Berry78

Missing a single day of vitamins is no big deal, but missing a month will likely leave some gaps in your nutrition. In my opinion, everyone on Earth, for the most part, need vitamins. Our food supply is wholey deficient. In the US, our vegetables only have 1/2 to 2/3 of the vitamin content that they did just 50 years ago. Which means we need to eat 1/3 to twice as much. No wonder we're all becoming obese!

At only a month post-op, your food restrictions are still in full effect. In another month, you will be allowed to eat a whole lot of other things, and will fit in maybe twice as much. As long as you are getting your liquids, vitamins, and protein, you can live for a year or two just on your fat reserves. So please don't worry about malnutrition Try and do a fun thing each day to help make the time go faster. Make lists of activities that you want to do when you are thinner, as well as things you can do now. Goals, rewards.. all these things that keep you looking forward to where you are going, instead of bogging your mind down in the now, or even the past. {Hugs} everything will work out! You'll see!

(Ruminating to myself about all the naughty bedroom-things that I should probably have run by my proctologist before doing...)

The surgery will be the easy part. Make sure you will be safe/have a plan for if the person gets out of jail. I also went to Mexico by myself, and had no troubles. When I got home, I wasn't alone, but instead of them taking care of me, it created MORE work for me taking care of them. You'll be just fine! Do make sure you have a ride home from the hospital, and enough food on hand that you don't need to shop for a few days. Get your approved foods (drinks, really) list now, so you can prepare. Good luck!

Trust me, digging it out yourself, if you are gentle (and you will be, because anything else is PAINFUL), won't injure you or cause problems. Doctors don't have anything special either. Gloves and a lubricant are all that are needed. Maybe trim your fingernails I second the enema as well. Good luck!! Hope it all comes out ok!

Insurances usually pay for procedures if there are rashes and wounds resulting from the excess skin. As for the belly button, after it is clean and dry, try powders, and even absorbent dressings in it. I'd even attempt taping the skin on the upper flap "up" to try and let some air in. Antiperspirant deodorant might help cut down on some of the wetness (if it is coming from sweat) And of course, see your doctor, as they need to document the problem, and might have better solutions for you than I can come up with. I could even see getting some sort of abdominal shapewear that might lift things... Try and wait until you are at goal and weight-stable before getting the surgery. You will be happier with the result.

Dr. Illan has a nutritionist that saw me briefly in the hospital and gave me a bag of goodies (mostly clear liquids), and a printout of the post op meal plan. The plan was very easy to understand, and had a page for each week (up to 8 or 9 weeks post). There is a list of approved foods for the week, as well as a sample daily plan, including target food weights. I was concerned pre-op by the 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, etc. This plan does it much better: 2oz cottage cheese, etc. I found it easy to follow, as much as I wanted to follow, or make it my own (sticking to the approved foods list, of course). I kept that paper in my purse for the first 2 months, reviewing it several times a week.

Sorry, I had to cut my above post short, as had to attend to kid duties. Umm.. yeah, sorry about the wasps' nest that your post has stirred. Please keep in mind, as several of the above posters have mentioned, there are a lot of people here with "parent issues", and your post pushed some buttons. I was heavy by time I hit first or second grade, but really started gaining in earnest in middle school (blasted puberty!!). My Mom and Dad didn't have much money, so they did the best they could. I was the only one that became chubby on the pasta and day-old doughnuts, so it was a problem with me, not the diet But, alas.. the past is what it is, and I'm finally on a path to better myself. I'm 38. I recognize that you are terrified of complications from the surgery. You'd hate to see a perfectly healthy young adult sign up for an optional procedure that could leave her worse than she started, right? We can't promise nothing bad will happen during/after the procedure. But, we can promise that the risks are low, and the rewards are great. Post-surgery regain is a real possibility, and it can start as early as 6-8 months post-op. She has a lot to learn about changing the content of her diet, FOREVER, not just the quantity.. because she'll gradually be able to eat more and more, to the point of eating like a typical person (1 plate, not 3.. but she can get in big trouble with 1 plate!). If you can, please look up Dr. Matthew Weiner on youtube. He is a bariatric surgeon in Michigan, and he has a TON of information about how/why the surgery works, and tips for changing diet and lifestyle afterwords. We are so used to having to steer our kids in the right direction (away from danger), that it can be difficult to let them go and do their own things. Shoot, my husband didn't want me doing the surgery! He was terrified for me. I was more terrified for my high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, joint pain, inability to fit in an airplane seat (no 2nd honeymoon in Hawaii!), breaking toilet seats all the time, having to hold my breath to tie my shoes, couldn't wash the bottoms of my feet, having very limited wardrobe selection, couldn't go out to walk the dog without feeling like I was going to have a heart attack, stairs = seeing stars.. etc. I did great on diets when I was 20. Lost 65lbs, could hike 25 miles a day carrying a pack, etc. But, we can't all stay 20 forever, and having pregnancies, sitting at desk jobs, taking care of elderly parents in the home.. these things all take their toll, and weight gain happens... especially because a broken metabolism does not get fixed by diet and exercise! (There is some hope for a ketogenic diet, I suppose, but that was one I never tried). Fix the metabolism through surgery. Learn a new way of cooking and eating. Fix any emotional problems.. and your daughter has a great chance of having a normal life.

I am also a mother of an almost-17-year old daughter that is heavy. Thank you for being willing to help yours through the healing phase. She will need as much support as you can provide. I guess I'm a bit confused by your post. You say you are concerned she won't make the required lifestyle changes, but it sounds like more than that. You sound like you really just don't want her to have the procedure, and potential failure is just a convenient excuse. Your daughter has a broken metabolism. The surgery will fix it. Just think of it like this: if your daughter broke her arm, and the doc recommended surgery, would you balk at that? Of course not! And after her arm is fixed, is it guaranteed she'll never break it again? No, of course not. The metabolism is the same way. The only difference is there is a limit to the number of times bariatric surgery can happen. As many of us here have discovered, surgery makes it POSSIBLE to stick to a healthy diet. Please stick around the board and learn what it is about. Invite her to join as well.

You'll do great! Congrats!

It's called "the 3 week stall", happens to almost everyone during the first month. You are doing nothing wrong.. the scale just doesn't move for a week or two. Stalls will happen regularly on your journey. And you'll notice your weight will fluxuate a bit too. Scale going up by a pound or three is normal. It soon goes back down.

I had this, and turned out I was allergic to the antibiotic. Allergies usually have you itchy too. It also can be from dehydration, but either way, a call to your doc is a good idea.

My local surgeon also mentioned 120g of protein for DS patients. I agree with Outside. Eat more food, and look for more info pertaining to DS patients.

People regain like gangbusters when their bands are unfilled or removed. Why should this be any different?

Ah, I see scar tissue is probably a PITA for surgeons. I bet the bypass will fix you right up since the food can just drip right out of your pouch into the intestine. Be prepared to lose quite a bit of weight at first, even though you don't want to. It really can't be helped. But you can gain it back later. Be prepared for a change in tastes. Sweets and fried foods are frequently not tolerated. New lactose intolerance happens frequently as well. Has your surgeon mentioned "dumping"? If you eat sugar or fried food, it can make you feel really sick (but ultimately isn't actually harmful). Dumping decreases over the first few years and usually stops completely. You are going to find eating/drinking is a full time job for the first couple months. Long term, you'll be eating around 6 times a day. Each time is only a handful of food. Getting a digital kitchen scale will help you learn to eyeball your portions. (Overeating hurts, and overfilling your plate is frustrating).

It wasn't clear whether you purely need the surgery for the stomach or whether weight loss is also a goal. Either way, the healing period is the same. 8-9 weeks for diet and exercise to return to "normal". You'll start with clear fluids and frequent short walks, and progress to normal foods (small portions), and unlimited exercise. One question I would feel comfortable asking is why the open procedure? If your surgeon is not a typical bariatric surgeon (that specializes in the weight loss procedures exclusively), he/she may not be as skilled in laproscopic procedures. Find out if it is surgeon skill, or your own anatomy that creates the need for that type of procedure. (Maybe get a second opinion from a bariatric specialist).

Even people that have always been thin put on weight during/after pregnancies. I would highly consider waiting until after baby (s) before getting the surgery.. that way a pregnancy won't sabotage your once-in-a-lifetime surgery. On the other hand, healthier babies are always good... but there is no guarantee with that being the case, and malabsorption might be a problem for the baby too. Hard choice! But I still vote.. have babies first.

It is possible to start gaining this early out, so let this be a warning, even if it turns out to just be a fluctuation. Make sure you weigh at least once a week. This should be a life-long habit. Track your consumption. See if you can restart a regular exercise routine (even just walking).

I'd keep trying different solutions.. powders and slippery skin stuff made for runners, maybe even maxi pads placed in the bra to absorb moisture...

Peanut butter is ok. So is the ham. If you keep the crackers to a minimum, and they don't set up cravings, they might be ok. White flour is the devil for a lot of us, but your tolerance may vary. I wouldn't recommend crackers to be an every day thing.. but for an occasional splurge....probably ok. (Just keep it to like, 4-5 crackers, not a sleeve).

I feel like my scale is training me like a dog. When I do something right, it rewards me. At first, consistently. But as time goes on, even though I'm continuing to do things correctly, the rewards are spaced further apart. I never know when the treat will come, so I'm keeping the good behavior up. One day, the treats will stop coming altogether, but by that time, the behaviors should be so well ingrained, that they are second nature.

Do they have you on a good course of antibiotics for a couple weeks? Bellybuttons are over-rated! My skin around mine is starting to form a frownie face

Oh my gosh! I guess those things are more common than anyone would have thought! Glad you have an answer, but more surgery is the pits [Hugs]

I agree with 2 liter! Let them do the driving!

I'm going to hazard a guess that 10-15lbs will get you down to a size 10, which for your height, will be perfect! Loose skin can really play tricks on your perceptions. Love the idea of the dexa scan!