catwoman7

Gastric leaks are almost always discovered before you even leave the hospital. So you can put that fear aside.

pain is all across the board, but most people don't have much (if any) pain with these surgeries. Plus they'll send you home with pain meds, so if you're one of the people who experiences pain, you'll have meds for it.

I think that's true. Plus some doctors these days seem to be more comfortable with older adults being overweight (not obese - but overweight) than they are with younger adults. My last PCP said older adults in the 23-27 BMI range tend to be the healthiest, and my current PCP said she's fine with her older patients being 10-15 lbs overweight as long as they're otherwise healthy. From what I've read, they're not alone in thinking this. I weigh the same now as I did in high school, and I think I look thinner now than I did then (I'm in my 60s)

I did gain about 20 lbs in year 3 post-op, but a 10-20 lb rebound weight gain after hitting your lowest weight is very common. And to be honest, I think I look better at this higher weight, even though part of me would like to get back down there again! To maintain it, I track everything I eat and try to get some exercise most days of the week.

I loved it at the time, but looking at pictures of me at my lowest weight now (which was right smack in the middle of a normal BMI for my height), I looked pretty drawn. I look better now at this higher weight. The PA in my clinic said people who've lost massive amounts of weight look thinner that never-been-obese people who are the same weight because your bones and muscles are heavier. You needed a lot of bone and muscle to hold up all that weight. Granted, you do lose bone and muscle as you lose fat, but not all of it. And then there's excess skin - but that doesn't weigh very much. Maybe five lbs or so.

that happened to me once. They just had me cut back on my iron supplements.

my clinic gave me two or three choices. If none of those worked for me, I'm sure they would have given me more options (although probably further out)

100%. But I've gained 15-20 lbs in the last three years or so - but I think it's still much higher than the average (average for bypass being 70%)

^^^^ I second everything that she said.

I had my weight loss surgery through UW-Madison. I lost over 200 lbs, but then, I was VERY compliant with the program. Average weight loss with bypass is 70% of excess weight, with sleeve it's 65% - although as with any average, you'll find people who lose less or more than that. I would have been fine with a 70% loss (but I lost more than that). message me if you want to chat about the program.

elevated liver enzymes don't necessarily mean anything is wrong. It's very common to have them the first year or so post-surgery. It's because rapid weight loss is really hard on livers.

you mentioned bad swelling in your feet and legs - sounds like water retention. That can definitely cause weight fluctuations.

strictures are actually much more common with bypass, and even then, only about 5% of bypassers get them. That said, it *could* be stricture -- but that's pretty rare with sleevers. GERD would be much more likely. I had two strictures - they just do an upper endoscopy and stretch them out while they're in there - so no surgery required. It's a pretty easy-peasy fix.

I don't know of anyone right off hand, but what you could do with that time is do your six-month supervised diet, if your insurance requires it (many do - but not all). I had to switch insurance companies to get WLS coverage. I decided in June of 2014 that I wanted to get surgery, but my new insurance wouldn't kick in until Jan 2015. So I asked if they would accept my six-month supervised diet requirement if it was done under my old insurance company. Turned out yes, I could - so that's what I did. So I already had that out of the way when I entered the bariatric program in Jan 2015.

yep - definitely! I had my husband take pictures of me from all four sides every month on my surgery date until I hit maintenance. I couldn't always tell the difference from one month to the next, but when I compared one month's pictures with pictures taken three or four months earlier - yep---big difference! And now I have this wonderful photo documentation of my journey, too!

I had my bypass several years ago and take pills. The only thing you can't take are extended release pills, but there are usually substitutes for those. although I don't know about pills for MS, specifically.

I'm part of a group of people who are mostly several years out of surgery. Some have tried WW. Some of them really like it and have been successful with it, but for others, it's not their "jam" and they gave up. I guess all you can do is try it and see if it works for you. others have tried things like Keto, intermittent fasting, or going back to logging and eating protein first, etc (in other words, the basics). Whatever works! BTW - 800 kcal a day being as far out as you aren't isn't really sustainable. Start logging to find out what your calorie range is (i.e., about how many calories does it take to keep your weight where it is. May take a month or so of logging to figure this out). Then, if you want to lose, cut back from there. Maybe 100 calories at a time. For example, if it takes 1600 kcal a day to maintain your weight, try cutting back to 1500. If after a couple of weeks nothing's happening, cut back to 1400. Rinse and repeat.

I had one after plastic surgery, but not bariatric surgery.

I never tried baby food. The thought of it was disgusting (weird how we feed it to babies, though!). I ate things like refried beans and hummus a lot. And Greek yogurt.

I would think you'd still have time to change your mind...

53 lbs in three months is on the high end of someone at your starting weight. hair loss is very common. It's temporary - usually lasts about three or four months, then grows back. Just keep on top of your supplements and protein to keep it from getting worse than it would otherwise.

losing more weight pre-op generally means slower loss the first month. It's because a lot of the loss the first month is water weight. If you lost weight pre-op, then you've already lost the water weight. After that water weight drop, the rate of weight loss is about the same regardless if you lost weight pre-op or not.

I was blowing through sizes so fast that I bought everything except for underwear at thrift stores (like Goodwill). Actually, I still get most of my clothes there, and I've been in maintenance for over five years!

I've always taken Centrum Silver or the generic equivalent. If you take grocery store/drug store vitamins, you have to take two a day (some of the bariatric specific ones you only have to take one a day)

it's not super common, but then again, it's not UNcommon. I've had bouts with it, and I know a few others who have as well. I was told to eat something every 3-4 hours - preferably a protein, but if I have a carb, then be sure to pair it with a protein. Seems to have worked. Although it sounds like you may have a more severe case, or there's something else going on. I'm glad they're sending you for testing. I hope everything is OK...