glitter eyes

Hiking, cycling, kayaking and backpacking!!! It’s amazing to be able to do physical activity and enjoy it.

What really helped stop my hair loss and helped it regrow was I started taking powdered fish collagen every day in my water. I also drank bamboo tea at least once a day and sometimes several times. Bamboo tea is rich in silica which helps the hair skin and nails. I tried biotin and it did not help me, but I have read on here that others found it helpful.

One of my close friends had it done. She said it was a waste of money. Never saw any results. But that’s not saying it wouldn’t work for someone else.

Hi. I am four and half years post op. I stuck to my program religiously until I lost the majority of my weight. However maintenance has been a different story. I do “cheat” at times; as a matter of fact I just ate some pancakes with real syrup for breakfast. However, I usually weigh once a week and if the scale creeps up near the five pound gain I get back on my plan until it’s gone. When I am on vacations or during Christmas holidays I also give my self permission to eat what I want. This far out post op maintenance can be a challenge!! That said, I will got the gym hard today and cut way back tomorrow to make up for my pancakes today! LOL. I do admire the people who can stick to their plan perfectly especially the further out they get.

Here is what worked for me. I started drinking a serving of powdered marine collagen in a bottle of water every day. I used a brand called Vida Glow. That stopped about half of the amount I was losing. I then started drinking a cup or two of bamboo tea everyday. Bamboo is high in silica which is great for skin hair and nails. This slowed the loss down even more. My hair lost its brittleness and dry full look. My hair became soft and shiny again.

Here is what finally worked for my hair loss... I drank one or two cups of bamboo tea every day ( ordered from Amazon) that helped a lot. Bamboo is high in silica which helps hair skin and nails. I also drank a serving of marine collagen in my water every day. I used a brand called Vida Glow. It was on the expensive side, but it only took about two months. My hair is now back to its original state.

I am three years post op. I didn't eat any bread until I was at my goal weight and even then only eat it in small amounts.

I can understand your surgeons advice- my surgeon would prefer us to get our calories from food do and not do as much protein shakes. With that being said I am an RN too and protein shakes work for me and I continue to drink them at over three years out. I usually drink one on my drive into work and drink another on my drive home. That way even if I get busy I have a nice amount of protein in my system. For my meals I pack a variety of stuff, but like you said some shifts we don't have time to sit and eat a leisurely meal- that's why I always have a protein shake with me at work. Good luck

I wear cami's/tank tops by Maidenform Self Expressions. They have a decent amount of compression/support and help hold in my jiggly loose skin and smooths out any of my skin rolls. I have been wearing them since about six months post op. It's nice because they don't interfere with going to bathroom. Also they look decent underneath shirts. I have them in several shades. I order them from Amazon. I find they run true to size. I wear medium tops and order the medium size and it fits nice.

You have a great list going!! Honestly the baby cutlery and small bowls and plates were an amazing help to me. Also, I loved sipping from a medicine cup those first probably two weeks. It helped me a lot to take those tiny sips. Only thing I might add to your list is a good food scale. I got a digital one and still use it occasionally at three years post op.

I have never taken collagen pills, but I have taken marine collagen powder that I add to my water. It has been an amazing help to my hair and stopped the hair loss I was having from the surgery. However, I never saw any change in my skin. I think with the skin it varies from person to person and depends a lot on age, genetics, starting weight, and other factors. I have been very diligent about my vitamin levels, protein, fluid intake. I use good quality lotions and oils on my skin. I dry brush before showering everyday. For me nothing has made a difference in my saggy skin. I think for me it's because of my age and the fact that I have lost weight in the past (my skin went completely back to normal then, I was in my early 30's) then I gained my weight back. So my skin had already been stretched and then re stretched again. However, I say try everything you never know what might work for you!!! Some people never have saggy skin.

Are you allowed broth and/or sugar free Popsicles? Those things can really help. The broth is warm and more savory than shakes and the sugar free Popsicles feel more like a treat and can give you a crunch if you chew them. Hang in there.

My mom was self pay and did not have to any of the requirements that insurance usually makes you do.'we had the same surgeon and I used my insurance and had to jump through hoops for six months. She was self pay and just meet with surgeon and picked what day she wanted to get her surgery done. She did opt to go to a nutritional consult and had a one week liquid diet. She paid $17,000.

I did not have a hernia or reflux before my sleeve. It developed at about 2 years. However, my reflux is controlled by daily protonix. My surgeon said that he usually converts to a gastric bypass if the acid and the hernia is bad enough. However, he said as long as I can keep food down and don't have anymore problems we will just keep an eye on it. He doesn't want to do a gastric bypass on me because he said he is worried I will lose weight and I was already at a normal BMI and then lost about 10 lbs with this stomach virus and colitis that I got from it. He want me to regain the 10 lbs I lost. He said if I have any problems he would prefer to fix the hernia. I think now that the stomach virus is under control and I am getting antibiotics to treat the infection I should be on the mend!! Fingers crossed. Kinda looking forward to the fun of gaining my 10lbs back!! Haha Late complications worry me too. Especially when we all take such good care of ourselves.

The barium swallow came back ok- fluids able to pass through the sleeve even though it's in the hiatal hernia. I am cleared to try and eat. [emoji3]