NickelChip

Good luck! Are you having your surgery locally or traveling for it? Will your insurance give you any help toward the cost?

Allow me to rant for a minute. I have insurance, and I am lucky enough that it covered my surgery with a $1k copay after I hit my $2k annual deductible. So, I can't complain about my own outcome as far as that goes. But I just got a look at the hospital charges. My insurance company was billed in the neighborhood of $42k dollars for my surgery and hospital stay. They then had a negotiated plan "discount" of $32k applied, bringing the total paid on my behalf to just under $10k. Plus my copay equals $11k, or $13k if you factor in that my entire deductible was made up of surgery related charges. Why can't the hospital just say that a gastric bypass costs $13k? Because that is what they are going to get paid, and they know it, and my insurance knows it. Why the charade? Why must every single insurance policy "negotiate" different discount rates? This is stupid. And without insurance, would I just be left with a $42k bill that I had to pay out of pocket? I have a feeling I would be. Rant over.

I remember my hands especially were so puffy with fluid. It took over a week just to get back to my day of surgery weight because of all the fluid. But you're still losing fat even if the scale doesn't show it, so don't worry!

What an amazing transformation! You look great, and I hope you feel really good too!

I set my goal weight at 155 lbs to reach a "healthy" BMI of 25, partially because I felt like it would be nice to experience going to the doctor and not having my weight come up as a red flag (although my doctor is really great about things like that), and partially because it was the weight I was when I graduated high school and I was curious to see if I could get back there. My "secret" goal would be to reach 151 lbs, which would mean I lost 100 lbs from my highest weight. I'm currently a week from my 1-year surgiversary and 8 lbs above my goal, so I'm pretty happy.

Yes, I would have the surgery again knowing what I do now. I would recommend it for everyone who has struggled with being significantly overweight despite commonsense lifestyle changes. Even with the most restrictive diets, I could never lose weight and keep it off for very long. This has been the only thing that has ever worked.

I've been surprised by my lack of constipation. I was so prepared for it to happen that I ordered the biggest value container of Miralax to keep on hand... and I used it twice in a year. I am regular like clockwork and have been since about the second month or so. BUT, I have had the vomiting I mentioned in another post, which I wasn't really prepared to have happen. I have been surprised by how different it feels to eat different types of foods in various quantities. For example, if I eat 3oz of chicken or beef, I'm very full and sometimes can't finish it or have more than a bite of a side dish. But I can eat a very large salad or other non-starchy veggies and it doesn't make me feel stuffed. A few bites of bread can sit really heavy but I can eat crackers without feeling that way at all, where I would have assumed they would be about the same. Also surprising is that what you eat, how much you exercise, and how much weight you lose in a week do not necessarily go hand in hand the way you think they will. Some weeks you will drop several pounds, other weeks you will not lose an ounce. You can do exactly the same thing both weeks. Your body will do what it wants. Beyond making good choices and sticking with a healthy lifestyle you can sustain (longterm sustainability is the MOST important thing), there's not much you can do to make a meaningful difference in how much weight you lose and how quickly.

OMG, that dress!!! Also, you look fantastic! Congratulations on a very successful year!

Let's see... early on, it was scrambled eggs. That one is really common. You think it will be mild on your tummy, but you'd be better off with a fried or hard boiled egg because scrambling makes it really textured by comparison and for some reason, it's not good. I also struggled with broccoli and asparagus unless it was steamed to the point it turned to mush. I had a problem with reheated foods, too, so cooking up a big piece of salmon or chicken and then portioning it out for a few meals was a no-go unless I ate it cold. I could reheat ground meat, though, especially if it had a sauce with it. I would say that 99% of the time, none of these things were a problem after about 6 months. What I do still struggle with is if I forget to eat slowly and take very small bites that I chew thoroughly. In the beginning I used a cocktail fork to remind me to take tiny bites. I would chew for a minute before swallowing. If I didn't, I would get sick. But as time goes on, you can eat a bit more, chew a bit less, and get away with it. Until, like this morning, you are in a hurry and inhale your food without thinking like you did pre-surgery, and realize after about four rapid bites that this was a huge mistake. Sometimes when that happens, you will be in pain for a while and then it will subside on its own. Sometimes, it will come right back up. On the bright side, it is not like pre-surgery with that awful vomit taste and smell. It just looks (and tastes/smells) like chewed food, sometimes with some foamy mucus, and it's fairly quiet, too. (Sorry if that's really gross to describe, but I figured it's good to be prepared). One thing I did was order a pack of the motion sickness bags you can find online. I put a few in my car and tucked one in my purse. That way, if I was ever in public and ate something that didn't agree with me, it was much easier to be discreet about it. With dumping, in my experience, every so often if I have something sugary, I will experience an increased heart rate. It's not a big deal and it slows after about 15 minutes. But on Thanksgiving, my cousin made a green bean casserole that was very fatty with a ton of butter and cheese. I had a single bite of it, and maybe 20 minutes later my heart was pounding like I had just gotten up and run a lap around the block. It went away after about 15 minutes as well, but definitely a stronger reaction. But that's it for dumping for me. I've had enough sugary and fatty foods that I'm fairly confident I am one of the 70% who only experience very minor to no symptoms, unfortunately. I wish I had something to make me not want to indulge!

Okay, so I had reached a BMI of 40 when I got the referral to the surgical team. But with 6 months of nutrition counseling and the 2 week liquid diet, the day of surgery I had a BMI of 36.3. I chose the bypass and I am very happy with it. My weight loss has not been the dramatic numbers you see with larger patients, but it's been stunning to me. I am almost a year out and am currently within 9 pounds of a normal BMI. I have not been this weight in 30 years and I firmly believe no amount of diet and exercise alone would have gotten me here. I would do it again in a heartbeat and wish I had done it earlier. With regards to the bypass itself, I am very pleased with it. I chose it over the sleeve because of GERD concerns and because my brother, who had the sleeve 15 years ago, has had a lot of regain that I think the bypass will help me avoid to some degree. I had some issues with vomiting for the first several months when I didn't eat very slowly or had something that was not the "right" texture for my picky insides. But other than that, I've been great. At this point, I can eat about a third to a half of a typical portion of most meals so I don't feel like I get funny looks or anything from people who don't know my situation. I do not experience dumping, which is sad because it means I can eat sweets if I want them without getting sick. And yes, I do want them, so managing cravings is my biggest challenge. I no longer care much for bread or pasta and I also don't eat rice. I do like a few roasted potatoes sometimes and I will steal a couple fries from someone else's plate but I won't order them for myself. I mostly prefer protein, veg, and fruit. And, yeah, sweets... My labs have all looked good so far (have to go get blood drawn next week ahead of my 1-year follow up). I feel fantastic. My one concern had been not being able to take ibuprofen because I was taking it a few times a week for pain. Well, within weeks of the surgery, even when my weight was still fairly high, my pain went away. I have had one time in the past year when I had a headache and wished I could take ibuprofen (and actually, I could have if I had really needed to because a single ibuprofen, or even one a week, is not a high enough risk to worry about).

I like Celebrate brand tropical twist chewable, but they also make soft chews in fruit flavors (and maybe chocolate?) if you prefer a less chalky texture. Any bariatric brand should be fine.

If it works with what you've been given for a diet plan, the unflavored whey powder (like Isopure) blends well into tomato soup or butternut bisque. I found that to be a delightful alternative to the sweet shakes. You might also buy Fairlife skim milk, which has 13g protein per 8oz serving, and blend with PB2 peanut butter powder (and a banana if allowed) for a really nice smoothie. Lastly, a few brands of the bariatric protein shakes make chicken, beef, or French onion flavored powders that you can heat up for a savory "shake".

Every doctor I've seen recommends whey isolate, but you should check with your dietician. Bone broth is collagen and that is not the same type of protein, at least as I recall it being explained. I was told I could have bone broth but that it doesn't count the same way. I do know, however, that certain brands might be making versions that have the missing amino acids, so that could be an option. Definitely ask a registered dietician or your bariatric team.

My tip for hydration is to try different temperatures. I found that hot decaf tea with a splash of milk was much easier for me to drink than cold water. Also, one of my favorite options early on was tomato soup with a scoop of plain protein powder mixed in. I bought the organic brand with as little sugar and added ingredients as possible. The one protein shake I could tolerate longer term was Syntrax Nectar Naturals in orange flavor. It reminded me enough of orange juice that it felt like a treat for breakfast and the tanginess kept it from seeming too sweet.

I am here to add my vote for meal planning. I also have ADHD tendencies and I LOATHE food tracking. In the early days after surgery when I absolutely had to make sure I got in my protein and water, I managed to track by keeping a physical tracking notebook next to me at all times. I had to see the book to remember to do it. I stopped tracking around 5 months when I was consistently hitting my goals. Now that I am almost a year out, my weight loss has slowed (as expected) and I am finding it too easy to make poor choices if I don't plan ahead. I forced myself to actually track for a couple days and was shocked by how many calories I could eat and what I was choosing even when I "thought" I had been pretty reasonable. So, instead of tracking, which I am still terrible at, I've started meal planning and prepping ahead. For breakfast and lunch, I came up with a selection of maybe three or four choices I liked that have around 20g protein and entered them into my meal tracking app. For example, a spinach frittata for breakfast that I can slice into several servings, fruit cups that I make ahead for the week, single-serve packets of protein oatmeal or a protein bar for those days when I have to grab and go. For lunch, I make homemade chicken veg soup and also salad jars. I also like to make a batch of turkey chili to have on hand, which I store in single-serve containers. I also came up with a few snacks I like such as Greek yogurt with blueberries, or an apple with cheese. I also entered in my typical favorite 6 or 7 homemade dinners as recipes or meals in the app so I could easily add them to my day with one click. Before my shopping day, I try to plan my meals for the coming week. If I see my calories going too high or my protein not being enough, or whatever, on any given day, I can adjust accordingly. On a day that I eat oatmeal, I make sure my other choices are less carb heavy. If I have eggs for breakfast, I might plan to have a carb at dinner. I have the tab easy to get to on my computer, but printing it out each day would also work, as would entering each meal as a reminder in your phone's task list or calendar app. It is so much easier for me to look at my menu and follow it than it is for me to decide what to eat every day in the moment. It also means that if I can eat what I plan most of the time, I can have a restaurant meal or a dessert a few times a month without worrying about it or trying to track it. And since I tend to package up most of my make-ahead meals in single-serve containers, it's pretty easy to grab something to take along if I'm going to be out and don't want to have to hunt for food on the go and risk being off plan. The worst days for me are when everything in the house is an ingredient instead of a meal. That's exhausting and inevitably leads to snacking or poor choices. I find I need to set a regular day of the week for shopping when I can also have time to prep some items right away, before the food even goes in the fridge. I have the most success for the week when all my produce enters the fridge already washed, sliced, and portioned into fruit cups and salad jars, and when I can kick off a batch of chili in the slow cooker, a frittata in the oven, and a batch of taco meat to store for later in the week all at once. Freezing complete single-serve meals is another great strategy for those busy days when you might otherwise get off track. Like any habit, it takes a while to establish and may not be 100% perfect all the time, but I definitely find this helping me.

Generally, the closer you can get to a natural, whole food diet, the better. The goal is to get your protein from real food and to learn recipes and choices that will work for you forever. Having said this, it all depends what you like and what you can tolerate. Personally, I hated protein drinks but I did find a powdered one I liked and ended up having one per day at breakfast until I hit about 8 months post-op, but that was because I pre-bought a ton of the stuff on a big sale and wanted to use it up instead of wasting it. Once you can manage a Greek yogurt, a couple eggs, and 3-6 oz of meat over the course of a day, you probably don't need protein supplements.

I know for me, this is the hardest time of the year. It's cold (-8F this morning according to my car, which is just insane). It's still kinda dark in the mornings and dark pretty early at night, too. The holidays are over so a lot of the fun you may have been anticipating a while back is done and the routine feels hard and boring. It's not a motivation-inspiring season. So my advice is that sometimes it's okay to take care of your mental health, and that can be as important as your physical health. Within reason, of course, so you don't let yourself slide into terrible habits. But if you have 10 things to do and you can only manage 5, pick the 5 that matter most to you. Don't do what I sometimes do and spend so much time stressing and lamenting over the 5 you can't get done that you end up not doing anything at all. 5 things is okay when 10 isn't possible. You need to move your body, but you don't need to walk AND do yoga, AND do pilates, AND... It's okay to pick one thing. It's okay to skip the gym and go for a walk with a friend. Or skip the walk and get a pedicure one day because your body is just tired. Sometimes that's what will give you energy to do the other stuff. As long as your hair is reasonably clean, sometimes you just need a ponytail. Or a hat. Not all days are cute days. Plan to get done what you must get done plus what you really want to get done, until you feel able to do more and pushing yourself to do it only takes average effort. I think sometimes we deplete our energy to the point that our bodies and minds have to insist on recharging. Give yourself the chance to recharge without guilt.

3 lbs in 10 days sounds like water retention. Have you had more salt than usual? I gained almost 4 lbs in a week at Christmas, but it was gone within 2 weeks and now I'm back to slowly losing. If you've had a disruption to your routine, that could explain it. Or hormonal shifts. Or just your body messing with you because you were looking forward to hitting a certain number on the scale and the universe finds it amusing to taunt you (been there).

My advice is to make changes to your diet and exercise in the next few months that you feel you can maintain for the rest of your life, as opposed to trying a fad diet (Keto, paleo, etc.) that is likely to be too extreme. Focus on basics like reducing your simple carbs and sugars, increasing your lean protein and veggies. Start measuring your portions to make sure you are not eating more than you think. Start getting your 64oz or more of water every day and cut out any sugar-sweetened drinks that you might drink (and also alcohol) because it's just empty calories. Walking and light weights are really great, but remember that about 80% of your weight loss comes from your diet, and only 20% from exercise, so don't feel like you have to go crazy with joining a gym and working out, especially if you're starting from sedentary. Regular walking every day does amazing things. At this stage, small changes can make a big difference. One thing I did right away was go through my cupboards and get rid of temptations. I stopped buying crackers, pretzels, cookies, and sweets. I would still have a treat when I was out, but I would try not to bring it home. Since I work from home, not having things in the cupboards to tempt me was a huge help. I was not required to lose weight before my surgery, but by making these little changes, plus the strict 2-week liquid diet, I ended up going from 251 lbs to 225 lbs in about 6 months. You can do it!

Honestly, right before my pre-op diet started, I watched a video from Dr. Pilcher's YouTube comparing actual surgeries where he was retracting a normal liver, a sort of medium-fatty liver, and a really bad fatty liver. It was downright gory, but after watching it, I was willing to do anything to keep from having the bad liver. So if nothing else works, try finding that video and scare yourself into not eating!

I probably should have said more clearly that the minoxidil suggestion was because OP thought some of the thinning was age related. I also had age-related/thyroid related thinning, so when the expected additional thinning happened after surgery, the result was shocking. I decided to use the minoxidil at that point, knowing that it was not going to do anything for the surgery-related loss and that it would be something I would need to continue for the rest of my life. I completely agree that if it's just the temporary weight-loss/surgery related hair loss, minoxidil is not the right choice. But if you already were concerned about hair thinning prior to surgery, it's something to consider. I also had almost no eyebrows (pre-surgery, for many years, because of thyroid) and daily minoxidil treatment has started to bring those back.

The pre-op diet is probably the hardest thing you will do for the next 10-12 months. It's honestly so difficult, but you can get through it! Once surgery was done, 400-500 calories per day felt totally normal to me for months. A few things that helped me were sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles, and the Millie's sipping broth. Almost no calories in any of these, but you get sort of the feeling of eating, which helps combat the head hunger. Is it perfect? No. But it kind of helps. Also, sugar free gum might help. And if you're truly hungry, ask if you can add more non-starchy veggies throughout the day. I wasn't allowed any meals or veg, just liquid, but since you are, the difference between 2 cups of broccoli and 3 cups, calorie wise, is pretty much nothing. You can eat a whole cucumber for barely any calories, or a salad with baby spinach, cucumbers, shredded carrots, and balsamic vinegar (no oil).

I was wearing a 42DD pre-surgery at 251 pounds, and at 165 pounds, I am in a 38DD. If I lose the last 10-15 pounds I hope to lose, I doubt I will change band size, honestly. The reason I say this is I run my hands around the area where the bra bad goes and I have almost no pinch-able fat left. I could see dropping to a D cup because the breasts themselves still have plenty of room to get smaller, but the band size is limited by the size of my ribcage, which I can feel prominently in that area. In the past few months, I dropped more than an inch from my bust and less than 0.25 inch from my band. In an ideal world, I think I would like to wear a 38C, but that's just my preference. And I am so amazed by how well you are taking all of this. I'm really wishing you the best with the cancer treatment and hoping you are well again soon!

My surgery-induced hair loss has only just started to turn around, so I know what you are going through and how distressing it can be. I have done two things to help. One is using minoxidil every night before bed. I found a 3-pack on Amazon of a spray (not a foam, which I find too messy) that is so easy to use and costs under $40. For a woman's dose (4 squirts per day), each bottle is supposed to last 60 days. I find it doesn't last quite that long, but I probably get about 6 weeks out of each bottle, making it cost maybe $2.50 a week. I've been using it about 14 weeks and I am seeing tons of regrowth, I would say definitely beyond what I lost. The hair is all short right now, a couple inches in length, but by the summer I hope it will be closer to my above the shoulder hair length. Which beings me to my second trick: hats. I live in a cold weather climate and I bought a bunch of hats, although I had some wide fabric headbands and crocheted bandanas in the fall when it was warmer that also got the job done. Not sure if you are male or female, but for women's styles, try searching for either "slouch caps" or "chemo headwear" online for some lighter weight hats that can help you hide the thinning until it reverses and that are comfortable indoors. Once your weight loss slows, the hair should regrow even on a maintenance dose of Zepbound. It just takes time, way longer than you think! Oh, I should say I had my surgery in Feb 2024, so in terms of when my major weight loss was happening, I'm betting we're at kind of the same stage with the hair loss. And I'm almost 51, so ditto on the age-related issues. But the minoxidil is a game changer.

It's valid to feel scared about this new experience and really good that you can express your fears to other people. My first thought as I'm reading this, though, is that your size is thoroughly unremarkable. It may not be where you want to it be, and you're doing great taking control of that and changing your life through having gastric bypass. But at your height and weight, surrounded by adults as you will be in college (and not middle school bullies), your weight simply isn't going to be a thing people notice about you all that much. I had my surgery when I was just slightly under where you are now, and I honestly had a friend (who is average weight/skinny) express total shock at my choice because she thought I was "only a little overweight" (while I thought I looked like a Macy's Thanksgiving parade balloon on two legs). Other people do not see us the way we see ourselves. In your mind, you seem to see yourself as worthy of being judged poorly and disliked for your appearance. I would ask, is this how you look at other people? Do you only befriend skinny people? Do you think fat people are terrible? Because if you do, that's a serious personality flaw that I would be way more concerned about fixing than my weight. And if you don't...neither do most people. Also, if they do? See my point about it being a serious personality flaw. Don't give that kind of person power over you. Your existence, exactly the way you are at any point in time, is not the problem. A person who is judging you for existing is demonstrating that their opinion is not worth considering. Most people don't notice weight first, unless maybe when someone is truly remarkable in size. Most people remember a person's confidence, humor, and overall disposition. They might remember a beautiful smile or a charming laugh, or maybe how you wore your hair or a colorful scarf. They want to be friends because they feel a connection to your personality, not because you have the "correct" size tag in your jeans. Again, if this is not the case, ask yourself why this is someone you want to concern yourself with. The person you want to be is not just a "skinny" person. At least, I really hope not. I would encourage you to make a list of 10 qualities right now that you want people around you to see and remember about you, and none of them can be about your weight or similar societal measure of physical attractiveness. Focus on that list. Do you want people to see you as smart? Kind? Funny? You can be all of those things today. You probably are all those things right now, if you let yourself believe that it's true. You don't have to lose a single ounce to make that happen. Do you want to be someone who takes care of your health? You're already doing it. Who eats right? Who exercises? You're that person now. Focus on the things you have control over. You don't get to choose your weight. None of us do. But you can make food and activity choices every day that promote a lower weight. You can't make a specific person or group like you. But you can be the kind of person many people will like. I wish you the very best of luck. I really wish I had known 30 years ago how absolutely, perfectly fine I was without changing anything, and how little other people's judgement actually mattered. It would have made so many things so much easier.