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Just had my gastric bypass surgery this past Monday (Feb 19). Was super excited and nervous both all the way up to the day of. Still in alot of pain but determined to get better and get back to work as soon as possible I wish all of the February surgery buddies good luck and here's to a new beginning .

I was 118kg back then till 27th Jan 2024. 10 days prior to my surgery, the liquid diet plan was quite challenging but managed well. I lost 5kg at Day 10... I was discharged from the hospital 26hrs later as 12hrs after surgery i started to walk with the support of my wife. Im on support of Multi-vitamins, Calcium Citrate + D3, blood thinning injection for 1 month, and Gastric medicine for 2 months. All vitamins or medications need to be crushed from solid pills to compound or powder base before consuming. This has to be for only the first 1 month of post surgery. Being just on liquid diet, plain water for the first 2 days, 3rd & 4th day took young coconut water, 5th till 7th day took sieved apple orange beetroot carrot & celery juice (200ml every 2 hourly) and by end of Week 1 post surgery, i lost another 6kg. Week 2 post surgery, continued with liquid diet by consuming protein milk shake 100ml at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, and 6pm. At 8pm and 10pm i take same sieved juices 100ml only. By end of Week 2, i lost another 6kg. However, this is my Week 3 post surgery, continued with liquid diet by consuming protein milk shake 150ml at 8am, 10am, 8pm and 10pm. At 12pm and 6pm i boiled small piece of cabbage and cauliflower, then i air-fry a small piece of chicken breast with 4 small slices of egg-tofu. Total weight of my lunch(12pm) or dinner(6pm) meal is within 80 to 100 grams only. This will be the diet for my Week 3 & 4. I weigh myself on a weekly basis. So let’s see by next week how much i lose again…😁😁😁

Oh!! And never look at the number on the scale and compare it to others. If you really feel the need to compare, use percentages. Those at a lower weight tend to lose slower, those at a higher weight tend to lose faster. For instance, your excess weight is 50 lbs. That's the amount you want to lose. A 10 lb loss means you have lost 20% of your excess weight already in 4 weeks! That is a lot even though it doesn't look like a lot on the scale. In comparison, my surgery weight was 307. So for me, 20% is 27.4 lbs. It took me until 9 weeks post op to lose that much... So you are a bit more ahead of schedule than it feels! Percentages are a way better gauge of where your progress really is.

Your feelings are valid @Nan CC, surgery is stressful and the idea that we have done so much for so little loss in the beginning is discouraging and depressing!! I have some thoughts to share about your experiences... 1. That hunger you are experiencing is normal. It doesn't go away for everyone. I woke up in the recovery room ravenous which pissed me off because all they kept saying is I wouldn't be hungry! And I ended up more hungry than I'd been in years!! The first two months I was hungry all the time. True hunger. I think it is because the body is panicking and trying to figure out what is going on. Plus we've been lied to, that growling sound is often not hunger, but just our system digesting and moving air and fluid through our system. After surgery our internal digestive process sounds louder to us for some reason. Maybe because we are paying more attention?? I don't know. But I had true hunger constantly. One thing that will help this is a PPI (proton pump inhibitor). Our tiny tummies are still making enough acid for a normal tummy and that can irritate it as it heals. That gnawing hunger can often come from this and gets worse at night... 2. No, you aren't supposed to automatically feel full with 1/4 cup of food. A lot do, but not all by any means. The reason for this primarily is because all the nerves that communicate fullness to us were cut during surgery. It takes at least 3 full months for those to heal enough to accurately communicate again. The 1/4 cup portion size is to keep you from inadvertently overeating and stressing your healing stomach. At about 8-10 weeks you may notice you can eat more, that's because the internal swelling has gone down. By then you should be able to start gauging your fullness signals. They are often different post op and can look like sneezing, a congested or runny nose, hiccups, pressure in your breastbone, nausea, etc... By 3-4 months out you may be eating more like 1/3 to 1/2 cup of food at a time. Not everyone progresses that way, some have high restriction all the time and have to stick to smaller portions. But the key here is to start building that relationship of listening with your body and learning that the feeling of hunger does not mean you are starving. If you are eating 1/4 cup of food 5-6 times a day, you are getting enough nutrients for your stage in the process. As @AmberFLmentioned, I suggested Millie's sipping broths (you can get a sample pack of all the flavors on Amazon) they help a LOT when you want something, the warmth and savoriness can really soothe the extreme hunger until it balances out on its own. 3. Stalls are normal and can happen early and often. I lost about 15 lbs in the first 3 weeks and then proceeded to stall for 6 weeks and gain and lose the same 4 lbs!! I was horrified and really worried my surgery wasn't going to work. I lose weight VERY slowly, my body is resistant to losing, and I have diabetes and such like you, which I think makes losing hard too. This stall was normal, even though it didn't feel normal. DS patients are known for losing dramatic amounts of weight and my surgery weight was 307, there was no good reason for the stall. But my body needed to take a break and recalibrate and heal, so it did. Finally after those 6 weeks I SLOWLY started losing again. Then at the beginning of February the weight loss finally started to pick up! A lot of people lose a ton at the beginning, I didn't. Apparently my body needed 3 months before it felt safe to start dropping weight steadily... All you can do is get good movement, good sleep (sleep is crucial to weight loss), good hydration, eat every few hours, and stay off the scale for a bit...it will break when it is ready to. 4. Hunger does eventually return to normal, or whatever is normal for you... I'm almost 4 months out and mine is back to what is normal for me. I still have to eat every 3 hours, if I don't I feel drained and irritable and my weight loss slows... I drink plenty of fluids during the day, it helped with the hunger. I feel my fullness signals clearly now, I think all that healing is finally done. I just have to eat slow enough to allow those signals to get to my brain (it takes longer than you think!). Broths, milk, coffee, tea, flavored waters, all these will ease hunger pangs, but the best cure is time and learning to heal your relationship with your hunger so you can feel it and not feel stressed about it. The great thing about eating every 3 hours is the next meal is around the corner, so I can drink something and tell my system to wait until mealtime. This helps heal the insulin resistance too by allowing your body to go through the full insulin response cycle post meal. I'm sorry this feels so hard. I hope your stall breaks soon! And I hope it helps to know you are not alone. ❤️

I need to rant a little! I have always struggled with excess weight in my adult life. Over the years I tried Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, my own thing, you name it. For the past 8 years I have been struggling to lose 50-60 lbs. It was extremely difficult for me to lose anything at all unless I severely limited calories - like 800, 900 per day - which I could only do with the help of prescription medicines. When I'd stop taking them the weight would come back despite that fact that I was rarely overeating, usually around 1500 calories per day. Over the years I gained and lost the same weight this way. I took Contrave, but it hyped me up so badly I couldn't stand it. I took Belviq, which worked well - I didn't care if I ate or not so it was easy to consume so few calories, but it was taken off the market. I used Qysmia, which also worked the same way. I lost 30 lbs, but I was paying out of pocket and couldn't afford it any more. One of my issues is that I lose weight VERY slowly, and it was frustrating to work so hard and lose a pound or 2 a month. After gaining all the weight back plus 10 more pounds in 2 years, I knew I could lose it again by getting back on Qysmia but I couldn't bear the thought of the "yoyo" again. I'm 67 and have diabetes and heart disease in my family, which I was afraid of developing if I didn't take and keep the weight off. I'm on blood pressure and cholesteroI meds already. I can't play with a yoyo any longer at this point in my life and so I began to consider sleeve gastrectomy. I researched and thought about it for a long time before finally having surgery 1/24/24. Yesterday it was 4 weeks since surgery. In the 1st 2 weeks I lost 10 lbs. While I hoped to lose more, this was a good result because before surgery it would have taken me about 6 months to lose 10 lbs. Victory!! Or so I thought. Since then, however, I haven't lost any weight. I've read about the 3 week stall, which I guess is what I am experiencing. I think I get it. And at the same time I am enormously frustrated and sometimes find myself thinking that I made this drastic and permanent change in my life only to have the same result - consuming very little calorically and the weight just not coming off. Except now I'm consuming even fewer calories (still on purees). And on top of that, I am hungry almost all day. After breakfast, I wait 15 minutes and start on water/fluids again. Fifteen minutes after that, I am hungry again. And yes, it's genuine hunger - with growling and an empty feeling. Eating 1/4 cup of food is not filling me up. I am getting usually around 70g of protein each day in what I'm eating and drinking, so it's not that. I had some wild expectations, I'll admit. My doctor gave me a goal weight that requires me to lose 50 lbs. (60 for a "stretch" goal). I (crazily) thought that it would take about 2 months to lose that much. I've since realized that with relatively little to lose it will go slower, but geez! For who knows what reason, I also thought I would hardly ever be hungry. Five days post op, natural hunger returned. I was mad! And surprised, but I relied on this forum and learned that hunger was still normal. I thought once I could actually eat something it would be more like "normal" hunger - like before surgery - when it was about time to eat. Instead I find that I am often just hungry all day (usually worse at night) and the amount I'm eating isn't enough. I eat the recommended 2 oz of food and I never feel full, but I stop because that is the recommended amount. The instructions I've been given have implied that this should be more than enough to fill me at this point and that I might not even be able to finish that much, but it hasn't been the case for me. In 30 minutes or so, it's like I didn't eat anything and I'm hungry again. Of course I realize that a lot of my problem is my unrealistic expectations. But sometimes I do feel frustrated that I did this drastic thing only to have nothing change - I still can't lost weight. Mostly, reason prevails and I know that sooner or later the weight has got to come off. Reason is reassuring for the mental issue I have here, but reason does nothing to help the hunger. Ok, rant over. Does anyone have experience like this? Very slow loss and constant hunger? Does the weight loss pick up? How long does the 3 week stall last? Does the hunger ever return to normal? Help!!

I was told by my bariatric team nurse that it's normally a two week wait, and they would call me at that point to set up my surgery date. BCBS approved me within a week. So, I was surprised when the hospital nurse called me with check in day instructions and found my surgeon had already scheduled my surgery in 10 days. So what normally would have been a 2 week wait for approval, then a 2 week pre-op diet turned into a Fastrack to surgery. My liver shrinking diet was shortened because of it which was OK with me and obviously OK by my doctor. Good luck!

I'm so sorry you are having to do this for so long. My surgery is tomorrow. My doctor only required 10 days, and that was bad enough. I was told, however, that the first 3 days are the worst, and I found that to be true. Your post date would have been your 3rd day. Praying that it gets easier for you! The past few days, while hungry, I just didn't care anymore about the hunger. What has gotten me is the fatigue. Best wishes to you!!

If you take away the time you had a feeding tube, you’re probably more at about the four month mark compared to the rest of us. I think I was eating about 600 calories then so a little more. I was a low calorie small eater too. Didn’t stop e losing all my weight & more. So don’t give up. (So sorry you had these struggles.) and I would expect that is also why your doctor is okay with your lower food intake at this time & your eating routine. While yes it is important for you to be slowly increasing your caloric intake & increasing your portion size as you progress, I would expect t your path will be even slower. Out of curiosity what are you eating? Maybe there are some foods that are less dense & with higher calories you could be consuming. Do you regularly see a dietician to guide you on food choices with your specific needs? May be you could reduce some of your activity to take some stress off your body. Exercise only contributes to about 10% of your weight loss. I didn’t exercise as such. Just upped my daily every day activities. Parked further away from where I was going. Walked up escalators. Took stairs. Did single trips up & down my stairs instead of carrying multiple bags or whatever at once. Get some resistance bands. You don’t have to do a lot to see a change in muscle toning & building which ultimately will help you burn more fat. I’ve been doing about 4 x 5 minutes or so sessions across my day for about a year. Doesn’t burn a lot of calories. I say I wouldn’t burn 40 calories a day but my arms look great & I get complements & I had to buy new pants as my thigh muscles had grown. All the best. And yes, the stall will break when your body is ready.

Our program was for 18 months of follow up as part of the surgical fee, and then annually thereafter on our (or insurance's) ticket. In normal situations, follow up with the PCP is fine as they can order labs, etc. However, we find it useful to keep in touch with the surgeon for his annual follow up as a means of keeping him "on retainer" in the event something odd happens. We all have things happen as we get older, and one of the common questions that would come up in our support group (mostly veterans of 10-20 years) is that they are having some health issue, and is that related to their WLS? Usually it is not and just part of the aging process, but if there is something questionable, our PCP can call up the surgeon and ask about it, MD to MD. It is less common for something odd in our health balance to happen with a sleeve as it would be with one of the malabsorbing procedures like the DS or RNY, but that's where some odd long term nutritional balance issue is most likely, and that's where the surgeon's experience can help out.

Hello, I, 9 month post with VGS,, I am on a super strict calorie diet. 400 or less a day. ( Doc is ok with that) i do moderate exercise 3 days a weeks, and walking everyday. i have only lost 3# in 2 months. Doc said sometimes it happens, it not typical but can still happen, then he said one month i could loss 10# after my body catches up and get out of starvation mode or something along that line.. I just need to talk to someone who has experienced something similar. I had a rough start to this journey and I am just hoping that it starts going better,

Oh hey, hi, how YOU doin? Just as a FYI... At this time in 2022 I was 421 pounds, size 28/30 and 4x/5x, wearing a size 11 shoe, size 10 ring, and wearing 22-24 inch necklaces. I couldn't wear bracelets at all. Fast forward 2 years, and today, I am 218 pounds, size 14/16 and wear an xl top (2x if I want it looser), size 10 shoe, size 6 ring, and 18 inch necklaces. And now I can wear bracelets.

I really started noticing some bloating around middle part of October, which was after my appointment I had in September. I figured it was diet and I cut out the cucumbers and it took it down some of the bloat but not all the way. Then the tenderness started shortly after starting the Woman’s Probiotic. At first I thought since I increased my strength training at the gym at the same time that I was just sore and it would go away. Since then it just seems like it’s gotten a little more tender. I’m stumped too. The Nurse Practitioner wants to put it on gallbladder but I have a feeling it will get the same results as I had 10 yrs ago when I did the ultrasound and hida scan on it. I understand they have to go up the ladder on the testing to rule things out too. It’s just frustrating. I do know if the pain gets worse or new symptoms pop up to call weight management or go to the ER. I have been having soft formed peanut butter colored bowel movements and still do the 2 colace daily and the miralax once daily. If not I slow down and it turns into the kind of bowel movement the first one after surgery was aka what I call horse size poop. I don’t know if that helps with anything or not. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I understand fully what your saying. I was shocked too at how much less pain the surgery was compared to my gallbladder. I didn't really have too much anxiety, as I did excitement and finally had it done. when I came to in recovery I had to wait for a room to open, so I was there for a couple hours and my nurse was wonderful!! she was so kind and got me extra pillows and talked with me the whole time. All the staff was wonderful through the night and the next for going home I was home by I believe, 10:30 am. Why did they say you cant have soup or pudding more than once a day ? I can have soup just have to have it cream and strained before having it, I wonder why they stated that. I am sorry that they said that. I feel hungry all the time too, I am just trying to get fluids in and get at least one protein drink in a day at this point. I don't want to push it. I find It hard when my kids are making food not to just taste it to make sure it taste alright lol , but so far I have been good. I have slipped and took a very very small bite of some chicken wing dip and just made sure I chewed it really well. I sat okay. So I was glad. I really hope that you are able to get your medicine soon. I am on my own medicine and glad that I have it through this , I don't think that I would make without it.

Just wanted to say I'm starting Day 13 of my 2 week preop liquid diet and it's not so bad at this point. I mean, I wouldn't recommend it to friends, but my energy levels are good and the hunger isn't terrible. The first few days I was tired and cold all the time, but it is winter and I live near Boston, so cold comes with the territory. 4 weeks would be hard, but you can do it! I suggest getting any source of temptation out of sight, and keep yourself busy. Also, if you're like me, you will start thinking of the most random food-related things, like a food you like or a restaurant you went to one time 10 years ago, just totally out of the blue. Avoid cooking shows. I stupidly was halfway through an episode of Great British Baking Show before I realized what I was doing! OMG, why am I watching someone cook a tart right now?!? If you're allowed it, get the chicken soup flavored shakes (I know Bariatric Fusion, Unjury, and Celebrate have versions, if those brands are available to you). That has been such a life saver as I'm really tired of everything being sweet. Sugar free jello is lovely and only 5 calories, so it should be fine for you to have. It's almost like chewing, sort of. Good luck!

Hello All, On Friday I had my 1 year post op appointment at Weight Management. Last time I was there was for my 6 month visit. Between the 6 month and the 1 year visit, I started noticing upper abdominal bloating (usually in the morning I notice after 1st waking up it doesn't look of feel too bad but it still seems like its still there but by the end of the day, I feel and look like I am 6 months pregnant.) some tenderness and occasional pain in the upper right abdomen from the middle area up into the ribs and side sometimes back. Also occasional nausea but I attributed to dumping syndrome. I told the Nurse Practitioner about it and the first thing she asked me was if I still had my gallbladder. I told her yes that I was the only adult (at almost 40) in my family that still had theirs. (Back about 10 years ago I was having pain in that area but labs, ultrasound and hida scan all came back normal.) So the Nurse Practitioner ordered my yearly labs, also is wanting a ultrasound and possible hida scan. She said if those came back normal the Dr will most likely want to do a EDG and possibly a colonoscopy. I was just wondering if anyone else here on the board had this issue in the past or currently dealing with it and what the outcome of it was?

You're 100 pounds overweight with a BMI of 38.7 (with 20-25 being normal). Only 20% of people can lose even 10% of their body weight and keep it off for more than 5 years through diet and lifestyle alone. You're looking to lose about 25% of your body weight, at which point you will still be borderline obese (29.5 BMI). You might consider asking yourself, how much more overweight would you have to be to see yourself as "very heavy"? And how much worse would the odds need to be for you to think you have no chance with diet?

Yes, It is a cheat and off plan but they do not have much in them 10 cals I think. Asda have children's rocket lollies that have very few cals in. I still have them every day. If they would ok a raw carrot or celery just so you can chomp on something, would make things better. Be strong, We are all here for you whenever you need us. Its that kind of forum x

Thank you very much Im now only 262 lost 10 pounds lately and i feel maybe this whole thing is not really for me i need to diet … and that these surgeries are for very heavy ppl that have basically no chance with diet

Surgery complete! It was on the 12th. I’m not going to lie -it really hurts. The first day or two was pretty rough. Besides my stomach hurting my throat was so angry from the tube. I’m going to blame that on my snoring… I find that every day I’m feeling much better than the last. From the start of my liquid diet a week before to now I’m down 12 lbs. that makes me very very happy. Definitely the most productive weight loss I’ve ever had. Im 6 days post-op and feeling pretty good- I get a twinge of pain when I use my stomachs muscles like laying down or sitting up but just a twinge like a 2/10. Now I’m ready to get going- I want to get the weight off and keep it off.

Hi Joe, I am almost 8 weeks post surgery. While I can't speak for everyone, I did not experience this. Yes, you have to chew your food well (if it needs chewing), but it is not as onerous as it seems. Sure, the first time I had solid food I made sure that it was well chewed and I ate it slowly to make sure it was not going to present a problem. I've done that with every new food I've tried. But it has NEVER taken me 10-15 minutes to eat 2 tablespoons of food. In fact, I have to make sure I don't eat too fast! It is like drinking water after surgery... at first you struggle to take a sip at a time. Then you notice you are taking bigger sips and then a large swallow. I can drink 8 oz of water in a couple of swallows now. I know that thought of the changes this surgery may bring to your life can be scary, but does it really matter if when you are past the initial stages of the process it takes you 15 minutes longer to eat your dinner than it did prior to surgery? That you can't get your money's worth at an all you can eat buffet? If you look at the surveys of people who have had WLS, their most common regret is that they didn't have the surgery sooner. BTW - I'd always been a "healthy" fat person until I wasn't. I can't count the number of times I lost a little weight only to gain it back; Weight Watchers should have been giving me frequent flyer rates. Today, I went under 300 lbs. for the first time in 19 years and I'm 35 lbs away from being a weight I haven't seen since 1984. Yeah... I'm good with it all!

I read online that after surgery even long term it will take 10-15 minutes to eat 2 tablespoons and eat extremely slowly chowing until all food is equivalent to mash potatoes thickness before swallowing is this true signing up my life for this??

Thanks so much! I am on a Vegan Shake and using some almond milk with no sugar added. I have slowed down on veggies and fruit. Apparently someone didn’t put on my chart that I suffer from IBS. Then nutritionist is calling me on Tuesday to help with a diet that’s is more manageable for me. I was told that My IBS could get better or worse. I read the Bariatric Bible they gave me and it is in there. I pray for the better scenario. They told me if I have any doubts then I shouldn't do it. It’s not that I have doubts, I’m scared of any surgery! I am nervous and I feel it would be favorable if one hear some positive. That’s why I am on here. I am hoping I hear the positive. I hate drama. I realize that it will be very difficult recovery. I don’t know how many days I will be in pain. They want me walking 20 min 3 times a day. I can do 10 minutes and I will work my way up. I think they do this liver cleanse for the purpose to make surgery easier but to show us this is your new way of life. When I look at phase 2 it’s not as much dairy, fruit and veggies they are requiring now. I am almost there I have today and tomorrow. Then clear liquids on Tuesday. My surgery Wednesday. I am giving it all to God! Thanks for all who reached out!

I can really only share what the experience has been like for me, and the positives that have come into my life. I was in a very similar spot as you, both mentally and physically. The doubts and fear doubled, trebled, quadrupled to an infinity even as I was being rolled into the OR for surgery. I am now six months and two weeks post-op. I can pop off for a 2 mile run if I feel like it. A 10 mile hike. A long yoga session. I am signed up for getting an open-water SCUBA certification. My cholesterol is normal for the first time in my adult life. My mental health has improved. I've also enjoying seeing my physical transformation. Attaining a high level of fitness remains a strong motivation for me. But eating small portions, managing supplements, timing my water intake, and tracking food? It has gotten easier and easier. I truly wish you well on your journey, no matter which path you decide to take.

I'm not sure, since I had an incredible amount of polyps that had to be removed, as well. Those were caused as a result of being on 80mg of a PPI everyday for an extended amount of time. I had 4 endoscopies just to remove polyps. 8-10 were removed each time. The first time, my esophagus was stretched, as well. I ended up needing to get a revision to bypass because the GERD caused, not only the polyps, but also gastritis and esophagitis, as well. And even with the 80mg of Nexium daily, I was still getting break through GERD that required Pepcid, which didn't always help. I also never had any kind of GERD or reflux before the sleeve.