catwoman7

it'll slow down. I had a big drop the first month, then it's been like 2-3 lbs a week. Plus like many, you may hit the "three week stall" soon where you won't lose anything for a week or two....

Feeling the same thing, and I had surgery the same week as you. Mine also just started about a week ago! Plus all along, I've been wrestling between being super-calorie-restrictive and ultra-low-carb, potentially losing all my weight but fearful of a huge rebound (because I was being *too* restrictive), and eating a more balanced diet in a somewhat higher calorie range (800-1000 per day), which seems more like a "lifestyle" change than a diet to me, with potentially less risk of a big relapse. I've usually gone with the latter - although that means I've watched other people whiz by me with their weight loss (mine hasn't been bad, but I'm definitely a slower loser than some). Sigh. But yes - my cravings have picked up the last week as well.

the chews Bariatric Advantage makes are citrate. So are Calcet Creamy Bites. I've never found any stores that carry citrate chews. The ones I know about you have to order online.

you could also check into Upcal D. It's a powdered calcium citrate that you can mix into food. It's kind of sweet, so I usually mix it into yogurt. Supposedly you can mix it into beverages, too, but it doesn't dissolve all that well - I have to keep shaking the drink before I take a swig....otherwise, the powder just collects on the bottom of my blender cup. I actually take calcium citrate in several forms - usually Upcal D in my morning yogurt, a couple of tablets at work (around lunch time), and a Bariatric Advantage chew or Calcet Creamy bite after dinner as my "dessert". I figure I'll absorb at least one of these forms....

I worried about this at first, but my dietitian told me my pouch would tell me if I was drinking too much.

mine told me to wait a year before drinking any alcohol. But evidently surgeons must have different opinions on this...

I think mine were kind of off and on for a few days until it got to the point I couldn't keep anything down except Water. I'd call your surgeon's office anyway on Monday. It may or may not turn out to be a stricture (although it does sound like it), but they should know what's going on.

yes - I did. Not horrible, but enough that I didn't want to risk going with the sleeve and chose RNY instead. No problems at all since surgery - although again, I'm still on Prilosec twice a day. We'll see what happens when he takes me off it....

yes - I have to take it for the first six months.

they're caused by overgrown scar tissue that makes the passage from the stomach to the small intestine too small for much to pass through. I had two early on - same symptoms as you - I couldn't keep anything down. It's an easy fix - they do an upper endoscopy and just stretch out the opening (while you're under). I didn't feel a thing and felt a million times better afterward - and could eat again!

stricture, maybe? Those usually occur early out (within the first couple of months), but I'm pretty sure I've heard of them happening later. Let your surgeon's office know for sure.

look up "three week stall". Almost everyone gets it, and it's not *always* at exactly the three-week mark. Sometimes it's the second week, sometimes fourth or fifth. But always shortly after surgery. Mine lasted two weeks - weeks 2 and 3. Then I dropped like 6 or 8 lbs the fourth week.

the chews are chewy. I don't know why they'd insist on crunchy Vitamins and supplements. I've never heard that. I know we're supposed to avoid gummies, but not chewy things like Bariatric Advantage chews. Interesting. p.s. my calcium levels are normal.

Bariatric Advantage chews or Calcet Creamy Bites. Both are great!

it depends on what it is. Something dense like fish or chicken I can't eat much of - maybe 2 oz. Soup or salad I can probably eat 1.5 cups of.

I think at three months when I was cleared for all foods. The acid bothered me at first, though - but not anymore.

I hardly ever eat ketchup since most things I'd put it on I can't eat (i.e., French fries), but I've had the regular kind and never had problems with it. But then, I didn't eat very much of it, either. I don't think I had it until I was 3 or 4 months out. I've made crustless quiche a couple of times. I can't imagine quiche - crustless or not - with ketchup though!!

I've been doing yoga for 12 years (pre- and post-op). I rarely have trouble with poses (but then, I mostly go to gentle or Yin classes), but the above poster is right in that a good instructor can come up with modifications that will "work" for you.

I didn't have any problems at all - no one asked any questions or even asked to see them. It might be different if you're flying internationally, but I sailed right through on a domestic flight

it's the infamous "three-week stall" - right on time! Mine lasted two weeks.

I started eating berries and bananas pureed in my Protein shakes pretty early on - maybe the second week out. I've been eating (whole) berries on my yogurt since I was first moved from the pureed to soft food stage at four weeks out. I wasn't allowed to eat raw vegetables until month three. Lettuce still bothers me. I know some people have trouble with fruit with skins, too (I haven't tried those yet)

Peanut Butter is probably OK in moderation (but note what the above poster wrote about reduced-fat products). Not sure about the crackers. I'm five months out and have been on solid foods for awhile. I haven't had any white flour products (like crackers) yet. I'm not sure if I was told to *completely* avoid them, but I know at minimum I have to be really careful with them. I just avoid them to make it easy. But then, programs are different...

pizza!

I was walking right away. I think I was doing everything but weights once I was four weeks out. Weights I think i started around 6-8 weeks out.

I think it can be a behavioral addiction for some people, but probably not a substance addiction (like drugs). Although behavioral addictions can be just as strong - compulsive gambling is a behavioral addiction, too. Although there seems to be a lot of disagreement about this. Some people say there's really no such thing as food addiction - but others insist there *is*. And on top of that, people define it differently, which makes it even more confusing...