TheBearguy8

I'm gonna be blunt. I've lost 55 pounds, and I swear I'm bigger in "The Good Place" than I was ever, even in college. We are talking multiple inches. I'm an exhibitionist so the temptation to share the before and afters with you must be resisted, but suffice to say, after the joy of looking down and seeing it again . . . the second joy of the reactions. . . well . . .let's just say my username isn't a dream anymore, it's real.

Finally, some experience I can relate to and comment intelligently about.

Surgery day: 250

Pre-Op prep: 255

Max weight 2 years earlier: 280

Years jammed up at 250 with daily exercise, spin classes and Zumba: THREE!!

7 months after surgery?: 195

Experience?: It's been a BREEZE like this guy said. I have felt guilty expressing this due to sympathy for so many others. There is so much FEAR and TERROR expressed in SO MANY places. I was PETRIFIED going to Mexico more for the surgery than even going to Tijuana!

Physical side effects so far: Nausea ALARM (that's what I call it) to "STOP EATING YOU DUMMY". Best thing ever. Burping. Hilarious. Great at parties. farting? Not so much fun at parties.

What gave me an advantage: I had been a dancer, and competitive and physically active in my 20's after being a fat kid. Mid life crisis issues at 40 set some changes in to motion, but no matter what dietary changes I made . . dropped all sugary sodas gradually, massive carb cutbacks, cutting out of top trigger foods, pizza, chinese . . .it all helped, but 250 was where I thought life would settle. Then came spin classes, zumba, weight lifting - 240 was fun, but crept back to 250 gradually.

AFTER surgery - all those lifestyle things HELPED as the psychological hunger and inability to overeat just changed. Combine the surgery with lifestyle changes? I'm living a joyful life, literally and metaphorically dancing through every day. . . looking 10 years younger . . . wearing tight clothes . . . and getting a lot of dates and interest that lead me to believe I might not die alone fat and surrounded by my cats eating me after all.

Things people say that were NOT TRUE FOR ME:

- you will never have carbonated drinks ever again

- you will never enjoy eating again

- it's "not a magic bullet". (It was for me)

- you will always get gassy and uncomfortable and live with it

- you will forever need to be taking a lot of supplements and vitamins/shots

- you will get debilitating heartburn and physical pains

- you will risk ripping your staples out and bleeding to death if you eat too much.

- you will have to get used to vomiting from time to time, and it's painful and dangerous to do so. (twice for me, and only when I mixed bourbon with too many sugar free popsicles! I deserved it! It was just bad that it happened while sleeping - that's dangerous)

- you will never enjoy any alcoholic drinks ever again

- you will die in Mexico and they will never find your body

- you will be so constipated it will affect you all the time

- you will go through periods of regret (not so far anyway)

Some true ones:

- drinking enough Water is hard. It tastes awful, and I never liked it in the first place.

- Protein, protein, protein FIRST. Then the fun stuff, if you even want it anymore after the protein.

- Tastes change. sometimes in some bizarre ways that even change month to month.

- Remember to eat and keep the food log any way you can more so that you stay in balance, and don't get out of whack in areas like sodium and other things easily overlooked.

- Use your URINE as a constant CHECK on your own health. LOOK AT IT. Sometimes pee in urine specific container and check the color carefully. When it gets darker, really dark, or even into a neon type bright green/yellow - evaluate what you are doing carefully and make changes.

- The surgery is NOT what it was in it's early years and configurations of bypass and lap band. Sleeve was the way for me, and it all makes sense after the fact now. My mother had this surgery in 1992 and has led a miserable life physically, although she got thinner, it came with much substitute misery.

Have fun! It's the best decision I ever made! I would do it over and over again, and I tell everyone I can to not be afraid.

Lose It makes it so easy.

I had my surgery done in Mexico back in February (BMI 48). Based on these forums, I was expecting the worse. It didn't happen. No pain, very easy recovery, no gas, I was walking day 1 post-op and never stopped (even with a drain), the barium swallow post-op was a non-event, etc. In fact, at one point I burst into tears when talking to my doctor, because I felt they hadn't done the surgery (despite my scars). My experience didn't mesh with what I had "learned" here, nor with what the other people on my floor were going through. My doctor laughed (in a nice way) and told me not to worry - that I was one of the lucky ones that had no problems post-op (believe it or not, it does happen). And to prove I had the operation, she showed me a photo of my excised stomach with my chart beside it (apparently I have quite a long stomach, compared to others).
I did go to the hospital prepared - I had my gas-x strips, and mouth spray for dry mouth. The gas-x I ended up giving to another patient on the floor who was having real trouble with gas pain, but the mouth spray was a real life saver. Even when Water couldn't really "wet" my throat, the spray could. I also have found it useful even when flying, since there's only so much you can drink at a time.

"THIS TOO SHALL PASS"

Necessary evil, only heard of one case via rumor that it continued a long time.

5 hours ago, JohnnyCakes said:

Occam's razor FTW here - you are (drum roll)........ OVER-DOING IT.

you aren't (and can't) take in enough calories to cover your basal metabolic rate plus the active calories you are using. your brain needs calories as much as your zumba-muscles do, and there just isn't enough there. that's why you are lightheaded. and that's why orange juice makes you feel better. that's liquid sugar and the glucose goes right to your brain.

don't over think this. you know you are doing too much. during these first few intense weight-loss months, you need to take it easy. there will be plenty of time to play gym-hero in the future when you have stopped losing and started taking in more calories.

I'm gradually consuming more calories every day since working out - even too many - but no one agrees on what number I should be hitting. I was mostly 1200 calories, more than anyone I've read about in early stages, but now I'm at 1800, and I think that's too many - and some night eating of low sugar fudgsicles and no sugar italian ice is pushing the number. They obviously melt on the way down, and don't cause a restricted/full feeling. I have cut the number I consume in half compared to before surgery. I know it's not nutrition. It's keeping me sane. Honestly those calories on Orange juice was why I gave up juices orange/grape/cranberry for over 10 years before surgery.

I'm not convinced I'm over doing it. I'm the teacher - not the student in the class - I'm actually not on the bike nearly 1/3 the class in spinning, boot camp training involves nothing for the coach but blowing a whistle (yea a short demo), and zumba I gotta dance, I get it. We need to do some cardio. I hate gym cardio, love dancing and spinning.

BUT I must thank you for taking this time to answer, it's "food for thought" [see what I did there], and I will take the advice seriously. Obviously I have to consider something as obvious as what you said - that I was not considering before.

Jesus people you realize you are not supposed to have any alochol for like 6 months right? where the hell did you people get this done? They clearly do not have high standards if you were not informed on how long to abstain. I get not everyone will wait 6 months but some of you waited like 2 weeks...You realize you will sabotage your entire surgury by drinking right? Booze is a big reason why we were all so fat. the smallest stomach in the world will not stop you from gaining weight if you drink your calories.

Thanks everyone! Today I am dizzy all day in different degrees. My attempt to experiment with a variety of food and drink leading to 2,500 calorie day. Ugh. Previously 1650 was my max and I set my "Lose It" app to 1,500 a day as a goal. 90g Protein

Sleeved 5/11/17. Having one of the best recovery experiences I've read anywhere. Obviously very lucky. I am a fitness instructor at a major health club chain, so 265-275 was even psychology more at work than every day life.

Highest weight 275

Pre-op week 255

Surgery day 248

Today 218.6

A few days ago 216 after many days of Zumba and spinning.

Woke up yesterday at 5am and barely made it to the bathroom to pee from dizziness, stumbled many times.

Woke up at 8am to teach 2 classes (normal breakfast) and barely made it through, was about to pass out any minute, taught the class mostly verbal, not moving much. Dipping or turning my head triggers it to get worse.

Returned, took a 2 hour nap, woke up completely normal. The rest of the day I functioned back to normal working. Protein Drink again, which I had stopped due to extreme expense.

Woke up this morning at 5am, pattern started over again, so I'm here for help.

The basics:

- my urine is unchanged in color, but generally darker all the time, still normal color.

- getting 90g of Protein a day, chicken, eggs, salmon, refried Beans

- taking Vitamins recommended in these forums

- not able to eat fruits much, or vegetables

- maybe a little low on liquids, tap Water has too much chlorine and tastes so bad I lean on G2, which saved me post surgery, and is the easiest to drink.

- after a workout Orange juice goes down easy and really helps.

A little worried over here. I can't lie in bed mornings waiting for it to pass.

I can't find a pattern, just looking for someone else's similar experience. I don't want to go to the emergency room when I feel better after a few hours. Big Co-pay.

Thanks guys

Kill two birds with one stone. Enjoy Sugar Free Chocolates, peppermint patties, or sugar free Reese's mini cups, or low sugar FUDGSICLES, all of these have ingredients that will "move things along"

one question . . . you said "tummy let you know when it was full" - I am interpreting that to mean what I am experiencing, which is a warning nausea similar to what would could happen to me say at Thanksgiving long after I already ate way too much and had light nausea and regret.

Nausea tells me to STOP. Appetite is a different drive and feeling.

Can you elaborate? Our starting weights are similar - although females and males have very different experiences on these boards.

Yup 30 pounds, that damn "groin fat pouch" is starting to recede, l can see it, its bigger, firmer and I am horny ALL the time while I am doing cardio every day as a gym coach while I am losing.

Be careful setting absolute goals, I started at 255 after max of 275. May 11 surgery. 7 weeks now, 221 today. Go easy on yourself

to be blunt - you remind me of me before the surgery = you wanted FIRM real, conclusive 100% sure data, and in a way, a sort of guarantee. They reason you can't find out what you want is because it doesn't exist. There are too many variables. For me - at a certain point I found people most similar to me - men, whose experiences seem vastly different from women. Then I looked for their YouTube videos, their starting weights, even their heights, frames, and asked about their fitness level in their life beforehand. THAT is what made the biggest difference. Someone who may have been a shut-in, zero physical activity for years, many health issues and tons of medications - it's not the same experience as the guys I finally found who fit my situation. BMI 35-45, moderately active, generally healthy, just frustratingly fat and being proactive before disaster really hits. It also helped to find some of those guys were gay (I am) and their before and after pictures were beyond inspiring.

I thought I explained how our bodies changing - processing Vitamins and nutrients differently - can change as it did with me. My doctor told me that, and I read that Vitamin deficiencies can make one more susceptible to this side effect, but it's not proven.

On 6/10/2017 at 3:31 PM, TheBearguy8 said:

Just an update.....it's 4 weeks, and things seem normal,now...whatever was going on at that point physically and psychologically was bizarre.

I am 2 months ish almost now and just wanted to say - my original post looks nuts right now and I want to remove it out of embarrassment - but perhaps someone will be helped by it. Everything is going great, and if I could find in my profile where I could post my progress of weight loss, I'd be happy to share that with you.

25 pounds lost, and i can't find in "my profile" where I can keep this updated, although I just added a photo

I am working my way through something nearly disastrous. There is a reason I am posting this for WLS patients

Cipro, Levaquin, are known a fluoroquinolones. These are not "typical" antibiotics and are used for more serious bacterial infections. I had a suspected UTI, and the emergency room gave me Cipro, and I had taken it before so I was not alarmed. Taken before surgery successfully with no problems except some stomach upset.

The pharmacist gave me a big speech about the sun, and nothing else I remembered. That's not the speech they should give. On day 3 my urologist went nuts and said stop taking Cipro immediately. I had taken it for 72 hours and seemed fine, with leg pain I didn't connect. Well the next week was hell. My Achilles tendons, joints and entire body went into some sort of crazy shock - and you don't think of an antibiotic doing that.

I am of the belief that post surgery, Vitamin absorption changes, dietary nutrients changes, it made me susceptible to what happened. I take Vitamins as instructed, but the body has changed. Here is the important part if you are reading this. MANY PEOPLE'S DAMAGE IS IRREVERSIBLE! I was horrified when I read the stories of doctors insisting patients finish the course of Cipro/Levaquin treatment while they were losing their ability to even walk. My legs are my life and career, this was a near disaster.

Our new bodies may present a new issue and I want any WLS patients to ask questions and be very careful. Side effects can fade away, but tendonitis, and joint injuries from this are often - often - PERMANENT.

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/popular-antibiotics-may-carry-serious-side-effects/

I'm only 2 months out, but I have a few things to contribute that I feel are appropriate. I stressed a lot over which surgery to have. BMI 40 at the highest. I wanted something reversible. I was scared. My mother had early bypass in the 90's and she suffers terribly now from mal-absorption, cant swallow important meds, can't eat.

I got lucky with a rep for a travel surgery company over the phone who spent time with me discussing sleeve. Thank goodness she was insistent.

I'm having an experience that seems not typical, but I am believing one thing from research and limited experience.

Gastric sleeve makes the most logical sense as a concept when you break it down. Individuals vary but logically . . .

• It does not actually change the flow of the human body, or digestive system, it just keeps the natural flow, but reduces the pouch of your stomach size.
• It does not leave foreign objects like the band, port, etc in the body.
• Scarring is minimal, invasion is lower, recovery is faster. For me the recovery has been so fast it's almost unbelievable.
• It simply restricts you from overeating and presents you with a nauseous reminder to STOP, or SLOW DOWN constantly.
• Recovery seems to be the fastest for a general observation,
• Side effects for me have been nearly non-existent.
• I had a home made seltzer yesterday as an experiment (I do NOT call that "soda") and surprise, I did not die, explode, tear out my staples. Like all things in life, be smart, listen to your body. Seltzer provides an oral stimulation I enjoy within reason, and a squirt of some taste also can happen.
• Vitamin effectiveness is too early to gauge at 8 weeks, but at least taking those larger pill presents no problem like the eternal suffering my mother's radical bypass endures for 25 years, causing non adherence to Vitamins, which then causes more problems.
• My anecdotal research tells me men have a vastly different easier experience when compared to women overall. ANECDOTAL.

I'm just 2 months out, and of course years of a journey lie ahead. Oh by the way, I'm also HIV positive, 35 years healthy, never needed meds until proactive treatments started recently, and even those I have no problems with post surgery.

Negatives I'm becoming aware of . . .

• you can find unhealthy high calorie foods that can slow or stop weight loss and slip by the restriction process. My personal example is Low Sugar Fudgesicles. I'm craving chocolate, I did not used to. I used to binge eat popsicles in general, now regular popsicles taste weird, but the Sugar Free Chocolate products like Peppermint Patties, dark chocolate, in general also help because they have a laxative effect. I ate too many "Outshine' fruit low sugar popsicles last night watching Netflix (with no chill unfortunately) - and I vomited in my sleep, which strikes me as a bit potentially dangerous. I hope the negative reinforcement works.
• Tastes seem to change a bit. Cravings change. Whiskey/Scotch/Vodka tastes gross now unless it's an expensive super high quality bourbon. That may seem minor to you, but taste and craving changes can seem bizarre.
• I can sense a long term danger that mentally, I will "figure out" how to outsmart the surgery when I'm stressed and resorting to old eating behaviors and patterns. Last week I went to support a friend who is a cabaret theater singer, and there was pressure to order food and drink to keep the prime seating location we were in. I felt guilty for the waiter with me milking an appetizer and one drink for an hour and I pushed it ordering more food, and more alcohol, ill advised. I gained 2 pounds just from that stupid exercise. Thankfully avoided vomiting, but perhaps that would have been better mentally.
• My weight loss was so slow at first I was genuinely scared then angry. Then I resumed cardio exercises and teaching Zumba, which is twice as much exercise as just taking Zumba. Then the weight started falling off.
• Muscle tone is weird. I need to lift weights as I did when very overweight. It feels different.

Hope this contributes and helps.

What is our range for calorie goals per day? Protein? carbs? (In grams if possible). Yes, I've researched it, but it's 99% women's answers, and I was a Mexico surgery guy with limited contact post surgery.

My surgery was so physically successful I'm still kind of dazed. I'm eating most foods just fine 7 weeks out. 25 pounds. I miss watermelon, and that's not working. Weird for a fruit so inherently healthy. I crave chocolate more than before, and sugar free is good because it used to cause diarrhea, but now it's a lovely slight laxative, LOL.

Thanks to all men for sharing and congratulations

I am a watermelon fiend, and it fills me up fast, but it's mostly Water (which helps) and I couldn't live without it.

This is why we have the surgery. To be blunt, to have physical discomfort as a mental process to think about what we put in our mouths. Nausea is a blessing, I threw up once because I was doing so well I slow sipped some Bourbon and Water. It was too soon. I am also May 11, just like you. Being male, I constantly find our experiences differ from women a lot, and we generally have an easier time of the steps.

I was scheduled for band....and a weeks of solid research and a committed Rep at WLA, went with the sleeve instead. I'm doing great, and people are switching out due to problems. 2 of the 6 people on my day was doing the switch.

Same thing happened to me. Your entire body is in recovering mode, swelling from incisions, healing, retaining fluids. Then it drops off.