SacB

This morning I received a green jacket I found on Ebay last week. When I held it up, I thought "This is a child's jacket!!" I checked the label and saw that the size was indeed Large, but then I said to myself, "Yeah, a large child, maybe." But I thought I should at least try it on to see if there was any way I could keep it in case I lost another 60 pounds. Then the magic happened. I put it on and it fit! I couldn't believe it. We really do have warped visions of ourselves, don't we? I really did think I was at least 60 pounds beyond what the jacket would fit. Mind blown.

Lillia, I had the exact same thing happen to me. And like you, it was at the 7-month mark (I'm now 10 months post-op.) I was very surprised by it because I'd gone 7 months without dumping or anything like it. But I felt the exact same way you did. Same symptoms, totally. It would take about 10 minutes to recede, and then I was fine. I've had it happen two times only. But my cause was different from yours. In my case, what caused it was overloading my stomach by eating too much too quickly. I felt my esophagus sort of seize up as if it were screaming at me, "Stop it, you idiot!" And then the dry heaving and just feeling like I was going to vomit, but did not. Anyway, just letting you know you aren't the only one it happened to.

I'm experiencing the same as you, but I'm only 6 months post-op. This past two weeks I've fallen off the wagon and am having a hard time climbing back on. I think I'm just rebelling because I'm so tired of having to watch everything so closely this past 15 months; it really does get old! Oh, I'll get back on the wagon soon because I don't want to embarrass myself when I have my 8-month check-in with my surgeon. But it's hard. It's just hard.

You're adorable, Tamika ❤️

That doesn't work on a laptop. Reason: my username is not clickable. I did find a way to get to my profile, but editing it excludes the statistics section. So I picked up my Android cell phone and tried to download a BariatricPal cell phone app from the Play Store. I can only find an app for the BariatricPal store, which does not seem to have any links to this forum. So I'm feeling very out of sorts over this. It's hard being so old and not being up to speed on current technology. I'm great on a laptop computer, but when it comes to any other tech I'm a real loser. Again, my username is NOT clickable. If anyone can help me update my side panel by another route, I'm all ears.

I tried to update my side panel (weight lost, current weight) but searched and searched and couldn't figure out how to do it. So for those who wondered, my current weight is 160 at 5.5 months post-op. I've lost a total of 60 pounds from highest weight, and 40 since surgery. If someone could give me instructions how to update my side panel, I'd be grateful. Maybe it's not possible on a laptop computer. I realize most people these days use a cell phone app to get to this forum.

Those are all great suggestions; thank for telling me. Since last commenting back to you, I have been slowing down. Your tips will help.

I really love your thoughtful reply. I'm definitely eating too fast. But the info you just gave will definitely encourage me to slow the heck down! At 6 weeks post-op, I don't think I should be eating as much volume per meal as I am. I'm doing about 1/2 cup each meal. I'm going to stop that immediately. I'll do 1/4-1/3 cup, as you suggest, and then just wait. I probably won't feel hungry after the wait, and I'll be better off for it. Thank you!

I have the same thing, and I'm 5.5 weeks post-op. I've never yet felt that "Stop! You're full now!" warning. And like you, it does worry me. I hadn't heard about the nerves being cut and that's why I'm not receiving the signals. Very interesting. And it makes sense. I just wish they'd hurry up and heal because I really don't want to stretch my stomach.

Oh yes, indeed. It was only that beginning half hour in the recovery room that caused me any problems. For the remaining hours of my hospital stay I had zero problems. I may have been sore, but it was nothing that bothered me. I'm three weeks post op now and doing very well. Thanks for asking, and the best of luck to you in your process.

They didn't, but I'm guessing it's because they just didn't care. I do realize that without strong post-op medication to cover up all this pain, it can be very painful when the surgical anesthetics wear off. I'm sure that's why it happened. I firmly believe that once they confirmed I woke up successfully and was breathing on my own, it was their duty to immediately relieve my severe pain. Why, oh why, did they make me go so long? I really don't want that to happen to any of you!!

I'd like to give you November people a huge red flag heads up warning. Please discuss with your surgeon (do not let them blow the question off, because they'll try to!) Everything went excellent for me (surgery September 20) except recovery room wake up. I was in outrageous pain and the nurses didn't care. I was experiencing nausea, pain in the front side of both shoulders, and overall abdominal pain. I couldn't help but loudly vocalize, "Owww, owww, owww!" All the nurses would do was say, "don't worry, it's just gas." And they handed me a barf bag. What I wanted them to do was empathize and give me some drugs to get me out of pain. But it took about 30 min of torture before someone finally did that. I was outraged at their lack of care. At 2-week follow up with my surgeon's nurse, I told her about it and she shared, "I'll discuss this with Dr. Reddy because you're the second person today with that same story. That's awful. Something needs to be done." This was at Sutter Roseville Hospital, Roseville CA. The recovery room is for all surgeries, not just gastro. But I felt like my well-being was totally violated, and I just want to tell all of you to please, please discuss your recovery room expectations beforehand with your surgeon. Aside from that half hour of hell, my recovery has been flawless. Not one minute of pain or nausea. Didn't take any narcotics after hospital release the following morning. Just Tylenol, and was fine. No nausea meds needed either. The one thing that is concerning me a bit is how un-energetic I am. I think it's because I'm still recovering and will improve rapidly when I am eating the final phase of foods, which actually began today. Good luck to all of you.

Mine will happen on Sept. 20. Really looking forward to it.

While in the hospital (Sept 21, 2023 for me), my surgeon has said I'll be walking 5 minutes once an hour. For those of you whose surgeon recommended a similar regimen, for how many days do I need to carry on this onerous regimen? I don't mean the walking is onerous; just the having to set the timer for every hour. How can I get any sleep? If this goes on only the first 24 hours post-op I can surely deal with it. But if I need to keep this up for a few days or longer, I'm wondering if perhaps I should get an elliptical or treadmill for home. The only reason I'm all wigged out about this is because my living quarters are very tiny and I can't walk for 5 minutes inside my apartment. Just can't. Which means go outside and walk around the block. Why is that so scary? Because all my neighbors are busybodies and I simply don't want them to see me out there every hour wondering what is going on. For the past two years I've done my daily 30-minute walk at 5 a.m. when no one can see me. This is critical to my psychological well-being. So, I'm just wanting to know two things here: for HOW MANY DAYS do I need to walk 5 min of every hour? And when can I start exercising just twice a day (which I can do when it's dark outside)?

Update: I got an elliptical! Problem solved. It's amazing what people get rid of on Facebook Marketplace. There were over 30 ellipticals to choose from, with at least half of them anywhere from free to $50. I paid $35 for this one, and am over the moon. It glides so smoothly, and only takes up 2-ft by 3-ft of floor space.

Summerseeker, you're a very good writer. Very descriptive. Thanks.

I can't contribute to the list of suggestions, but I came here to ask if you would please, please come back to this forum after you've solved the problem, and let the rest of us know what was the cause, how you fixed it, and how you're doing then. Best wishes, and big hugs.

I'll be 70 in mid-September, and my surgery date will likely be late August. I'll come back here and report how it went. SW 225, CW 210, SW (probably will be) 203, GW 130.

Your experience (adrenal insufficiency) has me worried about my own future. Back in 1986 when I was 33 years old, I had to have one of my adrenal glands removed completely, due to a benign tumor. So I only have one left. The one I have left has to work overtime to keep me healthy, so your post makes me a bit nervous. I'll just wait and see what happens. I just completed my six months of pre-op preparation, so won't have surgery for another 6-8 weeks. Gives me some time to do some research. I did read through your post-op ordeal, and am delighted to hear about your problem being diagnosed and hopefully solved. Wish you all the best.

My program requires six monthly meetings with the dietitian, four of which have to be in-person because they need to weigh me. Ugh! I'm in month 3 and haven't lost ANY weight yet because I've been eating up all the "bad stuff" in my cupboards and freezer (pot pies, frozen burritos, frozen meatballs, pasta, and many freezer bags filled with prepared meals. And lots of cereals too. I think I have 7 boxes of Special K Red Berries.) I went this route because it's very easy for me to lose weight, and I know that I can quickly drop the 12 pounds (220 to 208) the dietitian requires me to in order move forward with scheduling my surgery and beginning the two-week liquid diet. My February visit showed I had actually gained weight, up to 223, and I felt really embarrassed in front of my dietitian. I promised her I would lose at least 5 pounds before my next visit, which is coming up one week from today. So, starting yesterday, I abandoned all my cupboard and freezer food and have been crash-dieting (broth, fruit, a little lean chicken) just like in days of old. I figure after the 8 days, I'll step on that scale in front of her and we'll see at most 115 and I'll be in her good graces again. Then I can be a bad girl and keep working my way through the unhealthy stuff for 3 weeks, then crash diet again for my weigh-in. Yeah, I feel guilty doing this, and I know my dietitian wouldn't like it, but here in the forum I know I can be totally honest. You are my people! And I know you understand. It's important to point out, I live alone, which explains why I can't simply have others eat that food. Another main reason is that I'm a penny-pincher, and just won't throw it out UNTIL I'm in the final two weeks pre-op. That's the deadline. I have to toss it at that point because I absolutely do not want it around post-op! On the positive side, my progress so far includes: cutting my coffee from regular to half decaf, mastering eating slowly, not buying any more "naughty" foods, exercising 30 minutes every day, drinking at least 64 ozs of water every day, recording my starting body measurements (shocking!), and reading tons of threads in this forum. Good luck to all of you.

Very interesting subject! I was reading about iron just yesterday and one thing that stood out to me was that when you try to increase your iron levels by taking more of it, it takes several months for the results to show up in your blood tests. So keep that in mind. Don't expect instantaneous results.

Contrary to a lot of people, I actually want to lose the weight slowly! My rationale is that because I'm 69, I'm probably going to have a ton of loose skin after reaching my goal, especially if I drop the weight quickly. I'm still 5 months pre-op, so have lots of time to prepare.

Here's the BM Guide without the poop emojis. BM Guide.pdf

Hi BrandiAnne, You're in the exact same spot I was in when I first posted this issue. What got me on my way to the solution was to click on "Report post" right here in the Forum. The post I chose to report was my most recent one. And when I had to write something as to why I reported it, I wrote something like, "Is there a moderator here who can tell me why I can't edit the 'My Surgery' section of my profile? Why am I the only one who seems unable to do this? Can you fix this issue?" It was shortly after that someone in charge must have been able to fix the issue, because all of a sudden I was able to see the little upside-down triangle (see my screenshot in my very last post) right next to my screen-name. And once I was able to have that available I could complete my profile. I really hope this can help you too! Good luck.

I expected to find a pinned post at the very top, explaining to newbies how to set up their profile and signature, but after two hours of searching, I give up! Are there instructions somewhere?