After having my surgery cancelled last month due to the abrupt closure of my hospital's bariatric practice, I have a new date at another hospital in the area and can hardly wait for the time to fly by. I'm scheduled for gastric bypass on February 21. Any other February peeps out there?

@Briss72 I hope your leg gets better soon. Well done for getting under 100kg! Go you!

I'm really struggling with the grey wet weather and being freezing the whole time.... I've been pretty miserable today.

I'm sorry you're struggling today. Hopefully you can find happiness in something. Can you walk in shopping centres to get out off the crappy weather. Something to look forward too soon enough for us, when Winter kicks in here.

On 5/5/2024 at 4:42 PM, Briss72 said:

I've got a leg infection again at the moment so it has slowed down my walking routine (which annoys me) back to the doc this morning before work - i Just finished 2nd round of antibiotics - the pain feels like I've walked into a tow bar at shin level but constantly oh and i kind of high jump into bed because i can't put any weight on the knee.

I suppose i should be grateful I've got a great gp that has already sent me scans to rule out blood clots.

I've had cellulitis infections twice in both legs since 2016. The last one I had in 2019 got bad enough that It went into sepsis. I had to get a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC Line) put into my arm and gave myself antibiotics for 15 days. That was after spending 4 days in the hospital getting a couple bags of Antibiotics. I hope you're able to get healed fast.

@BlueParis We're going back and forth here in Massachusetts, with one day beautiful and sunny, followed by 3 days of rain. It's the time of year when you need to have every single type of clothing in your closet and you might wear them all on one day. But I'm so happy to get outside for walks any day when it isn't actively raining.

@Briss72 I hope your leg infection clears up soon. That sounds so painful.

It's funny, between last night and tonight cooking dinner, I already have enough little containers for the rest of the week for myself. I guess the next few nights I can make the stuff my kids like that I can't really eat since I'm all set. I have to say, the frozen squash "noodles" with marinara and turkey meatball (yes, just managed one) was so good tonight that I don't know why I ever ate it with spaghetti before.

How's everyone getting alone? I fly out again this evening and not a gram lost this week... won't be back home to my scales for ten days so hope to see a drop when I get home!

2 hours ago, BlueParis said:

How's everyone getting alone? I fly out again this evening and not a gram lost this week... won't be back home to my scales for ten days so hope to see a drop when I get home!

Safe travels. Hope you see those numbers when you get back.

I had my 3 month post op appointment with the dietician and bariatric doctor. They took my measurements and compared to the first visit. Ive lost 4 inches in my neck 10 inches in my waist. Officially lost 41 lbs since surgery. My issue has been exhaustion. I was told that is part of bariatric surgery process. That it happens and should start getting better in the next month or so. Had a lot of blood tests as well. The results have been very good. B-12 is off the chart high. So I will be taking only one multivitamin and one B-complex a day instead of two.

The Doctor was very impressed with how much visceral fat I have lost. They have a machine that measures body fat and muscle. Visceral fat went from 40+ when I started back in October. Down to 18 now. The goal is to have that number at 12. She explained it usually takes a full year to get there. Being 6 points away 3 months post op is very good. All the blood tests haven't been finished yet, but so far so good. I was hoping there would be something to help with the exhaustion, apparently that happens matter what you do.

Edited May 9, 20242 yr by RonHall908

1 hour ago, BlueParis said:

How's everyone getting alone? I fly out again this evening and not a gram lost this week... won't be back home to my scales for ten days so hope to see a drop when I get home!

Not gonna lie, it's been a rough month so far. I was doing okay heading into May. On May 1, I reached 203lbs, which officially was the lowest I have been since my 20s. The next day it bounced up, but then I lost steadily, down to 201.6. And then yesterday morning, when I was heading to my 3-month check in with the dietician, I was back up to 203lbs overnight! What the heck?!? Nine days into the month and all progress erased!

And then my dietician said everything I'm doing nutritionally is good, but I've only lost 19 lbs since surgery according to their office scale. I go back on the 21st to see the nurse practitioner and am going to ask what can be done if it hasn't improved by then. My loss of momentum tracks almost exactly to when I started taking my doctor's advice to get regular exercise. It was supposed to speed up my progress, according to the surgeon. Instead, in the past 3 weeks I have lost a total of 1.4 lbs. Color me unimpressed.

Finally, my dietician said I should try to reduce my reliance on protein powder, which I have in my morning smoothie and at night before bed. She wants me eating more "real" food (though, in my defense, I do not rely on soft foods and have chicken and vegetables and such every day). So I had scrambled eggs and fruit this morning and it all made me really sick. What a start to the day. Smoothies made me feel good and I'm seeing little reason to give them up. I had smoothies all the time pre-op.

I'm hoping they'll run some blood tests at the next appointment to see what's up. Like @RonHall908, I have also been exhausted lately and can't concentrate.

I'm also exhausted. I'm in Athens and it's raining and cold and grey. I'm just so done with the cold and rain. I feel it'll never stop. I'm so cold and tired the whole time. Really struggling with the weather being so grim (that said so is everyone I know - this year in Europe has been especially bad), mainly because I'm just so cold and tired and being cold and wet the whole time makes things 10 x worse. But yeah, I wrote it before but the weather is really doing a number on me. I might try and see a shrink soon if my mood re the weather doesn't lift because I'm nearing tears every time I see the weather forecast.

I'm sorry you're having a hard month @NickelChip - I hope your blood tests shed some light on why the loss has slowed for you. @RonHall908 Well done on loosing the inches and all the fat % !!! Actually reassured to hear you're also exhausted because as I've written, I'm really really struggling with being so exhausted and having constant brain fog.

56 minutes ago, BlueParis said:

I'm also exhausted. I'm in Athens and it's raining and cold and grey. I'm just so done with the cold and rain. I feel it'll never stop. I'm so cold and tired the whole time. Really struggling with the weather being so grim (that said so is everyone I know - this year in Europe has been especially bad), mainly because I'm just so cold and tired and being cold and wet the whole time makes things 10 x worse. But yeah, I wrote it before but the weather is really doing a number on me. I might try and see a shrink soon if my mood re the weather doesn't lift because I'm nearing tears every time I see the weather forecast.

I'm sorry you're having a hard month @NickelChip - I hope your blood tests shed some light on why the loss has slowed for you. @RonHall908 Well done on loosing the inches and all the fat % !!! Actually reassured to hear you're also exhausted because as I've written, I'm really really struggling with being so exhausted and having constant brain fog.

@BlueParis As I mentioned before my bariatric docotor and dietician both said exhaustion is a thing up to 4 or 5 months before your body starts getting back to normal. Low Iron and other problems could contribute. From my blood test results that's not the case. Exhaustion is part of the process.

The dietician wanted me to stay close to 100 grams of protein a day. My average is around 135 grams. I log everything through the baritastic app that she can access. Seems weird to me that I should stay close to 100, but they've done this many times before. So I'll follow the guidelines to see what happens.

@NickelChip i weighed myself the night before my DR. Appointment. I was 241 lbs. The next day on the doctors scale i was 245 lbs. I think my scale is 1 or 2 lbs off. Either way, I gained overnight and that is frustrating. But, the part I took away is all the inches i had lost. The Doctor and nurse both have had bariatric surgery. They kept reassuring that the process is working, but it can be slow.

Edited May 10, 20242 yr by RonHall908

On 5/9/2024 at 8:55 AM, RonHall908 said:

Safe travels. Hope you see those numbers when you get back.

I had my 3 month post op appointment with the dietician and bariatric doctor. They took my measurements and compared to the first visit. Ive lost 4 inches in my neck 10 inches in my waist. Officially lost 41 lbs since surgery. My issue has been exhaustion. I was told that is part of bariatric surgery process. That it happens and should start getting better in the next month or so. Had a lot of blood tests as well. The results have been very good. B-12 is off the chart high. So I will be taking only one Multivitamin and one B-complex a day instead of two.

The Doctor was very impressed with how much visceral fat I have lost. They have a machine that measures body fat and muscle. Visceral fat went from 40+ when I started back in October. Down to 18 now. The goal is to have that number at 12. She explained it usually takes a full year to get there. Being 6 points away 3 months post op is very good. All the blood tests haven't been finished yet, but so far so good. I was hoping there would be something to help with the exhaustion, apparently that happens matter what you do.

Congrats on all your losses! Hope you get some energy back soon, I’m sure that sucks!

I'm sorry so many of you are having struggles. I, too, was told that the first 4 months or so will be filled with ups and downs. I guess I'm in more of an up place right now. The nausea has subsided, it's almost gone. I don't feel good when I eat, but that's about it. My energy is way up from where it was when my bp was low and I was dehydrated. And the scale had been going down... 3 pounds this week. I almost feel guilty telling you all this.

I do struggle with getting enough protein. I get between 30 and 60 grams a day, and I'm trying to add protein powder to anything I can. I can't eat enough food to get it in. I'm pretty much off protein shakes and bars. I can sometimes tolerate half a protein bar. Right now, I have a shake sitting here next to me. I get gaggy thinking about drinking it, but I'm going to try!

Is anyone experiencing hair loss? I heard it usually starts around the 4-month mark. I cut my very short to prepare for it... but am hoping it doesn't happen. At least it will be during the summer months! Have to look on the bright side

19 minutes ago, LisaCaryl said:

Is anyone experiencing Hair loss? I heard it usually starts around the 4-month mark. I cut my very short to prepare for it... but am hoping it doesn't happen. At least it will be during the summer months! Have to look on the bright side

I heard the samething about hair loss. I've not experienced any yet. However, it does seem to grow slower.

42 minutes ago, gracesmommy2 said:

Congrats on all your losses! Hope you get some energy back soon, I’m sure that sucks!

Thank you! The exhaustion isn't fun. I power through it anyway. Hopefully it starts getting better soon. Because I feel much better other than that. I hope all is well with you.

@LisaCaryl glad your nausea is better. No hair loss yet here, I’m taking my vitamins religiously and make sure to get my protein in so that I don’t lose it but other than that can only keep my fingers crossed. I was extremely sick a couple of years ago (In and out of ICU and in the hospital for almost a month) and had a huge open abdominal surgery and at the 3-4 mo mark after I was discharged I lost probably 3/4 of my hair. Its just now back to where I want it. ?

@BlueParis I’m sorry to hear you’re sad. I’m actually a grey, rainy day kind of girl and not a huge sun/light lover (worked as a nightshift RN for almost 25 yrs ??‍♀️), but seasonal affective disorder is totally a thing. I wonder if you suffer from this. Maybe your PCP could recommend something for you….meds, light therapy? And I’m really hoping your and @RonHall908 s exhaustion resolves soon!

@NickelChip I wonder as well if your exercise routine is “slowing” your weight loss. Every time I do any extensive exercise, I gain weight the next day and then don’t lose anything for a few days. I’m not actively exercising and honestly have sort of avoided it I hate it. lol . I know it’s just fluid retention but I still don’t like it. It’s definitely healthier to be fit but I haven’t gotten there yet I guess. You’re probably also gaining muscle while losing fat making the scale stay the same, but I’m sure that will eventually fix itself. I found this video which I found interesting and helpful. oh and did you like the roasted edamame ??

Hi all, the sun is finally out and I've made my 10k step goal today for the first time since Monday at least!

Thanks again for everyones support - it does help!

@gracesmommy2 I have thought about SAD, but normally I'm okay in all weather, I even prefer summer holidays in the north with raincoats and wool socks and fires! I reckon I'm probably a bit anemic and low on vitamin D... and that plus the exhaustion, the being cold and the being away from home is just a bit much. I hate lugging luggage around and so tend to travel light and where as when I'm home and it's cold I just wrap out and bundle myself under covers with a hot water bottle... but when I'm travelling it's hard esp as I've mucked up on my packing for the last few trips and not packed enough warm clothes. I do have a sort of lightbox thing at home that I usually use to deal with jetlag but I've been lucky enough since my operation to only be doing short hall... I do go to Canada and the US next month though so will get my lightbox out of whatever cupboard it's hiding in when I next make it home.

I'm also aware that I'm loosing fast, which I think is pretty normal as I wasn't overweight for that long ( my BMI got above 25 for the first time in my life only in 2020)...

I'm on Thursday I'll be 3 months since surgery and as of today I've lost 19.75kg (43.4lbs or 3st1lbs) since my surgery so over 21% or my body weight in under 3 months ... I know that this must be doing a number on my mental state too.

I was 91.1kg on the day of surgery and am now 71.35kg - however I also lost 5kg in the 2 weeks before surgery, my surgeon didn't need me to do a preop diet but just to be safe I still pretty much did a broth fast for the two weeks prior.

So all in all in 15 weeks I've lost over 25kg ... and I know thats why I'm so exhausted! However I'm also happy because my team wanted me to have lost 20% total body weight at 3 months and I've exceeded that with a week to go ...

I know things will get better... but I would love some proper warmth and light for more than a couple of days!

@LisaCaryl I've always shed a lot of hair but haven't noticed things getting worse yet ... but I guess I'll just ride it though when it does happen!

On the bright side I have to loose only another 2.2lbs to have a BMI under 25 again ... I know BMI is a crap tool ( and honestly find it a tad unfair because I reckon I have at least a couple of extra lbs of boob!) but I'm still very much looking forward to no longer being officially overweight!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend and that all those far enough north got to see the boreal lights.