Born in Missouri

From what I could find out, there isn't a problem taking tamoxifen before or after WLS surgery. If you're interested, I can send you the links via private messaging. (I'm not posting the links here, since one of the links is a forum competitor with this forum.)

It appears that nothing you eat is appetizing. Eggs. Just the word makes me uneasy. Applesauce, cottage cheese. Ho-hum. I tried some tuna. Ate a small amount. I have a lot of salmon filets, but the smell is such a turn off. Most anything out of a can is blaghh. I can handle yogurt, too, but really... I can't just keep having yogurt. How are you able to meet your protein and fluid requirements? I know you said by shakes, but how are you able to keep them down? Two drinks and I'm done. I have an appointment with my doctor today. I plan to talk about my poor protein/fluid intake. The horrible cramping in my right leg. How did this post turn into a rambling on about myself?! I hesitate to say that your concern is psychological. When it comes to women, the first thing that mostly male health professionals seem to conclude is that it's all in our heads. We've even conditioned ourselves to believe that we're probably screwy in the head somehow. When is your next doctor appointment? Is your bariatric team receptive to patient concerns or are you treated like an inconvenience? I sometimes dread calling because the reception staff up front (aka the gatekeepers) want to know why I'm calling, yet they don't know squat about even basic medical terminology. Go figure.

@manleygirl I can't begin to imagine how much you have suffered. I wasn't familiar with the signs and symptoms of esophageal achalasia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esophageal_achalasia, but after reading about it, I have nothing but empathy for what you've gone through --- and continue to go through. How unfortunate that your hiatal hernia repairs didn't hold, but at least a reason (spastic diaphragm) was put forth as to why. (I had an umbilical hernia repair done with a mesh.) According to an online BMI chart, my guess is that your weight is around 167lbs. In your case, a bypass appears to be necessary for reasons much different from most rest of us. NO MATTER!! You'll still be one of us. We welcome you. We're here for you. Vent. Visit. Vomit. (Just kidding about vomit. I couldn't come up with a better V verb. ) Anyway, @manleygirl You belong here. We want you here. You found the right place. Kindly let us know what's happening closer to and after your surgery. I saw on your profile page that your surgery is scheduled for August 6, 2018. After all the surgeries you've endured, how are you feeling about this one? I'm guessing that the bypass won't "cure" your achalasia, but it might help with many of the worst symptoms. I hope your ability to swallow becomes easier after the bypass. I read that that's not always the case, even after treatment. Let's hope that you'll be the exception. How old are you, if I may ask? I know that you hoped for a response from someone who has gone through procedures similar to yours, so I hope you're not too disappointed to hear from someone like me instead. Still, we will be bypass buddies soon enough!

You'll have plenty of time to rest in the coming days. Unlike the jitters from the first day of school, this time you'll be put to sleep (refreshed or not). The boring part is the prep part: putting in an IV, answering the same questions over and over, and the highlight of every hospital visit, fresh-new footies. Yellow footies have always brought me luck. I hope you're patient #1. I was #3 and my surgery ended up being sometime after 5pm in the afternoon instead of 12:30-1c'clock. It's an exciting day. One that I hope you will remember fondly. Other than childbirth, this is probably the only other medical experience that gives something priceless to you... a new life.

Some people with Barrett's Syndrome don't have any signs or symptoms. What about you? I was under the impression that a bypass would actually help someone with Barrett's. Being freaked out is something many people can relate to. This forum is a good place to vent. Freak on us!

"Totally get it.... but I do believe this is one legit area of being treated differently." Hence, my reason for pointing out that my comment was silly. Sometimes we type faster than we think. In the back of my mind, I knew the reason and importance of a pregnancy test pre-surgery, but something got triggered in me when someone here mentioned that they were post-menopasual, had their tubes tied, or haven't had sex in years -- and yet these women were still required to take the test. Again, I understand the common sense of it all, but like everyone else, sometimes emotions make us say foolish things.

I have my appointment with my bariatric team tomorrow (Monday, July 30). I'm planning to take along all of my vitamins, any recent lab reports (even though they probably have access to my labwork since they belong to the same health system as my hospital). I understand how to take my iron and calcium, but thank you for pointing that out. Thank you for the article. I see several flags for me in there. My diet is lacking in many respects. I am woefully dehydrated. Water is worse than liquid protein. Some days, I probably get fewer than 250 calories. It's embarrassing because I know better. I plan to be brutally honest with my doctor tomorrow.

I get that you are trying to point out what you see as a double standard... but having WLS with an STD doesn’t put lives at risk in the same way. It just isn’t similar. No one is gonna sue them later for it either. And they don’t test women for STD’s pre op and we get them too. I wasn't trying to suggest that an STP is a man-only thing. I think I was venting because it seems that women are often singled out arbitrarily. Perhaps my comment was a bit misplaced and silly, but it was coming from a place of frustration. I've had far too many experiences in which I felt that I was treated differently and taken less seriously because of my gender. I meant no harm. My own personal demons.

I missed all the drama but got here in time for saygrace's good news. I wonder if they test men for STDs before surgery?

What's your barrier to eating better food? If it's financial, I'm sure there are many ways to cut corners and still enjoy healthy meals. I used to live in Wisconsin, but I'm not familiar with your city. Are you far from grocery stores? Do you have a garden? Are you able to afford your vitamins? (If you have to choose between food and your vitamins because you can't afford both, I might be able to help you with your vitamins.)

@nibble. As I said, my calf pain is not bilateral... it's only on the right side. I wish I could figure out if this is something that I did to myself or is it something that I should have done differently. This has definitely put a kink (no pun intended) in beginning a post-op exercise program. I suppose I'm afraid of aggravating my cramp even more. I've thought about water therapy because of how gentle it can be to one's joints and muscles, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I have an irrational hangup when it comes to being seen in an integrated area with men. Maybe it's my age, my upbringing. This has nothing to do with feeling old, ugly, or afraid of being laughed at since those can happen in front of men or women-- anywhere. Does anyone else feel uncomfortable exercising in or out of the water with men around? I was uncomfortable with this girl-boy thing even when I was young, pretty, and slender. I repeat: It's not about appearance. It's about modesty. I don't wear shorts or low-cut shirts. I prefer skirts and dresses. Nothing tight either. I don't know anyone who owns a private pool. And it would also have to be an indoor pool, since I have a year-around aversion to sunlight. (Hence, my vitamin D deficiency).

Don't be a hero. If you have pain, speak up. Typically, pain meds for mild pain help most people. If your pain medication makes you feel unusually nauseous or "out-of-it", it's probably not the right med for you. Some pain meds are notorious for creating an upset stomach. Those containing codeine are often the culprits. Don't feel embarrassed or ashamed for needing pain medication. You won't become an "addict" for short-term use. For those of us, like me, who require heavy-duty narcotic pain meds every day for chronic pain (unrelated to my bariatric surgery), we understand how pain can affect our lives. Don't let pain ruin your recovery. This should be a time of healing and celebration. Being in pain or trying to convince yourself or others that you don't need a little something to get through this temporary time, is just deceiving yourself. Don't lie to yourself. You'll know when you know longer need help with the pain. Do a little research on pain meds. Talk to a pharmacist about pain medication options (over-the-counter and prescription-only). Talking to a pharmacist is a way to get solid information BEFORE talking to your doctor. I can't emphasize enough the differences between what pharmacists know and understand about medication vs. doctors. Talking to a pharmacist is free, they are non-judgmental, and are required to keep your conversations private.

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?" (Robert Schuller) "Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential." (John Maxwell) "Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success." (Thomas J. Watson) We don't develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. (Barbara De Angelis)

"To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can't just accept the ones you like." (Mike Gafka) "Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.” (Baltasar) "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." (Margaret Thatcher) "Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment." (Stephen Covey) "I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite." (G. K. Chesterton) "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." (Thomas A. Edison)

"The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." (Vidal Sassoon) "Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending." (Carl Bard) "Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down." (Charles F. Kettering) "The No. 1 reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family, and neighbors." (Napoleon Hill) "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." (Jim Ryun) "If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." (Jim Rohn)

"Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great." (John D. Rockefeller) "Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." (Nathaniel Hawthorne) "There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed." (Ray Goforth) "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." (Arthur Ashe) "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out." (Robert Collier) "All progress takes place outside the comfort zone." (Michael John Bobak)

"Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out." (John Wooden) "Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them." (Vaibhav Shah) "Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." (Albert Einstein) "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." (Charles Darwin) "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." (Eleanor Roosevelt) "If you're going through hell, keep going." (Winston Churchill)

I found a few links to help you get started. I would recommend searching under "strength training" / "weight training" / "resistance training" AND "bariatric surgery" on Google or another search engine. https://www.livestrong.com/article/373100-how-to-build-muscle-after-gastric-bypass/ https://renewbariatrics.com/weight-loss/exercise/strength-training/ A past discussion on this forum: It shouldn't matter that this is about a woman's journey. It's all good. https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/lyss-remaly-from-bariatric-surgery-to-bodybuilding.html

Back at you, nibble. I haven't increased my dairy, if anything, I consume less, but I like where your theory is going. Funny thing about the turmeric... it's been a mainstay in my cooking for decades. We add it to stews, rice dishes, etc. Once it became "trendy", it was no longer just available in specialty grocery stores or available in tiny, almost-disposable containers. I can buy it in bulk now. My leg pain isn't bilateral, but it changes in intensity along the same pathway on my right leg. I have osteoarthritis. Both knees have been replaced. My metatarsophalangeal or MTP joints in my big toes have been fused together. No more wiggling my big toes or even standing tiptoe!

@RickM. After rereading your initial post, I can now see how "we" could have been referring to our hunting-and-gathering ancestors. Perhaps I misread your post because of all the survival shows one encounters on TV nowadays and because the scenario of you being Mr. Antelope-Gorger was just more interesting. None of this changes the information in your post. Thank you.

Hi, @nibble ... my research buddy! I've been averaging about 1/2-1lb per day. No complaints, though I wonder if there's any connection between my rapid weight loss and the painful cramps in my legs. (And the pain has to be substantial for me to even notice. Being opioid tolerant, almost nothing surpasses the source of my chronic pain: my right ankle.) I'm taking a separate magnesium supplement, hoping that it'll help with the cramping. So far, little relief. It's a conundrum: do I rest my crampy legs or do I try to walk off my cramps so my calf muscles won't become even more atrophied? I've been doing a lot of both. The walking actually helps while I'm walking, but afterward, I wonder if I overdid it.) Maybe I should try an "antelope shake" as a remedy for my aching calves.

@RickM I enjoy your posts because they always seem to include quirky little personal details. I love the idea of you gorging on an antelope instead of the usual, "I just had a really big protein shake with like, uh, 60g of protein." Your "antelope shake" story is the ultimate protein intake comparison. (And by "story" I'm not suggesting that this is something you made up; I believe it. Where did you eat this antelope, by the way?)

I tried to make my image larger, but it always seems to lock in at this unreadable size. Any suggestions?

@Chrisb428 Your surgeon's view supports the message in this article. A steady supply of protein throughout the day makes more sense than trying to consume a "super high protein shake". This little-by-little advice is consistent with many of the vitamins many of us already take. For me---calcium citrate chewable wafers*, 4x/day, a multivitamin (Solaray®Spectro® 250 capsules) with low doses (in each capsule) of all the fat- and water-soluble vitamins plus important micronutrients like zinc, copper, and selenium. My vitamin also contains probiotics, various herbs, and digestive enzymes meant to be taken 6 times a day evenly spaced throughout 24 hours. One sublingual B12 every day. Supplemental (heme) iron 18mg; I also have some non-heme iron 22mg that I alternate with the heme iron. I take magnesium citrate 400mg twice a week to help with all the cramping in my legs (not sure if this is helping.) I've been on prescribed Vitamin D-2 (ergocalciferol) 1.25mg or 50,000 U; this I take twice weekly. I also have to work in my antidepressants, low-dose blood pressure medication, and, of course, my narcotic pain meds. It's a lot to work out, and most days I don't get in everything I should. I sleep late, I forget... I find it incredibly hard to follow any schedule that parcels out my day. Don't combine this vitamin or mineral with this or that, eat food with this one, not with another one. I try my best. I still have difficulty trying to get in even minimal amounts of protein, so at least knowing that a little protein here and there is how my body likes it is good news for me. Still, I have to try harder. *I take a seperate calcium supplement because the calcium in my multivitamin is calcium , which can't be properly absorbed by gastric bypass patients because of decreased stomach acid.

I just bought some matcha powder and was wondering what to do with it! Thanks! Hard to find it without sugar in it, had to order online! @jess9395 I haven't opened my matcha protein powder yet. It's a small container, 30g, of ceremonial grade Matcha. Quite pricey. Recently, my adult daughter and I had a little tea party like we used to have when she was about six years old. Of course, there was no Matcha tea back then. The party was prompted after she ran across the teeny-tiny hand-painted tea set I bought her when she was young. I only have one daughter. The other three are boys. BTW, I had no problem inviting my boys to join our tea parties (back in the day), but they had already been "indoctrinated" by society as to what is boylike and what is not. Sad. It's not easy being a little girl... or a little boy.