Search the Community

I wasn't told how to sleep, either. I've always slept on my side but it wasn't that comfortable to do that immediately after my surgery, so I slept on my back for a couple of weeks. I've slept on my side ever since.

Hi, kinda new here. I'm 11 weeks post op gastric bypass & I'm about 55-57 lbs down to be exact. In the last few weeks I've been feeling what is kinda like experiencing a numbingness feeling or "falling asleep" "tingling" feeling in my legs from the front part of my stomach down to the top part of my things to my knees. It comes & goes, doesn't always stay! Is this normal? Am I the only one experiencing this? Please tell me this goes away?! [emoji28]🫣[emoji848] Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

Just wanted to follow up on a few things from the post above: 1. DS patients do not typically experience dumping syndrome. We maintain our pylorus valve during the sleeve part of the surgery, so we dump at the same rate as the non-surgical population. 2. Bypass patients have about a 30% chance of dumping, lower if they avoid the food behaviors that trigger it. For all but a few it is a manageable phenomenon. 3. Diabetes goes into remission MUCH more frequently with Bypass and DS patients because of the alterations to the small intestines. As do most other co-morbidities. 4. I don't personally view my DS surgery as "punishing". My body has done nothing wrong. I feel no need to punish it. I personally don't have emotional eating issues but I don't judge those that do, nor do I think it is a reason to punish the body... Having my small intestines rerouted was not a punishment. It was a BLESSING! My fasting blood sugars normalized within 24 hours of surgery. So did my high blood pressure. I'm not on medication for either one. I'm currently 7 weeks post op. I consider remission of those two conditions to be a modern medical miracle... I didn't choose the DS to be harsh to my body. I picked it because it had the best chance of restoring my health and keeping the weight off long term. My surgeon put it best "You have a metabolic disorder. You need a metabolically potent surgery. The DS is the most potent one available..." My bowels habits have changed, but nothing unmanageable. I have to watch my carbs, that's no different than before surgery. I no longer have to count calories because I malabsorb a portion of them. I'm at risk of vitamin deficiencies if I don't take my vitamins, that to me is no different than risking a blood sugar or blood pressure emergency from not regularly taking my meds pre-surgery. Nothing about this process is free. There are always trade offs. Any GI issues that occur with the DS can also happen with Bypass, including vitamin and protein deficiencies. But protein and vitamin deficiencies are also possible with sleeve patients. They may happen at different rates, but they are unusual across the board. As are serious complications. Gallbladder failure can happen with ANY surgery. It is caused by the rapid weight loss and low fat diet many adhere to post surgery. It is not unique to the DS or Bypass. I don't think DS and Bypass patients are choosing to punish themselves because they pick these surgeries. They pick these surgeries because of their own individual medical challenges and what they need out of their surgery. Most of us are working to heal various dysfunctional relationships with our bodies, or with food, or both. None of us are exempt from that. These surgeries are ALL support tools, not a punishment for past misdeeds.

That cheesecake @GreenTealael looks amazing. Yum! I round up the calories & down the protein. I also call fluids in soup, etc. & what I drink to swallow my meds bonus fluids & don’t count them either. Lol! My oven isn’t working properly. Waaah! Interestingly it worked fine on a Sunday then three days later after the electrical company turned off our power for 8 hrs it didn’t. Hhmmm?? The top element heats. The bottom element heats but turn on the fan & nothing, no heat. Have to go back to old school non fan baking or call the service team to come out. Gracious knows how much the call out alone will cost. Service call-outs have got ridiculously expensive. Are they crazy in the US too?

6 weeks post op gastric bypass it’s been hard and quite frustrating trying to figure out what I can & cannot eat. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I’m on soft food stage & yet everything I tried is a no-no for me bc of dumping; although it seems to me I’m doing more dumping than anything! Help!

Hi everyone. I'm starting my 2 week liquid diet 10/11 and I am so nervous about it. Any suggestions for replacement shakes

The food addiction is real, and combining that with surgery not being an instant cure all that fixes your problems, while still allowing you to eat as you did before is a double whammy. I'm dealing with missing the food I used to eat, and it stays on my mind constantly still. I'm only 2 weeks out from my procedure, but not regretting it so far. As @ChunkCat and others have said, basically kissing diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol goodbye is what makes the compromise worth it to me. Five years or so ago, before I started having debilitating problems with all of those, I probably would've regretted it, but since my health declined significantly in the last year, to the point that I was a burden on my wife and family, I had to make this change. I don't know if this will help anyone that is on the fence or regretting having it done, but take it from me, if you can avoid having the uncontrolled blood sugars issues even with meds, not knowing if I'm going to pass out or have my heart feel like its going to beat out of my chest from hypertension and tachycardia, it is worth it. My dizzy spells and stroke-level blood pressure have already subsided thankfully. I'm already off my diabetes meds, just on a reduced dose of my blood pressure medicine, which my primary care thinks I can wean off of by March. Not trying to sound condescending, because you are going through a lot of trauma in this process, but consider yourself lucky that you can avoid this happening to you. It came out of nowhere and slapped me, and if this helps you from having it happen, I'm glad you had it done. Yes there's limitations after surgery, but you can live without that constant fear of death hanging over your head. Please seek the therapy you need to at least get things off your chest, but also to help learn new habits to replace the ones you spent a lifetime building. Just venting to my therapist helps me a lot. Sorry, rant over. Just wanted to help reframe things if I can.

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I’m in the uk and have my consultation for the ESG next week. I wondered if there was anyone else in the UK who has had this? I’m deciding between dr Kelly at spire and dr bansi at the Cromwell. Just want to say hello

Went on a cruise, wore shorts and dresses all week no chaffing, I went snorkeling and remembered how to swim, and walk everywhere with no issues.

8 weeks post op and all I eat is 1 scrambled egg with vegan cheese, 2% Lactaid CHOCOLATE milk, or some homemade chicken broth made by my mother. When I get really desperate, I'll have a sugar-free popsicle. I am suffering.

Hi and thank you so much for the above! I didn't know that about the watches, thank you for this insight. I think I do need to up my protein - I find it difficult to get a lot of it from food as I don't find myself that hungry that often. With regards to sleep, this may be my fault I fear. I tend to get between 4-6 hours a night every day, and I take probiotics maybe once a week in pill format? I need to book an appointment for bloodwork as I haven't had any done since the surgery. Thank you so much for all these suggestions!

I had DS which is similar to SADI and has the same bathroom warnings. I can confirm things were WILD for a few weeks post op. I felt so bad for my poor spouse and kids lmao. But after about 2 - 3 weeks things went back to normal for me. Normal poops and pretty normal smells. Are things possibly a little stinkier than they were before? Maybe but not by much. And it's still nothing compared to my teenage son lol. Like I wouldn't be afraid to use a public restroom if need be. I haven't found any triggers yet that make things worse, but then again I'm still being super careful with my diet. TL;DR - things definitely were gross for a minute after surgery but then it went back to normal. Best of luck to you!!

yes. I can't remember how soon it happened, but earlier than I would have expected if it was due to loss of "insulation". Maybe a few weeks out? (maybe even sooner than that - it's been a while). I think in addition to insulation loss, there's something about the surgery that throws off your internal thermostat. The cold thing only lasted a year or so for me, but for some it seems to be a permanent "feature".

The major fatigue will get better. It’s a result of the surgery. As for the “3-week stall,” check your bowels. Have you had a bowel movement since the surgery? I ended up in the ER with severe constipation. The doctor prescribed Miralax and Lactulose.

I'm a little different because I had the bypass (8.5 years ago), but I started out at almost 400 lbs, so weight-wise, we were in similar starting positions. The first year seems like a huge life change, but sitting here years out, the only thing that's different is that I average about 1600 calories a day rather than 3000+. When I go out to eat, I eat maybe half the entree and take the rest home in a to-go box (or sometimes I'll get something like an appetizer or soup rather than an entree if I'm not that hungry). Other than that...??? Oh - I take vitamins regularly now. But other than that, not that much different. But again, the first year or so - yes. But you'll be doing quite a bit of prep work before that. For example, my insurance required me to do a six-month diet with a registered dietitian, and she kind of eased me into the type of diet I'd be following after surgery. She had me eating 2300 kcal/cay (which now would seem like a ton - like Thanksgiving day - but at the time seemed like a diet - although enough calories to be at least tolerable). She also had me gradually decrease my carb intake and increase my protein intake. I focused on healthy foods (although I ate a pretty healthy diet even BEFORE surgery, I just ate way too much). She had me start taking a multivitamin every day and getting some exercise about 3x a week. My surgeon also didn't want us drinking caffeinated beverages for the first six months after surgery (although some surgeons are fine with caffeine), so she also had me gradually decrease my caffeine intake. So basically, I was as prepared as I could be before they rolled me into surgery. I don't have PCOS and have never had a hysterectomy, so I can't address that, but I know WLS patients who've had both. Hopefully someone will respond to you on that.

I think it’s really easy to get discouraged. My dietitian‘s biggest recommendation was to not weigh yourself until your first official postop appointment and I stuck to that. I had so much inflammation, nothing was likely budging in the first 2-3 weeks but I had lost more than I expected by week 4. Hang in there!!

I want to start this thread out by first apologizing for the question I am about to ask. For me, this question is not just embarrassing but extremely embarrassing, but I need to know the answer and don't want to call my surgeons office, I'm sure they are pretty busy today and it's nothing life threatening. So with that being said, it's off to my question. I am now 1 month and 2 weeks post op and have been noticing a foul smell coming from my viginal area, kind of like an acidic smell. I have been to my regualr doctor and had test and test run and I have no infection whatso ever ran, I have had a test for every STD out there ran, (even though I am married and DO NOT cheat), everything has come back that I am fine. I am wasing myself down there everyday about 8 times a day and the odor still comes back. I have even tried douching and this is not working. This morning, as I was walking about and helping the kids get ready for school, my 10 year old daughter was beside me, she sniffed and had the most horrible look on her face and told me that I stunk really really bad. I have also noticed that my deoradent isn't working anymore. I have switched from suave (baby powder scent) to secret platium, per orders from the nurse at the surgeons office and this isn't working either. I bet I put on deo about 6 times a day. I know that when I went to my nutrition glass the week before my surgery, the nutritionist said that I would go through what is called Ketosis, but she didn't say it would be this bad. Now, you all know what is going on with me. My question is, has anyone else went through this and is the acidic smell a normal part of this whole thing, how long did it last, and is there anything I can do to lessen the odor?

I think it’s really easy to get discouraged. My dietitian‘s biggest recommendation was to not weigh yourself until your first official postop appointment and I stuck to that. I had so much inflammation, nothing was likely budging in the first 2-3 weeks but I had lost more than I expected by week 4. Hang in there!!

I'm having a food slump! I in no way get the water in each day I'm supposed too.. I'm not thirsty and to be honest I really hate going to the restroom 20+ times a day IF I do get close to the required 64+ oz a day. Plus, I don't understand why I need to, I didn't drink that much beforehand, so I don't understand why suddenly having a smaller stomach requires a sudden huge mandatory increase in water consumption!? Plus, I am sooooooooooooooooooo burnt out on the same foods over and over and yes over. I detest eggs (always have) and have always preferred something like avocado toast for breakfast and a cup of coffee. I detest cooking so I tend to eat the same thing every single day - something I can cook in quantity. Lately its been turkey chili with added protein powder. Chicken breast with veggies is boring/bland... Then there's the chicken of the sea - white fish with veggies..again just not my thing. So, I just eat the same thing over and over. I have to admit, I miss sauces, thai noodles and pizza and foods I can dip! I have a food texture problem so it leaves quite a few things off my plate..plus I'm hypersensitive to carbs - racing heart feeling jittery so I eat very low carb (under 25) low sugar, low calorie in other words low taste (to me anyway). I do what I have to to lose the weight and become healthy.. But its taken a lot of joy out of life, the holidays just plain suck now...all the family traditions came to a stop because of me (we used to all get our favorite restaurant dishes and share pot luck style for New Years), bake cookies with a Cookie exchange (no one wants my healthy protein balls - I eat them because I need protein, not because they're great tasting). I know I'm suppose to eat for fuel, but, we all eat for joy - if people didn't there wouldn't be different foods, cooking styles and spices, we eat at get togethers, social times, celebrations - I can't and don't want to inflict my eating restrictions/requirements on everyone else. I fight that siren song and battle it every week, anyone else? Anyone have any reasonable suggestions? (I added reasonable because my dietician suggests things like - " you want crunchy "eat a celery stick" you want noodles try palm noodles..etc. NOT even close. I think dieticians in bariatric clinics should have been a bariatric patient themselves so they'd understand their suggestions suck. Perhaps I'm asking if anyone else is or has gone through this...slump.....I find its easier to just not eat than eat another healthy bland boring food. Sorry for the rant.

I think it’s really easy to get discouraged. My dietitian‘s biggest recommendation was to not weigh yourself until your first official postop appointment and I stuck to that. I had so much inflammation, nothing was likely budging in the first 2-3 weeks but I had lost more than I expected by week 4. Hang in there!!

It may help you, like it has for me, to focus on adding good habits as much or more as taking away your bad habits. When I first talked to my doctor about bariatric surgery, I spent several weeks cleaning out all the items in my pantry and freezer that I knew were not doing good things for me. Things like snack foods and highly processed stuff, and anything I know I will binge eat, like pretzels or chocolate. I also bought some WLS books, including A Pound of Cure from Dr. Matthew Weiner. I read through all his steps for changing your diet and figured out the easiest ones for me to do and started there. For example, I'm not a big fan of artificial sweetener, and Diet Coke was the only thing I was really doing that broke that "rule," so it was pretty easy for me to make the cut. Same with adding a pound of vegetable per day. That change alone has made a lot of other things easier for me, like cutting out bread and reducing dairy. I find I am so full after a green smoothie at breakfast or a salad with beans for lunch that I am not as hungry at dinner, and don't feel the need to snack as much. When I do snack, I've bought raw or dry roasted nuts to replace the junk I used to buy. I've lost about 16 pounds in 4 months, and unlike in the past when I've "dieted," I don't really feel like I'm missing out. Plus, I make exceptions a couple times per month and don't feel guilty about it. By focusing on the health aspects and not tracking the calories, it really helped me make changes that promote a healthier weight without feeling overburdened or deprived. I hope that helps!

there may be no info on it because it could be that no one has researched it. However, I've never had an issue with prescriptions. I know we're not supposed to take extended release versions of pills, and I know some people have to switch or increase their dosage of some meds (e.g. antidepressants), but I've never run into any of this with any of the prescriptions I've had. I've just taken them using the general instructions.. Also, you're far enough out that you shouldn't have to crush pills. I haven't crushed pills in years - I've been able to take everything whole ever since about my third week post-op.

I finished my schooling and am officially working in my chosen field as a medical assistant!!! I got my certification and I'm working in a critical care pulmonary office. I'm absolutely LOVING it!! And even though I can look at myself and see the weight loss, and I can see my diabetes and blood pressure are normal now, I still have a hard time believing I'm physically able to do my job and do it well. Yet here I am....doing the d@mn thing!!! I have a CT with contrast on the 29th because my bariatric surgeon thinks I have a distal hernia (if you look at my stomach in my pic, you can see that area poking out a little). And I have my complete hysterectomy scheduled for March 6th. If the CT confirms the distal hernia, that will also require a surgery, but I have no idea when that will happen. I'm hoping before the hysterectomy because the hernia repair can be done laparoscopically (I think) but I have to have an abdominal hysterectomy because the fibroids are way too big to come out laparoscopically and I have to have EVERYTHING removed because I tested positive for the BRCA cancer gene (will need all of my breast tissue removed at a later date, but my insurance will cover reconstructive breast surgery, so YAY for a free boob job). This last 50 pounds still won't leave me, and it's absolutely driving me crazy. No matter what I do, I can't get it to go. I'm hoping the hysterectomy will help a little because the fibroids are so big, they're making my uterus the size of a 16 week pregnant uterus. They also said the hysterectomy should help somewhat with my PCOS, since that's likely what's preventing that last 50 pounds from coming off. So here's hoping this is end of my weight issues and the last of my surgeries!!!

Thank you for the replies. Summerseeker : "Food should not be boring. I just do not live to eat it anymore." I don't Iive to eat, I never have, but good food contributes to a good life. "Variety is the spice of life" variety I can't have. Yes, I knew this goes into this but, it doesn't make it any easier! What I was attempting to say is its boring because; 1. Unlike you I detest cooking so the thought of sitting down to think out my weeks meals sounds tedious and time consuming (even if necessary) I really wish I had the time and inclination to do it and I'm jealous of those who are willing and able.. I just don't want to add yet more measuring, weighing prepping to my day off since I do enough of that weekly in very exacting details (down to microns) 😛 Perhaps its also the lack of options..see #2; 2. With this new way of eating and my intolerance of carbs it makes my options very limited. After all there are five food groups and I've eliminated 3 of the five as it is - grains, most dairy unless you want overly processed artificial dairy and fruits. Add to that my food texture issue (symptom of ADHD) ..this leaves me with low fat beef, fish and chicken for proteins and veggies (non starchy). I do track everything I eat and drink as well although I love your way of if you get your proteins in and still want a "biscuit" and a bite of noodles you have it. Perhaps, I'm being overly controlling of my diet out of fear of regaining the weight and its causing me to feel this way. Arabesque: I understand why drinking water and peeing is important and your body should adjust to more water consumption, but, after 9 months I still go 20+ times a day - very inconvenient when I work managing a pathology lab - I have to remove a lab coat, gloves and mask, then go through decontamination processes each time I exit the lab and then upon entering resuit up and on top of that no drinks allowed in the lab - so in order to get my water in I have lunch time and when I get home OR leave the lab for my sip. So, this means working 10 hours a day it gives me a very short window to get my water in especially since I can't drink large quantities at once. I should have explained better (but my post was already long). My apologies. I guess my lack of "thirst" has developed from years of training from this job and my last. I just worry about not getting the required amount in. Anyway, its just me whinging. I'm just finding it difficult and quite frankly tiring (getting up several times a night to pee doesn't help).

Hi, I’ve also been slow but steady. I’m down 46 lbs, started at 345. I had some hives week 2, but those went away. No other issues. The diet has been easy to adjust to. I’ve even gone back to coffee every morning, just less. Helps with #2! I find myself eating a lot of Greek yogurt because it’s easiest on my stomach but high in protein. Rotisserie chicken, stewed sirloin chunks, salads, eggs and bacon.