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We definitely would need more information to help guide you. Understanding which surgery you had and when. Understanding your height and weight. What you are currently consuming would also be important. What does plan off mean? With WLS, your body will usually decide when you are done losing but there are some things you can do to help this along.

@@asantiago Honestly as hard as it is you must focus on getting your liquids in. Getting dehydrated will literally make you feel weak and sick. Once you get your liquids in you can focus on Protein and Vitamins. Protein will make you stronger and help you heal. Number 1 priority after surgery is fluids.

@@dbp3k Thanks for the kind words and good luck on your upcoming surgery! Keep us posted on your progress.

It takes a little while but this will improve. I had to change Protein shakes after surgery because I could not take that overly artificial sweet tastes either. At the time I was barely getting in my Water let alone getting Protein Shakes down. My Bariatric nurse who had been thru bypass herself recommended trying Premier Protein ready made shakes. They have 30 grams of protein in each, 1 gram of sugar and 160 calories. Those first 4 weeks she had me take the shake and mix it with half milk half shake to lighten it up a bit. The chocolate for me was great, it is not overly sweet. I still drinks these once a day in the am. You can find them at Sam's or costco in bulk packs. They are ready made so no mixing and best of all NO gritty protein taste. You can also find them in smaller packs at Walmart and some Walgreens stores. I will say that the vanilla and strawberry are sweeter and are ok later on but in the beginning the chocolate seemed to work best. I will say although that sweetness issue gets better over time, I still cannot eat anything too sweet whether it is artificial or not. It just doesn't taste good anymore. Being 16 months post op and near goal when I do indulge it is usually cheesecake and one that is not overly sweet. I really don't tolerate Cookies, cake or ice cream any longer. Thank goodness!

I am with both @@Daisee68 and @@James Marusek on this. Malabsorption is actually a good thing that helps with weight loss. As long as you take your Vitamins and get your blood work done as prescribed you don't have to worry about it. Both surgeries require vitamins for life. I have a very severe case of Gerd prior to bypass. It is completely cured along with type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and stage 2 kidney disease. I am so thankful that I listened to my doctors that recommended bypass for that reason. I originally planned on the sleeve as well and changed after recommendations from my Bariatric surgeon and gastroenterologist. Malabsorption is nothing to be afraid of as long as you do your follow up. I have had the full nutritional panels twice now. The first time everything was perfect, the second time my B1 was a little low. We added a B1 Vitamin and I had a recheck about 3 weeks ago. Everything is normal. Again I stress that both surgeries require calcium citrate, a Multivitamin, B12 and usually Vitamin D. If you are female and still have your period, they also recommend Iron. This is a lot less expensive for me than all the drugs I used to have to take. Stage 3 kidney disease

I spent so much money on nutri system, Jenny Craig, diet books like south beach and Atkins. Diet pills like trim spa and others. I actually get angry because all that stuff ever did for me was ruin my metabolism even further. Yes I lost weight, hundreds and hundreds of pounds over a period of about 25 years. The minute I took a break or stopped taking the pills or buying the food, the weight came back on and then some. My husband recently tried that Garcinia Camobodia or whatever it's called. Another joke! I find myself pausing on those commercials and talking back to the tv. I just feel so bad for people that are still wasting their money on crap that does not provide long term solutions.

It won't be long. I think it was about 8 weeks post op when I was able to finally swallow small pills. I think at 4 months I was swallowing any sized pill. I still have trouble swallowing big pills but that is from a different surgery I had done in June on my neck where they went through the throat. Soon, very soon.

@@DDBug Yes, it could have been dormant this whole time and the combination of weight loss and pregnancy so soon after major surgery could have stressed your body. Have you had the tests yet for RA? If it is RA you will want to learn everything you can and get on a biologic drug that will stop the progression before it damages your joints. A lot of the symptoms you are describing is very similar to that disease. I have psoriatic arthritis in which both my joints and my skin are impacted. As I said, the good news is these drugs are available and they work. When my Mom had RA, these drugs were not readily available and RA can cause crippling arthritis. In her case, that is exactly what happened. I think at the time she passed Humira was the newest drug on the market but the damage was already done with her. I feel for you, the pain from arthritis can be debilitating. Get yourself tested and on good medications a sap if that is what it is. Hugs and prayers.....

The physche eval is no big deal. Mostly they use it to ensure you are ready and to make sure you havent had an eating disorder in the past that has gone untreated. Honestly when it comes to Protein shakes everyone's taste is different and your tastes could change post op as well. I have tried many and I really like Premier Protein ready made shakes. There is no grit, no nasty powder smell, they are super easy because there are no blenders or shaker cups to deal with. I take them with when I travel. They have a whopping 30 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar and 160 calories. The chocolate is the best as it is not overly sweet but they also have vanilla and strawberry cream too, You can buy them at both costco and Sam's in 18 packs. They are on sale at Costco for $5.00 off in January. You can also get smaller packs at some Walgreens and Walmart.

I am definitely with Daisee on this one. Autoimmune illnesses hide themselves until your body is stressed and then they show themselves. I have both psoriatic arthritis and Graves' disease. My Mom had rheumatoid arthritis. If it turns out to be RA, there are a lot of great biologics that stop the progression and take away the symptoms. I take biologics for my psoriatic arthritis and it has really helped my disease.

I am so sorry about you dog. Losing your pet can be devastating. As hard as it is, try hard to keep your eye on the prize. If you need anything feel free to reach out.

I have a bunch too! Maybe we all have the same numbers and will be multi millionaires together. LOL!

@@Stevehud This is a great post! Thanks for sharing what you learned!

I swear I am addicted to this site. It feels like my second family and there is hardly a day that goes by that I am not on here. I think the 2 vacations in which I was at sea with no internet access were the only times I missed a day. Anyway, I just want to say Thank You Alex, for creating such a great space for us to share our stories, struggles and celebrations as we each go through our journeys. I have learned so very much from the people who come to this site. I am not sure I would have been as successful with out my pals!

This might be a bit off topic so my apologies for jumping in here. There are several people on here who responded that fried foods make them sick. I am wondering if this is similar to dumping or do fried foods simply cause tummy distress because you usually don't indulge. or does it actually cause vomiting as well? i am just curious about this. Thanks!

Thanks so much for your support everyone!

@@sallo Everything you are going through is perfectly normal, we have all been there. You are right the next few months will be emotional, hopefully most of it good emotions. When you start to go through the process and your diabetes improves or is cured completely like mine, that will be a great day. It certainly won't hurt your heart condition either. You may be able to lose the weight without surgery, the million dollar question is, can you keep it off or will you gain it all back and then some? The best way to get through the pre op diet is to take it one day at a time, one hour at a time. After the first couple days it really does get better. Keep your eye on the prize. Think about all the reasons you decided to go this route in the first place, these will keep you motivated and moving toward your goals. Don't let cold feet get in the way of getting healthy. I had bypass 15 months ago. I have lost 137lbs and am no longer overweight. I had type 2 diabetes, severe Gerd, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and stage 3 kidney disease among other things. All of those disease have either been completely cured or are in remission. I take medications for an auto immune disease. With a couple of adjustments things are well in hand. Don't worry so much about malabsorption, just make sure you are aware and if you feel yourself going off course call your doctor. You have chosen to have the gold standard in WLS, this means there is a lot of data out there that can help you. You won't regret this down the road, you will wish you had done it sooner. You have a serious heart condition, this can only help you in the end. Take a big deep breath and focus on your goals.

I refuse to watch that show. I have seen a few episodes and after the surgery bashing I just cannot stomach it. Like others I would like to see the rate in which these people gain their weight back because I have to believe they do.

My grouch pouch is always making noise. My family can here it and it does not matter what I do. Honestly I don't even think twice about it anymore.

I would say keep trying each week. In the beginning my body rejected everything but chicken and fish and that had to be chewed to almost nothing. Now, I can eat most meats although when eating steak it needs to be tenderloin and the same is true of pork. I still struggle some days with ground beef. It is important to realize meat is dense so even now I can barely get 2 to 3 ounces max in during 1 meal. The thing is, if fills me up and keeps me full for many hours. Don't give up.

I honestly think you are worrying too much, don't let your worries ruin such a fabulous vacation! I am green with envy. The best thing you can do is listen closely to your pouch. When you are full, stop. Try your best to select mostly good choices but don't be afraid to indulge either. You are going to be very very busy and I am certain you will burn more than you think. Oh, and get the idea out of your head that your surgery will stop being effective at the 1 year mark. It is your tool for life. I am nearly 16 months post op bypass and still losing albeit slowly. Your pouch will work restricting your intake for life. It is up to you to put good choices into it. Given how vigilant you are, I don't think you are going to have a problem. Have an absolute blast on your vacation. Have I said I am green with envy? Oh, make sure you drink tons of Water. That is the hardest part of travel period.

You definitely need to do your research before deciding. There are different benefits to both and you need to be educated on them. Bypass has been around the longest and is the gold standard for weight loss surgery. The sleeve is newer and has less long term data but seems to be effective as well. Bypass can cure both reflux and type 2 diabetes. Sleeve can make reflux worse or create it. It can also put type 2 diabetes into remissioN. By the way, I want to make sure that you understand that malabsorption that comes with bypass is not a complication. It is intentional and you should not be afraid of it at all. It is meant to help you lose weight. I have several autoimmune disease that require meds. It has not been a problem. The most important thing to understand is that you need to get checked for nutrients via blood work a couple times a year. This ensures that you are absorbing enough Vitamins and minerals. You have to do this with the sleeve as well. Research like crazy and don't let anyone decide this for you. Go into your decision educated. Leverage your doctors. I was set to have the sleeve and then found out that bypass could cure my Gerd. I was initially scared because someone told me I should worry about malabsorption. I spoke with my doctors and several nurses who went through the surgeries. They explained that malabsorption is your friend and it doesn't stay that way forever. Primarily the first 12 to 18 months before your body adjusts. Also, many people don't get dumping syndrome. If you do get it you learn what to stay away from. If you do decide bypass do not assume you will dump therefore you will lose weight. Only a small percentage have that issue and that too gets better over time. Many choose this surgery for that reason (hoping to dump) and are disappointed. I have only had a mild case of dumping and it was because I overrate something I shouldn't be eating in the first place.