Lilfootie

I settled around 135-140. I get obscenely tired if I eat bad food, too much, or too fast - like so tired I literally feel like I will die if I don’t lie down!!! I feel like it is my version of “dumping”. I avoid high fat and sugary foods on work days to keep this from happening at work. When I eat too many carbs over a few days I get very lethargic. If something isn’t going to agree with me I start burping and get the hiccups within about 5 mins. I cannot eat ice cream 😭😭😭 It is the only sweet food so far that I cannot touch without feeling like death! Not even a bite or two. Also, I need to have a drink with electrolytes twice a day. I have noticed a huge difference in my mood and energy level when I don’t have them. I drink 60-90oz a day. I didn’t end up with much loose skin, but my boobs hang super low haha 😂 . I also have “four butt” (like four boob, but on my butt). Any underwear I put on has part of my cheeks inside and then the rest of it hanging below the panty line. Four butt cheeks 🤣. A guy in my support group developed bad dumping syndrome between 2 and 2.5 years out. He said he could only eat 12 grams of sugar in one sitting or else he would dump. You may want to check how much you’re having - you may still be able to eat some sugar if you count it out.

Has anyone experienced a second round of hair loss? I’m not 100% sure it is a massive amount like last time, but I suddenly noticed balding spots when I put my hair up, my drain was clogged, and when I dried my hair it felt thinner. Am I imagining things? It is about one year since the last round, in which I lost at least 50% of my hair, and about 14 months since my gastric bypass. Didn’t have any issues with vitamins/minerals at 1 year. Any ideas?

Curious how everyone is doing? Do you have any new challenges or surprises? Unexpected hobbies or loves? I’m 5’3” and 130lbs. My weight loss has just started to taper off, which is good, because there are days I feel I look sick (not skinny sick, but like sunken in cheeks and that nonsense). I lost 4 lbs this month. Still eating a half cup of food per meal, but starting to test out a tablespoon more, as I am supposed to be at 1 cup in October and still get really sick feeling any time I eat too much or too fast. Otherwise feeling great! Loving wearing a swimsuit even with my saggy thighs and bum lol! Struggling with night time hunger on days I don’t get my water in at work. I think part of that is just needing to find ways to get in more calories, and part is that I will stay up super late to finish getting in all my liquids. hope to hear from you all!

Hello! I have just started looking for swimsuits, but have run into a road block - my loose belly skin! It hangs out of the leg holes in the front. It is really not that much, but it looks like my you-know-what is peeking through and over flowing 😅. Has anyone with belly skin found a good suit? Please post a link and/or photo! Thank you so much!!!

I ordered these off of Amazon. We will see if any of them work! I will report back next week

Thanks for these! I don’t want to hide my body though - I am post op and have a teeny tiny waist and my tummy looks good except for the extra skin at the very bottom. I will look into the skirted bottoms though - I think they could be a good solution.

I would say no, it does not; however, I have always hated drinking (sipping really), and I am a spontaneous person who feels trapped by routines and schedules 😂😂😂. It contributes heavily to me loathing eating. I also hate that my entire day revolves around my next sip of water LOL. I have to be extremely conscious of my fluid intake or else I am up until 12 getting all my fluids in. I am 7 months out. Sorry to hear about the vomiting! I’m glad you have a system figured out. From what I know of other people in my surgery month, the vomiting part does get easier and stop. Hang in there! You will forget all about it when you are 6 months out and a fraction of the size you were before ❤️

I am almost 6 month post op and have minimal sagging skin so far, which is amazing, but I have lost a lot of muscle mass and my famously bubbly butt is now saggy on the bottom. No matter what’s underwear I choose, I get a four-butt. Anyone who has had Four-boob would understand — LOL. I have a second butt at the top of my thighs that pours out of my underwear haha. It is not all skin, it is just not held up by muscle anymore and is falling. It is not like “white girl butt”, because it still has *some* volume to it (my butt is not flat). Anyone else? Any ideas how to minimize this?

I have been having issues with my upper back since November. I stopped exercising in Jan/Feb, because it is not just pain, it is numbness, and the only thing that helps is resting it. I work on my feet all day so I am getting exercise and cannot fully “rest” my back. I will be starting physical therapy soon. Prior I was doing lots of butt exercise. I think I would still have the issue even if I was lifting, because my butt is so much smaller. On women, muscle is only part of why you get a bubble butt. Most of it is how your body naturally distributes fat. It certainly can look more lifted with more muscle mass, but it doesn’t give it the fullness or shape.

Hi Everyone - Just checking in! I am currently 152lbs (5’3”, 10/19 surgery, 213 Day of Surgery). Stopped doing extra exercise in Feb due to continued issues with my upper back. It got really bad. I had an X-ray and I have a slight curve to the left in my thoracic spine - not big enough to concern the doctor yet (no visible tumors or anything), but it’s probably the reason for my pain and numbness. Going to start PT next week or the week after. My hair is still falling out, although it is slowing down a lot. I chopped my hair to a bob and it looks way better, but I still have to be careful where I part my hair lol! I am not allowed snacks or more food than 1/2 cup for my 3 meals, so I was wondering how you all are getting in calories? I am anywhere between 550 and 800 per day. I have started having food cravings again, but not hunger (except for the day before my period!!! Eek!). I have tried adding higher fat foods like olive oil, peanut butter, real butter, but it doesn’t take me too far. I am not sensitive to fatty foods. I also noticed that peanuts trigger a stall for a couple of days, even during “losing periods” (I stall for much of the month and then lose rapidly for 5-10 days at a time). I wonder if I am sensitive to them? How is everyone else doing?

Are the rashes where they injected you with lovonox? Lovonox gives a delayed allergic reaction. I know most people get injected while staying in the hospital - I had to continue to inject for 30 days after and had a terrible delayed reaction.

How much I would love watching other people eat! Haha. I hate eating, myself, now, but I love watching my daughter and friends eating something I used to like (unless it is a trigger food and then I sweat lol).

Oh my gosh! I am in the exact same boat as you. I have been in and out of a stall all month. I have only had 4 days of losses and have gained on quite a few days. Evens out to be a stall. My hair is bonkers!!! I am losing massive amounts and you can see my scalp in the front and sides. I bought Nioxin shampoo, added collagen and biotin. It is a big confidence killer. I feel super hormonal - had a bad period reminiscent of my teenage years early in the month and even got an acne cyst on my chin, which hasn’t happened in 6 years. My clothing size has gone down by one this month though, and people are really starting to notice my weight loss, so trying to stay positive!

I am only 3mo post op and I saw the difference in my progress photos today and wanted to share - just my belly - I think it is 1 week post op vs 3 months. I am a slow loser, or more of a staller dropper (I have had a stall of at least 14 days all three months lol) so taking photos really helps me!

I have not had a drink yet, but people in my support group say a few things about it: you get drunk really fast and it goes through your system quickly, so it is easy to have a lot of alcohol in one night and not in a good way (when the effects wear off so quickly). They also say it is an easy addiction transfer with bypass. Lastly, some dump with alcohol. Everyone recommends trying it at home at a non-event so that you can see how it hits you. But you might not be able to drink again. I wouldn’t anyway if GERD was an issue.

I like to have bread as a carb, as I do not like most others. I am allowed up to 1 slice per day. I haven’t tried real bread, like a bun or traditional sandwich bread, but I enjoy toasted Ezekiel Bread. It has 5 gm protein per slice too. Usually have it with an egg or tuna salad. Sometimes with low fat cream cheese if I am sick of meat. They sell it in the freezer section of most grocery stores. If you like multigrain or seeded breads, you will like this one (it is not seeded, but has a similar texture/flavor). Also, pre surgery, when I would go to subway I would get the smallest sandwich possible and get double meat or double cheese. It makes it more filling. Jimmy John’s unwiches are delicious too, and I’m not usually a fan of lettuce wraps!

Erg, I just tried rice for the first time right before reading this lol. I guess we’ll see! I had 1.5 Tbsp. I tolerate noodles ok as long as it’s no more than 2Tbsp. My dietician kept pressing me to try it (I am getting very bored with eating at all - I feel like it’s a waste of time and I hate doing it).

My surgeon’s office has a Zoom support group twice a month, and while it remains positive most of the time, people have been really negative about COVID. Any time it has gotten negative about a person, the moderator offers to do a private call with the individual, which I think is a good strategy. Sometimes people just need to vent or be heard. I would feel the same way as you if the support group took a turn like yours did - I honestly would have not been as patient as you, LOL!

I don’t know if this is helpful or not, but I used to do swallowing with acute care and inpatient rehab patients as an SLP, and we saw strictures all the time with non-Bariatric patients (they were usually esophageal strictures). It might not be related to your surgery if it is this far out. Have you seen a GI? I do think that having an upper GI (barium ex-ray) would tell a lot. Hope everything turns out ok!

I stall ALL the time. I just came out of a 16 day stall. I feel like I lose for two weeks each month and stall for two weeks. It is always around my TOM. My hormones were out of control this month! Last time I came out of a stall I lost 7.5 lbs in 4 days. It is what it is, and I am about the same as other people with my starting weight and height. It’s hard to compare to others when we all have different body chemistry. Some people lose a lot more in the beginning and taper off after 4-6 months, and others seem to lose less at a time, but more consistently for the first year or two. As long as you are following your plan, you will be where you need to be by the end of the first year, even if it is a different trajectory than others.

Every surgeon/office/insurance is different, so I’m not sure that anyone here can give you concrete answers. My office provided a folder with all of the information about moving forward, checklists of what is to be done and when, and lists of providers who can help me with those things - like psychological exams, etc. My folder was specific to my insurance plan (I am *** and it was the only office that my insurance works with in my area, so they see a lot of people with my insurance). If I were you, I would ask which procedure is recommended by your physician and discuss why you have your preference. I would also discuss seeing any additional doctors that are not required by insurance to make sure everything is planned out and safe. I had to see a vascular specialist. You may want to discuss COVID plans too. My office switched people to outpatient instead of overnight stay if they were young, which I would not have agreed to, because you have to go the ER then if something is wrong, and who wants to sit in a waiting room full of potential COVID patients when they just got out of surgery? Other than that, you will probably have questions as they go through the material during the appointment. If not, most offices are great at answering questions if they come up later. Your success is their success, so I have heard more often than not that doctors/teams are extremely responsive (mine definitely was/is). Bring a notepad to take notes just in case. Good luck!

I have BCBSIL and they wanted updates to make sure I was actively participating in all the pre-op stuff and that it was working (they wanted photos to prove weight loss). I was at 43 BMI at my first appointment and at 38 when I went in for surgery (I think). The Bariatric coordinator said that losing weight once you start the program shows the insurance company that you are ready for the lifestyle changes that come after surgery and that they always go from the weight/BMI of your first appointment. Hope that helps!

My dietitian’s model is: 3 meals per day, no snacks. one meal - 2oz protein, 2oz carb. Another meal - 2oz protein, 2oz fruit. Last meal - 2oz protein, 2oz veggie. They want it to be super balanced. I am able to have more protein and less of the others. Often I have veg more than once if I cook with them. I also may have cheese. Right now I am eating a boca burger with fat free cheese and tomato. I had one egg and 2/3 slice of Ezekiel toast for breakfast. I can eat 4oz of protein, no problem, but eating more carbs or fruit than 2oz makes me super sleepy.

Hi! Anyone have chest/shoulder pain not immediately after surgery? I am 2 months post op and it started 2 weeks ago and is getting more frequent and lasting longer. Gas meds don’t work, Tylenol works a tiny bit. I have one pain under/behind my left clavicle that hurts mostly when compressed or when I open my jaw. The other pain is behind the incision on my chest (right under bra line on left side), like behind the bone. It’s where the sternum and ribs meet and radiates backwards to my spine. The weird thing is - my spine gets pins and needles when I have this pain. No weakness in my limbs. I can exercise through the pain, no problem. No shortness of breath or fever. These two types of pain never happen at the same time. It’s like it moves around. My mom has paracarditis, which is autoimmune and not hereditary, but it kind of matches this pain. I also read that it could be a leak - could it be this far out? I messaged my care team and hope to reach them before Xmas. It all started when I returned to working from home and was sitting all day. I thought it was muscular. It was also when I upped my exercise to 5-6 days/week, began running, and started Pilates. Can anyone relate or have an insight? Thank you!!!