Hi everyone who is having surgery in October 2014. We can start a new topic for those of us who have had surgery already.

This is the spot were we will all end up, were we'll share our stories and recovery. It will be a new dawn for so many of us. Let's stay close as united we will conquer anything that comes our way!

BEST WISHES GLADIATORS

Okay- I'm going to list some things that have changed post surgery.

Weird:

Skin- perpetually dry- it puts the lotion on its skin

Ears- a kind of fluid- not exactly wax but I need a qtip everyday

Nose- usually normal, but more matter now. I have to blow every morning.

Water fills me up- I feel like Ryan Reynolds in that movie where he says no to pancakes bc he said he was full after a glass of water! I could just say to a waitress, "no thank you- I ingested a big gulp of air on my way in."

It's like my body is purging toxins or something.

Positive:

I can cross my legs for longer periods of time before I get tired of holding one leg over the other.

My back is smoothing out

My chin is beginning to define itself into a jawline!

My bra is not so tight anymore (underpants either)

My jeans aren't strangling me

My eyes seem bigger and less squinty bc my face isn't as chubby.

I could zip a pair of boots all the way to the top (they are for bigger calves, but hey.. couldn't before surgery)

25 lb weight loss in a total of 42 days. (That's averaged to .60 of a pound every day)

Am saving a lot of money on groceries!

Negative:

2 week stall

Hard to eat when I don't want to

Constipation- never dealt with that before

So far, the positives outweigh the negatives!

Awesome list and you really put it all into perspective.

yes what is this dry skin about? My feet look like I have been kicking flour for like days. I have to actually oil up after the shower or I start changing colors.

Lol, same here!! It's crazy!

Decided to cut six inches and put some color in my hair. The second picture was two weeks ago.

I realized at 5 this evening that I had not eaten anything all day. I waited until supper and ate with the family, then got my first case of the "foamies". Now I'm in bed because I am so weak I can hardly hold my head up. On a lighter note though, we got the Christmas tree up and I love it. My husband gave in and let me put it up early this year. ????

Edited November 22, 201411 yr by finallyaloser

@@smiley922 you new hair color is fantastic. Easy 10 years younger looking. Well done.

Edited November 22, 201411 yr by Beni

@@tacycakes

I laughed so hard at your comment about the girl on your ticker needing to stop running. I was in a stall for a week and a half and I was going stir crazy. My skin is also dry as the desert. No amount of moisturizer will keep my feet from looking like i live in the sahara desert and I walk barefoot all day. I cannot drink enough, that's the problem. I don't have nausea but I burp non-stop after I drink. So, to stop burping I have to stop drinking.

@@tacycakes

I laughed so hard at your comment about the girl on your ticker needing to stop running. I was in a stall for a week and a half and I was going stir crazy. My skin is also dry as the desert. No amount of moisturizer will keep my feet from looking like i live in the sahara desert and I walk barefoot all day. I cannot drink enough, that's the problem. I don't have nausea but I burp non-stop after I drink. So, to stop burping I have to stop drinking.

Its a freaking paradox isn't it? Also, to lose weight you have to eat, (to keep your metabolism up) and to gain weight you have to not eat. (Because your body goes into starvation mode) no wonder I was never good at dieting!

Little victories make me happy! Today I wore a shirt that I got 2 yrs ago to wear to a Luke Bryan concert...it didn't fit, I couldn't button it at all. Today it was loose The other day it was a sweater I haven't worn in 5 years. This weekend will be my cute pink Tom Brady jersey that has never fit me, I'm so excited to wear it!

Idk if this has anything to do with the surgery, but my feet have been on fire burning hot all week, but only at night when I'm laying down. Even out of the blankets. So weird. I'm also noticing super duper dry skin, from head to toe. So annoying

I have eczema so I'm always dry and itchy during the winter. It goes away during the summer. I would try mixing some vitamin E oil into your lotions. It is keeping my sores at bay.

Hello Everyone. It's so refreshing to read all the posts,and know many of the things I am experiencing seem to be the norm... but, I feel like im pushing the envelope, so to speak. Im trying foods that I should not be eating... like i ate 3 fried shrimps, and french fries. I chewed the ff, and then spit them out, bc of the fear of them getting stuck. Im not measuring foods.. it is just crazy that I am not as compliant as I should be! Help! Food sabatoged before gastric bypass! Why am I doing it again!!!

yeah I feel as though I am ruled more by my stomach now than I was before. I get a stomachache when I eat, I get a stomachache when I don't eat, I get a stomachache when I drink water, I get sick when I don't drink water. It's a horrific spiral. And to top it off I'm in a stall. I can't work yet. It's crazy.

omg my buddy I'm sorry your not feeling good it will get better we all have good and bad days more bad then good but I took pain meds before I ate a half a pill ate and waited 30mins then drink hot green tea I was a lil high on meds just a lil did that for about a week and now I'm good I don't take the pain meds anymore my husband is an truck driver/LPN Lol and he said when I would try to eat my mind was so focused on not overeating or how much of it can I eat and I would tighten up my stomach like I was stressing thinking to hard so with doing half a Percocet 5mins before I ate waited my 30mins and had something hot relaxed my body so I can't tighten up not sure if my story will help you but I nope your doing better sweetie

Hello Everyone. It's so refreshing to read all the posts,and know many of the things I am experiencing seem to be the norm... but, I feel like im pushing the envelope, so to speak. Im trying foods that I should not be eating... like i ate 3 fried shrimps, and french fries. I chewed the ff, and then spit them out, bc of the fear of them getting stuck. Im not measuring foods.. it is just crazy that I am not as compliant as I should be! Help! food sabatoged before gastric bypass! Why am I doing it again!!!

Welcome!

First off- you need to stop spitting your food out immediately. It really messes with your digestive system and can cause serious ulcers.

Testing boundaries is normal for some people- I definitely moved onto soft foods a little earlier than my doc suggested but French fries and fried shrimp are going a little too far. Thankfully our tummies are small enough right now that you can't do too much damage. But it will slow your weight loss down, and you only have a 6 month window of maximum effectiveness. Plus it's the perfect time to explore new options and build good habits which is what makes this surgery so successful for many people. Why waste it?

I think you need to start going to support group meetings and maybe consider seeing a therapist who works with eating disorders. In my personal experience I know that I could not have been compliant without that outside help. Cravings and overeating are 99% emotional for me, and sadly that's something that the bypass can't fix. Learning to separate the emotion from the food is a key component to success for me.

My surgery was Oct 22, 2014. I just re read my guidelines and realized I'm only supposed to eat 1/4 cup of food until 6 months. When I eat food, I've been eating 1/2 cup? What does your guidelines say? 1/2 Cup does not hurt to eat, but my nerves may not have healed. I posted this elsewhere but didn't many replies. Thanks!

Also I'm soooo tired, to take a shower just wears me plub out!

This nausea is seriously going to kill me. (not literally) My gosh. I don't know what to do!?

I took my Pepcid, omeprozol, and Zofran before I ate at about 8:30 (like I was told to) I ate 4 bites of yogurt, over about 25 minutes. Sick to my stomach.

Tried using my peppermint oil. (works for nausea generally) Didn't work this time.

Waited an hour, tried to drink some sips. Got some down, but totally sick to my stomach. Then took my antibiotic. (for the UTI and incision)

Finally at 12:30 I decided maybe getting something more in my belly would help. Ate my 1/2 Cup of cottage cheese, over a 45 minute period. Pretty much ok, until after the last bite.

I've just been trying to hold it in since then.

I also had woken up at 2:00 with my sick 8 yr old and then proceeded to have diarrhea every half hour until 5:30. Slept until 7:30.

Have had 3 more bouts of it since being at work.

I am in tears, beyond frustrated. I just don't know what to do? I hate to call my Dr. again. They're at a loss. I've done everything they told me to.

I ate a Morningstar Griller for breakfast that caused the foamies and horrible stomach pains. Have spent the day in bed and on liquids. Threw out the rest of the package of Grillers.