catwoman7

carrots wouldn't be considered slider foods. Slider foods are things like ice cream, popcorn, and various other junk food that you can eat a lot of, and most have a lot of empty calories to boot. I eat baby carrots when I'm trying to ward off a potential binge. Reason being is that if I eat enough of them, they often irritate my stomach so much that the last thing I want to do is eat more. Not only do i not want to eat more carrots, but I don't want to eat ANYTHING! carrots are very nutritious and have very few calories. They also don't go down all that easily - as in comparison to something like ice cream. So definitely not a slider food.

yea I've become a real Ratio fan.

we started out at about the same weight, and I didn't even lose that much in a MONTH (I lost 16 lbs the first month). So you are doing fantastic, actually. Most of us seem to lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month, so you're way ahead of pack... and yes, as summerseeker said, weight loss slows way down after that first month. The big initial drop is mostly water.

I'd go to urgent care. I've never heard of people reacting to the surgery like that, but some people are allergic to certain meds or to the surgical glue or tape they use. Are you taking ursodiol? (the med some surgeons put their patients on for a few weeks to help prevent gallstones). Hives can be a side effect of that (not a common one, but I know it's a side effect because I was one of those people who got hives from it). Or it could be some other med you're reacting to. Just check with your PCP or go to urgent care. I reacted to either the surgical tape or glue when I had plastic surgery (although I didn't react to it with my RNY, oddly - but maybe it was different brand of tape/glue) - they put me on prednisone for a few days so I'd quit reacting to it. With the ursodiol I was taking after my RNY, the PA at my bariatric clinic just had me quit taking it. anyway, I doubt it was the surgery per se - but it could be some med or something that you're reacting to. They'll know what to do.

most people lose their hunger for several months (up to a year) after surgery, so it's not likely that you'll start feeling hungry any time soon...

weight fluctuations are normal - they're due to things like water retention and how full your intestines are. And yes - weight loss does slow down quite a bit after the big drop the first month or so. Plus you may be dealing with occasional stalls, too, which are also very common. If the fluctuations are playing with your mind too much, try weighing just once or twice a week - then you'll be more focused on long-term trends and won't be distracted by the daily fluctuations.

liquids go right through you so no - not bad. Your stomach will tell you if/when you're drinking too much/too quickly. I would have been able to drink that much in four hours, too, when I was a few days out.

my insurance company had some requirements, but my surgeon only required a two-week liquid diet right before surgery, a letter of support from my PCP, and all the common tests (sleep study, bloodwork, EKG - plus I had to have a cardiac stress test since I was over 50 years old). The three- or six-month supervised diet thing is usually a requirement of insurance companies - although I suppose some surgeons might require that, too. Mine didn't.

what keeps me on track is never, ever wanting to be morbidly obese again. That's not to say I don't have an occasional day when I really blow it. I do. But I get back on track the very next day.

I should add that there are different scales for measuring ferritin (and a lot of other blood values), so what's low on one scale might not necessarily be what's low on another. Your doctor will know if it's a problem and what to do about it. Mine was 168 on my last lab - although at one time it got down to around 30. I was able to bring it up with supplements - but some people malabsorb iron supplements and have to get infusions instead. But again, your doctor will know what to do.

yes - ferritin is the amount of stored iron you have in your system. 7 is crazy low. You're probably in infusion territory, but I'm not a medical professional. Your doctor will know what to do...

oh duh - I didn't realize that was the same thing! Having had probably 20 cats in my life time, I'm very familiar with the high BUN/normal creatinine thing!

I'm not sure if that will necessarily cause problems, but you'll probably be dealing with loose skin again after you lose weight...

no - you can get either surgery. But sleeve can sometimes make it worse (it doesn't happen to everyone - and some people have even said theirs got better, but it's something like a 30% chance that it could get worse). Bypass, on the other hand, often improves if not outright cures reflux. I had reflux before my surgery, and I didn't want to take the risk. But some people are OK with that risk - and again, there's a 70% chance it WON'T make it worse. So it comes down to how comfortable you are with the risk.

make sure you're drinking lots of fluids - that can help flush things out. Even for those who aren't having potential kidney-related issues, lots of fluids are recommended if you're on a high-protein diet. I just read that being obese can also affect kidneys and their related values - so it could be that your urea level was high even before surgery (did they do a baseline on your blood values prior to surgery, including your urea levels?). I also read that having WLS normally improves all this. I agree with Arabesque - we sometimes have abnormal readings of certain values (high liver values seems to be a common one, for one) when we're in the rapid weight loss phase. They usually normalize after a few months, when weight loss slows way down. But your surgeon and/or dietitian should be aware of that. I hope someone gets back to you on this - if nothing else, for peace of mind.

I get anxious before every surgery I've had, and they always go off without a hitch! Honestly, I think my RNY was the easiest surgery I've been through.

I just read a peer-reviewed article online that said myopathy is a rare complication, but it's related to vitamin deficiency - and usually in people who haven't been taking their vitamins. It's usually resolved when they start up with supplements again. But in your case, there aren't any deficiencies showing up in your bloodwork - so yea, this one is puzzling.

I haven't heard this one before, and I've been hanging out here for eight years. People do lose muscle as they lose weight, but getting enough protein and regular exercise keeps will keep you from getting too weak. And you're right - you would think nutrient deficiencies would show up on your blood tests. I agree with toodlerue - this is kind of baffling.

mostly water aerobics and swimming because I was too big at the time to do much else. Oh yea - walking and riding stationary bikes, too.

I wish I dumped. Unfortunately, I'm one of the lucky ones - or UNLUCKY ones, depending on your perspective. Sure would make me think twice about downing a bowl of ice cream...

in response to what someone said above, most people lose their hunger for several months with bypass, too. I'm currently taking a graduate-level nutrition course on weight loss and obesity, and ghrelin level was extremely low on RNY patients at one year out in a fairly large research study. both sleeve and RNY are good surgeries, and both have their pros and cons. There are some conditions that make one surgery more appropriate for you than the other, but if you don't have those conditions (which from what you said, it doesn't sound like you do), it really comes down to personal preference. lots of people who've had WLS - both RNY and sleeve folks - take antidepressants. Shouldn't be a problem. With some medications they need to adjust your dosage or put you on a different med, but there are workarounds for almost everything.

yes that seems normal to me. Once I got to around the year mark my weight loss slowed down to a crawl. We're talking maybe two lbs a month. But I kept at it and it eventually came off... also, stalls late in the game seem to be more frequent and last longer. So many times I said "well, this must be it...", and then I'd end up dropping a couple more pounds.

the value even more critical is ferritin. That's the amount of stored iron in your body. When that gets too low, they usually recommend an infusion.

swelling will go away. as far as weight, most of us "gain" a few lbs while at the hospital (some people have reported "gaining" up to 10 lbs!). It's because you're pumped up with IV fluids while you're there, which is essentially salt water, which some people retain. It takes a few days for it to work its way out of your system. I don't think I weighed myself until about the second week, because I was afraid I'd see a higher number on my scale then when I entered the hospital and freak out about it, even though in my mind I knew what was going on..

I took three weeks off, but could have gone back after two. I felt fine at that point, just tired in the afternoons.