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Having my total hysterectomy on May 7th. They can't go in laparoscopically, so it'll be an abdominal hysterectomy. Taking out everything: uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix. I have 3 VERY large uterine fibroids that have made my uterus (and stomach now) the size of someone who is 5 or 5 1/2 months pregnant. I may, in the next couple of years, get skin surgery but I'm still thinking about it. Let's see if I have any cardiac issues with this surgery (like I did with the hernia repair surgery) before I make anymore decisions about elective surgeries. I can't wait for this to be done and over with and I can finally just live my dang life!!! From my initial sleeve surgery in May 2022 to the hysterotomy in May 2024, I will have had 10 surgeries in 2 years (thanks to all the complications from the sleeve surgery). The uterine fibroids were actually discovered while doing tests for the other issues caused by the sleeve, so it still counts as the reason for the surgery being caused by the sleeve lol Anyway, so happy to finally be at the last chapter of this book!!!

For surgery on the NHS, it has to be shown that the patient is fully aware that the surgery is only a tool and that the patient has realistic expectations of life post-surgery. We have to show and understand that we are prepared to put in all the necessary work (daily vitamins and regular blood tests, to adhere to the rules of eating both immediately after surgery while we heal and then the lifelong commitment required to maintain their losses) I’m glad that my NHS Trust has hoops to jump through if I’m honest, as it inspires confidence for me. Would I love surgery now? Of course! I’m I mentally prepared for it? No, I don’t think I am. The past couple of weeks have shown me that I do respond to emotional situations by trying to soothe myself with food. Will I be able to do that post-op? Very, very doubtful as I would be worried about undoing both the surgery and the psychological readiness I know I need to undergo said surgery. I do read some posts on various forums that do give cause for concern as a pre-op patient, just as Tek identified above. I’m in no position to advise but it is comforting that the more experienced posters do their utmost to give advice and guide the user in contacting their surgeon, doctor etc or to re-read the advice they should have been given 🙂

One more day before I start my 2-week liquid diet! It's starting to feel real, but surreal, too. One last day of "regular life" before it all changes.

After being denied Duodenal Switch, my Insurance accepted Rouen-Y Gastric bypass. I have my Pre-op with the surgeon Tuesday as well. It's required from my surgeon on a 2 week liquid diet. If you do need to have two week liquid Diet. Take it a day at a time, don't look ahead. It will be worth it!

Since my surgery in 2017 I've lost my weight loss powers. I'm a mere mortal when it comes to weight loss. That being said I do the following: 1- Weekly weigh in and log it in 2- Stop eating at 7PM and start again at 7AM (I usually go to 9AM) 3- Eat the same thing every day. For me, Breakfast greek yogurt and hard boiled egg, cup of coffee Lunch, tuna fish, sardines or salmon from a can (no additives such as mayo) dinner broiled or baked seafood with a salad. I will also eat a costco protein bar if I need it. 4-Excercise, for me 3x at gym nothing too strenous just 30-45 on treadmill 5 degree incline with a brisk 3.5 mile speed walk Very Very difficult to stay within 5-10 pounds of goal weight then try to get back down. Vigilance and sorry to say obsession are my keys. It's a struggle every day.

Yes, plans vary though generally the stages seem to be two week cycles: liquids, purées, soft, then more solid. Some stages are longer or shorter, some skip a step, some allow or advise avoiding different foods. Some plans are adjusted depending upon your progress & recovery. Have to say I’d go back to the surgeon & ask for clarification before the dietician at the moment. They know your medical situation better than the dietician & it is your surgeon’s plan you’re following at the moment. All the best & hope you get answers soon.

Ugh, I'm so sorry to hear this! I have been nauseous for about a week and a half now. It's horrible. I haven't thrown up, but I constantly feel like I need to. It's making it very difficult to eat or drink. They wanted to send me to the hospital for hydration, but both local hospitals were full. I'm trying to do it on my own. Between that and low bp right now, I'm feeling so weak. I really hope this works for you and that you feel better soon!

Feb 14th for me. I decided to "love myself" by picking this date. I have my preop visit next week so I'll find out my pre-surgery diet then. I feel like I've been having a lot of "last meals". My greatest goal out of all this is not just the loss of weight but rather re-jump starting my approach to food. I guess it will begin next week.

Wow. I’m surprised you made it a week with the caffeine withdrawal headaches. I’m glad you didn’t have any issues from drinking it so soon post surgery. I am weaning myself off it now and I tried cutting back too fast the first day and woke up with a massive headache at 2am so bad that I downed some. I am down to my last day actually. I should be caffeine free tomorrow. 😁 and I start my preop diet the next day I THOUGHT I had more time between the two and I was going to do lower carb to sorta detox from those before preop but the office messed up and I got alot less warning. Oh well stuff happens I guess. Just trying to keep going forward. Anyways, I guess my point is that I definitely second the cutting caffeine. I did it further in advance with the sleeve and really wish I hadn’t cut it so close this time. It has been stressful thinking what if it’s too fast and I can’t get there. Especially for me being post sleeve because I can’t just take an Alieve and Tylenol doesn’t do anything for me. I can’t even imagine dealing with everything post op and having a withdrawal headache on top of it all.

I’m wondering how many different foods i should be trying at each food stage. I’ve been eating the same meals for a couple of days (white fish and veggies pureed together) purely because one filet of fish cooked ended up making 5 of my tiny meals. But i wonder if i should be varying meals more ? As in intentionally trying new foods ? I’m moving to soft foods next week so i was looking for meal ideas… Also, how do you you know you’re actually ready to move up a food stage ? I’m scared of soft foods then regular food :O

Firstly, well done on losing the pounds pre and post op. I had similar happen, put on some lbs in the initial weeks after the surgery and it worried me at the time and made me question if everything I was going through was worth it. So while it was slow going at the start I have made up for it since. Our bodies are all different so don't upset yourself by comparing your timeframes and losses to others but just let your body go at its own pace while it adjusts. Even when you think you are not loosing lbs you are making healthier choices and loosing fat. As an example, I bought a pair of trousers a few weeks ago for work and they fit beautifully, last night I tried them on for going to the office today and they were massive through the hips and thighs even though in that time I had only lost 2kg/4.5lbs in that time. Of course I had taken the label off so can't return, another item for donating!

I’ve managed to move the scale about 3lbs this week. Not much but since it wasn’t moving at all I’ll take it. I am down several Jean sizes though and the other day I put a shirt on that looked ridiculous it was so big. My hair has started shedding pretty bad so I’m really watching my protein intake and not missing any vitamins. Hoping it slows down soon before it becomes noticeable. It’s usually pretty thick so I have a little to spare. I think maybe I’ve managed to get rid of a chin or two also lol. Here’s a current picture I don’t have many from right before surgery but the one where I look like I might pop is at my granddaughters birthday present last July courtesy of my daughter 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Hello All- i posted for the first time just about three years ago with some anxieties as a spouse with my wife prepping to undergo the gastric sleeve. I originally noted being concerned about our lifestyle changes, relationship impacts (I had heard all the horror stories) and most of all health concerns into the future. The community was incredibly supportive and I had learned tips and useful knowledge that helped me coach and support my wife through it. I am happy to say we are better than we ever have been and her self confidence is through the roof. However the MAIN reason the surgery ever was even considered was to get her diabetes that started while she was pregnant with our first child and got very concerning bad with our fourth has still stuck around and caused issues….. First- this is Life changing not just for the partner getting the surgery, but the spouse too. We used to be foodies and that all had to go out the door. Same with alcohol. Two bites and you are full, a pint and you are drunk. So activities, dates, etc. and new hobbies should all be prepared for well in advance. Luckily we are both athletes and coaches and this allowed to have an outlet that wasn’t our prior foodies and beer/ brewery culture pastime. Two- Relationship, anyone who tells you that this leads to automatic divorce/ break up is paranoid or lying. Out of her support group offered by our health network, I think only 1 or 2 of about fifteen women ended up separating and that was from the other spouse cheating. I have to say that in many ways, after four kids and all our activities, youth sports and coaching- it created a second honeymoon period for us and really strengthened our romance and relationship because we both focused on our health again jointly and the magnetism increased dramatically. Third- It might not fix the problem…. We did not jointly go into the surgery for cosmetic or weight loss reasons. It was the diabetes and the doctors said it was a solid shot to cure or mitigate the disease. It was for a while, but it keeps back up. despite healthy eating, despite exercise and coaching, despite the surgery- medications came back into the picture and so did the celebrity weight loss drug (which is really supposed to be for diabetes…) This has been keeping everything under control but is a case of the cure being as bad as the sickness. The side effects are brutal and definitely have a quality of life impact, but we both want to live to see grandkids someday….. Fourth- dysmorphia is VERY really. We are both naturally larger people. I was a lineman in high school and college and she was a softball catcher in high school and college and ended up also playing women’s rugby there as well. Even with the surgery she went from an XL to L but she got her college/ high school figure back and as such her confidence went through the roof and started dressing like she hadn’t in years. With the medication though??? Her figure, face shape, everything changed. Down to a Small or Medium. For almost a year and a half she hasn’t recognized herself in the mirror. It’s a double wham with the surgery and the medication. Between her best friends and myself (we have all been in the same friend/ team group since college) the support was to have fun with it and go with the flow. Instead of worrying about it (the dysmorphia) it was embrace the change. All new clothes she could never wear before, she’s been a redhead now and then blonde and still is. Cut her hair shorter, started wearing makeup (never really did)- all just to try and put a positive spin on it. I’ve been the spoiled recipient of having a brand new girl (don’t think I haven’t romanced and spoiled the you-know-what out of her), but at the end of the day it’s been mitigation of all the life changes. The last part has been the most detailed because it’s the most recent and to me has been the most impactful- NOT having the surgery do its intended purpose and the dysmorphia we’re both very difficult given the efforts and life changes made. We’ve done everything we can to make lemonade out of those lemons though. We had an anniversary vacation better than our honeymoon this past summer (she has always been way out of my league and these days it’s very much over the top- I feel incredibly spoiled) and we have made time to ride our bikes together with our oldest babysitting the kids and we come to each others games when we coach. I would tell any spouse; husband or wife of someone who is going to have the surgery and then or also do all the meds: 1. Support. It’s a huge deal and you need to show up. 2. Don’t get insecure about your relationship because of the surgery. If you are worried it means you might not have a great relationship to start with…. 3. You will need to change your life too. Because of my size and my weight lifting, I need a lot of protein and calories. I will never look like a Hollywood star (like she now does) and always an NFL lineman- BUT- if I bring a cannoli, pie or a full growler into the house in addition to steak/ salmon, etc it’s teasing and not fair. You will need to learn self control to support your spouse… 4. Inspire and come up with ideas for positive re-enforcement. If the dysmorphia or depression sets in, you need to find fun things to do, supportive steps to take and positive angles to keep things going. 5. If you are doing all this as a spouse, what about YOU??? Are you going to die a martyr? Take care of YOURSELF too. I go lifting 3 times a week, go fishing in season. And for my 40th birthday when she asked what I wanted?? I got us a long weekend on the Cape, bought her some dresses I wanted to see her in and sent her to get her hair, nails, toes, eyelashes, etc.. done. Said I wanted a long weekend with my movie star wife. It was a great time, kid free and continued to strengthen our marriage. Anyways- why am I writing this? Posterity? Self reflection? Not really…. I just want to give Spouses a roadmap. It’s a huge change and you need to navigate the waters well. If you do you will benefit as much as your loved one. Good luck.

Wow, that’s really hard! I applaud all of you who can do the full 2 weeks liquid only. My two weeks liquid diet allowed me to have one small meal a day. It was lunch or dinner with 1 hand size flat lean protein and same portion for veggies. Allowing to be able to have one small meal helped a lot for me and then 2 days before surgery the last mean at lunch then next day no meal and full on liquid till surgery.

Awww no girl soft foods as in yogurt 😂 I have to wait another 2 weeks for all that goodness of food girl 😂

Hi twin. I start a two week pre op liquid diet on the 6th where I have to drink 4 optifast shakes a day and lots of water

Well my dealer is back.. those cute little girls that ask in such a sweet voice if I want to buy Girl Scout cookies... of course I buy them.. how do you tell them no.. I took them home last night $20.00 worth . Thank goodness I have 3 boys and a husband around to eat them. I did put my favorite box up in the cabinet after only eating one cookie... Gosh I hope the dealer goes away soon...

Instead of posting this as a new topic I’m hoping to get the attention of those who have already had this surgery so I’m posting here. I have a question about SADI vitamins but I think the experience of Duodenal switch is pretty close with vitamins. So I thought I had really found something great when I came across the pro care health Sadi/ DS multi with iron and ADEK. . Then I started googling and the 60mg of iron in them is toxic and potentially fatal for normal anatomy. I realize we won’t absorb as much of some vitamins but since we dont know exactly the degree of malabsorbtion would I be better to start with a little lower iron like 45mg and up it if my labs are low? I already ordered two bottles of those capsules because I had points from this forum and they sell them in the bariatric pal store but now I’m thinking I may just take them a couple times a week or something. Just curious what amount if iron others take who are a little while out from SADI or DS.

Yesterday was a bad day for me. Everything I ate got stuck and I spent a lot of time miserable with a bag nearby ready to be sick. I ended my day with applesauce and called it good. Today started off good with some movement on the scale. Down 1.6 lbs. small change I know but it’s the biggest change I’ve had in a day so I’ll take it. I wanted to weigh in before the weekend when I’ll no doubt eat things I shouldn’t and sit around way more than I should. I’m in no hurry to eat anything today after everything got stuck yesterday. I might stick to liquids today just so I’m not totally miserable all day. We weren’t supposed to get anymore rain til Tuesday but here it is again, cloudy and drizzling. Seems that is all we have seen the last two to three weeks. It’s not cold just dreary. I hope everyone else has a brighter happier day today.

This whole thing is a science! LOL I am a worker-outer? a gym rat? a gym go-er? well you know what I mean. I work out lol I lift 4 days a week, 1 day only cardio and 1 day F45. I eat anywhere from 1300-1600 calories a day. Depending on the day. One days I do not work out I eat less around 1200 cal. I am only 6.5m out and have hit my goal weight, but there are days where I get scared that I am eating too much. From what I have learned in my very short journey is that our body needs the food in order to grow our muscles, and give us energy for our workouts. Your body will balance out, you will notice your body change now too. I noticed that when I allowed myself more calories my legs and booty got thicker which I have been trying to achieve for months but it wasn't happening lol Just track everything and if you find yourself eating A LOT of not great things then you can look back and see why there is a gain. P.S I eat a "bad thing" everyday, I am not super restrictive and deprive myself. I have learned that everything in moderation in order for me to keep this as a life long thing. Tracking has really helped me stay accountable!

Hi Everyone, I am a March 2024 Bariatric By-pass patient. I am only into my 3rd week post op and I am down 50 lbs and counting. I am still learning the ins and outs of how to eat again. Drinking too fast or too much triggers consequences. Also, with eating too fast or too much will trigger throwing up. However, by eating the ways that are prescribed will render the proper results. I am very impressed with the results I have seen thus far.

So happy for you! Congratulations on the date, and on making the decision on surgery after a lot of research. I know you really have looked into it and weighed your options over the past several months, which is really good. Now that it's set, definitely take the next several weeks to get in the right headspace. You know how important that is, having been down a similar road before. And I think this time will be different for you. You know what you're up against, and I think you've given a lot of thought to where things went wrong before. That's a valuable lesson learned. This time you're getting one of the most powerful metabolic interventions available. That alone will make a huge difference in the outcome. Just remember that you're going to make mistakes, and that's okay. A mistake is not failure, and it's not a reason to give up! Keep checking in with your support people (including here!) and don't demand perfection of yourself because nobody is perfect. If you can do it right 80-90% of the time, you will be doing the very best you can expect, and it will be good enough to succeed in time. And success takes time. You'll get there.

Does your clinic want you to track it? Personally, I hate, like really hate, tracking food, it's inconvenient and annoying. My clinic wants me to eat 5 very small meals a day that are balanced, protein, carb, veg, and fruit. For me, I am still losing weight and my energy increased once I was able to have these other foods. My goal was to eat how "normal" people should be eating. I do struggle with real meat and raw veggies, my system still does not like them, so I eat a vegetarian diet and cook/steam all veggies. I have learned when to stop eating based on how I feel, I now know when one bite will be one bite too much, that is how I track. I just did my labs today for my 3-month check-up ( hit 3 months Jan 27) so I will see what my clinic has to say about my labs on Feb 12th and I will make adjustments from there if needed.

Ah - sorry - forgot what I actually started out to say. Arabesque is right (as she usually is). If you can go back to your original programme do. Protein first, veg second, carbs third or not at all. No sugar, it's ridiculously addictive and produces insulin spikes that make you crave it more. Perhaps consider a keto week to get you started and minimise cravings - so protein and green leafy veg only?

See, when I don't lose, it messes with me so much. From Feb to March 7th, I only lost 8 lbs, which messed with me so much. It triggered a binge where I just ate crappy foods for like a week until I came to my senses. But now I am terrified of the scale bc I don't want to fall into that horrible mental state again. So, for now, I am just keeping it away until next month. I do agree with everything you said and feel I can definitely lose much more if I just stay consistent and on track. I appreciate your kind words. ❤️