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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.

When I was younger, I could eat anything and never gain weight. I haven't always been big. I tried all ways to lose weight. 5 years ago, I watched what I ate and exercised. I got down to 310. I was on what some people would call the " broke" diet. I lost a lot of weight because I wasn't eating right. As soon as I got a better job, I started eating more, not better. I gained 90 pounds. Then the pandemic happened and I was sent home to work. I gained 60 pounds in a year and couldn't lose it. Every doctor I ever had told me I couldn't get the surgery, due to health reasons. Finally I get a PCP this year that suggested it to me. That was in April 2021. I got a referral in a week, went to a seminar and scheduled my first surgeon appointment in May 2021. I fully expected to be told no but the surgeon said I was a good candidate and started the ball rolling. I have great insurance and didn't need a lot of requirements. Just proof I tried to lose weight supervised, which I had been seeing a nutritionist. Upper endoscopy, psych eval, dietitian appointment, and blood work. I had all that done by July 2021 and got scheduled for surgery August 25, 2021. I am less then 2 weeks post op and already feel better. More energy, not thinking about food all the time, saving money from not eating out. My stats are 40 F, 5'10", HW 463 SW 430 CW 410 GW 200 Sent from my SM-G991U using BariatricPal mobile app

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!

It’s okay to have some concerns. It’s a surgery you’ve never experienced before. You have nothing to compare it or life post surgery with. The reality is the complications are pretty low especially compared with other surgeries or just from being obese. Many are minor & are related to how you individually react & heal & they pass in time or are easily remedied. Yep, the hair loss can be a bit scary but it’s a short term side effect: 3-4 months usually. While your natural hair loss cycle is temporarily accelerated your natural new growth cycle remain unchanged. So while you’re losing more you’re still growing new hair - it just takes a couple of months for the new growth to get to a length you can notice it (likely as fluffy bits). I mean you don’t usually notice your new hair growing in but it is all the time. No one noticed my hair loss other than my hairdresser & my mum but she was looking for it. I’d so much rather temporarily lose some hair then still be obese - small price to pay really. Much like ending up with loose skin - loose skin wins over obesity every time. All the best & I hope you get your official approval soon.

*raises hand* I cancelled. Twice. I was approved in March 2017, and backed out TWICE out of fear and/or laziness until I finally just said eff it, I'm doing it, and had it done in Oct 2018. I was 46. Looking back i wish I just got it done the first time as I would have had had over a full extra year of being "normal" sized. In fact, I wish I had it done when I qualified for it back around 2012, when I reached the morbid obesity range. Better late than never, I say. Yes, I did lose quite a bit of hair, but its all back now (plus some!) at 3 years out. Would I go through those few months of thin hair again to look as fab as I do now? H*lls, YEAH. Temporary thinning hair was an infinitesimally small, tiny, minuscule, insignificant price to pay. Yes, I was scared. I remember starting to tear up when they put the anaesthesia mask on me. I also remember thinking to myself, "YESSSSS! I'm alive!!!" when I woke up in the recovery room. The way I see it, I just wasn't ready until I was ready. And when I finally was, it was all downhill from there. So no, I do not regret it one iota. You will find a few folks on here who DO regret it, but really, their experiences (nor mine, for that matter) will not give you any indication of how YOU will fare. You won't know until you know. Good Luck! ❤️

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."