Jaelzion

I'm so sorry. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to grieve and recover.

You had your surgery on 11/18, making you 13 days out right? At that point I napped a lot too. It was just part of my recovery from surgery. That daytime sleepiness went away shortly after that. Hopefully it's just your body needing down-time to heal.

Mine started falling out at about the one year mark and it hasn't grown back. It's too bad but it's a price I'm willing to pay for being much healthier I guess.

You're at a normal BMI right now - is it possible that your body is stabilizing at the weight it wants to be? The lower end of your goal range would put you at a BMI of 21 which is maybe just lower than you can easily maintain? Just a thought.

Some of my unexpected changes: 1. I'm cold all the time. 2. I feel disoriented in my new body (almost like my old brain was transplanted into someone else's body). 3. I do think shopping has replaced eating as my go-to self-soother. It's a habit I need to break. 4. It's amazing how much more respectful and kind health care professionals are to me now that I am normal weight. It's like all of a sudden, I am a regular person who deserves medical care. Crazy. 5. I get catcalls and random men hit on me from time to time. Rather than making me feel pretty, it makes me uncomfortable. I think that's it!

This was actually my 2nd Thanksgiving. The first one, I was able to eat so little that it was a non-issue. I had a couple bites of turkey and that was it, LOL. This time, I knew I was going to allow myself to have some of my faves and I did. I tasted everything and had a good time reaquainting myself with those traditional dishes. Then the next day it was right back to my normal way of eating. I gained a little water weight, but no major harm done. 😁

I would definitely bring this up with your surgical team - we can take guesses but they can help you figure out if your pain/swelling is worrisome or not. Hope it get resolved quickly so you can feel better!

I had a similar experience. The Norco I was prescribed did not handle my pain and I had to go back to my surgeon. Like you, I take pain medication daily anyway, for unrelated conditions. So I probably had a certain amount of tolerance built up and taking the same med after surgery just wasn't sufficient. Oxycodone did the trick, however. And after about two weeks the pain eased up. I agree you should go to the ER to rule out any kind of severe complication. If they say you're okay, you may need a different med from the one you take daily, or a higher dose. Sorry you're going through this, I hope it gets resolved quickly. I remember what that pain was like and it was really tough to deal with. Hang in there.🤗

Any time you tinker with digestion, it can affect how meds are absorbed (especially with the bypass or duodenal switch). Your bariatric team should have reviewed your meds to identify possible issues prior to surgery. Hopefully they will get it figured out quickly for you. My team did a good job of reviewing my meds and discussing the likely affect of my WLS but I still ran into trouble with the blood thinner I was taking (Xarelto). My hematologist tried to switch me to another med since the Xarelto requires a lot of food to be bioavailable but my insurance refused to cover it. So wouldn't you know it, I got a blood clot six months after surgery. Now I take injectable Lovenox because there's no requirement to have food with it. The Lovenox is more expensive than the drug my insurance refused to cover, plus they had to pay for my hospital stay when I had the clot. Go figure, right?

I eat protein chips pretty regularly because they don't trigger cravings for me and they don't seem to slow my weight loss. Protein bars, however, did slow my weight loss, even when I factored those calories into my total. I'm not sure why but since that was the case I stopped eating them and my weight loss picked up. Like you, I try to eat real food more often than not, but protein chips or shakes can help me stay on track when I'm on the go. Edit to add: one thing I can't play around with is "healthy versions" of bread, cake or cookies. For me, there's no such thing. All such products trigger cravings for me and I'll over-indulge in them. So those are pretty much excluded from my diet unless I'm allowing myself a rare treat.

I'm 20 months out and I'm a little weird in that I almost never eat a full meal. Instead I eat mini-meals throughout the day. For example: 1. 6 AM: Morning latte (made with Kitu Super coffee, 10g or protein and no sugar) 2. 8 AM: 1 scrambled egg 3. 10 AM: Yogurt 4. 12 PM: 1 chicken thigh 5. 3 PM: sugar-free pudding 6. 7 PM: handful of almonds 8. Nighttime snack: cheese stick I typically eat 800-900 calories in a day and 60-70g of protein. I restrict carbs but not calories, so if I have a hungry day I might eat a little more or conversely I might have a low appetite day and eat less.

Exactly. I have to keep carbs low most of the time to lose weight but a refeed will break a stall when my body has gotten too comfortable at a plateau. One of life's nicer little paradoxes. 😁

Oh God, yes! I had this for the first month or maybe even six weeks. It was really painful and even swallowing my own saliva (or just air) could cause it. Fortunately, it faded away over time. Hang in there, it gets better. 🤗

Honestly, I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner without guilt or regret. Like you, I put on some water weight and carb weight, but I know it will come off again now that I've gone back to clean eating. For me, it's not realistic to think I will NEVER again eat holiday food. What matters is what I do next. It's super important that I go RIGHT back on plan and not use the holiday indulgence as an excuse to chuck the plan altogether. I figure it's what I do every day that matters, not what I do twice a year. So I enjoyed the food (in portions I could handle since my tummy is still small). And now it's back to the weight loss grind. I had fun. Now back to work.

I completely agree with Arabesque. Your niece's symptoms could indicate internal bleeding. She may have to see a gastroenterologist to get to the bottom of it, but it needs to be addressed urgently. I'm sure the ER did a CBC (blood count), I wonder if she is anemic (that would be another indication that she's losing blood). In any case, this needs immediate attention.

I never gained weight in my feet so my size didn't change as I lost the pounds. One thing that did change though is my calf size! I can wear tall boots now, which I never could before (even the standard wide-calf boots were too small for me).

Sorry to hear you're having such a rough time right now. A few things come to mind: 1) You've already done, really really well. If my arithmetic is right, you've lost 105 pounds, right? That's amazing and cause for celebration (even though I know you're not where you want to be yet). 2) The average expected weight loss with the sleeve is for patients to lose 50-70% of their excess weight. I'm 5'1" also, and a weight of 132 will give us a normal BMI of just under 25 so based on the numbers you've given us, you've lost about 78% of your excess weight (if my math is right, lol). So you haven't failed, the sleeve did exactly what it was projected to do, and a bit more! Your outcome is actually above average. 3) I know you're disappointed about not losing more, but even with what you've lost - don't you feel much better now than you did at 18+ stone? Wouldn't it be awesome to maintain that loss and continue to enjoy the benefits of being slimmer and healthier? You can do that, but if you continue of the path of eating a lot of sweets and junk food, you'll end up right back where you were before surgery. You've come too far and accomplished too much for that. 4) Did your bariatric team connect you to a support group? I know my group is not meeting right now due to the pandemic, but they do get together via zoom, skype, etc. It can be really helpful to stay connected to people who know what you are going through and the challenges that come up along the way. 5) Because of your enforced low activity level, your basal metabolism rate (the minimum number of calories required for your body to function and sustain itself) is probably lower than average. It sucks, but that could mean that you have to cut calories more than other people, in order to keep losing. Our BMR comes down anyway as we lose weight, and most of us have to add exercise to keep the loss going. Because you're not able to do that, it might come down to cutting calories a little more. Which sucks, I know and isn't easy to do. But again, even if you've stabilized at a slightly higher weight than you wanted, isn't it worthwhile to maintain that, rather than throwing all your effort away and undoing everything the surgery did for you? You went through a lot to lose that 7 stone 7lbs. 6) Is there any kind of adapted exercise that you can do, given your physical condition? It actually doesn't take a lot to raise your BMR, which can help you to start losing again. I'm not knowledgeable in that area, but there may be modified exercises that you actually can do. 7) What kind of plan were you following when you were losing weight? If you were watching calories but not carbs, it might help to try keeping your carbs low as well (I have to do that). Or some people lose better watching the amount of fat they eat (doesn't work for me, but people report that it works for them). Can you go back to your bariatric team and ask them for advice? A nutritionist might be able to help you figure this out. I know what it's like to feel hopeless and defeated. And that feeling is only compounded when you start to pile on weight. Given the way you are feeling, I think maintaining would be a victory right now. So maybe set aside your desire to lose for now and focus on getting back to healthy eating habits and maintaining your weight. When you feel better and more in control, then you can try to get the weight loss going again. But if your body decides "That's it, I'm not losing another pound!", you've done really well and isn't that worth hanging on to? Sending you blessings. I really hope you find your way to a better place. 🤗

This is pretty typical except the carbs are a little higher than usual.

Who and how much to tell is definitely a personal decision. I don't go around announcing it, but if someone really wants to know how I lost so much weight, I'll tell them I had bariatric surgery. Only you can say what your comfort level is and you have every right to keep it private (it's medical care, after all). One thing I will say though - I don't think you should have any shame about having had weight loss surgery. You can't stop other people from being ignorant, but please don't internalize that at all. Personally, I cut off judgmental comments quickly. And as you said, anyone who tries to project any kind of "stigma" on me gets banished to the edges of my life (if they are allowed to remain at all). Losing weight is hard work, even with the help of surgery. It's a long journey and when you get to your goal, you will have every right to be proud of yourself (actually you can be proud already because you're getting started). You can disclose the surgery or not as you choose, but never feel ashamed. 🤗

So sorry, that's got to be seriously disappointing. I had my knee replaced in August and I was worried I might get postponed but I was right in that little lull period for COVID-19. I hope they are able to get you in sooner rather than later.

Everyone's experience is different, but I haven't found managing nutritional needs to be difficult after my sleeve surgery. I'm not cooking these days either but I'm able to get enough protein with basic things like rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, eggs, yogurt, cheese and so on. I eat a little weird because I don't often eat a whole meal but I'm managing to get my nutritional needs met (I know because I'm still keeping track of everything). And of course I take my multivitamin daily and B12 weekly as my doctor prescribed. My bloodwork always comes back fine, the only suggestion the doctor has given me was to start taking Vitamin D, which I did. And there's no malabsorbtion with the sleeve, so that's not a factor. I do find that my appetite is significantly reduced. I know hunger comes back more quickly for some people, but 20 months out I'm still hungry less often and less urgently than I was before. One of the BEST side-effects of surgery for me is that things that used to be "comfort food" for me no longer have that emotional kick they used to have. I can eat a pancake with syrup and it tastes good, but whatever that emotional hit was that I used to get, that's gone. And that's a VERY good thing for me. I mostly avoid the carby, sweet stuff but I do allow myself a treat every now and then. And then it's RIGHT back on my eating plan because I don't want to wake up cravings for all that stuff. I still don't keep sweets or junk food in the house. When I have a treat, I have to make a special effort to go get it and it's planned. And I only get enough for one serving. When that's gone, I'm done and it's back to protein, dairy, nuts, eggs, etc. I'm an apple shape like you, so I know exactly what you mean. I've lost 11 inches off my waist, which my doctor is ecstatic about. Only you can decide if weight loss surgery is right for you, but I wouldn't let malnutrition fears be the deal-breaker. Your bariatric team will give you a diet designed to meet your nutritional needs and they'll be monitoring you. All the best, whatever you decide! 🤗

I weigh myself a couple of times a week. I'm happy as long as there's a downward trend.

Yeah, LOL. It doesn't bother me but my tummy is quite "vocal" these days. 😀

99.4% in 20 months. My weight loss was never super-fast but it kept going and going. I'm 2 pounds from goal now.

It's about persistence, not perfection! Because this is a lifetime effort, it's almost guaranteed that we'll fall off at some point. It's what you do next that determines whether it's a minor blip or a major set-back. Sounds like you're on your way to getting back on track.