tzbandtobypass

I was banded just over three years ago and had lost 100 pounds the first year (still had 50 to go to get to goal). I kept it off for the second year, but the third year I had a lot of problems, ended up having all of the Fluid taken out of my band, and gained about 50 pounds. My biggest problem ended up being reflux. I have been taking Protonix but once the reflux got to its current point, my surgeon decided it wasn't a good idea to do any additional adjustments even though I had very little restriction. He suggested that we get the band out and revise to bypass. After jumping through all the pre-op hoops for the second time I was just scheduled for surgery on 1/14! I am excited, nervous, and a lot scared. Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated!

I went to the dermatologist a couple months ago because I just couldn't stand it. She has me using two lotions. One is called duac and he other is aczone. It's made a huge difference already. I was getting nasty deep cystic acne constantly after surgery and now my face is back to normal.

I was a banded sugarholic. I am now a RNY that dumps severely. I've only had enough sugar a few times to trigger it and only once when the dumping was severe. It only takes one severe episode of dumping for you to realize you are very much allergic to sugar post op.

Me too! I thought I was the only one It is right there in black and white. I may still get plastic surgery one day on my own dime...or I may wait until my hubby or me gets a different job with different health coverage!

Finally hit 70 pounds down this morning! I am about 6 pounds behind "schedule" but I am okay with that. I had a stall for like 3 weeks that made me nuts, but the scale seems to be moving along again. It is hard to believe that I have just under 20 pounds to lose to make it back to Onederland!

I made the BEST Greek yogurt dessert dish that is packed with protein: 12 Strawberries, chopped 2 single serve cups frozen Dole Blueberries 1 container Blackberries 1 tub sugar free cool whip 1 package sugar free Cheesecake pudding mix 2 cups Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Nectar brand) Mix the yogurt and pudding mix with a mixer until well combined. Add protein powder and mix again. Blend in the cool whip. Carefully stir in the fruit. That's it! I can eat 4 oz of this as a meal so the macronutrients are for a 4 oz serving: 111 calories, 2.5 grams fat, 15.5 carbs (4.6 grams sugar), 6.7 grams protein. Next time I make it I am going to try doubling the protein powder. It would make the protein go up to 13.4. Then I could have it more as a "meal" and less as a "treat". It really tastes fantastic and has helped kick my craving for something sweet!

I eat beef jerky all the time. Just make sure you are getting in enough water because the sodium content of beef jerky is typically very high! Also, steer clear of any flavors with "sweet" in the title - they have sugar and could cause dumping as they do for me.

I've had terrible hair loss. Not so much that you can see my scalp, but I am getting about 5 times as much as I used to every day. I am 15 weeks out and this is the timeframe everyone warned me about with the hair loss. It will grow back. I am hoping that everyone is going to notice my weight loss and not my hair loss

My surgery was 1/14 and I am down to a size 18 from a 24. It feels great, but I am mostly out of clothes in my closet to wear so I went hunting for some deals on jeans. I have bought some things from the local thrift stores but one of the stores near me was having a 40% off one pair and get the second pair totally free. It brought the cost down to about $13 for a pair of jeans, which is only a few more bucks per pair than my local thrift stores. I went a little crazy and bought pants all the way down to a size 9/10. I have never been smaller than a 14. I was a 14 in high school. Looking at those tiny pants and trying to imagine wearing them is kind of impossible. For all of you that have gotten to goal - what size did you end up in? Did any of you start in a 24 and end up in a 9/10 or smaller? Is it possible for our bodies to change that much after RNY?

Try mixing it with Tazo passion herbal tea. The two together are amazing!

Those were the rules when I was in the hospital but once I discharged I was told that I could drink water all day with no restrictions on quantity/time. Once I started eating mushy foods I had to start the 45 minute wait to drink again, but that was and is the only restriction. It is probably worth calling your doc's office and inquiring what the rules really are.

I am a Colorado Band to Bypass too! Congrats on the approval. My band was with Dr Snyder at Swedish in Englewood and my unbanding/bypass surgery was done by Dr Snyder at Rose in Denver.

Last night I had two slices of crispy bacon, 2 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter, and 2 apple slices. It was divine and totally doc approved

I started using eMeals Low Carb for 2 to make meals for me and my hubby. The recipes are super healthy and there is more than enough for me and him since I can eat so little. It was worth the $20 for 3 months just to get a grasp on a new way of cooking. If you sign up use "DAVE" as a promo code and you should get a discount.

That sounds amazing!! Could you please post the recipe? I love all things buffalo and all things meatball

I just saw that Bariatric Advantage has RNY Prenatals on their site. I just started using their calcium chews and was checking on some prices and saw that they existed. Congrats to all of you!!

Contact your surgeon. It sounds like it could be a stricture. You would be a little early for one, but that doesn't mean it can't happen!

For those of you with mid-Jan surgery dates, what are your portion sizes like these days? My surgeon is telling me that I am not progressing the way I should be and thinks I am actually starving myself. I can't help but wonder what the rest of you are doing portion-wise!

I am almost 12 weeks out and my portion size is 2 ounces. My doc's rules are to eat 5-6 times per day and that is what I do. I was told that I should be at 1 ounce servings at 1 months, 2 ounces at 2 months, 3 ounces at 3 months, etc...until 6 months. At 6 months I should be at 6 ounces. I cannot imagine eating that much, but we'll see what happens when I get there. So far I am a little behind the schedule, but when I go over 2 ounces it hurts. To me, it sounds like your portions are large, but your surgeon may have done a different size pouch than my doc. I am also to focus on Protein - at least 60 grams per day. I always hit that mark and I don't have any room in my meals for anything that isn't high in protein. I would talk to your doctor about your meal sizes and what you are eating to make sure that you are on track with his/her expectations.

I have dumped on foods that contain fructose (not high-fructose-corn-syrup variation, but true fructose, the sugar that is naturally found in fruit) even when I consume very, very small amounts. I can tolerate 1/2 of a banana in my protein shake, but my nut said that since I was sensitive to the fructose, not to try it on its own. Your nut should be able to give you hard and fast rules to live by initially and then you can start trying to see what will work for you and what won't.

I have had moments of wishing I didn't dump. I am so sensitive that I dump on two ounces of lactose free and safe-for-diabetics frozen yogurt that my nutritionist recommended. It is made with fructose (from fruit) so it is supposed to be okay for RNY as long as we don't have more than a couple of ounces. Dumping, for me, feels like waking up with the worst hangover imaginable. I get dizzy, nauseas, sweaty and cold at the same time, and incredibly weak. I ended up having to lay down at the yogurt shop to keep from passing out. I do get what you are saying though. If I didn't have the reaction I did to the faux froyo, I imagine I would have tried the real thing by now (at least a couple spoonfuls). That fear has helped to keep me from making poor food choices and even though I hate it, I am equally grateful for it. I wonder if, like the other person said, maybe you just didn't have enough sugar/carbs to trigger dumping. I promise it only has to happen to you once for you to go out of your way to avoid it happening again.

I have seen them at most of the local grocery stores, but I found mine at Ross of all places! These are the ones I bought http://www.mediterraneansnackfoods.com/products/hummuz-crispz-roasted-red-pepper/ I just looked up a brand I keep seeing in MyFitnessPal called Plocky's and they are sold at WalMart.

I've been making chicken salads made with Greek yogurt and pulled rotisserie chicken these last couple of weeks. My favorites so far have been a Moroccan chicken salad and a buffalo chicken salad. I found these hummus crackers that have more protein than a regular cracker and I pile the chicken salad on top of those.

My experience with the band was miserable. Everything felt better the day I woke up after having it out and converting to RNY. RNY has its own side effects,like dumping, but for me the RNY side effects seem much easier to manage. I have only dumped twice and had to lie down both times. It kind of pissed me off because both times it was with this "safe for diabetics" frozen yogurt that I did fine with the first few weeks post op. Now that I am sure of what caused it, I'll never try to eat it again. I will take the dumping over the getting stuck and throwing up all the time and I will certainly take the dumping over the endless, very destructive, heartburn the band caused.