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I am at goal and currently wear a size 8 jeans for the first time in my life. If it were not for my belly which still holds some residual fat and a lot of loosed skin, I would likely be in a size 4 or 6 pants. Before my Brachioplasty 3 weeks ago, the only thing I saw when I looked in the mirror was my huge arms. Now all I can see is that double giant roll that I hide. Most people never even knew I had all this loose skin because apparently I hid it well, but I know and I know where to look. I never thought it would bother me but it does. Bring on the Abdominalplasty and breast lift! - I have to wait at least 9 weeks to move forward with those. Before:

@@PRINCESS2218 Can you give us more information? I have yet to see Bariatric surgery fail if one does what they are supposed to. We would like to help you work through it but without more data that is hard to do. What was your starting weight? Where are you now? What does your daily Protein, Water and Vitamin intake look like? Are you walking or exercising? Are you open to helping yourself work through this? You have a great group of people here that have been through nearly every scenario. What were your original expectations? Some people believe they will go have the operation and then they are at goal. WLS is definately not an instant gratification surgery but, if you do your part it will work. We would love to help you but you have to open your mind and provide some info. Best of luck to you.

@@Lexigurl82 You are beautiful both inside and out. You deserve to be with a man who will treat you as a partner not control you. Those people are out there, I promise! Having come from an abusive controlling first marriage, I found my 2nd husband when I wasn't even trying and honestly wasn't even interested. That is usually the way it goes. Focus on yourself and the rest will happen. It is time for you to be selfish to you and your daughter. When the time comes, your man will show up. Mostly because you will have your confidence back and it will show whether you realize it or not. When I packed my stuff for me and my two kids into laundry baskets and actually went into hiding, I was so twisted up inside I did not know if I was ever going to come out of it. I did, and it did not take long once I realized that I was in charge of how I felt and lived and did not need someone to make me feel small and unimportant. I met my 2nd husband about a year after I left which at the time felt way too fast. We fell in love very quickly and I can even remember crying because it is not something I wanted yet. But it happened. This man loves my children they were 3 and 6 at the time. They are now grown and each have 12 year old daughter. My husband and I have been happily married now for nearly 29 years. He is my best friend and we do pretty much everything together. I am thankful every day for my family and I am also thankful that I cut all those other people out of my life. You will heel, give yourself time an focus on you and your daughter for now. When you are ready, it will show in your confidence and self esteem and that in itself will attach the right guy for you. Best wishes and I hope you feel better soon.

@@OKCPirate Great article! It is frustrating because you really don't know what's right anymore. Thankfully most of us are learning what works for us and I have never felt more educated on nutrition than I do right now. That being said, I am always looking to learn more.

Yes, I too would question that calorie count. Honestly most Bariatric teams don't even allow you to focus on calories until you are closer to a year out. To your point, I don't even know how you eat 1500 calories at your stage. I am nearly out 2 years RNY and my maintenance goal is 1300. If I go above that I gain weight. The focus should be on Protein, Water and Vitamins. Making sure you get at least 64 oz. of water and 1gram of protein for every inch you are tall. Keep your carbs to veggies and limited whole fruits. Stay away from Pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and sweets. If you follow that, you will start to lose weight. Now, that being said there are times when we will all stall and a stall means you have not lost anything for several weeks (not days). If a stall goes on for more than a few weeks you might have to increase your daily food intake to tell your body you are not starving it. Usually it 100 protein and cood carbs like veggies. It helps the body see that you are changing things up and usually will start things moving again. I had to do that every couple of months during weight loss. For me to lose I can eat no more than 1000 calories, I have to be under 90 grams of carbs and 70 grams of protein. If I go up in intake to 1200 - 1300 I maintain, anything over that I gain. I learned this by tracking everything in my fitness pal which shows me my weight loss history along with my intake.

@@shelbys mom This is one of the reasons I had RNY instead of sleeve which I originally intended to. Having both stage 3 CKD and severe reflux, RNY is the better option. It cures the reflux thereby resolving the issue of taking any medications for it. They had me continue Nexium for the first 30 days post op and then stopped it completely. I no longer have reflux or even basic heartburn.

@@joanne1122 Hi. I had stage 3 chronic kidney disease and it was in fact the catalyst for why I had RNY nearly 2 years ago. My nephrologist was the one who suggested I consider WLS. I was 51 years old and I was told I was soon headed for dialysis and transplant the way things were going. Because this is a serious disease, the benefit far outweighed the risk for me. I had no problems with the surgery itself and within 3 months my kidney function improved or as my doc said went into remission. At the one year mark I was told by my nephrologist that I no longer needed a nephrologist and could have my PCP monitor my kidney function. I am very careful not to exceed my Protein goals because your kidneys have to work harder. I have been given a protein goal of 1 gram for every inch I am tall. 70grams of protein in my daily diet. If I go over that consistently you can actually see my BUN levels are impacted. So, I now stay right between 60 to 70 grams of protein per day. I also no longer have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe gerd, sleep apnea or anemia. I am no longer a malnourished morbidly obese person. I weigh 158lbs and lost 152lbs so nearly half my original size. I feel great! I also have learned through this process how critically important Water is to my diet. I drink 64oz minimum of water per day. I was actually feeling my stage 3 kidney disease. I was sick, bloated, retaining fluids everywhere. I truly believe that RNY literally saved my life and that was why I moved forward. I knew not doing anything could cause me to die from kidney disease. I would be happy to help answer any further questions if you want to personal message me. Best of luck to you!

@@gowalking nailed it! Losing the weight and getting healthy is all about getting engaged in life again. Congratulations!!!! What a fun NSV

@@Auntie74 Congratulations! Glad to hear you are doing well. The gas they use is what is likely causing those cramps. As you know, walking, sipping, and heat packs. They must have brought me 100 of them over two nights and three days in the hospital. Once I got home I used a heating pad but while you are resting it really does help. I also found getting out of bed even if it was sitting in the recliner in my hospital room really really helped me get rid of that gas faster. Also once your bowels start producing gas that pain can get worse so ask for gas X strips or tablets. It will help with that gas pain. I wish you a safe and speedy recovery!

This is an excellent article. I happen to be a person who moved states following bariartric surgery and because I am post op, my new PCP handles everything. She is great and I really like her for general things but I feel like I am teaching her. I come prepared with the list of labs they did at my one year post op in Minnesota and tell her exactly what needs to be pulled. The scary part is, most PCPs simply are not trained on what to look for and as a patient I don't know what I don't know. I happen to be one of those people who does a ton of reasearch and I pay close attention to my body mostly because I have always had a lot of medical issues. I wish general physicians were better trained if they have a post Bariatric patient. I am constantly teaching or questioning other non Bariatric specialists as well. I for one, would love that link.

Ohhhhh, Kids say the darnedest things! As for the jeans, WTG!

@@chycky You should not worry about 80 grams being too much unless you have kidney disease and even then, 80 is not bad. I do have kidney disease and usually land between 65 and 85grams per day. Most of the time closer to 65.

You really should not be feeling actual hunger for quite some time. Dehydration can give you symptoms that feel like hunger. Where are you at with fluids? Or, you are battling head hunger which feels a lot like real hunger. It can be difficult to deal with head hunger but a necessary part of life after WLS. Learning tricks like distracting yourself and drinking lots of Water in between meals. One way to know if it is real hunger is if you are actually craving something specific, in other words if you go and eat something other than what you are craving would it take care of the problem? For example, I was craving chocolate. I knew it was my head and not my stomach. I tried drinking water, reading a book, taking a shower and yet still I wanted something chocolate. So, I finally decided to give in but instead of eating chocolate I grabbed a piece of string cheese. Now, I was full and still craving chocolate. That is definately head hunger and you have to learn ways to deal with it. I tend to drink a little fat free milk when that happens. It usually does the trick and gives you good Protein. Also milk turns to a solid when it hits your stomach and provides much needed Calcium. My nut had me drinking milk in between meals in the beginning, now I hardly ever drink it.

German chocolate is hubby so favorite. I had a small piece a couple weeks ago. Now if you are talking cheesecake, that is a whole other story! I love cheesecake and it needs to remain out of my house. I will share a piece with someone but don't trust myself. I guess the good news is there is Protein cheesecake. LOL

Congratulations! I hope you hear something very soon and you can be on your way to the losers bench!

@@AMS3188 Wishing you a safe surgery and speedy recovery! P.s. It is likely you won't want anything even a Protein shake. LOL. But ice chips! Oh yeah, especially right when you wake up. Good luck today!

It may be too soon believe it or not. Sometimes your tummy just needs a little extra time to heal. I had to go back to liquids for a couple of weeks and after that things got better. Also, don't give up on any foods that are a problem today because a month or two or six down the road that food may work for you. I have only had one food (eggs) that make me sick.

I was taking 1000 mg Metformin 3 times per day. They had me stop it the day of surgery and I have not had it since. I was worried about things changing after I began to eat again but it has not happened. My A1C is at 4.8!

I definately have this issue although it has improved. It stems from letting too many carbs into your diet. I like cream of wheat Cereal in the am and if I don't follow that after about an hour with some type of Protein like cheese, Protein Bar or even lunch meat, I will get an episode that simply keeps on going throughout the day. I have found them to be pretty dangerous because they come on very fast and I have found myself confused and feeling like crap fast. I get the shakes so bad that i sometimes cannot even stick myself to get a glucose reading. My sugar got so low a couple of weeks ago that it read 32. That was a nasty episode and I had glucose tablets but could not find them. Since that horrible incident, I try to really limit my sugar intake and I am much more careful now but I will always have glucose tablets at hand just in case. It works the fastest for me when it happens but I want to avoid it happening.

You definately need to plan ahead but it is doable. I personally use premier Protein ready made shakes. They have 30 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar and are 160 calories. They will fit nicely into a lunch box and are a great source of protein when you are starting out. For me, I lived on Greek yogurt, 1% cottage cheese and Protein Shakes for nearly the first 4 weeks. I still eat those items daily for Breakfast and lunch. They are great protein and fill you up. I also added fresh fruit to this line up at 4 weeks. Strawberries and watermelon, apples....you name it. Also I leveraged Protein Bars, 1 oz portions of cheeses and 1 oz. portions of nuts.

For me a heating pad really helped me instead of ice. And of course......walking and lots of Water to flush everything out of your system. I hope things get better soon.

I took it for migraine prevention before RNY but was told it would help suppress my appetite too. It never did anything for me including help the migraines. I took it for about 60 days post op and then we decided to get me off of it because my migraines improved and I no longer needed any type of appetite suppressant. I am not sure that drug ever did a single thing for me. I have chronic pain due to osteoarthritis of the spine. I have had 6 back surgeries in the last 14 years, Toprimate medication never touched my pain then again, neither does narcotic pain medicine of any kind. I am learning to live with it by using meditation, bio feedback, warm Water pool therapy and physical therapy. I have been in PT since December. Pain meds of any kind were only good for making me feel weak, tired and withdrawn and they had me on them all with fentanyl being the last one. They work great for acute surgical pain and that is about it. It took me about 4 months to completely wean off all that junk. I have come to learn that the medicines that God created for us in our plants are the ones that do the best job. I recently started using therapeutic grade essential oils for appetite, pain, overall energy as well as a host of other things they are good for. With the exception of my synthroid which is a hormone, I am trying to limit what medications I take. I do have one drug that has helped me with migraine called Dihydroergotomine. It is a rescue injection that takes away my migraine completely within 30 minutes so I can continue on with my day. I am experimenting with oils for that too. This week I got a severe migraine and decided to use a combo of peppermint and lavender oils both in my new diffuser and on my neck, temples and forearms. It took a little longer but my migraine went away. Also I found an oil for these god awful hot flashes that I swear I got at least 50 times a day. Now I put some of that on and if I get 2 mild ones a day, it is surprising. I just figure why take medicines that don't really help me anyway. Try the oils and see what happens. So far it is working for me.

I just want to say that I hope things turn around for you and you get well soon.

I am so sorry you are not feeling well. I hope that they can figure out what is going on and correct it for you. Please keep us posted. Hugs!

It clearly takes a long time for your head to get straight with the weight loss. I am now nearly 2 years post op and down 152lbs. I weigh 158lbs and I am 5'10". I went from a size 26 on top, 24 on the bottom to a size 8 on the bottom and a size 10 on top. When I look in the mirror on purpose, I still see a very fat me. When I catch a glance of myself in a mirror walking by, I sometimes don't recognize myself. For me, pictures are the really telling story as is trying on clothing both my big clothes and new clothes. I have noticed that I take my picture more just so I can look at it and compare. There is some part of me that still cannot believe that this is real and that I lost nearly half of me. This week I finally broke down and bought a fall jacket for myself. I used to buy a 26 coat and many times would have to have the arms altered because I carried a large amount of weight in my arms. I bought a size large north face jacket on line. It came in the mail and I put it on and it fit perfectly. I just had Brachioplasty so my arms now fit in EVERYTHING! Woo Hoo! After I tried on that jacket, I went to the closet and grabbed my old fall jacket and put it on. I kid you not, I was literally drowning in it. It used to be very tight on me in the stomach and arms but I refused to go up another size back then. I walked out and showed my husband and he was shocked as was I. It is the clothes, pictures and time that is helping me see the new thin healthy me. I am so happy I did this! I am going out with friends tonight for dinner. It is the first time anyone will see me with my new arms! I am so excited to go but I still have not decided what I want to wear. I am still in compression garments so it will have to be something long sleeved but instead of them being pulled tight, I now have room! WLS not only brought me my health but it helped me to see the small person under all that fat and now loose skin. I am so thankful every day for the doctors and nurses that make this happen for us!