kcuster83

My surgery ended up being much more than expected. I went in having bypass and a Hiatal hernia repair. When my surgeon got inside, the hernia was twice as bad as it looked on the pre-op scans (level 4 of 5) and I have major damage to my esophagus caused from years or severe GERD. My 2 hour surgery ended up being 5 hours as he repaired my esophagus as well but everything went well with no complications. I ended up getting a second dose of gas since the surgery took so much longer and more extensive. Now, recovery ... WHEW! I am not going to lie, that gas pain was no joke! I was MISERABLE the next day! I have a VERY high tolerance to pain, rarely take ANY pain meds but this was killer. Yes, it hurt to breathe, hurt to move... hurt to be alive. haha I took pain meds anytime they offered them, which doesn't actually help with the gas pain BUT they knock me out so I could at least sleep through the pain! By the second day (still in the hospital) I was off IV pain meds but took oral (crushed and disgusting) pain meds in the morning and then one more time for my trip home from the hospital. Once home, I never needed another pain pill, I didn't even take Tylenol. I still had minor gas pain, which was mostly in my shoulder and a heating pad helped. I had NO actual surgery pain, or the gas pain just masked it? I had 1 incision that oozed, called the surgeon and it was normal. Took longer to heal up but never caused me any issues or pain. Once I got past the 2 days of gas pain I was smooth sailing. I am so grateful how easy my recovery was. I mean, not one issue at all. I hit my fluid goals in less than a week and was hitting my protein goals in just over a week. I had no issues drinking anything cold or warm. Now, 8.5 months post-op and still no issues at all. I can eat anything, have no issues tolerating anything. I THINK I may have dumped once, but it was mild enough that I am not even 100% sure it was a dumping episode. I slept in the recliner for about a week because it was more comfortable and when sleeping on my side the weight of my belly pulling made the incisions on the opposite side get irritated. But after that, I was good to sleep however I wanted. Everyone is definitely different. Just remember, every plan is different but you trusted your team and you trusted your surgeon with your life (literally) so trust their plan. Follow THEIR/YOUR plan and listen to them over other people. Take it easy for a few days, walk, walk, walk and BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!!

OH NO! I love popcorn, it is a slider food but I still eat it regularly without issues. I count the calories, make sure it fits into my daily goals as a snack and roll with it. I guess we live and learn but I hope you feel better soon. So far nothing disagrees with me. Which, I am grateful for but yet disappointed. haha I have always been a salty person (before WLS) now after WLS I crave sweet things. It is weird, I have never been a sweet person. I manage it and it doesn't control me but still weird how things change.

It seems you figured out the bar at the bottom of your posts. As far a searching, I had the same issue. I even tried very commonly used words and nothing would come up and then sometimes it does. I think it is a glitch in the matrix. haha

Hmmm, you are going to get a lot of opinions on this one. Here's mine. Don't tell him if you don't want, or do it if you feel like you are lying. It has to be what you want and feel comfortable with. I am not sure if I would tell or not honestly, but I am married and hope to not have to ever worry about it. But, this is how I would. First, has WLS ever came up in conversation that he said something that would make you think he would have a problem with it? Has he ever directly asked you? If not, then you are not lying you are just keeping your personal business private which you have every right to do. As far as you feeling like you have been lying or keeping secrets from him being am "imposter". Explain it like this, I am private and don't want to put all of my private business out there but now that we are getting a little more serious and this may turn into something I wanted to tell you... and then tell him. You wouldn't just tell everyone you dated a time or 2 everything about you. You would wait until you are in a relationship or potentially moving towards a relationship. So, this is the same. I doubt on a first date you say "hi I am so-n-so and I am a insulin dependent diabetic" or " I have been married and divorced 5 times". Whatever it is. No one offers all their private information on a first or even second or third date. They ease into it, feel out the person. Decide if it is worth investing the time and then things get more personal. Side note: He seems like he wouldn't care based on things you said. Like him not caring about your "soft" stomach and being proud of what you have accomplished.. etc. He seems supportive, plus not all "fitness" people are into fitness people either. So he might like fluffier or thicker girls rather than super tight fit toned girls. I hope that makes sense, and helps! Good luck, and do you girl...do you!

Like others said, measure and eat what you should. Although sometimes that is even too much, that's when you live and learn. haha If you eat slow enough, you will notice the "fullness" before you get to the point it makes you uncomfortable or sick.

YAY YAY! I love hearing " I met my goal" stories. It gives us newer folks hope. Congratulations!!!

This doesn't sound like failure to me. Be proud of what you did and don't compare yourself to others.

I did NOT have drains after WLS. Depends on the surgeon.

I am 8.5 months post op and 78.2% to my goal weight. Which happens to be 60.9% of my starting weight. I don't know how long it will take by I was hoping to hit it by 1.5 year so I am well on my way. I just keep focused and do what I can!

Thank you! It's never as much as you want. HAHA

I choose mine based on how I looked and felt the last time I was close to it. My lowest adult weight was 260lbs so I modified it to 225 for my goal weight based on that. My surgeon and Dietician agreed it was a great goal weight for me (I am 6ft tall with a broad frame) and a good expectation. I will be completely satisfied to be 225 (ish) if I never lost another lb. BUT, I did lower my goal from there to 210 lbs because that would be a pound less than half of what I was when I started and I thought it would be quite an accomplishment to know I lost over have of my body! Would be super cool but I would completely fine never hitting it. Then, I have a 3rd goal of 199 and that is ONLY to be able to know and say I weighed less than 200lbs as an adult. HAHA Personally, I think it would be too thin for my preference but I want to see it and then be ok gaining like 10-20 lbs back to be where I would prefer. I am actually pretty content in the 250s right now other than all skin so if I stopped losing now, I would be "ok" with it but prefer to loose another 25-50 lbs.

Meal prepped a big batch of turkey chili for lunches this week! 270 calories, 27.5g protein! I ATE IT ALL!

Everyone is different. Don't compare. You are barely getting any calories in, your body is healing. It needs time to adjust to the limited calories. It will pass and you will be feeling great before you know it!

Very common, you can talk to your surgeon or OBGYN about it and they can likely help. I know a few people that theirs became so irregular it was unbearable that their surgeon intervened with medical treatment. Although, I don't know the details. I am regular, but I am on birth control so I don't know if that helps it or if I am just one of the lucky ones that WLS didn't affect my cycle.

Hello and welcome! I had bypass so I don't have any specific input for the sleeve but they are both weight loss surgeries and are a lot alike but also different. haha.. that didn't help at all! All I can say is DO IT! Do it for you, or your kids, whoever you want but do it. I talked myself out of it for so many years because I could always lose weight on my own (over 100 lbs multiple times) key word "MULTIPLE". I could never keep it off! This was my deciding factor for having surgery. I am 8.5 months post op and my only regret is not doing it years ago!!

I worked with one last time I lost a bunch of weight, he was amazing. I was such a beast! he pushed me and kept me motivated. Then I had surgery and it all fell apart and I gained my weight back so here I am. haha Working with a trainer likely won't "accelerate" your weight loss though. It will "change" your weight loss. Your body will get strong and more toned. You will carry your weight differently, it is hard to explain what I mean so I hope you get it. I say go for it, it is very rewarding! I am thinking about getting another one myself. I would go back to my last guy but that gym relocated and he is like an hour away now. But, I loved him SO MUCH that I have considered making the trip for a while.

Oh yea, I am a texture person too so I completely understand. I was also worried about the pureed stage but it proved much easier than expected. I made egg salad and pureed it and it was good. Really just like the filling of a deviled egg. I tried chicken salad, but the texture was a smidge off but I ate it and just didn't make it again. My GO-TO's were ground turkey with taco seasoning (basically taco meat) pureed. Refried beans, chili pureed was good too. Pureed soups are good too because it doesn't really change the texture but makes them a little thicker. I had broccoli cheese soup and tomato soup a few times. At this stage I barely at anything, so I might have had 1 or 2, 2oz. servings a day then got in my protein from shakes.

First: Congratulations on beating your cancer or cancer scare! That's a HUGE THING! Second: Restriction is basically just what bariatric patients refer to as being "full". We refer to it as restriction because we don't want to get stuffed or over filled as it tends to make us sick. No need to worry about it, you just have to learn your new bodies signals and understand when you are feeling said "restriction" before you eat too much.

Get a second.. third..forth...fifth ... how ever many opinions you need to be comfortable. You have to trust and me comfortable with your surgeon for anything, not just WLS. With that being said, literally EVERY surgeon and their team have different requirements. It is not that surprising that you are getting different information. I put off surgery for so many years, partly because I thought I would never eat or drink anything again. There is "false" information out there and there is perfectly good information too. My surgeons team says NOTHING is off limits, eat within your plan and as long as you do ok with it not making you sick or uncomfortable and you are still making the progress you are expecting then it is fine. They stress a very balanced diet for life, they explain that this isn't supposed to be a life long "diet" it is a life style change. We have to make permanent sustainable changes that we can maintain for the rest of our lives. Everything is ok IN MODERATION and that is what they try to teach us. Regardless of all that you have to feel comfortable! So get all the opinions you need, after all you are trusting them with your life! Good luck!

LOVE IT!

There's those eggs again. haha

Oh man, another infection. That is crazy, sorry you are going through that again! Hope you feel better soon.

Maybe try therapy? Just a thought, a lot of people do say it helps. Or, try to go for a different healthier snack when you feel the need to snack? I notice if I keep grapes or berries washed and readily available I will grab them quicker. Good luck.

I wish I knew how to kill the cravings too. I still don't have actual hunger but since a few months post-op I crave sweet. I have never been a sweet person, always salty. Now I fight a constant sweet tooth. It is annoying and I don't always win the battle but I'm still on track with my calorie goals and weight loss goals so I just deal with it the best I can. I have also always had BAD leg cramps, I mean wake up from a dead sleep in severe pain. Almost in tears. I have been on a daily muscle relaxer for years and it definitely helps. There is a medical term for it, but I can't remember because it was so long ago. I have always drank tons of water, and still do. Hitting a minimum of 80 oz a day currently. Dehydration is a strong factor though, so push those fluids as much as possible.

WOOOHOOOO CONGRATULATIONS!! Great job and a great achievement! PS: Love the shirt.