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I try not to reply to these threads before other folks because my experience is nearly two decades past and my personal experience was anything but normal. But here we are. I lost a bit more than 500 pounds so yeah, I had a little extra skin. I had initially planned for abdominoplasty and thigh-plasty whatever it's Latin name was. Others I would then ponder later. I say initially because after the abdominoplasty I hemorrhaged and died briefly when they ripped me open to fix the problem. I was supposed to end up with a virtually invisible scar, but that ship sailed when they had to open me back up. Once I woke again my recovery followed a pretty normal trajectory for the time: 15 pounds of skin removed and lots and lots of pain. Lots and lots of pain wasn't unexpected as everything I read beforehand indicated such would be the case. And yet the reality of it was a bit overwhelming. After about three weeks, as I recall, everything became manageable and life began returning to normal. I'm not sure how much the methods and pain have changed, I'll leave that to others. I honestly can't see how my experience or recovery would have been different from a woman's experience and I certainly didn't ignore anyone's experience in my research. I lived in Las Vegas, NV at the time I had surgery, but there wasn't anyone in town that was able or willing to do my surgery, so I ended up having it done at UCLA Medical Center in Southern California. So, I can't really name surgeon's that might help you. Good luck, Tek

Yup! You've got to walk it out. Walk as much and as often as you can. Gas-x sometimes helps a little for some but walking and time are the only cure. 💚I'm two weeks post op.

My surgery isn't until Monday, but I've heard several people say the gas pain up through your shoulders is the worst part if everything goes well. Sounds like it lasts around 3-4 days, but does improve each day. I've also heard the more you walk, the faster your body processes it and gets rid of it. Anyone post-op able to confirm this? EDIT: I was typing this as @ChunkCat was responding. Thanks for confirming!

I have completed all of my pre op requirements, my insurance required 3 months. I had my annual pap and it came back abnormal (dysplasia) this is my first abnormal pap , go figure! I talked to my OBGYN after I received my results she said there was nothing she can do and scheduled my appointment for next year to monitor it, so no problem right? Well my weight loss center now wants a clearance from her, I spoke with her and also the center called her as well. She told me she would look into it but she was not sure why they would need a clearance from her when my next annual appointment is scheduled and she is not treating me for anything at this time. I pressed the weight loss center and let them know she is not interested in giving me a medical clearance regarding this for my surgery. I don’t know if it’s a liability thing or what. I am so SAD I have been preparing years for this backed out twice and now I was finally ready and now this. Has anyone experienced this or something similar. Thanks in advance.

I haven't had revisions, I just had DS surgery 6 weeks ago. But I have seen a fair number of multiple revisions around here and elsewhere... I'm sure if your doctor approved you for the surgery then you are good to go! But any surgery can be scary, so I understand the worries. Sleeve to Bypass revisions are pretty common. It is likely your surgeon has done a fair number of them. The weight loss is slower for revisions, but I have seen many end up reaching their goal weight, it just takes a bit longer the second time around. You don't say what your starting weight is or what you hope to lose... Advice is just like for any of the surgeries---take it easy. Trust your team. Drink your fluids in baby sips and get in as much as possible, this will keep you out of the ER hopefully. Stay ahead of your pain. Ease into food gently. Walk as much as you can. Rest when you feel tired and give yourself extra rest for the first few weeks because surgery can take it out of you! Remember that a lot of nerves have been cut and have to heal, so you may not feel any restriction for a while. Stick to the portions your dietician advises for the first few months until you are getting accurate communication from your healed tummy! And whatever you do, do NOT let yourself get constipated!! Take the stool softeners, take Miralax if you haven't gone in a few days and are concerned. The most common complications I see are nausea, dehydration, and constipation! Most of all, good luck! Have a really routine, easy surgery and an uncomplicated recovery! ❤️

Hi I’m up north too my surgery date was 15th august 23 I suffered with nausea and vomiting for a few months after I couldn’t eat a couple of teaspoons without bringing it back I’m much better now tho still have sickness if one spoonful to much my amounts are very small and some food worse than others I struggle with chicken and anything tightly packed. Iv not had post op appt yet which I’m surprised about I had the mini bypass gone from 118kg to last weigh was 96kg I don’t know if that’s about normal or a bit slower ? But I havnt exercised as been feeling weak and exhausted all the time but I am 6 weeks over due my 2nd B12 which I get on 25th this month Iv struggled remembering to take all meds so some days I forget to take the calcium or gallstone one through the day I’m trying to be better with that, I don t know why but my osteoarthritis in hips are flaring up so bad that it’s to painful to exercise atm I’m just hoping to turn the corner with everything soon 🤔 Despite this I don’t regret it as I know it will all fall into place at some point Any advice welcomed especially on what I can try eat and drink and hit protein targets Xx

Congratulations on your plastic surgery!! I'll be watching for your updates. I had DS surgery 6 weeks ago but I anticipate by the time I'm done losing I'll be wanting the same list you are getting done tomorrow! I hear the recovery can be hard when you stack them that way, but if they aren't doing the arms at least you'll be able to move them without too much pain. I don't know of any advice since I haven't had plastic surgery before, but I imagine you should be watching your fluid intake so you don't get dehydrated and stay on top of the stool softeners and Miralax so you don't get constipated!! Good luck with things tomorrow! Have a safe and uneventful surgery! ❤️

I am 3 months PO, and I am around 600-800 calories a day. My dietician claims by 6 months I should be around 1000/day. I do have some days where I am below 300/400 calories. I avg 80+ g protein a day. I still need to drink a protein shake every day.

My Pre-op diet starts on Wednesday.. My husband and boys want me to pick my 2 last dinners for a while.. Trying to decide what I want to eat... It is crazy how they are thinking about my " last meals".. Here to about a week until surgery

Just a quick follow up, I'm 2 weeks post op and doing well. I was happy with my experience at Blossom. At first, I did have concerns with it being just a surgery center and not in a hospital, but I was treated well by the staff and surgeon, and haven't had complications. I'm also pleased with their level of communication before and after the surgery. I got checked out by my primary care yesterday and he was happy with the results too. At this point I definitely recommend them. Definitely follow their instructions pre-op and post-op, and it will make it easier.

Not in the least. I'm trying not to buy much at all lol. I have a box of smaller clothes when I lost over 100 lbs about 10 years ago (like size 13, 15, 19 juniors). I've bought a few pairs of my fav underwear in one size down from where I am now as the 3 pair I bought originally are already to large (guess thats a good thing). Other than that the only other things I've bought have been two pair of cute boots in a smaller size (where I was when I lost all my weight last time) and a workout set to aspire to. I figure the thrift shops will be my go to in between.

Hi community! Hope you’re all well. I am officially 18 days post op and I am struggling. My puréed diet is very restrictive. I can’t have eggs, tuna, cheese like many can and I’m struggling with meeting my protein goals. I was told not to have protein shakes as a liquid but as a meal. But it’s difficult to meet my liquids goal and my protein goal when I feel like I don’t have many options. These are the things I was cleared to have: 2 oz. of milk, 2 oz. of low fat or light yoghurt, protein shakes, mashed potatoes, mashed avocado, 2-3 oz. of small curd cottage cheese, hot cereals like oatmeal, cream of wheat, farina with skim milk, lentils, chick peas, tofu or beans. Introduce all cooked vegetables (zucchini, carrots, spinach, etc.) 2 oz. of mashed fruits up to two times per day between meals as snacks I have also hit a stall which sucks cause I’m only 2 weeks post op and I believe it may be cause I’m not meeting my protein/liquid goals. I have also experienced dizziness and as a result I’m not walking as much as I should be. I been mostly on bed rest. I have also been suffering with constipation. Does anybody have any tips? Any advice would be very helpful on how I could meet my goals or any recipes based on my diet above. Thank you in advance 💜

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).

One week, then once or twice daily after that. I take 2 stool softeners every day on the advice of my doctor. Softener is not a laxative, so your bowels won't become dependent on it. Keeps things moving. I never have constipation but notice if I don't have my daily movement, my weight stalls.

I wouldn't be surprised if you losing weight is absolutely terrifying to your ex. As long as you are obese, he can assure himself that you'll never find anyone better than he was, which seems to be important to a lot of people regardless of whether they ended the relationship or you did. It's a pride thing. But when you start losing weight, now you're probably happier with more energy, you might look more attractive, maybe dressing in nicer clothes, too... uh oh! Now he sees you were totally settling for his sorry butt and are likely to find someone way better, and then his ego will be bruised as all your friends and family tell you how lucky you are. My ex, (who is legally not my ex yet, which is very annoying) is the sabotaging type, too. I see him 5 days a week when he picks up the kids for school or drops off from activities. I've had to tell him about the surgery as I'll need his help with the kids, and I am still on a family plan insurance so he'll need to know about deductibles and such, but I fully expect him to start panicking as the weight loss becomes noticeable. I can hardly wait to find out how he'll try to sabotage me.

This isn’t uncommon. Our tastebuds & sometimes sense of smell changes after surgery while we’re healing & our tummy is very sensitive. It is temporary usually about two months which is about how long it takes you to fully heal from the surgery. Unfortunately though it can make finding foods & drinks we can tolerate challenging. You may find something you easily ate yesterday you can’t face today. Don’t give up on that food. Just avoid it for a few days & then try it again. Some foods seem extra sweet or salty. Textures can be off putting too. Sometimes a food or flavour you didn’t enjoy before tastes delicious during this time. Add to that our loss of appetite &/or interest in eating & it can feel like a nightmare & you’ll never be able to eat again. In a few weeks you’ll find you are enjoying flavours, textures & foods more. If you’re lucky your loss of hunger & interest in eating will last a 6-12 months +/- which helps with your weight loss but they too will pass. Actually after they return you often wish they hadn’t & you still weren’t hungry. I embraced things tasting exceedingly sweet at this time. I gave up sweet foods - never reintroduced them. So no cakes, biscuits, desserts, lollies, flavoured carbonated drinks, etc. except on very odd special occasion. Very little added sugar (<5g a day) & avoid artificial sweeteners or sugar alternatives where I can. I ate a lot of soup, yoghurt & extra milky scrambled eggs & extra milky instant rolled oats during purée. During soft foods I ate a lot of minced meat dishes (meat balls, savoury mince bolognese, …) with sauces & slow cooked stews/casseroles. Give your self time to heal & recover & your tummy to be less fussy & sensitive. I used to say my tummy was like a petulant temper throwing 2 year old during that time.

All of my hair has fallen out. Like all. I went to the doctor for my 3 month follow up and he checked labs early bc of how much had fallen out. They all were normal. I did add biotin but I basically have bald spots. I ordered a wig bc there’s nothing I can do. 😭 I’m 4 months out. This all came out at once and it hasn’t stopped.

I am 3 days post op from gastric bypass. I have been hitting my water goals and very close to my protein. Some nausea here and there but no vomiting! I’m concerned because I feel very hungry today. Is this normal??

Hi MJ hope this time round is a success for you. I had to have a 2nd gastric sleeve. Had an emergency GS last August 2022 due to my hiatus hernia and diaphragm strangling my stomach. After a non successful 14 months I had to have another part of my stomach removed and the hiatus hernia repaired again. But this time it was way ip in my chest. 29 days post op and am feeling good now. Besides vomiting a few times this week.

I’m with you. I lost 23 pounds by the time of my 2 week post-op follow up. The following week I lost an additional 7 pounds. Now I’ve been stuck at the same exact weight for the past ten days. Very frustrating indeed. I’ve also begun to question if I’m doing something wrong.

It took me 5 days from surgery to go. Mostly regular once or twice a day, at most only skip one day. I was good not really experiencing constipation for the first 6 months. Then the literal 6 month mark and it happened twice in about 3 weeks and I nearly died, lol. Not literally, but that's what it felt like. Both times, I wasn't exactly 100% on track (off my eating/drinking routine) and most likely not enough water intake. I am hoping to not repeat that again. I was already taking stool softeners since day 1, but have now added in a green juice, a little extra fiber and some ACV pills.

Beforehand I was really worried about what it was going to be like in the weeks after the surgery because I couldn't imagine being so limited. I couldn't imagine not caring about what I ate. But actually, I found it easier than I thought it was going to be. At first I wasn't hungry at all so I didn't care whether or not I ate, and sipping liquids was just fine. Natural hunger returned during the pureed food stage for me (it's different for everyone.) And then it was more about getting 2 oz. of something to satisfy the hunger and (far) less about what it was I ate. I guess that is the result of the vertical sleeve gastrectomy reducing the appetite hormones. Here's what I ate: clear liquids are obviously pretty limiting but I did water, protein water (check Amazon-I couldn't find it in the store), flavored water (like Crystal Light) and jello. I didn't care about eating and wasn't hungry. For the full liquid portion, I continued with all of the above and added protein shakes, yogurt, cottage cheese, and milk. At the pureed stage, I couldn't bear the idea of pureeing up meat---so I stuck to all of the previous liquid and full liquid stuff and I added mashed sweet potato, refried beans (recipe in The Gastric Sleeve Cookbook by Sarah Kent but any will do), banana, applesauce. I wasn't into cooking veggies and pureeing them, so I actually had some baby food vegetables with a little salt added for adult tastes. I also made egg salad with olive oil mayo and a little bit of dijon mustard and Tony Chachere's. I finely flaked up tuna fish and made tuna salad with olive oil mayo and a little bit of pickle juice for flavor. I tolerated that very well. I'm on soft food now and I find I can eat just about anything (except seeds or nuts) as long as it's soft. If it isn't something soft, I am chewing it up really well. I thought I'd have a hard time with that--before surgery I couldn't imagine chewing that much. But I'm finding that my body instinctively does it as it seems to have learned my new stomach won't tolerate it unless I do. On the 15th I will progress to a regular diet. A long answer to your short question, but I was so anxious before surgery and I thought if you were too, some detailed information might be reassuring. You can do it!!

A couple weeks ago I had my dietitian appointment and psych evaluation. At my psych evaluation she told me she was going to send a letter to my insurance asking them to waive the rest of my drug tests because I'm not a heavy user so me staying clean won't be an issue. I have my EGD scheduled on the 5th of December, and I go for my surgical clearance on the 14th! I'm getting nervous lol I haven't had a big surgery before 😅

I think as far as WLS there is no such thing as "normal." Each persons "journey" through this is different. I'm only 2.5 months PO and I eat my 3 meals at a cup each and I'm still hungry (and its not "mind hunger"), I too never had nausea or any of the side effects of surgery some talk about it. In fact I, like another person on another post questioned the actual surgery being done correctly. I just continue to eat as I should and hope my body will adjust. I just figure the fight against being hungry will be a life long battle that I plan to fight and win. I just try and occupy myself ignoring it. Am I happy about it? No, after all its why I had surgery but it is what it is. Plus, for me I get up early, 6 am and I'm up until midnight or longer - that's 18 hours with 3 meals only consisting of 800 total calories a day. I don't snack, or if I break and have one its a tablespoon of natural peanut butter. Like a lot of long time veterans say on these forums, no two ppl are the same, yes we all have the surgical incision scars but that's where everyone being the same ends and to " trust the journey" and just take a day at a time. Its a process, body and mind - yours is different and unique to you. Sorry I can't be of more help... Just try and think short time, step by step your body could change as well as your hunger within days..weeks, months

I can understand your birthday sads. It is hard to change our routine around things, especially celebrations. Perhaps you can decide to do something fun that doesn't involve food for your birthday this weekend? It won't be the same but it'll allow you to connect with your loved ones and celebrate you. Like going to play a game, or having a spa day with your bestie, or getting your nails done now that surgery is over, or a stroll through the mall with your partner and buying a lovely smelling lotion to keep your skin happy post surgery? I'm trying hard to find ways that I can still connect with the ones I love, while having food NOT be the center of it. It is challenging!! Oh and congrats on your loss of 22 lbs!! I'm almost 1 week post op and have lost 3 lbs, I sure hope it speeds up soon but I'll take what I can get! LOL ETA: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!