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I started getting heartburn about 6 weeks after sleeve surgery. I started taking nexium right away and it takes care of it. I started noticing nighttime reflux after about 6 or 7 months. I started sleeping on inclined bed and vowed never to eat after 7pm. As long as I'm faithful to the no eating after 7pm rule, I'm good. I don't get the heartburn and the reflux is mild, but I saw gastroenterologist a few weeks ago to stay on top of it. He found a small hiatal hernia contributing to the reflux. I can't say if it got better after losing weight because at some point in this journey I developed the hiatal hernia. My surgeon said that I didn't have one at the time of the sleeve surgery.

Currently, I take a gummy calcium plus D3 in the morning and a regular One-A-Day for Women's caplet plus an iron tablet in the evening. I say "currently" because my vitamin regime has changed several times since being sleeved. In the first 2 or 3 months, it took me a LONG time to figure out what worked for me. I developed a reaction to the adhesive of patches. Every time I took my multi, I'd get nauseated. I tried chalky chewables, soft chewables, bariatric capsules, and finally settled on SF gummies. By the time I ran out of my super-store size gummies, I felt ready to try regular vitamins and had the One-A-Day still on hand from before surgery (also super-store sized). For me, the timing of the vitamins was more important than the method. I always take with food or shortly after eating. If I don't take with food either I get nauseated or I burp up "vitamin" burps for about an hour. to answer your questions about gummies: yes, I find them much easier. I was able to find sugar free ones and didn't feel guilty about it at all. I still do calcium gummies because my tummy is a little sensitive in the morning and I look forward to the small treat after breakfast.

Well, there are 2 kinds of laxatives: osmotic and stimulants. Epsom salt is essentially magnesium sulfate, an osmotic laxative that replaces magnesium in the body and essentially causes your GI system to pull more fluids into the poop so you can pass it easier. Think stool softeners: colace and Miralax. I assume she cringed or made a face because use of Epsom salt isn't something we hear too much of in this day/age of products like Miralax. Also, using Epsom salt as a laxative can cause magnesium imbalance (needed for muscle contractions), increases your need for water, and can lead to dehydration if you're not careful. Just from reading all the frequent posts on BP about constipation and how to fight it, everyone has their own method that works for them. Until then, I think we all have a certain amount of anxiety with BMs. Me, I make sure I take a fiber supplement every day and I drink lots of water. If I miss more than a day, I will take a low dose dulcolax just to keep things moving. I do not wait. Waiting only increases discomfort and makes things more difficult to resolve. *In my first month or 2 after being sleeved, I used milk of magnesia for the same purpose as the dulcolax. I DID NOT want to have to strain with those first few! both Dulcolax and MOM are stimulant laxatives=stimulates the muscle of the intestines to push things along. I've heard lots of bariatric patients promote Smooth Move Tea. I haven't tried it, but I've had other teas like it. They are also stimulant laxatives and rather powerful ones if you steep the tea long enough. Hope this was helpful!

Rapid weight loss contributes to the development of gall bladder issues. If you already have stones, it's best to have it taken care of. Some doctors will remove it at the same time as the bariatric surgery. I wish mine had done that. When I had the lap band in 2005, my doctor didn't even check the gall bladder and it wasn't routine at that time to give preventative medications like ursodiol. I developed gall bladder symptoms after about a month that didn't present as "typical" gall bladder symptoms. As a result, I was misdiagnosed for 6 months until I demanded that they check my gall bladder. It lead to nothing but misery and likely contributed to my band slipping.

With the exception of the first month, where I'd weight 2 or 3 times/week, I weigh myself weekly.

I had lapband in 2005. Lived with it, miserably, for almost 5 and had it removed in late 2009. My surgeon offered to convert me to a sleeve at that time, but I wasn't ready for something like that. By 2017, I had gained all of my weight back (thankfully, it didn't bring too many friends with it). A friend of mine had been sleeved and really encouraged me to look into it. Her experience was very similar to mine: banded first, etc. and she had done very well with the sleeve. So, after a lot of soul searching, I committed to being sleeved. That's not to say that I didn't have any reservations and wasn't nervous. I was. In fact, I cried as they were positioning me on the surgical table and strapping me down, etc. I just couldn't believe that I had let myself get to the point that I had to make permanent changes to my anatomy in order to get control over my weight. I had to go through all the same pre-op stuff with the sleeve that I did with the band. I breezed right through it with the attitude "I've done this before, I can do it again". My recovery from the sleeve surgery was a little harder than the band surgery, but I was also 13 years OLDER. Once I got past the first week, I honestly felt really good after the sleeve. Maybe a little fatigued in those first few weeks, but no pain or anything. Learning what I can/cannot eat has been a little more challenging with the sleeve because I could tolerate anything with the band. The sleeve feels much more restrictive than I ever felt with the band and I don't eat a lot of bread (not because I CAN'T, but if I do then I can't eat much of anything else) and dry meats aren't my friend. Now that I'm 10 months out, I feel great. Feel so much better than I did with the band.

Agree with above poster, you need to have a good conversation with your doctor to help decide which is best for you. I can only offer my own experience. I have been banded and I have been sleeved. I was banded in 2005. I did well at first, but when my gallbladder took a crap and my doctor didn't diagnose it properly, I was in absolute misery and afraid to eat for about 6 months. Ultimately, I lost 85 lbs with the band. I gained a little back towards the end, but maybe 20 lbs. Thankfully not all of it. I was never able to tolerate a fill in my band and after I switched surgeons, I learned that my original surgeon placed the band too high on the stomach. After the gallbladder thing, I had ongoing reflux and slept nearly sitting up for the rest of my time banded. I lived that way, miserably, for almost 5 years until my surgeon's only answer was to just take the darn thing out. I got a copy of my op report during my sleeve pre-op process. The surgeon reported that my band slipped. I suspect it happened with the gallbladder issue because I was never the same after all that vomiting. I lived without the band for 8 years and did fairly well maintaining my weight, overweight, but at least not morbidly obese. In late 2013, I had some major life changing events and looking back, I was doing some comfort eating and binge eating. I gained ALL of my weight back. I just couldn't seem to get back on track, so last year I had the sleeve done. I don't regret it. I feel "normal" and after about 10 months, I've lost 72lbs. My weight loss has been much slower with the sleeve, but they tell me it's because my body's been through this with the band. To get to my ultimate weight loss goal I have about 45 to go, but honestly, I'd just be happy to get under 200lbs and that's only 20 lbs away! Aside from the initial recovery, I feel great. I never feel deprived. The only time I feel bad is if I've overdone it a bit. Then, I'm uncomfortable for a while until the food passes. I have a little bit of nighttime reflux, but it's nothing like with the band. My gastroenterologist says I have a small hiatal hernia, which we'll talk about addressing at my next appointment. I don't necessarily regret having the band, but it did mess me up a bit. I was thankful that it helped me lose weight. In exchange, I was rather miserable with it for years and it left me with a lot of scarring that made my sleeve surgery more complicated. I don't regret having the sleeve at all, but I will admit to having a little bit of remorse that I can no longer use food as a comfort. I've been forced to find better coping mechanisms, which isn't a bad thing. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have more control over food and my weight. I have HOPE for a future without dealing with morbid obesity. Best of luck to you!

I agree with KimTriesRNY above. If it's "right there", your best bet is something local like a fleets enema or a suppository. this is one of those "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" kind of situations. Once you're past this crisis you might want to take something like Miralax or fiber supplements. I take fiber supplements every day and if things start getting a little backed up, I don't wait. I will take something to get things moving. I typically just take a low-dose dulcolax, but I've heard great things about smooth move tea. Just haven't needed it.

Honestly, I had no issues whatsoever with breads while I was banded. I could eat regular bread, buns, bagels, waffles, pancakes, tortillas, pita's, you name it. I couldn't eat a large quantity of it, but I could probably get down most of McDonald's hamburger (both buns) as long as I ate slowly. Our family is hispanic, so we eat all kinds of tortillas, depending upon the occasion and the type of food. I make my own flour ones. I buy soft corn ones and roast/toast them or fry (I know/I know) them as needed. We make tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, or use them to scoop up the main dish. If I'm making wraps at home, I will buy those because they're bigger and flatter/easier to make a wrap. I like the spinach ones.

#1-it sounds like you need to see a doctor who understands and/or specializes in bariatric procedures. Going to or finding a new family doctor is all well and good, but they don't specialize in bariatrics and wouldn't necessarily understand the special needs or potential complications. If your access to a bariatric doctor is as limited as you say, another option might be a gastroenterologist. In terms of how to have it removed, I'd say refer again to #1. See a bariatric doctor. He/She will advise on that and their office knows how to manage reimbursement. In my own experience, I suffered with reflux for nearly 5 years with the band. I left my original band surgeon because his bedside manner was so poor that I lost faith in him and his practice. I found a new band doc, had to drive nearly 3 hours to get there, but it was so worth it. He worked with me, offered me options and when it came time, he was honest by telling me there was nothing more he could do and maybe I just needed the band out. Then again, I live in the States and my access sounds a lot different than yours. Best of Luck!

Based on my own personal experience and reading others comments on this forum, your ability to tolerate breads is entirely individual. Having been banded in the past and now sleeved, my experiences are different with both procedures. With the band, I could tolerate everything. I had no issues with breads, sandwiches, tortillas, cake....you get the picture. With the sleeve, I wouldn't say I don't tolerate bread, BUT if I eat bread I have to be prepared to not be able to eat very much of anything else. I eat half of a sandwich with regular sliced bread (that's the equivalent of 1 slice of bread), but depending upon the items inside the sandwich I still might not be able to eat the entire 1/2 sandwich. I have eaten buns (think hamburgers), but I do better if I take half the bun off and eat it open-faced. I have not tried thicker/heavier breads like a sub sandwich. Based upon the issue with regular sliced breads and buns, I doubt I'd get more than 2 or 3 bites in. I eat tortillas pretty regularly and I love a good wrap. Most of the time, they're too big to eat in one sitting. Thank goodness they make good left-overs. My advice: it doesn't hurt to try, but if you do, take it slow. Also, breads tend to be a "gateway" food that leads you down a path to heavy carb eating. I know. I've been there.

Yes. Thank heaven's he's not my doctor either! I would be curious to learn upon what principles he based this recommendation. What evidence is there to support this? I would never claim to be a nutritional expert, but from what little I do know, 800-900 calories FOREVER is the equivalent of asking someone to be in a constant state of malnutrition and starvation. Besides, I doubt that something like that is sustainable for the long term.

I can eat hard boiled eggs, but as others have said, it's very filling and I have to take my time. I can eat fried eggs and I usually do over medium or scrambled, but I do take my time and don't often get the whole thing down. Especially, if I have a piece of bacon or a few bites of toast with it. I have REALLY turned on to soft boiled eggs. Had one for breakfast today.

#1-when in doubt, consult your doctor or nutritionist. even if their literature is confusing or has conflicting info For what it's worth, here's my routine: about 30min to an hour before my morning meal I take my PPI (supposedly they're more effective on an empty stomach and first thing in the am) PPIs can lead to magnesium deficiency, so I always make sure my muti has a good amount of magnesium. If it doesn't, I will take an additional magnesium supplement. Just after breakfast, when my stomach still has food in it: 2 calcium citrate chews (500mg), a D3 capsule, a hair/skin/nails supplement, and any other morning meds I may need. When calcium and D3 are taken together, they work better and in fact, you will find calcium and D3 together as one pill/chew/etc. Just after evening meal, when my stomach still has food in it: 1 Women's One-a-Day, an iron pill, and the other half of my hair/skin/nails dose for the day. I read somewhere that you don't want to be taking iron with calcium, something about interfering with absorption/effectiveness. So, I split my daily vitamins like this. I chose my vitamins based upon how I was tolerating it and not necessarily the method (pills/chewables/gummies). Early on, I really struggled with nausea and dizziness when I took any vitamins, so I wasn't too worried about the 30 calories vs getting sick for an hour or 2 after I took them. Overall, I look at the nutrients and try to stay close to 100% of recommended doses. When you are taking a vitamin with multiple ingredients, you don't always have control over their formulation and you will often see doses well over 100%. For the most part, that just gets flushed down the toilet. BUT, I am careful with going too far over on the fat solubles (A, D, E, K) because if you take too much of these they can build up in the body.

I have acid reflux. When I was in the pre-op process, my doctor voiced concerns and evaluated my reflux, but didn't try to dissuade me or refuse to do a sleeve on someone with reflux. The worst one on my team was my psychiatrist, of all people. She got a little snotty with me and said that she didn't think that the weight loss I could expect from surgery was worth intractable reflux. 😡 My reflux was largely in control when I was sleeved, WITHOUT the purple pill or any other treatments. My doctor believes that my reflux was largely situational, meaning that my lifestyle contributed to it (obesity, diet, etc). So, we proceeded. About 4 weeks after I was sleeved, I started developing heartburn. Having had reflux before, I knew what to do and started taking the purple pill right away. No problems since then.

@danieocean CONGRATS! I had the SAME feeling when I was finally able to find back into my VS bras! HUGE victory! All the same items as Misouri-Lee's Summit above, including the sentiment that I don't like snug fitting clothing anymore. But, my most recent NSV was to go into a clothing store and buy NORMAL size clothes, not a size with a "W" behind it. I nearly cried at that one.

Have you tried arnica gel? If I get some back pain and don't want to (or can't) take medications, I massage a bit of arnica gel into the area and POOF, I feel better! Very effective for mild to moderate pain.

In my first month, I tried at least 4 different kinds of multi's because they were making me so sick. But what made me sick doesn't necessarily make others sick and visa versa. At this point, I couldn't even tell you which one's I tried. I actually started out on the patches, but developed a sensitivity to the adhesive and couldn't tolerate them. My surgeon gave me a good-sized take home packet of several different brands and styles. I know I tried chewables (the chalky kind), capsules, soft chews. i settled on Vitafusion gummy vitamins. I took both the multi for women and the calcium. When I ran out of the multi's a few weeks ago, I went back to One-a-day for active women (I was taking them before surgery and had some left). I've heard good things about the Whole foods ones (pictured on someone's post above) and when I run low on the One-A-Day, I plan to give those a try. BTW: just had my labs checked last week and all is good! Best advice I can give: take them with food or after you eat and don't stock up on too many until you've found what works best for you. *maybe ask your surgeon and/or nutritionist if they have some samples. I also think I saw on here where some of the name brand companies will provide samples for you to try out. Good luck! Finding the right vitamins was a tough stage for me.

I had no trouble with any veggie when I started on solid foods, but I did cook them all to soften them. I was wary of salads and raw veggies early in my recovery, only trying them very slowly and one thing at a time. Even today, I don't eat a lot of raw veggies. i eat them, just not a lot. They tend to fill me up a little faster, but they don't satisfy as long. My advice: eat what you like because eating things you don't like is hard to sustain. When trying new things, try them one at a time (not mixed with other foods) and take it slow because if something doesn't agree with you you'll know what it was. Don't be afraid to try new things and be creative. Most of my life, I hated cucumbers. Now, I love them (especially with some good Hummus)!

@RayLandry. I agree with jendkopp and I would challenge this. With your surgery 2 weeks away, the clock is ticking. Do not wait! To me, this is clearly a failed implantable device and your insurance should have provisions for surgical correction of an implantable device (ie: revision). Think about this in terms of an artificial joint. They are known to fail sometimes, but an insurance company really shouldn't have limitations on how many surgeries you can have on your artificial joint. Best of luck!

I started watching 600-lb life about a year ago and believe it or not, the re-runs of the Asanti family were the first ones I watched. I was already pretty deep into the pre-op process at that point and was absolutely fascinated. I watched them faithfully until I was about 3 months post-op. I watched them because I felt that by watching, it would help motivate me to stay on track. They did, to a degree, but I just couldn't stand watching these poor souls anymore. As someone said in an earlier post, there were so many common threads like abuse. Sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse. Then there were those who had substance abuse problems. I also felt like the show kind of edited things to make you react. Of course, you have Dr. N's tirades at non-compliant patients. But, the biggest thing for me was that I just could not watch them eat. The show always showed them stuffing themselves. Heck, one girl ordered pizza right after her family left and had a Domino's pizza feast to herself: med/large pizza, garlic knots, cookie pizza. The entire bed in her apartment was covered in food. And what about the chick who was performing sexual favors for her boyfriend/partner so he'd bring her junk food? Even when she was in the hospital, on a monitored diet! I just had to stop watching. It became a negative reinforcer and I wanted positivity in my life.

I was about 1 month out from surgery and had to make a trip out of state for a family obligation. While visiting, I had lunch with my former neighbors and very good friends. We went to my favorite Chinese restaurant. I enjoyed my egg drop soup and had a few bites of cashew chicken. *I was on soft regular food by then. Well, I guess something did not agree with my sleeve. I started foaming and sliming all over the place. I tried to walk it off. Hell, I even had my friend pound my back like some overgrown toddler needing to burp. I thought I was going to vomit, so went into the bathroom where all of a sudden I felt better. So, I went back to visit with my friends and mid-sentence, a mouthful of foam just appeared. I was mortified. My friends were shocked.

My pre-op diet was Protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, then a sensible meal for dinner. No sugars, low fat. By day 3 or 4, I was big time into carb withdrawal. I felt just like you describe. I was sluggish, foggy brained, grumpy, and had a headache that would not quit. It only lasted a couple days, then I felt much better. Hang in there. After surgery, it doesn't feel like such a hardship. In fact, the opposite was true for me. I had little or no appetite and had to stick to a feeding and fluid schedule. PS: I lost less than 5 pounds in the pre-op diet. Some people really lose, but I sure didn't.

I had the band in 2005. Lived with it (miserably) for 5 years. Had it taken out in 2010. My surgeon offered to convert me then, but I really had enough of living with the band and wasn't comfortable with anything more aggressive. Fast forward to 2016. I did well maintaining my weight until I had some personal issues in my life. Looking back, I did a lot of binge eating and certainly wasn't making good choices. Gained back all of my weight and am just fortunate that I didn't gain too much more than my original starting weight. I began looking into the sleeve in 2016, went back/forth for more than a year when I finally realized that I needed help, more help than willpower could satisfy. I was sleeved April of this year. I've lost 68 lbs. Since I've been down the bariatric road before, my new dietary habits fit like a glove and I feel like I've done well. I still have a few pounds to go to meet my ultimate goal with my mini-goal to get into Onderland. I did develop a little reflux after the procedure, but in all honesty, I had it before the sleeve. It varied in intensity and my doctor believes that it was largely situational (diet, obesity, etc). It's well managed now with Nexium and I'm hoping that I can consider a trial run without it soon.

@missmoe Yes, Greek has a higher protein content and is generally less sweet than standard yogurt. Caution: using "light" or "low-fat" sometimes has more carbs. Read your labels. Personally, I do middle-of-the-road. I don't get full fat, but get a 2%. Believe it or not some fat is actually good for you! It's Ok to have low calorie intake temporarily, but if you're going on 3 weeks and still that low, consider meal replacement/protein shakes. 3 weeks is a long time to be so severely restricting your caloric intake. I'd say your biggest threat to hospitalization is dehydration, so be sure you're getting fluids. I know protein shakes are not the tastiest things, but it's actually kind of amazing what you can do with them. My go to is Unjury. I just couldn't stand the ready to drink ones after surgery. I put them in Fairlife Milk (extra protein) and if I needed variety, I would mix/match or add extra ingredients like bananas or peanut butter. I see some on this board putting protein shakes in their daily coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker, but they rave about that. As I indicated earlier, I relied on protein shakes for at least a month and I ALWAYS keep some on hand just in case. Not to be an advertisement for Unjury, but I do really love the stuff. If you're tired of sweet shakes (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry), they do offer savory ones like Chicken Soup and I just got a sample of Santa Fe Chili. Haven't tried it yet, but I see potential for recipes.