AstroCat

So I've had thick hair all my life, and it's been long for almost 2 years now with just trims here and there. I'm starting to notice now though, for the past two weeks or so, that my hair is falling out very rapidly. I knew it was a side effect, though I can't help but panic a little bit about it. Every time I shower a big clump comes out in the shower, and then when I brush my hair it fills my hairbrush about halfway of more hair. I was thinking maybe if I got my hair cut short, it will help since it wont need to be brushed as much, and it might look better when it starts regrowing? Was wondering who all else has went through hair loss and if they got it cut or just waited it out. Also those who have went through hair loss- does it regrow and how long did yours take before the hair loss finally stopped? Surgery date was 5/9 here, down 38 pounds from surgery, 62 from the start, 73 from my highest!

Just had my month and a half check up (30 pounds lost!) And talked to my Dr about protein. Premier and like drinks make me very nauseated. I tried non whey, and they are better but still make me feel off. I was wanting to try something maybe not as sweet, hoping it's just that the chocolatey/vanilla/strawberry drinks are too sweet, so thinking of trying something new. Was wondering if anyone had any that they suggest and like? I saw the protein shots on here, but my Dr said I would need 3-4 a day, and at $10 for a 4 pack I can't really afford it. I also saw the liquid protein that you can mix with your own fluids, wondering if anyone had tried those and like those? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Currently just getting my protein from meat, cheese and nuts, but I know I need more protein. Thanks!

Thank you for the compliments everyone! I'm very happy I did it. Krista27- good luck! Only do it if you are sure though- I will say that it feels so liberating to have it off now

I decided to go for it! it feels so much better now that I have it cut off- and I realized, when looking for a before and after picture to post on this, that I very very rarely even had my hair down, it was always pulled back in a ponytail. (And now when I shed at least it doesn't plug the drain haha) One thing I noticed with my new haircut though, comparing to some older pictures of myself, is that my face seems so much healthier and thinner. I'm down a little over 40 pounds from surgery date, but I don't FEEL it, I still see myself as larger than I am, which I know is common.. but the past few days I've had several people compliment me, so I am starting to feel more positive! Picture of me from a year ago with my daughter and hubby: Picture to show my hair better before: this was about a month after surgery- still not the best but you can see how long my hair was. One of the only days I have worn it down in months. New Hair Cut!: You're pictures look amazing congratulations! When I got my hair cut I was talking to the lady who does my hair 99% of the time, and she has had friends/family with WLS, and she said it usually grows back after a year, so "to expect little fuzzy regrowth in about a year from now" so that makes perfect sense! I'm not much of a hat person but I can see me using them if it gets bad enough for sure. I'm just glad it does grow back! Pixie cuts are awesome! Good excuse for it too good luck!

Same here! I've had my hair short before and I do like it, but I love having my hair in pony tails too so it's driving me crazy to know what to do. Part of me thinks if it's shorter at least I won't be plugging the drain every shower! I hate medium length hair- I think it looks gorgeous but it's always on my neck. Which sucks because one of my favorite- look wise- for me is medium length bob. But I hate it on my neck. It's currently about as long as my armpit. I have had my hair short before- which I like. I just dont like when I decide to grow it back out again, the medium length. But I also know that when my hair does grow back it's probably going to look half and half.. so Im just not sure.

Thank you I'm glad I didn't buy them! I did try some "liquid protein" from amazon that was awful and I did not tolerate it well at all. I never really liked Premier, but I've been able to get them down before surgery, but now I feel so nauseated whenever I try pretty much every powder, shake, or bar that I've tried. I can sometimes make myself eat the bars, but they still make me feel sick so I cant make myself do it often. I feel frustrated because I know I need protein, but I've spent so much money trying different ones and they have all been the same.

I have tried a few different proteins- even the isopure, but every time I've tried them I felt really nauseated. I have found that the bars are a little bit better than the drinks and powder though so I've been trying to focus on one of those a day.. I worry cause I know I"m not getting as much as recommended, but I do focus on protein for all of my meals and found myself making so much healthier choices than I used to. I may try that with the yogurt- though I worry because I tried some of the unflavored Isopure in some sugar free cocoa mix (doctor told me to try that) and two sips in and I had to put my daughter in her crib because my stomach hurt so bad I needed to lay down for a good half hour. Wish Protein wasn't so hard. On the plus side- down 38 pounds as of a week and a half ago!

I'll definitely look into Isopure and Unjyry, thanks guys! - that's a great idea to add it into soup and yogurt too. I did try adding some off brand "grass-fed protein" (not sure, it was the only flavorless protein I could find when I first had surgery so we grabbed it so I could add it to clear liquids) but it clumped terribly in the soup. I did try some premier mixed with coffee, but I'm not a big fan of coffee so it didn't help too much. Though I was able to get more down than I could normal ones! Thank you! I need to go update my ticker, I was super excited! I started swimming for more exercise too!

I had surgery 5/9 of this year. When I was first released from the hospital I was put on prilosec for nausea, even though at the time I had no nausea. Then about 2 weeks ago I started getting really nauseated by TAKING the pill, I stopped taking it and the nausea is gone for almost everything now, except protein shakes. I have a lot of the premier protein drinks, as well as some off-brand equate protein drinks, and I've also done the carnation protein. Any time I try any of these shakes, I have to make myself drink them and I feel extremely nauseated. I'm mostly getting my protein with meat, been having lots of turkey, chicken, and fish, and some cheese and almonds every now and then too. But I know the protein shakes are best to have, so I was curious if anyone else had this problem and if anyone had any suggestions? I also have a problem lately with diarrhea, especially after trying to drink a protein shake, but I do get it every now and then when I don't drink them. My next Dr appointment isn't for two more weeks, so I wanted to see if anyone else had any tips before I see him again.

I'm a month out from surgery now, and my husband had mentioned doing up some bratwurst tonight as we are having some friends over for a game night. Are there any bratwurst that we can have? I've handled chicken, fish, some pork (haven't had much pork but have had a little), and ham well. (A note, I wouldn't have a full one, and no bun, and would make a healthy side with it, please no food police, just asking because the husband was wanting to make some up tonight. )

That's always possible, though I handle all cheeses well. (I've been getting lots of those "Protein Packs" with meat and cheese and I've been handling the cheese fine. I forgot to mention in the above post, I did have my galbladder out several years ago- which does cause diarrhea if I have anything high in fat or fried (which is very very limited now that I've had surgery anyways.) but I know before if I had any sweet drinks I'd sometimes have to run to the bathroom within a short time. Thank you, I definitely want to do whatever is best!

We ended up not getting them that night anyways, but I did find some smoked turkey sausages that we are going to try, been getting lots of turkey/chicken/fish and some cheese for protein. I do plan on trying just part of one to see how it goes and having good sides with it.

Thanks to both! I definitely chew as much as I physically can and I eat slow so that always helps. I'll ask my hubby to look for some lower fat ones and see. I know we have some in our freezer but they aren't the good ones and are the really really spicy ones- not up to t hat I know lol

They were just asking how long to expect it- which is a normal question to ask. It's very new for them. I'm 4 weeks out now- and water doesn't hurt as long as I don't take huge gulps. (Though I won't lie, there are times where I'll be walking for a long time and take too big of a drink on accident- it's not terrible but is uncomfortable.) I would say you should notice a little difference (not perfect, but better) around 2-3 weeks. It might be different for everyone- but that's when I noticed that drinking was better. The sugar free koolaid flavoring was my savior. Try experimenting with different water temps. I've heard lots of people say they had to have warm drinks or room temperature- to me I had to have cold drinks. The colder the better. Everyone's a little different. Hope you get feeling better soon!

Oh wow. I'm 5 days post op tomorrow, they are allowing me to start with cream of wheat, creamed soup (strained), cottage cheese (mashed with a fork to get rid of the curds), pudding, and instant mashed potatoes done runny. I can't imagine being on clear liquids for 2 weeks.. this is driving me crazy. I know each doctor is different, but maybe let them know he's tolerating it fine and ask if he can be moved up to a fuller liquid diet? (That is- if he is tolerating it well.) Doctors are all so different it's hard to tell.

Is he post op or pre op? Egg drop soup sounds so good!

So I was as prepared for this as possible, doing lots and lots of research and reading/watching about people who have had it. I had my surgery 5/9, and I was wondering about how long does it take for your stomach to stop hurting as much and it gets easier to drink? My stomach gurgles like crazy now whenever I take a drink of anything. I know things WILL get better, just curious how long it took people.

It's still like that for me, but less every day. Today has been a hard day for the random hiccups for me, but my stomach has been a.. little? bit less gurgly. But still rumbles most the time when anything gets to my stomach.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one, I wonder what they are from. It's the same here, it feels hard to catch a breath after I have the hiccup... I was a bit confused on the crushing or not, and I did get one. There was a booklet my doctor gave me that said to crush all meds and not to use capsules.. but then his nurses were telling me that small pills and capsules are fine and the whole time I was there they were giving me pills whole with water. I even asked to clarify and they said it was absolutely fine... I may crush some though if it keeps feeling the way it does. I didn't take my vitamins yesterday but I will today. (All but the multvitamin.. I got liquid and it's 6% alcohol, go figure. I called and he told me to wait until Monday for that one. So as long as he knows about it.) Oh my gosh, I'm glad I'm not the only one but I'm sorry other people have this too baha! I didnt know how to explain the half hiccup other than to call it that- it makes breathing afterwards a real pain in the butt. The pain is about the same here, but I will say getting up out of bed today was a breeze for me. Sitting on the toilet hurt a bit, but then got better after I was back up and walking. Yay for gas going away! I'm a bit jealous.. I'm on a clear liquid until Monday diet lol. Though Im not a big fan of yogurt so that's not too bad, but wouldn't mind having a few other options. Just finished my protein and felt super nauseated for a bit but feeling better now.

I was told clear liquids only, but that I could mix some protein powder with some clear liquids so that's what I've been working on lol. It's hard and uncomfortable for me to swallow- but I just put that down to the fact they put two tubes down my throat (one for breathing and one for sizing the new stomach) so if they do the same for your stomach that could be part of it too? Every now and then I get a hiccup or "half hiccup" if that makes sense and then my chest and stomach catch and it hurts, when that happens I'd say I'm about a 5-6, when I swallow pills it's about a 6, but just normal sitting/walking it's down to usually about a 2 now. Where I can feel the uncomfortableness but it's not unbearable.

So cool to have 2 others with the same sleeve date! I feel the same. I'm not 100% sure if I'm getting the right protein in, but Im getting what I can get in right now. Just got up, took my medicine, and mixed up a small thing of sugar free powerade with some protein.. not wanting to drink it but I'll definitely start sipping on it soon. The pain from moving around is better today for me, it's more when I get hiccups or have to drink or god forbid take my pills lol. Good luck as well! Oh man I just realized my patch is gone haha. They put one on me before surgery and said it was good for 3 days but i forgot about it.. it's not there anyways though so it either fell off or they took it off when I was out of it lol. What all did they give you as an okay to eat? I can have popcicles and broth and jello, those go down okay for me. Drinking is the hardest for me though.

I do feel a bit better than I did yesterday, but it's still super hard to make myself drink. Nothing sounds good. (Except ironically crackers, but even if I wasn't on a clear liquid diet, as much as just water and jello bother me, I wouldn't dream of them lol. I think it's juts normally if I'm nauseated-crackers help. So my stomach hurts and I feel nauseated, so I want crackers. Someday!) I'm not sure how much I should be walking, but I have gotten up at least 5 times today to just walk around the house. I go until my stomach starts really aching. I'll definitely try to do more every day. Hiccuping hurts the worst. I'm so glad to hear that and that you are feeling better too! Surgery for me was 5/9 so at least I'm already 2 days out!

I have surgery tomorrow morning at 5:30, and I've been perfect on my diet all week. I went and got a popsicle and took a bite and swallowed before I realized it was a red one... Is this really bad? So I need to call anyone about it? I would cry if this postponed my surgery, in finally ready for it. Edit: I called and talked to the staff and they said it was okay, panicked there for a moment

Yes, but on the last day of your diet you can't have anything red. That way when they are doing the surgery and they nick anything, they won't think it's blood. So the day before surgery no red jello, no red popcicles, etc.

Thank you! Definitely feeling the emotions right now. I'm trying to make myself walk as much as I can tolerate, it's not easy. I'm sore and it's hard to even drink right now... wondering how long that will take to go away. I'm trying to sip on my water as much as I can and I've been working on a jello cup for about 2 hours now. (Never in my life did I think it would take me more than 5 minutes to eat a jello cup haha.)