Monasmle

It stopped for me at 10 months. But takes forever to come back. HW 310 SW 299 (4/11) CW 206

The past month I have been having pain, especially during the night, but sometimes during the day, in my upper stomach, right under my sternum. It's a sharp pain. I have a doc appt in a month, but wanted to see if anyone had any insight. Thanks! HW 310 SW 299 (4/11) CW 206

I'm 8 months out and it's still coming out in chunks... holding on to hope that it will stop soon. Probably not related, but with winter here, I'm also unbelievably cold all the time. Hw 310 Cw 213 HW 310 SW 299 (4/11) CW 220

Could you share more about the reason your husband is not approved? GERD is often fixed with bypass, so I'm surprised that would be a reason not to do bypass. And about smoking, has your husband considered quitting smoking? My surgeon was very strict that he does not do surgery on smokers. But he would if someone had quit. That's sad news, but maybe it's not the end of the road. You can always try a second opinion. I switched surgeons midway, so don't give up hope. HW 310 SW 299 CW 267

Definitely true. At first I lost tons of pounds and no inches. Now 90 lbs down, losing inches but the scale is not moving. Don't get discouraged! HW 310 SW 299 CW 267

I've read that the stretching feeling can also be due to a broken stoma, that no longer holds the food in the stomach, but just lets it slide straight to the intestine. It's a sphincter that is loosened with repetitive over eating. Anyone heard or know more? HW 310 SW 299 CW 267

I'm sorry for all the issues you're having. I had no issues with my surgery and still felt buyers remorse. I mourned losing the comfort food gave. But 5 months out I have no regrets. 87lbs down and it has all been completely worth it. Hang in there, besides the medical issues you're having, your body is going through a lot of internal changes, on almost no calories. I know it doesn't make you feel any better, but you can get through this. HW 310 SW 299 CW 267

I'm 5 months out and I just now get in 900 calories. For me, 600-700 calories was average for the first 4 months. Fatigue like you describe lasted a good two weeks and slowly let up. Hw 310 sw 299 cw 224 goal 170

I used to binge eat a lot before my bypass. I hadn't struggled with that since the surgery, but 5 months out it is rearing its ugly head. All afternoon I wanted a sheet cake, a whole sheet cake. For about 3 hours I was back and forth on whether I was going to resist the impulse to stop and get a cake on my way home. I got up from my computer, went for a walk and ran through a short meditation session. It helped, but urge was still there, just looking for the zoned out feeling I used to get when i binged. I've been working with a therapist and i kept hearing her voice in my head. Do you really want it? Don't deprive, but listen to your body, not your mind. I was hungry, but i also wanted the cake. One issue at a time. I went to the store and picked out an atkins frozen shrimp scampi meal and 6 shrimp from the deli, because my mind still thinks I can eat that much. I got two peaches and a packet of thin slice dry salami. Then I went to every pastry in the bakery, and nothing looked good enough. On my way to check out I saw a bag of Cheetos and grabbed that too. All in all a ridiculous amount of food. I came home and told myself I can have everything, just as long as I eat my shrimp first. 3 shrimp in, game over. I have no room for more of anything. And my cake craving is gone. I am so happy to have my pouch!! At month 5 my hunger is back, so this month has been a struggle in general. The fear of stretching my pouch, backsliding into bad habits, gaining the 85lbs back, but if I follow protein first, stop when I'm full, and the process seems to work. Trust the process, this is going to work! HW 310 SW 299 CW 224

Thanks, I'm 5'9" and my surgery was 4/11. HW 310 SW 299 CW 224.8

What a journey! I don't feel like I'm at the finish line yet, but my life is 100x better. I go on walks with co-workers that I would have been afraid to take before for fear of passing out. I fit into a size 14 pant. And most of all, I don't hate myself for not having the willpower to lose weight. I'm 4.5 months out and highly recommend this surgery to anyone considering it. It's been a wonderful experience that I hope to benefit from for the rest of my life. Hw 310 Sw 299 Cw 229 Gw 180

Only told my husband, and very glad I stopped there. Even if the comments aren't negative, which I'm sure a lot would be, I didn't want to hear any comments, ANY. I struggle with rewiring my mind and how it thinks about food. I struggle getting away from the diet mentality. The only way I will be successful is if this is not a diet, but a lifestyle. I have lost a lot of weight, and I hear comments and questions all the time, and it's exhausting, what diet are you on? how much do you exercise? did you know you can burn more walking stairs? have you tried weight lifting? you know, low carb is not good for you....question after question, and it stresses me out. I have a coworker that religiously watches what I eat at my desk now, and always feels the need to start a conversation about it. I can't imagine what it would be like if they knew of the surgery. In addition, I don't want people to forever see me as my surgery. I had the same fear, of people finding out, or how to hide it. At gatherings, I can always find something remotely healthy, and stay away from stuff that's not healthy. For the first month, I really stayed away from gatherings, since I knew I couldn't eat regular food yet, and had massive head hunger. I'm 3.5 mo out, and can eat regularly, just much much less. I eat slow and while a few ladies have asked why I'm eating less, "I had a big lunch" has been enough to shut down any further conversation. I used to go to gatherings anticipating food, wondering what food I will get to eat. I now go and think about the people I'll see. It's hard to explain what that mental weight off my shoulders it is. I want to eat like a normal person, and be a normal person, not "the fat girl that had surgery", so that's why I kept it secret and I have not regretted it. As for a good excuse to use for time off. I know a lot of people use gallbladder surgery. I said I had some issues with my colon, left if vague. If people keep asking (which only two have), I've said I really don't know much about it, it's all doctor-speak to me, they just need to clean it out. From there on, I keep reiterating, I really don't know. No one has pushed past that. Short answers and vague. Good luck!

I had painful, bleeding hemmroids in the first two months. I didn't want to use milk o magnesia, so I added beans to my diet and it made it much smoother. Fiber water might be good too. Good luck!

3mo post bypass, I had dumping about 10 times when introducing new foods, since then, I'm able to eat everything without issues. Sweets don't bother me, though i also don't crave them as i used to. If i eat fatty and fast, i do have dumping, no pain or gas, just extremely uncomfortable and wanting to crawl into a ball and die for about 15min. I have only positive things to say about the bypass, and agree that negative postings tend to blow the issues pout of proportion in the grand scheme of things. Good luck!

That's a really good question. I'm 2.5mo out from surgery and 46% of the way to by weight goal of 180. That's the lowest I've ever been as an adult(which is part of why I made it my goal), and while still on the high side of normal for 5'9", I think I could be happy there. I was a size 10/8. At first, I was dead set on 150(which I haven't been since 6th grade), and in a panic that I may never get there. But the mind is the real struggle in this journey, so if I get to 180 or 150 and my mind is not fixed, the results won't last. So, the number is just a number, and I like watching it go down, but I try to document and celebrate other things about myself that I discover along the way. I'm 250 now, and I can fit in size 14, and it feels really good, I'm happy with my body as it is, which doesn't mean that I've given up working for my goal, but that I can love and accept myself as I am. I walked with friends up a hill and kept a conversation without huffing and puffing. When I eat out, I don't pick food by it's size, but rather by what I enjoy eating. I enjoy eating different things than I used to. I have a lot of non-weight goals, that I hope will contribute to my long term success. These are personal to me, and yours may be very different, and working with a counselor has really helped with that. 1. I hope to get to a point where I don't have to get on the scale every day. (This is sort of a compulsion for me, would like to get to 1x/wk) 2.I don't want to think about food, unless I'm hungry. (I currently obsess about food and exercise almost every free minute of the day, it's too much brain energy being used up when I could be out solving world peace.;) (this is a big one, and hard) 3. I want to fit in an airline seat without worry about who I'm inconveniencing. (I travel a lot, so this really makes a difference to me. It also goals along with being less insecure and more confident.) 4. I want to be able to do any activity without worrying about the weight limit. (being picked up, rides, being below my scooter weight limit, buying a ladder, etc.) Good luck on your journey, and I hope you hit all of your goals! Remember, all the ups and downs are going to be totally worth it. And get a support group, see a counselor, or find someone you can talk through as you go through this.