schoollass

Oh, I'm so excited for both of you. My husband knew me before my surgery as well, but helped to take care of me after and is still my biggest supporter. He hasn't had the surgery and is working to lose weight naturally as he is a bigger guy. If you have any questions or would like to talk to another guy who has been there, just let me know and I'll hand over the keyboard. *smiles* I'm sure that he'd love to help you out. He goes to the support meetings with me and even started drinking the Protein shakes in the morning with me. Though he admits that he misses his toast or bowl of Cereal. He loves his carbs. *lol* Congrats to her and to you in taking this step for health and helping her along the way. I hope it helps her back. I still had to have back surgery, but boy was my surgeon so much happier that I had lost over 100 lbs when I did!

Hmm...be careful here, some medications can't be crushed. You should have gone over your meds before surgery, however some can be prescribed in liquid, chewable, or even sprinkle form where you can just put it over your soft food and eat it. I had an issue not connected to my bypass where I was placed on oral pain meds for too long and ate an ulcer right into my pouch, so just make sure to talk with your doctor. You can definitely take your pills several minutes apart. One or two with some Water and then 5-10 minutes and take some more. Because I've had to add more supplements to my regimen due to migraines(magnesium, butterbur, feverfew) I've started splitting things up again to make it easier on my pouch. Just do what is easiest and best for you.

Well, I have alot of allergies, both medical, seasonal, and food allergies. So the first thing I would look into is if you have any problems with the soaps or washes you've been using. I found out that chlorhexadine which is a heavy medical disinfectant is also being used in shampoos, soaps, even lubricant(that as an aha! moment). I happen to be highly allergic to it, but for others it dries them out just like alcohol would. Since it's in alot of products, I now use olive or coconut oil for lube, but there is also a very natural lubricant called H20 that is for all practical purposes a gelled Water. Very nice. You can of course, verify that oil is alright to use with your pharmacist or doctor as I am not a medical professional just someone who has been through the grind. *smiles* Hydration is key of course. Making sure that you get enough water every day. I know that I don't have enough if I even get an inkling of a headache. Some people praise premarin cream, but I had to go as far as full hormone replacement with the patch. My hair had began to break off in clumps and I had lost over a full inch in height in less than a year. It wasn't pretty. I hope this was maybe a little helpful. I can tell you more if you like, just tag me back.

1. How are you feeling after all these years? Let's see...I had my surgery in March of 2004 and I'm feeling pretty good day to day. *smiles* Still can't eat more than 3-4oz at a time, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to do that going in. I do miss salads though. 2. Have you any regrets about having this done? None whatsoever. I would have it done again in a minute. I was at 365 lbs, had already had more than one knee reconstruction and was looking at having a back surgery(which was necessary later on anyway). I have diabetes on both sides of my family, hbp, heart problems, though I didn't have these problems it was just a matter of time. It was not looking good for me. Surgery was definitely the way to go. 3. Has the surgery and lack of nutrients affected your bones or health negatively long term? I have had several health issues since my surgery, that being said; they were not directly caused by the surgery. Within the first three years after my bypass I had already had another 5 surgeries to fix various problems with joint issues, my PCOS(I'll get to that), gall bladder(still had mine), and my back that had been injured in a car accident and was so bad that I couldn't even walk to the bathroom without help. That was AFTER surgery and AFTER I had lost over 100 lbs. That being said, I haven't really had any negative effects directly related to the surgery from lack of nutrients etc. I have to keep up on my supplimentation in order to remain free from the problems of anemia both Iron and B-12(shots once a month). I have learned the folly of taking Calcium carbonate(kidney stones SUCK!) and have alleviated that by taking calcium citrate. Then this year I was diagnosed with osteoporosis of the spine, however my doctors and I think this more has to do with the degeneration of my discs due to previous injury and medication that leeches calcium than my gastric bypass because it's only my spine and not systemic. 4. If you had children, did it effect your ability to go full term? Were you able to provide enough nutrients to the baby? I was unable to have children, sadly. 5. Was getting sick with things like the flu harder to get over? No, not really. The first year, maybe two the flu did hit me harder and make my stomach cramp and talk about nothing and I mean NOTHING staying put. But once I turned that corner of nausea passing and being able to keep fluids down, I was all good. 6. Did you have PCOS before? If so, did the surgery cure that? I did have PCOS before surgery and one of the reasons that I had surgery was to lose the weight so that I could safely have treatments and carry a child to term. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the cards for me. Within the first year of my surgery I had a cyst blow and they ran a scan to check and make sure that I was okay, but they found that one of my cysts had walled itself off...ergo tumor. I got a second opinion, but the ovary had to go and since one had to go I told them to take it all. Thankfully I had prepared myself for that because by the time the surgery came about(waiting blew, gotta love insurance) my other ovary was so full of cysts it was the size of my uterus and ready to explode and kill me. So, I was right, everything MUST go! It's actually a funny story if you talk to my husband. Not so much if you talk to the hospital. Did you suffer with more stomach issues due to the surgery? No, though I did find out after the surgery that I was gluten sensitive. *lol* I had to learn to just LOVE liquid medications(so nasty, but better than ulcers and migraines). I prefer hot or warm liquids to cool and really can't handle high Fiber foods, I miss salads. Though I have found that cottage cheese as a base seems to work okay. I'm rare though I know alot of people that have had wls that can eat raw spinach, lettuce, grapes, etc just fine. My husband has to peel my grapes. *grins* I love him so. 7. Did you go through menopause? If so, was it normal? I have gone through menopause, my hysterectomy kind of made that happen. So I don't know how normal that was. *laughs* Black Cohosh for hot flashes was my friend and Biotin for hair and nails was awesome. However, I eventually went on hormone replacement because I was as dry as the Sahara ladies. Sand, sand was pouring from places we won't mention. I now bathe in coconut oil with essential oils added for smell(I make my own bath scrubs). Obviously if you have any other questions I'm more than happy to answer them. I noticed that not alot of people that are further out from the surgery are on the site, so please feel free to pick my brain. I'm an open book, pretty much.

Okay ladies, that's off-topic, let's try to be helpful. *smiles* Boar's Head deli meats are gluten free. The people at the counter don't always know what is gluten free and what's not. You can probably find a GNC nearby to buy a couple of Isopure Protein drinks since if you are gluten free you may have problems with lactose and while there are other Protein Drinks that are lactose free, ISOpure tends to break things down pretty far to where it "shouldn't" bother you. At least it doesn't me. Others tend to give me headaches still. I make no promises but I wouldn't want you sick on your trip. They will also have Protein Bars, Jerky, etc as finding jerky that does not have gluten is difficult due to soy and terriyaki sauce. Though you may have better luck at a local Whole Foods, Sprouts, or Natural Grocers aka Vitamin Cottage. Fresh fruits and veggies are always good, but difficult in the first few weeks out of surgery while you are healing(again, different surgeries, different doctors) some of us needed baby food and purees, thankfully these can be found easily and are even in nice pouches now adays. Use your best judgement, but remember to get your protein first, we don't want you getting anemic or losing hair. Tuna, salmon, ham, and even beef can be found canned and some in pouches. Be careful here as while they are easy protein to find they tend to be higher in sodium and extremely dense and sometimes hard to digest. I also get low fat cheese sticks to have with a couple of Blue Diamond nut thins when traveling. They are easy to have with me when we are out and don't tend to melt, plus I can have them in my purse and bonus, gluten free. You can also find eggs that are already boiled to either eat alone, make into an egg salad, or crumble onto a veggie salad. Again, dense protein so be careful. If you have any questions or need help, please feel free to write me. I learned I was celiac AFTER my surgery so it was great fun finding out not only how to learn to eat my bariatric diet, but a whole new gluten free existence. *laughing. Good-luck on your trip.

*waves from Broomfield* Just got into size 16 like, last week. Let me know if you have any left.

I worked with medicaid, not medicare. Get ready to jump through alot of hoops and get on a first name basis with your case manager. I filled out the paper work for my surgeon that included listing every way I had ever tried to lose weight, then tried dieting for them, went through the psych eval which is standard before surgery, got a referral from every doctor I had ever seen in my life(my primary from when I was a child, my current primary, my back doctor, my ortho for my knees, my GI, etc.), filled out an extensive medical history not only for myself, but a familial medical history that showed the morbidities I would get if stayed at 365 or continued to gain weight. In other words, it was a battle, but well worth it. It took about 18 months to get approved and by then I had been through all the nutrition classes and such with the surgeon. Done all the research on the surgeries available and which one I wanted and tried the different Protein shakes and powders so I knew what I could drink. Plus started walk, what little I could, with my knees and back the way they were. With the weight off I'm up to over a mile now. But it took surgeries to fix things after my bypass and weight loss to get there. *smiles* Hope this was helpful.

I had to go back to logging anything I put in my mouth and seeing a nutritionist. I never leave home without Altoid peppermints or enteric coated peppermint oil. I do carry both beano and gax x strips. And recently started what is called the Fodmap diet which is an elimination diet to remove anything that can ferment in your digestive tract. It's for IBS sufferers. I know exactly what you're talking about, I can go from a size 16-18 pants back into a size 22-24 in one day due to bloating. Looks like I'm going to pop out triplets and I'm miserable. Ugh. But basically what they have said is that my food is just not moving through my system fast enough and not being absorbed correctly. (duh!) So it ferments and makes gasses that bloat me out. Probiotics help kill the extra bacteria that I don't need, but for all practical purposes, I just need to limit some of the other foods I eat. Hope this is helpful or at least gives you something to talk with your doctor or nutritionist about.

Most of the whey based that I've dealt with is lactose free, however I've also had hemp, rice, soy, egg, and vegetarian Protein powders. I actually had problems finding the right protein powder due to how much potassium and phosphorus that is added because I have a banana allergy so that was my problem. *laughs* If you find one you like and have an issue with it not dissolving well, I have also found that a stick blender or bullet works well. Or using warm Water instead of cold, though you have to watch how warm your water is because it can cause your protein to clump if it's too hot because it cooks it. Just a few thoughts that may help.

It might not have just been the taste, but I have found fist to be an E.X.T.R.E.M.E.L.Y. dense Protein. Ten years out and I still have to be very careful with how quickly I eat fish. While salmon or tuna taste fantastic, I can only have a bite or two before I have to stop. No more salmon cakes for me. Tuna salad is measured to 1/4 cup and I slowly pick at it with my fork one bite at a time making sure to place my fork down each time and chewing thoroughly. *smiles* Oy, sometimes I still have a problem. I know right away if my nose starts to run I've pushed too far and it's not going to stay put. It's a learning process. You'll find out others as you move further out from surgery. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Hi, So I'm ten years out and have indeed had these problems. Iron and B-12 anemia, my gall bladder had been removed because it wasn't working(though when they got in there they found it was just irritated, not a single stone), adhesion surgery, migraines(diagnosed as chronic complex, I look like I've had a stroke), gluten intolerance, kidney stones, and most recently osteoporisis. Now, most of these things were taken care of with the right nutritional supplements. Obviously the gall bladder, adhesions, and kidney stones required medical procedures. But the iron, B-12, migraines, and to some extent my kidney stones can also be handled with supplements(magnesium, butterbur, and feverfew are god-sends for my migraines, potassium citrate for the stones, awesome!). I've had to tweak my eating not only for the diet that is necessary after gastric bypass, but to be gluten free which MAN is gluten in everything or WHAT?! Toothpaste, shampoo, lotions, make-up, your Vitamins, food(even if it's not listed sometimes which BLOWS), then there is cross contamination that you have to worry about. Ugh! And once you get the hang of it, boy do you know if you've gotten ahold of some because it's nearly as bad as dumping syndrome! I mean WOW! The abdominal pain and migraines. And your whole taste changes too. Where if you get gluten you surely know it. I mean sometimes you can smell it even. Totally weird. Anyway, you think you have that under control and then you're still having pain and bloating. What the hell? They actually hospitalized me and put me back on liquids because my liver levels were off. Said I had a "spasming sphincter of odie" which is where the bile duct and the pancreatic duct come together and go through the same sphincter, but it goes into spasms and causes immense pain. Where it drops you to your knees and tears rolls down your face type of pain. I never wanted to eat again. Then my GI was polite enough to tell me that it could happen by taking a drink of Water. Gee, thanks. I finally get sent to the University, which is the only place that has surgeons that can even do the surgery. Especially since I have an altered anatomy. The surgery could fix the problem, but the side-effect is that you can get pancreatitis easier. Hmmm.... However, the GI specialist there says that I just have a bad case of IBS where the nerves are involved. Gee, thanks. Now I have to go onto the Fodmap diet and start eliminating about 3/4 more of my food. *lol* That's okay, I get to learn all sorts of new recipes and how to cook all over again! At least I won't be having pancreatitis. My suggestion, keep to the gluten free diet. It helps with inflammation and fatigue. But it's difficult in the beginning because gluten hides everywhere. Try finding a celiac support group. This may help. http://www.csaceliacs.info/%C2'> In the mean time, take everything your doctors say with a grain of salt and remember that it's the "practice" of medicine. Because I can't honestly tell you how long my list of specialists is right now. It seems I have one for every major system of the body and then some. If I could just get them to all sit down together and talk it through I might actually get something figured out. Very frustrating. My husband and I really end up poking at each of them until something is done, but we're annoying that way. *lol* Plus alot of research online. Just remember that you're worth it and that you aren't crazy. Your symptoms are NOT in your mind and you deserve to be treated well. Good luck!

I agree. I have to have warm drinks. I'm ten years out and still put my Protein in my coffee every morning. Like creamer. When I went from putting cold liquid Protein into my hot coffee to the powdered creamer, I actually had to figure out just how much cold Water I had to add or my protein would curdle because my coffee was too hot and it is made from milk after all. *laughing* I would get chunky protein peices which was nasty. Anyway, drink warm liquids slowly and it helps alot. I still do hot tea, hot lemon water, warm protein, etc. Hope this helps.