TheMoxieMama

Welcome, Chris! Thanks for sharing your story. Not as much attention is given to the topic of men trapped in abusive relationships, but the problem is all too real. I'm glad you were able to rescue yourself from that situation and start over. As a woman who rescued myself and my son from domestic abuse, I know all too well the costs of starting over. But, the benefits far outweigh the struggles. As for addressing weight and health, like you, the death of a parent was a LOUD wakeup call for me. My mother died November 11, 2019; I had my first WLS appointment on December 5, 2019. COVID-19 set back my surgery to October 6, 2020, but I lost 36 pounds "on my own" before I was set up with the amazing tool of the gastric sleeve. I was ready to change and at 6 months out I remain committed to continually changing to move forward, especially through the plateaus and "stalls". Congrats on your great progress! Keep on keepin on!

@DoodlesMom I'm happy I led you back to Dr. V! He really is a great help with mindset issues. @Sandra Nuelken Fantastic! I've started walking with a neighbor friend in the evenings; I walk alone in the mornings. Every little bit helps.

I realized why I've been so emotional (cranky/sad) lately. While I have not reverted back to disordered eating, I've been dealing with the loss of food as a way to calm myself, numb out, or otherwise cover up uncomfortable emotions. I read helpful blogs, follow Dr. Duc Vuong, and while I want to see a therapist, I just can't afford the extra co-pays right now. (I am saving $ for this,) Have any of you experienced this? How do you handle it?

Congrats!

Creekimp13---Yes--I've been mindful of avoiding cross addictions. I've only bought lipstick and some new workout wear. And I am not dating for the duration. Lol Thank you for what you shared. Blackcatsandbaddecisions-- I appreciate your suggestions. I think I may start doing AM and PM meditation walks. Not just for fitness but to chill out. I've tried to enlist others to do it with me. No luck. Will just do it myself. And, I think I will return to art-journaling. Thank you both!

Jaelzeon--Thank you for your thoughtful sharing. You reminded me we can always take a moment, take a breath and make nurturing, self-supportive choices. DoodlesMom--Thank you for your suggestions. I will look deeper for the free cponseling/groups. WanderingHeart--Thank you for the Rachel Goodman tip! I signed up for some of her free content & her $9 course. It looks like great stuff so far. NovaLuna--Thank you for responding and giving suggestions. I appreciate everyone who took the time to respond.

Where is the "Mad as Hell" emoji? I have no patience for so-called friends who say such rude/mean-spirited/ignorant/clueless things. I'm so sorry you experienced this.

I felt super tired during weeks 1 & 2. My energy slowly returned, a little bit more each week after. I'm a little over 5 months post-op and I have so much more energy. Especially when I get enough sleep at night. Hang in there! It will get better. WLS is MAJOR; it takes time to bounce back.

Congrats! I'm looking forward to experiencing the Shopping NSV. I'm still working my way through my old clothes, which are admittedly now huge. LOL I don't have one pair of jeans left to wear; they are all beyond ridiculously baggy. I am holding out for a while longer.

I understand. My right side hurt more than anything, and the stitches did itch as they healed. But---this isa life-changing surgery. I am still happy I did it. I hope you feel better soon. Talk to your doctor about the pain. My doctor told me to use ice-packs on/off for up to 10 minutes each time. It helped.

Let me know if you like the clear protein? I've never tried it.

p.s. I tried cauliflower crust pizza at about 3.5 months. I like some better than others. As for regular crust pizza, I tried a slice at around 4 months. I've found that I can do the thinner NY style crust, but the thicker crust was a no-go. I felt ill, and like it was "stuck" no matter how much I chewed my food.

Ricotta bake is the bomb! I add very lean ground beef. I also make "lasagna" with slices of zuchinni and all the same stuff I put in the ricotta bake. Delicious!

Wow Congrats, everybody! Looking good! I need to take more before/afters.

SURGERY SUPPORT GROUP NEGATIVITY: How to deal? My surgeon's practice has a FB support group for pre and post op WLS patients, including his practice partner's patients. I joined as soon as I had my first appointment and three months post-op I'm still a member. I met many other members face-to-face during our pre-op classes; we had 6 total modules, including one online right after COVID happened. People did not talk much in person, but the FB group has always been active. At first reading the support group posts every day was nothing but positive. I posted a question or shared sources for vitamins or protein products, as did many others. A few people who were several months to a year or more post-op regularly posted encouraging and uplifting posts. The group is moderated by nurses and other practice staff people. The other surgeon posts and comments on our posts now and then. All was well, until it wasn't. Slowly negative posts and comments seeped in. A regular round robin of complaints, misery, fear, and misinformation became established. A negative post or comment would lead to other negative posts/comments. A staff member warned about posting misinformation , specifically about others "diagnosing" each others' medical issues or food questions. Some of that tapered off, but the general complaining and misery kept up at a regular pace. I must add that right after COVID began many of us, myself included had our surgeries postponed. Pre-COVID my surgery was earmarked for April 2020; I wound up getting sleeved on October 2020. For my own sanity, I chose to keep my head down and keep grinding, as did many others. Also, around this time our surgery practice lost some of their support staff; suddenly calls were not being returned or even answered; lab tests were not always called in before we showed up for blood draws. Real problems to be sure. Many people in the support group chose to put the staff/practice on blast in the group posts/chat. This continued even after we were told by the moderators 1) the reason for the problems 2) possible solutions 3) the best way to get answers (email your Patient Navigator or one of the Group Moderators directly. After a brief respite, the Negativity Ship sailed once more, this time with an emphasis on bodily functions and over-the-top complaints about a certain staff member. I noticed that several of the most positive members who were enjoying great success, as well as the usual ups/downs, were suddenly missing in action. And I found myself less willing to visit the page. I missed the old pleasant and mutually supportive atmosphere. A couple days ago after outright personal attacks on a staff member, the group admin took down posts/comments and posted a long memo about the situation in particular, the negativity in general, and why handling complaints publicly in such a manner was damaging to everyone involved. They also mapped out the direct ways to get questions/problems answered. I thought maybe this whole scenario was peculiar to our little (well, not so little as there are over 1000 of us) support group. But then I saw it happening in a second , national WLS group. When a dear friend called me in a panic over outright lies being shared about the consequences of gastric sleeves, I was convinced this is a more wide-spread problem. My questions: Have you experienced WLS support group negativity or toxicity? How did it impact you? How did you deal with it? Did you leave the group, participate less, or find some other options for support? Thanks for reading this small booklet!!!

I can eat a small piece of fresh fruit in the morning, very slowly, and still have my morning protein shake. I have trouble doing fruit with lunch or dinner. Sometimes I can do a very small clementine as a snack.

So many great ideas here! I would definitely make sure you have enough water/protein/sugar-free popsicles. Also a comfy bath robe, a cozy hoodie, a heating pad and ice-packs, I like the old school Popsicle brand sugar free popsicles; I tried the Red classics, Tropical, and the Assorted Fruit.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Hope you feel better soon.

Welcome!

SAMMC Bariatric Clinic: Weight-loss Surgery, Nutrition and Hair Loss (whmcbariatric.blogspot.com Weight-loss Surgery, Nutrition and Hair Loss by Jacqueline Jacques, ND Original content: http://www.obesityaction.org/magazine/ywm22/wlsandhairloss.php Typically, about 90 percent of hairs are anagen (in a growth phase) and 10 percent are telogen (in a dormant or resting phase) at any given time, meaning you are usually losing a lot less hair than you are growing so you don't have noticeable hair loss. But sometimes this can change. A common fear and complaint of bariatric surgery patients is post-operative hair loss. While for most of us as people, our hair is an important part of our self-image and body image, it is not very important to our bodies. For this reason, nutrition can have a great impact on hair health because when forced to make a choice, the body will shift nutritional stores to vital organs like your brain and heart and away from your hair. Hair loss has many causes. The most common type of hair loss after weight-loss surgery is a diffuse loss known medically as telogen effluvium, which can have both nutritional and non-nutritional causes. Growing and Losing Hair Whether you are aware of it or not, for most of your life you are always in the process of both growing and losing hair. Human hair follicles have two states; anagen, a growth phase, and telogen, a dormant or resting phase. All hairs begin their life in the anagen phase, grow for some period of time, and then shift into the telogen phase which lasts for about 100 to 120 days. Following this, the hair will fall out. Specific types of stress can result in a shift of a much greater percentage of hairs into the telogen phase. The stressors known to result in this shift, or telogen effluvium, include: High fever Severe infection Major surgery Acute physical trauma Chronic debilitating illness (such as cancer or end-stage liver disease) Hormonal disruption (such as pregnancy, childbirth or discontinuation of estrogen therapy) Acute weight-loss Crash dieting Anorexia Low protein intake Iron or zinc deficiency Heavy metal toxicity Some medications (such as beta-blockers, anticoagulants, retinoids and immunizations) Weight-loss Surgery and Hair Loss Nutritional issues aside, bariatric surgery patients already have two major risks of major surgery and rapid weight-loss. These alone are likely to account for much of the hair loss seen after surgery. In the absence of a nutritional issue, hair loss will continue until all hairs that have shifted into the telogen phase have fallen out. There is no way of switching them back to the anagen phase. Hair loss rarely lasts for more than six months in the absence of a dietary cause. Because hair follicles are not damaged in telogen effluvium, hair should then regrow. For this reason, most doctors can assure their weight-loss surgery patients that with time and patience, and keeping up good nutritional intake, their hair will grow back. Discrete nutritional deficiencies are known to cause and contribute to telogen effluvium. One would be more suspicious of a nutritional contribution to post-bariatric surgery hair loss if: Hair loss continued more than one year after surgery Hair loss started more than six months after surgery Patient has had difficulty eating and/or has not complied with supplementation Patient has demonstrated low values of ferritin, zinc or protein Patient has had more rapid than expected weight-loss Other symptoms of deficiency are present Nutrition Iron Iron is the single nutrient most highly correlated with hair loss. The correlation between non-anemic iron deficiency and hair loss was first described in the early 1960s, although little to no follow-up research was conducted until this decade. While new research is conflicted as to the significance of ferritin as a diagnostic tool in hair loss, it has still been found that a significant number of people with telogen effluvium respond to iron therapy. Optimal iron levels for hair health have not been established, although there is some good evidence that a ferritin level below 40ug/L is highly associated with hair loss in women.1 It is worth noting that this is well above the level that is considered to be anemia, so doctors would not be expected to see this as a deficiency. Zinc Zinc deficiency has been tied to hair loss in both animal studies and human cases. There is data linking zinc deficiency in humans to both telogen effluvium and immune-mediated hair loss. Zinc deficiency is a well-recognized problem after bileopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch, and there is some indication that it may occur with other procedures such as gastric bypass and adjustable gastric banding. In 1996, a group of researchers chose to study high dose zinc supplementation as a therapeutic agent for related hair loss2 in patients with vertical banded gastroplasty. The study administered 200 mg of zinc sulfate (45mg elemental zinc) three times daily to post-operative patients with hair loss. This was in addition to the multivitamin and iron supplements that patients were already taking. No labs for zinc or other nutrients were conducted. Researchers found that in patients taking the zinc, 100 percent had cessation of hair loss after six months. They then stopped the zinc. In five patients, hair loss resumed after zinc was stopped, and was arrested again with renewed supplementation. It is important to note that in telogen effluvium of non-nutritional origin, hair loss would be expected to stop normally within six months. Since the researchers conducted no laboratory studies, and there was no control group, the only patients of interest here are those who began to lose hair again after stopping zinc. Thus we cannot say that zinc would prevent hair loss after weight-loss surgery, and further study would definitely be needed to make this connection. A further note: The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for zinc is set at 40mg in adults. This study utilized a daily dose of more than three times that level. Not only can these levels cause gastrointestinal distress, but chronic toxicity (mostly associated with copper depletion) can start at levels of 60 mg/day. Information related to this study has made its way to many a support group and chat room – even to doctor's offices – with the message of "high dose zinc will prevent hair loss after weight-loss surgery." Patients should be advised that high dose zinc therapy is unproven and should only be done under supervision due to the associated risks of toxicity. A lab test to check for zinc deficiency would be best before giving a high dose such as this. Protein Low protein intake is associated with hair loss. Protein malnutrition has been reported with duodenal switch, and in gastric bypass to a much lesser degree. Little is known about incidence, as only around eight percent of surgeons track labs such as total protein, albumen or prealbumen. Limited studies suggest that patients with the most rapid or greatest amounts of weight-loss are at greatest risk.3 With surgical reduction of the stomach, hydrochloric acid,4 pepsinogen5 and normal churning are all significantly reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, pancreatic enzymes that would also aid in protein digestion are redirected to a lower part of the small intestine. It is thus likely that maldigestion, rather than malabsorption, is responsible for most cases. Some studies have also implicated low protein intake.6 Research also indicates that low levels of the amino acid l-lysine can contribute to hair loss and that repletion of lysine stores may both improve iron status and hair regrowth. In a study of anemic patients with hair loss who were supplemented with 1.5 to 2 grams of l-lysine in addition to their iron therapy, ferritin levels increased more substantially over iron therapy alone.1 Many individuals believe that supplementing with or topically applying the nutrient biotin will either help to prevent hair loss or will improve hair regrowth. To date, there is no science that would support either of these presumptions. While biotin deficiency can cause dermatitis, hair loss is only known to occur in experimentally induced states in animal models or in extreme cases of prolonged diets composed exclusively of egg whites.7 Other Other nutrients associated with hair health include vitamin A, inositol, folate, B-6 and essential fatty acids. Hair loss can also be caused by systemic diseases, including thyroid disease and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and is influenced by genetics. Conclusion Hair loss can be distressing to bariatric surgery patients and many will try nutrition themselves to see if they can prevent it. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that early hair loss is preventable because it is mostly likely caused by surgery and rapid weight-loss. Later hair loss, however, can be indicative of a nutritional problem, especially iron deficiency, and may be a clinically useful sign. Educating patients about the potential for hair loss and possible underlying causes can help them to make informed choices and avoid wasting money on gimmicks that may have little real value. About the Author: Jacqueline Jacques, ND, is a Naturopathic Doctor with more than a decade of expertise in medical nutrition. She is the Chief Science Officer for Catalina Lifesciences LLC, a company dedicated to providing the best of nutritional care to weight-loss surgery patients. Her greatest love is empowering patients to better their own health. Dr. Jacques is a member of the OAC National Board of Directors.

Yes! Me too---especially during the first couple weeks when I had to be on blood thinners. I wore a fleece jacket 24/7. Even in bed. I sometimes use a heating pad and/or a hot water bottle. Please don't keep sleeping with a hair-dryer; it's too risky. I hope you take Mr. Alley Gator up on his offer of an electric blanket. These are rough times we are all wading through; you can pay it forward when you are working again. Just my two cents. Sending you blessings for all good things. 💜

I posted the article as a separate post titled A Good Article on Hair Loss and Weight Loss Surgery. 😊 Take heart---it is temporary.

@GreenTealael Thank you for your thoughtful response. I read and loved Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning when I was in my 20s. I will be reading it again soon for a spiritual book club group I recently joined on FB. I lean more towards the quote you shared than simply leaving the groups. I do participate less, but when I do my goal is to help grow the positivity. And by positivity I don't mean a kind of pretend "everything is awesome" vibe, but more of a leaning towards hope and kindness. And I'm glad you love booklets! 😁

I started taking Biotin pre-op and have continued post-op. My hair started to "shed" much more than usual about one month post-op. I don't have any bald patches, but my always thick hair is starting to look a little thinner. It is still growing, though. I've been advised the shedding/hair loss will slow down in time. A while back I found a helpful article. I will post it when I locate it again.

High Five to everyone here! Amazing progress. 😊 I will post soon. Getting my nerve up. Lol