Bigdog56

So, I have been having what I thought was chest pain the past few ays, but I actually did something to my stomach. I have had a few episodes this past week of eating too fast and throwing up, and Friday it happened again... Since then, I've had trouble eating and drinking. I feel like I get full faster than usual, and I'm having pain when I inhale. as anyone overhead this happen? I'm 4 1/2 yrs. post op, and have really not had a ton of complication in any way, so I'm a little concerned now. I will be going to the doctor to get looked at, but I just want to see if anyone has gone through this. Thank in advance. Chris

Hi all, I am looking for a dietician in the DFW area. Any recommendations? Been stuck in the 310 area, down from 432, but I still want to get to 240. I was back to 325, but started doing Keto, and came back down to the 310 area. Usually floating between 310 and 314. Been stuck for last year and a half, roughly, and feeling frustrated. Thanks in advance.

Three and a half years post op and starting Keto after speaking with a friend who was a cardiologist at UPMC(Pittsburgh), and wondering if anyone else has gone this route. Felt really good on it last week, but interested to hear from people who have had Bypass and then gone on this diet. Thank!!

Anyone have a good Bariatric Nutritionist in the Frisco area?? I've been trying to find one since we moved here, but have had no luck. I was doing some online nutrition counseling which was completely paid for by my insurance, but the girl just disappeared one day and stopped all communication. Would love to hear if anyone has any recommendations. Separately, would love to know if there are any support groups here in Frisco as well. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

We're in beginning phases of switching to a more plant based diet. I'll be three years post-op in October. We recently watched What the Health, and if anyone on here has seen it, WOW. It was eye popping and I haven't been the same since. And I've been an avid met eater my entire life. I have been wondering about our higher protein requirements, and gone back and forth. I will say that I gave it a test run this past week, and surprisingly I felt amazing. It seems to me since we're supposed to eat more fruits and veggies ANYWAY, being more plant based is the way to go. I'm not sure if we'll go all the way Vegan, but I see us making a major shift. Would love to hear others experiences.

so i had a bad day yesterday, I am on a liquid diet leading up to surgery this coming monday... the day before, all I could THiNK about was my favorite pizza, since that's my favorite food, but I made it through that one, and THAT was a tough one...I was at my last series of appointments, had my 4 month old daughter who was fussy, and had not had any liquids for a few hours, had a SPLITTING HEADACHE and was RAVENOUSLY hungry... It was my first day of the fast... i felt delirious, SERIOUSLY... and had 4 beef jerky sticks... WAH WAH... i don't think this will affect me, as I am ok now... and I am pretty confident my liver will still shrink prior to surgery as it should... I really think it was an isolated incident, plus I haven't had a binge episode in about 2 months... but I was weak... any advice moving forward, other than don't eat anything other than what's approved for the liquid diet which is basically liquid and Jello??

I am almost two years post op and for the first time really considering surgery to remove the loose skin. I am wondering if anyone has had success getting insurance to pay for surgery. I never thought I would want it, but i am feeling like the extra skin is a reminder of a past life where i was dying everyday and how much I let myself go. I want to close the book on that part of my life, and for me, removing the constant reminder is a part of moving on from it, although I know I will never forget just how bad i got before i had surgery... Anyway, if anyone has thoughts Id be open to hearing them, Thanks.

I weight lift HEAVILY and I am in pretty good shape. I find that the harder I train the more appetite I have. When I take breaks, or I lessen the intensity, I feel like my appetite goes down. I know the intensity is definitely affecting my hunger because I need to replenish what I'm losing in my workouts, but I am wondering what people do to curb the appetite that comes from training. Might sound like a dumb question, but I am just curious about other strategies that people are using.

I amin DESPARATE NEED of a good Bariatric Nutritionist in the DFW area. I will be two years post op in October, and have been stalled out for months now. I need help badly. Does anyone in the DFW know a GREAT nutritionist I could speak with?? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated and also your experience with that person would be helpful too. I want to find the right fit, not just any fit. I have an athletic background and an exercise science background and I need someone with bariatric patient knowledge AND experience with athletes who train very hard... I had one at the Cleveland Clinic where I had my surgery but she turned out not to be too good AFTER surgery happened if you know what I mean. Tanks for reading this post and I appreciate your time.

anyone in the Frisco area?? I had my surgery done by Dr. Schauer at Cleveland Clinic... Would love to maybe find a support group somehow... been flying solo most of the last two years since my surgery...

Has anyone tried this diet post surgery? I've begun doing some reading and bypass is a contraindication for the diet. Anyone know why? I was 432 at the time of surgery, and reached a low of 298, but have been residing between 303 and 310. Any insight would be great. I have been noticing some old eating patterns creeping in and am working to address them. I have a goal of being between 250-275, but have been stuck for months now. I will be two years post op this coming October. I don't think I have utilized this site enough,and I don't really have a support system of other patients to bounce things off. My wife is great and my friends too, but no one really knows what I've gone through or what I am going through... thanks for taking the time to read.

I'm about six x months post-op, and i have noticed lately some really bad cramping that i get at various times. It doesn't seem to have a pattern, and it feels like if you did a hard ab session and you try and stand up straight and it feels like your stomach is stretching. It seriously hurts on a scale of 1-10 at like an 8 or 9. I've asked my docs about it, and they said it doesn't sound like anything serious, just something post surgical that happens from time to time. I've been trying to figure out if it's a pattern, as in did i eat something that my body didn't like and i'm not recognizing it, or did i eat something too fast? Stuff like that. Does anyone know what i'm talking about? Also, the cramping happens over where I feel like my surgery took place... directly in the middle of my stomach, closer to my rib cage than the lower part of my abdomen, which is why I feel like it is surgery related... Thanks a lot.

I had surgery october 13 at a weight of 404 pounds, which was down from a high weight of 432. Since surgeryI have gotten down to 322.4 as of this morning. I basically lost all of my weight in about 10 or 11 weeks. I then had an AWFUL gout attack that last for a month or so, and went through three cycles of Prednisone, which is known to really impair weight loss. Anyway, I have been off the prednisone now for about two weeks, but have not lost any weight until I woke up this morning at 322.4. I've been stuck at 325 since my one month follow up with my doctor... which was more like 6 weeks. At that appointment I was told I have lost 58% of my excess weight already. Has anyone else had anything remotely close to this scenario happen to them?? I am eating enough throughout the day, and most days i feel like I've eaten too much, but the weight never goes up, it's just not coming down. Anyway, Just venting about not keeping the weight loss going. Anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do about getting my weight loss to resume?? I am well aware that the rapid weigh loss does not continue, but for crying out loud, i'm only three months out! Anyway, any gout sufferers and people who have experienced that same or similar things happening, I'd love to hear how you dealt with it and how you began losing weight again. See you guys!!

i have noticed since surgery that sitting hurts my tail bone... anyone else have issues with this? I never had this problem before surgery, but now, it seems like if i sit for awhile, or drive for awhile, or whatever, that it just hurts a bit.... I wouldn't say the pain is excruciating but definitely noticeable... anyway, just curious if this is something you deal with forever, or if it goes away...

So I am eleven weeks post surgical, and have lost 107 pounds to this point. Weight loss has slowed due to the fact that I have been taking prednisone for a gout attack i had for four weeks. Nutritionist said that drug will severely hamper weight loss and bring it to a near halt. I saw her last week and she informed me that I need to be getting close to 2000 calories a day in... it is 4:58 right now and I still have 1000 calories to go. Anyone have any suggestions?? I am trying to eat, but quite honestly I am full a lot of the time. I am very active and work out five days a week, and the reason for the need to get so many calories I am told is so I'm not wearing eating my muscle away. I am an avid weightlifter and take 3 to 4 hours a week of spinning classes... But it is much harder that I thought to eat enough... Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I'm kind of frustrated that the prednisone is slowing my weight loss. Hoping now that I'm off of it, I will resume losing... I only have about another 50-75 pounds to go...

yes the person who put me on that diet is well versed in surgery. It is my bariatric nutritionist. I am an athlete, and have a large amount of muscle mass. She is worried that if I'm not eating enough that I will start to use my muscle for energy. I have already lost a SIGNIFICANT amount in that month after surgery where I was not allowed to weight train, and even before that. She said 1500-2000. Based on my BMR I am still creating a deficit calorie wise, about a 1000 calories. which is about 2 pounds a week. I've lost a lot of weight fast, but was on prednisone, which all but stops weight loss... hoping during this time my body catches up to all the weight I have lost as far as skin stuff... trying to see the positive...

Anybody else getting sick while taking it. I swallow this mammoth horse pill and most times end up puking it up in like 30 minutes... and when i do puke, it lifts me off my feet, and i weigh 330, just as a point of reference. Was told to stop taking it, then yesterday when i met with my surgeon he said i better start taking it otherwise we mine as well just go ahead and schedule gall bladder surgery now. he said with the amount of weight i have lost so fast (roughly 101 pounds since say Oct 1) that I will DEFINITELY get gall stones... anyone have issues with this and have any recommendations on taking it? Thanks guys.

Hi everyone, I'm six weeks post op as of this past Monday. Got cleared to weight lift FINALLY this past wednesday. New program begins Monday. I have been an avid weightlifter all my life and am a strength and conditioning coach. Including pre-op diet and surgery, as of this morning I am 93.5 pounds down since surgery on October 13. I began this journey weighing 432 and this morning weighed 338.5. I power lift, olympic lift, train with kettle bells, basically everything under the sun. I am wondering about what experiences people have had beginning their workout routine again. How did your strength come back, were there any surprises as you began training, good or bad? For example, I feel like I have almost regained all of my mobility overnight since surgery. I'm interested to hear people's stories, struggles, victories, etc. I have this idea in my head, that aside from the initial ridiculous soreness that come with not working out for two months, that i may be able to have the best body of my life. My doc said that my skin has shrunk back a lot and that he was impressed that i didn't seem to have a lot of extra skin. I have already lost 50% of my excess weight, but that means there's still 50% to go! I really want to be able to tighten my body up again, and I will say, that right now, any strong movement that makes me contract my abdomen hard is a challenge right now, and it causes bad cramps in my abs. Anyone else experience this?? Anyway, for now i think that's all i can think of, but i have to say that being the big fat strong guy for so long has me a little nervous about what's going to happen monday, and how my ego will feel, hahaha... but this surgery has saved my life... and everyday i WASN"T having surgery was a day that i was closer to dying young... I'm so grateful... Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving.

how long does it take for the stomach to COMPLETELY heal following surgery?? I'm six weeks post op and got cleared to weight lift again. I'm just curious about it...

I'm six weeks post op, and i am just AMAZED at how much my tastes and for that matter CRAVINGS have changed. To date between pre surgery weight loss and post surgical weight loss I am down 86 pounds, and I am amazed at what I can't tolerate. This morning, I tried to have a ham egg and cheese sandwich from panera, and i dumped the three bites i had up in less than three minutes. Is anyone else having issues with keeping NORMAL food down? It's like I can TASTE all the bad stuff these places cook with and it makes me sick... a good thing, I guess. But yesterday, I ate chicken tikka masala, which is spicy, with NO PROBLEM whatsoever... I just think it;s interesting what agrees with me and what doesn't. Anyone have any stories or similar experiences with food this far out from surgery?

anyone else find that they just aren't hungry for dinner? I have been eating Breakfast and lunch easy, but for some reason, I really don't feel the urge to eat dinner. Anyone else having similar issues, and if so, what did you do to fix it, or make it easier...

I'm two weeks post op today... so far, i've lost 28 pounds. Haven't really started working out again yet, but i have found that i was really unprepared by how i was going to feel post operatively, and that is in large part to things i was told in the pre surgical process... but that is for another post... my question right now is based on the fact that i am light headed and have been most of today... has anyone had issues with being light-headed for seemingly no reason??vvI definitely ate less today, but it's just because my stomach has been bothering me and i haven't felt like eating... drinking, yes, eating no. I've had 40 grams of Protein thus far today. thanks everyone.

I'm eight days post op, came home last Thursday night... Felt great Friday, Saturday, had a little bit of a hiccup Sunday night in the following way: sitting at my kitchen table sipping a glass of water. I notice it goes down really really ready so I keep drinking because I happen to be ready at the moment, and I proceed to drink four glasses in less than 45 minutes... As I got up to go sit on my couch, I get this sharp stabbing pain in my abdomen. I can't inhale all the way out exhale ask the way out... Basically I can't move without extreme pain... The rest of my body feels AMAZING, but I'm in a lot of pain right now... Does anyone else have an experience similar to this??. I'd love to get some feedback...

I am pre-surgical right now. More than likely getting cleared on my last speed bump, psychology, TOMORROW! I am excited to move on in the process, and I am wondering if anyone has the answers to the following questions. I know you can't smoke, or shouldn't smoke following surgery, and I am not a cigarette smoker, but I DO love an occasional cigar. Does anyone here smoke cigars occasionally post surgery? My second question is this: I have been athletic and an athlete all of my life. I am wondering how people in their thirties have found trying to get their skin to shrink back after surgery. Did you have a lot of elasticity in the skin still? Did it shrink back a lot or no? I understand that some loose skin is inevitable with such a large amount of weight loss, and I have a goal of 150 lb weight loss. Does anyone have any insight into these?? I'm sure I will be much more active in the weeks and months to come. I am hoping to have surgery sometime early october. Thanks for the help!

that was the other thing... when i was drinking, i had no dumping, vomiting, nausea... when i was full i stooped... I'm thinking it might be muscle strain somehow, or maybe gas... dunno though