February 2024 Surgery Buddies?

[BlueParis 33]

@LisaCaryl How's the dehydration going? Have you tried Jello and sugar free ice pops?

@NickelChip How are you coping with being back on the liquid diet?

@Noelle74 I hope your stall isn't getting you down too much. Hang on in there. How are you coping with being back on the liquid diet?

@RonHall908 How are you getting along? Not too much knee pain ?

@Rae70 Are you feeling a bit better? Has your sleeve settled ?

I'm starting to have real issues with my supplements, the one with the Iron keeps on making me sick everytime I take it. I've tried empty stomach, full stomach, and everything in between... It systematically makes me vomit within 5 minutes ... any tips ? Thanks all.

[RonHall908 33]

2 hours ago, BlueParis said:

@LisaCaryl How's the dehydration going? Have you tried Jello and sugar free ice pops?

@NickelChip How are you coping with being back on the liquid diet?

@Noelle74 I hope your stall isn't getting you down too much. Hang on in there. How are you coping with being back on the liquid diet?

@RonHall908 How are you getting along? Not too much knee pain ?

@Rae70 Are you feeling a bit better? Has your sleeve settled ?

I'm starting to have real issues with my supplements, the one with the Iron keeps on making me sick everytime I take it. I've tried empty stomach, full stomach, and everything in between... It systematically makes me vomit within 5 minutes ... any tips ? Thanks all.

The knee isn't good. I'm trying to hold off until June to have the replacement done, just to be certain that I don't have any issues with the gastric bypass.

Do you take an Iron supplement alone or is it iron added into your Multivitamin? If your not taking iron added into a multivitamin you may try that. Unless it wouldn't be enough for what you need. Sorry you're having that problem. Hope you find a solution.

[BlueParis 33]

14 minutes ago, RonHall908 said:

The knee isn't good. I'm trying to hold off until June to have the replacement done, just to be certain that I don't have any issues with the gastric bypass.

Do you take an Iron supplement alone or is it Iron added into your Multivitamin? If your not taking iron added into a Multivitamin you may try that. Unless it wouldn't be enough for what you need. Sorry you're having that problem. Hope you find a solution.

The iron is in the multivitamin ... which is an issue in itself because I'm being sick and "loosing" all the vitamines ... I4m seeing my primary doctor tomorrow so will ask him.

Sorry about your knee, do you have a physical therapist ? I'm not very au fait with how insurance and everything works in the US, but would that be a possibilty so you can "preserve" your knee as best as possible until you can have surgery.

I see you're nearing 100 pounds lost! Thats amazing.

[RonHall908 33]

1 hour ago, BlueParis said:

The Iron is in the Multivitamin ... which is an issue in itself because I'm being sick and "loosing" all the vitamines ... I4m seeing my primary doctor tomorrow so will ask him.

Sorry about your knee, do you have a physical therapist ? I'm not very au fait with how insurance and everything works in the US, but would that be a possibilty so you can "preserve" your knee as best as possible until you can have surgery.

I see you're nearing 100 pounds lost! Thats amazing.

They have vitamin patches. However, the drawback is they aren't as good from what I understand. I'm certain your doctor will find something to help you.

My insurance does cover rehab for my knee. I did it for two months, but I can do the samething at home. It was just stretches and certain movements to strengthen other parts of the knee to help stabilize it. The doctor did a couple injections but that only helps for a couple weeks.

I'm at 100 lbs weight loss since October when I weighed in at my first visit to the bariatric center. I dropped nearly 70 lbs before I had the surgery. Thanks for the comment. I'm not a very photogenic, but I will post some pictures at some point.

Edited March 25 by RonHall908

[NickelChip 685]

@BlueParis The liquid diet isn't so bad. I guess it's a good thing I'm not actually hungry. I bought a bunch of smooth Soups to add my Protein Powder to so I wouldn't need to do shakes, and picked up some favorite yogurt flavors.

For the Vitamin issue, are you able to buy Celebrate or Bariatric Fusion brands of Vitamins in France? If so, they both make Multivitamins that are Iron free, and then a soft-chew iron supplement. I would suggest getting your Multivitamin in first thing and then taking the soft chew iron in very little nibbles throughout the day. Celebrate's cherry flavor is pretty good, and the texture is like a chewy candy (like Starburst, if you are familiar with that candy). It's probably the 45mg of iron hitting all at once that's causing the issue, so if you took the very tiniest of bites 6 or even 12 times per day, you could get the iron in by the end of the day without the shock to your stomach.

[LisaCaryl 39]

3 hours ago, RonHall908 said:

The knee isn't good. I'm trying to hold off until June to have the replacement done, just to be certain that I don't have any issues with the gastric bypass.

Do you take an Iron supplement alone or is it Iron added into your Multivitamin? If your not taking iron added into a Multivitamin you may try that. Unless it wouldn't be enough for what you need. Sorry you're having that problem. Hope you find a solution.

Hey there!

I'm working on hydration. I have tried sugar-free Jello and popsicles. Since I've been nauseous, I haven't wanted much in the way of sweets. I did manage to finish a sugar-free popsicle last night.

I think the iron is getting to me, too. It's definitely not helping with constipation! The entire multivitamin is making me gag. They have me taking it at night for a week to see if that helps. So far, I can't tell any difference. This nausea is no fun!

I hope you find a way to resolve the iron issue!

[Noelle74 22]

4 hours ago, RonHall908 said:

The knee isn't good. I'm trying to hold off until June to have the replacement done, just to be certain that I don't have any issues with the gastric bypass.

Do you take an Iron supplement alone or is it Iron added into your Multivitamin? If your not taking iron added into a Multivitamin you may try that. Unless it wouldn't be enough for what you need. Sorry you're having that problem. Hope you find a solution.

@BlueParisim hoping the stall ends soon. It makes it easier to see that everyone else hit a stall for a bit too. I bounce around between liquids and a few solids here and there and I just take it really slow. I’ve been doing better with liquids so overall not too bad here. Gave you tried the vitamin patches? They were on the list of Vitamins my dr gave me before surgery. That’s what I take because I’ve always had an issue with iron making me really sick. Maybe try those?

[ccast49 1]

i had mine Feb 27th!

[NickelChip 685]

9 minutes ago, ccast49 said:

i had mine Feb 27th!

How has your recovery and first month gone?

[ccast49 1]

@NickelChip It has been hard for me. A lot of pain and uncomfortableness the first 3 weeks.

[BlueParis 33]

Long rant ahead sorry ...

So, I'm slightly angry (understatement). I saw my french primary care doctor yesterday. She's never been great to be honest. I've been seeing her for 6ish years. 5 years ago I gained over 80lbs pounds in a year and a half going from 118lbs (that had been my standard adult weight since my teenage years with a BMI of 19) to 200lbs ( BMI 32.3) after taking antidepressants. I stopped the antidepressants after a year because the weight gain was making me more miserable than I was being slightly depressed and thin. I have been struggling to loose the weight since... loosing and regaining the same 15-20 lbs again and again.

As I've mentioned before, I have slight cérébral palsy - nothing too bad but enough to make walking pretty painful on my legs when I hit over about 130lbs and to make me generally clumbsy - I also lack gross motor coordination and don't have the best fine motor skills either... I can't really do any sports that require coordination and can only really ride a bicycle in a flat straight line and it takes a lot of mental effort for me to keep my balance, crowds freak me out because I'm scared of tripping and falling and don't even mention jumpy little dogs, my nemisis as my balance is so precarious. However I've always made do and It's never stopped me having an enjoyable fufilling life and a pretty decent career.

My weight gain really really made me suffer, emotionally of course, my self esteem, my self worth etc ( I live in Paris which is the thinnist city in a thin country ... and it's not a place where people are kind to overweight people at all - I checked and the mean BMI of a Parisienne woman is 22.3 - so when you hit a BMI of 30 here you're really a fat outlier and are basically scorned in all public spaces ). It also made me physically miserable and I lost the little flexibilty I had - constant pain when walking - loss of gross motor skills, trouble showering standing up at 30 years old, not being able to put my socks on etc etc.

For the last 4 years I have been to my Primary care doctor about 5 times asking for a referal to a nutritionist - she's always refused as told me "but it's simple, you just need to eat less and move more, it's not magic, No need to waste money on a nutritionist if you have no willpower "No **** sherlock!

She has no idea the willpower it takes to get out of bed at 200lbs with cerebral palsy when you feel like your legs are litterally going to snap, when your feet are burning with weight stress induced neuropathic pain.

In January I finally cracked after a lot of introspection and thought and booked my VSG for February in Turkey. I've now lost 35lbs since my preop diet so in just under 2 months. I already feel a lot better, the pain when I'm walking is lessening, I'm fitting back into the "second round" of fat clothes I got myself.

So I walked into her office yesterday ( I had the intention of "fessing up" to having had a VSG and asking her for Iron supplement ideas as I'm still being sick when I try and take iron ) She took one look at me and said "ah, you've finally found your willpower, loose another 20kg (40 pounds) and you'll be an attractive young woman again"

I had a surge of red rage inside me, I kept my calm, but didn't tell her about the surgery, I just smiled and told her I needed a refferal to a dermatologist for a mole on my face and left.

I'm never going back to see her again.

I spoke to my physical therapist on the phone this morning and he sort of helped he said "can I be unprofessional ? Honestly, qu'elle aille se faire foutre, (she can go f*ck herself)" Lets find you another doctor."

My physical therapist knew about the surgery, as did my orthopedic surgeon and booth agreed that with my CP anything is better than being even slighty overweight and that the surgury was worth the risk as they've both seen me loose my mobilité over the last few years and has seen how its affected me. They said that if
I could afford to go private abroad I should because If not I'd have to jump through hoops for years in france because my BMI (32) wouldn't have been considered high enough as a stand alone.

So yeah... this weekend I find myself another doctor who's not a fatphobic arsehole and has a minimum of human compassion. And for the iron I'm just going to go and ask directly at the pharmacy what the have to propose.

Sorry that was long but I just had to get it out, I'm slowly realising all the **** I've put up with because of my weight these last years and I am ANNNNGRYYYY!!!!

Hope everyone is having an okay hump day!

[BlueParis 33]

@ccast49 It does get better, It will get better, and I know you're probably sick of hearing it ... but walk walk as much as you can ... it will help. Be kind to yourself too. And a hot water bottle really is your friend, the first week I slept sandwiched between 2 with one in my front and one at the small of my back.

[RonHall908 33]

39 minutes ago, BlueParis said:

Long rant ahead sorry ...

So, I'm slightly angry (understatement). I saw my french primary care doctor yesterday. She's never been great to be honest. I've been seeing her for 6ish years. 5 years ago I gained over 80lbs pounds in a year and a half going from 118lbs (that had been my standard adult weight since my teenage years with a BMI of 19) to 200lbs ( BMI 32.3) after taking antidepressants. I stopped the antidepressants after a year because the weight gain was making me more miserable than I was being slightly depressed and thin. I have been struggling to loose the weight since... loosing and regaining the same 15-20 lbs again and again.

As I've mentioned before, I have slight cérébral palsy - nothing too bad but enough to make walking pretty painful on my legs when I hit over about 130lbs and to make me generally clumbsy - I also lack gross motor coordination and don't have the best fine motor skills either... I can't really do any sports that require coordination and can only really ride a bicycle in a flat straight line and it takes a lot of mental effort for me to keep my balance, crowds freak me out because I'm scared of tripping and falling and don't even mention jumpy little dogs, my nemisis as my balance is so precarious. However I've always made do and It's never stopped me having an enjoyable fufilling life and a pretty decent career.

My weight gain really really made me suffer, emotionally of course, my self esteem, my self worth etc ( I live in Paris which is the thinnist city in a thin country ... and it's not a place where people are kind to overweight people at all - I checked and the mean BMI of a Parisienne woman is 22.3 - so when you hit a BMI of 30 here you're really a fat outlier and are basically scorned in all public spaces ). It also made me physically miserable and I lost the little flexibilty I had - constant pain when walking - loss of gross motor skills, trouble showering standing up at 30 years old, not being able to put my socks on etc etc.

For the last 4 years I have been to my Primary care doctor about 5 times asking for a referal to a nutritionist - she's always refused as told me "but it's simple, you just need to eat less and move more, it's not magic, No need to waste money on a nutritionist if you have no willpower "No **** sherlock!

She has no idea the willpower it takes to get out of bed at 200lbs with cerebral palsy when you feel like your legs are litterally going to snap, when your feet are burning with weight stress induced neuropathic pain.

In January I finally cracked after a lot of introspection and thought and booked my VSG for February in Turkey. I've now lost 35lbs since my preop diet so in just under 2 months. I already feel a lot better, the pain when I'm walking is lessening, I'm fitting back into the "second round" of fat clothes I got myself.

So I walked into her office yesterday ( I had the intention of "fessing up" to having had a VSG and asking her for Iron supplement ideas as I'm still being sick when I try and take Iron ) She took one look at me and said "ah, you've finally found your willpower, loose another 20kg (40 pounds) and you'll be an attractive young woman again"

I had a surge of red rage inside me, I kept my calm, but didn't tell her about the surgery, I just smiled and told her I needed a refferal to a dermatologist for a mole on my face and left.

I'm never going back to see her again.

I spoke to my physical therapist on the phone this morning and he sort of helped he said "can I be unprofessional ? Honestly, qu'elle aille se faire foutre, (she can go f*ck herself)" Lets find you another doctor."

My physical therapist knew about the surgery, as did my orthopedic surgeon and booth agreed that with my CP anything is better than being even slighty overweight and that the surgury was worth the risk as they've both seen me loose my mobilité over the last few years and has seen how its affected me. They said that if
I could afford to go private abroad I should because If not I'd have to jump through hoops for years in france because my BMI (32) wouldn't have been considered high enough as a stand alone.

So yeah... this weekend I find myself another doctor who's not a fatphobic arsehole and has a minimum of human compassion. And for the iron I'm just going to go and ask directly at the pharmacy what the have to propose.

Sorry that was long but I just had to get it out, I'm slowly realising all the **** I've put up with because of my weight these last years and I am ANNNNGRYYYY!!!!

Hope everyone is having an okay hump day!

Wish you the best on finding a better primary care Doctor and get the help you deserve.

[NickelChip 685]

7 hours ago, BlueParis said:

I spoke to my physical therapist on the phone this morning and he sort of helped he said "can I be unprofessional ? Honestly, qu'elle aille se faire foutre, (she can go f*ck herself)" Lets find you another doctor."

I really appreciate you including this part because, as I was reading your story, my first question was "I wonder how you say 'Go f**k yourself' in French..."

For what it's worth, a friend who has put on some weight in recent years, teetering at a 30 BMI, (menopause, a breakup, long-distance move), started with a new primary care doctor a while back who told her whenever she had the urge to eat a cookie, just reach for a cucumber slice instead. She also only ordered blood sugar tests when my friend's main medical issue is thyroid related. Totally useless doctor! She's finally gotten in with a new one who isn't fat phobic (I know this because she's now going to be seeing my doctor).

You have to have medical professionals who know how to give appropriate care, and yours really missed the mark. I'm so sorry she was so terrible. And given your other medical issues, I can definitely understand why you chose to do VSG even with a lower BMI. I hope getting back to a more typical-for-you weight helps ease your symptoms. Joint pain at a higher weight is no joke.

[LisaCaryl 39]

@BlueParis thank you ring your story. I am appalled at your doctor's words and actions. I'm so glad you are going to find another one. I can understand society and its obsession with being thin. I do not understand in the way that I agree with it, but in the way that I see it here, too, especially in some states like California, where I grew up. It's hard enough to be carrying around extra weight and feeling the shame we put on ourselves. We don't need others shaming us too. I'm just so sorry you have to deal with this crap. Take care of yourself, and keep venting here!