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I had stomach spasms post op for several weeks and couldn't tolerate anything heavier than a thin shake or protein water, not even jello... Spasms are one of the rarer side effects of surgery but they normally regulate on their own in time. Still, it is good to talk to your surgeon about it. There is a medication that occasionally works for stomach spasms (it didn't work for me) but I'm not sure if there is one for esophageal spasms. Since you had the bypass, there is also a small but distinct possibility that you may need the connection between your esophagus and stomach stretched a little or you may have a stricture somewhere. These are all very treatable things, usually done with just an endoscopy! ❤️

Honestly I think this is one of the reasons therapy is so helpful when going through this experience. Even if you don't go every week, having a person who has both perspective and understands the ins and outs of abusive relationships and how they echo through us for years after can be immensely healing. You are changing a LOT and it is normal to have feels about that. And he will have feels about it too, because he loves you and as you change, he will have to change in some ways too, to accommodate and appreciate the ever-changing being that is you! My partner doesn't care what weight I am. I gained 100 lbs since we were first married. We've been together 17 years. They look at me with just as much, if not more, desire than they did when I was young and smaller, which is hard to wrap my head around! They have always encouraged me to dress in ways that feel good. They prefer curvy women, always have. I have been worried that as I lose weight they might lose some of that attraction to me because in time, I will be smaller than they've ever known me, smaller than I've ever been in my adult life! But they assure me that while they aesthetically like the look of curvy women, they LOVE me in all my forms and my health and wellbeing is more important than anything else and no matter how I change, I will still be beautiful. If they loved me at 200 and they loved me at 320, they will love me at 170 or wherever I land. I've done enough work in therapy with the abuse I dealt with in the past to be able to trust what they say. But it still gets to me sometimes... Today I noticed my boobs have become visibly flatter. This is really hard for me because I LOVE MY BOOBS. 🤣 I have always been booby and I like it! Last year I found out I carry the CHEK2 mutation and with my cancer history combined with it I have a much higher risk of developing breast cancer than I'd like. The specialist I saw advised I consider an elective mastectomy after my weight loss stabilizes. I understand the logic, but I've already had to bid goodbye to my reproductive organs thanks to cancer, I wasn't expecting to have to consider saying goodbye to my boobs too. So I was standing in the bathroom today having the feels about my flat boobs and my partner came in so I pointed out the change. They admitted they could see the difference but very stubbornly said "These are my favorite boobs in the whole world. They are the best boobs ever, no matter what size they are." FFS, really?? Am I not supposed to cry at that?? They said something similar when we talked about a mastectomy. I feel very lucky to have a partner that can abide all the changes that I've gone through in this life and still look at me through the eyes of love. I hope I succeed at giving that back to them...

Scheduled for 3/27. Kind of nervous but know i will regret it if i back out. any suggestions to calm my nerves?

I have lost almost 100lbs since I start the process 3 years ago ( when I first started playing with the idea of having surgery) .. since my surgery I am down 43lbs.. I wish there was a way to add those dates to the tracker. According to my status on the Baritastic App I am averaging about 2lbs a week. I think I am just so worried about failing, or disappointing my surgeon/medical team. Thank you for the boost of confidence.. your stats are amazing.. my boobs are starting to get flat too ( next shoping experience is bra's)

I think doing a comprehensive set of body measurements is much more accurate than a number on the scale. I do use my scale, but when I was in a 6 week stall it was those ever decreasing body measurements that showed me I was still making progress! I do them on the monthly anniversary of my surgery, which for me happens to be the 1st of the month so it is extra handy. LOL I measured everything. My wrists, ankles, calves, neck, upper arms, thighs, hips, overbust, bust with and without a bra, and underbust, plus my waist and the area where my stomach protrudes the widest. I have lost everywhere, even in my wrists. 🤣 Pictures once a month in the same/similar outfits against a door in your house in clothes that fit close to the body are great too. The door helps your brain see the scale of things better IMO.

I'm a little confused. According to your sidebar you've lost almost 100 lbs in 3 months?? How much were you expecting to lose? I'm guessing your surgery weight was different than your starting weight. To put this in a bit of perspective, I had surgery almost a month before you (Nov. 1st), my highest weight was 320 but my surgery weight was 307 and I'm currently at 251!! And my weight loss is considered quite a good pace and certainly within the realms of an excellent result thus far. That change in clothing size is way more important than a number on the scale! Feelings with these surgeries are tough because for some reason our brains expect years of weight to take a few weeks to come off. LOL Everyone thinks they need to lose faster, even the fastest losers among us. Everyone thinks they should be further along, even if they are quite far. We have really high expectations of ourselves and our bodies, probably in part from years of everyone else having unrealistic expectations of us and our bodies. This surgery is an opportunity to give ourselves a bit more kindness and compassion, and maybe recalibrate our expectations. Healing takes time. Even with surgery, weight loss takes time. And the entire process is SOOOO frustrating! I get it, I experience frustration on a regular basis. Today I was lamenting the fact that suddenly my boobs have flattened like pancakes. 😢😂

Andrea, have you lost just the 4 lbs from your surgery weight in November? Or do you mean in the last week/month?

Yeah, I either had to have drinks very cold and icy, or very warm...nothing in between. It was interesting and I was super grateful for my thermal cups. I got in a lot of decaf tea, broth, and iced flavored water. I couldn't stomach any protein other than milk for the first two weeks, but after that, the first protein I was able to get in was a clear protein water. I went with MyProtein Sour Watermelon clear whey mix because it is cheaper than SEEQ but tastes very similar. MUCH better than the bottled protein waters I tried! And I was able to water it down so the taste wasn't so strong. They sell sample packs on their site, never buy their tubs at full price, you can usually get them 40% off! Anything sweet for me had to have a sour component or I couldn't get it down. It took almost a month before I could drink a regular protein shake, and even then it sat heavy and was best thinned with milk. I couldn't get down the Unjury protein broths. I still have containers of them in my pantry!

Congrats! Sounds like you are making some good progress if you've gone through that many clothes! I can relate to both of you. I feel like I haven't made the progress I should be, but Long Covid has hurt my exercise efforts and constant brain fog is frustrating. I also hit a 6 week long stall that really brought me down. Thankfully that finally broke the last two weeks for me, but I still dont' have my strength back. A 2 mile walk pretty much drains me still, even though I was doing 4-5 miles at a time 4 weeks post-op before Covid. EDIT: Based on continuing conversation in this thread, I just wanted to say I realize I have made good progress, but was trying to emphasize that I still have a mental block that, for some reason, prevents me from appreciating it. I've lost more weight than I was ever able to on my own, but at the same time feel physically weaker than any other point in my life despite trying to exercise. Also my start weight of 352 was from my highest ever weight in 2021, and not my pre-op diet weight of 321. Not trying to be dishonest, just trying to remind myself how bad off I was 2-3 years ago.

i know several people (including myself*) who have used Ozempic and/or Mounjaro, all with great results (read: all lost probably an average of 10-15 lbs with little reported effort. From an observers point of view, it *looks* like most slowly gain weight back when discontinuing use. but some seem to keep the weight off (but it's early still so time will tell). *i seem to be part of the latter group. i took my mom's leftover Ozempic for a month in April last year (shes a diabetic and takes less than she's prescribed cuz she doesn't like how it makes her hate food...and yes i know i shouldn't be taking someone elses meds! dont judge me! it was in the name of science, ok??? 😂 ) i lost about 7 lbs by the end of it, and gained back 2-3 lbs a couple months later. to clarify, i was 122 when i stated in April, 4 weeks later i was 115, and i've hovered between 114-118 since then to today. long story short, the stuff WORKS. but you will likely experience regain without significant lifestyle changes when u stop. or not. who knows? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hey guys... I just wanted to check in.. I am going next week for my 3 month post op appointment and for some reason I am feeling really down.. I don't feel like I have done enough, lost enough , or working out enough. I am going to buckle down a little more this week.. I have some meal planning to do and hope that I might lose a little bit more before this appointment.. On a good note.. I am now on bag number 3 of donation clothes, most of my closet is pretty cleaned out. looking at super cut summer clothes. I went shopping last night bought a new pair of jeans. I have gone from a size 26-24 2xl-3xl to an 18 pants, xl shirt. so excited for cloths shopping.. I hope everyone else is doing good...

^^^. another idea - when my mother-in-law died a few weeks ago, we took a bunch of her stuff to St. Vincent de Paul (it's sort of like Goodwill), including her home scale. After we dropped the donations off, we went inside so I could get an idea of what all this stuff would sell for (for tax deduction purposes). I was shocked to see probably 30 scales in there! So that's another idea - as long as they work!

It can take a week if not longer for the first BM - there's not a lot in there because you haven't eaten solid food in a while. But that first one can be a doozy, so it might not be a bad idea to start taking a stool softener - or as NickelChip suggested, maybe some Benefiber. and as ms.sss said, for many of us, constipation becomes a chronic issue. I've been taking a capful of Miralax every morning for almost nine years to keep on top of it.

Hello. I had a conversion from the gastric sleeve (2017) to the bypass on 1/8/24. I should start regular foods this week, however, I am at the pureed thin phase as once I incorporate foods with any weight or texture, such as oatmeal, scrambled eggs, finely blended chicken (not pureed), the food feels stuck in my esophagus and I am vomiting froth and mucous (not the food). Has anyone else experienced this? I have contacted my surgeon, seeing her Wednesday as she was on vacation last week, I have spoken with my dietitian and the center for weight loss and they believe that my esophagus is having spasms. Has anyone else experienced this? I have simply gone back to full liquids as I had no problems with that.

I know this isn’t what this post is about , but I was taking capsules because I can’t the taste of chewable vitamins but now my stomach can’t handle it. I haven’t taken anything in a week due to fear of everything g coming up. Any brand suggestions? I’m one month post op.

why yes, i do know! lol. i was/am one of those "diligent" trackers so i have over 5 yrs of food log data to statisticize, ha! on AVERAGE: weeks 1-2: 400 cals a WEEK...this was a weird time. week 3 to about 3 mnths: 400-500 cals A DAY. months 4-6: 600-700 cals a day month 7: 800-ish cals a day at this point made efforts to increase cals and by 9 months i was at about 1700-1800 cals a day. 2-3 years post-op was 2300+ a day cuz i was exercising heavily. today im at 1800-ish a day with moderate exercise (been at this calorie level for 2-ish yrs now)

I agree here. I also had the reaction to the surgical glue. The incisions were red, swollen, warm to the touch and itchy. Best to discuss with doctor and have them take a look. My bruising were minimal tho. Doctor advise to hydrocortisone 1%, but it wasn’t helping much, then I tried mometasome after knowing it might work, but both not working well. The itch comes and goes for me and it took me 4 weeks for it to be gone.

I can tell you what I was told. My dietitian came to visit and she said to try and get into protein shakes a day over the next seven days. She said if I can only get one that’s OK but two is definitely preferred. And then it’s very important to get minimum of 48 ounces of water a day. That’s where I’m struggling with the water. I am not allowed to have anything tea or citrus flavored. Before the way I got my water in was with a mixture of decaf tea crystal light and lemonade crystal light. I have some other flavors of crystal light and I’m trying to like them, along with just plain water. In the hospital they had me on the second day doing, 1 ounce of water every 15 minutes before graduating me to a shake and Jell-O. But basically for this week the crucial things were a minimum of 48 ounces of water and two shakes a day. Jell-O, putting, Popsicles, watered down cream of wheat, and yogurt are all OK I have also according to my doctor.

yep, i sorta became an exercise fiend at around 3 months. i tried my hand at many things to see what i liked...i ended up sticking with yoga, zumba, dance class and running. i also did some strength training, but only the bare minimum cuz i hate it lol. i'm 5+ years out now and while i don't run 5K every day like i used to (AND go to 4-5 classes a week), i still run 1-2 times a week, go to pilates 2-3 times a week, and i have a weekly tap class. low calorie intake. hands down.

I owned a home scale, but for the first 18 months or so I was too large for it. I did have monthly follow-ups with my surgeon, so I weighed in there. At my follow-ups the topic of my weight / weight loss was never brought up unless I brought it up, since there were more important things to talk about. The things my Doc paid attention to were how I felt physically and mentally, if I was having any issues or concerns, did anything significant change. The things I also paid attention to was how my clothes fit, my stamina, was I happy. Once I could fit on the home scale I almost lived on it for a couple weeks, as the novelty of it was just too much. Then the novelty wore off. Since then I only weigh at medical appointments when they ask me to do it. One does not need a scale to succeed at weight loss. Home scales can be had pretty inexpensively, I see one on Amazon for $16. If it's a matter of dire circumstances I'm sure your Surgeon or PCP or any of your other medical professionals wouldn't mind if you stopped by for a weigh in. Most department stores that sell home scales would allow 'testing' the scale before you buy or don't buy. Good luck, Tek

well, i *thought* i was in menopause before I had my surgery (i hadn't had period in about 1-2 years). a few weeks after surgery i got my period and it came like clockwork every month for the next 2-3 years (i guess it wasn't menopause and i was just fat? or maybe the estrogen release from my diminishing fat stores that re-activated my period? i dunno.) Anyway, a couple years ago when i was at maybe 3 years post op, my period disappeared again, and i haven't had it since (except for a singe errant period when i was on vacaiton of all places last year). im 5+ years post op now and i guess to answer your question i was both perimenopausal and menopausal AND post-menopausal before, during and after the entire experience. i don't know if being in that state affected my weight loss in any way as i have nothing to compare to, but i can tell you i reached goal by 7 months post op (lost 108 lbs by goal date) and was down a total of 126 lbs by 1 year post op (i was 235 lbs 2 wks before surgery). like i said above, i'm 5+ years post op now and am still down 120-ish lbs today.

Thank you everyone for sharing your experience. I am 57, do not take HRT. I track Macros (protein, carb, fat) which totals 1000 calories a day. I would consider myself fairly active (just got done with mowing/weed eating a large backyard but not someone who exercises daily but try to get on my walking pad 15 minutes a day. Since 12/27 to date I have lost between 35-40 lbs. On the edge of 3 month post op I am noticing a few more hairs on my sink when styling. I think, well here we go on the next part of this journey. Lucky I have always wore my hair short and sassy and like mentioned when wet you can see my scalp but after drying scalp is not visible. I’m don’t wish time away but wish I could get a glimpse of a year from now. lol For those monitoring macros/calories what is your average daily calories?

Hello to all my surgery buddies, I've read some really amazing posts on here and just want to say thank you to all of you that show support to each other. It can be a very scary time, specially for those of us who are alone in our process to recovery. I had my gastric sleeve surgery on February 8th, I am 17 days post op as of this post. I still struggle a bit to consume even liquids. I burp a lot, and feel bloated all the time. I also have a constant feeling like everything slowly creeps up in my esophagus and just sits there. My pain levels are actually quite low, and my surgery incisions are healing quite well. I'm just worried about my stomach, my doctor wanted me to start introducing some solids slowly, but I told him no way I can barely tolerate liquids. So he has me on liquids for another week. I hope I am not one of the unfortunate few where the surgery will have long lasting complications and although I will lose the weight, my quality of life will be lowered because of all this discomfort. Thanks for reading, I wish everyone here a speedy recovery.

I had a revision from sleeve to bypass, but it was due to complications, not for weight loss. When you have a revision, the amount of weight you lose is a lot less than the original surgery, and tends to come off slower, as well. For example... with my initial sleeve, I lost 103 pounds the first 8 months. Since I've had my revision (and it's been 8 months) I've lost 57 pounds. I'm not complaining, by any means, but it comes off a lot slower and you definitely lose less. Also, with the initial surgery you tend to lose the most weight in the first 6-7 months. With the revision, I noticed it was the first 3-4 months. In no way do I regret it (as I said, I had some pretty gnarly complications, so a revision was a must) but it's just something to keep in mind when looking at a revision for weight loss versus because of complications.

Hi, I am 6 days PO (02.19.24). Other than drinking water I have a protein shake in the morning, sip on a yeti cup of tomato soup throughout the day, and then a protein shake in the evening, starting on day 3 PO....I have yet to have a bowel movement. I am passing gas but no bm yet. I am not in any discomfort. Just curious if anyone else went through the same thing.