What I have discovered so far

[FatJuicyMouse 1]

1. I don't think the doctors know as much as they think they do. A few years ago, I lost 72 pounds in six months (and gained all but 3 pounds back but that's a whole 'nother story!). I didn't have Hair loss and I didn't suddenly get cold all the time before I had even lost any weight like I do now. This single digit weather is killing me!

2. Cookie cutter dietary recommendations do not work. I can measure my time since surgery in weeks instead of months and have had several stalls and even gained over and over again. I have found that the closer I stay to 1,000 calories, the more and faster I lose. When I try to stick to 600-800, I lose nothing - not weight, not inches.

3. Diabetes doesn't always go away. When I started adding HEALTHY carbs like fruit, dairy and vegetables, my blood sugar went up again. I am back on the oral meds but only one of the insulins once a day. Hopefully this will change when I lose more weight, but I am not holding my breath since my beanpole husband takes a long acting insulin every night and a short acting for every carb he eats (and he eats a LOT of them!).

4. You don't necessarily lose weight from the same places each time you lose weight. My boobs and butt are disappearing this time but my gut stubbornly stays the same size!

5. Weighing every day can be a good thing. If I didn't weigh every day, I would never have known what broke my stalls.

6. If you don't want food servers commenting on how much you eat, take small children with you. Nearly everyone at the table shared my potatoes and I shared my granddaughter's fruit yesterday and no one had any idea how much anyone else had eaten. Yesterday was the first time I have been in a restaurant since surgery and I felt completely comfortable and knew exactly what I was eating since I entered it into my phone app. We had Thanksgiving dinner and I was still 200 calories short of my goal at bedtime. So I had a cup of Silk Nog. (mm mm good!)

And, as I said, your mileage may vary, but this has worked for me. I am not exercising a lot yet until my blood sugar is totally in control but I am doing plenty of housework since I don't have tall enough boots to go tromp outside and play!

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

1. I don't think the doctors know as much as they think they do. A few years ago, I lost 72 pounds in six months (and gained all but 3 pounds back but that's a whole 'nother story!). I didn't have hair loss and I didn't suddenly get cold all the time before I had even lost any weight like I do now. This single digit weather is killing me!

Just thought I'd point out that you lose hair because of the anesthesia, not because of the dieting. Of course, if you are malnourished, you might lose more, but people lose hair several months after surgeries that don't affect their calories intake (C-sections, cholecystectomies).

6. If you don't want food servers commenting on how much you eat, take small children with you. Nearly everyone at the table shared my potatoes and I shared my granddaughter's fruit yesterday and no one had any idea how much anyone else had eaten.

I like that tip. I'm going to a massive event that involves a buffet tomorrow. Several of my friends who'll be at my table know about my surgery, but there are 2 people who don't. They are nice people and I know they wouldn't judge me if I told them, but I don't want to tell them and hypothetically increase the odds of this information leaking to people I DON'T want to know. My boyfriend and I had a talk about this and decided that he'll be picking from my plate throughout the dinner under the pretense of "tasting things" so that people don't notice how little I eat.

[Eureka-C 20]

Mouse,

I know that you and some others have posted in the past about stalls and too low calories. I read some similar info about very-low-calorie diets. I was wondering how far out were you when you could increase your calories? I am only 5 days out and very concerned as I believe I am consuming around 400 calories right now. No matter how much I heard it. I couldn't imagine this pre-surgery. I can't imagine it is healthy. I would rather lose slower and eat healthy, so how far out were you when you could consume 1000 calories?

[KabinKitty 10]

1. I don't think the doctors know as much as they think they do. A few years ago, I lost 72 pounds in six months (and gained all but 3 pounds back but that's a whole 'nother story!). I didn't have hair loss and I didn't suddenly get cold all the time before I had even lost any weight like I do now. This single digit weather is killing me!

WHAT DID THE DR'S TELL YOU THAT WAS UNTRUE? I'VE HAD ABOUT 10 SURGERIES AND ONLY HAD Hair loss AFTER THE MOST SERIOUS ONE. THE ANTESTHESIA DID NOT CAUSE ANY hair LOSS, EVEN WHEN I HAD GALL BLADDER SUGERY THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, WITH AN 8 INCH INCISION.

2. Cookie cutter dietary recommendations do not work. I can measure my time since surgery in weeks instead of months and have had several stalls and even gained over and over again. I have found that the closer I stay to 1,000 calories, the more and faster I lose. When I try to stick to 600-800, I lose nothing - not weight, not inches.

3. Diabetes doesn't always go away. When I started adding HEALTHY carbs like fruit, dairy and vegetables, my blood sugar went up again. I am back on the oral meds but only one of the insulins once a day. Hopefully this will change when I lose more weight, but I am not holding my breath since my beanpole husband takes a long acting insulin every night and a short acting for every carb he eats (and he eats a LOT of them!).

DOESN'T INSULIN USE DEPEND ON WHAT'S CAUSING THE DIABETES AND WHAT YOU EAT? OBVIOUSLY YOUR HUSBAND IS GOING TO NEED TO CONTINUE TO USE ALOT OF INSULIN IF HE CHOOSES TO HEAR ALOT OF CARBS. THE BODY REACTS TO SIMPLE CARBS AS IF YOU WERE EATING PURE SUGAR.

4. You don't necessarily lose weight from the same places each time you lose weight. My boobs and butt are disappearing this time but my gut stubbornly stays the same size!

5. Weighing every day can be a good thing. If I didn't weigh every day, I would never have known what broke my stalls.

6. If you don't want food servers commenting on how much you eat, take small children with you. Nearly everyone at the table shared my potatoes and I shared my granddaughter's fruit yesterday and no one had any idea how much anyone else had eaten. Yesterday was the first time I have been in a restaurant since surgery and I felt completely comfortable and knew exactly what I was eating since I entered it into my phone app. We had Thanksgiving dinner and I was still 200 calories short of my goal at bedtime. So I had a cup of Silk Nog. (mm mm good!)

IF AFTER I HAVE SURGERY A SERVER COMMENTS ON MY food CONSUMPTION, I'LL JUST SAY THE FOOD WAS GREAT, I GUESS I SHOULDN'T HAVE EATEN A WHOPPER BEFORE dinner. LOL

And, as I said, your mileage may vary, but this has worked for me. I am not exercising a lot yet until my blood sugar is totally in control but I am doing plenty of housework since I don't have tall enough boots to go tromp outside and play!

I THOUGHT EXERCISING HELPED TO LOWER YOUR BLOOD SUGAR.......?

I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE MY SURGERY AND SEE WHAT WORKS FOR ME. I'M SURE EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT AND LOSES IN DIFFERENT WAYS. GOOD LUCK TO EACH OF YOU!

[FatJuicyMouse 1]

I have had LOTS of surgeries myself. Never lost hair, never got cold in the summer afterward. Not after losing a lot of weight.. And I had a 10 inch incision after gall bladder surgery.

I thought I said I don't eat simple carbs. My husband does, I DON'T.

Other people have complained that food servers comment on the amount of food they eat. I offered what I thought was a humorous solution.

Yes, exercise reduces your blood sugar but not to a predictable degree. You have to know what your sugars are going to do before exercising so you don't have to worry about lows and correcting them. But that is what my doctor says, so maybe you know more.

Your kind of response is why I rarely post on this board anymore.

[Cinderella 2]

A couple of thoughts to pass along regarding your thoughts...

1. Anesthsia does NOT cause hair loss - lack of proten (and other vitamins) does. This from my nutritionist, an R.D., R.N.

2. YES, righto, living on 400 calories a day is VERY unhealthy, and even dangerous. That is why we are all under a doctor's care during the first month or so.... or should be. When I get past the mushies and starvation portion of this experience, I plan to eat around 1,000 per day at first, and amp it up to around 1,200 calories for life. A far cry less than the 4,000 a day I was eating.

3. I couldn't agree with you more... the pace of recovery from this surgery cannot be cookie cuttered. It is very different for every indivdual. However, there are some "medical rules of thumb," which doctors have observed to be true for ALL patients after surgery. One is that it takes at least 10 days for internal stitches to heal, and often longer. So most of them put us through some sort of starvation diet until our stomachs have largely healed up.

4. I decided that when I go out to eat, I'll mostly order an appetizer and a cup of Soup... or order ala carte. I dont' have any kids to take along! Some doctors give people printed cards to give to the servers to tell them that you have had WLS and ask if you can order a child-sized portion... however, most of the child sized portions that I have seen are crap.

5. Diabetes may not always go away, I think it is largely genetic... just like high blood pressure. But let's all hope that both of these dreadful condtions may at least get better.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Cinderella

[sadie_mo 2]

I have had LOTS of surgeries myself. Never lost hair, never got cold in the summer afterward. Not after losing a lot of weight.. And I had a 10 inch incision after gall bladder surgery.

I thought I said I don't eat simple carbs. My husband does, I DON'T.

Other people have complained that food servers comment on the amount of food they eat. I offered what I thought

was a humorous solution.

Yes, exercise reduces your blood sugar but not to a

predictable degree. You have to know what your sugars

are going to do before exercising so you don't have to worry about lows and correcting them. But that is what my Edoctor says, so maybe you know more.

Well I enjoy everyones post because I haven't had my surgery yet so every little bit of support. I am new to this forum but most people just want support and are mostly kind , understanding and helpful. Others think they know it all and in their way are trying to help. Thank you for sharing

Your kind of response is why I rarely post on this board anymore.

[Tiffykins 672]

hair loss is a combination of several factors. Anesthesia does play a part, as does drastic change in diet, and insane hormone flux that occurs during rapid weight loss. No amount of Protein, Vitamins, supplements are going to save your hair. Plenty of patients on here and ones that I know in real life, have been able to get their Protein in from week 1, and they are losing hair just as fast, and in the same quantities that I lost hair.

http://emedicine.med...071566-overview

http://www.aocd.org/..._effluvium.html

I appreciate your thoughts, and observations. I agree with you whole-heartedly on the "dietary guidelines". Grant it, the guidelines didn't steer me wrong, and I did succeed by following the prescribed plan to the letter, but I also had no - comorbidities, I didn't exercise for 4 months, and all I really had time to focus on was a full recovery. I experienced the same thing with the butt and boobs disappearing first. But, good news is the belly followed soon thereafter ! ! !

Best wishes on your continued success! ! !

[KabinKitty 10]

Dear Mouse,

Obviously I have offended you in some way and that absolutely was NOT my intention. I'm not "that" kind of person.

I come on this board and others to most of all learn, support, share my situation (including my personal medical experiences) and to offer help or advice.

I hope you will reread my post again in a different light, and realize I was in NO way being critical of you! I have not had my sleeve yet and I don't claim to be an expert. I also intend to use humor to deal with servers after my surgery. I only can imagine that it gets frustrating having to "explain" why you have such a small appetite. My husband are already trying to come up with a game plan on sharing food, and planning what I can order, and how we can handle the situation.

Please don't stop posting because of me. I would like to be friends with you. You seem like a very nice person. Now I'm afraid of offering any comments to anyone, for fear of offending them. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong. I'm here to share and learn.

[Eureka-C 20]

Dear Mouse,

Obviously I have offended you in some way and that absolutely was NOT my intention. I'm not "that" kind of person.

I come on this board and others to most of all learn, support, share my situation (including my personal medical experiences) and to offer help or advice.

I hope you will reread my post again in a different light, and realize I was in NO way being critical of you! I have not had my sleeve yet and I don't claim to be an expert. I also intend to use humor to deal with servers after my surgery. I only can imagine that it gets frustrating having to "explain" why you have such a small appetite. My husband are already trying to come up with a game plan on sharing food, and planning what I can order, and how we can handle the situation.

Please don't stop posting because of me. I would like to be friends with you. You seem like a very nice person. Now I'm afraid of offering any comments to anyone, for fear of offending them. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong. I'm here to share and learn.

Please don't quit commenting. I read over the posts several times and I didn't see anything offensive.

Mouse, I hope you are okay. I personally enjoy your point of view and hope you keep coming back to offer your perspective. I take the stance "take what you like and leave the rest" when reading peoples comments.