Djmohr

I totally agree with you! I have had several instances where I have had to fast for a couple of days and my full restriction comes right back. I hope that works for ever! I do not believe that the RNY pouch ever stretches, I believe we sort of create our ability to eat more than necessary.

My diet consisted of up to 5 Protein shakes and all the Clear liquids I wanted. I could only drink 3 shakes per day because they were so sweet tasting. I also drank a lot of homemade chicken broth which was very satisfying. I lost 13lbs in 2 weeks prior to surgery. Of course I gained that and then some from all the fluids and swelling post op but it came back off very fast.

You look fantastic! Congratulations!

I had the exact same experience. After talking with my Bariatric nurse she suggested I begin with a warm cup of Water in the am when our tummies are simply waking up. Then throughout the day work with room temp water. For me, I did that for the first month and before you knew it I was able to drink water like crazy again. It is the only thing I drink but I still prefer it room temperature. For some reason my tummy does not like ice cold water at all. It almost seizes up. (Best way to describe it)

Congratulations to you both! Being a little nervous is natural before major surgery. Just know that it will be over before you know it and you will be well on your way to getting healthier. Be good to yourself today. Take a nice hot bath, listen to music, read a book, give yourself a pedicure....put some lavender essential oil on. It is super calming and will help you relax and hopefully sleep tonight. Best of luck for a safe surgery and speedy recovery.

@@Melanie89 Yes, take one hour, one day at a time. Don't think about how many more days you have until it ends. Keep your reason for having your surgery front and center - keep your eye on the prize. Make sure you have quality chicken broth on hand. Making your own is the best if you can. The canned stuff literally tastes like dishwater. It's important because you get so sick of the sweet cloying taste of the Protein shakes and other sweet liquids that you just want something salty and savory. Sipping on a nice salty broth will do the trick. I suggest making your own...... Or my Bariatric nurse told me to buy Mrs. Grass chicken noodle Soup, throw away the noodles and just make the broth using the seasoning packet and golden egg. I found that was a little too salty for me so I added 1 to 2 extra cups of Water to it. In the end I made my own chicken broth. I found that after the 3rd day, it really didn't bother me any longer. The first 2 days are the hardest. It will be over before you know it and it will be worth it.

Drinking barium is one of the worst tests ever......not as bad as having it put in the other end though! LOL.......' You are almost there! Hang in there.

I made the most delicious pot roast in my instant pot last night. I made it for my family knowing we would want left overs. Here is what I did: 3lb chuck roast Olive Oil Kosher salt Cracked black pepper Garlic salt 1 large onion - chopped into chunks 3 stalks of celery - chopped into large pieces 8 large white mushrooms chopped in half 2 cloves garlic smashed 4 red potatoes - I peeled them because I hate the skin 5 carrots - peeled and cut into chunks 1 T. Tomato paste 1 T. Worscheshire sauce 1T. Soy Sauce 2 Cups beef stock 1/2 C red wine 2 small bay leaves I stared my pot on sauté and let it get HOT. I liberally salted, peppered and garlic salted my roast and rubbed it in. Once pot was hot, I seared it until it formed a crust on both sides of roast. I removed the roast, added about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Then I added the onion, celery and mushrooms to the pot and sautéed them for a few seconds. I added the red wine to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Then I added the tomatoe paste and stirred everything. I still had some yum yum stuck to the bottom of the pot so I added the soy sauce and worstecheshire sauce and continue to work the bottom of the pot until all the yummy brown bits came up. Then I added the beef stock, bay leave. I placed the trivet rack in and placed the beef roast on top. Closed the lid, moved the vent to sealing, manually set the pot at 80 minutes and let her rip. When the pot signaled done I did a quick release. Once the pot opened I added the potatoes and carrots, a sprinkle of salt and pepper. I reset the pot for 10 minutes and let her rip again. Once the pot chimed that it was done, I instant released it again. My roast was falling apart deliciousness and the carrots and potatoes were to die for. Absolutely delicious. Now you could pull all that stuff out, use and immersion blender and thicken the jus into a delicious gravy but I chose to just spoon it over the meat. It seriously did not need a gravy. YUMMO......guess what's for lunch today? Yep, leftover pot roast!

@@lthester0209 What is your Fluid intake at this point? Many times it is dehydration that causes the nausea, dizziness, headaches and weakness. It is a vicious circle because when you are all of those things you certainly don't feel like drinking anything. The reality is if you sip sip sip constantly, it will actually help with the nausea. It takes a lot of liquid before you are no longer dehydrated and you have to keep up with it. It will get easier everyday once you get the hang of it. Could this be the cause of your nausea?

@@dream2btrue What diet does your surgeon have you following at this point? Usually clear liquids helps with the heaviness in your new tummy this early out.

Have you been cleared for oatmeal? Just checking, but for some oatmeal can be rough early on. They usually recommend cream of wheat.

It is likely the nerves growing back together from where they cut through your tissues.

The temperature of what you are drinking could cause this too. Try room temp water if you can and see if it makes a difference.

LOL. You have had quite the day. You are safe I think!

@M Ashley Welcome and congratulations for taking steps to live a healthier life. It is so worth it! I never thought i would be able to lose my weight and keep it off. Every step of the way I learned more about myself and what I could do if I set my mind to it. I believe if I could do it, anyone can! I have been at or below goal since March 2016. It took 18 months to get there and I recently had my first plastic surgery on my arms. I went from 310lbs to 158. I am loving life!

@@Pink Ninja Which surgery did you have? Having had bypass, I found the cause of this to be gulping as opposed to sipping. Even if you don't think you are doing it you could be. This is why they initially keep you from drinking through straws until you know the difference and it feels different. If I get a burp stuck, it ruins my mean because it causes a severe pain in my chest. It doesn't happen often but for me it is when I eat too fast which sometimes happens.

Congratulations! It only around the corner now. Welcome to the losers bench.

I have to say, I love your rant! I have often wondered WTH the problem is for me. I could totally understand when I was 310lbs and maybe my veins were buried deep but I am thin now and my veins actually pop out at you. For my bypass surgery, I was stuck 8 times before they finally gave up and got the anesthesiologist to do it. For my cervical fusion 9 months later and 100lbs lighter, they stuck me 6 times before getting help and even talked about doing it in the or. ???really? Now, with those surgeries I was certainly dehydrated and apparently my veins roll which makes it harder. In the fall I had to have an adrenal test completed where they dose you with some crap and then take your blood every 30 minutes and we found out the hard way it's a stick each time. We found that out because they stupidly used the IV site to draw my blood. Laying flat on my back for 2 hours and I had to completely redo the test another day. So they got one of those fancy vein finding tools down there and used that. Since that time I have had 3 surgeries and many blood draws. WTH, how can getting my vein be that hard? I had Brachioplasty 3 weeks ago and you guessed it, missed the first time, went to the 2nd arm but could only get a tiny needle in, so I woke up with a rather large IV in my foot. Am I really this big of a pain in the arse when getting blood work or IV or what gives. Oh and anytime they decide to use lidocaine first, it's definately a no go, my veins just shrivel away. I am good about making it clear that I have problem veins so they start out by getting the vein whisperer but it never works out that way, someone always has to try 1,2,3,4 times before they give up. I really don't care about the sticks, I am used to it. It makes me feel bad when they struggle, so my goal in telling them is that it is expected and it never lets me down. You should have seen the phlebotomist that did my last round of labs for Bariatric testing 2 months ago. She had her 13 vials and had to read directions for each test because they never do these tests. She only blew through the vein once so it was a two stick day. LOL. Maybe someone can help me understand why I am a problem and how to help these guys. In 9 weeks I am having my next plastics and I am guessing I will be right back with more bruises. I still have two big bruised on both forearms from the IVs 3 weeks ago. The one on my foot cleared up right away as did all the lipo bruising but the IV bruises, still there. HUH?

So, that is a great question and can come with a lot of debate. I started hunting for a surgeon in December and even had a consultation appointment. Within 2 days of making that appointment I got word that my left shoulder was going to require surgery. I had bone on bone arthritis and my rotator cuff was messed up so I cancelled that consultation. Now, I am glad I did, I would have waited until after I hit goal to have plastics of any kind but with the arms they are more lenient. I hit goal in March of this year and had been maintaining within 2 to 3 lbs either way. So I started my process in June of looking for a board certified plastic surgeon. I made appointments with 3 different options and they were all ok but then one day I was on real self and found Dr. Maida Parkins. She had a ton of positive feedback and I like what people said about her. So through real self, I requested a consultation. She was the only one of the 4 that offered a free consultation if you mentioned real self so I thought why not. I wasn't looking for a deal but each consultation runs about $100. They were able to get me in for a consultation on July 11th which was faster than the other 3 either and after speaking with her assistant I was already sold. I just liked how they talked. Very real and up front and to me that is important. I saw her on July 11th where she examined everything I wanted to have done and I made it clear the 1st thing needed to be my arms because they bothered me the most. Also I was about 5 months into maintenance and before I did my tummy or breasts I wanted more time under my "maintenance belt". She agreed that was the appropriate action and that given where I have been even if a lost a few or gained a few it would not impact my arms. So they set me up for the end of July and on my way home from my appointment, they called and said they had an opening on the 14th (3days later!) I jumped at it knowing how bad I wanted my arms done and I am so glad I did. So the short answer is, most want 6 months unless it is your arms and then I even had another plastic surgeon willing to do them if I was within a few lbs of my goal. I am thrilled with the outcome and it is worth every bit of pain, burning, itching and spasming.....LOL. It will leave you sore for a while though.

@@hipster76 It depends on the procedure they use. My PS used a laser lipo before removing the skin. It took a lot longer in surgery (nearly 6 hours) and I have a lot more pain that most because of it. The benefit is that my arms are extremely well contoured, the skin is tight and looks 20 years younger. My pain was the worst on night 2, I swear I thought my arms were going to combust they were burning so bad. They got a little better every day but even today 3.5 weeks post op I have burning, itching and swelling going on so I have to keep my arms above my heart, use ice, taking Benadryl. I have been off pain meds for over a week. The more I use them, the more itching, burning and swelling goes on but it does get better every day. The big thing for arm lift recovery is not raising your arms too high or you can widen the scars so depending on what you do for a living you might need some time off. For example even now we have my shoulder pt on hold so I don't create a bigger scar. I have nice tight straight incisions and I really want to keep them that way.

I think quite a few have done that.

Have not tolerated sf Jello especially if they are the prepackaged ones you can buy in the grocery store, for some reason those turn out sweeter. It is better if you make it from the box.

@@joanne1122 It is short for Roux en Y gastric bypass. In a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass , only a small part of the stomach is used to create a new stomach pouch, roughly the size of an egg. The smaller stomach is connected directly to the middle portion of the small intestine (jejunum), bypassing the rest of the stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine (duodenum). It is designed so that you both have a smaller pouch for portion control but what you do eat is intentially malabsorbed. Initially I was afraid of the malabsorption factor but after speaking with my gastroenterologist, Bariatric surgeon and countless RNY patients I became very comfortable. The most critical thing for all Bariatric patients is that they get their Protein, take their Vitamins and drink their fluids. The second most critical thing is that you have your labs drawn to see if you are malabsorbing any critical nutritional elements. You have them drawn at 3,6,12 and 18 months post op and then every year after. So far I have only had one abnormality, my thiamin levels were low so they but me on B1 and now everything is good. By the way, every Bariatric surgery is required to take vitamins for life and have their blood work done consistently. It is important to keep you on track.

Yay! You are about to experience life in a whole new way! Which surgery are you having done?

There is no way I would put on a girdle that fast but that is me. I would call my surgeon. Is there a reason you want to do that?