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Greetings, Going to celebrate out loud today! I have lost 100 lbs from my July 2021 highest recorded weight and all in PRE op!!! 85.8 Lbs in 2022! Damn, this has been hard. A lot of emotional and behavioral change went into this effort. A lot of re-education about nutrition and choices. A lot of forgiving myself for getting to this weight. A lot of healing. A lot of journaling. A lot of reminding myself that I am worth taking care of. It also has been easier than I thought. Once I gained the confidence that I could, I did. Yes, I have had doctor support and taking Ryselbus helped, but mostly this is me making true and long lasting change. I am comforted by the fact that if for some reason I could not have the sleeve surgery on November 3rd, 2022, I would still loose weight and feel better and my LIFE would be better. Everyone has this in them. Its a tough road, but we can all achieve better in our lives.

Are you working with a dietitian? When you're actually underweight and struggling to gain weight, all the things you learned about losing weight go out the window. For example, if you're avoiding carbs, you need to stop. If you're watching your fat intake, that too needs to stop. As @ShoppGirl said, this does not mean you should eat junk, there are plenty of healthy carbs and fats you can add to your diet. Do a google search for things like "healthy calorie dense foods". You'll see nut butters and avocados, but also dried and fresh fruits, whole grain breads, potatoes (sweet and white), oatmeal, full fat dairy, pasta, etc...

I wanted to clarify something here: Bilirubin (the thing the OP asked about), is not a "liver enzyme", so elevation of just this would not at all be the same as what @kcuster83 mentioned. Elevation of ALT and AST especially, indicate potential liver damage. This is because these enzymes only are present in the liver. Bilirubin is not actually specifically related to the liver, though it's typically part of the "liver function test". The main purpose of bilirubin is to break down red blood cells and "recycle" them. Excess bilirubin is typically a sign that you are losing red blood cells faster than normal. That may or may not be a problem, but in the absence of elevated liver enzymes, does not by itself indicate a problem with your liver. As I mentioned, anemia is a much more common reason to see high bilirubin in the absence of other abnormal tests.

Congratulations!!!! That is a huge deal and I am sure it will make your post op even better!

You know, I really think this might be a case of my brain interpreting my abdominal pain with hunger cramps. Even though it ‘feels’ like hunger, I have no interest in food or eating. When I imagine sitting down and actually putting a forkful of something in my mouth I feel vaguely repulsed. I also know from experience of intermittent fasting and VLCDs that I usually don’t feel hunger for at least a day or two - sometimes I’d feel a wave of hunger from time to time but it would pass. So it seems unlikely that what I’m experiencing now is hunger - it is a CONSTANT pain and it’s only been a little over 24 hours since my last meal!

I'm a bit confused. Did you have revision, sleeve to bypass? You're showing marked as a sleeve patient and I recall you saying in another post a few days ago that you don't take vitamins, you just rely on a healthy diet to get your vitamins, which isn't recommended for bypassers. So the two posts are sort of contradictory, junk food vs healthy diet for vitamins. And also sleeve on your profile and now you're saying you got bypass two years ago. Can you clarify the details for us please? Thanks!

In all seriousness, I think @kaylee50 has given you some great advice. Foremost, talk to your team. You may not "really" be hungry (It may be what we call "head hunger"), though it's possible. Either way, they should be able to help.

Yeah. I got my revision to bypass last week. So far, this has been easier than the sleeve, and I’m just exhausted, but nothing hurts. I had horrible GERD, so they corrected a large hernia and cut my prior sleeve even more, to make it look good (it was enlarged). After all, the surgeon said everything looked great, and I felt ok. I’m hungry, but I think this is more mental than anything. I need to lose around 50 pounds to meet my goal. I was around 20 pounds short with the sleeve, but I could not do it.

First, congratulations on your surgery. Secondly, it’s okay not to be ticking all the boxes in the first couple of weeks. As long as you are making an effort & you are getting closer it’s okay. You’ll find some days are easy & otherwise more of a struggle. Your shakes, broths etc. all count towards your fluid intake and I used to dilute my shakes (doubled the water) to dilute the flavour & to up my fluid intake. Used to sip on them for a couple of hours or until finished. Also added a little more water to the soups & broths too. If you’re worried about your protein intake you can also add some additional protein powder to your shake & swapping in protein water for drinking water will help too. I embraced my dislike for sweet & used it to withdraw myself from sweet tasting foods & drinks. Once onto purees & more solid foods, you’ll likely find other foods, even old favourites, smell or taste bad too for a while. It passes. Vitamins can be a challenge. The taste, difficulty swallowing them, nausea, etc. I took capsules which were easier to swallow (once my swelling reduced around day 4). Some surgeons are strict on when you can begin swallowing meds & recommend chews or patches. So it can be a bit of trial & error to find the right ones for you. Expensive too.

yes. Normal.