JamieLogical

See you on the losers' bench!

You are definitely not "done" losing at only 9 weeks out. Stalls happen. There will be many of them. You just have to wait them out. Stick to your plan. Get your protein and water in. Take your vitamins. Move as much as possible. Based on the stats you listed, you lost 34 pounds in 9 weeks. That's a ridiculous amount of weight and your body is probably just trying to catch up and adapt.

@@determinedtolive Why do you say Aaron and Eugene aren't "beloved"? Eugene especially seems to be a very popular character. I had a little while there where I was certain it would be Aaron, because he seemed to be the real "red shirt" of that group, but I don't think his death would be as impactful as they are making this out to be. I feel like he was the token Alexandrian. Also a little weird Tara wasn't there now that I think about it. We has the original group represented with Rick, Carl, Daryl, and Glenn. The farm represented by Maggie. Michonne from the post-farm wandering. Woodbury/the prison represented by Sasha. Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene from the whole Terminus deal. And Aaron from Alexandria. Seems like Tara should have been there to represent the Governor's group.

What's a PCP document? No. Sorry if that was confusing. In that sentence "PCP" is a noun and "document" is a verb. Have your PCP (preferred care provider), that's your regular doctor, start documenting any instances of rashes, chafing, or infection from the excess skin. That documentation can help make a case to your insurance company that skin removal is medically necessary if they even cover skin removal under any circumstances. You would want to contact your insurance company to see if skin removal is even an option. I know my insurance provider will not cover skin removal after weight loss surgery even if you can provide proper evidence of medical necessity. It says so very explicitly in my policy.

I talked a lot about injury in my initial post. I had significant issues with runner's knee and IT band syndrome due to trying to do too much too fast and not taking proper steps to protect my knees. I *hope* that came across in my initial post. If not, I will go back and try to make it more clear. People should definitely listen to their bodies, not push too far too fast, and should seek medical attention if they start to develop any ongoing pain.

Why is that? What specifically has you concerned?

That doesn't sound like enough food in general and DEFINITELY not enough Protein. At 214 pounds, with your level of activity, you should be getting at least 100 grams of protein a day. You should be eating 5 times a day, breakfast being crucial. Even if all you can manage is a shake or Protein Bar, it would be better than nothing!

I don't think that some general surgeries are out of the question for a bariatric surgeon to do. I would expect them to be capable of things like gall bladder removal, hernia repair, and anything having to do with the digestive system, not just WLS. But I would not want anyone claiming to be a bariatric surgeon or general surgeon performing plastic surgery on me! Plastic surgery is an art form and a HIGHLY specialized field. I would definitely want a plastic surgeon who has dedicated their entire career and practice to the field.

I don't think Dr. Now is a bad bariatric surgeon, especially if you consider he's also a "plastic surgeon". I still can't get over the fact he does skin removal surgery. It's absolutely ridiculous to claim that you specialize in both bariatric surgery AND plastic surgery. You could't pay me to have plastics done by someone who does't dedicate their entire career to it. Anyway, as far as his abilities as a bariatric sugeon, I don't think he's terrible. He is a little tough with his patients maybe, but I think that's what some of them need. He does perform surgery o patients that a lot of other surgeons would turn away and he does seem ligitimately concerned for their health. He won't do the surgery if he thinks there is too high a risk and he does make patients prove there is at least a chance they will be compliant post-op. I wishould he would send more of them to counselling BEFORE surgery though. I agree he's no where near as charming as Dr. Sommers on Fat Doctors, but he is also working with far more difficult patients. The patients on Fat Doctors have to go through a lot more hoops to get to that point and are much more committed to and compliant with the process.

@@RichardVST What have you tried to control your acid? Might be worth revisiting that with your PCP as well.

I have faith in you to stay strong through it! And the good news is, even if you get a little off track through the Holidays, you'll still have your sleeve ready and waiting for you when you get back on track.

Exactly the point I was trying to make....

Yeah, I think the real issue isn't some magical expiration date on restriction or metabolism. It's that around 9-12 months post-op, you lose focus. Real life is happening. You get more easily distracted from the task at hand. Surgery isn't THE THING in your life anymore. You've adapted to how much you can eat at one time. Early on pre-op and post-op, surgery is the only thing you are thinking about. You are obsessed with it. It dominates your life. By 9-12 months, it's become your new "normal" and you start caring about other things more and it's easy to fall back into old habits if you don't stay diligent and determined.

@@Sophie74656 I think what you perceived as "building suspense" I perceived as "tedious" and "taking too long". Of course I will say that one of the things I ALWAYS hate in TV shows and movies is when the bad guys feel the need to ramble on to their victims for a ridiculous amount of time.

@@BigViffer Yeah I had never hear about that whole conversion to fat nonsense before. I had heard that too much Protein at once could cause kidney problems, especially if you already have kidney disease. I was just posting on another thread about protein targets. It said for sedentary people, the target should be 0.36 grams per 1 pound of body weight and for active people it should be more like 0.5-0.65 grams per pound of body weight. Assuming you are active and your profile is up to date, that would suggest your requirement is a minimum of about 140 grams for you. So you are right where you need to be. For me (I'm training for a half marathon), I should be at 104 grams per day, but I'm usually closer to 115-120. I don't usually get more than 30 in one sitting though. Looking at my food logs for the past couple of days, it looks like I usually top out around 20-22 grams of protein per meal/snack. But I eat at least 6 times a day.

2 grams of protein for 30 calories doesn't seem like much of a bargain. A serving of Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt is only 80 calories and gives you 12 grams of protein. Heck, a quarter cup of Halo Top ice cream is 30 calories and gives you 3 grams of protein and it's ice cream!

Congratulation! You will be joining us on the losers' bench in no time!

I didn't have any visible exterior swelling. They do pump gas into your abdomen to give themselves room to work and I suppose that could cause a little "bloating". But honestly, if you are obese, I don't think it would be enough to be visible to other people. You might just want to consider wearing some elastic-band pants home from the hospital.

liquids pass right through the sleeve within a matter of seconds. I was lucky enough to get to watch my barium swallow test on a live x-ray post-op and it was literally just straight through my sleeve, like pouring Water through a hose. The only reason some people experience restriction with fluids in the early days post-op is because some people have significant swelling and inflammation in their sleeve and/or esophagus. Trust and believe that you will feel SIGNIFICANT restriction once you are onto more substantial foods.

Lucky you! There's nothing wrong with that. Just means you don't have quite as much swelling and inflammation as some other folks. You are one of the lucky ones!

So a quick Google search tells me that the minimum recommended Protein intake is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight. If your profile is current and your weight is 213, you need 76.68 grams of protein per day. That's for a sedentary adult male though and it sounds like you aren't sedentary. This same article says "If you have a physically demanding job, you walk a lot, run, swim or do any sort of exercise, then you need more protein." https://authoritynutrition.com/how-much-protein-per-day/

Sasha or Michone I think. No one is allowed to be happy on the show for long and with both of them in newly budding romances, you know they are doomed.

Okay, so it sounds like you are able to eat a pretty normal amount of post-sleeve food. Your restriction will probably lessen a little around 9 months out, but where you are now is normal for how far post-op you are. How many times are you eating a day? Here's about what I was doing at your stage to get my 100 grams of Protein in: Breakfast: Protein Bar/Shake (20 grams) Morning Snack: Reduced Fat String cheese (8 grams) Lunch: Leftover meat from a Previous dinner, usually about 2-3 ounces (16-20 grams) Afternoon Snack: Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt (12 grams) Dinner: Meat, usually about 2-3 ounces (16-20 grams) After Dinner Snack: Protein Bar/Shake (20 grams) The "meat" I had for dinner was usually a portion of whatever protein my husband cooked for his dinner, usually half as much as he served himself and then I would save the other "half of my half" for a later lunch. So if he made meatloaf and mashed potatoes, I'd eat half of my portion and store the other half... and no potatoes obviously. Or if he did chicken and rice, same thing. I would skip the rice altogether and save half of my serving for lunch.

Are you taking your Vitamins? It's true that sleevers don't have to worry as much about malabsorption, but reduced food intake means reduced nutrient intake. You may be fully absorbing all of the nutrients you eat, but if you aren't eating enough of them, that's no better than malabsorption. You said you don't eat many fruits and vegetables, which is why bariatric multi-vitamins are critical. You should probably aim for closer to 80 grams of Protein a day minimum. Your stomach size was reduced, but your protein requirement wasn't. The daily recommended allowance of protein in the US is 50 grams, but conventional wisdom is that is on the low side because our food pyramid is a joke, putting way too much emphasis on carbs. Have you had blood work done recently? That would be the next logical step.

Have you tried all of the usual tricks for getting in your Water? Mio or Crystal Lite? Experimenting with temperature? Drinking tea or coffee instead of plain water? 5-6 bites is VERY undescriptive, since everyone takes different size bites. Can you translate that to grams or ounces for us since you say you are logging all your food? What does your typical day of food look like?