terry1118

I went from a 44D to a 36B but it didn't fit right - I didn't know my real size or how to choose a bra for my new shape (or lack of one). My girls were totally deflated, flat, and shapeless. I'm 54, breastfed 3 babies, and had been overweight for 30 yrs so any elasticity was gone. I despaired of finding a bra that would do what I needed it to. I went to Victoria's Secret and got measured. It turned out I was a 32D. But when I put it on the skin at my sides hung over the band. The girl said I could go up to a 34C and that fit much more comfortably without forcing a bulge of loose skin. I found that a full cup w/a wider band worked best for my saggy girls and loose skin. I bought the bra and actually had my girls up where they belonged again. Now knowing my size and what style worked best for me, I could look for bras that fit well. Then I discovered an "Olga To A Tee" (model #35145) bra at Marshalls - the fit and style was identical to the VS bra but if felt even more comfortable. They only had one but Kohl's carries them ($38). I waited for a good sale and combined w/a coupon I got them for around $20ea. I ordered three. I'm VERY happy with them. :-)

14 months out. Breakfast - Chike high Protein coffee Mid morning - Dannon light and fit Greek yogurt w/a handful of chopped pecans lunch - 8 shrimp w/cocktail sauce, 3/4 cup turkey chili, or ham & swiss, w/wheat crackers. Snack - 1 oz cheddar or CrunchO's protein snack. dinner - 3-4 oz protein (tilapia, turkey meatballs, chicken salad, etc) w/fresh cucumbers from my garden or steamed veggies. Snack - sugar free Popsicle or 1 oz cheddar.

My sister was brutally murdered the year I was married. 11 years later I lost my other sister in a tragic diving accident at 40 steps, Newport RI (ironically, it was where we spread my other sister's ashes). A few years later my husband's dad hung himself. My husband and my twin daughters battle depression every day - I think it's hereditary. My biggest fear is that I'll lose one of them. One daughter already tried to commit suicide a few years ago. All I can do is move on from the losses and love the ones who are with me for as long as I have them. We all have losses. Some more tragic than others but we will all deal with tragedy, eventually. There is still a lot of good in life...

Yeah, me too. I dumped on baked Beans that had 13gr sugar.

Burping AND letting it out the OTHER way. Lol

From Proverbs, not word for word, but the gist is this - 'Better to keep quiet and have people think you're an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!' Advice MANY people could benefit from! Lol RNY patients DO need to take Vitamins for life but we don't need to be a slave to it, and it's not much different than what anyone who takes vitamins would take. My husband, who is a normal healthy man, always takes a multi, coral calcium, B-100, and Kyolic (garlic). I take two multi's, Vitamin B, and calcium. The calcium can't be taken too close to the multi's because the Iron in the multi interferes w/the calcium absorption (or visa-versa). I take the calcium chews so it's sort of like having a candy-treat here and there during my day - I'm certainly not a slave to it! I also take Vitamin D. I have always tended to be D-deficient, even long before surgery, because most people get D from sunlight and I avoid sunlight because I get sun-poisoning. It all becomes part of your daily routine like brushing teethe and flossing. :-)

My RNY was surprisingly less pain then two other surgeries I had and I dumped most of my pain meds down the drain, unused. I was out of work for two weeks but felt good enough to go back after only one. By comparison my Rotator cuff surgery was the worst, being the most painful for the longest period of time. I expected my gallbladder removal to be a piece of cake but that was very painful also - I needed every drop of my pain meds after that one and thought I might need to ask for more but the pain tapered off after a week of misery. Everyone is indeed different. Try not to worry too much. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. You may be surprised. :-)

I'm fourteen months out. I have a morning shake w/Chike high Protein coffee and crushed ice - delicious! It's like a Dunkin Donuts coffee coolatta and has two real espresso shots in it so it replaces my morning coffee. Added bonus: my chronic constipation problem disappeared as soon as I began using it back in April. I like CrunchO's protein Snacks and occasionally I eat a Quest Protein Bar (at work or while shopping). I eat one Greek yogurt w/Bare Naked protein granola or a small amount of pecan pieces. Just those things daily put me between 45 - 55gr of protein. When I add my lunch and dinner it puts me well over 60gr but not usually over 90gr. My meals consist of tuna, shrimp, cheddar, egg whites, burger, turkey meatballs, or turkey chili - w/steamed veggies and a little (very little) brown rice, wheat Pasta, or Quinoa salad.

I knew I had gallstones before my RNY because I'd already had a pretty bad attack. My surgeon wouldn't combine procedures so I had mine removed six months later, in the same year so my deductible was already met. It was a freebie. I have to warn you, though, I found the pain level much higher with my gallbladder removal. My RNY was a piece of cake by comparison. Even so, by one week after I was feeling much improved and glad not to have the threat of a gallbladder attack hanging over my head anymore. :-)

The only ones I ever tried were from the grocery store. They were dry, dense, and lacked flavor. Yours sound delicious! :-)

So I guess my point is that there is no 'standard' stall time. It can last a week or a couple months. Hang in there, follow your plan as closely as possible, take measurements, and stop weighing yourself so often. The scale number is not the only way to measure our progress and successes. How you feel, what you can now do, how things fit, improving your health - all of these are more important than the number. When I started I had no specific weight goal, nor did my doctor set one for me. I told him that I wanted to be healthy and feel good which he agreed was a reasonable, achievable goal. I achieved that by three months out. Each change afterwards was a wonderful gift that continued to surprise and delight me. :-)

My only plateau occurred at 7 months (after losing 100 pounds) and lasted almost 2 months. I thought my losing was done and was content enough to be size 10 but then I began losing again and lost 20 more pounds. I'm a size 6 now and have been holding steady at around 115-118 for 3 months.

Bonus: I planned my gallbladder removal for December of the same year because my deductible was already met so it was a freebie. :-)

Yesterday I spent the morning cleaning my basement, then cut grass w/a push mower for three hours, then weeded my veggie garden, then walked my dogs, then made dinner on the grill. An ENTIRE day of nonstop activity without being winded, tired, or in pain! Life is good! :-)

Ditto. RNY is the best thing I have ever done for myself. For the first time ever, I look forward to each day fearlessly, without worry for my health, how much pain I'll feel, what I can or can't do, or being embarrassed about how I look. This is the first summer I've truly enjoyed since 1985. :-)

I'm 14 months out but I've only dumped once, about a month ago. It was on maple baked beans (high sugar content - I didn't read the lable til after). Worst experience EVER!

Avocados are a healthy fat. I don't like them alone but I do like guacamole. I put it on burgers - it makes dry ground beef go down easy. I couldn't eat burgers w/o it! :-)

Liver failure was the number one reason for abstaining from alcohol when I was doing the Optifast diet at Miriam Hospital five years ago, too. They said the same thing about rapid weight loss releasing toxins that overwork your liver and alcohol being very dangerous during that time. It seems to be a medically accepted belief. It's best to follow your own doctor's instructions as closely as possible for the best possible outcome...

My team said no alcohol for the first year. There were three reasons for this: 1) Liver failure. Your body burns fat very quickly during the first year releasing toxins stored in the fat into your system. Your liver is working very hard during this time to filter these out. Adding alcohol during this time period can overwork your liver, causing liver failure (resulting in at least one recent death for my program). 2) Cross addiction or transfer addiction. Many of us are addicted to various foods and need to practice and learn new coping skills while we are losing weight so we can keep the weight off for life. The statistics are pretty high for alcoholism, drug addiction, and other less common addictions (gambling, shopping, sex) for weight loss surgery patients. These statistics are equally as high for people who never indulged in these things pre op as they are for those who did. We need to learn and practice coping skills to avoid falling into the trap of new addictions. 3) Quick and easy intoxication. We get tipsy faster on less. There are plenty of reasons why this could be bad. Driving would be dangerous. You could end up in dangerous situations when quickly intoxicated. Or you could have poor judgment about what you put in your mouth while intoxicated. I tend to want to eat when tipsy. If I did that in the early stages I'd probably have had a lot more of those painful stuck food or vomiting episodes from eating too much, too fast, wrong foods, and not chewing. I have wine now at 14 months out. 4oz hits me hard and can make me slur my words and be unsteady on my feet. I only drink alcohol at home now, never in public (I like my Saturday night glass of wine - my indulgence after a long week). Mainly because I'd be embarrassed to seem so drunk in public and driving home would be very unwise. These three reasons were stressed and drilled into me over and over and over pre op and post op during support group meetings.

There may be differences from state to state. I collected temporary disability insurance (TDI) in addition to my sick pay for the two weeks I was out of work. Talk to your HR dept for information.

My cost was $250 (after secondary insurance picked up $1750 of my hospital copay of $2000). The $250 was paid w/my FSA. This was due the day I checked into the hospital for my surgery. My biggest expense was $500 for WLS education workshops (required by my team before surgery is scheduled). These were not eligible for FSA funds so they were my only out of pocket expense and had to be paid in full, up front.

Cost would have been my only deterrent. Nothing held me back once I found my insurance would pay for it if I met all the criteria. It was only 3 1/2 months from my decision to have RNY and the date of my surgery. :-)

My team suggests meat tenderizer may help w/stuck food. I never tried it. I ordered papaya enzyme chewables when I ordered my Protein from Amazon. I'm going to give it a try next time I have a 'stuck' episode. I was never good at making myself puke so my first stuck episode lasted for about three hours. I later discovered if I drink something quickly when food is stuck, the whole works comes up - liquid and food. Then I need to eat soft foods for a day or so till my pouch forgives me. :-)

Happy bonus: the hair on my legs and armpits stopped growing when the hair on my head started falling out. I haven't had to shave my legs or my pits in months - I think is was last October. I shaved once in April when I went to California (there were random bits of stubble here and there - I could feel it but it wasn't visible). :-)

I didn't have a goal weight and no one set one for me. I told my doctor my main goal was to be healthy and feel good. He was okay w/that. That happened after about three months when I reached a size 16. I could've been 'content' with that but I was still losing so I dared to hope for a 14. Then a 12. Then a 10. The rest has been pretty unbelievable for me. An 8?!!!! And now a 6?!!!!!!! Somebody pinch me, I have to be dreaming!! I've spent the last few months walking around in a constant state of happy disbelief, constantly looking into mirrors to see if it's real. :-)