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I take it! My doctor told me that the gastric sleeve was the best option for it I am in school as well, this is my last full semester! However, I have no idea if it takes longer to absorb or if my dosage will end up being too much. Right now I am at 20mg extended release in the morning before work then I take 10mg fast release after work for when I start my studies.

I took Latuda for bipolar when I had my sleeve three years ago and my prescribing doctor was concerned about me not getting enough calories in the beginning for it to absorb properly as well. (For those who don’t know about this particular medication it’s not about it not absorbing due to the surgery itself like many controlled release meds. This med needs the 350 calories in order to absorb fully for anyone, not just people who had surgery). Anyways, My doctor switched me to vraylar for a couple of months prior to surgery just to make sure I was stable on it and then a short time after until I was back to being able to consume 350 calories at one time. The vraylar is quite expensive but luckily they were able to get enough samples for me. The plan was to switch me back once I was eating enough. What was weird and unexpected was post surgery when he tried to switch me back to the Latuda all of a sudden it caused me a great deal of anxiety and I couldn’t tolerate it anymore (even though I was on it for three years before surgery) so he kept me on the vraylar a little longer until things got back more normal for me and then made another change. I am now on a completely different medication. Neither the surgeon or prescribing dr could explain that anxiety except that when you alter the anatomy things just happen sometimes but I just worked with my prescribing dr and he sorted it out. The most important thing is that your prescribing dr and your loved ones are very aware that you may encounter some issues and that everyone is on top of it. If you feel the slightest bit off, you may need to be the one to contact your Dr. You mentioned “the switch” as an option. Not sure if you are speaking if the SADI switch or the Duodenal switch but both of those are restrictive and malabsorbing surgeries. The reason they suggested the sleeve for me was because they were concerned about my other meds not absorbing fully just because of the malabsorbing component of the other surgery. Fast forward three years and I gained my weight back and we are now considering conversion to the SADI or bypass because I gained my weight back. I gained it back because I ate the wrong things though so don’t let that scare you. I only mention it because I’m guessing you can see my current weight and may wonder why I didn’t lose. I did lose quite a bit and maintained it for a while but I was discouraged I didn’t lose it all and I let that get to me. Which is something you should be aware of, you may not lose as much as someone who is not on all these meds. Just don’t get too caught up in comparing your journey to others. I am 5’8” and I got down to 168. I would be so much happier and healthy now if I had just accepted that win instead of getting it in my head that I failed by not making it to where others did.

I had surgery on 12/4/23 and I’m currently down 58 lbs. I’ve hit a few stalls and it seems like I’m not losing much at all anymore BUT it’s the non scale victories for me honestly. Like clothes fitting loosely. Joints feeling wonderful. Energy levels finally returning. Stairs being easy!! Confidence levels rising!! I’m feeling happy and healthy. Honestly choosing to enjoy this whole journey to better myself and my habits has been the biggest key. You have to change your mindset. I think the stubborn belly fat is the last to go for most all of us. I got a facia roller… I use it about every other day on my stomach, thighs, and batwings lol and I think it helps break up the tissue and my skin is appearing smoother. As far as others not noticing… it sucks but sometimes when you see someone daily you don’t notice changes. It takes time away that creates the shock. Don’t let that deter you or make you feel like this whole process has been worthless. You’re doing this for you! No one else! Also, my doctor seems to be the only one that would prefer me to fast and only eat once a day. He says to focus mainly on protein, but never gave me a daily goal. I eat what fills me and then I put whatever’s left away. Feeling the need to always finish my plate is what got me in this mess in the first place. That’s why we are suppose to be taking our bariatric multi daily. To help assist with nutrients we can’t fit. You’re doing good. Keep up with your routine. You won’t be disappointed!

I had gastric bypass in July of 2019. Highest weight was 400 before losing a bit on my own. Current weight varies from 167 to 173. I still feel some restriction to this day. My meals are usually small although I know we can all 'eat around' the restriction by eating smaller, but continuous meals and this was a slippery slope I fought back against. About 2 yrs ago, I started having right sided pain. It felt like the pain I used to feel when I ovulated so I assumed it was ovarian. Saw OB & had 2 ultrasounds and they couldn't even see right ovary (and the left was fine. Since they couldn't 'see' the right one, they said that was good since there was no obvious signs of..I don't know tumors, growths? The pain continued to worsen & I finally had gall bladder taken out 1.5 yrs ago. I adjusted diet again to deal with gal bladder being gone and things seemed ok. A few months after that the right sided pain returned. About 4 mos ago, the pain got so bad at times I'd be in a ball on my bed considering going to ER (which I HATE doing). Went back to primary got CT scan. CT came up with no findings. Then he referred me to GI doctor for colonoscopy & upper GI. I thought finally 'this was it, we've ruled out most other things'. I also had seen blood in my stools and it was old blood, like coffee grounds so I thought ok, not hemorrhoids? Just got back home from colonoscopy & upper GI. I thought doing prep was bad yrs ago, but much harder having had bypass surgery. Good news is no polyps or other concerning things. Bad news is main finding was on bypass "Patient's surgical anastomosis noted to be widely dilated, raising possibility of Dumping Syndrome as a cause". OK, most know what dumping is. I thought it was post surgery when we ate food (i.e. sugar, high fat) that processed too fast, etc. and you had dumping. Is the type of dumping they are alluding to different from our post surgery dumping? They recommended I see gastric bypass revision specialist. Has anyone else had revision NOT due to 1st bariatric surgery not being successful but for a "medical reason" like this (other than GERD, heartburn). I'm not even sure insurance will pay, but I have 2 yrs worth of history on this pain. Even it if does pay, I dread what this means for me - more hair loss? If I do this, will I need another revision in 5 yrs again at which point I'll be getting up there in age. I also still feel restriction kick in although yes, nothing like 1st 2 years My highest right now hovers at 173. I hoped I'd get to 150 but closest I've come is 167-168. Is revision another 'nuclear detonation option'? I've also wondered with the CT scan, etc. is there any chance of some straggler/stone from my gallbladder surgery 1.5 yrs ago that should be considered? Should I post this in the revision group instead? I read through some and was unsure. Are we allowed to cross-post? Any input would be appreciated. This is causing issues on my job as the pain hits out of nowhere (not X amount of time before OR after a meal, that I have been able to discern. Thank you!

Hi all, wondering if anyone else gets very drowsy after eating. I'm 14 years out from Roux-en-y surgery and approx. 2 years ago started feeling very drowsy after eating. I eat pretty healthy, very little processed carbs. Almost every time I eat I get very drowsy afterward often needing to sleep for approx. 1 hour, like I took a sedative. Does not matter what I eat or how fast or slow I do. I've read that due to food entering the small intestine directly increases heart rate and this demand can cause drowsiness. What I find strange about that is it only started 12 years after surgery, I'd get the increase in heart rate, but not get drowsy. Maybe it's my age? I'm 64 now. Sure would like to chat with others that have this issue. Thank You!

You're fine. My surgeon didn't even have me do a pre-op diet. He was fine with me even eating normal food the night before,I just had to fast by midnight before the surgery. I legit had lobster risotto 13 hours pre-op. My surgery went fine and things have been going great post-surgery.

My bmi wa 37 but I only carried my weight in my belly. I was on 20 mg of protonix then after I was bleeding internally they bumped me up to 40 mg. I’m daily and now dr wants me on 40 mg of protonix and 40 mg if Pepcid which to me is stupid this is my bariatric surgeon. I’ve been arguing with her that none of this is working and my burping has increased back again. That’s a lot of weight loss in 6 months, I’m still at 180 and it’s been 4 months. Idk if I could drop that fast in 2 months……… I already lived through the dos and donts as a GERD patient.

Hello. I am 6 weeks out and down 41 pounds as of today (which includes a 2 weeks low carb preop diet where I lost 13 pounds). I went from a BMI of 39 to 33 and will be 32 with one more pound loss. I was 235 when I had my sleeve and lost down to 167 but I stalled there for a few months and then started gaining it all back plus 23 pounds. Aside from a few blisters that are slowing my walking down I feel fantastic. I have more energy and motivation then I have had in years. I’m exercising (walking 5-7 miles a day) and making all my meals from scratch. I am also planning to start yoga the week after next when I am 8 weeks. The NP actually said 6 weeks is okay but I’ve never done it so I’m afraid it will be strenuous and I’d rather be safe than sorry. I did have a pretty tough recovery. I was in the hospital for 5 days because they couldn’t get my pain to a level that was manageable with meds they were willing to send me home on. Well once I finally passed gas like 5 times I was fine without any pain meds but it still was a far tougher recovery than my sleeve. Not sure why but with my sleeve I was home and out front the next day and asked my husband to pass me the basketball because I forgot I had surgery and that was with no pain meds. This time they also took my gall bladder out though because it looked bad. I wasn’t expecting it because I never had any symptoms so we didn’t discuss it but the post op pathology came back that I had gall stones so it saved me from another surgery I guess. I suggest discussing some of the things like that which may pop up during your surgery and what your wishes are since they can’t wake you up to ask. I was kinda surprised that mine went ahead and did it but the NP said his thought was that it already looked bad and that the anticipated quick weight loss was going to only make it worse. Anyways, I took it easy for the full 6 weeks this time. My floors have never been so disgusting. I have done laundry because I have the pedestals and dishes and that’s about it. My hubby has freshened up the bathrooms and changed the sheets but other than that it’s all waited for me. I confess that it’s still waiting. I am supposed to be cleaning now but I sat down for lunch and got started on here 😂 My surgeon does not believe in resizing the stomach so my surgery was only on my intestines. This made my recovery in terms of food tolerance go way quicker. I am back to normal food already. I had raw veggies in my spring rolls even and that was fine. Of course ask your team before you do it. I didn’t have any food tolerance issues after my sleeve either though. I have not had any of the diarrhea that they warned me about. They said some of their SADI patients had it for 3 months. One had it so bad it interfered with work. I have been eating very healthy though. I was actually constipated In the beginning and even with the stool softeners I had to do milk of magnesia a couple of times but now I am able to eat a bit more fiber in my diet so I am trying to cut back the stool softeners slowly. if you don’t log your food now I suggest the Baritastic app. You can log EVERYTHING there. You food, weight, measurements, exercise, moods, even your bowel movements and you can also set notifications for your vitamins (although I don’t hear them so I have alarms set as well). I really like looking at the trends and graphs to see how I am progressing. A fitness watch is really good too. I had a much older Apple Watch that I dusted off and it makes it so much more fun to do my walking and stuff because you can see how fast it adds up. I never exercised with my sleeve but I talked on the phone with my friend the first few times and then my husband got me these awesome headphones that don’t go in or over your ear so you can still hear traffic while listening to music. They are called “bone phones”. Now I just put on my music and take off walking. Makes the time go by so much faster. I wear them all day actually. You can listen to music on low and hold a conversation with someone even. I also started posting here and attending the in person support group meetings before my surgery this time so post surgery I have had lots of support. I go to check in with my NP more often than they generally require too because I have pretty severe anxiety and that comes with lots of questions and I just need the reassurance that everything is okay. Don’t forget to take photos and do measurements before you start your preop diet and again before surgery and set reminders in your calendar for once a month or so to keep doing them. And if you want to use that Baritastic app you can also keep track of your protein and water on there so familiarize yourself with it early. I kinda rambled but I tried to cover everything I could think of that may be helpful.

Most meals are between 300-500 calories each except the sushi was like 250. I’ve been eating a lot of eggs the past week but am definitely not doing the egg fast diet again! And most of these “meals” are things I pick at for a couple hours. Today’s lunch (the last picture) I made at 3pm and finished around 630pm. It’s roasted butternut squash with sautéed kale, garlic, onion, and shiitake rice.

hi all, I posted this in the pre op forum for June buddies, but thought I'd also post it here in case it helps anyone. Here's my experience so far after getting the Gastric Sleeve procedure on 13th June 2024... Immediately after surgery It was pretty rough for me, I woke up in a lot of pain, so much so that the nurses had to give me 30mg morphine for the pain. I was in a recovery room for the first 24 hours (standard procedure for the private hospital in the UK i went through) After the initial 24hrs I was moved back to my room where I felt a lot better. Even able to eat an ice pop and a small cup of Tomato Soup (sipping of course) and sipping Water every 5-10 mins. Week 1-2 I quickly moved onto the liquids phase, in which I must have taken in around 2-300 cals per day through Protein Shakes and watery Soups. I must admin this phase was the hardest for me, managing the pain meds as well as trying to drink as much liquids as I could in a day. It just so happened there was an international football (soccer) tournament on in Europe in my first 2 weeks' recovery so was engrossed in that! I also started walking 1 mile per day and upping that to almost 2 miles by the end of it. My weight loss was drastic in this phase but my word I was lethargic/got tired v easily and not up for doing much. Week 3-4 Puree stage - finally I felt I was able to get some proper food in me, and a few days after starting this phase, my weight slowed right down - the dreaded (but expected) 3 week plateau kicked in. I went around a week and a bit without any weight loss, despite me sticking to the recommended diet. I am not going to sugar coat this, it was a bit disappointing standing on those scales after a week, but I knew this would happen so meh I guess. Still walking 2 miles per day during this phase and now feeling I have a lot more energy. Week 5-6 Week 5 started with me starting to lose a pound every 2 days or so, so my body seems like it has adjusted to the inro of more foods for the 'soft foods' stage. I also started back at the gym doing some cardio work on top of my walks, and oh boy I have so much more energy for it! I am now around half way through week 6 and had my first appointment with my nutritionist and he is blown away by the progress I have made/am making. He gave me further chewing tips to make sure I am not overeating as I have been sick a couple of times when I've eaten too quickly and not realised I'm full/satisfied. He is now happy for me to start introducing more fibred meats and more complex foods, like a little Pasta and a little bit of rice, to test the waters. Struggles so far: Reminding myself I have a new stomach not eating what family members are eating e.g. Sunday dinner Eating too fast resulting in vomiting Extra attention from people who have noticed a loss in weight (47lbs and counting since pre-op liver diet). Since I've been overweight most of my adult life, I carried a lot of shame internally, so its in my nature not to talk about myself/get photos taken etc Wins so far Losing a lot of weight and all the benefits that go with it. Being more present with my family. Having the energy to do everything they want to do (I have a wife and 2 kids, girl 11, boy 7) Clothes! I have dropped from XXXL to XL already. Which was a surprise when I packed to go to a 5 day getaway with my fam in week 5 Mental health - the mental benefits come as such a relief. I no longer feel down about my weight (although I know I still have a ways to go) Confidence - generally just feel I can be more myself - hopefully some here will resonate with this. Would be great to hear of your experiences so far, especially if you had your procedure in April/May/June/July!

Well you are being such a trooper I’ll tell you. I hope you get it worked out real soon. Probably stuff you already know about the low carb if you’ve had a sensitivity to gluten. I just going to say that I learned that fajitas and Italian sausage witb peppers and onions which I like both (minus the rice of course) are relatively low carb. And cauli rice isn’t bad as long as it’s mixed in something witb flavor. Night before last I learned that crustless quiche is super easy to make and In the muffin tin it’s perfect little portions. Last night I made a low carb Italian bake that was Italian sausage with spinach and cheeses (the recipe called for mushrooms but I substituted onions). That one I’m not sure about the fat though. It wasn’t listed but for 6 servings it has two cups of mozz cheese, a quarter cup Parmesan and 16 oz of ricotta. I’m waiting to hear from my surgeon what my post op fat requirements will be and I need to work that out and see if it’s on plan. That recipe worked out to 373 calories but I didn’t calculate the fat before I tossed all the packages. Tonight I had leftovers of the Italian bake that is probably too fatty and I baked instead of cooking . I made low carb banana muffins that another poster shared with me and they are pretty yummy. They use almond flour and allulose to cut the carbs. They are surprisingly tasty. Basically I am not really a big cook and I did not experiment with healthy dishes last time around. I Just tried to commit to eating like you have to now (meat and veggies) but for life and I couldn’t do it. I got board and I found things that were within the allowed calories while the portions were small but once I could eat more they actually added up too fast. This time I’m just trying ti find at least A handful of things that are actually tasty to me that will work when I finally get back to regular foods. Something to look forward to while I’m in the weight loss stage. And it’s kinda weird but I’m not hating the cooking as much as I used to. It’s kinda like knowing that it’s actually something good for my body makes it a little less of a chore to me.

The instructions I was given were 48 hours of pre-op liquid, with total fasting beginning the evening before surgery. The longer liquid diet is to promote rapid weight-loss and shrink your liver, but some surgeons don't find this necessary, or only apply it to patients over a certain BMI. The 24-48 hours of liquid-only and/or fasting prior to surgery is just to clear your digestive tract prior to operating. Also, some surgeons don't require a puree stage and go from foods like yogurt and ricotta directly to moist proteins and fully cooked veg that you are instructed to chew for 30 seconds to a minute before swallowing (essentially pureeing them with your teeth).

Hi Vanessa, I'm also 5'9 and started at 262. I had a 2 week liquid only diet, and a couple of days of that were pretty rough but I made it through without any slips. I'm 3 weeks post op now and the things I thought would be hard don't seem to bother me, watching others eat my favorite foods is not an issue. What's been harder for me is the expected emotional roller coaster, probably hormonal, and the changes that have happened so quickly. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm tired and emotional because I had a big surgery, and I'm eating very few calories. So when I walk on the treadmill and go too fast, too long, I have to rest for a day and I don't like that. I know it's temporary, I'll start feeling better soon.

Long story short - had gastric bypass in July of 2019. Highest weight 400. Current weight 167 to 173. I still feel some restriction to this day. Meals are small and I don't eat high fat, high sugar food. 2 yrs ago, I started having right sided pain. It felt like ovarian pain so saw OB & had 2 ultrasounds nothing showed up there. Pain worsened & had gall bladder removed 1.5 yrs ago. Adjusted diet again to deal with gal bladder being gone and things seemed ok. A few months after the right sided pain returned. About 4 mos ago, pain got so bad at times I'd be in a ball on my bed considering going to ER (which I HATE doing). Went back to primary got CT scan. Nothing found. findings. Then he referred me for colonoscopy & upper GI. I thought finally 'this was it, we've ruled out most other things'. I also had seen blood in my stools and it was old blood, like coffee grounds so I thought ok, not hemorrhoids? Just got back home from colonoscopy & upper GI. Good news is no polyps or other concerning things. Bad news is main finding was on bypass "Patient's surgical anastomosis noted to be widely dilated, raising possibility of Dumping Syndrome as a cause". OK, we know what dumping is. Thought it was post surgery when we ate food (i.e. sugar, high fat) that processed too fast, etc. & you had dumping. Is the type of dumping they mention different from post surgery dumping? They recommend I see revision specialist. Has anyone else had revision NOT due to 1st bariatric surgery not being successful but for a "medical reason" like this (other than GERD, heartburn). I'm not even sure insurance will pay, but I have 2 yrs worth of history on this. Even it if does pay, I dread what this means - more hair loss? If I do this, will I need another in 5 yrs?. I also still feel restriction kick in although yes, nothing like 1st 2 years My highest weight right now hovers at 173. I hoped I'd get to 150 but closest I've come is 167-168. Is revision another 'nuclear detonation option'? ANYONE have a revision specialist in the North Texas area they can recommend so I can at least get a consultation (north texas = Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Keller, Bedford, Euless, Hurst and Denton) I've also wondered if there is a chance of some straggler/stone from gallbladder surgery 1.5 yrs ago that should be considered? Any input would be appreciated. This is causing issues on my job as the pain hits out of nowhere (not X amount of time before OR after a meal, that I have been able to discern. Thank you!

Perhaps bariatric surgery etc. isn't for you? There is no "fast" way to lose weight that's safe and healthy. If you're not losing as fast as you'd like perhaps you should consult your doctor...

Really interesting to read about the “starting weight”. I booked my surgery on January 30th and was 96kg (my highest ever weight - stepping on the scales and seeing I was closer to 100 that to 90 was a real shock - I dug out some insurance papers from February 2020 - I was 58kg then and allready heavier than I like to be). My surgery was 3 weeks later because I had to stop smoking first. The day of surgery I was 91.1kg so I lost 5.9kg in the three weeks prior ( I basically did a broth fast and didn’t eat anything solid, only clear broth and tea and coffee). Im now 70kg so since January 30th I’ve lost 26kg (57lbs) in 16 weeks (average of 1.6kg or 3.6lbs a week) so I’m very very happy with the weight loss even if I’m over the weather! I do have a goal weight which is my pre pandemic weight of 52-55kg (114-122 lbs) because I know that that is the weight at which I function best and that feels the best for my legs ( I mentioned earlier in the thread that I have very minor cerebral palsy - I have the impression that the extra pain I have for every gram I weigh over 55kg just isn’t worth it and really impacts my standard of living and my mobility. Because of the CP I have very minimal flexibility so being even slightly over weight just makes moving so so much harder for me as I can barely bend my knees as it is and have no upwards ankle flexibility what so ever. I’m easily out of balance and I fall over often ( the best way to picture it is to imagine the mobility of someone who has had about 3 beers too many), I’m used to it and my physiotherapist always says I’m a very good « faller », a part from bruises and a bruised ego I’ve only ever seriously broken things ( shoulder, wrist and double arm fracture all in one go!) once since being an adult. But being heavier has meant having more issues getting back up after falling over and more and bigger bruises. So my goal isn’t an esthetic one ( even though it will be nice to not be the fattest person in the room anymore - and because I live in Paris where the average female BMI is 21.3 the bar is low!) but a functional one. So I have 15kg (33lbs) left to loose, I know the rate of loss will slow, but I’m hoping to be at least nearly there in September when I take a new position, I really want to do my transition speech feeling ( and looking) like my old self ( just with some extra wrinkles and grey hair). My handover is September 16th - that leaves 17 weeks so I’m not sure I’ll be at 55kg by then because it would mean continuing to loose an average of 0.9kg ( 1.95lbs) a week which is a lot given my current weight. However if I manage to loose an average of 0.5kg (1.1lbs) per week ( which seems a more attainable bar) I should be 61/62kg by then, and I can live with that! ( I’m an unapologetic numbers girl - I don’t track what I eat because that’s not sustainable for me long term - I try to eat protein but other than that - YOLO - but I do track my weight every day if I have a scale and my steps and my activity) A very long post once again. Thanks all for being here. And here is a picture of a Greek island morning! That’s the 9.30AM light!

Hello @MelP1970 and welcome into the forum. You are in a very strange and bewildering time in your recovery. You might be regretting your surgery, lots of us do. The fat cells that you are shedding so quickly at this point, contain your hormones. Fast weight loss means so many are coursing through your body now. Its like puberty all over again. I was so emotional and could not understand why. A kind soul on here put me right. It is a massive learning curve right now for you. Just relearning to drink is a full time job . You are lucky, like me, no hunger pangs. I also love to cook. Once I was physically able to cook again, I restarted feeding my family. I make my portion separately from theirs. For instance, If I make Lasagne for the fam, mine has no pasta and I use sliced baked aubergine instead. Having a wide knowledge of recipes has really helped me vary my food choices. I am 2+ years out and do not feel any loss issues because I can eat almost all the foods I could before surgery. I still have a few issues with certain foods that I adored pre surgery. For instance, I detest cooked salmon but make my own Gravadlax and it tastes divine to me. I hated eggs and now I find them delicious ! If I have carbs, its only a few spoons. I make own wholemeal, seeded bread. This means I can eat a sandwich. Its not the same as regular shop bought stodge which sits heavily in my stomach for hours and then gives me the foamies. I still enjoy eating but now a tiny amount suffices. Being thin feels better than eating huge meals. Long ago, I read that Parisienne women ate this way, a few forkfuls and they leave the rest. My immediate family are used to me eating what I can and putting the remainder in the fridge for a later snack. I have a friend that I eat out with once a week. It was hard in the beginning to find things I could eat on a menu but now I usually have a salad which to me is a joy. I love the variety and crunch. This forum has members all over the world. People post pictures in the ' Food before and after' page. I find things I have never heard of before. This leads to new recipes to cook and taste. TBH my menu has expanded now, my food is more nutrient dense and much better quality. Give yourself time to accept the changes and challenges. You will feel your normal self quite soon.

I have a question for folks that may have experienced this. I'm not convinced it is 100% related to my surgery since I had some of these symtpoms, albeit milder, prior to my surgery. I felt like the dizziness and general weakness went away the first 4 weeks following surgery, and I was able to walk 2 miles easily without stoppoing, and 4-5 miles a day with minimal rest. I was really looking forward to going back to the gym once I was cleared to lift weights. However, I caught Covid, and was mostly stuck in bed for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Years, around the time I was working in solid foods again. Since then I'm barely able to walk 1 mile without stopping, and even then I need to rest for over an hour to feel right again. It's gotten progressively worse, especially in the last two weeks, to the point that I don't feel comfortable driving when the vertigo and extreme fatigue hits. It's to the point that I'm falling off my treadmill if I go more than a half mile. It went from being somewhat disruptive previously to debilitating now. Luckily I work from home, but even that is starting to get disrupted. Over the past year I was evaluated for heart issues, had 3 MRI's, a CT scan, echocardiogram/ultrasound, had my carotid checked, been to two opthamologists and tried two different pairs of glasses, checked out by a Neurologist and Neurosurgeon, evaluated by an ENT, went to a hearing and balance specialist (no Menieres disease, inner ear crystals, etc), normal BP (between 110 and 130 systolic, and 70-85 diastolic), Blood Sugar has returned to my pre-diabetic levels (92-98 fasting, and no higher than 130 when checked 2 hours after eating). Pulse Oximeter is showing O2 staying between 95-98. CPAP was re-titrated to treat sleep apnea following the weight loss. Blood labs showed Total Cholesterol and LDLs somewhat high, but decreasing steadily since my surgery in November, High levels of Iron and Calcium though, but everything else plus thyroid were normal. Heart rate has dropped from pre-surgery rate averaging around 80-90 bpm down to 40-55, but my PCP wasn't able to determine why. My father and grandfather (currently 92) both have a normal heart rate between 45-55 for their whole lives, so maybe that one is hereditary. Thanks for reading and any advice is appreciated!

OMG, ok here's what happened. So last night, for the first time in a year and a half, I was finally in the mood for some ham (lost my liking of pork for a long time). So hubby made a hickory smoked, spiral cut ham. OMG it was AMAZING. I took a tentative bite and it was like a FLAVOR EXPLOSION in my mouth. So delicious!!! I was so excited to actually like it again that I scarfed it down. Like, I ate all 3 ounces of ham in under a minute. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT do that. Ever. Once you have your surgery (especially if it's the bypass) DO NOT EVER EVER EVER scarf your food. Even if you want to. Even if it's the greatest food in the history of all food ever. Do NOT eat it quickly. Go slow and chew it. Pretend you're a train and CHEW CHEW it. About 5 minutes after I finished eating, I was in hell. OMG. The pain, the stuck feeling, the "omg my stomach is gonna burst" feeling, the nausea, the praying to ALL the deities and making bargains and deals and swearing to never do it again...it all started. I was MISERABLE all night. And I DO mean all night. So learn from me, people. NOTHING tastes good enough to make that TERRIBLE behavior even remotely worth it. Be very mindful about what you eat, how fast you eat it, and how much of it you eat. This concludes my TED talk.

I am a Gerd patient and got the sleeve Sept 5, 2023. My HW 210, SW 206, CW 180. I hit the plateau in November 2023 and havent lost any weight since. I did have GERD previously before the surgery with a hiatal hernia 2cm; but, my stomach was literally stuck in my chest since 2008. I was told by my surgeon that GERD patients have a harder time losing weight. I workout 4 days hard since 3 weeks after surgery, I still watch what i eat as a GERD patient not weight loss. I want to know if anyone is going through this stall as well. I've seen videos of people around 240lbs weighing 120 6m after surgery.To me that is crazy, I do eat carbs but its limited and I still keep my protein intake above 90g daily. I do track my meals and i'll have days ill eat 1000 cal or below and sometimes as high as 1200 cals. I do drink about 48 oz of water sometimes less or more. When will my plateau stop or is it cause i am building my muscle fast; I was never obese just in my belly that is my issue. the left pic is 1 yr before surgery and the pic on the right is 4 months after surgery

Hello and welcome in this great forum. Yes I had a ton of nausea and vomiting in the beginning. It took me about 3 months to get the upper hand on it. I still take Lansoprazole 30mgs twice a day. My internal stitch line was very swollen. I had to sleep sitting up for a month because of reflux. I had the remorse in a big way. I paid to feel this way. You have just made a huge change to all you have ever known. Food and eating is often more than just sustenance and once its taken away we wonder what we have done. You sound like you are grieving. Staying in and not showering are classic signs. Its difficult to get therapy in the UK but you might need to seek it out. People on here often have low moods to the lack of sugary foods and drinks or just fast foods after surgery and need to go through a type of withdrawal. Early out you still have the whole stomach amount of acid in a tiny pouch. It does make you nauseous. When you can eat better it does get better. If you find moving through the eating stages difficult, go back to the last one. I couldn't do puree. Puke... DM me on here if you want to chat.

i had an arm lift (and breast lift, and tummy tuck...all in one shot in Dec 2019). i always disliked my upper arms. when i was thin (and thought i was fat) i was self conscious of what i thought was the size of them and rarely wore sleeveless tops. then when i actually got fat i NEVER wore them. if i had to go to an event the warranted (an arm-baring) dress, i always wore a shawl. fast forward to the weight loss and i was left with some saggy jiggly upper arms. while they looked okay when my arms were at my sides, i really did not like the look of them flapping in the wind when i raised them, lol. and i raise them alot, ha...i'm one of those raise-your-arms-in-the-air-and-wave-them-like-you-just-don't-care kinda gals, lolololzzz. so i had them done about a year post op (6-ish months after i reached goal). LOVE EM. while i did wear sleeveless again after the weight loss, i feel a lot less self-conscious about them after the arm lift. and really, it makes all the difference :).. now i do have very prominent scars on my arms (i scar very badly, and knew this going in), but for some reason the scars dont bother me as much as the flapping did. Go figure. recovery is no joke though, i'll be honest. had i not done too much too soon, i would probably have been good to go by 6 weeks...but i didn't, so my recovery was more like 3+ months. that was over 5 years ago now, and i've been wearing tank tops and other sleeveless tops all year round since, hahaha. it really all boils down to what YOU are comfortable with...i was told by countless of people that i didn't need to/shouldn't get it done. but i got it anyway, because the only person who can say i need it is ME. if you have the means and the desire, the option is yours. Good luck! ❤️ some pics: 1st link: 6 months BEFORE the arm lift 2nd link: Day before VS 3 weeks after arm lift 3rd link: 6 months AFTER the arm lift

Surgon told me to do a liquid diet for a week & then make sure I measure my food. I’m 5 years out & still measure my food to not go over 3.5 oz. It took me 2 years to meet my goal, then I put back on 15lbs but this is where my body seems happy at. I got down to my goal weight with The Fast Metabolism Diet. Check it out.

first off, @newbegining2024, you will have zero complaints from me, food porn is my favourite kind of porn, ha! re: food funerals, like @Arabesque, i didn't really have time (or thought) to have one. i had postponed my surgery twice in the year and a half prior deciding to finally (again) go through with it. I called my surgeon to say, lets do it in early to mid september 2018, and he booked me in for surgery in a little over a month later for October 2018. I got into tunnel-vision like mode of like, "Lets GOOOO!" while i didn't do any specific diet prior to the 2 week liquid diet before surgery, i DID make conscious efforts NOT to stuff myself or eat mindlessly. i did this for about 2-3 weeks, and didn't lose any weight, interestingly enough. then it was time for my 2 week liquid pre-diet of 3 protein shakes a day. and since i'm a self-proclaimed over-achiever😂, by the end of week 1 i was doing 2 shakes a day, and by mid week 2 i was down to 1 shake a day. yes, i know i was NOT supposed to do this, but i just wanted to prove to myself that i could for some reason (i blame the tunnel vision). again, interestingly enough, i lost 11 lbs. fast forward 5 and half years and life is good, i'm skinny, healthy, happy, and full of energy. i also eat whatever i want...in fractions of amounts i used to, of course. and we aren't just talking salads (though i do LOVE salads!), and boiled fish. i will order items displayed in that awesome spread that @newbegining2024 shared. i eat bread and pasta and fatty steaks, deep fried whatever, chips, bacon, pizza, cheese, alcohol and yes, even desserts. JUST IN VERY SMALL PORTIONS (and yes, i also eat steamed vegetables, grilled lean meats, greek yogurt, and a ton of water). i guess what i'm trying to say is that you don't have to say good bye to your fave foods forever. good luck! ❤️

Wow, I'm so sorry that things don't go smoothly for you. I hope you heal fast and feel better soon. Scary!