SleeveToBypass2023

For some comparison, the first 2 pics are of me in high school (age 17 in 1996, right before I graduated and turned 18) and the second 2 are of me now, 2 days away from turning 46

Thank you We both really do have more confidence, but especially my husband. I wasn't always heavy. In high school and up until I had my son I was a size 6 and very athletic. So I knew how it could feel to be healthy and look good, I just never thought I'd get back there again. My husband was always heavier, so this is new to him. Seeing him hold his head up when he walks instead of looking at the ground, seeing him able to shop in ANY store instead of specialty ones....it's been amazing.

Basics: GENDER, AGE, HEIGHT F, 45, 5'5" Total Weight lost in the 6 months BEFORE surgery (if any) 33 pounds Weight on DAY OF SURGERY. 388 pounds (day of sleeve surgery) **13 months later** 275 pounds (day of revision surgery) I am 2 years post op from sleeve and 1 year post of from revision to bypass Type of Surgery (Sleeve, ByPass, etc...) Gastric sleeve and gastric bypass

When I had my initial sleeve surgery, my kids were 24 and 15 and my granddaughter was 1. None of them had ever seen me thin. I was 240 pounds when I had my son and his first real memories are from when he was 2 and I weighed 270. When I had my daughter, I was 315 pounds and her memories are from around 3 years old and I weighed 340. My highest weight, when I had my initial consultation, was 421 pounds. I lost 33 pounds pre-surgery and I was 388 on surgery day. I knew I had to be open with them, so I just came out and told them the truth. I went over my goals for health, getting off medications, increased mobility, weight loss, etc... They were both surprised but really happy for me and supportive. Now my kids are just so proud and impressed with not only my weight loss, but the improvements I've made with my health, my overall fitness (one of my son's favorite things to do with me is go on hikes now). My granddaughter only knew me as 421 pounds. She's 3 now, so it's taken her a little bit to get use to me being thinner (she lives in Arizona and I'm in Colorado, so she doesn't se me a lot, so the changes are more dramatic for her). I'm glad I was open with my kids, because it taught them about the real struggles with morbid obesity, the tools available, and they saw first hand the changes that have to be made, the relationship with food that has to improve, and the work that has to be put in. My son said he always looked at the surgery as a way for someone fat to be lazy and take the easy way out. Now that he's seen what it REALLY takes, his whole opinion changed.

I actually made, and unmade, this decision a few times before I couldn't put it off or make excuses anymore. It's the biggest, best, and scariest thing I've ever done for myself and my family, but I'm so incredibly thankful every day that I did it. Congrats on joining us on this journey, and welcome to the forums!!!

She told me she deliberately didn't tell either one about the other med because she didn't want them to say she can't have both. (I just asked her, to be sure, and she confirmed my suspicions that she didn't tell either one). What was of most concern that I found was that tirzepatide can lower bp and phentermine can raise it, which kind of plays tug of war with your heart. I also saw that taking both together can increase dizziness, weakness, and bring on severe headaches (she suffers from migraines already). I showed her all this and she said "well, I only plan to b on the phentermine fo 6 months, but I'm going to stay on the tirzepatide for at least a year, so if I can just make it through the 6 months on both,. I'm golden" So, I guess as long as she's not worried, and if there's doctors out there that are actually prescribing both, I won't worry too much. I definitely won't alienate her by going on and on about it. I took my concerns to her, showed her what I found, and now I let it go. She's my bestfriend and I love her (friends for 42 years in September) so I just want what's best for her. She supported my surgery and revision, I can support her in this. I just don't want anything bad to happen to her by taking both of these meds together.

So how did it go?

Aww thank you so much. That is incredibly sweet!!! I appreciate you so much.

Thank you all so much!!! I'm just so proud of him, of the 2 of us, and frankly, all of us here on this forum!!!! We're doing, and did, the damn thing!!!!

😁😏

I used this, and took 4 each night: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Stool-Softener-Plus-Stimulant-Laxative-Tablets-for-Constipation-240-Count/781701121

Don't let it get to that point, if you can help it. Make sure you have plenty of fluids, fiber, and MiraLax. In the very beginning, I needed Miralax in the morning and a stool softener/laxative combo at night. I did that for the first 6 weeks, then I was able to just use the Miralax everyday. But the last thing you want, especially in the first 6 weeks, is to be straining. The staples will be fine, but it's the healing from the surgery and the pain the straining can cause that you want to avoid.

A bit concerned. I sent a message to my PCP and haven't heard anything back yet. I've been having some major issues with dizziness, to the point of nearly blacking out for the past 2 weeks or so. I had blood work done on Thursday and my iron, b12, and A1c were all checked and the results came back that all are normal. Not low normal but right smack in the middle normal. My bp was 105/63 (I average between 104/60 - 108/68). Glucose was 97 and A1c was 5.0. My b12 was 717. My iron was 53. So very normal. Does anyone else have this issue? What could this be, and how can I fix it? I make sure not to get up too fast, I get 7-9 hours of sleep per night. But this seems to happen when I get up from either laying or sitting or when I stand for too long. My blood work came in today, so I'm hoping to hear back from my doctor tomorrow since I didn't today.

I had a total abdominal hysterectomy 5 weeks ago, but I was never put on a special diet so I just ate what I wanted. I still eat 3 meals and 1-2 snacks per day, like always. But the Orthostatic hypotension sounds exactly right.

This is exactly what happens to me. Thank you!!! I use to be on meds because my bp was high. So this is completely new to me, and frankly, it freaks me out. High bp runs in my family, so of course when I asked some of my relatives about it, they had no idea what I was talking about. They all kept saying "check your blood sugar" but those numbers were literally perfect. Thank you so much for this. I feel like this fits me to a tee.

Thank you!!!

Thank you very much

This is more what I meant when I said slippery slope. I know I end up restricting really badly if I "cheat" so it's not worth it to me. And with so many yummy alternatives, it's really just not something I feel is something I want to deal with. I've gotten myself to a stable, healthy place and I just don't see how refusing to give up "regular" indulgence foods is worth the issues it'll bring up. I'd rather do the research to find healthy alternatives that don't leave me feeling deprived, that way I can eat delicious food and stay healthy.

I really don't, and that's because it's a very slippery slope for me. I have found so many alternative foods that taste good and don't leave me feeling deprived that it's not worth the inevitable guilt, the possible weight gain, and extra work it'll take to get me back to where I am now. I'm 2 years out from my original surgery and a year out (at the end of this month) from my revision surgery. I'm so use to how I eat that I can't imagine trying to eat any of the stuff I use to eat. There's keto bread, keto bagels, keto English muffins, keto brownies, keto blueberry muffins, Legendary pop tarts and cinnamon buns, mashed cauliflower (works beautifully in place of mashed potatoes), crustless pizza, pizza with cauliflower crust, riced cauliflower instead of regular rice, monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar, sugar free tropical popsicles, Real Good Foods keto protein chicken nuggets, Atkins 1 person meals, Real Good Foods 1 person meals, the list goes on and on. We get creative with what we cook (still have steak and chicken and stir-fry), chocolate milk has now become almond milk, 1 tbsp cacao powder, and 2-3 packets of monk fruit sweetener. Use a frother and it's AMAZING. There's chips you can get at Whole Foods that are made with soy flower or almond flower and tastes EXACTLY like regular chips (I love the BBQ and the sour cream cheddar ones). For ice cream, I get Rebel ice-cream. Low to no carbs, nearly no sugar at all, low calorie, lactose free. Tastes AMAZING. I just have no need for any cheat meals.

Thank you!!!

Thank you!!!

Soooo....how much did you end up eating???

Thank you guys so much!!! I actually need to stay away from the scale because I saw today that I'm 188!!! I mean, HOW??? So now the trick is going to be figuring out how to maintain. I'm quite happy where I'm at and think I want to stay here.

Yep, my doctor thinks that when I have my skin surgeries, I'll go down to a size 12 or large in clothes. So now I have to figure out how to maintain. Never thought I'd be saying THAT lol

I put my surgery day weight in my stats instead of my highest weight because I wanted to track what I was losing since the actual surgery. But if you look at my signature, you can see what my numbers were, and they weren't pretty by any means. Everyone loses at a different weight. It depends on what we have going on with our bodies. It took me 2 years to lose 200 pounds. Some on here have lost more than that in that same time. Some have lost a lot less. We can't compare ourselves to anyone else. HAVING SAID THAT..... you lost, from your surgery date, 367 pounds - 294 pounds = 73 pounds lost. In 4 1/2 months. That's an average loss of roughly 16.5 pounds per month, or just a hair over 4 pounds per week. For reference, I lost 79 pounds by 5 months out. So you're very close to where I was. Don't lose hope or feel discouraged. You're doing well. Maybe try hitting the gym once a week and also going for a nice long walk once a week. You'll see the extra movement really helps a lot, too. Stick to your protein first, then veggies, then carbs, then healthy fats and you'll also do well. If you can't get the protein and fluids in at the amount you need, do your best. Supplement with a protein shake for now, on top of the rest of your foods because that counts for both.