catwoman7

iron can be hard on some people's stomachs. Carbonyl iron and heme iron (heme iron is derived from animals) are usually easier on people's stomachs. There are a couple of other versions that are easy on the stomach, too, but I can't remember what they are. Does anyone else remember?

the place my insurance company covers has a decent reputation, so I just went there.

Bypass was once the gold standard of weight loss surgeries up until a few years ago, when sleeve took over. It's easier for surgeons to perform, it's cheaper, and a lot of people are afraid of the bypass. Thus, sleeve is currently the most popular weight loss surgery. I went with bypass because I had GERD prior to surgery. Bypass usually improves if not outright cures GERD, whereas sleeve can make it worse (doesn't happen to everyone - and some people say their GERD even improved after getting sleeved, but the risk of having it get worse was too high for my comfort, so I chose bypass). bypass is the stronger of the two surgeries, but sleeve is close. And yes, you have more options for revision after sleeve, but then, very few people who have bypass get theirs revised. honestly, they both have their pros and cons. There are some health conditions (like GERD) that would make one surgery more appropriate for you than the other, but barring that, it really comes down to personal preference. They're both good surgeries and you'll find many examples on here of people who've been very successful with both. I love my bypass and would choose it again if I had to make the choice today.

I'd just take it with a small swig of water either right before or after eating.

I'm the same as a couple of the others - close friends and family knew, as well as others who were obese and asking a genuine question. For most others, I told them I was working with a dietitian and exercising like a fiend. People without a history of weight problems usually believe that schlock and are satisfied with that answer.

I used to hear reports that they didn't have enough of what we need, but that was a few years ago. They may be better now. I know that a lot of clinics are OK with them (including mine), but I always opted for Centrum or the generic equivalent, which my clinic's RD said were actually a better choice. here are the recommendations of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Just make sure that whatever you pick meets their basic recommendations for your type of surgery, and you should be good: ASMBS-Nutritional-Guidelines-2016-Update.pdf

I was only allowed to walk for the first four weeks (in fact, strongly encouraged to do so). At four weeks out, I was cleared to do everything except for weights. At eight weeks out, I was cleared for weights.

I was on chewables for the first several months (then I was allowed to switch to tablets). I don't know that any of the chewables are terrific, but I always got Centrum Silver or a generic equivalent. You can sometimes find those in chewable form (I always found them - but I know some people have trouble finding them). They were OK.

recovery was much harder and longer than it was from my RNY, but I would say the three months you mentioned is an exaggeration. Well, I may have had some discomfort for that long, but I could have worked. I retired before I had my plastic surgeries so I don't know exactly how many weeks it took, but I was pain or had some pretty significant discomfort for probably three or four weeks - at least with the lower body lift. Arm/breast lift wasn't as bad - but you're not supposed to reach for things for awhile after having an arm lift, so it could be a problem if you have to reach for things at work (this was hard to do - I caught myself reaching a few times when I shouldn't have been....). I didn't have a thigh lift, so I can't address that one...

I was "allowed" to take pills the size of a pencil eraser or smaller as soon as I got home from the hospital. I had to wait two or three weeks on the larger ones (and I only had two that were "larger"). One I was able to split using a pill splitter, so I could take that one after all as long as I split it. The other one the PA at my clinic said it was fine to hold off on for a couple of weeks. So in other words, I never crushed anything.

I felt kind of nauseated the day of surgery (it's the anesthesia - in my surgeries since then (three plastic surgeries), I've asked for one of those anti-nausea patches they put behind your ear before the surgery - works like a charm!). I let the nurses know, though (that is, after my RNY), so they put Zofran in my IV bag, which did the trick. I had very little to no pain while in the hospital or once I got home, so I didn't even bother with the pain meds they sent me home with. The only uncomfortable thing was getting in and out of bed. If I was lying down, I was fine - and once I was standing up, I was also fine, but the transitioning between the two was tough - my abs felt like I'd done 1000 crunches. pain is all across the board - some people have it - some don't (or have very little), but I would say based on the posts I've seen here in the eight years I've been on BP is that most of us don't experience much - if any - pain with these surgeries. But if you're one of the ones who does experience it, take your pain meds as directed to keep on top of it. You don't want to wait until it's really bad - just keep on schedule and should be manageable (and also keep in mind that's only a few days at most) I also had buyer's remorse the first couple of weeks after surgery (as in "what did I just do to myself? And why?"), but that's pretty common. Once I got through that, I was really glad I got the surgery and have been ever since. I think it literally saved my life.

it'll likely be temporary, but I would suggest taking full advantage of that while it lasts - turn the negative into a positive. If food doesn't appeal to you that much, then you likely won't eat all that much of it. You'll start seeing it more as fuel. Which is what we actually should be doing - seeing food as fuel. I completely lost my hunger and appetite for five months, and although it was disconcerting at first, by the end I wished my hunger & appetite had never come back. It was so much easier to stick to my program when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food.

being restricted on your food choices is temporary. When I hit the six-month mark, any and all food restrictions were lifted. After that, it came down to what my stomach could tolerate (and I can eat pretty much anything except for really fatty meals). I just have to eat smaller portions than I used to, otherwise my weight will start heading north again. I should add that I was a pretty healthy eater even before surgery (although granted, I ate way too much of it). I did enjoy occasional treats, but I mostly ate pretty healthy. If you're used to eating a lot processed food and sugary or fried things, then you'll be dealing with bigger changes than I had to and might miss some of that - but I don't miss anything since I can eat pretty much anything I want to again (although there are times when I'm eating some fantastic pizza or barbecue and wish I could shovel more and more in like I used to be able to do - but it would be physically painful for me to scarf up half a large pizza or a huge pile of BBQ in one sitting with this tiny stomach). But to answer your question, no, because I eat pretty much what I did before - I just eat a lot less of it.

my blood pressure normally runs about 90/60. No one has ever said anything about it - other than a nurse saying I have the BP of a teenager (and I'm in my 60s). I took that as she thinks it's great!

fortunately I don't deal with chronic anxiety or panic attacks, but I always freak out before any surgery - and they've all ended up going really well! Being nervous or anxious before surgeries is pretty normal.

yes - like others have said, you normally won't feel the restrictions until you move to solid food. Liquids and purees go right through you.

I don't have that issue, but some people have to have the dosages of their medications re-adjusted after surgery.

that's mostly false. I have no problem taking pills and could take most as soon as I got home from the hospital. The only kind they usually switch us from are extended release versions, because they don't stay in our stomachs long enough for that (our pyloric valves are bypassed, so food moves through us as soon as it's small enough to go through the stoma). There are usually other options for extended release meds, though. Also some people also have to get their dosages adjusted on some meds because of the malabsorption factor, but that's pretty much it when it comes to pills. Your clinic may advise you to crush pills the first month or so after your surgery, but I never had to do that. Even if yours insists you do that, it's not a forever thing.

a lot of people seem to be afraid of the bypass, but I went with it because I had GERD pre-surgery, and I didn't want to risk having it get worse (I know it doesn't always, but I didn't want to risk it). I wasn't afraid of it though - and at the time I had surgery the standalone sleeve was still fairly new, so I also didn't want to take the risk of it turning out to be "Lapband 2" (although at this point, it's been around long enough that we know it's not "Lapband 2", so that wouldn't be one of my concerns if I had to make the decision today). However, given my pre-surgery GERD, I still would have gone with the bypass if I had to make the choice again. Anyway, I love my bypass, and I'm glad I had it.

dumping on sugar is more common than dumping on fat (and even given that, only about 30% of bypass patients dump on sugar). I've never dumped, but from what I've heard from those who do, it's more the added sugar (as opposed to the more natural kind). I know ice cream is a big one for dumpers. I don't know the answer to the question about fat because I don't personally know anyone who dumps on fat, but I know some people do. Hopefully someone who does (or at least knows) will see this and answer it for you.. I do know that most dumpers can tolerate *some* sugar (or fat). They just can't eat a ton of it at one sitting. In other words, they can usually eat a cookie or a couple of forkfuls of cake, but they can't go overboard on sweets like they could pre-surgery or they'll be sorry!!!

like someone above said, the relationship itself may not get worse (although it COULD), but losing weight tends to give people more confidence and the realization that they have other choices and don't have to put up with the crap any more.

I've heard mixed reviews about vitamin patches - they seem to work for some people, but not for others. I never tried them because I figured I'd be one of the latter. I HAVE thought about getting some to take on trips, though, since they'd be a lot more convenient - and if they ended up not working for me, a few days without vitamins wouldn't be the end of the world.

I don't have any advice for you since I worked a very regular schedule at the time (I'm not in health care - I'm a retired librarian), but the comment about vending machines in hospitals made me laugh. I had two of my plastic surgeries in Chicago. After the second one, I slept most of the day but was wide awake - and starving - around 8:00 pm. It was too late to order food from the cafeteria, so I sent my husband out to the nurses' station to see if they had some kind of snacky thing I could eat. They didn't - so they told him to go down to the basement vending machines. He came back and asked me what I wanted out of the vending machine, since that was our only option. Stumped, I said something at least semi-healthy (since I was very aware of the kind of crap vending machines are normally stocked with), I finally suggested something like a pack of peanut butter crackers or one of those little bags of peanuts. He came back up a few minutes later and said they didn't have either of those things - just chips and candy bars. WTF? In a HOSPITAL? Luckily, I remembered there was a Walgreens down the street, so I sent him over there to pick up a couple of protein bars. So anyway, yea - sometimes there isn't much available during odd times - even at a hospital!

mine came back at five months out. I wish it never had...

it's a pretty common problem with both sleevers and bypassers. It's probably due to the high protein diet and/or a some of the supplements (calcium and iron supplements are typical culprits). A lot of us take stool softeners or a capful of Miralax every day to keep on top of it. Magnesium tablets can help as well.