CyclicalLoser

I was going to mention Dr. Nowzaradan from "My 600# Life" as well. He does seem to be a pioneer in Super Obese patients. I have noticed that in the largest-of-the-largest patients, he does tend to steer towards VSG, at least first, and then sometimes comes back to do a RNY afterward.

As my handle indicates, I've had many "victories". Back in 2005 I went from 263 to 153 over about a year of sub-1000 calories a day + (~900 calories a day of exercise). Naturally I felt pretty exhausted during the year. When I hit my lowest weight, I had two thoughts: Wow, after losing 100 pounds, I'm still fat. (As I grabbed the ever-so-tiny "spare tire" around my waist) The other was "Now what?" (I'm goal-driven so as soon as a goal is reached, I have to find a new goal) This is stupid, but I'll say it anyway. I liked to run as fast as I could and jump as high as I could when I went out to get the mail. I felt like a sports car with my newfound lower center of gravity, and faster acceleration due to the huge mass reduction. I don't consider myself one to enjoy clothes shopping, but the secret truth is that I did enjoy it. Regarding still feeling fat, I've read that it takes the mind longer to "come around". I would not have believed it, but it was true. Unfortunately, I didn't stay the correct weight long enough for my brain to finally realize I was the body size and shape that God wanted me to be. I have a ways to go, but I'm 80 pounds off my highest weight, and I will be ecstatic once my weight starts with a one

Excellent, I'm glad to see that you are approaching this from the ground up so to speak. I hope it works as well for you as it did for me. I can't remember if I already typed this but I was on it for 6 months. Yeah the side effects were a bit rough, but totally worth it if you ask me. I would keep an eye on your B-vitamins during the treatment. Sometimes the delivery method causes different effects, so if your B-levels drop too much, you could always try injections. When doing so, I (believe) it bypasses the liver, and also might mean that you don't need to take as much to achieve the intended results. I'll be praying for you that it helps! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Maggie354, to be honest, I really don't remember because it was so long ago. I know I started before I went to College, and I also remember wrapping my feet in college. If I remember right, the lip bleeding started first. Being that I went to a school in the northern part of the country and it was very cold, so I'm sure that only made things worse. If you live where it gets cold, I would get yourself used to carrying some lip balm of some sort. It's harder for us guys because we're used to carrying a wallet and some keys (At lest then...Cell phones were for "rich" people at the time). I was thinking about something since I posted. Allow me to postulate for a bit. We know that white adipose tissue (fat) has a pro-estrogen component. My "T" levels were very low when adjusted for my age. Heck, they were low for someone 20 years older than me. Most guys that are big also have "moobs" and while a component of that is simply another place to store excess calories, another component is simply that the extra fat suppresses androgen (testosterone) and either amplifies the existing estrogen, or simply makes more (I can't remember). Anyways, when you start playing around with Estrogen and Androgen, you get acne. I believe that guys that have more androgen than their bodies prefer end up with acne because of that. I also know that when women start using birth control hormones, one of the side effects is acne, and I would like to believe that supports my hypothesis as well. Fast forward to post surgery. When our metabolism changes, when we lose the weight, and when whatever unknown ghrenlin/leptin changes happen (My surgeon said they don't fully understand the gamut of things that happen almost immediately after surgery), it likely throws off those hormones. So I would humbly suggest requesting your doctor to measure the testosterone and various estrogens, and maybe the SHGC (I probably got that acronym wrong) as well. Maybe there is a supplement such as pumpkin seeds or saw palmetto (Known to reduce testosterone) or something equivalent for excess estrogen? If there aren't any supplements that the doctor is comfortable with, then there are various hormone blockers, or simply adding a birth control (or changing it to a different progestin/progesterone/estrogen type/strength). If I were female, I would honestly start there before I tried the acutane. I'm a bigger fan of treating the problem than the symptom....But take all of this with a grain of salt, I'm a research person/engineer at heart, and nowhere near a medical doctor!

I took accutane in 1995 after several years of being made fun of because of my absolutely horrible acne that a dermatologist couldn't get rid of after trying everything including cryo treatment. I cannot speak to the absorbtion, but I can speak to the effects that I have seen. I spoke with an ophthalmologist who told me that accutane frequently causes people to have overdialation of their eyes. That makes oncoming headlight brighter than one would normally see. When I took it, I had unbelievable dry/cracked skin. My lips would crack and bleed at least once a week. My poor feet would crack and bleed (daily). I ended up using gauze with a coating of Vaseline on the bottom of my foot, and then I took medical tape and taped around my foot. When I took it, females had to sign a waiver because there are unbelievably bad effects on a baby. My dermatologist told me that it it was good enough for women, then it was good enough for men, and I had to sign it. This was before the links to suicide. My parents didn't like the idea of it, but I was darn near 18, and I told them it was now or wait a few months and I'll do it myself. I took it for six months and haven't had any bad acne since. If you added up all of the pimples I've had since then, it would be less than the numbers I had come up daily beforehand. Years later, my father and I argued about the suicidal effects. He was ticked at big pharma, but I explained to him it was no different than an anti-depressant - the population of the subjects are often extremely upset and (arguably) near suicide to begin with. It's no different than the death rate for obesity surgery. Anybody that knows anything about statistics will know that you can make numbers say whatever you want. If you look at the morbidity rate of BMI's over 100, then of course, you will see high(er) morbidity simply because said person's body is more stressed/fragile than one with a BMI of 40. I'll get off my soapbox now. I will say this, I am 100% happy with the results and knowing everything I went through (And possibly permanent dilatation issues) I would absolutely do it again. I would caution anybody on weight loss vitamins though: I seem to remember that there was a severe complication with a vitamin (Vitamin A if I remember right). Basically, you can get toxicity if you add to it. So I would recommend that you stick with whatever multi-vitamin you're taking and then take it to the prescribing doctor to make sure he is okay with the concurrent use. Doctors tend to brush off vitamins, but ours are way more potent, and that may change their mind.

Well, it's the time of the year, where we get ready to put on our running shoes and fight for no-name TV's cook holiday dinners. I am blessed to live in California, and it is apple season here. Today I went apple picking and got some Red Delicious, Johnagold and Granny Smiths. I absolutely love apple pie. This is obviously not a great food to eat, at least when prepared as usual. I'm curious if others have no-dump recipes for Apple pies (Or to open this up more, anything you'd find on a Thanksgiving dinner). I know I could bake a pie with Spenda or Truvia, but I'm trying to figure out how to make a crust that would be low/no carb.

I've had dumping once. I deserved it - I ate some carb smart ice cream. I had noticed when I had it before that my stomach would get upset if I ate about half a cup. This particular time I ate about one cup. At first I felt gassy/nausiated and then the verps came. Then I got all hot and sweaty and I became more "aware" of my heart rthyem (I have anxiety and panic disorder, so I thought it felt like a panic attack). The only thing I could do was to sit in a recliner for hours. I fell asleep. When I woke up, I still felt pretty lousy, and then the loose stools came. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be - I wasn't flat out on the floor grasping at my heart. Nevertheless like others said, once it has started, it's too late. You're now on the roller coaster and can't get off. As for me, I didn't want any food or liquids during the episode. I probably would have thrown it up if I tried. I was told that the fiber in fruit balances out the natural sugars and that's why they are okay.

I had terrible Gerd, then I got the lap band. All of the gerd went away (Or so I thought). I woke up in the morning spending the first couple hours clearing my throat. The surgeon told me it was probably "silent GERD". Right after my revision surgery from the band to the RNY, the throat clearing was fixed. I have a family member who was thinking about having bariatric surgery. They have GERD really bad, and the surgeon also recommended the RNY. He said that the sleeve is a high pressure setup which has a tendency to push up stomach acid. This is coming from a surgeon who does mostly sleeves, so I wouldn't say he was biased against sleeves in general.

Wow thank you all! I'm taking things very, very slow (Still). Most of the time when I eat "normal" (Non liquid) things, I feel nauseous, to the point where I've had to throw up. I'm pretty sure it's because I am eating too fast. The positive side is that I don't have a problem with my mostly liquid diet. Yesterday, as I waited in line to order a family member an Apple turnover, I was thinking there had to be a "healthier" option. After all, apples are apples and as long as I get the sugar and bad carbs out, it should be an okay treat. In general though, and yes this is ironic, I am the safest person in the world to transport baked goods. I don't like any pies except Apple. I don't like anything else. Not cakes, muffins, brownies, cupcakes, pastries, twinkies, cookies etc. But Apple pies lived in fear of my wrath. Thank you all again. This will be enormously helpful for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners!

I look at it this way - At least here in the US, doctors are in the crosshairs by every patient they see. They don't know if their patient is a lawyer, or one that knows a great malpractice lawyer. The surgeon tells you things - things you make life altering decisions on - then puts you in a near-death state and redesigns your innards. The poor doctors have it hard, they really do. I know of several doctors that pay unimaginable malpractice insurance every year. So I think the doctors like to underpromise/overdeliver. I don't think most people would sue them if they said "You'll only be overweight when you hit your final weight" and then almost miraculously you are in the "normal" BMI. Most people would think the doctor is a hero, and recommend them to everybody. Us car guys call it sand-bagging when we're racing. It's politics and it stinks, but this is the world we live in. Like other people said, everybody is different. The doctors right now are mad at me because I really don't eat much "real" food. A lot of things give me nausea, but I'm happy as a clam with my sugar free popsicles, clear protein drink, and regular protein shakes. For right now, I'm completely cool with never eating again, and I hope I stay this way. I know the first 6-18 months are extremely important as weight loss thereafter is hard, so I'm going as fast as I can. The doc told me at 3 months I'm about where a typical patient is at 6 months. Sounds good to me! Also, as others said, and in my opinion, WLS is to be healthier. Looking better is just a welcomed side-effect. I don't think most people are 100% thrilled after the surgery, skin is only so elastic, but walking a mile, walking up stairs, playing with your kids, cleaning the house...all of that is so much easier. FWIW my blood pressure before surgery was 135-140 over 95 to 100. Now? 105/75. That alone probably put quite a few years back on the table.

I always bring a 10mm wrench (Everything is metric nowadays) and a guitar pick. I travel a lot for work, so I pack light. I wore the same clothes in as I wore out (Might sound gross, but I took a shower before I went in, then had them off about 3 hours later when I switched into the floral print smock) sweat pants and a large t-shirt (It was over 100 out when I was released...now? Probably a sweater). I'd bring a book, bible or kindle. Mainly for waiting for your surgery. Once you are out of surgery, you probably won't feel like doing much, plus they want you up/around. I have a bad back, and I actually slept in a chair/recliner the 2nd night. The nurses, purse practitioners, physician's assistants were all very willing to help. They fetched me heat packs, and gave me muscle relaxers in the IV when I told them my back pain was worse than the surgery. Honestly, now that I think about it, I wished I would have brought a cane...not for walking with the IV attached, but when walking out of the hospital into the car. Things are happening the entire time you're there, they won't let you sit still for more than a few hours, between the IV machine beeping, the blood tests and blood thinner injections and so on. Actually, I just thought of something I really wished I would have brought...a stack of starbucks gift cards. Saying "thank you" to the staff member helping you out is one thing, but talk is cheap; buying them a cup of coffee says you mean it.

I think everybody is different depending on their tolerance to pain, and how their new digestive system is working. I took 4 weeks, and then worked from home an additional two. I think I probably could have went back to work at 3 weeks, but it would have been pretty miserable...That being said, I have a fairly low pain tolerance when it comes to medical procedures. (But I can scratch, cut, scrape and bruise my arms with no real pain go figure...Maybe because I'm always working on my cars and the above are inevitable).

Lapband -> Riverside Medical Clinic (Dr. Zainabadi) Terrible, terrible Doctor (No longer performing surgeries, no longer with medical group). Also the medical group cancelled the program. RNY Revision -> Loma Linda University Medical Center (Dr. Scharf) Amazing Doctor, has unbelievable credentials. Their program is absolutely fantastic. Based on my experience, I would suggest to go with a teaching university, they stay on top of the latest technologies, usually have state of the art equipment, and are borderline OCD on your stats, your health, and your education. In my instance, only "real" surgeons perform the surgery, but student surgeons observe. Benefit? Two sets of eyes for everything (My morning rounds were a real doctor followed by 15 medical students). I gave the one student doctor a hard time (tongue in cheek). I could tell he was nervous. He asked me if I could tell him my name. I replied "Yes". He smiled, the 15 students chuckled, and I broke the ice for him. He thanked me later.

Thank you all, and a bunch of great ideas. Most of the time I'm only there for a few days, so I don't really have much time to cook. Most of the time I do score a fridge, because I'm a gold member, They typically take decent care of me (Co-workers are platinum and they bend over backwards for them). Even though the work is hectic and long, I still really like it. Sometimes I bring family so they can sightsee while I'm out pushing a pencil. ScoutCR, I think we are kind of in the same boat, or should I say Bike? (Buddy had a newer Scout). Last couple of trips have been driving trips (yay) but I do have flights (boo) 90% of the time. I find that as long as the food is cold-tolerable, it works out fine in the checked luggage. I actually have an assortment packed right now for Tuesday. I think the "deconstructed" meals are probably going to be the way to go for now. It's wasteful, but not waist-full, so in the end that's the best way to go I like trail mix, but the sugar in the m&m's and the salt in just about everything else makes it a tough sell. My aunt used to carry around beef jerky, but my nutritionist told me it would not go down well because it was too dry (Plus most are red-meat-based). I have been eating peanuts, but I am getting kind of tired of it. I ate sunflower kernels, which I really liked before surgery, but the taste changed so I don't like them any more. (LOL yesterday I kept smelling popcorn until I saw someone eating cheerios). Regarding meat, I was told that many patients do not tolerate it well (if ever) and not to cross that bridge until about a year out. Unfortunately, my pouch/stomach is tough as a wet kleenex, so I have to beta-test everything first at home in a controlled environment (QA Joke). I suppose I'll see y'all on the road or in the air, or stuck in Dallas waiting for a storm to blow over!

I am a Marriott member and so I tend to stick with them. They do offer the same thing about Groceries, but Marriott is pretty steep with their prices, and the truth is, there are times when I wouldn't even have time to cook. One example, I started working at 6AM and finished the next day at 10AM. Yes, 27 hours straight. There were times where I could leave for a little while to eat, but other times it is "better" to have food delivered so I can work through breakfast/lunch/dinner. One time, the customer actually ordered take out from Houston's (Very expensive restaurant) and I got to eat steak while working. Many times like above, other team members/customers will run out and grab food for us as well, so I like to keep a mental list of the easiest things for someone else to get (Meaning works well if they forget to have the restaurant modify it...For example, I absolutely despise american cheese and I don't like dill pickles. In the past, if someone was going to McDonalds for me, even though I liked the big mac without cheese, special sauce and pickles - instead, I'd ask for 2 hamburgers, and then I'd peel off the pickles later. (I know I'm putting a lot of thought into this, but because of my job it happens a lot). I love my job, I like the money, I like the travel (Been to Alaska 3 times) -- Although sometimes I wake up at a hotel and can't remember where I'm at and have to look at the phone next to the bed for an address lol! Living on fast food is pretty 'blah' so sometimes I wouldn't eat much. The last 2 trips, for example, all I ate was protein bars. Usually, I can eat somewhere nicer when I fly in, but most times I'm too cheap to go since smaller portions and "carb deletes" result in me paying an awful lot for a piece of chicken...And something I can't really "save" for tomorrow.

I am similar in that I am way under on calories at 3 months. I'm perfectly happy with 400-600 calories, and for the most part don't feel bad. My kidneys are a bit angry at me, but the doctor said it's because I'm not drinking enough. Last week I met with the team, which included the nutritionist, and got his approval literally for cheerios and whole wheat no-added-sugar cereal. I just tried whole wheat shredded wheat with lots of truvia sweetner, and 50/50 watered down 40-cal almond milk. I waited a while before it was pretty much mush to eat. It went down fine, but didn't taste very good. I tried some double-fiber wheat bread, extra toasted, with a light coating of smart balance light margarine, and a pretty heavy coating of sugar free grape jelly, and it was really good. It does help quite a bit as a "natural" laxative as well. I'm consuming too much protein according to my nutritionist, about 100-120g per day. So he's fine with me incorporating some quality (whole wheat) carbs.

Everybody has different levels of addiction, but I smoked for 3 years and was instantly hooked. I got up to 2/3 or a pack a day. I quit long before surgery, and I don't want to say I quit cold turkey, but I didn't use any tools other than my wallet. Essentially if I got the urge, I would go out, buy a pack, smoke one, and then throw them out. Sometimes I would even tear them up in angst. This was very expensive, and it really helped me quit...but... For me, there were certain behaviors associated with smoking. After I drove to work, I would smoke a cig in my car. At lunch I would do the same, sometimes twice. After driving home, smoke. After dinner, smoke. When I worked on my car, a cig was a "victory" for taking a part off, and another for putting it back on. I had to adjust things. As soon as I parked my car, I had to practically jump out of it like it was on fire. Sitting there felt stupid and made the urges incredible. Working on cars, well, I work all the way through, and when I'm done, I now have a vitamin water and call it a day. But the real reason is to stop for the health reasons. I'm sure you getting this surgery is at least partially because of the health benefits (For me it was 100% why, but I know some people also do it for looks). So tell yourself if you're willing to go through the surgery for health, then you can simply not put a cigarette in your mouth and light it! If you think you need to "transfer" your addiction, then you could look into something like tea, coffee, expresso, sugar free gum (If your surgeon will allow it), or something else that is healthy.

I gave up Coke Zero on Thanksgiving day in 2010. I actually remember the day because of how addicted I was. 8 years out, I still miss it occasionally, but it gets easier after a while. My program is pretty tolerant, they are fine with carbs, fine with not being in Ketosis, and fine with artificial sweetners. They don't allow carbonated beverages because they say it (could) expand the pouch, but more because the carbination makes one feel awful afterwards. I can't say one way or another because when I've screwed up and grabbed a carbonated flavored water, as soon as I feel the bubbles in my mouth I spit it out. Best advice, do what you're doing and don't drink it again. Try and find a replacement. For me it was Vitamin Water Zero, but if you can find something else it would be better. Vitamin Water zero is kind of hard to find.

Forgive me for this post, this might fall under the "TMI" context. Basically, I'm trying to figure out what is happening and if it's normal. Essentially, 2 weeks post-op, I'm having a lot of abdominal gas, gurgling, some pain until I pass the gas...Normally not too bad, but extremely painful today. My stool has also (a few times) been nothing but a foul-smelling gelatin like slime with some bright red splotches in them (Imagine the red thing stuck in green olives). Background: 2 weeks post op drinking 1 ounce every 7.5 minutes, which is twice the rate my doctor said, but when questioned about it, was told it would be fine. I have a tendency to forget even with my annoying phone app, so I really need to drink this often. per day: drinking 2 premier protein drinks (11oz) and about 20 ounces of liquid (Vitamin water zero or 5 calorie minute maid lemonade) plus some frozen sugar free pop sickles and sugar free Jello. Some days I drink maybe 8 ounces of chicken broth. Doc prescribed milk of magnesia for constipation No lactose intolerance/IBS/chron's/UC before surgery Normal bowel movements after surgery, then this started about 3 days ago I stopped using the milk of magnesia about 5 days ago because it tasted so bad, I had no BM's for 2 days, so I resumed and the first morning afterward had a completely normal BM, then the "slime/mucous" problem started. Ever since the surgery I've had strange abdominal sounds, gurgles, could feel stuff moving around, pockets of gas, etc...I figured this was normal because my lap band did the same thing. My theory is that the red stuff in the slime might be food coloring from the sugar free stuff, and possibly the laxative effects of the sugar free things. My 2 week post op is this Wednesday and I show no other problems (normal temp, etc) so I was going to wait until then to discuss...Except for today when I had extremely painful abdominal gas. It took about an hour to pass, and then I felt fine. So what am I doing wrong? I know I'm on the low side for protein and liquids, but I would expect that to make me more constipated? I've drank the protein drinks for years and they never bothered me before, but I do feel more crampy/bloaty when/after drinking it. Thanks for any thoughts and my apologies if this is a bit 'too much info'

Matt, I am sort of the same way. Pre surgery, I would do a lot of work outside, whether it be working on a car, garden or working on my house. I could go 16 hours without eating. I can still do this now, Actually I did on Saturday and Sunday. The difference is the old me would retire and consume 4000-5000 calories of mostly carbs (Pasta, pizza, etc). Now? Maybe a nectarine, maybe a protein drink, or 1/2 can of turkey chili. That's it. I was a little bit shaky when I got back into my ADHD "Hyperfocus" on projects, but my body is back to normal on it.

Welcome and even considering this surgery is a great start. 1. I would say my stomach generally makes more noise now than it did before surgery. I'm still in the weight loss phase and my stomach always growled when I was losing, whether it be from the lap band I had, normal pre-band weight loss, or this (RNY). 2. I am not that far out. 2.5 months or so. I'm rarely hungry. There are times where I get a little bit hungry, but they are justified, meaning I haven't ate in a long time, so I eat. Feeling "full" is very different to me. It's not the "thanksgiving/Christmas dinner" kind of stuffed feeling, instead it kind of feels like a little pressure much higher up in my abdomen. It's hard to explain, but that's what it feels like for me. I can also feel food/fluids move around my abdomen more than before. It was strange at first (I didn't like it) but I'm used to it now. 2A. You didn't ask this, but I will say that there are times when I want something I can't have. Today I really wanted pizza. I was exhausted after a day of running around stores, and it was kind of late. Normally I would end that kind of day with a pizza, and it sounded really good. If you have smoked/drank in the past and quit, it is the same sort of thing - for me, I had to get out of the car immediately, because I used to park the car, smoke a cigarette, then go in the store/work/whatever. Now I practically jump out of the car. Last cigarette was in 2005. Last time I had soda was 2010, so I think I'm doing pretty good.

I had a friend with type 1 diabetes and his blood sugar was extremely sensitive. He carried glucose tablets and insulin in a fanny pack with him wherever he was). I believe type 1 is much more difficult to control. Although you seem to love carbs - and this is coming from a carb-a-holic, but I think most carb lovers will agree, that they tend to make you want to eat more...And it becomes a downward spiral. If you get rid of the carbs and get back on proteins, your hunger will probably go down a bit. I had a previous co-worker who lived in Liverpool, and another that lived in Slough.

I did for my lap band, and because they withheld fluids for 24 hours, I actually asked for more - that's how parched I was. I don't like doing them because of the radiation involved, but I did get nuked pre-surgery to see how my lap band was working. For the bypass revision, the doc was fine knowing that I could drink regular things and not throw up. If there is a cool thing about the barium swallow is...how do I say this...your body cannot digest it at all...so it goes in white...and comes out white

You have probably already heard this, and keep in mind we are collectively trying to be an encouragement for you, but I've been told one needs to concentrate on how your clothes fit more than anything else. I was a carb eater, and probably got less than half my current protein intake. There is a possibility that I'm actually gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat, Nevertheless, even though I am not progressing rapidly on the scale, I've really had to ratchet the belt in. It's nice to have to keep on pulling my pants up because they are too big, instead of from my spare tire pushing them down Do you feel better? Are your health indicators better? If they are improving, then that is (IMO) the most important. My blood pressure went down considerably 3 weeks after surgery. That is a win for me right there.

Man that stinks. It's hard to predict how people are going to react. I've been told by women that it was passed on to them from generation to generation to remember how the guy looks now, and then feed him until he's heavy so nobody else would want to have an affair with him. I'm serious, I was floored when I heard that. Is that a possibility? It doesn't sound like it, but even though I haven't reached my goal weight, I can say for me, and from people on My 600 Pound Life, that losing weight makes me/them look older. With a hunched back, you probably exacerbate it. I have a bad back as well (L4-L5 and L5-S1 like to give my spinal cord "hugs" all the time ) and I'm developing a hunchback myself. I'm in front of computers all day and I sleep on my side, both of which have a tendency to roll the shoulders and add to the hump. I get embarrassed when people tell me I look good or how much weight I've lost. I like to keep things "normal" and I don't like to have the light shined on me...for good or for bad. If your circle of friends/family are always complementing you (And you don't care one way or another) but you think it embarrasses your wife, then maybe ask everyone not to do it so much. Yes, you are accommodating her, but if you don't care either way, I'm just throwing it out there.