BabySpoons

I like listening to Dr John Pilsher. He seems levelheaded and up to date on current medical issues concerning WLS. Some of his videos seem to buck the system about things we thought to be true. Malabsorption with bypass for example is a myth according to him. What say you???

10 hours ago, KD in CT said:

I've done research to determine if Gastric bypass and hiatal hernia repair will help with Gerd

I'd venture to say that gastric bypass surgery and hernia repair will not only resolve the GERD for you but also help with your breathing. I had both procedures back in April of this year. My doctor said 10% of my stomach was pushed up through my diaphragm. No wonder I couldn't breathe to do anything and had horrible acid reflux.

I am so thankful for this surgery. It gave me my life back and hope repairing that hernia will free up your breathing along with curing the GERD like it did mine.

Good luck.

16 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

would get doughy in the head at times.

LOL I was definitely doughy in the head week one. I would say one week off at the very minimum. If city transportation involves driving the public, I would consider longer for possible safety and liability's sake.

29 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

It was nice having him get things for me (like my Protein shakes), although I could have done it myself.

That's sweet but funny at the same time.😏

4 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

should have done it years before.

^^^^THIS^^^^

3 hours ago, summerseeker said:

If you don't do the white knuckle ride to theatre now, you will regret it i

^^^^AND THIS^^^^

Please don't let fear keep you from doing one of the best things you can do for yourself, now. I wasted years telling myself I can get the weight off myself. Till I couldn't. Struggling and dieting over and over and over....

Interestingly enough, I had this convo with an overweight gal in my bariatric office. My first visit. She took me to the room and got my stats. We started chatting and she said she was considering getting surgery too but thought she was young enough to put it off and get it when she's older. I encouraged her not to wait till she had a list of meds and comorbidities like I have.

I do kind of regret posting here about a few of my "fixable" moments with foamies etc because the last thing I want to do is scare anyone off from a lifesaving surgery. There are a few legit complications people have shared but they are few and far between. New studies show WLS compared to having gallbladder surgery risk wise, which is low. TBH I would be more afraid of doing nothing.

Good luck OP and if need be have the hospital give you some calming meds, day of, to keep you from bolting pre surgery. You can do it!!!!

Call your insurance provider. They have a list of surgeons/specialties and can tell you whether or not they are in network.

Out of network doctors will be more expensive for you but some ins. companies will waive the higher costs if you don't have one available in your area. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield and recently found this out.

Good luck in your search.

I read all the nightmare stories too in my research of WLS but it was never enough to deter me. The majority say they would do it again in a heartbeat and wish they had done it sooner.

The pro's simply outweigh the cons. Good luck!

Mine told me that he didn't care if I took Flintstone Vitamins just take them. LOL The nutritionist winced when I told her what he said. She told me the Patches don't absorb as well and has me taking chewables. But then I had gastric bypass.

Sometimes it's hard for me to get those 4 horse pills down everyday. I may try the patches at some point.

Bad habits

Before... holding in burps and gas because it wasn't ladylike. To my discomfort.

After... letting it loose to ease my discomfort.

Before...wearing all black to disguise my size.

After...wearing all black because I think it's chic.

Before... picking up fast food every Friday night.

After....picking up fast food every Friday night. (Bariatric friendly)

17 hours ago, The Greater Fool said:

I'm prouder of my marathons than I am of losing 500+ pounds.

Don't get me wrong. I'm very proud of the long-distance exercise I did in the past. I'm looking at the medals I won hanging on my wall, as we speak. Doing marathons is definitely a highlight of one's life. And even more so for someone that has lost a lot of weight. Such a great accomplishment.

I say go for it but....

Don't do it (train) for years. You don't want to get to 70 years old and look and feel like you're 100.

I had bad acid reflux before surgery, so I opted for the gastric bypass. Little did I know I had a hiatal hernia and 10% of my stomach was pushed up through my diaphragm. So I guess I'll never know if the sleeve would have been OK for me after the hernia was repaired. I'm just happy I am reflux/heartburn free now.

I have read many sleeve patients suffer with it so I can see your dilemma. Good luck!

I used to hate running but when I experienced the runner's high I changed my mind. LOL I worked up to 5 miles doing interval training. Basically alternating shorts bursts of walking/ jogging to eventually jogging/running. Times vary but the goal is to slowly increase running time with less recovery time.

I haven't done any running yet after RNY. Just walking and TBH not sure I will push myself to do anything long distance related anymore. Reason being, I knew many marathon runners when I worked in the health clubs. They ran miles every week. Were in great shape and could eat anything they wanted.

Years later I saw alot of them and they aged horribly. Looked way older than their age. Google free radicals and exhaustive exercise. Not trying to discourage anyone to get in shape but moderation is key and more is not necessarily better.

Too Much of a Good Thing? Cellular Health and Exercise (wondriumdaily.com)

1 hour ago, rjan said:

How many diets did you start in your life where the start of that diet was more than 18 months ago?

That's got to be one of the best answers I've heard yet.

I have been on a bazillion diets in my lifetime and never stuck them out for that long. Except for intermittent fasting for 2 yrs. and added strict Keto the second and only lost 40 pounds. That was when I decided to get the surgery but it did keep me from becoming a full on diabetic.

1 hour ago, rjan said:

It just makes it so all that work actually "works."

And this ^^^^^ I can stick with it if it I'm seeing results. It only stands to reason we will quit if we don't.

Paying up front, day of procedure is BS and has messed me up a couple different times. I met my out of pocket for this year and all bills from now thru Dec should be paid 100%. Still getting some in the mail. Grrr

BCBS said one of the providers must not of filed correctly because it wasn't showing that I paid over $1000 day of my pre op heart catherization test. Now I have to keep paying to avoid these last bills from becoming past due and possibly going to collection. Then I'll have to wait on a refund for overpaying.

It used to be, providers filed with insurance and then I paid the balance for whatever was left, after . When did all this change because I want it back the way it was.

From now on I would avoid prepaying anything unless you absolutely have too. OK rant over...

During soft food phase (3 weeks) I had egg drop Soup from a Chinese restaurant and it tasted lovely. At regular food phase (5 weeks) I ordered from same place, Beef and Broccoli. Was great first time. Second time the broccoli didn't go well. No rice of course.

I used to do long distance riding and loved it. I trained many miles for Century rides and MS 150's for charity.

That was in my 20's. As I got older I cut back on long exercise sessions (biking, weights and jogging). Big mistake and started gaining weight. But my Mom became ill and I began taking care of her instead of myself and didn't take the time anymore. I eventually stopped exercising altogether when I suddenly couldn't breathe, and everything became hard for me to do. I was misdiagnosed as having COPD and kind of gave up on myself at that point.

It was only recently with pre op testing for Bariatric surgery that I found out I never had COPD and couldn't breathe because of a hiatal hernia. It caused 10% of my stomach to stick up through my diaphragm. Makes me mad to think about but thankful at the same time that it is now repaired, and I can breathe and exercise again.

I would love to try biking too at some point. For now I walk 5-6xs a week for a little over a mile and makes me so happy. Just to be able to do it.

I wouldn't worry too much about hydration. You should be fine. Just keep drinking. But not sure how long hours of exercise will affect your appetite? I have little to none now, 7 weeks out. I can only imagine I would become quite ravenous, which could defeat the whole purpose. IDK but good luck!

2 minutes ago, Jjohnson1971 said:

I have been diabetic for 12 years and 8 would like to stop taking all the medication that will eventually destroy my kidneys.

I've heard amazing things of people reversing diabetes, sometimes days after surgery. Even before losing the weight. I am prediabetic and hoping for similar results. Doc said he'll run some lab work at my 3 month visit.

It's my goal too, to eventually be off all my meds.

3 minutes ago, Jjohnson1971 said:

I have people give me crap for having this surgery because "I'm not THAT big".

People can't seem to see past the weight loss aspect of the surgery and how much more it helps in resolving the comorbidities that are slowly killing us.

I wish you the best and keep us posted on your progress. Oh and fun thread. Smoked brisket sounds amazing!!!!

Spaghetti with tomato-based meat sauce topped with grated parmesan cheese. No bread. I pretty much stuck to my dietician's recommendations for the 3 months before surgery. Even skipping a family Easter dinner. I kept remembering, reading the warning that if I regained weight my surgery would be cancelled. That pretty much kept me on the straight and narrow.

So you're an evangelist????

I have Anthem BCBS and was diagnosed pre-diabetic. My doctor put me on Semaglutide a few years ago but I didn't continue with it after I read it was known to cause tumors and cancer in clinical trials. Plus the only way to maintain the lost weight is to continue injections indefinitely 😕

On 5/27/2023 at 8:58 AM, catwoman7 said:

plastic surgery is going to be the only way to get rid of it.

Well, I'm not expecting miracles from it but at the very least it should be able to produce results for what it claims to be able to do. Otherwise, it's plain fraud.

As for tightening up 150 pound weightloss loose skin... it never claimed to do that. I would look more to autophagy for that

3 hours ago, Mmartin556 said:

How are you doing with the nausea?

Better thanks! It's kind of hit and miss. I'm not nauseous with every meal and did backtrack a bit to soft food phase for a time. Slowly trying new things but playing it safe with the food choices and pretty careful not to try anything different while away from home.

I'm guessing all the nerves that were cut during surgery are growing back and coming alive again. So I'm feeling what I couldn't before. I'm actually glad for that restriction. It's what I signed up for. And I think I've come to accept the nausea when it happens as part of the healing process along with teaching me to slow down, take smaller bites and stop before reaching fullness.

I hope the best for everyone here and if need be, contact your doctor and see if anti-nausea meds can help if unable to keep anything down or blacking out. That's not normal.

On 5/4/2023 at 8:29 AM, Xdiva89x said:

mix cottage cheese in with my Protein Shakes and chair seeds

I'm assuming you meant chia seeds. I have a few bags in my freezer that I'm contemplating using again post-surgery. Asked my NUT if it was OK at 5 weeks and she approved. When I asked her if they should be used dry or soaked she said dry. By the look on her face, I think she was guessing. LOL The only time I used them dry was when I had bad acid reflux. The dry seeds would soak up the excess acid in my stomach for almost instant relief. But you have to be careful as these will soak up to 10 times their amount of weight in liquid. It actually caused a death when someone downed a bunch dry without drinking enough Water to fully swallow them all and the seeds expanded in their throat. Yikes!!

Indian runners used them back in the day to run long distances, having to carry very little water. But dry in pouches. Hmmm...

Many many articles online listing its benefits. Alot don't say whether to consume dry or soaked. Just 2T a day. That would definitely skew measurements. I'm wondering, will this help us in our Quest to stay hydrated longer? If taken dry, will the expansion stretch our new small stomach or pull much needed moisture from us? What say you?

2 hours ago, hills&valleys said:

Because of the smell, we applied it at night before bed.

I remember wanting that smooth flawless skin when I was a teen. I had to live with it till I sought treatment in my 20's. And yes, I remember the smell being not so good. I'm glad that you found something for your daughter that is working for her. I never stuck with it like I should have, Now I'm counting on my WLS to see results. Fingers crossed

13 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Sad thing is there’s never going to be enough light therapy to tighten the amount of loose skin & facial laxity we usually end up with.

But I want to believe that my facial/neck skin will snap back as if I was just like a teenage girl.... hahaaha! Nah... I'm a realist.

And glad to hear that the needling is working for you. I still haven't heard back from my Bariatric team on the safety of using the infrared sauna or the RLT at 7 weeks. 🤔