CarmenG

That's awesome! I never asked my people. I can sleep a bit on my left, but my right feels weird, uncomfortable, like there's something underneath me. I'm 25 days out, so I'm going nuts. Maybe I'll try just lying on my tummy for a bit and see how it feels.

That's awesome! I never asked my people. I can sleep a bit on my left, but my right feels weird, uncomfortable, like there's something underneath me. I'm 25 days out, so I'm going nuts. Maybe I'll try just lying on my tummy for a bit and see how it feels.

Well, your weight loss is really great. I lost like that when I had the sleeve in 2009. Ended up losing 149 lbs in the first 18 months. I've read and was told that revisions lose a lot slower because our bodies have adapted to a small amount of calories, so they hold on to them for dear life. I'll eat like 1 scrambled egg and 1 oz of turkey for breakfast, 1/2 cup of albacore tuna with 2 tbsp light mayo for lunch, 2 oz of chicken breast and a laughing cow Swiss cheese wedge for dinner. I am only up to 15 minutes on the treadmill though. I'm upping the time little by little. I was cleared just this past Monday for the treadmill. Maybe my carbs are too high or my protein is too low? I wasn't told to count calories, but I've read that at this point it should be between 300-600 cal/day. I use the Baritastic app to document my daily nutrition and H2O. It's pretty neat.

I'm home right now too until Aug 8th when I go back. Initially when I detoxed from carbs and alcohol (semi-liquid diet), I did not feel weak. The first three days were a b*tch because withdrawal. Yes, even from carbs. But on like day 4, I was really feeling good. I had energy, I was in ketosis, and I was sleeping sooo much better at night. I think you'll do great at the beach, just please hydrate and take your shakes, maybe even no sugar, super low-carb protein bars, and have a good, healthy dinner.

DANG. That's A LOT of coffee. Is it decaf? Is this a first surgery for you? Mine's a revision from a 14-year-old sleeve. I was told to avoid coffee for like the first 2 months. I'm a coffee drinker too, but not as hardcore, lol! I'm going to try caffeine probably starting Monday, just to see if I tolerate it. Don't want any surprises at work. Are you getting in your calories and protein? Did you lose any weight before your surgery?

SleeverSk, The Argon Coagulation surgery is very different from a bypass. From what I read, this surgery creates scar tissue to make stomach pouches smaller. I can see how there would need to be more than one if that's all they're doing.

Best of luck!!! You'll do great! I think what made it easier for me is that I'm a teacher, and there's NO EATING in my class (cuz middle schoolers started taking "special" gummies to school and teachers thought it was regular candy). My class periods are 49 minutes long with a 4-minute passing period. We need to stand in the hallways while kids go to their next classes. There's really no time to be snacking and eating and stuff. At home, however, is was a whole different story. That's why I left my actual solid meal for dinner. As an example, I'd eat a homemade cheeseburger sans the bread, or rotisserie chicken, or pork chops. I didn't hold back on beef, chicken, pork, or CHEESE! I 🧡cheese. 😁 When I was craving sweets, I'd just drink another protein shake.

For me it was supposed to be 12 days on full liquids and then 2 days clear liquids right before surgery. My doc told me that if they opened me up and found any food in my stomach and/or gut, he'd cancel it and sew me back up! So, I wasn't taking any chances. He also wanted me to lose some weight prior to my surgery, so that also motivated me to start detoxing and dieting 4 weeks before I had to. I wasn't counting calories or anything on my semi-liquid diet, but I wasn't snacking either. I would control myself until dinnertime, lol. But I found that once you detox from carbs, it gets really easy to not crave them so much at all.

What helped me pre-op was I started detoxing and dieting a whole month before my surgery. I started with a semi-liquid diet on May 11th. Protein Shake for breakfast and lunch and a healthy, no carb dinner. I stopped drinking alcohol and upped my water to 6 or 7 bottles a day. Then 10 days (because they had a cancellation and asked if I wanted it sooner than scheduled) before surgery, I started on all liquids. In the first 24 days before surgery, I lost 23 lbs. That really, really motivated me and made me feel so good both physically and emotionally. It also helped the surgeon with a successful surgery because of the liver shrinkage. Y'all have some awesome ideas!

Me too. I'm so disappointed. 😞

I was sleeved in Mexico in 2009, and two years later I lost my gall bladder because all I did was focus on protein and nothing else. I wish I had known that we CAN overdo protein. I wish I'd known that too much protein will kill your gall bladder, your kidneys, and your liver. I wish I'd exercised from the get-go instead of waiting 3 years to finally start getting on that elliptical. It would have given me more muscle tone and less hanging skin. I wish I'd stuck to my exercise instead of letting myself get overwhelmed with all the tragedies I experienced from 2014-2020. I wish I'd gotten therapy instead of looking to Xanax, Ambien, and alcohol to distract me. I'm 23 days out of a revision from a sleeve to a bypass due to weight gain. This journey is going to be much harder than my sleeve. Treasure your sleeve, work with it, respect it. *Edit: You're goal right now should be to hydrate and keep walking. Even just the shuffling around the house is good. It helps prevent blood clots and helps flush out the anesthesia and water retention from the IV fluids. Shuffle around the house 3 or 4 times a day. Count 500 or 600 steps each time. It gets easier. Don't be bending over to grab stuff from the floor. Ask someone to help or get a $10 extended arm grabber thingy. That helped me a lot when I would drop my sock or my vitamin on the floor. 😊

I agree with Arabesque. You need to go back. Ask for blood work and make sure they check your kidneys. Too much protein is also bad. I had my sleeve done 14 years ago in Mexico. He sent me home with nothing but a regular multivitamin once a day. Two years later, though, I lost my gallbladder due to the fact that all I was consuming was protein. My sleeve was tiny and I lost a lot of weight really fast, but my diet was nowhere near balanced because all they tell you is to concentrate on "protein first." Consequently, I didn't care about fiber (or anything else) and I put a horrible strain on my gallbladder, liver, and kidneys. It's a really tough balancing act when it comes to nutrition. * Edit: Maybe because you already don't have a gallbladder, you're straining your kidneys?

I know exactly how you feel. I was on my pre-op diet during the last days of school when all of my coworkers and students were snacking and bringing me all kinds of goodies (that I didn't eat). My daughter's Sweet 16 happened 4 days after my surgery (no dinner, no cake). On my birthday (July 2nd), my sisters came over with breakfast tacos, cake, and a birthday gift card, and all I could do was slowly try a scrambled egg, while they all ate around me at the table. All of those times, I felt sad because I thought I was missing out on all the goodies with family and friends. In reality, though, I wasn't missing out on the fun. My friends and family were/are very supportive. It was difficult, of course, but I stuck to my guns all while socializing with all the people that I love. It's actually something you will have to get used to for months and years to come anyway. After your surgery, you won't be able to eat or drink like others. But you WILL be able to hang out and be a part of all the gatherings. Just remember to be true to yourself first. Be true to your health. You don't have to shy away from family and friends. As long as they are understanding and accommodating, you can go hang out with anyone at anytime. Take your shakes/food with you. It's what I did and will have to keep doing for a very long time. But I do understand your frustration. It gets easier with practice. 💛

Thanks for the reminder! I got my vitamins at 32% off and a L'ange hair product at 50% off!😍

I had a serious case of buyer's remorse during my second week post op. I even thought, "I should've just stayed the way I was!" But I am feeling better. I try to do a lot of reading about the bypass and revisions. I'm a sleeve to bypass revision. I'm 23 days out and at a weight stall. I'm finding it hard to consume more than 56-64 oz of water a day. I'm craving caffeine like crazy. And I'm experiencing constipation and not sure how to add more fiber without adding more carbs. It's tricky getting just enough of this and not too much of that. What's helping my mindset, though, is looking back at my very first pic (starting weight) and looking at my most recent. I haven't lost much (comparatively speaking), but I feel better. I can wash the dishes, cook dinner for my daughter, and bathe without running out of breath or having my back aching and burning. I can dress myself without having to sit on the bed. My skin looks fantastic. Focus on all of the things that have gotten better since your pre-op diet. Focus on the future weight loss you'll experience (even if it's going slower than you'd like). Focus on things you'll be able to consume in a couple of months. You can look up recipes and save them for month 2 and month 3 and so on. Also, I don't know if you pray, but if you do, pray for peace of mind. All of these things help me, and they may help you as well.

I'm new to the bypass, so I'm not sure how foamies or dumping work with it because I haven't experienced it yet. However, I was sleeved 14 years ago, and I did experience the foamies like 3 times. I found it happened when I didn't chew my food enough, or when I was eating too fast. It may not be portion size. With a sleeve, you usually don't overeat because you feel it in your chest right away. I remember my nose would start running, or I'd hyper-salivate (foamies) when I wasn't paying attention to my chewing or to how fast I was eating. In my line of work, we don't have time to eat sometimes, so it was a real learning experience. What always helped me with the sleeve was to start walking. I'd just walk around inside the house for about 5 minutes and the pressure in my chest would eventually subside, as would the foamies.

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm new here. I was looking for some kind of forum where I could interact with others like me. I think I may have found it. I live in South Texas, and I had a sleeve gastrectomy in Mexico in 2009 when I was 35. I initially weighed 340 lbs and lost 149 lbs. and went from a size 32 to a size 14. My goal was a 12, but I was really happy. I was exercising 5x a week on the elliptical for a whole hour nonstop! I kept the weight off for approximately 6 years. Unfortunately, all kinds of tragic events started changing my life. In 2014 my father passed away, and I took it really, really hard. I ended up on Xanax and Ambien. In 2015, I got divorced. In 2016, my mother passed away. In 2017, I was transferred from a job I really enjoyed to a brand new location with all different people to work with. Then the COVID Pandemic kept me teaching from home for a year and a half. It was literally one heartbreak after another. Rather than looking for actual help, I helped myself... to pills, alcohol, and crap food. Over the past 9 years, I regained all my weight. Even though I still felt restriction in eating (i.e. only half a burger or 1.5 slices of pizza, with no sides or drinks and I was done). I was 10 lbs away from my original weight before my sleeve. Last year, though, my school district sent out an email stating that WLS was now covered by our insurance. I was so excited! I looked into it, made many calls, and thought coverage was out of the question because I had already had a surgery. Our insurance covers "one surgery per life." However, since my first surgery was private pay, they went ahead and accepted covering my revision to a bypass. Today is my 18th day post op. I've lost 42 lbs altogether since May 11, but only 10 of those lbs since the surgery. I feel a little blue because I was hoping for more than a 10lb loss in 3 weeks. I lost more weight at the beginning when I started a semi-liquid diet to prepare for surgery. I was doing 3 shakes and one solid, no-carb meal. I know that revisions are slower than virgin surgeries. I am doing as much reading and research as I can. I just can't help it, I guess. After my sleeve, the weight loss was phenomenal. Right now I am consuming 450 cals, 60 g protein, and keeping my carbs under 40g. I am walking around my house (not outside because South Texas) 4x a day and was told I could start on the treadmill this coming Monday. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? I'm also trying to find ways to consume fiber without a lot of carbs. I've eaten 1/2 cup of pinto beans twice but, man, that's a lot of carbs. I wanted to try raspberries, but I'm afraid of the little seeds getting stuck in my sutures. Any advice, thoughts, suggestions?

RickM, thank you for your reply. I'm slowly realizing it's a completely different journey than when I had my sleeve 14 years ago. I'm going to try to stay away from the scale for a while (I was using it every 3 days because when I was sleeved, I was really losing weight fast). After my sleeve, I lost 15 lbs first week, 9 lbs second week, and it just melted off. Over the summer, I'd lost 78 lbs altogether. So this is a really big change. But I'm sticking to my plan, my vitamins, and working on upping my water intake. Since May 11, I've lost 43 lbs, so in retrospect, it's really not so bad. 😊

SuziDavis, thanks for the support. I'm trying not to stress. The more I read posts here on this forum, the more I realize it's pretty normal. 😊

I'm using the Bariatric Fusion multivitamin chewable. I'm taking 1 three times throughout the day. I added a separate chewable B12, plus a chewable iron, a chewable biotin, and a chewable calcium. The thing with the bypass is that because of the malabsorption, we need to take them several times a day because we don't absorb the way sleevers do. I am a revision from sleeve to bypass (20 days out). It won't do us any good to take a large amount of any vitamin just once or twice a day because we won't absorb it anyway. We'll have better luck taking the regular amounts several times a day. This way, we give our bodies several opportunities to absorb some of the vitamins we're consuming. Also, we shouldn't take iron and calcium together because they compete for absorption. Those should be taken at least 2-3 hours apart.

Hi! I'm new here but I read this and wanted to reply. At my two-week appointment, I was told to wait one more week before getting on the treadmill. However, since the surgery, I was told to walk around inside my house (South Texas so too hot to walk outside after surgery) 4 times a day. I was literally counting 600 steps 4x a day. Tomorrow, I'm getting on that treadmill but still gonna take a slow stride. I'm freaking out because my weight loss is so slow. BUT, the PA told me I could use the treadmill at 3 weeks and I could start driving, just to be very, very careful because of the seat belt. Maybe start with just walking at a comfortable pace.

Thank you for the encouragement. It's very different from my sleeve from 14 years ago. I'm just gonna keep tracking my food and water and keep walking. I'm hoping when I go back to work, it will come off faster because I'll be busy with my kids all day. 😊

Yeah, I haven't even thought about sodium. My water intake is low though 😣. I am barely drinking 6 cups of water in a day. And that's all I drink. Just water. But I'm working on it. Thank you for your thoughts.😊