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Everyone's recovery is unique but based on averages, most people have regained the majority of their strength and beginning to settle into a new "normal" eating routine at 8 to 10 weeks. Remember to use caution when introducing new foods. Our tummies can often be disagreeable for the first 6 months.

Sleeved on 9-1-2022, one week before my 71st birthday. I have lost about 60 pounds. Great experience and so happy I finally did it.

hello everyone!! I thought since this is brand new to me, and I just joined today that I would introduce myself to everyone since I've seen other people do that. My name is Ross and I am 34 years old. I was born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, and last June moved to Tuscaloosa Alabama. I moved to Tuscaloosa with my little brother who is a student at UA and a member of the coed cheer team. I also cheered for many years of my life, so it must run in the family. haha! I am an unapologetic Disney nerd who truly loves anything and all things Disney. Also, in my part time when I need a little decompressing I like to crystalize water bottles and phone cases for myself and friends. I would say I've been a food addict or someone who relied on food for emotional support majority of my life, unfortunately, due to outside influences that encouraged the eating. A big reason why I am having the surgery is simply I want to live. I really can't say it more straight and narrow than that. Another reason is I had Covid in 2020 like I'm sure many of y'all did but unfortunately, my case was a little different and I ended up on ECMO for four days and a ventilator for a month. I coded twice while intubated at which point the hospital staff told my family i would have about a 15% chance to live and if i did i may have severe brain issues. Thankfully when I woke up I was myself for the most part, but I had severe paralysis on my left side which required me to spend an additional three months in the hospital learning how to stand and walk again. I still have a pretty significant neuropathy on my left side. My left arm has some weakness with things and my left leg is completely numb to the touch. So I have low hopes for any kind of change, but still keeping hopeful that maybe with the surgery and weight loss some of the mobility and feeling will come back. I have been "creeping" on the forum for a few weeks and I can't tell y'all how much your stories, encouragement, and transparency has helped with my own journey without even meaning to. I am paying out-of-pocket for my surgery due to not having health insurance with the job I currently have. I've done all the required testing and I am hoping that tomorrow 8/21/23 will be the day that I get my surgery scheduled. We are aiming for the last week of the month for my date, so fingers crossed! I am going to be flying back to Texas for my surgery and staying there for a couple weeks to recover with my family. Which leads to the question I had for those who had to travel for the surgery. When you flew back post surgery with the weight lifting restrictions, how did you go about getting your bags and things like that? Did you notice any real pain post surgery when you were taking off for landing? Any other tips or experiences are always welcome to be shared as well! Thank yall again for taking the time to read this little bit about myself and my journey. I look forward to being on here more and more and sharing my own journey with yall as yall have bravely done already!

could be water retention from your period or it could also be the infamous "three-week stall" that most of us experience (it's not always the third week - it could be week 2 or 4 or 5 - but most of us have our first stall pretty early after surgery. It usually lasts 1-3 weeks. Best thing to do is stick to your program and stay off the scale for awhile...it'll break and you'll be on your way again...)

Yes its a thing for me too. I take the English brand of a PPI twice a day and the yucky thick stomach meds after every meal. I did not suffer this before surgery I suffer if I eat too late or eat the wrong foods late in the day. I have found that my favourite spicy and acid fruits are not foods I can eat after 6pm. I sleep with a big wedge under my pillow. I still wake up in the night, about once a week with acid trying to get in my lungs and making me cough. Its the only downside to my life saving surgery. If I knew beforehand that this would be a consequence, would I still have had this surgery ? Yep, I would

HAHAHA, Same here, I just got three amazon packages...

Mine was about 4 weeks after I am self pay.

Same to you. Still haven't received a date yet. Hopefully next week.

Glad to hear you are going strong at 6 days @Sandygal. Week two should get better for you. Not sure about muscle relaxers for pain. Never used them. But back and shoulder pain is usually caused from trapped gas after surgery. You might be better to walk it off. When telling my doctor about the pain from that right incision, he said it was a deeper stitch and is normal to feel it more than the other 5. I told him I was afraid of ripping it out. He assured me it was stronger than I thought and not to worry. I have a pretty good pain threshold so knowing I wasn't damaging anything while moving around was a relief. Also hold a pillow up against your stomach when transitioning from lying to sitting and sitting to standing. Takes the pressure off the tummy muscles and really helped till I got past the first couple weeks of discomfort. Good luck!!!

My diet was high protein (at least 80g), low carb (60-100g), and low fat with no more than 1000 calories/day the 2 weeks before surgery. The day before was the same, except nothing but water after midnight the night before. I think it has a lot to do with your surgeon and surgery. My surgery was successful and my meals before my surgery were anything but boring. Good luck with your surgery!

Hey Congrats to you all for your losses. @CarolineLittle thank you for thoughts. Makes me feel hopeful that some day I can post : hey I lost 20# !! This past week I was pretty good, I was able to eat a lil bit of food. Doc cut my TPN intake to half, and added 2 rounds a week of just saline. its still a crazy about of calories, fat, carbs ect in these bags.. So my weight loss is at a standstill , then 2 days ago everything went down hill, I'm not sure what happen internally ,but my stomach decided it had enough, I started to violently throwing up, I had empty stomach so it was just bright yellow bile, after 10 mins of that , i noticed small blood clots ( insert panic here) , I called doc, explained to them my currant condition.. They are going to do another Endo to get a look at what's going on.. so now it just a wait, for appointment.. I sure it will end up to be nothing, and I will just get.. " give your stomach some time" or "the hormonal changes of the stomach should regulate soon" ugg!! anyway I just take it day by day, I still try and eat and drink a little.. the max intake i can get is around 2 ounces at a time. Then I have to wait about 6 hrs before I can think about trying again.. So here to another week.. and good luck to you all on another successful week.

Hi I had my surgery on Monday I’m on liquid diet for three weeks more good luck to all of you. Take it easy you girls can do it!!

Thank you @Jeanne. I will. Today I’m better emotionally. I was just completely overwhelmed yesterday that the scale didn’t move again. It’s been a few weeks with no change. I’m trying to focus on NSV as someone told me yesterday. It’s been hard but I’m determined to stay positive and see it through.

Thank you @Jeanne. I will. Today I’m better emotionally. I was just completely overwhelmed yesterday that the scale didn’t move again. It’s been a few weeks with no change. I’m trying to focus on NSV as someone told me yesterday. It’s been hard but I’m determined to stay positive and see it through.

I had a pretty rough go. I actually ended up back in the hospital after being discharged because they gave me the wrong pain medication. The pain medication they had been giving me (hydrocodone) doesn’t do anything at all for me. I kept telling them that but they kept using it and then promised that they would send me home with oxycodone and didn’t. So at three in the morning I had to go to the ER and be readmitted. It was excruciatingly painful when I was not on pain meds that were effective. Mostly the gas in my upper shoulders was the painful part. I had a hiatal hernia repair and a bypass. My doctor was not fantastic, I did not necessarily need to be readmitted to the hospital. I really just needed the correct prescription. But he wanted me in there so he could watch me, or for some other reason? He seemed very angry with me. I will say this. I wish I had known that it could be that painful. I would’ve been able to more completely prepare myself and be more accepting of the pain if I knew it was coming. That’s why I’m mentioning it to you all, not to scare anyone but just so you can get ready in case you are one of the people that it hurts. It clearly doesn’t hurt everyone. As for me, I’ve had two spinal cord surgeries that were less painful than this one. So everyone has a different experience, but mine was not fantastic. That said, I feel ok now and am home, doing well. Good luck, all.

I had a pretty rough go. I actually ended up back in the hospital after being discharged because they gave me the wrong pain medication. The pain medication they had been giving me (hydrocodone) doesn’t do anything at all for me. I kept telling them that but they kept using it and then promised that they would send me home with oxycodone and didn’t. So at three in the morning I had to go to the ER and be readmitted. It was excruciatingly painful when I was not on pain meds that were effective. Mostly the gas in my upper shoulders was the painful part. I had a hiatal hernia repair and a bypass. My doctor was not fantastic, I did not necessarily need to be readmitted to the hospital. I really just needed the correct prescription. But he wanted me in there so he could watch me, or for some other reason? He seemed very angry with me. I will say this. I wish I had known that it could be that painful. I would’ve been able to more completely prepare myself and be more accepting of the pain if I knew it was coming. That’s why I’m mentioning it to you all, not to scare anyone but just so you can get ready in case you are one of the people that it hurts. It clearly doesn’t hurt everyone. As for me, I’ve had two spinal cord surgeries that were less painful than this one. So everyone has a different experience, but mine was not fantastic. That said, I feel ok now and am home, doing well. Good luck, all.

So, I had a screening phone call from the nurse and surgeon weeks ago and got the go-ahead for sleeve surgery on sept 12th. I had my in-person pre-op appointments yesterday. I am self-paid, mind you (18 000$), and already gave my 3000$ deposit. So, I meet with this nice dietician that starts asking questions about my past, about how I got to the weight I am now, etc. So, being an honest and open person (and also being already very nervous about the surgery, so, yes, I'm crying profusely during this appointment, which makes me look even worst), I explain that I have been suffering from Binge Eating disorder for the past 25 years and that, yes, it's still an active issue. But I also mention that I have started therapy with a therapist specialized in eating disorders. That I understand that this is a tool, that it involves a lot of work, etc. She gives the ok, they take my 15 000$ check, give me the powders for the liquid diet and send me on my way. 2 hours after, the clinic calls me to say that the dietician spoke with the surgeon and that BED being a new info for him, he is requesting a clearance from my psychologist to go ahead. I've seen this psy only 3 times so far.... So, basically, he is waiting for a note from a therapist that has seen me 3 times to decide if he's doing the surgery or cancelling, or postponing. I'm very upset. I am very anxious about the surgery (being put under, the breathing tube) and have been trying to get mentally ready for the surgery for the past 2 months and now it's all up in the air. After taking my deposit. After having phone calls with me and giving the go-ahead (and never asking about any disordered eating history!). So I will know next week what is decided. I am not mad at the dietician, she's doing her job. I am not mad at the surgeon, he's being careful . But I am mad at myself for opening up, being honest when I'm sure a lot of bariatric patients would have said nothing for the same exact reason (fear of being refused). I should have known better............ I should have just shut my mouth!

Your first stall is quite scary, most off us have the moment when we think we must have done something wrong. You will have many stalls and many times when you will gain a little. You will get used to it. Keep off the scales as much as possible, that road leads to sorrow. You are not dieting anymore. You are learning a new way to live.

So I had this revision in June, and I can tell you that the weight loss will not be like it was with the sleeve. I had it because I developed GERD, esophagitis, gastritis, and a TON of pre-cancerous polyps all through my stomach. So I also didn't have a choice. I was on 80mg daily of Nexium, Pepcid for breakthrough, Tums, and still had break through GERD anyway. With the sleeve, I lost 30 pounds in the first 2 weeks. With the revision, I lost 14. I also wasn't interested in doing it for weight loss, since I was chugging along and doing well until it all went stupid. My goal was to get back to living my life, get back to my beast mode work outs, get back to feeling good and not having pain. And that's what the surgery is doing for me. I was finally having hair regrowth when I had to have the revision, so I'm fully expecting to see more hair loss. It's started shedding more again, so I'm mentally preparing for it. I can also say, the recovery from the bypass has been SO SO much better than with the sleeve. I honestly wish I had just done the bypass to begin with. So much less pain, I was up and around faster, able to do things better, could handle my pills and supplements (had to crush or completely eliminate them with the sleeve for the first 4-5 weeks), able to handle cold liquids (couldn't with the sleeve), able to get my fluids in so much easier (I drank a 20oz of Water in the hospital the day I had my surgery and could barely handle 3-4oz with the sleeve). So all in all, I'm exceptionally happy I did the revision. No more GERD, no more PPI, no more pain, much easier recovery, and while the weight is still coming off, it's doing so at a slower and more manageable pace. I wish you all the luck, and I promise you'll feel so much better after the revision.

I did full liquids for 10 days (was supposed to be 2 weeks but I couldn't take it anymore). Then I went to mushy foods like hummus, avocado, etc... I did that for a week. Then I just went to soft foods for about 2 weeks and then went to regular foods. For both surgeries. My nutritionist said as long as I went really slow and listened to my body, it was fine. No 2 plans are the same, and no 2 bodies respond the same.

You might be hitting a stall. I always gain a few pounds when that happens, but when it breaks, I lose everything I gained plus an extra 2-3 pounds.

Hey everyone! I'm 4 weeks out as of yesterday, and I've mostly been feeling great. However, I got my period 4 days ago. At first, my weight loss stopped. Then, it even went up 2 pounds. Is this...normal? I've been on track with my water and protein, been following dietary guidelines to a T, and I haven't been exceeding 500-600 calories a day. How on earth did I gain 2 pounds? Is it because of my period? Trying really hard not to panic. 😞

I had Gastric sleeve with Hiatal Hernia repair on June 1st. I've had a few different issues like a skin rash, numbness in my legs, but the biggest one is the Acid Reflux. I've had it on and off for a few months. The last 2 weeks it feels like a lump in my chest and throat as well as feeling like there are chunks rolling around in my stomach. The heartburn is truly awful. I'm on omeprazole and take tons of Antacids. During my endoscopy they found out I had gastritis but without h pylori. My doctor is having me go back to liquid diet for 5 days and double my omeprazole during that time but it's not working. Has anyone experienced this? I need advice or things to ask my surgeon because I don't think I'm being taken seriously!

Thank you. I have made an appointment to speak with the dietician. I’ve also tracked everything I eat so I can print it out and have it on hand. My surgeon wasn’t upset but he was obviously not pleased that I had only lost 7 lbs at my two week follow up. It’s all very new and confusing to me to say the least. Currently I am just making sure I hit my protein, but I am very conscious about carbs out of habit. I’m thinking maybe I need to increase those a bit. Again thank you