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I'm looking forward to following your progress. My surgery is scheduled for 1/12/24 in Tijuana. Dr. Rodolfo Castillo. I found him on RealSelf.com and researched him. I'm spending 6 nights in a recovery home (Casa Linda), then a week at my Dad's in southern California. $12,699 for 360 belt lipectomy, lipo, breast lift with gummy implants. He's going to do a bbl for no additional charge if he can, but he isn't sure from my pictures if I have enough fat in the areas he is working to do a bbl. I'm planning on going back to do my inner thighs and arms. My package includes all pre-surgery tests including cardio evaluation and lab tests, all surgery expenses and 1 night at the hospital, 6 nights at the recovery house with meals and nursing 24/7, all pain meds and medical supplies, compression garments and post surgery consultations. It doesn't include transportation to/from the airport because I have family and friends in Mexico and Southern California who I will be visiting before and after who will provide that.

Welcome! You're the same day as me! One of the things I have done that I think has really helped me feel more prepared is watching YouTube videos. I started with every video available from both Dr. Matthew Weiner and Dr. John Pilcher, and I also watched all of the ones from Dr. Vuong, although I know he's a more controversial figure these days. But I did get a lot out of some of them when he was talking about your mindset and that type of thing. I also watched a ton of videos made by regular people talking about their experiences. I've done book research and such too, but I feel like the videos are just a way I can get a little bit of something to think about every day. With 4 weeks to go, my plan is to try out a few recipes from the bariatric cookbooks I've bought and see if I can get some menu ideas for some of the earlier stages, figure out the groceries I will need, etc. Oh, and freezing some meals for my kids so I can avoid cooking the first few weeks. Other than that, I think we just have to take it one day at a time.

So I am 5 years and 2 months post-op RYGB. I made it beyond my goal weight of 170lb to 160lb. Technically I was as low as 145lbs because I was very sick in 2020 then again in 2022, but after getting better, I stabilized at a steady 160lb. Last July I started online streaming/socializing with people. I started snacking more because of nerves and also began drinking quite heavily because being silly tipsy in front of strangers is fun! I had NO IDEA how many calories was in alcohol. Over the course of 5 months, I gained 20lbs. Even more, I noticed that I can eat almost a "normal" plate of food the same size as my family's. I broke the rules and had started drinking fluids with my meals. I think I thought I could get away with breaking rules because I was at a stable 160lbs. Now I am FREAKING out! I hate exercise. I never did it, even with my prior weightloss. I am using a tracking app my husband's VA dietician told him to use called Fat Secret. I am trying to stick to 1600 calories, which is super hard. I feel hungry all the time now. I think I caused pouch dilation. I refuse to be heavy again. My clothes are already getting tighter than I like. I was doing research today on weight gain after years post-op. I basically am reading that I need a bariatric reset. I am going to do a 2-week "Pouch Reset Diet." It's not to make my pouch smaller, but it's to retrain my body to feel full with smaller portions again. I need to go back to the basics, and it's really hard. I also don't get DS with sweets like I used to. Don't get me wrong, I still get sick, but I noticed that my sugar tolerances have changed. It really worries me. 40% of bypass patients fail and bounce back to within 10% of their original weight pre-surgery. I will NOT be a part of that 40%. My support system at home is tricky. On one hand, my husband does support me outwardly. But he himself weighs 415lbs and isn't doing much about his weight. He watched my struggles and drustrations and outright refuses surgery for himself. He's on some stupid intermitent fasting diet, but he still eats way too large portions at meal times. My 15 y/o son is pushing 285lbs, and his only exercise is video games. For me, it's like living around all these food temptations is a struggle. It's like being an alcoholic and living at a bar. I just ordered a crap ton of protein powder so I can jump start this Pouch Reset Diet. I started to push myself on working out at least a little bit. I have a mini stair stepper and an eleptical bike. Anything is better than nothing. I am just wondering if I am alone in my struggles?

I take it no more than once a week. Tylenol just doesn't work on certain kinds of pain. If I were to develop new acid reflux or stomach discomfort I would discontinue them but I haven't yet had an issue because of how infrequently I take it.

@newbegining2024 Hi All! I can't believe how fast time has gone! I will be going to my 6 mth check up tomorrow 2/20/24. Everything is a lot better! As of today I am 173lbs, I'll update my ticker it's still at 183. I am able to eat more varieties that I cook at home. Can't tolerate beef to well but I was never a big red meat person. I am still on the fence with salads/raw vegs though I can tolerate raw onions and tomatoes. I am not doing too well with my multi because I purchased capsules that I open to put in my smoothies which I don't take every day anymore. I just purchase the multi-vitamin pack from the bariatric store, I'll update you on that later My food is mostly a diet consistency of pescatarian due to the low cal/high protein and the ease of my system digesting the food. I would occassionally eat chicken as well (ground, poached breast etc), turkey hardly ever because the meat is not as soft as chicken. My veggies are fine steamed, some legumes & beans (occasional), as far as grains or potatoes etc I try to not do carbs at all or keep them at a bare minimum with an occasional meal...I've really gotten into sweet potatoes as I didn't eat them a lot before. Swelling is gone, skin is good, and I can visually see the difference in pounds and inches loss especially from a side view lol. I still have work to do (vitamins, eat more) and I am working on it. BTW!!!! I am back in the health & wellness field as I start my new position next week. I took a pause last summer. Now as I am on my health journey I'll be helping my patients with weight loss and adopting healthier lifestyles. My goal is to lose 13 more lbs and as you all know after running so long and you can see the finish line in sight....your legs get weary and that last sprint is the hardest. Let me know how you all are doing! (this will be posted in a new thread as well)

Hi Everyone. this is my 2nd rodeo. I had a repair Nov 2nd and have had to start from scratch again. a little about my story. I am from Australia and suffered GERD quite bad and I had been vomiting non stop for a week(wasn’t gastro) they rushed me into surgery on the 31st August 2022. My hiatus hernia had slipped around my stomach strangling it and the opening and my fundoplacation had collapsed. So after they repaired it they had to cut away most of my stomach. I was happy with that as I was 105kgs. over the weeks after surgery I was stuck on liquids for 2 months. As everytime we stepped up I was vomiting. Then purée for two months. As we tried soft diets I was stuck between liquids and purées a lot of soft diet foods didn’t agree. This was not the quality of life I wanted. My health and mental health deteriorated.(I already had PTSD from a work accident 8 yrs ago) I was either vomiting or starving myself cause I didn’t want to vomit. The dr brushed things off did tests after tests. This carried on for 14 months. I was then referred to the head surgeon in my state. He did some other testing urgently and upon the results I was back in hospital having surgery two days later. The surgeon had to repair the hiatus hernia again as it had collapsed crushing my fundoplacation. And he had to remove more stomach. I was discharged after 3 days and am back home on smoothies and soups until I see him again in a week. I can have no more than half a cup of liquids every 30-60minutes. And only thrown up once(yesterday). Everything seems so different from last time round. So much better. I’m comparing journals. I am now 12 days post op. I have been for half hour walks every 2nd day and today I tried a little more and may have over done the walking. Had to get hubby to come pick me up. I was .5km from home but couldn’t walk another step. But I have felt so good. people if you think something isn’t right fight for the quality of life you want. The last year for me was hell and I wish I spoke up sooner. On a plus note I have some, more like over 100 great smoothie recipes. I tried a lot of combinations. And I just about tried every meal I cooked the family into a purée. 😂 good luck to those having surgery today/tomorrow

Today is 11 days post op and I’ve had serious cravings over the past two days. I started having a protein shake again which also helps the leg and foot cramps, then added a 4th meal a day. I also had a cup of broth in case I just needed salt. Yesterday it got so bad and I realized that I’ve been eating only yogurt and puréed cottage cheese so I got some smoked salmon and ate one ounce of it, that has set me back to rights again. Woke up feeling so much better this morning. It’s been an adventure, we live in the Midwest and lost power Friday evening, we’ve been in a hotel since Saturday. I brought my scale and a small container so I could portion out yogurt or cottage cheese but didn’t have any meat or fish. i don’t really feel hungry in my belly anymore, just a vague feeling of alarm that I need something. Most of the time I can just reassure myself but yesterday I knew it was hunger and that I needed something more substantial. The smoked salmon is very soft and I chewed it for forever, and I loved every moment of it🙂. (Note: I’ve been on purées since the day after surgery, tomorrow is my 2 week post op appointment, and I would have blitzed the salmon but I’m just making do the best I can with the snowy adventures. I also ate scrambled egg at Denny’s, I measured out 2 ounces and just fork squished the heck out of it and that went well too.)

So I eat 4200 calories a day. Long story short. 456 pounds at age 19 had DS 39 now and I weigh 178 pounds I've been working out 3x a week for two years. Lifting weights. At first I lost muscle, because I was eating 2200 calories most days maybe 60 grams of protein. I now I eat 4200 a day and get 250 grams of protein easy but even with gaining muscle I don't gain weight on the scale yet. I've gained in the past but once I started lifting weights I stopped. I just stay at 178ish.. my doctor wants me to take enzymes but I want to be able to gain weight with food... It's annoying to me I can't even gain a pound. I'm slowly raising calories 200 at a time. I wait a month then I'll raise it again but does anyone know how many calories I probably need and can anyone tell me for sure how many calories I absorb and how much fat, carbs, protein I absorb? My doctor says he can't tell me because everyone is different but... I need answers. I find myself scared every day I'll lose weight.. it's crazy to me im eating so much but my doctor's kinda not cool.. so I don't trust him last time I took enzymes I ended up getting up to 240 pounds on accident and the idea of gaining that much weight scares me.. I prefer to do it normally I just wonder what the calorie number is need. What works for you

I agree with ChunkCat. Although I am past the liquid food phase, I know my relationship with Thanksgiving food has changed. I have been putting my energy into decorating the house for Christmas and will focus on spending time with family. My daughter had a birthday two weeks after my surgery and I experienced a little anxiety but quickly saw the opportunity in it. I hope you enjoy the day. Happy Thanksgiving.

that's not slow at all - that's pretty average. I was about where you're at the six week mark, and I started out at almost 400 lbs. there are so many factors the affect your rate of weight loss, most of which you don't have much - if any - control over. Gender, age, starting weight, what percentage of your body is muscle, whether or not you lost a ton of weight before surgery, genetic factors, metabolic rate, etc. The only two things you do have a lot of control over is how closely you stick to your clinic's plan and how active you are. Do well with those, and the weight will come off, whether fast or slow. I considered myself a slow loser the entire time, and I lost 100% of my excess weight, over 200 lbs (I've gained a few back since then, but I'm still over 200 lbs less than when I started). don't worry about it - just stick to your plan and the weight will come off.

I went to see my GP this week to get some testing done. I actually looked forward to going, knowing things would to be better than the last time I saw her pre-op. She along with everyone in the office flipped out when they saw me. I'm down over 80 pounds in 5 months. The nurse said I lost a small person. LOL I could fit comfortably in the chair when they drew my blood. You know that little table that folds down in from of you? I had room to spare. She asked if I was having fun buying new clothes. I told her yes. I love thrifting and now able to get around to do it. The head nurse had to come in and take a gander at me. She called me yesterday and told me my bloodwork results were amazing. Everything is in normal range now. I am no longer pre-diabetic. Even my liver and kidney functions are normal. Those things scared me the most and my main reason to get the Gastric Bypass. Don't ever let anyone tell you those things aren't reversable. My GP said she can't believe my numbers. Told me all her sleeve patients don't have these kinds of results in a year, even after prescribing them Ozempic. She sees patients from a local surgeon who only does the sleeve with no follow up support. I'm guessing most of those people aren't following any protocol because I see the good results on here, every day, of sleevers' success stories. I love reading them. I went out of town to get my bypass in April that thankfully has a great Bariatric support team. I go back to see them for my 6-month checkup Oct 11. They did a vitamin panel on me last time and all was well except my B12 was a bit high but nothing to worry about. And I go back in January for my annual physical with GP. Was told they can hopefully start taking me off my meds. I will be closer to goal weight by then. Something else to look forward to.

Hey all, Thought I'd check in. Had my sleeve and hiatal hernia repair done on 12/13. Most of it has gone pretty smooth with no nausea and little pain aside from one spot. This one spot is about two inches to the right of the right side incision and its deep. Like when they did the incision they did it at an angle and it has done nothing but burned and stung horribly from the beginning. It was the only thing that held me back from getting up and walking more during my overnight stay. Even once I got home it still took me way to long to get moving. The hysterectomy pillow I got has helped but the ab binder had been a life saver. It still burns and pulls and stings, but I am actually finally able to walk two houses down and half the block width now instead of just barely able to run laps in the house. I think its honestly the stitch they put in that incision. ugh. But bearing through it. As far as food, Full liquid until my follow up next Thursday and then I should be able to move to pureed at that point. Had a slight sensation in the base of my throat the first 3 days or so but after that haven't had any issues drinking 20 oz for lunch and breakfast and dinner and another 17 oz through out the day. Getting in almost 90g of protein and hitting my 70 oz of water/fluid intake in. Oh also went from 309.4 morning of surgery to 322.8 after. I finally was back to 310 this morning! Hope everyone else is doing well!

Oh yes, the letdown or after effect of all the craziness. All the fear and anxiety about the surgery, the relief of getting back to normal and feeling more normal again, can feel like depression, or just wading through quicksand, teary and easily emotional. You have been on a such a roller coaster for a while now and it's just stopped and returned to the station. You are likely just letting down your guard because everything is okay and now the emotions that stayed under the surface are coming up. Honor your body for the journey it has taken and survived, honor your self for being so resilient and steadfast, pamper yourself and do all the little things that feel cherishing like extra sleep, foot baths with spa treatment, comfy clothes and cheerful movies, music that makes you feel good, books that make you think. Anything that feels good, and just give it time and know that it will ease once you've felt the feelings and let them go. If it lasts more than 2 weeks or gets worse, or severe, please contact your team and let them know, they will likely have resources for you, in fact, no reason to wait if your team has a psychologist you feel comfortable with, go ahead and talk to them. It would likely be very helpful. Take care.

Just had my pre-surgery assessment yesterday and my surgeon was great answering my questions and helping me with the pre-op. I was starting to get hypoglycemic in the evenings bad so he had the dietician give me some ideas to add to my pre-op. So now about 2 hr after dinner I eat a medium cucumber with a light smear of fat free cream cheese to help keep my levels even. I feel better this morning than I have in the last two weeks. Surgery next Wednesday 12/13 and on to a new life. So happy my hubby can stay at the hospital with me as well overnight. I wish all December surgerys good luck!!!

Hello - I had gastric sleeve in June of 2015 and lost over half my body weight initially, getting down to well below my initial goal in the first year. Started having issues with acid reflux pretty early on, and it's gotten steadily worse, especially in the past 3 years. I'm currently on omeprazole and famotidine, plus Tums in addition. A 24-hour PH study showed that I had over 100 episodes of reflux in that period. So I was approved to revise to a gastric bypass. I also have regained over half of what I lost, mostly since my reflux has gotten worse, and am about 50 pounds heavier than my ideal weight. The reflux makes me feel hungry all the time, and I'm eating way more carbs than I should because they seem to tame the acid somewhat. I understand that it's pretty much a pipe dream that I'll be able to lose anything close to that with revision, but I guess any weight loss would be better than where I am right now. My new surgeon said she expected that I'd get back down to 110-120 after revision (my preferred weight personally is around 125), but based on all the posts I've read here and on reddit, she is definitely exaggerating to make me more willing to go through with the surgery. The best it sounds like I could hope for is to lose maybe 15-20 pounds over the course of a year or more? I am scheduled for surgery on Jan. 18th, but I'm having second thoughts after reading so many horror stories of unpredictable dumping episodes and ever-changing food intolerances. I guess maybe my reflux isn't as bad as others, since the reality of daily life with RNY seems unbearably miserable to me in comparison to my life currently. I'm afraid that I won't be able to do my job anymore (or even leave the house at all) if I am unable to eat or drink anything without the risk of vomiting/foamies (I have pelvic floor issues, so I pretty much always lose bladder control when I vomit or dry heave) or having uncontrollable diarrhea. After revision, do you have to wear an adult diaper all the time? Has anyone developed an eating disorder based on fear of getting sick after consuming anything? Do you have any "safe" foods, or is it always a (literal) crapshoot? I know that continued GERD can cause esophageal cancer down the line, but wouldn't the same be true of daily vomiting? Has anyone who is several years out from revision developed cancer or precancerous damage to their esophagus due to the constant vomiting? Likewise, have your teeth been ruined from it? For those who revised from VSG to RNY and are past the initial healing stages, would you do it again or has it made your life even worse?

Oh I'm so glad! Congratulations on your surgery! I just got the DS done a week ago. So far, so good!

It sounds like you're doing fine. Congrats on your weight loss victories!!! Part of the reason they leaned in heavy on it was because they want you to succeed, but also to a degree, they're covering their own liability and don't want to be sued for not giving you the proper advice. I would try to increase both the best you can, but don't beat yourself up if you come up shy one day. Look for more protein-dense foods and shakes to make up the difference if you can. I like the Fairlife protein shakes that have either 30g or 42g, depending on which is available. One of those can be half your protein content for a day, plus its 11-12oz of fluids! Too little protein can cause your body to run a deficit, in which it will burn off muscle rather than fat, which is not a good thing. The more muscle you can maintain, the more fat calories your body will burn to feed them, which helps with the weight loss. The increased water intake is to keep you hydrated, but it also helps you flush out the waste from what your body is breaking down during your weight loss, preventing it from backing up in your kidneys and leading to problems. But keep up the good work! Sounds like you're getting through the "regret" phase, which I'm convinced we all go through that first month or so haha. It looks like my surgery was a week before yours, and I'm already feeling much better. Hope you are too!

I am a week and a half out from surgery, and I had my first official full-fledged cheat today. I ate a slice and a half of avacado. I'm not supposed to even be trying vegetables for about another two weeks, but it just looked so good. So, my lovely ladies and handsome gents, tell me about the first time you fell off the horse? What did you eat? How far out were you? Was it hard to get back on track? Story sharing time.

Well done on the loss. dont over do it. It is a big adjustment. After 14 months I got the hang of limited foods, about a cup full. And that one extra sip or mouthful made me throw up everything. And now I can have no more then 3/4 a cup. And I’ve only thrown up three times since surgery on the 2nd. i had a mini meltdown last night. I had thrown up and also had my first dumping(think it was the date smoothie.) and I was contemplating the decisions on the fluid/puree diet for the last 15 months. And how it’s affecting my mental health. I am so over it and often feel myself wondering to how people do this for their life. I am walking 30mins - 1hr a day. And it’s the only enjoyment I feel besides my sewing. I can only sit for an hour at a time. I see my GP tomorrow.

You know, now that you ask it, I DID enjoy myself more!! LOL I had to be very contemplative with eating which translated into more thoughtful conversation while we ate. We've been married 17 years and sometimes you get lazy and end up in that zone where you just shovel food in and get out of there. But I can't do that now!! So I pick places to go more carefully, and we've committed to putting our phones away during our meals together, so we get more face time and I really connect not only with the people I'm with, but the food I'm eating too! I'm two months post op now. I've eaten out at a lot of different places and we did a road trip to visit family for the holidays. That might have been a nightmare food-wise for some people, but I just packed snacks and protein supplemental food that I could eat if we hit a 3 hour mark and no one else was ready to eat. And we even ate at a pizza bar (not my favorite choice even before surgery) and I just got the grilled wings with a mild sauce. I've found that eating out is easier than I thought it would be. I even go eat pho---I just ask them to leave the noodles out and I eat the beef and bean sprouts and enjoy the broth. We still eat mostly at home but I was really relieved when traveling to see that our enjoyment of travel was not affected by my new diet! Also, we seem to share our food more because for me, satiety comes from trying a variety of things (always has) and now I just stick to a few bites of this and that while I meander my way through the meal and it is nice and relaxing and very enjoyable. You will still be able to enjoy yourself, it is all in how you approach it!!

You got this! I have been to birthday parties and such that are full of food/drinks. It does suck to follow guidelines, but it gets easier! Before you know it you will be able to have some of the food in moderation! I am not looking forward to the holidays either, and I won't be making my treats this year. 3 months going strong, it is easier every day!

My dietician always writes on my record "unknowledgable about eating correctly".... LOL It used to get me mad,but now I just laugh at it. Maybe she does it for insurance purposes or to justify her job ...who knows. She makes me write down everything I eat ,which has gotten to be a pain ,but I do it . It does help me keep up with my protein intake. I see her on Oct.25 of this month . I've written everything down and I've been at a stall for 3 and a half months now .I'm anxious to see what she'll say .

I pooped at the hospital, day after surgery. Right now it is 2-3 days between, I am 9 weeks post op. If I hit 3 days I start taking colace or dulcolax.

Hey Alex! I’m so glad you took the steps towards a healthier life at 31. I have been struggling with weight for my whole life. I have raised two kids, limited with things I could do with them. Ji feel days I have robbed them of memories that we could have made together. Now here I am at 55 and I ,reading your post, feel everything you’re feeling. I now have two grandchildren and the first time I took them to the fair and I was not able to go on the rides with them. It was a flashback to not being able to do things with my kids. So I took the leap too. My surgery is 12/27. sorry got sidetracked, yes the liquid diet is hard. Don’t be so hard on yourself for a slip of having a piece of cheese. The important part is you didn’t binge! That slip up is in the past. What you do today is what is important. Start over. I have taken a new thought on food. Everything I ate yesterday is done. My choices and decisions today is what is important. Find something to keep you busy. If you feel like “slipping “ take a walk then come back. Take a drink of water, shake, or make a smoothie. I have downloaded some mind games that take a lot of thinking. I will sit and play the game and before I know it time has past and it is either meal time or bedtime. I am focusing on the restrictions are only for 8 weeks. Two pre and 4-6 post. I keep reminding my self it is 8 weeks out of the 8+years I have to enjoy my new life! sorry for rambling. Wishing you the best with your surgery

My god that is terrible and I wish you all the best. I had sleeve surgery in 2023 and had side effects but nothing to that extent and I am not sure what was due to possible hospital errors or just bad luck for me. I ended up with severe pancreatis and then infections because of a hole in my stomach. The hospital tried a few attempts of clipping the hole but that didn't work and now I have a coil/tube in the hole to hopefully have the hole heal around it over the next few months. If that doesn't work I may have to get bypass. I spent three months in hospital instead of just the one expected night, some for weeks on a feeding tube , had to get a transfusion and a lot of antibiotics. I am suffering severe exhaustion, not sleeping well and at times feeling quite down. I can't walk far without feeling weak and if I do something one day (like go to supermarket) I need the next day to recover. At times I question if I would have been better going down the medication route, but as I don't have diabetes and there are no studies yet available on how the injections impact long term I thought surgery was the safer bet, I really doubt that now. I still get stomach pains at times and I honestly don't know if that is due to the surgery complications or if everyone gets them. I nearly called for an ambulance on new years day I was in so much pain. I keep trying to be strong for my family, as they don't live in the same country as me and get very worried, but I find it is adding to my exhaustion. Some days I just have a bit of a cry as I feel there is no-one to compare myself to and it is all such an effort.