Roostertail2

I am almost 6 mints postop and totally know what your going through. For the first 2 months I couldn't tolerate anything it seemed like. And tried sooo many different shakes I felt like a gnc store. They all smelled like baby formula and made me gag.. Still do. I still can't get in all the protein or water I am supposed to. I do try my best to eat protein first but know that bite or two of starch takes up some of the space more protein could have filled! I have averaged 10lbs a month and am quite happy with that. Just know the way you feel is something a lot of us go through and it will get easier every day.

Hi Michelle - you sound EXACTLY like me! My start was around same weight - BUT so far I have only lost 40lbs. I had surgery on Aug 5th so I am just under 4 month mark. I figure 10lbs per month is better than what I was doing before! Though I often also kick myself because that is something that is also obtainable without the surgery. One thing I have learned from being on this site is the word STALL. Seems as though almost everyone has hit one or sometimes several so I don't even worry when the scale doesn't move. Your body is just starting to adapt and your weight loss is just slowing down. I have seen people suggest taking in more Water, or changing your diet up a little. I by no means have any real decent advise as I am trying to figure this all out myself! lol. I just take each day and do my best. I have fallen short on a lot of the things I am supposed to do though. I have never been a drinker so I might get in 20-30oz of water a day if I really push myself. I don't eat as mush Protein as I am supposed to either. It is hard to try to eat what you need to when you are never really hungry! And exercise - while me and my best friend who I also work with, walk up and back down the 9 story parking garage twice a day - that is really the only exercise I am getting. I leave my house at 6am and don't usually get home til 6-6:30. Have a 3 year old so he takes up the next few hours trying to get him and my other teenage boys fed - laundry done - chores completed and so on...by the time I finish everything and get the baby down for the night it is 10-10:30 and I am exhausted. so when do I find time to go to a gym? Which by the way I pay 30.00 a month for membership I don't use! And who really has the energy? I am still always sooooo tired! I often feel like it takes everything I have just to get through the day without falling over! lol Well I hope your scale moves and you get back that great feeling of success. Just know this is a journey and you can do this!

I had surgery on August 5th. I was able to get down a few shakes the first couple of days, but over the past week NOTHING has worked to where I can stomach them. I have tried MANY different kinds and added bananas and other products to them (suggestions from eggface) but just cant get more than a sip or two down. My question is can I just do Protein bars instead and cut out the shakes all together? I have a call into my NUT but wanted to find out if anyone else had same issues and had alternate solutions?? Need help because I have not gotten in more than 10-20g of protein a day in over a week and cant afford to be a bald headed fat girl who ends up in the hospital!! lol

So - I am 11 weeks out tomorrow and your story is exactly like mine. Protein shakes are intolerable so I don't drink them. I have tried so many-spent soooo much money on them! The minute the smell hits my nose it is all over. they ALL smell like baby formula! Water - well if I get in 20oz a day I am doing great. I have never been a drinker and knew that was going to be my issue and so it is. SO the protein I get daily is all from what I can eat - which isn't much! Vitamins - I tried those chewable bariatric ones they give you that are supposed to taste like vanilla and soon found that if I didn't want to throw up I had to find an alternate. SO now I take ones you swallow - works much better for me and it contains Iron so I have 1 less pill I have to take a day. I understand what you are going through - just know that it does get a little better each day. Even though I know I am not where I need to be in protein and water - I work on it every day. I try to make sure that when I eat it has the most protein possible in it. The atkins meals are a great choice once you get to that point. Just keep trying things until you find what works for you. Once you get to the normal food stage things will be better and you will have way more choices!

Surgery is scheduled Aug 5th. Really excited. Wanted to find others having surgery around the same time and/or a few weeks prior so I have people going through this together with me! The closer I get the more nervous I am getting. Having to quit smoking during all this is adding to the feelings as well! Anyone interested in being my buddy please reach out..Look forward to hearing from everyone

Hey Pion - that will subside in next week or so - at least it did for me. Now I have to make myself eat cause I am never really hungry.

I took 2 weeks - office work but with lots of walking. The pain is so minute that you will really think you could return to work in just a few days - its the feeling of exhaustion that gets ya! lol. 6 weeks later and I still feel tired all the time!

As a person who has been on Thyroid medications for years ( levothyroxine) I can tell you that it didn't make a bit of difference in weight loss. I take my pill like clockwork, had dieted constantly but would only drop a pound or two then gain right back. In the 6 weeks since having GBP I have dropped 26lbs. Pretty much eating same type of diet I was prior to the surgery (except during the liquid/mushy/soft stages as required). Diet consists of lean Proteins, salads (once I get to that stage) and the other "healthy" foods that have always been the standard for anyone on a diet. Having a slow thyroid is not something that can be cured by surgery - you will have it all your life. Unfortunately people think that as soon as they are medicated that the weight will just start dripping off - THAT IS NOT THE CASE. You need to take your meds, but don't depend on them to be the diet pill you are dreaming about. So saying that you don't need to have surgery because you have hypothyroidism is a false statement and one your doctor should explain more clearly to you. You shouldn't regret your GBOP surgery because it is going to do what no other pill can. Keeping the weight off may be easier once your levels are controlled, but it will still be up to you to keep that weight off.

OK guys - need some MAJOR support! I am now 3 weeks post op and I have only lost 10lbs! Lost those in first few days but since then the scale has not moved!!!!! Please tell me others are having same issue! WTF am I doing wrong? Fact is I am not eating but maybe a total of 1 to 1-1/2 cups of food (if that's what you want to call it) a day. I have not had good luck getting in the protein. My counter looks like a GNC store with all the different protein powders I have bought - but NOTHING tastes good enough to allow me to drink the whole damn thing. I get in a few sips and I want to vomit! I am eating oatmeal for breakfast and have had pureed something for lunch - today its bruinswick stew. For dinner I eat the remainder of the can if I can get that much down. WHY the hell isn't the scale moving!!!! Did I really do this to myself and spend 30K just to lose 10lbs, be nauseous all the time, tired all the time, and regurgitate daily???

Thanks! I appreciate the compliment! I stay out of the sun so it has helped over the years to keep wrinkles down. Will probably be worthless once I lose enough weight though. Everyone says you go through a period where you look older once you have had WLS - but I am really praying that at least one thing on my body doesn't turn to crap! After all - boobs will deflate, hair fall out, skin start hanging - what the heck else do I have to look forward to?! lol. I know that the normal response we are supposed to have is we are doing all this to be healthy - well that may play a part in this, BUT I want to look good! I don't want to be the biggest girl in the room, or have to shop at Lane Bryan anymore!! Dang it I want to be able to rock a dress and not look like I am pregnant!lol..So vanity IS a major part in this as well. I think if you try to tell yourself otherwise you are fooling yourself. Everyone want to look good don't they??

I will be 47 in November...so wrinkles are already on my list! I just had so many things to list it slipped my mind - that might have been the dementia!!

Lexie - I am just right at 6 weeks post op. I went through the same thoughts as you did! I had several "last" dinners and "last" cupcakes! It didn't matter that people here were telling me that I would eat again - I felt like I would not! Well, I believe in being honest so here goes.....I am not really hungry so eating is NOT the same as it was before. Each phase I have had to go through has been somewhat of a chore because of gag reflex and other issues, but I made it through them all. Now that I am at the stage where I could eat anything I wanted to ( as long as I am willing to suffer the consequences of course) I find that I have more of a hard time just finding something that looks good, smells good and tastes good to my pouch. The same foods that once were my downfalls, now don't really even appeal to me. Its crazy - and I know that as time passes things will probably change again as I heal and get accustomed to my pouch - and I am sure that the loss of hunger is only a temporary thing too so soon it will all be will power that has to keep me from the bad stuff - but I can only take each step and do what I can do..It sucks going through all the diets you have to go through - but it is a journey you have to take in order to make it to the other side of things. Your going to miss crunching things in your mouth, your going to miss taking a big bite of something and only chewing 4 or 5 times, your going to miss mixing potatoes with your corn ( cause you have to eat your Protein first and nothing else will fit). Your going to miss bread and chips and so many other things....BUT if you can make it through the cravings - which by the way your stomach wont let you eat those things anyway) you will soon find that you miss those things less and less and before you know it you can start adding some of them back into your diet (only healthy versions) I have wanted something crunchy since all this started on August 5th - but even though I was cleared days ago for solids - I have yet to rush out and buy pretzels or other crunchy items! Just go into this knowing that things will change - lots of things to learn -lots of things you will still have questions about no matter how much reading you do! But keep thinking about the person you want to be in a year and you will do it!!!

Having same issues with energy! Normally I was fine all day at work - lot of energy - now I just want to fall asleep at my desk! At home I have stairs and it honestly takes everything out of me to make it up the stairs without feeling like I ran a marathon! I am not a person who has ever really had mobility issues, Ive always been a chunky girl - but was not what you would call totally out of shape - so not having ANY energy is really sucking! Synthroid is medication for hypothyroidism ( I am also taking it and have for years) it doesn't do anything like give you energy - it just helps your thyroid work like it should... Hope that everyone is right and we all get our energy levels up in next month or so. My family will really appreciate it! I did this to have a better life - one that I can enjoy with my kids..but for now I am more of a hermit than I was before! Once loved to shop but heck I don't have energy to walk around the store!! BUMMER

My Dr suggests Dulcolax and Miralax. I drink a very small amount of the Miralax in my coffee each morning - then on Friday at bedtime I take a dulcolax. It seems to be working pretty well. I am someone who has always had an issue with this though so a week is not a major concern for me! lol

Sending Quest bars back for refund! lol ...so glad they have 100% satisfaction guarantee!!..Well didn't have stricture, Dr prescribed liquid reflux meds to coat my stomach to see if that helps. Doing much better past few days! I found Atkins frozen dinners have now become my new favorite things! Packed with Protein so I am ALMOST able to meet my goal each day without force feeding shakes down my own throat! scale has also moved - weigh in this morning and I have lost a total of 26 lbs since surgery!!! YEAH!!!! Only 85 more to go! I may get to the end of this journey as a starving, bald headed, dehydrated, constipated, saggy ass and boobs shell of a woman - but I am going to make it! lol

I'm in villa rica...down 20 past douglasville

Problem is I DID have RNY! They prescribed me some liquid reflux medicine to coat my stomach. Last night I had a really hard time. I threw up once and then dry heaved for almost 2 hours non stop. At one point I was heaving so bad I couldn't catch my breath! Normally I just regurgitate so this was the first time things actually came up from stomach! Only had a few small bites of soft food so not sure what happened. It was the first time I really questioned doing this whole thing! I am back to my senses today so don't feel that way now. I know there will be days that I don't feel good so I need to be prepared for them. My family was wanting to take me to the emergency room but I told them no - I am not wasting money just to have them tell me I am dehydrated and give me fluids and a nausea shot! I already knew I am dehydrated I cant get in the liquids like I am supposed to and it is catching up with me...So today my best friend who also works with me is being a water demon and making me drink a glass of water every 1-2 hours!

I'm down 20lbs so far which is ok I guess.. I just don't know how to get in everything I supposed to. Never been a big drinker so even water is an issue. Most days I'm lucky just to get in 20oz. Then I'm supposed to eat 3 small meals and 2 snacks while trying to down at least 60g of protein! Not able to do any of it so far! Lucky to get down 30g - 40g of protein and that's thanks to the quest bars. Snacks are out of the question since after eating my "meal" which is about 5 bites I am so full I could go rest of day without eating! I know I have got to get on a schedule it's just such a daunting task!!

So I am 3 weeks post op and overall feel pretty decent. Problem I have had since coming home is this regurgitation crap. I don't always do it but it happens at least every other day. Varies in what I am eating as well. I am on soft food so nothing I am eating should be blocking anything. basically my diet has consisted of soups! Anyway - I get the pain in the middle of my chest almost like a trapped burp - then I just "throw up" for the next 20-30 minutes. It doesn't feel like its coming from my actual stomach - more like it never made it down my throat. I had a few days of this last week and ended up calling my Dr who wanted me to go in for an upper GI to check for stricture - but by the time the day arrived to do it ( was 3 days later) I hadn't had an episode so I cancelled it. Well the very next day it started again. As I said its not every time I eat and the real weird thing is I can eat something/same amount one time and nothing happens - eat exact same thing/amount the next day and I am bending over a toilet! Anybody have any input? Again I want to say that its not an actual throwing up situation its more like when you burp and foods comes back up your throat - only Im not burping...Gross I know but I don't want to call the Dr back and bug him about every little issue if others deal with same thing!

No stricture in esophagus but have reflux.. Wth - thought I didn't have to worry about that anymore???!!!

So now that I am on regular foods I figured I could go to the big boys of protein make up for all that I have missed the past 4 weeks. Guess what - Cant tolerate Salmon, tuna or eggs!!! SOOOOOO upset over that! Salmon and eggs have always been 2 of my favorite foods. I ate grilled salmon at least 3 times a week..and there was never a bad way to cook an egg in my book. Well they all just come right back up! I am scheduled for an upper GI tomorrow so hopefully the cause is a stricture ( have had regurgitation issues for past couple of weeks even when it is just liquids) and not just my body saying heck no to these! If that is the case I am screwed! Oh - and the quest bars that everyone was raving about...they taste like lightly seasoned cardboard! lol. I have 3 cases I have to get down - so I am making myself eat 2 a day...

Just so you know - Nicotine stays in urine for up to 5 days. I investigated all of this because I also had to quit before my surgery! I smoked up til the week before my preop and didn't go back until after the surgery 2 weeks later. YES I am one of those people who quit and went back! Don't need to hear all the blah blah blah about it. I thought about smoking all day every day and just couldn't handle being a non smoker! I enjoy smoking for the most part and missed it so I started back up! Anyway - as long as you quite 1 week before any urine or blood tests you will be just fine. Hell I quit because I was told my Dr wouldn't touch you if you had nicotine in your system - but they didn't even test me!!!!

I have had issues with Protein because I cant handle the shakes! Today I made the decision to go against my NUTS advice and started eating Quest bars - I have had 2 today and that gave me 40g of protein - that is 30 more than I normally get in a whole day! I have not had an issue with the bars so far so I am hoping this will resolve the problem because I feel the lack of protein is my problem with energy as well. Most days I can barely climb the stairs when I get home from work to get up to my bedroom! I am tired all day but am able to make it through because I have a fast paced job - but the minute I get in my car to drive home it is as if all the energy just drains out of me! I just pray that I didn't have too much damage by not getting in any protein for past 4 weeks!

Kyrick - I have a great NUT who is on call anytime I need her - so if you have any questions your more than welcome to ask and if you don't get the answer on here that you need I will call her and ask for you! The thing is NUTS are soooo different from one person to another. It really is amazing how different our diet requirements/limitations are considering we all had same surgery! I understand if start weight or medical conditions warrant a variance of dietary needs, but you would think the basics would be the same? Yet some people move to the next level weeks before others..I have found that even after talking and meeting with my NUT several times that really she hasn't told me anything that wasn't common sense - things like eating Protein first, veggies next and then starch if you have room - or stay away from cupcakes! lol I also think that no matter what they tell you - YOU know your body better than anyone does, so if you feel you are ready for the next food stage (within reasonable amount of healing time) then try it. One of 2 things will happen - either your pouch will thank you or it will make you regret ever looking at that meal! lol

I am scheduled for the Upper GI Tuesday so we shall see! I just hate the thought of wasting money and time for it to be nothing. I have tried to pay attention to make sure its not me eating too fast or not chewing good enough...