AZhiker

Tiny bites and wait a little bit between bites. It's a hard stage, but you'll make it. Try to make every bite a mindful bite. Taste and enjoy the experience of each bite thoroughly. I remember feeling so confused because it could be different from day to day. One day I could only eat 3 bites at a time, and the next day, everything would go down fine. So strange. Almost 2 years out, and I will still get the foamies from time to time if I eat too quickly or too much at a time. It's so hard to break the habit of mindless gulping.

I suggest you get a follow-up with the surgeon. I am surprised they let you lift that much so soon. You very well could have a hernia. The surgeon will be able to tell.

Because you do not have any fat for insulation? Very common. Share your stats with us.

I also had an abnormal EKG and stress test. So I got an echo and 2 nuclear scans which still showed an abnormality. So I got the gold standard - a cardiac cath which showed all my coronary arteries to be free and clear!!!!!!! Onward to surgery! EKGs are notoriously inaccurate in their internal interpretation of the wave forms. The cardiologist will do the right thing, get more tests, and hopefully you will also be on to surgery soon.

Get ready for a whole new life! You're gonna love it!

My doc said 10,000 steps a day, so I went for it. Anyway, about the energy, I asked my PCP, the bariatric NP, and the nutritionist about the energy surge, and they all acted like they had never heard of such a thing, and even offered my sleeping pills! Got my thyroid checked, too, and it was fine. Knowing that others have experienced this as well, was reassuring, and I just chalked it up to ketosis. It slowed down and stopped after I reached goal weight, so now I can actually sleep 7-8 hours a night, and unfortunately, I have to work a bit harder to make myself exercise!

Your surgeon may well want it checked out. Do you have a surgery date yet?

It's great being able to sit down on the end of a bench - like at a picnic table - and not have the whole bench flip up!

Almost 2 years out. Never dumped. Can eat anything I like, but my portions are dramatically smaller. However............I have changed my lifestyle and do not WANT to eat the junk that made me fat in the first place. I make my own gluten free pizza crust with sweet potatoes and almond flour, and top with veggies. I avoid processed grains and sugars, alcohol, cookies, and soda. Did I have candy today? Yup. Sure did. In fact, I ate a whole BIG HUNK candy bar!!!! But it's back to to soup and salad tonight and right back on track tomorrow with my sautéed veggies and tofu scramble for breakfast. In short, I can eat sugar, but it makes me feel tired and achy. It is so inflammatory for me, that the sweetness really isn't worth the end result. Once you are off sugar, stuff like raisins or a piece of fruit are incredible sweet and delicious all by themselves.

I also had a huge energy surge. I could only sleep 4 hours a night, and felt like the energizer bunny on steroids. I got a bike and did a triathlon and a 50 mile bike race in the first year post op. I think it is the ketosis of rapid weight loss that causes this. I started walking right away, hitting 10,000 steps a day by the end of week one, then speed walking, climbing stairs, upper body and leg exercises. I used very light weights ( 3 pounds), and did wall pushups, as well as a stretching routine. I went up to 5 pound weights on my arm exercises. Was training to do a one day rim-to-rim Grand Canyon hike, and then Covid hit and the world changed. And ketosis stopped, and I don't have all the energy now that I did a year ago. I say go for it! But please, please, please follow your doctor's instructions to the tee when it comes to weights and lifting. There is a lot healing on the inside that you can't see and you DO NOT want another surgery to repair a hernia or any other damage. But use all the energy you have now to your advantage. It will put you in great metabolic condition and help the weight come off even faster. PS: We have about the same height, starting weights, and BMI. I reached my goal of 149 within 7 months. I know that is pretty fast, but I want to encourage you to go for it. You will hit 180 pretty quickly and may well discover that your body wants to keep losing. It was so exciting to get to a normal BMI. So great to hit 180, but then don't be afraid to go lower. The energy surge really helps.

I had bypass 22 months ago. I have never been able to eat high amounts of fat, even before surgery. A keto diet would kill me for sure! But since surgery, fat tolerance was even less at first. I have gradually been able to add more fat into my diet, but fat malabsorption has been evident since the beginning. It was most noticeable by light colored stools that float. They are more normal colored now, but still "floaties." I think I eat a lot of fat in the nuts, peanut butter, and seeds I consume, along with a small avocado nearly every day. But I find myself sort of craving fat sometimes. However, even when I try to eat more of it, I think it just goes right on through. My fat soluble vitamin levels have always been fine, and I will have those tested again in February. I am also going to talk to the Dietician about this, because if I crave fat, that must mean I am not absorbing what my body needs. That is the only malabsorption issue I think I have had with the bypass.

2/3 of the people in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Of those who actually manage to lose weight, 95-99% will regain it all back. Hearing someone else talk about their weight loss success is painful for many people and just makes them all the more aware of their own weight problems. Personally, I do not discuss anyone's weight, and I do not discuss my own weight with anyone else. There are too many deep seated issues. It's not like sharing a favorite recipe or new chair cushion. The best bet is to share here on this forum, or find a friend that is also a successful WLS patient. They are the only ones who can truly understand the journey.

I can actually see gas bubbles moving in my intestines! Freaked me out at first.

How are you doing??????

GERD is serious. It can lead to cancerous changes in the tissues. I chose bypass because of my GERD and have not regretted it a bit. There might be a little malabsorption going on, mostly fat, but I don't think it is much. Most malabsorption starts resolving on its own as the jejunum takes on a more absorptive role. Another reason I chose bypass was BECAUSE of dumping. I wanted to have as strong of a deterrent possible to sweets. However, almost 2 years out and I have never dumped, even with sweets. From what I've read, the majority of bypass patients do NOT dump. IMHO, if you have GERD, go with bypass. I actually had Barretts esophagus from the GERD, along with a nice little, precancerous Barrett's polyp which was removed pre-op. Since surgery, the Barretts has completely resolved, which I think is pretty amazing. I'd take the risk of dumping anyday over the increased risk of cancer from unresolved GERD. I would not want to undergo a second surgery, either.

I agree. I work in a hospital with outpatient procedures and the Covid patients are far away from us. Our patients are tested and even come through a "clean" entrance. If you can get your surgery done now, go for it! If elective procedures get shut down again, it could be a long time before this window of opportunity opens again. Besides, it's December and you will get the deductible and out-of-pocket expenses covered this year, rather than starting over next year.

Maybe try some different kinds of tasty soup? I found that pea based protein powder was pretty good when added to savory dishes like soup.

What stage are you at in your plan? You are probably trying to eat too much at a time, or food that your pouch can't tolerate yet. When I was a month out, I was eating broth, protein shakes, cottage cheese, refried beans thinned with broth, very small amounts of lentil/bean soup, 1-2 oz of calf liver, or soft fish. About 400-450 calories a day.

They do fade to a white color over time. I can't even find mine now. Give it time.

A couple of years ago when I had surgery, I was really pushing for a December surgery date, for insurance reasons like yours. But, due to being denied by insurance (because my doctor office lost some reports and didn't submit them), I had to go through the appeal process (after I produced my own copies of the reports!), which delayed my surgery til Feb. I was not happy about that, but let me tell you, it worked out. Surgery cost is not the final expense. In my case, I had an ER visit for blood clots, a couple more scopes due to an ulcer and follow up from a Barretts polyp discovered pre op, and then there were more non surgery related medical expenses as well. So I met my deductable and OOP max in 2019 instead of 2018. I think you have to hang in there and just see it through to the end, whether that is in 2020 or 2021. You pay now or you pay later, but chances are you will meet your deductible one year or the other. Keep in mind the reasons why you want the surgery. The risks of obesity are life threatening, and the older you get, the less quality of life there is as an obese person. WLS is ALWAYS a royal pain on the pre-op side, but the end results are so worth it in the long run. I hope you get a negative test real soon and that you remain symptom free. Hang in there! The race does not go to the fastest, but to the one who perseveres.

I think it is the Joint Commission that hands out Center of Excellence ratings. It might be worth a call to Joint Commission to report the poor care. But before that, maybe you just want to give a little heads up to the office of your intentions unless they start giving you better aftercare. Center of Excellence isn't just about doing good surgeries, but doing good follow up, as well. Do a little homework and find out what the criteria are for Bariatric Centers of Excellence. Discuss this with the office MANAGER. If they want to keep their rating, they need to take care of issues - not just knock off patients who have problems. If the office manager is unwilling to listen, go up the chain of command.

Don't be afraid to call and ask questions about anything. That is what they are there for, but you must stand up for yourself and be proactive. They are also looking after hundreds of other patients and you must take the initiative for your own care. Offices have been known to lose documents, reports, and sometimes just don't keep on top of the progress for every patient like they should. Keep copies of all your reports, and CALL them if you have questions or don't understand something. This is a great opportunity to learn how to be a bit more assertive and less passive. The decision for WLS is one of the biggest of your life, and you will be the one to call the shots afterward - who to tell, how to work your plan, how and when to exercise, etc. You will need to call the nutritionist when you have questions, and call your team if you are worried about any problems. Jump in with both feet! Go for it! Be a pain-in-the-"you know what" if you need to be, but stand up for yourself and your new life!!! PS: After my surgery, I got an enormous bill. They said I was out of network and that my hiatal hernia repair was done by someone other than my surgeon, and that person was also out of network. I became a royal PITA (Pain In The A.....). I refused to pay the bill and they then reduced my surgeon's bypass portion to account for in-network. Great. I paid for that. No problem. But I had a copy of the full surgical report and it clearly stated that both surgeries were done by my designated surgeon. It went around and around for months, but finally the hiatal hernia portion was eliminated. I was under threat of being turned over to collections, and I went around and around with the hospital billing department and insurance company, as well as the doctor's office. But it finally got resolved in the way it should have been in the first place. To make a long story short - keep copies of everything and don't be afraid to stand up for yourself!

It might be worth a scope to check that you don't have an ulcer.

The first few days are the hardest. It will start to get better soon. Just keep walking and sipping.

I USED to be 64 years old, Now I am 64 years YOUNG!!!