mylighthouse

Thank you @sunshinetinks, @Robinski, @Honeyswt, @tifflife, @336Mike, @KimTriesRNY, and @fruitandveggies. I appreciate all of the kind words and encouragement.....the best to all of you in your weight loss journey!

Fantastic, @fruitandveggies!! Wow, what an amazing difference. You look so pretty... you did before too, pretty face, just even prettier now. Congratulations on your weight loss success!!

Thank you. I am happy, even when I was obese, I was happy.... funny, I know. I have just always been surrounded by love and I love life! Wow! Your surgery is tomorrow? What time? Congratulations! You will do just fine. Tips: I am certainly not going to overload you with info/tips, because there are so many things I could say. So I will give you just a few tips that really helped me a lot. 1. Belong to a support group from the start, whether it's a local support group with other WLS patients, or whether it's through a support system like bariatric pal. I do have a local support group, but due to other health problems and being unable to drive, I couldn't make those meetings. So my main support system has been here at bariatric pal. The forums are great, you can do searches for topics/questions that you might have along your weight loss journey. A lot of good advice can be found here, a lot of encouragement can be found here. It helps to have others that are going through the WLS journey too. Not all advice you find here will be good advice. That said, follow the guidelines given to you by your nutritionist and surgeon. Do what they say, including when to progress to the different food stages. 2. After surgery, it is so important to keep hydrated. Some people have a lot of trouble with nausea and getting in their liquids. If you are one of them, ask your surgeon for an anti nausea med to help, I took ondansetron, it enabled me to sip, sip, sip and get that 64 ounces minimum of liquids in. Before I got the anti nausea med, the liquids were not going down for me and I got mildly dehydrated and had to go to the ER and get IV fluids. Don't let that happen to you. 3. Get your protein in. Most doctors will tell you 60 grams a day minimum. That is a good start, if you can get more than that, even better. If you don't get protein the first day or two, that is okay, but you are going to need it after that. It will help you heal among other things. Very important. If you need more info on good proteins, then do a search for it here, and you will find lots of useful information. 4. Don't focus on stepping on the scale too much in those first few weeks. Nothing wrong with weighing yourself, but do not get discouraged if you don't lose X amount of pounds... and don't even be discouraged if you gain weight right after surgery. You are having major surgery. Weight can really fluctuate in those beginning days. Important: Don't compare your weight loss to what others have lost. Everyone is different. Don't be discouraged. 5. Last, but not least, get plenty of rest after your surgery. It really isn't a difficult surgery or recovery for most, but it's important to listen to your body and don't push yourself too hard. Finally, Tomorrow is your big day! Feelings of nervousness, being scared, excitement.... those might be some of the things you are experiencing right now. Your surgeon knows what he/she is doing and they will take good care of you. You will do great! Congratulation again! Try and get some rest tonight.

Kate mentioned tramadol. I am on it for long term pain and it is the only thing that helps, tylenol does nothing for me. This could be up for debate, but many bariatric surgeons will tell you that NSAIDS pose no threat after a few months post op SLEEVE surgery. Gastric bypass + NSAIDS is a no-no for life. You might want to check with your surgeon and see if you are months post op sleeve whether or not he will allow ibuprofin or Aleve. Aleve used to work wonders for me.

Congratulations on working hard to get healthy and also on your weight loss success! You are doing great and you can see a big difference. Keep it up!

Wow, lots of questions. Lol 312 lbs day of surgery. I always use that as my starting date. Pre-op diet was for 2 weeks. Was 324 lbs when I went on the pre-op diet. Currently at 194 lbs, need to lose 19 lbs more to hit my surgeon's goal weight.

I am 13 months post sleeve. I can only eat 3 oz max protein and a few bites of veggies at one sitting. In my opinion, 6 oz at your stage (only 3 weeks out) is way too much food. I remember receiving a workbook at my pre-op workshop, and it said we should shoot for 2 oz in the first month. It is important to take your time eating as well. I don't personally like to feel "full". I pay very close attention to when I am satisfied . You are still in the beginning stages, and you can easily be overeating without knowing it. Fish tends to go down easier than say a piece of red meat.

I guess I have always counted my weight loss from surgery date only, which is 118 lbs in 13 months. If I go pre-surgery, then I get to add 22 lbs more loss to it, which is even nicer. Congratulations to everyone on their progress and success!

Congratulations on your weight loss and the progress you've made!

Wow! What a difference! You look beautiful. Congratulations on your success!

Can see the difference, great job!

1/3/18 Weigh-in: 195 lbs. Thank you!

13 months post op here and down 118 lbs since day of surgery. My psychiatrist did not change any of my meds, have been on the same ones for the last 8 years for bipolar. I gained a ton of weight the first few years after I started meds for bipolar, one of those was Seroquel. Wouldn't be surprised if some of the meds I'm currently on are known to cause weight gain. Anyway, the meds I'm currently taking: Risperidone, Celexa, Epitol and Klonopin.

Did bariatric pal change the format of the forums today? This is going to take some getting used to. Not liking it so far.

Getting protein in from the beginning is important. Please continue getting in your fluids and over 60 grams of protein a day. Follow your doctor's advice. I know it can be frustrating not to see results yet on the scale. You had major surgery and I have seen it before where people gain a couple of pounds or don't lose any weight during the first week or two. I know you're not alone. Believe me, the weight loss will come very soon. Hang in there.

Hello, I'm 13 months out and I still get nauseated....just not as bad as I used to. The nausea was horrible for me for the first several months. The only thing that helped me get through it and helped me to drink and eat were anti-nausea meds. My doctor gave me a prescription for ondansetron (generic name). I believe the brand name is Zofran. In my opinion, you need to get the prescription so that you will be able to drink, eat, and get your protein. That will help you get the food and drink that you need, and then you will feel better and start dropping a little more weight. Please ask your doctor, the pills really work.

Just realized that I reached the goal I set of 195 last Wednesday. Today my weigh-in is 194 lbs. Thank you!

If you already have gallbladder issues then it is probably a good idea just to go ahead and get it done. Other people have done both at the same time and they made it just fine. I hope that it's not bad for you and most likely, it will go just fine. Try not to worry too much. I wish you the best and happy holidays to you as well.

Can share my experience, even though I didn't have sleeve and gallbladder at the same time. I had my sleeve over a year ago (Nov 2016), and at the time, I weighed 312 lbs. I was 45 years old. It was a very easy surgery for me, not much pain at all and easy recovery, no complications. Easy peasy. Then Tuesday morning of this week, I had gallbladder surgery. My gb surgery wasn't open, it was laparoscopic, however, my surgeon had to go in a little different way than traditional lap gb surgery to avoid mesh implant from a previous hernia surgery. So he had to cut muscle and then stitch it back up. Today was day 4 post gb surgery, and I am in a lot of pain. I still cannot get to a sitting position from laying or stand up without my husband pulling me up with his hands. I can barely walk without sudden sharp needle-like spasms shooting through the area either where the gb was , or maybe it is coming from the cut muscle, not certain. Anyway, it hurts like hell and I have a high pain threshold. I was just telling my husband earlier today that I don't see how people can do the sleeve and gb at the same time. Especially people that are very very overweight.

Good morning, I am weighing in and posting a day early because I am on the way out the door for gallbladder surgery and I don't know for sure if I will be home by tomorrow morning to post my weigh in or not. Hope this is ok. Today's date: 12/19 Weigh-in amount: 195 lbs. Thank you!

Had to go to ER last night. Consensus from 3 doctors (gastro, ER doc and surgeon on duty last night) was that the gallbladder needs to go. However, they didn't want to do emergent surgery last night. Got an 11:00 appt this morning with my regular surgeon. Gallbladder might come out today, or if not, I'm expecting very soon this week. Can't wait to get it out. Can't get anything down ((aside from premier protein shakes and water) without a problem/severe pain. Best wishes to others with GB issues....it is definitely no fun.

Along these 13 months since my sleeve surgery, to get the weight off, I absolutely MUST get in at least 100 grams of protein a day or else my body refuses to lose weight. I second the motion to increase your protein.

Had my WLS Nov 2016 Been having problems for months. Mine basically just started with bad mid-upper abdominal pain. It has progressively gotten worse with a lot of different pains/issues. Ultrasound in the ER detected an almost normal looking gallbladder with only a couple of polyps or perhaps very small stones. Gastro doctor had me go for the HIDA scan yesterday, gastro thinks it's a gallbladder issue. Won't know results for a week. Agree with what KCRN said. Good idea to call your doc.

@Alex Brecher thank you, sounds great!

Yeah, I actually really liked the broken down categories.