Djmohr

I feel your pain literally. The reality is, the damage to our joints and body is pretty much done. I have been dealing with severe osteoarthritis in my spine for years and although I lost 135lbs, nothing but surgery has helped. Now I am looking at shoulder surgery and possibly one more spine surgery. I know if I was still 135lbs heavier my knees and ankles were bad too and are better. I have had to have 2 back surgeries since June, both were much much safer because of my significant weight loss. I too wish I could take NSAIDs but have been told to stay away completely unless there is no other alternative. I hope you get well soon!

I love love love vegetables pretty much every way you can make them. I don't use canned vegetables ever. I use frozen or fresh veggies multiple times a day. Roasted, sautéed, steamed, grilled and raw. Yummo!

I have run into a few previous coworkers in the last couple of months. I find unless I am literally standing with my hubby, people don't even recognize me all. When they realize it is me there is a period of shock and usually followed by head shaking like they cannot believe it is me. Then they will ask how I did it. I honestly do not care who knows about my having bypass surgery. When I look at groups of people it is shocking to me how many in each group are obese or morbidly obese. I figure if I tell my story, maybe one or two might be so interested that they follow suit. When I tell my story I make sure they understand that having WLS requires a huge commitment to diet, exercise and a completely different mindset. It really does help them to understand it is not as simple as I have surgery and lose massive weight and it's easy. Yet, when they see someone like me continuing to meet my goals everyday it will hopefully inspire others in the same situation to do something about it before it is too late.

Before surgery one of the best things to focus on is removing all sugar from your beverages. No fruit juices, soda of any kind. Try to cut out all caffeine now by tapering down. Focus on getting good Protein in. 1 gram for every inch you are tall. Focus on drinking 48 to 64 oz. of non sweetened, non carbonated, caffeine free beverages. Cut back on, bread, sweets of any kind, Pasta, rice and bread like products. Try to cook fresh healthy foods. Remove all processed foods from your diet. The carbs you do eat should come from fresh fruits and vegetables. I know this is a lot so the best thing to do is set a goal to focus on every week until you reach your pre op liquid diet. Track everything you put in your mouth through a program like myfitnesspal. Both good and bad, it keeps you accountable and more important can help you make better choices throughout the day. If I have some carbs for Breakfast or lunch I find that I will stick to my guns and eat only protein and veggies for dinner. This should get you started. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Wow! Way to go! Before you know it you will be in onederland! Congratulations!

I color my hair every 4 weeks. I never had breakage at all. The hair loss is shedding and it will happen regardless of whether you color or not. Yes, I shed a lot but it is back to being thick again and still growing in. I will say also that the texture of my hair changed. I had body before now I have even more to the point where it is actually curly. I saw 3 different doctors about this and there really is nothing u can do to stop it. Just take Biotin for healthy regrowth.

I made the mistake of buying the Bariatric advantage sweet tarts. Yuck! They are huge and overly sweet but expensive. Next time I will make sure I get the chocolate chews which I know are better tasting.

I might suggest finding a different surgeon. I am sorry this is the response you are getting. It might show you how aftercare with this surgeon might be. I recently changed neurosurgeons for this exact reason.

This is why it is so important to research. Just because you choose bypass does NOT mean you will have dumping, when people assume that, they are not as educated on the differences between these surgeries. There is only a small percentage of people who get dumping syndrome and if you follow the rules, it doesn't happen. Also bypass has the malabsorption process which AIDS in weight loss. There are other health factors that play a role in which surgery you choose. I big differentiator is whether or not you suffer from reflux. If you do, your best option would be bypass as bypass cures that disease, same thing with diabetes. The sleeve also puts some peoples diabetes into remission but it can make reflux even worse or if you don't have it, this surgery can cause it. Both surgeries require labs and Vitamins for life. You can lose a lot of weight with either surgery. I would suggest going to a class or taking an online class and learn as much as you can before deciding. I was going to have the sleeve and after learning about the reflux issue, I chose the bypass. I thank goodness everyday that I did. I am down 135lbs and 10lbs from my goal. My starting weight was 310.

Nestle quick and cocoa powder are two completely different things though. Quick has lots and lots of sugar where cocoa powder does not. I am guessing they don't want you to because some might confuse the two.

In the beginning my nut only had me focus on Protein. If they have given you a specific diet you need to follow that. Because you can barely eat anything they are not so worried about calories or carbs. Down the road the focus remains protein but it's a good idea to track exactly what you are consuming in a program like my fitness pal. At that point watching calories and carbs as well as protein and fat becomes more important. I would give your nut a call on Monday and ask for guidance. I am now nearly 15 months out. I consume between 900 and 1100 calories a day, 70 grams of protein, and I try to keep my carb count under 100. Most days my carbs are around 60. The lowere they are the better because carbs make me stall.

In the beginning I was able to get all of my supplements in a chewable form and in fact my Bariatric team required it. I stayed on those for almost 3 months and I promise they taste a lot better! Yes, everything gets easier and as time goes by your tastes do get a lot better as well. One day at a time!

I have to say, I just ripped off the bandaid and honestly it was no big deal. The first 3 days were the hardest and after that I just kept my eye on the goal. After day 4 I could not even drink all the protein skakes they wanted me to. I was drinking 3 a day and then broth.

@@Spiceyfrog I am in the same back situation. I have a Schwarnoma (benign tumor) on my T11 nerve root. I have been in excruciating pain since June and have not been able to exercise since. I can walk in short trips and then my back just won't tolerate it. It has definitely caused my weight loss to slow down but sometimes slow and steady wins the race. I also just found out that I have a torn rotator cuff and severe arthritis of my left shoulder. I see the orthopedic surgeon on the 23rd. I am bummed because I really wanted to get my brachioplasty a sap and now I don't know what is going to happen. Ugh!

My program allowed it only after 1 year. I even had to sign a contract. Yes, you do have to worry about the carb and calorie counts. I have been on meds that don't allow it so I still have not tried alcohol but I understand it won't take much for us to get drunk. Also it can become very addictive for us.

It is scary to think about how little Protein and how much sugar and carbs I was eating pre surgery. Protein, especially from food keeps you fuller longer.

How exciting! Good luck! I am headed to the plastic surgeon on the 30th for my first consultation. I am first focused on a brachioplasty.

Your hair loss will stop when your weight loss slows down however taking Biotin will help with regrowth. My hair loss started at month 2, slowed at month 12 and now I am jest nearing month 15 and it has stopped. It will come back and it will only thin, you should have no bald spots. There are many threads on this topic.

Welcome back! I have to say if you need something to get you jump started I say go for it! The hardest thing about losing weight is honestly getting started. Then I would reset as if I had surgery yesterday and work the process that you already know works. My biggest fear is what you are experiencing. You work so hard and then gain weight again. I know that building new habits is the only thing that will work long term. I wish you the very very best of luck! I hope that you are able to get things moving again.

I seriously gained my weight proportionately, all over. I had fat hands, arms, feet, legs, I even joke that I had a fat roll on the back of my head. I started losing it in my hands, feet and head first. Then pretty much everywhere. I noticed my face, shoulders and collar bones poking out first. I am now 10 lbs from an ideal weight for my height, 1 lb and I will no longer be overweight. I have no rear at all, my boobs have deflated. I still hold a lot of skin/fat in my upper arms, thighs and of course my stomach. Most of this is loose skin but there is still fat in there. I now have a rectangle shape, sort of boy like, in clothes in look fantastic after I use my Victoria's Secret bra that bumps you up two sizes. Out of clothes, I swear I look like a sharpei dog. I see a plastic surgeon on the 30th to discuss an overall plan but we already talked about moving forward now with a brachioplasty as my upper arms really really bother me most of all right now.

I think I have turned over my closet at least 5 times in the last year. It is the best feeling! And you are right, it is very exciting!

I had severe reflux. The moment I found out RNY would literally cure it and the sleeve could make it worse, I switched to RNY. I have been off all medications since 30 days post op and have never had a single episode of reflux or even simple heartburn. RNY is the choice if you don't want to go through another possible revision. My two cents.....

As long as your BMI is as high as it is, there will be no problem. They want to see if you can work hard to get the weight off and clearly you can and are. Great job. As for your GP, clearly they need to get educated on the disease called obesity. Most if not all of us have lost hundreds of pounds over the years, the issue is, it always comes back with a vegeance! Then usually will topple on a few more just to be safe you don't try that again. Finally as you get older you have damaged your metabolic system so badly that you won't be able to lose anything. Having WLS provides you with a tool that will always restrict your food volume. You will learn how to put the right foods into it and how often that is. 3 small meals a day and a Protein rich snack once or twice a day to ensure you get all your protein in. Now, you can certainly screw this up by not putting the right foods in or grazing all day long. But after going through everything and learning what your body needs to keep a healthy metabolism, chances are you will keep much of the weight you lose off. Most general practitioners really don't get the whole bigger picture, they simply focus on the initial weight loss. Seriously shouldn't they be sent back to school to truly learn more about this disease? When you look at our nations obesity growing, I think they should have to learn more about it. I thank god my nephrologist understood it so well. In my opinion he is my real hero who began to get me thinking about doing something more permanent. Good luck to you, you are doing fantastic!!!

The only other thing that worked for me besides walking was heat. When I was in bed or sitting in a chair, use a heating pad on your tummy and even shoulder. That gas pain is the absolute worst and the pain meds really don't help it. Gas x will help as your intestines begin working again but only walking and heat see, to really relieve that gas pain.

Try not to worry and just follow the plan to a tee. I promise it will work!