summerseeker

Hi there!
My first contribution to this thread, I have been silently getting inspiration from all the yummy food pics y’all post. 4.5 months out, here’s my dinner for today (also my post leg workout meal):
Homemade Teriyaki chicken, 2 tsps white rice, broccolini. Ate the whole thing (around 229 calories)

This is the first time in 4 years on this forum that I ever heard of a leak. It must be rare. This surgery is so safe these days. Stop frightening yourself reading about stuff that might never happen.

I have a feeding tube currently. I had surgery 6/13/24 for revision to RNY. I had 2 emergency surgeries 3 days later. I had a leak and had 7liters of toxic fluids cleaned out of me then ICU 6 days and hospital until the end of July. It has been 10 months + with wound vac, Gtube, and now a stricture that I've had 3 balloon procedures and still not halfway there. Total of 6 hospital stays, 4 ER visits, 7 surgeries since June 2023.
I'm getting better. Feeding tube helps but also causes alot of pain and granulated tissue which has to be burned off.
I have found 4 people who have talked about the same issues. A leak like this and a stricture is very uncommon.
Most people with leaks end up dying. It's why you don't hear about them.

I'm not sure why anyone would require a feeding tube other than a major stricture or leak. Maybe due to already having so much scar tissue. They think that is why I had a leak but nobody knows.
For reference. I had lapband 2008. Lapband Removal 2019 due to Gerd. RNY 2023. I was 238lbs 5'6 at the time. I'm 170 now.

Who lost 30 pounds in their first month ? Not anyone your size. Who gave you these ridiculous expectations ? It could take a year to 18 months or so for you to be at a healthy weight. Your body will do what it will, you can not force the weight off your body.
Stay off the scales, listen to your team and be patient.

Who lost 30 pounds in their first month ? Not anyone your size. Who gave you these ridiculous expectations ? It could take a year to 18 months or so for you to be at a healthy weight. Your body will do what it will, you can not force the weight off your body.
Stay off the scales, listen to your team and be patient.

Who lost 30 pounds in their first month ? Not anyone your size. Who gave you these ridiculous expectations ? It could take a year to 18 months or so for you to be at a healthy weight. Your body will do what it will, you can not force the weight off your body.
Stay off the scales, listen to your team and be patient.

In the USA, federal legislation called the No Surprises Act was enacted in 2021 to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. It has been supplemented with changes as recently as January of 2024. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and patients have protections and rights against certain charges. Here's a link for more information:
https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
Many of us have had to navigate the complex insurance system in the States and we are no strangers to advocating for ourselves. I was hit with a surprise bill 4 months after my surgery and having knowledge of this legislation helped me avoid paying a large amount of money to an out of network provider that assisted with my surgery.

Thanks ladies! I was genuinely curious and turns out, I had a legitimate stomach bug 🤮But important info, never the less. I love this community so much. Back into the dating world now and it’s been an adventure lol

Don't compare your weight loss to anyone else's. That way is only misery. Trust your team and the process. Stick to their regime. It works. The weight you have lost is fantastic and above average. I lost 15lbs. Mahoosive round of applause coming your way. This time next year you will be amazed how much you have lost.

I had awful nausea, some diarrhoea and no pain. It was tough getting in and out of bed as my bed is high so I used a step. I needed to be sat up in bed because my reflux was not under control. I seriously wished for a lazy boy chair. I didn't manage my meds and Vitamins, never made my liquid goals and my Protein goals were non existent.
After a month and nausea meds and some serious advice from the lovely people on here, I began to improve. I worried my family a lot and at this point they noticed me getting on with things. My stomach staple line was very swollen and until the swelling dissipated I struggled.

Don't compare your weight loss to anyone else's. That way is only misery. Trust your team and the process. Stick to their regime. It works. The weight you have lost is fantastic and above average. I lost 15lbs. Mahoosive round of applause coming your way. This time next year you will be amazed how much you have lost.

He seemed really knowledgeable and understanding and compassionate and really willing to do whatever he and his team can to help me get my life back with this surgery which gives me hope.

I just had my first appointment with the surgeon. It went really well, and I’m glad I took the first step. We are leaning toward Gastric Bypass as the procedure for me. It’s a 3 month process to surgery with his office, 3 visits with him, 3 visits with dietician, plus clearance by Cardiology, Pulmonology and sleep medicine.
My next visit with him and the dietician will be in about a month and he’s sending out the referrals to the offices for the clearances and working on prior authorization with insurance.

Don't compare your weight loss to anyone else's. That way is only misery. Trust your team and the process. Stick to their regime. It works. The weight you have lost is fantastic and above average. I lost 15lbs. Mahoosive round of applause coming your way. This time next year you will be amazed how much you have lost.

I agree 100% thank you to everyone for their help & thoughts. I will try more eggs, chicken & definitely need to drink more Water. 3 of my medications cause weight gain :-( im also asthmatic so excersise can be tricky. Along with being a fussy eater. X

The concern I would have (though I am not a dietician) is that slim fast bars and Protein Shakes are more "food-like substances" than actual food. Processed foods, even "diet" ones, can cause metabolism issues, and this feels almost punishing. Maybe you could try to find more satisfying, healthier options? You might try scrambling 2 eggs blended with some cottage cheese and a big handful of frozen chopped spinach for Breakfast with a small serving of fruit, and a big salad of mixed veg topped with rotisserie chicken, black Beans, and fresh salsa for lunch. Make sure the meat or chicken is being served with plenty of non-starchy veg, too.
And don't ignore a good night's sleep and plenty of hydration. If you take prescription meds, check if any of them have weight gain as a side effect.
I do agree that surgery is most likely going to be needed as soon as you can get it sorted because losing and maintaining that amount of weight is almost impossible without the metabolic changes that come with surgery.

I’m sorry you have encountered an obstacle. Hopefully that will get sorted out soon. Are you very active? I ask because 1400 calories may not be low enough to lose if you are not. I really would suggest speaking with a dietician to see if you need to decrease calories or increase your activity.

I just read that climbing stairs helps develop the muscles that help with bad knees and thought of this post. May be something to look into?? I know I have seen some people at the high schools climbing the stairs to the bleachers if you don’t have any. I think I would probably run this by your dr first. This wasn’t an official source. Just thought it’s be worth asking some questions about.

Being kind to myself. All the physical things like fitting in seats, standing, clothes... All FANTASTIC! It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to do all the things that were challenging before. But being kind to myself. Remembering all my body has been through when I was at my heaviest, how I got there, my decision to change my like, and the journey to where I am now. What a story!
I look in the mirror now and see a woman who got her life back and I owe it to her be kind. Does she like the saggy skin and no boobs? No, but they tell a story of overcoming and personal redemption. I'm kind to her on bad days when all she wants is chips and brownies. I'm kind to her when she gains a couple pounds. And I Celebrate with her when she loses those couple pounds and gets back on track. My weirdest non scale victory is to love the woman staring back at me despite everything else.

I attended a concert last week that was basically standing room only. In the past, I would have been DYING standing for 4 hours, but now apparently I can do it! My feet were a little grumpy with me, and I was a little sore the next day (over 40 here, lol!) but this is leaps and bounds better than it was in the past. Looking forward to seeing how I handle a 3-day music festival coming up this summer!

Hello Everyone:
I am getting my gastric band removed on May 17 and going with the gastric sleeve as per my surgeon's suggestion. He feels I will do well with it. I managed to lose 150lbs with the band ( surgeon told me it was not a typical result). I started having trouble getting food to go down. I guess I created a pouch and have a lot of scar tissue. Had to have all the Fluid taken out of the band while I was in Nevada. The surgeon performing this (not easy to find anyone in Las Vegas who would even look at removing the fluid) advised what was going on. There are only 5% of surgeons still installing the band in the entire country. Many, many complications with it. I was fine until a year ago. Had fluid put in (the doctor back home put too much in), then the chest and back pains started. Food would go down sometimes and sometimes not. I managed to regain 15lbs. Struggling every day. I hope the revision to the sleeve will be a success.

I am waiting for my first appointment with the surgeon as I am typing this out. Scared out of my mind but I know I have to do this to live. No more putting this off. It has to happen. I’ll update after the appointment.

The little things are sometimes the best NSV. Just going into regular shops will never get old to me. Congratulations on your weight loss and the NSV.

First summer in an awful lot of years that my heals did not crack and bleed. They were so painful and ugly. To me this is a reason never to regain.

Having my total hysterectomy on May 7th. They can't go in laparoscopically, so it'll be an abdominal hysterectomy. Taking out everything: uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix. I have 3 VERY large uterine fibroids that have made my uterus (and stomach now) the size of someone who is 5 or 5 1/2 months pregnant. I may, in the next couple of years, get skin surgery but I'm still thinking about it. Let's see if I have any cardiac issues with this surgery (like I did with the hernia repair surgery) before I make anymore decisions about elective surgeries. I can't wait for this to be done and over with and I can finally just live my dang life!!!
From my initial sleeve surgery in May 2022 to the hysterotomy in May 2024, I will have had 10 surgeries in 2 years (thanks to all the complications from the sleeve surgery). The uterine fibroids were actually discovered while doing tests for the other issues caused by the sleeve, so it still counts as the reason for the surgery being caused by the sleeve lol Anyway, so happy to finally be at the last chapter of this book!!!