summerseeker

I have at most, two small slices of bread a week so I have butter on it. I fry my one egg a week in oil. I am not on a diet. I have just changed the amount that I eat

Loved this discussion. Its true, every day is a school day

I rarely disagree with an opinion on here but on the point of exercise I do. Before surgery I was too disabled to exercise. Staying indoors during the covid years had added lots of weight on my carcass. [ it was a government decision to keep certain people with certain illnesses indoors ] I was too old and too heavy to even begin basic exercises. After surgery it took a lot of bravery on my part to start walking. Everything scared me after being indoors for 2 years. At about 8 months out and 100lbs down, walking became easier for me. The only exercise I do is cooking, cleaning, walking, shopping and volunteering in a charity shop for one day a week. So I have done zero exercise and lost 150+ lbs

I could use soy sauce and fish sauce and made the most of it with Chinese and Thai vegetable dishes. I had 3 weeks of milk and non root vegetables. I needed to be creative. Aged balsamic vinegar was also a godsend. I had it on salads and roasted vegetables.

Pro's - I am no longer disabled, diabetic or have high blood pressure or lymphoedema. I have become a ultra confident person instead of a house mouse. I am all the things that I always want to be The only con that I can think of is my saggy skin but hey ho, I live in the UK. Its usually wet and cold and when wrapped up in clothes, I look great

You need patience, Getting to grips with the major diet changes either pre op or for about 6 weeks post op, you need patience and perseverance. Neither are easy. We have never had to eat in this way before. Everything has rules to be obeyed. Nobody has the same rules as you. You will need a lip balm and if you can get it biotin dry mouth spray. I always have wet wipes in my bag and I did use these Spare underwear If you are having a long car journey after surgery, a pillow is great to put on your stomach as it stops the seat belt from squishing you. I really regretted getting rid of my recliner chair as I had to sleep sitting up in bed for a month. I had nasty reflux. Some people buy in protein drinks but do not buy too many of the same one because our tastes change after surgery. I made broths and froze them. You will be asleep or be walking in the hospital. You will need nothing for that. Read up about Stalls

Have your team ruled out a stricture ? Any time that liquids are being vomited back up, alarm bells should ring. It is a easy fix I believe. Lots of us have issues with nausea and not wanting to eat foods and drinks that were our go to ones before surgery. I didn't do Protein drinks but have read on here that there are ones with sugar substitutes that really give people problems. My husband is diabetic so we have lots of sugar substitutes and every one of them make me vomit. I use real sugars if I need any. Lots of us find we are intolerant of dairy, nuts etc. Our new stomachs are really fussy. I also had a filthy taste in my mouth from the ketones for months. I still take Lansoprazole 30mg twice a day and when I need it Gaviscon I could not face the puree stage, just thinking about the texture made me heave so I missed that stage all together and stayed on homemade soups, yogurts, cream cheese, pate until I could go on to foods that were squashed with a fork. One tip that I was given was to have my drinks warm. My stomach accepted them better. I never drink plain water, I have never liked it. I add a little fruit juice or add Bovril or Oxo stock cubes.

At about 6- 7 months out. I had lost about 75 pounds. I was going on a overseas holiday and was trying clothes on and started looking in mirrors. I avoided mirrors for decades. My arms were the first noticeable signs that the surgery worked. I had about two inches of saggy skin under my arms. At about 12 months out, I sent for some good quality leggings, just to see if........... Well they did fit. I had regular sized legs for the first time since junior school. No more of the detested wide leg trousers and jeans for me. My ankle boots go over the top of my trousers these days, I never could do this before because they didn't zip or lace all the way up. Another holiday when I was 15 months out and I realised I had the gap in my thighs that I had always dreamed of. This old bird now wears mini dresses over my swimsuits on the beach and by the pool. I could never have imagined that. I have a lot of sagging skin on my upper arms but my lower legs are just a bit wrinkly. I look great in clothes but am fairly sure that at my age I will not be having surgery to rectify the saggy skin. I knew the skin would happen as I was old when I started this journey. I never put me of doing it. Saggy skin does not ache, feel heavy or weep. It is correctable if you want too.

No I do not need them at all. It was such a chore getting the socks on every day. I feel blessed. This surgery gave me so much more life back

Some foods are easier to eat than others. We call them slider foods. If you were eating these then they just slide all through.

I had a lot of adhesions too and I was also super worried. I was butchered by a surgeon aged 17. My surgeon did not seem worried about it but said he had to work through a lot of it on one side of my tummy. My surgery was longer than most, I expected to have to pay extra money for his time but he did not charge me extra. When I was overweight the adhesions would pull and tear and hurt me badly, I have had no pain since my surgery. I hope you get a positive outcome

Ask the surgeon this question not the online community. Its like Chinese whispers online and lots of the opinion is supposition. My pennyworth would be - get the surgery. Skinny women do not get saggy bellies after pregnancy, they don't eat for two

I really get this. Its your body and if you need a lower buffer weight then its your business. If your hubby did not know you had intentionally dieted, Would he have said anything ? I can tell you now that my husband would not know. We have been away in Spain for 2 weeks so my husband saw a bit more of me than usual. I was laying in bed without covers and clothes, it was so hot. My hip bones and ribs were prominent. My skin hangs off me, its not pretty. He said I think its time you gave up trying to loose weight now, you are skin and bone. My local doctor wants me to loose at least 40lbs more to get in a healthy range. I am happy where I am, I look good in my clothes. Who is right ? Me ! So congrats on your loss and bugger everyone else

Hi, I am looking in to arm surgery too. I would like the boob done but a t my age is it really necessary ? At a Spire hospital near me they charge £5.000 for that. A friend has just had the boobs done and that cost £9,000. There is lots of bad press about Turkey and I think I would be too scared to try it. The arm surgery alone is big surgery and my friend couldn't lift for 6 weeks after her surgery. The thing thats holding me back is not the cash its how long I will need to rely on someone else until I heal. Good luck with your journey and please keep me posted, I am very interested

It depended on where I was when going through the stages. On puree I would blitz it but when on soft foods I would smash it with the back of a spoon. I still eat it now, its good

It took me for ever to reach my goals. Like 3 + months. They just told me to do my best. Protein yogurts were my saviour, 2 of these and a pint of milk a day and I had all my protein. Drinking seemed to take all day and all my waking night too. I had my surgery in coldest winter, so hot drinks were easiest for me to manage, although they did get cold before I drank it all. After meals if I found myself thirsty, I would suck a popsicle , its a fluid. Once you can drink your ounces you will feel amazing. Its really worth while persevering, it does get easier soon I had to keep going back a stage because eating 'normal' foods was so difficult for me

I had lymphoedema because of my weight and I also had major problems when walking. I would be so out of breath and my heart would hammer in my chest. I was classed as disabled. I relied on a stick. Housework was difficult, It would take a week to clean my home, a room at a time. I ironed a shirt and sat down, panting. Now since surgery I am super active, can clean the house in an afternoon. I can walk miles without stopping to rest. My lymphoedema was in my arms and legs, I was very embarrassed about the size of them. Although I do not have the most beautiful ankles now, I would say they pass. My arms have a great deal of loose empty skin. At my age, I am wondering if I should have corrective surgery or not. I have been on 3 overseas holidays in very hot climates since surgery. My ankles and calves have never swelled and they always did before, especially on the plane journey. Its good not to wear the ugly socks. Good luck with your decision making

Its rare but I got it with the sleeve. It was not bad enough to take me to the ER but was really debilitating all the same. If I am really careful in what I eat and take my PPI twice a day and use sodium alginate after foods it keeps it at bay. I would have got the gastric bypass if I knew beforehand.

I could not do the puree stage, too grossed out. I made soups with lentils, bacon, carrots and sweet potatoes with mild chilli/curry flavours. I could regulate the thickness with stock or milk, add yogurt or cream cheese. I had lots of milk with banana and peanut butter blitzed in

I am just so genuinely sorry you have more surgery to go through. Be strong.

Also, hate to tell you @summerseeker, what friends & I call Sahara dessert mouth or Egyptian mummy mouth, is a common affliction of women once we pass a certain age. Sigh! Oh no, I can not be getting old. Inside I am only 21 Lols

I think this is me too. About twice a week I am waking with that dreadful scary dry mouth. I

I have just arrived home from our 14 day holiday. We had it booked pre- covid and the company allowed us to continue postponing the booking until we could go. It was a All inclusive type holiday where you stay in a big resort and everything is at hand which suits us when travelling, my husband needs a wheelchair. We were a little nervous of the airports and flying as it is such a hassle with a wheelchair. It all went quite smoothly except for the times I was stranded with a hubby, wheelchair, two suitcases and two bags and a large handbag. At times it felt like I was the puzzle where you have a river to cross with a bag of grain, a hen and a fox. I wore the bags like a bandolero, pulled the suitcase and pushed the wheelchair with my stomach. Oh the joys of checking in at airports. I ate what I wanted, which being me, was always the best fish, seafood, cheeses and a vast amount of serrano/ parma ham. They made their own cookies and bread so these never got bypassed but in small amounts. I even had butter and ice cream. I drank strong coffee with liqueurs and some long cocktails. Usually one or two a day. A few times I felt really drunk when the bar tenders had made the cocktails stronger than the last. It was not a good feeling but I found something to eat and then the alcohol was absorbed quickly. I was a little worried to get on the scales this morning. Pre surgery, I could put almost a stone on in the two weeks [14lbs] a lot of it was water weight around my swollen ankles. I weighed in at exactly the same and TMI moment, had 8 days of poop inside me. So may even loose weight when the medicine kicks in [ or is it out ? ] So te he he another win win for my bariatric surgery

I would say that for most of us its constipation that we post about. I have never read on here about anyone with your issues. I think you need to go back to your team or doctor and consult with them. Its not something you should be dealing with in my opinion. Hope you can get it sorted quick

I leave the house. I once told a psychiatrist that I struggled to do exercise because the weather was awful. He said its just weather, buy better clothing. So I did. I walk here, there and everywhere. I always return happier and healthier