MissMerryberry

That sucks, fellbunny! Six years?!?! I thought that it was bad that it took a month of different imaging, blood tests, etc for them to finally decide to do an ultrasound. The pain was happening with eating ANYTHING though for me. I'm glad they finally figured it out!

I just thought of something else Minnesotans can relate to - WLS makes you lose weight FAST and our metabolism/body thermostat can't keep up with all the insulation we are losing! When it dropped down to 40, which isn't really that cold, I had to wear an extra heavy sweatshirt or a jacket outside, even when I was taking a brisk walk! I didn't even think of this as I was planning for surgery, but now that we've had some cold days, uffdah, this is gonna be a COOOOLD winter! haha

I wonder what that person took that she reacted to? I have to agree with SpartanMaker that its related to an ingredient in the medicine, it may be the dextromethorphan, but it could also be that the medicine has alcohol. The problem with NSAIDS/Advil type medicines, is not that you'd react wierdly, its that NSAIDs are a lot of work for your liver to break down and since you're tummy is already stressed and small, the liver takes on MORE of the breakdown work. So taking Advil/NSAIDs after weight loss surgery is very damaging to your liver. Smaller tummy = much lower tolerance and slower breakdown - so yup, you can get drunk really fast and stay that way for longer, you could have an adverse reaction to things with sugar (even lactose in dairy products), that you never had before, etc. I found this article which was kinda helpful: Cold and Flu Season after Weight Loss Surgery (utahbariatrics.com)

Oh man, getting that hiatal hernia fixed must have felt amazing though, too!! Way to go on getting a new surgery date, rock on!

This is just fantastic!! Good for you for doing the work and feeling mentally ready for the surgery. You got this!!! I'm excited to hear about your success as time goes on!!

So, I had sleeve surgery in July this year (2022). I didn't even think about the fact that they use titanium staples. I've had MRIs before, but they were all pre-surgery. I asked a bariatric nurse as well as the MRI scheduler if my sleeve surgery would cause issues with my MRI. The bariatric nurse said no because titanium staples are not magnetic. I also asked the MRI scheduler and she asked a supervisor and they said no, people with stuff like titanium hips have MRIs and they are fine. She said she'd put in a note for the radiologist stating that I have titanium staples and that I can ask the radiologist when I'm there, too...just to make sure. I'm scared that I'll get hurt

Yeah, getting an MRI within a month of any surgery that is near the area the MRI will be taking pictures of makes the MRI pointless cause its all a mess! I had to get an MRI on my spine, too...for a different issue and I had to wait until I was at least 1 month out of surgery, they preferred 3 months, which is when I did it.

Okay so to circle back - I had the MRI - I literally told like EVERY nurse/technician etc on my way in to my MRI that I had staples in my stomach and an IUD. I asked each one if it was okay, just to make absolutely sure. They all assured me that I would be okay...and I was!! Titanium staples are not magnetic, haha! Also an IUD that is inserted by a physician or a medical provider in the USA is going to be plastic. If it was inserted outside of the United States, check with the doctor to find out what they used and what it was made of

Nice work! It is definitely important to have bilirubin checked and to have it followed up with a gallbladder check! Steady and swift weight loss leads to gall stones very very commonly! Years ago, when I was in my 20s, I basically starved myself on WW and lost 40 - 50 lbs (can't remember) really fast....then I started having pain (you don't necessarily have to have pain!) and it was my gallbladder full of "sludge" which is just lots and lots of little grainy stones. I'm not surprised your doctors are having you do the Ultra Sound, etc because its best to be safe! If they do find blockage and you have it removed, consider yourself lucky to be getting it out BEFORE its INCREDIBLY PAINFUL! Best wishes!!

Hi! I know where you are, hahahaha! Love it! Feel free to ask questions here or anywhere in this forum, people are great! It feels super scary, I know, I was scared, too. You'll feel better physically in a week or two, you'll be healed in 3 months. In those 3 months you'll be on the diet plans to help your tummy heal, which can be boring, but man you'll lose weight fast! Best wishes to you!!!

Oh wow! I don't even eat steak yet and I was cleared to eat whatever I wanted 2 weeks ago! Everyone has already talked about why you shouldn't have it yet, so I won't go in to that. I wanted to tell you that while I LOVED protein shakes before surgery, they were just fine for my pre-op prep. I HATED them after, it wasn't even the taste, my stomach started reacting poorly. Fortunately, I have access to Fairlife milk and Fairlife is easy on your tummy because its lactose free AND it has higher protein per serving than regular milk, its a great protein shake replacement if you are still in a mostly liquids stage and need to get your protein in! I was drinking three 8-10 oz glasses of Fairlife Lowfat milk a day, until just recently because I can now have protein bars and other solid forms of protein. The shakes or the milk are SUPER important to make sure your body gets enough protein until you are cleared for solid foods. When I was in the pureed stage my go-tos were refried beans with a little cheese and taco sauce on them (still eat that now!), cottage cheese, low fat/low sugar greek yogurt, Protein 2 O (its a protein water!), and Fairlife milk. Good job on your progress, take care of your new little tummy!

Boop! I'd love to get this MN thread going again, so here's my shot at it! Haha! I had Gastric Sleeve surgery on July 11th, 2022 (so a bit over 3 months ago). I'm fully healed from the surgery and I'm off of the restricted diet plans needed while the stomach is still healing. I can only eat about 1/4c to 1/2c of food and that fills me up! I do get hungry signals, I have since about month 2, but I can satiate them quickly. You can see my stats in the ticker thingie - but I lost 30 lbs before surgery and I've lost 57 lbs since surgery, so I'm down 87 lbs now. I've dropped two sizes and I'm shopping in my own closet because I was two sizes down only 2-3 years ago, so I still have the clothes! When I first had surgery I was anxious about "what have I done!" but now that I'm not on a super restricted diet so I can find things I can eat more easily, I feel a lot better about myself. I had the physical evidence of the surgery within a month, but the mental stuff took me almost 4 months to really get my head on straight and not feel like poop, like I had really messed up. Its good that I had already been working with a therapist and I continue to work with a therapist, so she helps me be proud of myself and confident in myself. I won't get too specific but I'm in an inner ring suburb of Minneapolis and would be open to a meet-n-greet within a reasonable distance of home

Hi there! My surgery was July 11th and I was 3 months post op about 2 weeks ago. It is so weird to not be on an assigned restricted diet. I know we have to watch out for soft breads, dry or tough meats, fibrous vegetables, stringy fruits, rice and noodles - but that doesn't feel like "follow this plan" type of stuff anymore. I kinda feel a bit lost and while I'm trying new things, I'm sticking to a lot of the things I'm used to. Oh! I tried 2 pieces of candy - they weren't even fun size, they were the ones that are just like a little square - I really wasn't impressed with them and I don't think I care about candy anymore at all. For reference I tried 3 Musketeers and Snickers, most people eat them in two bites each, I broke it down to 3-4 bites each. The rest of the night last night, while handing out candy, if I felt hungry (this is after dinner) I snacked on Toasted Sesame flavored seaweed, its good! Crunchy and light, with a bit of a nutty flavor, I learned about it from the instagram account theguacwarddietitian - she has awesome videos for recipes, foods to get from the store, (especially Trader Joe's), and other really upbeat and positive motivation stuff! Oh, so I've been eating a lot of foods that I started eating on the "easy to chew" step of my plan, which was the last step before normal foods. I just started adding beef though, I dunno I had this thing in my head that it wasn't "easy to chew?" or it was harder to digest? I'm weird! I tried eating a hamburger patty, I can only eat like 1/3 of it, and I serve it on top of lettuce/tomato/pickle and put ketchup/mayo on it. Its a mess but tasty I also added eating like 2 mini squares max (a serving is 4 squares) of Ghiradelli dark chocolate mini squares - SO MUCH BETTER THAN CRAPPY HALLOWEEN CANDY! I started losing weight in March, I lost 30 lbs before surgery and since July 11th I've lost 57 - I'd say 57 in a 3 1/2 months is pretty good! But a total of 87 since I started practicing healthy eating habits in March! I don't measure myself but I have gone from a women's size 24/26 or 3X (mens 1X) to a women's 18/20 or 1X (men's XL). So I'm pretty happy about that, too! 1st Pic - me in Jan 2022 (325) 2nd Pic - me in May 2022 (approx 305) 3rd Pic - me last week, Oct 2022 (240)

Okay, thank you for the info.

Does everyone have hair loss/thinning hair? Can it be avoided by making sure to continue to get enough protein?

I didn't even think about my IUD (Intrauterine device) until I saw this list. I did call my doctor's office and the radiology center and found out that my IUD is fine. Phew! I also got to talk to a surgery tech who said my titanium staples are fine, too.

I'm more worried about the staples hurting me in an MRI machine, But, hearing from everyone so far, it seems okay.

Thank you for sharing this, I’m just needing to hear from a few people that they’ve been ok!

I have to agree with asking your doctor or a nurse (our program has a nurse call in line, which is why I said nurse, too). I had a bit of pain longer than most, like in the 2nd to 3rd week after surgery, but mine was because they repaired a hernia during my surgery, too.

I can relate to this! I'm 10 weeks (2+ months) post-op and I was wondering the same thing, but I thought it was just me, so thank you for bringing this topic up! I now can eat more fruits/veg along with my protein, so its going away. I'm still not 100% on normal food though. I was so worried that I wasn't keeping myself clean, which I knew couldn't be the case because with my weight loss so far, its EASIER to take a shower and all that!

Thanks for sharing! My doc told me to take it with what food I can and if I start feeling like its not working, then we'll make a change. So far I'm doing okay, I also eat regular greek yogurt in the morning when I take it, so that's probably helping. In the beginning, before Latuda, we tried Abilify and my body does not like it!

Did anyone take Latuda pre-surgery and then were able to keep taking in post-surgery? Latuda has an instruction on it to "take with a meal of at least 350 calories". I've been taking 40g of Latuda, but I never get 350 calories in one sitting, I can't eat that much food! I'm also in the last phase before "normal" foods now - my clinic calls it "Easy to chew foods". I wondered if anyone changed from Latuda to something else or was able to take smaller doses of Latuda with smaller amounts of food for it to be just as effective. I don't feel like its not working, but maybe I just can't tell.

Oh good! I'm glad your doctor and you have a plan!!

WooHoo Bridge!!!

Hey, those NSVs and your losses are awesome! How do you know you don't need your CPAP, do you have a sleep tracker that tracks your breathing, heart rate and blood oxygen level? I had to sleep without my CPAP for a week and I thought I was fine, too. Then, I looked at my Sleep Tracker (my bed is fancy and records breathing/heart rate, but not oxygen level) and my sleep score was way down all week and I snored more, breathed in a sporadic way and my heart rate went up (that's what makes us gasp in our sleep to get in more air, usually doesn't wake you up). I highly recommend another sleep study before you just stop using your CPAP, you could be hurting your heart.