catwoman7

there was some big blow-out a few years back (I can't even remember why anymore) and several people left and went over to ObesityHelp, but I think only about one or two of them are still there.

I'm eight years out and do 2-3 hour bike rides a few times a week when the weather cooperates. However, I started out really heavy so no way I could have ridden a bike....or exercised that long. The longest I probably exercised for the first year or so was in hour-long water fitness classes. the hydration thing isn't an issue. Water goes right through you surgery or not, so I don't think it makes any difference. I just take a water bottle with me when I'm going biking (or taking some cardio class).

I've been on here for eight years although I sometimes disappear for awhile- but usually just for a few weeks at most. I see other old timers pop in every once in awhile. Most people do seem to leave after a few months or after they hit maintenance, but I find sticking around helps keep my head in the game.

neither one is better than the other - they're both good surgeries and you'll find people on here who've been very successful with both. there are some medical conditions that would make one surgery more appropriate for you than the other (as summerseeker mentioned above, bypass is often recommended for patients who have GERD), but if you don't have any of those conditions, it comes down to personal choice. your surgeon will assess your health status and may recommend one over the other, or he/she may tell you that you're a good candidate for either. In any case, spend some time researching both surgeries - there's lots of information on here and other places on the internet.

don't worry about the issue, just stay on top of it. As I said above, I take a capful of Miralax every morning. Lots of us do - that or stool softeners, fiber (like Benefiber or Metamucil), eat a few prunes every day - whatever it takes to stay on top of it. I rarely have problems with it since I've started the daily Miralax - but if I skip it for a couple of days, yep - the constipation comes back. It's just one of those "features" with WLS - at least for some of us. Taking daily MIralax vs weighing 373 lbs again is a no-brainer for me.

I wish I didn't enjoy eating - it'd be a lot easier to control my weight! I was really hoping I'd be one of those minority of patients whose hunger never comes back, but unfortunately, it did. BUT....you should be taking your vitamins. Not taking them is not an option for RNY patients. Deficiencies are no joke. Some defiencies you can come back from, others you can't. Why aren't you taking your vitamins?

I hate to say this, but for many of us, it's a chronic issue. It has to do with the high protein diet plus some of the supplements we take (iron and calcium are notorious for it). I'm eight years out and still take a capful of Miralax every morning to keep on top of it.

if your goal is to lose 150 lbs (I just checked your stats), plastic surgery is going to be the only way to get rid of it. I don't know anything about red light therapy (but color me skeptical), but there's no way something like that is going to get rid of the amount of excess skin you could have after a 150 lb loss. I'd say save your money - or maybe use it toward plastics.

agree with Arabesque. it supposedly takes a lot to permanently stretch out your new stomach. As in overeating day after day after day. An occasional day of overeating is not going to do it.

I've had four surgeries. I never had issues with anesthesia other than the very first time, when I was nauseated after waking up. For my following three surgeries, I always told them about the nausea, so they'd give me one of those anti-nausea patches you put behind your ear before surgery.. Worked like a charm! And if you're really anxious before surgery, they can give you something for that, too (like Valium, as someone said) it's no big deal. They'll hook up an IV bag when you get to the hospital, and then just before they roll you into the OR (or with some surgeons, they'll wait 'til you're IN the OR), they'll put the anesthesia in your IV line and you'll be out like a light. You won't be aware you're falling asleep and you won't remember any of it. In what seems like a split second later, you'll wake up in the recovery room and realize the surgery is done and that an hour or two has gone by, It seems a little weird to be talking to the surgeon or one of the nurses, and then the next thing you know it's two hours later and you're in the recovery room, but that's how it goes anyway, it'll go off with a hitch. But if you're really nervous, let them know that. They'll give you something for it.

not all programs are low-carb, so the 77 carbs shouldn't matter one way or the other. When I was in weight loss mode, I was averaging around 80 carbs a day, and would sometimes get up to 100 (I wasn't counting them because my program didn't restrict carbs, but I knew how many I was getting because I'd see it in my tracker). also, with regard to pizza, I was eating the toppings off one slice of pizza when I was about was about where you're at (I probably only had it once every couple of months, though) so I don't think what you're eating is necessarily a problem. I noticed that you also started at a lower weight than many of us, so you're not going to lose as quickly as someone who started out 50, 100, or 150 lbs heavier than you, so there's that. And on top of that, keep in mind that the closer you get to goal, the slower those lbs are going to come off. There were months near the end of my journey (i.e, within 20 or 30 lbs of my goal) that I'd lose a pound or two, besides really working at it. But...I did eventually get to my goal - it just took a lot of work and time.

since you're at a normal BMI, your calories in/calories out are probably at about equilibrium. It's a real battle to get any more off. Not to say that you can't, but it'll be a struggle. I know the closer I got, the harder it was. There were months I only lost a pound or two, despite a ton of work. This is where you're at now. I wouldn't bother with pouch "resets" now. They don't really work, and it gets you back into diet mentality. You can always take off more weight, but the closer you get to a normal BMI (and you're already there), the harder it is and the slower it comes off. That's just biology. If you DO want to drop a few more lbs, as the person above said, monitoring your calories and bumping up your exercise is the way to do it, with the realization that it's going to be V-E-R-Y slow going from here on out.

I had that reaction to ursodiol (that many of us take the first few months post-op to prevent gallbladder issues), but if that were the case with you, it would have shown up before now. It may or may not be related to your surgery. Keep us posted!

nope - it's not the cashews. You're eating 700 kcal/day, so it's just a stall. Stick to your plan and stay off the scale. It'll eventually break.

8000 steps is pretty high for being just a few days out of surgery. Your body needs to rest and heal. It's been several years since I had surgery, but I think I mostly walked around my house a little the first three or four days, then did a jaunt around the block every day for a few days after that. It's good to be up and moving, but don't push yourself too much - again, your body needs to heal. as far as poop, it often takes a good week for the first one (there's not much in there yet), and the first one tends to be a doozy. A lot of us start taking stool softeners a couple of days ahead of it to prepare for it. After that, a minority of people experience occasional diarrhea, but most experience constipation, often chronic (it's due to the high protein diet plus the iron and calcium (if you're taking those). I still take a capful of Miralax every morning to keep on top of it. watch out for reflux - I'm a little surprised your surgeon recommended VSG since that's been known to make GERD worse, but that's not the case for everyone. But just keep tabs on it and manage it if it doesn't resolve or gets worse (a minority get it so badly they end up getting a revision to RNY, but for most, it can be managed with PPIs). You just don't want that to get out of control - but again, you may not have issues with it. Some people have said theirs even got better after surgery, so you never know.. I haven't seen many posts about hiccups, so I don't know how common that is, but it doesn't surprise my since your stomach's been sliced and diced. And the painful transitions (when you go from lying down to standing up, or whatever) - yep, that's very common. That's really the only time I had pain. It felt like I'd just done about 1000 crunches. that went away after a week or so, I think. sounds like things are going well over all, though. Welcome to the losers' bench!

it's not uncommon to not lose weight the first week because most people actually GAIN weight from the IV fluids they give you in the hospital (some people "gain" as much as 10 lbs - although it's not a true gain, it's just water). also, it often takes a week for your first BM. There's not much in there...

don't take much, because you'll probably be sleeping most of the time. Your phone and a charger. Very comfy easy-to-put on clothes for the ride home (although I just wore the same outfit that I wore TO the hospital). Some people use Biotene spray (for dry mouth) and Chapstick - so I did take those, but i don't think I used them (but a lot of people do use them). I also took toiletries, but I didn't need to because the hospital gave me a bag with travel-sized shampoo, deoderant, soap, toothbrush, and toothpaste. You'll get a hospital gown and slip-resistant socks, so no need to take your own unless you want to (although those gowns do make it easier for them to do things like listen to your lungs (if they even do that..) since they're open in the back. Although some people take something like a robe to put on while they're walking the halls (because they'll have you up and walking pretty quickly) - when I say those hospital gowns are open, they ARE open - all the way down...

not all bariatric diets are low-carb. Some are balanced. Also, once I got a ways out, I mostly just counted calories (although making sure I met my protein and fluid goals) losing weight via exercising is of course possible, but really tough. People overestimate how many calories they burn by exercising. According to research, exercise is much more effective in helping to maintain weight than it is to lose weight. Of course, it's always excellent for your overall health and people should do it (if they're able to, of course) - but as the primary weight loss tool, it's supposedly not that effective (well...unless you're spending a few hours a day at the gym or are into running marathons - that kind of intensity would probably do it!) I'm eight years out and have never reached the point where I've been able to eat without being concerned about my weight. I know from experience that if I eat too many calories for more than a couple of days, my weight will gradually start heading north again. Honestly, a lot of my never-been-obese friends are the same way- they have to watch what they eat. Unfortunately I think that's the way it goes for a lot of people - obese or not. Not many are blessed with the ability to eat whatever they want and not gain weight. also, you'll eventually get to the point where you can enjoy the things you do now in moderation. Nothing is off-limits for me And DS patients can generally eat more than RNY and VSG patients because of the malabsorption (RNY has some malabsorption of calories, but only for about a year, and it's not as strong as it is in DS people). Although if I'm not mistaken, I think DSers do have to be more careful with carbs - IIRC, they don't digest them well - and I know traditional DSers don't have to worry too much about fat (but not sure about SADI patients) - but check with your clinic. They'll know for sure.

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.