catwoman7

I think most pre-ops and early post-ops worry about the hair loss - but I think most of us long-timers will tell you that it's just a blip on the screen in the grand scheme of things. It's temporary, and most people don't lose enough for others to notice (some do, of course - but most don't). I lost a little - but I'm sure no one else noticed. there's really nothing you can do about it. If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen (and not everyone loses hair, so there's that). Some people say biotin helps, others say it doesn't do a darn thing. I did buy some but didn't take it consistently. I wouldn't sweat it, though. It may not even be noticeable, and it'll all grow back. You can always get it cut short or wear it up or wear scarves or something if it's noticeable. I know I was really freaked out about the thought, but it really wasn't bad - and I've pretty much forgotten about it at this point. Losing that 200 lbs (for me) was WELL worth the cost of any temporary hair loss. oh - the best thing you can do is keep on top of your supplements and protein requirements. That should keep it from getting any worse than it will otherwise.

VSG pretty much replaced the lapband a few years ago as the non-RNY option. It was still pretty new when I had my surgery, so I wasn't sure I wanted to go there (besides the fact I had GERD...). I was a little worried it might become "Lapband 2". I think at this point it's been around long enough to have proven itself - but yes, there do some to be a lot of people who end up revising.

could be..

raw vegetables - I was told to wait about five months before trying them, too. They can be really hard on your pouch. To be honest, at seven years out, they're still sometimes hard on my pouch (not always, but sometimes). This sounds weird, but sometimes when I'm having a snack attack, I'll start eating raw vegetables because sometimes they irritate my stomach so much that I can't handle eating anything else. Stops an attack dead in its tracks.... alcohol - also told to wait a year. I actually waited about three years. I rarely drink - maybe three or four times a year. It goes right into your blood stream, so you get really buzzed really fast. They have you wait because transfer addiction is a common problem. Some people who've never had a problem with alcohol before surgery develop it afterward - so this is part of the rationale behind them advising you to wait. I don't think my program ever said anything about bread (although it's been quite awhile), but maybe yours is one that pushes an ultra-low-carb diet, as many of them seem to do. Mine was a balanced diet, so they didn't really care too much about carbs, as long as they were the good kind. Still, I think it was probably a year before I ate bread. I still don't eat it very often because it sometimes sits like a brick in my stomach. Another thing about bread is that it's not terribly nutritious, and the first few months you can only handle a small amount of food - so they want you to focus on super nutritious things. I think I started eating salads at about five or six months out.

I don't know that all clinics do that. Mine just does VSG and RNY. I think MGB is pretty common in Europe, and some clinics are doing it here now...

lots of people have done that revision. The thing is, like with VSG, you're going to have to change your habits and follow the program to lose the weight. The surgery will only take you so far. I lost a truckload of weight, but I worked really hard at it. And yes, the revision should at minimum improve, and will likely eradicate, the GERD. btw - weight loss is never as strong or quick with revisions as it is with virgin surgeries, but that said, there are people who've been very successful with revisions. If you are committed, you'll get there.

according to statistics, only about 10-15% of bariatric patients make it to a normal BMI range, so that means only a small percentage of us would be doing weight (or other resistance) training, if we go by his advice. Resistance training is pretty important throughout life, especially as we age. So I'd have to say I don't agree with Dr. V there. I do agree that food intake is 90% of weight loss, though. Exercise can make a little difference, but not as much as most people think. It's basically good for overall health and building lean muscle, which is, of course, desirable.

it's going to vary pretty widely because it depends on so many factors besides starting BMI (although that's a big one, of course). Gender, age, metabolic rate, activity rate, what percentage of your body is muscle - those all play a role. that said, I lost 57 lbs before I had surgery (between my six-month supervised diet that was required by my insurance company, plus the two-week liquid diet required by the surgeon). At one year out, I was 129 lbs down from my surgery weight, and 186 lbs down from my all-time highest weight. I went on to lose another 50 or so lbs during year 2 (have gained 20 of it back since then, which is pretty common. A lot of us experience a 10-20 lb rebound gain after hitting our lowest weight). P.S. Just noticed this was posted in the gastric sleeve forum - I had bypass. Average loss tends to be a little more with bypass (although not by much), but it totally depends on the person. If you really stick to your program, you can be very successful with either.

a 5-6 lb gain in two weeks is almost too much to be due to a decrease in exercise or increase in food - so I suspect at last some of that is either water or full intestines. If so, at least a couple of lbs of that should drop off within a couple of days. As for the rest - if you're no longer logging your food intake, I'd start with that to see what and how much you're taking in. I find that if I take in more than 1700 calories for more than a day or two, my weight starts heading up (and that number is going to be different for everyone depending on age, gender, activity level, etc...). I'm OK with calorie counting, but some people hate doing that. If you're one who doesn't like it, then I'd go back to eating like you were a few months after surgery (as in NOT all the way back to protein shakes and an obscenely low number of calories - but the whole spiel of eating protein first, then nonstarchy vegetables. And then, if you're still hungry, maybe a small serving of fruit or whole-grain carb). losing weight can be a huge struggle once you're a few years out, but people do it...

I don't avoid or count carbs anymore - but I can't remember how long it's been. That said, there are some that don't sit that well with me so I don't eat much of them when I have them - like pasta, for example. It sits in my stomach like a brick, so when I do eat it, it's like half a cup. edited to add that I'm seven years out (almost)

I had surgery at age 55 after being overweight or obese for most of my life (and REALLY obese after age 30). I spent literally decades on pretty much every diet known to man. The most I'd ever lose was about 50 lbs (usually it was more like 10 or 20 lbs). Then inevitably, I'd gain it back. As I got into my 50s, at over 300 lbs, I was afraid I'd never live to see my 60th birthday unless I got that weight off. I, too, never had any medical issues with it - no diabetes, no heart issues - all vitals were within the normal range - but i knew all that was likely just around the corner - if not an early death - if I didn't do something about my weight. I went to several info sessions on weight loss surgery put on by different surgeons and clinics just to see what it was all about. This started about 10 years before I actually decided to have the surgery. The one where I made the decision to go through with it was one where the surgeon leading the seminar had a big chart that went over all the benefits (80% reduction in this health issue, 100% reduction in this other health issue, blah blah blah - he went through a whole litany of problems obese people typically have, and how much the surgery was likely to improve or eliminate them). So I decided then and there that the benefit was well worth the cost, and I was going to do it. I, too, was worried about the horror stories - but weighing almost 400 lbs was also a horror story - a horror story waiting to happen. Plus those horror stories are rare. As Arabesque said, people post about problems because they're looking for advice or support. Those of us who never had issues aren't likely to post about that (e.g., "I had surgery four years ago and never had any problems!!" (you occasionally do see a post like that - esp when we're trying to reassure people who are scared to do it, but overall, people are much more likely to post if they've had a problem, since again, they're looking for support)). Also, the surgical techniques have vastly improved over the years, and having weight loss surgery nowadays is quite safe - it's not like it was back in the 60s and 70s, when it really WAS a risky proposition. anyway, I'm part of the crowd who say their only regret is that they didn't have the surgery sooner. In retrospect, I don't know why I waited so long. Best decision I ever made!

I always have a box of sugar free fudgesicles and sugar free popsicles in my freezer for the occasional craving for something cold and sweet. another thing I do when that hits is take some low-cal vanilla Greek yogurt (such as Light & Fit, Carbmaster, or the one from Aldi's), stir in a couple teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, and top with a couple tablespoons of light or sugar free Cool Whip and a few raspberries. A healthy, fairly low-cal sundae!

at 160 lbs, you were only six lbs overweight (I'm also 5'6", and our normal BMI range goes up to 154 lbs). I doubt you even looked that "curvy" at that weight! So I'm surprised anyone would have even said anything - sheesh! They must have liked rail-thin women! my mother was always very appearance conscious. And most of my childhood I was on the high end of my normal BMI or slightly overweight. The way she went on and on about it, you'd have thought I weighed 400 lbs. I honestly think her obsession with my weight was a big factor in my lifetime of yo-yo dieting. I look back at pictures of myself in high school and college, where my weight bounced around between 155 and 170. Yes - I was technically overweight, but I looked fine. Sheesh. so anyway, yep - heard it from my mother since practically the day I was born. And of course, once I was an adult and started gaining weight (it got really bad once I hit my 30s), I heard it from other people, too. Do they think I didn't know it? Again - sheesh.

a 10-20 lb rebound after you hit your lowest weight is VERY common. I think it's just your body settling in where it feels comfortable - your new "set point". Of course, you can always lose it again if you decrease your calorie intake, but if this is your body's new "set point", it'll be a challenge to get back down to where you want to be and stay there. Been through this myself. I gained 20 lbs after hitting bottom. The first 10 pounds I was OK with because I'd gotten a bit too gaunt-looking, but I'd love to get rid of the last 10 lbs. Unfortunately, I've been struggling this for the last three or four years. I'm almost to the point of throwing in the towel. My current weight is fine, according to my surgeon and PCP, but I don't know - I looked pretty darn good 10 lbs ago!!

some SSRI's cause weight gain, others don't. Paxil (paroxetine) is notorious for weight gain. I think Wellbutrin is one of the better ones in that dept - it doesn't cause many people to gain weight. Not sure about Zoloft - but ask your doctor or pharmacist. If it's one that causes a lot of people to gain weight, maybe your doctor can prescribe a different one. if you need the med, you need the med - but again, there are some that aren't as bad - or bad at all - when it comes to weight gain.

panni just removes excess skin and doesn't necessarily have the goal of making everything attractive or even natural. In fact, some people lose their belly buttons, from what i understand lower body lift does front and back plus mons lift. Lipo and muscle tightening are usually included. There is an attempt to make everything look natural This is what most people get. Fleur de lis is the lower body lift with the addition of a vertical incision going all the way up your front - up to right under the ribs. It's usually done if you have a lot of excess skin high up where it's hard to reach with a normal lower body lift. It's not very common, but it does really pull everything tight. I don't think I'd bother with a plain panni unless you have financial restrictions. The full lower body lift is going to look a lot better. If you have a ton of excess skin, esp up near your ribs, you may want the FDL cut added in as well. I was kind of borderline, but we decided to do the standard lower body lift first, and then if I felt like I still had too much excess skin, he'd add a FDL cut later. I ended up not bothering with it. I do still have a little excess skin up near my ribs, but no one can see it other than me, and it's honestly not that bad unless I bunch it up with my hands (which - when are you going to do that??). It pretty much came down to which would I rather live with - a little excess skin high on my torso, or a big scar going up my middle? Six of one, half dozen of the other, was my opinion. So I just kept what I had (a standard LBL (lower body lift)). The FDL cut would have been additional money, too, since it would have been done in a separate surgery.

the only things I was told to avoid were NSAIDs and extended release versions of meds (the latter isn't harmful - it's just that it doesn't stay in your stomach long enough to truly be "extended release", since our pyloric valve has been bypassed).

I think I've read that Medicaid (and Medicare, too) cover bariatric surgery.

as I recall, you're pretty far out from surgery, so you should be able to eat any type of grain.

I think most of us were prescribed ursodiol for the first few months to lessen the chance of gallbladder issues. my surgeon prescribed omeprazole for a year, but I had surgery back before the downside of PPIs were widely known. From what I can tell (by hanging out on bariatric forums), most surgeons just prescribe it for around 3-6 months post-surgery now.

It's been awhile for me, but I don't think I looked pregnant - I also didn't have any issues with infection. I did wear compression for awhile, though - maybe two or three months? Can't remember. But it's not a forever thing, fortunately!

are they doing any muscle tightening? That and the lipo can be a bit painful - but they'll send you home with something for that. I had the whole lower body lift, so it was more involved than what you're getting - so your experience may be different. I used a walker the first couple of days because I couldn't stand up straight - and I also used a wedge pillow for quite awhile. After the first couple of days it was really more uncomfortable than painful - but in the end it was totally worth it. I love the results and would do it again. I didn't do the thigh lift, btw - so I can't speak to that. I had a lower body lift, breast lift, arm lift, and face lift (in three separate surgeries). Lower body lift was the toughest of the three - but again, totally worth it.

just so you know, a 10- to 20 lb rebound from your lowest weight is VERY common in year 3. I think it's just your body settling in to a weight it feels comfortable at - your new "set point". Of course, you can still lose again if you cut enough calories - but it could be a bit of a struggle if you're fighting against where your body wants to be. I've been dealing with the same thing since year 3 (and here I am in year seven...). different things work for different people. I count calories, which my dietitian hates (she's into "intuitive eating"), but I'm obviously not cutting back enough or I'd be losing weight. It's tough... I know other vets who've done Weight Watchers, Keto, and/or intermittent fasting. Whatever works - some approaches are more effective than others, depending on the person. to respond to your questions (sort of, anyway...), I don't do low carb - but the vast majority of my carbs are the healthy kind (fruit, veggies, whole grains). I have to average around 100 grams of protein a day because I malabsorb it (we discovered this pretty soon after my surgery), and I do manage to get that in every day. Other than protein, it's really just calories for me. If I stay in the 1500-1700 range, I can maintain my weight - but I'd really love to lose 10-15 lbs (!!)

yes - very common to develop lactose intolerance after surgery. Sometimes it's temporary - sometimes it's not. Hopefully yours will be temporary!

from what I've heard about a lot of bariatric Facebook groups (other than those sponsored by weight loss surgery clinics, of course), it's probably just as well! I think forums like these are better, to be honest.