Djmohr

I get it often even 23 months post op. I distract myself. Read a book, take a shower, do the dishes, cook dinner or whatever, crochet, get on Bariatric pal.....you name it I do it.

I have not found this to get any easier.....

LOL! I thought holy crow, this board is going to blow up again today. LOL....

@@RJC5197

Wow, a cup of cottage cheese? I actually get stuffed from cottage cheese at about a half of a cup. I have often wondered if maybe I still have some lactose intolerance that shows up with cottage cheese.

I have had ice cream too a few times in the last 23 months post op. It actually is very very heavy in my stomach so maybe that is why.

I eat cottage cheese regularly but no more than 1/2 cup with some fruit.< /p>

@@summerset

WLS are not on liquids for so long to promote fast weight loss. In fact, most Bariatric surgeons prefer you lose at a consistent pace. It is safer and healthier. Did you hear that somewhere? I am just curious.

Some patients simple suspect it. Others said something like "Ok, they maybe want us on liquids for two weeks but because the doubt our compliance they tell us 4 weeks so we're doing it for 2 week".

The real deal is because our stomachs have been cut and stitched and require a long period of time to heal. That is also because we can only tolerate so much Protein which assists in healing and in the beginning weeks, you can barely get a whole Protein shake into your tiny swollen tummy.

Same thing with e. g. tumor surgery where most of the stomach has to be removed. They also need time to heal and yet they're on solid food much earlier (of course some patients need longer because they don't tolerate it) - but I bet there are different protocols regarding this out there as well.

So from your response, I am getting that this is an impression or a guess and not fact?

The reason I am asking is there are a lot of people new on this site and many times want to hear what they won't from their Bariatric team. If your surgeon puts you on liquids following surgery I am certain it is not to make your weight loss faster, it is to allow the time for it to heal given the limited amount of Protein you can consume.

I cannot speak for ulcer patients, but having researched post WLS diets for the last 3 years and speaking with multiple bariatricians and surgeons, and Bariatric nurses and Bariatric nutritionists. The first several weeks following are all about healing and NOT weight loss. Weight loss just happens because the change is so significant and the lack of food volume.

@@madadams

I have also been on a very balanced diet that included veggies, fruits, nuts, crackers and even bread if I wanted them. And yes there were times when I tried a quarter of a piece of whole grain bread.

The bigger issue is, the further out from surgery it does slow your weight loss down some and can even cause stalls which can be lengthy. Mostly because you end up eating more of it.

I learned that early on if I avoided breads, crackers, rice, Pasta etc my scale moved faster. The minute I introduced them back into my diet two things happened. I would stall and worse yet, I would crave them......and sometimes I would give in to those cravings.

It is a personal choice to include or not include starches into your diet. I am personally very choosy about which ones I include and extra careful about how much of them I eat. For me though, I learned quickly that it was best to wait until I was almost at goal.

I did however include veggies and fruits into my diet and kept them there since the beginning. I would just limit the fruit to one serving per day.

If I eat bread now, I usually will only allow one slice or less and I choose a whole grain or multi grain bread.

Early on I think the thing I missed the most was just having a sandwich.

@@theantichick

LOL. Today I had to go have blood drawn to check my TSH as well as CBC and some other goofy draw my dermotologist wanted because I am on biologics.

I swear, I tried not saying anything to anyone about me being a tough stick.

The only thing I did tell them was they could not use my arms because I just had Brachioplasty and am quite swollen and sore. I would not have tolerated the band around my upper arm. So they decided to go into my hands.

What a circus......I came out of there after nearly 40 minutes, 2 nurses and another "pro phlebotomist" I think?

My husband almost had a heart attack. It took 4 sticks and they had to use a syringe to collect the sample in the end.

I had 4 places on my hands where they had cotton and tape (which i am allergic to but honestly did not have the heart to make their time even worse). Needles do not bother me, I am used to it however when they dig to try to get the vein that moved away from them, that friggin hurts after a while. Jeez!

This was a lab......where they regularly draw blood. My husband is bound and determined to find a vein illuminator so I don't have to get stuck so much. When I told him they finally got the "Pro" guy in there, he told me I should have just asked for them to begin with.

I know I am going to be seriously bruised with the exception of the last poke that pro guy got on his first try. Had he not been able to, they were going to try my forearm.

I was actually ready to say stop.....I will come back when my upper arms are more healed.

Wish my pouch liked eggs....Sigh. I miss the variety you can do with eggs. If I could tolerate them, I would go poach one for me right now....it's lunch time.

Wish I wasn't allergic to crab and lobster because I love them but developed an allergy. I would eat it every day. So for now, shrimp and fish will have to do. And I can tolerate tuna if I make a salad out of it.

I make cottage cheese pancakes or my favorite, small batch vanilla ricotta pancakes. The small batch makes 4 or 5 very small pancakes. I can eat barely 2 but it is great for breakfast or lunch or dinner. Love breakfast for dinner.< /p>

Once I was post op a year and nearly at goal, I made homemade French toast using whole grain bread with SF Syrup an fresh berries. I can eat about a half a piece but because they are quite eggy they can feel heavy for me. So I would rather ricotta pancakes....they are yummy!

You can eat any type of Protein for any meal, it makes it very interesting.....don't be afraid to hop on Pinterest to look for ideas. You can search and play with recipes moving carbs out and other sources in.

Lastly, I hope that someday my rack can look as good as @babbs........unfortunately the girls have left the building. Give me a few months! LOL

@@ChunkyMonkeyGoneSlim

I feel your pain with the Pasta thing. I am Italian and we ate Pasta type dishes at least 3 to 4 times per week previously.

Now that I am 22 months post op I can have it on occasion but choose lower carb pastas and whole grain pastas instead and it is maybe once every few weeks.

The other thing I noticed is that I can no longer eat pasta or rice al dente. I have to almost over cook it for my tummy not to feel heavy. I personally will only eat a spoonful or two and mostly the meat and sauces.

@@summerset

WLS are not on liquids for so long to promote fast weight loss. In fact, most Bariatric surgeons prefer you lose at a consistent pace. It is safer and healthier. Did you hear that somewhere? I am just curious.

The real deal is because our stomachs have been cut and stitched and require a long period of time to heal. That is also because we can only tolerate so much Protein which assists in healing and in the beginning weeks, you can barely get a whole Protein shake into your tiny swollen tummy.

Those that lose that quickly and cannot get their Protein in end up having more complications down the road. These are words my surgeon used with me. And it is also why when you have a patient that cannot tolerate anything for the first few months, they lose a a lot of weight but end up sick in the process.

Mostly the people that ask about it are obese themselves and are usually themselves considering or curious about it. I have been very open with my family so my supporters are great and my bitchy sister n law is waiting for me to slip up as usual. I love to disappoint her, and she hates that my father N law is always telling me how pretty I look. I think that comes from him being shocked at how different I look.

Ah, the lasagne roll ups definately don't sound right unless they are made with a vegetable like zucchini. Even then that is awfully soon.

The rule of thumb usually is if you can see through it, it is clear.

@@bbygrljustice

1gram of Protein for every inch you are tall should be the daily minimum. I am with @innersurfergirl

I would go back to the basics and start as if surgery was yesterday. Go back to liquids for a few days so that you flush toxins out.

Get rid of all the garbage in your house and if you are eating fast food, stay away from that.

That is what I would do.

As an RNY patient, my actual hunger returned around 4 months post op. That being said, the malabsorption continues for me even 2 years post op. I have to work hard at this point not to lose weight.

Given everything I have read with folks on this site, it really is about the loss of the Grehlin for sleeve patients that give you that honeymoon period.

The problem I do see with both surgeries...LOL is that we all struggle with head hunger forever so learning the difference between actual hunger and head hunger is something of a mental battle.

But the honeymoons are different for both.

I suffered from severe acid reflux, I had diabetes and I was diagnosed with psoriatic and osteo arthritis in my late 20s.

I also had other medical issues but the main reason was I suffered from reflux and I only wanted to do this once so I went for bypass and am thrilled to death I did.

I have never had dumping syndrome and can eat anything I want just in smaller amounts. I will say just because I can eat anything doesn't mean I should or do.

Best of luck with your decisions

I would pick up just a couple of summer items now because they are on sale and wait for hurricane season to pass. Go in December or even November.....I have hurricane completely ruin 2 vacations in my life and now I refuse to book another trip out that way during the season.

Once you have a few items a size or two smaller you are covered for clothes and can buy stuff out there as well if you need to.

Oh, and don't forget my ticket. I am in need of a vacation in the worst way!

@@mylastchance21

Your surgeon should not push you into the bypass for weight alone. Both the sleeve and the bypass deliver excellent weight loss outcomes. The biggest difference is bypass typically happens a little faster but in the end both surgeries can handle massive weight loss.

That being said, there are other reasons related to your health that your doctor might push you toward bypass. Mine did and I am thankful everyday that I made the decision to have bypass over sleeve. The biggest one for me was gerd. I had it severely and had I had the sleeve it could have made it even worse because of the design of the surgery. My gerd is resolved 100% and has been since the day I got out of surgery.

Also all my other comorbitities are in remission.

If he recommends it for a reason, do your research. I know I was so upset when it happened to me and then I started researching the benefits of bypass and I found I was afraid of things that honestly were not important. I was mostly afraid of the malabsorption that comes with bypass. Then I learned that all of us have to take Vitamins for life even sleevers. All of us have to go for blood tests at 3,6,12,18 months and every 12 months after that for life.

Once I understood that RNY (the gold standard in WLS) was the best option for me, I felt fantastic about it and was excited for the day I had it. I also knew that I wanted to have 1 surgery and be done. Had I went with the sleeve anyway, and my gerd was not cured, I would have ended up needing a revision to RNY anyway.....I did not want that.

I have since lost all of my excess weight, 152lbs. I currently weight 158 and have been maintaining since March of this year.

Best of luck to you and I hope all goes well. Both options are excellent and will give you the weight loss you likely need.

@@reeniemay

Lastly, just because you can eat more does not mean that you should. Same thing with the wrong foods, I can eat anything I want with the exception of eggs. I don't because I know that I will gain weight if I do and then what was the point of having my insides remodeled.

You just went through a lot to get your surgery, this is when you need to start training your head to help you achieve your goals. Trust me, it is much easier said that done as you are already experiencing.

Tell yourself this: just because I can, doesn't mean I should......it is a mantra that I used every day......every day that I didn't dump to lose half my body weight literally. They assume you will lose up to about 70% of your excess weight. You have to work really hard at the head thing to be successful and let me tell you it doesn't stop when you get to maintenance, in fact it becomes harder because now you are at a normal weight, healthy and happy and think I could have dessert every night or that was so good I could maybe have a little more.....these are the things that cause regain.

You asked the questions will the feelings every come back to know whether you are full. I say yes but you need to eat slowly to recognize them or you blow past them. I get hungry, I get full and yes, I have gotten stuffed but I try to avoid it like the plaque because being stuffed feels absolutely miserable.

@@reeniemay

There is a huge difference between feeling satiated and feel stuffed. You never want to stuff yourself, afterall that is how we got here for the most part.

The goal of this surgery is to eat enough that you are not hungry or in the beginning, eat enough so that you are nourished.

Hunger came back for me around 4 months post op and I had RNY. It is a different hunger than before and these are all sensations that you will get used to.

For now, you don't need to stuff yourself to feel satisfied? Do you? If you do, I would recommend seeing your dietician and therapist right away so they can work with you to get past the feeling that you need to do that.

The whole goal is to eat enough to not be hungry. And I don't dump nor have I every dumped. In the beginning sticking to the plan of 1/4 of a cup of good quality Proteins and veggies is all you really need to do. Anything beyond that actually is not necessary. Once more of the swelling goes down around the 3 to 4 month mark, your dietician will likely have you increase your intake to as much as 1/2 cup of food and by a year as much as 1cup of food.< /p>

I am 2 years post op and still eat 1 cup to maybe 1 1/4 cup. I no longer measure because I know what that amount looks like. I pay close attention to what my stomach is telling me and I know not to ever exceed even by a spoonful because it can make you sick. Not dumping sick but belly ache need to vomit sick.

I have experienced it a few times when not paying attention to what I am eating.

The key is mindful eating.

Best of luck.

@

That is exactly why you need to detox. You have to get that sugar addiction under control. I can only share what worked for me but maybe others have ideas.

What worked for me was a lengthy liquid Protein diet in which I was allowed up to 5 SF Protein shakes per day, and Clear liquids as long as they were sugar free. I use homemade chicken broth, SF Popsicles, crystal light, Water, SF Jello. For me I was on it for 2 weeks but honestly I didn't even care after 4 days.

If you can detox from the sugar, you will feel much better and it will be easier to follow the food plan. Only you can decide if you are ready to start again.

I am taking the Bariatric Advantage chews. They are about the only ones I tolerate. They are like a starburst but not quite as tasty. I have tried strawberry, orange, Peanut Butter chocolate.

Orange is my favorite followed by strawberry. Damn things are expensive.

I eat olives of every variety all the time. I just track them and beware they have a lot of salt.

I especially love black olives and put them on salads. Yum!

I have never experienced the illnesses that you speak of. I just really wanted to reaffirm that you are worth it!

I know you can do it because you already lost 75lbs. I am guessing you did that mostly by sticking to the plan. It won't happen for you if you don't realize that you are worth it and get back on track. I think you likely already know that.

As far as stretching your tummy, not so. If you were to start tomorrow as if it were the day after surgery and get all the toxins out of your body by following the liquid diet for a few days, you would once again feel your original restriction. You simply have to do it.

I really hope you get the proper therapy that keeps you from throwing the baby out with the bath Water. We all have bad days where we go off plan. I don't think there is a person on this site that hasn't or won't. The important thing is you get back on track as soon as you recognize a slip and don't assume that you are broken and cannot be fixed because you can.

It is however up to you to want to make that change. You are worth it! You just have to see that you are worth it and work on those issues that Mama put into your head. I came from a family of "clean your plate" or else and my family is Italian so what was on the plate wasn't always the best options. So I either cleaned my plate or slept at the dinner table and had my dinner for Breakfast. I no longer ever clean my plate. It is my way of simply knowing I don't have to.

Please take care of you. Make an appointment with your therapist and your dietician ASAP. And try going back to the diet you had to follow right out of surgery for a few days, it will help you.

I did a lot of studying on this topic because my hair loss was so significant.

What I learned is there is no stopping it if in fact you are one of the folks that lose it during massive weight loss, following a major surgery or going through menopause. That was my situation.

No amount of extra Protein is going to stop it from coming out however if you don't get your allotted Protein it can make you lose your hair even if you were not one of the folks that normally would.

Also Biotin, hair,nails,skin helps a lot with regrowth but it will not stop you from losing it to begin with. A lot of folks assume if I take Biotin, it won't fall out. I am here to tell you that is not true.

The good news is, your hair will come back in, it should not leave bald spots (that is a sign of actual allopecia). The biotin will help with regrowth immediately. Mine started falling out almost immediately (within 8 weeks post op and did not stop until post op month 13)

Now I am 23 months post op and my hair is thicker and more healthier than ever in my life. It just happens to be very very curly too.

I know it is hard not to freak out when it is happening to you but the best thing you can do is cut it short and cute. You will notice more than anyone else. Once my doctors told me it would stop once the massive weight loss stopped, I no longer wanted it to stop fearing my honeymoon period was over. Well, mine stopped at 13 months, I continued to lose weight until 18 months post op when I reached my optimal weight goal.

It is just part of the process for some of us and going through menopause at the same time,or having hypothyroidism can make it worse which was my case. Never did I have bald spots but you could see my scalp of which is not longer the case.

Best of luck and try not to worry.

@@Babbs

Amen sister!