Weight Loss Surgery If you've had it, or are considering it, share your discussions here

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Old 03-06-2006, 03:43 PM   #1  
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Default Just a newbie

Just wanted to introduce myself

I'm Minnie, an almost 5 year postop (lap rny)..best decision I ever made! I'm hoping to get to know you guys better and to find some great friends and recipes etc..

Hope to get to know ya'll better!

Minnie
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Old 03-06-2006, 04:25 PM   #2  
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Hi Minnie! It's good to meet you. Wow, you sure did loose a lot of weight! Congratulations!
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Old 03-06-2006, 05:38 PM   #3  
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MINI MINNIE!!!! sorry - i couldn't help myself!!!

it's wonderful to meet you... and i'm SO looking forward to picking your brains for keeping the weight off!!!

i LOVE success stories!!!
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Old 03-06-2006, 09:09 PM   #4  
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Me too looking to pick your brain. So tell me what the last 50 pounds was like for you. (I admit I ask because that's where I'm at and we didn't start so far apart you and I!)

How tall are you? You must feel positively tiny right now!
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Old 03-07-2006, 11:34 AM   #5  
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Morning

Honstly, I lost pretty quickly..I wasn't and still am not a low carber..i've always watched my calories more than anything..i'm of the old school..calories in versus calories out..I always do protein first, but I do eat a lot of veggies and fruits and nuts and whole grains..using common sense of course

At this far out..it's almost like I never had surgery. I dont malabsorb like I used to, I do still dump which is a good thing lol..the other night..I had a small slice of angel food cake with a tablespoon of cool whipe, good lord all i could do was lay on the couch and pray for death to come quickly

See..I knew i'd probably feel icky..but not like that..just goes to show that even 5 years later..we're still stupid sometimes! hehehe

I just eat sensibly..exercise as much *** I can..and the best thing..is I keep active..i'm always walking or biking or swimming..if we dont move..we wont lose!

It's SO nice out today too..I think everyone feels and does better once the nice weather rolls around!

Hope you all are having a stupendous day!
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Old 03-08-2006, 07:10 PM   #6  
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Hello, I'm glad you're here. I am 3 months out today and am still learning how to use this tool. I do not have any problems as far as complications go-in fact, I've never even dumped-but then I haven't tested it yet either. I'm kind of afraid I won't. LOL. How many calories do you eat? I'm in the protein forward mode-but I think I can eat more than I'm supposed to. I thought angel food had very little sugar? I ate some sugar free, ff ice cream today-with no problems.
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Old 03-08-2006, 08:29 PM   #7  
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I didn't think it did either! lol

But as some will agree..sometimes you can never dump on something and then one day..BAM..it'll hit you and not work..it really is a crap shoot most of the time..the pouch can be quite finicky!

I eat around 1800 calories a day..I drinki 128+ of water/crystal lite a day..drink much coffee (fully leaded) and I do drink diet soda..and most of the time I cant eat most of whats on my plate..I dont think my pouch has stretched anymore than it would normally over 4+ years.

I dont do SF or NSA ice cream..I just eat a bit of frozen cool whip..yum! OR I take my Yoplait light and freeze it..and whala..strawberry frozen yogurt! lol..love love it!
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Old 04-03-2006, 06:59 PM   #8  
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Question newbie needs info

hi,i came across this thread and notice a new member skinnie minnie has been on wls for five years.. wow.. congradulations for such a success!!
My questions to her and others in the group is help mostly. My daughter is pretty sick from her surgery of six weeks ago.. the surgery went well and no complications.. she cant eat anything much without dumping. has lost 60 pounds in that amount of time and its to much to fast. is weak from not moving and getting any protein and not enough water.. we are all working at pushing her to move and getting what ever works or what she can keep down. she developed a bad case of thrush which set her back and could not keep meds down but that is all fixed now.. im nearly lost on what to try next, she had to quit college and is off her job and ive got to push her to get moving.. ive tried everything, the protein drinks wont stay down.. any suggestions .. she only drinks about 17 ounces of water and some applesause with her pills, did get some homemade soup but dumped the barley as soon as it hit.. i could use some help with this one!!.. thanks for listening.. maybe when shes better she can get on and find a buddie or some support. thank you much ,,, carvin mom
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Old 04-03-2006, 10:24 PM   #9  
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WOW!!!! hmmm, montana. something has to change here. what does her doctor say? it sounds to me - from this distance - that she's seriously dehydrated, and SIPPING water should help this.

what kind of protein drinks is she trying? there are many different types - some people do better with soy-based than with whey-based, and for others, it's the reverse. for the first couple of months, i had to 'eat' my protein shakes with a spoon - drinking them created air bubbles... and they HURT!!!

check the labels on the protein shakes - how many grams of protein? of carbs? calories? how are they being prepared? hubs swears by mixing fruit in hers, along with yogurt [i think], but that made me sick.

i found that egg custards made with skimmed milk and artificial sweetener worked sometimes as well, and so did mixing protein powder into plain, lowfat yogurt [sort of a pudding]

the key right now is to get the protein in. has she tried baby food? the pureed stuff? it can be mixed into broths.

dumping comes from too many carbs or fat. and carbs can be in the form of sugar - like in applesauce, or even yogurt, and the barley [which was really way too advanced right now!]. the rule of thumb i was taught was to keep carbs under 15 grams. anything over that is RISKY.

there's a big difference between dumping and things getting stuck. when things get stuck, it hurts, and we throw up. dumping can go on for a couple of hours - it varies from person to person, but it commonly means that we have chills/fever, shakes, dizziness, weakness, and lying down is the only position that's remotely comfortable.

is your daughter mixing liquids and solids? that can often be a problem. it'd be better for her to sip the broth, and then eat the solids in the soup separately [but you can mix baby meat into the broth for extra protein.

sorry to be rambling, but there are a lot of things that can be tried, and it's kind of hard from this distance. however, since she's so weak, a trip to the doc sounds in order!!!

good luck - and keep us posted!!!!
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Old 04-03-2006, 10:27 PM   #10  
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and a PS. i lost 1.5 pounds PER DAY for 6 weeks - i just got out the calculator, and that works out to more than 80 pounds. it was fine - but i was getting the water and protein in. a BIG difference... she's gotta figure out a way...
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Old 04-03-2006, 11:43 PM   #11  
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Hello. My mother asked me to read the posts. Thank you for the response. She forgot to add some things. I am sipping water as much as possible and the ENT doc said that I am hydrated even though I know I need more. The eating is better as my thrush is gone. I am starting now to figure out how to eat and when to drink. I was wondering about the barley when I ate it. The soup went down so well. I have to start from the beginning as I missed the pureed food stage. My sister is pushing a lot of different foods and such on me and keeps making me sick. I had some type of protein pudding and lasted one hour before I threw it up. She gave it to me in a cup and I didn't look at the carbs in it. With all the new foods she has pushed on me I am not sure what is doing what.

My mother also forgot to add that I have an infection with the incision of my belly button. My surgeon has me on potent antibiotics. This kinda puts me under every six hours as that is when the schedule is to take these drugs. I started antibiotics officially on Saturday. I have now eaten more than i have in a month and also drinking more even though I know it is not anywhere close to be enough. I am keeping things down but at times I think my throwing up is from eating too fast. I am starting to get up and walk more outside and such as the rain has stopped here. I know I am not where I should be at six weeks but having Thursh for three weeks really put a damper on things as anything I ate, I threw up. I can now put food in my mouth and not gag and throw up. Mom also forgot to add that I can not have milk products now or any type of whey. Surgeon said i am lactose intolerant now.

My question now is I have extreme pain in my abdomen, waist line and lower abdomen. The pain feels like my skin is ripping away from my body. The nurse i went to see last week said that I may be losing weight too fast and this could cause the pain. Has anyone had this? Being six weeks out I do not think I would have a leak or anything. I do not know if it is a severe infection inside. I carry my weight in my tummy and butt. With no muscle or energy to hold up the excess skin may be the answer. All I know it hurts very bad and if i didn't have this pain i would probably do better than I am.

I have tried a quite a few different protein drinks. Isopure doesn't stay in at all. Atkins drinks do not either. I have tried Beneprotein which now we know contains whey so I don't eat that now. The spoon idea is a good idea. I am going to try it tomorrow. Maybe a slush made with one of my drinks would work. I am willing to try everything and anything! I just want to be better.
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Old 04-04-2006, 10:31 AM   #12  
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oh honey - my heart really goes out to you!!!!!

let's take things one at a time here - it sounds like you're really making tremendous progress on drinking water. that's SUCH an important thing...

as for the pain in your abdomen, along with the potent antibiotics, and the bellybutton infection - these could all be related [and NOT a function of you losing weight too fast - i've never ever heard of this, and i've known several people who've carried their weight in their bellies, and lost faster than you!]

which antibiotic are you on? some of them have very uncomfortable abdominal side effects... and it's really hard to be sure that the whey-related discomfort you're feeling is related to the milk protein or the antibiotics. Don't get me wrong - lactose intolerance is EXTREMELY common, but there might also be another reason or the two things may be working together to make you feel EXTRA miserable.

as for what your sister is giving you - darlin - ya gotta read the labels before you put anything in your mouth. it's obvious that your family is doing their absolute best to help you - but ya gotta know what you're eating, and among the three of you, you can figure out what works and what doesn't.

have you tried soy-based proteins? many people have success with them...

please come back - post often - ask all the questions you want...
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Old 04-04-2006, 02:08 PM   #13  
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My antibiotic is called Cleocin. I just got off of the phone with my surgeon and he said it sounded like it is more of abdominal pain from starting to eat again and getting up and around more than before. He doesn't think that is any part of the intestinal blockage or anything like that as I am still having bowel movements. He said that I have lost a lot of weight but is not sure if that is causing it as he has not heard much about this. he did say to get some support hose and stuff to try to see if that will eleveate the pain. He told me I can take pain stuff that I have and also use heat and ice. He said that the incision could also cause pain and not be just at the site of the sore.

I couldn't drink whey or milk right after my surgery (about one week after) and each week I try it again to see if I can get any in. I get flush and nausea when I drink it. I also get dizzy. I am sitting here trying to eat a piece of cheese again and it too has gotten me dizzy and nausea. I feel better when I stay away from these types of foods. At least my pup likes the cheese!

I have not tried soy based proteins but I have ordered some nectar from the vitalady website to try. I also ordered protein wafer cookies to see if I can get some of those in if I suck on them to moisten them.

I am trying at least. I haven't given up even though some days I wish I could. My sister who has been taking care of me I think has given up on me. She gets mad at me now more than anything when I can't eat something or can't get up and jump to run that marathon. Thank you for responding to me. It is helping me a lot.
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Old 04-04-2006, 02:42 PM   #14  
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montana - how much are you trying to get down when you eat? a tablespoon or two? a half cup? more?

by the way, have you tried soy milk? it's not bad and can be a good alternative to cow's milk. if you can get goat's milk, it might be worth a try as well.

i'm really skeptical about that antibiotic. i looked up the prescribing information, which gives the whys and wherefores of a drug, along with side effects. cleocin is given in cases of severe infection, and usually after something else has been tried.

one of the side effects can be abdominal pain [colitis], and it can range from mild to severe.

http://pfizer.com/pfizer/download/uspi_cleocin_hcl.pdf

usually, right after surgery, we might get some pain - certainly discomfort - when we eat, but we feel it in the upper part of our rewired systems. we don't usually feel it in the lower abdomen - and certainly not constantly.

please PLEASE call your Primary care doc - or go back and talk to your surgeon again. something just isn't fitting right...

not trying to scare you, but i think there are some things that need a bit more investigation...
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Old 04-04-2006, 03:13 PM   #15  
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When I eat, I try to get an ounce of food in. I try to stick to one ounce of fluid every 10 minutes. My surgeon said that starting to eat new foods will cause some discomfort and pain. He wants me to stay on the antibiotic a few more days. he said the infection can be also causing inflammation in my abdomen. If it doesn't get better I am on the first trip to see my surgeon. I had surgery about 230 miles away from me. He said to try ice and heat to see if that helps and also some pain drugs that he gave me after surgery. If this eleviates all of the pain then he said it is muscles trying to catch up as I have not eaten because of my first infection. I have literally started eating last friday. I went a month with enough calories and food for a flea to survive. With having bowel movements still he said that it does not sound that an obstruction. This week is the start of my 6th week.
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