Debbiebydesign

I started having this happen about the two month mark and thought it was normal and was something I was doing wrong. I mentioned it in passing at my 2 month checkup and as a precaution, my surgeon ordered an upper GI. I could pass liquids fine, but I couldn't pass the barium pill which was 12 mm in diameter. It turned out I had a stricture -- a totally normal part of the healing process which I wasn't too worried about. It took two EDG's to inflate the area so it would stay and my anastomosis had closed to 3 mm. I'm glad I brought it up and stopped blaming myself for the fact that I was eating wrong - taking too big of bites, not chewing food enough, or eating the wrong foods.

Good point. The people I have talked to who have had a stricture have gotten pretty sick, one could not drink Water without it coming up. It can be hard to tell if it is a one time thing or a problem.

It's normal, but uncomfortable. I learned that anytime I had "that feeling," what I just ate was going to come back up. I think it is often a part of the learning curve of knowing how slowly and how much you have to chew. Oh, and some people say that papaya enzyme tablets help un-stick things. I have tried it with some success.

I had my surgery on February 7. I was still off work when my 5 year old daughter got pneumonia and I got sick. She recovered quickly, but I was absolutely miserable, not only was I recovering from surgery, I had horrible cough and my nose ran like a fountain, both out the nose and into my pouch, which made me vomit. I was wheezing and hurt everywhere. At one point, the bariatric nurse talked about possible readmission for fluids. My suggestion is to go to your primary care doctor, and call your surgeon's office to approve meds that they might prescribe. Fever and sore throat are the first signs I have an infection going on for me. You might need and antibiotic, especially since you describe it as a bad sore throat.

The ear thing makes me think you might also need some antibiotics.

Good Luck, and push fluids!

No real surprises, just a lot of "Ah Ha" moments when something happened and I realized I knew what someone meant, like when I realized I no longer liked pork sausage, it dawned on me that my tastes were changing, which I was told would happen, but didn't believe because it took a few months.

It took a few weeks, but my A1c is now normal and I don't take anything right now for diabetes.

About larger people...the more you weigh, the more calories and nutrition you need to live.

One measurement they did on me at my heaviest weight was a body composition test, which indicated I needed, bare minimum 1900 calories daily to MAINTAIN my weight at the time with a sedentary lifestyle. If I exercised or had an active job I would need more. If I ate the same and was active, I'd lose weight.

Now someone who is 150 lbs MORE than me is going to need more calories and they require more calories to move their weight.

If both of us are getting the same 800 post op calories, Protein, and fat; and had similar activity levels for our size, who is going to lose more? The heavier person because they are burning more calories. At least that's how it was explained...

I lost 6 by the same point you are, but by the one month mark I lost 30. Its not always consistent. It doesn't mean it failed.

(15 lbs in 12 days.....??? uggg)

**Sounded to me that you lost 15 lbs in twelve days at the end of this "paragraph" and you are disappointed in that.

15 lbs in twelve days...is good. Keep it in perspective. When was the last time you lost that in such a short time? I have lost 60 in 80 days. Less than some, more than others. I haven't been this low in years, I'm grateful. Comparisons to other people when there are so many confounding variables will only make you frustrated.

I was told that it is common for patient to gain because of Fluid retention post op up to the two week point. Obviously, they aren't gaining fat, given the low caloric intake at this point. It didn't happen for me, but I was told many people get discouraged in their first follow up because they were slower to lose fluids immediately post op.

Everybody feels a little "What the hell did I do?" while you are getting used to everything.

I was told at 10 days out, that many people gain weight and that any loss at this point is just a bonus.

I had a lot of hunger pains in the few days after. It stopped eventually. I have to wonder if it was like phantom limb pains. I know they felt VERY real.

I'm glad. One thing someone told me is that in order to move forward you have to give up guilt from the past. I think of that a lot.

Mine was two months because that was the earliest available surgery date. My doctor is very busy.

Same here. I was approved about 4 days after insurance got it and surgery was scheduled that day. I think I was approved December 4th, and I had my surgery February 7th,

I also am amazed at how often I hear the sleeve is less invasive than the RNY....really???? Hacking off parts and throwing them in the trash....that's less invasive?

I know, RIGHT? What the HELL?

It must really be an individual thing, too. I have been taking Biotin since about 5 months pre surgery, and have continued and I am three months out. I"m getting about 60-70 g of Protein daily minimum.

I don't seem to be losing it much more than usual, but I have always shed like a domestic cat. I lost hair postpartum, but it was never enough that other people would notice.

I hear it's temporary...

I am so sick of sleeved people in other forums and in my own support group bashing all other procedures!

The group leader, a sleeve patient, at my surgeon's support group is constantly making comments about the complications of RNY and band, et al.. He makes comments about how uncomfortable certain things are for RNY patients, as if he has experienced them. He's even gone as far as pointing at me and saying something like, "It was probably worse for you because of..(fill in the blank)..with RNY." And believe me, I do groups for living and I am no shrinking violet when it comes to defending my position and choices, but if it weren't for the other members I have made friends with, I'd stop going to group. I don't need to hear every month how risky and complicated and WRONG my choice was!

I thought it was just there, but no...a few Facebook posts from a bariatric support group had preoperative people asking questions about what procedure to get, and all the sleeve people pipe up and bash RNY. One guy even tried to say that RNY was MORE invasive than sleeve. My reply was, "How is that possible when part of the stomach is REMOVED in sleeve, but the remnant stomach is still there with RNY?"

Has anyone else noticed this RNY bashing by sleeved patients?

There should not be "sides" in a support group, like in a playground! We should support each other's decisions.

I am going to stick around here. Too much anti-RNY talk on other forums. I have had a textbook recovery and am happy with my decision. I feel great! I don't need the negativity. Ok, end of RANT!

I stood in the shower today feeling no hunger and no loss of anything (food related). I do not miss one food. Yes, I have a small craving for a bite of pizza, but overall I miss nothing. But I felt weak in the shower and realized that my energy was lower then pre-RNY (to be expected of course). I couldn't help think about how the RNY starves my body; the malnurishment of it all. I am Hungarian and my maternal relatives were all killed in the camps and I grew up hearing about the Holocaust on a daily basis. The images haunt me.... and yet here I am starving my body basically to be thin (and yes, healthy). I am not experiencing any side effects of starvation probably because I am doing well with my Vitamins, protien, and Fluid, and I have body fat to spare. But it made me feel horrible today to think that I am purposefully depriving my living breathing body and yet my body is not even really reacting! I think of the biology of it all and how at the moment, I am not getting sugar or carbs and I wonder how hard my kidneys are working too. And although this isn't some huge epiphany, it just weirded me out this morning and trumped any desire I have to wear some cute little dress to an important function this summer, or fit my calfs back into my riding boots, or even wear a pair of jeans without a hoodie 2x too big. I just felt like crap about it all.

Is this the sadness/depression we were warned about?

My guess is that you are getting a little emotional from the change of it all, even though you outwardly feel very well. I am a mental health counselor. Several years ago, a young therapist I worked with, who happens to be one of my dearest friends, lost her infant son to SIDS. I was 7 months pregnant at the time. I struggled with whether I should go to the baby's services, being a very obvious reminder of what my friend had lost. I felt guilty. Here I am, 11 years older than my friend, with a healthy infant inside, and she was experiencing the worst nightmare of a new parent. I spoke with another therapist who said I was experiencing "survivor guilt." It's common to feel guilty about our good fortune, when someone we care about is suffering. That's what I thought of when I read your story.

You have to learn to allow yourself to enjoy the success and health that will hopefully come with your decision to have WLS. You cannot change the past, and feeling guilty about your good fortune only will drag you down, the only "benefit" it might serve is that it will make you appreciate what you have.

That said, the first few days after surgery, I felt WAY better than expected. But deep down, I struggled with some typical, "What the hell did I do?" type of feelings. It passed and really, now 80 days later, I can say the emotional fall out was far less intense than I anticipated.

Try to stay in the moment and enjoy the ride. You are now in control again...

I know there have been threads on this before, but some seemed like they had been there a while and I thought I would start a fresh one. Who needs some pals on my fitness pal? Please let me know. I'm dbstr4 there!

1.5 feet of what? Can you explain this please!

I thought intestine...didn't bypass enough ?

Sounds like the doctor needs to eat the cost of the second surgery.

I think anytime you stay the same or gain slightly it is discouraging. My weight has been creeping down, I have even tried a few "Tricks" like more Protein, more Water, more calories, less salt, less carbs, more movement. :wub: I think the body retaliates by holding on. It needs time to adjust. I have to remember, "When was the last time you lost weight this fast?" (Emoticons added by my almost 6 year old.)

That's dedication! I only had an hour drive.

My bills just came in...the doctor alone was $16,000! The hospital was $83,000. It was way more than I thought. I owe much less. Thank God for my insurance!

ok