mae7365

My immediate response is NO! Only 3 days post-op from sleeve surgery, I would think you should only be on a liquid diet. I didn't attempt anything close to solid food until week 3 - then it was only soft foods like scrambled eggs etc. You may want to reach out to your doctors office before eating solid foods this early in your recovery process.

You look fantastic!!!! Your words are inspiring. I know first hand that surgery is a "tool" and we all need to "fix" our heads, and our relationship with food, in order to be successful in the long run. You have definitely embraced the lifestyle changes necessary to be successful.

I was given one after bypass surgery and used it the first week. I'm not sure why I was wearing it since I wasn't given one after my Gastric Sleeve surgery. The only time I found it helpful was when I went to bed. It allowed me to sleep on my side (vs. my back). I'm a stomach sleeper, but couldn't go there even with the binder. Not sure this helped, but figured I'd share. I personally wouldn't waste my money on one. I would never have used it if I hadn't been given one at the hospital.

If I have anything scheduled in the morning, I now wake up an hour early. That gives me time to have my cup of coffee then 30 minutes for morning bowel movement. It's clockwork since bypass surgery.

I feel your pain. My husband keeps asking if my smelly farts will eventually go away! I know that my gas is directly related to what I eat. If I sneak a few pieces of candy, or a cookie, or a muffin, I know I'm going to be miserable with gas pain. I'm trying very, very hard to change my snacking habits, but it is really hard. I eat according to plan up until about 7 pm. Then I find myself grazing on the wrong foods while watching TV. Hence, I end up farting all night long. I understand why my husband is frustrated! I know I'll never be able to sustain my weight loss until I change my relationship with sweets. I wish I didn't have it in the house, but my husband (who has never had a weight problem) considers cookies, pastries and donuts a staple of life! No excuse, since I'm responsible for myself, but I hope you can all relate to the temptation!!!

Today is one of those days where I am so happy with the outcome of not one, but two bariatric surgeries. I had a gastric sleeve in 2014 and most recently a gastric bypass in October 2020. I found the 2013 picture in my Google photos and figured it was time for a comparison photo! This is the first time I've worn jeans, with a shirt tucked in and a belt, since 2015. I bought the belt in 2018 and yesterday my husband had to cut off 7 inches!!

Just hit the 75 pounds lost today on MyFitessPal. Photo from 222 lbs. in 2013 to 146 pounds today.

I wish I was as disciplined to keep such great food records!!! And from your weight loss, it is clearly working for you. How do you log your food? MyFitnessPal or some other app?

I had GERD, Gastritis, Esophagitis and Hiatal Hernia. All GI issues had to be diagnosed by a gastroenterologist. I had an endoscopy with Bravo (pH testing), esophageal manometry, and barium swallow tests completed before Aetna approved my surgery. I had weight gain, but wasn't in the Obese range, so that didn't factor in.

My gastroenterologist (who diagnosed my GERD/Gastritis/Esophagitis) wants me to get to normal BMI. For me that's 145, so that's my goal. My surgeon never really discussed a weight loss goal since my surgery was for GI issues, not weight loss. But I know when I has the gastric sleeve done, my surgeon told me his goal is always for better health for his patients. So he never discussed weight goals, rather things like getting off blood pressure meds, lowering my glucose levels, getting off a by pap machine etc. I did all of that, and he was happy.

I struggled with the taste of water as well. I got a bottle of Smart Water about three weeks ago and have been drinking 2 bottles (Liter) per day ever since. I also found that water tastes much better at room temperature. I can tell you that since I started drinking water, I've lost 7 pounds. I think the water fills me up, but more importantly, moves everything through my digestive system the way it's supposed to. I'm more regular and definitely feel better. BTW. My doctor/dietician is not a fan of coffee, but I drink two cups every morning. If that's the worst thing I do, so be it!

I lost virtually nothing in the first two weeks - in fact I came home 5 pounds heavier than the day of surgery. Lots of fluids (IVs), gas, swelling etc. from the hospital stay. So the 2nd week, I finally got down to my pre-surgery weight! After the first couple weeks, the scale starting moving down pretty quick. Had a stall around week 10, starting drinking a lot more water, and I've lost 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks. You're doing really well. Don't try to compare yourself to anyone else. Everyone heals at different rates depending upon how fit they were pre-surgery, preexisting conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure etc. Listen to your body, rest when you need to, drink plenty of fluids and be very cautious as you start adding foods into your diet.

I stalled around 10 weeks post-op. Just couldn't get the scale to move down. I bought a case of 1 Liter Smart Water at B.J's and started drinking 2 full bottles/day. That truly ended the stall and I've lost 5 lbs. in the past two weeks. I know I'm not eating as much and I attribute that to drinking more water every day. Not sure if it was the cure to the stall, but it sure kick started my continued loss.

After my sleeve (2014), I also ended up in the hospital for dehydration. I had surgery Nov. 2014 and distinctly remember sitting in my living room in May 2015 feeling like I had no energy, still struggled with vomiting when I ate certain foods and overall felt "skinny" but very tired. In September of that year, I went on a two week vacation, and realized that I felt great! I could eat out, had a ton of energy and my weight loss had leveled out. So somewhere between 6 and 9 months after surgery, I felt like I had finally recuperated from surgery, adjusted to my new stomach and could really do anything I wanted to do. That also seem to coincide with that "honeymoon" period that you always hear about - that period of rapid weight loss after bariatric surgery. Unfortunately, after the honeymoon, I had to serious watch what I ate so that I didn't start regaining the weight I had lost. You've had a lot of health issues that have only made your surgery recovery even harder. Hang in there...….you will get better each day!

Shopping!!!!! I've had to buy new underwear twice in the last month. Now that I'm in a normal size, I'm buying pretty undies, with lace etc. vs. "granny panties"! Hardly a week goes by before I find myself driving into the Ross or T.J. Max plaza!! 🤣

Do you have any emotional support from family or friends? I have an awesome friend who I walk with 5 days a week. Being able to verbalize what I'm going through, the pluses and minuses of different foods, the needs to "cheat" every once in awhile and have that chocolate candy bar etc. really helps me to keep grounded. Plus as my weight loss gets more noticeable, I find that the positive comments I get from people (even complete strangers in the grocery store), can give me an emotional high. Once your through the recovery phase, and eating normal foods, you'll find that a lot of those favorite foods can become part of your everyday meals, just in smaller quantifies. I'm amazed how eating 5 Tator Tots with my chicken breast at dinner helps me overcome that feeling of being deprived! Congratulations on your weight loss and if you don't have an emotional support system, use this forum. I find that just sitting down and reading posts on here takes my mind off of eating and lets me know I'm not the only one who is dealing with these issues!

Been there, done that! I'll be 12 weeks post op on Thursday. Last Saturday I had a delicious salad with Olive Garden dressing and a crab cake. Made the exact same size salad, same ingredients, same dressing for dinner Sunday, but with a small piece of steak. That was at 5 pm. I was very uncomfortable within 15 mins of eating. Started vomiting 5 hours after I finished dinner, and every piece of salad came up exactly like it went in. Nothing had digested in that 5 hour period. Finally finished with projectile vomiting at 2 am, and could finally fall asleep. Moral of my gross story is - never trust you new digestive system. It's a finicky balance, with each day being a new adventure.

I've had a sleeve (2014) and a RNY in October 2020. My personal findings: 1. After sleeve, I felt almost no hunger - had to remember to eat. I think my recovery was much longer with the sleeve and I could barely eat 3-4 ozs. before I felt FULL - like not one more bite full. 2. Post RNY, I feel hungry - I'm pretty sure it's probably head hunger, but I definitely don't have that "Oh my, I forgot to eat" feeling. Recovery from RNY seems easier (but maybe because I was better prepared for the 2nd one?), and that full feeling from eating seems to come on "after" I've eaten too much, not before. That makes for many more uncomfortable evenings hoping I don't end up vomiting.

Just checked that, and you're right. Either my chronic gastritis or gastrectomy can result in insufficient intrinsic factor. Thanks for the heads up. I'll get some sublingual B-12 tomorrow!!!!

I was very anemic pre-bypass surgery (low serum Ferratin, iron, hemoglobin and hematocrit). I later found out that anemia is one of the first signs of gastritis, esophagitis and GERD, which is why I had the bypass. My doctor told me to take two 65 mg tables of Iron (Ferrous Sulfate) for 3 months then repeated my labs. After 3 months, my ferratin was normal, but total iron was high, so I went back to just one 65 mg tablet per day. That is what my surgeon recommended post bypass as well. My surgeon does the first set of lab tests 5 months after surgery. I'm scheduled to get labs done in March, so I'm hoping to be in the "normal" range for all the vitamins and minerals that he checks for to rule out malabsorption. From what I've read, very few RNY patients end up with malabsorption, as long as they take the recommended supplements - which for me is one multivitamin, 2 calcium chews and on 65 mg iron pill. I get the B vitamins from the multivitamin, so I'm not taking any B-12 supplements.

Sugar free popsicles were my go-to the first couple weeks. When nothing else tasted good, or stayed down, I would have popsicles.

I too had nausea and vomiting for a few weeks after I started eating real food. I focused on drinking water (and warm tea which my dietician said is soothing to the new little stomach). My surgeon actually called me at home after my third call to his office in 5 days. He was not concerned about the vomiting, said it was probably because of the swelling and to just go back to liquids for 24 hrs. before resuming normal food. I know I've mentioned this before, but he explained that vomiting causes your stomach to swell, which causes more vomiting, which causes more swelling etc. etc. So he is only worried about fluid intake during that difficult first month or so post op. But you have to be careful. After my gastric sleeve surgery in 2014, I vomited for a week and ended up in the hospital with IV fluid and potassium since my levels had gotten dangerously low. I hope you feel better, and if making a call to your surgeons office would ease your mind, do it! You don't want to let it get to the point where you need hospitalization. Good luck!

I often see posts/replies on this website where members say they are also on other bariatric sites. Are there other bariatric forums similar to BaraitricPal, and if so, would anyone recommend joining other sites? If so, which ones?

@catwoman7, I have also considered that my problems are caused by the high sugar content foods. I need to start seriously tracking everything that goes into my mouth to see the correlation between food and symptoms! I had a gastric sleeve in 2014 and never experienced any of these symptoms, so I guess I need to pay more attention to what I eat. The good news is that the OTC digestive enzyme supplement I ordered is not going to hurt me.

I'm 9 weeks post RNY and I'm suffering with obnoxious gas, bloating, abdominal pain followed by urgent, very smelly bowel movements 3-4 hours after I eat any high sugar foods (candy, cookies, cake etc.). I was researching and found that SIBO is a common problem in post op RNY patients. Before I start down the path of self diagnosed SIBO, FODMAP diet etc., I'm going to try the OTC versions of the supplements your surgeon prescribed. I just ordered a digestive supplement at Amazon that has the Amylase, Protease and Lipase. Appears that the Cotazym is prescription only in USA, so I'm starting with the OTC and see if it helps. That will at least give me more information to discuss with my surgeon at my 3 month visit. Thank you for the information!