Jeanniebug

If you're like me and carry your weight evenly all over your body, your weight loss is not going to be obvious for a while. I'm 4.5 months post op and my husband can finally start to see it in my face. I've lost nearly 50 pounds since surgery. The only reason why I know that my clothes are fitting differently, is because the skirt that I wear when I go to town, now needs a belt. All my other bottoms have either elastic or drawstring waists, so it's hard to gauge my size. I can see it in the t-shirt I took my picture in, the night before surgery - but there hasn't been much change in most of my clothes.

I would suggest milk or a protein shake.

Thank you! I almost took a picture of myself, but I thought better of it. LOL! I might take a picture with it wrapped around me, but fully clothed. LOL!

I have 2 non-scale victories this week. One weird and one not-so weird. Weird: When laying on my side, I can feel bumps in my thigh (the side facing the ceiling). I assume it's cellulite. Weird. LOL! Not-so weird: I can now wrap a regular bath towel around me and the ends overlap. This one made me so happy to discover, I nearly cried.

I know that with bariatric patients, abdominal pain shouldn't be ignored - no matter how far out we are. I'd really be inclined to ask about a scan, or ultrasound, or something.

I don't have that restriction, but my nutritionist is a big "whole food" person. I was supposed to start weaning off the protein shakes, as soon as I started purees.

I drink San Francisco Bay Decaf French Roast with Coffee Mate Sugar Free French Vanilla creamer.

I've only eaten one single protein bar since surgery and that was a Built Puff bar - I don't recall which flavor it was. Before surgery, my favorite brand was Quest.

The thing is, your pouch is tiny. Bread expands. It's a struggle to get all your protein in, when you're just eating meat. Adding bread to your pouch is going to take up all the room and you won't be able to eat your protein. Protein is vital for healing. Eat your meat first. Then your vegetables. If you still have room, then you can have your bite of bread. I'm 4.5 months out and I still won't eat fluffy bread. I'll eat half a slice of Lavash bread, or a small tortilla, but not an actual slice of bread. It just takes up too much room. We're now eating to nourish and fuel our bodies. Yes, food should taste good and be pleasurable, but we aren't eating for pleasure anymore. We're eating with purpose, now.

I'm not entirely sure why gastric sleeve patients aren't supposed to eat and drink at the same time. Don't you guys still have your sphincters? I know that in gastric bypass, we don't have our sphincters anymore, so stuff just literally goes right through us - there's no regulation. If we drink, the liquid will just wash all the food out of our pouches. We'll end up getting hungry quicker, plus dumping is a risk.

Congratulations!!!!

Plateaus are part of the process. However, 500-650 calories a day is okay for those of us fresh out of surgery, but it is not enough for someone who is exercising.

I have about 25 pounds to go til I reach my goal. I'm already getting something going on with my neck. It looks like stretch marks or wrinkles, or something. I imagine it will become a wattle. I figure that the people who matter don't care what my neck looks like. And the people who do care, don't matter. My mother died at the age of 55. Her mother died at the age of 52. If I get to grow old, I reckon that I really ought to be grateful for all the wrinkles.

We've been eating more beef roast, lately. But, the restriction is there, no matter what I eat. I'm just going to chalk it up to a fickle tummy.

I think this is when the real work begins.

Thanks, everyone! I won't worry about it and I'll let my pouch tell me what to do.

I had my surgery on a Tuesday. The following Saturday, I had the most severe panic attack I've had in years. I had been off medication for several months, but I had to go back on it. It was the same for the Medical Assistant in my surgeon's office, too. She started having anxiety attacks, real soon after surgery. Maybe that's what you're having?

I had RnY gastric bypass. I took 3 weeks off. However, I wish I could have taken more time off. I'm one of the rare patients that had a prolonged period of pain, afterward. The pain wasn't horrible - liquid Tylenol took care of it - but it did make it quite uncomfortable for me to sit upright for long periods of time.

I am 4 months and a few days post op, RnY gastric bypass. My restriction experience has been as expected. Until a few days ago... A week ago, I was able to eat about 3-4 ounces of food in one meal. I've been able to eat that for probably about a month. Totally textbook. All of a sudden, I am full after about 2 ounces. I started forcing myself to finish my food and it has been messing with my head. I know that overeating is a very bad idea, so I've decided to stop doing that. I've only been doing it for about 4 days, so I don't think I've caused myself any long-term damage. But, I'm kinda weirded out about the fact that I'm suddenly having the restriction that I did earlier on. Has anyone else experienced this?

I'm down 45 pounds since surgery on Oct 18th. I am now in the overweight category and I'm no longer diabetic!!! My weight loss has had lots of stops and starts. I lose a couple of pounds, stall for a couple of weeks, gain a pound, stall for a week, then lose a couple of pounds again. It's so weird. I haven't had to buy new clothes. I work from home and wear scrubs all day. I put drawstrings in all of my scrub pants. For the things I wear when I go into town, I just wear a belt. I tried on a pair of size 14 jeans the other day, just to see how far I had to go before they fit. I was absolutely shocked to discover that I could wear them, comfortably. They were a bit snug, but not uncomfortable at all. So, I'd say I'm probably down from a 22 to a 15 or 16, now. Lately - the last 4 or 5 days - I've been struggling with overeating. One of my pre-surgery issues was being a member of the clean plate club and I seem to have slipped back into that. I have an appointment with my therapist today, so I'll be working on that. Thanks for reaching out!

I was thinking about you this morning, and I had a thought... Perhaps this stuff is happening now, because you are so much healthier. If you would have had these health issues when you were heavier, you might not have had the best outcome. Hugs!

Google says oral birth control (including emergency contraception) are not recommended after bariatric surgery, because of malabsorption issues. Might want to get the implant.

Welcome!

I was cleared to drive at my 3-week check up. NSAIDs are a no-no. Oh wait, you're getting the sleeve... You probably will be able to do ibuprofen.

Welcome! I suggest that you take her to the doctor with you. Let the doctors stress how dangerous your comorbidities are. Let the surgeon explain to her how the surgery has an excellent chance of reversing all of your health conditions. My husband didn't think I was big enough for surgery - but I was (according to my insurance).