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I know for me I was kinda forced to share with coworkers because they over heard my conversations with the Drs office. I'm a person that's almost reclusive so I don't have friends outside of work. So I said all that to say I didn't willingly share with coworkers because of the stigma, reaction, snide remarks & jokes. To heal and be successful I must focus and not be consumed with judgement. No one wanted me to get this surgery not even my family. So I had the surgery 2 days ago and I trusted one friend to be there for me. People really don't understand that we are doing this to improve our quality of life. To have a long life and be proactive instead of reactive to health issues. I know when I go back to work people will be watching & talking but that's ok. I only want positive reinforcement..So I won't be discussing it. It's important we keep positive along our new journey. I know how u feel and I refuse to allow doubt in my life no matter what. Do I still feel ashamed, yes but I'm praying that will go away.

When your hypothyroid, yours doesn't work.......... weight or no weight that doesn't change...... Diagnosed hypo at the tender age of 22.... I'm down 81 lbs size 24 to 12's! I LOVE MY BAND

I still have restriction but nothing like I did. I used to eat 4 bites and then feel so full. Then around 18 months like 5 oz now I can eat a full burger. Not like a huge restaurant one but a fast food one. Eat pretty healthy. Mostly nuts, cheese, meat veggies but I do have whatever I want in moderation. It's just not my daily diet. It's def harder to maintain the further out I get I'm not hungry but I just can eat so my h more do I have to be more cautious of what I eat. I weigh every day because of this and try to eat dense Protein at each meal so I get full faster. I still do a Protein shake each day for bfast. I also now have pretty crappy Iron levels. Just did labs Saturday. I also now have reactive hypoglycemia due to eating small amounts so I have watch my sugars. Y eating very balanced food not high sugar n not going too long without food

I'm diabetic already and it's drastically improved sine surgery two weeks ago... Lows are common but some ppl do develop hypoglycemia after sleeve as a complication Definitely talk to your NUT about it but eating a few light carbs can help or slow burning carbs like Beans and peas etc. I'm using Melba toast or wasa crackers with My tuna and hummus, fills me up, keeps me satisfied and not feeling so dizzy and hypo like I was when I was doing Protein only. Definitely check your blood sugar especially if you feel symptoms and if you're scared of oh they have these not so great tasting glucose tablet chewables you can buy at the drug store for a few bucks in different flavors and they boost your glucose up quickly

I actually have experienced a kind of dumping syndrome both within the week after surgery and now. When I went on to full liquids (milk/soy base Protein shakes), it caused me to shake a bit, sweat, and run for the toilet. My body held nothing and I had to slow down my Protein Shake intake from 8 oz in 30 mins to 2 hrs to help me retain it. This is using low sugar, low fat, bariatric Protein shakes. Now, I have a strong sensitivity to carbs. If I have a meal w/ 20 g total carbs (including fiber), my heart starts to race. I had 1/2 slice of pizza from a small pie, this triggers the same effect. I'm netting around 25-40 g carb per day, which is extremely low. My doctor says its likely reactive hypoglycemia, when my body produces too much insulin in response to a relatively high blood sugar load. Some patients experience thing after surgery, but you'll want to consult with your doctor to rule out anything else.

What do you use to mix them with? Could it be a reaction to juice or milk? I have some reactive hypoglycemia, but I can trace that back to carb intake. When my BS drops, I get the shakes and lightheaded feeling. Do you have a BS monitor?? Maybe check your numbers...

My oldest daughter has it. It was brought on by the birth of her first child 4 years ago, she is 40 so she had her babies late. They medicated her than her thyroid went the other way. But she no longer has the buggy eyes. Her doctor said many times it is brought on my some sort of trauma to the system in her case it was having a baby. She did have to have invetro to have her 2 babies. However it does run in the family, she has a cousin on her dad's side who also has it. Strange thing in all of this is my other two daughters have hypo thyroid, So they all 3 have problems with their thyroid and I do not and their dad did not.

Talk to your endo. You won't be having many carbs but you can still bolus if you need to and dose for your carbs. I bet you won't need much and you may have hypo episodes while you are coming to grips with it. You may end up off insulin over time. Lots of type 2 basically leave the hospital in remission. I'm not on insulin but I'm on metformin and fully expect to be able to get off it. My latest A1C was 5.6.

Hmmm, changes within the inner ear would account for the dizziness, but not for the darkening of vision while standing. That is almost always related to blood pressure. Either hypo or hypertension can cause vision issues like the ones described.

Controversies in Coverage for Obesity Treatment and prevention have seldom been emphasized by insurance providers, despite spiraling health care costs attributed to obesity. With more Americans overweight, obesity has become a leading cause of preventable death (65) . Direct costs associated with obesity represent 6% to 7% of the National Health Expenditure (66) (67) ; 99.2 billion dollars were attributed to obesity in 1995, of which 51.6 billion dollars were direct medical costs (67) . A study examining the 25-year health care costs for overweight women over age 40 years using an incidence-based analysis, predicted that 16 billion dollars will be spent in the next 25 years treating overweight middle-aged women alone (68) . Other investigations have suggested a relationship between BMI and health care expenditures. In one study, medical and health care use records of obese women (N = 83) belonging to a health maintenance organization were compared with records of non-obese women (69) . As BMI increased, so did the number of medical diagnoses and the use of health care resources. In another analysis of employees of 298 companies (N = 8822), obesity was directly and significantly related to higher health care costs (an 8% higher cost), even when adjusting for age, sex, and a number of chronic conditions (70) . A longitudinal observational of obese individuals (N = 383) covered by the same insurance plan reported that the probability of health care expenditures increased at BMI extremes (71) . A study of over 17,000 respondents to a 1993 health survey reported a strong association between BMI and total inpatient and outpatient costs (66) . Compared with individuals with a BMI of 20 to 24.9 kg/m2, there was a 25% to 44% increase in annual costs in moderately and severely overweight people, adjusted for age and sex. Wolf and Colditz (67) reported an 88% increase in the number of physician appointments attributed to obesity from 1988 to 1994, and a total of 62.6 million obesity-related physician visits in 1994. A recent review of the scant literature on access to and usage of health care services suggests that obese persons use medical care services more frequently than do non-obese people and that they tend to pay higher prices for these services (72) . Beliefs that obesity treatment is unsuccessful and too costly have been challenged (73) . Weight losses as small as 10% are associated with substantially reduced health care costs, reduced incidence of obesity-related comorbid conditions, and increased lifetime expectancy (73) (74) . Recent research has addressed the cost-effectiveness of drug treatments and surgery for obesity. In 1999 Greenway et al. (75) found that weight losses produced by medications (fenfluramine with mazindol or phentermine) reduced costs more than standard treatment of comorbid conditions. Gastric bypass surgery has demonstrated even more impressive effects, with lower costs and greater long-term weight loss maintenance in comparison to low-calorie diets and behavior modification (76) , as well as significant reductions in BMI, incidence of hypertension, hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypo-high density lipoprotein cholesterolemia, and sick days from work compared with matched controls (77) (78) . Current Coverage Practices Even with some evidence of cost-savings for some weight-loss methods, medical coverage is inconsistent. Surgical treatment is often not reimbursed even though diseases with less supported treatments are compensated (79) . Some have explicitly pointed to prejudice against obesity surgery by insurance providers who are preventing its broader acceptance and use in practices (80) . As Frank (81) concludes, "... no claim to justify the denial of benefits for the treatment of obesity has any validity when held to the standards of health insurance otherwise available in the United States. It should be obvious that such a judgment is ethically unconscionable." It is typical for health insurance plans to explicitly exclude obesity treatment for coverage (82) . Physicians often have difficulties receiving reimbursement for their services (79) . Many reimbursement systems do not categorize obesity as a disease, leading physicians to report comorbid disorders as the reason for their services (79) . In 1998, the Internal Revenue Service excluded weight-loss programs as a medical deduction, even when prescribed by a doctor. In response, several organizations such as the American Obesity Association (83) filed petitions for a ruling to allow the costs of obesity treatment to be included as a medical deduction. As of 2000, the Internal Revenue Service policy changed its criteria, allowing costs for weight-loss treatments to be deducted by taxpayers for certain treatment programs under a physician’s direction to treat a specific disease (84) . The Social Security Administration has eliminated obesity from its list of impairments, which is used to determine eligibility for disability payments (65) . Because individuals who receive social security disability benefits are also eligible for Medicare after 2 years, those who are denied disability also forgo opportunities for medical coverage (65) . Although few studies have addressed this issue, a recent cross-sectional analysis of third-party payer reimbursement for weight management for obese children reported low reimbursement rates (85) . Despite the medical necessity of weight management for obese children in the study, no reimbursement was given to 35% of the children enrolled in weight-management programs, and no association existed between the severity of obesity and the reimbursement rate (85) . Although this article does not intend to examine all of the potential factors that may underlie these coverage policies, one likely contributor are perceptions that obesity is a problem of willful behavior and that treatment is unsuccessful and expensive (81) . Although health insurance typically covers treatment for substance abuse and sexually transmitted diseases, which are also considered to be problems of willful behavior, obese persons may not receive the services they need (81) . Denying obese people access to treatment may have medical consequences, but also denies people an opportunity to lose weight, which itself may reduce exposure to bias and discrimination. For example, Rand and MacGregor (58) assessed perceptions of discrimination among morbidly obese patients (N = 57) before and after weight-loss surgery. Before their operations, 87% of patients reported that their weight prevented them from being hired for a job, 90% reported anti-fat attitudes from co-workers, 84% avoided being in public because of their weight, and 77% felt depressed on a daily basis. Fourteen months after surgery, every patient reported reduced discrimination, 87% to 100% of patients reported that they rarely or never perceived prejudice or discrimination, and 90% reported feeling cheerful and confident almost daily. A further study indicated that 59% of patients requested surgery for social reasons such as embarrassment, and only 10% for medical reasons (86) . After the operation, patients reported improved interpersonal functioning (51%), improved occupational functioning (36%), and more positive changes in leisure activities (64%). Although these studies are based on self-reports from selected samples and, therefore, have limitations, it is interesting to note the dramatic reduction in postsurgical perceptions of prejudice and discrimination, and the power of social perceptions in motivating surgery decisions. Summary and Methodological Limitations A "fat is bad" stereotype exists in the medical field (87) . Further study is needed to test the degree to which this affects practice. It seems that obese persons as a group avoid seeking medical care because of their weight. One barrier to drawing further conclusions, however, is that much of the research relies on self-report measures of variable reliability and validity. There is a need to move beyond reports of attitudes to actual health care practices.

Blieve it or not my parents were my biggest opponents when I was banded...even though my father helped me pay my out of pocket expense. I really thought it was my last chance. Neither of them have ever had weight problems - my mom is in a size 14 and she thinks she is a hippo (literally) all she talks about is how fat she is. I call it the "barbie' mentality...they really don't understand. So even though I love them and they love me more than anything in this world, I chose not to tell them about RNY for a few reasons. #1 because they would worry and #2 they are the I told you sos from the band. It's a very sensative subject. It's weird now that I'm down 50 pounds they treat me differently. They have no idea how much this hurts me...I'm still me, you know? But I also know if I needed them they would be here for me. So for now, I'm keeping it to myself...I am going to order me a medical bracelet since most people don't know about my surgery - I really don't need to risk the complications if I were in an accident and not able to let anyone know about my RNY. I'm a huge dairy eater - always have been. I drink A LOT of milk, and eat a lot of chicken and yogurt. I get most of my Protein in my food, which is what my doctor recommends. I don't completely agree with everyone eating salads and taking nothing but supplements...but to each their own. I have tried the New whey powder and not a big fan and I probably need to add one supplement to my diet a day. With the band I was on the New Whey liquid Protein Bullets...however, we as RNY patients only absorb 1/2 of the protein in them. As for Vitamin supplements, I am on Calcium citrate (not carbonite - it won't absorb) for my calcium 4x a day (which I probably get in my food, but am following docs rules), I take the One A Dau Daily Multivitamins 2x a day (chewables) and I'm on nexium for my gerd/heartburn still 1x, and synthoid for my thyroid (I'm hypo).

I have reactive hypoglycemia now(I'm in no way a dr, not giving you medical advice at all). I have it now that I've had surgery, but also had it when I was younger. The things you describe are what I feel when I have an episode. Go search reactive hypoglycemia in and there is a great post from RJ's beginning on the subject. Mayne you can relate to some of it. I would start to carry around a baggie of nuts with you everywhere you go. Or a Quest Protein bar. Something with fat and Fiber both. The nuts and a cheese stick pick me uo fast when I have an episode.

Hello, I am from OR and had a vsg in Mexico as a self-pay patient in May 2014. I am still doing very well. The sleeve still prevents me from overeating and magically controls hunger as well as limits my sweet intake (i get reactive low blood sugar when I eat anything too sweet now and it is bad enough to avoid most times). I do not regret my surgery and in fact wish I had done it sooner. I run now, can do yoga poses easily and am enjoying the freedom of life-long portion control. I am still 12 pounds from my original goal, mainly because I stopped low-carb dieting and can eat more than when I first had surgery, but I love my figure and my energy level and am taking my time reaching my goal. I wear between size 4-6 dress/tops/pants and may just maintain here as I feel really good. Research the right doctor for you. I am sorry to say the brilliant surgeon I went to tragically died in a plane crash about a month after I left his hospital. His team was fantastic, so I imagine they are still working and operating at Almater Hospital. Check into them. There was another surgeon I considered in Texas, named Dr. Guillermo Alvarez, I only ended up going with the one I did based on timing. Be prepared to pay at least $12,000 for the procedure, stay and aftercare, but it is worth it. It's still more reasonable than self-pay in the US. I would make sure you are in a clean hospital NOT A CLINIC for the procedure and that there is an actual medical team and nurses there for aftercare. I had mandatory counseling before the surgery in Mexico, which was important for maintaining, I had solid pre-op tests run as well as solid post-op tests. My only complaint was my doctor refused to give opiates so my pain was not well managed and I ended up in the ER when I got home for pain control. The US ER docs were shocked that a doctor in Mexico didn't provide pain meds. I was shocked as well. So, be sure to have someone with you to advocate for pain management. Other than that, I healed quickly and now it is a distant memory. Good luck, you will do well, just be prepared to pay over $10K for a good surgeon, do your research, reach out to people who used the surgeon you are selecting and make sure it is in a clean hospital. There are no short cuts or dollar savings worth your health and life.

Yes, we do get into it here sometimes. There are posts and comments that cause our hackles to rise. We are from different states, countries, cultures and have different values systems, experiences and opinions. We respond to different approaches in different ways. Some of us need a "kick in the pants" or "tough love" and respond well to that, others are more responsive to a gentle hand and softer words. There is no one size fits all in these forums, which is what makes it stronger for the differences. One thing is obvious to me at least, and that is we all share a common experience and passion. We are planning to, or have been through vsg surgery and we are at times scared, excited, thankful, ashamed, proud, angry, apathetic, and countless other feelings. This is an emotional process. It is mentally stressful. It is academic in our search for information. It is very physical. For some it is even spiritual. We do not have to agree on everything. We are here to share our thoughts, opinions, experiences and questions. Since it is a public forum, it is also open to anything from anyone at anytime. That may be more challenging for some than others when they read a response that they interpret as offensive. Some react strongly, others are not as emotionally invested in what others have to say. There is no right or wrong way to feel about this. We do all need to remember that we are working through a framework of a shared experience, though we may process our thinking about it in different ways. Definition of Reactive Thinking Reactive thinking is crisis-based thinking, coming up with solutions after problems develop. Reactive thinking responds to the situation. A reactive thinker often spends too much of his time fighting fires. A reactive thinker is easily blindsided by circumstances. A crisis-driven reactive thinker may be more prone to feeling stress. Definition of Proactive Thinking Proactive thinking, on the other hand, involves foresight. To be proactive means to think ahead, in anticipation of future changes or problems. It means covering your bases to include all possible scenarios. A proactive thinker will have several contingencies in mind. A proactive thinker sees the likelihood of crises before they happen. Ref: http://www.ehow.com/...e-thinking.html

Hi again - its me with the interesting questions! My friend who is also considering surgery has Hypo- Thyroidism - does anyone know if she is a candidate for surgery or not? kind regards M:)

Sounds like symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia. Might want to do some research on it.

I understand your thinking, but dropsets are actually a very bad way to build strength. Yes, you will feel a pump from the muscle being engorged from increased blood flow, but that is not the same as building strength. Let's use squats as an example. You might be able to do 12 reps on the first set of the bench press but you should stop at 9 or 10. Stopping before muscle and nervous system fatigue will allow you to complete the full set. So lets say that you squatted 100 lbs for 12 reps, then 8, 6, and 4 for a total of 30 reps. That would give you a total volume of 3,000 lbs. However, if you dropped that to 8 reps for the entire set, you would have 32 reps for a total volume of 3,200 lbs. As you get further and further into your strength training, the disparity become even greater. All that being said, I don't do that many reps in any of my sets. Sure, I could probably do 12 reps at 185 lbs, but 3 sets of 5 reps at 245 lbs provides me with 3,675 lbs of volume work. As for the OP's question, 2 weeks post op I would focus on just walking. Your stamina is going to be very, very low. The threat of reactive hypoglycemia is very real, as is low blood pressure. Getting dizzy is common and fainting is not unheard of (as me how I know!). There is no time in your life when the weight will come off faster and easier than this point of your recovery. Capitalize on it. Once you are hitting your fluid and protein goals or more for the week, then start Pilates or resistance training. I actually liked Pilates in the beginning. Once that is no longer kicking your butt, start real weights. Squats and deadlifts are the two must important movements the we as humans need to do properly. If you are picking up small children or heavy bags, moving furniture, etc... you are using the same muscles, so start training them when you are able.

check with your PCP - could be a lot of things. Some patients have trouble with orthostatic hypotension when standing up suddenly - but it could be a number of things. I had some issues about two years out. Everything was normal the day of my workup (they pretty much checked EVERYTHING), but they think it might have been, for me at least, reactive hypoglycemia - and if so, my glucose level just happened to be normal at the time they checked it. They also checked me for inner ear issues (which controls balance), urinary-related issues, God knows what else in my blood, etc. Just telling you this because there could be a lot of causes for that.

My surgeon told us that there is a nerve that gets impacted just after surgery that can cause flushing and heating. Not sure if it can get inflamed again or be reactive for other reasons??? Maybe some swelling pushing on something?

Congrats to you! I have Hypo Thyroid disease too. You will do fine. Just take your meds and vitamins everyday.

You may have already done considerable research about RnY. But there are some very significant medical complications and side effects with the RnY that the sleeve doesn't (usually) trigger. For instance, * significant malabsorption and anemia issues requiring very serious Vitamin, mineral and other supplements for the rest of your life (more than with the sleeve) * reactive hypoglycemia -- as many as 72% of RnY (bypass) patients have it; it ain't a minor thing at all. "Reactive hypoglycemia is a late complication affecting up to 72% of RYGB patients although it seems to occur also after SG, in about 3% of the cases." See http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01581801 * more complicated surgery and more surgical complications with RnY than with gastric sleeve That's not to say that there aren't some diagnoses / patients for whom gastric bypass is the better choice. But IMHO you should choose bypass ONLY if you have those diagnoses. The choice between bypass and sleeve is not a simple 6 of one, half-dozen of the other proposition.

dettie211 in response to "what is RNY" it is just short for Rouxen-Y gastric bypass. AZbanster thank you for explaining, that is more than I've gotten out of my three doctors. And the strangest thing is I'm borderline hypo-thyroid which has just developed last year (running another test next month). I have been worried about Grave's Disease as it does run in families and my mother had it. But she didn't have a thyroid problem as that was the first thing they looked for. Anyway this forum is great. As there are noticeable other problems other than just slippage, acid reflux, erosion of which have come up in studies. Haven't read anything on the heart or thyroid until now.

I don't need a scientific study to prove that garlic makes me fart. I'm smart enough to realize that I'm reactive to certain substances or foods. MSG gives me headaches and I'm sure there are millions of other sensitive people that react to it as well. I’m not about to put that stuff in my body after all of the articles I’ve read. Scientific studies can be very tricky. First of all, who do you think funds the millions of dollars for these studies?!? People interested in making money. Bottom line. I don't know if there are any reputable studies proving it's dangerous or not but if there isn't, it's because there isn’t anybody who will make any money from proving it's unhealthy. I'm sure there are plenty of studies that show it's not dangerous and I wonder who paid for THOSE studies... Hmmmmmm.... The companies who put it in their food maybe? Follow the money trail... If I cared about your opinion I might take the time to find out about scientific studies but I don’t so I won’t…. I trust my doctor, I trust my nutritionist / naturopath, I trust my chiropractor and yes, I trust the millions of articles that try to get through to people about how dangerous it is and what it will do to your health in the long term. To those of you that agree with the rude and condescending post above, read the article again before you jump on the denial bandwagon... Maybe a little slower this time? It doesn't say that MSG MADE you fat. It states that MSG contributes to obesity. BIG DIFFERENCE. If you choose to eat it, that's your choice. If you choose to remain ignorant of the dangers, it's another personal choice you are free to make. After all, ignorance really is bliss in most cases. I'm just sharing information that I believe in and consider valuable. The smart ones will do their own research and trust their own instincts. Whether you agree or not is totally up to you but I'm not about to be intimidated and/or discouraged from sharing information. If you don't like it or don't like me, please click on the next post. I'm here for support, not drama.<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">

I'm 3 mos post op and lost 33 lbs including preop diet! So yeah jump for joy. I'm a slow loser & have hypo thyroid but I'm have way to goal. Woohoo!

Hi I've just been searching for this topic as I've recently realised I have just started showing symptoms of Reactive Hyplogylcemia. I'm exactly one year post-op sleeve surgery and I had no idea us sleevers could suffer these symptoms. I'm a vegetarian so trying to cut out carbs has been a huge challenge for me and must admit that recently they have come back into my diet and my weightloss has also stalled. I now find that if I try and exercise in the mornings I have a massive hypo attack, the shakes, sweating, low blood sugar, feel like I'm going to faint, need to sit down and then an urgency to eat something. I then continue to feel terrible for the rest of the day like I'm all washed out and very tired even though I've done almost nothing. This is a very worrying new complication of the sleeve surgery that I did not sign up for and I'm trying to find out as much as possible about the condition so I can learn how to manage it. I'm confused as to whether I need to cut the carbs or increase them? I've been eating about 1,000 calories a day but burning around 2,700 cals per day (I wear a BodyMedia monitor so I know exactly what I'm using). I'm now really worried about this new development.. I'm seeing my surgeon next week for my one year review, I will be asking about this as from what I've researched, it seems as though there are a lot of people post bariatric surgery complaining of the problem and not much can be done from what I know??. Mine so far has been manageable but I am very worried it might get worse and I've read some people having their Pancreases removed which seems very extreme!. Any help or advice would be gratefully received. Prior to surgery I had PCOS, under-active thyroid and had been told years ago that I was insulin resistent but I never had diabetes. I must say, had I known about this complication it would have made me consider very carefully whether I should do this? Please has anyone any advice as it is worrying me a lot??