pintsizedmallrat

I suppose I should be apologizing for my lack of culture in that case; I live in the US and what you're describing, we usually call a "smoothie" and a milkshake is a sugary item made with mostly ice cream. Typical American swine BS, I know, but that's the words we use.

Not necessarily, assuming you're referring to a 'typical' milkshake as opposed to a special, low-sugar version. If they're someone who dumps, a milkshake is an almost surefire way to end up dumping. They're full of sugar and go straight through you.

I usually travel by car but I travel quite a bit as a freelance video producer that takes marathon road trips with a lot of ground to cover. Before I check in my first night when I arrive somewhere, I will hit a local grocery store and pick up some things like sugar-free yogurt, string cheese, lunchmeat, grape tomatoes, etc and keep it in the fridge in my room so I'm not tempted to grab something from the breakfast buffet or door-dash late night junk to my room because I didn't prepare properly. After a day or two, if I don't take care of my business I can FEEL it, and the last time I took a trip where I didn't do what I needed to do, my husband said I looked visibly tired and weak when I got home. My biggest issue when traveling is not eating enough fresh veggies and fruits so at least once a day I try to find somewhere decent I can get a healthy salad or at least something like a green smoothie or something. I know better than to try to eat carbs on the go, but my downfall when I'm in "the travel zone" is living on meat snacks/cheese and therefore too much sodium and not enough vitamins and minerals. I also make liberal use of little plastic condiment cups with lids for organizing my supplements and vitamins (I even use them to portion out my collagen powder into individual servings.). I put all of them inside a freezer bag and then all I have to do is grab one each morning/evening.

That explains so much. Most of my IRL friends who are bariatric patients had bypass and they seem so confused why I can't drink soda.

Oh wow that really looks like it hurts. Have you thought about going to Urgent Care or something? They could probably prescribe you steroids if that's something you're able to take.

I am one of the "lucky" sleevers who dump. I am 16 mos PO and while it has become less frequent, I still worry about it. Keep an eye on what triggers it for you because it can be different for everyone; mine seems to be alcohol + carbs/sugar (Unfortunately I figured that out when I had a glass of sangria and two cookies on my wedding day that resulted in me faceplanting on my kitchen floor and giving myself a concussion). If I decide to indulge I have to be really careful to have one or the other, but not both. Usually if I plan to drink I usually prep myself a "safe" snack beforehand because I know drinking will make me want to eat something.

I don't see myself as "skinny" per se, but I've blown past my goal weight, so I guess that's what I am now. I'm also short, which means that shopping for clothes is super fun now...I'm a 40 year old cisgender woman and I have way more clothes from the little boys' department than I care to say LOL. I even have to wear kids GLASSES. It kinda sucks sometimes. (When does clothes shopping get to be easy for me? When I was at my HW I was in that dreaded gap between the plus sizes and straight sizes and now I'm in a different gap entirely, and don't even get me started on what it's like to buy motorcycle gear as a 4'10" woman who wears a size 0-2). My tailbone and pelvis are constantly causing me problems when I sleep; I don't get out of bed because I'm done sleeping I get out of bed because I'm in pain. I'm also really skeeved out by the attention I receive from men now, too. I am very happily married and do not want that kind of attention at all, and when I spent my entire adult life until now completely invisible to these thirsty dudes, it's just like...I wish I could zip my fat back on when I go out sometimes so I could go back to being invisible! and it's not like I dress "sexy"...as I said above, I dress like a little boy so who knows?!

I've been wondering about this recently because I have ZERO booty whatsoever which means my tailbone is sticking way out and hurts CONSTANTLY. Sounds like I need to go hit the gym and grow my own butt cushion!

It takes longer for some of us than others; I struggled to eat much of anything for about 4 months after my procedure, and I felt like I was starving to death (we're talking 100-200 calories a day...no one can survive for long on that little no matter how much "reserve" you may have). You said you had or have GERD...are you still having issues with that? Acid reflux was a big part of the reason I had so much difficulty eating.

It's going to be very dependent on how your body tolerates carbonation--I am 16 mos post op and in maintenance, and I still don't tolerate things like diet soda or seltzer very well unless I allow them to go flat first, but everyone is different and you can see even within this thread that different plans and individuals have different rules. I do drink occasionally (2-3 times a month, and I didn't start until I was 6 mos post op as recommended by my surgeon). It's usually some sort of spirits on the rocks, sometimes mixed with some sugar-free mixer (Ocean Spray diet juice is a GREAT mixer and only has one carb and 5 calories in 8 oz). A really good non-carbonated summer drink is iced tea with the spirit of your choice (I really like peach-flavored whiskey in it, but a fruity vodka or something would be nice).

It's still got carbonation, and it's hard to see a non alcoholic flat beer as appealing no matter how enthusastic of a beer fan you are. Also, non alcoholic beers are not going to be low in carbs or calories. If this is a "recovery" thing, I have known several people who drank NA beer and it caused them to fall off the wagon because it just made them crave the real thing. If this is a calories thing, you're probably going to be better off looking for one of those low carb, super low calorie beers that don't have much alcohol anyway. Or...just don't. The carbonation is going to be the real issue here.

Yes, absolutely it's normal! You've hardly consumed anything at this point and your body just went through an incredible amount of trauma. You're probably going to feel a bit drained for the next couple months to varying degrees.

The burst of confidence you get after your surgery may be the final push to exit this unhealthy relationship and start living the life you want. I don't think surgery ruins healthy relationships but it definitely can give people the final bit of gumption they need to leave an unhealthy one. This guy sounds like a menace and you need to get out of there. Don't wait until it turns physical if it hasn't already.

I'm going to second probiotics; I haven't found a laxative that doesn't wreak havoc for several days but I find that probiotics solve my "problems" quite well with less side effects.

Not really. 12 weeks after my surgery I had lost 73 pounds; I have lost a total of 123. So, in my case I had lost well over half what I've lost toal.

This quickly after surgery the sensation of being full is not going to be what it will be in a month or so when you're back on semi-solids and your stomach is healed. 3 days post op you're probably still partially numb and there are nerves severed when they do the operation that have to grow back. That's why it's so important to measure what you consume this early; you cannot feel yourself be full, and your stomach is swollen.

I had to take them for pneumonia about 3 months post-op...I remember them making me irritable and hungry just like they did before my surgery. They didn't make me ill or anything but they do have side effects.

This may be a stupid question but since this seems to be affecting your sense of smell...have you had COVID recently? Your sense of smell has a way of coming back in "phases" and I remember everything smelling weird for a few weeks after I had it.

Eat a very small amount, see if you tolerate it. This is a highly individualized scenario that only you can really be the judge of.

If it's accompanied by extensive conversations with a psychiatrist to ensure this is the patient's own decision and not their parents forcing them into it, I don't see a problem with an older teen having the surgery. I would be concerned that a child who has not yet reached their adult height/puberty yet might experience undesirable side effects like stunted growth.

My hair loss was BAD, I drink two scoops of collagen powder in my coffee and take extra-strength hair-skin-nails gummies every morning and my hair is now thicker than it was before my surgery. A bonus is that both of these products will also improve the texture of your skin and nails.

and an addendum to that, measuring/weighing it! Tracking it isn't doing a lick of good if you are underestimating how much you're having.

You seem to like and tolerate dairy products; if you're not tolerating meat maybe consider adding something like yogurt? How do you feel about eggs?

Everyone's journey is different, and everyone's chemistry is different. Some people used longer than others. Some people had different reasons for using in the first place. All of these things and more are factors in why some people remain on "replacement" medications for longer than others during the treatment of their addiction. I think the approach in most cases is that it is better for someone to remain using something legal and regulated, under the supervision of a doctor, rather than take them off of it prematurely and they feel tempted to or start using a substance that is likely to end with health, legal and personal issues up to and including dying. I would compare it to something less controversial: there's a lot of information out there that certain types of acid reflux medications are not great for you to take long-term, but a lot of us do, because the alternative of potentially burning a hole in our esophagus is a more immediate and clear risk.

you have no idea how comforting this is for me. I do look much smaller than the scale says I should be (I have a BMI of 22 and keep getting these "you're too thin" comments from family members and even my husband at times). This actually makes it make more sense and helps a lot with some of the dysmorphic feelings I've had.