catwoman7

major complications and dying from surgery are VERY rare. That was more of an issue 30 or 40 years ago, but techniques have improved tremendously since then. but yes - I had the same worries and went back & forth about having surgery for about 10 years before I did it. I think what decided it for me was the realization that I was more likely to die from complications of being obese than I was from complications from the surgery.

you'll lose fat from everywhere - just give it time...

some people don't lose ANY weight the first week. A lot of us come home from the hospital up to 10 lbs heavier due to the all the IV fluids they pump into you. that said, 5 lbs is pretty normal. Most WLS patients (at least normal ones - not the kind who are on "My 600 lb Life) lose in the 15-25 lb range the first month. So 5 lbs in week one is pretty normal.

I think I had to my nails unpolished. They watch them (or someone does) while they're operating to make sure they don't turn blue.

I just checked - ALK phosphate is also a liver enzyme. I wouldn't worry about that. Liver enzymes are usually high for about a year after bariatric surgery. It's because rapid weight loss is hard on livers. It'll stabilize in about a year when your weight loss slows down.

my ferritin is always high...occasionally over 200. They've never mentioned any issues with it. It's just stored iron that your body uses when it's getting low. At most they may have you cut back on a bit on your iron supplement. I don't think I've ever had my ALK tested - just my liver enzymes (ALT and AST). my MPV and RDW are also usually high - again, they've never said anything about it. most people lose their hunger for the first few months after surgery - and it almost always comes back. Mine came roaring back at five months out. Milk that for everything it's worth. It'll never in your life be easier to lose weight than it is right now - when you're not hungry and don't give a flip about food. I wish my hunger had never come back.

whoops - sorry - I think my cat stepped on the "Quote" button!!

can't see the scar at all!

took me 20 months. I started at over 300 lbs. the key is following the rules and sticking to your program. If you do, you'll get there - whether fast or slow.

it's really an individual thing. It depends on your height, activity level, metabolic rate, and how much weight you're trying to maintain. As an example, you can eat a lot more calories if you're trying to maintain 160 lbs vs 120 lbs. I'm 5'6", fairly active, and try to stay in the 150-160 range. I can eat 1700 calories and maintain that. But i know women (WLS) who can eat 2000 calories and maintain, and others who have to stick to 1200-ish to maintain. the best way to figure out your range is trial and error, unfortunately.

they didn't have Webinars back when I had mine seven years ago, but I had to go to an informational session (they had them scheduled once a month) where one of the surgeons from the practice spoke. They mostly just went over the different surgeries, talked about the benefits of weight loss surgery, and entertained questions. But yes - it was required. I'm glad I went because that's what convinced me I needed to have this done.

things sort of shift around during year 2 or 3 and people do look better (as in not as "drawn"), but if there's a lot of sagging, you'll still probably have some. I had a neck lift last year and finally lost my "turkey neck".

you're losing way faster than I did. I think a lot of people's expectations are based on shows like "My 600 lb Life". You have to keep in mind that these people start out WAY heavier than the average WLS patient, who typically weighs in the 200s or 300s. So OF COURSE they're going to lose a lot faster than we do. you are doing great!

your body, not theirs. Quit listening to the naysayers. for most of us, bariatric surgery was the only thing that helped us get the weight off and keep it off. At almost 400 lbs, I would have been lucky to have seen my 60th birthday. Now I'm past 60 and feeling better than I've felt in years. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. P.S. these "naysayers" are not medical professionals, and they're not experts on bariatric surgery. Again, smile, nod, and let their opinions go in one ear and out the other.

I still drink a protein shake every day as my mid-morning snack. That'll pretty much guarantee that I'll get up to 100 grams by the end of the day. and I agree with Tek - some people don't understand what true dumping is. If you just mean vomiting after eating, that's not dumping.

there is no consensus among surgeons on this. None. Some patients are drinking it before they even leave the hospital. Others are told they can never drink it again for the rest of our lives. And then there are those in the middle - who say they can drink it after x amount of time (one month ....or three months...or six months). So I'd check with your clinic to see what they say.

seven years out. The only macro I pay attention to at this point is protein. I have to have around 100 grams a day because we discovered early on that I malabsorb it, but most patients do fine on 60-80 grams. calories per day is going to vary from person to person. I know women who can eat 2000 and maintain, and I know other women who have to stay around 1200 to maintain. It depends on how tall you are, how active you are, your metabolic rate, and what weight you're trying to maintain. If you're trying to maintain 160 lbs, for example, you can eat a lot more than if you're trying to maintain 120 lbs. That said, I can maintain my current weight if I eat around 1700 calories a day, but again, that's a really individual thing. You just have to play around with calorie ranges until you find the one that works for you. hardcore rule - weight 30 minutes after eating to drink anything. That one is for life. dumping syndrome - only about 30% of bypassers have that - I've never had it. But it's caused by eating too much sugar or too much fat at one sitting. You can prevent it by avoiding or limiting the amount of sugar or fat you eat at one sitting.

six months after surgery (or even two months after surgery), ask yourself if you still feel it's the easy way out (or seven years after surgery - which is where I'm at at the moment...)

cooked for sure. It took awhile before my stomach could tolerate raw vegetables. Cooked zucchini should work. Or cooked carrots. Not sure about steamed green beans - may still be too fibrous. Unless they're REALLY soft...

good decision not to do lapband. Very few surgeons place those anymore because so many people have had problems with them. It's largely been replaced by the sleeve as the non-RNY option. I'm always freaked out before surgeries - I think it's pretty normal. That said, I love my gastric bypass and would do it again in a heartbeat. Best decision I've ever made.

if you have GERD, go with bypass. Sleeve can make that worse about 30% of the time (and some people who've never had reflux issues end up developing them after sleeve). If you don't have GERD, then it pretty much comes down to personal preference. you don't have to take meds the rest of your life with bypass - but you do have to take vitamins for the rest of your life - but you'll likely have to do that with sleeve, too (there's one person on here I know of who doesn't have to take vitamin supplements with her sleeve surgery, but most sleeve patients do). The difference, as someone else pointed out, is that slacking off on your vitamins has worse consequences for bypassers than it does for sleevers. I love my bypass and would choose it again if I had to make that decision today. But some people want to go with sleeve, for one of the reasons you mentioned (they feel it will be less invasive - although cutting out most of your stomach and throwing it out also seems invasive to me, so....???). Check with the surgeon and see if he/she feels one would be more appropriate for you than the other - but they're both good surgeries and you'll find people on here who've had great success with both.

other sugar alcohols (in addition to malitol, which seems to be the worst offender) can cause those issues, too. Sugar alcohols all have names that end in -itol (for example, xylitol). So maybe it's some other type of sugar alcohol ? (as in not malitol - but one of the other ones??)

stalls typically last 1-3 weeks, but it's not unheard of for them to last longer. Just stick to your plan and your weight loss will eventually start up again. Stay off the scale if it's messing with your head too much.

yes - they should be fine regardless of when you take them. On a related issue, although the current iron form I take (carbonyl) doesn't upset my stomach, i started taking iron before bed because the original type I was taking DID bother my stomach - taking it before bed helped with that (and I still take my iron before bed - just out of habit at this point)). So I don't see a reason why you can't take a multi before bed.

it really depends on the person. The two dietitians at my clinic are really into "intuitive eating" and hate the fact that I count calories, but counting calories has worked for me and I'm not about to give it up. But some people do much better with things like intuitive eating. I say whatever works!