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Hey all, Tomorrow's the d-day for Abdominoplasty and brachioplasty. Looking forward to Abdominoplasty for sure given my abdominal area didn't flatten out with the weight loss. So LiPo plus reconstructive surgery will do decent job not to mention tighten up some of the loose skin. Not sure how I feel about brachioplasty for now. Scars definitely make me a bit uneasy. Plus it takes time to heal and scars to lighten and flatten out. But hopefully down the road, I'll be happy with the final result. Anyhow, do advise me how to look after myself and post-op recovery. First week will be the hardest I feel. Any suggestions?

Thank you It's certainly been a journey lol I just can't wait to get back to living my life. I know I'll smash my goal weight once I heal and can get back to working out and eating without pain and horrible GERD and all the rest. I'm even more excited about this surgery than I was with the first one lol

Hi all, Im 37 and injust got my MGB revision 20 days ago. I was sleeved 10 years ago and never reached my goal weight. After babies and hormonal BC i gained a lot back. I feel surprised now tho. I feel i havent loose much these days. I just started Phase 3 and where i live (Middle east) is very hard to find sugar free, fat free products and im wondering if is the greek yogurt (flavored) and the protein drink the ones that arent helping. Both say they dont have added sugar but have sugars at the end. Also i dont feel there is really a restriction in my stomach. Im still hungry, i can eat half cup of food, i can drink a whole glass of water with no issues... such a different experience than the sleeve. Im scared of failure. Im passing very light yellow stools i dont know why and is so painful. Sometimes i wonder if there was a surgery after all. Any ideas of why this weight loss is so slow?

I wasn’t given protein goals and my surgeon literally said I am free to eat what I want, but I don’t want to gain weight. I did the shakes and my surgeon said to stop them. He wants me getting protein from food.

you need to eat or you're going to get very sick. If you follow your clinic's food guidelines, you will not gain weight. at 2.5 months out, you're probably not going to do much in the way of vomiting. I had some issues with that early on when I ate too fast or if something didn't agree with me, but by 2.5 months it was a rare occurrence. By then I'd figured out how fast/slow I could eat and what, if anything, didn't agree with me. Besides, vomiting post-surgery is different from vomiting pre-surgery. Your stomach is really small so there's not much to come back up, and your stomach also doesn't produce nearly as much acid as it did before, so you don't get that horrible taste in your mouth. I don't dread vomiting like I did pre-surgery.

@sharonwg thanks....we all are! Just the fact that we made the decision & took the step to gain back our lives & better health. Its a daily process......one decision at a time. Im praying success for us all here on this thread! I truly believe our BEST days are ahead of us!

Hi, I’m 2 1/2 months post op rny gastric bypass. I want to eat but fear of gaining weight and possible vomiting are holding me back. So I don’t eat. The most I eat is once a day if that and if I eat it’s a pea to a nickel size amount. I read all this stuff online and it makes me feel like I can’t have anything. I’m frustrated at this point. I’m down 75lbs. I lost 35lbs before surgery to prep my body. I have been having cravings but no hunger pains. I fainted once and this new vertigo issue kills me every morning. I just don’t know what to do at this point.

congratulations on ur upcoming wedding! the back pain seems to be a pretty common occurrence soon after surgery/weight loss. i already had back and foot pain pre-surgery, but about 1-2 months post op a NEW back pain showed up. as well as NEW foot pain and hip pain (the hip pain actually was the most annoying). like your doctor, mine also said it was due to weight loss (i had lost about 50 lbs by month 2, including the 2wk pre-op diet), and that my musculature was built over years to support my weight so need to adjust to support my changing weight. if i remember correctly it all went away by month 3 or 4. i didn't take any pain medication (but i probably should have), but i did start doing yoga and core exercises in month 3, but im not sure if that contributed to the pain going away or it was just my body finally adjusted. in any case hope all your appts lined up get you up an at em by your big day!

I went through the same, muscles need to adjust to not having the same bulk to carry. Doing weights helped me strengthen up

Yep check with your team & watch the sugar alcohol sweeteners. Also you may find things become so super sweet & you can’t eat them when your taste buds temporarily change. I loved that phase as I never went back to sweet foods or drinks & broke my desire for it - I loved a sweet treat after dinner & on weekends. I keep my sugar intake low (less than 10g a day) and avoid artificial sweeteners or sugar alternatives wherever possible. They only feed your craving for sweet & research is showing that artificial sweeteners actually lead to weight gain, mess up your immune system & cause inflammation so I choose to avoid them. Now if I want something sweet I have some fruit.

yes - all of the above. It's pretty common to have high liver enzymes the first year or so after surgery. Rapid weight loss is pretty hard on livers. They'll usually stabilize when your weight loss slows way down - usually during the 2nd or sometimes the 3rd year (mine stabilized the third year). We hear about that every couple of months on here, it seems. When my PCP noticed my liver enzymes, she freaked - but the bariatric clinic knew what was going on. And they were right - they did stabilize and have been normal ever since. My ferritin level is usually in the 200s, which is definitely higher than normal, but it's always been met with a shrug. I don't know about levels like 600 or 1022. If there's nothing else going on with you, they may just assume it's the supplements and have you cut way down on them for awhile. I wouldn't freak out yet, though. It may or may not turn out to be anything serious.

This made me smile today because I love nature. I even got a job at a nature camp this summer which I would not have been able to do without WLS. Funny could be off during weight loss faze if the hormones are really out of wack, maybe? You’re still you after surgery lumps and all, just less physical lumps!

Hello All, I'm pretty scared, so bear with me on this. I am now 7 months post op RYGB and at my 3 month post op, my liver enzymes were mildly elevated but my ferritin was around 600, at 6 months now, my enzymes are AST 96, ALT 105, Ferritin 1022. I am with a doctor now and watching them every 2 weeks, I'm also getting a liver biopsy on Monday, and to say the least, what I read on the internet is scary as heck, about liver failure. I had a rough first 6 months with a lot of nausea and was not able to get as much protein as I wanted and I lost on the high end of the weight loss curve. I know I had fatty liver before the surgery for some time, but again, liver enzymes were upper end of normal. Can you all let me know if any of you have had this experience? I heard they can be elvevated for some time due to the rapid weight loss, but mine are not coming down as of yet. Thanks. Laura

Music makes me smile...going to concerts makes me even happier. This modern day Led Zeppelin was amazing to see live. Since my weight gain, I quit going to shows because it was too hard to get from the car to my seat. But someone bought me a ticket so I went. 7/22 No regrets. I plan to attend many more in the near future as I become more mobile "We need some healing...♫"

Yes, everything you are going through is normal. Yes, it does get easier. Make the most of this time because certainly doesn't last forever. My surgeon told me once you get to the 2 years mark it's up to you to make sure you don't put on weight because you will be able to eat normal amounts of foods, and this happened for me at the 12-month mark and now I am getting close to my 2-year mark I can eat a lot more than I ever thought was possible after having surgery.

@Arabesque- I get it. I was told to revisit all my prescription medications with the various prescribing doctors within 2-4 weeks. I had not expected such a dramatic change so quickly after surgery. I'm taking this step by step, following the liquid diet post surgery and taking the pills to reduce potential pain (I have suffered very little and they now have a protocol that involves Gabapentin, Celebrex, Tylenol). The sleep problem has been a long running issue for me, but I figure if I'm getting a parts overhaul, I might address that too. I feel pretty positive about this whole experience- I do get hungry- but my wife pureed a cream of chicken soup which filled me up and I had a protein shake later in the evening, so I feel like I can get through this--I won't be able to do much gym work for a while- I like lifting weights. I go back to the surgeon on the 20th, so I'll see what he says on that score. Walking here is fine, except it gets really hot- I'm in Texas now and the heat is a beating. But, otherwise, I wanna get into shape to be more active. Appreciate the note. Regards to you.

What’s normal? One thing I’ve learnt since my surgery is there is no normal or only one right or wrong way about our recovery, weight loss, food & eating just what is right or wrong for you. There will be similarities & there will be differences too because we’re not the same. And yes it will be different from what was right or wrong or usual for you before surgery because simply what we did before did us no favours. Will it get easier? Yes. Does it take time to meet all your goals? Yes. As long as you’re making an effort & getting closer it’s okay. Will you have good days & bad days? Yes. Will your tummy be sensitive & fussy about certain foods for a while? Yes but that’s the healing process. Will it take time to learn new eating habits? Yes. Will you learn all your signals for real hunger, fullness/satiety or feel your restriction? Yes. Nerves were cut during surgery & they have to heal. Your signals take time to register & they may be different than before surgery. Will you be able to drink more than sips? Yes though how much & when is individual. Will you be able to reduce the amount of time before & after eating to drink? Yes but again when & how long is individual. Will you eat your old favourites again? Yes, once your weight has stabilised. Though it won’t be in exactly the same way. You’ll work out variations, & how much & how often is right for you. I’ve made quite a few changes to what & how I eat. Like I don’t skip meals anymore & there are certain foods I don’t or rarely eat. Some are my choice & others because they don’t sit well in my smaller tummy. I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything I chose not to or can’t eat. It did take time to work out what was right for me - food choices, calories, nutrients, portions, frequency of eating. Once I reached maintenance I slowly added new foods, recipes, adjusted portions, etc. to see how I’d go & made modifications for probably a good year after I reached goal. I did keep losing for about 11 months after goal while working it out but have basically maintained since then. I’m four years out from surgery. I’ll make further adjustments as I need - lifestyle changes, age, health issues, etc. PS There is an exception to the no one right way to eat & that’s in the first weeks when you’re following your staged return to eating. That plan supports & protects your healing tummy (remember all those sutures & staples holding it together). Check your plan on what you’re allowed to eat. Yes, plans can be different but being allowed eggs & peanut paste three days out from surgery sounds highly unusual. All because you managed it doesn’t mean you can do it again or it didn’t impact your recovery in some way. Be careful.

I had the gastric sleeve in 2013 and lost 110 lbs. I didn't fix what was wrong in my head that made me overeat. I've gained 75 lbs back. I'm so disappointed in myself. I have since worked on my issues. I am having trouble losing any weight on my own though. I am thinking of a revision to the sleeve or a lap band. Has anyone been in my position and had either the revision or lap band and lost again? Will insurance cover it? I have Anthem. Any advice would be welcome.

Hi Everyone! I am new here, I am having my surgery on 12th June so only 2 days out! Very excited for the weight loss, I know its going to be a big lifestyle change but I'm ready to get fit and enjoy the rest of my life!

if there is one single piece of advice i could dile out to the newly wls-ed, it would be not to sweat what u can or can't do first couple weeks. you just had major surgery and recovering from it, try to to expect to go running straight out of the gate, it'll come eventually. i didn't meet my water goals for the first two weeks. i didn't make my protein goals until well after a month or two post op. in fact, i couldn't even reach my DAILY protein goal amount in an entire WEEK of eating the first 2-3 weeks. like u, i also had serious food aversion and just didn't want to eat anything. at all. it was really bad the first couple months but still persisted on and off throughout weight loss phase. even now, at over 4.5 years post op, i still turn up my nose to eating every now and then. not as often as before, but still. despite all that, all my labs came back just fine (and still do) and i lost all the weight i wanted, and did NOT end up underweight nor mal-nourished. as for when i started eating "normal" food, it was probably after maintenance...and not because i couldn't, it was a conscious choice cuz i was prioritizing weight loss. speaking of "normal"...others would probably see how i eat and think its NOT normal (volume and amount-wise), but its a (new) normal for me. so yeah, many of us went through what u are going through now and turned out just fine. hang in there and know this is not forever, and u'll be alright ❤️

I take collagen (all 5 types), biotin, and hyaluronic acid. Helps with skin, hair, nails, joints, and muscles. I lost 116 pounds in a year and have A LOT of loose skin. Trick is to keep that skin as healthy and hydrated as possible so there's no issues when getting eventual skin surgery (I'll be having that once I hit my goal weight). Not sure there's really anything to prevent the loose skin. Just do what you can to keep it healthy.

Hi there!!! I just got my revision surgery date today. It's June 28th. My hospital pre-op appt is June 12th and my pre-op appt with my surgeon is the 13th. Super excited to finally get back to my life!!! I actually loved my sleeve, but the horrible GERD, esophagitis, and gastritis it caused pretty much brought my health, weight loss, working out, and overall happiness to a screeching halt. BUT....now that I have my surgery date, I'm super excited to get my life back and finish my weight loss journey!!! Happy June surgeries everyone!!!!

I don't know how high your nicotine % use was but I started vaping at 12mg and over time reduced down to 3mg. I quit vaping nicotine, 2 months prior to surgery by mixing my juice at 0mg. I never gained any weight in those 2 months, and I was tested a week before surgery for levels. Main reason being tobacco hinders healing and can cause ulcers. I was honest with the doctors from the start and none seemed to have a problem with my plan since I ended up cutting out all nicotine use in the end. Good luck with the weight loss and quitting the nicotine!

As an ex smoker, I can tell you that giving up smoking is not the cause of weight gain. Smoking takes up a lot of time in the day and you have to fill this time with a healthier habit. You have every reason to want to stay on the right path. Its going to be tough for a few weeks but it will be worth it