bikrchk

I took it, (still do), but don't believe it made a real difference in hair loss. I lost a little, but didn't notice until I saw the short pieces coming back in. I think Protein and getting enough calories early on has as much to do with it as anything, but some folks get it worse than others no matter what they do. Biotin has been proven to help hair and nails grow faster, which is desirable if you DO lose some hair. I sure do notice a difference in how my nails grow now! Good new is, it comes back. Just one of the risks\prices of surgery. Bottom line, it can't hurt, so I did it.

I was told to avoid them, but rebel that I am, I tried it and found no issues with straws. I really don't care one way other other if I have a straw or not. Carbonation, on the other hand, can make me uncomfortable so I avoid it. You'll find your way too.

What to do... besides what they've told you, (manage your diet, get more exercise and eat more protein). Do your research, on this site and others. Attend a support group or two, from your clinic or another hospital, (most are open). Meet people who've had the surgeries you are considering face to face. Learn what they're challenges are. I was up in the air over sleeve or R\Y myself and my doc didn't shove me in either direction. He kind of lead me through a list of the pros and cons to each until I came up with a choice, (sleeve for me) on my own. For some, there is no choice, your doc will insist on a particular procedure because he\she believes it to be safest for your particular case. Based on MY research and attending support groups\talking to WLS patients, I decided the band was out. I'd seen some success in others, but A LOT of problems, (prolapse, latex rejection, food sensitivity, never getting to goal then having weight rebound). Do your research. Speak with others living with WLS of all types. Not an ounce of regret here with my sleeve!

Mine was only for 5 days. My EGD was 2 days before I was to start it so it kind of got lengthened for me, but I followed it. 7 days is not that long. Plus the last 2 days included "bowel prep" so I didn't want anything but Clear liquids at that point in self-defense)! Not sure how well I'd have fared if it had been longer though!

I never really counted carbs. I counted Protein, 80g-100g with 1000-1200 calories per day and balanced fat and carbs equally in MFP, but never really paid them much attention. The only thing my doc was concerned with was my protein count and that I get enough calories to not crap out my metabolism.

I don't believe in giving the ebb and flow to weight loss following surgery a name. I think that gives it more power than it deserves. Follow your plan and DON'T focus on the scale! Focus on goals you can control... Your exercise and nutrition. Do that and the weight will come off and you won't need a name for the times your body is simply adjusting to weight loss.

I'd say I turned 3 corners. One after the first week, one after about the 4th week and one after about the 4th month, (when I could eat real food again). My formerly high BP was low right after surgery due to dehydration. I added some G2 to my Fluid intake and drank a bit more and it resolved. Also, I was instructed to add high Protein Snacks at my one month follow up. The additional calories\protein made all the difference and helped me reset my metabolism higher for a more manageable long term experience.

Unfortunately, I can relate. I think a lot of obese people can. There's just more tissue to get through which makes us harder sticks. There was a time I refused to have blood drawn, (a period of about 30 years), I was SO phobic. (Bad experience as a kid I never recovered from as an adult). Compound that with the fact that you'll be necessarily dehydrated the day of surgery, (I had 2 days of "bowel prep", a bottle of mag citrate the 2 days before surgery) then nothing, not even Water after midnight the night before surgery. To say I was dehydrated was an understatement. Good news is, they can give you a tiny shot of anesthetic before they place the IV. They'll also usually give you a Valium before they get started if you need it. Ask for these things if you need them! Ask for the anesthesiologist or their most experienced IV person! It finally took the anesthesiologist to get mine in. Must have gone bad and they had to do it again as I still woke up with it in the other hand but I was out by then! I figured I gave them permission to take out 80%-90% of my stomach. I wasn't going to allow myself to get worked up over the IV it takes to get there! Besides, once they get it in, the "cocktail" that follows is oh so good! And being on the way to recovering your health? THAT is priceless!

Funny. That's exactly why I decided to tell the truth in the beginning. It's just easier to remember that what lie I told whom! You have to do what works for you. If you're not up to defending your decision, I get it. That debate is not for everyone. But I've found that HAVING the conversation has helped me grow, afforded me the privilege of being a mentor, and given me the satisfaction of knowing I'm at least attempting to educate the uninformed about the problem of obesity and a potential tool to recover from it. I can honestly say I haven't had a bad conversation about it. Not everyone I've met agrees with my decision, (family included), but I've not experienced any outright "haters" either. Maybe it's because I'm surrounded with great people. Maybe it's the way I approach the conversation. Probably a little of both. If I do run into haters in the future, I figure I don't give a rat's ass what folks think if they're not on my side in this battle to reclaim my health anyway. Why would I give them the power to piss me off?

I didn't notice too much while it was happening... Maybe more in my brush or in my hands after a shower, but not really evident on my head. Until it started coming back in. This winter I have a bunch of 3 inch long pieces now that sometimes stick up from my shoulder length hair in the winter static so I now know it happened. I'm just thankful it wasn't noticeable. I can stick the staticy short pieces down with a bit of product and it's all good.

Regrets? ZERO. Nada. None. I've not been overseas since surgery but I don't see how that's any different than daily life for me. After the initial healing period, about 6 months before I felt "totally normal" again, I eat what I like in small quantities. I'm still compliant with my Protein goals, but eat, bread, Pasta, even the occasional sweet treat or alcoholic beverage, just in smaller amounts. I think I enjoy food more now that I'm not controlled by it.

I'm a sleeve but if I'd been told bypass was my only surgical option, I'd have gone for it. I was a relative "light weight" for a WLS patient as well, starting with a BMI of 37 with uncontrolled comorbidities, (cholesterol, BP, asthma, and getting close on sugars). After a 95ish pound loss, I have none of those issues and take no meds for them now. Good health never felt so good!

I looked at it like this... I was MORE afraid of life continuing as it was than I was about the small risks associated with surgery. Having lost my dad at the age of 13, (he was 52) to morbid obesity, I just reached a point where I decided I'm not going out like that. This disease kills many more people than the surgery does.

I'll speak to after the first 6 months since you're still finding what foods agree up to that point. I'm a year and 1/2 post op and if over do it on sugar, yes, it's gonna be ugly. One cookie, (even a good sized one like from Panera) or one doughnut or real butter on my popcorn, is okay worked into my day around high Protein choices, but bake a batch of home made frosted sugar Cookies, and eat 5 over the course of the day, (really bad idea anyway)... sh!+ is gonna go down. Literally. It lasts for hours and it hurts like hell. I've learned to look at being a bit "sugar sensitive" as a blessing, much like the restriction the sleeve provides. Like over eating, it's just not worth it. I can eat whatever I like in small quantities, (bread, Pasta, salad and even sweet treats). As long as I'm smart, it's all good.

ONLY losing 1.5 pounds in a week? No, not a "stall". You lost that week and a loss is a loss even if its a fraction of a pound! Weight loss is going to ebb and flow, and it isn't always about what YOU are doing\eating. Sometimes the machine just needs to catch up\reset. I think by naming it "Stall", "Plateau", whatever, you give this reset more power than it deserves! Maybe what he was trying to say is this is a NORMAL part of the process and you need to view it as such. One thing I noticed is on weeks that I didn't lose much (or stayed the same) I was typically losing inches. That next week was always when I'd drop into the next size. Just keep focusing on the things you can control... nutrition, exercise and the weight will follow.

So, small rant here... Why do we care what others think of our decision to take control of our health by having WLS? I see post after post here with folks who are afraid to let anyone know, (OMG, what if my <fill in relationship here> with NO medical training doesn't approve)? Someone told me I "cheated" and now my feelings are hurt. You KNOW better than that or you wouldn't have chosen WLS in the first place! For cheating to have occurred, there has to be a winner and a loser and you are in competition with NO ONE in this battle for your health! I get that our health decisions are no one's business, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Tell who you want, or not, but pull up your big girl panties\big boy britches and owning your decision!. If you HAVE been open and your "friend" de-friends you because you didn't cave to their wishes, they weren't your friend to begin with! If they hate you for getting healthy because you're now "skinnier" than they are... same thing! You deserve better friends! If it's a family member, (that's rough, and shame on them), but see a counselor if the relationship is worth preserving. If their objection is about fear over the risks associated with surgery, drag them to your bariatric surgeon's office and have a medical professional educate them and answer their questions\concerns. You may not change a mind, but it will probably help them be less fearful about the process and show you care enough to have an open dialogue. End rant

Funny. I used to LIVE on Lean Cuisine. I got FAT on Lean Cuisine! And yes, it's full of sodium and other nastiness that I should have limiting as I used to have high blood pressure. Today, with normal blood pressure, I tend to cook my own stuff. I don't really limit salt and by pressure is normal unmedicated. I cook because I'm pickier about what I put in my mouth as I'm only gonna get a little and I want it to TASTE GREAT. Frozen dinners fill the empty spot, but lets face it, they don't taste great. I keep a few around for those times I want to be really lazy or need something quick but rarely go there any more. I just freeze my own frozen dinners from the leftovers. WAY better!

I don't do low anything if it means I'm trading something natural for something processed. For example, I eat real eggs and real butter and at least 2% cheese\milk now. Always did margarine, plastic fat free cheese and Egg Beaters before. I can't say I don't use artificial sweeteners, but a few drops of stevia in my tea is way less offensive than the gallons of Diet Coke I used to drink. If I'm baking, I use sugar. I do try and tilt recipes to make better choices. I found one for a "Protein cookie" I just love, made with almond butter eggs, sugar and Protein powder. No flour. I'm not anti-gluten, I just prefer this recipe. It's NOT low fat, or low sugar really but it has more "food" in it than if I'd gone to Panera and bought a brownie to squash that craving. While I was losing I logged everything, used the recipe analyzer in MFP so I'd know what I was consuming and made sure my meals fit within the parameters I was trying to hit. 1000-1200 calories per day, 75g + protein and balance the rest among carbs and fat though I wasn't tracking those hard. I tracked for over a year. Long enough to develop new eating\cooking habits and understand what I was putting in my mouth. I only track now if I've gained outside my maintenance zone, (rare).

So, someone disproves of your decision. SO WHAT? If you've done your research, discussed with your docs and have determined that this is the best course of action for YOUR health, what is the problem with having someone disapprove? HAVE the talk as tow adults, maybe you come to an understanding, maybe not, but it's YOUR decision, NOT hers.

Thanks! But like I said, judgers gonna judge, haters gonna hate. I'm 48 years old, like to party and ride a big ass motorcycle for fun! And yes, I do limit alcohol when I'm on two wheels, judgers!. I need every ounce of coordination I can muster to hold up the big ass bike especially now that I'm smaller! I like to have fun, but I don't have a death wish. Certainly don't act my age, but neither do the folks I hang out with now that I think about it! Age is just a number! A piece of advice now that you've called me helpful and supportive... And this goes beyond folks judging about alcohol intake. Let the "frustration" go. People can only piss you off if you let them. Don't give them that much power!

I told my team at work, my family and close friends, stopping short of a facebook announcement, lol. Here's the deal, I have a THICK SKIN. I don't much care what others think if they're not on my side in this battle for my health. I'm sure I have a few haters, but I've seen VERY LITTLE in the way of negativity around my decision to have surgery. I have GREAT FRIENDS. And maybe acquaintances are "afraid" of me. LOL. Anyway, how will we ever move past the stigma if we don't educate people? Being open has afforded me the privilege of being an example for others who are struggling and mentoring some of them through their decision to have the procedure and take control of their health. Having people know, keeps me on track because I'm an example to those who need it and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let a hater see me fail! THAT is simply not happening! Being fabulous is the BEST revenge!

Once I was approved, there was an EGD to check for any surprises down there and make sure my stomach was healthy enough for surgery. They found a hiatial hernia they knew to fix along with my sleeve. Pre-Anesthesia testing which consisted of blood work and a full accounting of all meds I was on, surgical history, etc, looking for potential dangers around being put under. Out of the Pre-Anesthesia appointment, they were worried about my lung function so I also had a pulmonologist visit where they ruled out asthma and decided I had reflux instead, (also showed up in the EGD). There might have been one more pre-op blood draw and there was a final weigh in\appointment with the surgeon to go over everything a couple days before surgery.

Not "depressed" per se, but definitely not myself... snappish, forgetful, ditzy, crying at the drop of a hat, (typically happy tears), not at all normal for me for the first few months. It passed. They say that hormones and toxins stored up in fat cells makes for a wild ride the first few months or while we are rapidly losing fat tissue. If you're really depressed though, see someone for help! This roller coaster is hard enough to deal with and you may need a little help, (chemical or talk) to get through it.

I took small pills from day 5ish after returning home and it was not an issue. I tried crushing larger ones (the ones that are safe to crush, not all are so check with your doc)! but the taste was SO bad I ended up cutting in half and swallowing the 2 pieces. After a couple of months even large pills were not a problem. I take a time release Calcium that's pretty big and it's a non-issue. I DID find that Mucinex gave me kind of a tummy ache when taken on an empty stomach. It's s largeish time release thing and having a couple crackers before hand solved that problem. Alcohol: YMMV, but I don't find that my tolerance is significantly less, (some, yes, there is almost 100 pounds less of me to metabolize it after all), but one drink does not put me under the table as I was led to believe. It's probably as much of a factor that I avoid food\liquid together (it's one of "the rules" AND it makes me uncomfortable to put liquid on top of food so I just don't) so I tend to drink on more of an empty stomach than I used to.

Yes, generally. I don't log every day anymore but try to occasionally, just to check in and make sure I'm not slipping always from my goals. On a low day, I get at least 70, on a high day up to 100. I toss a scoop of whey in my coffee every morning for a "latte" which helps me over the hump. I'd not hit 70 without at least one Protein supplement per day, (sometimes 2).