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Apologies in advance for the long post!! Hello everyone! I had my surgery July 12th! I am a little over a week post op! Here’s a little bit of insight for those interested! Before surgery I was given a whole bunch of stuff as well as some antibiotics in which I had an allergic reaction to and made me break out in hives. It was super uncomfortable considering I was then wheeled to the operating room shortly after. I couldn’t do anything about the itching as I had to lay in a particular way and kept thinking “I hope they put me to sleep under soon” because it was soooo uncomfortable. After waking up I could barely open my eyes, and at some point I stopped trying but I was still aware of my surroundings for a bit. I just remember shivering and feeling extremely cold. My entire body was aching and I kept getting these chills of pain run through my body. I was in and out so I didn’t even remember leaving the operating room and into the post op room. If I am being completely honest the pain was at its highest the day of the surgery and thankfully the medications they gave me were strong or else I didn’t think I would be able to bear it. I pushed myself to walk about 3-4 hours after surgery even though I wasn’t pushed to, I felt like I needed to?? (Idk my brain was all over the place). I just couldn’t stand laying down for all this hours so if it meant walking to use the bathroom to get out of bed then so be it. I kept trying to push through it and walk walk walk. They were not kidding about the walking and how it helps with gas pains. The gas pains were so bad for me, it felt like bloating(?) just everywhere..the gas pains wow.. My entire stay everyone was super nice and attentive! My surgeon was also kind enough to fulfill my request in taking a picture of my stomach after he took it out! (I personally found it very fascinating!!) I was finally discharged the next day after being able to handle water and soup about 4oz for 5 hours consecutively. And I was very homesick and really missed my bed (and pets). By day 5 though I felt pretty good and a bit back to my normal self for the most part. Until day 5 I could NOT stomach regular water. For some reason I could not stand the taste of it?? It tasted disgusting and I had to keep drinking Gatorade or mixing my water with daily hydration flavored packets. After day 5, I was able to stomach protein shakes (mixed with collagen) and was super happy about the progress. There hasn’t been any complications and for that I am thankful, I didn’t check in sooner as I was busy trying to consume fluids every 15 minutes (I got tired of the timers soooo quick). An app that has been a staple for me personally is Baritastic, love the easy platform and the visualization of the water goal for the day as well as being able to log in my weight. It breaks down my goal into little milestones and basically an all in one app as I can also log in food and tracks weightloss from before and after surgery as well! I also lets me keep count of the days after surgery and my BMI! Highly recommend this app, especially because it’s free Apologies for the long post! I wanted to be thorough and detailed especially for those that are still waiting to have surgery! I cannot think about anything else to write but if anyone has any questions, please let me know! I’ll be happy to respond and as open as possible! I cannot wait to start puréed food though!! 😩

Dang, but that makes sense. I just recall seeing a post about it in an old thread here so I hadn't really considered it but I did go ahead and emailed my dietician while making this post too. Just sent it after hours so she won't be able to get back to me until tomorrow at the earliest. And I'm totally fine with them not being ok, I'm fine with soup, yogurt, cottage cheese, and mashed potatoes just anything other than the protein shakes & gatorade I've been stuck with for these two weeks in post-op for my liquid phase lol. I've been slowly going mad with just that. lol

1200 calories a day for someone your height & activity level seems very low when you’re maintaining @ErinBrooke1982. Check out a BMR calculator for an idea of the calories you need. You’ll soon work out if that’s too few or too many calories to support your maintenance. Actually calories weren’t a consideration with my surgeon or dietician. They were more focussed on portion size & even that was more of a guideline & not rules. They did encourage me to eat more when I first stabilised but then took into consideration I’m more finely built so decided my weight was quite okay. I’m a three meals a day plus snacks person. It’s the only way I get all my calories in. My snacks are all pretty nutrient dense & offer protein & other nutrients I need. If just three meals a day is difficult for you (you can only eat what you can eat at a meal time) try reducing the meal sizes & add snacks. The snacks can be portions of your meals (leftovers) to begin or you could try 4 meals a day. You just have to find what best works for you & it may not be what your team suggests. PS - I checked a BMR calculator out of interest earlier this year & it advised I needed to consume about 1500 calories to maintain my weight, at my age, height & activity level which was about what I was consuming. I’ve been pretty stable with my weight.

I only found out about this site today. I began my trip down the bariatric road in late February of this year after roughly 4 years of being pointed in this direction by my doctor. I was resistant primarily because prior to back-to-back knee injuries (right first, followed by the left three months later) in 2008 which were both 'corrected' surgically but have rapidly deteriorated in the years since to the point where I'm grinding bone-on-bone on both sides, I was very active - ice hockey 3x per week including 1x week through the summer, gym 6 days/wk, cycling 100-200 miles/week, so I could 'do it myself'...except with my knees in the state they are, I can't. Having consulted with two separate orthopaedic surgeons, they both agreed I need total knee replacement in both knees - badly - but neither will perform the procedure at my weight. Having this surgery is a stepping stone to my ultimate goal of no longer being a 56 year old 80 year old. So, upon being referred to the bariatric program here in Toronto, I attended the virtual orientation class on March 7th and subsequently attended either virtually or in person, all of the other classes/consults up to and including the surgeon, and have done a sleep study and had an endoscopy and on July 7, received my surgery date; Aug 28 Being in Canada, I will only be out of pocket for the two weeks of liquid diet pre-surgery and then the regimented stages of dietary progression post-surgery. Everything else is covered including all of the diagnostics, the surgery and the hospital stay. I'm looking forward to getting my life back...

My moment was being diagnosed with a rare ish condition that was mainly caused by obesity. After a week of painful tests, I began to research and came up with the list of options for my condition (I still have the digital sticky note). Bariactric surgery was the most unexpected and appealing option. It honestly wasn’t even on my radar. I think I really decided the moment I wrote it down but I went to the consultations with the other specialist to confirm what I really wanted.

My moment was when it clicked that I could afford it; I always struggled with my weight fluctuating but I was getting to the point where I was just getting bigger despite all my efforts in exercising (and I always liked going to the gym, would even go for 2hrs), but I was simply eating more than I was putting out, on top of which I never felt full awhen eating + my insatiable hunger when my depression would hit, so I needed a physical stop. I opt'd for the sleeve as it would still allow me to eat what I like, but rather smaller portions. And with positive attestations from family members and friends I went ahead with it. I'm nearing two weeks post-op and don't regret it so far, I am just begging for the liquid diet to end just so I can have diversity in what I eat lol; currently getting burned out on just having protein shakes and gatorade.

When I had my sleeve, I started SERIOUSLY shedding at around 3 months post op. It didn't stop until 9 months post op. So not looking forward to it again. What I noticed helped was taking collagen, biotin, extra protein, and using a shampoo and conditioner with collagen and biotin in it and doing a hair mask twice a week. Biotin and collagen don't stop hair from falling out, or really have anything to do with regrowth. But what they DO do is they help with actual hair texture, shine, split ends, and dryness. The protein is what's actually needed for hair regrowth since your hair needs it but can't produce it on its own. Everything you're experiencing is very normal. It's gonna get worse before it gets better, but it WILL eventually get better.

So you’ve lost 12 stone in a year? That’s outstanding! Are you still losing but not at such a high rate? I started at 22 stone and lost about 1 to 2 pounds a week and nearly 10 stone down after two years. It’s a long haul.

I’m officially 4 weeks post-op tomorrow, starting my 5th week diet plan and it says I can incorporate turkey or roast beef deli meat… I tried a piece of roast beef sliced paper thin and it’s definitely not agreeing with me right now.. 😬 I’ve been mixing peas with mashed potatoes lately though and it’s been really great. The booklet says that I can start having baked fish and ground beef/turkey, but I think I’m going to leave it alone for another week or three..

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I logged in to this forum. My journey started about three years ago. It has many ups and downs. Started at 284 and I got as low as 183. Over the past two years, I got lazy and stopped following my program which ballooned up to 230. So it's time to get serious and get back to what I'm supposed to do. I really don't want to lose all the progress I made. Some of the bad habits I need to kick- eating junk food, especially late at night. Also eating too many "slider" foods that are easy to go down, which happen to be ice cream, chips, crackers... all the stuff that I don't need. I still walk 4-5 miles a day but have skipped a few more days than I should. I decided to log back in here for accountability and to remind myself how far I have come. Last week, I started counting the calories of everything I'm eating and trying to keep it under 1300 calories a day. I have gone from 230 to 218 in a week. My goal was always 200 lbs, so that's where I want to get to. I have my 3-year checkup with my bariatric surgeon on 9/21, and I hope to get to my goal by then. I appreciate any advice or encouragement here. And I will try to go back and catch up on all of the wonderful stories I have missed over the past year.

I started losing my hair at 2 months post-op and it stopped after my dietician recommended that I drink an ounce or 2 of keifer per day which was at 4 months post-op. I did it for a month because she didn't tell me how long I needed to until the next month when I went back for my visit and I was only supposed to do it for a week. However, it seemed to reset my gut microbes and helped with a the constant nausea I was having. I feel as though I can relate to what you've been going through. I've been losing slowly myself and they have me tracking all of my foods so that I am noticing how many carbs I am eating. My program suggests limiting carbs to 30 grams per day. I find this extremely difficult especially after the surgery because I get really tired after eating a higher protein meal. I do meal prep. I take a cup of chicken and marinate it in different marinades, cook it and I freeze it in small containers so that I have snacks or ready cooked protein for meals. I keep cottage cheese, boiled eggs, and string cheese or cubed cheese handy in the fridge. I have tried to change all my high carb foods like potato chips, ice cream, and milk to the high protein versions. I get the quest high protein chips, fairlife milk, and if I want any ice cream I get the yasso greek yogurt frozen bars. My biggest problem is the vending machine at work. Cheez-its are my kryptonite and I'm just really lucky that the past 3 weeks they haven't restocked the machine with Cheez-its 🤣. I have a hard time with drinking the no sugar drinks like diet coke or coke zero. Too many of any diet drink and my stomach is upset. Also, I'm having a hard time with drinking plain water because I don't like the taste. When I saw the dietician this month she suggested that I get an infuser water bottle and it's helping. She told me that I needed to make sure that I was drinking enough water, reaching my protein goals, and try to keep my carbs as close to 30 as I can. She also suggested that I start doing some cardio every day 15-30 minutes. I have lost a total of 60 pounds including 15 before the surgery. I still want to lose another 30-40 pounds and I'm 7months post-op. I've only been losing about 5 lbs each month since about 2 months post-op. I'm hoping to see more weight loss with the changes that I keep implementing. I was very discouraged when I started noticing everything that I was doing but my doctor and dietician were so supportive. They were very encouraging and told me that the surgery is my tool but that I would have to make some long-term lifestyle changes and the fact that I'm noticing what I'm doing and trying to make corrections that I was still on the right path. I'm sure that you will also reach your goals and the hair loss will stop eventually. Once the hair loss stops you'll have a bunch of baby hairs growing in 😁.

It has started. My hair is falling out in tub clogging, brush filling, handfuls. I knew it was coming, but nothing prepares you for it. I've noticed the touch of my hair has changed. I mean, it's dry. I just got a haircut a few weeks ago, I use good quality moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, and a leave in conditioner. Is it normal for it to be dry too?

a lot of women have hormone-related issues the first weeks or months after surgery. This includes screwed up menstrual cycles and...moodiness! Estrogen is stored in fat cells and supposedly some of it is released during rapid weight loss - so you get a huge surge of it. I'm guessing that might be what's going on. It'll eventually stabilize.

I'm sorry you're feeling this way. My surgery was 6/19/23, and I'm in the same boat with my moods and feelings. I've been at a stall since July 3rd. Today, I weighed myself (even though I swore I'd wait til Sunday) and I've only lost 2 lbs since July 3rd. Two pounds in almost 3 weeks. That's it. I'm also a revision from sleeve to bypass. I knew it would be slower than virgin surgeries, but not THIS slow. It's breaking my heart, honestly. I'm following the whole nutrition/vitamin routine, but nothing is changing. Now, I'm having trouble with my skin. I feel very let down. I totally feel you on the jealousy/insecurity stuff. I'm that way. But I've ALWAYS been that way. Also, probably due to my weight. Can't blame my surgery though. I'm going to research that Probiotics Mood stuff you mentioned. I'll mention it to my doc's office. We have to be our own biggest advocates because we're the only ones who know how we feel now as compared to how we normally feel. They don't really know us from any other patient they see. I'm going to request a blood work order. They haven't asked for any. One of the girls at the office said they don't usually until the 3-month mark. I don't want to wait 3 months. Maybe going outside and getting some Vitamin D would help? I'd hang out outside if I didn't live in South Texas where people are baking bread in their mailboxes and baking cookies in their cars. Hope you feel better, ma. 💛

I recently had the sleeve revision to gastric bypass and I have been going through so many emotions. First, I was really beating myself up about not losing what I thought I "should" be losing. Then I all of a sudden started to feel like my husbands extremely petite new assistant has the hots for him. I read texts... She was just too chummy for my liking but didnt even say anything that bad. Just a lot of LOL's after things that werent funny and asking for favors to fix her boat while she is a cheerleader. He doesnt respond at all the same way and is very short with his answers and they are all professional. And, he is not a cheat. I know that in my heart, but these emotions that I have are making feel worse about myself than ever before. I cry out of nowhere and have fabricated this potentional office romance and can't stop checking the call logs or texts. The one line stands out when he asked her what her jacket size was and her response was "well I am small all the way around but I guess I can take a medium for a jacket". Like just say medium!! I know the way that I am feeling has a lot to do with how I feel about myself and my own insecurities, but I dont know how to stop. Google also doesnt help. I went for my follow-up today, I am 5 weeks out, and she said I was doing great. I asked her if it is common to have these waves of depression and anxiety hit out of nowhere. She said she has seem some patients with the issue and told me to try Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Probiotics Mood+ Acidophilus Probiotic Supplement. She said sometimes with the bypass we are not getting enough serotonin in our systems and this could probably lift my mood. Just wondering if anyone else had any issues like this or if they are taking a supplement with serotonin? I also had a talk about what my expectations were for the surgery and how that could be affecting things. I am beating myself up because I am not seeing things drop as quickly as I thought they would and I am terrified this will be another bariatric sugery failure for me. I didnt realize that the weight loss wouldnt be as quick with a regular bypass before I had it. All of my other health issues seem to be getting better though, except my mental health haha.

Yep,I was never over weight til menopause happened. Been in it for 8 years. Hormones all over the place. Messing up my thyroid and lots of other stuff. I have always been a busy girl. I swim 9 hours a week. Eating nothing except what my doctor ordered which is 6 tablespoons on protein, 2 tablespoons on veggies per meal and 63 ounces of water a day. My weight is coming off very very slow. I am just happy it is coming off. I have always eaten extremely healthy. Fresh veggie, fruits, nuts, limited carbs. No junk food at all. If it wasn't for this surgery, this weightloss never would have been possible

I recently had the sleeve revision to gastric bypass and I have been going through so many emotions. First, I was really beating myself up about not losing what I thought I "should" be losing. Then I all of a sudden started to feel like my husbands extremely petite new assistant has the hots for him. I read texts... She was just too chummy for my liking but didnt even say anything that bad. Just a lot of LOL's after things that werent funny and asking for favors to fix her boat while she is a cheerleader. He doesnt respond at all the same way and is very short with his answers and they are all professional. And, he is not a cheat. I know that in my heart, but these emotions that I have are making feel worse about myself than ever before. I cry out of nowhere and have fabricated this potentional office romance and can't stop checking the call logs or texts. The one line stands out when he asked her what her jacket size was and her response was "well I am small all the way around but I guess I can take a medium for a jacket". Like just say medium!! I know the way that I am feeling has a lot to do with how I feel about myself and my own insecurities, but I dont know how to stop. Google also doesnt help. I went for my follow-up today, I am 5 weeks out, and she said I was doing great. I asked her if it is common to have these waves of depression and anxiety hit out of nowhere. She said she has seem some patients with the issue and told me to try Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Probiotics Mood+ Acidophilus Probiotic Supplement. She said sometimes with the bypass we are not getting enough serotonin in our systems and this could probably lift my mood. Just wondering if anyone else had any issues like this or if they are taking a supplement with serotonin? I also had a talk about what my expectations were for the surgery and how that could be affecting things. I am beating myself up because I am not seeing things drop as quickly as I thought they would and I am terrified this will be another bariatric sugery failure for me. I didnt realize that the weight loss wouldnt be as quick with a regular bypass before I had it. All of my other health issues seem to be getting better though, except my mental health haha.

I don’t think you’ll need an electric chair at three weeks but you should be able to sit down and rest when you need to. I found that when I hit a wall it came on pretty quick, and I needed to stop and rest. So if you go into it, knowing you need to pace yourself and rest often, you may be OK. Listen to your body in the two weeks after surgery and you should be able to evaluate what you think you can do at that third week with your family.

Thank you for responses. 3 weeks out would I be able to walk maybe 2 or 3 miles over an 5 hours span. Reason I ask my surgery on Aug 16th, and I got some disney oggie boogie tickets for my niece and nephew on Sept 7th. Wondering if I should skip event or rent a electric chair.

I decided to hold off on the exercise and just do what others have suggested which is park further and walk farther stuff like that. I'm also laser focused on my diet and am not eating more than 1500 calories and then 12 days ahead not eating more than 1200. I'm doing surprisingly well on my semi liquid diet. I thought i would be so hungry and really I'm not really ever that hungry at all. Today is day 3 and I felt weak and a little out of it and had some headache but it passed. 2 weeks until surgery will be here before you know it!

I'll be 5 months on the 21st! It's flown by.i should probably avoid bread, but no one said I had to. I sometimes can eat a sandwich (just regular sandwich bread) and sometimes I find myself just picking of some of the bread. What would a week of eating look like for you? I need some ideas. I feel like I don't always have restriction anymore. I feel like I can fit in more food now before I start feeling that tight feeling or the hiccups. My weight is still moving down as well and its crazy that I'm so close to my first major weightloss goal!. I'm down about 65 pounds since surgery day. My favorite thing is that I can cross my legs and keep it there for awhile. My back, legs and ankles don't swell up much after standing for a long period of time anymore. I havent started working out yet. I had a gym membership since 2015, but no longer have a car. I feel like it's too much of a hassle to have someone bring me, so until I get another car, I'll need to find something fun to do at home. I'm losing a lot of hair too, I hope it starts to slow down soon. Some people who barely have that are so lucky! 💜💜

I thought hormonal flush too. Personally my skin seemed to get less dry specifically on my arms & legs. It’s funny how we all react differently. Maybe see a dermatologist or just your GP for something you could use on the dry skin patches. It could be possible you are getting in more B12 than you need. Have you had a blood test recently to check your levels to rule that out? Recitalist contains vitamin A (retinol), albeit a rather low level (0.3%, but that can cause dry skin patches too. Are you applying a sunscreen to protect against a sun reaction with the retinol? Damn acne. I’m 58 (tomorrow) & every now & then I still get a pimple. Had a blind one on my chin a couple of weeks ago & then a run of the mill one of my cheek last week. I had terrible cystic acne as a teenager (11+ years of hideous skin) so feel I’ve more than had my share of acne & am soooo over it. When does it ever stop. Waah! PS - I’ve been using the L’Oréal midnight cream & serum (only cones as a night cream). It’s lovely. I’ve been using L’Oréal products for years but this one is the best so far. Even got my 83 yr old mother on it & she’s a convert too.

Hey there. I had surgery in 2022. Here's what I experienced: Brain fog: definitely lasts at first from the anesthesia but tbh you're so exhausted from the surgery and diet that you just sleep it off the first couple nights. Brain fog comes when you're in like the 3d or 4th week post op when you've just been on liquids. I believe it's just from not eating solid foods for so long. It tires you out. I had tachycardia and fatigue all throughout my liquid, puree, and most of my soft food stages but as I started introducing soft foods, the brain fog subsided a little bit. It was more the physical exhaustion of the extreme diet and rapid weight loss that I remember. I also had brain fog from low iron. Walking: I walked a lot, even in the early stages and it was hard because of my tachycardia. It probably took me four months to be able to walk 2 miles. Before surgery I was walking 5-6 miles a day with no issue and would walk 12 miles on the weekend for pre op weight loss. So yeah, it gets the better of you but it doesn't last. I'm now over a year post op and can walk a long time. I do find that I dehydrate much easier so I need to both make sure I'm very hydrated AND bring water with me if I'm going on walks longer than 4 miles. Don't let any of this scare you. It's so worth it. Once you're healed you'll be amazed at what you're capable of. Best of luck and enjoy the journey.

@Carla Ogwin it’s weird everything was fine with the sugar free packets until this week so idk what happened. I’ve had ground beef but it was low fat and I just had alittle in a bean meat and cheese keto street taco. Today I had 2 spoon fulls of refried beans, 2 cut up grilled chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A with alittle cheese and it was so good. I thought I was drinking too soon, or eating too fast as well but I think it’s just the sugar free drinks. I might try them again in a few weeks. There was about 5 days were my weight didn’t change and I was so sad but then it went down but it’s definitely going down closer now than it did which idk if I like that.

I’m struggling to but I’m like forget it lol. I would prefer a list of what to eat but they said start adding things. I scan everything I buy to make sure it’s ok. The pork rinds are great for that chip craving but I only eat like 4. Great protein. For me I’m just trying things out and seeing if they work. Still pretty bland but I have had shrimp and ground beef tacos on those keto street tacos. This week flavored drinks are giving me problems so only water right now doesn’t make my stomach gurgling. It’s all new but we getting there.