Time for a roll call.
Hi -- I'm a "lurker", but decided to post after 3 months of viewing. -- My surgery was 3/27 and I've lost 77 lbs since starting, 44 since surgery. I guess I'm on the slow side for losing compared to many of you, but I'm ecstatic about my results. (Someone who could never lose more than 20 lbs!) -- Anyway, I'm at 150 lbs now -- so 25-30 more to lose. Can't wait to buy permanent clothes - but have fun with consignment shops for now -- looking for bargains. No problems with dumping - but need to get back on track with measuring my food. I tend to feel too full fairly often. Body seems to be snapping back into place, rear-end and thighs a littly saggy...but I've seen lots of naked ladies at the gym and they all look like **** too, so I'm ok with my own "stuff". :) Love hearing how everyone else is progressing. Not looking forward to hair loss -- as mine is too thin to begin with -- and I don't look good in hats.
Julie
Hi Everyone..it's great to see how everyone is doing. I had surgery on 3/27 and have lost 60 pounds. I must admit that I haven't embraced the exercise portion of the program but plan to change that. I bet it'll speed up my weight loss. The only food I've tried that I've consistently had a problem with is chicken. I've had beef in the form of meatballs and meatloaf and that's been fine. I wonder if it's just solid meat i can't tolerate yet.
Anyway, I feel good. I'm so glad I did this and can't wait to see where I'll be 3 months from now. I hope to feel lighter and healthier still.
Take care, fellow Marchers!!
Sadie
p.s. how's the hair loss? I hope I'm not BALD in 3 months.
Hello,
I just discovered this section of OH.
I had my 3 month check up. Labs were good except my Vit. D. Dr. increased it. I have lost 54 lbs since 3 days before my surgery. Also lost 5 inches from my waist.
At my 1 month check up my heart rate was very high. I was sent to a specialist and was dignoised with Atrial Fibrillation. (irregular heart beat). I was put on a couple of meds at that time. 2 months later my Cardo. Dr. Told me that A-Fib is gone. My heart rate is normal so he took me off of the 2 meds. He also told me that I should be getting off of my BP med. Woo Hoo now that makes me very happy.
I wasn't doing much for excerise because the Cardo Dr told me not to get my heart rate up. I kept my walking to a slow 1/2 mile walk.
I am now walking 1/2 mile two times a day at a faster rate now.
I am so happy to have this tool. I feel so much better and love getting on the scale and seeing it go down and not up.
So far I am not having food issues. I am trying new foods daily. I even had a Starbucks sugar free carmel ice Latie with low fat milk. It was very sweet tasting. But so good.
Everyone is doing wonderful it is not who can lose the most weight but how much we are getting healthier.
Congrats to you ALL.....
okay... I was 340 at my consult in January, 337.5 a few days before surgery... I am down 79.2 lbs from the 340... in 16.5 weeks.
I set my goal weight at 140 (unrealistically low, I know), so that leaves me with about 120 lbs to go. The reason I am shooting low is to allow for a bit of regain... of course, when I get near it, I will reevaluate!
Wendy
Hi everyone!!!
I have been MIA because i've been working overtime and been in classes for teaching. I am a SLOOOOW loser GRRR...maybe if I got of my butt and exercised I wouldn't be. I am down 63 lbs as of four days ago. I have 102 lbs more to go. That seems like a lot but I know if I'm going to get there I am going to have to start moving!!
Well I must get to work now!!
Everyone is doing WONDERFUL!!
Rita 
Hello everyone I am new to the board... I had my surgery on March 26,2007... I had an AWESOME surgeon.... I had no complications what so ever which is good being that I was a HIGH risk for blood clots... My starting weight was 264 and now I am down to 210 so I have lost 54 pounds so far... I have about 70 pounds to go... I have had a little dumping ..but its not like what I heard about.... I just get a little nauseous and if it is really bad some dizziness... I usually just go lay down and when I wake up its all gone... I did have a couple problems with getting my food stuck... THAT was painful... but no matter how bad I want to throw up, I just cant.. has anyone else had this problem?
Hope I'm not too late! My surgery was 3/12. I was 49 years old as of March 11, 2007. I started out at 302 (my scale) and as of Monday, 7/19, my scale says 236. That's a loss of 66 pounds - Yay! I hit a plateau too, at about 245. It made me simply nuts and so I decided to stop weighing so much and to quit obsessing. I waited three weeks before finally weighing on Monday. When the scale stopped at 236, I was tickled pink!! 
I'm not the best RNY patient, either. I have severe spine problems, making it very difficult to get exercise. I can't walk very far, even with my cane. But, I've pushed myself to walk -- at least 50 yards, to the dog kennel, then the mailbox, then back up the steps to the door. It sounds like so little, but it is sooo hard for me! Being stuck on the couch each day made me feel a little hopeless about losing the weight. I 'm also taking prescription pain meds. The good news is at the time of surgery, I was taking about 18 methadone per day. I've been on them for three or four years, now. Today, I am at 4-1/2 pills per day. That's an incredible success! My pain is fairly well controlled, too.
I feel like I fit right in with everybody here. I struggle with drinking all my water. I do get my protein, with the help of supplemental shakes and the dry protein you can add into anything. I've had two dreadful dumping episodes a while back 
(pouring sweat) so now when I taste anything slightly sugary, I put it aside.
I do tend to NOT chew my food well enough and today have a "stuck" feeling in my stomach. It started as a feeling like an aspirin was stuck just below my Adam's apple. Each bite or drink made it move slightly. Boy, did it hurt every time! Yeowch! Now it is down in my stomach or just above it. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I had a handful of trail mix (nuts and raisins) too late night before last. I probably didn't chew the raisins good enough. It didn't hurt right away, but I woke up with the "stuck aspirin" feeling the next morning. 
Vomiting is one of the most awful things for me. I 've only done it right after I was home from the hospital. At that point, my harsh heaving caused my new stomach to tear and I developed a leak. I ended up back in the hospital for five extra days, with nutrition thru a tube. The leak resolved itself and I went home without any additional surgery, thank goodness. Since then, I have been VERY careful about my new little pouch. I know that it has stretched a bit, though. I can eat 4 ounces of protein now, where it was 2-3 ounces at the five week mark. I've also found there are some foods that just plain disagree with me. No logic about it. Eggs are one of them. Even Egg Beaters make me sick. Anything with more than 15 grams of carbs is a no-no for me, too. I read labels pretty closely these days. I don't really crave anything, my last lab tests were good. My hair has come out a bit more than normal, but I'm not bald yet (ha ha). 
I've continued taking the essential BA vitamins, iron, B-12, calcium, plus other prescription meds for blood pressure, type II diabetes, antidepressants, etc. With my pain meds though, I HAVE to take a combination of stool softeners and sennosides to avoid constipation. My pre-surgery fear was having complications from constipation, which I have been able to avoid so far. Not perfectly, but pretty well. I recently added fiber (chewable of course) to my pill pal.
It is difficult for me to sit very long and type, so I haven't done much with my page. I've only just now put a couple of posts on the boards. I've kept behind the scenes most of the time, but feel I know you all. I just want to thank all of you for sharing your stories, your pain, your joy, and your success. It has meant the world to me! Yes, I'm a shut-in, but I'm not alone. You guys have made that possible (and you didn't even know it, did you). 
I'm so very grateful for the positive changes in my life. Someone posted how she had read about all the "awful" times people had right after surgery and she was afraid to have it now. My doctor says he would never ask a new post-op patient for a referral. He laughingly said it would just kill his business. He loves to talk to the people who are six months to a year out. They are the ones who are beginning to see the positive effects from this surgery. I know if he asked me to do it again at our 3-month meeting, I would have said, "No way!" It is just recently that I've started seeing how much easier it is to move, to get up and down. My pain levels are significantly reduced. My mid-back is breaking down, and my doctors say I need another surgery. I bet I can put it off much longer now. Maybe I can get by with my back the way it is. Who knows? 
My husband and I went to a family reunion earlier this month. I was able to ride in the car for five hours (into Canada) and not suffer like in the past. I walked around so much more! I managed to wear an outfit from the deep, dark basement closet which I haven't worn for, well, at least ten years. I highlighted my hair and put on makeup (something else I haven't done for years). This was my mother-in-law's relatives, so I didn't know many of them. She remarked to my husband that I was "all over the place, just visiting with everybody." If you knew me, you would be surprised to hear that she was talking about me. Being in pain, being heavy, kept me withdrawn. If I could avoid going anywhere at all, I did. If this reunion was last year, my husband probably would have had to go without me.
So, the changes are really incredible. I don't seem to obsess about food anymore. It use to be my best friend and made me feel comforted. In one day all of that changed -- and with this forum and all of you, I was also changed!
Sorry to be so long. I didn't intend to write a book here! Thanks for being here, for reading my looooong post, 
and for, well, EVERYTHING!
--Leslie 
I'm not the best RNY patient, either. I have severe spine problems, making it very difficult to get exercise. I can't walk very far, even with my cane. But, I've pushed myself to walk -- at least 50 yards, to the dog kennel, then the mailbox, then back up the steps to the door. It sounds like so little, but it is sooo hard for me! Being stuck on the couch each day made me feel a little hopeless about losing the weight. I 'm also taking prescription pain meds. The good news is at the time of surgery, I was taking about 18 methadone per day. I've been on them for three or four years, now. Today, I am at 4-1/2 pills per day. That's an incredible success! My pain is fairly well controlled, too.
I feel like I fit right in with everybody here. I struggle with drinking all my water. I do get my protein, with the help of supplemental shakes and the dry protein you can add into anything. I've had two dreadful dumping episodes a while back (pouring sweat) so now when I taste anything slightly sugary, I put it aside.
I do tend to NOT chew my food well enough and today have a "stuck" feeling in my stomach. It started as a feeling like an aspirin was stuck just below my Adam's apple. Each bite or drink made it move slightly. Boy, did it hurt every time! Yeowch! Now it is down in my stomach or just above it. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I had a handful of trail mix (nuts and raisins) too late night before last. I probably didn't chew the raisins good enough. It didn't hurt right away, but I woke up with the "stuck aspirin" feeling the next morning.
Vomiting is one of the most awful things for me. I 've only done it right after I was home from the hospital. At that point, my harsh heaving caused my new stomach to tear and I developed a leak. I ended up back in the hospital for five extra days, with nutrition thru a tube. The leak resolved itself and I went home without any additional surgery, thank goodness. Since then, I have been VERY careful about my new little pouch. I know that it has stretched a bit, though. I can eat 4 ounces of protein now, where it was 2-3 ounces at the five week mark. I've also found there are some foods that just plain disagree with me. No logic about it. Eggs are one of them. Even Egg Beaters make me sick. Anything with more than 15 grams of carbs is a no-no for me, too. I read labels pretty closely these days. I don't really crave anything, my last lab tests were good. My hair has come out a bit more than normal, but I'm not bald yet (ha ha).
I've continued taking the essential BA vitamins, iron, B-12, calcium, plus other prescription meds for blood pressure, type II diabetes, antidepressants, etc. With my pain meds though, I HAVE to take a combination of stool softeners and sennosides to avoid constipation. My pre-surgery fear was having complications from constipation, which I have been able to avoid so far. Not perfectly, but pretty well. I recently added fiber (chewable of course) to my pill pal.
It is difficult for me to sit very long and type, so I haven't done much with my page. I've only just now put a couple of posts on the boards. I've kept behind the scenes most of the time, but feel I know you all. I just want to thank all of you for sharing your stories, your pain, your joy, and your success. It has meant the world to me! Yes, I'm a shut-in, but I'm not alone. You guys have made that possible (and you didn't even know it, did you).
I'm so very grateful for the positive changes in my life. Someone posted how she had read about all the "awful" times people had right after surgery and she was afraid to have it now. My doctor says he would never ask a new post-op patient for a referral. He laughingly said it would just kill his business. He loves to talk to the people who are six months to a year out. They are the ones who are beginning to see the positive effects from this surgery. I know if he asked me to do it again at our 3-month meeting, I would have said, "No way!" It is just recently that I've started seeing how much easier it is to move, to get up and down. My pain levels are significantly reduced. My mid-back is breaking down, and my doctors say I need another surgery. I bet I can put it off much longer now. Maybe I can get by with my back the way it is. Who knows?
My husband and I went to a family reunion earlier this month. I was able to ride in the car for five hours (into Canada) and not suffer like in the past. I walked around so much more! I managed to wear an outfit from the deep, dark basement closet which I haven't worn for, well, at least ten years. I highlighted my hair and put on makeup (something else I haven't done for years). This was my mother-in-law's relatives, so I didn't know many of them. She remarked to my husband that I was "all over the place, just visiting with everybody." If you knew me, you would be surprised to hear that she was talking about me. Being in pain, being heavy, kept me withdrawn. If I could avoid going anywhere at all, I did. If this reunion was last year, my husband probably would have had to go without me.
So, the changes are really incredible. I don't seem to obsess about food anymore. It use to be my best friend and made me feel comforted. In one day all of that changed -- and with this forum and all of you, I was also changed!
Sorry to be so long. I didn't intend to write a book here! Thanks for being here, for reading my looooong post, and for, well, EVERYTHING!
--Leslie Most Active
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