Hi.

I'm Deb from N. Carolina. I started this whole process back in August after a visit to my regular doctor. After way too many years of yo-yo dieting and never getting the job done, it's all caught up to me. Now I'm heavier than I've ever been, my BP is on the rise and so is my cholesterol. My arthritis is terrible in my knees and ankles. I retired a couple years ago and I hate it because I can't do any of the things my husband and I talked about doing at this time in our lives. It's time to move forward.....

My surgery is scheduled for Nov.11th. I'm excited and scared at the same time. I'm hoping that others that are getting ready to have their surgery in November might be interested in connecting to create a support group. Let's make this journey together and be there to support one another no matter where we live or what our ages may be.

I've been looking at many of the other discussions and some are great, but I have a hard time keeping up with all of them in different places. I'm wondering if a group like this would make it easier to keep tract of whatever we want to talk about.

What do you think????

I look forward to hearing from folks.

Deb

@@Tootles1975 - I had a bypass too and expected to feel a lot fuller than I do sometimes. However, some meals, I can only eat a couple of bites and feel VERY full. For example - a couple of days ago, I made some black bean & cheese nachos and I could only eat 2 small ones before I felt so full I could pop! Then today, I made the exact same thing but could eat 5. It seems like there is no rhyme or reason sometimes. I didn't think I would ever feel hungry, but find that I do a lot on some days while other days I have to make myself eat. No idea why the variation but I am trying to listen to my body more and go with the flow.

After the first few weeks, I felt like I'd swallowed a rock sometimes when I ate meat. It didn't seem to matter how much I chewed it up or how moist it was - it just didn't well and I'd also feel that "I have to burp bad" distress and often I would actually throw up a lot of foamies. The nutritionist told me that was perfectly normal at that stage (not having enough stomach enzymes to break meats down yet) and it would get better - and it has already in just a couple of weeks. I can eat meat without that effect most of the time now. So - don't stress too much about it, maybe supplement your protein intake with a shake here or there if you need it, because soon you should be able to handle meat better.

Surgery 11/20 I have no appetite at all. Food is just doesn't interest me at all. I manage to drink just fine so I get my protein in. But I'm forcing myself to eat maybe 2oz a day.

@@ready2B -- Thanks. It's comforting to hear others' responses, even though intellectually I know this is probably pretty common. I do generally end up having one protein shake a day to supplement meals. Maybe I'll try some softer foods the next few days too. Dinner tonight was cut up turkey meatballs with sauce and some ricotta cheese and that one gave me no trouble thankfully!

Right now with my busy life I still drink two to three protein drinks a day. I try to eat a small protein meal at dinner time with my family. So far I have lost about 20lbs a month since surgery. My wife wants to know when normal will be. Lol. I told her until I get to my goal weight this is normal.

I just got off the tmp bag for my vitamins and food/liquid im always so scared that I will get sick again how do I overcome this?? I had a egg this morning and then drank my water when it was time tried to go out came back home wasn't feeling right? Not eating enough maybe? Had 4oz of a yogurt gonna have a tea soon seems like a part time job eating and drinking when I'm

Not hungry or thirsty..

Hey gang,

What's going on with all of you? I'm still plugging along,and feeling pretty good. I rejoined the gym on Friday and I'm looking forward to getting in there to do some working out. I'm going to work with a trainer for the first week, to put together a program that is best for me. Hopefully it'll speed up my weight loss.

I do have a question...... This last several days I've had an issue with my lips,tongue and inside my mouth being very sensitive, itchy and tingling. Has anyone ever had this happen to them? I took some benadryl before I went to bed last night and it seemed to help, but as today has gone on it's getting annoying again. I haven't changed anything as far as food or meds so I'm not sure what it could be from. The only thing I can think of is that it seems worse after I finish drinking my flavored waters. I'm wondering if I'm having an allergic reaction to the artificial sweetener? I've been using stevia if I add a sweetener to anything, but I'm not sure what kind of artificial sweetener is in the Crystal Light or Mio squirt in drops. What do you'all think? It's driving me crazy and I don't know how concerned I should be about it. I think I may give my doctor's office a all tomorrow.

So who's going to play in the Super Bowl????? Any football fans out there? I would like to see the Packers and the Patriots play the big game. Beyond that I'd like to see the Patriots win , but I'm afraid the Packers will stomp them.....

Hey thanks for the update. I've been plugging along also. I got back in the gym on December 3rd.. I've been working out 3 days a week. I do 30 minutes of cardio and 30-45 minutes of circuit weight training. I only did one day last week because I had a cold, but plan to get back at it this week. I'm losing 4lbs a week, but I'm losing a lot of inches. I feel great!! :-)

I have no answers to your situation. I have not experienced it and this is the first time I've heard of it. Have you contacted your surgeon's office? That's what I would do.

Thanks again for the update.

How is everybody else doing??

Oh yeah no Super Bowl predictions. If the NY GIANTS are not in it, then I just root for the NFC representative, whoever that is.

Hey gang,

What's going on with all of you? I'm still plugging along,and feeling pretty good. I rejoined the gym on Friday and I'm looking forward to getting in there to do some working out. I'm going to work with a trainer for the first week, to put together a program that is best for me. Hopefully it'll speed up my weight loss.

I do have a question...... This last several days I've had an issue with my lips,tongue and inside my mouth being very sensitive, itchy and tingling. Has anyone ever had this happen to them? I took some benadryl before I went to bed last night and it seemed to help, but as today has gone on it's getting annoying again. I haven't changed anything as far as food or meds so I'm not sure what it could be from. The only thing I can think of is that it seems worse after I finish drinking my flavored waters. I'm wondering if I'm having an allergic reaction to the artificial sweetener? I've been using stevia if I add a sweetener to anything, but I'm not sure what kind of artificial sweetener is in the Crystal Light or Mio squirt in drops. What do you'all think? It's driving me crazy and I don't know how concerned I should be about it. I think I may give my doctor's office a all tomorrow.

So who's going to play in the Super Bowl????? Any football fans out there? I would like to see the Packers and the Patriots play the big game. Beyond that I'd like to see the Patriots win , but I'm afraid the Packers will stomp them.....

It is probably the sweetener. I tolerate them fine, but my aunt has issues with her mouth/tongue being numb with mio

Surgery Nov 20th down 50lbs! Celebrated with a fitbit Surge!

Finally hit the 50 lb loss mark at 110 days out. It's going a bit slower than I'd like but trying to be patient as I lost 45 lbs before surgery too and my nutritionist says I'm doing good. How's everyone doing? I still get the foamies a few times a week when I eat dense Protein -- not sure if it's because it's too dry or I eat too fast, so trying to slow it down further.

Other than that, no complications though.

Hi all!

@@Tootles1975 - you are doing great - almost 100 lbs off! I see you are almost at your halfway mark. Me too! (From my high weight before my surgery - had 151 lbs to lose total.) It's exciting to see our BMI coming down too, isn't it? I haven't had the foamies in the past month (knock on wood!) but the last few times I did it was because I ate too fast or took one bite too many. I really really hate that feeling so now avoid it at all costs!

I am doing well. At my 3 month checkup, I had only lost 10 lbs since my 1 month checkup so I was pretty discouraged. Only 10 lbs in 2 months is not what I expected! My NUT & Dr. were both very supportive though and told me to just keep doing what I was doing. Good advice since I've lost another 20 lbs since then (a little over a month ago.) Doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason as to why i lose so slow at times and what makes it finally pick up again. But as long as the overall direction is DOWN, I am happy.

I am finally (knock on wood some more!) at a point where it seems I can eat just about anything without any issues. Of course there are things I haven't tried yet like something with a ton of sugar or deep fried things, but I am not planning on eating those anyway. But normal everyday healthy foods seem to all go down well and I am happier to have a decent variety now. I am focusing on getting at least a 1 to 10 ratio of grams of Protein to calories in most things I eat since that helps me meet my protein goal but stay within about 800 calories a day. chicken has the highest ratio - almost 3 to 10 - so now that I can tolerate it well, I try to eat a little almost everyday because that frees up some of my calories for things I like but that aren't super packed with protein.

What differences physically have you seen so far? I can go up and down stairs SO much easier. Walking doesn't kill my feet & knees. My back pain is a thing of the past. And public bathroom stalls seem to have doubled in size!!

Hello, November peeps!

How are you all doing?

I'm frustrated and struggling. I've been stuck at 69 lbs down for 3 weeks. I've only lost 5 in the past 6 weeks. I know it's partly my fault because I've not been faithful go my diet. I can do good while at work during the day, but the evenings are my worse times of temptation. Now my thyroid is fluctuating from hyper to hypo and the doctor is trying to adjust my Synthroid dosage. I've been tearful, moody, had horrible hair loss, and tired. I'm sure it's a mix of thyroid trouble and changes overall.

I've found that I don't always get sick after eating poorly, which I wish I'd never found out. I need to get my rear in gear and get back to the gym. I had some pretty bad center abdominal pain twice last week and I called my surgeon's office. The oncall doctor suggested possible hernia and to see my surgeon. I'm honestly embarrassed to go in without losing more weight first.

Aahh! I'm babbling, what thoughts do y'all have? Thanks!

Just want to say I FOUND MY KNEE CAPS!! I've been rubbing them all day. May seem miniscule to you all but I haven't felt just knees in soooo long

Hi everyone.

Isn't it exciting to hear that those of us who had our surgery around the same time are finally starting to see results that make us feel good. Like seeing your knees, or bathroom stalls seeming bigger. LOL but I know exactly what you're talking about. My big ah ha moment was this past week when I friend of mine came to visit from out of town who I haven't seen in just over a year. She was astonished at how different I looked. It made my day. Also, one day we were out shopping and when I walked by a mirror in the regular clothing department I didn't say something awful to myself. I actually bought a top in a regular size XL instead of a 3X in the womens department.

I saw my NUT last Friday, and realized that I've actually hit the -70 lb mark from my heaviest 2 weeks before my surgery. I was stunned. I'm halfway home..... and feeling really good!!! I'm not losing as fast as I thought I would, or as fast as some other people, but the scale is inching down in the right direction.

Keep the updates coming. It's great to hear about how everyone else is doing now that we're at least 4 months out!!