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So I'm considering getting the gastric sleeve surgery. I'm almost 40 years old and weight almost 440 pounds and have a BMI of 67 and ive tried literally everything to lose weight and nothing has worked. I've never lost more than 20-30 pounds at a time.Bariatric surgery is really the last option for me. So I'm in a bariatric program right now and we've decided that the gastric sleeve would be the safest operation for me. The problem my team including my surgeon is trying to address? I'm schizophrenic and Bipolar and take Antipsychotics. I've maybe gained 100 lbs over the course of trying meds since 2011 to find the right medicine combination. Right now I'm taking Latuda and Seroquel for antipsychotics. My GP has stated over and over again that Latuda might not be the greatest medicine for me to be on because it requires me to consume 350 calories in order for it to work properly. But reallym the medication does wonders with me. When/if I get bariatric surgery that's going to be a challenge for my bariatric team finding a meal or snack that I can fit those calories in. Not to mention my surgeon has mentioned that it will be an extra challenge for him to try to work around my anti psychotics. He didn't say it was impossible but he did call it a great challenge. I guess why I'm posting here is to ask is, is the gastric sleeve an option for me? Or should I consider the switch instead? My bariatric team pretty much flat out said that the bypass would be too risky of a surgery to do with me and they don't do the lap band anymore and my bmi is too risky for the lap band anyway. But before I go and permanently change my stomach I'd like to know what my options are. My team hasn't really been forthcoming and just seem to want to do the surgery as soon as possible. But, I'd like it to be a success as well. Especially when the sleeve is a permanent change to my body.

I went through similar for the first few months and couldn't keep them down. In the end my surgeon agreed that I could take 'normal' vitamins for a month, which I had been taking pre-op, and then to go on to a different format of the bariatric vitamins once my stomach was ready to accept them. I had been taking the hard ones that were so big, dry and tasted disgusting and couldn't keep them down, even the smell of them turned my stomach. Now I can take the capsule format as there is no taste or smell. I also tried a different brand of bariatric capsules but they were cherry tasting (hate) and couldn't keep them down and even putting into a smoothie turned the the taste of the smoothie vile. For the calcium I have to just buy generic ones on Amazon as the special bariatric ones I can get here can only be sold as a package with the horrible cherry capsules. I also had to take a daily dose of iron for a month or so when my levels got too low as I have pernicious anemia. Picture attached of the daily vitamin one I take. I also took their special hair capsule one in addition for three months to help when I was losing so much hair.

I use the Baritastic app. It tracks food macros and fluid intake. I track EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth, even condiments and coffee. LOL It helps immensely with staying on track. My Apple watch doesn't help with intake. It helps me remember to stand hourly. It counts my steps. It annoys me with messages all day. It reminds me to take my meds and vitamins. But it doesn't help with meals. Though there might be something to set in it to help with that? I just don't because my meal times vary a bit depending on when I wake up and eat my first meal. I highly suggest you get a pill case and dose out your vitamins for the whole week, or in my case, the whole month! A dietician can provide you with a list of supplementation or you can hunt down the ASMBS guidelines for your surgery, that's what most good dieticians use. It sounds like you may need to be watching your protein, fat, and calcium intake. Many people a few years out from the various surgeries start to show nutritional deficiencies if they haven't been keeping up with their protein intake and supplementation. Good hydration is important too. If you can, it would be wise to go have bariatric labs drawn, your GP can do this if you aren't still seeing your surgery center. A bariatric practice could do this too and would be good to follow up with if you are struggling with regain and getting back on track. You can do this!!

There is nothing wrong with you... First, when we have surgery, a lot of nerves are cut that need time to heal. These are the nerves that tell us we are full, or getting full. So you are not getting accurate feedback from your stomach right now. These cut nerves take several months to heal fully. I noticed a distinct change in my fullness cues around 3 months out. Second--just because you CAN eat that amount doesn't mean you SHOULD (I'm so thankful the regulars here remind us all of this early post-op). You aren't getting accurate messages about your restriction right now, and different foods will cause different feelings of restriction or lack thereof. Try to stick to the small portions your dietician should have gone over with you. You have a lot of sutures holding your healing tummy together, you don't want to stress them. Take your time here, there is no rush. Third--different foods will cause different feelings of fullness. Purees often don't cause fullness, even meat purees. When you get into soft foods you might start to feel restriction when you eat denser proteins. But again, your stomach is still healing, so it may take time to feel your restriction, and some people never feel strong restriction, or don't feel it until they are overly full. This is where it is important to measure out your portions and eat tiny bites, slowly, watching for any signs of fullness. For us post op that may feel very different than it did pre-op. For me, for the first few months, all I would get is violent sneezing, intense hiccups, runny nose, etc... It took a while before I started feeling internal pressure with fullness. Fourth--Hunger is a b***h! Some people lose it, not everyone does. I woke up in recovery STARVING!! I was so mad. 😂I felt like I'd been given a faulty surgery. LOL But it really made me learn to work with my hunger cues and to sit with the discomfort of being hungry for a while. I was very, very hungry the first few weeks because nothing feels like it has enough substance to calm that ravenous hunger. This will ease in time as you progress your diet. For now all you can do is learn to distinguish head hunger from body hunger and learn to deal with the fact that sometimes we feel hungry and that's okay. Lastly, many people can drink water freely post op. You don't list your surgery, but this is very common with gastric bypass patients, though I have seen it with sleeve patients too. Once the internal swelling goes down, many can drink water easily. This is a blessing, since dehydration is the #1 reason bariatric patients end up in the ER post op!

Alright guys, 6 months is upon us!! This pic is from the morning of my 6 month post op visit. I weighed in at 232 in office. That is 88 lbs since my highest weight, 75 lbs since surgery! Weirdly, I am smaller now that I was last time I was at this weight. The surgeon found this funny and said the way our bodies lose weight can be really entertaining. LOL I startled myself the other day because I pulled out my smallest clothes (the smallest I have ever been as an adult was 195) and my size 16 jeans fit, zip easily, and are huge in the waist!! That means my smallest size, a 14, will probably fit now snugly, or comfortably in another month. How insane is that?? How can I fit into clothes I had to be 30 lbs lighter to wear last time?? Magic, that's how. 😂 The surgeon estimates I'll be at around 200 lbs by my year mark, though he said if I don't get quite to 200 to not stress it. We each lose weight at our own pace and with my common channel length I can expect to lose weight (albeit much slower) through the second year and possibly into the 3rd year, though at that point it'll be 1 lb here and there. This is the upside of the duodenal switch, it is a long, slow burn. Most stabilize around 18 months to 2 years, but there are always outliers. I feel pretty great! I had a hiatal hernia repair in mid April after I starting having issues choking on my food and pills not going down (I even ended up in the ER with it, which was awful, they don't get bariatric patients at all!!). I gained 15 lbs overnight and it took 2 weeks to get it off, so that on top of my stall for most of March really slowed my weight loss down. But that's okay, I'm reminding myself I have faith that it will come off in its own time. But man, it is hard to remember that when the scale goes up!! In other news, my GP and bariatric surgeon both think I have POTS. I've had issues with it on and off since having a bad case of Epstein Barr Virus (mono) that put me in the hospital a few years ago. It seems every time my body gets stressed it reverts back to having symptoms and it seems it counts any surgery as a major stressor (understandably). She referred me to a specialist and my appointment is October 24th, 2025. Uhuh, 2025, not a typo. He's booking 1 1/2 years out. There are only 2 doctors in the state that specialize in it. So I'm not a happy camper... Meanwhile we are trying a low dose of a beta blocker to see if it helps with the dizziness when I change positions, the racing heart rate when standing/exerting myself, and the exercise intolerance... And doing the lifestyle things like compression leggings, increasing salt and fluid intake, etc... It seems that a lot of Long Covid patients end up having POTS too. Have you looked into this @SomeBigGuy ?? How are you doing? How is everyone else doing??

Hi Everyone I am in desperate need of tips on how to take my vitamins. I have tried 4 different brands that my surgery office prescribes (i live in Europe so may not have the same brands as other areas). They are all bariatric patient specific vitamins. I have also tried different formats of the vitamins: powder/ gel capsule/ hard pill … neutral or flavoured. And i just can’t take them. Every time i swallow a pill it feels stuck inside my throat and makes me cough and splutter and i feel it stuck for ages. When i break open the capsules and pour the powder over something i gag so badly because of the taste that it makes me feel sick for hours. The powder that you mix in a a drink is so disgusting that i heave when i try to force it down I do take them with food during a meal but it puts me completely off my food once i struggle to get them down. I don’t know what to do anymore - does anyone have any ideas or tips on what i can do or on any vitamin brands available in Europe that have the correct composition for vsg patients ? I need a high iron supplement due to genetic form of anemia. 🙏🙏🙏

I think all traces of pot pretty much leaves your body within about two weeks - I don't think it's necessary to detox for that to happen. I'd eat the protein - your body needs it - esp after bariatric surgery. EDITED to add this. Just found it on WebMd: If you’re a chronic user, more THC will build up and remain in your body. That’s because your body can only break down THC at a specific rate. Your body stores the excess THC in your fat cells. More frequent marijuana use means a longer time for THC to leave your system. Here are the average detoxification times: One-time use: one to three days Moderate use (three times a week): five to seven days Daily use: seven to 14 days Heavy use: 14 to 90 days

the first few months can be a challenge (although fortunately, most of us lose our sense of hunger for the first few months, which makes it easier), but after that, not really. At least not food-wise. By six months out I was cleared to eat anything my stomach could tolerate, which for me is pretty much everything. I eat a lot less than I used to (obviously), but no one would guess I had bariatric surgery at this point. They'd probably assume I'm just a light eater, like lots of my women friends who've never been obese. When I go out, I'll sometimes order just an appetizer or a salad, or if I get an entree, I'll eat half of it and take the rest home to have for lunch the following day. A lot of my friends do the same. I worried about this too since I'm a food lover as well, but other than cutting my portion size and just enjoying things like desserts occasionally, I really don't notice a huge difference. I do try to prioritize protein and vegetables since I need the nutrients (we all do) and my stomach is small, but I don't deny myself anything. Although there are some things like rice and pasta that tend to sit in my stomach like a brick. I still eat those occasionally, but not a lot of them at one sitting. P.S. your comment about being afraid you won't enjoy food. I enjoy it a lot - too much! (I've been in maintenance for years and it can be a struggle to keep from gaining weight). For the first few months after surgery, though, most of us lose our sense of hunger for up to a year (my hunger came back at five months out). Many of us also do lose some interest in food, too (and that comes back too!). But even though it's weird at first, enjoy it while it lasts and take full advantage of it. To be honest, I found it very liberating. It was so easy to lose weight when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food for the first time in my life! once I got over the weirdness of it, I LOVED it and wished I was one of the very lucky few whose hunger never came back (but again, it does come back for the vast majority of us)

I would definitely go to a Bariatric doctor to get any confirmation. My surgeon gave me a run down on issues where a regular doctor doesn't know the things a bariatric doctor does. Maybe you have a twisted bowel and by knowing you've had bariatric surgery they are assuming rather than confirming. I know someone that had a twisted bowel and it gave them a lot of problems. One of them was diarrhea. This doesn't mean that is what you have. But simply a suggestion from someone that isn't a doctor. See a Bariatric doctor ASAP.

WarrenInEC, I saw the bariatric revision surgeon. He doesn't think it is dumping and said that the upper and lower GI done would not have taken an image of the inside of my pouch so there could potentially be an internal hernia. He suggested possible laparoscopic investigatory surgery in a couple of weeks. He said a revision to tighten the opening wouldn't necessarily force me to lose more weight, which is perplexing to me but I'm not looking at it as a solution to lose weight, I just thought that would come with the "package". I'm assuming the reason I still feel restriction when I eat is simply because of the 'pouch' then. I thought I understood all of this 5 years ago when I had the surgery, but I obviously did not comprehend everything. Well, we'll see what the next few weeks brings... I assume you had a revision then as that is a big difference in the opening size..lol. If so, what was it like?

I APOLOGIZE!! It got long but I wanted to add some background. and the regret comes from nervousness that I won’t enjoy food. And no desire to be really thin but being disabled mean getting/ keeping weight off will be difficult according to the bariatric surgeon I am 5’2. Majority of my weight is my thighs. I do have a belly, apron belly.

Hi everyone!! okay so I’ve always been “heavier” haven’t met the BMI standards since jr high maybe a year in high school. My hips & thighs were always me in size 9 jeans. Well I had health issues that required surgeries. Which left me disabled. And my weight was stuck at 180 due to it, my weight jumped some to 210. I am currently on Rybelsus 7mg and my current weight is 189. So im almost to the weight that I’ve been stuck at for years. Yesterday I had a consultation, intake to the Bariatric program. I was told that I would be receiving a Gastric Sleeve with robotics, which would give me one night hospital stay and a weight loss of 60-80 pounds. I’ll be having the testing done soon as well as meet with the psychiatrist and dietitian. I see him again 9-11-24 So I can home a nervous wreck! I am afraid of having general anesthesia again. I have had it a few times without and with complications. Honestly being a mom IS the only real reason so my anxiety. The what if I pass. I researched ALOT and seen the procedure is a safe one. That calmed me nerves and I was in a good space, until an hour ago. I started thinking about how I absolutely LOVE food and how only being able to eat maybe half a happy meal. I read gum, soda etc are not allowed after surgery as well. According to my P.C.P. I am healthy just obese. Years ago I struggled with hypertension, diabetes and gallstones. Those issues were resolved but I have a consult about my fatty liver in Nov. anyways. I was wondering has anyone else gone through this? I don’t care if I get down to my healthy bmi weight or not. I am fine if I can get to 160. What I am saying is am I having the “regret” even though I haven’t even had surgery yet. A little FYI.. I am Intermittent Fasting & My disability makes me unable to jump, run or go one long walks. I can’t do some exercises so modifications help but are not as effective I believe. So I AM excepting, eating healthier already.

I'm guessing whoever did you scan isn't a bariatric surgeon, so they might call any weight loss surgery an RNY (?). Not sure. If what you got is a sleeve, and it was confirmed by other MRI's and scans, then I'm guessing that's why that person put "RNY" on your summary. He or she just isn't familiar with the various WLSs.

Agreed. "Detox diets" are pretty pointless since the body has its own mechanisms for detoxing itself. I personally would go back to when you first started full solids after your surgery if you're concerned about weight gain and fell into not eating as healthy. After bariatric surgery you should never give up protein. Just my two cents! Good luck!

Hello I'm new here... 11 years ago I had gastric sleeve. Had Great success from 205 to 135 then after a horrific time in my life " DIVORCE" I went to 123 lbs. Then got divorce finally over moved to New state, have new career and put every lb back on and at this age weight for a women much harder to lose. I tried my old diet pills QYSMIA and ozempic lost 30 lbs 4 mths ( made me horribly sick) stop and put wt back immediately with diet pills kept getting sicker and sicker back on diet pills and nothing. For over 6months Gerd and reflux so bad when sleeping and anytime I was sitting or laying down. Couldnt eat many things. After several doctors endo and colonoscopy. I Went to ER with chest pain Heart burn so bad thought i was dying i was admitted for srveral days. A great Doc finally did another endo and found issue referred me to a fantastic bariatric surgeon. You name it I had it my stomach was pushed into my esophagus from hiatial hernia. So had to have surgery immediately. Revision repair of sleeve, duodenal switch, hiatal hernia. 5 hour surgery. It took a few weeks and some ups and downs. After surgery Stomach ulcer unknown Bleed, blood transfusion and 7 days in hospital I'm 3 weeks post op and on the mend. Feel Great. I definitely need a support group.

I am 22 pounds from goal weight and the only exercise I have done for the past year is walking 2-3 miles a day. Casually. To be honest, I joined Planet Fitness since everyone kept telling me I needed to lift weights to avoid too much muscle loss from the rapid weight loss. I went a few times then stopped during flu season and never went back. I had a few different stalls and of course the weight loss slows the closer we get to our goal weight. But on the average, I lost 1-2 pounds per week since RNY WLS in April 2023. I plan to amp up my workouts after I get below my goal weight with resistance training. I used to body build in my 20's so I'm counting on muscle memory to kick in for me. LOL I also knew that weightlifting would increase my appetite and eating more when our bodies can't build muscle during our honeymoon phase didn't seem logical. According to bariatric surgeon, Dr V, we are in a catabolic state for 1 -2 years after surgery. Meaning we cannot build muscle while our body is breaking it down. (losing weight) Makes perfect sense to me. I'm curious if you have gotten a bodyfat test that shows increased muscle mass 9 months after surgery coupled with weightlifting?

@BlueParis As I mentioned before my bariatric docotor and dietician both said exhaustion is a thing up to 4 or 5 months before your body starts getting back to normal. Low Iron and other problems could contribute. From my blood test results that's not the case. Exhaustion is part of the process. The dietician wanted me to stay close to 100 grams of protein a day. My average is around 135 grams. I log everything through the baritastic app that she can access. Seems weird to me that I should stay close to 100, but they've done this many times before. So I'll follow the guidelines to see what happens. @NickelChip i weighed myself the night before my DR. Appointment. I was 241 lbs. The next day on the doctors scale i was 245 lbs. I think my scale is 1 or 2 lbs off. Either way, I gained overnight and that is frustrating. But, the part I took away is all the inches i had lost. The Doctor and nurse both have had bariatric surgery. They kept reassuring that the process is working, but it can be slow.

Safe travels. Hope you see those numbers when you get back. I had my 3 month post op appointment with the dietician and bariatric doctor. They took my measurements and compared to the first visit. Ive lost 4 inches in my neck 10 inches in my waist. Officially lost 41 lbs since surgery. My issue has been exhaustion. I was told that is part of bariatric surgery process. That it happens and should start getting better in the next month or so. Had a lot of blood tests as well. The results have been very good. B-12 is off the chart high. So I will be taking only one multivitamin and one B-complex a day instead of two. The Doctor was very impressed with how much visceral fat I have lost. They have a machine that measures body fat and muscle. Visceral fat went from 40+ when I started back in October. Down to 18 now. The goal is to have that number at 12. She explained it usually takes a full year to get there. Being 6 points away 3 months post op is very good. All the blood tests haven't been finished yet, but so far so good. I was hoping there would be something to help with the exhaustion, apparently that happens matter what you do.

So at this point, I am confused to say the least. Started the bariatric Program: 336lbs Day of surgery: 326 CW:279 2 weeks shy of 5 months post Vsg GW 220-230 In the morning I can not eat food without first, drinking, something hot it’s the only time I really feel restricted. I am two weeks away from being five months out. Noticed I’m will only lose about 1-2 pounds a week but I fluctuate the same 1-2 pounds. I can’t get my protein from real food after eating 3oz of chicken at noon. I can’t eat real food for the rest of the day. Water intake is not a problem. But I have been at a stall for a month!! dietitian does not want me to rely on protein shakes, but that’s the only way to meet my protein goal. Any advice???

Hey K, just resigned up to write you this post! I used to frequent this site when I was gearing up for Bariatric surgery years ago. And now I have just completed my first round of plastics where I was told I have little to no body fat. Was a great feeling! (2 more to come In the next year) But i also felt it was coming off so soooo slowly in the first month or so and really struggled with the fact I still felt hunger and I lost 97% of my excess weight In the first year. Most of that in the first 6months. I was huge.. when I started 399lbs and lost 6st pre surgery and 10st post surgery.. And have kept it off.. keep going! you will do this!! eyes on the prize.. before you know it you will be a year out those first few months feel like a slog as you just want it gone. My biggest recommendations are cut as many carbs as you can. I ate little to zero sugar, crisps and chocolate in my first year. I focused on carbs from vegetables only, very little pasta, rice etc maybe a spoonful max.. I focused on cauliflower rice, broccoli, air fried courgettes etc mainly protein.. look up the boos ridiculous brownie’s!! Protein based baked goods!! But They got me through for my sweet tooth it’s about finding compromises.. I froze sugar free jelly (orange) with sugar free angel delight (choc) on top into mini ice cube trays and would have a couple of these after dinner. and I did a lot of exercise, minimum 1hr 20mins a day walking.. 8-10k steps and on the weekend I did more and added a 40-1hr swim.. for me it gave less time to focus on food and build better habits you have got this hun keep going.. xx

I have always had a dilemma about the sleeve, because patients can expand their stomach pouch, by poor compliance. The majority of people who have bariatric surgery experience psychological problems with their relationship with food rather than a physiological problem. Therefore, not withstanding a brain transplant, I don't think a sleeve would be successful for such individuals. I think that's one of the main reasons for revision from sleeve to bypass. With bypass, this is my own experience, you can eat as much as you want, but you don't put on the weight. I feel sleeve is suited to people who need a helping hand to lose weight but are strong enough to comply with a lifestyle diet change. Those of us who would continue to struggle with our relationship with food regardless, I think are better candidates for the bypass. The bypass comes in various strengths. There are several variations of the bariatric gastric bypass surgery, including: 1. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) 2. Mini gastric bypass (MGB) 3. Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD/DS) and While Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, mini gastric bypass, and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch are the most well-known variations, there are other less common types of gastric bypass surgeries, including: 1. Single Anastomosis Gastric Bypass (SAGB) 2. Loop Gastric Bypass 3. Sleeve Gastrectomy with Transit Bipartition

I’d suggest purchasing a soup that has protein. Most protein powders do not mix well with hot water and changes the texture of the soup. I’d aim for a bone broth as arabesque mentioned. They also make Bariatric soups that might be worth a shot.

I’m sorry I can’t offer any help but I remember someone mentioning something similar a while ago.. Hopefully they’re still about here & may offer some suggestions. You’ve probably read this article, but in case you haven’t, there may be some interesting points you could rule out &/or raise with your cardiac specialist or bariatric surgeon. If you don’t track anymore, I liked the idea at the end of the article to track your food to see if anything more specifically that you’re eating sets off the heart issues. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22416-heart-palpitations-after-eating I hope they can come up with some answers soon.

Anyone having issues with irregular heartbeats since having gastric bypass? I have been having problems with AFIB when I went through dumping the first few months and now 1 year out since February I have been in constant PVC (Premature ventricular contraction). My cardiologist is baffled. Been through all kinds of tests and my heart is healthy and have no blockages BUT even with meds it’s not going away. I am constantly having PVC’s AND when I eat my heart gets worse! I flutters like CRAZY!!!! Feels like I horrible panic attack, sometimes feel like I am going to have a heart attack or something. I have been in hospital, being monitored and back in hospital for testing and been on heart monitors. In 1 week wearing a monitor they recorded over 38,000 PVC’S 😱 I am at a loss here and never had these issues until I was revised to gastric bypass. I went back to Bariatric surgeon and he put me on reactive hypoglycemia diet he said that cannot cause PVCs, but it can cause heart, palpitations, and being on that diet has not made any changes. I go back to the cardiologist again for the 11th time on Tuesday after wearing my third monitor and I don’t know what is going to be done at this point. It’s really freaky that after I eat whether it’s healthy or not so healthy my heart does a freaking jiggly jig dance!!!! I thought I’d come on here to see if this is a problem that anybody else has heard of or experienced ?

Not sure how new this is but I just stumbled upon a multi vitamin that is specifically for DS/SADI that includes 60mg of iron, ADEK and some other stuff that is specific to the switch surgeries. Just thought I’d share in case someone else didn’t know about this. It’s made by procare health. They actually sell it in the bariatric pal store but currently it’s cheaper on the manufacturers site if you do multiple months and/or subscribe for auto ship.