JamieLogical

I was lucky enough to not have access to a scale my first 4 days post-op. I think that may have saved my sanity! By the time I came home from Mexico on the 5th day post-op, I had lost a little weight. Don't remember exactly how much, but I know that by one week post-op, I was down 7 pounds. Things slowed down considerably after that though. Watch out for that week three stall!

My husband came up with a great idea the other day. I was once again lamenting the fact that so many WLS patients seem to be clueless about the post-op guidelines. So, my husband thought of this brilliant suggestion. Remember those little Tamagothchi/DigiPets from the 90's? The ones you where you had to feed and care for your "pet" or else they died? Well what if they made a version of those for WLS patients and required us to use them for 2-4 weeks pre-op. We would have to give our "pet" enough Protein, Water, and Vitamins and "walk" them a few times a day. That would force people to become very familiar with their post-op routine and making sure they met all their nutrition and activity goals on a schedule.

I would suggest moisturizing daily. Not just your hands, but all over. It can help some, but there is no guaranteed to stave off loose skin on any part of your body.

@@PayItForward Etsy is the most common place I've seen for selling crafted items. Also, I just heard that Amazon is staring a new "Handmade" store that will allow people to sell crafted items to compete with Etsy, though I don't know how you sign up to sell stuff on there yet.

I agree with the others. It sounds pretty normal. Can't believe you are back in class at only 6 days post-op. I didn't go back to work until 15 days post-op and it was STILL very hard for me to make it through the day. Fatigue was my real issue. Just make sure you get your Water in, get your Protein in, and walk walk walk. Once you can start eating purees and soft foods, make sure your measure it out and eat on a schedule. You probably won't experience normal hunger or "fullness" in the first several weeks at LEAST, so it's important to just eat what you are supposed to when you are supposed to and not rely on your body to tell you what to do.

I have had Cinnamon Twist, chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Cookies and Cream, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I didn't like the Cookies & Cream at all. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough was okay, but I kept comparing it to Quest Bars, since that was my favorite flavor. I stick with the Cinnamon Twist and Peanut Butter Cup now. Cinnamon Twist is GREAT for Breakfast, since it tastes so breakfast-y. Peanut Butter Cup is very much like a candy bar, so is better as a snack instead of a Meal Replacement.

So glad to hear you are doing well! Keep us posted!

Well, you should definitely follow your doctor's orders, but I didn't seem to have any problem absorbing the contents of pills in my early days post op. As I mentioned, I was cleared to swallow large pills at 7 days post-op. I was allowed small pills (birth control, pain meds, and anti-nausea meds) immediately post-op. I was instructed to break open my multi-Vitamin and omeprazole pills and mix into Water or "food" those first 7 days. I didn't take any Calcium until I was a week out and allowed to swallow pills. I had blood work done at 2 months post-op and all my levels were spot on. Plus I didn't get pregnant (though we did use condoms the first few weeks, since I was on anti-biotics immediately post-op). So I must have been absorbing my pills just fine.

@@Elode Combat Cruch is what I switched to also. I'm actually eating one right now! The guys at GNC helped me find a good tasting bar that still used Isomalto-Oligosaccharide instead of Soluble Corn Fiber and the flatulence went away immediately upon switching. For those of you who want to try to stick with Quest Bars, here is what their customer service rep suggested to me: And here's a link to my original post on the subject: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351677-quest-bars-soluble-corn-fiber/

Oh! Another thing I have noted. It seems like people who lose faster also lose more muscle. I tracked my body fat percentage throughout my weight loss journey, as my BFP goal was more important to my nutritionist than a straight up weight loss goal. On the day of my surgery, I weighed 236 and had a BFP of 48.2%. That means I had almost 114 pounds of fat. Today I weigh 162 and have a BFP of 22.8. That means I only have 37 pounds of fat. I lost 77 pounds of fat, but only 74 pounds of weight. That means I actually GAINED 3 pounds of muscle! I worked hard to get all of my Protein in and I exercised at least 4 times a week. While that may have slowed the numbers on the scale, it certainly helped make me much more healthy and fit!

There are actually a lot of benefits to losing more slowly. It takes far less of a toll on your hair, teeth, body, and skin. You won't be replacing your wardrobe as quickly and often. People don't notice as much so you don't get as many awkward questions and comments. You have time to mentally adjust to the new you. A LOT of people on these forums experience body dismorphia where they have a hard time seeing themselves as the really are. I think this can be worse in people who lose really quickly and their brain has a hard time keeping up with the reality.

Why? I reached my goal just losing 6 pounds a month. This is a marathon, not a race. What does it matter how long it takes to get to goal... this is the rest of your life we're talking about! In my early days, I was frustrated by being a "slow loser", but then I realized that this wasn't a diet. I would never be "done" with my sleeve. There was no finish line. It really helped me become more zen about the whole thing.

I would definitely investigate the possibility of some sort of nutrient deficiency. That does not sound normal.

You can see how much weight I lost each month in my signature. The first few months were a little more, but I would say it was really steady at about 6 pounds per month in the middle there and then tapered off to about 2 pounds per month as I got very close to goal. I'm supposed to be in maintenance now, but I have continued to lose a little since reaching goal at the end of August.

@@Melvyn96 Glad you saw your doctor and are getting on track with proper nutrition. This site is a fantastic resource for information and it sounds like you didn't get much of that from your surgeon so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post here with any and all questions. Or you can private message me directly if you want. We all want you to have a safe and healthy weight loss journey!

This is such an important point. Make sure you really understand what your nutritional needs will be post-op. I see some folks posting on here who are completely clueless about how/what they should be eating through the post-op food stages and for the rest of their lives. This surgery requires a complete change in your diet and nutrition for the rest of your life. Make sure you understand and accept that. Make sure you educate yourself about it. The need for Protein an Vitamins cannot be overemphasized. The need to progress through your food stages at the proper pace is also critical. Don't be tempted to cheat or jump ahead in your food stages just because you "feel fine". There is a lot of internal healing that needs to happen that you can't actually FEEL and you don't want to do anything to jeopardize that healing.

Just want to say that going to Mexico doesn't prohibit excellent follow-up care. I stayed in constant contact with my nutritionist and surgical team post-op and worked with my PCP on this end. She ordered blood work for me at 2, 4, 8, and 12 months post-op and sent the results to my surgical team (all were good, btw). Plus my nutritionist followed up with me weekly initially, then monthly, and now ever few months just to check in. There are excellent programs in Mexico just like in the US. And there are surgeons/nutritionists in the US that don't provide much follow up, as I've seen hundreds of people with unsolved post-op problems and no clue about nutrition on these forums who all had surgery in the US. It's about doing the research and choosing the right surgeon for you, whether that's in the US, Mexico, or anywhere else in the world.

I was allowed to swallow pills 7 days post-op. Never had to do chewables at all....

I had issues with low blood pressure post-op and my doctor told me to "liberally increase my intake of salt". I actually have that written out in my patient plan! I haven't really been able to do it. I still don't ADD salt to things. I just don't worry about the sodium content of what I'm eating anymore. Blood pressure is still on the low side for me, but not medically considered "low". Seem to hang our right around 95/65 now.

I've been on these forums for well over a year now. Had my surgery on Sept. 1, 2014 and reached goal right at my one year mark. Obviously, over my time on the forums I have seen many posts from people who reached goal and many posts from people who didn't. I've also seen a lot of posts from people years out from surgery who have regained some or all of the weight they lost. My question is, does it seem that people who reach goal are ultimately more successful than those who never do in terms of how much weight they eventually regain? On the one hand, I would think that if you never reached goal, you are more likely to ultimately "give up" and let the weight pile back on. But on the other hand, people who never reach goal might be more likely to stay in that "weight loss mode" longer because they are still trying to lose weight, while someone who reaches goal might think "well, I'm done now" and fall back into old habits. What are your own experiences and observations about whether or not reaching goal gives you an advantage in maintenance?

@ Thank you for your thoughtful response.

You can will likely lose some of it. I didn't have breast reconstruction, but I did have breast implants and fat grafting to my buttocks before I had gastric sleeve surgery. I eventually lost all the grafted fat from my butt. And I have lost most of the real tissue around my breast implants (didn't have much tissue to work with in the first place) to where i can now feel/see the implants themselves through the skin in certain areas.

@@Tryingtogetmylifeback Let us know how it goes!

That's why I decided to ask. I know a lot of people know others in real life or from other groups and might have more insight than I can glean just from having read posts on these forums.

Protein is absolutely essential to life. You will DIE without it. But before you die, you will feel weak, you will get sick, your hair and teeth will fall out..... It is NOT optional. Vitamins are also incredibly critical, especially early on post-op. There is no way you can possibly get all the vitamins and minerals you need from the small amount of food you are eating in those early weeks/months, so it is critical to take supplements to ensure you do not develop any deficiencies. Just like with protein, lack of critical vitamins and minerals can lead to SERIOUS illness, hair loss, bone density loss, and death. So take your vitamins!