summerseeker

There is a chat room for Bariatric Members who have had surgery 3 years. I dont think there is any other. I just chat and post on the general world wide part of this site

Hello Capri, No one can tell you how many diets are enough. You know when its enough. Mine was in the middle of the second covid lockdown. I had regained my latest weight loss and more. My health was deteriorating and I was needing more and more help and didn't want to go outdoors where I could be judged. The only people who know I have had this surgery is the hubby, my son and my long time school friend. Everyone has opinions and as far as I am concerned they can stick them where the sun doesn't shine. What they dont know, will not hurt me. I am meeting my sisters in June. They live abroad and I haven't seen them for 3 years. They may or may not notice I have lost weight.

My team never banned tea and coffee. I had my first coffee as my first drink in hospital. I live on the stuff.

Hello Possum, Yes I do feel great. I am 62 and can not remember when I was not breathless. I can clean my home again. I walk without a stick. My knees don't hurt any more. I was told I was diabetic 6 months before my surgery and now I am not. I feel free and independent again. Its wonderful. I have had a rough ride because my new stomach had swellings and eating and drinking was difficult for the first couple of months but I got through it. Its all been worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Nice to speak to you

Has anyone mentioned that your Hormones are all over the place after surgery. Even me at 62 and thought her hormonal days were well and truly over suffered this. I couldn't control my feelings of - Why did I buy this when I am so ill all the time ? Why cant I eat like my peers ? I cant even drink, what have I done ? I cried a lot. I was nasty to my husband who was only trying to help. I couldn't explain why I felt this way. As my stomach swelling eased up a bit, I could eat a little more and these feelings started to die back. I hope you can weather the storm. You are worth it. Get some help if you can.. Take every day as it comes and know that I will be rooting for you. x BTW you can stretch your sleeve, Plenty have turned up on the 600lbs show and want a second Sleeve at 800lbs

I use My fat Secret, hate the name but like the content. It knows all the UK supermarket foods

Hello Possum, Congrats on your surgery date, not long now. There are loads of Aussies on this site and its great because at any time someone will help no matter what time of day. To put your details in is really tricky till you get used to it. Use the little down arrow by your name at the top of the page. Go to 'My Surgery' Fill that in. Then at the side you will see 'My progress' I think thats what you need. You can also do a ticker here

TBH it took me until I could eat enough to get to about 500 calories. Then little by little I got stronger and begun to clean the house again. I still have days where I am vomiting a lot but they are getting less and less. Then all I do is huddle on the sofa again. Keep up with your liquids if you can x

I had the heightened sense of smell and I put it down to bouts of nausea. I had the same when pregnant, could not stand the cooking smells. At almost 5 months now things are normalising and foods are beginning to smell and taste delicious. I skipped the mashed stage, just smelling and looking at pureed meat and veg made me gag. I ate pate, strained chicken soup, yogurt, readybrek, cream cheese and mashed egg mayo. I heard other say they had baby food but it wasnt for me. I hope you get it sorted soon, you can always go back a stage for a few days and then try again. We are not all the same.

I forgot about the injections, I had 3 or 4 weeks of them after surgery. Hated every one of them

I went shopping today, not something I have ever bothered with since being a teenager. I always shopped on eBay or catalogues. I wanted some trousers that didn't have big baggy legs. I guessed I was a UK 22 but they only had Size 20 so I bought them and tried them on at home - They fit beautifully, Oh my I am so happy

Hi Charlie, congrats on the sleeve. I had the same problem for 7 weeks, I had some swelling and struggled to get liquids down in any amount. Try warm drinks, warm milky coffee and tea, Bovril and oxo are good. Cold shakes and ice lollies, Britvic Tomato juice really helped me, its sugar free and 47 cals for 250mls. All count towards your quota and some days I only managed 1/3rd of this, it gets better in time. Now at 4 and a half months I can take 2 gulps at a time. Is it wind pain or are you taking large gulps, take tiny sips. I have Wind relief tablets from Boots that are great at calming excessive burping type wind. Just do the best you can every day and you will get there. You are still healing. I found my team at Spire were very helpful, call yours if you need reassurance

A week before surgery, I had to shower in a surgical detergent every day. It wasnt the most pleasant body and hair wash. I got to the hospital at 8 am and got checked in. By 12 noon I was dressed in my gown, sexy socks and cap and being wheeled down to Anaesthetics. I was quickly put under and woke up in my room with a drip and the oddest sensation in my lower legs, I had plastic boots on that pulsed. It stops thrombosis.

My big food love was noodles. It could be real Chinese or Thai ones in a flashy restaurant or the cheap as chips blocks which are full of calories and hidden additives at the discount supermarket. I loved them all. I would have eaten them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I could. I am not able to eat carbs yet, not enough room in my tummy but these might be first on my list

I buy the cheapest supermarket brand ones now. My team said these are fine but take one in a morning and at night as they are lower dose. My last batch came from Amazon for less than £5 = $6 American. Enough for 90 days. I hated gummy ones, I think its the gelatine in them.

It sounds as if you may need a little fibre in your diet. Try whole grains like barley and oats, Beans like chick peas, lentils and edamame. { there are thousands of beans and grains} Fruits and vegetables. Alternatively ask at the pharmacist if there is a supplement you can take. You can take charcoal tablets for the wind. I hope you get relief soon.

Have they checked to see if you have a stricture ? They thought I had but it all settled down at about 8 weeks out.

I was not able to keep liquids down so I had to stay 6 nights. I had 1 extra night because we had a huge storm in the UK and it outed all the power in my area. My wonderful surgeon wouldn't let me go home to a cold house, I was so happy for that.

Why don't you have a look at the before and after photographs on the forum. There are pages and pages of them. I have never seen any with a deflated or wrinkly face !

I had no pain what so ever, no gas pain or pain from the surgery. I could slide in and out of bed fairly easily which was a bonus as I had terrible diarrhoea. TMI sorry. Never had any pain meds

My scalp was real itchy too. I am just over 4 months out and am shedding lots, I am going to have it cut short next week and I am so unhappy about it but its not the end of the world. I know it will come in again as it has happened to me before at menopause and at a time of extreme stress.

I would imagine you are going to have to maintain this 11lb weight loss until surgery. That will be the hard part. There are lots of different diets to try, finding one that fits you is best. Do you cook or buy in ready made foods ? What foods would you find most difficult to give up ? My biggest downfall would have been my love of noodles and rice dishes so I had to find replacements for them. You will loose weight on the protein shakes but it will be difficult to maintain it unless you continue through to your surgery. What diets have you tried before ?

It could be a number of things but I have sorted some stuff out. I also got the info on this forum. I take medication for it an hour before I eat or drink in a morning. Some times its your vitamins that do it. I couldn't take gummy vitamins at all. I have multivitamins and iron , twice a day. One after breakfast and one before bed at night. The plate sized calcium tablet, I take after lunch. Such a treat isn't it . I have also sorted out my constipation too with those delicious powders. I get lots of liquids in too. So what cured me ? I dont know but I did all this and poof I am nearly cured. Also some people have nausea because of the sweetener in the protein shakes. You may need to shop around for one that suits you. I hope you sort it out soon.

I struggled for the first 2 months, I had so much nausea. It hasn't done me any harm in the long run and I can chug drinks now, hooray. I drank through the night too, @Arabesque Told me to do it too. Low calorie ice pops and warm drinks helped me through it- Oxo, Bovril [ also called beef tea ] and Ribena sugar free blackcurrant cordial are the English brand names I found helped me most. Tomato juice was a wonder drink that helped turn me around. It was 47 cals for 200mls and tasted great with hot sauce. Dont be afraid to try anything, good luck