The Greater Fool

Mostly that there's no alcohol in it and I don't like beer. I waited until at least 2 years post-op for actual alcohol. I didn't hit goal until about 3 years to put it in context. Good luck, Tek

Drinking is not something I really pay much attention to anymore, but on pondering it I think I'm close to following the rules. I probably stop drinking about the length of time it takes to prepare the meal. While I have a drink available while eating, I sip only when I have dry food that needs a little help. After meals I drink after the cleanup and dishes are complete. I do dump on sugars and fats. Dumping is caused by your intestines panicking and sending out the word to your body to send in all the fluids it can. This can cause profuse sweating, chills, shakes, headache, nausea, palpitations, diarrhea, vomiting, dry heaves. Usually a subset of these. Yes starts 15-30 minutes after you eat the offending food. All you can do is ride it out and avoid doing it again. Dumping is a great educator. If you dump you will learn your limits, how much you can safely eat without dumping. Unfortunately, the limits can move up or down based on any number of things, like fatigue, illness, stress, medications, etc.

Chewing well at the slower pace become my normal by about 6 months. Honestly, it's just the way it is, little thought required. On very rare occasions, when I'm rushing eating for some reason, food get's stuck. It's still uncomfortable. My level of restriction is also as it was at about 6 months. I don't know if this is because I rarely pushed my limits, or my surgeon did an exceptional job, or I'm just lucky or cursed. Good luck, Tek

On rereading my post it does read snarky. For this I apologize. I should have put some winky faces and LOLs. It struck me funny that you talked with your Doc then came here. Nothing wrong with it, I do get the need. Again, apologies. By all accounts stalls seem to be bothersome. Personally I never experienced one because I was too large for home scales. I only was able to weigh at monthly follow-ups. It was a blessing in disguise. I learned we don't need a scale to follow our plans. My Doc was on board with the concept, he never brought up my weight loss unless I did. He was interested in how the plan was going, how I was feeling, my mental attitude, any issues or concerns. Good luck, Tek

Really, why would you trust your Doc? Am I right? I'm willing to say it is a stall, but I'm not a Doctor, but as a stranger on the internet my opinion obviously carries more weight. Is it not so? Good luck, Tek

Sneezing, for me, means I've eaten enough, aka 'full'. Sniffles are another sign. Vomiting usually means I've eaten too much. I'm gonna come right out and say it: Vomiting at 4 days post-op is not desirable and could do damage to your shiny new surgery. Call your medical team. Good luck, Tek

This sounds like you may be looking for local help? You probably should contact your surgeon's team. Perhaps you're talking about something associated with an app? That's not necessarily us either. Perhaps if you expand on what you are trying to accomplish someone can help you move in the right direction. Good luck, Tek

I never experienced a stall. The secret is to get off the scale. I was too large for a home scale for at least the first year, so I only knew my weight at my monthly follow-ups with my surgeon. Eventually I was able to fit on a home scale, which I weighed on several times a day for a couple weeks, then I returned to only weighing at monthly follow-ups. It certainly made for a lot less stress over weight loss. I still only weigh at medical appointments, usually my annual physical. One does not need a scale to follow one's plan. Good luck, Tek

Eventually. Good luck, Tek

I am also a guy. I was about 43 when I had surgery, about 64 now. I needed to lose a few more pounds than you, but it's not a competition. I'm honestly shocked that you are allowed surgery with 40 pounds to lose. Generally it's a minimum of 100 (give or take) pounds to qualify for surgery. I'm not sure if your lucky or un, but I guess time will tell. The current paradigm is 2 weeks of liquid diet pre-op, then 2 to 6 weeks post-op, then about 2 to 6 weeks of puree, then on to solid foods. Difficulty at any of the steps is very individual, but you will find a way to manage it. My plan was 6 weeks of pureed from day of surgery. I never had to do a liquid diet. Not being a quitter are fighten' words around here. You are apparently at 40 excess pounds. If this is the worst case situation then if you think you can lose weight via diet and exercise it may be worthwhile for you to try. Surgery is a harsh solution. If you are down to 40 pounds overweight after having been 100 or more overweight then surgery may be your best long term solution. You know your situation better than us. Most people do manage to eat what would be considered a normal meal size after a few months. Your current view of 'normal' may not measure up. Further, most post-ops can eat just about anything eventually, which can bring with it the hazard of falling into old habits that caused you to gain weight in the first place. With a little bit of restraint most people will be fine. Personally, since you asked, I eat more than a few bites more often than not. My typical meal size is still 4oz protein, 1 or so ounces of veggies. I can finish this meal 4 of 7 times, the other times my stomach says to take a break. I enjoy good food. You must have considered all these things previously. Just review why you made your decision in the first place and you will be solid. Good luck, Tek

As an alternative, my plan never included protein drinks. My team was about new and appropriate meals that included 3-4 oz of protein (chicken, beef, pork, seafood, lentils, etc.) and 1oz veggies. Such provides appropriate levels of protein in a diet while counting on... now get this... food! Think about it. Good luck, Tek

Walking was all I did for the first couple years. My spouse and I were walking 8-10 miles several times a week. I didn't think of it as exercise but rather people watching down on the Las Vegas strip. I had decided I wasn't going to do anything more until I was about 100 pounds overweight, at which point I challenged myself to complete a a program similar to "Couch to 5K". Running sorta got under my skin after that. I only had to wear the DVT stockings while I was in bed in the hospital which was 3 days. The bed itself was a torture device so I spent the majority of the 3 days in the nice, comfortable chair that was in my room free of the DVT stockings. Good luck, Tek

My abdominoplasty and associated recovery were both ridiculously and significantly rougher than my RNY, which was open. I had heard this was the case but I didn't believe it would be as rough as it was. I had the abdominoplasty at UCLA and spent two weeks there before going home to Las Vegas. I went back about 3 weeks later to get the staples and drains removed. I didn't really work in that period, though I did some remote stuff for a couple important problems. After the staples and drains were removed I improved dramatically and quickly. That is the short, sanitized version. The long version really only applies to me and would scare the carp out of anyone contemplating this. Good luck, Tek

Fluids and purees go straight through the pouch, which is why most people are put on liquids and/or purees. Your pouch is healing and it's a way not to stress everything. You won't really notice your level of restriction until you get to actual chewable food. Good Luck, Tek

There is very likely the same medication in a non-extended release form. Most time-release medications started as a non-time release version first. Also, not all time-released medications are problematic. Your medical team will help you as a team to figure all this out. Good luck, Tek

@tiffanyb12211 please do some soul-searching. There is a reason you are not taking what even you think is the obvious action. Ask yourself what you get out of the status-quo. You need to understand that you are changing the very status quo that somehow is making you feel secure in some way. It seems apparent that professional therapeutic help is critical for you now. Please, get this help now before the status quo actually changes and things become critical and possibly more dangerous. Take care of yourself and be careful. Perhaps if you deal with this horrible situation now you can help both of you to move to a more positive place. Good luck, Tek

Dumping seems less common now than in the past, but I'm from the past. Back when I had surgery about 50% of folks ended up dumping, now I think it's closer to 30%. For the record, even non-ops can dump, though it's not at all common. I am glad I dump. Nothing like being slapped for overdoing sugars and/or fats. It's a great educator. Probably a big factor in why I have stayed at a good weight. Sugar is sugar, and fats are fats. Sugars I'm usually ok on about 1/2 a cup of fresh fruit, though since I don't snack much I don't eat much fruit. I do remember dumping on a banana early on, but they haven't bothered me since. Fruit juices I can't do very much at all. I just generally avoid overly sweet things like desert foods, candy, etc. If my spouse get's a desert I'll have a taste if it looks especially good. I can't ever remember having a problem with avocado, but I never go past 1/2 of one as my pouch is not much bigger than that. Fats in sauces are more problematic as their easy to misjudge. My dumping threshold moves up and down depending on any number of factors such as fatigue, med conflicts, illness, stress and other things that can make a normally acceptable amount of sugar or fat problematic. Symptoms: Early dumping usually happens within 30 minutes and symptoms are nausea, sweating, palpitations, diarrhea, thirst. Late dumping usually happens after 30 minutes and symptoms are about the same except for nausea. Symptoms last about an hour. There is nothing to do about it except get through it. It's not so terrible usually.

I'm in IT which has crazy hours far too often. There have been multiple occasions when I went to work Monday morning and didn't leave the office until Saturday evening. I honestly didn't worry about exercise, though when I lost enough weight I did run quite a but. I found it mentally refreshing and it was a great start to the day. Everything about food in our situations is all about planning ahead: 1) I prepared a week of work meals and have them packaged ready to grab and go. Make things you will really enjoy so that between your meal will win over anything at work. One of my favorite foods is Mongolian BBQ which I get from the local restaurant, which I can split easily into 4 meals. It was a great lunch on 'those' days; 2) If snacks are on your plan, handle them the same was as meals. My plan didn't include snacks so this was not an issue for me; 3) Eating out wasn't a problem food-wise as there's always something on the menu that would fit into my plan and I'd still exercise portion control. Leaving food on the plate is not the end of the world. If it's really good I'd get the left-overs to-go and eat it again for the next meal (or three); 4) Ordering out can be a bit tougher if your not ordering for yourself. If the food ordered can fit into your plan then portion control is the order of the day again. If the food doesn't fit into your plan then you don't have to eat the communal meal, just eat the meal your brought and socialize. 5) Keep 'emergency' food in your private area. I keep a couple Hormel Beef Stews in my desk, no refrigeration required and they keep for months, and they don't taste bad. I just looked and the Beef Stews expire in Feb of next year. I don't keep snacks but if they're on your plan keep some snacks available that fit into your plan. I don't do protein drinks but here at work milk is available so I also have a couple zip locks with protein powder, again, just in case; Work very, very hard the first 3 months [6 is better] to stay on plan. You will get the positive reinforcement of losing weight. This is how your plan becomes normal and how you will eventually just naturally avoid things off plan. Good luck, Tek

I had to be at the hospital at 5:00am for a 7:00am surgery. I dressed in slippers, sweat pants, t-shirt, and my robe which is what I wore home three days later. After I got there I signed a couple forms, then they set up the IVs, gave me some happy drugs, and I waited for surgery by going to sleep. They woke me up and told me my surgery got changed to 9:00am. I went back to sleep. Finally at about 8:50 my surgeon came to talk to me and to make sure I wanted to continue. His last words were "You know you can die in surgery?" "Yep." They took me into surgery, about 6 people moved me to the operating table, and they put me to sleep. Of course everything went swimmingly. It wouldn't be until my abdominoplasty 3 years later that I would die. Good luck, Tek

You really won't know your level of restriction until you get to actual chewable food. Everything before just shoots though the pouch/sleeve as it's intended too, in order not to stress the new plumbing (yet). Good luck, Tek

To be frank, eating less than before surgery is not saying a whole lot. I could eat 1/4 of what I ate pre-op and still be eating 4 times what my current portions are. Unplanned snacks are deadly. If your plan includes snacks then they need to be planned and tracked like everything else. My plan never included snacks. Eating our appropriate portion size is THE key element post-op. Even in maintenance portion control is important to maintain and not gain. You have the motivation. Good luck, Tek

One gets used to chewed pain meds. As with everyone, you do the best you can with what you have. Good luck, Tek

You can eat more because you no longer have a Pyloric valve between your sleeve and your intestines, so your food doesn't stop in your sleeve but goes directly into your intestines. So, effective restriction is probably a bit less. Which is why you should measure your food for each meal and stop when you complete the meal or get that no-more feeling, whichever comes first. We can't rely on just restriction to do the trick because for most people restriction declines with time. We need to build the right habits. It's easier when restriction is tight and weight loss is some positive reinforcement. It's harder later when trying to get back on track, but it can still be done. We just need to rely on portion control more and the positive weight loss reinforcement takes a bit longer. As for motivation, what was it to get surgery? Has that changed? Good luck, Tek

I don't think I did much of anything the first 6 weeks, but I ate the protein and veggie my spouse ate (usually restaurant take out) except I had a much smaller portion and it was pureed. Everyone else were asked to stay away during this period to allow me to rest and heal. After that I resumed family cooking which consisted of me, my spouse, my mom, and any grown kids that showed up to eat which was frequent. I was a plan nazi for the first 18 or so months which means I followed my plan to a tee. I never cooked two meals. I ate the same protein and same vegetable as I prepared for everyone. I abstained from anything else such as pasta or other side dishes and deserts (which we rarely did anyhow). After the 18 or so months nothing really changed except my plan had become my new normal so I didn't even have to think about food choices or volume, it all just happened. Except on occasion I took a bite of the pasta or side dishes if I did particularly well. Nothing much has changed over the remaining 18 or so years, except it's down to me and my spouse, everyone else has either moved away or moved on. My plan is still the same, our routine is still the same. Good luck, Tek

I woke up to someone calling my name and telling me to wake up. This happened about three times but finally I stayed awake. My first words were "I've changed my mind." The nurse replied with an exaggerated "oops." When they were happy that I was mostly alive and mostly well I got wheeled to my room, which I slept through. Sleep is good. Good luck, Tek