Djmohr

It is normal that you would be feeling weak and tired at this point. Early on there is a lot of swelling and that makes it difficult to get everything that you need to down. I think I was about 8 weeks post op before I was able to get the full Protein and fluids down and that took great focus. It is difficult to do that when you are also focused on work. You might set a timer to go off every 5 minutes so you are sipping constantly. Keep working at it and do the best you can but don't forget you won't feel better until you are fully hydrated and are able to get enough protein. The minimum requirement for protein should be 1 gram for every inch you are tall.

Congratulations!

@@Sophie74656 I am so sorry you are going through this. The way you describe your chest tightening, stomach turning and on the verge of tears is definately anxiety. I know exactly what that feels like and you do not want it to get out of control. A few years ago I went to a therapist because all of my friends and myself kept getting laid off from work. I had a high paying job and was the bread winner in my family. Had a huge house and property with a huge house payment to go with it. I have exceptional credit and was literally in a panic about my job and my friends. I had never had anxiety or depression but this was doing a huge number on me. I went and saw a therapist who then sent me to occupational therapy. Let me tell you, this helped me so much. I learned how to meditate and control those feelings of anxiety. Deep breathing and getting yourself healthy is seriously very important. If you can, I would suggest seeing a physiologist that can help you work through this. Things may work out with your husband but in the end a therapist can help you become much more focused on you. Honestly the panic that you are feeling is not healthy and that could in itself cause hubby to not get the space he needs which might push him further away. You first need to work on you. I am glad you are going to your parents for a few days. The space may be good for both of you. I am sending hugs and prayers your way.

I just had this happen but not for WLS. I had back surgery on November 16th. I have severe arthritis and two severe tears in my rotator cuff of my left shoulder at the same time. My ortho surgeon wanted to wait 12 weeks to give me time to heal. I have my shoulder repair happening on February. 12th. My shoulder situation bummed me out because I was all set to have brachioplasty and will be putting that on hold for a while now. I had hoped to get it done in the winter so I could go sleeveless this summer but I am sick of having surgery. This will be my 3rd in less than 12 months. I had cervical spinal fusion on June 3rd as well. Ugh!

@@jane13 I posted pics weeks ago. You can see them on my profile. They aren't the best but the difference is significant. I will have hubby take more with my new jeans!

@@2goldengirl I have to say I was dancing a lot but mostly in shock. The clerk that works there was so sweet and when she found out I had lost 140lbs, she was excited for me. She was on the heavy side herself and had mentioned that she has been yo yo dieting.

@@jessicasantana28 Hi there and welcome! Congratulations on making your decision to get healthy! I had RNY 16 months ago. I had many comorbitities, many very serious. I am down 140lbs to a normal BMI. I was 310lbs when I started, 303 on surgery day. I am now 170 and 5lbs away from my ideal weight. I am beginning the maintenance phase of my journey knowing I have a lot of loose skin. I am guessing at least 15lbs of it. All of my comorbitities are in remission. My only regret is waiting too long to make this decision. I love how I look and how I feel. I wish you the very best!

The exact same thing happened to me. I was all set to move forward with the sleeve and after meeting with a surgeon and my gastroenterologist it was very clear that bypass was going to be the better survey given my severe Gerd. I was terrified of the malabsorption issue mostly because I did not understand it. I spoke with 3 different doctors about malabsorption concerns. I learned that I did not need to worry about it as long as I take the Vitamin supplements required of me and that I get my macronutrients checked regularly. This way if I have a deficiency it can be dealt with at that time. Malabsorption actually plays a key role and I am so thankful I went with it. My Gerd has completely resolved since the very day of surgery along with a whole host of other comorbitities. Don't be afraid, just educate yourself and follow your surgeons instructions. Good luck to you!

I am only 16 months post op and have my "body drain" done every six months right now. Because I have had what will now be 3 surgeries post bypass I have some in between blood work done. I also had my A1C checked in November and it was 4.8 which is great! I had it checked Friday for my pre op physical (having shoulder surgery on 12th) and my A1C is still excellent but now at 5.2. That is very strange to me because my eating habits are the same. I had her check my B12 because they had me stop taking it for 6 months and that is now in the normal range. I am certain in April they will have me start taking it again. I know this blood work is key to staying healthy the rest of our lives. I cannot imagine being one of those people that simply stop follow up after bypass. Scary....

On the topic of shaving in general, this is a great big non scale victory for me! Since losing all my weight it is a pleasure to shave my legs! If I wanted to shave my lady bits, I could do that too, just some loose skin in the way but I can see it! See, look what you all can look forward to! I can even shave my legs standing in the shower! Who knew life could be so good! Funny topic though and love all you guys!

@@esskay77 I use it for a meal. Breakfast.

I had a similar experience and it turned out that I became lactose intolerant. My surgical team suggested I try premier Protein ready made shakes. Initially they had me use have the shake and the other half fat free lactaid milk. I found these to work great for me and by week 8 I was able to drink the whole 11 oz. Shake by itself. These shakes have a whopping 30 grams of protein, 160 calories and 1 gram of sugar. Once I reached the purée and soft food changes I only had to drink 1 shake per day. Even now at 16 months post op I drink one everyday. They taste great, especially chocolate. There is no fuss with blenders or shakers because they are ready made. There is no discussing protein grit. If I were you, I would try different types until you find one that works for you. Honestly protein choices is a personal choice but very very necessary to heal and stay healthy. Good luck!

@@cheyenne6483 I had my surgery 16 months ago. I am down 140lbs and am entering the maintenance phase. I am now a normal BMI of 24.5 I have had no complications and hope that trend continues. I did this to get healthy. I have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe Gerd, anemia, sleep apnea and stage 3 kidney disease. All are in remission. I do have severe osteo arthritis of the spine and psoriatic arthritis which are both worse at the moment but I am working through it.

This is a great NSV! Congratulations!

I have been eating out in restaurants since the soft food stage. I have 1 rule, no fast food in my diet. I steer clear completely. I do go to places like panera, noodles and company - I would consider these fast food but they have excellent options for me. Soup and healthy salads with Protein. Buff bowls from noodles and company are fantastic. Other restaurants I will start by looking at the appetizers or small plates. If that won't work then I will find a protein with a side of vegetables. Tonight on my way to Minnesota, I opted for a small plate of grilled walleye and sautéed zucchini. I did however eat a couple of my hubbys fried cheese curds. Oh my was that a treat! They have great protein but the fat content was pretty high.

For me it is about keeping track. Using a tool like myfitnesspal truly keeps me accountable. Snacks and meals add up and the reality is if you really don't track it it's hard for me to really know where I am at. It also allows me to make better choices. So if I want that small piece of cheesecake, I then have to make sure the rest of my day is right on track. I also use ready made shakes and Protein bars when I need my protein and don't have access.

Small meals and Snacks definately add up. Especially if they are empty calories. Have you tried going back to the basics? If it were me, I would start with the 5 day pouch test which basically puts you on the liquid diet as if you had surgery yesterday. Then I would focus on: Making sure you are getting your Protein - 1 gram for every inch you are tall Get your Water - 48 to 64 oz. every day Take your Vitamins and get your macronutrients checked via your doc Follow the rules - no drinking 30 min before and 30 min after I would literally start over. Oh and don't forget to track your food and excercise. That is absolutely key when you are struggling.

I would just like to say congratulations! Losing 11 lbs in 3 weeks is actually excellent. You have to remember that this is not a race and the reality is you want it to come off slower. It's easier on your body and skin. 6 months down the road you will wish you could lose 11lbs in 3 weeks. The reality is after those first 2 to 3 months it does slow down. If you lose 5 to 10lbs per month that is great. And there will be stalls along the way. Stick to the plan and you will continue to do fantastic. I promise!

I haven't but am certainly worried about that. Do you know the cause? I have been very careful not to take NSAIDs because I know they can be the culprit. I miss them as I have severe arthritis. I would be interested to know what causes them and what they do about it. Sorry to hear this is happening to you.

This is an interesting post. I am one of those people who constantly scolds myself for doing so much damage to my joints and spine. Now I do know that while the weight certainly did not help my joints I do have auto immune illness called psoriatic arthritis which attacks your joints and your skin. No amount of weight loss helps that disease. In addition I have severe osteo arthritis of the spine. I had really hoped that my losing the weight would improve my spine. For me that is not the case. My spine is worse that ever. Both my neurosurgeon and my orthopedic spine surgeon both told me that they see a lot of weight loss patients who hope for improvement. The reality is a lot of that fat provides more structure and once it's gone, your back gets worse. I will say that both my knees and my ankle joints have improved tremendously. I just need to remember that some of this was unavoidable because of the disease. My Mom died at 66 from complications of Rhematoid Arthritis. My goal when I chose to have this surgery was to be around a lot longer for my children, grandchildren and husband. My Mom passed in 2005 and I am still heartbroken. I swore I would never do that to my family. So here I am strong as hell, down 140lbs and moving forward!

My Bariatric team had me get a bone density scan as a baseline and intends to repeat periodically to watch for bone complications.

Hopefully your hormones are just out of whack making you feel this way. You have lost a significant amount of weight already so I would guess that getting healthy really is important to you. Having all of this junk around does make it much harder and there are times when we all slip but it should be the exception and not the rule. The other thing is, it is very hard to force the people around you to change because of your disease but like others said it doesn't mean you can't make that happen albeit slowly. I am the cook in my family and just started changing how I cook. I make a Protein, veggie and salad almost every night. Maybe once or twice a week I will make a potato, rice or other starch. Sometimes I have a spoonful of mashed potatoes sometimes I choose not to. I have found over time that my hubby likes this new way of eating and actually requests many of these foods. I have also learned that he can have his fast food for lunch when he chooses and it really does not bother me anymore. For me, that food is just no longer desirable and I used to eat it everyday. When I think about what I ate before, it sickens me. How many times I would stop on my way home at McDonald's eat crap from there and then go home to cook for my family. I am glad you are talking to a therapist on Monday. Give yourself some time to adjust and give your man a break too. They didn't choose this so it may take some time to adjust as well.

Yuck, yuck, and yuck! It's weird but my mother always made me eat chicken liver, beef liver and chicken gizzards and hearts over rice as a kid. Yuck! Did I say that already. I will say that I used to work at a churches fried chicken when I was very young. We offered deep fried gizzards and I loved those. I also use the turkey liver, gizzard and heart in my stuffing but they are puréed in a food processor first and make fabulous flavor in stuffing.

Yes, loose skin! I have lots of it and I didn't think it would bother me as much as it does. Yes, I would much rather have this loose skin than the 140lbs I have lost but the loose skin really does make me look and feel bigger than I am. I am 52 and because I lost and gained hundreds of pounds over the years, my skin is not bouncing back at all. I will have to have a lot of plastics to resolve my loose skin and it will take years before I can afford to do it. So for now, I will be working on stabilizing weight loss then I will prioritize what really bothers me the most. You are not shallow or vain for worrying about it. It is a reality. Maybe not as badly for you because you are younger and if you have not done a ton of yo yo dieting you should get some back. It also depends on how much you have to lose. For me, taking care of the plastics will ultimately be the last part of my weight loss journey. Good luck to you! Better you do this now vs. waiting until you are older like me. My one regret is that I kept trying to do it without help and wasted many years causing damage to my skin, joints and spine.

Boy, this is strange. I have had many catheters placed although not one for bypass. Never ever ever have I been told to shave there nor have I woke up shaved. If it is about placing a catheter that is a strange. Incidentally all 7 of my incisions are no where near my lady bits. I would definately ask.