Matt Z

FYI, there is no such thing as "medical quality" protein. That's just a marketing gimmick. If you notice, they trademarked the term... so it's not a legit thing, it's just their marketing bs. UNJURY® Medical Quality Protein™ Genepro was sued for a bunch of things, but one thing that came out of the lawsuit was "no industry or FDA standard for "medical grade" protein exists" https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20171213e89 Are unjury products good... sure, are they really that much better than other proteins... some, but not all. And don't fall for that marketing BS... if it works for you, awesome. But it's not because of some non-existent "medical grade" protein standard. For the record, All "Whey Isolates" are more tolerable to those with lactose issues. Some more than others... https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/can-lactose-intolerant-people-drink-whey-protein-shakes-11706.html

Yeah the driving thing is all about the medication and less about the surgery itself. That said driving around after surgery sucks.... both of my surgeries I avoided the car for a good 2 weeks, avoided driving for 4 weeks total.

I'm pretty sure neither eggs nor cheese is considered a "Full liquid"....

Well what if you trip and fall down stairs. Or get into a car accident. Or die from some crazy rare flesh eating bacteria... or what if you have a heart attack from being overweight? or what if you need your knees replaced because you've been overweight too long. Or what if, what if, what if? Fear is a natural reaction to the unknown. You get over it, by facing it. You didn't state which surgery, but, the mortality statistics are still being skewed by old data. The procedures have greatly improved and mortality rate is WAY down. Enough where, the mortality rate of being overweight vs the mortality rate of the surgery... unchecked weight has a higher mortality rate at this point. The surgery forces you to make drastic changes. Those changes do cause some emotional issues, at least while you are in the middle of the whole transition. They do suck. They do happen to most folks. But, for the most part, they go away. As long as you follow your instructions, and do what you are supposed to, and don't cause any injuries to yourself. The fear, emotional trauma, the indecision and doubt... they go away. So don't worry about being afraid. Just remember WHY you decided to do this. Always remember how much you hate being overweight. Use that to push through whatever fear or doubt you have. Big changes require big changes.

I was watching videos of live surgeries getting an idea of what my surgeon would be doing. When I had her put the band in back in 2011, I asked if she could get me photos of my insides... she looked at me like I had 12 heads. I see my outside all the time, I've never seen my actual insides, I told her. Still didn't get my photos LOL.

I'm just saying I don't see how an external product would help reduce an internally caused issue, that's all. You'd have to have done something to prevent the trigger, once that happens, that hair is going to fall out, no matter what you do at that point. External or internal. I haven't lost much of anything, nothing that I wouldn't consider normal. The *ONLY* thing I've done really is I've been taking Biotin since well before my surgery... I've done nothing else extra or special.

I tried to look on my phone but for whatever reason, it says there are no likes at all on that post that clearly has a sad and confused face. PM me if you'd be so kind please.

The issue with WLS hair loss isn't traction alopecia, it's telogen effluvium, the issue is caused by an internal stress triggering more follicles to go dormant at the same time than would normally happen, it's not *actual* hair loss, just, an issue where the normal shed cycle gets changed due to the stress of the surgery/fever/diet etc.

This is nuts... I'm 4 months out... zero hair loss. I wish there was more definitive information on this whole ordeal.

Don't worry or focus on differences, pretty much every doctor, every surgery, every nutritionist, everywhere has a different way of doing things. The biggest thing to remember is, follow what YOUR team has set for you. Because at the end of the day, they are the ones that have dominion over your surgery, no one else. So if you don't follow their rules, they *could* deny your surgery. Again, don't worry too much about differences, they don't seem to really make a difference at the end of the day, but it's your surgery, do what your surgeon says.

Ok... first and foremost if you are having an issue with your prescribed pre-op diet, the **ONLY** people that are going to be able to give you answers or approve adjustments are the people that are in control of your surgery. Yes, everyone seems to have different diets both pre and post-op. But no one here on this forum is going to cancel your surgery because you didn't follow some instructions. Your surgeon however, can. So if your pre-op diet is giving you issues, then talk to them and ask if they can make changes. If you make your own changes, and your doctor isn't aware of them... there is a chance that your doctor postpones or cancels your surgery because you didn't follow their guidelines. You say you are mentally ready for this surgery. Well, part of this whole process is dealing with felling "starved, angry, emotional" at least until your body sorts stuff out. The pre-op sucks. But you REALLY REALLY REALLY need to follow your doctors instructions and no one else's. How horrible would you feel if you took someone's advice here, followed a different diet than what was approved and then you had some complication or had your surgery canned because of it? Not worth the risk. Talk to your doctors, let them know you are having issues with the food and let them give you different options.

Correction, ignorance is weight gain LOL

Ok... who thought this was "Confusing" or "sad"??? I really want to know which of you click sad or confused and why you did that. Honestly, I'm confused as to how this post is either confusing or sad.

Just understand that, larger muscles require more energy than small ones... so they will consume more calories. But seriously, if you think your weight loss is problematic, you should be talking to your doctors.

Well, for 144 lbs at 5 foot 6, your BMI is 23.2. The high end of "normal". So, you aren't actually "too small" that's just your view of yourself compared to what you are used to. As far as stuff sagging... well, that's because you were "ObeseClass II" "Severely Obese" with a BMI of 38.3. Talk to your doctors about it. But you are by far not medically "too small" or underweight. It's unwise to just start eating everything just because. Discuss your situation with your doctors... They were there before the surgery, they were there for the surgery, they are still there for you after your surgery. If your issue is with sagging skin... you should have been well aware of this side effect going into surgery. It happens, it's part of the process.

It's important to note that... for the most part, water just filters through your pouch/sleeve. If you consume it too quickly it can back up, but if you consume at the same rate that it leaves your stomach, you won't risk any stretching. It's quite easy to get more than enough water a day, you just need to reduce how much you are consuming at a time and increase how often you consume. Just keep a bottle with you at all times and get into the habit of constantly drinking water. Sounds harder than it really is in practice.

Sounds like you might have popped a stitch. I know they told you that you have no limitations... but that might not be the best advice. I was told the same thing, no lifting anything over 10 lbs for the first month. You've got several incisions in your abdominal wall, they need time to heal or you will end up popping stitches or worse, getting a hernia. Take the time your body needs to heal and just REST! Let someone else pick up the slack for a while.

Congrats! You are human. Nerves and second guessing are 100% normal. Just ride it out. You clearly understand that you want the surgery. Is it going to be tough? Yup. Is there going to be some emotional impact? Yup. Is it worth it... Hell yeah it is.

You've got everyone on this forum. Just post and ask away! (But You might want to use the search feature first for questions, more than likely they've been asked and answered a few times)

Starting over is going to be, more than likely, your best bet. With that much loss, did you have any excess skin removed? If not, you could have quite a bit of weight hanging around (no pun intended) in the form of saggy skin. 10-20 lbs of excess skin isn't at all uncommon.

But you haven't bothered to answer any of the questions asked of you.

Every doctor / nutritionist is different, so don't be shocked if you get a totally different answer from them LOL

Our body processes natural sugars differently than other sugars. During my classes, we had to watch out for the added sugars, but were not required to count the natural sugars. So if I read an ingredient panel and it says "sugar" or Corn Syrup or any of the other added sugar names, then the grams per serving needed to be under 5g. If there was no added sugars, I don't need to worry about the sugar content. Like a Typical banana has 14 grams of sugar, I don't need to worry about those, kinda thing. It's really odd, but post surgery where I'm much more sensitive to sugars... I haven't had a single issue with even the most sugary of fruits. But if I go too far over 5g of added... and things start to get unpleasant.

Congrats! Nerves are normal and expected. Welcome to the losers bench!

Thank you! I’m just afraid to hit that max point and get super sick. I’m sure it will get easier with time The pressure in our pouches is lower than with sleeved folks for whatever reason. But assume that your pouch is the size of a walnut or egg. and work around that for a while. Your full sensation might return. I don't feel full like I expect to, but I get to a point where I'm just "done", I just don't want anymore. Happens at different times for different foods. Don't they still have you on Puree'd foods? Most bypass folks I've seen are on 1 month of puree's to ensure everything is healed up proper.