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Hi all - 5 days post opp and the chest pain has subsided a bit! Whew. Trying to move as much as possible. I know I shouldn’t, but I hopped on the scale and only lost 2lbs since surgery! I am eating under 1000 cal a day (simply bc I can’t get down that much liquid). Is this normal? Figured I’d be down more! Thanks

IMO this is true. However, lots of people seem to live in deep fear of this striving for balance, not believing they can ever achieve it because they're absolutely convinced they can't trust their bodies - ever. Given the fact that so-called experts, Aunt Fanny, the media, various people who think they know what they're talking about etc. fed us their "truth" about obesity, eating disorders, losing weight etc. for so long that it's hard to shed all that "knowledge" and all these "truths" that worsened our problems instead of solving them, this is probably not very surprising. There are different approaches out there that don't focus on something that feels more like punishment than anything else (I know I'm recommending the books of e. g. Karen Koenig not for the first time here) but fear and maybe other things are holding people back to try something different than "being strict". But then again - I guess it took a long time as well to convince people that the earth is not flat and that the sun is not moving around the earth...

And you have an unknown to you Bariatric Christian God-Aunt in Ohio. One I was blessed with was: Fatty fatty 2by4, no I never made to the 400 someone some on accussed me of being, 355 was enough. You had your baby niece and Uncle moment, I was passing a glass storefront, wearing a skirt I had sewn by hand, oh I thought it was cute, really proud of the cut, the fabric it was made from, dare I say I thought it made me look "cute " and I saw an,aging woman with legs like tree trunks, in a skirt the same color as mine. OMG it's me! In my mind I was just 198 pounds, a big girl but shapely. No I had the shape and size of a very,large Salami. Took myself to my PCP, told him my diet wasn't doing well, could be prescribe me an appetite reducing diet,pill short term. He wrote me script for phenteramine, stopped at the pharmacy. bought myself a notebook so I could record what I was eating, cit my diet back to 1100 calories, cut out carbs,breads, soft drinks, indeed anything sweetened . Journaled everything faithfully,for a month and GAINED 30 pounds. So I started with the Bariatric program he recommended. Went through that program twice(and that also,IS,A STORY) in February,2018 the surgeon decided that,he and his 2 partners, Having raped my insurances to the inth degree, no longer desired to,perform my surgery. So I switched to another program, much nicer people, much better facility where I will receive the RnY surgery I so ernestly desire on September 5th. And you say you were" FatBoy" well I beat you there I was" Fat Baby". I was born back in the day when fat babies were the only healthy babies. And my Mama ,may she rest in peace, faithfully followed her doctors advice. She nursed me, then fed me an 8oz bottle of Carnation milk formula. And I grew and grew, chubby cheeks, pudgy,thighs, I had them all. At the age of 1,I was 35 In tall, 36 pounds, the size of the average 2 1/2 year old. I had fat cells before they even k,ow what to call them. Not a fine legacy, but,i am on my way to disprove to all the naysayers that 72 year,old person can do,this too. And I shall for I am not ready to die, I may have entered life fat but I no longer will be that way and I will be healthier for the remainder of my life. Thank for your inspiration and may you be blessed, now and all of your days.

And while I'm on a rant let me just say men are so flipping dense sometimes. I blasted my husband again this morning because of his BS 'I might not be able to take you home for the hospital' statement. He apologized and said he would talk to his boss. That was at 9am this morning. I don't hear from him ALL day...except just now at 4pm he leaves me a voicemail about some inane stuff and then says "Hope you had a good day" Ummm...I would have had a good day if you had given me ANY indication that you were actually going to step up and be there for me in my time of need. UGH!!!

I plan on changing birth control if I cannot continue to take the pill. I had bypass, I see my gyno next week if I need to change bc, I am opting for the shot or Nuva ring. I wouldn’t mind doing Implanon but I want to start trying for kids within 1year and 9 months and I have read some horror stories about the sticks being removed. definitely not getting the iud because I have had too many friends get pregnant with it or are actual IUD babies. Besides my sister developed increased blood pressure from having the IUD i just want something simple lol. I love the pill so much

@ shoelace if my parents hadn't talked me out of emigrating to Canada in 1967, I very easily could have been your neighbour. But many miles traveled and much water under the bridge since then. I held on to a canful of BC soil from that summer, someday when I die ---I hope to have it put on my grave.💦

I live in Texas. LOL, in my family "wench" is a term of endearment. I'm the kitchen wench. It was supposed to be funny, sorry. I've been a wench as have my sissies for years. We actually love the term. Also, just to be clear. DAMN straight I want to be thin. I also wanted to save my forkin life. At 287 I was on 3 blood pressure meds, 3 asthma drugs, GERD medicine, had fluid around my heart, had a very low ejection fraction, had Stage II lymphedema in my arm from cancer. And was at serious risk for BC recurrence. My oncologist BEGGED me for 2 years to do this surgery. He felt it was maybe the only hope I had of surviving 10 years from the cancer without recurrence. I was bed-bound, could barely shower, could barely walk from my recliner where I lived to the potty. I could not stand to cook cuz the pain and exhaustion was terrible. I got MSSA in my foot that took 3 months to heal and wasn't being helped cuz of the heart fluid and leg fluid and BP issues. I could not sleep longer than 1-2 hour stretches and I was in aching 8scale pain 24/7/365. Am I sooo unbelievably thrilled I can now sleep 4-5 hours at a stretch without waking from crying in pain? Am I glad my neuralgia is partially better around my chest and down my left arm from the surgery? Am I glad to have my life back? Am I happy to be off all asthma drugs and off all bp meds except a lower dose of 1? Am I happy my fluid around the heart is slowly improving, the ejection fraction has improved 5%, am I thrilled to be able to bathe, cook, clean my house and be a better partner? Fu*k yeah! Am I thrilled I can now shop for the first time in 8 years? That I can walk for 1 hour straight? That I can stand for longer than 10 minutes? Am I determined DETERMINED that I will be in the normal weight category just once in my life? FU*K yeah! And I would not (in the end) let anyone or anything keep me from having the chance to reclaim my life. I will also jump through fire to keep from ever going back to that place of living hell ad misery where I lay in my chair and prayed to die. I was TRYING to be charitable about your motives dude. LOL.

My surgery was November 2017 (VSG) and I've had issues with breakthrough bleeding on my usual pill, and still despite changing pills about 3 months ago. My provider thinks it could be an absorption issue, which I don't know if I necessarily agree with considering I had VSG and not bypass, but anyways... Has anyone gone to the Nexplanon (arm) birth control after surgery? Thoughts on it? I'm half a** looking into it (aka kind of not really) but wanted to see if anyone had personal experience on here going from pill to arm implant.

I know I posted earlier but it was more a HAHA comment. Not trying to be an ass or the food police but it sure as **** sounds like a lot of EXCUSES to justify eating this garbage. These things have been a favorite of mine since I was a kid but why go through everything we have and will go through just to give in and possibly put us on a path to lose? You justify this then what's next? I'm tired of making BS excuses for my choices or why if I only have a little it will kill my craving and get me past this moment. 379lbs later and a hell of a lot of bodily pain and thankfully my eyes were opened. I won't say I will not cheat or give into temptation but I will try my hardest not to. Just my opinion and I really hope to not piss anyone off or offend anyone. Good luck everyone, I really hope we all succeed on our journeys!!!!!

Didn’t really need any help after my rny. Just made sure grocery shopping was done etc BC you can’t lift for a while.

I think the bigger issue is how to get your wife to EAT and exercise . That seems the only way to get her moving again and get energy level up. Yes all wls can be drastic loss I’m a short time but I don’t see many people in the same boat your wife is in BC she should be exercising regularly and eating more I hope you continue to go with her to her nutritionist appointments. Good luck.

I think the bigger issue is how to get your wife to EAT and exercise . That seems the only way to get her moving again and get energy level up. Yes all wls can be drastic loss I’m a short time but I don’t see many people in the same boat your wife is in BC she should be exercising regularly and eating more I hope you continue to go with her to her nutritionist appointments. Good luck.

I’m excited bc my surgeon is adding strained Soup to what I’m allowed to eat today (only like 3-4 tsp at a time). BUT I’m also officially not going to see any real food until 9/3. Puréed (including yogurt and cottage cheese and stuff like that) starts 8/20. Ughhhh.

All she says is that she’s happy and says she’s not dying. She doesn’t care about any of it. My aunt Meghan said she would rather die than be fat and that’s exactly what she got. My wife says the same thing. Todd said that what happened is extremely rare. Todd even tried to argue with me on my aunt death. But anyways. He told me only 5% of women lose 80lbs or more I’ve come to believe that’s a big fat lie. He also said the normally women will put about 20 lbs back in at about the year mark but she’s not starting to gain again. Damn near everything she eats makes her sick. Her legs and arms are twigs with extra skin and some flab. I’m fuckin pissed really. I’m sure I’ll get some replies that I’m just selfish or some bs.

Thank you for posting this. It explains a lot of what has happened to me. I was a functional alcoholic for a few years in my 20s, then a regular drinker after that. Still had extra cravings for alcohol, but I could control it just fine. I was concerned that I might develop a problem with alcohol post op bc it seems to happen for some people. Instead, I want alcohol even less. What a relief! We have enough to go through postop!

The tapeworms would be funny-- if it wasn't actually true. I assume some of you have heard about the mother who got mail-order tapeworm eggs from Mexico. She fed them to her teenage daughter without her daughter's knowledge. The daughter ended up in the ER complaining of abdominal cramps. While still in the ER, the daughter asked to use the bathroom... to her horror, the toilet was filled with adult tapeworms desperately trying to escape from the toilet bowl. I don't know if social services was contacted, but they should have been. Apparently, the mother was trying to save her daughter from the embarrassment of being too fat. Yeah, as if worms crawling out of your butt isn't embarrassing enough...

I’m only 3 weeks out, but I have issues with anything sweeter than a protein shake. I used to love fruit on the bottom yogurt, but now the fruit part is too sweet, so I don’t mix it all the way in. Also, just the smell of nutella or peanut butter make me nauseous. I have issues with dense foods, too, but I think that’s bc it hasn’t even been a month yet.

Update: Went to get labs done after no improvement after increasing water intake. Turns out my vitamin D levels were low! Not sure why bc I was taking calcium citrate with vitamin d, but I changed brands to the bariatric advantage chewable and my energy levels improved, bp and hr went up, too! Lesson learned: when in doubt, consult a medical professional.

Oh man! Now you've done it! Lol I totally agree with you. Respect the boundaries. Personally I think the excuse of "I didn't realize this was a guys only post is BS. I've never accidentally posted in the Gals Room. Just say'n.... On FB I'm only a member in the guys only groups. Reasons being...less drama, no candy coated backhanded compliments and straight talking honest talk even if it's something you dont want to hear but need to. If you screw up or act like a jerk you will get called out on it, but you will also get respect and support from those same guys. I admit I read the other posts on this forum for women but I won't comment on them if I know it's for women only or a topic that I have no experience on. Just wish some of the ladies would do the same. This all being said I'm certain a lady has read this, gotten angry and most likely will comment on this thread. Again, just say'n.

Poppygirl— My surgery was 7/11 and by day 4 post op my gas pain was almost gone, but I also wore an abdominal binder which reduced the pain and bloating a ton. I found one on amazon for pretty cheap- maybe $30? My doctor told me to wear it for a month and it has really sped up my healing process. You can also try other compression garments like high waisted spanx type undies or bodysuits, which I’m wearing these days bc I’m back at work and they fit better under my work clothes. Hope that helps!

I'd guess that your entire dating landscape will change. By that I mean you are going to change, your confidence will change, your tolerance for BS with change, you will find a voice you didn't know you had. In other words, you may want to begin to ask yourself, not who will like me, but who will deserve me. Just my .02

Christ on a cracker! I'm having gastric bypass surgery in 2 weeks after going through a 6 month weight loss program. Damn, I never thought I'd find myself here. I mean WTF? I am having my entire guts rearranged just to get my weight under control. Sometimes it just seems ridiculous. So, grizzled veterans, what's the run down on your coping strategies? Do not tell me that you discovered a new-found love of exercise and that you just *like* go for a run when you are stressed and tired. For real, what are you doing? I mean, we go to all these classes and dredge up all our bullshit so ALL THE THINGS are simmering just under the surface and then our coping mechanism is ripped out from under us at the same time. I feel like a battered and bruised ball of sensitivity after talking about and trying to deal with self image, denial, abuse, etc. Then, the one thing that has always been reliable, has always worked for me (temporarily!) is not the thing anymore. The glass of wine, the pint of ice cream, the latte and scone with your BFF, the lasagna at mom's, BUH-BYE! I don't want to make it sound like I'm not doing the work; this is the first time in ages I've looked forward to the upcoming year. I've worked hard at breaking some of my worst habits: Fast food, eating in front of the TV, snacking after the kids go to bed - THE WORST ONE - checkity check! I've even lost 20 lbs because I'm fk-ing serious about this. But, damn, what now? I can't help but wonder...will I ever find my healthy coping mechanisms?

Last night I found this & posted in another thread. Here is something I found online about a medical alert Bracelet. Hope this is okay to post. "5 reasons gastric bypass patients need a medical alert bracelet 1 ) You should not be given NSAIDS NSAIDS, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, are known to have a few side effects when taken under normal use. These include ulcers, an increased chance of bleeding, and liver or kidney problems. And that's just for a person who hasn't been through a major surgery like gastric bypass! The point of a medical alert bracelet is to let people know about your condition in an emergency. NSAIDS are commonly used in medicine, so alerting the staff of your bypass can give them the chance to find another medicine to treat you. For people who have had a gastric bypass, NSAIDS can be problematic for newly constructed stomachs that haven't gotten the chance to build up protection against irritants like NSAIDS. 2 ) A Blind NG tube is dangerous for you Blind NG tubes are inserted through the nose of a patient who needs to be fed through a tube after a medical emergency. It's usually fed through with no problems, as doctors know how to do this procedure on normal anatomy. But after a gastric bypass, only a medical alert bracelet can let your healthcare team know that you no longer have "normal" anatomy. A bypass changes the way your stomach is shaped and how it sits, meaning a blind NG tube is likely to break through your stomach walls and cause vast damage. This is especially true because gastric bypass patients do have stomachs that are more sensitive to damage. If your medical team knows about your gastric bypass, then they will incorporate a different method that is equally helpful but cuts down on the risk of damaging your stomach. 3 ) A limited intake of sugar is important Hospitals have variations in the diets and medications they can give patients depending on their medical history. Gastric bypass patients need to actively avoid excess sugar intake for a few reasons. It can heighten any problems related to diabetes, which is common in overweight individuals. It can also cause severe diarrhea in people who have had a gastric bypass. It's also important for your healthcare team to know about your bypass through your medical alert bracelet so that they can continue giving you the right diet. For gastric bypass patients, this means high Fiber and low sugar! 4 ) Complications can be found faster Having a gastric bypass surgery is a major operation. It's done to transform your health and quality of life, yet it can have complications. In the rare cases when a complication happens, it's important to get treatment as soon as possible! You could potentially experience bleeding, blood clots, or a rupture in your new stomach pouch. Hernias are also known to happen as well as infections, leaking, or ulcers. These cases can be fixed with usually simple procedures, but knowing is the only way staff can address them before more complications arise. So when you are brought into a hospital, a medical alert bracelet can work wonders in letting the staff narrow down what could be happening to you. It can ultimately save your life. 5 ) Your solid food will need to be limited If you need to be fed while you're in the hospital, then staff should be aware that you need to have your solid food limited. Because your stomach size has been greatly reduced through the surgery, anyone placing a feeding tube will have to know that your stomach is smaller and cannot handle a large amount of food. When someone with a gastric bypass is fed large amounts of foods, a few things can happen that your team needs to know. If they do, then they can properly adjust your in-hospital diet and look for signs that a complication from overeating is the reason you were brought in. Overeating can stretch your new pouch, rupture it, and cause your body to reject the food. Regardless of the situation, a medical alert bracelet can keep your medical team totally up-to-speed on what is going on with you so that treatment can be effective and quick. And everyone at N-Style ID loves keeping our customers up-to-date with the latest information about medical alerts and other topics on our blog. You never know when an emergency could happen, and that's why these bracelets are designed to be stylish and useful."

Congrats on getting your date. Sucks you had to deal with this BS though. I have a very long fuse but this would have put me over the top. I would have for sure complained to her first then to her higher up even if it's the surgeon. Like you said if she can't handle the workload they need to get someone else to help. Or just get someone more competent. Good luck with your surgery, hope all goes smooth from here out.

I guess it depends on what your goal is or how much you want to lose? I chose bypass for max loss quicker ( although sleeve can slower people have lost equal weight in long run), also BC I had reflux . I also saw many converting from sleeve to bypass and I didn’t want two surgeries to be a possibility at all. So I guess it depends on your preference and medical factors. Plenty of people with both surgeries here with a lot of success. Good luck with your decision.