NovaLuna

Oh, I've had my share of f-ed doctors over the years and that kind of reminds me of the time I went to see the neurologist in July for my dizzyness, balance issues, and my blackouts. I didn't do the glucose test because 1. I didn't want to have that much sugar and ruin my diet, and 2. I KNEW it wasn't hypoglycemia because I've had hypoglycemic incidents in the past so I KNOW that's not what it is. He asked me why I didn't do the test and I told him because I knew that's not what it was so I didn't see the point. My PCP had agreed with me because she said my labs looked normal and my symptoms, the way I described it, pointed at something else. He got in my face and said "Well you really don't want to get better then!" It pissed me off! I mentioned that I'd get a second opinion and go see my neurosurgeon instead and his response was "Well, I'm going to send a note that you didn't comply with the test for hypoglycemia and that's likely what it is so go ahead and waste HIS time." Urgh! I reported his attitude to my PCP and now she REFUSES to send any more of her patients to him! At least no one else will have to deal with that complete A$$! 😡 I still get mad whenever I think about it! 😡 So yeah, were I you, I would DEFINITELY get a new doctor and while you're at it leave a sh*tty review about your experience so that when people look him up they can find your experience and not have to go through it themselves! I enjoy leaving sh*tty reviews when doctors piss me off! Helps relieve the anger a bit so I don't give in to the urge to punch them.

Have your regular PCP run labs to check your vitamin levels. You may have a deficiency that's causing the fainting. If I can't get in to see the bariatric surgeon (who is an hour and half away btw) then I just call up my PCP. She's ordered labs for me twice already. Some of your symptoms (to me) seem like they'd be caused by a vitamin deficiency or even a malnutrition issue. It's important to find out what's going on so that you don't end up in the hospital if it gets progressively worse. I hope everything works out for you!

I only have that issue when I eat something with too much sugar alcohol. Sugar alcohol=terribly foul and persistent flatulence. Hope you're able to find what is triggering yours so you can avoid it.

I have pasta on rare occasions. I have either chickpea or lentil pasta noodles. It's not something I have very much though especially since I learned I have a wheat allergy and wheat seems to be in EVERYTHING (e.i essentially every friggin' sauce)! -_-'

Hi Kai. To answer your question... it's possible, but the statistical average of gastric sleeve says it's unlikely. There are many people who have gone above an beyond statistical average though. It depends a lot on 1. how your body takes to the surgery, 2. whether you follow the nutritional guidelines, and 3. how determined and motivated you are to work with the surgery and make it work better for you. Personally, since you're at a higher weight I'd suggest gastric bypass or DS or Loop DS. If you have any acid issues I'd definitely say the gastric bypass. But, it's very much your choice. If you feel like you can work for it and keep yourself motivated and are more comfortable with the sleeve then go with the sleeve. So yes, it's possible, but it'll be hard. I wish you the best on your journey!

I buy my calcium, my vitamin A, and 1 of my multivitamins on Amazon (I take 2 different multi's. One with iron and one without) the other multivitamin I order from bariatriczone. And as for protein I tend to buy the milky ones though I have had Premiere Clear Peach and Protein2o. The Premiere Clear Peach tastes like peach juice to me. It's good, but a little more pricey than I generally go for.

In California it covers RNY and VSG without issue as long as you do the 6 month monitored weight loss. It's difficult to get it to cover the DS, and Loop DS (but my Loop DS got approved). I haven't heard anything about MGB though so I don't know if it's covered here. Personally, I think it'd probably be like the DS and Loop DS and be a pain in the rear end to get them to approve it, but I'm sure some people have gotten lucky.

I questioned myself over whether I'd made the right choice for like the first week or two. I'm a year out now and like most I just wish now that I'd done this sooner. I can't imagine how hard it is to know that you don't have anyone behind you as support, but you did this for YOU! Putting yourself first is a difficult thing to do, but once you're able to get past the first few weeks I believe you'll feel better about your choice. As it stands, I'd call your surgeon about the vomiting issue. You may just need some anti-nausea meds, but better safe then sorry to call them and ask about the vomiting. The difficult beginning will pass! I hope you get to feeling better soon, and I wish you the best in your journey!

My surgery has a sleeved stomach and although I didn't have GERD I DO have EOS which causes acid issues. I have less acid then I did pre-surgery (I'm 1 year out), but my case is also not typical as generally speaking acid tends to get worse with the sleeve. I mean, it may not happen to you, but you also have to take the chance that you may end up having to have a bypass revision somewhere down the line. If you don't mind the risk then go for it. If you don't want to potentially do things all over again then do the bypass. In the end, it's very much your own choice. Just do what makes you happiest.

I was having that issue and it turns out I had a food allergy. I actually don't know if I had it before my surgery or not, but after surgery I dumped after eating wheat. I would notice I'd get a milder case with certain other foods and it turned out those foods had trace amounts. I was tested for a wheat allergy and low and behold I have one. (My gastroenterologist said if your test comes back 0.4% it's considered an allergy. Mine came back 4.73% So it was more than 10x the threshold). So maybe you have a food allergy or are just sensitive to something in your food. Maybe try an elimination thing to try and figure out what the trigger is.

Maybe try patch vitamins if you can't stomach the normal ones. You NEED your vitamins so you can't not take them, but if you can't stomach them then patch vitamins would be an option

I bought bras off the clearance rack. I don't think I'll be going down much more since my goal weight is only 21 pounds away, so I did recently buy a few more expensive ones, but early on after my surgery the clearance rack was my friend. I got great deals at Kohl's and my favorite bra in the beginning of my weight loss was $3. I was proud of that deal lol

It's happened to me a few times. It's not something that has happened frequently but 3 or 4 times I've noticed things have changed in taste as I ate them more and it put me off certain things.

You could always try the patch vitamins if you can't take the regular ones...

Have you been measuring yourself? You may be losing inches and gaining muscle which can seem like your stagnating in a stall.

How long has it been happening? Could it be just a stomach bug you picked up? I've had it happened where I picked up a stomach bug and the issue lasted for just over a week. Still, call your surgeons office and get their input and if they don't know then try scheduling an appointment with you PCP. Hope it clears up because that's bound to be miserable...

Try calling and speaking to your insurance personally. Sometimes you can't rely on what the doctor tells you. Generally though, it's put in at the weight you started at. Or at least that's what I was told. I was a MUCH larger BMI then you so the fact that I lost 68 pounds during my 6 month period didn't phase me or the doctor. My insurance took it as how they were meant to as it showed that I was serious about my weight loss and was putting in the needed effort to work with the tool they were giving me. Best of luck to you and I hope things work out!

People ask me all the time how much I lost and I proudly tell them. Guess that makes me weird lol. I'm proud of how far I've come so I'm always happy to share it.

If it helps, my insurance took three weeks to approve my surgery. Some just take longer for some reason...

It could actually be a number of different things. I used to get really bad leg cramps when my Vitamin D was deficient and my mom gets really bad leg cramps when her potassium is deficient so maybe a vitamin deficiency?

You lost 18 pounds in 20 days... how is that slow? I lost 23 pounds the first month but I was 321 on my surgery day and had a different surgery. I lost 19 pounds the second month and 21 the third. You're doing good on the weight loss front so don't stress about it. You are losing at a good pace. If you're having issues with water try something with electrolytes like powerade zero or gatorade zero or propel water. Or, even Protein2o as it has 20 grams of protein and tastes like Hint water. To help with the bathroom issues add some Miralax or something to help loosen things up. But... you need to hydrate yourself to help it along. Maybe suck on some sugar free popsicles if drinking is too difficult. As to the food front... I don't know what to say because my program allows avocado, tomato sauce, salsa, etc. so I have no suggestions based on what I ate because a lot of things around that time either had avocado or tomato sauce...

Hilariously, it's accurate for my one year lol. I hit my 1 year mark in 5 days so technically I could still lose a pound or two, but the site said the average for my surgery and the weight I was at and my height is to be at 201... and I'm at 201 lol.

The exercise is to help you keep your muscles. But I'm in a similar situation as yourself. I have two back injuries which limited what I could do for exercise down to just walking. Then, AFTER surgery I developed some other issues that made even walking difficult. I have dizziness and balance issues that my doctor has been trying to figure out for ten months so I try to fit walking in 3-4x a week using something to lean on (usually a shopping cart or walker that I borrowed from a family member that doesn't need it anymore) in at 15-20 minutes those days. That's the most I can do. My doctor said that as long as I'm TRYING then she's fine with it. She worries about me though because I've fallen a lot (even once fell down the stairs in October while holding my 1 year old niece. I shifted myself while I fell though so I took the full fall and she didn't get hurt. I hurt my leg, hip, and foot in the fall though and it took a month to heal, but I'd do it all over again to protect her. I was babysitting my nieces while my sister was in the hospital with her premie son at the time and it shook me up so bad and I was crying on the phone with my sister because I was so scared something like that would happen again and my niece would get hurt. My sister had to calm me down on the phone and told me that I'd protected Madi and she was fine and to just hold onto the bannister and take it slower next time and sit if I got dizzy. It worked and it didn't happen again while I was watching the girls, but it terrified me.). It's hard to get exercise in, but when I'm not walking I do stretches and leg exercises when I'm laying down (it's the only time I'm not dizzy. Doctor thinks I either have a spinal fluid leak from a lumbar puncture I had done in 2017 when I had meningitus as you can go 10 years without symptoms, or it could be Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome as it's difficult to tell between the two as they tend to have similar symptoms). Anyway, just do the best you can, but don't overwork yourself!

I drink the Walmart brand pre-made protein drinks. But I also have the Premier clear protein (it's like a juice. The peach one is delicious) and I've also bought a few Protein2o (tastes like Hint water, if you've ever had that). There's also the Isopure protein ones that are similar to the Premier clear (but with twice the amount of protein. Premier has 20g and Isopure has 40g). The Isopure I had found at Dollar General, but I haven't seen them in a while. The Protein2o you can get basically anywhere (I've bought them at both Walmart and Rite Aid). Trying to find one you can tolerate the taste of may take a while. I wish you luck!

I do low fat to no fat, because too much fat in my diet upsets my stomach. I had a different surgery though, but it's the malabsorption imo that causes the issue and gastric bypass also has malabsorption so... I'd just be careful.