lovemybody

Now that some time has passed I hope that you are doing well with your recovery. I had my surgery 2/29/2016 and it took me 4 weeks to recover. I had to come home with oxygen because my levels were so low. Than 2 weeks after surgery I was so nauseated that they put me on two different types of meds that made me so tired. It literally took me 4 weeks before I could come back to work and week 5 I was just trying to get my energy levels back. I have had major constipation during this time and major diarrhea at other times. Just trying to find my balance through all of this. Now at week 7 I am experiencing a weight loss stall. Who ever came up with the term that this is the easy way out should be SHOT! Would I do this all over again? Absolutely! But it certainly has been a life altering experience. Sending best wishes!!

I had constipation so bad after my surgery I was forced to do an enema to get relief. Since then I have just added ground flex seeds to my food which has helped keep me pretty regular.

My Single-Anastomosis Duodenal Switch was performed by Dr. Cottam who owns that patent on this procedure and also teaches all the other doctors how to do the surgery. I am glad I chose this procedure. I am on my second week post op and my own side effects is nausea which is being treated by medication. The nausea is so bad it is effecting the amount of fluids I take in and how much I eat. I am hoping in a few days that the meds will help this. I seem to be dropping about 1 lb per day somedays about 1.5. Right now I am being told to eat, eat, eat which is hard to do but I try. Glad to hear you were able to lose the weight you gained. That would be heart breaking to have a procedure that worked for a while and then made you start to gain weight. Glad its working this time for you

Here you go! Link I can also email you the documents my surgeons and DS nutrits. give us. They include sample meal plans, what to eat when, vits/minerals, etc. If you're interested, PM me with your email addy. Surgery went better than expected. I had no nausea, or real pain, I did have problems with my oxygen levels so I came home with a machine. Its now 4 days post op and I have a pain under my rib cage that makes it difficult to breathe deep breaths. I am not running any fevers nor do I feel sick to my stomach just very uncomfortable. I walk a little bit each day and I am grateful I took two weeks off. Still wearing the support wrap because it helps with the mobility. Thanks for the link, I will check it out in the next day or two.

These are natural thoughts. You might be angry when people look at your differently and/or say you're too thin. I certainly get that. [Esp. since the DS kind of redistributes the fat around your body on many of us.] I never had much of a bust before so that hasn't changed for me. But I have no butt. And very think skin on my arms, etc. (It does make it easy to draw blood which is a good thing. They never have trouble seeing my veins, lol.) My face is also very thin. Little fat there anymore. We're all different, but many often have a different fat distribution on their bodies. As for clothes, many use thrift shops or heavily discounted outlets during the heavy weight loss phase. It's true you won't be able to wear the clothes you have now (possibly some of the shoes -- I went down a full size and couldn't.) Regarding recognizing yourself in the mirror: most don't. They still think they look big. I've found it often depends how long you've been big right before you have surgery. For instance, I'd lost a lot of weight in the mid-90s (ah, Fen-Phen ) and kept it off till the early 2000s. Then I got really big again. So it was only about 5 years that I had it back on before I had the DS. Therefore, when I had the DS and the weight came off, I saw it right away and knew what I looked like. Still do. Others I know were big for 10, 20 years. They seem to have a much harder time realizing what they look like now, post DS. Just a theory I've floated around, but often seems to fit. Friends and family: it's hard to say. I told no one except my immediate family and physicians. Still haven't. It's a personal choice and certainly not one for everyone. POSTOP: Thanks for your reply, I sure appreciate you! I have been overweight for a good part of 23 years. I did the FenPhen thing to and dropped down to a size 6. I was running every day and although my weight was 145 I was skinny as a rail due to the exercising. As soon as I dropped the pills the weight started to creep up again. I was always trying this diet or that diet and never got back below 170. About 2004 is when I really started to creep up again and have been over 200 lbs ever since and as of about 5 years ago I creeped up even further to where I am now. I have been overweight so long that in the back of your mind you wonder if having surgery is going to be a quick fix like FenPhen again. You know the fear of losing it all and then so fearful you will regain it that you do everything to the extreme to avoid that happening again. I am so nervous right now and I am only 3 days out before surgery. I noticed you had surgery in 2005, can you tell me how has life been for you for these past 10 years? Has it gotten easier to maintain the weight and keep it off? And is there anything you can advise to a newbe to this procedure? You're in for some ride. Post DS life has been pretty good. I did have to have my gb removed (2008) and hernias done about a month ago. Right now I'm having some issues b/c I had to have an antibiotic shot with the hernia surgery and antibiotics are tough on DSers. I find it easier to keep the weight off post DS because I can eat as much Protein as I want. And I do. I eat every couple of hours; whenever I want. When I put on a few, I just eat more protein and drink liquids. The trick is to eat and eat and eat protein. It really helps you lose and keeps you satisfied. I always have nuts, cheeses, cold cuts in my home. Nuts are always in my bag, too. I will often go to McDonald's or some other ff place for a snack. I order a triple w/cheese & catsup. I just eat the insides and throw away the bun (too filling, don't want the carbs [usually], and the carbs give me gas & I don't want that at work, lol). My advice is be most concerned about hydration for the first few weeks. Sip, sip, sip. That's so important. I got dehydrated at about 6 weeks out. It's not uncommon. Food is less important. The week after surgery my breakfast was 1 tsp. of scrambled eggs. That was it. Couldn't eat another bite. Nowadays, 3 eggs with cream cheese and salami (it takes 2 sittings to eat it, though). Also, try to walk. I walked around the floor that first night in the hospital. I walked 4x a day in the small garden near my apt. It was tiring, but important. Best of luck to you! These are natural thoughts. You might be angry when people look at your differently and/or say you're too thin. I certainly get that. [Esp. since the DS kind of redistributes the fat around your body on many of us.] I never had much of a bust before so that hasn't changed for me. But I have no butt. And very think skin on my arms, etc. (It does make it easy to draw blood which is a good thing. They never have trouble seeing my veins, lol.) My face is also very thin. Little fat there anymore. We're all different, but many often have a different fat distribution on their bodies. As for clothes, many use thrift shops or heavily discounted outlets during the heavy weight loss phase. It's true you won't be able to wear the clothes you have now (possibly some of the shoes -- I went down a full size and couldn't.) Regarding recognizing yourself in the mirror: most don't. They still think they look big. I've found it often depends how long you've been big right before you have surgery. For instance, I'd lost a lot of weight in the mid-90s (ah, Fen-Phen ) and kept it off till the early 2000s. Then I got really big again. So it was only about 5 years that I had it back on before I had the DS. Therefore, when I had the DS and the weight came off, I saw it right away and knew what I looked like. Still do. Others I know were big for 10, 20 years. They seem to have a much harder time realizing what they look like now, post DS. Just a theory I've floated around, but often seems to fit. Friends and family: it's hard to say. I told no one except my immediate family and physicians. Still haven't. It's a personal choice and certainly not one for everyone. POSTOP: Thanks for your reply, I sure appreciate you! I have been overweight for a good part of 23 years. I did the FenPhen thing to and dropped down to a size 6. I was running every day and although my weight was 145 I was skinny as a rail due to the exercising. As soon as I dropped the pills the weight started to creep up again. I was always trying this diet or that diet and never got back below 170. About 2004 is when I really started to creep up again and have been over 200 lbs ever since and as of about 5 years ago I creeped up even further to where I am now. I have been overweight so long that in the back of your mind you wonder if having surgery is going to be a quick fix like FenPhen again. You know the fear of losing it all and then so fearful you will regain it that you do everything to the extreme to avoid that happening again. I am so nervous right now and I am only 3 days out before surgery. I noticed you had surgery in 2005, can you tell me how has life been for you for these past 10 years? Has it gotten easier to maintain the weight and keep it off? And is there anything you can advise to a newbe to this procedure? You're in for some ride. Post DS life has been pretty good. I did have to have my gb removed (2008) and hernias done about a month ago. Right now I'm having some issues b/c I had to have an antibiotic shot with the hernia surgery and antibiotics are tough on DSers. I find it easier to keep the weight off post DS because I can eat as much protein as I want. And I do. I eat every couple of hours; whenever I want. When I put on a few, I just eat more protein and drink liquids. The trick is to eat and eat and eat protein. It really helps you lose and keeps you satisfied. I always have nuts, cheeses, cold cuts in my home. Nuts are always in my bag, too. I will often go to McDonald's or some other ff place for a snack. I order a triple w/cheese & catsup. I just eat the insides and throw away the bun (too filling, don't want the carbs [usually], and the carbs give me gas & I don't want that at work, lol). My advice is be most concerned about hydration for the first few weeks. Sip, sip, sip. That's so important. I got dehydrated at about 6 weeks out. It's not uncommon. Food is less important. The week after surgery my breakfast was 1 tsp. of scrambled eggs. That was it. Couldn't eat another bite. Nowadays, 3 eggs with cream cheese and salami (it takes 2 sittings to eat it, though). Also, try to walk. I walked around the floor that first night in the hospital. I walked 4x a day in the small garden near my apt. It was tiring, but important. Best of luck to you!

I am so glad that I don't have cravings for sweets, however I am your carbs and salt girl. I love all those comfort foods and snack items. I wished so badly I had the will power to stop at just 1 chip or pretzel. I used to try all sorts of remedies to ward off the temptations of these items and curb the appetite. I would do great in the morning and afternoon but as soon as I got home for work and in the evening all hell would break loose. Weekends were the worst. I am so glad I made this decision due to all the co-morbidities that I go through. The trade off will not be easy and I most definitely have not told anyone I am having this surgery other than my mom and my husband. I tend to put feelers out to people in conversations just to see how they react to certain subjects and the response back I got about weight loss surgery was not a positive one so I chose to keep it to myself. We had a student in my class who was an elderly gentleman who used to lie on the floor from time to time for about 30 minutes. He told us not to worry about him that he goes through stuff that has to work itself out. I had no idea why he kept doing this until I started reading about RNY dumping syndrome. This man used to eat Snacks all day long at his computer while working on his projects. Many of our students snack so I didn't think about it but when I found out he had bariatric surgery years ago to lose a lot of weight it didn't dawn on me because I didn't know about the surgery. In spite of dumping syndrome he chose to eat copious amounts of sugar each day and just live through the side effects. Except one day he wasn't feeling very well, left school and had a stroke at home and its been a long road to recovery. I hope that I have the sense and dedication not to put my body through stuff like that after surgery. That i will use the tools given to me correctly and not live with symptoms just to endulge on things that are not good for me. Its truly been an eye opener to see what people are willing to do to enjoy their vices. Good luck to you and your surgery. I hope that you get your date soon.

These are natural thoughts. You might be angry when people look at your differently and/or say you're too thin. I certainly get that. [Esp. since the DS kind of redistributes the fat around your body on many of us.] I never had much of a bust before so that hasn't changed for me. But I have no butt. And very think skin on my arms, etc. (It does make it easy to draw blood which is a good thing. They never have trouble seeing my veins, lol.) My face is also very thin. Little fat there anymore. We're all different, but many often have a different fat distribution on their bodies. As for clothes, many use thrift shops or heavily discounted outlets during the heavy weight loss phase. It's true you won't be able to wear the clothes you have now (possibly some of the shoes -- I went down a full size and couldn't.) Regarding recognizing yourself in the mirror: most don't. They still think they look big. I've found it often depends how long you've been big right before you have surgery. For instance, I'd lost a lot of weight in the mid-90s (ah, Fen-Phen ) and kept it off till the early 2000s. Then I got really big again. So it was only about 5 years that I had it back on before I had the DS. Therefore, when I had the DS and the weight came off, I saw it right away and knew what I looked like. Still do. Others I know were big for 10, 20 years. They seem to have a much harder time realizing what they look like now, post DS. Just a theory I've floated around, but often seems to fit. Friends and family: it's hard to say. I told no one except my immediate family and physicians. Still haven't. It's a personal choice and certainly not one for everyone. POSTOP: Thanks for your reply, I sure appreciate you! I have been overweight for a good part of 23 years. I did the FenPhen thing to and dropped down to a size 6. I was running every day and although my weight was 145 I was skinny as a rail due to the exercising. As soon as I dropped the pills the weight started to creep up again. I was always trying this diet or that diet and never got back below 170. About 2004 is when I really started to creep up again and have been over 200 lbs ever since and as of about 5 years ago I creeped up even further to where I am now. I have been overweight so long that in the back of your mind you wonder if having surgery is going to be a quick fix like FenPhen again. You know the fear of losing it all and then so fearful you will regain it that you do everything to the extreme to avoid that happening again. I am so nervous right now and I am only 3 days out before surgery. I noticed you had surgery in 2005, can you tell me how has life been for you for these past 10 years? Has it gotten easier to maintain the weight and keep it off? And is there anything you can advise to a newbe to this procedure?

I struggle watching that show because they are made to feel bad about a 5 pound loss in one week. Most of us would kill for that 5 pound loss. But they are expected to bring in 10 pounds or more a week to feel like they were successful. They exercise 6-8 hours a day to get those big losses and there is no way they can go home and maintain those unrealistic exercise hours. I have seen images of some of their past participants and many have gained weight. Some have gained about 20-30 pounds and some have gained all their weight back. Than at the finale the last of the participants are under such pressure to win they do extreme things to lose the remaining weight. Such as the gal from that one season that looked anorexic that it even shocked the coaches and the audience when she walked out. This is a horrible way to win a weight loss show.

I am having my DS surgery on Monday February 29th, 2016 ( my birthday). I decided to go with the DS because I do not want to regain the weight. Usually when other weight loss surgeries fail, the surgery is revised to a DS. I just can't imagine myself going through the process again if I regain the weight or don't lose enough weight. Thus the DS made the most sense to me. I am on day 4 of my pre-op liquid diet. It does get easier as the days pass but I really would love to eat food right now. I have so many thoughts running through my head as the day gets closer to my surgery. I look at the hundreds and hundreds of dollars in clothes that I purchased over the years that are hanging in my closet knowing that all of those clothes and shoes I won't be able to wear in the next few months. All while thinking to myself after I lose about 50 pounds I won't have anything to wear. Will I look in the mirror skinny and not recognize myself because I have been fat so long. However I look in the mirror now and wonder where I went and I don't recognize the person I became. I wonder if my relationships with friends and family will change. Every time I would go on a diet in the past and lose 30 pounds people would start telling me that I am losing to much weight. REALLY??? I am obese, how can I be losing to much weight? I feel like I will be angry inside when people start to pay attention to me because they really never pay attention to me now. It's stupid things like this that I think about.

Standard Restaurant Supply off of 3500 South and West Temple has an entire wall of Syrups. They have tons of different flavors in large bottles for the same price you pay for small bottles at the grocery store. They have both regular and sugar free so be careful when reading the labels because the bottles look alike. They are open on Saturday's too. MD Diet 3655 South State has a small store inside their office building where you can buy bariatric supplies such as protein puddings, protein drinks, flavored fruit drinks with protein, soups and various powdered protein. They are typically open Monday-Friday 8-5 but I am not sure about Saturday's. As for calling about medical records I did the same thing. They kept saying that they faxed it but BMI never said if it had come in and the site didn't update that information. Finally they received them yesterday along with my labs so now its in the criteria review stage. I certainly understand the frustration to get moving on the paperwork.

Maybe we can share a hospital room Lately I have been feeling so anxious. I can hardly sit still at work. If it wasn't so darn cold outside I would go for a walk. I am so used to protein shakes that it doesn't bother me. I had bought some Quest protein powder a while back that I've started to use. I can only use 1/2 a scoop rather than an entire scoop. The stuff is so thick in consistency to help curb the appetite. However due to the thickness I struggle drinking the stuff. In the summer I poured it out on the lawn and it sat there for several hours. My husband had to use the water hose to get it to thin out and soak into the lawn. What does that tell you. This can't be good!!! I have been slowly trying to adjust to a liquid diet. Most of my day is some form of liquid or protein shake and then I eat a meal. I think if I slowly transition over it will make those two weeks much easier. There are several online bariatric food sites that sell pudding, jello and soups with at least 15 grams of protein in it. This really helps with consuming so much protein and yet providing variety. If you live in Ogden I can point you to a store that sells nothing but protein. If you live in SLC there is a place on state street that sells bariatric food too

I agree about the portal on their site. I would like to see it broke down a little bit more. I would like to see specifics like when my labs arrive or if they got my medical records. This way I can track down the necessary information accordingly. I love my Dr. Knowing that he is one of the top bariatric doctors in the country is comforting. As of yesterday all of my information has been received and now is in the review process before it gets sent to the insurance. I am nervous of course that insurance will say I am missing something or get denied. Plus I am worried about how I can live on Clear liquids for 2 weeks when I struggle doing it for a day. How do people get through that process? I can go all day long doing very well at having broth, and Protein shakes but come 5:00 I am famished. I am hoping that I can get the surgery by the middle of March. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

I am going to the BMI Utah clinic. I saw the physician on January 20th to start my process.