Matt Z

You are surprised about pain 3 days after surgery? It's going to take your stomach longer than 3 days to heal... it's all fresh, raw, swollen.... lets try to be a *little* bit more realistic here. It'll happen... but it's going to take a little while longer.

Welcome and Congrats on deciding to take control of your life with WLS. I went with the Bypass because, having been banded back in 2011, my surgeon (the same one that installed the band) would not do a revision to sleeve due to increased potential issues at the staple line. To tell or not to tell, that's a hot debate and it's a very personal one. I told a LOT of people, once it was official. I figured I'd control the narrative and not allow rumors to spread. So for me, by taking control of the conversation, I was able to prevent any negative issues from popping up. What you do, is going to be 100% up to you. There are LOTS of people that don't tell anyone anything. Me, I didn't see an issue with broadcasting my WLS. Fear, if you didn't have fear I'd worry you weren't human. For me, even up until I was put under, I had some fears. But, I resigned myself to the understanding that, if I didn't do anything, I would end up dying much sooner than later. I trust my surgeon and surgical team enough that I knew they would do what was best for my health and my life. I had to do 6 months of check-ins as well... even with the band in place. It sucked, but it didn't detract from my goals, outside of putting me behind the ball with my dream goal of being the same weight I was when I was 20, when I turn 40 this November. Could still happen, 58 lbs to go and only 157 days to do that in! Seems like you've got a good understanding of everything a head of you, good luck!

Welcome to a Stall. Don't worry about, just keep doing what you are doing (maybe even upping the calorie intake a bit)... you neglected to post your water intake or exercise regimen. You need to be getting 64-128oz of water a day or as close to those numbers as possible, trying to get a little more each day. Our bodies cannot process fat without water, so make sure you are getting a bunch! And you should be walking every hour or so at this point. DO NOT focus on weight... it's only 1 number in the overall process, body fat % is another one that hardly anyone bothers to track. But it's an important metric to pay attention to. I've just gone through a week+ long stall without losing any weight, but I lost .7% body fat in that same time. So, do not stress or worry, just keep doing what you are supposed to be doing and everything will work out just fine!

@EndlessGoals#2018 Also, you can change your surgical settings from Pre-Op to Post Op in your account settings by going to the drop down next to your avatar in the upper right hand corner and selecting "My Surgery" here you can change the op status and add in other information. Then if you go to "Progress" form the "Surgery Information" page you can add weigh ins etc. And then if you go to drop down again and select "Account Settings" then select "Signature" from the list on the left, you can create/edit/update the area under your posts.

@EndlessGoals#2018 They'll get over it. People overall aren't good with change. So, when they are used to seeing you overweight, that's their "norm", now with you losing weight they feel you are getting too thin... but, this isn't actually true, it's just their impression based on your "normal" appearance. Plastics are usually for the 1 to 2 year out folks, form an insurance point of view AND from the whole, "it can take 2 years for your skin to shrink back" stuff. Do you feel good? Do YOU feel too thin? Pretty sure you are feeling great and you don't think you are too thin or feel sickly. Just give them time to adjust to the new you, and I would personally tell them, "Listen, the only reason you feel I look too thin is because you are not used to seeing me healthy. I want to be healthy and I'm getting there, I'm not too thin, I'm right where I want to be." This should shut them up. Good luck, sorry that you've got some naysayers around you. But, overall, you are doing fantastic!

Best outlook on this! Why worry up front, just deal with it when it happens. Good luck on your journey!

Glad to hear you are doing well! Ask to talk to the Nurse Manager and advise them that your questions are being ignored. That's a major "no-no".

A "pouch reset" is typically just redoing the pre-op diet. It helps your stomach to relax and rest and allows it to shrink up a bit.

Emotional changes is a oft neglected part of the surgery conversation, esp for men. Fat stores estrogen. So when we start dumping the fat, we get flooded with estrogen. These massive changes in our hormone balance causes some odd issues, like crazy mood swings. Good news, THEY GET BETTER! Believe it or not... the Gym helps out greatly, the release of endorphins and adrenaline really do some amazing things to mood. Might not happen after 1 trip, but, honestly... I've been every day for a month now, and each time leaving, I feel downright fantastic.

Stalls happen. And most commonly at the 3 week post op mark. Suggestions, keep doing what you are doing. Make sure you are hitting your water intake, everyone posts about their food, but almost never about their water, your body CAN NOT process fat without enough water to do so... so make sure you are getting 64-128oz of water (Or as much as you possibly can right now) And you haven't stated your current exercise regimen. You should be walking pretty much once and hour, get into the habits now, it makes them easier later on. Don't worry about stalls, and do not focus ONLY on weight. You can lose body fat and not lose any actual weight. I've been stuck around the same weight for more than a week, but I've lost .7% body fat in that time. So, don't stress and don't get frustrated (not easy, I'm fully aware of that!) Just keep doing what you are supposed to be doing and you'll be fine.

3 Bariatric Fusion shakes per day. I was allowed to snack on 1 SF jello cup, as much celery as I wanted, and small amounts of watermelon.

I **LOVE** my Ninja BL682Z. I can freeze SF jello in ice cubes and then turn them into snow cones with this thing... Like, legit, ice cubes to snow. It's loud, but it's powerful. I've used it 2-3 times a day since Surgery over 2 months ago and it's still just as good as day one.

You can count on some loose skin. It's pretty much a given for most of us. The amount of loose skin is going to depend on lots of factors. Age, location of carried fat, etc etc etc. Expect some and you won't be upset when it happens. You'll be able to cover/hide a good portion of it though.

I take my morning protein in smoothie form every morning. As long as YOU are the one making the smoothie and controlling the content, you'll be fine. We'll go out to Tropical Smoothie Cafe every now and again, as long as you get no sugar or splenda and pay attention to the total calorie count... you'll be fine. The issue comes up with the super high added sugar "smoothies".

Yes people have had their surgeries cancelled for not following the diet. Most don't, but you've stated you've got a fatty liver that needs to be shrunk. If they get in there and the liver is too big or in the way... they will close you up and not continue the surgery. The bigger issue is (and I'm sorry if this comes off as callous, but it's a reason why we all have to do psych evals before hand because not being able to control what we eat past surgery can cause *MAJOR* complications), what's going to happen after your surgery? Yes the pre-op is hard. But post op is just as hard for a while too. Why do you want the surgery? Don't answer here, but you need to ask yourself this. When you feel like cheating, you need to ask yourself what's more important, that piece of pizza, or your life. Honestly, only you have to answer to you and your actions. But it doesn't seem like you are taking stock of how important this change is... that's a lot of food, that's not "cheating".... cheating is "oh I had a bite of something" not, "I haven't been following the diet for a week+". Sorry for being blunt, but, what you posted here is a major problem, and you **NEED** to come clean with your surgeon, surgical staff, nutritionist and psych. Odds are post bypass there are going to be plenty of things you can't eat... what are you going to do then? None of your choices were even smart "cheats"... pre-op is when you need to start figuring out the better choices to make, Yes we are all human and we all make mistakes, but how many mistakes does it take to realize you need to stop? Normal stomachs can take over 15 mins to realize you've eaten, pounding half a pizza and then 2 donuts 2 hours later... IS.NOT.HUNGER. That's compulsion / addiction / "head hunger". You should be nervous. These actions are major red flags. You need to make the hard choices for yourself and your health. No one else is going to do it for you. Even post surgery, it's not going to be some magic wand that gets waved and you never get real or "head" hungry. Doesn't happen. Cravings are still going to happen. Desire to eat that pizza is still going to happen. But ***YOU*** need to say "no". YOU need to decide to eat something better. YOU need to decide that you don't want to be fat anymore and only YOU can decide that you want to live. So here's what you do. Stop. All of it. Stop all of the excuses. Stop all of the disappointment in yourself. Stop giving in. Stop giving up. Stop caving in. Now, today. Start following that diet to the letter. Start making better choices. Start exercising. Start getting in 64-128oz of waver. Start realizing that food does not control you. Start realizing that if you don't change, your health is not going to improve. Start changing into a better you. Each day, you should look in the mirror before bed and be honest with yourself. Did you do what you were supposed to? Did you do the right thing? You **CAN** do this. You just have to MAKE yourself do this. Stay Strong.

Amazing...

Still nobody? Wow? That's crazy!

Good Luck this time around!

Might be the topic... I think if you posted "Free stuff for pre-op" you might get more hits.

They sell it at any pharmacy, you don't need a huge bottle either, you can find small "breath freshener sized" versions.

Congrats! That's an awesome milestone!

@FabulousFun87 Congrats and good luck!

You should be fine. Quick search shows that it Nicotine leaves the blood within 3 days, Cotinine after 10. Both are undetectable in urine after 4 days (some sites say upwards of 20 days). Saliva tests should be clear after 4 days. Hair however can be upwards of 3 months. So, you *SHOULD* be safe at this point. Just be sure to up your water intake to more than 64oz of water (upwards of 128k) now to help flush everything out (and to prep you for your post surgical requirements.

There are TONS of topics about this. You'll want a pair of sweatpants or PJ bottoms (The ladies advise a very soft bra if you feel you can wear one). Lip Balm and Dry Mouth spray are very helpful when you come out of surgery. Some slippers for when you have to walk around. Your phone, charger and maybe a very long cable. A pillow from home (for extra comfort and for the ride home to put between you and the belt) I brought a book and never touched it. Ear plugs and a blindfold were nice to have as well, wards can get noisy at night. Congrats and good luck with your journey!

Withdrawals and dehydration... up your water intake and see if that helps. It takes water to flush out your system, so drink up!