loridee11

Glad you like your pixie! I of course take all my vitamins and biotin and protein. I have collagen but am not consistent with it...

I'm 11 months post-op bypass and I am having some pain. It's similar to what I experienced pre-surgery that I thought was heartburn but now I'm not sure. Anyone else experience anything similar? (Note: I had an ultrasound and it is not gallstones or anything else they could see with that. My liver is enlarged but we did additional blood tests and it seems to be a remnant from being obese most of my life and nothing to worry about). My symptoms include: - Intermittent low grade pain just to the right of my sternum (kind of behind my right breast, but still central if that makes any sense) - Pain often spreads to the back of my neck and shoulders. Again, more towards the right. - Gets better with Tylenol but not tums, etc... I'm going to make an appointment with my PC, but thanks for any thoughts to explore. Lori

I'm almost 11 months out and definitely dealing with head hunger. My Dr has us on a 3 meals a day plan and most days I'm good with that as long as I eat protein heavy and non-processed meals. I do find that when I eat something with processed carbs I get hungrier sooner and the head hunger gets worse.

For the first 8 months or so I just walked. Over the last 2.5 months I've started adding in exercise video's in addition to the walking. I really hate the monotony of treadmill or other traditional cardio exercise. I've always liked weight training, buy gyms are still closed and I am trying to find programs that provide multiple benefits. The video's have been a good solution for me. I did some low impact aerobics at first (bad knees), and just started the Piyo program. I am trying to focus more on strength and flexibility right now and it seems to be helping there. Even my knees are feeling more flexible although I'll likely never have full range of motion. As I build those two I'll look to layer in some HIIT to rev my metabolism more. I also love to hike which is good for building endurance.

I take: - Multi 2 times per day (Kirkland brand - not bariatric specific) - Calcium 3 times per day (bariatric chew) -Vitamin D daily - Vitamin A daily (because mine was low @ 6 months) - Thiamin 3 times per week - Iron and Vitamin C 3 times per week - B12 1 time per week

Probably good to call your nutritionist to confirm, but my Dr. had me on 2 oz when I hit pureed stage. I didn't really feel any restriction until I got to Pureed by the way. Once I did reach that stage, sometimes I could eat the whole 2 oz and some times I could not even come close...

I was OK the day they went over the risks, but got REALLY nervous when I had to sign all the forms day of surgery and was waiting to be taken back. I don't think I ever really considered canceling, but it did cross my mind. This is major, life altering surgery and comes with real risks. However, if you are like me, my life needed altering. I'm so glad I did this.

You may have discovered this already, but I just discovered Almond Flour (finely ground almonds). I made a delicious air fried chicken piccata with that as a crust and it was delicious and low carb. It also satisfied a craving for something crunchy breaded so I thought I'd share. Lori

Same. Right now I am really noticing my hip bones. They've been there for a while when laying down, but I just noticed when I was carrying a grocery basket and had it sitting on my side how firm it was --- the basket wasn't squishing anything in, just resting on the bone. I can also feel my hip bones from under my cheeks - still covered in squish but definitely there.

Dr had me taking oral meds in the hospital. He also had me start full size vitamins on day 1 at home. I was freaked out by the thought, but it all worked well.

I am looking for surgeons who specialize in post weight loss plastics in the US. I'm willing to travel for the right surgeon (I'm looking to start booking consults and will also be meeting with local surgeons). My hope: Surgery 1: - Breasts: Remove implants, lift, and maybe fat transfer - Abdomen: Tummy tuck ( - Arms: Arm lift Surgery 2 - MAYBE -Thigh lift. I've been looking on real self but having a hard time navigating so your recommendations are appreciated.

Agreed, walk walk walk. Before going in I made a commitment to myself that anytime someone asked me I would get up and walk. And that I would try anytime they came to change meds, etc.... I ended up walking every 2 hours or so (starting with just one lap around the ward) and my pain was pretty well managed.

I have just decided I don't want any foreign materials in my body unless I absolutely need it. Plus, I really don't want large breasts anymore . I'm hoping I'll be a C cup when all done but I'll be OK smaller.

A fun NSV. While on a call with my Dr. yesterday to check on some other things, she took a couple minutes to update my official medical record. Under issues, I used to have super morbidly obese --- she deleted it Also, on the scale front, officially 20 lbs to goal (which will also be half of my previous weight).

For those of you who had gallbladder issues, what symptoms did you have? I've sent my surgeon a note but am curious what others have experienced while I am waiting to hear back. For reference, since bypass I've had what I thought was intermittent heartburn and neck pain. I mentioned the heartburn to my Dr at my 6 months, but didn't describe the actual pain. I was googling (I know, I know...) and it sounds like it could potentially be gallbladder. Symptoms are pain behind & below low my right breast, near my sternum. I also often have pain in the back of my neck and the same time. I also have fairly regular back pain (long standing) so no idea if that's related. Thanks for sharing, Lori

Spoke to my Dr. on Friday and she agrees it sounds like gallstones. I am going in Thursday for an ultrasound to verify. As further evidence, I had a somewhat fatty lunch (falafel) and I am extremely nauseous. This is the first time since surgery food has made me nauseous (I know I've been extremely fortunate). While it doesn't necessarily mean gallstones, it is a symptom.

Do you still have (if you ever did) overhang around the outside of the elbow when your arms are down?

Swelling peaks a few days after surgery, so it is common to feel worse before you feel better. It's also common to go a few days (and some people up to a week) without a BM... not fun! Talk to your doc about what meds they'd be OK with you taking and know that given a little time it will get better.

My doc said 4 weeks - but best to check with yours.

I am keeping some of my too big clothes, not because I might need them, but because I really don't want to spend a fortune on "in between" clothes. So, since I'm working from home and all anyone sees is me on video, if I can pin it or make it look good on video, I'm keeping it. I had several sizes of clothes and I've made several donations so far (multiple garbage bags, and the last of my older clothes are really at the point they just don't look right, even on video with only shoulders up, pinned, etc... so I will do another round of donations. Once I'm at goal I plan to do a full purge and buy replacements that actually fit

I'd love to see before and after photos if you are comfortable sharing.

One of the main reasons I made the decision to move forward with WLS was the belief that it could help heal my metabolism and set point. I want to make sure that as I am progressing (I'm almost 9 months out), I want to make sure I am not going to damage my metabolism by not eating enough. Does anyone have any research or learned anything from your doc or nutritionist on this? For reference: I'm very lucky that even 9 months out I rarely experience physical hunger (head hunger is a different story). When I am following plan, it's not uncommon for me to be between 800-1000 calories a day. I CAN eat 1200 or more with healthy food but it takes a lot of effort so I generally only eat that much if I am off plan and having processed carbs. I know without WLS, that would be a huge red flag and could damage my metabolism long term. But with WLS, am I good? Or is there a point where I should be pushing to get the higher calories? I appreciate any info, Lori

@MsMocie Thank you very much - that was really interesting. Based on all of that I think my goal is to continue to lose weight to goal by remaining in a calorie deficit, but not so low as deficit as to cause my hormones to go haywire. Sounds like there is no magic number. I do tend to vary my calories day by day, but am pretty consistently between 800-1200 now (I'm 9 months out tomorrow). I'm hoping to reach goal by end of 1 year (another 25 lbs). Barring any new evidence, I think I'll try to keep my calorie range where it is until that point. Then, as you say, slowly start increasing to figure out why my new target should be. For what it's worth, I am also incorporating more and more exercise. I've increased from daily walks to walks and aerobics most days with hiking on the weekends. I'm also doing some limited body weight exercises to start building muscle.

I had surgery on 12/31/19 and have done very well. I was very lucky to have an easy recovery, including no physical hunger. Well, I'm 5 1/2 months out now and my hunger has returned - a lot! I'm trying to be sure to eat dense protein at all my meals. My program doesn't like snacking so I'm trying to avoid that but if I am really hungry I'll have some greek yogurt. Does anyone have any advice on good, high protein, dense meals you like? I'm not much of a cook so simple items would be best. Thanks in advance, Lori

Hi, I did. I took an Uber to the hospital and was alone. My surgeon called my mother (lives out of state) after the surgery to let her know how I was, and I had a friend pick me up the next day and bring me home. If any of the surgeons/nurses thought it was odd they didn't say anything. I was good. I got checked in and changed into my surgical gear. They took my bag and saved it in the recovery room so it would be available when I was ready to head up to my room after. I did get really nervous in the pre-op room when I was waiting (I was the 2nd surgery of the day), but they gave me something which calmed me down. The one piece of advice I'd give is see if you can keep your phone with you in pre-op. It is really boring without something to do or someone to talk to and I think that's part of why I got so nervous. Best of luck! Lori