edpsych78

Dumping triggers for me have been unpredictable. I’m walking a fine line between low blood sugar that makes me pass out and too much that causes dumping. I can eat pudding one day (not sugar free) and be fine, but have dumping eating exactly the same thing tomorrow. I have noticed that simple sugars in combination with simple carbs or full fat dairy almost always trigger me. But applesauce, fruits, and sugar paired with 1% dairy is different. I also can’t consume sugary things that are more liquid in consistency. For example, a handful of dry cereal is fine, but even with skim milk on it I’ll dump. I think it’s so individualized that you just have to see what works and learn through experience sometimes. I will say that I’m so glad not to have reflux any more.

I had a sleeve done just over 5 years ago. I lost a lot of weight very quickly and managed to keep it off. However, I had ongoing issues with gastritis, GERD, and GI motility. At the beginning of 2019 those issues got much worse. I ended up being hospitalized because I couldn’t eat or drink and was in terrible pain. I had a great bariatric surgeon who was persistent in figuring out what was happening. He determined that my sleeve was not functioning, everything I ate stayed in my stomach and esophagus for way too long. After trying several non-surgical interventions we ended up having to convert to a bypass 4 weeks ago. The conversion to bypass has been a completely different recovery than when I had my sleeve. I never had dumping with the sleeve, and I learned the signs of being full easily. After the bypass, I don’t have any sensation of fullness until I suddenly have terrible stabbing pain under my left collarbone. I also have experienced both the “slimeys” and dumping multiple times. Dumping syndrome is no joke. I’ll immediately start to feel flushed, weak, intense nausea, and within 10 minutes have diarrhea. The only relief is to lie down for a couple of hours until the weakness and nausea pass. I never vomited after my sleeve, but following the bypass my stomach will randomly reject something, even if I’ve eaten it successfully before, and I’ll vomit it all back up. The positive side of the conversion is that I have no reflux at all anymore. After living with terrible GERD for decades, even after my sleeve, that’s a huge relief. It has been a struggle to try to stop losing weight after this surgery, because I’m way under my target weight. The only advice I’d give to you is expect that this will be an entirely new journey, and some of the things that worked after your sleeve won’t work this time around. Be patient with yourself and follow your diet restrictions. With bypass it’s been even more important to get my protein and liquids in. Don’t worry about food for a while, that will come in time.

I am just over 2 years out from my vertical sleeve. I've lost a total of 140 pounds and have been maintaining for the past 12 months. I had a stricture at the top of my sleeve approximately 16 months ago and had an EGD with dilation that helped. I have started to have the same issues again - inability to eat or drink, severe pain, nausea, dehydration - and saw my surgeon again yesterday. She has scheduled another EGD and dilation but mentioned that I may need to have a revision to an RNY bypass due to the stricture. Basically, the stricture makes my sleeve the same size that the pouch would be if I had a bypass. I have also struggled with gastritis on an ongoing basis so I've been kept on 40 mg of omeprazole twice per day. I don't feel reflux but that's not to say it isn't silent. I'm wondering if there are any other members out there who have had to do the bypass revision from the sleeve due to stricture and not necessarily reflux? I'm just really concerned about the side effects of the bypass revision. I am wondering about your experience with additional weight loss after the revision. I would be okay losing maybe 15 pounds more, but would not want to go any further than that. I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences to help me know what to expect. Thank you!

So I am now officially 8 months post-op and today I took my first "after" photo. I was very proud of the outfit and shoes I wore to work today - definitely something I've never worn in my life. I thought I would share with all of you. The first one was taken the day I came home from the hospital after having surgery. The second is 8 months post-op. I am so happy I made this decision and life change!

You all look so amazing and have been incredibly inspiring along my journey. Here are a couple of my pics 8 months post-op and 108 pounds down. SW: 304 CW: 196

I'm 7 months out now and this started for me 2 months ago. It happens only if I eat just a bite or two too much. They're the most painful hiccups I've ever experienced!

I had similar requirements for my BCBS insurance. I had to do the six-month supervised physician diet over, even though I'd been on Weight Watchers prior and had documentation. My first appointment with my physician was on May 6, 2013, and I had surgery on November 19, 2013. As soon as I had my 6th physician appointment on October 6, they submitted the request to insurance and it was approved very quickly. Best of luck to you!!

I agree with AllisonKara - it's really up to your surgeon. I know that my surgeon did not want me traveling that far from home for a minimum of 6 weeks.

I'm 6 weeks post-op, and my nutritionist and surgeon really gave me an allowed amount of calories. They told me just to focus on getting the Protein and Water in. For the past 2-3 weeks I've consistently been in the 500-600 calorie range with 30g of carbs or less. I have another appointment with my surgeon next week, so we'll see if they make any adjustments. I've lost 40 pounds as of this morning. Hope that helps!

I'm 6 weeks post-op and transitioned to soft foods 3 weeks post-op. I've had very good luck with food, so I was cleared to eat what I could tolerate more quickly than other patients my surgeon has. Here's what I had yesterday, which is very typical for me: Breakfast: 2 ounces Cherry Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt and 1 light string cheese. Lunch: 2 oz. of a Ranch flavored Starkist Tuna Creations pouch; 1 light string cheese; 1 ounce pears in Water. PM Snack: One Premier Protein shake (30g) Dinner: 2 oz. grilled turkey breast tenderloin marinated in 2 Tbsp. Fat Free Zesty Italian dressing, 1 ounce peas. I also drank 64 ounces of water during the day. It worked out to 531 calories and 84 grams of protein for the day. I am usually between 550 and 600 calories. My nutritionist is very happy with my food journal since surgery. Down 40 pounds in 6 weeks as of today. Good luck to you in the new year!

I'm 6 weeks post-op today, and I still occasionally get stomach spasms. They're strong and very painful when they do happen. I've noticed drinking something cold causes them, but I also get them at other times for no apparent reason. My surgeon prescribed hyoscyamine before I left the hospital, and that helps very quickly. They've decreased in frequency, and I've read they'll eventually go away all together. Hang in there!!

I'm exactly 4 weeks post-op today, and overall I feel very good. I do agree with McButterpants - I get tired more easily than before and I have a lifting restriction. I'm doing well with eating (just in very small quantities) and getting my liquids and protein in. I know that others definitely notice my eating habits and comment on how little I eat. I haven't had any issues with nausea, but once in a while I still have problems with stomach cramping. Good luck tomorrow!

Today is 12 days post-op for me, and my recovery has been great so far - much better than I anticipated. 8 days post-op I shopped in a large grocery store for about 45 minutes. I was definitely worn out but better after resting. I'd say I would have been fine going to the theatre because it's a seated activity. By day 8 I was also walking 2 1/4 miles per day on a treadmill (in 15 minute increments). My doctor said that my recovery has been better than average, though. Given that you're in NYC, I'd consider how much walking would be required to get there. I think it's really your call - I'd hate for you to buy a ticket and then not feel like going. Based on only my personal experience, I could have gone. Best of luck to you!!

Yes, jncvt123, each day is different. Today I'm having a lot of cramping so I've had to cut back on the oatmeal, applesauce, yogurt, etc. and focus on the protein and liquids. The gas has been horrible today, too. Gas-x strips and lots of walking are helping. Last night watching TV with my family I was feeling hungry but realized it wasn't physical hunger...head hunger instead. That's a new thing for me so I'll be working on that for a while I'm sure. Hang in there -we've got this!!!!!

Hi, calicakes and jencvt123. I had surgery the same day as both of you. I came home from the hospital Thursday. Luckily, I've been doing pretty well I think. I'm able to get down a little over 50 ounces of Water, 30 ounces of Protein shakes, about 1/4 cup of creamed Soup, 5-6 small bites of Greek yogurt, and 5-6 small bites of applesauce each day. I think that's due to the fact that my doctor sent me home with really good medicines for cramping and nausea. I've been having quite a bit of pain, but that's getting better each day. Wishing you both the best for your journeys!

I apologize in advance for this long vent, but I know all of you here would understand! Yesterday afternoon I had my pre-op physical for my surgery on 11/19. My primary doctor is out on unexpected extended leave, so I had to see someone else in her office. I'd seen this other doctor before for something minor (not related to my surgery or weight loss) and not had any issues, so I thought I'd be fine. Boy, was I wrong! It was probably the single worst experience I've ever had with a physician. He looks in my medical record and sees the doctor who is requesting the pre-op physical. He then proceeds to lecture me about how he knows that office "means well" but what they tell their patients is completely wrong. Specifically, he says the nutritionist there doesn't know what she's doing and is "giving people a diet that will never be successful." He then proceeds to get on a soapbox about how no one should be considering WLS until they've tried a specific diet that is high-fat and low-carb. It seems that he was overweight at one point and lost all of the weight doing what they call a "caveman" or "paleo" diet of high fat and super low carbs. Now, I completely respect his experience and am glad that it worked for him. I just also expect him to respect me and my experience as well. What really got me was that he continued to tell me that if I have surgery, I may lose weight in the short term but if I follow my nutritionist's guidelines of a low-fat high Protein diet that I will "fail in the long run and gain all of the weight back." So, after 20 minutes of being lectured, I was so upset that I couldn't even respond to him. I simply said, "I've gone through a year-long process of researching this, discussing my options, and consulting with my regular doctor to come to the conclusion that this is right for me. I'm not going into this thinking that the surgery is the magic procedure that will make everything better. I know that I'll be responsible for the hard work of eating right and exercising afterwards, and I've already changed many of my habits, including drinking at least 64 ounces of Water per day and cutting out many of the foods that I shouldn't eat after surgery. Through those discussions with my regular doctor and my research, I know this is the right choice for me." What I really wish I'd said is, "I'm trained as a psychotherapist and one of the first things they teach us about the helping profession is that you absolutely must acknowledge your personal biases so that you can keep them out of your professional interactions." I left that appointment feeling so frustrated and upset. At this point in the game, only a week out from surgery, I'm a little scared and anxious about the procedure. I may question for a short moment "Am I doing the right thing?" but in my heart I know I am. It was just so upsetting for a professional to lecture me like that, plus he completely trash-talked my surgeon's office - when they both belong to the same medical system! I told my husband (who's infinitely supportive of my decision to have surgery) that I'd like to write a letter to the CEO of the system about that doctor's transferance of his biases and unprofessional lecture about his colleagues. I respect that he had good outcomes going his way, but I expect him to respect my decision as well. So today I'm just trying not to get steamed up every time I think about yesterday's visit! The good part of this story is that he cleared me for surgery anyway, so now I'm happily looking forward to November 19th!

I started my low-calorie, low-fat, low-sugar pre-op diet today. Continue that until November 17th, when it's full liquids for the 17th and 18th. I'm generally excited, but the anxiety comes once in a while because I know the huge lifestyle change that's in store for me. I also hate the feeling of nausea, so I'm not looking forward to that post-surgery!

I started my pre-op diet today as well, and I'm scheduled for surgery November 19th. My doc requires a 2-week low-fat, low-carb, low-calorie diet, followed by 2 days of liquids only.

I am also November 19th in Des Moines, IA. I wasn't nervous until I actually got a date. Now I'm excited but a little nervous!

Hi, everyone. I'm brand new to the forum and am so glad to have found it! I just scheduled my surgery today for November 19th in Des Moines, IA.