NovaLuna

I had issues getting fluid down since early on in my surgery so I make sure that I drink things with electrolytes such as Gatorade Zero, Propel, Smart Water, etc. It's helped. Before I was lucky to get 16 oz down and now I can get around 50 oz. My best day I got 68 oz.

Everyone loses at a different pace and to be honest... last month I had a two week stall and then another one that lasted a week so I lost about the same last month (about 3 or 4 pounds). But overall since surgery I've lost 66 pounds in 4 months. My diet varies day to day but on average I get between 600-800 calories, which according to my nutritionist is normal for four months post op. Or even three months for that matter. You've lost 30 pounds in 3 months. That's a success in my book! Oddly enough the strangest things have made me feel successful even when I was really down about the stalls. I went to the ER last week and could fit into a regular gown (I always had to request the plus sized ones because the regular ones wouldn't fit my arms and they wouldn't even cover HALF of me!) I almost cried lol. And for the first time since I was a TEENAGER (I'm 32) the blood pressure cuff was able to go on my upper arm! It always had to be on my forearm before! All I'm saying is not to stress yourself out! My primary said if you stress about your weight it actually comes off slower because stress causes hormones that slow your weight loss. So look at the little successes and celebrate them, but try not to focus on the little things. Heck, maybe you're putting muscle on as you lose fat? Muscle weighs more than fat so... the scale wouldn't exactly be an accurate accessment.

Oh boy, I know EXACTLY how you feel! Last week and the week before I had massive issues and ended up going to the ER because nothing worked! I still have no idea what caused it, but I cut out banana's from my diet because those cause constipation and I also cut out my iron for a WEEK and am slowly weaning myself back on it. I'm only taking 1 a day this week and will add the second back in next week and so far it's worked (I used to take 3 a day because of my surgery, but the surgeon's office said to cut down to two since constipation is a sign that my iron levels were too high). And I'm dairy sensitive and always have been so dairy has the opposite effect on me and makes me... go... but even that didn't help those two weeks. I was taking Miralax daily, and Milk of Magnesia daily and nothing! I had taken a stool softener with stimulants and it hadn't worked at all when I'd gone to the ER and they gave me fluids and a few hours later I was able to go... such a relief! But still don't understand if it was the stool softener or the fluids lol. I drink 52+ ounces of fluid every day not including the fruit and popsicles that I eat that also has fluid so I wasn't dehydrated. I'm still confused about what worked lol

I've found that every surgeons Pre-Op diet is different... because I wasn't on a fully liquid diet. I was allowed a certain amount of protein, dairy, healthy fat, and even fruit a day. And ALL the veggies I could eat. I made big pots of veggie soup and I LIVED off that for the two week Pre-Op diet when I couldn't eat any of the other stuff lol. But, yes, I felt like I was starving for like a week. It DOES get better though and I lost almost 20 pounds (15 or 16 if you want an exact number lol). My advice is to do something to distract yourself or have sugar free popsicles to keep your mouth distracted. It'll get better! And congrats on your upcoming surgery!

I was CLOSE to 400. My highest weight was 389. I'm only 4 months post op though... I lost 64 pounds before surgery (insurance required six months of monitoring and then it took two months to schedule my surgery due to them being overscheduled so... 8 months) and I've lost 65 since surgery and am 256 as of two days ago (I only weigh once a week). Sorry I couldn't be more helpful 😢

Carbamazepine (a.k.a Tegretol). It reacts to sooooo many meds so if they do prescribe it to you make sure you look up every medication you take and any new ones you add. It makes you tired if you take a higher dose of it. It's an anticonvulant just like Gabapenten, but while taking it they have to monitor your Tegretol levels because it can cause issues if your levels are too high. If I have a flair I can take up to 900mg a day, anymore than that and my levels get too high. It comes in both chewable and capsule form, but chewable is best because it works faster. I've taken it on and off for almost four years so I know the ins and outs of it lol. When my flairs were at there worst I also used to take it with baclofen and they work soooo well together!

I had something similar and it was gas pain. But either call the surgeon or your primary and check with them (or ER) because it's better to just make sure...

I believe I lost 16 pounds in the two week pre-op diet. I believe I was 337 before starting it and my surgery weight was 321 so... yeah, 16 pounds. Some people lose more, some lose less, but if you're worried then definitely call the dietician for peace of mind at the very least.

I started getting migraines about two months post op, but it's not a daily thing. I get one about once a week. But... I can handle it because ever since I had brain surgery in 2017 I get cluster headaches once or twice a month and those are MUCH more painful! It almost feels like when I woke up after brain surgery all over again when I get one... I have to lie in a dark room with a wet washcloth over my eyes and I take muscle relaxers and my TN meds for the cluster headaches (cluster headaches are actually cause by the trigeminal nerve in the... first branch I think, so I had the bright idea to try that and it helps knock me out so I can sleep it off). I DID try migraine meds, but they didn't help so now I kind of just tough it out... My mom has something call Vestibular Migraines and they kind of mimic MS and she did the botox therapy, but it didn't work for her. It's a struggle for her every day and I hate seeing like that so I can only imagine how bad it must be for you! I can't imagine having to deal with them every day... I hope they can figure something out that'll work for you so that your quality of life gets better!

I was told not to do keto because it has too much fat in those diets... it messes up your system.

My surgery involves a sleeved stomach and to be honest I have no idea how long food stays in our stomach. I get full pretty fast but as long as I don't eat fast I can eat what I put in front of me. Which admittedly is about half a cup. Sometime 2/3 of a cup. I'm 4 months out though... As for me the first week was liquids and second was puree via my surgeons nutrition guidelines. I struggled most the first week because I had very little appetite and jello HURT to eat. It felt like my chest got really tight and my stomach felt like it did flips. I avoided it like the plague after I realized it wasn't just the gas doing it because everything else didn't do that to me. I also didn't have increased acid issues, but then I've been on acid reducers for YEARS! I take famotidine for my EOS because it's the only acid reducer that doesn't interact with my TN meds (all the other ones are flagged for fatal reactions with my meds and even though I haven't had a flare in a year and haven't needed the pills I NEED to be able to take them just in case of a flare... for my sanity). If you're not taking an acid reducer you should ask your doctor for a prescription or call them and ask if you can buy some over the counter. And, some people do have a dairy sensitive stomach for a while. I, myself, lucked out and am pretty much fine with dairy. I'm actually better with it after surgery then I was before lol

No, I never re-considered surgery because my mind was set. I knew I needed the help and on my own I'd plateau. My mom used to be in the 380's and she lost her weight the no surgery way... she plateaued in the 230's and no matter what she does she can get under that. She fluctuates from mid-240's to low 230's. She also can't do surgery because she gets violently ill when she takes vitamins and she allergic to tape so the patch is out too. For me, surgery was an easy choice because I've had a worse and scarier surgery so compared to that this was a walk in the park (I had brain surgery in 2017 for my TN). In the end, this is your life, so the choice is yours. You have to be the one to make that choice whether you do surgery or not. I hope everything works out for you regardless of which route you take!

Have your liver checked by your doctor. Liver issues can cause abdominal pain and drinking causes liver issues and since surgery increases the potency of alcohol... yeah, have them check your liver!

I still have two months to go to hit six months as I'm only 4 months post op, but I can tell you 4 months progress lol. Surgery weight 321 pounds January 23 2020 Current weight 256 pounds May 24 2020 So 65 pounds in 4 months or 20.25% of my body weight from my surgery weight...

WLS is not failure or taking the easy way out, TRUST me! It's difficult no matter what you do, but WLS is a LIFE choice! I struggled with my weight my entire life. I was 130 pounds at 11, 230 at 14, 303 at 17, and at 31 I was up to my highest weight of 389 and that's when I made the decision to do something about it. At my first bariatric appointment I weighed in at 385 and that's why I count from that. I had tried SOOOOO many diets and nothing worked. Turns out I had an issue with my thyroid all along that every time they had tested it they'd missed it because the test weren't thorough enough, but the bariatric surgery clinic required a more thorough test. I had six months of weigh-ins required to be approved for surgery via my insurance and it took an extra two months to schedule me due to them being over scheduled so it was an 8 month process. I went on an elimination diet where each month I cut out something that I wouldn't be able to eat after (soda, rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, beans, etc) simply because I wanted to mentally prepare myself because I didn't trust my willpower and I shocked myself by loosing 64 pounds before my surgery on my own. It's been 4 months since I had my surgery and I've lost an additional 65 pounds and I'm really happy about it and don't regret my choice of having surgery because it's helped me get down to 256 pounds, a number I haven't seen since HIGH SCHOOL (I was 15 the last time I saw that number)! So yes, it's not an easy choice, but if you're making it for the right reasons and have the determination to work for it, you will definitely succeed! I only wish I'd done this ten years ago and most people will tell you the same.

I'm sorry you're in so much pain! I never had a revision, but I have heard that they tend to be more painful then the original surgery... I hope the gas pain goes away so that you can at least get slightly more comfortable. In some ways, after reading of so many people struggling with their pain after surgery I feel lucky to have a high pain tolerance due to my Trigeminal Neuralgia. I guess some good came out of my affliction... I hope they can find a balance to your pain meds that helps! I wish you a speedy recovery!

I am SO GLAD the two week pre-op diet my surgeons office required wasn't full liquid! I was allowed 1 cup of fruit a day, 4-6 oz of protein, 2 healthy fats (in which I usually had peanuts 1/4 cup twice a day), and all the veggies I wanted. While I DID feel like I was starving sometimes I made myself GIANT pots of veggie soup that I went through like it was going out of style lol. The only time I had to go full liquid was the day before surgery. Annnd I lost almost 20 pounds in that two week period and my surgeon said my liver was perfect! But then... I also ate a lot healthier leading up to my surgery and cut out carbs, soda, sugar, etc. MONTHS before I went under the knife so that might have had something to do with my liver shrinking... Anyway, the liquid diet isn't easy, but I heard after four or five days it gets easier. Just hang in there!

I had a different surgery then you, but you're drinking more than I did so that's a plus! I was really weak for the first three weeks or so and, yes, had diarrhea (mostly due to my type of surgery as it's common) and was in quite a bit of pain from where they took the majority of my stomach out... it hurt to get up, to sit, and to just move in general. But things DO get better. Of course I had some weird things happen too (tmi, but constipation is NOT supposed to happen with my surgery and it happened TWICE! I had to cut my iron out for a week both times and then wean myself back on it) and I have dizziness issues that my doctor is currently trying to figure out because other than my potassium, I'm not deficient on anything else (and my potassium apparently isn't low enough that it would be causing me the issues I'm having). I don't regret my surgery, though in the beginning I did question if I'd made the right choice and I think it's completely normal to ask "Did I just make the worst mistake?" Things WILL get better! Remember why you did the surgery in the first place and just try and give yourself a pep talk to push through. It worked for me!

I was taking too much iron, apparently so I had to add a non-iron multivitamin and I chose the Celebrate brand. I've only tried the grape flavor, but I like them!

I wasn't allowed protein shakes for the first week after my surgery. So your stomach may still just be adjusting... but, maybe try a plant based protein to start off.

My surgery involves a sleeved stomach and I'm on Azithromycin for an abscess tooth and I've been on it for 9 days now, and I've been fine. Also, my primary had gastric sleeve surgery and she was the one who prescribed the antibiotics so... pretty sure it's fine.

Okay so, I had the Loop Duodenal Switch surgery in January 2020. I'm telling you this because it's a fact that DS and Loop DS tend to go to the bathroom... a lot. I was under the impression that constipation just wouldn't be possible. But, I was wrong! I called my surgeons office and explained what was going on and she was confused and told me that I was the first patient they'd ever had with the Loop DS that had constipation issues. No joke. Her only explanation is I need to cut out the bananas that THEY told me to add in my diet for potassium and cut out the mulivitamins with iron for three days because APPARENTLY my iron is working a little too well. -_-" THEN I need to cut down the amount of multivitamins I take with iron and instead of three take two and then take one without. She also gave me some presciption that's supposed to help, but if it DOESN'T I have to take magnesium citrate that just the thought of makes me gag because I get flashbacks to the nasty taste from the day before my surgery... so nasty! T^T Anyway, I thought I'd share this with the DS and Loop DS people so they know it can happen... and I could use advice from people who have had this issue because it's been two days and I'm stressed!

Go the the arrow at the top where your user name is and it'll pull down a list of things and under settings you click on 'My Surgery'

I was taking Cymbalta a few months before my surgery due to my TN coming back that sent me into a deep depression, but I ended up being allergic to it and didn't realize that's what was causing the itching and rashes on my back so I stopped taking it and since I was feeling better I haven't taken any anti-depressants since... Though, I DO take Valium for my back and technically Valium is used as an anti-anxiety as well as muscle relaxer and I'm fine with it. It just hits you harder after the surgery so I tend to only take half the dose I used to verses what I took before... (I took 10mg, but now take 5mg when needed instead).

Could be the development of a milk allergy. Or intolerance of it for the moment. I'd suggest having an allergy test done, just to make sure.