insta_adventurer

We took pictures so I’d have a reference point in case it spread. Thank you for your response and reassuring me that it’s temporary if it is Alopecia. It just came out of left field, because I always though Alopecia typically first occurred in people when they were kids/teens... and I’m in my 30s and had never had any signs of it. Also, while I went into this knowing post-op shedding was a thing that would likely happen- I thought it was all over shedding/thinning that I’d be facing.

Ummm so I am one month post op. I haven’t really noticed an uptick in hair loss yet. However, today I was getting my hair done and my stylist asked, “have you always had this bald spot?” And I said, “Durrr uhhhh what?” So yeah- I’ve got a quarter sized bald spot in the back of my head. Could this be surgery related? I’m not talking shedding either- I’m talking BALD. Anyone else experience this? I’m starting to freak out that it may be Alopecia (thanks dr. google)! Photo evidence:

I did not crush any. They did switch mine to non-extended release, but I had RNY so YMMV. My medications have not given me any trouble, but I did stop taking my potassium, because they sucker is huuuuge and the other pills filled me up as it was!

If you’re still feeling nauseas, make sure you tell your surgeon’s office about it. It may be nothing, but it may also be caused by something that they need to or can treat. I can’t recall if I had nausea that far out. I think my only bout of unexplained nausea was the day after surgery.

It is tough, but you just need to prioritize getting the liquids and protein your program states. It will get better soon! I’m 1 month post-op and no longer have discomfort unless I eat too much or eat too fast. The first few weeks are the hardest. I still have to prioritize and be mindful of drinking water and hitting my 64oz goal every day for fluids.

I went shopping Saturday and bought a pair of size 20 jeans! Before starting this process, I was a solid size 28. Day of surgery I was a 24. I remember holding up the size 20s and saying, “no way are these tiny things going to fit big old me!” But those suckers fit like a glove! One month post op and I can’t wait for the NSVs to keep coming. 😄

I thought my RNY sucked a lot more than my gallbladder removal, but I was 12 years older when I had the RNY and that may have contributed to it. Also- I had a stone stuck and was in so much pain going into my gallbladder removal that I was actually in less pain post-op than I was in before surgery. So- these two things could contribute to my experience/perspective...

Smooth Move tea. Oh- also iced passion fruit tea.

Exactly this!!!!! A million times over this. As if being fat was about the worst thing in the world for a person to be and just negates every other accomplishment you’ve had. Or not having kids. I’ve got a killer job and so does my husband- but because we’re fat and haven’t procreated, we suck at this life thing... poor, poor us.

I weighed 12lbs more the day I was released from the hospital. It was all fluids. It will go away quickly, I promise.

There’s a way to ignore certain people. 🤔🤔. Where do I find this magical functionality?!

Sorry- I am a bit touchy to accusations of ableism or innuendo that may liken me to a deplorable. 😬😬 That said, I had RNY surgery July 17th. Are you pre-op or post-op?

Please do not check me about which terms I use to identify a group that I 100% still belong to. It is not your responsibility to educate me or dictate how I choose to self-identify.

You put it so well - when we get these kinds of responses it feels like we're being congratulated for finally conforming to what society wants from/expects from us. Have you read any Roxane Gay? She wrote a memoir about her body and her weight last year (called "Hunger", AMAZING) and wrote my FAVORITE article on WLS this past winter ("The Body that Understands what Fullness is"). She captures so much of what I've felt/thought about/worried about/etc. throughout my process so far. I can be a Roxane Gay proselytizer, I know, but she's AMAZING and I highly recommend her work if you haven't read it before! I will have to check out that book! I’m always looking for a good read!

Maybe! But the accomplishment isn’t really the surgery, is it? I mean- we just laid on a table for a few hours. The accomplishment is everything we went through to get to that point... and everything we go through afterwords. Getting approved to have surgery is a lot more work and effort than the act of surgery itself. And congratulations on your masters! I went back to college part time at 25 to finish my bachelors.. and finally ended up with a masters when I was 33. It truly was a lot more work (the masters) than I anticipated!

Totally agree about perhaps they do not understand the work and effort that went into obtaining the Masters because they have not done it. But for me, a country bumpkin from a working class town, advancing in a space I never felt like I belonged in was a huge accomplishment. And like I said, I know being so open about surgery does sort open the door for comments about my weight and, for the most part, before surgery people had the good sense to not comment on my weight... but just because I want to talk about my experience does not make it open season to let me know how they really feel about fat bodies.

Agreed about “losing my fat identity”. My decision to do this was about my personal health and was not because I had a problem with my fatness or resented it. And it almost seems like people assume that’s the motivation for such a choice. Listen- if I had perfect health I would not have done this. Such endorsements make it almost seem like society feels like our bodies aren’t worthy of praise or love until they are a certain size- which is not true at all. The choice to do what we have done is deeply personal.

I know an individual who is overweight that went to an urgent care with a horrific respiratory infection and when the urgent care doctor walked in, their first words were: “how long you been so big?” 😮😮 And sometimes it seems that the care obese individuals receive is palliative in nature and not curative. Like the goal is to keep them comfortable because they’re basically as good as dead anyway. I do feel like I’ve finally got a good primary care doc who does not assume every ailment is caused by my weight, but they certainly don’t ignore that my weight is causing health issues (high blood pressure mostly). However, I’ve certainly dealt with plenty of providers that zeroed in on my weight (or smoking when I was a smoker) as being the cause of *every* illness.

I am 3 weeks out of RNY bypass. I was a nervous wreck before surgery. To the point that I had a read a story on here of someone having their surgery cancelled because they were so nervous they broke out in hives, and I was for sure that would end up being me. I was worried about the pain, the permanence, and the change this would bring to my life. I won’t lie, the first four days after surgery there was a good deal of pain. And I’m so early post surgery that I can’t say for certain I’ll be a success story... but was it worth it? Absolutely. Because maybe I don’t lose all the excess weight, but I certainly wasn’t losing it without the surgery. At least I can feel like I’m giving it my best shot, that I *tried* my best, and did what I could to overcome my weight issues and the health problems I had/have that are caused by it.

Have you both tried liquid acetaminophen? Rite aid carries it here and it’s their store brand. I found the taste less offensive and obviously it not being a narcotic means it won’t co tribute to constipation and isn’t addictive. I also doesn’t make you sleepy and dopey (but certainly isn’t as effective for pain as the codeine).

I am nearly 3 weeks and do believe I have hit the dreaded 3 week stall. I know this is normal- so I’m doing my best to not let it get to me. Challenges I’ve run into? Finding things to wear to work. Nearly every pair of pants is too big, so I’ve been wearing dresses and skirts. The dresses are a bit loose- but dresses can’t fall down so it doesn’t matter. I’m also in a constant battle against constipation and have to take colase and drink smooth move tea every night. It sucks, but I’m sure this will get better as my diet gets more varied. I am averaging between 400 and 500 calories a day. Still relying on Protein shakes to meet my protein goals. I am down 27lbs since surgery, 65lbs since starting the process in January, and 103lbs since my heaviest in October 2016.

Yesterday I treated myself to a iced Passion tea sweetened with stevia from Starbucks. And I drank it through a straw. It was great.

I am 17 days post op and yes- still swollen and tender. I think the left is where they move your liver aside to get at your belly and this could be way it’s an extra tender spot. That was a super sore spot for me during the first week and a half.

I had this happen with some chicken a few days ago. I think I just ate too much or too fast. I’ve been taking it easy since and only eating really soft purees/things and soups. I removed the chicken from my tracker, because I was pretty sure every bit came back up. lol

Second this statement. Zoloft will suck the sexy right out of a person. Ask whichever provider prescribed the Zoloft to change it to something different.