Strivingforbetter

It sounds like things are going well. Easy does it and keep working on sipping your water. You're on your way!

I really like strawberry flavored Barimelts multivitamins. These melt really fast in your mouth and I don't mind them at all. Anything else I've tried made me gag. One brand I absolutely cannot stomach is ProCare Health Bariatric Chewable multivitamins. In fact, if someone wants 29 tablets, you can have them for free, including shipping. I chewed one tablet and about turned inside out. These are citrus flavored and you're supposed to chew one daily.

If you're a DS patient, I don't think the Flintstones vitamins will be enough.

Was your DS surgery in 2013 or is that a typo? Your info also says you were sleeved. Were you originally sleeved in 2013? Just curious.

Holy cow! You should be congratulated for being a valiant weight loss warrior. That's an amazing loss even before you were sleeved. Truly inspirational in how far you've come.

I was self-pay, so maybe that's why I wasn't required to do a pre-op diet? Not sure. I still had a lot of pre-op appts with various people on his team for months before my surgery. I've heard a lot of good things about Dr. Esquera in Mexico if you think you might want to consider that option. As someone suggested, it would cut a lot of the red tape out, be cheaper, and they've done hundreds of DS surgeries, though I personally am not familiar with any of surgeons in Mexico.

Big changes are on the horizon! I'm excited for you. Recovery wasn't as difficult as I expected. I'm 10 weeks post-op and have no regrets. You're going to do great.

I had the same experience. It didn't last too long, maybe a week or so. I didn't do anything to help with the itch and just endured it.

I was just going to post this question to the forum: If a person consumes only 950-1000 calories a day (I know some of you don't count calories) over a period of eight months, doesn't the body start to readjust to the lower calories and stop losing weight? My fear is that I've cut my calories back so far that over time I'll start gaining weight if I eat anything over 1000 calories. What a nightmare that would be. I'll be fat and starved all at once.

It does hurt to drink water for the first few weeks. No way around it. I don't get that stabbing pain any longer at two months out, so rest assured it will go away. I'm still working on getting my required amount of water intake, however. I still feel nauseated periodically after eating. I'm not sure if this goes away entirely, but it's not the constant queasiness I had post-op. Two weeks from now, you're going to feel so much better. I didn't get the horrible gas post-op. Sorry you're experiencing that. Sounds like you're walking a ton to address that issue, and that's good. The stage you're at is so not fun, but by week three the sun comes out again.

I said good-bye to my band two months ago today! Wow, I just looked at the calendar and realized that. Anyway, congratulations! The first two weeks are rough, but I promise you'll feel better soon. Make sure you take frequent sips of water all day long so you don't get dehydrated. I'm excited for you.

I had the DS and my BMI was only 40 the day of surgery. I do not have a foul odor about me, and my social has never been better. When I use the bathroom, I do not have unusually foul stools. This is probably because my common channel is 150 cm long as opposed to the traditional 100 cm long for a DS patient. The reason for this is my lower starting BMI. It sounds like the doctor doesn't know how to perform the DS, so he is making up stories to persuade you to accept a surgery he actually knows how to perform. You absolutely qualify for the DS if that is the option you feel would work best for you. But, as others have said, you still have to make choices about your intake with the DS. It's not a magic bullet, only a tool to help you feel less hungry and absorb less fat. I agree with the first person who posted a response; I would run as fast as I could way from this doctor. He has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. I, too, was a self-pay patient and chose to have my surgery in the states. However, I have heard fantastic reviews about Dr. Esquera in Mexico. Best of luck to you. (Your first step is to find a different doctor who can actually advise you properly.)

Good advice. Could you explain a little more about the losing window? How long is it? A year? Two years?

I'm 8 weeks out and have no regrets. My common channel is one and a half cm longer in length, so 150 cm as opposed to 100 cm, which means I absorb a little more than the average DS patient. They warned me about foul smelling gas and bathroom visits, but I haven't noticed any of that, perhaps due to my longer common channel. In fact, since I revised from the Lap-Band, my gas is way down. One bit of information no one told me about was that if you eat something that has too much fat or grease, you might see orange oil float to the top of the toilet. This freaked me out the first time it happened because no one had mentioned it. Might seem like a small issue, but whoever sees orange oil in the toilet? I still have to make food choices because I'm still able to eat carbs, but to be successful I have cut them way back. I'm finally seeing results in the mirror and in my clothes. It's a different life but one I can live with.

They said it was just through the weight loss phase, and once I reach goal I could add them in. I know many people are losing 3-4 pounds a week, so I guess if I want to lose quicker I need to eliminate the fruit. However, if you've included them in your plan and you've lost over 100 pounds, it seems to be ok to include them in moderation. Jess13, thanks for responding. That's good feedback.

Has anyone been told by their doctor's office to leave out fruit from their diet as a DS patient? I'm craving fruit and have no problems digesting it (watermelon, honeydew, cherry plums, cantaloupe), but at my appt yesterday, his aide said to leave it out because it's high in carbs. I'm losing, on average, two pounds a week. Thanks for the ideas about ways to keep the protein up. This thread has been helpful t me as well. I had my surgery on 6/9/17. I just noticed my ticker shows I have 209 pounds to lose.....I only weigh 209, so.....

I wonder why I got that on an empty stomach? I felt better within a few minutes and haven't had it since. Foamies are no fun. I used to get that with my Lap-Band if I ate something that got stuck. I was hoping to be done with that when it was removed.

I'm feeling really good, but I'm still very new at this. I'm still learning how to eat and get enough protein in. It's a new way of life, but something I can comfortably live with.

No, this woman looks like she's in her 60s. She does not give her name. She hasn't posted for two months. I did notice, however, that her skin in her last video looks brighter and more nourished. As stated, she has dark brown, thinning hair. I absolutely adore the woman whose name starts with J.

I know which woman you're talking about and her videos freaked me out too. I still had my DS, but honestly that woman does not look healthy. Short, brown thinning hair. I too went in thinking I was going to have the sleeve and changed to the DS because I wanted to keep the weight off long term. I had the entire DS done in a single procedure, which took two hours. My doctor only prescribed me a multivitamin with vitamins ADEK, a chewable calcium, and a B12 supplement. Those are the only pills I take twice a day. He 's done over 200 DS procedures and trains other doctors around the country to do them. He does the double anastomosis, but he gave me a longer common channel because I began with a lower BMI than most patients. I failed to lose weight on the Lap-Band.

Ohh, I see what you mean. Yeah, I also had the double anastomosis. Yesterday, just as I woke up, I was so nauseated. Nothing on my stomach, but for no reason I had this gushing of saliva and I thought I was going to throw up. Sure hope this queasiness quiets down.

I also had the DS. What do you mean "I had the full DS and not the loop"? What's the "loop"?

It was about 6 days out that I finally felt good enough to go into the office, but I was only there a short time. I needed at least two weeks to have the energy to work, but you might heal quicker. I had the DS and never used a binder. I had very little pain and slept on my side just fine. Everyone is different.

I got so sick of broth, I gag now when someone even mentions the word. The bone broth is probably a lot better than the regular broth I had. I also had a wound seep after the first week and ended up needing to have a stitch put in. It was a constant drip, drip, drip and I couldn't keep up with it. The fluid was pinkish in color like yours. I finally used a maxi-pad and gauze, which worked for about an hour. Went through a few of those before I could finally get into my doctor. I was constantly exhausted my first week. I can't imagine walking a dog. I hardly ate a thing my first week and lost 14 pounds. However, I didn't have an appetite. I sipped water all of the time to keep hydrated. Great advice from Bariatric Master. Focus on the water. Things will get better in a few weeks. Hang in there.

Thank you, thank you!! What a relief! I haven't heard anyone mention this on any of the boards and the first time it happened I thought, "What the heck?!" For about 10 seconds, I thought maybe I had cancer.