Daisee68

I am 3 1/2 months out and my NUT just keeps saying to target carbs which are "less than your protein". Having said that, I am generally less than 50g carb per day with 80-90g Protein, but I think I might need to increase it some as I don't really have energy to exercise.

I hope I can encourage you some. My loss was very similar at your stage and I too was discouraged. And @@Babbs reminded me how solid the loss was. Even the first 2 months I felt like my loss was slow but it just kept adding up and all of a sudden I am down 75 pounds (50 pounds since actual surgery). How did that happen? Like it appeared overnight, seriously. So for now, take your measurements, buy a new shirt or pants, try on your old clothes, etc. Just revel in the fact that you ARE down and GIRL you are DOWN 73 pounds??!! I know that a lot of that was before surgery, but if you can do that without your tiny pouch, you can ABSOLUTELY do this WITH your tiny pouch! It will add up. Trust that it will.

​Agree you are eating too much. Here's my tip - set a timer for 1 1/12 minutes and ONLY take a bite when that timer goes off. Set another timer (or watch the clock) and at no more than 30 minutes, stop eating. Throw your food away. Make sure your bites are relatively small. I would be surprised if you could get in even 1/2 cup that way. I know I can't. What do your food logs say? How many calories / Protein / fat / carbs are you taking in per day? What did your NUT say? Give us an idea of your daily food and maybe we can make some suggestions in addition to reducing volume. I saw your other post and you have some HUGE NSV's which you definitely need to rejoice in. Have you taken your measurements? That may help you see the changes.

As of this morning, I am exactly half-way to my goal - both in pounds and BMI! It felt slow in the beginning and then all of a sudden the pounds are adding up. Of course the last 10 pounds were very fast because of the stricture I had, but still - I am HALFWAY!!!! The thought of needing to lose 77 pounds is still a little overwhelming but no where NEAR as overwhelming as having to lose 154 pounds!!

Thanks @wlwarrior. I thought I had read you say this earlier. I think it's too low too

That's good news. Glad you called them.

Yep - but mine was a kidney stone (had this issue long before WLS). Any chance it could be that? Or more likely it could be the way you were positioned during surgery...

Pancreatitis?

That does seem very odd. Have you started a new med or supplements that could be causing it?

I asked my NUT this just yesterday. I am 3 months out and she said to average around 600 calories unless I had done HEAVY exercise that day (not just walking) and then I could add 100-200 calories. She said long term maintenance is between 1000-1200 calories. That sounds a little low to me, but I will worry about that when I get there.

I would ask your GI dr but it sounds to me like it would be wise to get it done before the bypass.

@@marie beal - I'm confused. You have a 3 month pre-op diet of only liquids with Protein shakes? Is that correct?

@@_Brooke_ - Just the timer on my phone. No app needed. Though I do know that there are some that exist. I also use it when I know I need to drink more so I set it for every few minutes and make myself sip - for an hour or so.

Timer on my phone is the only way I am accomplishing it so far. I set 2 timers - one goes off every 1 1/2 minutes and I won't take a bite until it goes off and then reset it for the next bite. The other time is for 30 minutes and at 30 minutes, I have to stop and get rid of my plate. When I am with others and not able to watch the clock, it is harder, but once it becomes more habit, it will get easier (or so I am told).

Don't beat yourself up. I can't tell you how many times I have considered driving through there. Now you know that is not something you can eat - or at least not yet. Give yourself credit for trying by throwing away the biscuit and just learn from it. Don't fall back in to the pattern of beating yourself up and then continuing forward with a "well I already screwed up today might as well eat more" attitude. (At least that is how I always was.) Chalk it up to a learning experience. Get back on track and move on with a healthy lunch. (PS - once you vomit, sometimes your system needs some time to calm down, so you might stick with liquids for 24 hours to give your system a rest.)

Same thing happened to me around same time. It was a stricture. Call your surgeon and get them to do an EGD.

Hmm... Mixed emotions. Good to have someone who knows you yet probably preferable from someone who deals with bariatric patients on a more regular basis. If it isn't something he has done before, then I am not sure he will have the right perspective on it. My therapist is wonderful and I am still seeing her on a weekly basis (and will continue to see her probably eventually only once a month for at least 2 years post-op). She only works with bariatric surgery patients so she has invaluable advice and insight into the situation. I think maybe getting referral from your surgeon might be best as they likely have people they work with who are used to what they (and insurance) is really looking for.

Yep that is hives. Deep breath. Hives are awful and a sure sign of stress. Try some benedryl and go to sleep. It will look brighter in the morning. The peer to peer will likely take care of it quickly - especially if it is just over documentation which was provided. Cigna denied my sleep study because it wasn't "medically necessary" and had to do a peer to peer and subsequently agreed that. Then they agreed my actual surgery in less than 24 business hours (submitted on Friday at noon and approved Monday morning). They never even asked more questions or blinked.

Not sure if this helps, but my dr said try to get 60 g Protein per day. I also use the Premier Protein ready made drinks which are 30 g protein each. Then lots of broth, sugar free popsicles, Jello, Water, tea, etc. etc. - lots of fluids. I used Swanson Mexican Tortilla Soup broth and it saved me! (Although it was a bit spicy so I had to lay off it on the last couple of days.) If you are a cook (which I am not), you can try making your own chicken broth. I loved beef broth after surgery but not before and then I drank so much in the first 2 weeks post-op that I cannot stand it now! Some people are allowed 1 meal a day or even a couple of string cheese or something. I wasn't but mine was only 1 week. Every dr has different requirements, so if you aren't absolutely sure, I would recommend calling them back first thing tomorrow. And/or you might check your booklet (if they gave you one). Sometimes it is hidden in there.

I am 3 1/2 months out and my NUT told me today no fruit skins - at least for a while. I know others have said they still cannot tolerate skins a year out. May not ever be able to....

My B12 is nasal spray and only 1 x per week on Saturdays (super easy to remember). I take Synthroid in the mornings, so I cannot take my supplements (especially calcium) within 4 hours of that. The only restriction I know of other than that is not taking your Iron at the same time as the calcium. Of course there are so many multi-Vitamins that contain both calcium and iron, I am not sure I understand that rule. Having said all that, I take 1 multi-Vitamin just after lunch (and sometimes my calcium which is combined with D) and then my other multi-vitamin with iron and Biotin at dinner. My first labs at 3 month follow up came back great. In fact, my calcium was a little high (which is a problem for me because my body doesn't process calcium correctly so I have long term chronic kidney stones). My endocrinologist took me off the calcium citrate as long as I was having 1 Premier Protein drink per day (contains 50% of RDA calcium) and 2 oz of cheese (which is a no brainer for me because I love cheese and it helps with my protein and calcium). I will see how this worked at my next labs in a couple of months. I think likely the most important thing is to a) take them all with food (unless they state differently) and be consistent. With those consistencies, your dr will be better able to adjust once your labs are done.

​Absolutely reasonable thoughts and fears! You poor thing! I would say this though - what you are going through now is very likely worse than going through the RNY. And as to complications - I have had a bit of a rough go with a tough time diagnosing stricture, but once they did, the fix is quite easy. It was a very simple EGD and I was out maybe 10 or 15 minutes each time (had it dilated twice now). This is definitely not easy so I am not going to blow happy smoke at you, but I promise it is worth it. As a little insight, there are still days that I question "what the heck have I done"? A couple of weeks ago, I said this to my therapist and she asked what my fears still were and I said "what happens when I am 80 - will whomever is taking care of me know that I need extra Protein and take Vitamins and everything" and she said "well look at it this way - at least now you will live to be 80". Fair enough.... Hugs! Hope you get better soon! Meanwhile, try to sleep as much as possible (near impossible in hospital I know) and let people take care of you while you recover. Once you are strong again, you can move forward with making this decision.

Oh man, I need a life! You guys are inspiring! I have never been good at hobbys. Watch too much TV. REALLY need to find a hobby like you all have! Great post!

Agree. No rowing just yet.

I am so sorry that happened! It seems to have happened to someone else here too but they accepted my first date. So strange. (Well let's see they counted my first visit on 1/30 and my last visit on 5/30 and 2 visits in between, so maybe they didn't actually... Hmmm now I am not sure.) Anyway, I know it is very disappointing, but I am sure that as soon as you submit the other 2 things later this month that they will approve you quickly. Hang in there!!