Cervidae

My weight was 387 the day of my bypass, and 6 months later on February 17th I was 277, so my 6-month loss was 110 pounds. In the next six months from February 17th to August 17th, I lost 70 pounds. I would highly recommend you keep detailed records, updated with your weight and measurements every month on the same day! It's really fun and interesting to look back and see these crazy changes. Living it is a whole different story.

Hello! I have pretty severe PCOS and have suffered virtually every symptom possible of it since right when puberty started. I don't think one specific surgery is particularly better than the other, especially when you aren't supersized. I think your bmi is low enough that you could have success with either, unless there is some medical reason your doctor finds that would indicate one would be better for you than the other. As for my own experience, I had the bypass a little over a year ago and I'm down 182 pounds since the day of surgery, and I've had great success. The darkened skin, the intense cramping, the irregular or simply missing periods, the skin issues/acne, the fatigue, even the extra hair growth have all lessened or completely resolved. I am still on a hormone-containing birth control and spironolactone, but I honestly don't mind even a little. I would do anything to retain this kind of normalcy and health that I've been dreaming about for most of my life. All worth it a thousand times over!

I second James' comment. Contact your nut/doctor asap. I've seen people have healthy, successful pregnancies this early post op but you're going to need constant supervision and to put in a lot of extra effort to make sure you're getting everything you need. Take care! Get in there and speak to someone soon. Best of luck to you.

@@Djmohr is, as usual, right on the money. I know it sucks right now, but eating and drinking isn't about "wanting" or "feeling like you can/should", it's about giving your body the tools it needs to survive this big upheaval and to thrive and be healthy moving forward. Pretty much all of us have to unfortunately force ourselves to eat and drink, but think of it like medicine, which it is! It may not be appetizing, it may not be pleasant, and it may be hard to get down, but you wouldn't refuse to take medicine because of these reasons if you truly needed it to make you better. food and Water are your medicine right now. You must find a way to get them in. If you don't you'll become one of those statistics attached to bad words like "noncompliance" "major complications" and maybe even "death" if you let it go long enough. Good luck! It gets easier, trust me. Have you spoken to your doctor about nausea medication to help you get your liquid/protein in?

Some say making sure you have all your protein/vitamins/water will help. Some say building muscle will help. Some swear by miracle creams and so on. I'm sure all of these things won't hurt, but my surgeon, everyone at my surgeon's office, my dermatologist, my primary doctor, the plastic surgeon I spoke to at a seminar, and every other medical professional as well as maybe 99% of the wls patients who have lost tons of weight all say there is nothing you can do. As someone with extremely healthy skin and a family history of basically never aging and as someone who has lost hundreds of pounds, I have never seen any real proof that any of the above things work, only correlation. It would seem (and studies back this up) that sagging skin after massive weight loss is determined entirely by genetics, age, amount of weight loss, speed of weight loss, race, gender, even sheer dumb luck are all much more likely factors. It's just something we have to contend with, unfortunately. :S

I'm a little over a year post op, and I was about 10 months when I tried my first drink. I've never been a big drinker, but I have always been curious. I drank one shot (2 oz) of fireball over the course of 10 minutes or so. Like @@Djmohr, it affected me quite strongly and quite quickly, and was gone very quickly (maybe half an hour). I did count the calories. I have not had any alcohol since then and I don't really have any desire to. Perhaps a little glass of wine at Thanksgiving, little glass of champagne at New Years, etc. It's just not really worth the calories without some kind of special occasion to me.

Thank you all!

Afternoon all! I just had my one year post-op check up yesterday, though my surgiversary is not for another week (expect a post then too!) and my blood test results are already in (I love my bariatric center!). Recently there has been a lot of discussion and confusion about Multivitamin Patches and some of you may have seen in previous posts that I am a proponent of the multivitamin patch for people who have trouble swallowing pills as I do. I promised I would update about my blood test results when I found out, so here they are! Everything is completely normal except my folate, which is high, which will probably mean I need to reduce my Iron supplements. I'm going to wait to change anything until I speak with my doctor about it. I've been using the Vitamin patch for about 6 months. I also take a prescribed iron/b12/folic acid supplement. I have not taken Calcium for several months because my Premier Protein shakes, coupled with my diet, is obviously sufficient. So there you have it! My promised blood test results. I would like to add a disclaimer: ***my results may not be everyone's results. Some people may have deficiencies or pre-existing issues that affect levels in the blood, and the patch may not work as well for them. I am not claiming the patch is for everyone, nor am I even claiming it's working for me. It's entirely possibly that my Protein Shakes and diet happen to be enough for me right now to achieve these normal results. It's also entirely possible that this will change in the future. I'm simply showing you all how I'm doing right now while my daily regimen consists of Premier Protein shakes, one iron/b12/folic acid pills (prescribed by my surgeon), and a multivitamin patch.*** Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a healthy and happy rest of your day. <3 Cervidae.

Thank you all! <3 I'm very happy!

Now is an important time in the healing process, and you need to make sure you're not going over the recommended amount, even if it feels like you could. The nerves in your stomach that were cut have not knit back together yet, so if you did any damage or were eating too much/too fast, you wouldn't really feel it. More than likely, in a few weeks when the nerves become functional, you will get to that feeling of fullness. Take care! Best of luck to you.

Hello! I'm one year and 4 days post-RNY and I've been taking spironolactone for PCOS for several years. I've noticed I definitely still need it, even after losing over 240 pounds, and if I go off of it even for a day or two, my skin breaks out and I retain pounds of Water. It's pretty miserable. I wonder if I'll be on it forever. Still, I'm happy that it's still working just fine after surgery.

The non-smoking requirements exist because having nicotine in your system can greatly impede healing, so there's a very practical reason this may be an issue. In addition, it's going to be important not to smoke after after surgery because of the risk of ulcers, so a lot of places are extremely strict about it and want proof that you can resist smoking for whatever period of time they see fit. My program did a test that would detect nicotine in your system in the last 6 weeks, and made me sign a contract promising I would not smoke at all after surgery, especially not for the first two years. I do hope everything works out for you! I know how stressful this whole experience can be. Best of luck to you.

Sounds like you're doing well, all things considered. It's always tough in the beginning but it does get easier. Take care!

Good to hear everything went well! Welcome to the loser's bench. Take good care of yourself and walkwalkwalk/sipsipsip. Check in with us soon!

Yes! Great post! And something I really, really needed to hear and must remember during the times when I get obsessed with the number on the scale. I have a LIFE now and a future. Thank you for reminding me! And thank you for sharing this beautiful story and your pictures. p.s. - I'm going to an amusement park tomorrow, and I'm going to ride every single ride that I haven't fit into since I was 14.

Mellie May! She's my absolute favorite. I watched so many hours of her videos. She has chronicled her entire story from pre-surgery to two years out (current) and she is extremely honest and open about everything. She's great! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYSpwzYZVMq2DWYaEY6otXg

Hello and welcome! I had my one year post-bypass survigersary just yesterday on the 17th. I've been on this site every day since last year when I joined, and it's been a really important resource. Glad to have you here! If I can ever help at all, my inbox is always open.

The lack of hunger is normal and the stall is normal, unfortunately. Sometimes your body needs a break from the rapid weight loss. From your body's perspective, you're starving and it must do everything it can to save what remaining fat stores you have. Besides not getting quite as much water as you need, it sounds like you're doing everything right. My advice would to be patient and keep focusing on your protein/water intake. The rest will come off. Hang in there.

They can last anywhere from a week to a couple months. It's possible yours will break when you're able to get in more food and water. I know when I don't eat or drink enough, I definitely stall or slow wayyy down.

Sounds like you are in a stall. These are unfortunately normal and necessary. They sure can be discouraging though. It's also possible being dehydrated is contributing to your stall. It you're not eating much, lack of calories can contribute to it as well. Your body may be in starvation mode and trying to hold on to any bit of fat it can. I hope the scope leads to a resolution of this problem! Starvation/dehydration is scary, and incredibly dangerous. Hope this gets fixed for you soon! Hang in there and keep trying!

Yes! So excited for you! Today is my one year RNY surgiversary, and I can't even tell you how incredible the last year has been. That's going to be you next year this time! Good luck, keep us updated. Walk as much as you can and sleep whenever you are sleepy (which will be a LOT). You've got this.

Mine was very similar to yours, only it never did and still doesn't include crackers/bread/pasta. At one year out, the "lifestyle" plan I'm now on is all Protein, veggies with whatever room I have left, and fruits occasionally if I can tolerate them. We're also allowed good carbs like Beans and quinoa/brown rice in moderation (once or twice a week) and potatoes, preferably red skin, once a week at most. My nut encourages Fiber but doesn't like wheat products because she says they're just a carb vehicle to get you fiber but there are other ways that are lower in carbs and better for your glucose levels/digestion.

I know much of my family suspects, though I haven't told anyone outside of my mother and sister and one aunt, and I know they will keep my secret as long as I want them too. However, another aunt has been snooping around asking "have you heard that Abby might have had weight loss surgery? Did she say anything about it?" and the only people who know just continue to feign ignorance, but she totally wants to know that her suspicions are correct. There's no way she could possibly know because the 3 who do know are completely loyal and trustworthy. I KNOW they didn't tell. I suspect if she found out she would probably try to diminish my achievement of losing over 240 pounds by saying that I took the "easy way out" or some such nonsense. There's a reason I told very, very few people, especially the ones in my family. In the meantime, until she has proof, it seems she's going to keep trying to ferret out the proof and pretend she's super proud of/happy for me while talking about me behind my back. Whatever dude! No one else in my life has been anything but proud of me and happy for me about my newfound health/happiness. Only family members.