catwoman7

once you're a few months out, there aren't any food restrictions and although you can't eat large portions of food at one sitting, you'll be able to eat enough that people won't guess you've had weight loss surgery. I'm seven years out, and I eat around 1700-1800 calories a day (but that'll vary for everyone since it depends on several factors, including how active you are and what weight you're trying to maintain - someone maintaining at 160 or 170 lbs can eat more than someone trying to maintain at 120). as an example, when I go out to eat, I'll usually order an appetizer or else order an entree and eat half of it (and take the other half home). Honestly, that's pretty much what many of my never-been-obese women friends eat. No one ever questions it or asks if I've had surgery. They just assume I'm a "light eater".

let your clinic know. Those symptoms could be indicative of a stricture. (note I said "could be" - not "definitely"). They may want to do an upper endoscopy and check it out. If there's one there, it's an easy fix - they'll fix it while they're in there. I had two of them - at four weeks out and again at eight weeks out. About 5% of bypass patients get them, and they almost always occur 1-3 months after surgery (very rare before or after that time frame) - so you're in the right window for one, if that's what it is.

vomiting shouldn't be an issue as long as it's not severe. A lot of people vomit the first few weeks after surgery because your stomach is still healing and certain foods this early out could irritate it (I know your concern is with a stomach virus, but the same holds true...)

you'll have swelling the first few weeks which really limits how much you can eat. After that all goes down, from what I understand, it does loosen up a bit over time, but not THAT much, unless you're chronically overstuffing it.

I know this sounds funny to say now, but enjoy it while it lasts. Because it won't. Honestly, once I got used to it, I hoped it would never end because it was so easy to lose weight when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food. My hunger and appetite came roaring back at about five months out, and then things got A LOT harder. For all but a very small minority of people, your hunger and interest in food WILL come back sometime during the first year. So take full advantage of this period to lose as much as you can while it's relatively easy.

I never had issues with the store - but then, I'm several years out so I no longer buy bariatric-specific food, so it's probably been six years since I bought anything from there. I suspect they're dealing with the same issues everyone else is - shipping delays. re: vitamin patches - the jury is out on those. My clinic advises again them, and from what I've read here over the last few years, they're not alone in this. Patches seem to work well for some people, but not for others. I've never tried them since with my luck I'd be part of the latter group, although I've considered getting them for traveling since it would mean no vitamin bottles to lug around (and take up space in my suitcase). Since I'm almost never away from home for more than 10 days or so, even if they didn't work for me, no harm done.

my tastes didn't really change, it just got more intense for awhile. Spicy things tasted spicier; sweet things tasted sweeter. It was temporary, though - either that, or I just got used to it. I pretty much lost my interest in food, though - as well as my sense of hunger - for about five months. Although it was weird to get used to, I wish it'd never come back. It was so much easier to lose weight when I didn't give a flip about food!

this article from Cedars-Sinai hospital in LA says there's little scientific evidence that these work. Sounds like a big profit maker for these places. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/iv-vitamin-therapy.html

our clinic advises against those, but YMMV

yep. Normal. That first one (that can take up to a week to "arrive") is often a doozy. You might want to try some other products - like milk of magnesia - or magnesium citrate. We were advised to take daily stool softeners at first to make it easier...but you may be beyond that at this point.

as far as food, once you get a few months out, there are no restrictions. Obviously, you have to eat less than what you were eating before surgery or you'll gain the weight back, but as far as not being able to eat certain types of food, no - no restrictions there. At seven years out, I still have to track my intake and measure/weigh some things, though. Otherwise, my weight starts heading north again pretty quickly. beer - we were allowed to drink alcohol at one year out, but like someone else said, some people's stomachs can't handle anything carbonated (mine can't). caffeine - there seems to be no consistency among surgeons on this. Some say you can never have it again for the rest of your life, some allow patients to have it while they're still in the hospital. I would say the majority are OK with it after a certain time period (for example - a month or three months or six months). Our clinic allowed decaf pretty early on (maybe 3 or 4 weeks out?), and caffeinated coffee at six months out.

I had a desk job. I took three weeks off but could have gone back after two. I had very little pain with this surgery, and no other issues, but I was pretty tired for awhile (that actually lasted a month or more, but of course, it gets better and better every day). I suppose if I had to I could have gone back after one week, but I appreciated the time at home to sleep and also get used to the food progression. I would say two weeks is fine for most people who have desk jobs - but some may be able to swing it after one if they absolutely have to.

pain is all across the board, but most people have very little pain after these surgeries. And if you're one who does, you'll have pain meds for it so you can keep on top of it. It just lasts for a few days at most, and again, you'll have meds for it (I never bothered to open the bottle they sent me home with since I really didn't have any pain). the liquid diet isn't pleasant, but it's temporary. And not all surgeons require it.

I had very little pain to speak of (many of us don't), but getting in and out of bed could be a challenge - for the first few days I felt like I'd done a thousand crunches when getting out of bed. I didn't have a recliner, but I just had a ton of pillows propped up behind me so I wasn't lying flat. It did help. After I had my first plastic surgery (which was much more painful than my RNY), I bought a wedge pillow. In fact, I'm still using it, three years later. That may have been helpful after my RNY, too.

i know this sounds weird to say, but unless you have a physical issue like a stricture, enjoy it while you can, because your hunger and appetite will come roaring back sometime within the first year. It's so much easier to lose weight when you're never hungry and don't give a flip about food. I wish that had lasted forever with me, but it all came back when I was about five months out. Then things got a lot harder...

honestly, weight loss is about 90% food and only 10% exercise. I know WLS patients who lost a ton of weight even without exercise. That said, exercise is great for your overall health and people should do it - but an injury that causes a temporary pause in your routine is not going to be the end of your weight loss. also, you could be in a stall - they're very common. Just stick to your program and your weight loss will eventually start up again. Stalls usually last 1-3 weeks. and no, I doubt "this is it" as long as you're adhering to your program. Most of us lose for a year - if not more (20 months for me - but I started out much heavier than you, so I had a lot more to lose)

carbonyl iron and heme iron are usually well-tolerated (although there are other versions of iron that people tolerate pretty well). There are a few companies that make both of those versions I mentioned. I've been taking carbonyl iron for the last 6+ years. Feosol is a common brand that has it (although Feosol makes other types of iron, too, so you have to check the bottle to see what type of iron it is). Vitron-C is another common brand of carbonyl iron. I usually use the latter or just get the generic version at CVS. however, there are some people just don't absorb iron well from tablets and need to have occasional iron infusions I don't know about iron patches specifically, but as far as vitamin patches in general, they seem to work for some but not for others. I never tried them as I figure I'll be one of the people for whom they don't work.

I don't think leaks are very common. And they're usually caught before you even leave the hospital.

very common with both sleeve and bypass. And just as a heads up, chronic constipation (even after the first BM) is pretty common, too. the first BM can take up to a week and can be a real doozy, so we were advised to take stool softeners. after that one, a lot of us take a capful of Miralax every day to stay on top of constipation - although others take stool softeners, probiotics, SmoothMove tea, or magnesium tablets. Whatever works...

yes - some surgeons are now recommending that sleeve patients avoid NSAIDs, too.

my insurance covered all of it since I'd already met my deductible, so I don't know what it cost. I'll see if the original bill is still on MyChart (although since it's been seven years, it may not be - but if so, I'll get back to you). Although if it's a stricture, you'll need to get it "fixed". If and when it gets to the point you can't even keep fluids down, your days will be numbered. People can go without food for awhile, but not fluids. Anyway, if the bill is still on MyChart, I'll let you know how much it was. UPDATE: well, the record of the visits (I had two strictures) is still on MyChart, but not the bill. Sorry about that!!

check with your clinic. I was able to swallow all my pills whole right away except for two of them - I had to wait a couple of weeks on those.

it might not cover the DS. A lot of insurance policies that DO cover WLS will only cover sleeve and bypass (some will cover DS - but not all).

if this is happening right after eating, another strong possibility is a stricture. They happen to about 5% of gastric bypass patients, and you're in the right window of time for it (they almost always occur within 1-3 months post-op. They're very rare after that point). I had two of them - one at four weeks out and the other at around eight weeks out. They're an easy "fix". Regardless, let your clinic know what's going on. What you're experiencing is not normal.

you won't stretch your stomach on liquids - they go right through you. also, leaking is discovered right away - before you even leave the hospital. They won't discharge you if they suspect - or discover - a leak. I was always able to drink more than they said I'd be able to. I asked the PA at my clinic about this, and he said my stomach would let me know if I was drinking too much or too fast.