catwoman7

after years of being "class 3 obese", I was ECSTATIC when I hit the point I was merely "overweight"!

according to this table, I was definitely a slow loser (because I'd lost 28 lbs by the end of month 2, so I probably hadn't reached 25 lbs at the six week mark (I was in the 300-400 lb group)). But I stuck to it and almost never went off my plan, and I ended up in the normal BMI range almost two years later, having lost over 200 lbs. So again, your level is commitment is by far the biggest factor in your ultimate success rate.

is it flavored yogurt? If so, it could be whatever artificial sweetener they use. Some people are sensitive to certain artificial sweeteners.

other than people the size of those on "My 600 lb Life", most of us seem to lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month (yes, you can always find some who lose 30 lbs, but unless they're way bigger than the average WLS patient, they're outliers). Since you've lost 15 lbs in 18 days, you'll likely end up on the higher end of that range by the end of a month. I don't remember where I was at 18 days out, but at the one month out, I'd lost 16 lbs, and I was MUCH heavier than you (and starting BMI is one of the factors that affects your rate of weight loss). So stop worrying about it - you are fine. there are so many things that affect your rate of weight loss that you have little to no control over - age, gender, metabolic rate, how muscular you are, genetics, starting BMI, etc). The only two factors you have much control over is how closely you stick to your clinic's plan, and your activity level. If you do well with those, you'll lose the weight, whether fast or slow. In the end, it's how well you stick to your plan, and not your rate of weight loss, that determines your success. If you're good at following the plan and rarely veer off, you'll do fine.

I had RNY - so a different surgery - but I had no issues at all, and almost no pain (didn't even bother opening up the bottle of pills they sent me home with). I wondered if they even did the surgery. So no - not uncommon - and the other shoe may never drop for you.

I've known several people who've had adjustments or revisions, and the weight always come off much slower the second time around. It'll come off again if you really work at it, but yea - it's usually a long, slow process...

yes - just because it's unflavored doesn't mean there's no taste. There's just no artificial taste (like chocolate) added to them. All of the ones I've tried do have some taste. I'm several years out, but for the last several years I've only used unflavored protein powder in baking.

I'm a side sleeper as well, but I think it took about three weeks before i could comfortably sleep on my side again. Until then, I had to sleep on my back (ugh...not used to that..)

I took that for the first few months (3? 6? can't remember), but I think it was a tablet - and it was just one per day. I don't remember the mg, but it was likely equivalent to your three capsules. Yes - just call your nurse and ask (ursodiol is a generic - so whatever version you have must have come from a different company than mine)

not being able to tolerate eggs early out is very common. I could handle them, but a lot of people can't for the first few months.

I agree with everything Arabesque said. I don't know your starting weight, but generally speaking, the lower it is, the slower the weight loss is (usually, anyway). I was a slow loser rom the beginning and lost 100% of my excess weight (over 200 lbs) (I've had some regain since then, but within the 10-20 lb regain range that most of us experience after hitting our lowest weight). If you stick to your program, the weight will come off, whether fast or slow.

I couldn't have eaten steak at six weeks out - it would have been too hard on my stomach. I'd stick with softer foods for awhile longer. Maybe things like canned tuna, flaky fish or ground meats.

I understand the urge although I decided against doing that. I did go out to a couple of our favorite places and enjoyed a favorite dish, but I didn't do a "food funeral" as I didn't want to binge after doing so well for so many months. Although some people do choose to do that.

normal. Many women experience weird hormone-related things the first few weeks or months after surgery (screwed up menstrual cycles and emotional weirdnesses). This is supposedly because estrogen is stored in fat cells, and during rapid weight loss, that estrogen is released. It'll eventually stabilize and you'll be fine..

like someone above, I was also diagnosed with mild sleep apnea during my pre-surgery sleep study. The technician (or whoever it was who called me with the results) suggested that I get a CPAP machine, but when I mentioned it to the PA at my bariatric center, he said it was up to me, but it was pretty likely the sleep apnea would be gone after I'd lost about 20 lbs or so. I didn't have a repeat study after losing the first 20 lbs, but I was in a research study a few months post-surgery that involved three sleep studies (they were studying brain waves), and the pulmonologist who ran one of the studies told me I did not have sleep apnea. So yea - my weight loss "cured" it.

My B12 always runs high (1000+), but it's usually met by a shrug at the bariatric clinic. It wasn't until it once went up over 2000 that they suggested I cut back a bit on my supplement. So a high B12 after surgery isn't necessarily unusual, but 3000 is pretty high. Yea - maybe check with your regular doctor just in case. It can sometimes be caused by some serious condition, but they could also find nothing and just have you cut back on your supplementation. But it's probably good to get anything serious ruled out (and it could be that they could tell by your other lab values that there wasn't anything odd going on - but then, I don't know that. I'd just check with your PCP if you're concerned) High AST and ALT aren't uncommon after surgery, but they usually normalize around the second year. But like the person above said, sometimes it takes a little longer. I can't remember when mine went down (actually I just checked - at 2 years 3 months out, mine was still high. It did eventually drop down to normal, though) P.S. I just looked through my MyChart and noticed that when I had AST/ATL checked at 2 years 7 months out (as part of a metabolic panel) they were normal. So it was during my third year that they normalized (although I lost weight until month 20 since I started out at over 300 lbs)

I wouldn't worry that much about the yellow stool because weird stool colors aren't uncommon the first month or so after surgery. Your insides have been mucked around with, so you're likely to see weird things until everything settles down again. I had yellow stool for the first month or so, too. and the diarrhea part isn't unheard of. Yes constipation is a LOT more common, but some people have diarrhea instead. the vomiting, stomach pains, and not being able to keep water down is a bit odd, though. I think I'd be tempted to go to urgent care or the ER this weekend if this keeps up - if nothing else, for peace of mind.

39.5 lbs in three months is failing? Ah...no. That's actually pretty average, unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life". I was about there at that point, and I started off much heavier than you. stick to your plan and stay off the scale for a few days. As long as you stick to your plan, the stall will eventually break and you'll be on your way again. This is all VERY normal.

it looks like you're hoping to lose over 100 lbs. If so, you may have loose skin. I had a ton of it (I lost over 200 lbs), but it was easy to hide in clothes. I eventually had mine removed, though. Honestly, lots of pre-ops and early post-ops worry about loose skin, but I think I can speak for most of us who are 2+ years out. We would take the loose skin any day of the week over being obese again!

make sure you're sticking to your plan, and stay off the scale for a few days. As long as you're sticking to your plan, the stall will break on its own. Stalls typically last 1-3 weeks, but occasionally they last longer. If it's been a month or more, than be doubly sure you're sticking to your plan.

fluids (and purees for the most part, too) go right through you, so you won't feel full. You'll start to feel the restriction once you start eating solid food. also, you've had nerves cut, and it takes them awhile to start to regenerate - which again, that should start up again about the time you move to solid food, too. also, keep in mind that your "full" signals (once you start feeling them) might be different than they were before surgery. Mine are different - I get this uncomfortable pressure in my chest, and I know if I keep going, I'm going to be sorry. I've read about other people getting a runny nose or sneezing when they're full. It might take some time to figure out what your new "full" signal is, too..

Pale is usually due to fat malabsorption, I believe, and that's to be expected. I remember having those the first month or so post-op. Gray - iron, maybe? Check with your surgeon, but multi-colored stools aren't that unusual the first few weeks after surgery, though. I think mine only lasted the first 4-6 weeks, though. P.S. I just read that pale is the result of not enough bile salts in your stool - possibly due to an obstruction.. Although that article wasn't specific to bariatric patients. I'll see if I can find something specific to bariatric patients. Although again, weird stool colors arent' that uncommon early out - which makes sense when you consider they've re-arranged our digestive systems. But it's always good to check with a doctor just in case... P.P.S. I just cut and pasted this from the UC-San Francisco's bariatric program Web page: Bowel habits Bowel movements vary greatly after bariatric surgery. Stools may be foul smelling, associated with flatulence, or a different color than normal. Taking iron supplements, for example, will make your stools dark or black. Until you're eating more solid food, your stools will be soft. Most of these changes resolve as the body heals and adapts to changes. Please call your bariatric surgery team if you have persistent diarrhea.

that's often due to low blood pressure or low blood sugar - but I suppose dehydration could do it, too. Usually when it's low pressure, though, you feel it more when you've been lying down or sitting and you suddenly stand up (and that particular scenario is not that uncommon the first few weeks after surgery). But I agree with the others - might be good to run it by your team.

I don't know about bilirubin specifically, but it's not unusual for liver enzymes (such as AST and ALT) to be high the first year or so after surgery. Evidently rapid weight loss is pretty hard on livers. My (as well as a few others' whom I know) had high readings the first year, but then they normalized during year 2, when weight loss slowed to a crawl. I'm not sure if that's true of bilirubin levels or not, though (although that's also produced by the liver). It's good they're checking it out just to be sure there's nothing weird going on.

it's the three-week stall - right on time! stick to your plan, stay off the scale, and it'll break. Does every time...