Djmohr

This is always a topic that gets people riled up. Honestly when I was right out of surgery and losing weight like crazy I had no problem sharing my story with those that were truly interested. In fact I thought I would help others understand that WLS and obesity are not very well understood. As time has gone on I have learned that telling everyone really brings with it nosey people who simply choose to debate whether or not I made a good decision. Or the gossip monger so who are simply waiting to see when I fail and gain it all back. Or the skinny people who have never had to deal with dieting and clearly don't look at obesity as a disease. I am more choosy now about who I share with and this is mostly to not have to deal with the bs that comes along with sharing with the wrong people. People can be cruel and honestly I have in fact been treated poorly by my obese so called friends. You really do find out who your friends really are when you share such personal information. I get riled up when someone says that choosing not to share means you are embarrassed. I am not embarrassed by having WLS at all. This usually comes from people who have yet to experience what it's like to live post weight loss. I have no problem telling people exactly what I think and can deal with whatever comes my way but when people really are not interested in the truth and want to hang on to every crappy story out there about WLS you are not going to change their opinions. They have to be ready to want to change. Lastly I would say to share or not share is 100% a personal choice. It is none of anyone's business what I do with my body. If I choose to tell someone it is just that, my choice. It does NOT mean I am embarrassed by my decision to cure this disease.

Congratulations!

When you say you cannot get them down does that mean you are vomiting them back up? Or do you literally have a blockage? Or are they gagging you so it's more of an aversion? I ask because I had a similar problem and had to switch from powdered shakes to ready made shakes that were milked down using lactaid. My Bariatric team switched me to premier Protein ready made shakes. I would take one 11 oz. shake and thin it out with fairlife milk about 12 oz. then I would get the whole thing down. It gave me the 30grams of protein from the shake plus the milk. I used fair life milk that also had a boost of protein. Once I did this, I was fine. But my issue was not a blockage. I still cannot do the powder protein. I gag. When you say you cannot get them down does that mean you are vomiting them back up? Or do you literally have a blockage? Or are they gagging you so it's more of an aversion? I ask because I had a similar problem and had to switch from powdered shakes to ready made shakes that were milked down using lactaid. My Bariatric team switched me to Premier Protein ready made shakes. I would take one 11 oz. shake and thin it out with fairlife milk about 12 oz. then I would get the whole thing down. It gave me the 30grams of protein from the shake plus the milk. I used fair life milk that also had a boost of protein. Once I did this, I was fine. But my issue was not a blockage. I still cannot do the powder protein. I gag.

Too funny! I did the exact same thing when mine started showing, I was shocked at how big that bump actually is. Are your hip bones or tail bone sticking out yet? That's next!

@@Inner Surfer Girl Congratulations! 150 miles swimming is fantastic. I love to swim but haven't been able to for this last year. I cannot wait until I can but I know I would never come close to 150 miles in one week. Nice work!

There are so many little ones that you don't even think about until you can. - fit in a booth comfortably. (I always ask for a booth now) - Not have to ask for a seat belt extender (every time I fly I smile when the seatbelt fits) - shop in regular stores (there are so many!) - enjoy trying on clothes ( I could seriously do this all day!) - cut up your lane Bryant card because you literally don't fit in anything they sell!) - keep up with your family on vacation - feel confident that you look normal for once! I could go on for hours. I get so excited when someone just had surgery because it's almost like you get a rebirth! Congratulations on your decision to get healthy! You guys are gonna love it!

I had both my gallbladder out several years ago and had RNY after. I cannot compare the two because I had an open gallbladder surgery that required 8 weeks off work to heal. I will say that I am guessing the pain will be similar.bfor me the gas was the most uncomfortable part of bypass surgery. However it should only last a few days to a week. The more you walk, the faster it disappears. Also while laying or sitting use a heating pad. Drink tons of Water to flush your system and use gas x chewables. I personally think once your bowels start working the pain is worse and the gas x will definitely help with that. The best thing you can do to get the gas out is walk walk walk and drink lots of fluids. Hope you feel better soon! It is so worth it! I promise!

@@esskay77 They are doctors that specialize in Bariatric medicine. They do not perform the surgery but follow patients who are obese or were obese. The program at park Nicollet in Minneapolis has Bariatricians, Bariatric nurses, Bariatric nurse practitioners and Bariatric surgeons.

@@ilydc I am so very sorry for your loss. Having lost both my parents at an early age, I understand the anxiety and depression that comes along with grief. Only time will heal and all the good memories will comfort you. Hugs!

I drink tons of room temperature water everyday and I love it. The minute I try to drink cold water my tummy seizes and I feel sick. I had hoped this would change but it has been 19 months and either room temp or warm water like tea. Never cold or icy cold......

@@axlr8n I did not have a lot of shoulder pain following my surgery either. Especially the first 18 hours post because they put a nerve block in that made my whole arm numb. I feel more pain in it now when I move it the wrong way than when I had the surgery. I hope the Vicodin works for you and I am glad to hear everything went well.

@@Martene81 Wow! You look fantastic. I bet people who haven't see you don't even recognize you. Congratulations!

You got those! I would start the exact same way, a pouch test to reset my system followed by strict adherence to the plan. Back to the basics and you will be sucessful! If I can do, so can anyone! It's just about how badly you want it and it sounds like you want it pretty darn bad!

@@Pedro Valle-Inclan I met my surgeon at the consultation after the 6 month supervised diet. The next time I saw him was the day of my surgery and the last time was on morning rounds the day I was discharged. I regularly see the bariatricians, nut and nurse practitioners whi I built a long term relationship with. Honestly I am not even sure my surgeon would remember me because everything went perfect and I had no complications. Incidentally I have had many serious surgeries which begin and end almost exactly this same way. You see the surgeon, make a decision, have surgery and follow up with their practitioners unless there are complications. I have had 6 serious spine surgeries 5 with the same surgeon over the span of 15 years. I have learned it's much easier to get in with is NP to get things going before we meet with the surgeon. It really is the way it works these days especially in larger city areas.

@@rmbaldah I am so very sad to hear that things have gone badly for you. I hope that things will get better in the future. I would be curious to know where you had your bypass procedure. Was it a Bariatric center of excellence? The reason I ask is because I see such a huge difference in pre op education depending on where one goes for help. My insurance company required me to use a Bariatric center of excellence. I had to go to classes, I had to take tests and I had to sign contracts before the surgeon would even see me for a consultation. I had gone completely through the 6 month required diet before I even met a surgeon. During that time I was made aware of every risk that could possibly happen. I was held accountable to execute changes in my life before I would even be considered. If I missed one appointment I was warned if I missed 2 there would be a written warning that if I missed a third I would be dropped from the program. I signed a contract that I would not try alcohol for a year, that I would take all my required Vitamins daily for the rest of my life as indicated by my doctors and most importantly that I would go every 6 months for blood work to verify that all my nutrition is in good standing. I know there are many people on this site that were not educated enough about what to expect and what was required. Some people admittedly don't pay attention others simply didn't get it from their surgeons. I don't understand why every surgeon does not require the strict education that I had. Isn't it worth it? After hearing everything you hear that could go wrong, then you get to decide if the risk is worth it. It just makes sense. I am with you, you must do your homework and understand the risks and also understand what is expected of you. If you don't, you could be making a terrible mistake. Surgery for me was a last resort. I had developed a seriously deadly comorbitity, stage 3 chronic kidney disease. I was told I would soon be looking at dialysis and likely a kidney transplant. I chose the surgery knowing it was a second chance at life for me. I had no complications. Yes I have a bit of lactose intolerance in the beginning but that is now gone. For me, having this surgery was the best thing I ever did for myself but I do understand that others don't always have that same experience. I really wish that were not the case. I hope and pray things get better for you. Clearly you have been through the ringer and did not have all the information you needed or you might have chosen not to have the surgery. Hopefully for most this surgery really is the last hope of losing the weight and not their first attempt.

For those of you having RNY and wondering if you will be able to eat normal foods again, the answer is yes absolutely! I am 19 months post op RNY. My favorite meals consist of good Protein and a salad or veggies. I eat fruit everyday. My hunger came back but it is different, it's more of an empty feeling that can be resolved by having a very small amount of food. A few bites and I am full. I still fight head hunger every single day. They are cravings and I have learned to ask myself questions like am I really truly hungry? If not I simply have some Water. If I am, then I choose a healthy snack. I really wish I had dumping syndrome but so far I don't which means I have to hold myself accountable to not eating sweets. In the beginning I didn't care for anything sweet, now I do like sweets but the less sugary ones. Anything too sweet is just gross. Give me a tiny piece of lightly sweetened cheese cake and I am in heaven. Other sweets like cakes and Cookies....could care less about them. I leverage Protein Bars for that sweet salty fix when I need one. For me, Atkins Peanut Butter pretzel meal bar makes a great meal or half for a snack. It has chocolate, peanut butter and salty pretzels. It is low carb and 16 grams of protein. One of the better choices. I also dry fruit or fruit in general once a day.

These are the fun NSVs! One day at about 6 months post op I noticed I was sitting on the bed with my legs crossed Indian style! I hadn't done that since the birth of my youngest son! He is 34 years old! Last week I had another one! Both hubby and I are morbidly obese. Now I am normal, he is still morbidly obese at 285lbs and 5'10". I used to be heavier than him at 310, same height. Anyway we went out to dinner with my son and granddaughter. They are both normal size. We got a booth, I slid in and told hubby to sit next to me. Normally we sir across from one another. I am so small that he fit in with me and we still had a lot of room! We used to have one kid next to each of us! He was in awe when he saw how much room between me and him and me and the table. He looked at me and said you are so tiny I can hardly believe it! I just looked at him and grinned like a Cheshire Cat. He got the good boy award for the day, making me feel so good!

The other thing I would add is that you don't need to even worry about calories at this stage. Just focus on Water and Protein and take your Vitamins. By 8 weeks I was no more than 1/4 cup of food (think about that measurement as already chewed up food. At the one year mark I really started to focus on calories because your volume will go up and by this stage you are trying different things. I am at the stage where I can eat about a cup of food unless it is a really dense protein and then it is less. Or a salad I might get in 1 1/2 to 2 cups depending on the protein I add. I am 19 months post op and reached goal in March. I am trying to increase calories and it is difficult for me. I currently range between 900 and 1200 per day. 70 grams protein, less than 100 grams carbs.

@@swizzle Congratulations on a terrific start! I had a very long discussion with my nut about premier Protein shakes mostly because someone else brought up the same issue you mentioned. My nut recommended Premier Protein for me. When I told her that I was told we could not absorb all of the protein in one shake she actually pulled out a diagram that showed exactly where different nutritional elements are absorbed. While it is true that Calcium is malabsorbed, it is not true about protein. Calcium as well as other Vitamins are absorbed in a different part of the digestive system. A 30gram Protein Shake will have no problem. That has been validated with all of my post op labs completed in the last 19 months. I am at goal and premier protein is the only shake I drink once per day. I get the rest from food. I also had this conversation with my surgeon because I was worried and wanted a second opinion. I wish I would have taj Ken a copy of that document but it was the only one she had and it had personal notes written all over it.

Honestly the best thing you can do is stick to the plan. I have had many many stalls over the last 19 months. In the beginning I tried all kinds of things to break the stall. The reality is, your body needs that time to adjust itself. I personally would not try eating carbs for a day because once you start eating them your body craves them. Just stick to the plan. I also have been on heavy narcotics since June and the combination of the narcotics and a high Protein diet cause me to have issues with constipation. I started taking a stool softener with laxative (stool softener plus) twice daily and now I go pretty regular. At least every other day and sometimes every day. It is normal to feel frustrated but don't let it get the best of you. Also you really really have to focus on getting at least 48 oz. o Water in your system, it will help with weight loss and constipation. Obviously getting your protein in helps with weight loss and healing. Hang in there!

Prior to surgery I never noticed how much food porn there is on tv. It is absolutely ridiculous. I record everything and buzz right on by. You go ahead and rant all you want! You deserve it.

@@LizBeth82 I am so sorry to hear you are having problems with your back. I have been through hell with mine and am still going through it. In June I had to have a 3 level cervical fusion. When I found out I was terrified that I would screw up my goals. I knew what to expect from a recovery standpoint. Back problems are long and honestly never go away once you have them. I have had a total of 6 back surgeries, 2 since June. In June I was at 210lbs with a goal of 165. I knew I would have to rely 100% on my diet if I wanted to hit my goals because exercise was very limited. I can walk but very short walks and I can do small basic exercises for my arms and legs. Some days I cannot do anything. For me, I have to focus on a diet that delivers 70 grams of Protein, under 90 grams of carbs and less than 1200 calories if I want to continue to lose. I have done it with diet. I am currently at 163lbs. I am not sure where you are at with diet but that is what you likely need to change up. I would be happy to help if you want to pm me?

@@CowgirlJane, @@proudgrammy It has been hanging up a lot lately. Sometimes I catch a double or triple post and edit sometimes I don't. Oh well.

I know exactly how you feel. It happened to me within the first 75lb loss. Then you try to educate them and finally you just say something like: I am working closely with my physician and a nutritionist, you are just not used to seeing me at a lower weight. My body will decide when I have lost what I need to but rest assured I meet regularly with the experts. Now that I am at a ideal BMI for my height and age I am still losing very slowly but people that haven't seen me are really truly shocked. Many do not recognize me at all until either they see my husband or I tell them it's me. Then of course come all the questions and people literally staring at your face trying to see the old me. You just have to keep in mind they have no concept of the thinner you and depending on how much you have to lose, it can be very shocking. People that I have just met in the last year (we moved states last spring), they have no idea I was ever 310lbs. Last week I shared a fat picture with my current physical therapist and I swear her jaw literally hit the floor. She said you don't even look the same! Your facial features have changed so much!