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That approach works for me; it is pro-active instead of being merely reactive. I was proactive, too. I weighed in at 195 and I paid to have the band installed; this has been a largely positive experience. I was able to overcome the gluttony which kept me married to my plate. And to take the time away from this in order to do some research as to what would make for healthy little snacks for someone who despised cooking. lol

I have hypo thyroid and i am 2 months out. I have lost 45 pounds so far. My doc is a debbie downer as he thinks that is slow, but ai m half way to goal so I am concidering it a win

My doc said that as a precaution you should try to avoid putting lotion on the incision sites until you are a month out. He said if you must put lotion on it, try to use fragrance free, hypo allergenic lotion. He also said I could use aloe vera, which has worked out well. So, I use regular lotion on the non-incision parts of my stomach and aloe vera on the incisions. Oh, and he said that if the reason you want to put lotion on them is because they itch (as opposed to generally wanting to lotion your body), then you should use the aloe vera because it means your incisions are still trying to heal.

Sorry I hadn't noticed this post sooner. Let me start by saying, I am a very lazy person, hence the reason I got fat. My time in the gym has been ZERO. I do walk a lot with my wife. I babysit a 3 years old 5-6 days a week 12 hour days. I love skateboarding again. But as far as exercise, workouts? Nope, not my cup of tea. 95% of my weight loss has come through the kitchen. I am blessed in as much, I am now reactive hypoglycemic. I cant cheat with sweets without paying a dear price. I have gone unconscious 3 times since surgery from low blood glucose below 50. Also my appetite has been a struggle. I have to force myself to eat. Trust me I could lose more if I wanted to. I am 6'3" and 163 lbs is already skinny enough. I was a very skinny young man, and I think post op my body went back to its natural state. I was about 145 lbs into my early mid 30's. So yeah I was quite skinny. Diet wise, I was probably stricter with myself than I needed to be. I eat eggs, cheeses, meats of all types, green vegetables. Very little fruit, sugars aren't my friend. I use TESPO liquid vitamins. I'm not a good example. I enjoy the occasional chili dog. I eat the occasional chip. My portions are obviously a fraction of what they were in the past. There are much wiser, better examples of peoples disciplines and diets on here than mine. Again, I am not typical in that I have to force myself to eat. I actually seek out fattier foods now just to maintain weight. Not necessarily junk food, but not the leans foods most of us have to eat. It has taken me many months to stop losing. My doctors were starting to get worried. for my health based on how rapidly I lost and my inability to maintain. I am doing much better now though.

Good morning! I am a happy girl that it is Saturday...no particular reason other than i only have 2 kids here instead of 4, lol....but that is reason enough, right? Yesterday our neighbor across the street got robbed. SO...that answered the question we had burning in our heads...should we reactivate the alarm system that was installed here. Now we know the answer is yes, we should. I called them last night and they are going to reconnect/test it with us over the phone today or Monday. I hope I can get them to do it today because Frank is on nights and it would make me feel more secure. I will only turn on the motion detector when we are gone because i dont want to have it set while we are sleeping then have one us get up when nature calls and set off the alarm, lol. I am chatty this morning...if you are bored by now just skip the rest...lol. I just had a full size bed given to me and I am giving it to Macy....well another friend just gave me a queen size memory foam mattress that is only a year old :glare: I will put that in dss/guest room. How cool is that?! Gotta love free stuff. Now if I can find a free couch, I will be in business :wub: If felt so good going to pay some bills off yesterday. I didn't get to pay off all that I wanted, but it sure is a step in the right direction! Jenn I haven't gotten as good as you. An eliptical would KILL me but I wish I had a treadmill. I think I will start looking on craigslist for one. Suzanne I hope you have a great time at the ranch! Bundle up! Kat-after all this time you old office manager is still a thorn in your side...ugh! Well, this is the last poke she could get in on you, so that is good, right?! I know you are glad Rick is home and his boss saying he is not paying him for down time is BS. What do you have planned this weekend? So much more I could write about but I need to do some other things on the computer and I know macy is wanting my attention so I better bolt Have a great weekend everyone! :biggrin:

Well I am hypothyroid. But I've been on meds for about 2 years now. However I had been at 88 mcg's for a long time. But during that time I lost about 30lbs. So when they did a recheck I was in the HYPERthyroid range...however I felt amazing for once, hypo symptoms were gone and I had no racing heartbeats or other hyper symptoms (in fact I was actually losing weight-instead of only maintaining on 1000 calories a day). However due to the TSH number she lowered my levothyroxine dose to 75 mcg's. I believe I was at .19 for TSH. and .3-3.0 is the range...I'm just wondering how much my levels have risen again because I'm struggling to maintain weight right now. It's irritating.

If your TSH was low, then your thyroid levels were too high. Hyperthyroid can be dangerous. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Rapid heartbeat (resting pulse was 120), twitching muscles, shaking limbs, foggy brain, racing thoughts, can't sleep.... But being hypothyroid is no fun either. I think that is where I am at right now. I don't have a thyroid any longer as mine was overproducing hormones and would not shut off, so I had to have it radiated. Now I have to take meds daily, and I think I need to have it upped. My PCP tends to just treat the numbers on the tests. I was a little low, so he adjusted me up to barely get into the normal range, but I still have hypo symptoms. So I have an appointment with my Endo in March. I am hoping to convince him to treat ME and not my test results and bump my dosage up. Test results have a normal RANGE! But it seems so many docs don't want to invest the time in tweaking the dosage to get us to where we feel well and are happy. OK, my rant is over. But I am right there with you!

Hi. I had Graves Disease & now I'm hypo, so I shared your concern. You will def lose weight. I'm about a month out & so far have lost about 24 lbs. I think that's pretty good! My hypo dose of med is 225 mg and I have to crush my pills before I take them & that's not as bad as I thought it would be. Talk to your dr about your concerns. It really might make you feel better. Anyway, good luck & see you on the "losers bench"!

My doctor called me about 48 hours after I got my lap band plus had given me his number in case I had any issues and said to call. That was several years ago. When my lap band was removed in February 2017, my current doctors office called me the following day to check on me. I appreciate the follow up and think it is very thoughtful of them to do this as I know it can be time consuming. But let's face it, there might be little things going on that we don't think anything about and by asking you a couple questions and giving you an opportunity to tell them how you feel you very well could proactively catch any post op complications before they get worse rather than wait a few days until you are miserable enough for feel justified to call them to ask if XYZ is normal. Better to be proactive rather than just reactive. 🤗 Sent from my XT1635-01 using BariatricPal mobile app

Benefiber , stool softener, walk walk walk.. 600 steps per hour is doable... walk wherever you are. I walk inside the house in a figure of 8 ... walking moves things along. I had bad bad constipation n I've been sleeved on 25 August. My nutritionist asked me to take fiber gummies too. I add half a banana in my shake + ground flax seed. I'll do whatever it takes to move things along. Stay positive & channel your energy to solving the problem. You'll be good I know it's frustrating.. but you will figure what works for u I promise! Make sure to take your thyroid meds if you have hypo & if u take iron that could slow things down big time too . Tc !

Ms. Dee your honesty is nothing short of inspirational! Just amazing. Soooo, time to step up and share embarrassing stories. This one is a beaut! I seldom dump but when I do it's late stage dumping - aka reactive hypoglycemia. Too much simple carbs (white rice) or too much sugar (I dumped once on grapes for Pete's sake) and two to three hours after eating my sugars drop like a rock in a pond. I mean REALLY drops. First time it happened I checked my blood sugar and it was 37. Now I know this. I know the symptoms. I know the cause. I even know the "cure" - I eat just about anything with sugar in it and in 15 minutes I'm absolutely fine. So a couple of weeks ago my wife and I had been running some post holiday errands. We finally get home and I'm thinking "I am so going to have a glass of wine". But we have some leftover eggnog and my wife says she'd love an eggnog with a little Captain Morgan's spiced rum and a dash of nutmeg. Wow. Why didn't I think of that? I think I'll join you! So I have my rum laced glass of eggnog and guys I have to tell you, it was like the nectar of life. I knocked down that first eggnog in about a minute and a half. Honey, you ready for another one? I go to make us a second round and I'm thinking the only problem with this plan is that my glass just isn't big enough for "the nectar of life". No problem! We've got some of those Dixie plastic cups. You guys know the ones, bright red, hold 16oz. Perfect size for the nectar of life right? Eggnog, check. Rum, check. Can't forget the dash of nutmeg, check. About an hour to an hour and a half later I fell asleep watching TV. Another hour or so later my wife wakes me up - "time for bed." Right behind you Honey! So I stand up and right away I'm thinking I don't feel so good. Cold sweats, my whole body has the shakes - you dumb a** you're dumping! On the nectar of life no less. Bummer. But hey, I'm on my way to bed. I'll just grab my Vitamins and hit the sack. So I get my vitamins down and... The next thing I remember I'm sitting (sort of) on the floor of our kitchen. My little plastic box that used to have my vitamins in it is sitting on the floor in my general vicinity. The vitamins that used to be in my little plastic box are - well, everywhere. It looked like my little plastic box had exploded in a shower of Vitamin shrapnel. My black lab is sniffing her way through the carnage to see if there's anything that would appeal to her meat-o-saurus taste buds. Fortunately, she apparently is not a vitamin kind of girl. Then she realizes that Dad is awake and on "her floor" so of course it's time for black lab kisses. LOTS of black lab kisses. So I'm sitting there trying to breathe while avoiding lab tongue in my mouth. I'm thinking. If I tell my wife about this, I'm dead. No, I'm worse than dead. She is not going to be amused. Then it comes to me - she's already upstairs in bed. Probably asleep already. You dummy, don't tell her! Pick up the vitamins, swear the lab to secrecy, life is good. Good plan! And it would have worked too. Except for one little detail. Apparently on my way to my unscheduled meeting with the floor, the kitchen trash can got in my way. The metal, kitchen, trash can. The one that now looks surprisingly like I drove my car into it. Wonder if she'll notice? Maybe I could blame it on the dog (sorry Libbi!)? She noticed. And sure enough, she was not amused. I survived. But it was touch and go there for a while. And the nectar of life? Never, ever again. Hey, I ain't no fool! Come on you guys. You know you want to. Dee shared her's. I shared mine. Let's hear some of those embarrassing stories!

Hi @@Phoenix40! So last Thursday I went for my Nutrition/Surgeon/Coordinator appointment. I'll describe each appointment below: First you are weighed in and your height is taken Nutrition: The nutritionist is a very nice lady and she will ask you about what type of diet you have been on (I started following the 1200 calorie diet after orientation). You will have to describe what you usually eat for Breakfast, lunch, dinner, Snacks,etc. She also talks about Vitamins and what type you will need post op (this will depend on if you get the sleeve or bypass) and what to expect as far as diet goes in the first weeks after surgery (i.e. liquids, soft foods, etc) She also informed me about the different types of Protein drinks and answered any questions I had. Surgeon: Dr. Hahn was very patient. He went over my BMI, co morbidities, medications, etc to ensure that I would be a good candidate for surgery. He said it would be my choice whether to go for sleeve or bypass as I would be great candidate for either (I don't have acid reflux). We talked about the differences between sleeve and bypass (right off the bat he discouraged from the lap band so we were in agreement about that). He reiterated that regain was possible with either surgery and so is dumping (so it really comes down to the patient being willing to put in the work to not only lose the weight but keep it off). He went into detail about possible complications withe each procedure (ulcers, reactive hypoglycemia, reflux, etc). He then set a weight loss goal for me. Normally they ask the patients to lose 10% of their body weight but Dr. Hahn only requires a 7-8%, of total body weight, loss. For me 7-8% was 19 pounds (I had already lost 9 pounds since orientation and he credited me so I needed to lose 10 pounds to get a surgery date and 5 pounds to get a psych appointment). The only other requirements Dr. Hahn set out for me, besides weight loss, is attending at least one support group, and an EKG (I already finished my bloodwork). Coordinator: She was very pleasant. She informed of what my next steps to surgery are (support group, psych appointment, etc) and that to be sure I call monthly to update them on my weight and progress. Before the psych appointment each patient must fill out a surgery quiz (located in Chapter 9 of the Bariatric binder) and send it in before the appointment. Overrall it was an interesting yet quick appointment. I was told to expect to be there for 3 hours but for me it was more like 2 hours. Sent from my SM-G925T using the BariatricPal App

This is just my recommendation; when I very first had a sugary treat, I felt horrific. Not true dumping syndrome, but I did get the clammy, flushed feeling. Reactive hypoglycemia is common for some patients especially if you are low carbing, sugar free eating and then all of a sudden you throw some (all be it a small bite) of yummy buttercream frosting/cake into your system. I would suggest you having a couple of bites of sugary something the week before your wedding to make sure your body doesn't completely freak out. At 2 years out, even though I don't restrict any foods, and do not restrict carbs or sugar, I do not eat these things on a regular basis, and if I decide to indulge in cake, I feel pretty crappy. Cheesecake, candybars, Starbursts candies, pie, donuts do NOT have this effect on me, but buttercream or cream cheese frosting both make me feel weird. I'm assuming it's the fat content that does me in on the frosting. Many congrats on your upcoming nuptials and getting your sleeve date! ! !

It’s a symptom of ‘mild dumping’ you have experienced I think. I experienced this a lot in the first few weeks and especially as you begin to learn what foods your new tummy likes and what it dislikes rather loudly too. I’d say it’s due to the advocado most likely. Swap to say a very soft poached egg instead. Try adding advocado in a few days to see if it settles better next time. Just because it didn’t quite settle today means your tantrum provoking baby tummy wasn’t quite liking what you fed it but that’s not to say it will not like it in a few days or in a week or a month for example. new tummy means many foods may cause this slight ‘hypo’ feeling even though you may have eaten these foods prior to surgery with no problems. your tummy is new. Brand new like a babies tummy - yet to try food for the first time. Like some babies will vomit, nappy soils a plenty, be colicky or dislike the food - your tummy should be considered like the babies. this feeling you have described is exactly what we all experience. Dumping is like a blood sugar hypo - in bed sweating / cold / shivering / sometimes with loo trips and vomiting and tummy pain but sometimes not. it can last for mere minutes to 5 hours and nearly always zonks you so groggily that you need to sleep. Energy drain and lethargy is instant. This doesn’t mean you’ll have extra sensitivity to dumping either - it’s literally your new tummy telling you it didn’t quite like what you ate. I hope this info and my experience helps you feel reassured. ❤️🥰

I'm hypo had surgery Oct 25th and I'm down 32 lbs. Sent from my SM-G900R4 using the BariatricPal App

I have this same experience. It feels like "dumping", but truly is reactive hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. When you experience this or can feel it coming, eat something with 15 grams of carbs and the symptoms will subside in a couple minutes. Then follow up with some protein.

Oh yeah they can happen anytime, but since you travel so much it is already less likely to hit you that way, as your system is accustomed to the changes. I would suggest maybe finding a list of band approved Dr.s world wide if possible on the Inamed site---you could carry it with you to have for the area you are going. I mean search the areas you are going, and keep those names & numbers handy. So you could be prepared. Also take the info about your band and port, so if you have to hit an ER somewhere you are armed with your info. You may also have your Dr. prescribe you something for nausea---mine gave me phenergren (sp?) so I would have it to avoid throwing up if possible. All in all, just be as proactive as you can as opposed to waiting to be reactive. I know personally if I prepare for the worst and hope for the best it usually works out, but the time I do not prepare---all hell breaks loose!!! Have fun!!!! Sounds like a great trip! Kat

Hello Everyone! I just created my bariatricpal account. I am 5'2 and 1/2. I'm curious if they will base my BMI off of 5'2 or 5'3. I'm also right around the 200lb mark, give or take a few pounds. I am hoping to get approved for the surgery because I am 35 and already on medicine for high blood pressure and I'm hypo thyroid which makes it a b*itch to get the weight off. I'm getting mixed reactions from my family about deciding to meet with a weight loss surgeon. I just really want to be healthy for years to come. I don't want to follow my father's path and end up having heart issues in my later years. I just wanted to say hello and I look forward to being involved with this group. I want to thank each and everyone one of you for being on here to get support and provide support! You are my friend!

Hi I'm Jamey. 45 yro mother of two daughters 24 and 21. I'd say my weight issues started in college. My freshman 15 was 30. I married young and it was an abusive relationship, I lost some weight remarried and became a widow at 29. Goodbye normal body forever!! I'm now married to the love of my life and my girls are both going to be married in the next year or two. My highest weight was 325 (hysterectomy and hypo thyroid helped NOT) but by the day of my surgery which was just Tuesday 9/23 I was down to 289. My goal now is 165 but I'll maybe change that when I get to that point. Nice to meet you all.

Gem - I can totally relate..good bye Butterfinger, BabyRuth and Snickers!... so long Papa Murphys, pizza Hut and Dominoes....and toodle ooo to pastry, maple bars, and scones. Seriously I have found that getting my pantry ready for the "after" has helped and clearing out the Cereal and Pasta dishes satisfied my hunger and cravings. The new immediate challenge is they just built a Sonic and a Little Ceasars Pizza two blocks from my house. So I will do my best to visit before we start that lovely lardless luscious liquid lifestyle on August 29th. . I'm right up there with you but we can do this liquid diet thing. I just plan on not making mine all low-calorie because I am smart enough to recognize I will faint dead away faster than you can say hypo-glycemic! So do your best and leave the rest up to God! See you soon sleeve-sis. Reb

Is there any diabetic on this site? I'm going for my surgery June 3rd so right now I'm on SlimFast Optima. It's day 5 for me. The surgery is new here and I'm the first one to go under the knife if I may say so. I have a question and I would appreciate if someone could help. During that time, can I do exercice and not have hypos? Right now my blood sugars are high and my endo. told me it was normal. My body is trying to adjust to what I'm doing to him...no food, no coffee only SlimFast. He said to be carefull because it's going to drop but don't know when. So I'm scared to do some exercices. If someone went through the same thing, would you please reply and give me an idea what to do?:mad: I'm so excited about that surgery. I'm doing everthing I can to help. I haven't cheated yet and I'm not planning on. God is good. He knows how I am. Right now, my Mom, my sister and someone at school are on SlimFast too because they want to support me. This Monday, at work, other teachers, the principal even the vice-principal (how's a man) are going to have SlimFast for lunch. Some even have the idea of staying on it for a couple of days. My Mom and sister are going to do it all the way. Talking about support, I can't ask for more.:thumbup: clempier

Update I I Ok so the Doc says I have severe obstructive sleep apnea with low oxygen and failure to up oxygen levels after an apnea event, plus hypo ventilation. So I am waiting to be fitted with a fashionable CPAP machine as we speak. Lovely. The only thing I can do is turn around my attitude, so I am happy that we have discovered the problem, that the office is working my insurance issue and that I may experience what I have read can be life changing sleep after receiving this machine. And guess what? I get to install it myself :-D

@@Renkoss I learned my lesson that day with the glucose tabs. My sugar was too low, I couldn't find them and I don't keep juice in my home. I literally tore the cabinet apart and found them and then even struggled to open the container because I was shaking so bad. Now, they sit right on my end table. They are opened and ready to use. I do not use Protein powder at all. Because I have kidney problems I have to be careful not to have more than 70 grams of protein per day. I get that between my one premier Protein shake that I have every morning religiously and my other meals. I have oatmeal or cream of wheat very rarely when I have a craving for it and have learned that I just need to make sure I get that protein snack between. I have found that if you let more carbs into your diet on a regular basis the chance of you developing reactive hypoglycemia is much higher. I try not to let that happen but there are days I simply want something besides protein and veggies. I eat a lot of fresh fruit, dehydrated apple chips and once per day I have a starch in one of my meals. My nut believes in a balanced approach vs. just protein and veggies and so far it has worked for me. Thankfully I only experience that reactive hypoglycemia on occasion. The bad part is when it happens you can actually cause it to go on all day. I have learned to stop it as soon as it happens.

HiI Everyone! So I went to my nutritionist today to ck in and it'll be 3 months since my surgery nxt wk. Ive had a 1cc fill about a month ago and I've lost 10lbs (I was careful to NOT say ONLY 10 lbs bc it's a loss nonetheless!) anywho in reviewing some bloodwork I did about a month ago she said my thyroid is out of control...(hypo).. I'm going back to see the MD nxt wk to see if medication wb required but I've been diagnosed before (2010) as "intermittent hypothyroid" most annoying diagnosis ever.. However THC levels have only gotten worse post surgery.. I read that having surgery, stress and other factors can trigger the hormonal imbalance.. Has anyone else experienced this? Where you put on meds? Had surgery to remove thyroid/did it help? Change of diet? Any info would be helpful.

As I understand it (purely from reading research studies, not from personal experience), reactive hypoglycemia is a post-WLS condition more likely to occur in RnY patients than sleeved patients, although it's not unheard of among sleevers. Sorry you guys are having to deal with this. Best to you.