catwoman7

people are kind of across the board when it comes to hair loss. Some don't lose any at all - some lose a lot - but most of us are somewhere in the middle. It's not really common for it to fall out in noticeable clumps - most people just kind of "shed" for a few months. I didn't lose very much hair. I know I was losing it because I saw a more strands than normal in my combs, but just looking at my hair in the mirror, I couldn't tell. So I'm sure no one else could. about all you can is keep on top of your supplements and protein so it won't get any worse than it will anyway, which you're already doing. And keep your fingers crossed! I don't know if not manipulating it would make a difference, but someone else might have experience with that.

some of those things are requirements of the insurance companies, not the surgeons. Since you're self-pay, it makes sense you may not have to deal with as many requirements as other people. also, I've had several surgeries - the only time I've ever met with the anesthesiologists is about an hour before they roll me into the operating room.

it's a stall. Almost all of us experience them - and the first one is usually within the first 4-6 weeks after surgery (it's usually the third week, but not always - sometimes it's the second week and sometimes it's the sixth week. But if you want more info about, search this site for the "three week stall" (it's so common to have it the third week that we call it the three week stall). There are over 17,000 posts on it here on BP (and no, I am NOT kidding..). best way to deal with it is to stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days. Stalls typically last 1-3 weeks before you're on your way again. And just so you know, this is likely the first of several stalls. It's a normal part of weight loss.

you're not likely to feel restriction until you move to solid food. For one thing, liquids and purees move through your stomach pretty quickly. For another, you've had nerves cut, and it takes awhile for them to regenerate. Also, once you start feeling restriction, your "full" cues might be different than they were pre-surgery, and it can take awhile to figure out what the new ones are. Some of us (myself included) feel a pressure in our chests. Some people get runny noses when full - or start sneezing. I know it's weird, but.... I don't feel "full" the way I did before surgery - as mentioned before, I just start feeling pressure - and when I do, i know it's time to stop eating or I'll be sorry... constipation is common and in fact can be a chronic issue for some even years after WLS. Many of us take a capful of Miralax every day to keep on top of it. Others take magnesium, stool softeners, or eat a few prunes every day. Whatever works for you... Of course, yours might be temporary - but for some of us, it's a chronic problem. It's mostly due to the high protein diet and some of the supplements (namely, iron and calcium) rather than the surgery itself. fatigue will go away as for reflux, does your surgeon have you on a PPI like omeprazole or panteprazole? A lot of surgeons just put the patients on them automatically for the first 3-6 months. If yours doesn't, let them know you're having reflux issues.

the mortality rate on RNY is 0.3%. It's even lower for sleeve (can't remember the percentage for that one since I was an RNY patient, so that's the one that mattered to me). So you have at least a 99.7% chance of not dying. That's an excellent stat as far as surgeries go. Better than the stats for hip replacement surgery, and they do those all the time. people have died from things like tonsillectomies and wisdom tooth extractions. But how often does that happen? Almost never. Same with this one. your mom may be remembering weight loss surgeries 30-40-50 years ago, when they WERE dangerous and some people died from them. That just isn't true anymore. Today's surgeries are very safe. You'll be fine. Edited to add that I agree 100% with the above poster. You're more likely to die from an obesity-related complication than you are from the surgery.

I'd let my doctor know. It could be something like low blood pressure or low glucose. edited to add that dehydration could cause some of this, too. At any rate, call your clinic.

the first year I did not, but since I hit maintenance, yes. I can eat 1-2 slices of pizza now (different from pre-op when I could down 1/2 a large pizza in one sitting). I also eat chocolate occasionally. There's really nothing I can't eat now other than highly fatty meals. My husband and I used to go out for Friday night fish fries when I was pre-op, but I couldn't do that anymore. They consisted of two or three deep-fried filets, tartar sauce, French fries, cole slaw made with mayo, and a roll with butter. My stomach rebels at that much fat now (although I could probably have one fish filet if everything that came with it wasn't fat-laden). other than that - yep - there's nothing I can't eat, although I eat it less frequently and in much smaller quantities than I did before. But then, that's true of a lot never-been-obese people, too.

yep - I was one of them!

they probably won't stop it completely, but not getting enough protein will likely make it worse! So yea - meeting the protein and vitamin requirements will help!

there must be some ingredient in those shakes you're reacting to. Are they the only shakes your clinic allows?

you can still lose weight because you'll still have the restriction - the only issue is the hunger suppression may not be as strong at this point. hair loss usually doesn't start right away - for a lot of people it starts around three months out, but it can be even later. Mine was months 5-9. I remember reading somewhere that if it doesn't start by about six months out, you're probably not going to experience it - but you're still in that range, so...

not dumping. Dumping involves chills, shakes, racing heartbeat. Sometimes nausea and/or vomiting, but that's not the "main event"

I think fairly shortly after surgery I was allowed to have three "meals" and two small, planned snacks. But plans vary...

my hunger came roaring back at five months out. After it does, things do get a lot harder...

you won't start gaining as long as you follow your program's guidelines. there's a chance your stomach may not be ready to move on (most of us can - but some can't progress to the next stage quite as fast as others). So if your stomach rebels, just back up to the liquid stage for a few more days and then try again.

btw - you may not need to go top notch if you're just planning on getting a panni. On those, they just remove the skin - there's usually not an effort to make everything look "normal", like there is when you have a full lower-body lift. Some (maybe most? Not sure) people are even left without a belly button after a panni - so there's that to consider, too.

strictures get progressively worse pretty quickly, to the point you can't even keep fluids down. At that point, it's an emergecy. I had two of them (at weeks 4 and 😎 eight (not sure why that emoji is there). It only took a few days before I couldn't keep water down.

I didn't have mine weighed, but I know skin doesn't weigh very much. Most people say 5 lbs or less was removed. Although if you have a ton of lipo done, it could be more than that. I had one of those commercial DEXA scans done (at one of those places like DEXAFit) so I knew how much of my weight was fat, muscle, bone, etc. I thought at 146 lbs that I could have lost another 15 or 20 lbs, but I was told no - I was only 22% muscle, which is pretty lean for a woman - so I needed to wind up my weight loss efforts and just try to maintain.

many surgeons recommend you wait a year after hitting your goal weight to be sure your weight is stable. A 10 to 20 lb gain after you hit your lowest weight is unfortunately VERY common - it usually occurs during year 3. And a gain of more than 10 or 15 lbs can affect your surgery results. some insurance companies don't cover plastic surgery at all (mine did not). Some will cover it if you have some medical issue with it that doesn't respond to traditional treatment - like a chronic rash. So if you have those kinds of issues, see a doctor because you'll need the documentation to submit to the insurance company. I had my surgery with Lawrence Zachary, who's on the faculty at the Univ of Chicago - but he does his self-pay surgeries at Weiss on the north side. He specializes in plastic surgery for massive weight loss patients and is nationally known, so he is pricey. Dave Shifrin (in the Loop) doesn't specialize in it, but he's done a TON of PS for massive weight loss patients and is also nationally known (and also pretty pricey). I had a consult with him as well. I also had a consult with Daniel Krochmal. Not well-known nationally although he had some pretty impressive fellowships (he's younger with not as many years under his belt) - I liked him as well but decided to go with Zachary due to his reputation and many years of experience. there are lots of surgeons in Chicago - so set up 3-5 consults as you may get different ideas from different surgeons. I definitely wanted someone who either specialized in it or has done a boatload of them. realself.com is a good resource for creating your list of people to consult with...

I had one of those companies that did not cover WLS regardless of the circumstances. Luckily, we had a choice of insurance companies with my former employer, so I switched to one that covered it. But like Greater Fool said, if yours claims they cover it but is just making things difficult for people to get it, then follow his suggestions../

it's very common for hunger to be suppressed for anywhere from a couple of months to up to a year after surgery (for a small minority, the suppression is permanent, but for most of us, hunger comes back sometime during the first year). Be glad for it as it makes sticking to your plan much easier if you're never hungry. But that said, you DO need to stick to your plan. You need the calories and nutrients to maintain your health.

I had my husband take photos of all three sides of me once a month on my surgery date until I hit maintenance 20 months later. I'm SO glad I have those photos! GooseyGirl is correct - you don't always see the difference month to month, but you can by comparing photos to ones that were taken three or four months earlier. Plus I love having the photo documentation of my journey!

those are pretty rare after the first three months post-op, but I suppose .. The numbing part is weird, though - unless it's from malnutrition? Anyway, yes, you're right - not normal or healthy. I'm hoping the surgeon checked all this out.

it's pretty standard for surgeons to prescribe PPI's for awhile after surgery. I had them for a year - but three-six months seems more common now (probably because of the bad rap long-term PPI use has gotten the last few years). so you just now got a lapband? Or did you have one before and this was a revision surgery? I was just a little surprised because that very few surgeons place lapbands any more - it's been largely replaced by the sleeve (as the non-RNY option)

interesting. I had peroneal nerve damage three or four years ago, and the whole lower half of my left leg was numb for about eight months. I attributed it to a sprained ankle - but maybe it was coincidence?? At any rate, the feeling eventually came back, but it took about eight months.