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Really interesting to read about the “starting weight”. I booked my surgery on January 30th and was 96kg (my highest ever weight - stepping on the scales and seeing I was closer to 100 that to 90 was a real shock - I dug out some insurance papers from February 2020 - I was 58kg then and allready heavier than I like to be). My surgery was 3 weeks later because I had to stop smoking first. The day of surgery I was 91.1kg so I lost 5.9kg in the three weeks prior ( I basically did a broth fast and didn’t eat anything solid, only clear broth and tea and coffee). Im now 70kg so since January 30th I’ve lost 26kg (57lbs) in 16 weeks (average of 1.6kg or 3.6lbs a week) so I’m very very happy with the weight loss even if I’m over the weather! I do have a goal weight which is my pre pandemic weight of 52-55kg (114-122 lbs) because I know that that is the weight at which I function best and that feels the best for my legs ( I mentioned earlier in the thread that I have very minor cerebral palsy - I have the impression that the extra pain I have for every gram I weigh over 55kg just isn’t worth it and really impacts my standard of living and my mobility. Because of the CP I have very minimal flexibility so being even slightly over weight just makes moving so so much harder for me as I can barely bend my knees as it is and have no upwards ankle flexibility what so ever. I’m easily out of balance and I fall over often ( the best way to picture it is to imagine the mobility of someone who has had about 3 beers too many), I’m used to it and my physiotherapist always says I’m a very good « faller », a part from bruises and a bruised ego I’ve only ever seriously broken things ( shoulder, wrist and double arm fracture all in one go!) once since being an adult. But being heavier has meant having more issues getting back up after falling over and more and bigger bruises. So my goal isn’t an esthetic one ( even though it will be nice to not be the fattest person in the room anymore - and because I live in Paris where the average female BMI is 21.3 the bar is low!) but a functional one. So I have 15kg (33lbs) left to loose, I know the rate of loss will slow, but I’m hoping to be at least nearly there in September when I take a new position, I really want to do my transition speech feeling ( and looking) like my old self ( just with some extra wrinkles and grey hair). My handover is September 16th - that leaves 17 weeks so I’m not sure I’ll be at 55kg by then because it would mean continuing to loose an average of 0.9kg ( 1.95lbs) a week which is a lot given my current weight. However if I manage to loose an average of 0.5kg (1.1lbs) per week ( which seems a more attainable bar) I should be 61/62kg by then, and I can live with that! ( I’m an unapologetic numbers girl - I don’t track what I eat because that’s not sustainable for me long term - I try to eat protein but other than that - YOLO - but I do track my weight every day if I have a scale and my steps and my activity) A very long post once again. Thanks all for being here. And here is a picture of a Greek island morning! That’s the 9.30AM light!

I haven't heard of wine helping indigestion, but I'd be careful. Transfer addiction is a real and serious problem for a lot of people who've had WLS. I agree with running this by your doctor to see if there's maybe a better way to deal with the indigestion.

I want to echo Nickel, and also point out that this is why many care teams warn you not to drink for at least 30 minutes post meal -- because the liquid will flush that meal down faster than you want it to in order to be able to absorb all those nutrients. I'm 2 months post-op, and even though I usually try to take my time with a protein shake and spread it over 30-40 minutes, sometimes at work I'll realized I downed it in 15-20 and am feeling no troubles. (But heaven forbid should I try to eat anything chewable in under 35 minutes, my body will punish me immediately lol)

@BlueParis I don't blame you for wanting some sun! We've finally had some nice weather here and it makes such a difference. We're in that little sliver of time where it's nice and not too hot. I know that in another few weeks I'm likely to be desperate for air-conditioning, but today I have the windows open and a light blanket on my lap and it's perfect. I hope you get better weather soon. I had a great opportunity on Wednesday night to join in on a Q&A session with Dr. Matthew Weiner. It was a small group, like four of us, and we just got to ask questions. I filled him in on my weight loss so far, including highest weight, how much I lost with diet changes, how much with the pre-op diet, and then the much slower weight loss since surgery. He told me that even though it seems slower, he thought I was pretty much on track. Apparently when you're calculating weight loss expectations for surgery, it's better to use your highest weight (especially if it's relatively recent, I think) because it's more realistic. So, for example, if I use 251lbs as my start, it suggests a final weight of 166. If I use 238 lbs (the weight I was on day one of the pre-op diet), it suggests 157 lbs, and if I use 223 (the day before surgery weight), it suggests 147 lbs. Dr. Weiner said 147 lbs is most likely not a realistic goal because I wasn't really, metabolically, a 223 lb person when I had surgery. I was a 251 lb person who had lost 28 lbs, and that distinction is important. Honestly, seeing this range of outcomes makes me feel better about where I'm at. I don't have a particular weight I "must" hit as a goal. I'm happy losing weight in a sustainable way and being healthier, whatever that ends up being. I just wanted to have a goal in my mind, and I was starting to worry I was not going to succeed because it's been so slow. But, even though I've barely lost anything since mid-April, I've still lost 50 lbs since last summer, and that should be something to celebrate!

Pff, I just want to be all negative and complain again! Conference is off for the weekend - it’s rainy and grey and cold. I so thought I’d have some warm weather here. I’m so disappointed. I haven’t been hitting my step goals (10k) because it’s just pissing it down the whole time. I’m about to get a ferry to the islands for the weekend and even that isn’t lifting my mood. All I want is a little bit of blue sky.

@BlueParis I think you should try rocking the Queen Elizabeth look! I'm glad you've gotten to the bottom of the anemia and blood pressure concerns, and hopefully addressing that will help with your temperature regulation. I'm still losing so slowly, which is frustrating. But at least it's going the right direction again. I weighed in at 201 lbs this morning, which I also had hit a week ago but then bounced up for several days. I think the scale is just teasing me because I'm so close to being under 200. I'm trying not to let it bother me but it's hard. I'm only down 4 lbs in the past month, and only 22 since surgery, despite hitting protein, water, and exercise goals daily. I look forward to talking to my surgeon's office about it next week.

I had a revision to rny in my sixties in 2021, It went so smooth and still going smooth. Really was the best thing that I've ever done for my health.

Hi everyone. I need some advice or encouragement… because I still don’t really see the light at the end of the tunnel 😕 I had surgery 33 days ago. I already posted before about my journey 2 weeks post op and how I couldn’t eat nor drink properly for weeks. I can gladly say that drinking has improved immensely and somehow eating as well. However things have shifted dramatically and I don’t know if I’m the only one. The cramping and pain that used to be located around my old stomach in the early days has somehow moved to my bowels now. Let me explain. Up to week 3 post op, every time I tried to eat or drink something I would instantly feel it in the new pouch like a heaviness or discomfort. That would then change into non stop gurgling, sometimes foaming. This feeling of wanting to burp but nothing comes out until hours later. I’d of course lose my appetite once again and lay down for the pain to go away. Now, we’ll into 4 weeks post op, that type of discomfort has almost disappeared (it’s still there) but the cramps and instant bowel movements and heavy diarrhoea is a daily issue. One sip of water in the morning results in a bowel movement. And it’s an uncomfortable one! I am also so so gassy and I cannot hold it in at all! The other day I was with my brother in my car and it just came out without a warning. I had to open the window because the smell is out of this world… Have you guys encountered this as well? TMI my poop is completely gray. I already spoke to my doctor about it and she said it was nothing to worry about for now.

You see, then I guess I’m lucky that a little bit of oil to fry my egg doesn’t make me sick. The variables are so huge. I hate it. I hate that I can’t just follow some rules that apply to 90% of WLS patients. Everyone has their own personal issues and it depresses me. I thought I had done all the research I could before going for the surgery but I guess I didn’t and it’s like the habits I’ve had for years and the way my brain is wired it’s all fighting against me. Like I’m in a war with my body. Maybe I should add that I’m a breast cancer survivor and that my body (and especially my digestive system) has gone through a lot. That was in 2009-2010, followed by years of hormone therapy. I want to stay positive though and except for a couple of exceptions, most of the people here are not regretting their procedure after a year. I just have to be patient… which I’m not 😝

Unfortunately what you experienced is exactly why few surgeons do lap band surgery anymore. A bad result does not necessarily mean medical malpractice. You had bad luck, just as I did. I had RNY>RNY revision last December 21. Ten days later I was airlifted back to the hospital with peritonitis and sepsis. My small intestine had split post surgery and everything I consumed was entering my abdominal cavity. I spent 7 weeks in hospital, had 3 endoscopy procedures, two open surgeries, and then spent 3 more weeks in a rehab facility. This was just about as bad as it could get: I was near death. However, I recovered without loss of any organs, limbs, or mental capacity. I never blamed my surgeon or the hospital.