orionburn

Nothing really new to report on my end. Did the low carb thing again and didn't really see any changes. Back to the usual diet again. Don't think I'm going to see the scale move anytime soon unless I can get my not as big as it used to be ass back outside and walking on a regular basis. It's in the mid 30s today so feels like a heat wave! Hoping my upcoming job change will see me being more active again and help get things moving.

I never thought I would see this much improvement, so it's a welcome relief and surprise. If I spent the afternoon doing yard work I knew that night I would be completely worthless because the pain was going to be horrendous. Can't promise you'll improve as much as I did, but I would think you'll see at least a big improvement on overall well being. It is so terrible living in pain on a daily basis so I feel for you. I tried one of those Varidesk units for a bit but didn't help me much. Then again at the time I still had the weight and nothing was giving me any relief. I had thought about giving it another try but with a different brand. Wasn't too impressed with the Varidesk unit. There are some other options out there that offer more flexibility. Anyway, hope you can find some relief on the other side of WLS. For me it feels like I've gotten my life back again.

Have you had any blood work done? We had to have ours tested every once in a while to make sure our levels were okay. I had a sleeve but I had some issues with iron deficiency in the beginning. Doc had me take an additional iron supplement until I was able to get enough from foods.

Had a sleeve just over a year ago. I had a pretty rough go of it for the first few weeks. Had a really hard time getting fluids in while at the hospital, but by the time I got home the swelling had gone down and was easier to get things down.

I always went with starting weight as what it was on the day I went to my first appointment. So starting weight was the same as "heaviest" for me, then my surgery weight, and then current weight.

It at least breaks up how boring it can get drinking water and protein shakes. I went through a ton of them for the first few weeks.

Just have to keep at it. Popsicles can help as can small ice chips (make sure they are SMALL in case you swallow one by mistake). Staying hydrated is the most important thing early on. Not that you want to make shorting yourself on protein a regular thing, but honestly if it comes down to it focus on water first. I went everywhere in the house with my water bottle. Have to make it a habit to continue to sip on a regular basis and not let yourself get distracted.

Fairly common. Usually attributed to a sudden drop in blood pressure, which can occur from getting up too fast. Of course there are other things that can cause it as well. Does it pass quickly? You could try standing up slower, or moving your position a bit while sitting before standing up. Kind of like trying to signal your body that "hey, I'm getting up now so don't freak out on me." An ongoing elevated heart rate can be a sign of other issues going on, but if this is only related to standing up then again it's pretty common. This gets asked on a regular basis around here. And as always it never hurts to give your doc's office a call if it continues or has you worried.

I know these people exist, but for me I can't see having any issues hitting those kind of numbers at 6 months out. My doc wanted us on 3 meals a day and that was it - no snacks. There was no way I could do that. I had to aim for 3-4 meals plus a protein shake to hit my 60g for a day. I probably average 1600 calories a day being a year out. Truth be told I could easily be over 2000 if I wanted to. It's all about what you eat and how often. Yes, my portions have to be smaller, but if I wanted to graze all day long I could and easily rack up the calories. Even with healthy options like cottage cheese or Greek yogurt those are easy to get down. Really it isn't anything you should be overly concerned about IMO.

Ummm...shouldn't your doc be giving you this info? Not being snarky, but seriously, any office worth a lick of salt should have this info for you well in advance. The vast majority of folks on here had clear cut instructions from their WLS team on what not only to have prior to surgery but afterwards as well. Unfortunately there aren't any standards set in stone. What one doc approves another may not.

And then the PC Police called everybody out for cootie shaming and it's been ruined every since.

All sorts of ways. Typically with a little bit of lettuce. Sometimes with a couple of saltines if I need a "crunchy" fix. If I need a quick meal to go I'll put it in a small wheat tortilla, but if I do that I can only manage 1/2 cup of chicken salad and usually end up tossing part of the leftover tortilla. I don't make it a habit of using the tortillas but if I'm caught off guard and need to leave and am due to eat it serves it's purpose.

This is one of my staple diet foods now. It's chicken salad so not exactly anything new, but adding in things like almonds (or walnuts) and dried cranberries give it a nice twist. I used to do a half & half mix of Greek Yogurt and light mayo (1 cup of each) but now go with the yogurt alone. Yields about six 1-cup servings. Truth be told most days I can only manage about 3/4 of a cup on it's own, or I do 1/2 a cup and mix in with my small salad. If you want a lower carb version just drop the cranberries and that takes out around 11g of carbs per serving. Edit: Just to clarify I cut the almonds, cranberries, and celery up into really small pieces and mix in with everything else.

This little lady will be our next foster dog. She was my first racer who turned out not to want to race...lol. She went in for her vetting yesterday so hopefully she'll be healed up and ready to come to our house by the end of the month. Got to spend the afternoon with her on Sunday and she's a lot of fun. She's going to make for an awesome addition to a family.

In time you'll figure out what is real hunger and what is head hunger. In the early stages you're going through real hunger. Some of us had no hunger at all for the first few weeks. Others felt hungry the same day as surgery. Head hunger will creep in eventually and it's a tough bastard to fight. It's like the old joke where you tell somebody "don't think about sex." So what do you do? Start thinking about sex. It's the same with food. If you keep thinking about being hungry it's all you dwell on. Some times getting up and doing something for 5-10 minutes will get your mind off it.

Calories are not the end all-be all when it comes to weight loss. If you're not doing a food journal then try it for a week to know where you are at and take the guesswork out. It gets old hearing it but seriously - 60g of protein, 64 oz of water, and make sure you're taking your vitamins. At 5 months out your calories could actually be too low. Keep them too low for too long and your body will hold onto every ounce that it can. There are times where you actually need to increase your calories in order to lose weight. Not talking but increasing it by 500 calories, but try going up to 900 for a week and see what happens. One of the things my doc warned us about was returning to a busy work schedule and not sticking to your plan. It becomes easy to snack on something because you only have 5 minutes here or there which leads to old/bad habits.

Yeah, it's annoying AF, but it does go away in time. I just accepted it while it was going on. I'd get up, let the dogs out, go out in the living room and put an old episode of Top Gear on, and eventually would doze off again. Some days it was fairly quick, other days I'd be up for hours before I would fall asleep again.

I'm only a year out but that fear of regain is always in my mind. I know 100% that WLS is only a tool and it still comes down to me making the right decisions on what to eat. Being on the forum helps keep me focused and gives me some sort of accountability. Thanks for sharing your story and good luck to you!

I suffer from psoriatic arthritis. My tipping point for WLS was due to having a degenerative disc as well. Did four rounds of cortisone shots into my lower back and didn’t get any relief. My sciatica was crippling me and my life. Since the shots did no good the doc said the only other option was back surgery, but they wouldn’t do surgery unless I dropped weight. If I tried to exercise, like doing 10 minutes on an elliptical machine, my body would be wrecked for a week because my sciatica would flare up so bad. So it was a total catch 22. Talked with my family doc and he thought the route of WLS was the best way to go. Being a year out I feel so much better. I probably went through 2000mg of ibuprofen a day on top of my arthritis meds and never got much relief. I am still taking arthritis meds but things are much more manageable now. I think a big part of the improvement to my overall well being is due to diet changes as well and getting rid of things like diet pop and other high sodium foods. My sciatica is 90-95% better. If it weren’t for having a damned desk job I’d feel even better. Sitting all day takes its toll on me and I have a long drive to/from work. Looking a job change soon and hoping that further improves things. Getting the weight off will make a big improvement to your joint health. You’re gonna love it.

I went through a spell of the same thing. Would wake up at like 2:30 a.m. every night and then be up for the rest of the night. Pretty sure my sleep screw-up was due to my prolonged hospital stay and getting woke up every 1-2 hours to have some test/reading taken. Another part was having to sleep on my back. I'm a side sleeper and was too sore for the first three weeks to try and lay on my sides. Eventually my sleep cycle went back to normal. The upside to waking up early is that I would just start working on my water/protein for the day and get a head start...lol.

It gave me a good chuckle. We've all been there. I've been on various message boards for waaaaay too long. A good vent/rant is needed every now and then. It isn't to scare off new folks or beat them up. Once you're around a board for any length of time you get used to how it works & flows. And yes, seeing a topic posted ten times a day, every day, every week, every month...it gets old sifting through it all. It's part of forum life and you get used to it, but sometimes screaming at things just makes you feel better.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand then there are the ones that can't take any sort of joke.

Anything carbonated can make you feel bloated and leave you feeling blah. I was a diet pop junkie prior to surgery and haven't had it since. Don't really miss it either. Kicking that habit was about as good a victory as quiting smoking (which I did years ago). There are plenty of other good drink options out there. Leave it out of your diet. You'll be glad you did.

Have you tried switching to lactose free milk? I was lactose intolerant prior so surgery so nothing changed for me in that regard. I usually stick to lactose free skim milk and use almond milk now and then. In a shake you really can't taste a difference with the almond milk. Plus it tends to be lower in calories/carbs than regular milk. Does the upset feeling only come after eating/drinking? Or at least made worse or all the same through the day?

Duplicate glitch in the Matrix post