St77

I just have to say that I'm jealous of anyone who got any kind of pain medication. My surgeon told me OTC Tylenol would suffice for my pain....it did not. I was in a lot of pain for my first week and couldn't get any relief.

I had severe GERD and because of that my surgeon recommended the bypass for me. Since then the only time I've had issues with GERD is when I've had episodes of vomiting.

Ah coffee, it really is a tough one. My team was pretty straightforward with this one. At my initial consult they strongly suggested weaning myself off of caffeine right away to only decaf. But they preferred that I actually not have anything with caffeine pre-surgery since I wouldn't be able to have caffeine until 6 months post-op. I did find an alternative, Pero, which was okay enough for a short time. I'm 3 1/2 months post-op now and am allowed decaf a few days a week, but sometimes it still bothers my stomach.

Artificial sweetners trigger my migraines, which have been notoriously difficult to control (I take 5 medications to control them and still have breakthrough pain). For this reason, my nutritionist has told me for sweetners I use honey, maple syrup and sugar in the raw in small quantities when I want to sweeten a drink or a recipe. I had some cravings for sweets for a little while, but just a small portion of ice cream made me sick to my stomach and now I have an aversion to sweets.

Even though you've had you're gallbladder out, you can actually still have pain similar to when you had you're gallbladder in. No one told me that for years. After years of GERD, I also found out that I had esophagitis and gastritis, which went unidentified until I had an endoscopy. After taking 2 PPIs for a while I eventually healed. That was before having my bypass though. Hopefully your surgeon figures out what's going on and a solution fast. Hope you feel better soon.

Congratulations on your weight loss! I had my bypass in May and I'm down 45 pounds from when I had the surgery. I just dug out a bunch of shorts in smaller sizes that I haven't fit into in years and was so excited that they fit. My own personal NSV was being able to get into a kayak without plopping down like Pooh Bear, ha, ha.

I completely understand the issue with artificial sweetners, they are a migraine trigger for me. I had a 10 day migraine that was hard to break and finally talked to the nutritionist about how this was a problem. She gave me alternatives to use for sweetening smoothies, tea, etc. if I want to.

My team didn't suggest it one way or another, but when my sister had her surgery (gastric bypass), she swore it was a life saver. I asked a nurse when I was in the hospital if I could wear one and she was more than happy to give one to me. It was helpful for me, but everyone is different.

Oh no, I'm on regular food now, just figuring out what sits right with me now. It's a frustrating matter of trial and error, but I'll get through it. I tried all sorts of protein powders and they tasted gross to me. On a great note, I've dropped 4 clothing sizes, aches and pains have gone away and my pre-diabetes has reversed, so my struggles are worth it.

I have BCBS FEP and aside from working with a previous nutritionist for nearly a year without success of meaningful weight loss, I only had to attest to trying to lose weight other ways. I was worried they wouldn't approve me, but it went through without issue.

Overall I'm doing well. However, my team feels that I'm losing too much too quickly because I'm having trouble with getting enough protein in. I've been having issues with food food aversions that I have to get past and learn to eat a bit more. However, because I had hyperemesis during my pregnancy, my nutritionist feels that history is playing a part in having a tougher time getting enough calories. It's a very individual journey in many aspects, but having support groups and forums like this are helpful in learning from other people's experiences.

Yes, I got my bypass in May. Fingers cross you'll get through everything required without any roadblocks. Good luck!

My PCP was very supportive of me having the surgery, but my program actually required neuro clearance due to seizures. My neurologist was fine sending over a note with his approval for surgery, but it really was yet another step in the process before I got cleared.

My mother's family was like this, they valued my younger sister as she was thin, whereas my older sister and I have always been overweight. They complimented on how great I looked when my daughter was born because I lost 50 pounds while pregnant. I had hyperemisis gravidarum my entire pregnancy and couldn't keep anything down. Who would want to go through that misery, but they thought it had a great result of a 50 pound weight loss. I decided to break those chains and walked away from that side of the family, with exception of my mom. I had to protect my daughter from their behavior. No regrets and no looking back. I'm sorry that there is no way of helping your mother out, but do take care of yourself.

A piece of advice I was given from my team because I was having trouble getting 10 oz. of fluid down a day was to try starting my day with a warm drink like tea to see if it helps "prime the pump" for lack of a better phrase. I found it actually did help. I take Zofran for nausea from migraines anyways, but found that Ativan helped calm down the dry heaves.

I only had to get a letter of clearance from my neurologist for my seizures, which are serious, but nothing like a stroke. I'm familiar with what you're describing as having small holes in your heart though, I was checked for PFO when I was younger and advised if I had it, I was at an increased risk for stroke.