Shrinkingmom

I am 1 year out tomorrow and for the last few weeks I have had burning pain in my left ankle area and some numbness. The last week I have noticed that after I walk a while, my foot starts to slap the ground and I can't control it very well. It feels like the foot is very weak. I am a nurse so I know this is called "foot drop" and in doing research I have found that this can happen after weight loss surgery due to the rapid weight loss. I go to my surgeon next week and will find out more but I am curious to see if anyone else here has had this problem. According to my research it sounds like it is not exremely common but does happen and the search showed no topics on this for this site. Please let me know your experience with this if it has happened with you. Thanks!!

Anna Nim you will do great! You will be in my prayers! VSGAnn 2014 thank you!!

At 4 years out (in July) I have a little different take. I was able to lose hundreds of pounds over the years, 50 -100 pounds at a time starting when I went over the 200 mark at about age 12. As my surgeon put it, I dieted myself right up to 321 pounds and he assured me that I would eventually diet myself to 400. He explained the addictions and the heredity and many other factors that lead to this in some of us. I was on depression medication and blood pressure medication, had severe sleep apnea and was a miserable human being who made many excuses to not go to events because (although I would have never admitted it to anyone) I was afraid of the sitting accomodations, how people would look at me, what I would wear, etc. My life was literally passing by while I sat on the sidelines too miserable to participate. For 10 years after my brother had successful surgery, I still said it was the "easy way out" and I had proved I could do it and I would do it again! HOW STUPID I WAS!! While I proclaimed this and damaged my body, I could have taken "the easy way out" (which I do not agree with by the way) and participated in 10 more years of my life than I did! This surgery changed my life!!! Think about it... when you are looking at needing to lose 100-150 pounds, you feel defeated right from the beginning and it makes you discouraged just thinking about it. Since I had the surgery and went from a size 26 to a size 6 I now go in 5 pound increments. It is a lot easier to look at losing that 5 pounds than it was 150! Don't get me wrong, there is nothing easy about this and at about 2 years out, the struggle is real! You better have learned a lot on the journey because all those old feelings and habits come back to haunt you and you find yourself battling all your old demons. My one saving grace is that I refuse to go back to that miserable person I was who couldn't do anything. I am very active now and I have to exercise DAILY to maintain my weight even though I rarely ever eat anything unhealthy. I will continue to do that because it is worth it!! As someone said, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. I would do it all over and do it much sooner!

3 years out Start BMI 47 Current BMI 26 Only thing I would do differently is have it done years earlier!

LOL! This is so funny! Only we would understand about a goal of seeing light between your legs when you're standing! It amazes me to see that now. Before I would think the friction was going to start a fire, especially in jeans!! I started in a size 26 at 321 pounds! Ht: 5'9" Wt: 176 Jeans: Size 6-8 depending on brand and cut Tops: M

I am 3 years out and if I miss one day of Prilosec, I am in trouble within about 2 hours of when I usually take it. The heartburn is awful. My sister had the surgery 3 weeks before me and she is able to go off her Prilosec for months at a time then the heartburn starts and she goes back on for a few weeks. It is definately very individualized but I know that I will probably just have to be on them forever. The good news is my surgeon prescribes them so my insurance pays 100%.

The issue with diet coke or any other soda is that it can cause an ulcer in your very small pouch. When you have an ulcer in a regular stomach, they could remove that portion if it won't heal but if you have a very small one, there is nothing for them to do. My brother had Gastric Bypass 10 years ago and started drinking "a little bit" of sodas here and there and then started drinking them pretty regularly. He developed an ulcer in his pouch and had a severe GI bleed. The surgeon told us he was not going to make it, but he did pull through and is doing ok for now. The doctors have told him that the ulcer will always be there and he is in constant danger of another bleed. Believe me, he hasn't touched another soda. It took a few years of getting those little bits in, but it can, and my surgeon assures me, will happen after a period of time. I am also a nurse and I was a diet cokaholic as well but I have now been 3 years without one and I can assure you, I don't miss them now. I am not preaching, nor am I telling anyone what to do. What you do or do not drink is strictly your own business, just make an informed decision.

I did use the hearty Soups - I used the "Cheesy Ham" and the "pumpkin Sausage". (I think those are the correct names since I don't have the book in front of me) They are both delicious and very satisfying!

I completed the 5 day pouch test last Friday and I am SOOOOOOO glad I did it. The weight loss was great,(6lb) but the most important thing was the restriction is back and I can't eat more than about 3/4 cup again. I figured I would be able to stop after about 1 cup after this was over but I am very happy that the restriction is now there again and I can't eat over 3/4 cup even if I want to. The biggest thing it reminded me to do was the drinking before and after meals. I thought I was following that rule but going through this test, I would eat then wait until I thought it was time to drink and look at the clock. Sometimes it would only be 10 to 15 minutes and before I would have gone ahead and drank. Thanks for putting this out there because it definately got me back to goal weight and I think it will be a great thing to keep me there.

It has a bitter taste to me without the Truvia but you may like it without. It is a good one to experiment with to get to your taste.

I made this up about 1 1/2 years ago and still eat it almost daily either for snack or breakfast. Lemon Icebox Pie Yogurt 2 C Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt 1/4 C Lemon juice 2 Scoops Vanilla Protein Powder 10 packs Truvia 1 Box Sugar Free Instant Lemon Pudding Mix Mix first 4 ingredients well with mixer, add pudding mix and use mixer to blend. Will get very thick. Spoon into 1/2 cup containers. (I double the batch because I eat it for breakfast a lot and my husband loves it too! You can also put this in a low fat graham cracker pie crust and take it to family gatherings so you will have something to eat. Noone knows it is healthy and everyone thinks it is a lemon icebox pie)

On Sundays I make up a double batch of my "lemon icebox pie yogurt" that I came up with and I put it in 1/2 cup containers in the fridge. When I get home from work I put one in the freezer so by the time I am ready for a snack at night, it is like icecream and by the way, I am an icecream-aholic so I had to find a way to make me think I was getting it. LOL! I top it with some Rediwhip and it is the perfect snack. About 18g Protein and 120 calories. I also quit eating a snack during the day and just eat one at night. When I reached goal, I was having a hard time maintaining while eating 2 Snacks. You have to do what works for you. By the way, if you are interested: Lemon Icebox Pie Yogurt 2 C Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt 1/4 C Lemon juice 2 Scoops vanilla Protein powder 10 packs Truvia 1 Box sugar free Instant Lemon pudding Mix Mix first 4 ingredients well with mixer, add pudding mix and use mixer to blend. Will get very thick. Spoon into 1/2 cup containers. (I double the batch because I eat it for breakfast a lot and my husband loves it too! You can also put this in a low fat graham cracker pie crust and take it to family gatherings so you will have something to eat. Noone knows it is healthy and everyone thinks it is a lemon icebox pie)

You have not failed... you have not done as well as you expected! You still have the tool and it is never too late! This is what I try to warn people about. That first year is the time to get the good habits in place because after that, you are back at square one and it is a lot of work. The good news is, you have had surgery and that tool is sitting right there waiting for you! The advice above was great! Start with the next meal! One thing that I have learned about myself is that when I eat "crappy food" (mostly sugar) I only crave more "crappy food" (mostly sugar)! Detox yourself and get it out of your system. After about a week, you will no longer crave those things and you will start enjoying the healthy foods that you are eating. As long as I stay totally away from sugar, no problem. The minute I eat one bite of a dessert made with sugar, the cravings are off and running and that is all I think about! I have learned to just keep it out of my mouth and I don't even want it. As for exercise, start small. Use the old "park at the end of the parking lot and walk" routine if that is all you can do to start with. The key is to START! I promise the depression will get better as you start eating better and moving! Before you do anything else though, make an appointment with your surgeon and Nutritionist for follow up! They are invaluable and I feel sure they will not be judgemental but will be onboard to help you keep going. Next is to plug into a support group! I haven't missed a meeting in 2 1/2 years and I think that is the biggest contribution to my success! It helps to be able to talk to people going through the same things you are face to face. Now get up and do some moving and meal planning! You can do this!

For the first couple of months after my surgery I had to set an alarm to remind me to eat and drink like I was supposed to. We would never think that would EVER be a problem for us with our old mentality, but it is a real issue! LOL! It goes away but you definately need to eat and drink even though you don't feel like it. That is where a lot of the complications come in after this surgery with lack of nutrition and dehydration. Your body cannot function without food very well but it DEFINATELY cannot function without fluids and that is why most people end up back in the hospital. Keep trying to get it in as it sounds like you are doing and power through this part because it does get better! Good luck to you!

This is a great program and it is what I used to run my first 5K. I did all the training on the treadmill because it is easier on my joints. Running the actual race was different than running on the treadmill but by then I was determined and got through it with a pretty good time. I only completed it for myself, as one of my goals. I absolutely love running but due to my joints and back issues, I have given up on it and I now do other things that work me out just as well but have less impact. You can definately do this and even though the intervals of running all of a sudden increase at the end of that 5th or 6th week, just go ahead and go for it. You will surprise yourself when you actually do it! The one thing I have found out above all others is that our brain is the only thing that holds us back, not our bodies! I constantly had to take assessment and internally ask: Am I breathing ok? Are my legs really hurting too bad to continue? The answer was always no so I kept going! After the first mile, it becomes easier believe it or not. You can do this!! Let us know when you run your first one!!

It's just me and hubby right now (kids are grown. YAY!) and we eat out a lot. This has been the challenge for me, also. How do those of you who log handle that? I usually just "guestimate", but yes, it bothers me to no end. I log off and on, and if I can't do it accurately, then why do it at all? I love the UPC scan thing on MFP, because it's fool proof. A restaurant? Not so much. When I do track, I use the app "Lose it" which has a lot of the food items from restaurants I go to and I can also put my own recipes in. It also calculates all the nurtition for me. I think there are others that do the same thing, I am just not sure what they are. There is also an app called "Healthyout" that will find restaurants near you that serve healthy choices. Good luck!

I think, as some have said before in this exchange, that it is very personal. For me, I had to obsess more about food after my surgery than before. Don't get me wrong, for the first year to year and a half, the weight came off anyway but I really planned and thought about it. Once I hit my goal, it became VERY hard for me to maintain within the 5-10 pound range I was supposed to because I decided that now that I had reached goal, I could be "normal" and since I couldn't eat as much, it would not be hard to maintain. WRONG - I figured out very quickly that in order to maintain my new weight, I had to plan, plan, and plan what would go in my mouth. I learned that sugar is like crack cocaine to me and as long as I leave it alone totally I am fine but if I take one bite, the hunger, cravings, thoughts about food, and yes, the addiction, hits me like a lion!! It has taken a while for me to figure out how to maintain my weight loss goal because lets face it, we have the mentality of a fat person forever and we have to monitor in some form what we eat, whether that is in your head or on an app. Our bodies are used to carrying around a lot of excess weight so physically, we are usually pretty fit because our muscles and our heart had to maintain that weight. Once you lose to a regular size, it takes a lot more work to maintain or lose. My heart rate went from a 88 resting for the last 25 years to now a 56. That tells you how much less work it is having to do!! Everyone is different and what works for me might not work for you and you may find it easier to maintain but enjoy the "honeymoon period" when it is going to come off either way and LEARN during that time about how to treat your body! It will pay off in the end. By the way... to feel as good as I do now, I would log every bite that goes in my mouth or my whole families for that matter. It is a small thing to achieve this level of comfort and ability to live my life!! Good luck and I wish you the very best!!

Sharpie, I am not sure what you meant by "Band requires the patient to actually participate in the process , eating slowly, no drinking while eating , etc." but it sounds like you are saying the sleeve is a easy way that you don't have to do anything to get results. I beg to differ! The only way to be successful with any of these is to "participate" in the process. Also, the only part of the stomach left with a sleeve is called the fundus, which is a very thick firm portion of the stomach, it does not stretch as you said it does. You can eat "slider" foods to be able to eat more or you can "graze" and you will gain weight but you will not stretch it out. I was sleeved 2 1/2 years ago and I am a nurse. I chose the sleeve because out of the three procedures it has the least complication rates long term. My surgeon also does not recommend the band due to the high failure rate and complication rate. I have never had one issue with my sleeve and have maintained my goal weight ONLY by working very hard to maintain my Protein intake, Fluid intake, Vitamin and mineral intake, and exercise. Contrary to popular belief, when you reach goal they are all hard because you have to maintain few enough calories incoming to maintain that much lower weight. K5123 I am sure you will make the right choice for you no matter what that is and I applaude you for looking at the options and researching! Talk to your surgeon and he will also guide you on what is best for your health and your health issues. Good luck and good health!

I have not eaten cereal in the last 2 1/2 years because I love a lot of milk in it and I try to keep the carbs low too. Most of the surgeons and Nuts do not want you to drink and eat at the same time and cereal with milk is the same thing. My sister loves cereal too so she soaks her cereal in the Premier protein shake then pours off the liquid before she eats it. If you enjoy it and can find a way to work it out, go for it!

When I had my surgery I bought a size 12 dress as a "goal". My husband and I discussed a size 10 but decided that was pushing it since I was a size 26 at the time. I reached goal weight at approx 2 years out and I am a SIZE 6!!! I did not remember ever being under 200 pounds even in elementary school so I had no idea what size I would be at any weight! Never think anything is impossible!!!

Put some decaf instant coffee flakes in your protein shake! It is delicious! More like a frappacino when you blend with ice but you can heat it up.

It's all about time! The first few weeks are full of trying to figure out when to eat, then drink, what to eat, when to take vitamins, etc. I promise it all gets better, you figure it all out, and you realize all the wonderful changes that take place in your weight and your life! This will pass and you will be very happy as you see and feel the results! Just hang in there!!

I wish I had done this earlier than 36 but I use to think it was the "easy way" and I should be able to do it on my own. After I had uterine cancer, HTN, and severe sleep apnea, (all caused by my obesity) I decided I would try the "easy way". I am now 2 1/2 years out and I hope that I am conveying this with the caring and non-judgmental attitude that I feel. Everyone who tells you "you can eat all the same things just less of them" and "your body won't let you binge eat or overeat" are telling you the truth relating to about the first year. After the "honeymoon phase", which is that first year, it all gets just as hard as it use to be but now you have a tool to help out. You start wanting to go back to all those old habits, you can eat more at a time, you learn you can eat more often and maintennace of that weight loss is hard just like it was before. I am not telling you this to discourage you or to scare you but to prepare you. At first, you don't want to eat and you can only eat a very small portion and no matter what you eat the weight just falls off. As you get further out and closer to goal, all that slows down and it becomes work. That is why, during that first year, you need to work on yourself, learn to eat healthy, leave out the foods that are bad for you except for a VERY rare treat, start exercising and build that lean muscle to burn those calories. I did this to get healthy, not to lose weight. My brother and sister in law had bypass 10 years ago but never learned about health or changed their habits and have now gained the weight back and are in worse shape than they were. You can say all day long that you will never gain it back but I know that unless my brain has been changed and my habits, it will all come back on eventually and that terrifies me. I have learned to love healthy food, love exercise, and love me. I still struggle with keeping off about 10 pounds that wants to come and go but I have maintained my goal wt with a lot of work and discipline. I know that this is a lifelong process and I would do it all again tomorrow! Just make sure you are doing this for your health and not to lose weight. It will make a huge difference in your success. Good luck and I know you will do what is best for you and your family!

I had this problem and was in tears the first day of my shakes. I could not tolerate the sweet taste. I quickly learned how to make things taste good using unsweet powders such as regular, old fashioned Koolaid powder, cocoa, instant caffeine free coffee, unsweetened jello powders, etc. I became a mixologist and discovered some great tasting shakes without the sweet taste. I am 2 1/2 years out now and I still don't like the sweet taste so I use these tricks a lot. If you can have frozen fruit blended in like I could, try the vanilla shake with lime koolaid powder, a few drops of coconut flavoring and blend with frozen pineapple. It is delicious! I also used the chocolate protein powder, cocoa, and decaffeinated instant coffee for a "frappacino". It is also delicious. I had to figure something out fast because as I saw it, and still do, this is a life time change! Good luck with experimenting! YOu will find some great combos!

At first drinking is difficult, especially plain water. Plain water literally would not go down my throat and I would spit it back out. I had to put flavoring in it or drink Dasani water because it has minerals. My Dr. said they do not understand it but most people have a lot of trouble with plain water for about the first year. Since the first year, I can drink plain water all the time and it does great. The key is finding out what works for you to be sure you get the fluid in. It is a dangerous situation if you let yourself get dehydrated. Your tastes and cravings change so much after surgery the things you are worried about now will probably not be an issue and you will be surprised at the issues that pop up. LOL! Good luck and I know you will do great!