catwoman7

there are a lot of different liver shrinking diets depending on the surgeon. Mine required two weeks of no-calorie (or very low calorie) liquids and 4-5 protein shakes a day. We were also allowed sugar free Jello and a limited amount of tomato juice, V8, and broth. That's it. Some surgeons allow people to have limited food - e.g. a small dinner of meat & vegetables. Some surgeons don't require a pre-op diet at all.

having bariatric surgery is sort of a last resort. Don't blow it. Stick to your program.

I don't know that you'd have to go completely back to the beginning (i.e., liquid diet, pureed diet, etc), but go back to eating protein first, then non-starchy veggies, and then, if you have room, a small serving of fruit or whole grain carbs. I'm thinking it might be too drastic to suddenly drop your calories to sub-1000, which would set some people up for a binge. Maybe try to figure out what your current calorie intake level is, and then lower it gradually (by maybe 100-200 calories per day) every week or two until you get to the level where your weight starts to drop off again.

almost everyone has their first stall within 4-6 weeks after surgery. It's *usually* the third week, but not always. Do a search on the three week stall - you'll find hundreds of posts on it.

I have to have 100+ grams every day or my prealbumin level tanks. Just get some powder you can tolerate and stir it into things - sugar free pudding, yogurt, etc. ANYTHING to get your numbers up!

you might have a hard time finding a surgeon to place a lap band. A lot of them don't do them anymore - too many people have had problems with them.

there were a couple of times during year 2 that I stalled for quite awhile and thought "this is it - my body is done", but then my weight loss would start up again - albeit slowly. So you may end up losing more...

at this point there's pretty much no way you're going over 600-800 kcal a day, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just focus on getting all your protein and fluids in.

it's the fluids they give you in the hospital. I've gained up to 10 lbs after a surgery because of those. It'll be gone in a few days.

I'd probably just do protein shakes for a day or two until my stomach settled down. You're way too early out for tomato soup (acid) and crackers (simple carbs) - so that's probably why your pouch rebelled.

I've heard mixed reviews of Biotin. Some people say it worked for them, others say it did nothing. I guess it might be worth a shot if you're concerned. I lost very little hair, so it wasn't noticeable at all.

RNY is gastric bypass

Easy! I was very surprised. People are all across the board when it comes to pain, but just hanging out on these boards for the last few years, I would say most of us have very little pain. It's mostly just tiredness - that took several weeks to shake. But anyway, I've had other surgeries, and this one was pretty easy in comparison.

for my multi, I just take a generic version of Centrum (CVS and Walgreens both have them). I take a few more individual vitamins, but since you're a sleeve patient (I'm RNY), you may not be required to take all of those...

you won't die on the table. Weight loss surgeries are among the safest surgeries out there - much safer than a knee replacement surgery, which as you know, they do every day. Gastric bypass has a 0.3% mortality rate - the sleeve is even lower. So at minimum, you have a 99.7% chance of NOT dying on the table. Given every surgery has some kind of mortality rate, even tonsillectomies, those are OUTSTANDING odds. if you keep on top of your vitamins, you won't die of malnutrition, either. lastly, complications aren't very common, and for those who have them, most of them are minor. I know it's easier said than done, but STOP worrying. You will do just fine and once you have all this behind you, you will be so happy you made this decision!!

B12 levels are easy to bring up with supplementation - iron can be harder. Ask your surgeon - if he's OK with you going through the RNY, then there you go...

pretty much everyone has their first stall within the first month after surgery. It's so common it has a name - the three week stall (although it's not always the third week). Search the three week stall - you'll find hundreds of posts about it. Just stick to your plan, and the weight loss will start up again.

I think I lost 15 lbs on the two-week liquid diet

I'd just go back to basics (and not all the way back to liquids only - that would just set me up for a binge). Protein-forward and low carb. Eat (dense) protein first, then non-starchy veggies, and then if you have room, a small serving of fruit or whole grains. I can eat up to 1700 calories a day and maintain my weight, so if I'm trying to lose, I'll drop down to below 1500. I'm not sure if I could do 800 anymore (I could while I was losing, but it would be tough now for more than a day or two)

there doesn't seem to be a consensus among surgeons re: caffeinated coffee. Some say never, some say right away, some say to wait a month - or three months - or six months. Some say it's OK if limited to 1-2 cups a day. My guess is although there may be some valid concerns, it might not be a harmful as say, NSAIDs. I think the issue with caffeine is that it's dehydrating, and the issue with coffee in general (even decaf) is that's it's acidic, which can be hard on healing pouches. I had to wait on caffeinated coffee until I was six months out, and I'm still supposed to limit it to one cup a day (which admittedly, I don't....but I did wait six months). But I know people whose surgeons said they could start drinking it right away, so...??

yes - since it's basically pulverized rice.

yes, you can

there were at least three or four times that I thought my body was done losing - but then, my weight loss would start up again. It finally stopped once I was 18 months out. Stick to your plan - your weight loss may very well start up again.

tea wouldn't have an effect on that unless you're adding a lot of things like cream and sugar to it. Weight loss DOES slow down a lot after the first couple of months. Just stick to your program and the weight will continue to come off.

I'm almost 60. I spent 40 years trying to diet and exercise it away. It never worked for me. I'd lose 40 or 50 or even 60 pounds, and it'd come right back on. Again and again and again. My only regret is that I didn't have this done several years ago.