The Greater Fool

I'm about 20 years post-op. From 6 weeks post-op to now my meals are 3-4oz of protein, 1oz of veggies. I eat until I get full or complete my meal, whichever comes first. Forcing it just causes discomfort and even pain, so I don't do it. There are days when I take a bite or two and get the signals that I need to stop. I might try again in an hour or just say "f-it" and go on with my day. My pouch is the boss. Good luck, Tek

@SpartanMaker gave excellent advice, I do this whenever something new happens. This set of symptoms could be just about anything. It could be a Panic Attack. It could be light late dumping. This is why logging everything can lead you or your medical team to a cause. Don't accept that it's "just in your head," yet. I swear, Doctors sometimes. I get pretty much get the same collection of symptoms. It invariably means I haven't been eating/drinking well or well enough for what I'm doing or how I'm doing it. I usually feel it coming before I get the full on shakes, I usually tell my spouse "I'm getting wobbly" which means I need to eat something now. For me, I know I do this to myself. Good luck, Tek

I didn't have very many medications when I had surgery but I don't recall any special approaches or problems to taking them. 20 years later the med count has increased dramatically and still no special actions. After taking my meds I do often get the "i'm full" sneeze. No, it's not THAT many meds. Good luck, Tek

When I had WLS, skin removal was the last thing on my mind. I had read about it and everything said it was worse that WLS... by far. My WLS was VERY painful, as it was open and I had 30-40 staples and a drain. I decided I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. After a couple+ years I came to the bridge. As much extra skin as I had, and the associated issues, I decided to pursue it. Think of it this way: Did you ever think you would have WLS until you decided it was time? Same thing. The price (in pain) would be high, but it seemed worthwhile. I finally found a surgeon that would entertain doing my stomach and thighs for me. He was actually enthusiastic. He had perfected a method with nearly invisible scars. I won't go into details, but for unexpected reasons it went horribly. I ended up with 70-80 staples and 2 drains. Every movement was a new experience in pain. The stories underplayed the pain. I knew I could do anything for a day, or a week, or a month. Especially since I had no choice by then. I would have done my thighs a few months later when I was able if the newly discovered risk weren't so high. Pain is fleeting. Good luck, Tek

I believe it was intended to be. When you have tens of vulnerable patients at a time, he said it happenned at least once a month. I was scared straight. But again, others have managed it without mishap. How averse are you to risk? Good luck, Tek

Generally, "No thank you" but only because I'm a curmudgeon and don't care to share my spouse time with others, nor does my spouse. Really, after the first 2-3 months I could order just about anything and play with it on my plate while eating a few bites and no one would comment. But let's face it, I was effervescant. Before that I wasn't up to playing with people. Good luck, Tek

I agree with most everyone that there is little you can do about stretched and ripped (let's get real) skin. However, don't accept that you must pay for tummy-tucks or anything else. My insurance paid for my abdominoplasty (tummy-tuck), and had approved my thighs had I continued. I wasn't worried about my arms, but I could have made similar cases and had insurance pay. Remember: "Reconstructive." Start documenting rashes, back pain, infections, etc. and your plastic surgery becomes a "reconstructive" surgery rather than a cosmetic one. Because mine were reconstructive mine were 100% paid by my insurance. Good luck, Tek

My surgeon forbade in the strongest terms possible doing anything like this. Apparently, it's ridiculously easy to swallow by accident and then you're in for a load of not fun as they stick a grabber down your throat to grab it. His imagery, not mine. I chose not to chance it. Many have without harm. Good luck, Tek

Not ever having had to worry about wedding dresswear, I have to believe there is a "rush order" possibility that would allow you to order much closer to the wedding for an additional fee. I just googled and this seems plentiful. Not everyone plans months and months ahead and companies love making extra money because of it. Good luck, Tek

I lost 40 pounds my first month. If we're looking at percent of total excess weight at surgery you blew my socks off. I lost to below a normal BMI before I was able to manage a regain to a normal BMI though it all took about 2.5 years. I was never happier each and every month. This isn't a sprint. It isn't a marathon either. It's a lifetime. Good luck, Tek

Best to sleep right through it. Good luck, Tek

An extended and dramatic calorie deficit, common in early post-op, can also be part of the problem. Good luck, Tek

Many of us used food as a coping mechanism. Perhaps it's time to see a therapist or behavioralist to learn some new coping mechanisms. It can make returning to and staying on plan easier to reestablish and maintain. Good luck, Tek

You need to see a doctor. Get examined and get your labs done and see if there are any issues. If they don't find anything lacking keep pushing until your issues are resolved. Not feeling well could be a symptom of practically anything. Honestly, medical issues I have now are not caused by my surgery 20 years ago, but the surgery does complicate things a bit. About 6 years post-op feeling generally not well turned out to be a heart issue, discovered when I woke up on the floor in my boss's office. You've been feeling this way for a while. I don't know why we wait to do some things. We need to prioritize ourselves. We've done it before when we had surgery. Paying attention to things and taking action can keep small problems from becoming big ones. Take action now. Having said the above, vitamins certainly won't kill you. Malaise can be caused by anemia which can be an iron issue. Also B12 is a common deficit for us and also might cause similar feelings. But they are not instead of seeing a doctor, but in addition to seeing a doctor. It's time for annual check ups. Good luck, Tek

I had Gastric Bypass. I did it for the malabsorption and the dumping. Never had GERD, never cared about GERD, don't have GERD now. But I did have more than 1/4 ton to lose. The only consideration is what one surgery could give me the best chance of success. I didn't want a do over. In fact my surgeon made it clear, no do overs. Malabsorption is one of those things you don't know if you have any or too much until you get blood work done. Generally my labs are great, aside from some anemia that comes and goes, but nothing that can't be dealt with. I take plenty of serious meds that my medical team were not worried about in the slightest. They knew they could adjust whatever would be needed whether from malabsorption or weight loss. Fortunately, when it comes do dumping I lucked out. I dump like, well, a big dumping dump truck on sugars and fats. It's amazing how few times you need to dump to learn to stay away from certain foods. And stay away. For 20 years, so far. I've also maintained my weight loss for 20 years. Not a single regret about my surgery choice. Having said the above, my choice fit my priorities. Make sure your choices fit yours. Good luck, Tek

As surgeons are people so they each have their quirks, Where one might not give this a second thought another might run screaming from the room upon hearing you sniffle. The pre-surgery diet is no doubt stressing your body, so it can have an impact in many possible ways both small and smaller. It's up to you how honest you want to be knowing the risks. I would be tempted to keep my mouth shut and a tissue at hand. Of course, me keeping my mouth shut would be a big ask. Good luck, Tek

Get off the scale. You don't need it to succeed. Look at how you are doing well on your plan but the scale has you thinking you need to change something. You can get the scale moving by throwing it away. BTW, I was 6'4" when I had surgery. Now that I ponder it 6'4" would have been very close to my waist size. There's a joke in there somewhere. My protein was about 60g a day. Maybe if I did more protein I'd still be 6'4" but over these 20 years I've also lost a couple inches in height. Good luck, Tek

"Stage 3" means different things to different patients, if it means anything at all. Puree, on the other hand, has a consistent meaning. I pureed every good thing. EVERY meat that tasted good with every great seasoning or sauce. If you can imagine it, I pureed it, and it was great! I didn't do pictures because back then we didn't photograph food, we ate it. Mongolian BBQ was terrific, as were Thai foods. Italian sauces added a great level to flavors. Even BBQ was a great flavor. If it was a favorite to binge on pre-op it was a wonderful post-op flavoring. Want to know what I was eating? Imagine your favorites in your mind... that's what I was eating. Hope this helps. Good luck, Tek

Even "phases" are an individual surgeon and nutritionist thing. You would think they would have come up with a consistent plan for post-ops, but no such luck. Nutritional programs are like religions, surgeons & nutritionists have their beliefs that they will go to their graves to defend. They are as important as life and death and every other plan is wrong. Your surgeons' plan is the path to success, everything else will lead to failure. Get a couple drinks in your nutritionist and they may admit the ultimate truth: that it is consistency in a healthy plan that is the key to everlasting... err... maintenance. Since you mentioned shakes, broth, jello, pudding, and scrambled egg I should think anything with similar consistencies would be OK. Perhaps mashed potatoes, yogurt. I think you could probably get away with pureed just about anything protein or veggie. Basically, anything similar to what you are doing now. Likewise if your surgeon mentioned any goals or types of food for this period you could do things that would also meet those goals. Good luck, Tek

Did your surgeon tell you that you would need to crush your meds? It wasn't a necessity for me from my surgeon. If it is a requirement of your surgeon, then I would get your PCP and your surgeon talking. They undoubtedly can work it out if they both desire it to be so. If they can't work it out, figure out which of them is being inflexible then get a new one of those. As a note virtually every time released medication started out it's life as a non-time released medication, and the non-time released versions are generally still available as there are innumerable situations where time-released are problematic. Good luck, Tek

Wow, look how expensive it is! Is your surgeon or medical team selling this to you? Based on what the Nestle website claims this stuff may be marginally better than OTC drinks but ultimately may help prepare and recover from surgery. For quite a bit more coin. And quite a bit of icky, sicky. Tell your surgeon you want to change to another drink and they'll probably have no issue. If it is a problem, then you have three options: Suck it up and drink it; Get another surgeon; Keep letting your surgeon think you are drinking it while drinking something that isn't torture. The surgeon won't be able to tell; This sort of thing triggers me, I'm sorry if I over reacted. Stuff like this feels like a punishment. Good luck, Tek

Similar to you @amylittlelbs, I was a binge eater pre-op. My feelings were if one was good ten was better. As you said, therapy would not hurt. Since my Gastric Bypass was open, meaning I was cut open from stem to stern and closed up with about 35 staples plus a bonus drain. Needless to say I was in a fair bit of pain. Unfortunately, even pre-op, pain made eating nearly impossible. My plan in the first 6 weeks called for pureed foods, 3 meals of 3oz protein + 1oz veggies. It didn't take long for me to want anything I could actually chew. Puree just doesn't satisfy the need. My fantasies ran to any chewable food. In the puree period, after I got my staples out which got rid a most of my pain, I found eating extra flavorful and extra spicy food items. It was much better than bland. Even pureed flavorful food is still favorable, so it made bland, mush into flavorful, well, mush. Having learned how much flavor and spice helped during puree I continued the same with my food food, I just kept the portions to plan size. I did all sorts of Thai food focusing on the meat portions with some of the spicy sauces. Mongolian BBQ made plenty of appearances. Same with Italian foods, but watched the sauces because of the tendency toward fat, but I had enough to get the flavor. I could do a lot of spicy and bold flavors on 3-4oz of protein and 1oz of veggies per meal. Cravings: I certainly had cravings to which I gave in as often as necessary while staying within my plan. You specifically mentioned Pizza which should be no problem if you can live without the crust, which I did when my family had pizza. Motivation: You had motivation and it's understandable that it could waiver when you believe the idea that you can never eat good food again. Who cares if your thin if you can't enjoy a big part of your life that good food can be. How can you succeed if you feel completely deprived. The truth is that you can be compliant to your plan and still eat wonderful flavors. The key element to our post-op eating is portion size, focusing on protein first. You will enjoy your meals and the happiness you once received by overeating you will now associate with healthy, flavorful meals. You will hopefully never return to your previous eating habits, but you can establish new ones that will be just as satisfying in different ways. You will be able to enjoy eating wonderful foods, living a healthier life, and you may be able to participate in things that currently elude you. Good luck, Tek

It's not a general WLS thing but specifically a Gastric Bypass thing because we tend to mal-absorb some things like, specifically, Iron and Calcium. Interestingly, things like bones and teeth are made with calcium. So if one has bad teeth or bones to start, then add eating less food generally which means consuming less Calcium, then add mal-absorbing calcium, and then perhaps not adding in enough Calcium supplements and viola! teeth get worse and osteoporosis is more problematic. With Iron you end up with anemia. This is a reason supplements are more important for Gastric Bypass folks. There is a bit of good new though. More recent Gastric Bypass surgeries are more often more proximal limbs (less is bypassed) than in older surgeries, so less absorption issues and less problems. If you have a more distal (more bypassed) then think more about supplementation or at least ensure more in your diet. My surgery is older and I think more distal so I'm sure to eat plenty of ice cream Good luck, Tek

Note that the the Bypassers that have replied are OK with carbonation and Sleevers tend to issues. It's down to the differences in surgery. Sleevers still have a Pyloric valve at the bottom of their sleeve which stops food and floods so gas only has one place to go: up. RNY has no pyloric valve so food and drink go straight through to the intestines with much more room for gas. Gas now has two directions it can go. As always YMMV. Being a bypass post-op I can drink carbonation pretty easily but still don't do overly quickly. I don't think I had such until maybe 2.5 years post-op. Good luck, Tek

I broke a rib when I tripped about 1/4 mile into the San Francisco Marathon which was about 2.5 years post-op. It is a dramatic story of personal growth and the triumph of the human spirit. Sort of. There was no harm to my eating nor running plan. Didn't even get any good drugs. Good luck, Tek