All the things no one tells you

Sep 19, 2013

I am at 9.5 months and have lost 171, 132 since surgery. 

It struck me how many things I've learned along the way that I never anticipated or was told that I kind of would have liked to know.  In case it helps anyone, here's the list. 

• Right after surgery for about 5-10 days, you can have a super funky taste in your mouth that makes you a little ill
• For the first few weeks, you may have an odor about you. It's not about hygiene, it's just there, like it's coming out of your pores. IT GOES AWAY!
• if you are female, your first period following surgery can come early, and it can be extremely painful, know that it will not be that bad again at any other time, your abdomen is still recovering from surgery and sore + cramps makes for 1-2 days you definitely want off to take it easy! 
• Drinking is hard in the beginning and you'll be frustrated, it hurts, it's slowwwww, and feels abnormal and like you'll never be the same, it gets easier, you'll drink more and more, just not guzzle 12 ounces at once anymore. 
• No matter how much you research surgery, you will ask "what did I do!?" At some point directly after surgery. I spent 10 days searching "gastric bypass reversal" - not the answer, things get better
• vitamins may take a white to figure out. I planned everything for the first three months, but found I needed to adjust both the schedule and the vitamins I selected.
• chewable vitamins can be annoying, but after some time, ask your dietician / doc about standard vitamin options if you prefer
• Everyone reacts differently to surgery and energy levels.  For 4 weeks, standing for more than 10 minutes or walking made me feel like I was going to black out, nearly happened a couple of times, others report phenomenal energy
• After surgery the protein shake you swore you loved may sicken you - don't buy in bulk
• Your tastes change, suddenly anything sweet, including protein shakes, even cream soups might be super sweet and intolerable, after a few weeks your tastes may change again and settle back to a bit more normal, this will continue and you may want very different foods at different stages
• You might crave food you can't possibly eat - for me it was steak in week 2 and I was a vegetarian before surgery - just because you crave it doesn't mean you should eat it (the steak would have really hurt me)
• Certain cravings actually have nutritional meaning, such as crunchy things - calcium or lemons - vitamin c, personally when I crave sugar, I am actually low on protein
• Caffeine, even after the 3 month mark can have a hastening effect on your digestion - beware!
• I couldn't eat meat for 3 months, but as my DR recommends, I still went off shakes and got all of my protein from dairy
• Low fat cheese may become a food group for you 
• At 3 months I could eat anything, everyone is different
• prior to that I would get sick on any meat, fish, and broccoli
• if you are sick, it is entirely different than before surgery, think of a cat coughing up a hairball
• You may spend 3x longer in the bathroom - sorry, but true
• People talk about slider foods, but talk about them in terms of junk food, I found out I was eating too much protein at each meal because I was eating it WITH rather than BEFORE cucumbers and raw peppers - fruits and watery vegetables can be slider foods! 
• You will become very aware of a "one more bite" feeling in that you recognize that another bite will cause pain and possibly sickness - you'll learn quickly because you'll regret it if you don't learn it!
• You may not be a person who dumps at first on sugar, carbs, etc. (I didn't) but that can change at any time!
• Dumping can be totally different symptoms for the same person, one time it may be a racing heart and dizziness, another time, terrible cramps (not normal muscle cramps, more like knives).  
• Dumping should be avoided obviously, but know it will pass in 20-50 minutes in general - lie down if you can.  You will never want it to happen again
• Stalls suck, no matter how much you hear about them beforehand and think, of course I'll accept that, in the large picture, a stall is small compared to the total loss, however emotions can get the best of you, remember there is no time limit and the scale will move again 
• you might lose weight oddly, like for me top down. My thighs and calves are the reason jeans are so difficult to buy, and even if you never lost weight in your butt before, it will disappear! 
• Sitting sometimes feels bony and hurts
• Your hormones can go out of whack, for most this means mood swings, for others sexual dysfunction (and no it's not in your head) and others have increased libido. 
• My hair is both growing like mad at my temples and falling out all over, I'm afraid to cook for anyone
• You will have no idea what size or shape you are, trying on clothes is a shocking trial and error, then other times you will just stay at the same size for an odd amount of time
• You may act differently, people will treat you differently, it's surprising in the first few months because things change so quickly
• After surgery your eyesight may change dramatically. Any b12 deficiency can also cause this, but it can happen with perfectly normal levels as well
• You will, honestly will, enjoy walking one you start (after a few weeks of it) and if not totally enjoy it, you wills feel out of sorts when you don't walk / excercise
• You will likely throw out a lot of food until you adjust your perspective on quantity / serving size. Don't be too hard on yourself, I've yet to meet someone who hasn't gone through this
• your face make look older, then younger, then older...
• It's easy to get dry skin based on not enough water and lack of fatty acids in your diet. Omega3 supplements can help, remember to moisturize and drink your water! 
• Your neck may go from a plump double chin to a saggy, baggy turkey neck, sometimes it correct itself nicely, but takes a long time
• Loose skin, you've heard about it, everyone gets it and in places you never imagined, keep in mind it's the same skin that was there before, but now it's just not filled with poisonous fat
• Your cholesterol numbers may drop abnormally low if they were semi normal before. Mine went to 112. They will adjust 
• You may crave certain dish, go through the work of making it, take one bite and be done with it, trust yourself on this. Don't force anything
• you may crave poorer food choices, ice cream, cookies, etc. but trust me when I say, you are craving a food memory and remembering that you used to love the food , two bites will convince you otherwise and may leave you sick
• Food tracking is essential to know your protein levels, it's not an easy estimate and you don't want to fall short
• Drinking alcohol after surgery is completely different. You get drunk extremely quickly (1 drink) and you don't have the same "drunk" feeling you may have in the past after several drinks
• during the first 6+ months! your stomach keeps your eating in check! it's imperative to use this time to learn good eating habits because the strength of your eating restriction changes and you'll need to rely on the good habits you learned
• you may become sensitive to hot, cold, or room temperature food and drinks
• you may become intolerant to cold weather or cold all the time when losing significant weight

There's more, I'll come back and edit

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