Arabesque

Thought of another new good problem today. Well I did know about it but going to my optometrist reminded me. My face is so much smaller & more narrow now I have trouble finding spectacles & sunglasses to fit & suit my face. Frames are so large they over balance my face, fall off my ears & nose, & stick out on the side of my face. They cover most of my face & I look ridiculous - like those ugly 1970s glasses. When I got new glasses last year I had one frame to choose from just one. It did make the decision easier but …

Maybe 40% can develop gerd after a sleeve & some of those can manage it with medication & dietary changes (no or reduced caffeine, spicy food, carbonation), or behavioural changes (don’t eat before bed, raise the head of your bed). I had minor reflux before my sleeve surgery which I managed with dietary choices. Rarely needed meds. Still have it after surgery but it’s different. Don’t have the hideous muscle straining hiccups anymore - huge win. I take medication every day but otherwise it’s manageable. I know you are disappointed you did not get the surgery you were expecting but you will find there are similarities in how you manage/live with your sleeve and what you would have done with your DS. The sleeve is part of a DS. It used to be done as a two surgeries - tummy then after a couple of months the intestinal redirection. You may not see it now, but a positive is discovering the issue with your pancreas & are investigating the cause & any treatment you may need. Maybe if the issue with your pancreas is remedied, you may be able to proceed with the rest of your DS. The surgery pain will be gone in a couple of days and in a couple of months when you’re past the staged return to eating diet, your tummy is less sensitive & you have a better understanding of food choices, portions sizes, nutrition etc. & you’re losing weight & are healthier, you’ll look back & wonder why you were so disappointed. I love my sleeve. Yes, I have a couple of quirks with my tummy but I did before surgery too so no real change just a little different. I lost all my weight & more so it’s been very successful. Don’t hesitate to post any questions you may have here. Everyone is very willing to make suggestions, offer support or to alleviate any concerns you may have. All the best.

This too does pass. Exactly as @catwoman7 said: it’s usually all just temporary. There may be odd things that don’t sit as well in the long term, like pasta, bread & rice still sit heavily in my tummy but I don’t miss them - there are alternatives I can have if I want them. At the moment you’re still healing. Your digestive system has been through a lot! Your tastebuds & also maybe your sense of smell have also temporarily changed & may be more sensitive to certain smells, flavours or textures. I had no appetite or interest in food either but that comes back - unfortunately. The only thing that really affects what I eat now are my food choices - what I choose to eat or not eat, how often or how much to maintain my health & my weight. Doesn’t stop me going out to eat, socialising, celebrating events, etc.

I’ve not gone down the surgery route but have tried a few things. Some worked, some didn’t. You gotta do what makes you feel happier & more comfortable with. I did find that my face, like my body, settled after my weight stabilised so I didn’t look quite as gaunt & tired. Eating a broader range of foods probably helped a bit too. Had filler in front of my ears - was sunken because there was no fat there at all. I did quite a number of RF sessions. Can’t say it did anything specifically but I enjoyed the process. Didn’t see improvement after IPL treatments either. Did 4 sessions of micro needling RF (Secret RF) earlier this year & it’s given the best results. I tried it not for saggy skin but acne scaring & other improvements were a bonus. I have more defined cheekbones. My lip lines are more shallow so less lipstick bleed (yay!). My skin is very soft, and tone & general texture has improved. I still have my marionette lines though one side is a little shorter & there’s a little break in them. I still have the little poochy droops on my jaw near my mouth but they’re smaller. I’ll do it again next year for maintenance & to see if I get more improvement. (Tip - you need 20% topical anaesthetic & you should only be red for a few hours. Any longer means your practitioner was too harsh & may have done damage.) Botox/Dysport - forehead, chin, between the eyes & a little in my crows feet. I go down the under dose, natural route so my face is still very mobile & expressive. Also have regular facials (alternating between glycolic peels, collagen masks, etc.) which I think maintains the benefits from other procedures & routines. Bought the Nuface micro current device - a waste of money. Yes your skin is softer & plumper after but the gel primer you apply first is hyaluronic acid! After 4 months of daily use (takes 15+ minutes) I gave up & just used the gel. Got the same result. I’m almost 58 now & think I look pretty good for my age. I mean I should have some wrinkles & skin laxity by now. I use hyaluronic acid, collagen oil serum, day & night moisturisers, a vitamin C serum, retinol & sunscreen. You don’t have to spend a lot. I use a mix of drug store & mid range brands.

I remember I struggled with some of the denser leaved greens like rocket, cos, (arugula, romaine) but good old iceberg lettuce went done easily. I could eat heaps of the stuff. Made a chopped salad so the leaves were bite size.

So sorry for the loss of your sister & I understand why this would be influencing your considering lap band. There are reasons why so few surgeons do lap bands anymore even with the supposed advances. All surgeries have risks & potential for post surgical complications. Weight loss surgery risks & complications though are quite low in comparison to many other commonly done surgeries.(I remember reading the appendectomies stats are higher.) Ask your surgeon for the stats & experiences with their patients across all weight loss surgeries. . Bypass might be an option as @Jeanniebug said it is possible to reverse. Like sleeve, the average weight loss with bypass is about 65% of the weight you have to lose. It’s only 50% with lap band. (Remember averages only give you an idea. Some lose more while others less as many factors influence your loss.) But you have to do what is most right for you. All the best whatever you decide.

I do three days too. Four if you count the day it’s made & that’s for everything all meats, soups, vegetables, eggs. As long as it’s kept refrigerated you’ll be fine. Only thing I eat in two days is salad - gets too watery & loses it’s texture. I usually get 3 or 4 meals out of everything I cook. Saves me cooking everyday & I don’t have family to eat the leftovers. And as you know I regularly freeze one or two serves so I’m not eating the same meal 3 or 4 times in a row. Can always do the sniff test & a tentative taste test to see if it’s still okay. We’re big into sniffing in our family - I even sniff milk I’ve just opened. My aunt does the same.

Just noticed I said I gained 3 lbs it was about 3-5lbs (depending on the maths with my fluctuation 😉). I sometimes can’t eat a full meal either which is why I also snack a few times a day - to get those calories in. I’m pretty controlling as to what, how much & when I eat my snacks & each has a purpose: adding extra protein & nutrients. My favourite snack at the moment is home made labneh on multigrain crackers with tomato, fresh basil & a sprinkle of zaatar - yum. I call them my midday snack but I eat them at 1pm with a large mug of green tea (it’s the only time I can eat & drink at the same time 🤷🏻‍♀️). I also have things like nuts, fruit, protein bar, jerky, string cheese, occasionally roasted fava beans or chickpeas (easy if travelling). Slider foods are the devil’s work. Far too moreish & easy to eat too much. Rice crackers were my weakness. I still keep them in my house (with hummus) but for friends or family which is only when I’ll have some now. I have thrown out a couple of pots on unopened or barely touched expired hummus though. Sometimes being stubborn & pig heatedly determined can have its benefits. 😁

I get it. I too had about a 3lb gain after being stable for a year or so. Yes a small gain but just like you it was concerning to me. My fluctuation had been 48.5-49.5kg but suddenly I was 51kg. I liked being under 50kg & I too worried it was the beginning of the end. I am a believer in your body settling into it’s correct set point & what it needs to function effectively which may be at a higher weight. Building muscle will result in some gain. Becoming more complacent & less vigilant in your choices, making adjustments to your way of eating to better suit your lifestyle, medication changes, or your original way of eating was too limiting all can contribute to weight gain. For me, I discovered a contributing factor was my HRT was no longer working (absorption issue after my gall removal. I also had increased my protein intake due to the same absorption problem. Changed to a patch, made a slight adjustment to the protein sources I’d added (legumes be gone - well reduced) & slowly I lost not all but most of that gain. I now fluctuate between 49.5-49.9kg & have been stable for about 6 months. Funny thing is I do eat more than I did at the lower weight (about 1300 then & about 1500 now) which, according to those BMR calculators, is about right for me. If you want to nip the regain in the bud, maybe start with tracking your food intake for a couple of weeks to see what may be contributing. 100 extra calories can result in a 10lb weight gain over a year. You mentioned you’ve been snacking more & that may be contributing. May be drop one or two of those snacks, reduce your snack portions or look for a lower calorie alternative. But only change those things that are sustainable & don’t affect how you want to enjoy your life. You have to decide if the changes you may need to make to your eating are worth weighing a little less or whether being a couple of pounds heavier is an acceptable increase. And what an acceptable fluctuation may be for you. Unfortunately, I think we will always have to be vigilant. We have too much history with eating & weight gain not to be. All the best.

You & your spreadsheets @ms.sss 😁. I’ll convert metric to imperial for our non enlightened neighbours. 😉 Hopefully it will help people understand you can’t directly compare & it may reduce the anxiety & fear of failing some have to see the range & variety of results. But yes some do fixate on the numbers and don’t use them only as a general idea of what they might experience not will experience. It’s why I ended up giving my stats to that recent thread to show there was more than two stone difference in weight loss across us at the same time frame. F - 53 (2months off 54) - 5’3” 11lbs 189lbs 171lbs 153lbs 132lbs 111lbs I’ll add stabilised at 108lbs at 17 months & 109 at 4 yrs out.

Your grouchiness is understandable. You’ve been through a lot with the surgery, restricted diet, etc. & your resilience is likely low as is your ability to ride with the usual ups & downs & pressures at work. We can only manage so much mental & physical stress. You’re probably low in energy & tire more quickly too. Plus you’ll likely be experiencing a hormonal flush which is messing up your emotions. Can you see if you can have a couple more days off or reduce your daily work hours while you recover & heal some more?

Was wanting to know if the surgeon who did your bypass also did your sleeve.

Still seek medical help for the breathing. The pre surgery diet could be contributing to the light headedness & dizziness. You may be experiencing some withdrawal from salt, sugar, caffeine, etc. too.

The reason I answered the way I did was because of the large number of posts from people who are frustrated, disappointed, angry or think they are failing because they compare themselves with others, set unrealistic goals or timelines, think they are losing slowly, don’t reach their goal, etc. I didn’t want you to fall into the comparison trap too. I had a lower starting weight so had less to lose than you do. Am shorter & likely older. I also had a sleeve. I lost my goal of 31kg (68lbs) at 6 months. (Lost another 11odd kilos over the next 11 months bringing my total to a loss of about 92lbs.) At 8 months I’d lost 37kg (81lbs). So comparing my stats with @ms.sss & @summerseeker you can see how different loss can be over the same time period - a range of more than 2 stone which can be two or three dress sizes as an example. I may have lost more by month 8 if I wasn’t consciously increasing my calories to try to stop my loss. I may have lost less if I had more or longer stalls or lost nothing if my body decided that my goal weight was my new set point & best weight. PS: My total loss made me an outlier. The average weight loss is about 65% of the weight you’re to lose to put you in a healthier range for both bypass & sleeve. I lost 135%. I had a couple of very short stalls, less than a week in length, so my rate of loss was fairly steady, gradually slowing, with just little hiccups along the way.

First, if anything seems unusual or different for you contact your surgeon/team or go to your closest medical centre. Because it’s your breathing that’s affected I’d probably head to the medical centre to rule out a clot or any other issue. Lightheadedness & dizziness is pretty common after surgery. It could be low blood pressure, hypoglycaemia or simply because you’re eating so little. Plus you’re recovering from a pretty major surgery which has been a considerable shock to your body. Try adding an electrolyte drink to your daily fluid intake. I used to find the extra boost of energy very helpful.

Congratulations @BypassDiva2023. I’m so glad you’ve finally had your revision surgery. Praying for a much smoother journey for you this time. NSAIDS are always on the forever no list post surgery. However, some surgeons do allow their use after a period of time with a sleeve which may be why you are surprised with the instruction with your bypass. My surgeon allowed me to have them after two years because I didn’t take them regularly but he still gave me strict instructions: half dose & not consecutive days. The swallowing pill advice seems to be varied across surgeons & surgeries. Did the same surgeon do your bypass as sleeve? Maybe they’re treading more carefully because of your history.

Once you’ve lost or almost lost your weight you’ll start exploring what you can or can’t eat, how much of it & how often. It may be you can have ice cream once a week or maybe once a month. It’s all about discovering what works for you, & balancing maintenance of your weight while still enjoying your life. Yes, dumping is a possibility which will restrict your ability to tolerate sugar or fats. But it doesn’t affect everyone - less than about 30% I believe for bypass & less with sleeve. Some even work out how much they can eat without dumping or find non sugar or low fat alternatives.

There’s no answer to that question. Too far out to predict & too many factors that influence our rate of loss. I can tell you what I’d lost by 8 months but that’s not really indicative of what you may achieve especially as I’d reached my goal before then but continued to lose albeit very slowly for many more months. You may even end up being frustrated & disheartened if you don’t achieve what others do. However, you may be able to make a guess based upon your weight loss tends when you’re around 6 months. Celebrate every pound you lose & don’t try to put a timeline on when you may lose your weight.

This too will pass. Stalls are a normal & important part of your weight loss. It’s when your body shuts down & takes time to reassess your new needs because of the weight you’ve lost. It resets your digestive hormones & enzymes, your metabolism, etc. You’ll start losing again when your body is ready. Just stick to your plan. If the non moving scale makes you anxious, I agree, put it away while in a stall. Try taking some body measurements every couple of weeks instead as many see a reduction in body measurements during a stall.

I agree it’s ketosis. Some describe it as being like acetone (nail polish remover). It’s secreted from our bodies so you can have bad breath, a bad taste in your mouth, bad body odour, etc. So any body part that secrets sweat, saliva & lubrication. I had a toiletry bag with toothpaste & brush, mouthwash, deodorant, body wipes, etc. I took to work to help keep the funky odour under control. Good news is it doesn’t last. The change in our taste buds or sense of smell after surgery is usually temporary. It can be helpful to break certain cravings. It helped break my desire for sweet. But some may develop more permanent sensitivity to certain flavours & smells which you could be experiencing @SleeverSk The smell of curry has always turned my tummy because I have a sensitivity to spicy foods. .

The loose breast skin you end up with isn’t from gravity. It’s not new droopiness. Your skin has already been stretched from gravity & the weight of your breast. That’s been happening for years. They won’t be hanging down any further than they were before surgery. Maybe a little less because you’ll be smaller. My breasts droop the same as they did before surgery but they are empty in the top section because of the fat that’s been lost. The bottom of my breasts are still relatively full. I went from a 18E to a 10E for the base of my breasts but I sometimes stuff the upper part of the cup with tissues because of the pleating from having more fabric in the upper cup than I need. Plastic surgery will be your only solution if it ends up bothering you because they’ll remove your excess skin & lift your breasts. I do recommend getting yourself properly fitted as you lose weight & drop down bra sizes. I had upper back pain because I continued to wear my old bras for too long. It was fixed by buying bras that actually fit. I had to do it three times before my weight stabilised (18E-12G-10F/G-10E). I did buy some cropped bralet styles from Bonds (your Haynes) for around the house after the second refit.

Had to take my mum to a medical appointment & she asked if I could buy chicken Kiev from my butcher for dinner. It’s a whole chicken breast with about a teaspoon of garlic butter piped inside so not too oily & not processed meat. Usually one breast is enough for both of us but this time OMG they were huge. Like emu or ostrich breasts. I bought two & they weighed almost 800g. We had them for dinner for two nights & mum has another two meals left. This one is on an entree plate (slightly larger than a side plate) & a dinner fork fir an idea of the size. It’s about 1.5 to 2 inches thick. The uncooked baked breasts would have hung off the edge of the plate.

Oops. Just noticed I said in my post I was allowed to start taking NSAIDS after 2 months. It was two years.

About 20 years ago I was prescribed the weight loss miracle pill: Reductil (sibutramine). It was great. Killed my appetite to the point I was eating once a day & I lost weight. But when I did eat I wasn’t interested in prepping good healthy meals. I must have been so lacking in necessary nutrients & vitamins. And I didn’t sleep - like only getting an hour or so a night for months. (Actually think it contributed to my developing poor sleeping habits which have only improved since my surgery.) when I went off the med my appetite came back as did my weight because I ate in the same way as I had before. Then came the news they were taking it off the market because of side effects they’d newly discovered - anal leakage, cardiac issues (strokes, heart attacks, etc.). Yikes. It’s why I worry about these medications. What happens when they stop taking them, what long term side effects are they yet to discover & what impact does the reduced food intake have on their general health & is that being monitored? Yes, we were on a reduced diet & many of us lost our hunger & appetite for a time after our surgery but we were also given guidelines to ensure we met nutritional needs & foods we should or shouldn’t be eating. We also had regular blood tests to ensure we weren’t low in anything & our health wasn’t being affected. All of which contributed to us changing our eating behaviours & helped us learn how to make better food choices. Those with diabetes who are on these meds would, I’d hope, already be aware of their nutrient needs & how to regulate their eating. But I understand some believe these medications are their their best/only option because they don’t want to or can’t have weight loss surgery. I just wish that when they’re given their prescription they’re also given a referral to a dietician, nutritional guidelines & their health is regularly monitored. Just my opinion. No judgement. We all do what we feel we have to do which is best for us & our lives.

My pharmacist said he’d have them in by the end of the week so we’ll see. 🤞🏻 A friend swears by the cream you rub on your thigh so I thought I’d ask my doctor about that if the shortage gets worse. Hadn’t heard about the vaginal cream as no one I know uses it. Thank you for the tip. Good to know about a couple of options.