smc124

Curious if anyone else has experienced decreased libido in the months immediately following weight loss surgery? Im just under two months post op and I’m also recently 40 so I’m not sure if it’s age or surgery related though it’s only really been prominent since surgery. While I’m feeling increased body positivity I’ve noticed a decline in the intensity of my craving for sexual gratification in general. Not sure if it’s related to decreased predictability in how my body handles or the semi frequent nausea. Is this normal? I’m hoping it’s temporary.

Just had one today. Thank you I’ll look closely at the results

I’m stalling right now too. Trying to ignore it and push through. The nice thing about this surgery is when a stall hits we have the confidence to know if we stick to our dr’s plan for it we know something going to give and we will start losing again. Not fun when we are in one but I find it so much less stressful than weight loss stalks prior to surgery. I’m a little over two months out and also active. My team doesn’t have us focus on calories on protein and hydration though from tracking on lose it i know I am generally consuming between 600-750 total calories and burning 500 in my dedicated workout time with my active calories burned on my Apple Watch barely ever finishing under 950. I think most of the weight loss we see in these early months is more closely a result of the restriction and absence of gherlin than anything. Also important to remember caloric deficit for pounds loss is itself a very imprecise and variable. Follow the instructions of your team and you’ll be through this before you know it.

Your frustration is palpable and I’m sorry you feeling disappointed and that you weren’t given this information before surgery. Even if you feel like your weight loss has somehow been capped you when you reach a stall you stall you might consider switching it up with a focus on weight training. What our surgeries don’t take away is our ability to sculpt our bodies by adding lean muscle. That’s still within your power. I’ve really enjoyed weight training in the past - it’s given me so much confidence to see myself grow stronger and the Protein focused diet can be similar to what is encouraged of us post surgery. I hope it’s an option you consider to move past this roadblock.

So sorry you are experiencing this but glad you have a plan to move past it that will still allow you to meet your goal. You have a great attitude and I’m happy you will experience some relief soon.

Maybe I’m confusing it whichever one I had that was made of shrimp shells

I mean this in the most caring way possible, but I’ve seen many posts similar to this one and I can’t help but wonder if we are focusing on the wrong issue - not that you can tolerate more than you think you should but that so early after surgery you are testing the limits of what you can tolerate beyond what you’ve advised to (I’m assuming you wouldn’t be concerned enough to post about that amount you can eat here unless you’ve been otherwise advised to eat less ). I completely understand the urge to move beyond purée. and how great solid food is.  And worry about your (and others who post similarly) safety as you push these boundaries and also commitment to long term success. I don’t know your backstory but many of us including myself got ti a place that required weight loss surgery due to pushing the boundaries of serving sizes in our pre-op lives. To go through this surgery, is in essence a self inflicted bodily trauma, only to revert right back to that food serving boundary pushing when you know it’s especially dangerous to your healing stomach indicates maybe there are some underlying food issues you could benefit from addressing in therapy. Please I really hope this doesn’t come off condescending or as a lecture,it’s not my intention- I deeply sympathize with what you experiencing, I’m just genuinely concerned for your ongoing success and recovery.

Now that stuff is the king of ick…. I felt like I tasted it for hours 😭

I’ll add another ick. To keep us trending… Rn for me it’s milk of magnesia. I know that’s not bari specific but just thinking about the taste makes me shudder. I’ll also add in a generic annoyance with seeing people treat me more kindly or graciously since my weight loss has become noticeable…ick

I’m struggling right now too. I’m not regretting but wishing there was a fast forward. Like you I take adderall for adhd and had similar eating pattern before starting this process with not eating much during the day but then a huge meal in evening -often a take away when the adderall wears off. I’m having a bit of the opposite problem. I’m finding food really unappealing right now. Just looking at a piece of meat (especially grilled chicken and Turkey meatballs)or smelling it is enough to turn me off. I’m struggling to tolerate vegetables, I’m still experiencing nausea semi regularly. Worse than all of those things I have really low energy. I may be 60lbs lighter than I was 6 months ago when I had my first consultation with my surgeon but I the tiredness I feel 10 weeks out from surgery is as if I was still dragging that weight around. I try to be very active and truly enjoy excercise esp swimming and weightlifting which I do in the mornings but by 4pm the exhaustion strikes and by 6p it’s like the thought of getting out of bed let alone preparing dinner feels like a gargantuan task. I’m exceeding my Protein and hydration targets and feel like I’m following all the rules, the weight loss feels controlled and stable, but I now seem to dread eating and am dreaming of the days I’ll see my pre surgery energy level. So even know I remain positive about the outlook overall in future, real time feelings in the present moment are like you somewhat miserable. And you know what, I think it’s okay to feel that way and not pretend everything is great. The reality is change comes from struggle and rewriting a lifetime of psychologically treating food as a comfort or enemy, or indulgence rather than what it truly is - the fuel for our bodies - at least for me probably requires this misery to reset. Wishing you some comfort to cravings. One food joy I was able to find was creating a Greek yogurt topping bar, having previously never liked Greek yogurt this now is a bright spot in my food day. I hope can find at least one comfort like me. Early on I did also have mental craving for egg rolls and other normal foods so I think what you experiencing is probably normal - since you mentioned Chinese I’m linking to a recipe that satisfied that craving for me. You should be able to have it as soon as you are allowed veg. https://stylishcravings.com/low-carb-easy-make-egg-roll-bowl/ Again hoping you find comfort soon and if you ever need to vent feel free to message me.

I mean perhaps this wasn’t the post to read if you didn’t want here about things that give folks the ick… just sayin

I had it. It was just a few months of pills and that was all. No interference with surgery

So great news. I had an hour personal training this morning and despite literally dragging I was so tired last night, I woke up and rather than my standard protein shake I made 2/3c Fage 2% Greek yogurt with 2/3c chopped strawberries, 1 Tb PB2, 0.5 T chia seeds and had in a protein2O. on my way to the gym and killed the workout only feeling lightheaded in the last 5 minutes of the hour!

I recently started supplementing my daily cardio with weight training - I am seeing a personal trainer now two mornings a week, I noticed in the personal trainer sessions I’m getting lightheaded. I don’t experience the same lightheadedness during intensive (Zone 4-5) swim or other cardio workouts. Im pretty confident this lightheadedness is an issue of properly fueling myself for a weight training workout. THE ASK: I’m looking for suggestions of what I can eat in the morning ahead of training to better fuel myself to prevent lightheadedness . Secondarily I’m also generally interested in what you all eat prior to workouts. - My current routine includes a Premier Protein and a protein2O energy at 75 mins and 30 mins before a workout as well as at least 8oz Water. -  I’m 2 months post-sleeve and my nutrition plan at this stage allows only the following in addition to our protein: 1 serving of fruit and 2 servings of non-root vegetables.  Additional background: Before you suggest the below I’m already aware of, actively monitoring, and confident these things are not to blame: - Im well rested -it’s rare I don’t hit 8.5hrs/night. - I’m getting easily over 72oz of hydration daily - I’m averaging between 80-100 protein/day. - I was active before my surgery and have worked with trainers and weight training extensively in the past - the work I’m doing is not new to me. For example in the year before surgery I’ve deadlifted over 250lbs. **** I’ve also reached out to my nutrition team with this query but was interested especially in hearing from anyone else who has experienced and overcame this.****

I can tell based on your posts this is of great preoccupation. It might be beneficial to discuss these feelings with a therapist. Did/Do you have the same anxiety about the health risks associated with being overweight? Heart failure, blood clots among them as well. If you’re looking at the studies you’ve also surely seen the risk of complication is extremely low when looked at as a percentage of all patients who have weight loss surgery. Remember that the Quantitative data is much more reliable. Im sure your surgery center has given you specific care and nutritional instruction including daily active minutes, grams of Protein, Oz of Water. All those instructions are tailored specifically to help you avoid complications. Other than speaking with a therapist the other thing you can do is channel this anxious into following their nutritional and care instructions to the letter to set yourself up for greatest success. And do make sure your sleeping and not googling all night. Rest is essential to healing. It’s normal to have some anxiety but don’t let it consume you. 

At this stage my nutrition team has advised no grains aside from our Proteins we’ve been allotted one fruit serving and two non-root vegetables. We’ll see if they allow my to add a complex carb first when they reply, if sp I’ll keep this in mind. Thank you!! 

You’ve got this. This part is the worst but it will make soft food and the next stages more gratifying. Those egg whites will never taste as good as they do straight after getting off liquids. Sleep more if you can to pass the days. You can do this.

Thank you so much for this thoughtful answer. I just picked up some strawberries to try to incorporate Thursday. I’ll see what the RD says when they get back to me. I can see how a sandwich might be a good solution maybe they would allow 647 bread (but to be fair sandwiches I feel like have been the one main food I’ve missed since surgery so I may be biased lol)

Did your doctor say you should expect to feel less hungry? If there was no alteration of your stomach it’s unsurprising you have same hunger level. Removal of gherlin producing section is what is the biggest impact on hunger (likely done during your first surgery) and your pouch restriction would change. Unless your doctor told you to expect otherwise it seems like weight loss associated with a revision to the intestine & focusing on malabsoptive effects would result from the malabsorption itself and any reduction in intake would be a secondary result from behavioral conditioning associated with the malabsorptive effect and changes in dumping.

I don’t have anything to add other than sending love - your frustration is palpable i know I’d be frustrated too. Do what you have to do, you’ll get there 🥰

Stick to your pre-op diet best possible. It might be hard, but after surgery all those cravings go away really quickly. Weight loss feels controlled, stable, and predictable. The first week I was tired and had discomfort from gas in my body cavity that felt intense but was gone at the end of week. I spent much on the first week in bed resting. The second week post surgery was my stomach acid week I’d wake up at 5am and feel like I had a belly full of acid. Not super painful, just annoying and that symptom went away at the end of week two. I was back to work and up and about week 2 but sleep early or naps in the afternoon. Week 3 is when my progress allowed me to move on the soft Proteins. What was most noticeable this week is that occasionally I would get extremely dizzy with the room spinning. I realized this was due to seasonings or Condiments with minimal sugars but the first sugars I had experienced since surgery. Those first 2-3 grams of sugar /food iwould cause my my insulin to over compensate and my blood sugar would drop real low. That happened for about a week and a half 1-2 times a day and then my body adjusted and I haven’t experienced it since.   I also experienced a bit of nausea at this time as I tried new foods and learned to slow down eating but never have actually threwup. I’m two months out now. Only remaining symptom is light fatigue and occasional nausea as a reaction to eating something new or eating to fast. But it’s super tolerable and not as bad as it might sound. ALL OF THIS TO SAY: some of the initial symptoms may seem miserable or annoying in the moment while your body is adjusting to your surgery, but understand most of them will pass in a week or so they aren’t there for the long term. Be kind to yourself, allow yourself to rest, and focus on your Protein and hydration above all else. You got this!

Good luck March surgeries and congrats on taking this step. I was sleeved 12/5. The two biggest comforts to my recovery were an electric heated blanket and sugar free popsicles. The heated blanket really helped soothe the gas discomfort that can be expected in the first week and any soreness. Best of luck.

Yes. I was in bed for most of the week following my surgery taking slightly longer walks each day. I was up and around almost like nothing happened the second week with the exception of the need for a nap in the afternoon or super early bedtime. I’m two months out now and I’m still dealing with some fatigue … I go to bed early and my swim speed is still about 10sec/200yds behind my pre-surgery pace but definitely night and day from the week immediately following surgery. Remember surgery is a major trauma to your body and we heal the most efficiently at rest. Make sure you are getting some walks in but allow yourself the rest :)

I was in this position also. I used ZocDoc to make a pcp appointment with a dr that took my insurance and used the Appt to establish them as a pcp as well. They wrote the letter no problem based on that first appointment and was accepted and approved by my insurance

I feel like I experience a bit of the opposite … more of a taste sensitivity where foods may taste overly salty or sweet l, probably both rooted in the same hormonal changes though.