Prestonandme

I'm currently reading "Hunger" by Roxane Gay. It is a memoir about being morbidly obese, how one perceives the world, and how the world perceives the obese. At her heaviest, Gay was 577 pounds at 6'3. She does not disclose her current weight, but Google Images shows that she's still very obese. I found it interesting that Gay went with her father to a seminar about weight loss surgery and walked out disgusted. She called the videos of the surgery "grotesque and chilling" and the weight loss seminar "a total freak show." She and her father concluded that she is "not at this point yet." "A little more self control. Exercising twice a day. That's all you need," said her father. Gay admits she desires the results of weight loss surgery but does not want to undergo the surgery. Though she repeatedly denies the damaging health effects of obesity and devotes an entire book to the struggles of being obese and and coping with the harsh perceptions and judgment of others, she is unable and unwilling to do what's necessary to change her life. According to one study, only one obese woman out of seven is still alive at 75 years old. Gay is in her forties. I hope she one day saves herself from an early death.

I'm a year out and I have occasional days where I experience a lot of hunger. I stave it off by drinking water frequently and, if the hunger pangs continue, eat small portions of low calorie, filling protein every three hours or so. I use MyFitnessPal to gauge my caloric intake and make sure I don't exceed my daily goal. If you are really concerned about gaining weight or stalling, you may want to start logging food daily. It truly helps.

Could be that your body fat percentage is decreasing while you are retaining water. Unfortunately, body fat percentage home scales are very unreliable -- the best can be off by 21%. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/body-fat-scale-accuracy If you are drinking lots of water but not eliminating it frequently, that could point to a water retention problem. Your surgeon may be able to help you figure out why you have this early prolonged stall.

I'm just over 60 and was told several times by both my nutritionist and surgeon that the best way to boost BMR is to build muscle. AARP currently is hosting a "Get Moving" video series for strengthening the body, something that we older people need to do. Here's a link to the first videos: https://campaigns.aarp.org/getmovingLP1/?cmp=IM-HEALTH-HL-LPTWO-2020-Previous It requires a time investment of as little as 10 minutes a day.

Here's a link to a Ricotta Bake recipe from BariatricBits, for when you are able to tolerate soft foods: https://bariatricbits.com/single-serve-baked-ricotta/ It's quick and easy to make, and is less than 150 calories.

I should add that the 60 lbs. weight loss took my friend about 2 1/2 years. It required constant vigilance and dedication.

A friend of mine gained back 60 lbs. seven years after her weight loss surgery. She was hovering at about 185 when she decided to take radical action to lose the weight. She began weighing and logging everything she ate and drank. She exercised more. And she became very careful about her diet -- giving up processed foods. She is now back to 125 lbs. So it can be done.

I still watch television and see the actors as "other." In my head, they are thin, normal people and I am still obese. This is how I've perceived people for the past 20 years. Them, a tribe of normal people. Me, a very fat outsider. Every so often, I must remind myself that I look like them now. Normal. They are no longer "other." But the thoughts linger.

Seroquel is usually prescribed for serious psychological conditions, not for sleep. It can cause substantial weight gain in some cases. There is another drug in its class, Latuda, that treats some of the same psychological conditions that Seroquel does but is not associated with weight gain. You may want to ask your doctor whether your condition can be treated with Latuda or another weight-neutral drug.

On Amazon, 18 Built Bars are $37.70. Eighteen Pure Protein bars are $16.28. Both taste great, though.

I occasionally have Pure Protein bars which have 16 g of carbs, 6 g of fat, and 20 g of protein. I eat one on days where my carb count is low. I'm one year out and my nutritionist has upped my carbs to 80-90 g a day. The bars are 200 calories apiece so I am careful to have one only when I am well below my daily 1200 calories a day diet.

The fear of regain is what motivates me daily. So many people say that WLS patients start regaining weight around the third year post-surgery. I know four people who had WLS ten years ago, and three of them regained -- one 40 lbs., another 60 lbs., and the third about 100 lbs. Only my former roommate stayed at 125 lbs. and it's a bit of a miracle because she eats pretty mindlessly -- but always stops when she feels full. I had my one year WLS anniversary five days ago and that is when I changed up my game. Before this, I eyeballed my food and exercised a little and the weight came easily off. But now I am logging and weighing everything, and am exercising daily. I really don't want to regain. That's my motivation.

Regarding hair, I started taking biotin right after my surgery. Maybe I was lucky, maybe it was the biotin, but I didn't lose any hair. I had another major surgery the year before, and didn't lose any hair that time either. I hope you are lucky, too.

Yes, you'll be able to take them. But I wanted to put in a good word for BariatricPal Multivitamin One. (This isn't an ad!) Prior to surgery, I had been taking several vitamins but post-surgery I switched to BariatricPal Multivitamin One. I was worried that my blood test results would show low levels of necessary vitamins because so many other WLS patients said they had continued to take lots of different vitamins separately. But it's a year later and I just had my one-year blood test results, and everything is perfect. And the price for BPMO is truly reasonable.

I had my surgery a year ago and still crush certain medications because they are easier to swallow. I used to choke on some when I tried to swallow them whole.

I couldn't tolerate any of the protein powders until my nutritionist suggested Genepro. It is unflavored and, though others say it can't be tasted at all, it's a little thick so I mix it with Metamucil every morning. It provides 30g of protein. Sample several powders if you can.

Right after surgery, I experienced terrible constipation, too. I tried all sorts of remedies to no avail. The only thing that helped in my case was Fleet enemas.

For the past ten days, I have been experiencing constant dull nausea in my lower abdomen. It worsens when I eat (so I'm only getting about 400 calories a day) and sometimes I have to lay in bed because sitting and eating can increase the nausea. I messaged my bariatric surgeon last week and only heard back from his nurse on Monday. She was rather dismissive, saying that I might have the stomach flu and I should write again in a few days if I'm not feeling better. I also messaged my PCP who does not have a bariatric background, and she hypothesized that it might be heartburn (I don't think so -- I have no pain in my chest or upper abdomen) but said if the nausea continued, she would see me in her office. But again, she's not familiar with the surgery and possible complications, so might not know what tests to order. I spent time researching through Dr. Google and got worried about internal hernias, which could be life-threatening if left untreated. Apparently, sometimes the only symptom is mild nausea. Or maybe I have an ulcer. Am I worrying too much? Has anyone else had a long episode of nausea (lasting over a week) that resolved on its own? Or was from another cause? As you can see, I am already seeking proper medical advice, so only would like to hear anecdotal information and suggestions. Thanks.

Just posting an update. I had my endoscopy and CT scan, and everything was normal. What I've learned is that I have a severe reaction to the tannin in black tea. When I recently had a cold, I drank strong black tea every day. I became very nauseous during that time. Apparently, tannin in large amounts can cause nausea, vomiting, and irritation of the stomach lining. I was only having two cups of black tea a day, but apparently my post-WLS stomach could not tolerate it. My dietitian said she had not seen this reaction before in any of her clients. But I wanted to let people know about this in case you are likewise affected.

Yes, see a doctor because blood in spit-up could indicate an ulcer, gastritis, etc. But if you also feel dizzy and/or have breathing difficulty, go immediately to the ER.

I'm so glad you posted about your continued success and showed us photos of you looking toned and fit. You've helped me get over a mini-depression after hearing one person say that her bariatric surgeon said that *every* patient gains 10-15% of their weight back around three years post-surgery, seeing a photo of a three-year post-op who had gained back about 40 lbs., and then having my primary care physician tell me that all of her bariatric patients so far have gained back all of their weight. So thank you again!

I just spoke with my bariatric surgeon. He is prescribing antacid and anti-nausea medications as well as having me undergo an endoscopy and CAT scan. I'm glad he is taking extra precautions because I haven't had this problem before.

Today many physicians are prescribing metformin for people who are prediabetic: https://www.goodrx.com/blog/metformin-prediabetes-what-to-know/ . If you google, you'll find several other articles about this. My physician said this is a protective measure. I'm hoping that my blood glucose remains around 95 where it is now, but I am going to take her advice like before if it continues to climb.

I was pre-diabetic before surgery for only about a year (about 110 fasting). Like you, I was put on metformin but my blood sugar continued to rise slightly. At first, after surgery, my blood sugar was in the 80's, but at 6 months, it was measured at 95. I was a wreck. But my surgeon kept saying, "Don't worry about it. We'll deal with it if there's a problem." My PCP looked at my A1C from the six month checkup and said it is fine (4.9) and that she, too, wasn't worried about the 95 blood sugar score, but if it climbed even to the higher 90's, she would consider starting me on metformin again. I'm feeling really sad because I thought the surgery would keep me in the 80's, where I was about seven years ago. I am scared going forward -- I won't be retested until June, but I definitely feel for you and totally understand your concerns.

Before surgery, I gained a lot on Seroquel and then Abilify (over 60 lbs.). I was hungry a lot. My psychiatrist switched me to Latuda, which does not affect weight at all and doesn't trigger hunger pangs. But depending upon your diagnosis, Latuda might not be right for you. Also, it's incredibly expensive and some insurance plans don't cover it or only cover about 50% of its cost ($700/mo).