Sadiebug

My hair started out pretty thick - so while I noticed every single hair that fell out the general public didn't notice. I was very lucky to not have any bare spots or anything like that. I talked to my hairdresser and got my hair cut into a short bob to help make it look fuller. I also tried out a few different hair care products to see what worked the best. Personally I use a shampoo and conditioner designed to make thin hair look fuller and they work really well. I also cut back and only wash my hair every other day in cooler water, never wear ponytails to avoid additional breakage and I stopped coloring my hair for several months to try and avoid any further damage. I take a moderate dose of biotin every day as well - my surgeon has seen some issues with high doses of biotin so she really cautions against loading up on it to avoid hair loss.

I'm sorry your first conversation was difficult. Keep trudging along and see how things go. I personally only lost 8 lbs during my 6 months of pre-op visits....so clearly just doing that was not the answer for me. I'm not suggesting you intentionally fail during that time just to prove a point - but it may become obvious during the 6 months why that is not enough for you. Be honest with her during that time about your struggles with cravings, being overly hungry, difficult with willpower, fear of quick regain, slow weight loss etc. Maybe she will start to see why that is just not an option. Also, consider telling her that if you do get through the 6 months and are wildly successful and lose all of your weight with no issues you can reconsider the surgery. My husband appreciated knowing that I could and would back out if it anything changed to make surgery no longer the best option. I think that proved to him that I was being reasonable about it and not just blindly chasing after a magical surgery unicorn.

I took them 2-3 days. But then periodically for the first month I needed to take a half dose when I had a rough day - usually because I overdid it on days I was feeling better and then would be sore and have trouble sleeping. I tried to use liquid tylenol but it made me very nauseous. Once I didn't need the strong pain meds I ended up switching to regular old tylenol pills (surgeon approved).

I started before surgery because I wasn't used to taking lots of pills and was nervous about abruptly starting them all on top of recovering from surgery. A few months ahead of my surgery I started slowly adding them in to my normal routine. I did have to stop them a day or two prior to surgery so be sure to ask if your surgeon has any specifics about that.

My husband was like this. He was overweight as well and would never have considered surgery as an option for himself. I was so nervous to bring it up to him because I was worried he would talk me out of it. When we did talk about it I explained that this was something I needed to do for me. I said that I understood that surgery is not the best option for everyone and I understood that it's not something that would be right for him - but for myself I felt it was the best choice. I also explained some of the key reasons why I had come to that decision. I really focused on why I felt it was the right thing for ME. I also made it pretty clear that I was not going to change my mind. He was not overly supportive to be honest but he did not discourage me at all because he understood how/why I had come to my decision. I didn't force him to come to all of my appointments and support groups and stuff but I did ask him to come to two key ones (my nutrition class just prior to surgery and then my actual surgery day). Post op we struggled a little bit for the first couple of months just because my eating and routine was so different from his but after that we have fallen into our new normal routine and everything is great again. Now that he sees what this has done for me he is my biggest cheerleader. He would still never choose to have surgery himself but he frequently comments about what a great thing it has been for me. It's hard for sure but I'm hopeful your wife will surprise you and will be on board Good luck!

I have been on two cruises post-op and multiple other vacations and it always works out. Stick with protein and veggies/fruit as much as possible, trim visible fat, avoid sauces where you can. Sometimes asking for a gluten free option helps because it can be more protein focused (not always). Eggs and chicken are usually good choices. I've been all over the Caribbean and there is always tons of fresh fruit and nearly always a chicken option. Sometimes the pork can be pretty fatty so try that with caution. Take some of the individual protein power packets with you and a shaker bottle so you have that to fall back on. You'll have a great time!

I only used my phone, ipad, extra long charger (in my room the outlets were all the way across the room), a hair tie, pj bottoms for under the gown and slippers. I wore the same clothes home that I wore in. My hospital has free wifi so I used my ipad to stream videos. I wasn't really watching them but they helped to drown out the noise and were a good distraction from the pain and stuff. My hospital gave me chapstick, toothpaste/toothbrush and had shower stuff if I wanted it (I ended up waiting until I got home to shower) - but if you are picky about any of that bring your own. Extra pillows are a great idea if you have a long car ride - mine was only 5 minutes so I was fine without.

Oh my gosh, reading your post was like I was reading something out of my brain just prior to my surgery! I had so many of the same emotions. Here's what I've done to cope post-op: for the first month or so after surgery I still had so many cravings and head-hunger and real hunger. And I was still well over 300 lbs so I wasn't able to "enjoy" the benefits of smaller clothes or being able to exercise or whatever. I got through with a lot of willpower, a lot of crying, a lot of yelling at my poor husband and a few days of throwing up because I tried to "eat" my feelings and made myself sick. After a month or so I was able to see the number on the scale consistently moving down in a way I had never managed before and I used that number to help get me through the harder times. I also lost my hunger from around months 2-6. This was something I could never wrap my head around pre-surgery - but it really does happen. So, I might have wanted food to cope but nothing sounded good, nothing tasted good and it just wasn't worth it. From about 6 months on I was finally able to find other coping mechanisms. One of them for me is exercise - but I had to try and lot of stuff to find something I really enjoy (spin classes). I still hate running, don't really love walking, hate the gym...but I do it because I have to. I also play with my dogs, sew, crochet, work puzzles, watch TV, play games on my ipad. My husband and I enjoy going to concerts now and travelling more because I fit in the seats much better and am able to be more active. now that I'm 18 months I still have days where I want to turn to food but fear of regain stops me nearly every time. I just don't want to go back to what I was dealing with at 350 lbs. I also journal a LOT. I started during my 6 month pre-op visits and have continued it every single day. When I have bad days I go back and read previous entries to see how I was feeling and how far I've come. Pre-op one thing that helped me were to make a list of all of the things I disliked about being 350 lbs - not fitting in chairs, not being able to walk up a flight of stairs, not being able to find clothes that fit. I also made a list of things I was looking forward to when I lost weight - buying clothes in a normal store, being able to walk to lunch with my co-workers, not walking into a room and being the biggest person, going to a football game and not being heavier than most of the players on the field. Those lists helped me quite a bit along the way. Hang in there! You will get through it and you will find ways to cope. It's HARD but it is possible. Good luck!!!

I'm in a very similar situation except with nexium. The plan after my gastric bypass was that I would be able to come off the nexium completely since it would "cure" my GERD. No luck so far! I am down to 40mg every other day which is a significant decrease from what I was on pre-surgery. My doctor has me taking a pre-digestive enzyme before every meal which helps quite a bit. You can buy those over the counter so maybe consider that? I have the exact same pain you describe when I try and quit the nexium fully - and I was so freaked out about it the last time that I called my surgeon and got in for an endoscopy right away to make sure it wasn't an ulcer or anything. All clear thankfully. My surgeon and my GI doc are both ok with where I am for now and we will continue to try and wean as much as I can without pain. I will say that when I first dropped to every other day I felt a lot of pain on the in between days - but now that I've been doing that for about 2 months I don't notice anything. Not sure if that is due to the pre-digestive enzymes or if it is my body adjusting finally to the lower dose. I think it's probably time for me to drop my dose even further but I'm just not eager to go through the pain again...

I saw/will see the surgeon at 1 month, 6 months, 12 months (bloodwork), 18 months, 24 months (bloodwork) and then annually from then on. My program also has dietitians on staff that we are 'required' to see at the same appointments as above but they are also available for appointments in between as often as we want. I choose to meet with them once a month - and they are very quick to order bloodwork or refer to the surgeons if they suspect any issues. I wish my program had one at 2 weeks because I felt like a month was a long time to struggle through without any support.

My program allows free visits with their dietitians for life if you had surgery within their program. I only live about 5 minutes away from where they are located so I have taken full advantage of this perk and meet with them monthly and will continue to do so as long as I'm seeing a benefit. I found it very helpful during the first 6 months because I was progressing through new foods and increasing my quantities and could talk to them about how that was going and ask questions. Now that I'm 18 months out my appointments are really just a check-in and a way to keep myself accountable - much like the weight watchers meetings I used to go to back in the day. My vote is yes, take full advantage of the resources you have available (assuming you have the time and money of course).

Just keep trying different things and hopefully something will work eventually. But be careful with shrimp - that made me so sick when I had it right at first and even now I can't eat very much of it. I hated canned anything (tuna, fish, chicken) but I was able to just buy the real stuff and cook it with a lot of liquid and had no problems. Also try out different temperatures and textures. I know some plans really restrict carbs - but if yours allows it I did pretty well with mashed potatoes and cream of wheat when I first started soft foods. I also ate the laughing cow cheese - either by itself or melted in with scrambled eggs. Good luck!

Try and make your goal each day to do a little more than you did the day before. Fresh out of surgery I was barely hitting 2k steps but I just tried to do a little more each day. I found it easier if I broke up the steps throughout the day taking 100-200 at a time and then resting. Going out for a long walk was so difficult at first. If your work schedule allows try getting up and taking a lap around your house once an hour. And while you are at your desk keep moving your legs around - lifting your toes up and down and then lifting your heels up and down. Look on youtube for desk exercises/stretches so you can move around a little more even while you are working. Every little bit helps. Good luck!

I had some changes in my vision during the first few months post-op. My eye doctor and I chalked it up to a combination of the anesthesia and hormone changes due to the rapid weight loss. Everything stabilized about 4 months out and it's been the same ever since. If it doesn't stabilize after a few months though be sure to ask your doctors - some vitamin deficiencies can cause vision problems. But I think you're too early for that to be what's happening.

I'm in a very similar place as you I'm 18 months post-op and still 40-ish lbs away from what I originally set as my "goal". I have come to terms with the fact that I might never make it to my goal but I'm really trying to at least get my BMI below 30 (about 15 more lbs). My surgeon and dietitians are more than happy with the progress I've made so far. That actually makes it a little harder for me because they aren't pushing me to continue losing - they consider me a success because I lost at least 70% of my excess weight. Tracking is the number one thing that helps me. I don't track every single day but when I'm struggling I will start tracking for a few days to make sure I know what's going on. I also am constantly on the search for new products and new recipes so I don't get bored and mixing up my diet and exercise routine typically helps the scale move. I have lots of long stalls these days but overall the numbers are still headed down...it's just painfully slow. Keep up the good work and feel free to give me a shout any time.