lizonaplane

Thank you for sharing your daughter's story. I was a normal weight until I started the meds for bipolar at age 14 and gained 100lb in 2 years. My PCP/GP (who works exclusively with patients who have a mental illness) actually recommended weight loss surgery for me. My psychopharmacologist also agrees it is the right move for me. I'm not expecting to go off my meds due to surgery, but I'd like to be more comfortable doing the thing I love like hiking and traveling. I have been in the hospital a number of times for bipolar disorder, so I don't think just losing weight or exercising will solve my problems. I am also (at 41) a bit old to start jogging.

I also have bipolar disorder and my surgeon and psychopharmacologist both suggested I do sleeve rather than bypass, which I wanted due to possible GERD. I don't take anything that is extended release, but they still felt it would be better for absorption. I got a second opinion from a different surgeon, and she didn't think I'd have any problem with bypass, but she still recommended sleeve as it's an easier operation. I decided to go with sleeve... I'm still nervous about the surgery upending my mental health, but I am taking the risk to be able to be more active. Just stay in touch with your mental health providers so you can let them know right away if you're starting to struggle.

I would ask about berries because they have tiny seeds. Maybe blueberries are fine, but I'd be cautious about strawberries, raspberries, etc, that could irritate the staple line. I agree that if you're eating something that could fill you up, it should definitely have protein powder, because almond milk isn't very high in protein.

I'm the 13th as well.

I still haven't had surgery, but I lost 46 lbs in the 7 months preparing and waiting for my surgery to be scheduled. My pre-op diet isn't liquid, it's just low carb and low fat and high protein and lots of veggies. I've lost about 2 lbs in the last week. Hopefully people who have been through all the stages will chime in and let you know... I am curious too!

In my surgery packet they specifically said no patches or gum with nicotine, but I don't know whether they'd come up on a test. My guess would be yes, since they contain nicotine.

That's awful. I hope that doesn't happen to you! I've heard of that happening to people a lot recently. I'm hoping mine won't be cancelled due to COVID. Our numbers aren't too bad here in Boston.

I'm the 13th... and I'm so anxious... It got really bad yesterday morning. I have been preparing since January and I don't want to back out, but I'm just a ball of nerves.

I would seriously doubt that this is an insurance requirement because it's about the body's ability to heal. I'm sorry you're finding it so difficult to stay away from the nicotine. I'm not surprised. You're dealing with a lot as you move towards surgery and the stress makes us want to find a coping mechanism that's familiar to us. If you are on the pre-op diet, it's even harder since you can't cope using food! I know I was watching my friends eating fried food and drink sodas over the weekend and I had a sad salad with a tiny bit of low-fat dressing and the lettuce was all brown and gross and I wanted to shove all their onion rings and french fries in my mouth. I hope they don't cancel your surgery and that you are able to stay away from the vaping moving forward!

I was nauseous and exhausted last week after starting my preop diet (low carb, low fat, high protein). I felt better by Friday, then over the weekend I wasn't exactly perfect because I was with friends over the weekend and we ate out a few times so I'm not exactly sure how much oil my vegetables or meat was cooked in. I cooked most of the meals and know what was in them, but twice we went out and I know it had more oil than I use at home. Now I'm back to being nauseous and exhausted. I'm worried because my friends always get together at restaurants, rarely at people's houses. Most of them don't cook at all, and my apartment is too small to have people over now that I had to turn my dining room into a home office. Plus, I travel for work a lot, so I feel like I'm going to have to navigate restaurants all. the. time.

every WLS group I go to... people talk about having a stall at 3ish weeks out... just be patient. You didn't gain the weight overnight, it won't come off overnight either.

Did your surgeon do an endoscopy to check for a stricture? That sounds really unpleasant. I'm sorry you're having such trouble!

I hope your date doesn't get pushed too far out by COVID. It's not as bad here in Boston, but I'm still worried it might cancel my surgery.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I had IBS for years due to medications I was on so, yeah, it's awful when that happens! I hope your innards calm down soon!

Do you have GERD? GERD is the biggest risk for sleeve - sometimes it gets worse after sleeve, and sometimes people who never had GERD develop it. There are more complications with RNY, but it's still pretty safe. If you take a lot of meds for your anxiety and depression, your doctor and surgeon may recommend sleeve to ensure you can absorb these medications properly; this is what my surgeon said and my psychopharmacologist agreed, although I got a second opinion with a different surgeon, and she didn't think an RNY would be a problem with the meds, but she still recommended sleeve because it's an easier surgery and she feels the weight loss is just as good. I has wanted RNY in the beginning, but with both surgeons pushing for sleeve, and the risks of higher complications with RNY, I chose to go with sleeve. I hope I don't end up with GERD (I had it for a while but it resolved with better eating).

I don't have diabetes but I still have to get up a lot to pee. I have heard it gets better as you weigh less because your body isn't putting so much weight on your bladder. I don't know if this will be true for you. There are other things that cause you to have to pee: artificial sweeteners, caffeine, coffee, tea, etc are all bladder irritants and can cause you to have to get up a lot to pee. Also being anxious.

I'm about 10 days from surgery, and the nerves are REAL, but I'm not having second thoughts. I am not thrilled with the idea of losing my hair, but I figure, if it looks too bad, I'll get a wig and try out a hairstyle I've never thought about. For me, that's not a big issue, although I would say that my hair is not thin to begin with, and I trust them when they say it grows back (my hair is buzzed on one side and short on the other). I have fears of becoming too sick to travel or do my job, but hair is just window dressing as far as I'm concerned. I want to do this surgery so I can be more active and be more comfortable doing my job and traveling and playing with my nieces and nephews.

Congratulations on your success. If you always hated shopping because things didn't look good or you didn't know what to buy or look for to try on and now you don't know your size, consider going to Nordstrom. The salespeople there are really good at helping you find things that work for you and their bra sales people will measure you and figure out the best size and type of bra for you. I do not work for Nordstrom, I just found last time I lost a lot of weight I got overwhelmed easily by all the options and Nordstrom was really helpful. Plus, my mom hates shopping and she would only go there for the longest time because of how helpful they are. It's expensive, yes, but you get what you pay for. If that's out of your budget, try Chico's. Their staff is also very helpful, but you have to like their style of clothing!

I'm excited and scared too. I talked to the surgeon yesterday and he said it was normal, and that he wasn't scared, but he was excited for me. I liked that. I'm glad he wasn't scared 🤣

I personally think you made the right decision. I also think you should use this time to practice the post-surgery mindset - see a bariatric therapist to work on good eating behaviors and change to a high protein low carb diet. Make sure you try not to use food as a way to cope with stress or other emotions - I always used to eat a lot when doing mental work like school.

I am on day 4 of my pre-op diet. I am finally not nauseous anymore. But I'm starting to get nervous about the surgery. I've never had surgery before!! I have a friend coming for Labor Day weekend, and it's going to be hard to eat with him. But he's supportive of my plans, although when I talked to him last night he admitted he's nervous for me. I think that's what started me being nervous. I've been totally open about my surgery, even on facebook. I've been talking about it too much. I'm also really nervous about gaining weight back - I've gained weight back so many times!

I also like my fitness pal. I've been using it since 2012, so I want to keep all my previous weights in there. I just saw my lowest weight was 190 and my highest was 283 (I know I had a higher weight earlier). I haven't entered my liquids before, because I never had trouble drinking, but I will probably start after surgery. I've used a lot of the macro info. The only thing I don't like is all the ads, but I'm not willing to pay for the premium version.

That sounds good (minus the cilantro - I'm one of THOSE people). I'll have to get some chicken broth.

I have read A LOT of research studies on the theory that diet soda causes weight gain, and the evidence is far from convincing. Dr. Matthew Weiner (a bariatric surgeon with a huge YouTube presence) says he doesn't mind if people drink fizzy water, but doesn't want his patients drinking diet or regular soda. The belief that it stretches the stomach isn't really true from what he says, and from other evidence, but also it just doesn't make sense. But he says, many people just find it uncomfortable. Like @PolkSDA said, it can be hard to find non-carbonated unsweetened drinks on the go other than water. I travel a lot for work, and I had given up soda 6 months ago as I prepared for surgery, and when I started to travel more again, I gave up and started drinking diet soda again. I've stopped now that I'm on my pre-op diet. One thing I did at first was carry packets of sugar free drink mix (like crystal light, but I don't like that brand) and a water bottle and just refill it and add a packet of drink mix. That worked when I didn't want plain water. I met a woman on a trip who drank Coke Zero from day one and drank it with her meals. She said she had gained some weight back, but she felt it was from too much alcohol.

I have not, but you can check to see if they are a Bariatric Center of Excellence.