Foxbins

I am taking 90 mg of carbonyl iron and I am not worried about iron toxicity. Yes, iron is toxic in large quantities (mostly accidental ingestion by children and suicide attempts in adults) but it's likely that you'd have significant symptoms of gastrointestinal irritation before you got toxic. I am more concerned about iron-deficiency anemia, which has uncomfortable symptoms that won't go away if I don't take the iron. Besides, I'm only going to take these doses until I correct the anemia, and then I'll go back to 45mg. My surgeon said I could take any pills I could swallow, so I've been taking the Feosol carbonyl caplets. They aren't too big and don't seem to irritate my stomach. They are cheap compared to bariatric iron. Research seems to be mixed on the efficacy of chelated iron vs ferrous, though chelated seems to be easier on the digestive system. I don't think anything bad is going to happen to you in the five weeks between now and your appointment--take the iron or take less, it takes a while for your iron levels to come up to non-anemic levels anyway, depending on how low you were when you started and whether your ferritin was depleted as well. Best wishes!

Yes, fluid retention. I weighed ten pounds more coming home than going in. Be patient and all will be well!

I agree with what chunkarella said. I'm also a mental health professional and it's the relationship between the two of you that helps you change. You must trust them and be able to tell them anything you want without fear. Keep looking until you find the one that makes you feel comfortable.

Some meds for high blood pressure cause erectile dysfunction. It sounds like he also could have some medication interactions that might be a problem if he's taking a lot of stuff.

Well, as long as she'll write the letter so you get the surgery, sounds like you're okay. Good luck!

Have you ever been diagnosed with pancreatitis? Had abnormal liver function tests? Had esophageal varices? Gone to rehab and had insurance pay for it? It sounds like the insurance company is deducing alcohol use from something in your records. When I had pancreatitis due to a gall stone blocking the pancreatic duct, my doctor wanted it listed as "resolved" as soon as I had my gall bladder out, she said for insurance reasons.

I'd like to chime in here about drawing conclusions from the pill-counting. If the man can't get an erection without the Viagra, what if he uses it to masturbate? Counting the pills vs the number of times he and the wife get together might lead her to be suspicious he's having an affair even if he's not. The fact that he's hiding the pills suggests he's sensitive about the subject but I'd still bring it up. After all, women go through their own changes as they age, too. Maybe frame it like that--they are both aging and changing and need to be able to talk about the changes.

I buy things that are bad for me, too, and package them in one-serving sizes. Then I eat one, and ask myself if it tastes good enough to justify the calories. Sometimes it does, and I eat the one serving, but a lot of times it doesn't, and I end up giving it away or throwing it out. I hate wasting food but I hate being fat more.

My sleeve recovery was a breeze, too. RNY was a little harder. I definitely felt like my insides were rearranged the first couple of weeks. Now now so much. My understanding, from my surgeon, is that it's the sleeve itself that makes the GERD so bad. It's a skinny tube with a valve at the bottom, and if the valve is shut, the only place for the reflux to go is up. RNY gives you a hose, open at both ends. The vagus nerve is also severed during RNY and has something to do with acid secretion. No acid+open-ended hose = no GERD. At least, that's the way it was explained to me.

Hey, Slimsoon1988--I had my sleeve in 2011, developed GERD a couple of years later. Took max dose PPIs for a few years, then started having acid even with the PPI. Took PPI plus Tums for a couple of years, but then the acid caused an esophageal stricture and I was regurgitating everything I swallowed. The last straw was one day I swallowed a bite of toast, and it came back up eight times (I counted) slimier and more disgusting each time, before it finally stayed down. All due to GERD. I saw a surgeon who said my only recourse was RNY, but I loved my sleeve, I was at goal, could eat most things, was almost 8 years older than the first surgery, didn't want malabsorption. So I got referred to the surgeon with the best reputation for challenging cases. He brainstormed a bunch of different surgeries, but after testing it turned out that RNY was really the only one that would address all my problems. So I had RNY on 6/29. OMG. I can sleep through the night again. I have not regurgitated any food at all. I have not had any acid reflux after any kind of food, spicy, coffee, fatty. It truly was a miracle. My surgeon made the bypass pretty short so I wouldn't lose much weight. I lost about ten pounds the week I was on liquids, but I'm okay with that, and my weight has leveled off since. If you decide not to do anything, please have regular EGDs so that if you develop Barrett's esophagus from the GERD you know sooner rather than later. Barrett's is no joke. Wishing you the best.

135.6 this morning. Cut back on fat and now bowel movements are less frequent and less liquid. However, I woke up last week 3 nights in a row with terrible reflux, but it was not acid. Antacids did not work to stop the burning, and I'm still on a PPI. I called the surgeon's office and they told me it's stomach juice (without acid, but still very irritating to the esophagus and stomach). I had been eating a snack before going to bed because my stomach growls and it's hard to fall asleep if I'm hungry, but the RN said that could be the cause and to stop eating 3 hours before bedtime. I did that and everything is fine now, no more reflux. Also I have noticed that if I am full my nose runs, so I'm trying to eat until I just start to feel it get watery.

Did you have esophageal manometry done? It specifically looks at the upper and lower esophageal sphincters. Plus a BRAVO test would give you an idea of the severity of your reflux disorder. I guess in your shoes I'd ask for a little more testing before opting for band removal if it's otherwise not giving you problems.

You are doing very well! Congratulations on getting your protein and water in. 32 French is a small sleeve (depending on how closely the surgeon stapled to it), mine was a 36. I did fine and I'm sure you will too!

I took my thyroid meds the day after surgery, that pill is tiny. I could also take my PPI capsule five days after surgery. Ask your doc, some things you may need to cut in half or sprinkle in applesauce, but others may be just fine to take as they are. Extended release meds are problematic for bypassers.

You are doing so well! I donated all my wearable fat clothes to Goodwill except one pair of jeans. Every once in a while I pull them out and put them on. I can't believe I was so big, or that I lost so much weight. I refused to be photographed when I was fat so I have nothing but the jeans to go by.

Like Matt said, chicken, beef, or shrimp with vegetables is good, or egg foo young sauteed instead of deep fried and with very little sauce. I eat dim sum quite a lot, too, the steamed options. I can manage about 4 and I'm done.

I only saw the dietician for about 10 minutes while I was in the hospital. I was a revision from sleeve to RNY for GERD, and my BMI was 21. I had discussed my hope I would not lose too much more weight with my surgeon, who said that with proper diet I shouldn't lose much, so I was looking forward to talking with her. It turns out that she had really nothing to say. Her caseload is obese people, like I used to be, and so I'm saying things like "So I could add peanut butter to my shakes?" and she is nodding yes. Well, it turns out that too much fat in one meal (like peanut butter added to a shake) makes for watery poop the next day. I mean, she meant well, but had no experience with someone in my position. I ended up Googling "Bilroth II diet" which is the closest non-bariatric surgery to RNY and is done for stomach cancer. I figured diet advice for cancer patients would be closer to my circumstances, but really it's trial and error for me right now. When I see my surgeon in October I'm going to ask for another dietician appointment with somebody else if I'm still struggling.

My surgery was on a Monday and my surgeon said I would stay in the hospital one or two nights, but I'm 65, have had two previous abdominal surgeries, and was also having a hernia repair and a repair of an esophageal stricture, all of which can complicate things. I ended up staying 4 nights.

The liquid phase scares me more than the others as far as variety, any suggestions would be helpful, however, I just read a thread about someone eating the wrong things in the pureed stage and having to start over. Are bland foods best until solid foods are acceptable to avoid upset? Transitions between food phases can be tricky; a food might be listed as acceptable in your surgeon's list, but your new stomach just says "No" so there is an element of trial and error. If your stomach gets irritated by something you ate the previous day, often it's best to step back to the previous food phase until things quiet down. It's not necessarily bland food that you need to eat, and there is no guarantee that solid food won't upset your stomach. I haven't eaten a scrambled egg in nine years because my sleeve did NOT like them, but I ate steak all the time. You'll learn what and how much you can tolerate over time, but it's an experiment every time you try a new food.

I've had both a sleeve and now a bypass. I am struggling with not overeating because there is no full feeling with my RNY. With my sleeve it was very clear when I should stop eating, but not with RNY. I am back to measuring portions.

135.8 this morning. My strategy to keep weight on by using full-fat dairy products won't work. Fat is what is giving me loose and frequent bowel movements, so I've changed my strategy and have upped the carbs, going with more fruit and veg and more whole grains like barley. I'm eating five or six times a day. I'm trying to understand the "full" feeling with this surgery because I won't always be able to measure my food. It's so different from the sleeve. The sleeve had a definite feeling of pressure inside, this is more subtle. It's a little more apparent if I eat protein by itself, but I can't just eat protein.

You're beautiful! Congratulations on your weight loss!

I had a sleeve for nine years and my vitamin and mineral levels were perfect. I just took my vitamins and calcium every day.

Every day gets a little bit better. If you have pain meds, take them. If you don't and are okay to take Tylenol, take that. Mostly for the first three days I sat in a recliner and sipped all the water I could. The fourth day was better, and then each day after that. It gets easier, and you feel better, when you are hydrated and taking in some calories from the shakes, too.

I take Synthroid, too, and they gave it to me in the hospital. No problems taking it.