's and my mood have improved tremendously. . -
August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
@Justarwaxx I am so glad you got the reassurance that you need. It’s funny because everyone has heard of the “bypass” or WLS but when you talk about WLS or any type people always lump them all into one group and most people call them all the bypass (unless they are an actual patient but even then most aren’t real familiar with all of the surgeries in terms of specifics). Some people, even educated ones, don’t know anything other than it makes you lose weight. I had a Doctor (not a medical Doctor thank God) ask me if I was worried i wouldn’t lose all of my weight why I didn’t just ask them to take more out!’ Like all things in life until you have a reason to know you just don’t know. -
Surgeon Appointment- ✅
ShoppGirl replied to MrsFitz's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I got mine and I didn’t weigh it but it comes with the batteries separate (not installed). I wonder if that’s the difference. Just three AAA’s though. -
Thanks for that. How long do things usually keep without preservatives? The meatball recipe said one month For them but I wasn’t sure so I just wrote the current date as opposed to the expiration date. How can you tell if they are not good? Is there a smell or something when it defrosts if it’s no longer good?
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OP I do not know of any EU brands but US Amazon has quite a few brands if you have Amazon.
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It seems to be pretty standard to require a multi vitamin and the calcium citrate that you mentioned. Most programs require labs around 3 months and will add things like magnesium or B12 or ADEK supplements as needed. All of the bariatric vitamins are pretty close with the exception of the amount of iron and the ones for SADI/DS which are higher ADEK and higher iron. Of course they are not exact. My suggestion is to bring the bottle with you of whichever one you do settle on to your post op appointment and just make sure they are okay with it and to bring it with you to your follow up from your labs so they can see if your vitamin does contain whatever you may be low in.
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You totally deserve to brag. You look amazing. You earned it!!
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Actually I didn’t. I’m totally new to freezing prepared food. Thanks for the tip.
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August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
What are you taking your MV with. I always take mine in the morning AFTER an ENtIRE protein shake. Anything less and I vomit immediately. It’s the iron. If you are only 3 weeks it’s likely you are not yet eating enough solids to stomach it. Try it with a shake if you haven’t and if that doesn’t work see anoint getting one with a lower iron content and taking a separate iron at a different time during the day to make up for it. For the waking try breaking it up into smaller spurts. Just five minutes at a medium pace ks like a quarter of a mile. It adds up quick!! That’s why I love my Apple Watch. I already had it but hadn’t worn it in forever but I updated it and other than the battery which means I have to charge it in the evening if I’m still exercising it works. Thinking about asking Santa for a new one 😉 Anyways it logs any little spurt of exercise and it shows you how quick it adds up, helps you track your heart rate and tells you exactly how many calories you burned based on that heart rate and your personal info if you enter it. -
August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
All we have to do is stick to the plan and we should be just fine. Hiding the scale is actually a really good idea. I have already gone through this once so I already know that my weight can fluctuate by a few pounds even from morning to night so I know to expect it, yet i stepped on the scale yesterday and it went up a pound and it caused me a bit of anxiety. I was like I ate low calories, did all my fluids and actually exercised more than i have in years, how is this possible?! My husband was like one pound, this happens, remember. So thankful to have him as my voice of reason. -
August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Oh good. Sounds like you should get some answers soon about what you are doing. I was second guessing my calories today and my good friend said as long as you are losing as much as they expect you to, stick with what you are doing!! That made so much sense. Not sure why it took someone else to even tell me that because it’s obvious. Don’t fix what isn’t broken. -
August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
You poor thing doing this without much guidance from your team. First of all, DO NOT let anyone give you advise who is not a medical professional or someone who had your surgery. Who knows what they are comparing it to. For one thing most people thing all the surgeries are a Bypass and they are all the same, and second who knows how far out this person was. On top of that, liquids pretty much go right through once the swelling goes down. One month post sleeve i Was practical bacK to drinking my normal one gallon of fluids which is twice what they recommend as a goal!! This time it’s really not a good comparison since they didn’t operate on my stomach but I am up to 3/4 cup of food per meal. My book says 1/2-3/4 cup. All I know is that I feel fantastic. I am losing at a steady pace and exercising too which I never did before. I know it’s hard not to compare but honestly we should take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt because your doctor is the only one who knows all about you and your circumstances as well as your surgery. Make sure that your nutritionist has worked with bariatric patients before or you will most likely be wasting your time though. Did you call and ask your team if they can get you in sooner?? Corrected to add actually I just realized you did not have a sleeve or bypass either. Honestly you need to get advise from someone who had your surgery. We can cheer you on and relate to many parts of all of this but I know I for one am not very familiar with your surgery at all. -
August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Yea. They use vibration on the bone to conduct the sound so you don’t have to put anything into your ears to block you from hearing other sounds such as traffic if your walking outside. -
Does anyone know an exercise to help slim down the inner thighs? I hate mine. I need that and core exercises for like absolute beginner. I have zero ab muscle.
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August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
My hubby got me the coolest thing to use on my walks. They are called bone phones and you can wear them and talk on phone or listen to music but still hear things around you. Enough to know to pause it anyways. I was so excited that I was walking in the house doing my short walks and they went longer if I liked the song and then this evening it occupied me as I did my big walk since my friend couldn’t walk with me. -
August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I have been weighing daily and I’ve seen my weight go up a couple of pounds on a day. It’s not uncommon to fluctuate. SO many things like water, inflammations or even a full bowel can make your weight fluctuate. If you’re sticking to your plan it’s pretty much impossible for you to be gaining. If you are looking for an easy way to track your macros try the Baritastic App. It’s so simple.