mousecat88

Me and Stu, the Absurd Tropical Christmas Pine.

I am only 7 weeks out but my face has changed drastically. First pic is day before surgery 10/31/18 and last pic is from about 5 minutes ago. lol.

Yeah but RNY still has the second part of the stomach in there and that's where the bile ducts are attached. So do they have to reconnect the bile ducts elsewhere? I guess it seems like the new stomach would be REALLY tiny. Like much tinier than RNY somehow.

Whatever you need from up high, get a step stool and put it all down on your counters. And like GreenTea said... bend at the knees.

Me too! It was so so soft though. Very very strange. They said there wasn't any on the CT scan! That was on Day 10. lol! I had one micro poo at 15 days, and SEVENNNNN yesterday. 1 already today. What is happeningggg??? lmao.

You know what broke my stall recently? Pooping 7 times in a day after not pooping for 17 days. Lost 2lbs. Hollllaaa. lmao.

So, clearly I've made my decision. Which is the total opposite direction I thought it would be. I got off FB (short-term), except for my one bypass support group. And I removed the app from my home screen and in its place I put my Baritastic App. The thing is, this new lifestyle IS my life. At least for now. There is no shame in dedicating my time to it. To talking to those in similar positions as me. And I need to learn to stop comparing myself to others... not shy away from the exposure.

Just saw my psychiatrist today. A brief history... I have been seeing psychiatrists since I was about 4 or 5. I have Tourette's and anxiety... unfortunately never grew out of the Tourette's like most kids do (yay me!) Anyways, therapy has NEVER been of benefit to me. I've seen dozens and dozens over my lifetime. I always end up either depressed (which I usually never am) OR extremely argumentative. It's just not a helpful tool for me. I fully support those who benefit from it, though. I've been struggling in support groups, too, like this and others. I find myself always comparing myself to the stats of other people. I want to be happy for people for losing weight, but like I said in another thread, it just makes me sad and jealous that I'm not there yet. I feel like my entire LIFE revolves around my weight, my food, my vitamins... WAY MORE than it did pre-op. I spend alllll day on various groups and forums. I didn't even own a scale pre-op and now I am on that thing every single day. I am much more obsessed with my size than I was before. After talking about this with my psych, she suggested I get off all my support groups and forums for a while and focus on non-weight related things. Maybe take some classes or pick up a hobby. Stop obsessing over my weight and comparing myself to others or lamenting that I can't eat what other people further ahead of me (or non-ulcerated) can. I think I'm going to take that advice and leave for a bit. I think it's healthier than sitting staring at stats all day long and getting upset about my slower weight loss. In a twist of irony, I am going to ask for opinions on this. I enjoy talking to people that have gone through something similar, and giving advice myself, but I cannot stop staring at the stupid tickers, etc. I don't *want* to go, but maybe it's healthier? At least until I am more comfortable with my progress.

That sucks, but really the surgeon doesn't get paid for the surgery.... they are salaried anyways... so I'm sure a new practice would gladly take you on. Your old surgeon can probably give you a referral somewhere. Post-op all of my follow-up visits aren't free... I still pay for office visits for the nutritionist and surgeon and nurses, etc. It's not like the payment for the surgery itself covers lifelong visits. At least not mine. Go to Inova in VA. They will gladly take you - I see you're not far from them.. especially if you drove from La Plata to DC for surgery (I used to live in Bowie).

I don't wanna! lol. And physically can't because that shite hurrrtttsss like a mofo. Had issues even with yogurt this a.m. Just not gunna cry when the doc says I have another 7 weeks to go. All I'm saying is... if I knew all I had to do to lose weight was eat things I already love all the time, I would have tried this long before surgery. lol! Everyone complaining about the puree stage... what is wrong with shoveling refried beans and squishy cheese in your face? It's awesome! 😛

Monday marks 7 full weeks on puree! Doctor's orders due to marginal ulcer. In the beginning I was bent everyone else was progressing to soft foods. Next week I would be cleared for more solids and larger portion sizes. But oddly, I am getting really used to puree. I love everything I can eat. Oh no... you mean I can only eat cream cheese, delicious soy shakes, mashed eggs, deli salads and cottage cheese? Whatever shall I do? Woe is me. Syke. It's great. I don't know if that's a good thing. I have NO desire to even progress because the ulcer has made anything else really hurt to try. Like a food aversion to anything that isn't super squish. The few times I did try something more solid just to see if the ulcer was doing better (it only is noticeable when I eat, so that's the only way I know if it's improving), I ended up dry-heaving and in pain... which then irritates the thing and sets me back. I have zero temptations. All cravings are gone. And I don't have to think about what I'm eating because I wake up every day knowing I can basically only have the same things. I see my surgeon next on the 7th and I anticipate being on purees several more weeks after that because Senor Ulcer definitely hasn't healed quite yet. I feel like I could truly live on puree'd everything the rest of my life and be kosher with that.

I was told 800-1000 calories must be maintained for the rest of my life. 63g of protein a day. And (long-term) no more than 100 carbs a day, but I am currently way below that. HOWEVER, at least with bypass, the reason it helps so much is because as you lose weight, your metabolism increases to match your new weight. When you are dieting, even if you lose weight, you still have the metabolism of a fat person... which is why it is so hard to lose weight to begin with and keep it off. There's a lot of new NIH studies about this energy expenditure difference in bypass patients versus dieters. It certainly isn't impossible, but restricting yourself to so few calories with a normal-sized stomach will probably be utterly miserable. I can tell you there's a lot of 60+ year old patients on this forum that can give you advice if you're worried about the surgery due to age. Not to mention, with calorie restriction comes to need to take supplements, which can be considered expensive to some, too. Mine cost about 40$ a month. And you need regular lab work to make sure you're not deficient.

Hey, maybe mine will come back in a luscious coat. Like Fabio. My friends are way too excited to pick out wigs for me. I'm like... okay guys, I don't think it'll progress that far but thanks. lol.

Baritastic has reminders for everything. Get up and move, drink, take vitamins, eat... also tracks steps... exercise... daily food log... bowel movements... has a little journal on it for you to take personal notes.

Baritastic has reminders for everything. Get up and move, drink, take vitamins, eat... also tracks steps... exercise... daily food log... bowel movements... has a little journal on it for you to take personal notes.

I work for local government and they used to throw a huge Xmas party for all of the employees a few years ago, but stopped. Now we just have a mini one with the 10 of us since I am in the office of the upper echelon. Albeit a peon myself. I feel bad for everyone else though. Although the five of them did pay out of pocket for the party themselves and now there's 300 employees..... not that they don't have the money but yeah.