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@@muzical1, Hi there! What surgery have you decided on?

@@MissRissa922 Hello and welcome! I am really glad you are taking steps to learn more about weight loss surgery. It can definately save your life. I am also glad to hear you are going to speak to your doctor about it. If not them call your insurance company and they can recommend a bariatric center of excellence. The first step is attending a semina and learning everything there is to know about your options, once you meet with the team, they will assess your health and work with you to determine the best surgery for you. In terms of your family support, it is very clear they do not understand that obesity is a disease that needs to be treated medically for long term success. Most of us that have been through weight loss surgery have yo yo dieted for years only to gain it all back and then some. I also have degenerative disc disease and completely understand your pain. In fact in less than two weeks I will be going through another fusion. This time my cervical spine will require a 3 level repair. I really wish I would have had this bypass allot sooner before I did all this damage to my spine. I am 51 years old and have been over weight since I was 19 and morbidly obese since 1987. It really tore up my body. Once you go through your seminar then it might help to better educate your family. At the end of the day, you need to do this for yourself. You are very brave for taking the steps to get healthy. I wish you all the best and if you want feel free to reach out.

Definately talk to your anestesiologist. They can give you medicines to prevent that from happening especially if you are prone to it. Good luck!

I was on puréed foods until I was 4 weeks post op and then I was lucky to get in 400 calories a day until I was 16 weeks post op. It seems like a lot at this stage but that means you are probably healing well. If you are concerned give your nut a call.

Honestly this is normal, you are not a failure. In the first couple of weeks you just do the best you can. As the swelling goes down you will be able to do more. You are doing great, don't let it get you down.

30 minutes before and 30 minutes after

Congratulations on making the decision to improve your health! My husband and I go to the movies a lot and we always sit in the top row in the middle. They are after a.l the best seats. Before my surgery I could barely make it up those steps. I thought I would give myself a heart attack. I would huff and puff for ten minutes. Now, I can run up those steps! And you will be able to as well! Tomorrow we are going to see the new pitch perfect movie with my granddaughter. Hope your movie was a good one!

Wow! What a fabulous story and so inspirational. Thank you for sharing it with us. I am green with envy about your trip. I hope you have an incredible time!

For me it was a a diagnosis of stage 3 kidney disease on top of all my other medical issues. Diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, all caused by obesity. I also have psoriatic arthritis and degenerative disc disease. My spine is literally falling apart. I am down over 100lbs and I will have a 3 level cervical spinal fusion done on June 3rd. I should have had the bypass 10 years ago to avoid some of these spinal issues. I do feel fantastic and all my comorbitities are in remission. Having this bypass was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Not everyone who has bypass gets dumping syndrome. Sometimes I actually wish I did. The only time I get sick is if I overeat. And you don't know it until you take one bite too many. I believe this is true of all WLS. Also the malabsorption only occurs if you don't take your supplements and go to your check ups to have labs done. If you do what you are supposed to this should not happen. Again, all WLS surgeries required supplements and lab work.

I always hated buying tanks at 45.00 a piece only to have them fade after 1 or 2 washes. I really hated when you would buy a top, wash it and it would seem to get wider and shorter. What the heck is that!

@@Sharon1964, I am so sorry! That is rude and absolutely ridiculous that someone would say that sort of thing. Chalk it up to ignorance.

@@LousPeachy I wish you the best of luck and hope everything works out for you. I had this surgery to improve my kidney health. I had stage 3 kidney disease. It is now in remission. It is very scary when your liver and kidneys are involved. I will say a prayer for you!

It is going to be a while before I see my nut but when I do, I will ask her for a copy and post it. I was told specifically for bypass patients that we do not malabsorb Protein specifically. It is digested below the bypass. I promise if I can get that chart I will post it. She pulled it out of her briefcase. It is something that comes up a lot so she mentioned the need to put this in their binder but that hasn't happened yet.

@@My Bariatric Life, Thanks so much for sharing this article! It is very inspirational and I love the mix of stories you chose.

See! This Is what it is all about!!! Congratulations! You are well on your way to better health. Thanks so much for sharing your update. It is very inspiring! Keep up the good hard work. It is so worth it!

@@shmily, I agree with @. You do absorb Vitamins with gastric bypass. There are a few that are absorbed in different places within your new digestive system. For example Protein is absorbed at a place that is past the actual surgery so you don't malabsorb protein. Calcium on the other hand is absorbed above the bypass and although you do absorb it, your body doesn't absorb all of it. This is the reason most doctors require a calcium citrate twice per day. My nutritionist showed me a chart of how this works. I wish I could get my hands on that chart. If I were you, I would talk to your nutritionist or surgeon about these questions. They are very good questions. There is a lot of misinformation out there about bypass patients not absorbing vitamins. The reality is if you take your supplements and get labs drawn you should remain on track. The reason this is important is because you cannot eat enough to get what you need and when you do, some vitamins aremalabsorbed in different parts of your digestive system. But you do absorb some of them.

Yes absolutely. Start your liquid Protein diet right now. Use a good quality Protein shake like Premier Protein which has 30 grams of protein and only 1 gram of sugar. You can also have good quality chicken broth, sf Jello, sf Popsicles, plenty of Water. 4 shakes a day and the rest fill in with the other stuff. Make sure you drink a minimum of 64 oz. of water. If you do this you will lose weight rapidly. That is exactly what I would do starting right now. I lost 17lbs in 10 days when they put me on this plus it cleanses your liver in preparation for surgery. Good luck!

Believe it or not have fun with it. The first time I went clothes shopping I was so nervous because I hated clothes shopping but my clothes were literally falling off of me. I started by trying one size smaller and found I was still drowning. Then it became exciting because I tried 3 sizes smaller and they fit. I was so shocked that I wanted to try on everything I could get my hands on. I am now 6 sizes smaller and can shop in any store. I would be smaller yet but I have lots of loose skin holding me back. I also had to buy a swimsuit for a family vacation to Hawaii. Good luck and have fun with it!

Honestly you are kind of lucky that you get to eat real food. Most liver cleanse diets consist of only liquid Protein and Clear liquids for a couple of weeks. The first days are the toughest but I promise it gets better and yes it is absolutely worth it! For me by day 4 I did not even care anymore. Day 5 I was not even drinking all of the recommended liquids I could have. Hang in there you can do this!

The best in my opinion is Premier Protein ready made shakes. The come in chocolate, strawberry cream and vanilla. You can get them at SAMs and costco a lot cheaper than other places but I have seen them at Walgreens. I found I could not tolerate any of the powders and this was the only kind I could make work for me. They are delicious and have 30grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar in each shake. Chocolate is the best although recently I bought strawberries and cream and they are good as well.

Hi there! Has anyone out there had Anterior cervical spinal fusion after RNY? My spine surgery is scheduled for June 3rd. I have 3 levels that need to be fused as there is damage to the vertebrae, the discs are almost completely gone, I have spinal stenosis which has resulted in a flattening on my spinal cord and I have spondylothesis which means one of my vertebrae has actually slipped out of place and is putting pressure on the nerve. Also I have bone spurs called by arthritis. All of this is putting severe pressure on the nerves and spinal cord causing terrible neck and shoulder pain, headaches and numbness and tingling down my left arm. I have been doing a ton of research on line about this surgery to better understand how to prepare for my recovery. Because they go through the throat and move everything out of the way (this is the safest because of your spinal cord) it can cause a lot of swelling in your throat. This can make swallowing very difficult and can cause some choking. I have read that drinking fluids can be very difficult. In the beginning most people will live on applesauce for a week or two. I am worried about my Protein and Water intake. has anyone had this surgery after weight loss surgery and if so do you have any hints or suggestions for me on ensuring I get my protein in? I know this is going to be so important for healing those fusions. Also if you have found a good forum somewhere that I can plug into? I have yet to find one that is operating currently. Thanks for your help!

Hi PollyWolly! First please take a very deep cleansing breath a number of times. I can actually feel your panic and I cannot imagine what that is like for you right now. If you are truly ready a little relaxation on exercises might help you find your inner peace. Everyone gets nervous before this surgery. It is about to change your life but you are in control! I am certain the prednisone is probably causing some of your hunger issues. I would suggest you have a Water bottle nearby and start sipping on it every time you get that feeling. You will have to do this post RNY anyway and for the most part it takes care of the hunger pangs. I would refrain from going back to your old habits of good binging because that could effect your liver very quickly making it very hard to have a successful bypass. It is important that you follow your doctors orders. If sipping on water don't help, make some good quality homemade chicken broth. The salt and savory is very comforting and Reall slowed down my hunger when I was on a 10 day liquid only preop diet. Don't let the stress of everything going on sabotage you. You can do this, you need to focus on the good habits that you should be going. Go for lots of walks, stick to your high Protein low carb diet and drink tons of fluids. Read a book, take a bath, listen to some beautiful music and daydream what your life will be like as you get healthier! You are almost there!

My top Snacks are: roasted pistachios or nuts in general, full fat cheese, beef jerkey and fat free milk. I know some doctors don't believe in snacking but it helps me stay on tack all day. I have a Protein shake when I get up which gives me a 30gr boost of protein, the I have a yogurt with protein granola. That holds me most of the day until lunch which I then eat at about 1pm or sometimes a little later. I will have a protein rich lunch. Yesterday I had a delicious caprese salad with fresh mozerella. The a couple hours later I had 1/4 cup pistachios. Then I had dinner about 6:30 last night. My meals are typically very small but laden with protein and veggies and sometime fruit,