The Greater Fool

I am still frequently chilled. Perhaps... I am still infrequently warm. Good luck, Tek

A 35 BMI should be adequate for approval. But there are often other requirements that can add months to the process. The worst that will happen if you submit to insurance is they say "no". Then you are where you are now except possibly a few months later. Good luck, Tek

25 years ago a more distal bypass was more common after which severe anemia was sometimes an issue. I've known of at least a couple people that had anemia issues that required blood. Much, much less common these days with the generally proximal bypasses done now. Statistically such horrible complications are rare but we humans give more weight to them when they happen to someone we know. However, complications DO happen even if severe ones are rare. I've encountered people with just about every complication conceivable. Good luck, Tek

Anesthesia, pain meds, just about anything related to surgery can cause headaches. Stress of surgery, stress of post surgery, stress of any sort can cause headaches. Just straight not eating enough can cause headaches. Constipation, dehydration, over hydration, yep. Replying to a post about headaches. Good luck, Tek

I did all the tests, except sleep study. I got straight As. I'm a quick study. Good luck, Tek

70 isn't as old as it used to be. Tek

I chose Gastric Bypass 18 years ago because of the restriction and the malabsorption. I needed the restriction because I was a binge eater. I wanted the malabsorption because I always felt my system was over achieving. Also the prospect of a 50% chance of dumping was a plus for me as I could see sugar being a problem. Fortunately, I do dump on sugar and fats, so I learned very early to stay on the straight and narrow. Good luck, Tek

It sounds amazingly like early dumping to me. At least those are most of my symptoms. Good luck, Tek

This has to be the most draconian crash diet of which I've ever heard. I always say to follow the plan because once we start picking and choosing we're no longer on a plan, but... Asking different medical team members can yield different answers. My surgeon was four square against protein shakes, while his associate was all for them. You gotta love consistency, but at least you can "plan shop." Good luck, Tek

This has happened to others. Part of the human condition is that we often fail. You should not feel shame that you haven't lost more weight. Shame related to weight is counter productive. The pouch reset, of course, is nonsense. It want's people to think that the draconian diet they put you on for weeks or months has a purpose. You don't consume calories and lose weight? Amazing stuff there. So they try to reframe it as breaking & building new habits. You can do that without the draconian measures, probably better if you're not lying to yourself about what you're doing. Now down to the important issue: How do you get back on track? Get back on track. Think of this as a marathon. You've run a few miles then fall. What do you do? Do you get up and go back to the beginning, and start again? Do you go through your pre-race rituals? No. You get back up run. You don't warm up again, you don't strip down and redress? No. You just get up and get going. One foot in front of the other. So, you figured out you fell. Get up and get going again. Good Luck, Tek

I had a bit more than 500 pounds to lose. I noticed all sorts of things changing pretty quickly whether they were real or imagined. I certainly did notice when things most people took for granted started becoming easier for me. I continually discovered myself doing things I hadn't been able to do for years. Good luck, Tek

I've got the one sure-fire way to avoid stalls: Get off the scale. Scales are crazy-makers. You know the saying that a watched pot never boils? Well, a watched scale never moves. Trust your plan and the weight will come off. Good luck, Tek

How are our medical teams supposed to know which of us are situationally stupid, generally stupid, or just a rare episode of not seeing the obvious? For me it's not generally an issue as most folks grasp that I'm smart pretty quickly. In fact, I'm often quickly told that I have a smart arse. Good luck, Tek (Not Ted)

You've already done all that is necessary. Welcome. Good luck, Tek

'Standard rules' apply to the lowest common denominator (aka [situationally] stupid). Not all of us reason through everything. Not all of us know how to reason. Even super smart folks occasionally miss the blindingly obvious. Or so I've read. Good luck, Tek

Perfection is the enemy of the good. The first few weeks can be a breeze for some and devastatingly difficult for others. We can only do our best. Push yourself to improve. Keep doing your best and you will improve. Good luck, Tek

18 years... I don't count anything but meals of which I try to eat three per day. Meals are pretty much what they've always been since surgery: protein at about 3-4 oz and veggies/other an ounce or so. I don't measure, it's all just habit now. I rarely eat snacks. My weight stays fairly consistent where it has been for the last 15(?) years, which is a bit lower than my original super-wish goal. I couldn't even entertain the possibility I would be where I am now. My mental image of myself is beginning to sync with my physical self which is a weird sensation after all this time. Good luck, Tek

Not once have a used a 'bariatric' food product. I was expected to get my protein and other basic nutritional needs from actual food from day 1. The first three weeks I did as well as I could, which was not enough. After that everything fell into place. My plan didn't call for x grams of whatever, rather it was 3 meals a day, each meal consisting of 3oz protein and 1oz veggies, eventually small fruit. Somewhere in the first year I wanted to compare my 3 meals a day plan to other folks plans and I was generally a bit over 60 grams of protein per day. Snacks were not on the menu but if I simply had to have snacks SF popsicles were acceptable. Who's kidding whom.. SF popsicles were fantastic! I got curious about how my plan measured up to other folk, since they were given instructions including x grams of this and y grams of that. After I converted my 3 meals to grams of this or that I learned that my plan was very close the what most other folks were consuming. With the bonus that I don't need to count grams of stuff. Counting grams of this or that feels like one of the zillion weight loss diets I encountered previously. I went into this with the idea I would never diet again. My surgeon agreed that he didn't want his patients viewing this as another weight loss program. Doc and I agree on this point, a match made in heaven. Good luck, Tek

Make love not war. Bring soap and a towel... it can get messy. Good luck, Tek

That's a reasonable illustration of drinking with meals and why we should not drink during meals. But, to ensure folks understand what they are seeing... The video food is something that looks like applesauce or something with a consistency of applesauce. When one adds fluid to applesauce one is adding fluid to a food that already has plenty of fluid, causing the week sauce to flow through the funnel. Imagine the same exercise with a ball of bread dough (aka, a dry lump of lumpiness). Ouch. Good luck, Tek

Emotions are complicated. (Duh! Tek) When I was a 1/4 ton too heavy I constantly felt judged. Heck, I was judging me why shouldn't everyone? When kids and adults alike run into poles and walls because they were staring at me it's hard to pretend I'm not being judged, though sometimes it gave me a chuckle. I knew my friends and work acquaintances rarely said anything because, generally, they were kind people. I like kind people. Family was harder. Love seems to allow the harshest of cruelties. After I started losing the weight they also became my biggest cheerleaders, even though they mucked it up sometimes as you describe. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. For me this is where the charity principle comes into play: Accept the good intentions even though the expression of them were poorly formed. I want to say the feeling of being judged got better after losing weight, but for me, not so much. No one I know now knew me then. I know intellectually no one is judging me for my weight. But still my head image of me doesn't match the real me though with time it's getting closer, so I still have the emotions of big. I always feel judged about other things too so I think a lot of it may be the joy of being me. Good luck, Tek

An addition: This is where understanding the "why" of our rules is necessary. The "why" of "Don't drink for 30 (or whatever) minutes before and/or after meals" is to prevent our meal from being washed through to quickly may cause us to get hungry quicker between meals. A sip is not going to wash anything anywhere, it's no different than the moisture already in the food. Sip not gulp, just to be clear. Knowing the "why" of the rules will help us make good choices when we find ourselves in an unusual situation for which we were unprepared. Good luck, Tek

There are certain foods that end up chewing to a dry lump of dry lump stuff. I know must all of us have been told "the rules," one of which is "don't drink with meals" and another is "Don't drink for 30 minutes before or after eating." Honestly the rules are not written in stone. Virtually every rule my Doc and I have had reason to adjust to fit a situation in which I found myself. One was this precise situation being discussed. I was told that if I have a dry mouth full of food it's OK to take a sip to moisten it so it can be swallowed safely. Better that than trying to swallow a dry blob that would (for me) likely block my stoma for a time. I would guess that at about 4-6 months I learned I didn't need to over chew as I did earlier and the problem went away, except when I encounter very dry foods when I still sip if necessary. Good luck, Tek

Oops, I missed the bumps! Drat! You made me seem the ignorant slob that I am in real life and not the clever arudite I pretend to be on the internet. Damn you for revealing my error! It's still never Lupus. So there! Good luck Tek

Itching is a common symptom of a drastic condition known as 'healing.' Unless it's red and angry which could mean you've been scratching, in which case: Stop it! Let it heal. If you don't believe it's from scratching, then it could be, an infection, dermatitis, an autoimmune disorder, or a rare Amazonian parasite [In order of most likely to least likely]. It's never Lupus. If it's red and angry not from scratching, perhaps a call to Doc. If it looks ok, it's healing. Good luck, Tek