Gastric Bypass

I got the lap band 4 years ago and did GREAT, I lost 90 lbs and kept it off for 3 years. Then my thyroid dumped and they could NOT get it right. I gained back 50 lbs in a year. Finally my thyroid is good and im swimming 3/4 times a week. Ive lost 15 lbs and this cruise (11/16/14) is just the push I need. So excited!!

Fergus: get INFRA treatment, can only buy at good salons. My son has a salon and he sells it.

One thing I CAN say about the hair loss (mine was bad) is just when you think you just might have to go buy a wig, it stops!!!! I remember sitting on side of my bed crying!! Lol

Congratulations Shirley. So sorry about the thyroid problems, but sounds like you have a good handle on it now.

Thanks for the hope about the hair loss!!!!

Norma

Congratulations Shirley. So sorry about the thyroid problems, but sounds like you have a good handle on it now.

 

Thanks for the hope about the hair loss!!!!

 

Norma

My husband is a dr and he had me take biotin. It took a few days for me to notice a difference, but it did help.

I had my hernia surgery which was the size of a small watermelon. I hated it because it made me look like I hadn't even list weight. Still pretty sore and have had very little appetite since I got home. Am really pushing to have another 30 off by the time I leave on my repo cruise nov 6. Looking forward to the new clothes. We went to a meeting at the four seasons in vail co. I did very well with the eating, my husband asks what I'm ordering, he'll order something small, then he'll eat what I don't of mine. Works out well and saves money.

Wishing you all happy losing!!

Congrats to all... My wife and I are both post op coming up on 6 years both with the DS. I personally are the poster child for the DS as I eat anything my activity level is now so high I eat like a pig just to maintain and I know its all the wrong things. Both of us are off insulin now and all levels are good. Neither of us have issues with food and we both enjoy pertaking in some adult drinks though we are now lightweights but sober up very quickly and yes you do sober faster I work in EMS and my self and a few local men in blue did an unofficial field test with PBT's. Side note I am not 1/2 the man I used to be and glad of it!! My start weight was 356 and I now hover 165-170. Waist was 54 now a 30 shirt 3x and tight to Med could go small but need the length.As for my wife I have been married for 21 years and am smart enough to know not to post her details but she looks GREAT!!! Ive been a lurker here for a few years just joined so if I can figure out how to post pics I will post some b4 & afters

Wife b4

Wife after

My husband is a dr and he had me take biotin. It took a few days for me to notice a difference, but it did help.

I had my hernia surgery which was the size of a small watermelon. I hated it because it made me look like I hadn't even list weight. Still pretty sore and have had very little appetite since I got home. Am really pushing to have another 30 off by the time I leave on my repo cruise nov 6. Looking forward to the new clothes. We went to a meeting at the four seasons in vail co. I did very well with the eating, my husband asks what I'm ordering, he'll order something small, then he'll eat what I don't of mine. Works out well and saves money.

Wishing you all happy losing!!

Glad your surgery went well and hope you feel better soon!!! You are doing so great that I have fith that you will make your goal:)

We, too are getting used to ordering. No matter what folks said, we have horribly thrown a lot of food away in our learning curve:eek::p. I hope to be down 25 more pounds by our TA on November6 and am right there with ya! Thanks for the reassurance on the Biotin.

Norma

Congrats to all... My wife and I are both post op coming up on 6 years both with the DS. I personally are the poster child for the DS as I eat anything my activity level is now so high I eat like a pig just to maintain and I know its all the wrong things. Both of us are off insulin now and all levels are good. Neither of us have issues with food and we both enjoy pertaking in some adult drinks though we are now lightweights but sober up very quickly and yes you do sober faster I work in EMS and my self and a few local men in blue did an unofficial field test with PBT's. Side note I am not 1/2 the man I used to be and glad of it!! My start weight was 356 and I now hover 165-170. Waist was 54 now a 30 shirt 3x and tight to Med could go small but need the length.As for my wife I have been married for 21 years and am smart enough to know not to post her details but she looks GREAT!!! Ive been a lurker here for a few years just joined so if I can figure out how to post pics I will post some b4 & afters

Congratulations. You both are a wonderful inspiration to us newbies:D!!! What does DS stand for? Loved to pictures - thanks for sharing!

Norma

Norma, it is short for biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. In a nut shell it is the sleeve as described then they by pass 2/3 your small intestine. So yes you are malabsorptive and on vitamins for the rest of your life but I feel this is better than the medical issues I had and the meds I was on. We both are very pleased we did it as it got us off the meds that made us obese (Insulin, Actose etc)

Here is a little better pic of b4 & after...

Norma, it is short for biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. In a nut shell it is the sleeve as described then they by pass 2/3 your small intestine. So yes you are malabsorptive and on vitamins for the rest of your life but I feel this is better than the medical issues I had and the meds I was on. We both are very pleased we did it as it got us off the meds that made us obese (Insulin, Actose etc)

Here is a little better pic of b4 & after...

 

You both look wonderful!! I have about 50 more to go for my goal. I still can't handle sugar. I still refuse to eat it though I have tried a bite or two of sugary things. It really made me nauseated. Can not eat spaghetti though other pastas are good. Avoid bread, I make it, smells wonderful , but when I eat I still skip it.

Can't wait for our nov repo cruise. My hubby is taking me on the trikes tour in Aruba. I could have never dreamed of doing that at 312 lbs.

Yes we do things we haven't done in years- zip line, hike.. One of my fav sports is snowmobiling and I was about to give that up pre surgery now I wouldn't think of giving that up. I can walk for miles on excursions & had pretty much given up working in EMS which now Im thinking about it just because Im getting older... :D Just the other day I was in a store and someone was looking for something and the girl said over there next to the skinny man in the red shirt.. I looked around and oh that's me:eek:. I still don't think of my 30" waist as skinny I still see my 50+ " waist. I tell people surgery is not a magic bullet or the easy way out as it is difficult but boy has it been a life changer for us. And a big congrats on approaching goal!!! Funny my goal was breaking 250!! Are you a nurse I assume?

Yes we do things we haven't done in years- zip line, hike.. One of my fav sports is snowmobiling and I was about to give that up pre surgery now I wouldn't think of giving that up. I can walk for miles on excursions & had pretty much given up working in EMS which now Im thinking about it just because Im getting older... :D Just the other day I was in a store and someone was looking for something and the girl said over there next to the skinny man in the red shirt.. I looked around and oh that's me:eek:. I still don't think of my 30" waist as skinny I still see my 50+ " waist. I tell people surgery is not a magic bullet or the easy way out as it is difficult but boy has it been a life changer for us. And a big congrats on approaching goal!!! Funny my goal was breaking 250!! Are you a nurse I assume?

Yes a nurse for 27 yrs my entire career was in long term care specializing in psych wards and Alzheimer's. Because of rheumatoid arth and degenerative osteo arth in can no longer work the floor. Have had both knees replaced. Once I'm recovered from this hernia surgery I want to do volunteer work at the local domestic abuse center and hospice. I was a victim of violent domestic abuse in my 5 yr marriage to my first husband. I feel I can help. My husband is an ophthalmologist who's always on call lol. Last night got home at 8:30. Why do people wait to go to the ER or call answering service right AFTER the office closes at 5? If they had called the OFFICE 30 MIN EARLIER THE COULD HAVE SAVED THEMSELVES THE ER COST!!!!!!ugh!!!!! It does help that I am a nurse and understand better (I used to be the one waking Drs up at 2a lol) but some people are just plain stupid. Them you get the creepy crawlers after 12a who are looking for drugs. For some reason "I can't see seems to be very popular right now. Such is our life lol. As you can tell it's a livid subject with me.

I have my bucket list. One of bill's patients has a horse riding school I want to do. I also want to zip line, para sail, and skydive. I'm starting to get more active with my new knees. The left one was done on feb, which also entailed shaving and reshaping my leg bones. It of course stayed sore much longer than the other one. With my right I was out shopping,no walker or cane, 10 days post op. It was done while we lived in KY. AnYway I am doing much better and increasing my activity. We both want to start walking more but live on a dangerous curvy road in the country so would have to go to the near by nature walk area. Hard for bill to do when he doesn't get home till 7 or 8.

If you're looking for a fun cruise we are going on the vision of the seas nov 6 for a 9 night repo cruise. There is a very large group of us that have been talking for months and have become close. Two are coming down this weekend from Ottawa to spend the day. It is going to be an epic cruise with this group. We are talking about all doing another next fall. Think about it.

S morgan, that's what they call in our lap band/bypass world "fat brain" I look at pics of my self and say "who's that"? Lol

Just joining the conversation, i'm having gastric bypass next month and just booked a cruise for November so this thread was just the info I was looking for.

My husband practice has a medi spa and they just got a new laser that melts fat cells. They are going to try it on my arms first. If it does what it should I can get a sleeveless size 16 dress for a party the end of July!!!!! Not bad when I started in a 32-34!

My name is sue (lol) and if you'd like to stay in touch my email is nurse1sue@yahoo.com.

Sue

Sue how did the laser work out I am curious, my bosses wife had a medi spa with laser treatments and was hoping this might be an option in the future

Thanks

Colleen

I'm almost 6 years out Roux en y and have almost no problems on a cruise. I can not eat roast pork, I know strange thing. It does not agree with me and hurts way to much to even try so why bother. I do have some issues with sugar intake, reactive hypoglycemia. So I have to watch how many sweets I indulge in and make sure I'm eating a healthy breakfast instead of anything sugary like pastries and syrup.

It was one of the best decisions I ever made, I have never regretted it!

enjoy your cruise!

Hi everyone. I'm having the Roux-en-Y in April 2016 and then doing a TA from Rome to Ft Lauderdale in October, with a couple of days in Rome first. I really appreciate all the tips you've posted. Thanks to you all!

Hi everyone. I'm having the Roux-en-Y in April 2016 and then doing a TA from Rome to Ft Lauderdale in October, with a couple of days in Rome first. I really appreciate all the tips you've posted. Thanks to you all!

For what it's worth, I have a couple of colleagues who have had bypass done and they swear by high grade meal replacement shakes... not the crap on store shelves. Gives them at least a healthy snack if not a healthy meal. They even take them on excursions as it only takes 30 seconds to shake up in a shaker cup and fits in their purse.

Rome to FLA.... that sounds awesome. Have you done TA before?

Yes, we did Boston to Copenhagen earlier this year. Looking forward to going in the other direction and gaining time every day rather than losing it!

Thanks for the tip about the shakes - this is why I'm so glad I found this thread. :)

Yes, we did Boston to Copenhagen earlier this year. Looking forward to going in the other direction and gaining time every day rather than losing it!

 

Thanks for the tip about the shakes - this is why I'm so glad I found this thread. :)

I LOVE having my shake onboard... I find that I can then usually skip breakfast or just grab some fresh fruit. I'll even throw one or two in my backpack for excursions.

How did you find the crossing? How was the motion of the ocean and also the temperatures?

I LOVE having my shake onboard... I find that I can then usually skip breakfast or just grab some fresh fruit. I'll even throw one or two in my backpack for excursions.

 

How did you find the crossing? How was the motion of the ocean and also the temperatures?

The crossing wasn't terribly rocky. Temperatures were mostly in the 50s and 60s crossing, but then once we hit land in Ireland it was rain every day! Apparently there was a storm front crossing Europe and we very nicely kept pace with it (sarcasm intended). Probably the only thing we didn't love about it was that all of the sea days were obviously front-loaded, then we hit land and it was boom boom boom...we were pretty exhausted by the time the cruise ended. Hence our trying the other direction this time!

What kinds of shakes have you found to be good in general? And what kind of shakes/powders have you found to work on board?

Thanks! :)

The crossing wasn't terribly rocky. Temperatures were mostly in the 50s and 60s crossing, but then once we hit land in Ireland it was rain every day! Apparently there was a storm front crossing Europe and we very nicely kept pace with it (sarcasm intended). Probably the only thing we didn't love about it was that all of the sea days were obviously front-loaded, then we hit land and it was boom boom boom...we were pretty exhausted by the time the cruise ended. Hence our trying the other direction this time!

 

What kinds of shakes have you found to be good in general? And what kind of shakes/powders have you found to work on board?

 

Thanks! :)

I can imagine how "front loaded" it would be! I assume there were loads of activities to occupy people considering the boorish temperatures? That would be my only worry...boredom from being stuck inside. Keeping pace with the storm is terrible luck. I'm very intrigued by a TA but would need to convince the wife. She loves sitting in the sun...:)

Regarding shakes... I'm a bit of a stickler (I'm a nutritionist) and have high standards. I have only found a couple of brands that are acceptable... but the bottom line is a balance of Whey protein, carbs and fats.

For someone with bypass... nutrients are VERY important and digestibility as well. If you want, send me an email and I'll make some suggestions for you... jeff@wellnessniagara.com

For someone with bypass... nutrients are VERY important and digestibility as well. If you want, send me an email and I'll make some suggestions for you... jeff@wellnessniagara.com

Thank you, Jeff - I appreciate any suggestions you can make!

I had bypass surgery two years ago and doing well. Loved the specialty restaurants. But with the cost, have avoided them. I need to get past the mind set and know it's ok to leave food on my plate. Anyone else having issues with it?

I had bypass surgery two years ago and doing well. Loved the specialty restaurants. But with the cost, have avoided them. I need to get past the mind set and know it's ok to leave food on my plate. Anyone else having issues with it?

I am 14 years out of Roux and Y surgery. I still have some issue with this, and I am unsure if this will ever go completely away. Although, I have come with a few ways of dealing with this. My husband and I ate at a Brazilian steak house on one of our cruises. We had OBC. I at only at the salad bar. Now, I mean the cheese and other foods at the salad bar! I just asked the wait staff to keep moving along with meat for my plate. Also, even after all these years, a buffet is just not worth my money. I am glad you are doing well! If you have any other questions, just let em fly. Also, I have done this in the past; see if you can be charged the child's fee for the meal. I bet someone at customer service would be helpful, if you explain your sugery, and lack of room in your pouch. I am of the mind, that it never hurts to ask. The worse than can happen is they say; no, I am sorry.

Just have to get into the mind set quality over quantity. .