SleeveToBypass2023

OMG, ok here's what happened. So last night, for the first time in a year and a half, I was finally in the mood for some ham (lost my liking of pork for a long time). So hubby made a hickory smoked, spiral cut ham. OMG it was AMAZING. I took a tentative bite and it was like a FLAVOR EXPLOSION in my mouth. So delicious!!! I was so excited to actually like it again that I scarfed it down. Like, I ate all 3 ounces of ham in under a minute. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT do that. Ever. Once you have your surgery (especially if it's the bypass) DO NOT EVER EVER EVER scarf your food. Even if you want to. Even if it's the greatest food in the history of all food ever. Do NOT eat it quickly. Go slow and chew it. Pretend you're a train and CHEW CHEW it. About 5 minutes after I finished eating, I was in hell. OMG. The pain, the stuck feeling, the "omg my stomach is gonna burst" feeling, the nausea, the praying to ALL the deities and making bargains and deals and swearing to never do it again...it all started. I was MISERABLE all night. And I DO mean all night. So learn from me, people. NOTHING tastes good enough to make that TERRIBLE behavior even remotely worth it. Be very mindful about what you eat, how fast you eat it, and how much of it you eat. This concludes my TED talk.

I agree with @Arabesque, track your food and see what you're eating, how much, and how often. The further out we get from our surgeries, the easier it is to slowly get off track. Our stomachs stretch out a little and we notice we can eat more, so we do. Definitely reach out to your dietician and see if you guys can come up with a way to get back on track. It's normal to have the weight loss slow drastically as time goes on, but if you aren't where you want to be yet, there's ways to fix it. But definitely start tracking your food and liquid intake, reach out to your dietician, and make sure you're moving your body. Even if you don't do full workouts, make sure you're moving every day. Park at the far end of a parking lot, take stairs instead of the elevator, take a walk a few times per week...anything to get your body moving.

Give your meds a chance to kick in. Do some therapy. Try eating some soft foods and drinking your protein for now (protein shakes, protein gatorade). What do you mean when you say your body is falling apart? How far out from surgery are you? The symptoms you're describing sound pretty normal the first few weeks out from surgery. They do get better. If you're further out, it may be because you aren't meeting your fluid and protein goals. How close are you to hitting them? What are you eating and how often? We need more information before we can offer any real advice. I will say that there isn't any doctor that will do a surgery to stretch your stomach back out, so that's out. Instead of sabotaging your surgery, let's see if we can come up with some suggestions to help you through this.

If you're having your surgery in the US, your surgeon's office will do the follow up care. If you're having your surgery outside the US, most US surgeons won't do the aftercare because they don't want to be responsible for any complications that may come up. If there's any kind of complication that is emergent, you can go to an ER and they should take care of the immediate issue, but follow up care will likely still be a problem. If you have complications that are non emergent (like I did), you'll be hard pressed to find a surgeon that will take care of it. But again, if you have your surgery here in the US, none of this is an issue because your surgeon's office will definitely do all aftercare and treat any issues that may arise.

When I had my sleeve, I took 2 weeks off (desk job). When I had my revision to bypass a year later, I felt fantastic and only took a week off. I had a harder time with the sleeve than I did they bypass, but everyone is different. A week is absolutely essential, 2 weeks seems to be the average, some even take 3 weeks off. Personally, I had my doctor write a note saying I needed 2 weeks off, that way I knew I had it. I needed all of it with the sleeve, but I was able to go back after a week with the bypass so I just had my doctor write a new note saying I was cleared to go back after a week.

You look great and have made fantastic progress. You have nothing to worry about. What you want to look at are your NSVs (Non Scale Victories). Here are a few of mine: I was able to fit in normal sized chairs at doctor's offices and the movies I was finally able to properly cross my legs when sitting My clothes were getting looser and not fitting as snugly I was able to wear 18" necklaces and they didn't fir like a choker My ring size went from a 10 to a 6 I could sit at a booth in a restaurant and there is plenty of space between my stomach and the table and I wasn't squished up against it I can wear bracelets and anklets now I am no longer diabetic, no longer have painful joints, no longer have high blood pressure, and am off all the meds for those issues When the scale isn't doing what we think it should be doing, look to your NSVs. That's what REALLY tells the tale with what your body is doing. Now, having said that, you gotta get back on your bariatric diet and re-dedicate yourself to it. The trick is to not undo all the progress you made. For me PERSONALLY, I can't let things like holidays and birthdays and special occasions be an excuse to go off my diet. I know that if I do, it'll be 10x harder to get back on track. So I make sure ahead of time that I have things I can eat that are compliant with my diet and still taste really good and allow me to be included with everyone else. Just keep that in mind going forward and you should do great.

Normal. I have always stalled out on average every 2 months or so. And the stalls last progressively longer each time. And I gain 2-4 pounds with each stall, then drop like 6 pounds all at once when it breaks. Just get used to it lol It's literally never ending. But it's very normal and all part of the process.

What kind of BCBS coverage do you have? When I had my initial sleeve surgery (and my revision an year later to bypass due to complications) I had BCBS (the highest Diamond plan) and they approved my initial surgery in 48 hours once it was submitted and 72 hours for my revision once it was submitted. I know some plans don't offer a lot of coverage, or require a thousand hoops to get an approval.

I had this. Get on a PPI, and if that doesn't help, tell your surgeon. I had to get my esophagus stretched not long after my original sleeve surgery, and the sleeve itself caused me to develop horrible GERD, which I had never had before.

Protein - get it from protein Gatorade, protein shakes, bone broth, etc. You shouldn't be eating anything right now. Hair loss - it's gonna happen. How much? It varies from person to person. Nothing really stops it, and it'll end when it ends. personally, I cut my hair shorter, used thickening and volumizing shampoo and conditioner, and styled it so the middle part wasn't as visible. It's heavy shedding, not clumps coming out. Foods - once I went off liquids, I ate cottage cheese, hummus, avocado spread, refried beans, black beans, scrambled eggs, and continued with protein shakes and protein Gatorade. I never really did pureed food because that's nasty lol Everything will work out and be ok. Go slow, don't panic about the hair loss, and don't rush the eating schedule.

No scars from the reaction, nothing permanent. But at the time, I had itchy, red, raised rash all around the surgical sites. Warm to the touch. The red areas were a little swollen. After about 10 days of treatment, everything went back to normal and was fine.

I was fine after the sleeve as far as the surgical glue goes. But after my revision from the sleeve to bypass due to a lot of complications, I developed a major allergy to the glue. So when I had my hernia surgery, they had to do a lot of internal stitches, which was A LOT more painful. But overall, even though the first week or so after your revision has been rough, I promise you it WILL get better.

This is the one I take: https://www.target.com/p/nature-s-plus-pro-berberine-1500-mg-60-tablets/-/A-89725870#lnk=sametab

Holy hell, that's an insane amount of complications!!! Do your doctors think they are from the specific type of surgery you ad, or maybe from having a major surgery in itself?

I'm shocked you were offered the sleeve with GERD. That shouldn't happen because the sleeve is known to cause GERD, even in those who didn't have it before. GERD in and of itself doesn't make it harder to lose weight, but the effects of having GERD flare ups can. Mostly because it's so painful and uncomfortable and hard to move around.

I did. That's why I had to have a revision. What side effects are you having? What surgery did you have?

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I originally had a sleeve and had several very rare complications that led to needing 7 surgeries in a year to correct everything. I had a revision to the bypass, which made all the difference and was life changing. I hate that the bypass wasn't the same for you. I'm glad you're home and starting on the road to getting better.

I had surgery for an incarcerated vertral hernia. I had absolutely no idea I had a hernia at all until there was pain. But once the pain started, it STARTED. And there was no more doing ANYTHING but just getting through until I had the surgery. My advice would be to be careful. You can work out, but I wouldn't push too hard. Just just enough to get a good work out but maybe avoid major core work. Once it becomes incarcerated, it's PAINFUL and needs surgery.

How much protein and liquids are you getting in?

Stick to the plan. Not everyone loses their hunger. I know I never did. That can't be what you rely on to not over eat. This is where doing the work really comes in. Train yourself to follow the plan, eat what you're supposed to, when you're supposed to, and don't cheat. Do things to keep yourself busy so you're not so focused on eating.

Pic 1 - 388 pounds Pic 2 - 330 pounds Pic 3 - 290 pounds Pic 4 - 255 pounds Pic 5 - 230 pounds Pic 6 - 222 pounds (this week at work)

My first appt with the surgeon was on Feb 28th 2022 and my surgery day was May 3rd 2022. So about 2 months and a week or so.

I have no idea why I feel this way. I'm finally down to 1 more surgery (my hysterectomy) and then I'm totally done with hospitals. I'm healing well from my hernia surgery (even did a VERY light workout today for the first time in a month since I'm only 3 1/2 weeks out). I love my job, I'm feeling good, our rent is paid and we have plenty of food, car is running well, gas tank is full, finally stable again. Hubby and I get along great, kids and granddaughter are doing well. It's driving me nuts that I can't figure out why I feel down. Normally I'm excited about the new year. I don't get SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), and I was fine up until about 2 days ago. I don't suffer from depression, so it's just really bugging me. What in the world do I have to be down about???

Definitely sounds like a stall. Some people don't gain during the stall, they just sit at their current weight during it. Me? I gain. And by gain, I mean anywhere from 3-5 pounds. It's infuriating. Then I lose and gain the same 2-3 pounds over and over until one day I get on the scale and see that I lost 5-6 pounds. That's when I know the stall broke. It's going to happen, a lot. So start focusing on your NSVs (Non Scale Victories). Those tell the story of what your body is actually doing better than the scale can.

If you like how you look, feel good, have good mobility, and have no health issues then there's no reason to get this kind of surgery. Doing it because you know you'll gain weight i the future isn't the right reason to do it. Maybe see a nutritionist about getting on a healthy eating plan, and move your body more. Walk, workout, go hiking, swim, do things that move your body. That will help. Pay attention to what you're eating and drinking. Consume 1800 - 2000 calories per day, prioritize protein first, then veggies, then carbs. Reduce sugar and salt. Limit alcoholic drinks. These are all things that will help you to be healthier, drop a little weight, and ensure health as the years go on. Surgery is a last resort for those who have serious weight and health issues and have failed at everything else.