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Amen, sister! I pray every day for God to let me to continue to lose weight and be healthy and I thank him for getting me through surgery with no complications.

i had gastric bypass surgery september 13, 2018 and have lost 134 lbs now. i am no longer on oxygen or a c-pap. i only take blood pressure meds prn. i have gone from a 6xl to a size 20. my life has totally changed

be prepared for your life to change. I am kinda seeing it as I died, then was reborn.. now everything is an adventure, specially when you eat. you never know what is going to agree with your new stomach or not.

And much,as I hate telling you to dull your diet down, start dropping spicy foods and such, see if it makes a difference. Your sleeve may be crying inside " Please treat me a little more tenderly I'm just a little slender critter!!"

I was pretty sure I wanted bypass then when I met with my psychiatrist and therapist, they both suggested the sleeve instead, saying it was "less radical" although it seems to me it's "more radical" because it permanently cuts out part of your stomach, but I listened to them and did the sleeve. No regrets. No complications, No problems.

I got dizzy and lightheaded when I stood up or moved around too quickly. Luckily that only lasted a couple months.

If it only happens when you're drinking you need to slow down and make sure you're not swallowing air. Place the liquid in your mouth and slowly exhale, then swallow. If you're not drinking when it happens - go to the ER! You might be having a heart attack

Hello Teri, I think we mostly hear from people who are “miserable” because they require support and they come to this forum and are able to get it - which is great! That said there are those of us (lots of us I’m guessing) who have been fortunate to have near smooth sailing on this journey. I am just over 6 months post op. My recovery was smooth, I was back at work 4 days after surgery. I progressed through the stages as planned, am steadily losing weight and am closing in on a healthy BMI. I told nobody and somehow have managed to keep it that way (and yes, I do go out in public haha). To top it off, my mental health, confidence and energy are strong. I am already noticing a career impact (shame on society that this is even a thing), and I am able to say “yes” to fun things with my kids without worrying whether I’ll have the stamina to do it. My only small grumbles so far... my scars aren’t fading the way I had hoped (keloid maybe?), and I have been discarding clothing at an alarming rate ($$). Last night we ordered Thai food... normally I’d have a large plate loaded with all my favs. This time, a few bites and I was done... but my brain wanted more :( Also, yes, you’ll want to get water in and make protein a priority, but one of the best things about this surgery for me, was NOT continuing to obsess over my meals and the scale. I eat well and don’t beat myself up for an occasional small treat. I go weeks where I forget to jump on the scale. It is a part of my life, not my entire life. I in no way want to downplay the struggles and difficulty that some have had in this journey. I know how fortunate I am to have had it go so well!! Best of luck on your journey Teri... I’ll wish smooth sailing for you too!

I disagree with with Dabeyhive and RickM's comments above. Sure, keto isn't for everyone, but it's great for many people. I love the fact that it gives me some firm rules to follow and it happens to fit my eating preferences. First, I don't believe Keto is a fad diet at all. It's been around in various forms since the 1920's and became the basis of the original Atkin's diet in the early 1970's. It works very well both for weight loss and general health benefits. The problem is that some people don't really understand the diet or follow it correctly--and that's where people into problems. Following a proper Keto diet doesn't mean you should be chowing down on cheeseburgers without the bun eating bacon with every meal. While cheeseburgers and bacon are not prohibited on Keto, those aren't recommended either. You should stick to things like organic eggs, lean organic meats and wild caught fatty fish (like sockeye salmon). Stay away from fatty meats, since the fat is bad things the animals consumed are stored. You then add healthy fats to your food, like avocado, MCT oil, extra virgin olive oil, ghee etc. The idea is to "prime the pump", so you body burns off its excess glycogen stores and then converts stored fats into ketones for energy. This is important, especially if you're insulin resistant. For me, I am really happy with Keto and I can definitely stay on keto long term. My surgeon and nutritionist are on board with my keto choices. I just had my blood work done after 2 months on Keto and everything was perfect. I am no longer diabetic (A1C dropped from 6.3 on multiple meds to 5.1 on no meds). My triglycerides dropped to 54 (they were 450 this past summer on meds). My cholesterol is 190, but my good cholestrol is 97 (which is outstanding)--so that's good. Some of these may be from the surgery, but diet and exercise are equally critical. I suggest that you don't do keto on your own, but you do with with the guidance of a doctor or nutritionist that has a lot of knowledge about keto. I personally keep my net carbs down to approximately 20g a day and close to a 1:1 ration of fat to protein. At this point, I am 14 weeks post op (99 days). I am eating between 1200-1600 calories a day. Those calories are made up of 45% protein, 45% fat and 10% carbs. The carbs I am consuming are mostly from vegetables--even green veggies have some carbs. I don't eat any bread, starches, potatoes, sugar etc. I avoid high carb fruit, but I am allowed berries. I avoid processed foods to the greatest extent I can. I also work out daily--at a high intensity (and have been since I had all physical restrictions removed 1 month after surgery). I have lost 70 pounds since my highest weigh in. My pants size has dropped from a 44 to a 32. My body fat has dropped from 28% to 16.5%. Weight loss surgery is only a tool (a good one), but I would say it gives you a head start and helps prepare balance your body's hormones and stomach so people like me (morbidly obese, with a trifecta of co-morbidities) can lose weight like a normal person without insulin resistance/diabetes and other issues that get in the way. Once I had those issues, in check the rest of it was up to me--with keto and serious exercise making the big difference in getting me to where I want to be. I'll let my pictures speak for themselves: The was me on July 4, 2018 (weighing around 255-260) : This is me on the day of Surgery (weight 235): This is me on March 23, 2019 (weighing 190): As a 45 year old man with diabetes etc., no way I could have done this without VSG. However, I really believe Keto and exercise (45 minutes moderate to high intensity cardio 5-6 times a week and 1 hour of high intensity weight training 4-5 times a week) have changed my health and my life. I can't imagine going back to the life I had before surgery, nor could I imagine not living a keto lifestyle at this point.