allwet

was wondering about aftertaste. haven't found any replacements for sugar i can stand due to weird aftertastes.

Leo, if there is one thing i wish i had known before surgery it would be how hard the mental game was going to get. the long term (3-10 years) success of your GS is all about the new habits and the mental strength you develop during the first year. Food goes from being a major part of your life to being almost an afterthought. You will find yourself with idle hands and that is never good. Plan for these times and find a way to use this extra time for your benefit. You are seeing the difficulties of the mental aspect of this surgery now and how you work thru it will be the difference in how successful the surgery is for you. Good luck and hang in there.

Its not unreasonable to feel this fear. If like most of us here you lost weight and gained it back with every new diet you tried. The only thing that we learned from that is that we always fail and the weight always comes back and lets face that is the very fear you have now. The difference is that GS is not a diet. It is a chance to reset your life. Embrace the chance and follow the plan and learn to eat the way we all know we should have at the start but could never get back to. The surgery is the physical way to weight loss but the Mental Part is left to you to work thru. Find that support with family, friends or here but don't talk yourself out of a new start and a new life. It is right there in front of you. Focus on the positive and push thru the negative thoughts (we all have them) to lock in the amazing chase that has been given to all of us.

Crystal try moving the iron pill up a hour or 2 if you can and see if it goes away. also try otc prilosec for a aweek to 10 days and see if you get improvment. good luck and grats on your progress so far

Had my surgey for my 51st birthday and its been an interesting trip. Carbs were and still are my weakest point. I find it easier to avoid them than to limit them so i work hard to keep cards very very low. if i have them i try to make sure the item also has fiber this pretty much stops all simple carbs. I will say if your large around the gut you might want to skip the crunch machine in the gym for a good long while. i pulled a stomach muscle 3rd day i added that dam machine to my workout and it cost me 3 weeks in the gym. I also limit all my eating to a 8 hr window (11-7). I am off 2 bp meds and my Metformin for 2 months now and no more cpap. I put my wedding ring on for the first time in more than 7 years and that was nice emotional victory. I only weigh on saturday mornings now and if i could give 1 piece of advice to anyone new it would be measure yourself. I wish i had those numbers now but i just couldnt make myself do it. the thought of seeing those numbers back then and writing them down was just beyond what i could accept. I regret it now beacuse i dont have a good reference point but i will buy new clothes in march before my 8 month follow up with the Doc. I have cut 3 new holes in the belt and my wife says i look like **** in these cloths but i didnt want to waste money doing it 2-3 times so i just keep pulling that belt in and going on. well i just looked back and realized i am rambling away here so thats enough of that. hope everyone is doing well

Hi just wanted to drop a line and say hang in there. The pre surgery diet can and does suck but hopefully it will be the hard part. The post Surgery diet is both easier and harder. Easier because if your real lucky you wont be hungery at all. It was 5 weeks out before i felt hunger pains and i was really enjoying that. It's harder beacuse its so boring those first 5 weeks or so. Make plans now for ways to distract yourself because food will not be a very big part of your life going forward and the mental game that causes is A lot tougher than i expected it to be. good luck and dont be a stranger around here after your surgery

no issues with spicy foods. liked them before and depend on them now to get as much flavor from the small portions as i can get. I have said it before, If i can only get a few bites of food in i make sure they are best tasting most flavorful few bites that exist. i dont do bland food at all.

2 weeks ago you were eating 2 time as much as you should have been. please check the handout the doctor should have given you. portion control is vital at this point. Dont stretch out your pouch. give yourself time to get used to the new you and your new eating habits. weigh and use measuring cups for anything and dont exceed amounts listed in handouts from the doctor.

I will share my one exp with eating to much sugar. My wife and i picked up some Chinese food while out and it turned out the sauce was nearly pure sugar. It took less than a minute till i knew i was going to be sick. i felt hot and sweaty and could feel the nausea sweep over me in waves. the closest thing i could recall was the one time i had the actual flu i felt almost like that but thank god it only lasted about 20 minutes and then passed probably caused i stopped eating after second bite. other than that you can google dumping after weight loss surgery to see the actual medical terms but was and has been my 1 and only exp. i now avoid eating any sauce i can't get a list of ingredients for. hope this helps

Does anyone else have a major problem with muscle cramps in there feet and and ankles. 3-5 times a week i wake to charlie horse in the tops of my feet and i have to stand and walk around to get them to stop. any suggestions?

yea i take the rec multi but cant see doc for now as i lost insurance so i have to wait for now.

it important to change up your routine around a stall. your body will get used to almost anything and then treat that as normal. if you walk a lot add weights. ankle or 1 pound barbells in your hands. if you use a treadmill add incline if you are not breaking a sweat you have gotten used to your old routine and need a change. i find i have to use a treadmill or i dont maintain a steady fast pace and then i got used to that and had to add more time then incline and then increased speed. i kept getting used to what i was doing. check you pulse after 30 minutes. you can look up your rec heart rate for you age and see if you are getting there if not you have to adding something to challenge your body or you will stabilize (stall)

honestly lay off the protein for a few days. while you can dehydrate you cant starve to death in 24 to 36 hours so cut the protein in half for a while and just keep hydrated. add the protein back slowly over a few weeks after you feel better. its just not that vital so early in the process and is hard on you at this stage.

getting as much as i can and mostly the same amount on days i dont cramp as days i do. i also think its my most likely cause but thought i would see if others have had similiar exp. yea tops of my feet mostly. when it hits it sends my flying out of bed. Never had a charlie horse in my feet before surgery but now i cant get around them

before surgery i would have said it was 80 percent surgery and 20 percent mental after going thru it i see the surgery makes it easy to loose weight but does not change you inside your own head. i now see its 90 percent mental and 10 percent surgery. If you win the mental game the surgery will carry you thru but if you lose the mental game the surgery cant save you. i use Sudoku puzzles to distract myself. just find what works for you.

Hey MrsObs, coming up on 16 weeks post op myself and i wish that i had great news for you but i don't. I also loved food way more than i should have and so many meals leave me feeling a little blah cause i looked forward to them and then well nothing. i got full after the third bite and just walked away from the table. This is a real mental battle not a physical one. 1. try to make each bite very flavorfull. Hit you taste buds right between the eye's and do not waste any bites on dull or bland food. If i only get to eat 3 bites i make them the best 3 bites possible. think about chewing, really, try to chew slowly and for as long as you can plan ahead with an activity that takes concentration so you occupy your mind after you eat and dont give yourself time to dwell on the small portions. If you lose the mental game the physical one will be lost soon after. The surgery gave you the ability to win the physical game but you have to win the mental one with a good support grp. If you dont have it at home try to find it online but do not give up.

don't just accept the tired. if it continues get your iron level checked. not everyone reacts to the surgery the same and some people need more time to get back on their feet. From reading theses forums i have realized i was an outlier at the other extreme. the first 2 weeks after surgery i could hardly sit down i was on a crazy energy trip and it was just a bit unsettling. I am grateful i had no post op issue's and i hope you all heal quickly and get to enjoy the new life in front of you soon.

Don't worry about solid food just eat a bite or two then walk away. you will not starve. Try to increase your water intake. if need be put a 64 oz clear container in the fridge every day and make sure you drink it all. as the previous poster stated just eat 1 item and make sure it is very well chewed. Make sure you are taking your supplements as directed. it will pass and i am sorry you are having such a rough go at it.

I don't know what diet you are on they are somewhat different from what i have read here. for me 3 weeks out was a soft food week and fruit was not on the list. sorry to say that fruit juices break all the sugar rules i was told to follow so i am afraid i will never drink orange juice again and i LOVED orange juice. I know the early diet is mostly a mind game and i dont think i will ever eat jello, pudding or broth again for as long as i live. try to keep real busy so your mind cant wander back to how it was before and in time you will get past this craving. I still avoid bakeries cause the smell of fresh bread does a serious number on me. i just noticed your pre op sorry thought you were 3 weeks post op my bad. if your sugar is under control enjoy a piece of fruit.

angelnrs, this one scared me as well i was used to going everyday and post op with the liquid diet you just dont need to go. try not to dehydrate it will make the first one more uncomfortable than it needs to be. when i mentioned to my surgeon on day 10 that i was all nervous on day 3 without a BM he just smiled and said dont worry you may only go once a week during the first 2 weeks or untill you add more solid food.

nikki, if i can make 1 suggestion it would be don't weigh yourself as often going forward. At first that constant weight loss is a real boost but as your body tries to find a stable place and fights you the constant weighing will be a distraction from the more important goal of good overall health. i am 9 weeks post op (GS) and i have switched to weighing only on sunday morning. i had plateaued at 274 for 6 straight days and i could really feel the pressure from those scales and it wasnt helping. i picked up the pace in the gym just a little to get a higher heart rate will working out and finally broke through and have continued down ever so slowly. Your early weight loss is very impressive but it does make the next pounds that much harder so try not to stress and keep doing what you know will work and let it come in due time.

all the external things you guys have mentioned were all there for me and having to ask for the seatbelt extender on the last flight i have taken in years was one of the most humiliating thing i had to do. The thing that finally pushed me over the top was internal and very personal. I was not phased by the diabetes or the high blood pressure the effects were silent and i could block them out but the sleep apnea was reducing my blood oxy level to the low 70% (scared the crap out of my doctor) while i was asleep and i never woke up feeling rested. the cpap was a nightmare i would wake in the middle of the night thinking someone was try to kill me. Slowly i noticed i was losing my memory. I would forget parts of the day before and then older memories became difficult. Nothing scared me more than losing my mind and the sleep apnea was stealing it slowly 1 night at a time. It was at this point that i asked my doctor about surgey and she started the long process (15 months) of getting approval. I had surgery on Aug 1 and i can say without a doubt it was the best decision i have made in the last 10 years. I sleep without waking for 9 hours a night and cant remember when i felt this good in the morning. I have not falling asleep during the day since week 2 and have lost 35 lbs so far and even with another 100 lbs of weight lose in front of me i feel like i have started a new life and i am going to wring all i can from this second chance.