futurefeatherweight

I am a hospital pharmacist so I manage this issue regularly for patients. Personally, my doctor had me get a pill crusher to use for the first few weeks after surgery. Some of the medications are really nasty tasting when you powder them though (especially metformin- since you mentioned that you are diabetic, I figured you might be on this one.) You can add your crushed medications to a little applesauce or pudding to try to make them a little more palatable. If you have drugs in capsules, many capsules can be opened and added to applesauce or pudding. My only caution would be that if you take extended release forms of drugs (anything that has SA- slow acting, LA- long acting, or XR- extended release in the name) check with your doctor or pharmacist before crushing or splitting the medication because it can cause you to receive the entire dose of medication all at once instead of slowly releasing it throughout the day which with some medications can be a very dangerous thing. If the taste of your crushed medications is too awful to tolerate, try using a pill splitter and just split them to as small as you need.

I was very close to your size when I had my surgery. My surgery was covered completely by my insurance because I had very difficult to control type 2 diabetes in addition to HTN, and dyslipidemia. For diabetes prior to surgery, I was taking metformin, Bydureon, 80 units of Levemir insulin twice daily and 20 units of Novolog with each meal & snack. If you are familiar with insulin, you know these are really high doses so we are talking extreme insulin resistance. After the surgery, I was immediately off of insulin and rapidly lost weight for the first 3-4 months and then stalled out after losing 50lbs. I stayed stuck between 160-170 for about 3 years and then when the Covid pandemic started, my husband was diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer. My stress levels went through the roof (I work in a hospital and was watching people die left and right thinking that at any time, my husband would be next). Anyway, I wound up regaining back up to 185 and started requiring insulin again at low doses. Then last year, I started on Ozempic and wound up starting to lose weight again and came off of the insulin again. After several months of Ozempic, I am now below my goal weight. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised to find that you will initially lose weight very easily. The weight loss should help reduce but may not resolve your insulin resistance. Keeping the weight off long term may be more difficult but is still quite doable.

There are some antidepressants that can cause weight gain (for example, tricyclic antidepressants are notorious for it). Surely your doctor didn't prescribe an antidepressant that can cause weight gain since they know that you are trying to lose weight. IMO, the best antidepressant for overweight patients is Wellbutrin (burpopion) because it can actually promote weight loss. Sorry, I am a pharmacist so I can't stop myself from making drug recommendations. I know everyone pushes the "reset diet" but I have to say that what made it easy for me to get rid of my regain and not feel hungry doing it was my doctor prescribing me Ozempic. I am a type 2 diabetic and I had been taking Bydureon in the past without weight loss effect then my insurance removed Bydureon from their formulary and I was switched to Ozempic. Weight started coming off within a month of starting the Ozempic and just kept coming off. I have currently lost around 30lbs. If you are not a diabetic, Wegovy has the same drug in it as Ozempic (semaglutide) just at a different dosage for weight loss. I have been taking Ozempic for almost a year now and I no longer have cravings and rarely ever even feel hungry. It is funny how Ozempic, Bydureon, and Saxenda are all in the same drug class but I only experienced weight loss with Ozempic. I just flat out couldn't tolerate Saxenda. Slowed my gastric emptying to an unbearable level. Bydureon worked for my diabetes but didn't have any effect on my weight. Of course, these are all injectable drugs (Ozempic/Wegovy/Bydureon are only once a week though vs daily for Saxenda). Contrave is an oral weight loss drug that contains wellbutrin (bupropion) as one of the ingredients. It seems like it would be a good option for those who can't stand the thought of using an injectable medication but honestly, I. Rybelsus is the oral equivalent of Ozempic. Phentermine is probably the most popular weight loss drug but I have known of people with poorly controlled hypertension to have strokes while on phentermine so I don't recommend it unless I know that the person either does not have hypertension or they take their BP meds and check their blood pressure frequently. Best of Luck

I always feel bad for my waiter when I go out to eat because they will usually come over and ask me if there is anything wrong with my meal. I just tell them that I had a stomach surgery and don't feel like eating and then I take my meal to go. When I am out with people outside of my family, I usually order something small and cut it up and use my fork to mix everything on the plate together and move it around to try to make it look like I ate more than I actually did. (This is a technique that small children often use to try to convince Mom that they have eaten enough dinner. I have often wondered how many other bariatric surgery patients have done this in an effort to not offend a host. ) You can also just box up half of your meal before you even start eating and just say that you are trying new eating habits if anyone asks. Buffets are just a no go for me unless they have to go options (pay by weight of meal). Even though I am several years out from surgery, after my doctor started me on Ozempic last year (for diabetes, not weight loss), I have been unable to eat more than a few bites of food at a time. My stomach literally feels just like it did a few weeks after surgery. Consequently, I have lost more weight which is great but I have to say that the daily nausea is getting old at this point.

If you run into trouble trying to swallow your pills after surgery, use a pill splitter or pill crusher ( (be sure to check whether it is ok to crush your pills. Ask your pharmacist.) I had a very strict surgeon who wanted me to crush all my meds for the first 21 days. For me, this meant I had to ask my Dr to switch one of my extended release meds (not crushable) to an immediate release form. I would recommend checking with your primary doctor or pharmacist about how safe your medications are to swallow whole without much liquid to wash them down (there are a few meds out there that really must be taken with plenty of water or they can potentially cause trouble.) Drinking more than 1-2 ounces of water at a time is not really recommended for the first few days. I found it relatively easy to drink from the start. My surgeon's instructions had me drinking 1 oz of water or protein shake every 15 minutes while awake for the first 21 days.

I am kind of where you are when it comes to feeling more hungry lately. I think that it probably has to do with my increase in carbohydrate intake (been eating bread and potatoes some here lately) and not drinking enough liquid. I am really good at getting adequate protein. If you are struggling with protein intake, just keep switching it up until you find something that appeals to you. I am big on different kinds of jerky and Chobani Greek yogurt and Oikos triple zero. jerky makes it really easy to hit your protein goal. After months of using the protein shakes and bars, I absolutely loathe all of them.

I would recommend wine. I found moscato to produce no heartburn in me. For me, a glass of white wine seems to go down easier but it may not be the same for you. I am sure that you have been warned that you will likely feel the effects of the alcohol more quickly. I found that I can really feel it after 1 glass. I have only had wine a few times since surgery because of this. I avoid mixed drinks like the plague. Tried it a couple of times and even with the "top shelf" stuff had terrible heartburn and nausea. Have never tried beer since the surgery. With all the carbonation in beer, it just doesn't seem like a good idea.

You will eventually be able to eat steak again. I ate my first bites of steak at about 90 days post op. I remember not really enjoying beef or pork when I first introduced them back into my diet. It seemed like any slightly fatty meat would really upset my stomach. I am about 9 months post op and I can honestly say that since about 5 months post op, I have had zero problems with any food textures. I enjoy steak now but usually only eat about 3-4 ounces.

I took off 3 weeks. Looking back, I feel like this was about the right amount of time because after surgery my body changed to where I was requiring fewer diabetes and blood pressure medications. It took a little while to work this out and it was nice to be home rather than at work while having low blood pressure, low blood sugar. The pain wasn't really any issue. I just felt like I got tired out easily for the first 3-4 weeks.

I talked to a couple of different surgeons efore deciding which surgeon to choose and what weight loss surgery to have. For me, seeing improvement in my diabetes was the most important thing, even more important than losing a large amount of weight. So I stated my goal and expectations and then asked the surgeon which surgery he would recommend for me and why. The surgeon may also ask you if you are ok with the idea of an irreversible surgery (vsg) vs reversible (gastric bypass or lap band) or if the idea of an implanted device (lap band) makes you uncomfortable to help him suggest the best option for you. If weight loss is your biggest concern, ask about how much weight the surgeon would expect that you will lose with the surgery. Ask about the success rate and the rate of complications. Ask about the pre-op and post-op diet requirements and expected length of recovery. Be sure to inquire about the surgeon's pre-op requirements because there are some surgeons that make you go to several months of classes and weigh ins before they deem you ready for surgery (sometimes this is because of insurance requirements which cannot be avoided and other times it is just part of the surgeon's standard plan). One of the surgeons that I met with would have had me jumping through hoops for months collecting fees all along the way. The surgeon that I ultimately went with was upfront and very easy to work with.

I have tried several different brands of low carb Protein bars and my favorites are the cheap Pure Protein ones that you can get at Wal-Mart in dark chocolate coconut and the salted caramel. I like the flavo Oops. Accidentally hit post on my iPad before I was finished. I was going to say that I like the flavor of some of the Quest bars but the dense, sticky texture just ruins them for me.

I have tried several different brands of low carb Protein bars and my favorites are the cheap Pure Protein ones that you can get at Wal-Mart in dark chocolate coconut and the salted caramel. I like the flavo

I eat either dannon light & fit greek yogurt or the oikos greek yogurt zero in flavors like strawberry cheesecake or caramel apple pie. Many of these yogurts have 12 grams of protein and I choose the flavors with less than 15 grams of carbs. I also eat low carb protein bars. Everytime I want something sweet, I reach for a protein rich sweet.

You should follow your surgeon's guidelines. My surgeon allowed protein shakes and creamy soups with no lumps at that stage. I found the most satisfying to be cream of chicken (had to remove the chicken pieces).

During my EGD, they found a polyp in my stomach and biopsied it. My surgeon reassured me that it had a benign appearance but I still worried some until the pathology report came back.