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most of us (not all, but most) lose our sense of hunger for awhile after surgery. It usually comes back sometime during the first year. Mine came back at five months out. Take advantage of it while it's gone - it's never going to be easier to lose weight than now when you're never hungry (and might not even give a flip about food!) as far as full, you'll start to feel the restriction once you move to solid food. But keep in mind "full" might or might not feel the same as it did before surgery. It could take awhile to figure out your new full cue (and then again, it may feel the same to you as it did before - but for some of us, it's different). I don't feel full the way I used to. Now, I feel a discomfort in my chest -- kind of like pressure, I guess. When I feel that, I know I need to stop eating or I'm going to regret it. I've read about others whose new full cue is a runny nose - or sneezing.

Hi GottaLearnToSlowDown! I think my incisions were sore for the first week, but the bigger incision where the stomach was removed (belly button in my case) was sore for 2 weeks. After the first few days it was mostly when moving, clothes touching it, & it was touched. It was slightly sore to the touch in third week also and still had bruising. As for twinges in the belly area, I felt those often the first week. Then after that I felt them after drinking a few sips of a liquid close together. I usually stop and wait a few minutes before another sip. Once I started soft foods & solid foods, I usually feel them when (I think) my stomach is telling me it is time to stop eating. Soon after that I often get hiccups, too. I am only about a month ahead of you, so I am not sure if the twinges fade, or if they are just a signal to stop eating or drinking at the moment. It may be different for everyone, too. Congratulations on your surgery & hope your incisions feel better soon. Good luck!😁🍀

I honestly feel like I have been sleeping better since the surgery. I don't have sleep apnea & I was pre-diabetic before surgery (urination overnight was not an issue). I had been having difficulty getting a good night's sleep for at least the last 10 years. I often had trouble falling asleep & staying asleep, with periods of being up for 2-4 hours overnight. Often, I would get an hour or two of sleep at a time. My husband's snoring 😴 didn't help any either!🤣 One of the (many) reasons I decided to go through with the surgery was to help me get better sleep. I was getting pain in my legs, hips & lower back & was constantly readjusting my position overnight. I thought dropping some weight would help with the pain & discomfort while sleeping. I have only lost about 35 pounds so far, and I have been more comfortable overnight & able to sleep for longer stretches than I have in years. Hopefully, you will also have improvement with your sleep as well.

Don't beat yourself up. And don't look at the past. That's not the direction you're headed. 2021's been terrible for me, lost my mom early in the year and spent a huge chunk of time across the country eating whatever the heck I wanted and doing no exercise because it was the COVID spike and everything was closed or snowy. I gained 25 lbs. in three months. And I didn't do anything about it until I started seriously looking at this in July, and guess what? I'm down 22 of those 25 lbs. Get yourself the help you know you need with stress management and stress eating, and give yourself some grace. Sure, you gained some. But now you're on it. And it will come off!

During the puree phase, I ate chicken by grinding it in the blender. I would grind up chicken curry and add some broth, or grind up soup and add some chicken. During the soft food stage, my doc suggested starting with chicken thighs. Even though they have more fat, they are softer and easier on your healing stomach. Soft white fishes are also good. My doc said I could have them even during the puree stage. Edit: Chew everything to applesauce consistency.

Yes initially I felt the same way. It does pass overtime as the body adjusts. Just focus on good nutrition and vitamins and try to get in steps each day even just walking around the neighborhood. Best of luck to you and believe me, you've got this!

I love non-carbonated drinks, like vodka and juice cocktails. They come in easy, and it's a lot of fun. But I don't advise anyone to drink alcohol because it's a very insidious thing. Alcohol can be called poison. It destroys almost all the organs, but you feel perfect, and you're in a good mood. I've been drinking like that for over a year, and my liver said, "Bye, buddy. It got to the point where I woke up in the hospital with terrible results. I was told either you quit drinking, or you're going to die soon. I'm afraid of death, so the choice was obvious. After I was discharged from the hospital, I wanted a drink and thought about joining Alcoholics Anonymous & Other Mutual Aid Support Groups. It all worked out, and now I've been sober for over a year. It's a small victory for my loved ones and me.

OMG, you poor thing, sounds like you dealt with it like a champ though.

Two and a half years out, I have no regrets at all. The process has its ups and downs, but at no time have I ever wished I didn't do it. I'm normal-sized for the first time since I was about eight years old. Things that used to be a struggle, I can do without thought now. I got stuck in a middle seat on a five-hour flight and I was REALLY dreading it. But when the time came, it was really no big deal. Sure, I'd rather have a window or aisle, but it wasn't the catastrophe it would have been when I was at my top weight. Because I had been heavy since childhood, I still find surprises every day as I learn to navigate the world in my new body. I even enjoy being able to walk into a room and not stand out because of my size. Maintenance is a learning curve for sure - sometimes I get too relaxed and gain five pounds and then I'll overcorrect and lose eight, LOL. But it's all good and I'm figuring it out.

Just look at how many people on this forum think they should of come out of surgery skinny! You see posts all the time...I only lost xxx number of pounds since surgery, I thought it would come off faster! I didn't tell anyone until after I had surgery because I didn't want to hear their opinions and frankly, I think I had that fear of once again being a weightless "failure."