neon07734

I had a very similar exp, and it turned out to be a clot in my lung. the pain was terrible and the nursing staff chalked it up to gas pains. it was awful.... took a week for them to determine that I was telling the truth that something wasn't right. but i did thinners for a few months and now everything is fine. I apparently clot easily, being that this is my second clot, both provoked by surgeries. so for future i have to tell all, that I clot easily

I has a similar experience but mine was a pulmonary embolism in my lung. Excruciating painful and took them too long to diagnose on my opinion. Spent and addition 10 days in hospital. Terrible. But no surgery regrets

Hi, I have clot issues and after my surgery I developed a pulmonary embolism (lung blood clot). It was unbelievably painful. They kept insisting that I blow into that tube thing with the ball and I thought I would die. I could hardly walk, sneeze, cough or breathe without intense pain. I’d ask, for sure. Took a while for it to subside with medication

that sounds terrible. I agree, you can't keep it from your spouse. I think it's in your best interest to work on your marriage. you married him for a reason, i assume. I assume you love him and he loves you. i think that you should get that worked out before you go through a life change like this.. He will notice.... I sure hope you find the support you need.

Hi Tamzab. i too had a horrible experience with the surgery. I was in for 4 days, blood clot in my lung, lots of pain, and an infection. it was terrible. those first few months were terrible and i honestly began to regret the surgery. I remember not being able to keep in a drink of water, and thinking, "will i never be able to take a big drink of water again?" but time heals all things..... it did get easier, and now, after losing nearly 100 pounds I can say i'm healthier than i've ever been and my energy level made it all worth while. hang in there. it does't get better. just needs some time.

it's a personal choice for all of us. A lot depends on how close or accepting you are with your friends and family. I chose not to tell anyone about my surgery except a few super close non judgmental friends and my mom. I wished I hadn't told my mom but I needed a ride to the hospital! I recognize that when an old friend who hasn't seen me in a year or better sees me it's kinda a shock and curiosity gets the best of them. after all, it's hard not to wonder how someone you know was nearly 300 pounds is suddenly standing before them at 160!!! So when i'm asked, i have a standard answer, that is probably not entirely true. I say that i've dropped about 50 pounds and i came off of a heart med that was causing me to retain water. LOL yes, it's a lie, but it gets bought the quickest and without follow up questions.

I think alot of us have that initial buyers regret. I really had doubts early on. Simple things scared me, like, taking a single drink of water, or eating a cracker. I couldn't believe the struggle with the simple things and really wondered if living the rest of my life that way was going to be ok. But, over time, a few months, things began to improve and my body healed and I could take in more (enough) liquid, and feel like I could enjoy eating again. Like it was said earlier in this thread, things slowly melted away and the new normal is just fine. No regrets at this point. Patience, grasshopper.. it gets significantly better.

I had the full bypass and was told i had to give it up entirely as well. I wasn't a coffee drinker prior so it hasn't been that big a deal. I do miss my ice tea's though.

Update: Those dam stalls are terrible. Knowing they can hang on for a month or better sucks. But they don't last forever. I've been losing, just slower than I hoped for. I walk 2 to 3 miles daily and it does bother me that the weight is coming off slowly, but looking back it's clear that it's at least going in the right direction. I finally fell into the one-derland mark at 197 last week. I haven't been under 200 pounds in over 20 years. So for anyone that is stalling, be patient. The surgery will work and give you the result you hope for. Just don't give up. Don't compare yourself to others out here either. Hang in there.

So, I was down a solid 40 pounds in 6 weeks. Awesome. I've had lots of complications, still having swallowing issues, but I've been walking daily now and I know I'm keeping my calories down and I probably am NOT getting in enough protein. But that aside I was typically dropping a pound a day, at least most days. Since June 12th, 16 days ago, I've not lost a single pound! I've gained 2! I read postings on here that this is a simple stall and it will pass and I appreciate having access to all of you for support. However this is freaking me out! How long are theses stalls typically for all of you? I know "we are all different" but how long do these last for most of us?

For some of us it is a terrible time. It took me two solid months before I felt good. It was far more difficult than I anticipated. I had complications that made it tougher. Just know that it does get easier. I am four months out now and life is much easier. But during the rough times I really began to be concerned that I had made the right choice. Hang in there. It gets better.

Stalls suck!!! No other way to feel about them. I stalled for over a month and a half at one point. It was terrible. I am five months out and as sick as I am of hearing "how different each of us gets through this process" I can't stress enough how true that statement is. I have no doubt that my stall is due to my body becoming accustom to smaller portions and getting past thinking I was starving my body to death. Once my body figures out what I'm doing the weight drops a little. But the body keeps thinking I'm starving it and I keep trying to retrain it. There are so many people on here that seem to get through this so much easier, or their stalls last for a few days, and they drop huge amounts of weight quickly. We can't compare our story to anyone else. We all get through this differently, some more than others. But as the days go by it gets easier. Life gets back to a normal place again and it all makes more sense. Keep up the good work. 64 pounds is nothing to sneeze at!!! Congratulations.

Jonnycakes!!!! what the heck is wrong with me? I know it sounds strange that I've dwelled on this, and yes, I should focus on having more a of a life, rather than dwelling on a random comment from a stranger!!! I read another post on this site where a guy got completely reamed for his very honest and sincere post that an entire group of people took out of context. When did we all get so sensitive? Ridiculous! So I'd like to apologize for my slight snarky response. I hope you are a great day.

Johnnycakes, I don't eat those but have attempted to eat them once maybe twice just to get any food down due to the achalasia. We have days we can't get water down. I was merely using those as examples that me and someone else on this site suffer with on top of the bariatric surgery. low cal yogurt, water, protein shakes, watermelon, are terribly difficult. I was using it as consistency examples. but thanks for the sarcasm.

That first month I barely ate or drank. I couldn't possibly get all my fluids and especially all the protein I was supposed to get in. it gets better and easier. this is a huge changed for your body, chemically and physically. Some of us need more time to heal. Message me in a month, maybe two. Don't let the anxiety make you crazy. relax.

I felt that way too. I had the foamy saliva and burps. I had a lot of difficulty swallowing, super tired all the time. I was worried that I rushed into to. I had three months of nutrition classes but I too wasn't fully prepared for what was going to happen to me. I had a prior medical relationship with my surgeon for another issue and great insurance, so my wait time was right at 3 months prior to surgery. I had a few complications that only added to my anxiety. But today marks month 4 post op and I can honestly say it does get better. The foaminess is gone and I am feeling better every day. Give yourself more time Lmichelle310. You're at the very beginning and we all react differently. You'll be fine. You're body has had a major alteration and it takes it some time to re-adjust. At the 3 month mark you should really feel the difference and you'll look back at this as worth it. Also, don't spend much time comparing your symptoms or weight loss to other people on this site. I know you see it all the time, but we really do react differently and you can't assume you are having a problem just because other people seem to be doing better or have less problems. You're body will come around when it's good and ready. You can do this! You'll be fine!!

Totally normal. I had light spotting the first few months, then month four I had a full blown not fun period. glad to hear it will go back to normal.

Thanks Berry78! I can't speak for makemyownluck, but some days, in fact most days, protein shakes are also a challenge to get it. It's a weird deal. I too struggle with yogurt, and mashed potatoes!!! But I will have a break in the clouds and I can eat a grilled cheese sandwich without any issues. I think my weight loss stalls simply because I'm starving myself most days. I don't have any way of knowing that I am having a good day or a bad day without trying, and since most days are bad I can got weeks without hardly getting any thing in. Because eating something that gets "stuck" way down in your esophagus makes for a miserable day! It's next to impossible to bring "it back up", trying to drink something only makes it worse, when that's the most logical method you can think of. It's a super weird deal. Taking medication is really tough too. Makemyownluck, it sure sounds like you've had some super rough stuff with the achalasia initially. I had the heller done initially and I can attest that helped significantly back then. I had a gi doc that didn't think I had a problem other than reflux. It was terrible. Lots of vomiting and feeling terrible. Then they did this barbaric throat pressure test and because of it's rarity they just didn't know what it was. So my tests were sent to some medical conference and my (now) bariatric surgeon saw the tests and called me out of the blue and said he could help me. He treated me (heller and hernia repair), and all the vomiting stopped and I felt tons better. I lost 20 pounds being sick so I just continued to lose with the help of diet and exercise. I was super motivated at that time. Then whammo auto immune #2, which has been horrific but finally getting to a manageable state. It's strange having two rare auto immune diseases. I'm sorry you've had so much go on for you. My bypass surgery wasn't fun at all. My myasthenia makes recovery very difficult. Not to mention he accidentally tore a hole in my stomach and then 4 days after I had to be re admitted with a very painful pulmonary embolism. Those aren't fun. I have to find a way to eat more. I think if I can do this I can break the stall and move on a little more quickly. I haven't done too much research on the achalasia. I to have no idea what a typical or type 2 is. The myasthenia is far more difficult to manage day in and day out. The achalasia is more annoying at this point. I too, thought of the achalasia as a tool to help me lose the weight but the myasthenia really made it impossible to keep it off. Now the myasthenia is manageable and with the help of my twice a week plasmapheresis I have more stamina and can get in at least 25 minutes of walking each day. I have never experienced heartburn or reflux. the achalasia has masked that for what sounds like years and years. How do you know you are having a reflux issue? Do you take medication to reduce or eliminate it? Good luck, makemyownluck! when your body gets to a certain point I know you'll begin to feel better. The bypass and the heller will help.

Hello! I'm kinda excited to meet someone else that has achalasia! I've yet to meet anyone else that has this fun annoying auto immune disease. I was diagnosed by my bariatric surgeon with achalasia in 2011. At that point I was at 300 pounds and I too had the heller myotomy done and that did help quite a bit. With that initial diagnoses and Diet and Exercise I was able to drop 78 pounds. Initially the achalasia was pretty bad. Because of the rarity of the disease getting a diagnoses was difficult. Then as fate would have it I developed another rare auto immune disease called myasthenia gravis in 2014. This causes my muscles, including facial and throat muscles to not work well or at all. I had a tumor that grew behind my heart on a gland called the thymus. Lots of hospital stays with this issue over a two year period. This illness requires prednisone and between that and the generalized weakness throughout my body I put back 50 of those pounds. The same surgeon suggested the bypass and did that this past April as well as another hernia repair. Because of my issues the sleeve was never an option. The myasthenia has evolved into having plasmapherisis twice a week to help lesson the symptoms. plasmapheresis is a lot like dialysis, The plasma is removed from my blood and artificial plasma is put back in. After the bypass surgery I was having a lot of trouble swallowing and still am. I had an endoscopy done last week with hopes that he could dilate and stretch out my esophagus but when he looked at my esophagus he said that the openings were fine and my achalasia is just getting worse and that I'd have to be more careful going forward. I did ask him what my outlook could look like at it's worst possible scenario and he said that they cut the colon and bring it up to the esophagus to help with swallowing but that in his career he's never seen it get that bad. So I think I'm just left with it being difficult and being more careful with what I eat. My weight loss has been slower that I thought it would be. I'm down 50 pounds and today is my 4 month mark. I know that 50 pounds is substantial but I thought it wold be more by this point. I have a hard time getting my protein in, some days even that shake is tough to swallow. My love for potatoes is over since those are hard to get down in any form, which I guess is really a good thing. How is your swallowing been? What helps, if anything? Foods that really get to me are ground beef, chicken breast, potatos, bread and roast beef. anything dense really. Some days are better than others. Some days are down right terrible. Weird, right?

that's exactly what I told people too. That I had hernia repair, simply because it's the truth. I've had a few people notice and it feels good. I wish I didn't have the stalls though.

or, it seems the men are able to really drop the weight!!!

44 pounds in 5 months is progress. Good progress! It's hard to say whether you're "on track" or not. Everyone seems to lose at different levels. You read about some that have lost 75 pounds in 5 months and some that have lost less than you have. You look fantastic. Just keep going and you'll get to your goal weight. Congratulations

Stalls sucks. I am 10 weeks out of my surgery and I am just coming out of a 20 day stall. It was terrible, mentally. 20 days is a long time and you really begin to question things at that stage. Like everyone says out here, you just have to be patient.

update: My stall lasted 20 days! That's enough to really play with your mind a little.

I had my surgery nearly 9 weeks ago. And honesty i've been on a liquid diet and soft food since. My deal is a little complicated. I have a couple of auto immune diseases that play havoc on me. The first and most serious is myasthenia gravis which makes my muscles super weak. Then the second is achalasia and this is why I can't get my protein in most days. my esophagus is nothing more than a dead tube, making swallowing a real problem. and protein shakes are tough for me. Sometimes water is too much for me. My bariatric surgeon is also the doctor that has been treating that for the last 5 years. We are going to stretch my esophagus and see if that helps. But it makes most solid food impossible regardless of how well I chew it or blend it up. This is why I know my calorie count is so low because I don't get a lot in. Having this surgery has been awesome in that I'm not as hungry as I used to be, but getting in requirements is tough.