SURGERY DATE!!!!! and questions for you....

Started the process last November,after many setbacks,  just today I was approved and given a surgery date of August 12th. I am elated, terrified, motivated, second-guessing....so many mixed emotions. It's been such a struggle to get here I cant believe it's now happening so fast!

 

So some questions: please answer if you have thoughts on any of these things and please pardon my ramble, I am going a million miles an hour.

 

-was anyone nursing when they had surgery? I still nurse 2x a day (before nap/bed) Did your supply tank, from the nutrition changes? Experiences or advice welcome. 

- Anyone not using bariatric specific vitamins and calcium citrate? I'm finding them quite pricey. Will non-bariatric vitamins suffice? Stories or advice welcome.

-Lessons/advice you learned the hard way you'd like to share?

-share your recovery stories or where you're at in your journey

-How soon (pounds or percentage of weight lost)  did you need new clothes or see changes in your clothes? How soon did others start to notice?

-anyone same size as me want to share their stories: I am (female) 5'11" and 340ish, bmi of 45 or 46

-how soon (pound or percentage of weight lost) did you have pain relief from chronic pains such as back or joint pain?

--Please share anything else you wish someone had told you before, during, or after the process.

Thank you all so much! I can't believe this is actually happening!!

 

Kelly

you should not nurse for a few weeks after surgery you will be full of drugs that may pass to the baby in your milk

I use kirkland(COSTCO)  children chewables 2 a day and my labs have been great 

 walmart or Kirkland calcium citrate(it needs to be this kind)

b 12 drops

 and iron pills

 the pain lessened after 50 lb

 remember to use the pain button after surgery, and a hot towel helps gas pain

 walking and sipping are very important

 and following you plan

Thank you for your thoughts and advice! Much appreciated!

I can't speak to the nursing question, but I will say that I think you should use the bariatric blends of vitamins at least the first several months.  The amount of food you will be able to eat will be very small and regular vitamins won't be in your stomach long enough to be absorbed just yet.  I know they are pricey, but you won't be spending near as much as you used on food for yourself so consider it a trade-off for now.

I am 5'4" and was 303 pre-op, so my BMI was very high also.  Might have been higher than yours actually, but I don't really recall.  It took me a couple of months before I dropped a size.  I got a bit frustrated by that, but looking back I should have recalled that the bigger the size you wear the more of a span between sizes.  It seemed like others started to notice at about 2 months post op, but everyone is different  so your experience may be something else.

I think the biggest challenge for me has been to slow down when eating.  I still eat way too fast, and have vomited a couple of times because of it.  My new baby tummy just couldn't handle it.  So my advice is to take all the info your nutritionist and dr are giving you and take it to heart.  They're telling you for a reason, so don't just blow them off.

Drinking water at first is a challenge because you can only drink a little bit at a time and yet you still have to get at least 56-64 oz a day (or risk being back in the hospital with IV fluids - yick). I use the timer on my smartphone to beep every 3 minutes to remind me to take an oz of water. That was the only way I could remember to drink so I could get enough water.  The good thing about that though was that I re-trained my self on drinking water relatively quickly and now it is not a problem for me at all.

I am so happy I made this choice. I had some fleeting second thoughts before surgery but I think that's pretty normal. I wish I had done it sooner.

Good Luck!

Thank you for your perspective on the vitamins. I hadnt thought of it like that, but you're absolutely right. It should be easily offset by the lower grocery bills. 

Thank you for your other comments as well. I am concerned most about my water. I looooooove plain water, and I like to chug it. I always feel so thirsty. I am afraid after surgery I wont feel satiated thirst wise... 

RE: Vitamins

My surgeon's program has us using all non-Bariatric specific products. 

2x Centrum Chewables (not senior)

Because I avoid sugar and sugar alcohols and all of the chewables seem to include one or the other, I use powdered Calcium Citrate UpCal D (mix it into my protein shakes 3x a day. It works... okay) but I hope eventually to use Citracal Petites. 

1 sublingual B2.

Vitamin D supplement to get up to 3000iu.

 

Thank you for you advice!

Congratulations on moving forward with your weight loss surgery plans.  It is an exciting and unnerving time!  I think back about how nervous I was, and how hopeful.  But I never imagined I'd be as successful as I have been.  I wish you the very best in your weight loss journey.  I think you'll be delighted.

I didn't get any comments about my weight loss until I had lost about 70 pounds. But I was very heavy - starting at 385 pounds.  I remember being so proud of my weight loss at about 50 pounds, and no one commented!  I bought my first new smaller clothing after losing about 50 pounds.  But just do the minimum as they won't fit for long!

I found my knees and back felt much better after losing the 50 pounds.  It was an amazing change.  The pain was gone quickly.

For hard-learned lessons, I have several:

1. Don't obsess about the number on the scale.  I was frustrated so often because of fluctuations in the scale, and yet I was at goal in a little over a year.  Weight loss won't be linear, but if you are following your program, you are losing fat whether the number on the scale shows it or not.
2. Follow your plan - its important to develop good habits from the start because those are the habits that will keep the weight off in maintenance.  You've really got to commit to a new way of eating.
3. Trust the process.  The weight loss surgery really works if you follow your plan.  The WLS doesn't make it easy, but it makes it possible.

best wishes,

Carol

Carol, thank you for sharing your experiences. I hope to be as successful as you! I am glad to hear aches and pains start going away rather quickly. I think that will be one of my biggest motivators...

 

1. I was under the impression that the surgery wouldn't be done on someone who was nursing.  I hope this is something you've specifically addressed with your nutritionist.  

2. Non-bariatric vitamins are fine, but they must be complete and those can be hard to find.  For example, Flinstones Chewables and Gummies are lacking at least 30% of the vitamins and minerals we need.  (They don't just have those in small amounts, they don't have them AT ALL.)  So you've got to be a very careful consumer.  And you do need Calcium Citrate - lots of calcium out there is Carbonate which is not what we need and can cause problems.  

3. Too many to share here.  :)  I read a lot of blogs, keep a journal that's linked in my signature, and read everything here.  Do all the research you can throughout this process.  

4. See my journal. :)

5. It took me a while to need new clothes since my clothes were tight and ill fitting when I started.  Then I waited for them to be baggy.  People who didn't know I had surgery started commenting after I'd lost about 80 pounds which, for me, is 40% excess weight loss.  

6. I'm 5'4" and was 319 when I started.  

7. I've had new aches and pains :P