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Okay so I have been following but not posting much for a little while. I have been frustrated, feeling like I don’t have much advice to offer others because I have been searching for my own answers and very embarrassed about my weigh gain. Anyways, for those of you who don’t know me, I had my surgery March 9, 2021 at 235 (5’8”). I lost pretty steadily down to 169 but then stalled for months on end until my appetite came back and I started gaining and continue to gain. I have been struggling uphill while searching for answers ever since. The bariatric team blames my psyc meds but the prescribing dr claims they are weight neutral meds. My family dr agrees and showed me an article about the cravings they cause but he ordered thyroid and diabetes tests too which came back fine but I continue to gain so I made an appointment with an endocrine doctor thanks to a few people on here who suggested it. I finally just seen the endo doc and My cortisol was elevated on the suppression test so I just completed the two day saliva test which hopefully will bring some more answers but what they have said so far is that it’s probably sub clinical cushings which takes a while to confirm. I thought about waiting until I had more info but they said it will be another two or three weeks for these results and I may need more tests after that. I guess MY diagnosis is not really the point anyways. My point is I have recently learned of three things that could be the culprit of my weight that were never tested before surgery and I wonder why they don’t mention these tests pre surgery. I mean They are simple blood tests. I even googled to see why the cushings thing isn’t investigated since it doesn’t resolve with bariatric surgery and all I could find was one article that said it is of course suggested if you present with any of the classic symptoms but in terms of a blanket requirement for people considering bariatric surgery this person felt it unnecessary because it’s not extremely common. I guess maybe that’s the view of my doctor too but I sure wish I was presented with the option at least. I am just curious whether these are things that are tested or even brought up by other people doctors prior to surgery or what others think about whether they should be. And perhaps to give some people things they can investigate first if they are on the fence about surgery. I just feel like the surgery was never going to work for me because it seems likely that the root of my issue is still there. I am maintaining SOME of the loss but according to what I understand about what I have read so far, left untreated I will steadily continue to gain. I know this is still up in the air and not a super common thing regardless but I can’t be the only one struggling with this pre or post surgery and I hope my experience can help someone else struggle just a little less cause watching everyone around me try to be polite as I slowly put the weight back on has felt even worse than being obese was to begin with. I am trying to hang In there for answers and give myself grace but it’s hard to not feel like a failure as I continue to gain and everyone now knows I had surgery and of course I have to wonder if I blew my one shot at surgery because I am doing these tests after instead of before surgery. Regardless, if you are someone who doesn’t really make a ton of poor food choices but just eats more than “normal” because you always feel hungry, consider a cortisol test before surgery. I wish I had.

I'm in charge of making buñuelos de viento this Christmas (it's like a Mexican funnel cake & with a sugar cinnamon mix on top. Not my photos but they'll look like this) I will still make them as I am confident I'll only have 1 or 2 that night & I'll enjoy seeing my family have the rest!

Thank you, that was interesting.

Thank you, I’ll try that!

it takes a long time to wear down your iron stores , although I don't know what your iron level was before surgery. it's super common to lose your sense of hunger for several weeks or months after surgery (up to a year for some). I know it seems weird at first, but take FULL advantage of that. It'll never in your life be easier to lose weight than it will right now, when you're not hungry and don't give a flip about food. I found it very liberating, too! My hunger came roaring back at five months out, and I honestly wish it never had. It was so much easier to stick to plan when I was never hungry!!! and no, what you described was not dumping syndrome. you're extremely tired because you just had major surgery, so I wouldn't worry about that, either.

Firstly, congratulations on reaching onderland. Yay! Body dysmorphia doesn’t disappear with your weight & sometimes you only start to experience it as you’re losing & when your weight stabilises. It takes time for your brain (& how you picture yourself to be) to catch up with how you really look now. And it affects family & friends the same way - all those ‘you’ve lost too much weight’ comments we all get. I still have days when I look in a mirror or a reflection in a window & am surprised that the reflected person is really me & I’m 3.5 yrs out. But I was bigger for a lot longer than I’ve been slim. It may seem silly but I actually used to look up the height & weight of actors & I also took pxts standing beside family & friends so I could better see my size in comparison. You can always seek support from a therapist if you think your body dysmorphia is hindering your physical, emotional & mental progress in any way.

4+ years out for me. i still track all my calories and weigh myself every morning. if my scale shows an upward trend for an extended period of time, i make adjustments in calorie intake for a while....though i haven't had to do these "adjustments" since i upped my personal acceptable weight limit by 5lbs over a year ago. i found that the effort to maintain a lower weight was just not worth it. yes its a small amount, but not having to worry about those extra 5 lbs and being able to maintain my current weight with little extra effort with my current eating habits and activity level is golden to me. p.s. i do dedicated exercise about 3-4 times a week p.p.s. not sure if it's worth noting that i also inadvertently practice 16:8 IF (i don't normally eat until after noon out of years habit; and i generally stop eating around 7-8 so i sleep on an empty stomach..habit created after wls to avoid nighttime regurgitation.)

I didn't have a revision, (virgin bypass here) but I had the same concerns pre-op. I was worried about never being able to eat a piece of steak again.. or becoming lactose intolerant. I LOVE DAIRY! Long story short, none of it happened. I can eat anything I want, never dumped or maybe once but so mild I am still not even sure if that's what it was. By about 5-6 months, I was pretty much perfectly back to "normal" other than the restriction and eating WAY less than my normal pre-op self. I never had a problem getting my fluids or hitting protein goals. You got this! Don't worry. I know everyone is different but keep in mind, negative travels faster than positive! So it seems like you hear about more negative things but in reality it is just how word of mouth travels. Best of luck to you!

I bought toddler silverware when I was first post op. It made meals seem easier and I was able to spend more time enjoying it over just a couple of bigger bites. And I agree it’s likely a stall. Just keep going and it’ll get easier as time goes on.

Just stick with it. Eat what you can and try again in a couple hours to get in what you need for nutrition reasons. This gets better, it really does.