Highly_Undermedicated

I am 21 months post RNY and I am still losing weight. My HW 325 (2/20/20), SW 311 (3/9/20), CW 133. I had an abdominoplasty on 10/27/21 (weighed 145, no lipo due to little to no body fat, and I don't know what amount was removed). I saw my NP today for pist abdominoplasty and then an emergency illness x2 following abdominoplasty stay in hospital same week for bowel obstruction. My labs are normal, my NP says I am healthy BUT, I am on the low weight end and just a few pounds from being underweight according to their standards. She advised me to add in healthy fats (nuts, nut butters, avocado daily), 2 protein shakes, 3 meals, 3 snacks. I just can't eat all of that. And little to no cardio and focus on strength training with weights. They are giving me 3 months to gain more muscle mass and gain weight and fill out more. And then return for re-evaluation. IF my weight continues to drop, they are talking about reversing my RNY! I literally cried in the office, on the way home, in the pharmacy (when the girls asked me how my weight and post abdominoplasty were going....they've known us many years) and then I cried several times on and off at home. I keep thinking about the old me, the 325 lb me, the old capacity, no restriction stomach and its ability to hold more, leading to weight gain and then it getting out of control, leading me back down the hole I just struggled to dig myself out of. This scares me so bad. I mean, it's ultimately up to me, right? As in, if they ended up scheduling that procedure months down the road, it's my decision if I go or not, it's my body. I'm thinking of seeking out a different opinion on this because this just doesn't seem like it should be the conclusive answer to this issue. Does it?

I'm 5'6.5" According to the CDC, as my NP stated yesterday, I'm not underweight until my BMI falls under 18 or 19. But According to bariatric standards, I'm on the low weight side and my ideal weight should be 63kg and I'm 60.something kg.so, they said some people don't lose weight, some a little, some a lot and some they have to intervene to stop it. This, I'm now terrified of. I know where I've been, I don't want that and I know what it took to get me where I am now and it was hard. Good luck with your surgery. When are you scheduled?

Thank you. It's been a struggle. I've had my pouch opening enlarged twice due to strictures, and a whole host of abdominal issues. And now this. It just scares me to think about the old stomach.

I don't have access to a therapist any longer. Nor a dietician..I saw the dietician once, during month 1 pre surgery and the therapist like 3x pre surgery. It's like it's been a DIY on your own type situation. At one point, around 8 months pist surgery, my team was like "you're eating too much" or "you're not losing enough" and now I'm losing too much but yet they say in the same breath "it's not your fault, it just happens ". I'm waiting for my plastic surgeon to contact me back with details on how much was removed so I can report that back to my team as they want to see how it correlates with the weightloss. Also, the abdominal tightness pist abdominoplasty and having to wear a binder for 24/7 for 2 months due to swelling makes you feel like you can barely eat..even when you take it off to eat...they say this feeling will go away in a few months. But it makes you feel like you did coming out of bariatric surgery...no room to eat 2 oz. So, we shall see what happens. I can only do what I can do and hope for the best. Right?

For years people would Comment on my weight...as a teen, when athletic, I was told I looked too masculine, or my grandmother would tell me (while underweight) that I needed to diet or I would end up overweight and over 300 lbs like my dad's mom....which, eventually, I got there. As an obese adult, strangers made rude comments in stores, restaurants, where ever. Their kids picked fun as they did too. And it only got worse the heavier I got and didn't matter if my kids were with me or if I was solo. Fast forward and now I get from strangers questions like "do you have cancer", "are you sick", and on 2 occasions the automatic store door wouldn't open and I was told if I ate more I wouldn't have that issue. Or one man said "let me show you where the cookies are, you need to eat those and not that rabbit food"... Recently I was hospitalized for 3 days incase of emergency surgery for bowel obstruction. My intestines had flipped, but flipped back on their own. I used to have chronic IBS-D now it's IBS-C. So after discharge I was prescribed an rx and 4 OTC meds to help me with keeping regular and avoiding bowel obstruction and surgery. While picking up the OTC meds, a rather large woman and her 18-22 y.o. daughter were on the same aisle...of course, observing my purchases and out loud the mother told the daughter "the reason why she's that thin is because she buys all that stuff to sh!t herself to death...she is anorexic ..don't let me ever catch you doing that. That woman is mentally ill." They walked away. I was left standing there in awe that , that even happened. My husband was like wtf? Well Saturday we had my daughter's 18th birthday. It was just us 4 and my dad. He hasn't seen me in like 2 months. And in front of my kids, he says "you do not look good. You look sick. You have taken this weight loss thing too far and you have got to stop. You're face and eyes are sunk in, your bones are sticking out and you need to gain about 50 pounds". I am 148 now. My HW 325. SW 311 3/9/20. I do not think nor does my bariatric surgeon feel that I've lost too much weight. Heck, his GW for me is 136. I am 5'6". I don't know what people are seeing but my point of this post, as long winded as it is, is that the negative comments just never seem to end. I thought for sure that I would lose weight, get healthy (point of surgery...healthy and save my life, not skinny) and feel great about myself. But it seems no matter what size you are, someone, somewhere always has something negative to say about one's appearance. Does it ever end? People suck. That's why I'm a cat person.

I'm definitely not missing mine. I went from a 58 DDD to a 36 A/B . I do miss having a little bit of lift though because they look like National Geographic circa 1984 or flat and long like basset hound dog ears. Ha! But I definitely do not miss those huge, heavy ones I had. I do get bothered that I've been asked twice now if I've had a mastectomy because I look flat chested. And I think that's odd for someone to ask that. But I'd rather be a new inductee into the IBTC than crushed at night in my sleep with what I had.

Took my 18 y.o. to their very first concert on 9/10/21 for an early birthday gift... went to see Between the Buried and me. Their all time favorite group.. (heavy metal). They just turned 18 this past weekend. We had a blast. I purchased this outfit from hot topic back in August. Its a Junior's XL. And by the time I got to wear it, it was a bit large on me. But over the 30 day exchange period. But that's OK. I did go back to HT and buy another cute skirt to wear to Badflower in a couple of weeks...a junior size L. I cannot wait for that show because the following morning s my skin removal surgery !!

Height 5'6.5" HW 325 (2/11/2020) SW 311 (3/9/2020 RNY) CW 148 ( I have lost 177 pounds thus far) GW 136 (bariatric surgeon's ideal weight goal is 136....but my goal was 150...and I'm still losing without trying). Sorry for all of the pics. Just wanted to share. Pics are from Today, 9/24/2021, yesterday, 2 weeks ago (9/10 the bathroom selfie. Lol. Took my soon to be 18 y.o. to their 1st concert and its my 18 month surgeryversary pic) and then collage is of me night b4 surgery (3/8/2020, at 12 months 3/9/2021, and 8/9/2021). Plastic Surgery for abdominal skin removal scheduled for October 2021, pending earlier date if there's a cancelation!

I will be 15 months post RNY on 6/9. My HW was 325. I am 5'6-5'7 range. And I am currently 183...3 lbs away from my GW. It's also the GW my plastics team desired me to be at for my panniculectomy. With that being said, by the time I go in for my procedure I will be between 170-180 and afterwards and after swelling has settled 160-170 range. I will be perfectly fine there. BMI is an outdated tool that does not take into account your muscle build, fat percentage, athletic type, etc. It shows a body builder with very little body fat and all muscle to be overweight even obese . So it's not a very accurate tool to measure by. I would base my goals on how you feel. How healthy you are. Your non-scale victories. Fat percentages. Body measurements. Etc. But not BMI. I used to wear 4x/26 now I wear L/XL and 12s. That's a pretty big difference. And that makes me happy .I used to have high bp. Now they ask me if a resting heart rate of 55 or bp of 95/50 is normal for me. Prior to being morbidly obese and when i was athletic, it was. Now it is once again. To me, makes me happy at nearly 180. But if I continue to lose weight after my panniculectomy, I won't be mad. Whatever my body chooses to do, I will let it. Unless of course it starts to go lower than Im comfortable with.

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I was using Kratom pre surgery for spinal pain and migraines but post RNY I tried it once and could not keep it down. Now I use CBD Delta 8. It's legal in all 50 states. Available in vape and CBD shops. Best effective when vaped. And works better than THC.

I am fine up until around 630 p.m. then the urge to snack hits. I try to drink more fluids but because fluids move through me incredibly fast (i had a barium swallow test) that it doesnt help much and Im up and down to the bathroom constantly. But I have found that sucking on strong flavored SF mints or SF cinnamon discs by Brachs, does the trick. So does brushing my teeth. It can often times help me to stray away from wanting to snack later in the evening. And now that sunset is 8 p.m., I go for a walk for an hour and Im focused on doing something, out of the house and away from temptation.

At 3 months and 5 months post RNY I had to have balloon dilation and stricture removal because of that same issue. Then in December I had a barium swallow test. Ive been hospitalized in Feb. And April. Just had another EGD and 2 CT scans . my surgeon said everything is normal but my gastrointerologist said my pain, stomach burning and nausea is caused by a retained staple stuck inside of my stomach. So weird. I see him in 2 weeks and he is scheduling an EGD to try to remove it. I hope you feel better soon.

Im 14 months post rny. I used to be one that was hot and sweat year round. Now Im freezing. And we live on the Gulf Coast..temps already mid 80s and Im still cold. I just double up blankets. Wear socks to bed. Sometimes I use a heating pad, especially when I have a migraine or back pain which is nearly everyday. And I was curious to see how Id fair with walking during the heat and Im barely sweating! Its not bothering me one bit. Ive even started running a bit! And I havent run anywhere since I was 15!!!! Im 49 now!

It all depends on your insurance and their requirements. But most are the same and still make you follow the same guidelines whether the BMI is 35, 40, 45 or 50. They might approve you easier with a higher BMI but it's still a 6 month long process. My BMI was over 40 and I had to have atleast 2 comorbidities (i had several) such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, acid reflux, etc. And you have to see your primary 6 months in a row for weight documentation, visits with a nutritionist/dietician, have a psych evaluation, sleep apnea study (its 2 different nights if you are diagnosed with apnea). EGD. And Some require you to see a Cardiologist. And then a month before your surgery you meet with surgeon again, get surgery scheduled, some require a class or two regarding the surgery, EKG/labs days before, covid test. Its a 6 month long minimum process. Sometimes longer. Just hang in there. Be patient and go to all of your appointments. Be on time (some docs will mark you as a now show and charge late fees, rescheduling you a month out just for being 10 minutes late). Good luck on your journey.

Definitely chewable. Atleast for the first 2 months. Your pouch needs time to heal and most programs usually recommend crushing meds up until around 6-8 weeks post op...usually when you start solids. There are chewables that are like caramel consistency and then there are ones that are chewable like flintstones consistency. Avoid gummies. They aren't good for your pouch.

I was on Effexor 7e XR twice a day for many many years for IBS and depression. Post RNY my depression worsened in cycles. Like every other month. December my primary switched me to Wellbutrin XL 150 1x a day but it made my head feel awkward. After 3 weeks I was switched to 300 XL. Now Im on Contrave to control appetite and cravings and it has Wellbutrin and naltrexone. I take it 2 pills 2x a day so its 360mg of wellbutrin a day now. So Im off strictly Wellbutrin due to the dosage in the contrave. Wellbutrin has helped me so much more and my depression has decreased significantly...only popping up occasionally due to recent added stress and anxiety.

Im 14 months post RNY. And I still have issues with foods like bread, rice, pasta and chicken and steak. So I eat a lot of ground chicken and ground pork, homemade meatballs in sauces, cucumbers, tomatoes, thin sliced deli turkey with swiss cheese and a pickle spear rolled up together. I also eat Qia creamy coconut oats. Built bars on occassion. Palmini hearts of palm. I can eat boneless/skinless chicken breast but only if I boil it and make it into buffalo chicken dip. Or I make Crack Chicken in the instant pot. Or in soups. Or sauces. As long as its cooked extremely tender, then I can eat it. So we make a lot of chicken curry, chicken tikka masala and serve over cauliflower rice or mashed hearts of palm. I still do protein shakes twice a day. Ricotta bake. Sugar free pudding. Oh and my new favorite indulgence are Enlightened Salted Caramel ice cream bars. I think they are gluten and dairy free. 8g protein. 1 or 3g sugar. 90 calories. Very filling.

What shakes are you drinking at 140 calories ? Just curious.

I am 14 months post RNY. I told my Mom (but she had Alzheimer's and was not aware), Dad, Sister, Partner and kids prior to surgery. Of course my sister and Dad tried to convince me not to go through with it stating they heard this or knew of someone that...etc. I did not listen. My partner of nearly 24 years was very supportive and totally on board as too were my kids. Of course my sister told anyone and everyone else...family that I have no contact with or have not seen in a decade or longer until my Mom passed away 6 months ago. So I could've cated less. My partner told a couple of our close neighbors and one of his friends. And then of course afterwards the girls at the pharmacy started taking notice when the weight was dropping and I was no longer needing meds...so we told them. I was a bit embarrassed at first but now I feel silly for even feeling that way. I tell anyone and everyone that asks me how I lost weight. I have nothing to hide. It wasn't an easy task either. I lost 10 lbs a month or less sometimes, had a few complications, some support, some not, exercise like crazy and have to be OCD about my intake and tracking. It's a lot of work. More so than just a diet or exercise routine. It's a lifetime commitment and you have to put in the hard work to get out of it what you want. If you miss junk food, sweets, chips..find better alternatives, make better choices or choose to take steps backwards out of your progression. But whatever you do, you do it for you and only you. And there's nothing to feel guilty or ashamed, embarrassed about. And it's definitely not taking the easy way out. Because there's nothing easy about the road we are all choosing to travel down. Some just reach their destination a lot quicker than others while some enjoy the journey a little bit longer. So tell whomever you want or don't want to. But eventually the secrets gonna be revealed in around 6 months post op. Up to you what you want to share..your life, your body.

I buy those small 5.3 oz cups of smooth cottage cheese, plain. I mix them with sf pudding or sf jello packet and sf cool whip for a sweet treat thats protein packed. Or I add Everything but the bagel seasoning and a dash of hot sauce and eat with cucumber slices. I do not like small nor large curd cream cheese, nor low fat or fat free. Pretty much do not like cottage cheese period unless its mixed in something.

No matter what, you must take your vitamins daily and for the rest of your life. Whether its a daily patch, pill, chewable...You are putting your health at great risk by skipping out. Organs will stop functioning properly or even cease functioning period. Permanent irreversible damage even Death can occur. It's important to have all of your levels checked regularly. And to take bariatric approved vitamins and not Flintstones or childrens gummies or lower dosage than recommended. I use Celebrate brand bariatric Vitamins. They are excellent and they even have an assistance program that's income based for those that need it....and will send them their vitamins every 3 months at no charge. My team requires their RNY patients to take 2 Multivitamins, 2 calcium citrate, D3, iron, folate, B12, B1 (thiamine) and Biotin. I take everything except Biotin they took me off of it. My labs have all been great with the exception of recently when I ran out of B1 and picked up a bottle of B complex for women. While in the hospital for ongoing abdominal pain my thiamine level came back low. Even though I was taking something that seemed to be adequate, it was not. I was given i.v. thiamine and when i was discharged I ordered my B1 and went back to my regular brand. So please take everything recommended by your team unless they tell you differently. You owe it to yourself to be the best possible and healthiest version of you. Get one of those XL pill weekly dividers. They have them for vitamins. And you can dose out your vitamins weekly. If you work outside the home, get a single use one to carry in your bag for your midday vitamin time. You have to take certain vitamins apart from one another and hours apart. Set up the Baritastic app reminders to remind you when to take your supplements or even the alarm on your phone.

Just take it one day at a time. You're going to feel hungry. Some people say or claim their hunger disappeared and some it did not. I am 14 months post RNY and I am one of the ones that it did not. So be sure you get your fluids in. A good app to use is Baritastic. You can track your food, liquids, set reminders for your vitamins, to drink, to eat, whatever. Its really helpful. A good rule to utilize to ensure you are getting in adequate fluid is drink 8 of fluids, wait 30 to 45 minutes then eat. Then wait 30-45 minutes afterwards and eat. If you do this prior to and after breakfast, lunch, dinner and 1 snack a day thats 8 - 8 oz glasses of fluids a day equating to your minimum of 64. Getting your liquids in keeps you hydrated, full longer. But its always good to aim for more.... Think 1/2 your body weight... If you can. But atleast 64. And that includes all liquids (water, milk, protein shakes, broth, soup, etc). Be sure you get your protein in. That will also help keep you full and for longer. Eggs are on the soft food stage. Ricotta bake. Mixing unflavored protein powder with a bit of water to smooth consistency and then adding it to soups and other soft stage recipes will also help you get in some added protein. Just dont go over 30g of protein in a meal or drink because anything over 30 your body doesnt process and it basically just goes to waste. I loved mixing a packet of sugar free jello or sf pudding mix with low fat cottage cheese and sf cool whip on the soft stage. Its not only a yummy sweet treat but its protein and you can add protein powder to it too for extra protein.

Apple Cinnamon is the BEST. The Dollar Tree of all places carried them last summer. I stocked up on them like crazy. My kids were even drinking them. I tried the blueberry one and it smelled and tasted like burnt plastic. I hear the Maple and oats is good but really sweet with a mild flavor. I havent tried it though.

I am 14 months post RNY. I waited til I was on solid foods for protein bars. But I had a hard time with them still. It was about 6 months until I could handle one and then I tried many different ones. But everyone and every body is different. I also had strictures restricting me from taking in food. The only one I eat now are Built bars. They taste amazing. And have been my saviour especially when I have a sweet tooth or chocolate craving or a desire for dessert. I love the salted caramel (think milky way candy bar) and cherry barcia, omg! Tastes like a chocolate covered cherry. Their limited release flavors are always exciting, big hits and sell outs. I am a brand ambassador. I have a discount code for 10% off if you're interested, it's 36608. And the link is builtbar.com?baapp=36608